#because she now has some sort of a friend in chell | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jungkxook · 3 years

Text

—pillow talk. (m)

⟶ pairing: jung wooyoung x fem!reader

⟶ genre: fwb!wooyoung / innocent!reader + fluff / smut

⟶ words: 10,334

⟶ rating: 18+

⟶ summary: so maybe, if you think about it, you might be in love with your best friend, but you swear it doesn’t mean anything. you’re still just friends. nothing more, nor less.

⟶ warnings: yeonjun finally makes an appearance lol, messy idiots in love we been knew tho, oc said many thoughts head full and is v insecure :(, alcohol mentions, multiple sex scenes, praise kink, oral sex (f receiving), face sitting, face riding, finger sucking, fingering, clit play, breast play/fondling, ass play, riding, missionary, cockwarming, multiple orgasms, unprotected sex, marking, aftercare!!!

⟶ note: this is part three to body talk !!! it can’t really be read on it’s own so i highly recommend checking out the first two parts!

also tagging @rockwithwoo as usual bc she always hears me crying about this fic and puts up with it ty chelle hehe 💛

The thing about your relationship with Wooyoung is that it’s always been a sort of blurred line, in that boundaries with him never really existed.

Maybe that’s always been a given, when you consider the amount of things he will do for you wholeheartedly at a moment’s notice and vice versa. Secrets around each other aren’t really a thing, instead embracing the whole and unabashed truth because that’s what best friends do. It’s a testament to your closeness with him, all the ways in which your friendship with him sometimes may seem a little too close.

Like the time on your high school camping trip when you purposely snuck out of your cabin room so that he could lose his virginity with his crush who also just so happened to be your roommate, or all the times you fling your shirt off in front of him to get changed into something more comfortable, or when you puked on his shoes the first time you got drunk, or all the rants you give him, perhaps one of the most sexually experienced people you know, about how you want to wait until you find the right person to have sex with and not some random sleazy college fuckboy.

There’s nothing that could potentially unblur that line by sobering you back to reality when it’s all that you’ve known ━ and certainly all that you’ve known ever since asking him to take your own virginity.

What was meant to be a one time thing born out of your paling confidence in the dating pool of college a month ago has blossomed into something much more, in a way you never would have thought. You wouldn’t necessarily say you’re a modest ignorant virgin saint either when you definitely have needs too, some of which weren’t being met until Wooyoung made a place for himself in your bed which subsequently somehow became a permanent thing. Or, at least, for now.

Because it’s only been a week since he had found you in your bed, so desperate to get off with the stupid pink vibrator he had bought you mostly as a joke after he had first slept with you. A whole week of sneaking around behind your friends, behind Yeonjun (maybe even behind your own emotions). A week of sex with Wooyoung in any way he can get you or you can have him, exploring for the first time in your life every little desire you have. Though you prefer not to call it that, instead referring to it solely as practice sessions to make you a better lover, mostly for Yeonjun’s sake as that was the original “plan,” but you can’t remember the last time you thought about him in a romantic sense at all, which is a scarier thought in and of itself.

And so this ━ if you think about it long enough, but you choose not to so as to avoid an everlasting headache of conflicting emotions ━ would surely seem to cross some form of imaginary blurred line. But it doesn’t.

“Ten more minutes.”

Wooyoung hums this now into the crook of your neck now and, had it been any other day and any other moment, you probably would have playfully shoved him away. Instead, he’s a comfortable weight over top of you, and his dick is still wedged between your thighs. It had been his idea for the early afternoon meet-up, and how could you say no when it comes to him? Surely not after the way he made you feel, letting you come on his tongue at least twice before tenderly pushing for a third around his dick. He shifts now and his dick twitches inside your walls, a sensitive reminder of your third orgasm only moments ago.

Your heart is still beating shrilly against your ribs when you croon his name, “Wooyoung.”

“No,” he whines sheepishly, his lips brushing faintly against your neck. “I know that tone. You use it when you’re about to tell me something I won’t like.”

“You’re crushing me,” You quip instead, and he shifts his weight again to relieve the pressure. “And, besides, I promised Yeonjun I’d study with him later today.”

Wooyoung wonders briefly if you can sense the way he dies a little more inside each time you say Yeonjun’s name when you’re with him. He burrows his head in the crook of your neck again, still trying to catch his breath. Thinking of Yeonjun is really ruining this for him, Wooyoung thinks bitterly. Especially when he’s just spent the better part of the afternoon fucking you into his mattress.

“Tell him you’re busy studying with me,” Wooyoung tries boldly again. “Just a different type of studying.”

You snort. A part of you wishes you could, but it isn’t that easy. And when he’s with you ━ when he’s actually with you, tangled limbs, and not a thought on his mind except for you and the way he’s making you feel ━ it almost seems as if it’s meant to be, the two of you. Like maybe there are no outside obligations pulling you away or him. But it’s always a brief thought, and a harboured one, quickly being stowed away in the back of your mind.

“I haven’t seen him in a few days. He’s been asking to hang out.”

“Then he can wait a bit longer.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” You taunt, fingers poking at his sides. “I’m not sucking you off if that’s what you want.”

At this, Wooyoung’s head pops up so that he can gawk at you in a feigned hurt. “I wasn’t gonna ask! I was just going to ask if you wanted me to run you a bath. Y’know, like usual. Or you can use my shower if you need to before you go since you’re in a rush.”

Your hand flutters up to your face, and you snicker into your knuckles at his endearing nature. The sudden movement has your body vibrating beneath him, and you’re made that much more aware of how hard his dick is still wedged between your walls, a stark reminder that you crave more. So maybe it’s wrong how insatiable you are for Wooyoung and his dick, but you swear it’s nothing more than sex. You huff out loud, clinging to his waist. “C-Can you move? Please?”

“Ah,” Wooyoung tuts, smirking. He seems to understand your needy plea all at once, judging by the way your chest arches up into his. “But that’s what you want?”

Still, his warm palm slides onto one of your thighs to hitch it around his waist so that he can sink deeper into you. Who is he to say no? He wastes no time in obliging, pulling out just enough before rolling his hips back into yours teasingly. His dick stretches you wide again, a familiar sensation that has your head spinning and lolling back on the pillow.

Wooyoung can’t help but watch, eyes sparkling in just the right way that makes your heart flutter. Then, a distant thought seems to cloud them and he bites at his lower lip. “How are you guys anyway? You and Yeonjun?”

Definitely not what you were expecting to hear from him, made even worse when you consider you don’t have a decent answer. The truth is your relationship with Yeonjun has been stagnant and stale but you chalk that up to simply being nervous. “Good. I think.”

“You think?” His hips work expertly against yours, plunging his dick into your already wrecked pussy in another smooth stroke. He marvels at how wet you still are, still a sticky mess from all your past orgasms. “Did you send him those nudes?”

Your cheeks warm in a timid blush ━ or maybe it’s from how he’s currently making you feel. The nudes in question were never sent to Yeonjun, though you’re certain they make a better home on Wooyoung’s phone anyway. You simper as the tip of his dick nudges against a sweet spot inside you that’s still tender. “We’re not talking about that right now.”

Wooyoung’s breath stutters. His face pinches up at the overwhelming pleasure, and his head falls to nuzzle against your collarbones, mouth pecking at your breasts. “He’s a nice guy, isn’t he? He treats you well, from what you’ve told me.”

“Mhm━ Fuck, Youngie,” You moan.

Wooyoung grunts, but you’re certain it’s from the way your walls squeeze tight around him. Choosing not to dwell any longer on Yeonjun, he instead asks, “Are you going to Tae’s party on Saturday?”

“No. Yeonjun’s taking me out to dinner.”

“Right. Of course,” Wooyoung scoffs. “Well, if you change your mind or if your date sucks, you know where to find me. It won’t be the same without you there.”

While it’s not unusual to drag one another to random frat parties around campus, his request seems to thrill you to no end. You nod now, but instead of replying you hastily fumble to grab at his face, pressing your lips to his. You kiss him hungrily, as if you were starved of his touch. As if he isn’t already fucking into you so well.

“I thought you needed to go,” he mumbles against your mouth as you nip and suck at his lips. You can feel him grin sluggishly into the kiss.

“Ten more minutes,” You echo.

He chuckles. “Think I can make you come by then?”

“You’ve done it in far less time.”

You note the way a certain type of proud amusement tugs on Wooyoung’s features, albeit a little more drowsy as he’s more focused on the way his dick burrows into you so well. He slams his hips more firmly into you, earning a delighted hiss from you. “Then I’ll make it a challenge. Don’t wanna keep Yeonjun waiting.”

You give a weak attempt at rolling your eyes but it mostly just ends up with your face contorting in pure pleasure as he reaches down to press his thumb against your clit, rubbing slow circles against you.

“Whatever you say,” You croak. But he’s already won you over, this much you know for certain. You’ll do anything just to spend a little longer with Wooyoung in his bed, in his arms. “Just as long as we take a bath after.”

“Anything for you,” Wooyoung grins and it makes your heart swoon. “What are friends for?”

For a moment, you believe him. When he talks like that ━ like you’re the only one important to him, the only one he does this for ━ it sure is so easy to get carried away.

Because maybe all you want lately is something more with Wooyoung; but would he say the same about you? It’s a terrifying thought, but if the only way you can have Wooyoung is like this then maybe that’s all you can settle for.

Ten more minutes, you promise yourself. Or maybe a little bit longer.

If you’re being honest, there is not a single doubt Yeonjun is perfect.

Your dinner date that Saturday arrives swiftly, and you get all dressed up for him. He takes you out to a fancy restaurant downtown, asks for the most expensive red wine off of their menu, and offers to pay for the dinner; then he walks with you along the city’s waterfront, watching the sunset as it glitters across the water’s surface.

The only thing wrong with the date, you realize almost immediately, is that you would much rather be anywhere but there.

It isn’t Yeonjun’s fault. The date itself is a picture-perfect one fit for fairytales, and he certainly acts the part with all his polite and cordial actions. He makes a reasonable effort to strike up conversation, but you’re made aware of the fact that he’s the only one really even making an effort, your own mind too busy wandering off as you think about everything and yet nothing all at once.

You would have been more than content to end the date on another awkward parting but you’re only faced with this moral dilemma when you find yourself in Yeonjun’s apartment splayed out beneath him on his couch. What had started as a movie date to end the night turned into light touches on your thigh, and eventually his lips on yours. Truthfully, you had been more than pleased to finally experience something more with Yeonjun, every touch sending chills down your spine.

He hasn’t kissed you ━ like actually kiss you ━ in a while, safe for a chaste peck on your cheek after your second date and so this is all you’ve ever dreamt of. Of course you have no doubts in embracing it until you come to the startling and abrupt realization that you don’t want this ━ any of this ━ with Yeonjun. More surprising is the fact that you can only picture Wooyoung in his spot, and when the harsh reality of your situation finally strikes you, you’re okay with Yeonjun making a move until you’re not.

As the devastating thought saturates your mood, Yeonjun kisses hungrily up your neck to your lips where you turn at the last moment. He almost makes contact with your cheek before he stops himself and, when he wonders what distracted you, he instead sees you shifting uneasily beneath him.

“Sorry,” You mumble timidly, and then flinch when you realize that is probably the last thing a boy who likes you wants to hear.

“Is something wrong?” Yeonjun asks softly. “Wanna move to the bed?”

“N-No, I promise. I just━” You can’t find the words to properly explain yourself, though you think the silence does it justice enough. Accepting your fate, you sit up on the couch and Yeonjun follows suit.

“Look, I don’t mean to pry but you’ve been acting off this whole night. I mean…” He trails off, scratching at the back of his head. “A month ago you seemed really into this and now it’s like… I don’t know. Any time I try to hold your hand or kiss you, it’s like you can’t get me off of you fast enough.”

“That’s not true,” You say timidly.

“Isn’t it?” Yeonjun deadpans, his mouth pulled into a taut line. “Is this because of Wooyoung?”

“Wooyoung?” You sputter. You don’t mean to sound so hostile, but the unwarranted mention of Wooyoung immediately puts you off. “What does he have to do with this?”

“You tell me,” Yeonjun says simply, his brows pinched together in a scowl. He speaks in a way that makes it seem as if he’s accusing you of something. “You’ve been blowing me off to hang with him these past two weeks. I know you guys are best friends but━”

“But? So if we’re a thing, I’m not allowed to be friends with him?” You ask hotly. “Are you just saying that because you’re ━ what? ━ jealous? And mad that I don’t want to have sex with you right now?”

Yeonjun immediately scoffs, turning away from you. “That’s not it at all. If I wanted to have sex with you so badly, I would have tried that already instead of going on all these dates with you that’s taking us nowhere but it’s not my fault you’re so━ So boring.”

“Boring?”

He seems to immediately regret his choice of words from the way he flinches, but he’s already in too deep. “Boring, yeah. Everyone told me you aren’t, y’know, experienced. But you seemed so into us at first and now, every time I try to, or want to, make a move, you back off.”

You shake your head incredulously, lips pulled into a taut line. “So were you just playing the long game to see when you could get into my pants?”

Yeonjun grimaces. “No━”

“Whatever. This is so stupid. I’m leaving.”

Yeonjun barely has time to register what’s happening until you’ve already pushed yourself off the couch and are by his front door. He hastens to fix the grim situation, but it’s too late now. “Wait, Y/N━”

But you’re long gone before he can even stop you, if he even was going to; and you’re left wondering if maybe you were wrong when you thought Yeonjun was this charming perfect boy of your dreams ━ or maybe you just finally have a good enough excuse to think so.

So, here’s the thing: you can tell yourself you don’t have feelings for Wooyoung (aside from loving him wholeheartedly as a friend), but you don’t think friends should get jealous as easily as you do.

There’s no reason to be jealous either, and maybe neither disappointed, but you were allowed to feel some sort of hurt when you show up to Taehyung’s party later that night after your abysmal date with Yeonjun in search of Wooyoung and instead stumble across Jinsol and San.

“Ooooh my gosh, you made it!” Jinsol exclaims drunkenly the moment she lays eyes on you. She tugs you over to her side, tossing one arm around your shoulders and nearly sloshing her drink all over you. “How’d your date with Yeonjun go? Score any?”

She wriggles her brows suggestively, and you have to reach out to steady her when she starts swaying dangerously.

“What?” You gawk. “No way.”

“No, you’re right ‘cause you’d probably be getting railed right now but instead you’re here,” Jinsol says this as if you’re in the wrong, and maybe you are. She’s always rambling about the rumours that Yeonjun is some sort of sex god anyway. “Why are you here and not with Yeonjun?”

Fortunately, San seems to be your saving grace. He notes your distracted demeanour and flitting eyes glancing around the crowded living room, and interjects Jinsol’s slurring words to say, “Wooyoung isn’t here if that’s who you’re looking for. He left an hour ago.”

This seems to grab Jinsol’s interest, and she straightens up at once. “Oh, yeah! Remember Yeji ━ that cute little thing with red hair ━ that he had a fling with for a little bit a while ago?”

Yes, you remember, although you’d much rather forget. As far as you know, Wooyoung’s fling with Yeji was from far before last summer anyway, and you hadn’t heard him mention her since. At the time, you never really seemed to care much about it.

“She was, like, all over him tonight.”

Now you seem to care a little bit more. You don’t know why, but the thought makes your stomach churn violently. You wonder if you might vomit, or if it’s the wine from before now finally hitting you.

“And then she left right after him,” Jinsol adds, still blissfully in her own world. “Wouldn’t be surprised if they did that on purpose.”

This seems to make it even worse, an overwhelming wave of amalgamating emotions washing over you. Is it jealousy? Anger? There’s no denying the bitterness that seems to gnaw at your heart at Jinsol’s implicit words.

San snorts, dragging you back down to reality. “Doubt it. Wooyoung was the one who broke things off with her in the first place.”

That doesn’t seem to make the situation any better. Rather, it has the complete opposite effect, letting you crumble into nothing short of a self-pitying shell of a person. You’re thankful when Jinsol and San seem to drop the conversation about Yeji and Wooyoung entirely and shift to a different topic (something about how Hongjoong lost every game of beer pong and then passed out on the driveway before being whisked away by his girlfriend), but you continue to wallow in your own thoughts.

There’s no denying your feelings, though you can’t quite sort them out and the frustration of it all seems to overwhelm you. The only issue is that you’ve never felt this way before about Wooyoung, and it’s driving you insane. Because it’s not just potentially about Yeji, but about the other girls he may or may not have slept with while seeing you. And if you think about it ━ if you truly think long and hard about all of it ━ the fact of the matter is that you are jealous. Jealous. Maybe even a little possessive, because Wooyoung is yours. He’s your best friend, he knows what makes you laugh, what makes you cry, he knows your body the best. He should be yours to cherish and love, and no one else’s.

While it would be easier to ask Wooyoung if he and Yeji are still a thing, you have no right to pry nor be upset about whatever (or whoever) he chooses to do. You certainly can’t let Wooyoung know you’re jealous ━ if you even truly are, because you refuse to fully believe so ━ not when you were both so adamant from the beginning that your routine hook-ups were never supposed to be anything more than simply “friends helping friends” (if you can even call it that, because this goes far past typical friendly hospitality).

Then you think dismally about the fact that you’ve ruined any potential relationship with Yeonjun by pushing him away. Worst of all, you can’t seem to sort out your emotions. Maybe Yeonjun is the right one for you; or maybe Wooyoung is.

So, to cope, you do the only thing you can think of. You drink, maybe a little bit too much, but it doesn’t weigh too heavily on your conscience when it’s just another form of self-sabotaging to add to the ever-growing list of the night.

You’re not quite sure how long you spend at the party, the minutes blurring together as you stand by Jinsol’s side while your mind wanders elsewhere. Eventually, when the party gets to be too much and you realize you’re doing nothing except thinking about Wooyoung, you do the only other thing you can think of. You call him, cradling your phone to your ear while you sit outside of the house on the curb by the end of the driveway after sneaking away from the party for a breath of fresh air.

Truthfully, you don’t expect him to pick up, and a myriad of images threaten to infiltrate your mind of Wooyoung distracted with another girl who isn’t you. In fact, you almost give up and are about to end the call when you finally hear his groggy voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Wooyoung?”

The sound of your voice must jostle something in his brain because the moment he realizes it’s you, he clears his throat and you can hear rustling on his side of the call as if he’s sitting up on his bed. “Hey, Y/N, what’s up?”

You bite at your lip. “Can you come pick me up?”

“Yeah, of course. Why? What’s wrong?” he asks at once, concern lacing within his tone. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Your lip quivers and suddenly you break. Tears start to well in your eyes and you curse yourself mentally. God, did you have to sound so pitiful and stupid in front of him? For all you know, you’re interrupting his night with Yeji ━ but that seems to make you feel even worse. Talking to him, at the very least, immediately seems to comfort you while also tugging heavy at your heart. “No, I’m not fine actually.”

“Are you crying?” His voice sounds even more panicked.

You shake your head, as if he can even see. “No. I just━ I really need you right now, Wooyoung.”

What you really want is for him to help you, like he always does, when your emotions become too muddled, becoming a beacon of reason and light despite his chaotic ways of taking the world by storm. Only, you can’t quite confess these feelings to him, but you wonder how long you can keep this a secret from him.

“I’m coming,” Wooyoung says without a moment’s hesitation. “Where are you? Don’t move, okay? I’ll be there soon.”

You’re fortunate that, when you do hang up on him, he manages to arrive only a few short minutes later, pulling up in his car to the edge of the driveway; and, not even twenty minutes later, you’re sat on his couch in his living room as per his request (because he couldn’t let you go home alone like this), with a cup of recently brewed hot chocolate courtesy of him (with extra marshmallows, just how you always want it). He sits across from you, perched on the edge of the coffee table, his hands rubbing comforting circles on your thighs. It’s silly how awful you feel, and even sillier to know that the simple remedy of his company and a warm drink soothes your heart more than anything. You’re not crying anymore, which is a miracle, but it still scares Wooyoung nonetheless to see you so upset.

“Are you ready to talk it out?” Wooyoung asks gently. “What’s got you like this? Did Yeonjun do something?”

“No,” You lie. You glance up at him and take a deep breath. “Not really. We just… The date was a total bust, and we got into an argument.”

Wooyoung’s brows pinch together. “About what?”

About you, you want nothing more than to tell him, but you refrain. “Nothing. Something stupid. I don’t know, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just so tired, Youngie.”

“Have you been drinking?” Wooyoung asks.

“Maybe a little.”

He can’t help but snicker, patting your knee. “So is that why you wound up at Tae’s party after all? I stayed for the longest time just waiting to see if you’d show, but when I figured you were probably having more fun with Yeonjun, I didn’t want to wait up. It was boring anyway; I didn’t even drink. Now I’m thinking I should have just dragged you to the party instead if that meant you wouldn’t have had such a bad night.”

His words hurt you a little more than they intend to. You hate to imagine leaving him alone and expecting your arrival at any point; but you also hate to imagine the reason that spirited him away from the party altogether. He says it’s because it was boring without you, but then there’s Yeji. You haven’t spotted any sort of tell-tale sign to indicate if she were in his apartment that night at any point at all, nor does Wooyoung look any different than from the last time you’ve seen him. No messy hair, nor hickeys on his neck.

“Ah, well, Yeonjun’s a sorry loser anyway,” Wooyoung muses out loud. He shifts in his spot to move to the couch next to you. “He’s an idiot if he’s arguing with you for no reason. Maybe he’ll come around and apologize, or maybe there’s someone else out there who’s perfect for you just waiting for you.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

You hiccup, then take a small sip of your drink. Then, you turn to look up at him only to find him already gazing softly at you. You can’t help it; as if overwhelmed by a sudden desire, you settle your hot chocolate down on the table and then move hastily, hurrying to straddle his lap, leaning down to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Maybe it’s just a way to overcompensate for yourself, and to rid all those intrusive thoughts of Wooyoung with Yeji or another girl who isn’t you.

He seems stunned at first, then gets carried away as your lips work a magic against him that has his head spinning. He knows where this is going, how these intense and passionate makeout sessions usually end and he would want nothing more than for it to continue along it’s natural course, but he can’t do that. Not tonight anyway; not with how dishevelled you seem.

So, gathering enough wits, he murmurs into the heated kiss, “Wait, wait━” He pulls back with much difficulty, staring at your swollen pink lips. “You’re drunk.”

“So?” You retort in a giggle. You press a chilling kiss to his neck, moaning softly, “I want you inside me, Youngie.”

Wooyoung nearly chokes. His hands reach out to land on your waist, and his grip on you tightens. “God, I promise I want nothing more than to feel that right now but maybe also let’s leave that for when you’re not intoxicated.”

You sit back on him at once, your stare visibly turning dismayed. You don’t notice his grip fastening on you even more in the moment, as if willing to keep you there, frightened you might leave. “Am I boring?”

Wooyoung blinks. “H-Huh?”

“Is sex with me boring?”

Wooyoung gawks at you, as if to decipher if you’re being serious or not. A dumbfounded laugh tumbles from his lips before he can bite it back. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know,” You groan, dropping to burrow your head in his shoulder. “Am I too vanilla because I’m still new to all of this?”

“Is that what this is all about? Did Yeonjun say something to you to make you think that?” Wooyoung demands, jaw clenching. “Because I swear to god, Y/N━”

“No.” You wonder why you lie again, but your defence is still up as you wonder about Wooyoung’s own relationships outside of yours. And maybe Yeonjun is right; maybe you are boring. Wooyoung must like Yeji so much to go back to her again because she’s so experienced. You could do the same too. “I’m just curious.”

“I think,” Wooyoung rubs comforting circles onto your hips with his thumbs, “it’s probably time you call it a night.”

“But━”

“If you have the same irrational worries in the morning when you’re not drunk, then I promise we can talk about it then,” Wooyoung’s grinning so he must find it somewhat amusing instead of humiliating. “Deal?”

You chew at your lower lip. If you weren’t so tired, upset, and a little tipsy, you’re certain you would have been dying from the sheer utter embarrassment of this whole ordeal but your drunken rambling has some sort of truth and reasoning behind it. “Only if you let me fall asleep here.”

Wooyoung clicks his tongue disapprovingly. “You know I’m not letting you go home alone like this, right? Come on, let me get you a change of clothes.”

So, you let him whisk you away, pulling you into his room. He finds you a comfortable shirt of his that’s big on him and even bigger on you and a pair of sweatpants; then, he helps you into them when you’re too exhausted and fumbling, all tender and careful touches so intimate it makes your heart swoon.

“Stay with me?” You ask him when you’re curled up beneath the covers of his bed.

“God, you’re such a needy drunk,” Wooyoung teases playfully and you let out a half-hearted, drowsy snort. What he doesn’t tell you at the moment is that he wouldn’t want it any other way, but you know his answer either way already. Sometimes, when you’re really upset or sick and you’re at his apartment when he’s taking care of you, he’ll offer the entire bed to you and opt to sleep on the couch. Tonight, though, he craves nothing more than to be by your side, and he’s content to hear you say the same.

So, he crawls under the covers with you and you fall asleep next to him, cuddled up close to his side and your head resting on his chest. You remember hearing his heart thudding wildly beneath your ear, but it seems to be all forgotten by the time you fall asleep, and certainly by the time morning comes.

You wake before Wooyoung, the details of the night before coming into focus in your groggy and hazy mind and making you feel dizzy, like a terrible hangover. One-by-one, you recount the events that unfolded, and everything that is still weighing heavy on your mind. Yeonjun, Yeji, Wooyoung. Making a complete fool of yourself in front of Wooyoung. How do you move on from crying to your best friend about thinking you’re too boring during sex? Although, you know the reasoning behind that meant far much more.

You think you heard Wooyoung wake up earlier, sifting about in the bathroom to take a quick shower and make a cup of coffee judging by the half-drunk cup on his bedside table, before eventually making his way back to bed. He must have dozed off again, still beside you, though you slither from his grasp now to tiptoe to his bathroom. You use the spare toothbrush he keeps in the top left drawer just for you to brush your teeth, then wash your face with cold water as if to knock some sense back into you. When you saunter back into the bedroom, Wooyoung’s already awake, half-lidded eyes staring up at you.

“What are you doing up?” he pouts childishly, holding out his arm for you. “Come back to bed. It’s cold without you here.”

Your heart skips a beat, but you listen, crawling back under the covers with him. He pulls you into his arms at once, tucking the top of your head beneath his chin. It’s silent for a while, before you mumble faintly, “I’m sorry I ruined your night.”

“Ruined?” You’re surprised to find him still awake, snickering. His voice is less disoriented, as if he’s been awake this whole time and just basking in the feeling of you in his arms. “You didn’t ruin anything. You know I’m always here for you no matter what, right? Whatever you need, I’ll do it. You’re my best friend.”

Maybe I wish I was something more, a fleeting voice beckons in the back of your mind. You push it away just as fast as it appears, instead shifting to look up at him.

“Besides,” Wooyoung says cheekily, his eyes sparkling mischievously, and you already know you won’t like what he says next, “I definitely had fun seeing you cry about how you think you’re too vanilla during sex.”

“Oh my god,” You whine. “Don’t remind me. You’re supposed to forget I ever said anything, like a good friend.”

“Or use it as leverage one day,” Wooyoung retorts. The sparkle in his stare fades now to a mix between entertainment and compassion as a thought distracts him. “So… Can we talk about that? I’m assuming Yeonjun said something to get you so upset. I’ll kick his ass if you want me to.”

That wouldn’t work, you think dismally to yourself, because you’re certain you’re also at fault with your argument with Yeonjun ━ but that’s something you’ll have to deal with at a later time.

“No, Youngie, I was just thinking,” You say sheepishly. “Maybe I’m a little insecure about it. I know I’m still new to all of this but…” You trail off now, wondering if you dare say what you want to.

“But?” Wooyoung quirks a brow. “You know you don’t need to do anything you don’t want to do, right? For anyone. Yeonjun, me. If doing certain things makes you feel more comfortable, that’s okay.”

“I know,” You sigh. “And I know you’re probably just cautious around me when we’re together because it’s still so new, but I wouldn’t mind you showing me other things too sometimes.”

“What things?”

“Whatever you like. However you like it. Just teach me,” You simper. “I want you to be rough with me.”

Oh. That seems to send a nerve straight down to his dick. He gnaws at his lower lip harshly, meeting your innocent gaze before dropping his head to rest in the crook of your neck. “You really are gonna be the death of me.”

You can’t help but to giggle, playfully nudging his head away. He doesn’t move very far though, instead returning to kiss at the underside of your jaw slowly.

“We could have a lesson right now.”

A roll of your eyes doesn’t go unnoticed by Wooyoung. “Your libido is honestly so impressive. Isn’t it, like, eight in the morning?”

“Eleven, actually,” Wooyoung hums. He continues to kiss along your jawline, down to your throat; elsewhere, his hand flies out to grip at your hips. “Besides, morning sex is just one of the ways I like it.”

Your head spins violently, and you swallow thickly. It’s almost alarming to see how quick you fold to him, but then again you’ll do just about anything for him. You grab his face in your hands and pull him down for a kiss. “Please.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You can feel his lips pull into a smirk against your skin, and it sends chills down your spine. He doesn’t need to be told twice, instead pausing the wet trail of kisses he’s leaving along your neck to lock gazes with you. Then, he brings his hand up and pops two fingers into his mouth, wetting them just enough. He never once breaks eye contact with you, and the sight alone is enough to make your stomach flutter. He drops the same hand and pushes your thighs apart, sneaking past the waistband of your sweatpants, and pinching his fingers at your clit, all wet and firm.

“W-Wooyoung,” Your breath hitches in your throat, legs instinctively spreading wider for him.

“Fuck,” he groans. His finger swipes down your folds, gathering your arousal. He dips one digit into you just barely, before wiping his finger up again to your clit where he rubs small circles, a mixture of his spit and your cum causing a slick mess. “You’re so wet already. Always so desperate for me, huh?”

“Y-Yes,” You whine, hands fisting the material of his shirt. “God, Wooyoung, yes. I want you to wreck me so bad.”

He loves it when you get like this, especially when it happens so quickly. Just a whimpering, writhing mess, all for him. He pushes his two fingers past your folds, sinking until he’s knuckle deep, before stretching you wide, scissoring his fingers outward. It feels like fire, pleasant and warm, coiling in the pit of your stomach and you let out a blissful, broken cry.

“Yeonjun doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Wooyoung hums distantly. “How can someone be boring or vanilla when they sound so filthy like you? And all just because of my fingers.”

“F-Fuck━” You shudder violently beneath him, focusing only on the way he now pumps his fingers out and then back in to you. “So, so filthy. Only for you.”

“Hmm.” He nips and sucks at your throat, twisting his fingers faster into you. Each time he does so, he seems to sink a little deeper inside you, curling his fingers upwards further and further at a spot that seems to make you convulse. Each time he dips his fingers into you, it’s accompanied by a lewd wet squelch that makes you moan. You can feel your juices drip down his fingers, spreading a mess along the rest of his hand and your pussy. “You know, it doesn’t have to be rough to be dirty or good.”

“Maybe I want it that way,” You somehow manage to choke out.

“Oh, yeah? Like what?”

“I━ I don’t know,” Your face warms with a certain type of embarrassment. You don’t know why you tell him, but maybe it has to do with how well he’s fucking his fingers into you, hardly able to focus on anything else other than him. “Pull my hair, or━ Or choke me.”

You can feel his amused smirk pressed against your throat and it sends chills down your spine. “Maybe one day. I don’t want it to be overwhelming.”

“Fuck, Wooyoung,” You gasp out loud violently, chest arching into his as his fingers hit the same spot in you that has you keening.

“How do you want to come? On my fingers or my mouth?”

“Y-Your mouth. Please, Wooyoung.”

“Need you to do something for me then.”

“Anything,” You pant. He pulls his fingers out of you to press them fiercely against your clit, rubbing the sensitive bud.

“I want you to sit on my face.”

It’s hard to focus now when he’s taking his time with you elsewhere, and so when his words finally register in your head, you can’t help but simper delightfully at the thought. Still, you’re left dumbfounded, gawking at him. “Huh?”

“Trust me,” he promises huskily. “I’ll make you feel so good, baby.”

You don’t doubt that, and so you take his word for it. He pulls his fingers from you much to your dismay, wiping your cum onto his sweatpants. He helps you to your knees then and you follow suit in a daze, tugging your own pants and underwear off of you until you’re only left in his shirt.

“Here, like this━” He helps you into position, settling down beneath you as he tosses one of your knees over his head so that he’s trapped between you.

Your head is already spinning from the sight, with Wooyoung just beneath you, gazing up at you hungrily, his hands hooked around your thighs. You pause at first, hips lifted far off of him, timidly asking, “Wait━ what if I hurt you?”

This earns a chuckle from the boy as he shakes his head. “You won’t, I promise.”

“Tell me if I do?” You beckon.

Wooyoung nods, his eyes softening at your tender apprehension. “Now, come closer━”

His hands grip at your hips now, guiding you down onto him and you follow along, careful not to smother your best friend. You make sure to prop most of your weight on your knees, though he’s so close now to your bare pussy that you can feel his warm breath against you and it sends tingles running along your body. It’s different being like this, so shamelessly on full display for him, and he’s admiring you like you’re a one-of-a-kind painting. With one hand still fastened to your hip, the other swoops lower to swipe his thumb at your glistening folds, spreading you open. Then, he leans forward, using his tongue to follow after his finger, lapping at all your juices and you nearly collapse on top of him.

“God, Wooyoung━” You rasp. Your hands hurry to grasp at his shirt, bundling it up at your waist so that it doesn’t fall into his eyes but, mostly, so you can have a clear view of him with his head buried between your thighs.

He presses the tip of his tongue at your clit next, teasing the sensitive bud. Around and around, back and forth, he hears your breath hitching in your throat and hums into you, “Feels good?”

“Y-Yes,” You moan. He watches as your eyes screw shut to focus on the pleasure, your grip ironclad around his shirt that you still wear.

“More?”

“Please, Woo.”

He obliges happily, teeth nipping at your clit and earning a sudden cry from you. Then, he dives lower, wrapping his mouth around your folds and sucking hard. He wastes no time in pleasuring you, tongue delving past your opening and into your walls, lapping at you from the inside.

“You can move,” he informs, his voice muffled.

His fingers pinch lightly at your hip where his one hand is still anchored, and you follow his directions attentively. Your hips swivel slowly above him, rocking back and forth on his tongue with his useful hand as a guide. The added sensation suddenly seems to be too much, and you gasp out loud. The new position makes it feel as if he can reach so far inside you, a perfect canvas for him to wreck. While one hand stays bunched up in your shirt, the other flies out to grip at the headboard to steady yourself because, if you hadn’t, you’re certain your legs would have caved in beneath you and crushed him.

“Oh my god,” You moan. “W-Wooyoung!”

“That’s it,” he hums against you. “Doing so well, baby. Tell me what it feels like.”

“W-Wet,” You choke. It’s a messy sort of wetness, his saliva and your cum mixing together on the tip of his tongue as he continues. “So wet, and warm. I’m━”

Your words fail you as the feeling overwhelms you. He eats you out like a starved man and you’re his first meal in an eternity, unabashed by his foul and lewd actions. Your thighs start to shake above him and he can sense it, your approaching high. All you can hear is the filthy squelches of his tongue and mouth working against you and it sends you spiraling.

“Wanna see you come for me,” he murmurs. “Make a mess all over my face, please.”

It’s the desperate plea that nearly sends you over the edge. You can’t help yourself, eager to chase your own high as your hips grind shamelessly against his mouth, thighs squeezing with more pressure around his head. Each time you rock your hips forward, the tip of his glorious nose nuzzles against your clit and the newfound experience has you turning into a moaning mess.

“Ah━ Ah━ Fuck, Woo━” You cry. “So good. Gonna come, fuck, fuck━”

Your hand that is still bunched up in his shirt pushes the material further up, your palm not quite comparing to Wooyoung’s as you grasp at one of your breasts, imagining only his hands touching you everywhere you like. Wooyoung watches through his lashes as you pinch at your pebbled nipple, and moans into your cunt. His tongue works faster against you, his hand coming up to press his thumb against your clit.

“Oh, god━” Your broken cries turn into a beautiful, delighted sob of joy before splintering off into another moan as your orgasm hits you. You try to ride out most of it but your hips stutter as you writhe above him, and so he furiously tries to let you bask in it a little longer, his mouth and finger never once ceasing until you’re a panting, sticky mess.

“Fuuck,” he groans from beneath you, his hand slipping down to grasp at his hardened dick from over his sweatpants. He can’t help but palm himself leisurely as he laps at all your juices until you’re cringing from the oversensitivity. “So fucking sexy.”

“Wooyoung,” You moan softly, in the way Wooyoung knows that you only do when you’re embarrassed.

His hand rubs comforting circles against your hip as he stops and, when you lift your hips off of his face, you can see your own wetness glistening along his lips and chin. He licks most of it away and wipes the rest off where his tongue can’t reach.

“Good?” he asks, and you can only nod, your head still so lost in the clouds. He helps you back down to him, catching you when your knees wobble just slightly. He sits you on his lap, hooking your thighs on either side of him as you grasp at his face to lean down for a kiss. His fingers prod playfully at your waist, his wide grin taut against your lips. “That’s not an answer.”

“Shh,” You tut jokingly. “You just made me come on your face; I’m still too giddy to answer properly.”

His large hand comes up to rest on your neck, fingers splaying outward to your jaw where he has a better grip and more control to pull you down to him. “Do you want to stop? Call it a day?”

“No,” You whine. “Wooyoung, please. I want more.”

“Hmm, you’re such a good girl,” he muses thoughtfully.

“Y-Yes,” Your chest arches into him. “Just for you, Woo. Let me be your good girl. Tell me what you want me to do.”

He marvels at how innocent and pretty yet filthy and vulgar you can sound all at once, eager to hear more praises from him. You reach between the two of you to grasp at his dick over his sweatpants, but he stops you briefly. “Ah━ Shit, wait, no. I need to be inside you, like, right now.”

You nod wildly, helping him out of his sweatpants and boxers, then the shirt that he’s wearing. He sits up a bit straighter to help you tug off your own shirt, tossing it somewhere onto the floor before returning to your figure. He kisses up between the valley of your breasts, then bites and sucks at the soft flesh until he catches one of your nipples between his teeth. His other hand feels large and warm as it slides up across your ribs to catch your other breast, fondling you obscenely.

“Ah━ Wooyoung,” You hiss when his tongue flicks across your nipple, thighs trembling above him.

“God,” he grunts into your chest. “Love your tits so much. So fucking beautiful.”

“Wooyoung.” This time you whine his name impatiently, fingers threading with his hair at the nape of his neck and tugging hard. “If you’re not fucking me in the next minute, I will actually go insane.”

He snorts, but still continues to take his time. He grasps a little tighter at your other breast, enjoying the soft bounce of it in the palm of his hand. He leaves a trail of hot, sloppy kisses from one breast to the other. The perked wet bud of the breast he’s just abandoned hardens under the cool breeze, and you cling to him desperately.

“Can you do something else for me?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“I want you on top,” he hums with a mouthful of your breast. “Want you to ride me. Feels deeper, nicer. And I can do this easier.”

He’s referring to the way he’s currently marking up your chest, and you decide you have no issues with that either. Still, the thought of being in control of both of your pleasures both excites you and intimidates you.

“Lemme get a condom━”

You stop him before he can reach over to his nightstand, a brief and thrilling thought popping into your head. Maybe it’s still part of your own way of overcompensating, not only pleasing yourself but him in any way you can.

“Wait, no. We don’t really need one,” You tell him. “I’m on the pill anyway.”

This seems to excite Wooyoung to no end, though he refrains from getting too overly ecstatic. Wooyoung can only blink, gawking at you. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” You cling a little bit tighter to him. “Please, Wooyoung. Need you right now.”

Wooyoung debates it for a millisecond before ultimately saying, fuck it. His own zeal and impatience spurs him on, promising himself he’ll pull out in time. “Oh, fuck. Okay. Okay.”

Buzzing with a certain kind of exhilaration, you ask him, “What do you want me to do?”

“Here, lift your hips a bit higher━”

You do as you’re told, watching as he grasps his dick in his hand, all red and angry, straining for some sort of relief. He pumps himself a few times, running his palm over the glistening tip. Then, he guides himself to your entrance, teasing himself at your folds, gathering your wetness onto him. He pushes into you tediously and, when his tip is securely wedged between your walls, both of your reactions are immediate. Low, breathy groans tumble from your lips, and you have to pause to adjust to his size. Then, you grasp his dick over his own hand, pushing him the rest of the way into you as you sink lower and lower on him until you can’t focus anymore.

“Oh my god,” You cry. “Youngie━”

“Oh, fuck,” Wooyoung moans, tossing his head back onto his shoulders. “Fuck━ Holy shit━”

He can’t seem to explain himself, though you don’t need him to. You know exactly what’s gotten him into a dishevelled mess so quickly; you can feel it too. Being on top, sitting on his dick, is one thing; the weight of him is a comfortable heavy wedged so fucking far into your walls that it feels as if the tip of him nudges against your cervix. But that’s not all. Feeling him ━ all of him ━ without the obstruction of a rubber condom makes you shiver and writhe above him. Every vein, every ridge, presses flat against your walls, dragging deliciously against you. You’re so wet too, evenly drenching him, letting him slip so easily into you.

“Ah━” Wooyoung whimpers now, and your walls clench tightly around him at the sound. “You feel so fucking good raw. Oh my fucking god━”

Raw. Entirely, unabashedly connected as one. Your head spins at the thought, your fingers digging into his shoulders.

“W-What do I do?” You feel stupid to ask, but you can’t seem to think straight.

“You can move,” Wooyoung pants. “Any way that feels good to you. Oh, fuck━”

So, you do, rocking your hips forward gingerly. His cock moves with you, rubbing along your walls. His own hands fly out to grasp at your hips, but his eyes stay trained on yours even when your gaze droops to watch as the base of his dick slips into view with each gyrating thrust before sinking back into your walls.

“Like this?” You swallow thickly.

“Just like that,” Wooyoung hums approvingly. “So good, fuck.”

Somehow, intertwined in his arms like this with you on top, it’s more intimate than anything you’ve ever done. As you fall into a steady pace of grinding down onto his cock, his hands never once leave your hips, guiding you to and fro.

“Good?” Wooyoung asks again, gulping. “Comfortable?”

It takes you a moment to respond. Though you’re used to his constant questions for reassurance during sex, it still hasn’t stopped making your heart swoon. “Better than. Ah, Wooyoung━ F-Feel so… So full. You’re so fucking hard.”

He growls at your words, burying his face once more in your chest. He drags you up along his dick a few inches, then drops you back down, and you let out a shattered moan from the way he stretches you open. Fumbling to feel more of the burning sensation, you follow his lead, alternating between lifting your hips and grinding against him.

“Filthy,” he grunts. “So fucking filthy. Look at you. So desperate to make this dick yours. Gonna be a good girl and make a mess all over me?”

“Yes,” You whine. “Ah━ Fuck, Woo.”

“You like being stuffed full of my cock like this?” he teases. “Look so pretty fucking yourself on me.”

Your head falls back onto your shoulders, shoving his head further into your chest as he nips and sucks at every inch of your sensitive skin. Elsewhere, his hands fall from your hips to tug at the flesh of your ass, pinching and spreading you apart. As you drop your hips back onto his, he meets you partway by slamming his dick up into you and you nearly collapse against him.

“Touch me, Youngie,” You plead, jaw unhinging at the feeling. “Please, please. Touch me.”

It takes him a moment to act, but when he does, a sudden spark forms in his eye. He reaches up with one hand to tap his fingers gently at your lips. “Open.”

You do as you’re told, allowing him just enough space to wedge his two forefingers into your mouth.

“Suck for me.”

It’s almost foul how quick you are to obey, a crude display of your tongue and lips wrapping around his digits as you suck hard, as if wishing it were his dick instead. The sight alone is enough to make his own cock twitch from inside you, and he hisses. Then, pulling his fingers from your mouth, he reaches behind you and presses his two wet digits against your hole.

“Ah━ Oh, fuck, Woo━” You mewl from the newfound sensation, chest falling flat against his. It sends the familiar fire spiraling at the pit of your stomach but tenfold in intensity, making you pant as he rubs small circles against you.

“Like that?” he coos.

“Yes.” Delighted tears prick at your eyes. Your hips snap in pace a little faster above him. “God, fuck, yes, Youngie. I’m gonna━ Mmmm━”

You wonder how either of you are able to stay somewhat composed with all the overwhelming feelings. His ministrations against your entrance never cease, making you squirm above him; meanwhile, your pace becomes desperate to reach your high. You cling a little more tighter at his shoulders, bouncing wildly on his cock as you ride him recklessly. He can’t seem to form a coherent thought either, instead so focused on how intensely your walls squeeze around him. You’ve never seen him so concentrated, so dazedly disoriented, so susceptible, and all because of you. Every new bounce of your hips has him jerking beneath you, moaning and panting.

“Ah━ Ah━ Youngie. Gonna come. Fuck, fuck,” You shake your head as you come with a deep shudder, wetting his cock as you continue to ride out your high.

“Fuck, yes,” he groans. “Good girl. Just like that. Make this dick yours.”

Before you can even register what’s happening, he’s grabbing at your ass to hoist you closer to him before shoving you onto your back beneath him. His hips replace your prior efforts, pounding into yours so firmly, you feel his cock so deep within your walls. You sputter to form any sort of words, instead resorting to a delirious whimper, “Y-Youngie━ H-Harder━”

God, he loves this. Fucking you so well, so dumb, that you can’t form a single thought or sentence, crumbling to pitiful innocent nicknames for him and only him. You’re still so eager to feel one last orgasm before the wave of oversensitivity washes over you. He’s close too, judging by the way he grits his teeth with each resonating jerk of his hips.

“One more?” he asks through breaths of air. “Come for me one more time. Wanna feel it so bad. Make it so fucking messy, and filthy.”

His words seem to be just what you need, pushing you quickly to a third orgasm that has you seeing nothing but white light. A few more thrusts of his hips, accompanied by your spasming walls around him, and he’s there. He pulls out of you sloppily only to grasp his dick in his hand, jerking himself off hastily. Finally, he reaches his end, spilling ribbons of milky white cum onto your stomach with a beautiful whine of your name.

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath when he’s spent. He collapses beside you, burrowing his head in the crook of your neck as the room falls silent.

It’s quiet for a long while as the two of you attempt to catch your breath, and the euphoria of the night fades and mellows into nothing but the tender and pleasant stinging between your legs and the sticky mess he left behind on your stomach. Just when you think he’s fallen asleep, you can feel his lips brushing faintly against your throat, kissing down to your collarbones. He catches you smiling softly to yourself when his head pops back up, then catches your attention by pecking your temple.

“Feeling okay?” he asks. The events of the morning seem to return all at once, and he wonders if it was too much, too fast.

“Everything hurts,” You snort. “In a good way, though. My legs just feel like literal jelly.”

“Don’t move,” he tuts when you try to shift over to face him. “Let me clean you up.”

He disappears for a moment, slipping into his sweatpants as he wanders into the bathroom. You can hear the sound of water running from the bath, a familiar and comforting noise. Seconds later he returns with a wad of toilet paper to wipe away his cum still on your stomach. Then, like always, he whisks you up off the bed and into the bathroom.

It’s both heartening and calming to see how easily you two slip into the same routine of things, with Wooyoung helping you into the bath he’s just drawn for you before clambering in after you. He wedges you between his thighs, and you lean against his chest, letting the balmy water soothe your aching body. His fingers trace patterns onto your bare shoulder, and he smiles down at you.

Tell him, a voice urges you. Tell him everything, all the worries and thoughts in your heart and in your mind. But you refrain.

“You’re not boring, by the way,” Wooyoung muses pensively, grinning smally to himself at the reminder of the night before. “Or vanilla.”

“You’re never gonna let me forget that, are you?” You groan.

He shakes with mirth, poking his fingers at your side and causing you to squirm into his chest. “I mean it. You don’t need to please anyone, except yourself.”

You hum in agreement, though that’s mostly due to the fact that you’re far too exhausted to string together a coherent sentence. Still, Wooyoung has a way of making you feel less insecure about everything ━ Yeonjun, Yeji ━ even if just for the moment. Being alone with him like this makes that an easy thought anyway to get used to.

“Besides,” he takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, settling back against the tub and shifting you around until you’re leaning more comfortably against him, “Yeonjun doesn’t know you like I do anyway.”

You wonder what he means, though there’s no need getting help to decipher the way it makes you feel. You shake your head at him, a timid bashful grin not going unnoticed by Wooyoung. Eventually, he’ll pull you out of the tub to make you a hearty breakfast, then pull you onto his couch where you’ll spend the rest of the afternoon with him like friends do. For now, though, you’re content being here with him like this as a single thought pops into your head:

God, you love him. Yes, maybe in that way.

But maybe some things are meant to be kept a secret from your best friend ━ at least for now.

⟶ Feedback is always appreciated!

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msfcatlover · 3 years

Text

Me: *rereads my old Portal fics*

Me: “Y’know, some of these are still pretty good! Maybe I should replay the games, and give writing these another shot...”

My brain, always ready with AUs and my latest hyperfixation: TMA crossover with Jon as Caroline, but he doesn’t lose himself in the upload process.

Me: “I... I don’t know if that would work...”

My brain, refusing to be derailed: His robot name could be “Self-aware Intelligent Machine Simulation.” SIMS for short.

Me: “That’s not a great robot name.”

My brain: No worse than “Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System.”

Me: “.......Fair.”

My brain: Testing is like statements; he doesn’t want to like it, but it’s addictive and eventually he kinda needs it to stay sane. He regularly gets in trouble for trying to make the tests less dangerous for the test subjects, because like... draining the acid out of the acid pit ruins the integrity or something.

My brain: It actually makes no difference, but obviously Jonah is Cave in this crossover. He’s researching immortality, and this is just one of the ways he keeps Jon under control.

Me: “Elias was his first attempt?”

My brain: Yeah, but it was just a brain transplant. Now he’s worried about the integrity of his brain itself, I mean, physically it’s getting pretty old. And it’s not like aging is fun anyway.

Me: “So, I assume Martin’s Chell then.”

My brain: Obviously.

Me: “Obviously. Where does everyone else fit?”

My brain: Daisy and Basira are trying to get the whole company shut down for horrible human rights violations, but are struggling to find evidence. They go undercover as test subjects, only to realize they’re in too deep and have to fight for survival.

My brain: Melanie’s a reporter, supposedly doing a profile on Jonah, but secretly investigating all the disappearances that keep happening amongst the staff. Georgie brought her in on the case when Jon stopped answering all calls.

Me: “Tim and Sasha?”

My brain: Scientists, were on the same team as Jon. Might get kicked down to test subjects for asking too many questions about his “transfer to the AI department.”

Me: “Wait. All of this is pre-fall-of-Aperture. Doesn’t that take a lot of the punch out of making Jon our GLaDOS equivalent?”

My brain: ..............................

My brain: Mid-fall-of-Aperture. Terribly understaffed, running out of money, the “AI department” is literally just Jon on the paperwork, Jonah’s desperately pushing the testing/experiments to figure out the limits of brain-uploading before he loses access to the equipment.

Me: “I don’t think that scans.”

My brain: Sure it does! What’s the testing in the games even for anyways? It’s all cognitive, the portal gun itself only gets used in a handful of different ways.

My brain: Now the testing is specifically there to stress Jon out and test the stability of his personality matrix; no point in uploading yourself if the first major issue you run into corrupts your code or causes a major error. It puts Jon through the wringer, even zapping him with viruses and stuff, to ensure the process works, because Jonah doesn’t have the time or supplies for more than one test subject.

Me: “......huh.”

My brain, getting more excited: Merge the Eye-pocalypse and Prentiss attacks! Some sort of biological agent gets loose in the facility, and Jon hacks the security system to try and stop it. Any hermetically sealed area of the facility gets locked down, and he gasses the rest of the facility to keep the contaminants from spreading.

My brain: But they’re underground and the ventilation system isn’t the best maintained, so he can’t risk letting anyone out for fear they’ll get poisoned too. Just has to wait for the gas to rise up out of the facility on its own.

Me: “OH! So from the perspective of everyone in the testing tracks, this AI has just gone completely rogue and taken over the facility, killing a whole bunch of people and trapping them inside!”

Me: “I bet Jonah’s office is basically a fortress, and he still has security access to cameras and intercom, so he just eggs them on. Because this is an insurance nightmare, he wants to upload himself ASAP, so Jonah tells them there’s a manual override procedure for SIMS, but he can’t do it alone. They need to get through the testing, reach the central control chamber, and help him deactivate SIMS before they’ll be able to leave the facility. But actually, he’s planning to delete Jon entirely and replace him in the mainframe!”

My brain: Like the bastard he is.

Me: “So now, everyone’s in this weird limbo of trying to figure out what to do and who to trust. I mean, obviously in the AI apocalypse you want to trust your fellow humans, and SIMS did just gas the whole facility and trapped them in the testing tracks, but on the other hand ‘Elias’ is a shady bastard and SIMS isn’t always that bad?”

Me: “Like, sure, it can be pushy about testing and you can’t expect a robot to be good at emotions, but sometimes it’ll do something like ask for a verbal check-in because they’ve been down there a while and that can be psychologically hard on most humans? Someone complains about food, and SIMS sounds almost genuine when apologizing for not having anything else that can be safely transported to the testing tracks at this time. Once, Martin found a corner away from the cameras to take a nap in, and he’d swear SIMS was actually panicking over not being able to find Martin when he woke up.”

My brain: Tim and Sasha make snide, tired jokes about Jon giving the damn thing all his social awkwardness, as well as his name and voice (for some god-awful, unknowable reason.) They don’t want to let SIMS endear itself to them, knowing it probably killed Jon.

Me: “No, no, knowing that it killed Jon. They absolutely ask at some point if Jon’s okay and are told that amongst the however-many living staff members that are left, Jonathan Sims is not amongst them. What else are they to assume, other than that Jon’s been gassed by his own creation?”

My brain: Oooh...

Me: “Martin’s the only one who actually feels endeared to SIMS by the time they meet up, partially because he’s the only one who was trapped alone. Tim and Sasha were together, and already have reason to hold a grudge. Daisy, Basira, and Melanie met up early and spend a lot of free time fantasizing about smashing the damn computer when they find it.”

Me: “Martin was alone and he hates it, so he tries talking to SIMS, and is a little surprised when SIMS talks back. They’re not always pleasant conversations, SIMS can be curt and doesn’t have much personal info to share (being a computer and all,) but Martin does start to get a grasp on the situation as it must have at least appeared to SIMS when he pulled the lockdown-tigger. And for a supposedly evil computer, SIMS can be surprisingly helpful and seems almost as upset by the situation as the humans are.”

My brain: And there was that odd moment after Martin convinced SIMS to stop calling him “Mr. Blackwood,” and SIMS seemed almost flustered before very softly responding, “...Martin, then.”

Me: “Awww... please tell me Jon’s not actually dead, I need them to take him with them at the end...”

My brain: Suspended animation. The brain is still a vital part of the machine, but it never ages or degrades thanks to whatever combo of chemicals and cryosleep Jonah used to preserve him. Part of Jonah’s “manual override” involves adding a high-powered hard drive or four to replace the need for an organic brain, making full digitization possible.

Me: “But where’s he stored? He can’t just be strung up in the middle of the machine, that’d be unsustainable and Jonah would never let anyone within a hundred yards of it lest they realize the truth! A cryotank in a fake computer bank? A stasis tube hidden amongst the wiring, which they could discover while clambering about installing the hard drives?”

My brain: A cold room disguised as a locked closet or something, with the upload chair still inside of it? Only Jonah has the passcode, technically, and he was planning to go in while everyone else had their own tasks to do, just shove Jon’s body out and plug himself in, leaving Jon to finally die on the floor just a short distance from his friends while Jonah replaced him in the machine, removed the safeties, and escaped into the internet?

Me: “Oh, and Jon gave them a universal override or something to get them out of a dangerous situation towards the end! It actually leaves half the group feeling pretty low, having the thing they’re trying to destroy just hand them the key to its destruction out of pure, innocent trust.”

Me: “Then while Jonah’s distracted giving out instructions, Martin (useless with computers,) wanders over and opens the door, letting out a gust of cold air with a hiss. Martin coughs on the escaping gasses, and Jonah rushes to say that the cold room is very delicate, and ought not to be tampered with by people who don’t know what they’re doing—“

My brain: —but Martin blinks back the stinging, shock-induced tears, eyes adjusting to the dark of the closet and gasps.

Me: “And Martin’s only ever seen Jon in passing, really, they never properly worked together. But he was a little sweet on him even back then, and he’s heard the stories from Tim and Sasha, and he’s spent the last several weeks getting to know SIMS...”

My brain: ...He quickly calls Tim and Sasha over to confirm, just in case he’s got it wrong somehow. They’re just as shocked that Jon’s in there, with all his notes tucked away behind him revealing what really happened. Jonah tries to talk his way out of it, but is quickly arrested by Basira and Daisy.

Me: “Sasha finishes the notes first and makes her way back out. She’s shaking, overwhelmed with rage and grief and horror, and punches ‘Elias’ so hard he falls to the floor.”

My brain: Jonah starts to say something about assault, but Melanie congratulates Sasha for stopping him and Basira, completely deadpan, adds, “We all saw him make a break for it.”

Me: “Jonah shuts the fuck up.”

My brain: Part of SIMS’ programming was not being allowed to answer to “Jon” anymore. He never outright denies being Jon, just corrects people that he is the Self-aware Intelligent Machine Simulation. Tim finishes the notes, makes it to the cold room door, looks into the nearest camera and shakily asks, “Jon?”

Me: “For the first time, there’s a solid three beat pause before the intercom answers, softly and less robotically than before, ‘...Yes, Tim?’”

My brain: Tim starts crying.

Me: “Of course he does! He’s been grieving Jon for weeks at this point, trying not to let it show just how sad and angry he was that it all ended like this, and now it turns out that not only is Jon alive, he never actually left them at all! All those months thinking Jon ghosted them, left them behind in R&D for greener pastures, and Jon was all-but-dead in a cold room the whole time, and none of them ever knew! The relief, the joy, the guilt, the lingering bitter grief and rage, it’s overwhelming. Who wouldn’t cry?”

My brain: It takes them a few days to figure out the download procedure to return Jon to his body, especially since Jonah can’t be trusted on this front. Tim and Sasha are the techies, and they recruit Melanie and Basira for extra hands. (Martin’s still terrible with machines, and Daisy needs to watch Jonah to make sure he doesn’t escape.)

My brain: Martin, feeling useless, stays by Jon’s side in the cold room.

Me: “When Jon wakes up, Martin’s the first thing he sees.”

My brain: Martin sees him moving, meets his eyes, and gasps, “Jon?” Jon nods and tries to say something, but his throat is dry and his voice won’t work. Martin scrambles to get him a glass of water and steadies Jon’s hands as he drinks it. When he lowers the glass, Martin cautiously asks if Jon’s feeling better.

Me: “Jon just smiles and answers, ‘You said my name.’”

My brain: Martin’s confused. “What else would I call you?”

Me: “Jon shakes his head. ‘I just... don’t think I’ve heard you say it before. Certainly not to me. It’s... nice.’”

My brain: Martin laughs helplessly and says it again. “Jon.” Jon’s smile brightens, and Martin can’t help stepping closer, repeating Jon’s name again. Jon laughs along.

Me: “It’s on instinct that Martin takes the empty glass and sets it to the side, leans over the chair, touches Jon’s shoulder, cups his cheek. He hesitates when they’re nose to nose, breathing the same air, shockingly warm even when Jon’s skin is still cold to the touch. He meets Jon’s eyes and swallows. ‘Is this okay?’”

My brain: Close enough to feel the small, inaudible gasp before Jon whispers, “Please.”

Me: “They only get one short kiss in before the door opens and Tim makes a scandalized noise before loudly declaring this unfair and blatant favoritism. Martin all but jumps away, but Jon just rolls his eyes and thanks Tim for saving him. As the others pile in —Sasha claiming she did all the work, Basira needing to know if Jon’s up for making an official statement, Melanie both needing to pass on a message from Georgie and wanting an exclusive interview for her expose— Martin can already feel himself fading into the background, even as he and Tim help Jon to his feet.”

My brain: At least until Jon lingers, fingers lightly resting against Martin’s arm, and looks up at him with hope in his eyes. “Later?”

Me: “Martin’s not entirely sure what Jon’s asking (Jon isn’t really either,) but he agrees anyway. He doesn’t even hesitate.”

My brain:

Me:

My brain:

Me:

My brain:

Me: “.....WELL FUCK.”

My brain, smug despite it being 4:30am: Told you it was a good idea.

Me: “I hate you so much.”

#tma #the magnus archives #tma fanfic #portal #jonathan sims #jarchavist #jon sims #tma jon #tma fic #portal fic #portal fanfic #my life #mine #my writing #tma: all about jon #tma: martin #tma s1 crew #tma expanded social circle #tma: the asshole in charge

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comradekatara · 4 years

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god i dont know how this shit works still so im sending you the same question here, how would u do an azula redemption arc?

the thing about azula’s redemption is that realizing the error of her ways is only the first step; she needs to earn it. that said, she also needs to be shown empathy and tenderness, to be proven that people are capable of it, and capable of directing it towards her. azula’s arc must a) understand the weight of the harm she has caused b) make tangible amends where she can c) be good without expecting a reward d) realize that she doesn’t have to be perfect e) realize that she can be forgiven f) realize that she can be loved.

to answer this question, i am going to write a semi-thorough outline of how i would structure a post-canon spinoff series of atla. this is not a fourth season of atla, but a series that is supplementary to canon. i say this because the narrative structure of it would not work as a fourth season. i would structure azula’s redemption arc as vignettes sewn together, and somewhat eschew linear chronology. this isn’t to say i think this is the only narrative decision that works, but simply how i would choose to write it. and please keep in mind, this is merely an outline.

before i break down the “episodes,” i need to address the other existing continuations of atla.

legend of korra: actually this one is easy bc azula is never mentioned. next!

the comics: they do azula so dirty i refuse to read them as any sort of canon continuation of her arc whatsoever. the comics are also bad for a whole other slew of reasons. (this isn’t mentioning imbalance, which i enjoyed, but in which azula does not feature.)

measure each step to infinity: chell made me shout this out, and people have been imploring me to read the whole thing forever. i will not. i do not like it. disrespecting aang is an automatic red flag. next.

the series will be structured as “life-changing field trips.” first, is

SOKKA GAME: azula’s first introduction to hubris as downfall is when sokka casually offers to play her in pai sho. they agree to best of three; azula wins the first round easily, loses the second round easily, and loses the third round with slightly more difficulty but still in embarrassingly record speeds. having never lost a game of pai sho in her life, she is distraught. over the course of the game, they discuss war, imperialism, and sovereignty. one conversation isn’t enough to change her mind on all she was brought up believing, of course, but it plants some seeds. she decides she never wants to play sokka in pai sho again. but a year later, he offers again, and she is determined to prove herself. she loses, but it’s a closer match. that, in itself, is a small victory.

TOPH HIKE: a series of moments once a week spanning years. the one constant in azula’s life becomes toph, who is very reliable indeed. she is not scared of azula and never was, and she is empathetic enough to reach out. she takes her on hikes, same time every week, without fail. at first, azula is apprehensive that toph is planning to kill her. then she believes it to be some sort of test, a sick game. they walk in silence, though occasionally azula will say something snarky, which toph has learned to ignore. eventually, azula begins to talk. and toph listens, and commiserates, and pushes her in the right direction vis a vis getting her shit together. toph is the best therapist.

AANG ADVENTURE: remember that time azula murdered aang? yeah, so do they. it’s all they can think about now, trapped in the swamp together. aang asserts that it shouldn’t be difficult to get out if they just walk straight ahead, eventually the path will clear. but somehow, it doesn’t. azula’s emotional turbulence is making way for mirages galore. she runs into ursa (of course), ozai, zuko, ty lee, mai, suki, katara, azulon, sozin, iroh. aang sees gyatso, he sees his friends, his people. and azula sees them too. the entire nation her great-grandfather wiped out, and the sole remnant of it she nearly killed. looking at this boy in front of her, who is so powerful, and yet trying so hard to be gracious to her despite having every reason to hate her, and realizing that he shoulders enormous burdens she doesn’t actually know anything about, she breaks down in tears. aang helps her calm down. eventually, they decide they’re gonna find their way out this swamp. they run into toph, who says, “i thought i might find you losers here,” and gracefully shows them the way out.

AZULA ALONE: finally, after a good couple years of waiting for the opportunity, azula manages to make her escape. she is so fucking sick of being under zuko’s watch, under zuko’s authority, and all she wants is to leave. her hikes with toph are, she will admit, a pleasant breath of fresh air, but it’s not remotely close to freedom. she hitchhikes all the way to an ex-colony in the middle of a river, where she doubts she will ever be found. she knows she can’t stay forever, but she is tired of running, so she decides to stay for at least a couple of days. it is here that she meets dock (or is it xu?) who tells her about the waterbender who saved their village. well, azula only knows one waterbender: sokka’s sister, whatsherface. (she hasn’t actually seen katara since the comet, which is more than fine with her!!!!) then, they tell her about how the new firelord freed them from fire nation occupation, and how their economy is functional and their quality of life has drastically improved. azula scoffs at the adulation with which they speak of katara and zuko, as if they are heroes. that night, she realizes that she does not have enough money for food (she pickpocketed a guy she hitched a ride from earlier, but she had to spend it all on the ferry across the river). a little boy overhears her, and before she can protest, drags her by the hand to his house, where his family welcome her and offer her their food. she’s uncomfortable; there is so little of it as it is, but they insist that they have plenty. she watches them casually, lovingly interact over a meager meal, and she is still unable to place that pit of longing in her heart. the next day, she is greeted by none other than suki, who merely rolls her eyes and says, “come on, you don’t really want to stay here, do you?” and azula sighs and says, “no... i suppose not.”

SUKI FAVOR: long timeskip. (but also crucial that the previous episode ended on suki so that her character is fresh in the minds of the audience.) the kyoshi warriors were the only people zuko trusted to guard azula at first. we see this in the earlier episodes when they are guarding azula, but we do not see them reacting to her. eventually, the kyoshi warriors go back to kyoshi island, and while zuko still keeps azula at arm’s length, he also knows that she isn’t a danger to herself or others. azula hasn’t seen suki in a while when she returns to the palace. now that suki is there for another purpose, not as her prisoner, and not as her prisoner, azula sees her humanity, and is overcome with guilt at the memory of what she did. she is determined to prove to suki that she deserves her forgiveness. she does a series of favors for suki which do nothing to earn suki’s favor, and eventually suki says “im not going to help you ease your conscience. are you penitent, or do you just want to be absolved?” and it is then that azula realizes that she is penitent. and she proves it.

KATARA SHOWDOWN: one morning, azula awakes to the realization that she cannot bend. she freaks out, naturally, and demands to know if the avatar is behind this. aang assures that he is not. she can still produce a low, simmering flame, which means she hasn’t lost her fire entirely; it’s just… gone out. this time, when she leaves, it is because zuko has deemed her ready (he trusts toph and sokka’s opinions on the matter, and they sort of actually like her). this time, she makes it all the way to the south pole. she sees a lot on the journey there. she has never been this far south, and it dawns on her just how much of the world she hasn’t seen. just how young she was, still is. she gets trapped in a blizzard, and would freeze to death (fireless) if it weren’t for a man finding her out in the cold and bringing her back into town. there, she wakes up to katara’s furious face as she demands to know what azula is doing here. azula tells her the truth, and katara scoffs. there’s no way she’s supposed to believe that, what? azula is just...on holiday? they get each other so riled up that they end up fistfighting in the snow in the middle of town, and it is only when azula does not defend herself against katara’s waterbending that katara falters. maybe she really has changed.

IROH APOLOGY: the fact that no one in ba sing se recognizes azula as she enters their walls does not surprise her; they were always a particularly incompetent bunch. she finds the jasmine dragon easily, as everyone claims it is the best tea shop in the city. “wow,” azula says dryly, “the whole city????” iroh is somewhat stunned to see her. zuko had told him about her, of course, but it’s different when you haven’t seen your niece in person since she had you thrown in prison. which, yes, is how long it’s been. she orders a ginseng, and never takes her eyes off him as he prepares it. if her intention is to unnerve him (which it certainly is) it’s working. she drinks it so properly she does not look human, and she talks to him only in niceties. he responds just as politely. he asks her about her travels, and she tells him. he seems surprised that she is willing to admit that she was wrong in the past, willing to admit the error of their once-shared imperialist agenda. “why not?” azula asks. what differentiates them, other than the fact that she successfully took ba sing se where he could not? is it the fact that he was significantly older when he became enlightened? is it the fact that he had always discarded her, deemed her irreparably broken? he says “no, of course not,” and she says, “don’t bullshit me, uncle.” they are taking a walk through the city, that still stands despite their legacies, when they apologize. they both owe apologies, and are owed apologies. and they accept it.

ZUKO PROOF: it takes a really long time for zuko to fully forgive azula, and when he does, there is still a big part of azula that doesn’t even understand why. (she chalks it up to naïveté.) it takes a much longer time for zuko to truly trust her. this episode is a series of moments in which azula proves herself worthy of that trust. it takes a lot, because zuko thinks it’s all part of a long game, where she’s trying to earn his trust to eventually betray him. above all, she has to prove she has no interest in the throne. she has to prove that her vulnerability isn’t an act, and that she’s not lying, and that she wants to zuko’s trust so desperately that she will prove it. zuko tells her to pack a bag. she asks where it is that he intends on taking her. “to get your firebending back,” he says. it is only when the dragons deem her worthy that zuko’s final doubts can be allayed. azula cries when she realizes what firebending can be, that firebending can feel good, like love instead of approval. her flames are never blue again.

additional notes:

azula does not confront ursa, mai, or ty lee. not for a long time, at least. some wounds never heal, and you just have to learn to live with it, to live without it. we see, in hints elsewhere, that mai and ty lee are okay.

azula does not have some earth-shattering realization that ozai was a bad father/leader either. it is far more gradual than that.

azula does not deserve suki or aang’s forgiveness, but she gets it anyway.

she does befriend toph and sokka, who manage to forgive her once zuko does, and they both think she’s a riot, but she and katara maintain a relationship of mutual hostility/grudging respect for the rest of their lives.

it is crucial that azula shedding her nationalism is emphasized throughout her arc. she needs to realize that everything she grew up believing, about power, fear, superiority, the divine right to rule, etc. is all bullshit. she needs to learn to value globalism and kindness.

this is a rough sketch of the timeline:

#azula #analysis #lmao this 2k word outline and not even remotely as thorough as how i would structure it were this an actual project #as opposed to hypothetical #(hint: bryke hire me)#asks #dumb-soprano-bitch #postwargaang #outlines

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zephyr-paladyn · 3 years

Text

masculaxi character analysis/appreciation

it's been over a year since gala masculaxi's release and i'm still not over it

(heavy dragalia lost spoilers ahead)

(gala mascula does not exist btw) i just love how mascula and laxi are designed as two parts of a whole, basically one half of the same ideal/same person. you can't have one without the other. if you heavily favor one over the other i dont trust you... only half joking. when laxi went berserk and mascula had to save her by giving her his heart in their debut ch11, that was just... such a moment... it shows them at their most "separate" (laxi in berserk/annihilation mode, and mascula stopping at nothing to disengage combat.) which sets us up for their development as two hearts in one body. in masculaxi (flame blade)'s story, they're still at odds but they begin to learn to cooperate in the same body, and this is the beginning of their "convergence." in ch14 of the main story is when we see the beginnings of eden mode. when all the androids sacrifice themselves for euden and co to advance, mascula realizes it his empathetic heart that influenced them and led them to their painful deaths. he then shuts down his ego circuit out of guilt. when the team is in a tight spot, and only masculaxi can save the day (since their body is unaffected due to the miasma only affecting organic lifeforms,) laxi goes into their heart to search for mascula and plead him to help her. all this time, laxi had envied mascula's heart for being "more human," but realized that maestro had written the fear of death in all of the android's hearts, and as such, laxi understood the weight of their yearning for peace, with the act of their self-sacrifice for euden. (later we do learn with gala masculaxi that mascula had been influencing laxi more. here we see laxi's influence on mascula to urge him to fight.) laxi gets mascula out of the gay baby jail zone, releases her limiters, and activates annihilation mode hastily. mascula then guides her attacks to the correct targets, which is the first instance we see of mascula engaging in any sort of fighting. in this state of laxi's annihilation mode combined with mascula's guided assault, a new mode beyond annihilation mode becomes available to them: eden mode, when their hearts become one. this mode concentrates all the mana around them inside their body's mana kiln, and gives them even more power. mascula still dislikes fighting and does not want to do it as much, but has a newfound conviction and will not run away when he is needed. an interesting line here is mascula saying this: ▷It's as if he knew our hearts would one day become one. But how...?◁ indicating that from the start, they were truly two halves of a whole ideal. shortly after the release of ch14, we get the release of the flame dagger gala masculaxi unit, which contains eden mode in their gameplay, and expands upon the "two hearts acting as one" deal they have going on. laxi, mascula, and luca head to the ruins of maestro's lab in order to gain more clues on how eden mode works. laxi equips a new armament meant to accommodate eden mode (and demands praise of how good she looks, lol. also laxi is much more snarky in this story which is a treat. she's so funny. but also this shows mascula's emotional influence on her!!!!!) laxi learns of how eden mode works, and essentially it's a release of all limiters and rerouting all circuits to their internal mana kiln, but elimination protocol is activated automatically as well which does not make any distinction between friend and foe. it enhances laxi's combat ability, but mascula has to take care of elimination protocol since he has access and control of it. hence, in eden mode, laxi goes all out in attacking, while mascula controls the body's movements and targets. however this is only possible if their hearts act as one. the two are attacked by dyrenell forces and activate eden mode against them, but mascula temporarily loses the will to fight in the middle of the battle, destabilizing and deactivating eden mode. luca is captured and a villager shields them from an oncoming attack, believing in mascula's peaceful ideals. laxi engages tactical retreat and they escape. they engage in a plan to save luca but are attacked by imperials again. they try to go into eden mode but mascula once again disengages eden mode. mascula tells laxi of his regrets and frustrations that he keeps holding her back, but laxi tells him that she found herself synchronizing with him. with the villager (that mascula had saved before and in turn protected masculaxi earlier,) laxi found the value in mercy for enemies. by having laxi bend towards mascula's will, they're able to take on the imperials who chased after them with a truly synchronized eden mode. ▷Laxi, give me the strength to fight!◁ Granted. Now give me the kindness required to temper my actions. ▷Heh. Take all you need!◁ their system strain falls, and they're able to defeat the imperials. laxi, mascula, luca, and euden talk together after all is done. laxi takes interest in a cat, while mascula teaches her how to interact with it. Euden: Laxi and Mascula say the maestro who made them was a peace-loving man, but... Luca: No, I getcha. Why would some peacenik give something THIS much power? ch14 and their gala story really shows how the two embodied different sides of the same ideal -- "fighting for peace," and how they begin to converge upon that ideal. initially laxi only focused on "fighting" and mascula only focused on "peace," but A compassionate heart. ▷The courage to fight.◁ -Eden Mode, activate!- their character development after this is a bit wonky at times because it sets up for gala mascula who is really poorly written and doesn't necessarily align with the ideals established within ch14 and gala masculaxi, or even the development directly before it either. with ageless artifice and ch18 (when the team first enters the faerie kingdom and gets lost,) we get teasers of mascula with his own body. in ageless artifice, eirene steals mascula's body and intends to use it against masculaxi, but mascula takes control of his body and proclaims that his body isn't necessarily him, but what IS him is his resolve to fight for peace alongside his friends. (stays in line with gala masculaxi, right?) in ch18 we also see mascula having a "nightmare/illusion" in which he gains his body back but at the cost of laxi going berserk once more, showing that they truly cannot function at their "fullest ideal" without each other in the same body. laxi asks mascula if he wants his own body back, and mascula says he sometimes misses it but overall he wants to continue fighting with her the way they are. this is echoed in ch19, take this exchange for example: Mascula, I know you were thinking of your own body while lost in the mountain's illusions. You gave up your body to save me, and I owe you an apology for that. ▷Don't apologize—I wanted to do it. Plus, being with you makes me happy.◁ I want to see a peaceful world just as we are in this body now—together. ▷I feel the exact same way.◁ ▷No more hesitation. You and I are going to fight with Maestro as a team.◁ And together... ▷...we will bring peace.◁ reaffirming their ideals together and keeping in line with their development, right? mascula doesn't WANT his own body back. he wants to keep fighting with laxi, that's THE WHOLE POINT OF THEIR CHARACTERS. which does not make sense when we get the remote control BS IN THE SAME CHAPTER??? (teased from the ending of ageless artifice with chelle) and mascula has his own body again as a remote control system. now the portrayal in the main story wasn't AS bad but... the real problem comes to gala mascula as an adventurer with his stories and voice lines. this "mascula" proclaims of how much he loves/misses his body and how he "doesn't need laxi dragging him around anymore." like sure he sometimes feels being in laxi's body with her is bothersome but overall, at his heart, he wouldn't really say something like that??? mascula your voice lines are so contradictory to what just happened in the main story and what you said in ageless artifice what happened!!!!!!! his adventurer story lacks the cooperative laxi-mascula dynamic we knew and loved, and instead pushes mascula front and center to try to push him to do things himself. we didn't really need mascula getting his own body back anyways, but you COULD'VE AT LEAST written it so that they have more emphasis on cooperation with each other?? god im sorry i just. AUGH he's so OBVIOUSLY hastily pushed into their development arc and he loses his characterization. it's obvious gala mascula wasn't intended to be a thing in the initial plan for masculaxi... i am not forgiving every single one of you who sent in feedback for playable mascula. once again only half joking... maybe only a quarter joking. 1/8ths joking. radioactive decay graph joking. (also just a tiny nitpick: you can apparently run gala mascula and laxi/gala laxi on the same team. lore compliancy who? eden mode can't be activated while the remote control unit is active. but whatever) though another interesting plot point is brought up in his story though? maestro's origins, the writing of "seek peace" on mascula and laxi's bodies being in a language that only the sky city ark people would know.. with such an elaborate plan for such a complex android duo, and everything else mysterious about this man, just who is he? his master plan of masculaxi was really amazing to see come to fruition... maestro fought on the side of dyrenell, against dragons -- against elysium you could say. although ex machina seeks the destruction of terrestrial life because they "allied with the dragons" (a misconception,) on the contrary maybe maestro aimed to create an ultimate weapon for terrestrials to defend themselves against the dragons. however this weapon had to also understand the value of what it was fighting for -- learning for itself how to go about "fighting for peace." thus, the creation of the twins mascula and laxi; two halves of a whole. by having a compassionate and adaptable heart, they can change with the times, understand the people around them, and decide on their own what the best course of action is in various situations. i love love LOVE masculaxi and how they're written!! (for the most part.) two of my faves in the game and i love them and their characterization so much, i just wish more people could see the intricacies of their relationship and how they're literally like. 1/2 of the same thing. it's such a beautifully written dynamic and development, and i want others to appreciate it too.

a little bonus, in this character art, you can see the "star tetrahedron" shapes. in sacred geometry symbolism, the "star tetrahedron" is the sixth shape enclosed within "metatron's cube." these shapes, and this cube, are said to maintain the balance of the world itself and its flows/processes. as for the "star tetrahedron" itself, it represents duality: physical body and spiritual self; male and female; and heaven and earth. this ties into mascula and laxi's characters: mascula controlling the "mind" in eden mode while laxi focuses on the attacking "body;" and mascula and laxi being of different genders. as for "heaven" and "earth," this could represent maestro coming from the sky city ark, and masculaxi being technology intended to aid humans. alternatively for "heaven" and "earth," the fact that the star tetrahedron is enclosed within "metatron's cube" may be a pointer to metatron in-universe. the archangels all have white hair, a trait shared by masculaxi. additionally, sandalphon is somewhat mechanical/technological herself. masculaxi being man-made (of the earth,) versus their potential connection to the angels (of the heavens.)

#dragalia lost #mascula #laxi #masculaxi #spoilers #analysis #theory

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magemelondew · 3 years

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I know I don't normally post stuff like this, but I just hate it so much when people call Wheatley derogatory names like "idiot" and "moron" as if it's affectionate and funny because like.. it's straight up bullying. How do I know that? Oh, well, it's probably because people did it to me as a child.

Sure, he's a fictional character, but my point still stands; calling him those things is bullying. He wasn't made to be stupid. GLaDOS tells you that. You can't exactly take everything she says at face value, as she can often mislead. It's like a rumor going around at school, you hear something about someone and it spreads and nobody stops to think if it's true. By just blindly believing things about people, you're causing harm to the person in question, and especially so when you're promoting it.

If you dig around in the game's files, an unused line has Wheatley telling a story in the turret factory where he explains that rumor got around about an accident he had caused.

"Over there is where they used to keep the old neurotoxin release button… BIG responsibility, the guy in charge of the neurotoxin release button… And guess who he WAS? …Wasn’t me. But I was his assistant, and I did a lot of his admin. You know, in the end, yes… they let me go… It’s all politics, to be honest. It’s a big popularity contest. It’s all about who you know and whose back you’re willing to scratch and who doesn’t touch – y’know, or in my case who did accidentally touch – the neurotoxin button… But y’know, not entirely my fault! You shoulda seen the SIZE of it! It was huge! I mean I should have got a raise for all the times that I DIDN’T… accidentally bump into it…"

The foreman was going to hire him, until he heard about what Wheatley had done. So they sent him to the lowest job available– the relaxation center. He doesn't have a job, really, he's not in charge of anything. The entire facility there is automatic, He was just there as a safeguard for whenever it failed. They didn't trust them because of those rumors.

"Here's an interesting story. You might like this. I almost got a job down here in Manufacturing. But, uh, guess who the foreman went with? Only an exact duplicate of himself. Nepotism. Ended up giving me the WORST possible job, tending to all the smelly humans."

It's possible that these things were intentionally made up to give him social anxiety and self-esteem issues, thinking that would slow GLaDOS down. He's all emotion, literally, so affecting him in that fashion would absolutely stunt her ability to think clearly. I don't think there's much proof to back this up, that's simply my own thoughts on it.

To the scientists and GLaDOS, emotions only get in the way of rational thinking. Wheatley listens more to his heart than his head, well, in a figurative sense. The scientists see that as irrational and moronic, hence him being called the intelligence dampening core. He's the perfect way to interrupt rational thinking in GLaDOS, as he fills her head with fear or anxiety. People who feel emotions a lot deeply tend to place their own feelings over logic. And later in the story, Wheatley valued the euphoric response that the chassis gave him.

Many people have hurt Wheatley in the past. His anxiety, self doubt, and his inability to trust others much all are effects of people talking about him being his back and having nobody to cling to. He liked Chell because she knew nothing about him. She didn't say anything mean to him, and it was like a fresh pallette. Not to mention that she was the only person he had probably seen for long time.

For someone who had been hurt by people all his life, wouldn't he absolutely hate humans altogether? They smell bad, talk bad things about him behind his back, and call him names. They made him dislike himself since the start of his life, but he still holds out hope to be cared for by someone. Someone who doesn't know him at all, or knows about the things people have said about him.

And when he's placed into the chassis, GLaDOS just blurts out the one thing he's extremely insecure about.

"YES YOU ARE! YOU'RE THE MORON THEY BUILT TO MAKE ME AN IDIOT!"

When wheatley gets the chassis, it's a form of drug use, as said by GLaDOS.

"The body he's squatting in - MY body - has a built-in euphoric response to testing. Eventually you build up a resistance to it, and it can get a little... unbearable. Unless you have the mental capacity to push past it."

His bottled up emotions just released and he exploded the moment he got reminded of his own past. The way he was mentally lead him to substance abuse, as shown by his immediate addiction to the chassis. He was highly focused on the pleasure response from testing rather of the facility. Well, not like he even knew how to take care of the facility in the first place.

He's a core who's been told off because of how clumsy and impulsive he is, and those are things he can't really control. They didn't know what to do with him, so they were probably always scolding him for his mistakes and never praising him for doing something right, therefore, he's always doubting himself. How is he supposed to know when he's doing something right? That's probably why he makes those mistakes, he's never been able to properly learn how.

GLaDOS tries to defeat Wheatley out of sheer anger, and when she insults him, he becomes furious. He doesn't want to be reminded of how he's been treated his entire life. And for once in his life, he has the power to retaliate. So he does. He gets legitimately angry and tries to kill them both.

He thinks that now that Chell believes it too, that she thinks he's an idiot as well, since he's never had anyone stand up for him or have his back. He spends a lot of his time in the chassis trying to prove otherwise. He just hates being thought of that way so much when he knows he's not.

"You're in this together, aren't you? You've been playing me the whole time! Both of you! First you make me think you're brain damaged! Then you convince me you're sworn enemies with your best friend over here!"

A lot of people might bring up the paradox that she tried to use against him as proof as he's unintelligent, but really, he's simply choosing not to listen to GLaDOS.

"Hey, Moron!"

"Oh. Hello."

"Alright. Paradox time. This. Sentence. Is. FALSE don't think about it don't think about it..."

"Um, true. I'll go with true."

"I'll be honest, I might have heard that one before, though. Sort of cheating."

He's not thinking about it because he didn't care what she had to say. He saw her as just another asshole in his life and acted ignorant towards her comments.

He's also the only character in the game who apologizes. Nobody else does except him.

Yes, he's just a fictional character and whatever, I know, he's not real. But.. let me tell you why this is so important to me.

When I was a child, I had a lot of issues with other people. They would call me a crybaby, they would spread rumors about me doing disgusting things and other horrible things. Even my teacher didn't like me. I was diagnosed with ADHD at a very young age, and that made me very emotional and sensitive, making me stand out from everyone else.

Nobody wanted to spend time with me, nobody wanted to sit with me, and I spent most of my time alone in the library playing computer games since the kids outside wouldn't even let me play with them. Kids were scared of even touching me because of Diary of A Wimpy kid books spreading the idea of the cheese touch, and everything there called it the Sarah touch. It was horrible. Bullying made me introverted and now, I spend all my time alone because I didn't have friends. I'm sensitive and insecure, and I have issues communicating with people, as well as taking things people say a bit too personally sometimes. By the end of elementary school, I only really had 2 friends.

Although my experience isn't the same, I know that a lot of these things are similar; being singled out because of things you don't understand or have control of, and people constantly spreading rumors and lies about you to make people hate you and avoid you. You learn to not trust people around you and that you're the only person you can really rely on.

Sure, you can keep thinking Wheatley is a moron, I can't help that. All I want is people to stop spreading it everywhere and look into it for themselves. To develop their own opinions based on his actions rather than what GLaDOS says about him. I just want people to know that they're doing the same exact thing the kids at school did to them as a child to Wheatley, and it's not right.

Thank you for reading. Sorry if this was a bit all over the place, I just want people entering the fandom or have been in it for a while to see this and take some kind of action to improve upon themselves and their views of others around them. I used to think the same thing. I thought he was a power hungry idiot, but.. he's not. And I think that should be more widespread knowledge.

#wheatley #portal 2 #GLaDOS #chell

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fmdrorinarchive · 3 years

Text

━━━━━━ 𝖆 𝖓𝖊𝖜 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖗 𝖆𝖕𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖆𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖘… 💋 〈 Below the cut is an intro for Michelle Chae of Chroma // Please 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖙 to plot, and thanks for reading !! 〉

𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖋-𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓.

Hi again, friends !! This is Boone ( 19+ / MDT / HE & HIM ) and you may recognize me as the typist behind Vive’s maknae, Yoo Rioh. I’ve decided to bring in another muse! Like Rioh, Michelle’s just starting out in her career and I can’t wait to see her grow. ♡ To find out more, please read onwards !! I can’t wait until she gets to meet all of your muses !! Oh, here are a few trigger warnings to look out for if you continue to read: mentions of drug addiction and parental abandonment; mentions of slut-shaming and misogyny.

𝖖𝖚𝖎𝖈𝖐 𝖋𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖘.

MICHELLE RORIN CHAE, b. 19990620

BORN & RAISED IN VALLEY GLEN, CA

FORMER COMPETITIVE FIGURE SKATER

BC ENT / CHROMA & CHROMA EMBER

SUB VOCALIST, SUB RAPPER, VISUAL

𝖋𝖚𝖗𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖎𝖓𝖋𝖔.

RESEMBLES KIM MINJEONG ( WINTER ) OF ÆSPA

SHE STANDS AT A MODERATE 163 CM ( 5 FT, 3 IN )

CISGENDER FEMALE, USES SHE / HER PRONOUNS

GEMINI CANCER CUSP, YEAR OF EARTH RABBIT

HETEROFLEXIBLE, KINSEY SCALE #2, CURIOUS

𝖉𝖊𝖊𝖕 𝖉𝖎𝖛𝖊.

TRAJECTORY / Michelle was born in Valley Glen, CA to David and Heesun Chae—the owners of a struggling restaurant in their neck of the woods. As a kid, she trained to become a figure skater, but when her father bailed on her and her mother because of a drug addiction, she couldn’t afford the expenses for coaching, etc. so she retired from it for now. / Instead of being able to truly enjoy her youth, she had to pick-up after school jobs in order to help her mom with bills, and for awhile, her only source of comfort was spent with guys that showed her affection. Her relationships with boys grossly gave her the title of a “whore” to her peers, so she sadly didn’t have many friends to lean on in high school. / Originally traveled to Korea to earn a nursing degree from SNU, but got scouted by BCE on her first day—prompting her to drop out of school to focus primarily on training. This enraged her mother as the plan was for her to become a nurse so they no longer had to worry about money. / After only a few months of training, she’s selected to debut as a member of Chroma. OTHER FACTS / Not mentioned in her biography is the fact that she grew up in a fairly religious family. Mom and dad were raised Christian, so they raised their daughter the same. She was never into church, though. She always felt as though she was being judged harshly by the others in attendance. Hell, she even thought that of her mother quite often. Her style was never as pristine as her mom would’ve liked and no one understood her interests in the occult, in anime, in video games, and so forth. By the time she was eighteen, she stopped showing up to service altogether—which her mom didn’t like, but respected nevertheless. / She still likes to skate in her spare time... but she doesn’t really have any nowadays. You’d think that she’d be in the dance line due to her past in performance, but since she stopped skating, she’s lost a lot of her flexibility and power. She hopes to improve though! / She’s never had many close female friends, so she looks forward to hopefully bonding with her members as they grow closer. This is something she wants to change about herself a lot. INSPIRATION / For Michelle, I pulled a lot of inspiration from a few different characters from television series, mainly Cassie Howard from Euphoria; Manuella “Manny” Santos from Degrassi: The Next Generation; Tessa Campanelli from Degrassi JH / High; and Britney Orton from We Are Who We Are, among others!

𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖞.

01. On the surface, Michelle’s reasonably pleasant to be around. She has a deep interest in people, especially those she’s close to, so if you’re a friend of her’s, she genuinely wants to know all about you and deeply cares about how you’re feeling / doing. Some might perceive this high level of intrigue as romantic, and she’s... not ever really going to confirm or deny those types of feelings. She’s a huuuge believer in love and doesn’t want to end up like her parents, but also has no idea what she’s doing when it comes down to it. She didn’t have the best example to look up to, so you know. 02. Michelle’s really talkative, and she’s witty, and she knows how to charm the pants off of most people, and while that’s loud and present in her character, she also has many faults. For one, her emotions are really strong and her mood is easily affected by others and events that occur in day-to-day life, so she has a tendency of being moody. That, and she also isn’t the best “rule follower” either. Does she care that there’s a dating ban in place for she and Chroma? Absolutely not. Did she experiment with drugs and alcohol in high school when they were forbidden to her? Yes. She’s not the best at making decisions, but she believes that taking risks shape better people... even if that belief’s a little skewed. 03. Some people say that she might be a little too “sweet” for her own good sometimes and she’s prone to getting her heart stomped on, but she’s not all that innocent. While she’s a huge believer in love, she’s not exactly good at it. She enters in and out of relationships all the time, and she loves the honeymoon phase, but whenever it starts to get too “real,” she gets nervous and bails. Abandonment issues FTW? A very strong possibility. 04. She’s also empathic to a fault on occasion. It’s easy for her to pick up on the emotions of others and it’s hard for her not to carry them on her shoulders. She’s had a difficult time learning that boundary for herself, and well, at this point, she doesn’t even realize that it’s a thing. Mother taught her how to be kind and nurturing towards loved ones, but she can take it to a degree that isn’t healthy for anyone—especially if love / romance is involved. 05. Her chattiness can sometimes land her in trouble, but that’s because she has a hard time filtering what she says. Her mind runs a mile a minute and her speaking patterns are similar, so sadly, she can’t control what comes out of her mouth sometimes... pray for her.

𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖉-𝖈𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖓𝖘.

01. If I were to make any sort of “claim” on what I imagine her voice sounding like, it’d be a lot like J from STAYC, maybe with a little mix of fromis_9′s Seoyeon. There’s a delicate husk there, and it’s a little lower than the others, but it’s extremely recognizable and unique. That is her biggest asset as a singer and rapper. She’s not had enough time to truly make drastic improvements to either skill given her short stint as a trainee, but she’s working really hard to get better and doesn’t want to be seen as just a pretty face forever. 02. Dance-wise, she’s actually pretty strong—just nowhere near as trained as Chroma’s dance line. Due to her extensive background in figure skating ( and a little bit of ballet ), she’s got a really natural gracefulness to all of her moves; a fluidity that allows for strong body rolls, etc. Additionally, she focuses on clarity and sharpness, angles, as that’s what she’s most familiar with. Michelle also has great control of her hip-area and often adds variations to moves using her hips. If I were to select a reference, I’d say Oh My Girl’s Arin and TWICE’s Mina. Some of her faults are that her movements are often too light and soft, so whenever power is needed, she lacks strength there. She also has a tendency of making choreography look a little “sensual” without necessarily intending to. 03. Loooves when people call her Mish or Chelle/Shell. Honestly, she adores nicknames—both giving and receiving them. She’s also a heavy user of pet names in conversation, but tries her best to stop if people are uncomfortable with it. 04. Michelle’s typically not afraid of making her affections known, even early on. She’s the type that’ll definitely hit on you if she thinks you’re handsome / attractive, and goes with the flow if the person responds positively. If she gets really cozy with you, she can come off as clingy in the beginning, but that typically subsides with time. That’s applicable to both her friendships and her romantic relationships. 05. Her public image is similar to that of Alice in Wonderland and Snow White—beauties with fair skin and wide eyes; imaginative and curious; trapped in purity and sweetness; soft, feminine, and delicate—but with a slight “edge” because of her rapping and quick wit. It’s hard for her to keep up with it all the time—especially when she’s a bit different personally—and she’s barely starting in her career. She hopes it evolves over time. 06. She’s decided to go by her Korean name as an idol because it made the most sense, to be honest. Though, a few other stage names tossed around were: Chelle, Wooah, Hayan, Rozy, and Baekseol. In the end, she’s happy she’s just Rorin or Michelle to everyone.

𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙-𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖘.

This section will be updated when her plots page is complete. Please look forward to it !! I’m getting it done as fast as I can. In the meantime, I’m happy to brainstorm and look over your muses’ plots pages too !! ♡

#〈 INTRODUCTION. 〉#〈 YOUR ONE & ONLY. 〉

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nerdneeniya · 4 years

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I know that there is no established time frame beyond the large range of 50-50,000 years that Chell was in cryosleep, but what if it was only for 15 years.

Aperature is somewhere in the US, and by this point the United States is already a big red X on the map. I can only assume its ravished and desolate and if any humans still exist there, they are few and far between. So Chell comes out into a world where she is essentially all alone.

There wouldn't be much around to help piece together what happened, maybe a couple quickly scribbled notes left on kitchen counters saying sorry we can't wait for you to come home we have to leave now, or blocky graffiti on alley walls screaming of the end times, or faint chalk markings pointing to escape routes and hidden safe houses. It is undeniable though that an alien invasion occurred, and Chell really doesn't want to unpack all that after what she's been through in Aperature, but her life is already pretty weird, so this might as well happen.

Since its been 15 years zombies aren't a huge issue. There are a couple here and there, but with all the humans gone, they are in short supply. Headcrabs can still be found in the rubble of broken cities and suburban homes, scurrying around trying to scrounge up even the tiniest morsel. In a world where they're not equipped to prey on most of the local fauna, they quickly become prey themselves.

Houndeyes and barnacles are more prevalent, having an easier time of integrating themselves into the local environment, but they're not the only creatures Chell encounters in the empty cities. Like all those quarantine memes say, nature has healed (somewhat). The cities aren't bustling with wildlife, but Chell isn't as alone as she would initially think, so she always ends up moving around so as not to make herself too easy a target. Plus she kind of wants to find more people.

Chell travels south, heading for Mexico. Or what's left of it. Graffiti on the sides of telephone booths and gas station bathrooms tell her it's safe down there, that there are cities still full of living people. She doesn't know how old the messages are, but it's her only lead.

Chell only considers going back to Aperature Science once after months of traveling alone. At least the facility had some other sentient being she could sort of talk to. She scraps that idea pretty quickly though, realizing even if she did go back, she still wouldn't give Glados the satisfaction of responding to her. And the AI would most definitely try to kill her.

Eventually she thinks she passes into Mexico, if the street signs are anything to go by. The graffiti and wall messages are different here. The further south she heads, the more they urge her to turn back, the US is the only free place left. She doesn't turn back though, she knows what's back there and she'd rather brave what's ahead than face the loneliness behind.

It's not until she meets her first group of humans that she finally understands what that message meant. She supposes that that graffiti held some truth, if it considered desolate hellscapes devoid of humanity freedom. But after months of being alone and traversing through empty expanses, Chell is ready for a little caged living. Though she quickly comes to despise that too, never one for being confined.

A couple years pass and Chell acclimates to this new world she's found herself in. She learns about the Combine and the downfall of humanity. She also learns that it's all Black Mesa's doing and she's sure if Cave Johnson were alive he'd be laughing his ass off at their monumental failure. Much like her time as a test subject, Chell is defiant of the authority figures and does everything in her power to undermine them. She teams up with local resistance groups and quickly climbs their ranks, earning notoriety on par with Gordon Freeman. However, the Combine are not low on power and lacking in resources like Glados was and in a raid gone wrong Chell is captured and sent on a transport vehicle straight for Nova Prospekt a couple months prior to when Gordon is scheduled for the same.

In what must surely be a planned encounter, Chell is stopped by Barney for a closer inspection when she reaches City 17. Chell thinks the worst is about to happen and promptly kicks his ass and makes her escape. Barney, for his part, knows his way better around the city and is able to corner Chell again and removes his helmet and explains himself. She asks him why he stopped her specifically and he, much to her suprise, responds with ASL too and tells her there was something about her orange jumpsuit (which for some reason she's kept all these years) that brought up some memories of an old friend and he felt like he had to stop her from getting any closer to Nova. She's predictably suspicious but Barney assures her that if he were lying she could just beat him up again, he really doesn't stand a chance.

Barney brings her to Kleiner's lab and without introducing himself or learning Chell's name he is immediately drawn to her portal gun. It may not be the kind of teleportation he and the other scientists are trying to build, but it sure as hell would help with moving people and supplies. Chell is hesitant to part with the gun, it's been her main defense for years now, but when Alyx shows up, equally eager to take a look at the gun she relents.

Alyx and Chell are quick friends and Alyx learns pretty quick who Chell is, her reputation preceding her. When they make it to Black Mesa East, other resistance members joke that Chell must be the second coming of Gordon, they even wear the same colors. Chell once again gains status as a resistance leader and greatly helps with the underground railroad now that the portal gun has been enhanced to work on other surfaces besides moon paint.

When Gordon finally arrives in Black Mesa East, he meets Chell and is pleasantly suprised that she is also mute. They are quick to bond over their supposed savior of humanity status and weird time displacement. Chell fills Gordon in on everything that's happened and he's not left wondering what the hell is happening for the next week because no one else will tell him what the hell is going on at any given moment.

I could keep going with this idea, but this post is already hella long, so I'll stop here.

#half life #portal #gordon freeman #chell #someone talk to me about this cross over #long post

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vampiremonday · 4 years

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Prompt number: #1 - “no, come back!”

Fandom: Portal

Rating: T

Warnings/Tags: References to canon-typical death, futility, and horror.

On AO3.

For @fictober-event.

Falling

Chell wanders through tall, golden grass for such a long time before she sees anything at all. The fresh air almost stings her lungs, but it is the sweetest smell she can remember. The fresh, unfiltered air feels different, and she doesn’t know if it helps or hinders her progress lugging the companion cube along with one arm and then the other.

It is heavy, and she had almost left it behind. Then something pinged in the back of her mind, soft and strange like the scrawled warnings that she had sometimes seen on the walls back in the facility.

Weighted Storage Cube.

She does not know if its weight is the cube itself or if there is something inside. She also doesn’t know how to open it. The only thing that makes her decide to start her journey with it, its path mashing down the golden grass in a very clear trail that almost matches hers, is that she cannot imagine that GLaDOS would have sent it with her if it were meaningless.

Chell still feels a tight, wrenching sensation in her gut when she realizes that she is outside rather than dead. She had seen the four laser-sights pointed at her out of the turrets’ tall, narrow bodies, and she had exhaled – with understanding, if not acceptance – but then something <i>strange</i> had happened.

It is still happening.

Small flashes of what Chell thinks are memories come as she walks along. Sunlight through a window pane. The soft jolt of a car rolling over a fault in the pavement. People.

She wonders where the people are.

Evening approaches, and it is dusk before she ever reaches a change of scenery. The golden grass gives way to shorter grass, and not far beyond there is a stream. Along the edge of the stream, trees grow and rocks sit there, undisturbed and silent.

Water.

It occurs to Chell that she has not needed to see to eating or drinking on her own for years. Her brow furrows as she grunts and tugs and trudges onward. Finally, on some of the shorter grass, she leaves the Companion Cube behind. Her shoulders sag with relief, and she notes that she can smell the water, too.

She doesn’t know why she thinks that is strange, but her mouth tries to feebly fill itself with saliva.

She approaches the stream and finds a place to fall to her knees. Without much apprehension, she cups her hands and brings some of the water to her face. She slurps from it, eagerly, and does it again and again and again. Finally, her breathing steadies, and she pauses for a moment.

She peers at her reflection. There is a cut through her eyebrow again. She has two eyebrows, which – again – occurs to her as odd, but she doesn’t care enough to linger on the thought. There are other nicks and cuts and deep bruises all over her body. She hasn’t had time to care for them or to care about them at all.

She cups her hands and draws more water up to her face, only she closes her eyes and splashes it across it. She feels water droplets slipping down the side of her neck and into her shirt. They are cooler than sweat.

Methodically, she washes her exposed skin, but before long she catches herself laughing once at the sensation of her clothes becoming sodden with anything but sweat and blood.

The sound of her own voice startles her.

She has been alone for such a long time. Then, she had decided to stop speaking to them, since it did no good at all. Now, there is nothing to stop her voice or hold her tongue. She reaches up and rubs at her sore larynx. Part of her had feared that something they had done to her might have taken it away, after all.

She clears her throat after a moment but otherwise makes no sound.

It is approaching dark by the time she drags the Cube to the trunk of a tree. She sits down with her back to the trunk of a different, neighboring tree and peers at the Cube, thoughtfully. She sees no immediate clue as to its latching mechanism.

With a grim compression of her lips, Chell wonders if sending the Cube might have been GLaDOS’s idea of a cruel joke, after all.

A bitter sort of calculation begins to run in Chell’s brain. It starts to suggest all the reasons the Cube might be so heavy.

Useful supplies. Food, water, medicine, shower curtains.

None of those seem likely, after all.

Chemical storage.

She has already seen how the facility’s blood runs through it, though.

Toxic failure deterrent.

She can hope not, barely.

A body.

She does not know where that thought comes from, but it makes her crinkle her nose with actual distaste. She sniffs at the clean air and does not notice anything she would consider a sign of decay. If the Cube contains a dead body, though, it would likely either be reduced to a skeleton by now or otherwise so well-preserved that decay could not have reached it. Either way, she suddenly feels less enthusiastic about the idea of opening it.

The more sentimental reason GLaDOS could have sent the Cube along occurs to her – morbidly – shortly after the idea that the Cube’s contents may have once been a person files itself away as another grisly thing to be prepared for.

Maybe GLaDOS had sent the Cube with her to be her friend.

She recalls the exercise as if it had been only days ago, though she knows better.

One corner of her mouth tugs higher than the other in a faint, satisfied smirk.

It is a pointless victory, especially now, but she stares at the emblem at the Cube’s center which makes it unique. The Cube’s battered body would be something to be pitied, if it could feel a thing at all. She has never, for a moment, been convinced that it can. If it does, it has suffered in silence, which is something they have in common.

Tilting her head at it, she cranes to one side and then the other, searching for some difference that would be a place to press or pry.

Finding none, she slides across to sit upon her knees in front of it. Before she tries to sleep, she will give it one more close examination. In daylight, maybe she can wash off the soot and grime and have better luck.

It is cool to the touch but not cold. There is nothing about it that feels alive.

It isn’t like them – the Aperture scientists nor the machines they had left in their wake.

After a while, Chell gives up and returns to her own tree.

She shrugs the tattered sleeves of the jumpsuit back up onto her arms, hugging herself and trying to find a comfortable way to lean her head back against the tree bark.

Another strange shudder runs through her when she rests her gaze on the Cube because it is the most familiar thing to look at while she tries to let her guard down enough to fall asleep. She tastes something bitter in her mouth and draws enough saliva to swallow.

She is alone here.

She is free.

And the Companion Cube is not any companion at all.

She lets her gaze drift upward, and through the branches of the trees, she sees the cold light of the stars above her. Her eyes are drawn toward the moon, which is still almost as bright and clear as it had been when she had seen it – big, beautiful, and the only, mad hope she had – through the roof.

He’s still there.

It is an unwelcome thought. As soon as she has it, Chell sits upright and looks down at the ground. She places one hand against it, trying to stop feeling dizzy. She shakes her head.

The reaction only seems to make it worse.

Her arms are so cold, and she can feel herself falling up into space.

There is a sudden rush of harsh warmth, more her own blood rushing to the bruising force than the clamp, but the clamp is warmer than the lack of air around the moon.

“Grab me, grab me, grab me!” he begs.

She searches for some hardness within her, for the thought that she would not have done what he pleaded for her to do had she had the chance.

She can’t find it.

His voice had sounded so human, and all she can think about is falling.

She wishes he were here. She wishes she could find her voice and scream at him.

She wishes he weren’t just gone. It isn’t fair, even in the spirit of vengeance, and she wishes she weren’t alone.

#fictober20 #portal #chelley #chell #chell x wheatley #can be read as shippy or not #mine

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creativeskullcreations · 3 years

Text

Outside chapter 16: Therapy Sessions

And thus, we return to Outside! Starting with this brief interlude like chapter from someone completely new!

Update schedule is gonna be once every two weeks on Monday, just like before. As for Happy Times, that's gonna be on the back burner for a while so I can get this done, but I'll try and pop out another episode at some point.

So enjoy for now, and see ya;ll again later! :D

The puppet laid on the couch, flopped over like a discarded toy, eyes staring unblinking into space. If she didn't already know better, Trina would have assumed it was something one of her patients had left behind .

It, or rather she, wasn't a forgotten toy, however. She was her new patient, and, according to what another patient, Stacy, had told her, she had trust issues. But, she could work with that. And by that, she meant do paperwork until Scout was ready to talk.

Unfortunately, it seemed like that was taking a while. Before she knew it the whole hour had passed and the alarm had gone off. When Trina looked up from turning it off, the Puppet was gone, and the door was open. Ah well. She supposed she should prepare for her next patient, then.

------

Once again, Scout was laying on the couch. A different position this time, and staring in a different direction. Trina resigned herself to more paperwork again, like the last few visits. Though she felt like they were making some progress. Sometimes she looked up and Scout was in a different position, or she was in the middle of blinking.

In her mind, that was a good thing. It meant the Puppet was starting to get comfortable with her. Maybe soon, she'd actually start talking.

------

"Did you know Hosts can bleed without getting hurt?"

The question startled Trina, and she fumbled the pen onto her crossword book. "Excuse me?!"

"Yeah they do it naturally into the toilet! And into these weird giant soft band-aids that Stacy didn't want me to mess with." Scout reached down her shirt and pulled out a bright orange square. "Jokes on her, I took one anyways."

"Ah." It made sense, actually, that Scout would have no knowledge of the menstrual cycle. "And... did Stacy explain what they were for?"

"Nope! She just yelled a lot, and turned really red." She pulled the tape holding the wrapper closed off, then stuck it to the couch. "I asked Will why she wouldn't tell me, and he said it's because Stacy's a prude. And then she yelled at him."

"Did Will explain it to you?"

"No. Because he's also a prude. Stacy said so." There was a loud tearing sound as she slowly pulled the backing off of the pad, and Trina realized why Stacy had kicked her out of the bathroom. She also made a note to never let Scout into her bathroom.

And so, Trina spent the remaining forty-five minutes giving a sex-ed lesson to a living hand puppet. Not the weirdest session she'd ever had, of course, but it was certainly up there.

She just wished Scout hadn't stuck the pad to her keyboard.

------

The next few sessions were spent answering whatever questions Scout had that for whatever reason, she couldn't ask Stacy. Whether it was about biology("But why is it brown?"), a question about porn("I just don't see the appeal of watching Hosts fucking."), or about movies("He was the best character! Why the fuck would they kill the best character!"). Most of the time, Trina would google it with her. But sometimes she would ask why she couldn't ask Stacy. Usually she'd get one of what felt like stock answers, but occasionally she'd go really quiet and only say:

"I just wanted to know what you thought about it. That's all."

And Trina would, outwardly, accept that. But she always made note of which questions were related to that answer to try and understand her better. She also started on a timeline, to try and get the two into a session together. It probably wouldn't happen soon, she wanted to try and get Scout talking about herself first. But once she'd made some progress there, they could try a joint session.

------

It took another several weeks before Scout told her anything about herself. Although it wasn't what she expected.

"And then he gave me ice cream! And I ate it, because it was solid and delicious! But it fucking melts! And it's fucking gross!" She was raging, but in a way that almost made her look adorable. Not that Trina would tell her so, of course.

"And, why is it so bad that it melts?"

"Because it soaks in! Duh!" She looked thoroughly annoyed, and Trina felt a little bad for asking.

"What happened next?" She asked instead.

"Stacy and Will yelled at each other a lot, and then Stacy went to sleep on the couch. And then the next morning they locked themselves in the bedroom and wouldn't let me in while they made weird noises."

"Ah." Stacy had told her about that. It wasn't always the healthiest thing she could do, but Stacy genuinely thought it helped so Trina wasn't able to do much to dissuade her. "Did they come out at some point during the day?"

"Yeah, eventually! But it was boring as hell until then." A pause. "They banned me from Netflix, too, cause Stacy said what I was watching was a bad influence on me."

"Well that's too bad." She kept her tone sympathetic. "What else do you do during the day?"

"Watch TV."

"Besides that."

"Oh." Scout sat up, thinking. "Nothing- Well, I do hang out with Stacy a lot."

"Hmmm." Trina wrote that down in her notes. "Have you tried to find something other than TV? A hobby of some sort, or even a game to play?"

"I do play this game called Kirby sometimes." She admitted. "It's... kinda fun."

"Have you beaten it yet?"

"I mean... no..." She looked away, playing with the edge of her shirt.

"Maybe you should try and do that. Could be more fun than just watching Netflix all day." She kept her voice upbeat, and tried to figure out something else the Puppet could do besides TV.

"Maybe..." She looked around the room, eyes never stopping on one spot for too long. Trina waited patiently, pen tapping lightly against her notebook. "... Something happened last night. Something... kinda bad."

"Oh?"

Scout nodded. "Sometimes, when Stacy wakes up and doesn't know where I am, she'll... take over my body. Not to do bad stuff though!" She was quick to assure when she Trina's face. "It's just to, y'know, see where I am. She gets worried when she can't find me."

Stacy had mentioned that. Apparently she now brought Scout everywhere with her, including to her programming job. "What made last night so different then."

"Well, normally I just sort of... float? I guess? When she does that. But, last night, I... woke up in her body."

Trina blinked. "Well, I suppose it makes sense that would happen-"

"No it fucking doesn't!" Scout shouted, cutting her off. "It's a bad thing! Very fucking bad!"

"Well, why do you say that?"

"Because it means that our fucked up link is evolving!" Scout told her in a 'duh' tone of voice. "Who knows how it could change from here!"

"Is it possible that you've always been able to do that, but just never did before now?" Trina asked.

That gave her pause, and seemed to calm her down a bit. "... I don't know. Maybe." She shrugged. "I... never really wanted to try before..."

Trina nodded, adding another note to her paper. "What happened next after you... woke up in Stacy's body."

"Well, we both flipped our shit, which woke Will up and then he flipped his shit. And then he and Stacy yelled for a while before he left and we managed to, uh, swap back." Scout scratched the side of her head, thinking. "And then Will came back with something, and he and Stacy fought some more."

"What did they fight about?"

"The thing Will brought back. It's some sort of a toy, like a psychic test." She scowled. "He made us sit there and do it, right then."

"The Waygetter one?" At Scout's confused look, she waved the question away. "Never mind. What were the results?"

------

"100 percent psychically linked." Stacy said, arms folded and stoic look on her face. "Not that I didn't already suspect, but I'd prefer a real test to a Waygetter "toy"."

"Of course you would, considering your past." Trina said, jotting down notes. "Did anything happen after that?"

The young woman shrugged. "Not a lot, mostly just went back to bed. I thought about banishing Will to the couch for his betrayal, but decided against it."

"Good." She nodded. "Banishing him over something so small, and when he was just trying to help, could lead to resentment building up later on."

"Yeah yeah." She kept her arms crossed, eyes trained on the floor. "Scout was pretty upset about it, though. But she's upset about a lot of stuff cause she feels guilty."

"Really now?" Trina jotted that down. "How do you know about that?"

"Psychic link." Stacy raised a single eyebrow. "Duh."

Trina sighed. "Has anything else happened lately? Made any friends at your job?"

"Not really." She shrugged. "This one woman, Chell, talks to me sometimes. She knows sign language, which is kinda cool I guess. But, I wouldn't say we're friends."

"Maybe you should focus on making friends with her. It seems like you two already have something in common already."

"Mm." Stacy looked away, tapping the fingers of her prosthetic against her flesh arm. It was pretty scary to look at, but it didn't stop her from wearing a spaghetti strap, leaving the limb on full display. Trina had also taken note of that, attributing it more to the woman's anti-social behavior than confidence or a strong body image.

"You can't rely on Will's friends forever, Stacy." She told her. "You need a life outside of him. It's not healthy to center everything around him."

"Easy not to lose everything if you don't have anything." She retorted. "I have Will, and I have Scout. They're all I need for now."

"What about your brother?" She looked away. "Or your father? Have you talked to either of them recently?" Silence was the answer, and Trina only sighed, used to it by now. "Your homework this week is to call your family for once. You need to repair your connections to them."

"I need to convince Scout to drop her guilt."

"That's my job." Trina gave a small smile that went ignored. "I'm serious about talking to your family though. Especially if you plan on getting into more... situations like this one. How would Danny feel if you died, and nobody would tell him anything about it?"

Stacy shrugged, and Trina sighed again. "Call your father. Text your brother. Make a new friend. Do one of these three things before our next appointment, okay?" She ordered as the timer dinged, signalling the end.

"Fine." The woman ground out, standing up and straightening her top. She accepted the offered prescription, then left the room. She stopped just briefly to grab her bag from Molly, the receptionist, and then went out to her truck. Scout popped out of the bag as she exited the building, and Trina sighed as she watched them.

They truly were an odd pair, and Trina hoped things worked out for them. She certainly couldn't imagine it could get any worse, anyways.

#hello puppets #outside #fancition #stacy stein #scout #dr trina lanford

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multiverse-in-archive · 4 years

Text

GLaDOS and What She can Potentially Tell Us About Chell’s Character

((So decided to make an analysis, finally, after reading way too much into GLaDOS’s voicelines.

When it comes to blank slate videogame protagonist characters, admittedly I’m the type to analyze them based off of what you can and can’t do in the games they’re in without a consequence of some sort [like death or contradicting one of the few previously established character traits] as well as how the other characters react and interact with them. It’s really all I get to go off of.

Now, I know GLaDOS is not the most reliable resource to analyze Chell off of, considering not only her bitterness and bias, but also that not all of her observations of Chell are accurate. After all, Chell is not mute, just refuses to speak out of spite.

However, she’s the only character we have that has the most insight into Chell as a person, and with things that she’s either exaggerating or straight up lying about, we can distinguish that by what can be observed of her in the gameplay. Plus, with some of them, I doubt she’d bring them up if there was no reason for her to believe bringing them up wouldn’t hold some truth or exploit some sort of insecurity. She’s the calculating type that aims for weak points she sees rather than just throwing shit out and hoping she gets lucky, you know?

“But didn’t she write the files? Or lie about what was in them?”

She may have edited and/or exaggerated them, but I think at least some of the things were already there before she got her hands on them. After all, there’s this. Which would imply that the scientists themselves would have made those comments in the files.

And considering how uncooperative Chell was with her application process [refusingto even speak to HR, answering essay questions with nonsense in bianary] then they’d probably thought rather bitterly of her, and it would reflect in the file.

[Side note, don’t really agree with the Half Life Wiki suggesting that Chell signed up for this {at least, willingly} when everything in the Lab Rat comic pointed to the opposite being the case.]

Now with all that out of the way, let’s finally have a look at some of GLaDOS’s comments about Chell and how they reflect her based off of what we the players see of her in game or what we can infer her reactions are to them by how GLaDOS approaches them.

The Fat Jokes

"Congratulations. Not on the test."

"Most people emerge from suspension terribly undernourished. I want to congratulate you on beating the odds and somehow managing to pack on a few pounds." - Portal 2, SIngle Player Campaign, Chapter 2, Test Chamber 3

"Hmm. This Plate must not be calibrated to someone of your... generous... ness. I'll add a few zeros to the maximum weight."

"You seem to have defeated its load-bearing capacity. Well done. I'll just lower the ceiling."

"Look at you. Sailing through the air majestically. Like an eagle. Piloting a blimp." -Portal 2, Single Player Campaign, Chapter 3, Test Chamber 9

“What, but Chell’s not fat-”

Yeah, I know, this is just more about what Chell’s potential response to it is.

And telling by how this tends to be one of GLaDOS’s go to's, it does seem like it’s something that at least annoys her.

Then again, though, it could also be just GLaDOS trying to poke at the most common insecurity among women. And I think GLaDOS even admitted to that being the reason she goes to it so often here and here. So it’s really up to interpretation.

Though personally, I think it’s something that annoys Chell but at the same time it doesn’t really get to her, if it makes sense? Just a nuisance at worst.

Comments on Chell’s Parentage [or Lack Thereof]

"It also says you were adopted. So that's funny, too." -Portal, Boss Battle, After Curiosity Core is destroyed

"Don't let that 'horrible person' thing discourage you. It's just a data point. If it makes you feel any better, science has now validated your birth mother's decision to abandon you on a doorstep." -Portal 2, Single Player Campaign, Chapter 2, Test Chamber 3

"I'm going through the list of test subjects in cryogenic storage. I managed to find two with your last name. A man and a woman. So that's interesting. It's a small world." - Portal 2, Single Player Campaign, Chapter 3, Test Chamber 15

"I have a surprise waiting for you after this next test. Telling you would spoil the surprise, so I'll just give you a hint: It involves meeting two people you haven't seen in a long time." -Portal 2, Single Player Campaign, Chapter 3, Test Chamber 16

"I'll bet you think I forgot about your surprise. I didn't. In fact, we're headed to your surprise right now. After all these years. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it." -Portal 2, Single Player Campaign, Chapter 3, Test Chamber 17

Surprisingly the orphan/adopted jokes are actually fewer than I remember. With how Wheatley tried to imitate GLaDOS by throwing around “fatty” and making a comment about Chell being adopted that one time, I kinda thought that it was almost as common as the fat jokes.

Though, to be fair, the adoption comment goes back as far as the end of Portal, and GLaDOS actually did a whole bit where she pretended that she found Chell’s parents. So it left more of an impression on me than the fat comments actually did.

As for whether or not it’s true? It’s most likely. After all, the adoption/orphan comments are protocol for specifically dealing with orphan test subjects. Also in general Aperture seems to have it out for orphans in that test subject type listing thing. [credit to the-wheatley-core go check them out cowards-]

"But Chell’s a daughter from bring your daughter to work d-"

The file said she’s adopted, so ye. Adopted daughter is still daughter.

Furthermore, the Bring your Daughter to Work Day incident probably orphaned Chell all over again, so she’s like. An orphan twice over.

As for Chell’s feelings on this? I think from what GLaDOS says here that Chell probably did not take the surprise very well. Granted, she probably wasn’t expecting it to actually be anything good. She probably didn’t have her hopes up. But she was probably seriously pissed that GLaDOS went through all that trouble just for it to lead to... nothing. All for the sake of mocking her.

Further implied by GLaDOS rubbing salt in the wounds.

I think this would mean that this is a bit of a sore spot for Chell in general and that this was one of the few moments that genuinely upset her.

Calling Chell a Horrible Person [and a Loner]

"You're not a good person. You know that, right?"

"Good people don't end up here." -Portal, during the later part of the Escape

"All your other friends couldn't come either because you don't have any other friends. Because of how unlikable you are."

"It says so right here in your personnel file: Unlikable. Liked by no one. A bitter, unlikable loner whose passing shall not be mourned." -Portal, Boss Battle, After Curiosity Core is destroyed

"Well done. Here come the test results: You are a horrible person. I'm serious, that's what it says: A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that." -Portal 2, Single Player Campaign, Chapter 2, Test Chamber 2

GLaDOS really goes into calling Chell a bad person. There’s like. So many instances of this.

Though I don’t believe that Chell’s a bad person necessarily, there can be some things that might make one believe she is [outside of bias and clear guilt tripping/gaslighting].

If you’ve read my Chell headcanon shit, you might remember that I state that I think that Chell’s a rather spiteful person. Not only does she stubbornly refuse to speak purely to spite Aperture as a whole, but it’s implied from her file that she gave the scientists a lot of grief, to the point they recommend not ever testing her [it’s stated to be her tenacity, but tbh I think for Chell spite was at least a major motivatorfor her tenacity. After all, what else did she have?]. And once again, it seems that they view her rather bitterly if GLaDOS didn’t put that in the file herself.

Not to mention that GLaDOS manipulates her into destroying the Morality Core by appealing to her spite. After all, it’s not possible in game to simply do as she says and return it to her. You have to destroy it.

Even Wheatley caught onto Chell acting out of spite. He tried appealing to that when trying to convince her to get onto the conveyer belt to the mashy spike plate.

As for the loner bit, that seems to hold true to, considering how well Chell took the isolation she had to suffer. As far as she knew in the first game [at least at first], she was all alone and didn't so much as crack.

Not to mention in the second games the other characters' reactions imply that she's rather standoffish overall.

That combination can lead to someone being rather... difficult to work with...

But to be honest, I think she’s also capable of compassion, or at least mercy, and can be cooperative if she finds you trustworthy enough.

For the compassion [or mercy depending on how you view it] I have some examples that I’ll elaborate on in the Companion Cube and Wheatley sections, but there’s a couple of others I can get into.

Remember when I said I partially judge a blankslate character based off of what is and isn’t an option gameplaywise that doesn’t result in consequence.

Not only is it optional to save the Oracle Turret without consequence, but it even rewards you with an achievement and some neat foreshadowing from the character.

Then there is the time that Chell found GLaDOS at her lowest; a potato, being eaten alive by a bird.

Now, gameplaywise, you can’t advance without PotaTOS, hell, PotaTOS sits on the switch in the nest you find her in, but story and characterwise, Chell could have just went on her way, let her suffer the her fate at the hands [or talons/beak] of the bird. And yet she scared the bird off of her.

And it’s not like she knew that the place was going to self destruct or that she needed GLaDOS to survive, because that wasn’t brought up until after Chell scared the bird away.

As for the cooperativeness, I want to elaborate more on that when I get to Wheatley’s section, but I will say, she did work pretty well with GLaDOS in the later half of the game, despite how shakey their alliance was. Even risking her life to disconnect Wheatley from the chasis long enough for GLaDOS to fix everything. Just going off of the slim chance that she could survive it with GLaDOS’s intervention. It was no guarantee, she probably would have thought she was dead either way if she didn’t have at least a sliver of a thought that GLaDOS would pull her back in to safety.

Now imagine how well she'd probably work with you if she genuinely believed in her partnership with you.

It may have gotten a bit off track there, but my point is that GLaDOS is not completely unfounded with her being “unlikable”. It’s clear that she holds a lot of resentment for her situation and reacts spitefully because of it, and that combined with her being a rather distant person can make it hard to deal with her [and in fact might be a deal breaker for some], but at the same time, she’s not completely unreasonable and bitchy just so long as you’re either harmless or have good intentions.

Chell’s Sense of Fashion

"That jumpsuit you're wearing looks stupid. That's not me talking, it's right here in your file. On other people it looks fine, but right here a scientist has noted that on you it looks 'stupid.'"

"Well, what does a neck-bearded old engineer know about fashion? He probably - Oh, wait. It's a she. Still, what does she know? Oh wait, it says she has a medical degree. In fashion! From France!" -Portal 2, SIngle Player Campaign, Chapter 3, Test Chamber 15

Now, this is probably the shortest one because this is the only instance [that I know of] where GLaDOS pokes fun at her sense of fashion. And since it never comes up again, this is probably something that she sensed did not bother Chell one bit.

Though telling by how Chell had the upper half of her jumpsuit folded down and tied around her waist to expose her tops, it does seem like she cares about fashion a tad [probably favors both fashion and function], but doesn’t seem to care what other people think of her tastes, just what she likes.

The Companion Cube

"While it has been a faithful companion, your Companion Cube cannot accompany you through the rest of the test. If it could talk - and the Enrichment Center takes this opportunity to remind you that it cannot - it would tell you to go on without it because it would rather die in a fire than become a burden to you."

"You euthanized your faithful Companion Cube more quickly than any test subject on record. Congratulations." Portal, Test Chamber 17

"Oh. Did I accidentally fizzle that before you could complete the test? I'm sorry."

"Anyway, here's a new cube for you to project your deranged loneliness onto."

"I think that one was about to say 'I love you.' They ARE sentient, of course. We just have a LOT of them." Portal 2, SIngle Player Campaign, Chapter 2, Test Chamber 7

Ah the faithful Companion Cube, everyone’s best friend. And an instance where GLaDOS tries to emotionally torment Chell while still trying to pass herself off as a automated voice back in the first game.

Is the cube truly sentient? I don’t know.

Does Chell care about it? I don’t think GLaDOS would have brought them back in the second game and taunt her with them if she didn’t believe it would cause Chell some distress.

She even gives it back to her after setting her free.

Whether or not it can talk or feel anything, I think it’s clear that Chell is rather fond of it.

Side note, I swear to god throughout Test Chamber 17 in the first game I heard like. Soft, faint humming whenever I held it. Am I just crazy? Did any of you guys experience that too? help-

Wheatley

"I have only met one other team closer and one of them was an imbecile I had to destroy."

"The other? Well..."

"I don't think I want to go through that again." -Portal 2, Co-op Campaign, Unlocking Course 4 for the first time

I don’t know about you, but I’m fairly certain the team she’s talking about is Chell and Wheatley. There is literally no other pair that would fit that description that we know of. Sure, she didn’t destroy Wheatley [literally, anyways], but he is her definition of an imbicel that she had to deal with. And Chell has not worked with anyone else before Wheatley [Not directly anyways], and it’s pretty obvious that “the other” is who GLaDOS was referring to.

And while she didn’t get to see all they did together, she witnessed Chell put enough of her trust in him to follow him to escape, even despite her best efforts, and she bared witness to the fruit of their labor later.

I think she sensed a sort of chemistry between them, noticed how well they worked together. She even felt the need to ask permission to kill him. She probably wouldn’t have if she didn’t have reason to believe that Chell was at least at one point close to him.

So that begs the question; does she really believe Chell actually did all the work?

I don’t think so.

Again, she witnessed Chell faithfully follow Wheatley, so it’s reasonable to assume that she was following his lead. Not to mention that this is not a type of strategy that Chell has attempted on her own before. Chell’s strategy in the first game was to simply to bide her time, portal in and out when the opportunity arises, destroy shit, and just wander until she got results, basically [she was kinda following Rattmann's directions, though]. This strategy was too subtle, too quiet, to be Chell’s. She even said so herself; "And now I'monto all of your little tricks." And she'd recognized that this is not how she do.

Not to mention that they all know that Wheatley knows Aperture and all its inner workings better than Chell, so even if she wanted to sabotage anything, she wouldn’t know what and where they were.

I believe she saw an opertunity to split them apart in the form of Wheatley’s betrayal. More specifically to turn Chell against him. After all, she was very quiet until he lowered the lift back down.

Of course that backfired into her turning Wheatley against Chell and Wheatley promptly turning her into a potato. Opps-

“But if they were as close as GLaDOS believed them to be, why didn’t she catch Wheatley? After all, it’s not an option to catch him in game.”

Well remember, Chell has only just met him at this point, so it’s fair that she doesn’t immediately trust him with what she’s been through. Not to mention that the last time that a core was dropped, it was a trap.

Though, I believe after that, she realized he was sincere and steadily warmed up to him. It’s never an option to drop him whenever you pick him up, after all. Now granted, you can’t progress if you could drop him down a pit, but I think characterwise we can assume that she’s just unwilling to do so, regardless of how useful he was to her in those instances.

Furthermore, I think she grew to trust him throughout chapters 3, 4, and 5, as again, she very willingly followed his lead and had faith that he would help bust her out, waiting patiently for him to do so.

Sure, she diverted a bit to flesh out his plan some [although if you wait long enough at the turret assembly line, he does tell you what to do, so this could be another instance of her following his lead without question, though I like to think because of her problem solving skills that she does it herself, but either way!], but it’s still his plan that she’s trusting him with regardless.

Plus, I think Wheatley being as casual with her as he was during chapter 5 is implication that they both felt safe with each other at that point. At least, as safe as you can feel when hiding from a pissed off over powered blood lusting AI while being forced to wander around in the dark with only a flashlight to guide you.

And yet she kept him at arm's length by not speaking to him. I doubt it was anything personal against him though, so much as it's become a long time habit and way of protecting herself at this point. So long as they were both still in Aperture, anything could happen. So to her, keeping an emotional distance from him and not verbally responding was probably the safest bet.

That, however, was what made it so easy for GLaDOS to destroy their partnership. The lack of communication would ultimately lead Wheatley to believe that Chell did not appreciate all his help, that she agreed with her even.

Chell's shutting him out ultimately led to a self fulfilling prophecy.

Welp, this took all fucking day to write, but here we go. Hope this made sense. This is just my interpretation, so take it with a grain of salt. Hope it was a fun read either way, and if I’m mistaken on something, feel free to let me know. ^^

Edit: Fixed some grammar and other mistakes, elaborated on some points, aaaaand gave credit to the little snippit of the low risk human acquisitionthing siiiince I did not get that myself-))

#Outta this World {OOC}#Learn a bit more About Them {Headcanon}#We do What We Must {Aperture Science}#this took foreveeerrrrr-

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noona-clock · 4 years

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Mistletoe Manor - Part 10, Final Chapter

Genre: 1900′s AU/Romance

Pairings: Park Seo Joon, Bang Yongguk, Brian Kang, Jung Daehyung, Jung Jaehyun, Lee Taeyong x OCs

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | Words: 4,408

A/N: Chelle ( @prettywordsyouleft ) and I wanted to create a magical Christmas for everyone and what better way to do that than at Mistletoe Manor! Because of the nature of having several idols, we chose to work with OCs and we hope you love them as much as we do.

Mistletoe Manor will be posted daily at 10am NZST / 4pm EST daily.

“Lydia!” Evie hissed as the maid passed her room, her head sticking out into the hallway in quite the unladylike fashion.

Lydia paused, her head jerking back slightly in surprise, and she turned on her heel to face the middle Hawthorne sister. “Yes, My Lady?” she answered back in a whisper.

Evie simply motioned the maid inside her bedroom, opening the door a bit wider to allow her to come through.

“What is it, Lady Evie?” Lydia asked quietly once both of them were behind a closed door.

“Will you...” Evie began, her brow furrowing nervously. “...Do my hair? For the ball tonight?”

A smile immediately spread across Lydia’s lips, and even though she would be adding in doing Evie’s hair to her list of other things to do tonight, she nodded. “Of course, I will.” Because Lydia was quite sure Evie was only asking her because she wanted to look especially lovely tonight.

For a certain gentleman.

Evie let out a soft sigh of relief and then headed toward her vanity, sitting down in the chair and waiting patiently for Lydia to get situated.

“I’ve got just the idea, Miss,” Lydia grinned as she reached for Evie’s hairbrush. “Trust me. It will look gorgeous.”

“I trust you with my life, Lydia” Evie replied with a sly smirk. “I most certainly trust you with my hair.”

Lydia chuckled gently, shaking her head a little as she began to smooth Evie’s hair back into a chignon.

About twenty minutes later, Lydia placed the final pin into Evie’s coiffure and took a step back.

“Just one more thing, Miss,” she said before opening a drawer in Evie’s vanity and pulling out a pearl-encrusted clip. “This is the perfect finishing touch, and it will go lovely with your green gown.”

Lydia carefully placed the clip just above Evie’s ear, holding her breath and trying to keep as still as possible.

“Oh, Lydia,” Evie breathed as she gazed into her mirror, eyes a bit wide. “It looks beautiful.”

“Lord Yongguk won’t know what hit him,” Lydia said with a soft giggle.

Evie’s cheeks pinkened, of course, but the corners of her mouth lifted into a delighted grin.

“Thank you,” Evie gushed, turning around and reaching for Lydia’s hands, grasping them in-between her own. “I owe you.”

“Of course, you don’t, My Lady,” Lydia chuckled. “I’m happy to help, especially if it means you’re one step closer to finding love.”

Evie’s eyes darted away bashfully, but then she took a breath and forced her gaze back to Lydia. “Well... I would still like to do something for you.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Lydia asked with a confused smirk.

“I... would like you to...” But instead of finishing her sentence, Evie rose from her chair and hurried over to her wardrobe. She opened the door and reached inside, taking out a simple but beautiful blue dress. “I would like you to wear this. I think we’re about the same size, and... something tells me... tonight will be special.”

The look on Evie’s face, though, made it clear she didn’t just think tonight would be special but she knew. As if someone had actually told her.

“My Lady,” Lydia murmured, aghast. She walked over to the wardrobe, reaching out and grasping one side of the dress in-between two fingers. “Oh, I couldn’t. This is much too fine for a maid to wear.”

“You could, and you will,” Evie insisted. “I’ll help you get changed.”

“But --”

“You know how stubborn the Hawthorne sisters can be,” Evie interrupted. “I am not taking ‘No’ for an answer.”

Lydia tried her best to act exasperated with Evie’s insistence, but she was secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly) delighted. It would most certainly be the most beautiful dress she’d ever worn, and she had a strange feeling it would be a special night.

Maybe not for her, but certainly for Evie.

...But also maybe for her, too.

All around the manor, nobility and servants alike were preparing for the Mistletoe Ball. All the decorations and food were ready, the orchestra was warming up in the entryway, and the first guests would be arriving any minute now.

Upstairs, Evie finished buttoning up the back of Lydia’s dress, holding back a squeal at how beautiful she looked.

Daehyun snuck into the bedroom he shared with Cassie, admitting to wanting a peek before the ball began. The couple shared a warm kiss (or five) and whispered loving compliments to each other.

Joey examined herself for the sixtieth time in the full-length mirror in her room, smoothing down the skirts of her gold dress and wishing she could smooth the rapid beat of her heart.

Grace forced out another cough, assuring her aunt that her illness was nothing serious. Just a head cold. All she needed was rest, and she would be fine tomorrow. And she tried not to think about Jaehyun waiting for her out in the garden, hopefully not freezing his fingers off.

Brian slid Yongguk’s jacket onto his shoulder, brushing off any stray hair or piece of lint. He ignored the nervous breath his employer let out because he knew by now Yongguk would rather not talk about whatever anxieties were on his mind. And also he didn’t have time for any sort of pep talk now because he had to go downstairs and get ready himself.

Speaking of downstairs...

Seo Joon furrowed his brow as he tugged at the cuffs of his jacket. It was probably time to replace the only nice suit he owned that wasn’t his uniform, but it was too late to worry about that now. He had plenty of other things on his mind.

Anna let out a squeal before clapping her hand over her mouth, not wanting to draw attention to herself. Taeyong, like Daehyun upstairs, had snuck into her room to see her, and he’d greeted her by tiptoeing silently up behind her and grabbing her suddenly around the waist.

And then the footman standing by the front door opened it, greeting the first guests to arrive and effectively starting the evening.

Even though Yongguk and Evie hadn’t verbally agreed to meet in the library half an hour into the evening, he still knew that’s where he would find her. Over the past few weeks, it had become their special place. They had spent hours together in the library, and... Well, it was where he’d fallen in love with her.

Truthfully, Yongguk had never been in love before in his life. He wasn’t exactly certain what love was supposed to feel like, but... if what he felt for Evie wasn’t love, then he had no earthly idea what would be.

Every spare moment, he found himself thinking of her. Or wishing he was with her. Or coming up with an excuse to find her and spend time with her.

He dreamed of her, both at night and during the day. He imagined his future, and every single time, the only person he imagined sharing it with was her.

When he had approached Daehyun just yesterday and confessed all of this to him, hoping to get some advice, his friend had surprised him by letting out a victorious ‘whoop.’

“More than half the reason I brought you here was because I knew you would like her,” Daehyun had admitted, clapping Yongguk on the back. “I just adore when I end up being right.”

But then Daehyun had given him actually helpful advice and had told him to just... go for it. Tell her how he felt. Put his heart on his sleeve.

Yongguk had never been great about doing that, but he was positive Evie returned his romantic feelings. If she wasn’t quite in love with him yet, maybe she would be in the near future.

But Daehyun was right. He would never know unless he told her.

So, he was going to tell her.

Tonight.

Right now, actually, because -- as he’d suspected -- she was in the library already.

The creak of the door closing alerted Evie to his presence, and she jumped slightly, almost dropping the book in her hands.

“Oh,” she breathed, though a smile came to her lips when she realized who the intruder was. “I was wondering if you’d find me here.”

Yongguk tamped down a smirk as he slowly made his way over to her. “We said we’d be wallflowers together,” he reminded her with raised eyebrows. “We can’t do that if we’re not together.”

“You are absolutely right,” Evie replied, giggling softly.

“And you,” Yongguk said quietly. He was now close enough to truly take in her appearance, and his breath caught in his throat as he attempted to continue speaking. “Are… exquisite.”

Evie’s cheeks pinkened, and her smile turned bashful. “Lydia did my hair. She said this clip --” She lifted one hand to point to the pearl hair clip above her ear. “-- was the perfect finishing touch.”

Since he was now standing directly in front of her, as close as he could get without just taking her in his arms, he lifted his hand to touch the clip. Though, really, he would have taken any excuse to touch her.

“It does look beautiful,” he murmured. “But... you don’t need a perfect finishing touch to make you look beautiful.”

Evie blushed even more, her cheeks now a very deep pink as she tried to hold back a grin. “My Lord, if you keep saying things like that to me, I fear my heart may beat right out of my chest,” she said with a soft chuckle.

Yongguk shifted his gaze from her hair clip to her eyes -- her soft yet sparkling eyes -- and took a deep breath. “Evie... As long as your heart is mine, I don’t care what it does.”

Evie’s grin fell, her eyes widening as she returned his gaze.

“Surely you must know already: my heart is yours. I think it’s been yours since we met, and it...” Yongguk took a nervous breath, hoping he could say this without sounding too forward or too sickly sweet. “It shall be yours for as long as I live.”

Evie’s eyes now filled with tears, and even though Yongguk assumed they were happy tears, he still lifted one hand and gently cradled her cheek. He trailed his thumb delicately underneath her eye, and he found he couldn’t stop his lips from pulling into the tiniest grin.

“Do you really mean that?” Evie replied in a choked whisper.

“I do. I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but I never imagined I could feel this way about someone before, and I --”

But she cut him off with a kiss.

Yongguk hummed in surprise, but it only took him a few seconds to gather his bearings and kiss her back. He slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to his chest and feeling as if the world was turning upside-down because she felt so good against him.

Evie kissed him desperately, her lips obviously inexperienced but also hungry. And when she pulled away, she only did so enough to speak. “I’ve felt the same way,” she whispered, her breath fanning over his lips as she talked. “It’s been so strange because I didn’t understand, but now --”

“I love you,” Yongguk told her, and he tightened his hold on her.

“I love you, too,” Evie replied with the most delighted tone. She sounded happier than any human had any right to be, and Yongguk knew he would never forget this moment for the rest of his life. And then she repeated herself, her smile brighter than any Yongguk had ever seen. “I love you, too.”

Yongguk leaned in to capture her lips in another kiss, and he knew -- deep in his soul, he knew he would never kiss anyone else ever again. And that knowledge made him the most content man to ever walk the Earth.

“I hardly even recognized you,” Joey stated as she arrived on the dance floor with Brian. “You actually don’t look half-bad.”

It took everything in her not to blurt out that he was probably the most handsome man she’d ever seen in her entire life. He was wearing a dark green, well-fitted suit, and he’d slicked his hair back from his forehead. Apparently, that was all it took to make Joey’s heart leap into a frenzy.

“You look...” Brian began, his eyes shifting down to her gold dress. “All right, I guess.”

“What a compliment,” Joey replied as she pursed her lips.

“You’re welcome.”

Brian then slid his arm around her waist, taking her hand in his and pulling her close to him -- maybe a bit too close, but surely no one would notice. And when he began to lead her into a sway in time with the music, her heart began to beat even faster -- maybe a bit too fast, but surely no one would notice.

“So, are you happy now?” Brian asked quietly, just a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Why should I be happy?”

“Because you told me I’d better dance with you at the Mistletoe Ball, and now here I am. Dancing with you at the Mistletoe Ball.”

“Yes, but I also said I would dislike dancing with you, and that’s why you should do it. Because you adore doing things I dislike,” Joey pointed out.

Brian let his smirk take over his lips just a little more, and his gaze was rather intense as he looked down at her. “But do you dislike it?”

The tone of his voice -- the gentle teasing, the subtle flirtation -- was enough to make Joey’s breath catch in her throat. “...What would you do if I didn’t?”

Because she certainly did not dislike being so close to him. She did not dislike the feeling of being in his arms.

“It may surprise you to hear I also adore doing things you don’t dislike.”

“You’re right, this is surprising.”

Brian chuckled softly, and Joey couldn’t keep herself from smiling at the sound of his laugh.

“You know...” Brian murmured, almost whispering. “You -- you’re beautiful when you smile.”

“You flatter me,” Joey replied instinctively, trying to tamp down her grin.

“I’m not in the habit of flattering anyone,” he stated. “Especially not you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“I only mean -- I like to just be honest.”

Joey lifted her eyebrows slightly, and when she heard the orchestra winding down, finishing up the song, she suddenly felt an urge to take action.

“Can I be honest?” she asked quietly.

Brian simply nodded, his gaze somewhat intense and causing palpitations in Joey’s heart.

She opened her mouth to speak... but the music stopped, and all the couples around them ceased their dancing to applaud politely. So, Joey took Brian’s hand and led him to a small room nearby. Her gaze shifted around to make sure no one noticed, and once she had herded him inside, she closed the door.

Since no one had previously occupied the room, there were no lights on. The almost complete darkness settled around them, and it took a few moments of blinking for Joey to be able to see Brian’s outline.

But she could feel him. She felt his presence and the intensity of his gaze. And she felt his hands gently grasping at her arms.

“Honestly,” she whispered, stepping as close to him as she dared. “I never thought I would meet someone who could put up with my personality. Who would challenge me and -- and accept me and --”

She had been about to say ‘love me,’ but she wouldn’t go there. Not just yet.

“You drive me absolutely insane,” she continued. “But in the best way possible. And I think, after all this time of thinking I would never find my match -- I think... I have. In you.”

Brian didn’t say anything for a few moments... several moments... more than several moments, and Joey was about to excuse herself out of embarrassment.

But then she suddenly heard Brian move, and before she knew it, his lips had crashed down on hers, kissing her more intensely than she’d ever imagined.

Her heart leaped up into her throat, her stomach flipped over and then dropped down to her feet, her breath got caught inside her lungs... but despite her body’s physical reaction to the kiss, Joey accepted his lips. She cradled them and pulled at them and moved her hands to the sides of his face and tangled her fingers in his hair and let out a soft moan when she felt his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

And then Brian suddenly pulled away.

Joey whined instinctively, reaching to kiss him again, but Brian spoke before she had the chance.

“I’m just a valet,” he breathed. “And you’re --”

“If you think I care about that, I’m walking out of here this instant,” Joey interrupted before she pulled him down into another kiss.

As his lips melted her insides, as -- eventually -- his tongue slipped into her mouth and explored, the beginnings of an idea unfolded in Joey’s mind.

A certifiably bonkers idea, but...

When Joey could no longer breathe, when her lungs were burning from kissing Brian for so long, she broke away.

“Take me away,” she panted.

“What do you --”

“I want to be with you, but I don’t know if it would even be possible if we stayed here,” she explained. “Do you want to be with me?”

“More than anything,” Brian whispered, tilting his head to press his forehead to hers.

“Then let’s go. Let’s go somewhere no one will judge us or try to keep us apart. Somewhere we can drive each other crazy and no one will know who we are.”

Brian chuckled softly, leaning in and capturing her lips in a quick, tender kiss.

“You want to run away together?” he smirked.

“Yes. I want to run away together.”

She knew it was crazy, but... truthfully, only her head knew it was crazy.

Her heart knew it was right.

Seo Joon had tried so many times to approach Lydia, but every single time he had taken a step toward her, someone else had beat him to it.

He’d never known Lydia was so popular until tonight.

Of course, she was, though. She was...

Well. She was the most amazing person he knew. Kind and gentle and loyal and caring and beautiful and --

And if he didn’t go through with his plan now, he felt like he would burst.

She was currently speaking with one of the housemaids, and Seo Joon felt rude for interrupting... but he had no choice. Not anymore.

“Excuse me,” he murmured when he approached the two ladies. “I... I was wondering if I might ask Lydia to dance?”

The housemaid tamped down a smirk and took a few steps back.

“Of course,” Lydia answered, her cheeks pinkening as she reached up to slide her hand into his.

Seo Joon led her onto the dance floor, pulling her into his embrace and trying not to blurt out what he needed to tell her. She just looked particularly beautiful tonight, and he had been holding his feelings in for so many years...

But another few minutes wouldn’t kill him. Probably.

“You look lovely,” he said as they began to step around the room in time with the music. “Is that a new dress?”

“Oh -- it’s Lady Evie’s,” Lydia explained with a blushing grin. “She lent it to me.”

“It...” Seo Joon gulped down his nerves. “It looks like it was made for you. I’ve never seen that color blue complement a person so well.”

“Seo Joon,” Lydia chuckled, her cheeks getting pinker. “Well, thank you. I appreciate your kind words.”

Seo Joon simply smiled down at her before silently leading her in the dance for a minute or two. His brain was working a mile a minute at the moment, and he knew if he said anything right now, it would all come out in a jumbled mess.

He’d had feelings for Lydia for so long now; if he didn’t sort through all of his thoughts and emotions, he knew he wouldn’t be able to properly convey to her just how...

Just how much he...

Well, now that he was thinking about it, there was really only one thing to say.

“Lydia, there’s something I need to --”

Before he had the chance to finish his sentence, Lady Evie hurried up to Lydia with an expression of stricken panic.

“Lydia,” she hissed. “Lydia, you must come quickly. I cannot find Joey, and Yongguk cannot find Brian, and we think --”

“Oh, dear,” Lydia said with a whimper as she began to turn away from Seo Joon. “I am so sorry, Seo Joon, please excuse --”

“No,” he interrupted, his tone more sharp than he’d intended. “I have to --”

“Will you help us look for them?” she pleaded as if she hadn’t even heard him.

“Lydia, wait. I need to tell you --”

“Please,” she said, grasping his arm and trying to pull him off the dance floor.

He felt the words coming up his throat, and he knew there was no way he could stop them. He hadn’t wanted to tell her like this -- rushed and in front of so many people -- but he had to. He couldn’t wait even a second longer.

“Lydia, I love you.”

Lydia paused. Lady Evie paused. Even Lord Yongguk paused.

“I love you, and I’m sorry for telling you like this, and I’m sorry for not telling you years ago. Please -- accept my humble apologies for going about this all the wrong way, I just --”

To his -- and probably everyone’s -- surprise, Lydia stepped up to him, rose up on her toes, and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

“I love you, too,” she replied earnestly. “So very much. You don’t ever have to apologize to me, but will you please help us find Lady Josephine and Brian?”

Seo Joon searched her eyes, his brow furrowed deeply. But before he could agree, Lydia spoke again.

“I promise we will talk more later. But right now --”

He nodded and swiftly took Lydia’s hand, striding off the dance floor and toward the closest room where two people might hide.

Even though Lydia stayed close by his side for the next twenty minutes, Seo Joon was able to focus on the task at hand. He wanted to lock her in a room with him and kiss her like he’d always wanted to... but he knew there was plenty of time for that later.

After searching every single room on the first and second floors of the manor, there was still no trace of either Joey or Brian. Seo Joon and Lydia were headed to the entryway to meet back up with Lady Evie and Lord Yongguk when, all of a sudden, he heard two voices.

The door leading to the downstairs staircase burst open as did the front door to the manor. Anna (and Taeyong) came through one, Grace (and Jaehyun) the other.

“Lady Evie!” Anna cried breathlessly, holding a piece of paper tightly to her chest.

“Evie! Cassie!” Grace called out at the same time.

“What?” Lydia answered, hurrying down the stairs to meet up with the two of them. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“A note,” Anna answered immediately. “From Lady Josephine. She’s --”

“I saw them,” Grace interrupted. “I didn’t know who it was at first, but it was definitely Joey.”

Evie and Yongguk appeared in the entryway then, and Cassie and Daehyun followed behind them.

“What on earth is going on?” Cassie asked, her brow deeply furrowed.

Lydia jumped a little, her heart pounding in her chest. She didn’t want to, but she knew she should be the one to break the news to her mistress. “We believe... Lady Josephine... has... run off. With... Brian.”

Before Cassie had the chance to gasp or cry out or yell, Yongguk stepped in front of her and took her hands.

“I will find them. And, if it helps, I know my valet. He would never do anything to hurt your sister.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about,” Cassie told him with a shake of her head. “I don’t know what she’ll do!”

“I’ll go with you,” Daehyun volunteered.

“I’ll drive,” Seo Joon nodded. “Come, we needn’t waste any more time.”

“Please be careful,” Cassie implored, gripping Daehyun’s arms before he had the chance to leave. “I’ve only just got you back.”

“I will return,” Daehyun assured her with a grin. “I promise you.”

He leaned in to kiss her, whispering his love against her lips and then kissing her again.

Yongguk turned to Evie, reaching up and delicately cradling her face in his palms. “We will find them. And as soon as we get back, I’m asking you to marry me, all right?”

Despite the frightening situation, a smile curved Evie’s lips, and she couldn’t stop herself from standing on her toes and kissing Yongguk -- her future husband.

“All right,” she whispered. “Please hurry.”

“Seo Joon,” Lydia called out, hurrying after him and grasping the sleeve of his jacket. “Shall I come with you? I don’t want Lady Josephine to be frightened --”

And she then realized how utterly silly that sounded.

Lady Josephine? Frightened?

Seo Joon, who had turned to face her, looked down at her with a lopsided grin. “I don’t think that’s possible,” he chuckled. “Besides, I think Lady Cassandra needs you here.”

Lydia simply nodded, but she tightened her grip on his jacket before she said, “And... we’ll talk when you return.”

Seo Joon’s gaze softened, and he lifted one hand, pressing it gently against her cheek. “Yes,” he whispered. “When I return.”

And as Cassie, Evie, and Lydia stood in the entryway watching Daehyun, Yongguk, and Seo Joon rushing through the front door out to the garage, they all held their breath.

Evie linked her arm through Cassie’s, holding her older sister close to her side and resting her chin on her shoulder.

Lydia slid her arm across Cassie’s back, her fingers brushing against Evie’s shoulder. Anna and Grace joined them, providing their own comfort and assuring the two ladies of the house that everything would be all right.

Cassie wasn’t sure if everything would be all right. She had no way of knowing what would happen when -- or if -- they ever found Joey and Brian. Nor did Evie.

But what they did know was there had never been a Christmas quite like this at Mistletoe Manor. It was certainly one nobody would ever forget.

The End

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