#doesn't really count as the same kind of abandonment lol

[rogersstevie]

i do need people to stop saying jess sexually assaulted rory if you wanna say ATTEMPTED i'll let you have it even though that's really not what happened but he did not actually assault her

[asonorouslullaby]

In The Shadows

Purge Alternate Universe

Yandere - Gojo Satoru x Reader x Geto Suguru

A/N - Okayyyy I've been working on this for like a week and it's the longest I've ever written for one thing, I had a shoulder injury which is mostly healed up now during the week which hindered my progress a little because I originally really wanted this to get out nearer Halloween time, but oh well TT at least its here now right? Lmao, but I hope you guys enjoy it, I tried my best and lowkey kind of hate it, I wished I could've done more or something, but if you have any ideas around this for a possible part 2 let me knoww, although no promises ;) Consider this a massive thank you story, I now have over 100 followers and the likes and reblogs and comments, you guys, I'm crying, I love you all so much <333333 I love interacting with you guys and your comments on my stories or in my inbox <3333 you all make my day ilysm <3 :( AND IM SORRY I COULDNT HELP IT, they're kind of really mean so its more harsh yandere than the soft you all wanted :( I couldn't help myself its a purge AU TT, but I promise ill make something softer in the future <33 sorry this is so long omfg, but let me know your thoughts pretty please &lt;3 and if you actually read all of this ily

summary - Another purge night is here and you think your safe and sound, but let your guard down and you'll find yourself bound.

warnings - purge, mentions of 'off screen' murder, actual 'off screen' murder, kind of gore but reader doesn't see it, blood, rope, reader gets tied up, gags?, tape over readers mouth, they're actually kind of really mean lol, especially Geto, descriptions of panic, anxiety, overthinking, stalker situation kind of, swearing, crying, brief hair pulling, if there's any more let me know ml <3

genre - Oneshot

wc - 7.2k

~spelling and grammar fixed already~

Edit - the top photo 6/11/23

The tip tapping of fingers on keys echoed around the silent room. The occasional footfalls of people around her walking up and down. Picking up books to further aid their studying would slip past the music playing in her ears when they were loud enough.

Every time she would hear someone being a little too loud for the library they were in she would glance up and shoot a half-hearted glare their way.

They’d never see her but it was the thought that counted. A barely audible sigh escapes her as she brings a hand up to massage her cold fingertips into the throbbing skin at her temple. 

Nervous nibbling was occupying her teeth and lips, chewing away the flesh and creating tender spots her tongue would soon soothe. 

She’d been staring at the same empty document for two hours now. No more than two sentences she was able to come up with before she’d erase them in a fit of frustration.

Abandoned textbooks lay closed behind her laptop, she’d deemed them no use around thirty minutes in, but she couldn't bring herself to get up and search for better ones. 

She was antsy, not able to focus on her assignment due in a week's time. Her brain was all fogged up, too many thoughts going through her mind and yet she's not able to focus on a single one.

The purge was tonight. March 21st. And it was currently 1pm. 

Why did she even bother to come to the library in the first place? Was she hoping to distract herself even just a little bit before she had to hunker herself down in her dorm for twelve hours? 

Maybe. Yes.

Was it working? Absolutely not.

She was too skittish. Overthinking everything that had the potential of happening later and things that have previously happened. 

‘Someone's not going to come and try to kill me just because I forgot to return their pen that one time, right?’ 

The amusing, albeit a little dark, thought did make the corner of her lips twitch just the smallest amount. 

Taking off her headphones after stopping her music, she closes down her laptop and starts to move it into her bag. 

She spares a quick glance around the few tables next to hers as she stands with the library's books in her arms. Her eyes locked with a man sitting roughly two tables down. Slumped back in his seat.

Gojo Satoru. Bright white and fluffy hair paired with a set of dazzling blue eyes. The ones currently peeking over the tops of his round shades that had slid down his nose as he tucked his head down slightly. 

Sitting in front of him and abstracting her view of Gojo only slightly is who she assumed was Geto Suguru. Two peas in a pod and never seen without the other. The long black and silky strands of hair tied up in a half up bun was a giveaway to who he was as well.

Both of them were originally from Tokyo, Japan. Coming over to America over five years ago. Or at least that's what she’s heard from around the place, not knowing them personally. They were the most popular boys in school when she had joined a little over a year ago and they still held the title strong.

She doesn’t think she's ever really interacted with them. At Least not on any kind of personal level. Sure, maybe from a few friends of friends or passing each other in the hallway and being polite to her upperclassmen, but nothing all that memorable. 

Which is why this prolonged eye contact is sending a very noticeable shiver down her spine. The smallest twitch of a smirk on his face and she was breaking eye contact, gulping down the pooled saliva in her mouth as she turned around and hastily made her way in between the towering bookshelves.

Leaving the library after stacking the books she’d previously taken back on the shelves, she hastily makes her way down the long corridors. Keeping her head down, her hands clutched tight on the strap of her bag. She passes very few people in the hallway.

Even after pushing through the doors and trekking her way to the dorms at the end of the path, there were very few people loitering around outside. Some of the people she passed looked like they could be stoned, not that she could really blame them. Some looked a little too relaxed and happy and some were just trying to get to their destination as quickly as possible. Like her.

As the doors came into view, and then the stairs, she slowly began to relax, her fast pace lessening up. Successfully getting to the safest place she could for when the purge would start. 

It was also a massive relief that her two good friends would be staying with her during the twelve hours of horror. Last time she was by herself there had been multiple scares throughout the night. Nothing too big but something she didn’t think she could handle alone again. 

Reaching her door on the third floor she fiddles with her keys for a few seconds before her door clicks open and she pushes her way inside. Closing the door and locking it again for good measure. 

It was 1:43 pm.

A few minutes after she had arrived back at her dorm did she realize she still needed to pick up some food items. Being a broke student meant she had essentially nothing in her cupboards or her fridge. And if she was ‘hosting for the purge’ this year, it meant she had to stock up at least a little bit. 

‘Imagine trying to hide from a killer and your stomach growls, I think I would just die on the spot.’ She thinks, the smallest smile gracing her face. Humour is usually her way to cope in situations like these. It’s either that or panicking and she’d rather try to save that for the main event.

With a heavy sigh and hesitation weighing her limbs down, she slowly puts her shoes and jacket back on. She can make this quick. In and out. Easy peasy. 

With a quick jump while shaking her limbs out to get rid of her last minute hesitation, she quickly opens her door and steps out before shutting it behind her. No going back now. Locking the door behind her, she starts making her way back down the stairs and out the doors, walking in the direction of the food store. 

Her nerves were still playing up though, eyes darting this way and that as if trying to find a reason for her to panic. ‘It’s okay, the purge hasn’t started yet, all those things are still illegal.’ Is what she keeps telling herself while taking a deep breath. But the fact they won’t be in a few hours was still cause for some panic. 

Arriving at the store, she wizzes around, collecting any good looking snack and throwing it in her basket before hastily paying and leaving. The heavy plastic carrier bag hanging from her fingers gave her reason to think she went a bit overboard. 

Her quickened steps and accelerated breathing were all she could hear for a while. Her walk back to her dorm was supposed to be a quiet one, less and less people were loitering around meaning less and less noises to distract her. 

Especially from the new set of footsteps that have appeared behind her.

As soon as her mind clocked the extra set of footsteps there, it went into overdrive. ‘Who is that? Are they following me? No, you're being delusional, they're just trying to get back home. But are they? They just appeared out of nowhere. Are they going to try and kidnap me? Rape me? Stuff me in a van? Drag me down a dark alleyway and murder me?’

Her mind was racing, steps quickening and breathing silenced under the new threat. ‘Oh god, what if they’re stalking me? Waiting until the purge starts to come and slaughter me? They’re going to kill me. They’re going to kill me. What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?’

And then they were gone. 

It barely registered in her mind that the fast paced footsteps from behind her had vanished. A sharp breath escaped her before her head whipped around on a desperate whim. No one. Not a soul on the path behind her. 

Her shoulders sank with relief and a watery laugh broke free from her trembling lips. ‘I’m losing my mind.’ She thought. Even though that feeling in her gut had faded, it never fully disappeared. Her racing heart never slowed and neither did her footsteps. 

Y/n hurried back to her dorm, almost running through the doors and up the stairs to fumble with her keys and quickly burst in. Double checking she locked the door behind her, and then checking every other lock on her third story apartment. Only when she had made sure they were all secure could she finally relax. 

Her body shivering and hands shaking from the after effects of adrenaline. Her breathing is still a little shaky as she pulls a bunch of pillows and blankets into her tiny living room. Pushing her chair and sofa away to make more space as she lays everything out as neat as she could, making the floor a comfy space for her and her two friends to crash for the purge. 

She empties the snacks from out of the plastic bag and piles them in a nice little corner near the TV. A small stack of movies there for when they’re all waiting for the purge to start. Some cards in a pack were also placed there. 

The three of them are wanting to be as quiet as possible while the purge is going on. Everything locked, curtains drawn, lights off, TV with no volume and only subtitles, quiet games to play in case they got bored, etc. 

They weren’t taking any chances. It was doubtful anything would happen, since nothing really ever did in the dorms. No student here would go as far as murdering somebody, everyone mostly stayed inside, not wanting to risk anything. She only knew of a few people that have snuck out before to rob a few stores, or do some petty revenge like smashing someone's car without getting into trouble.

But overall, it was best to remain quiet. They didn’t want to get murdered because the TV was turned up too loudly and attracted some wrong attention. 

It was 5:15 pm.

This is the time her friends arrived. Knocking some made up code on the slab of wood before messaging just for good measure that it was really them outside. 

After unlocking the door and letting her two good friends inside her dorm she swiftly closes and locks it again. Relieved greetings transpire as well as nervous whispers about the purge and some small gossip of who they think would actually go out this year and who are likely to stay inside. 

The three of them start to make their way around her dorm, closing all the curtains and double checking the locks on all the windows and doors. Especially the balcony and front door. 

After they’ve secured the apartment, they turn off all the necessary lights, flicking on a few electrical lanterns and setting them up around the living room, but away from the windows. They’ve left one lantern in the bathroom and one in her bedroom, both turned off, just in case of emergencies.  

The three of them settle in a spread out pile on the blankets she put down in the living room. Some snacks are passed around already and a movie is slotted into the TV, playing as background noise mostly while they talk.

Erica, a sassy but kind of dumb girl, with choppy shoulder length hair that had been bleached and dyed a light green. She's donned in a crop top and sweatpants, comfy.

Don, a friendly giant, very kind in nature but also a little muscly. He has short black hair and a sculpted jawline. He also came in sweatpants and a baggy white T-shirt, also comfy.

Her two very good, and only, friends here. They’re in a few of her classes and all regularly hang out together. 

“So,” Erica begins after her mouthful of powdered donut. “Who do you think is going to actually purge tonight? Like, actually actually. My moneys on them two hotties in my class.” She finishes, wiggling her eyebrows..

Don hums around his half empty soda can. “Yeah, honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they did.”

Y/n pipes up, “Wait who?” sitting up against the sofa behind her, getting comfy like she's about to hear the gossip of a lifetime.

“Oh, Em, G! You haven’t heard of it? You’ve seriously been, like, living under a rock or something.” Erica says jokingly. Picking apart pieces of her donut and eating them. 

Don perks up too. “Really? You haven't?” Y/n shakes her head in denial as Don shrugs. “I get it, it’s mostly stayed in our class, hasn’t spread much further than that.” He says before crawling forward and rummaging around for more snacks.

“So get a load of this right!” Erica sits up too after finishing her donut. Waving her hands excitedly as she tells her latest gossip. “You know them two really hot upperclassmen right?” She draws out her ‘really’ and waits patiently at the end of her sentence for the other girl's confirmation. 

When she nods in slight confusion, Erica continues, “There were some major rumours in class that the two of them were late this one day because they were beating someone up. And I don't mean like a few slaps or hair pulling, I mean punches. You know?”

Y/n nods again, this time with furrowed brows and Erica continues, “At first, I didn’t believe it, obviously. But then, the two of them came into class and I swear there were blood stains on their clothes. Blood stains! Not to mention all the plasters and bandages all over their hands! I just had to believe it then! Wouldn’t you?”

After the end of her long rant she slumps back against the front of the sofa and mumbles incoherently to herself shaking her head while pouting.

Don, who had been listening silently, pipes up, “It was true, I was actually there for once.”

Y/n’s eyebrows raise in disbelief at what she had just heard. Fighting, here? She couldn’t help but to doubt it, if only just a little. Stuff like that has never happened here. Or at least while she had been here. It was just unheard of.

And for an attack so vicious to result in blood being drawn, then there must have been somewhat of a good reason for it. That was the conclusion she came to.

“I mean, there had to have been a good reason for it.” Y/n says, “They’re pretty nice people aren't they? It is Gojo and Geto were talking about here, right? They’re really popular here too.” Her eyes darted between her two friends, looking for more answers on this unexpected juicy gossip.

Erica sighs wistfully, “No, it got shut down pretty quick, which I guess is why so little people have heard about it. God, would I pay to see them fight though. Their muscles must have looked amazing.” 

They stop talking about it after that, Don getting distracted by the snacks and whining about how she didn’t get his favourite. Erica smacking him with a few pillows and complaining how he’s getting in the way of her movie she was barely even watching. 

Their playful banter did little to distract from her inner turmoil. A small shiver went down her spine again. The memory from earlier in the library resurfacing in her mind. Gojo staring her down, the creepy walk back from the shops and now learning the two had at the very least helped in injuring someone.

It could just be because it was purge day, but everything was beginning to creep her out and she was overthinking again. ‘What if he wants to attack me next? What if all of those things were connected and someone really was following me home? What if he wants to kill me? What if both of them want to kill me? Have I ever done anything to offend them? I haven’t, have I?’ She knew these were far fetched and ridiculous, but she couldn’t help but think of them anyway.

Her spiralling thoughts were halted when a stray pillow smacked her in the face. “Oops, haha, sorry.” Erica sheepishly apologized, bringing her hand up to smooth down Y/n’s ruffled hair. Don was laughing in the background.  

Y/n was stunned for a few seconds before replying, “Oh, don’t worry. How about we put something else on? This movie is kind of boring.” crawling across the piles of pillows and blankets to reach the stack of movies.

This caught the other two’s attention, eagerly rushing to the stack as well to try and get first pick. Arguing for a few more minutes before settling on a movie they all loved. Snuggling back into their original positions.

This was how the next few hours went before the announcement appeared.

It was 6:59 pm.

At exactly 7 on the dot, the TV went black before turning blue, the government announcing the commencement of the purge. Big bold letters and ‘Emergency Broadcast System’ and ‘This is not a test’ were displayed on the screen.

They were all quiet as it played out. The mood quickly turned sombre.

“Weapons of class 4 and lower have been authorized for use during the Purge. All other weapons are restricted.”

Don gulped.

“Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted immunity from the Purge and shall not be harmed.”

Erica huffed.

“Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours.” 

Y/n shivered.

“Police, fire, and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7 am when The Purge concludes.”

She released a shaky breath. The announcement ends with “...A nation reborn.” before stopping. The screen turned black again.

No one moves or says anything. Each of them were frozen in an array of emotions. Fear being the most prominent. 

The silence stretched on for minutes. Eerie in its wake, not even being able to hear other people in their dorm rooms like she normally would.

Eventually, after releasing another shaky breath and rearranging herself with trembling limbs, they all snap back into the present. 

Don coughs and Erica shuffles awkwardly. 

“Cards, anyone?” Y/n meekly speaks up. The other two nod as they sit in a small circle. 

It was 7:36 pm.

This was when the first explosion of some kind was heard by them. Each of them froze in the middle of playing their mostly silent game of cards. The noise was distant, but the impact remained.

A scream from a few doors down echoed in the silent space.

They waited with baited breath for any follow up, but when nothing happened, they slowly relaxed. Each of them assumed it was the explosion that must have scared someone. Sometimes it’s better to think of the positive, rather than what that scream could have been for.

A few minutes later a siren bellows in the distance, a few car alarms wail.

Nothing too bad, but knowing that it could mean someone was being murdered out there didn’t give them any ease.

It was 8:02 pm. 

This is when the banging starts. Y/n thinks it could be a few doors down again. Erica thinks it’s below them and Don thinks it’s above them. 

Wherever it was, it was concerning. 

Erica releases a small nervous chuckle. “Maybe someone is just having a good time?” A fake smile plastered on her face to try and mask her worry. Even she didn’t believe her little theory. Not during a time like this, during The Purge.

It was a few minutes later, after they had quietly resumed their game, that footsteps were heard.

Clacking down the hallway. 

1, 2.

1, 2. 

1, 2. 

1, 2. 

They were walking at a leisurely pace. Taking their time. Strolling down the hallway and getting closer and closer.

All three of them looked towards the door, as if someone were to burst in at any moment.

The footsteps slow before coming to a stop. Right outside her door.

The three of them hold their breath, bodies flinching when a light knock rings out into the open space.

Complete silence.

Another knock.

None of them had even noticed the earlier noises had stopped, too focused on the potential threat now right outside the door. Seemingly wanting someone to open up.

Three pairs of eyes dart between each other. Silent questions trying to push their way out without being heard. A few panicked half shrugs and furrowed brows with downturned lips later, another knock rings out.

This time it was a little louder.

Barely audible whisperings of ‘you go’, ‘no you’, ‘fuck no’, ‘who even is it?’ cut through the silence. No one wanted to ask the question. To even speak a hint of it lest it result in it coming true.

Eventually after a solid minute of panicked, almost silent, squabbling later. A frustrated and frightened Erica pushed herself up. Taking a very obvious deep breath. Eyes closed and silently mumbling to herself before taking a few steps over to the front door.

She tried to be as quiet as she could but each step sounded like it weighed a ton. Every creek and every wobble made to sound the loudest. 

Very quietly bracing her hands upon the door, she leant up on her tiptoes. Peeking into the peephole positioned in the centre of the door.

The two left in the pile of blankets still. Not wanting to even breathe in fear of disturbing whatever was happening in front of them.

A sudden screech of pure panic and fear tore from Erica’s throat. Flailing before landing with a harsh thud on the floor beneath her. Scrambling backwards on her hands and feet, keeping her eyes on the door the entire time.

The two startle and immediately jump up, laboured breathing hindering their lungs from the sudden scare.

“What the fuck? Erica what happened? What was that?” Don frantically whispered. His eyes were also locked on the door. 

Y/n also whispered to her, “Who was that? Erica?” her eyes locked onto her friend, not able to bring herself to look at the door yet.

“It was.. Oh god.. The peep..” Erica wheezed out. The fright took too much out of her with her frantic gasps for air.

A sudden bang echoed into the room. A few more followed before they all realized it was coming from the front door. 

Erica screeched and threw herself back into a standing position, rushing for the kitchen and grabbing any sharp knife her eyes first laid on.

Don stood frozen in fear. Not able to move or barely breathe from the looks of it.

Y/n wasn’t any better herself. Downright terrified. This was her dorm. Her dorm. Which means whoever was outside, was looking for her.

The banging persisted, the person on the other side seemingly determined to get in. This proved correct when the handle started turning whichever way it could. 

She didn’t even realize, terror clouding her senses because when she looked back to her two friends, Don had collapsed into himself, wheezing with little air entering his lungs amidst his panic. Erica was cornered in the kitchen, sobbing, tears flooding her cheeks and ruining her mascara she had in place.

The persistent banging stopped for a second. The faint sound of another pair of footsteps approached from the hallway outside. Muffled talking pursued but it was hard to make anything out, between her pounding heart, Erica’s sobs and the slab of wood in the way, didn’t make for easy hearing.

For Y/n, it seemed there was one second of complete silence. No sobbing, no voices, no distant alarms or explosions, no racing heart, no wheezing lungs. Before chaos sprung onto them.

Suddenly the people outside, because there was another person now, resumed banging on the door. But it didn’t seem like they were ‘just knocking’ anymore. No.

They were trying to break the door down. 

She could see it from the way the door groaned and creaked under the relentless kicking. She couldn't quite tell if they were using their feet, or an object, or whatever. 

All that mattered was that they were trying to get in. And they were going to succeed.

“Move! Hide! We need to hide!” She whisper-yelled. Rushing to Don and tugging on his arm to try and get him to move. He stared at her for a few seconds before his brain caught up, registering what was happening around him. The real danger he was in right now.

“Hide.. Oh god..” He panted, sprinting for the bathroom, the first place his eyes had landed on.

With Don now searching for a place to hide, she ran her way to Erica. Still trying to be as quiet as she could, in the little hopes that they would think she wasn’t here.

“Erica, we need to hide! They’re getting in!” She frantically whispered to her hyperventilating friend. Trying to shake her shoulders, even resorting to lightly slapping her face to try and get her attention. She was desperate.

“Please!” The sound of splintering caught both of their attention. Heads whipping towards the door starting to cave. She wasn’t all that surprised, that slab of wood was a shitty excuse for a door anyway.

Erica suddenly sprung up and dove for the piles of blankets in the living room. Trying to bury herself amongst them, taking the knife with her.

And now that all her friends had been taken care of, she ran for her bedroom. Trying her best not to stumble and fall in the dark hallway. 

As soon as her door came into sight, she gently opened it, gunning for her wardrobe tucked into the corner of the room. Not even looking towards the turned off lantern, she didn’t need them knowing her hiding spot from something so obvious. 

It was already messy anyway, so in her frazzled brain she didn’t bother caring where she tossed piles of clothes and shoes in her room.. They’d hopefully think it was like that in the first place.

After quickly clearing a space big enough for her to curl into, she did just that. Situating herself just right, back pressed against the side of the wardrobe, knees tucked to her chest and pressed against the boxes in front of her. She was sitting on old shirts she hadn’t seen for months.

Hearing the door breaking even further, she grabbed any clothes within her reach and threw them over herself. Shutting the door when she was mostly covered, she could have sworn she could hear laughter coming from the hallway.

A loud crash and splintering tore through the air. She knew it was her front door. And now they were inside. 

Her hands slowly went up to cup around her mouth, trying to muffle her breathing as much as she could. Her body froze. Even when she already began to feel muscle cramps settling in, she dared not move. She forced herself to breathe slowly. Every inhale a struggle along with a reminder that she was still alive at this very moment. Even if she was convinced she wouldn’t be for much longer. 

The thought brought tears to her eyes. The original shock wears from her body and settles into something akin to despair. 

Her throat started clamping up, muscles seizing and throbbing with the need to cry. 

It was the thudding of footsteps that shook her out of it. Snapping her half way back into a nightmarish reality. 

She gulped. Closing her eyes and straining her ears for any information they were willing to receive.

Just as she thought. Two pairs of footsteps. 

With every thud of a shoe or a spike in their muffled talking, her body would tremble. 

It remained like this for a few more minutes. The footsteps or talking occasionally pausing. 

It was during one of these silences, where a different sound was heard. She couldn’t identify the exact sounds, just ones of commotion. They were still all muffled. And then she heard muffled yelling. 

It sounded so dulled, between the walls and layers of wood and clothes, she could barely make out anything, her ears straining for any hint as to what was happening. Being left in the dark like this, literally and figuratively, was terrifying her. 

And then this horrible, awful noise carried its way between the cracks in the wardrobe. Crunching. Cracking. Stomps. 

That muffled yelling from before kept getting cut off. Eventually dwindling down into a barely audible groan. Those thuds never seemed to stop either. Never ending, crunching, cracking, and now wet thuds. 

Her brain was trying its hardest to process, to catch up with the information that it has been provided with. 

More footsteps, only one pair, accompanied with muffled laughter. And a more distinct sound traveling through the air. 

A scream.

Even more laughter, hurried footsteps and pleas of ‘no’, ‘please’, ‘don’ts’. 

It was now, with the wet stomps still in the background, her screeching friend, that eager laugh, that her brain had finally caught up.

She was going to be sick.

They’re hurting them. Killing them.

Her friends.

Her body moved out of its own violation. Shaky hands and feet kicking and pushing their way out of the pile of clothes. Wardrobe door swinging open with a creak.

She collapsed out of it. Slumped on the floor, dry heaving. Her lungs not seeming to take enough air in but yet holding in too much. She couldn’t function. Fear overwhelmed every part of her. As well as grief. 

Her ears were ringing and she was left gasping, drool dripping onto the hard floor beneath her as a result of her attempted vomiting. Eyes wide open, blurry when she tapped back into her mind. 

Tears, clouding her vision and dripping audibly on the floorboards below her. 

In the distance she could hear muffled talking. Two men, she could make out more clearly. Not only that, but squelching, wet, gooey noises seemed to mingle in the air. Gurgling was the next before silence.

A minute passed, maybe two before the footsteps started up again. Those goddamn footsteps. 

1.. 2.

1.. 2.

1.. 2.

But they were slower than before. Steady. Taking their time. 

And getting closer.

Her instincts kick in, blinking profusely to try and clear her eyes from the tears, looking up and darting around before landing on the space under her bed.

She wouldn’t have enough time to fix her spot back in the wardrobe. She couldn’t run past them, not even in her best state which she certainly wasn’t in right now. She had considered her bedroom window as an option, but it was locked, which would take time to open. Not even mentioning the fact she was on the third floor, so jumping out would break at least something important. They would be quick to notice as well, and if they came for her, it was likely they would decide to chase her down.

Under her bed seemed to be her best option at the moment, and she was running out of time. Scrambling as quietly as she could, she slid herself directly under her bed, trying to center herself in the middle of it, tucking herself into a tight ball.

The footsteps stopped right outside her bedroom door, she had enough sense to shut it on her way in, thank god. But that clearly wouldn’t be enough to stop them. 

Almost as if the person was teasing her, they slowly clicked the door open. The distinct creak she had grown accustomed to over the months making itself known. 

Her muscles are tense, tightening in the presence of her predators. 

In the dark space from under her bed and in her room, it was obvious when the light from inside the hallway started spilling in the more the door got pushed open. In the vague depths of her mind it registered that they must’ve either turned the hall lights on, had taken one of her lanterns,  or were carrying one of their own.

Her lungs were burning with the effort to keep her body running with the little air she was allowing them to have, all for the sake of trying to keep quiet.

It was all too silent once again, only for a second or two before the second pair of footsteps came towards her. A lot more hasty compared to the other ones. 

Her breath silently hitched, the new person pushed their way into the room, stepping past their company before a thunk was heard. The sound forced her body to startle, jolting her muscles and kick starting her trembling again. An uncontrollable reaction to the fear she was under, the unrelenting motions causing a deep ache in her ribs.

The sound of rustling was now heard. It seemed they were looking for something. ‘They’re going to kill me. They’re digging around for a weapon to stab me with, to bash my head in, to murder me like they did my friends. I’m dead. I’m dead, I’mdeadI’mdeadI’mdead-’

Her racing thoughts consuming her fear riddled mind failed in picking up the sound of the other pair of footsteps slowly creeping round to the end of her bed. 

The person paused, silently crouching down low before a pair of hands reached under.

The sudden tight grip on her ankles followed up by the sudden pull had her screeching. Pure terror flooding her veins. She had been yanked out from under her bed, lying sprawled on the floor and gazing up at the towering man stationed above her. 

Her lungs burned, seizing up before a sickening scream escaped her. Fuelled by genuine, unrestrained horror. 

They had found her.

One of her lanterns they had brought in illuminated his face in a haunting light. The darkened shadows stretching and contorting behind him to create the most grim image for her mind to paint. Not that it was far off.

A foot standing on either side of her hips, straddling her if it wasn’t for his standing position. Hands nestled comfortably back in his trouser pockets now they had done the job of retrieving her. A comfortable looking long-sleeved shirt adorned his figure. Dark splatters starting from the bottom of his shoes and creeping their way up his legs, tapering off into a few spots that painted one of his cheeks.

An easy smile softly ingrained on his face, followed by gentle looking eyes peering down at her if it wasn’t for the malicious spiral she found herself paralyzed in. Dark locks of hair extended down his back, past where she could see from her position, with the top layers sectioned off and tied back into a bun.

His mouth opened and he spoke. “Well, well. Look what I’ve caught for us Satoru.”

Satoru. The other man must be Satoru Gojo, and this was Suguru. Suguru Geto. The most popular guys she knew, the supposedly kindest. And then staring in the library, the walk back from the shops, the gossip her most likely dead friend had told her.

Her body suddenly felt like it was pumped full of adrenaline. Pushing herself up as fast as she could, using the bed as support all the while stumbling over her numb riddled legs. She took off, running towards the open door she so desperately wanted to pass through. 

A sudden arm snatched her from around her waist and she screeched. Pure instinct driving her at this point as she scratched and kicked and flailed in his, Satoru Gojo’s, hold.

The sound of something dropping before his other arm came round, collecting both her wrists in one hand of his. His grip tightened the more she fought. Her body pressed tight against his, her back to his front. His head situated itself on her shoulder, tucking over and pressing his cheek to hers even while she cried and panted and kicked.

She could feel his grin pressing against the side of her face. “Such a pretty little thing we have here. Can’t let her get away so easily now, can we? Not after all the trouble we’ve gone through.” The last part practically whispered into her ear as she turned her face as far away as possible from him. 

A little laugh boasted out from Geto. “Of course not.” He strolled over to them, bending down to pick up what Gojo had dropped in order to restrain her.

Rope.

Fucking rope.

The moment her eyes zoned in and processed what Geto was unravelling in his hands she tried to fight back even harder. Eyes flooding with tears that spilled down her cheeks. Short mumblings of ‘no’ being repeated over and over while becoming louder until she was yelling. 

“Please don’t do this! Let me go! Please, please.. Stop!” She shrieked while sobbing, convinced they were going to kill her or torture her or something horrible like that.

Gojo walked the two of them to the edge of her bed before forcefully pushing her down, manhandling her onto her front and bending her arms to rest pressing against her back.  

She sobbed into her ruffled sheets as she felt Geto fastening the rope tight around her wrists, the rough material digging into and pinching the sensitive skin. Raw and red marks already forming amidst her struggle. 

Her legs still hung off the bed, trying their best to kick and hopefully injure one or both of them, but she knew it was a losing battle. None of her landing blows made them falter in any way.

When her wrists were successfully restrained Geto kept them pressed to the small of her back while Gojo let go and reached down to grab her ankles. Pulling them up and bending her legs at the knees while they both worked in finishing the task of tying her up.

When they finally stepped back to admire the work they’d successfully done, Y/n deflated. Tears soaking into her bed in which she rested on top of. Her lungs still burned, having never stopped. The hogtied position she had been forced into leaving her nothing to work with in terms of escaping. Not that she could think clearly anyway. The distress she was under proved too much.

“Oh, Shh Sh Sh… There, there, sweet thing. Settle down for us now. We aren’t going to kill you.” Cooed, who she could only guess right now was Gojo.

Geto reached forward from his position of kneeling on the bed, gentle soothing pets stroking her hair. Her sobbing tapering off into hiccupped breathing even while flinching with every touch. “There you go, good girl. See that wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

He pulled away from her, stepping down off the bed and heading towards the previously discarded bag on the floor Y/n hadn’t noticed before..

Y/n slowly turned her head round, no longer pressed into her sheets. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, swollen from all the crying she’d been doing. Little hiccups and groans left her while her lungs tried to recover. She’d given up struggling right now, it had done nothing but cause her pain as the rope dug and squeezed the skin of her wrists and ankles. 

Gojo piped up from behind her, only now feeling the heat from his legs pressing into hers causing her to flinch. “You know, this would’ve gone a whole lot easier if you had just let us in sweetheart.” She could practically hear the smug smile in his voice. “Look at where you are now, tied up all pretty for us. Ripe for the taking.” He pressed closer to her at that, voice practically dripping with need. 

She whined in fear and started squirming at his words. Panic flooding her senses again for just a second before a sharp tug to her hair had her yelping, halting her movements.

“I thought I told you to quit that.” Geto was back to kneeling on the bed in front of her, his hand gripping tight onto her hair, eyes narrowed. 

Her bottom lip trembled, breaths picking up with every second he glared down at her. 

“Don’t be so mean, Sugu.” Gojo said, a teasing lilt in his voice. 

Geto glanced back at him before humming and letting go of his harsh grip, her scalp burning in turn. “I suppose you’re right. She’ll have plenty of time to learn when we take her back home.”

Gojo hummed and she felt him leaning away from her, hearing him crouch down and fiddle with something from the bag as well. 

“Back home?..” She stuttered, voice hoarse and throat dry.

Geto looked back down at her, amusement painting his face. “Yes. Home.”

“Where..” She started, face formed in a twist of concern and confusion. “Please.. I.. Just let me go. I won’t- I won’t tell anyone, I’ll- I’ll leave you alone, I’ll do anything, please..” She gasped out, tears gathered freshly in her eyes again, voice cracking every few seconds. 

An amused eyebrow raised with the hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth was all she got as a response. 

Gojo had come back, reaching round and fastening a strip of duct tape around her mouth in a sudden flurry of movement. Giving her no time to process what he had done until after he had done it. 

She cried out, the sound muffled thanks to the tape, worried eyes darting around in panic as she tried squirming again for the third time. 

Gojo pressed up behind her once again. “You’re not going anywhere, sweet pea! You’re ours now. We’ve had you picked out for a long time now.” The joy in his voice didn’t fail to put her on edge, his words doing their part in helping the tears gathered in her waterline to finally spill down her cheeks. Wetting the tape situated over her lips.

“He’s right.” Geto replied. Bringing one of his hands up to show what he had collected from the bag a few moments ago. The mobile phone in his hands glowed brightly in the dark room, the lamp from before having been moved, the light now dim.

“We’ll bring you back with us soon enough, but we still have a few more hours to kill before that. And why waste them.” Gojo said, the grin in his voice unsettling her, keeping her frozen in fear.

An easy smile pulled at Geto’s cheeks at that, head tilting to the side to gaze down at their pretty prey. 

“Well what are you waiting for then, Satoru?”

A pause. Smile pulling into a predatory grin.

“Have at it.”

[l0v3tast3]

ooh can i request a 141 witha reader that has bad abandonment issues and needs constant reassurance?

if it’s to much please then don’t do it, don’t wanna make you write something you don’t want to

but if you do mwah ily! ❤️❤️

as someone with severe abandonment issues. and also needs constant reassurance. thank you for this request lmao also mwah ily2 !!! (っ˘ω˘ς ) this was rlly cute to write lol also sorry this took like a month im finally trying to get caught up on requests lmaoo

✎ tags: gn!reader, young military reader, angst, mentions of violence, comfort, fluff

✎ word count: 900 words (not proofread)

masterlist | requests

✧ ˖ ° they all notice it when your eyes shift towards theirs for their approval when you do well during training, when you never say "no" to whatever they ask you to do for them. they think you're just eager to please. you're the shiny new recruit to the team, beaming bright and always ready to take on your next task, so they brush it off.

✧ ˖ ° simon is the first to really figure out how deep your servitude runs, what the real reason behind it is. it's during one of your missions together, him and johnny and you in a firefight. johnny gets separated from the two of you and he can nearly feel the panic radiating off of you at the thought of your teammate, your friend, being gone. you do a good job of concealing it, of pushing through it to clear the area before you bolt to go looking for him.

✧ ˖ ° it clicks for simon so quickly because he's been where you are before. he's felt that trepidation too many times, the dread dripping cold down his spine when the other end of the radio goes silent. he's felt that same dizzying relief when you both reunite with johnny and your shoulders visibly relax. so when you're all back at base and you're hanging back while you fiddle with your gear, he pats a heavy hand on your shoulder with a gruff "y'did good, kid," before he walks away.

✧ ˖ ° kyle doesn't quite figure it out in the same depth as simon, but he picks up on the way you get nearly giddy at any kind of praise or validation and how anxious you seem to get when you think you haven't done something as well as they want you to. as he gets to know you and grows more and more fond of you, he'll make it a point to encourage you and try his best to help you build your confidence in your abilities. it's subtle and obvious at the same time, a quick "nice shot!" over the radio during missions and a huffed "are you ever gonna let me win?" while you're sparring together.

✧ ˖ ° it's not something that's spoken between you two, but you know he'll always be there for you. being the closest in age (and social media knowledge) helps you both to bond quickly and strongly when you join the team, and eventually people start joking that the two of you are attached at the hip. and it's pretty much true; when you aren't together you're texting, sending memes back and forth and talking about how bored or entertained you were in the moment. during missions, you're checking in with each other every few minutes, to the point where simon starts getting annoyed.

✧ ˖ ° price can see it in you the same way he can see it in so many of the recruits that join the military seeking purpose and approval. you're looking for a reason that others will give you to keep going, and he wants to tell you that you need to find your own reason, that you will find your own reason, but it's not something for him to explain. instead, he'll show you a gentleness that he doesn't often show; it's not outright obvious, not enough that others besides probably the rest of the 141 will notice, but it's enough that you'll see it. encouragement and very slowly helping you build your confidence is the road price takes to help you. quiet affirmations after training sessions, positive feedback surrounding the negative, a heavy hand thumping against your back when you do well- price is quiet, but he notices.

✧ ˖ ° as for johnny, well... he's not oblivious, per say, but he'll be somewhere along the "realization scale" close to kyle. it's not something that he's personally worried about himself all that much. johnny knows his talents and capabilities, and the confidence he's built up after a decade in the military is unquestionable. but you haven't had as long as him, as any of them to climb to their level of self-assurance, and he's aware of that much at least.

✧ ˖ ° when he sees you struggling internally with your self-doubt, johnny always swoops in with something to lighten your mood. he brings up that you've mastered a particular move in training already or how impressed he was that you're already able to bring himself down while sparring. johnny sticks near you when he can; he'll eat meals with you and work out with you and just enjoy your company during your free time at the base. if he sees you struggling with something during training, you become certain that he'll always pull you aside after everyone leaves and help you until you've got it down.

✧ ˖ ° as a whole, the men of the 141 task force aren't great at outright reassurance and emotional help. they're hardened soldiers who've proven their worth time and time again, but they know you haven't had a chance to yet. so with their unknowingly combined forces, they'll do their best to make sure you do get that chance, to make sure that you know how much of an irreplaceable and valuable cog in their well-oiled machine you've become.

[themushroomgoesyeet]

For the first installment of this series, let's start with something easy!

Arcana characters as Disney princesses/princes

Julian - Flynn Rider/Eugene

These two are so similar istg

Dashing, dramatic, swashbuckling rogues with dry humor and a secret, insecure soft side?

The only difference between them is one is ginger with an eye patch and the other isn't

Honestly Eugene would probably be a good pick for a voice hc tbh

Oh hey they're both orphans with big brother vibes too look at that

Asra - Elsa

White hair? Check. Water-related magic? Check. orphans? Check. Unconditional fashion style that doesn't really match everyone else but still looks drop-dead gorgeous regardless? Check

Both of them also have familial abandonment issues and feel the need to isolate themselves from the people they love instead of confronting the problem smh

I will admit their romantic interests are a bit different, with Asra being bisexual and Elsa either being a lesbian or aro/ace at best

Both of them have also been described to have seductive singing voices 👀

Nadia - Princess Jasmine

We👏stan👏 headstrong 👏 independent 👏 middle eastern- inspired👏queens👏here👏

Ngl Jasmine is one of my favorite Disney princesses & she & Nadia would definitely hit it off

Both feel stuck in their respective lives while also wanting to rule, and try to take action for themselves whenever they can

Also both of them would look absolutely stunning in an outfit swap

Muriel - Hercules

Honey you mean HUNK-ules

I know Hercules isn't technically a Disney prince but he fits Muriel too well

Big and strong but shy and genuine at heart? Hell yeah

Their reactions to fame are a little bit different but they are the same when it comes to falling in love; both are so gentle and genuinely caring, and can't stop gushing about their partner

Also amazing idols for how men are supposed to treat women - a.k.a with respect

Both have a heathy amount of respect for their partners modesty (even when said partner is trying to seduce them on purpose), as well as their partners autonomy to make their own decisions

Not to mention they both have estranged families that they didn't know about, and a supportive animal companion

Portia - Rapunzel

I know some of you might be thinking "why not Merida? They look so alike with their frizzy mop of ginger hair!" Well, dear chat, let me explain

While they may look similar, Portia and Merida do not act similar. Merida is rebellious, headstrong, and airheaded, fighting her loved ones on everything and doing what she wants regardless of the consequences until said consequences come back to bite her in the butt. Portia on the other hand, while also headstrong, is spunky, kind, and takes others feelings and opinions into account instead of doing the first daring thing that comes into her head

Which brings me to Rapunzel. Admittedly, Rapunzel is a lot more sheltered and inexperienced about the world than Portia was but they are still kindred spirits. Curious, spunky, headstrong, kind, compassionate, and unafraid to fight for themselves.

They're ready to take on the world even if they don't know enough about it

Both also have evil and manipulative family members (ik Mother Gothel isn't Rapunzel's family; she was still the one who raised Rapunzel & Rapunzel considered her family long enough for it to count in this situation)

Both also meet love interests who guide them through the part of the world that's unknown to them, be it magic for Portia or the world as a whole for Rapunzel

Lucio - Merida

remember all those traits I listed for Merida? Yeah Lucio fits those

Merida and Lucio may be hella good warriors, but boy are they stupid sometimes

Both also have mommy issues™

Both are also wildly inexperienced with magic and should really be more cautious about it

Both just go "oopsies" and expect everything to be fine because of their status when it's never fine

Can you tell yet that these two bother me lol

Both were brought up in a Scottish-sounding culture and you can't change my mind

[niki-phoria]

Hey!, may i request Chishiya x Militant reader? Who finds some fun in the games, ands is pretty apathetic towards death but finds it somewhat exciting? Sorry if that doesn't make sense lol, it doesn't really matter to me if its an established relation ship or not, but gn!reader if you can! thank you so much, your posts are always amazing!

the return of the eyeliner cat looking chishiya gif sklens

pairing: chishiya x militant!gn!reader (no pronouns used) genre: fluff word count: 1.3k

warnings: slightly ooc chishiya, i tried to make this canon compliant but honestly this was so chaotic i don't really remember how this part went lmao, canon typical violence, blood, light descriptions of reader giving chishiya stitches, i feel like i write every confession the same lmao

a/n: thank you for requesting !! i'm kinda running out of games to write about lol i didn't set this at the beach so it's kind of implied that reader was a militant (mention of a subordinate, reader has a gun and knows how to shoot) i hope that's okay i tried to make reader apathetic about death and excited about the games but i'm not sure how well it comes across. it means so much that you enjoy my writing <33 i hope you like it :))

requests open !! read my rules first

the pavement is hot against your hand when you sit down next to kuina. a heavy silence still hangs in the air, the anticipation of what will happen next nearly suffocating. chishiya paces around, hands stuffed in his pockets. he stops in front of you, sighing. “maybe they forgot to press the start button.” 

“i hope not,” you lean back on your hands, squinting up at the sky. “this is getting boring.” 

“boring is better than death games,” kuina retorts. 

“i’m just saying, this is a little anticlimactic.” 

kuina’s response is cut off by the approaching sound of an engine. “might’ve spoken too soon,” chishiya murmurs as a group of cars arrives at the shibuya crossing. 

a man steps out of the car. “y/n,” he calls. he’s followed by a woman leaving the passenger’s side. “what’s going on?” 

chishiya raises an eyebrow, glancing down at you. “you know him?” 

“he’s one of my subordinates.” you brush the dirt off of your hands as you stand up. “we’re not sure yet.” 

slowly, the rest of the people leave their cars. they’re members of the beach, nervously glancing at your group and each other. 

a woman begins walking closer to you when a loud crack rings through the empty city. you nearly flinch when her lifeless body falls to the ground in front of you. blood pools around her. 

you aren’t given enough time to fully react when another noise echoes, this time a man collapsing. a low rumble emits from somewhere above you. you can barely hear usagi gasp, pointing up at the sky. “is that a fucking berg?” 

kuina’s comment would’ve made you laugh in any other situation. a gray airship floats through the city. a giant king of spades flag waves underneath it. you can see a few others in the distance, each carrying their own flag with a different face card. 

“run!” someone yells. people continue falling to the ground. cutoff screams and loud whips of gunshots spur you to move faster. you duck behind a wall in between kuina and chishiya, peeking over the edge. arisu and usagi lean over the side, watching as the panicked crowd continues running. 

“is this exciting enough for you?” chishiya asks. 

you roll your eyes. “let’s split up!” arisu yells over the gunfire. 

after a few shared nods, arisu takes runs off to the left. usagi is the next to leave, followed closely by kuina and chishiya. you duck behind the abandoned cars, desperate for a place to hide. a bullet grazes your arm, through you pay it no mind, forcing yourself to keep moving. 

you all but throw yourself against the side of a car, panting. kuina is quick to join you, ducking behind the metal. “are you okay?” she asks. you brush a hand against your still-bleeding arm, shaking your head. 

“i’m fine. where are the others?” 

“i saw arisu and usagi earlier but i’m not sure about chishiya.” you swallow your fear, peeking behind the car to see who’s shooting. 

the king of spades is almost impossible to see. he’s a man dressed in thick black clothing - almost like a cloak. his hood is pulled far over his head to cover his face. he fires mercilessly at any movement. 

kuina flinches when chishiya joins you behind the car, pressing his body against the side. he shifts so his back is against the metal, catching his breath. “ah, you scared me,” kuina huffs. 

“he’s not gonna stop anytime soon,” chishiya says, reaching into his pocket to grab two soda cans. “here.” he hands one to kuina and passes one to you. it feels heavy in your hand. 

“is this a bomb?” chishiya nods. 

two people slam against the side of the car across from you. arisu and usagi. they lay a dying man down on the ground. chishiya raises a hand to wave at them. you shove the bomb into your pocket where your gun used to be. 

a car skirts to a stop in front of you, the door swinging open. “get in!” tatta yells. 

“go!” you urge. arisu and usagi clamber into the backseat, quickly followed by kuina. a spray of gunshots hit the back bumper of the car. you lean over the hood of the car you’re hiding behind, shooting at the king. he’s quick to return fire, breaking the window of the car. 

the shooting stops for a second, allowing you to return fire. the king throws a grenade towards the car tatta’s driving. you steady yourself with a shaky breath, aiming for the king’s head. 

your shot misses, hitting his shoulder instead. the man winces, giving you enough time to move to a different area for cover. tatta’s car screeches when he begins driving again, swerving through the streets. you watch as the king looks around before running towards another car, jumping onto the back of it. 

you wait until you can’t hear gunshots anymore before running towards the pile of debris where you last saw chishiya. he grunts when you push a piece of concrete off of his body. blood has started seeping into his jacket, staining the fabric. you hold a hand out for him to grab, helping him up. “are you okay?” 

chishiya coughs. “besides almost being blown up? i’m doing fine.” 

you shove his arm over your shoulders, wrapping your own around his waist. “come on.” 

chishiya limps along with you until you find a building to hide in - an old convenience store. you help him sit down in a corner before searching for a first aid kit. you frantically look through the cabinets, desperate for anything that will help. finally, in the back of a cupboard underneath the clerk’s desk, you find one. a small metal tin filled with bandages, alcohol pads, needles, and thread. 

you rush back to chishiya’s side, kneeling down beside him. you push the fabric of his jacket out of the way, exposing the gash on his abdomen. “you know how to give stitches?” he raises an eyebrow at you. 

“no, but anything is better than nothing, right?” 

chishiya forces himself to sit up higher, grabbing your wrist. “i’ll teach you.” 

you nervously look up at him. something about him soothes your worries, even with a single look. “okay.” you will your hands to stop shaking as you prepare the needle. you start slowly, gently tugging the thread through the skin. 

after the first few stitches you get the hang of it, confidently sewing the wound closed. “i saw you shoot the king,” chishiya rasps, eyes still focused on your hands. “why did you save me?”

“because i love you.” the words leave your mouth before you realize what you’re saying. regret builds in your stomach, cutting off your air supply. it suffocates you, preventing you from speaking again. you don’t dare to look up at him. the tension feels heavy in the air as you focus on chishiya’s wound. you finish quicker than expected. your relief is tainted by the uncomfortable realization that you’ll have to talk about your confession. “do i just tie it off and cut the rest of the thread?” 

“yeah.” you brace yourself for rejection, wrapping the wound with bandages. “y/n,” chishiya whispers as he reaches out to lift your chin. you remain silent, even as he moves his hand along your jawline to cup your cheek. even as he brushes his thumb against the skin. even as he pulls you closer, resting his forehead against yours. even when he whispers, “i love you too.” even when he hesitantly leans in to press his lips against yours in a sweet kiss, hand still resting on your face. even when you pull him back in, unable to hide your smile. especially when chishiya smiles back at you and coaxes you closer so you’re leaning against his chest, wrapping an arm around your waist.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC’s Lucien Reunion Date English Translation

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

This post contains a detailed spoiler for a date that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Lucien’s 2023 CN Birthday Event (The New World)✧ Birthday Story | Birthday Prologue | Birthday Date (You're here!) | ASMR | Birthday Party

It turns out that on a day like this, I'm allowed to have both loneliness and warmth at the same time.

Translation under the cut~

Special thanks to @/ivioivioivi for helping me translate some sentences. I am really thankful that you replied to my messages even in odd hours :"D.

[T/N: I don't want to break the flow, so I'll say it now. You need to at least read Lucien's 3rd birthday date and phone call (Looking Back Date+ Saplings of Love Phone Call) first to understand half of the date. It's even better if you've read all of his birthday dates and birthday R&S/stories. YEARS worth of build-up pays off wonderfully and painfully on this date :". Some non-birthday dates that get referenced/I think are important to understand his growth are:

Standstill date (I forgot the official EN localization of this date, so here is the fan translation ver of it. The 'old game' in this Reunion Date is a reference to this date).

Wild Luxury Date (not a direct reference, but MC's idea to book a B&B for his birthday can be traced back to them going to a wild luxury hotel LOL. Because of the 'memorable things' that happened here, they've been exploring many kinds of hotels ever since then.

Tidying-up date (The date dives deep into how Lucien dealt with his pain and grief- that is, by trying to abandon them because he didn't know any better, there's no time to slow down and properly deal with it :". But because of the 'complex feeling' (that he FINALLY got to understand in Reunion Date) he's unable to do so.

Also, a casual reminder that his birthday is also his parents' death anniversary since they got into a car accident during his 7th birthday- it'll come into play on this date ;).

ANYWAY, this date is such a TREAT for ppl who have been liking him for years and watching him grow slowly.

[Subtitled Video Ver - TURN ON CC]

VERY recommended to follow along with the voice acting for a more complete experience! It's just that he never sounded this vulnerable before :"". And BGM choice is really superb hhhh. I don't expect them to use that angsty BGM from last anniv.

[Transcript Ver]

I'm looking at the phone screen with one minute left on the countdown and placing the candle into the cupcake I secretly baked in the evening.

MC: 51, 52, 53......

I silently count the time, and at the last second, I push Lucien's study door open and turn off the lights.

MC: Happy birthday to you~

MC: Happy birthday to Professor Lucien, the smartest professor in the world~

The dim candlelight gently illuminates Lucien, who is sitting at the desk. He seems stunned for a moment, but soon, a joyful smile fills his eyes.

Lucien: So, the idea of celebrating my birthday at a B&B was just part of your surprise.

MC: I can't have you guessing everything. I still need to prepare some unexpected surprises for the birthday boy.

It's rare that Lucien doesn't have to go on a business trip this year, and there are no additional work assignments at the institute.

So, I booked a B&B in advance, taking two days off together. We'll celebrate his birthday while enjoying a brief vacation.

I smile and place the cupcake on the table, brushing away the strands of hair that hang in front of his eyes.

MC: And since we're both on vacation, every second from now on is worth celebrating.

MC: So, it's now a special midnight blessing time~

Lucien: [chuckles] And what blessing are you going to give me?

He wraps his arm around my waist, allowing me to sit on his lap.

His deep pupils dive into the depths of my eyes along our pressed foreheads, and even our breaths become intimate.

MC: Hmm... Midnight blessings mark the beginning of your birthday, so I'll start by wishing you... to be yourself on this day.

His pupils briefly contract, and it seems like even his breath has slowed down a bit.

MC: Usually, we often do things we don't particularly like for various reasons.

MC: Whether it's playing a role or fulfilling responsibilities, life is often filled with many “have to's”.

MC: But the privilege of a birthday means that today, you are the most important person in the world.

MC: So, on this day, do everything you want to do and be as comfortable as you can be.

MC: That's my midnight blessing.

The candlelight light is long, silently enveloping both of us and turning this small space into the whole world.

Lucien: (whispers hoarsely) Then I'll accept it.

His warm breath touches my lips, lingering into the first long trailing note of a wish.

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

After he blows out the candle and finishes the cake, I follow his wish and nestle into Lucien's embrace.

I occasionally use my gaze to trace his face. Although I don't know what he's busy with, I'm happy to spend every moment with him.

Spending it in silence is fine too.

Lucien: Several student papers that I was helping to mentor were sent over just in time. I'll finish them quickly.

MC: Take your time reading them~ This way, I'm also absorbing the essence of wisdom.

He arches his eyebrows, leans against my head, and then shifts his gaze back to the screen.

The mouse wheel sound bears witness to the continuously flipped text, and suddenly, I detect a brief moment of silence.

Lucien appears to have no reaction. His gaze is lingering and seems to have also frozen in this moment.

Did he encounter any problems?

I tilt my head and find the cursor paused beside a cited reference, flickering silently.

An obscure and minuscule string of English appears in the lower corner, with only "1996.98~99" discernible.

Lucien: MC.

MC: Lucien?

Our simultaneous saying left me momentarily stunned, and he seemed to be surprised as well. The hold around my waist tightened imperceptibly.

MC: What's wrong?

Lucien: (tenderly) Nothing, I just wanted to call your name.

Lucien: In order to give you my undivided time for the next two days, I just need a little more time.

Lucien: (softly) You go ahead and sleep.

MC: (smiles) Don't stay up too late then.

With a familiar warmth beside me, I don't say much. I simply raise my head and lightly peck his lips, only to realize that he hasn't let go of my hand.

Lucien: Just stay by my side, I'll take care of getting you back into bed with me.

—-------------------------------------------------------

When the alarm clock goes off, I sleepily roll over and discover that the other side of the bed is empty.

The hour hand has just pointed to six o'clock, and I shake off my drowsiness, getting up to search for Lucien's figure.

MC: Did he leave this early? There isn't anything urgent at the research institute, is there…

I'm contemplating whether to send him a message when the door is pushed open.

Lucien is uncharacteristically dressed formally, and I wonder how long he's been outside as he's covered in the chilly air of early autumn.

He probably doesn't expect me to wake up so early, but he just stands there indifferently.

It's as if he's stripped away all emotions and turned into a blank slate in human form.

Somehow, I don't ask him where he went. Instead, I walk over and instinctively take hold of his somewhat stiff and cold hand, placing it against my own face.

MC: Why didn't you wear a scarf? Come here quickly-

Before I can finish speaking, he envelops me in his embrace.

It's an incredibly tight embrace.

Lucien doesn't say anything, yet it's as if he's telling me something.

I simply tighten my hug, letting this silence continue.

The chill fades away as if bidding farewell, and the person in my embrace slowly opens his mouth.

Lucien: (quietly) MC, I went to do something very important.

Lucien: It feels like I'm years late, but fortunately, nothing has changed.

I can't see Lucien's face at this moment, but I can only feel his voice, soft as if not wanting to disturb a certain tranquility.

Lucien: But because of this, I seem to have some new questions.

Lucien: Can you help me with these things I haven't quite figured out yet?

He speaks vaguely, yet there's a genuine sincerity in his words.

A vague idea forms in my mind, something that I can't pin down, but I don't want to put off either.

I gently brushed his bangs with my fingers and looked at him calmly.

MC: Of course, I'm willing to help. How do you want me to help you?

This question seems to have stumped Lucien. He ponders for a while and then smiles helplessly.

Lucien: I don't know either.

MC: Well, it's wonderful. The world has left you with a special puzzle on your birthday~

Lucien that's somewhat at a loss makes me unable to suppress my laugh.

MC: It's okay. After all, growing up doesn't necessarily mean always moving forward. I'll help you find the answers.

—-------------------------------------------------------

I lead him into the living room, where the golden sunlight streams over the horizon, casting its glow upon us.

MC: But since student Lucien doesn't have a direction, I'll have to guide you in my own way, so you better cooperate with me.

Lucien: I'm more than willing, Teacher MC.

MC: Very well. First... let's start by filling our bellies!

—--------------------------------------------------------

After eating, as Lucien places the suitcase in the trunk, I suddenly recall something and retrieve the car cooler from the storage room.

Lucien: It seems that Teacher MC is indeed well-prepared.

MC: Hehe, I must protect my main course well~

And this way, you can go wherever you want.

I don't want to impose any pressure on him, so I simply think to myself and smoothly take the driver's seat.

MC: Today, let me be the escort for the birthday star.

Lucien: What if I also wish for MC to enjoy herself?

MC: You can't use the blessings I gave you against me!

I laugh and pinch his nose. Before starting the car, I come up with a great idea.

MC: Let's play an old game.

Lucien: Aren't we supposed to go to the B&B you booked?

MC: We have plenty of time, so we can have some fun before heading to our destination.

MC: No need to rush, taking it slow is also good. It's also the birthday star's privilege.

Lucien: [chuckle] I can't help but want to be this willful birthday star every day now.

MC: In that case, I'm fully on board!

I grip the steering wheel with both hands, waiting for his response.

MC: So, what's the number in your mind?

Lucien: How about... 389?

MC: Got it!

I enter the number into the map app and, without any reservations, start the car towards the unfamiliar location 18 kilometers away.

I don't drive too fast along the way. Rather than rushing to the destination, it's more about enjoying the scenery along the route. I ask him for the next random number when we encounter red lights.

MC: When did they start repairing the bridge here?

Lucien: It seems they started construction last year, and judging by the progress, it should be completed within the next six months.

Lucien: I hadn't noticed that park over there before.

MC: I remember that this place used to be a lake?

Lucien: Mm, they probably redesigned the walkway, and it seems like cars aren't allowed in anymore.

With Lucien's various choices, we leisurely travel the road, watching this extremely familiar city give birth to new branches in unfamiliar corners.

Time has always been silent, seeping into every crevice, every building, every plant, and every person's face.

The city also seems to be growing up with us, shedding a certain part of itself and transforming into something more fresh and new.

And as Lucien and I walk through these changes together, it's hard to say whether I feel more nostalgia or anticipation.

Until the red light appears, I have no idea where I've driven us to.

In the unfamiliar scenery, warm light falls upon Lucien's face.

MC: Now, do you have any places you'd like to go or things you'd like to do?

This time, I didn't ask him for a random number but instead posed a question during this brief moment of silence.

Perhaps it's only after walking many paths that you'll discover the one you want to take.

The red light flickers and the countdown numbers slowly extend into his field of vision.

Lucien: I want to... look at the flowers.

—-------------------------------------------------------

Under Lucien's guidance, we continued to drive for a while.

The unknown world gradually added familiar sights, and the road ahead also widened.

The road of the old street is wider than it was three years ago, as if it had been freshly paved with asphalt, shining brightly in the sunlight.

Heading uphill all the way, not far ahead, I can vaguely see a massive white building.

Unlike the last time, Lucien confidently directs the way this time—until we park in the parking lot next to the white building.

In the distance, the hills and fields are vibrant, and osmanthus flowers dance silently in the wind like tiny specks of light.

They complement this massive white building, radiating splendid beauty, which makes my eyes well up with emotion.

It turns out that something new has already bloomed on that empty lot.

MC: So, this hospital has already been built…

Lucien: Um, it will officially open to the public in a few months.

Lucien shows no intention of getting out of the car and calmly gazes ahead.

I also follow his gaze. The hospital is surrounded by hills and forests, and we listen to the distant chirping of insects, telling the secrets of the wilderness.

The wind rustles through the leaves, and the lush greenery and deep red hues cast beautiful light and shadow under the sunlight.

MC: Were these trees here before?

Lucien: I believe they were also transplanted here in the past two years.

I lean against the steering wheel, looking at the scenery in front of me that is entirely different from what I remember, and I can't help but not know how to describe my feelings.

MC: Can a hospital be built so quickly?

Lucien: Of course, it's even faster since this hospital is a crucial project for expanding clinical teaching bases in Loveland City.

He said it naturally, causing my gaze to unconsciously shift back at him.

Perhaps my gaze is too probing, so Lucien casually slumps down on the right side of the dashboard.

Lucien: Actually, I've been here a few times before due to work reasons.

Lucien: While their primary research focus is orthopedics, they also want to incorporate related studies in neuroscience to treat more complex and critical diseases.

Lucien: That's why the hospital director approached me for a collaboration.

MC: You surely agreed, right?

Lucien: Do I appear so easy to persuade?

MC: You're far from being easy to persuade.

I reach out and gently caress his cheek that's nestled between his arms.

MC: (smiles softly) It's clear to me that you've always known what you want to do.

In the sunlight, Lucien seems to smile more comfortably. He nuzzles my palm, bringing himself closer to me.

Lucien: Although they are still lacking in clinical expertise in neuroscience, Lucien's Bioscience Research Center has already signed an agreement with this hospital.

Lucien: I will provide them with the necessary research theoretical support.

Lucien: However, to bridge some gaps, I recommended one of my former classmates from my doctoral program to them. Whether they can persuade him to join depends on the efforts of the hospital director.

Lucien appears nonchalant, but I can hear so much sentiment in his words.

It's Lucien's own research institute that concluded the collaboration, and even though he's aware of the shortcomings on the other side, he still chose to cooperate.

He probably unconsciously hopes that the things that are growing anew on that land will turn into something even more beautiful.

Perhaps because I've been staring at him, Lucien seems to have also understood the unspoken words I haven't uttered.

Lucien: The reason I agreed may be because, at some moment, I felt like I had touched upon a coincidence called fate.

MC: Should scientists believe in these things?

Lucien: [chuckle] It's needed once in a while.

We can't help but laugh together.

MC: How about we get down and go for a walk?

MC: Perhaps fate has other words to speak within this coincidence.

While that's what I'm saying, I actually don't know what else fate might have to say.

We don't enter the hospital; instead, we aimlessly stroll around.

That empty lot is no longer just a distant memory, nor does it remain stagnant in its place.

We walk up the hill and see a slightly small but uniquely looking shop by the side of the side road.

It quietly nestled amidst the woods directly facing the hospital, the rich aroma of coffee blending gently with the scent of fresh grass.

MC: This shop is also new, right?

Lucien: Indeed, I didn't expect a new coffee shop to open here.

Our gazes collide, and in each other's eyes, we see the same expectation.

MC: Let's go check it out then!

The simple and elegant decor made the whole café look clean and bright.

There's only one owner in the store, even though it's not yet opening time, she warmly welcomed us.

Owner: I didn't expect to have customers at this time.

Owner: The sunshine is lovely today. Why don't you two sit over here and enjoy the beautiful scenery?

She says as she leads us to a floor-to-ceiling window on the south side. Looking at the scene in front of me, I unconsciously hold my breath.

Emerald green, golden yellow, and crimson red – time unfolds the colors it has painted to depict life in front of this window.

It's as if the four seasons silently cycle, but at this moment, it kindly extends all of its vistas, leaving the shadow of time here.

Owner: Not far away, they've built a new hospital, and it seems the director is very environmentally conscious as they've planted many trees in the vicinity.

Owner: Looking out of this window, there are two very special trees, and I observe that only during this season of the year is there such a unique view.

MC: ...It's really beautiful, thank you for your recommendation!

After thanking the boss, we're sitting in front of that window.

Lucien gazes out of the window, slightly lost in thought. The colorful light and shadows fall delicately on him, as if embracing him, sinking him into the shade of the trees.

MC: I wonder if this place is directly facing the window where the little boy used to be.

He pauses for a moment and looks at me amidst the gorgeous display.

MC: At this moment, can we also see the four seasons in his eyes when he looks outside the window?

Lucien: (smiles while looking away) Probably so.

Lucien: After all, it's what has grown anew on this land.

His voice is heavy and resolute.

MC: That's wonderful.

Lucien: Hmm?

MC: They are so beautiful, it's truly wonderful.

Memories are now distant and unattainable, but they still remain here. And in such a birthplace, all the beauty that has grown is so delightful.

MC: Perhaps this painting-like scenery is also a gift from fate to you.

Beneath the play of light and shadow, the girl's face is filled with the colors of sunshine, and she smiles warmly.

Lucien always feels that the emotions that he couldn't figure out the answer to seem to open a small crack, allowing even more indescribable feelings to pour out.

When discussing the collaboration compensation, he proposed donating two trees in the name of the research institute as a partial substitute for the hiring fee.

At every moment when he came here alone, he could clearly feel the spreading branches and twigs.

Perhaps, the meaning of time lies in the fact that nothing stays in one place, and this is also a form of trace and continuity.

It's just that, some changes would be better if they happened slower.

He always selfishly thinks this way.

Lucien: Probably... it really is a gift, isn't it?

Lucien: However, there may be more to it than just fate.

The colorful world is distant yet clear, all frozen in the eyes.

Because of you, I can see the traces of time so clearly.

It turns out that everything has passed for so long, long enough that I'm almost forgetting the name of this feeling.

It turns out that on a day like this, I'm allowed to have both loneliness and warmth at the same time.

It turns out that what I felt was sadness.

—--------------------------------------------------------

=Flashback Start=

The cemetery in the early morning is dark and solemn, with only a few stars twinkling in the sky.

The streets at four o'clock were too deserted, so Lucien bought a particularly simple bouquet of flowers from a newly opened stall at the door.

He passed through the freshly painted iron gate and walked slowly along the gravel path.

The paper's reference seemed to pull him into the light and shadow of time that he couldn't speak or think of yet also couldn't forget.

There were always two busy figures, always smiling with their eyes forever gazing into the distance.

These long-ago scenes that feel more like yesterday are strangling his breath and cutting open his wound today.

The time devoured by enduring anxieties of emptiness returns in its entirety today, as it does on all other 'todays'.

Some kind of longing dug into the wound, causing him to suddenly pause before tucking the girl in his arms into the quilt.

He pondered for a long time, and in the end, he decided to put on a suit.

That period of time was like this road, neither long nor short, but he spent many years on it.

Lucien stopped before the graves, gazing at the familiar names on it, and heaved a long sigh.

What should he say? He didn't know.

He simply gently placed the flowers down and reached out to touch the name on the tombstone.

The dust had settled in the gaps, and he cleaned it meticulously, even those stubborn stains were carefully wiped away.

He silently gazed at those two clean names, looking at them again and again.

Lucien: I seem to... miss both of you.

Today belongs to both of you, yet it also feels like it belongs to me.

When I abandon my name, I can treat it as a day that only belongs to me.

Now that I stand before you, does it mean that the distant past has slowly arrived at my side?

When I leave, the time left for you both will come to an end, and the time ahead should be reserved for her, or maybe for the me who's blessed by you.

Is that okay?

Lucien knew that no one would provide him with an answer. He simply sat there, no longer dwelling on anything.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, until the slowly approaching light from the distance began to illuminate him.

=Flashback End=

—--------------------------------------------------------

MC: You can open your eyes now!

Lucien opens his eyes under my guidance, and I happen to collect the last decoration.

Lucien: The issues troubling me seem to have somewhat disrupted your preparations.

MC: That's not entirely true.

Noticing that Lucien has picked up on some clues, I place the cake on the small couch and pull him down to sit.

MC: No matter how grand the birthday celebration is or how it is celebrated, the focus should be on the person who is celebrating it.

MC: You are the most important.

MC: Everything I've done is simply in the hope that they can appear more fittingly before you.

The warm light falls on the small arched couch, enclosing our figures leaning against the glass within it.

Outside, it started raining at some point, the raindrops hitting gently against the window. Much like the indescribable feelings, the world was shrouded in a misty haze.

Lucien: It feels like we're inside an egg here.

MC: Right? I think so too.

MC: So, let's just imagine we've briefly returned to the state before venturing into the human world and taking a rest here.

Lucien: Hmm, what's outside the window then?

MC: Outside the window is the place we'll go to.

MC: It might rain today, it might be clear tomorrow, or there might be a sandstorm.

MC: Every day, the weather will be different, there will be many sad things, and there will also be many happy moments.

Lucien: Can sadness and happiness... exist at the same time?

MC: Of course they can.

MC: Because they are both important to you.

I gently stroke his brow and gaze deeper into him through those eyes filled with emotions.

Lucien: (in the most fragile tone you ever hear-) ….Then, can you hug me?

I don't speak; instead, I answer him with my actions.

Perhaps I had also waited for a long time, waiting for him to come to me, letting me accompany him and giving me the right to comfort him.

Lucien: I went to meet some very important people today.

MC: Um.

Lucien: I miss them very much.

MC: Mm.

Lucien: But I feel happy again because of you.

I bite my lower lip hard and feel my eyes slightly welling up.

Lucien: I don't know how to handle these emotions, but I also feel a bit childish like this.

MC: I don't think so. I really like you just the way you are now.

MC: Being candid and clumsy, like a child without any worries. It's a kind of growth for you too.

Lucien: But today is obviously my birthday, isn't?

MC: It's precisely because today is your birthday that you can be like this.

I can't help but hug him even tighter.

MC: Sometimes, I feel as if we're growing up like layers of an onion, with each year wrapped around the last.

MC: Even though you're growing older, you still have all the previous ages you've been.

MC: You are also the 26-year-old Lucien, the 20-year-old Lucien, the 18-year-old Lucien, the 14-year-old Lucien – you are every version of yourself from different time periods.

MC: So, you can think rationally, but you can also be indifferent; you can be passionate, yet feel discouraged at times.

MC: When we grow up, we don't abandon ourselves. Every version of you from the past is still within your heart.

MC: You will see them, comfort them, and accept them.

Behind me, Lucien is silent, but the slightly tightened arms seem to quietly reveal something.

MC: What did the ten-year-old Lucien do today?

Lucien: Mm... I read a very special book.

MC: And what about the fourteen-year-old Lucien?

Lucien: I went to Venice, took photos at the Bridge of Sighs, and accidentally dropped my camera.

MC: Hmm, and what about when you were seventeen?

Lucien: Spent an entire night in my own independent laboratory.

MC: Wow, you! You didn't pull an all-nighter at twenty as well, did you?

Lucien: When I was twenty… I was given a graduation ceremony that I think is a bit special now.

MC: And what about you today?

He slowly lifts his head, his soft fingertips caressing my cheek.

Lucien: I went to meet important people

Lucien: And returned to your side.

MC: So you see, today may be your birthday, but it's also a special book day and a day for a bit of luck to escape.

MC: It can be an all-nighter day or a day for sleep. It's your graduation ceremony, and it's also the day of your important people.

MC: It doesn't just belong to happiness, it simply belongs to you.

MC: Happy birthday, Lucien. You don't have to be just happy.

The droplet on the glass window reflects the candlelight, resembling burning osmanthus petals as if time itself has paused by our side.

Lucien finally smiles, his eyes sparkling.

Lucien: I think, I know what wish to make now.

He wraps my hands together in his and looks at the candlelight.

It seems like he's saying a lot of wishes, and only after a while does he rest his forehead against mine.

MC: I hope all your wishes come true.

Lucien: Well, this Miss will have to work hard because it's not just from the present me.

Lucien: I just took the opportunity to make up for all those days I forgot to make wishes.

MC: Right now, I feel like I'm accompanying the past you.

MC: Would you call me silly for feeling this way?

Lucien: (whispers softly) Of course not.

His warm lips gently cover mine, devout and solemn.

Lucien: Furthermore, for the future me, the present is my past.

At the moment the candles were blown out, the sound of fireworks bursting in the distance could be heard. Colorful fireworks exploded outside the window, decorating the night sky.

It turns out that the rain had silently stopped at some point.

Lucien: It looks like there will be fireworks outside the window.

MC: It's welcoming you.

At this moment, there are less than 10 minutes left until the end of Lucien's birthday.

I grab his hand and run out of the B&B, running onto the street.

The street scene is incredibly lively, and for some reason, the celebratory fireworks keep lighting up the night sky, leaving colorful streaks in their wake.

Pedestrians pause for a moment, and I hold Lucien's hand. We walk through the crowd and I excitedly turn back to him.

MC: Lucien, it's wonderful that you came into this world.

MC: Thank you for coming into this world, thank you for coming to my side.

Another burst of fireworks soars into the sky, and the world is so beautiful, as if gathering all the colors of this moment into his eyes.

All the accumulated emotions are like the fireworks at this moment, making him vibrant and alive.

I see him take my hand and wrap his other arm around my waist.

Perhaps this isn't even a dance, we're just embracing each other and spinning around while laughing.

It seems like only the two of us exist in the world.

Lucien: MC.

I hear him calling my name.

Lucien: Thank you, for giving me this beautiful world as a present.

MC: Then I hope even more that whether I participate in your world or not, you will have the beauty of the whole world.

Lucien: Don't worry.

Lucien's eyes are filled with a smile, and the lamp's warm glow makes him look incredibly bright.

Lucien: All my time is as dazzling as you.

-

[Phone Call- coming soon]

-

[Lux's small rambling corner]

Dying rn after two sleepless nights, so I'll say a little for now and will add more after resting for some days orz. But really, I think what makes this date good can be felt with heart. Every single sentence is golden and worth to be screaming about hnghhh.

Where should I start??? Everything about this date feels perfect. I don't even know where to begin🥹 I genuinely think this one is his best birthday date. The pay of years' worth of build-up and the metaphors are perfect, and GOD, how this date consists of everything that makes them unique and lovable to me.

I didn't anticipate that the writers would skillfully weave together past birthday dates on this occasion. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if this marks the final instance centered around the theme of the past self. Embracing every version of your past self that makes up 'you' is truly a fitting conclusion.

It's INSANE how his writers are able to build up the whole thing over the span of 6 YEARS like??? The way his change and growth happen little by little as we accompany him in those years, watching him now just being himself, frankly expressing his emotions and longing, and taking the initiative to be vulnerable for the first time, I can't help but feel emotional sob sob. Trust me, I CRIED the first time I read that part when he asked for a hug. We've seen him being vulnerable before, but him being the one who takes the initiative is an entirely different matter. I mean, Lucien????? the same guy that says he's okay when he got heatstroke???/hj.

Anyway, with each birthday, Lucien seems to discover something new. Like last year when he finally found a place that can be called home, this year, what he found was the loneliness and sadness from the past that he hid so deeply because he just didn't understand and had no time to deal with it. After his parents' death he give himself a new name and abandoned his old one. Like cutting off his past memories, put them in small box, locking them and hid them. Back then, he probably thought that he would never open that 'box' again and he would eventually forget its existence. But every time he get reminded of them, like in this date when he saw their names in reference he'd see the key of that 'box', reminding him of its existence.

Now, because of his encounter with her, he is gradually able to slow down, slowly understand his feelings and emotions. And so, he finally opened that 'box', went to the cemetery to see his parents and clumsily told them what he unconsciously always wanted to say, letting years of sadness and missing from losing them filled him. With this, he also slowly accept his every past self.

Like the fireworks after the long rain, his present self is alive and vibrant. Be it sadness or happiness, Lucien, I'm glad that now you can experience and accept both.

[pyramid-of-starrs]

Take Care of Me Chapter 2: Remember when?

Chapter mood board:

Chapter word count: 10.2K (I'm sorry I was on a roll lol)

Chapter warnings: Cursing, trauma, tox relationships, toxic men, emotional abuse, gaslighting, abandonment, family issues, pregnancy, Seonghwa was NOT a good person in the past sorry lol

Smut warning: Masturbation, kissing, assisted masturbation, use of sex toy, oral sex (Fem recieving), cum eating, squirting, begging, breast play, fingering, heavy yearning, tipsy sex mentioned

Minors DNI

Chapter Playlist

This had to be a joke, right? No way was this real life. No way was the guy that was just knuckles deep in your pussy 2 days prior standing at your doorstep about to become your new caretaker. You stood there silently then Jonathan spoke again.

"Is everything okay Ms. Y/N ? Were we disturbing you, because if so, we can come back later."

"Um...no I just, thought your nephew looked familiar at first but nope I've never met him ha-ha." You said frantically "I'm working from home today so I'll be around to help your nephew so you can head back Jonathan." Thank goodness you had the option to work from home or from the office when you so pleased. When Rina originally told you about this you didn't really care since you spend the day doing the same boring thing but, in your PJs, instead of work clothes which sounded worse.

"You're all dressed up though Miss, are you sure?"

"Yes, yes we'll be fine, Wooyoung come in."

Wooyoung continued to smile as he stepped past his uncle into the house.

"Uncle John I'll be fine; I'm sure Ms. Y/N will help me with everything I'll need."

Jonathan’s face became relieved, he was afraid that the two of you wouldn't get along, but your warm facade has tricked him good, he waves the both of you off and leaves, you and Wooyoung see him off with a smile then you close the door.

Wooyoung softly bites his lips and pushes you into the door.

"Well princess looks like I got you to myself once again, shall we finish what we started that night?"

You slowly pushed him back.

"Yeah no, that's not what's going to happen, why the hell are you here?"

"My uncle didn't tell you? He needed a replacement and I just mo-"

"Yes, Jonathan told me, but it still doesn't explain why the guy that I did that kind of thing with is now my caretaker."

"Oh, you mean because we were about to fuck?”

You shook your head at Wooyoungs vulgarness, trying to wake yourself up from this dream or nightmare.

“Look, I’m not sure how long this is going to be the arrangement but starting today we are going to forget that that night ever happened okay?”

Wooyoung once again smiled with his foxlike face and stepped back putting his hands up in a surrendering pose.

“Fine Beautiful, I’ll play along.”

“Thank you-“

“Though it sure will be hard for me to forget how good you taste.”

“Sh-shut up, and it’s not playing along, this is nothing more than a professional relationship got it?”

You started to get a bit flustered, you needed Jonathan the sweet old man to hurry the hell up and get back. You sigh and gather back up your work bag and head over to the door.

“Where are you off to lovely?” Wooyoung said while picking up Mister.

“I’m going to work still, and enough with the nicknames, I told you this is a strictly professional relationship.”

Wooyoung giggled at you.

“Right, professional, have a good day at work boss.”

You walked out the door and headed to your car, instead of heading into the office you decided to go over to Rinas house since most of the days during the week she worked from home while Hongjoong was home and not traveling. You got to her front door and knocked, when the door opened you expected it to be your long-term friend but instead was greeted by your favorite frenemy, Hongjoong.

“Y/N, what’s up?”

“Hello, is Rina here?”

“No, she ran to the store, but her car shut off, I’m on my way out to grab her but she is the only one with a house key since I lost mine. You wouldn’t so happen to have the spare one she gave you, would you?”

“Oh no I don’t I leave that at home in my drawer.”

Hongjoong sighed and said, “Of course you do.” Under his breath.

“Look, do you mind just waiting here at the house until I get back with her? Then you two can have all the girl talks in the world.”

Hongjoong was kind of a dick but unlike his brother he was open and honest with his ways, he is the kind of guy that’s only nice to his mom and his girlfriend, which you kind of respected. Even Hongjoong and Seonghwa didn’t always get along, Hongjoong being the honest and blunt one while Seonghwa could lie and convince an orange that its purple. Hongjoong never liked his brothers’ sneaky ways, but he was always going to stick beside him because that is his brother, and he always puts family first. When Seonghwa told Hongjoong that you two had broken up because you didn’t support his dreams and because you were a selfish whore Hongjoong immediately knew that his brother wasn’t telling the full truth, however Hongjoong did watch his brother spiral into a deep depression the entire week before he left for Europe. He was so afraid Seonghwa would do something stupid while he was away all because you broke his heart. Ever since then he was convinced that you broke up with his brother because you were probably just hurt that he was leaving because he knew you to be clingy to Seonghwa. He didn’t know you were clingy because Seonghwa made you feel like he was all you had in this world. You never bothered trying to explain everything to Hongjoong because the next time that you seen him, him and Rina had started dating, you’d much rather not stir the pot between the two of them and just left him hating you as is.

“Yeah, sure I’ll wait here.”

You walked in with your laptop bag and Hongjoong left out, you figured you’d get some work done while you waited. About 45 minutes goes by and you hear a car pull into the driveway, you thought that that was fast and was just happy that Rina was okay. You didn’t hear a second car or a tow truck, so you assumed that the couple had Rina’s car taken to a mechanic. You continued to work then the door unlocked and opened you were seated in the living room and got up to head over to welcome your friend home in the cute way you two usually do.

“My love you’ve returned home safely.”

You entered the foyer of the house and your eyes got wide, the person that had entered your friend’s house was Seonghwa he was taking off his shoes and looked at you with his gorgeous smile.

“Well, hello dear, thank you for the warm welcome.”

“Seonghwa, I-I thought you were Rina…”

“Aw well that sucks, and here I was getting all warm inside hearing you call me your love again.”

The embarrassment hit you like a ten-ton truck but all you could do is move forward.

“Right, sorry about that, have you heard from your brother and Rina?”

You said walking back to the living room to sit down and calm your embarrassment, you picked your laptop back up and continued to work. Seonghwa followed you into the living room and sat next to you giving you some space on the couch so you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

“Yeah, they said they were waiting on AAA to come and see what the issue was with the car.”

Silence filled the room because you didn’t want the conversation to continue and you and your ex end up the same way you were in the club on Saturday, gazing into each other’s eyes and you losing your self-control.

“What are you working on on your laptop?”

“I’m just getting caught up on this project from work.”

“Ah, I see, Rina tells me you and her work at the same marketing firm, and you have a really high up position, I’m happy for you Y/N.”

 “Thank you.”

“…She also told me that you told her that we broke up because we “Couldn’t see eye to eye” about me going to Europe.” He said with finger quotes.

You again chose to stay quiet on the matter, what were you meant to say to that statement? “Yeah, I lied so everyone doesn’t know that you’re an asshole?”. You felt like there was no right or wrong answer to that, so you stayed silent while typing on your laptop. Seonghwa accepted your silence and waited for a moment before swallowing and continuing.

“She told me that when we broke up you were devastated for a while and shut yourself out…she said that you really missed me and have only dated one person since we broke up and you changed a lot of yourself.”

God dammit Rina how much did you tell this guy? This was just something you had to deal with honestly, Rina was a hopeless romantic that only wanted everyone she loved to have a love story too. You loved her harmless attempts at making sure you find the love of your life, a year after you and Seonghwa broke up she started setting you up on blind dates, with either guys she met at the diner, guys at the office or one time even one of Hongjoongs friends. Yeosang from work thought he had to go on the date, or he was going to be fired, but once you explained he had a choice he let you know he wasn’t interested, Mingi, Hongjoongs friend was loud and flashy, your exact opposite, he ghosted you after 2 weeks and told Hongjoong you were kind of boring. Then the guy from the diner, Yunho, He was sweet and actually stuck for a bit, you two started to casually date, even got as far as you two having sex twice then he told you that he felt like your heart wasn’t in the relationship, turns out he just wanted to get back with his ex. After that you told Rina to stop trying to set you up and that you’d find a guy when the time came. 2 years later and you’re sitting here with your ex, days after letting a stranger that ended up being your caretaker finger you until you couldn’t see straight. Wow, what an awesome love life indeed. Closing your laptop, it’s no running from this conversation anymore, you had to deal with this now.

“Yeah Seonghwa, I did take our breakup hard how else was I supposed to feel.”

“You know we didn’t have to break up though Y/N.”

You rolled your neck and shook your head.

“We didn’t? So, tell me what choice did I have? It was either stay with you and throw away the years I spent working on my future or break up.”

“You’re right…and I was wrong for making you choose between me and finishing school, but we could have worked something out.”

“Yet instead of working something out, you chose to berate me one last time before flying thousands miles away.”

He looked down as he recalled the things he said to you that day, Seonghwa then and Seonghwa now were 2 very different people. When Seonghwa flew to Europe he was still hurt about you breaking up with him, but he had to keep moving forward, about a week later he started his internship and got to work. He made friends and life went was going well, he started to meet new people, new business connections and best of all new women. He started the cycle of meeting women, sleeping with them, and disposing of them when they no longer piqued his interest. When that got boring, he wanted to try to take someone seriously he started to date a woman by the name of Alice, a very beautiful European woman he met during his internship, she did whatever he said and didn’t fight or question him. He even accepted a job at the company he interned for just so he could stay, but then the time passed, and he felt like something was missing. Alice didn’t make him happy; she slept with him and did everything for him, but the feel just wasn’t there, she just wasn’t you. During the most recent year he felt himself start to become bored of his life. A good paying job, a nice apartment, a dog, a beautiful woman, yet none of this compared to the feeling that he got when he was with you. He decided to see a therapist after him and Alice got into a fight and he called her your name, he realized that he hadn’t changed and needed to see someone about it.

After many sessions, Seonghwa knew what he had to do, he asked his brother about you and when Hongjoong refused to help you get back together, he knew his next step was to tell Rina that he was coming home to get you back. He flew in the day before and arrived at his brother’s house that night. He exclaimed that he needed to get his baby back and nothing could stop him. When he saw you sitting there in V.I.P all alone all he wanted to do was run over and kiss you and tell you how sorry he was and that he loved you, but he knew it wouldn’t be that easy. He knew that this would require time and effort and hard work to get you back. When he spoke to you, hearing your voice again made him see heaven, his earth angel sitting right in front of him yet so far out of reach. He was determined to make you his once again, even if that meant proving to you that he was a changed man.

“Y/N, the things I said that day, they weren’t right and I’m sorry, you never deserved to have to deal with how I treated you all those years and I understand why you probably hate me, but I’ve changed really I have-“

As Seonghwa was talking the front door swung open and Rina burst into the living room.

“Ah, my eggy, my love, my queen you were here waiting for me to come home like a good wife.” She ran over to jump on you and hug, as she nestled into you, she looked over and realized that Seonghwa was there too, that’s when the heavy tension in the room hit her like a sack of bricks.

“Oh- sorry was I interrupting something?” She said as her eyes darted between you too.

Hongjoong walked in carrying Rinas shopping bags, looking annoyed and tired.

“Don’t be ridiculous Rina this is our house.” 

"Joongie stop being mean!"

He drops the bags by the door and enters the living room, huffing and puffing from having to lug all of Rinas shopping bags in.

"What do you have a tracking device on her or something? Why are you here all of a sudden Hwa?"

He said sternly.

"Hey that's not nice HJ, for all you know I could be here to see my favorite baby brother."

"1 I'm a grown man drop the baby and two we both know that’s a lie, what is it?"

"Joongie, you're being rude, stop it."

You looked around the room a bit confused, you felt tension in the room other then you and Seonghwas. Little did you know that Hongjoong and Seonghwa were not on the best terms. Prior to Seonghwa flying back home he called his brother that he only talked to 3 times a month to tell him how he wants to fly home just to get you back. Hongjoong had 2 issues with the plan though, 1 it involved you and 2 it was going to be a waste of time. Hongjoong hated wasted time or unnecessary efforts, he was a realist, if it didn't make sense to do why do it? He understood putting in efforts for love, he tried his damnedest to be home as much as possible to be with Rina. However, you and Seonghwa weren't him and Rina, you were two people that just shouldn't be together.  He just wanted you two to get over each other and move on, because that was better for everyone involved, that was healthier for everyone involved. Liked you or not he didn't want Seonghwa to hurt you again just as much as he didn't want his brother being hurt by you again.

"Listen Hongjoong, I'm just here to congratulate you two, I'm happy for you."

Your concerned looked turned to a puzzled one, congratulate them for what?

Rina got up and hit Hongjoong in the shoulder.

"Joongie, you told them already; I was going to wait for the ultrasound pictures, ugh why do I spend all that time showing you Pinterest boards."

"Ultrasounds?" you whispered to yourself.

"Ultrasounds? I meant congrats on the engagement, Rina, I didn't know you were pregnant."

"Engagement?" your eyebrows was arched as you stood up feeling like you're the most confused one in the room of mixed emotions.

"En...gagment?" Rina said, seemingly in a state of shock.

Hongjoong stood there staring at his brother in pure anger, he knew Seonghwa only said this to take the heat off himself, he sighed and rolled his eyes while shaking his head, not much to do but commit now.

"Yeah Ri, engagement." He walked off to the back room that they converted into a studio for Hongjoong to work from home and he came back with a small velvet box. He got down on one knee and you were speechless, what the hell is going on today?

"Rina, Marry me, okay?"

Rina was more speechless than you, she just stood in silence then timber she falls backwards, you swiftly moved in to catch her from behind while the two brothers stood in shock. You moved her over to the couch and laid her down.

"I'll go get her some water." Seonghwa said as he rushed to the kitchen.

Hongjoong walked over and kneeled to be by Rinas side.

"Careful with her stomach, she’s pregnant."

And there it was, the confirmation, your best friend was pregnant and became a fiancé all at once, well technically almost fiancé but the logistics don't matter right now. Rina started to come too, her site blurry and she started to get up while holding her head.

"Careful baby, take your time." Hongjoong said holding Rinas other hand.

"Joongie, was it a dream or did you really ask me to marry you?"

"It's true baby, I want you to marry me, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and knowing that you have my baby in your belly right now just makes me want to be with you forever. I love you, Rina."

Hongjoong really loved Rina and it made you smile, if a hard ass like him can find love and figure it out maybe you could too. Rina hugged you and cried on your shoulders.

"Eggy, I'm getting married."

You slightly laughed at Rina and rubbed her back.

"I know Rina but I'm not the one you should be hugging right now and give Hongjoong a proper answer."

She released you then wiped some of her tears as she turned back to Hongjoong.

"Of course, I'll marry you Joongie I love you so much." She lounged and knocked him down on his butt as she continued to cry into his shoulders.

Seonghwa came back with the water and set it down on the coffee table. You took this moment as your time to head back home, you started to gather your things and headed toward the door, once you put your shoes on you Seonghwa was right behind you.

"Let me walk you out."

"Actually Hwa, hang back I have to talk to you." Hongjoong said from the living room. You chose not to get involved and left the house to go home.

"Rina, how about you go upstairs to wash up so I can take you out to celebrate."

Rina once again wiped her tears and nodded her head, looking almost child-like. She got up and headed upstairs to fix herself up and scream at becoming a fiancé. Hongjoong got up and as Seonghwa walked back into the room Hongjoong pushed him.

"Dude what is your fucking problem? I told you if you're going to really pursue Y/N again don't let it affect me and Rina. Why would you say something about me proposing? And don't say something dumb like you really thought I already did it."

"I know I shouldn't have, I'm sorry HJ but I didn't want Y/N knowing I was only here for her, I needed it be seem random."

"So you reveal my plans to propose to cover yourself? I thought you said you changed."

"I have but sometimes even trained dogs can pee on carpets." Seonghwa said shrugging his shoulders because he was out of excuses.

"Fuck you Hwa, don't do it again."

Hongjoong sat down on the couch and relaxed his tense body.

"Didn't you and Y/N fuck again already, how are you still trying to win her back."

"No we haven't done anything yet, but god I'd love too, do you see how she's built now?"

"Wait, if you and her weren't fucking, what happened to you two on Saturday?"

"We took one shot then she ran off to go to the bathroom."

"That’s weird, when she came back, she had this really fucked out expression on her face and her hair was kind of messed up. She said she had gotten sick from the drinks, but her face and behavior said otherwise."

Seonghwa scoffed at his brothers’ accusations.

"As if Y/N would fuck some guy at the club over fucking me, your trust issues are showing little bro."

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain where the hell you went."

Seonghwa sat down at the other end of the couch and scratched his head.

"Weellll about that, you know Rina’s friend Yuna? Well when she said she had to leave early because she forgot to feed her cat she actually took me back to her place and well."

He shrugged his shoulders in a comical way.

"Wait I thought you came here for Y/N, why are you banging other chicks, and why the hell would you fuck someone else in the friend group?"

Hongjoong said as he slow panned toward his brother. No matter how hard he tried he just could not understand what could possibly be going on in his brother’s mind.

"Hear me out okay, when Y/N left VIP, Yuna came over to get another drink and we introduced ourselves, I made sure she had no ties with Y/N, and it was smooth from there. Just because I'm pursuing Y/N doesn't mean I can't get my rocks off too."

Hongjoong shook his head once again.

"Whatever man, I'm going to get dressed so I can take my Fiancé out, once again thanks a lot dick, are you staying here?"

"No, but I'd love it if you gave me Y/Ns address so I can finish talking to her."

"Come on with the creepy shit Hwa, and why should I help you after today?"

"Come on bro, help your big brother out, I would hate for Rina to find out what happened when you came to visit me a year ago in Europe."

Hongjoongs eyes got wide as he was reminded of the horrible mistake he had made when he went to Europe to visit his brother. Rina and Hongjoong were on a small "break" because they weren't seeing eye to eye, during the break they agreed to not see anyone else and wait for each other. To help get over the small heart break Seonghwa invited his brother and some of their mutual friends to hang out with him in Europe. They partied, drank, and enjoyed their time there, on the last night Seonghwa invited a girl he was talking to at the time to his apartment told her to bring some friends. Her and her friends came and at first Hongjoong wasn't into it, he just wanted to be home with his Rina, one of the girls came to sit next to him and asked him why he looked so sad. Hongjoong normally wouldn't open up to people he doesn't know but 2 beers in you would do a lot. 1 conversation about how Rina is wrong and Hongjoong should be with a woman that does whatever he says and 4 beers later Hongjoong was putty in the girls’ hands. He was tipsy but he was coherent, he knew what he was doing and woke up the next day regretting it. Little did he know it was his own brother that organized this, he told his lady friend to bring a girl specifically for Hongjoong, he told her to go over and talk to him and even gave her a condom. He made sure his brother was drunk and could still consent and when he saw them leave the living room and go down the hall, he knew his plan worked.

It was nothing against Rina or the relationship, he just was a miserable person. You and him didn't work out, none of his other relationships worked out, why should anyone get to be happy when he couldn't. Looking back Seonghwa regrets letting it happen, but he still utilized the situation in this moment because in his logic, desperate times calls for desperate measures.

"Fine...but this is the last thing I'll help you with in this whole dumbass situation." Hongjoong said as he pulled out his phone and sent Seonghwa your address.

Seonghwa smiled as the notification noise dinged on his phone, he headed to the door.

"Thanks baby bro."

Once he left, he was on his way to you.

Meanwhile at your house, you pulled into your driveway and just sat there thinking about everything that has happened today. Your new caretaker has made you cum, your ex that made that caused you major trauma is back home and trying to prove he has changed, and your best friend was pregnant and engaged? This was the most eventful Monday you've ever experienced. As you're decompressing in your car Wooyoung comes out and knocks on your car window.

"Welcome home boss, you okay?"

You sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine, how was everything here?"

"It was fine, Mister is in the back playing and dinner is ready."

You looked at Wooyoung confused and checked your apple watch on your wrist, you now see that it was going on 6pm, you didn't even finish your work for the day but at least you're going into the office tomorrow.

"Wait dinner is ready? What did you order?"

"Yeah, my uncle says you like to order dinner from the same place every night but that’s gotta be boring after a while, so I just made something."

You grabbed your laptop bag and got out of the car and started to walk to the door.

"Look Wooyoung, I know you're supposed to be your uncle’s replacement but that doesn't mean I want you changing my routines."

You opened the door and walked into your home; an amazing smell of food hit your nose.

"I know but routines are no fun, besides won't you feel loved if you have a sexy man such as myself waiting with a hot cooked meal for you every day."

You turned to Wooyoung, and he winked at you. You looked around the house and was shocked to see everything still in one piece. You walked over to the kitchen and saw a pot on the stove. You removed the lid, and the smell of the dish made you want to dive into it and start swimming.

"That's Jjigae, it’s like a stew we make back home in Korea."

"...it smells good."

He brushed past you to get a bowl and a spoon.

"Go sit, I'll make you a bowl."

You sat down in your usual seat on the couch as he started to plate the food. When he came out, he stopped.

"No boss sit at the table."

You got up and sat at the table, Wooyoung put the bowl down in front of you and gave you your utensils. You thanked him for the meal and started to eat.

"Wow this is good, did you make this?"

He smiled at you as you enjoyed the food.

"Yeah, my mom taught me how to cook because she said she didn't want me to be useless when I get married."

"Well, she taught you well."

While you finished Wooyoung let Mister in the house, and you cleaned your dish in the sink, you decided to get changed into your usual lounge clothing of shorts and a sweatshirt with your college on it. When you returned to the living room Wooyoung was gathering his items to head home.

"Wait I don't hear your uncle outside, where are you going?"

"Oh, yeah I'm taking the bus home."

He looked over too you as he put his bookbag over his shoulders and started to put his shoes on.

"Well, I deposited your money into the account that your uncle gave me."

"You can cancel that, send it to my uncle still he needs it more than me."

"Wait but what will you do for money? Your uncle told me you needed this job for honest work."

"Aww boss are you worried about little ol' me? Seeing you in those shorts is already getting a rise out of me."

He shot a flirty smile your way and you won't lie it made your heart flutter a bit, damn was he handsome.

"N-no, I'm just making sure doing this job is worth it."

"Don't worry beautiful coming to see you every day is very worth it, plus I have my job at the club. I do more than finger sexy women in distress."

You met Wooyoung at the door to let him out and just as you were about to open the door, there was a knock. Who could that possibly be?

You opened your door to see Seonghwa with a small bouquet, great 2 guys that have been with you intimately in one room, just what every girl dreams of.

"Seonghwa?" you said in a shocked voice. How the hell did he even get your address.

"Y/N, are you busy? I wanted to talk to you about something." As he was looking at you, he looked up from you and saw the young man behind you.

"Who's this Y/N?" He asked instead of introducing himself, a sense of possessiveness washed over Seonghwa.

You turned to face Wooyoung and stuck your hand out to introduce him.

"This is Wooyoung, he's my caretaker, he helps around the house with my plants and dog and stuff."

Wooyoung gave Seonghwa a fake smile and wave, he remembered that name, that was the ex that made it possible for him to meet you that night.

"Hi, I'm Wooyoung"

"Seonghwa, Y/N can I have a moment with you...alone?"

Wooyoung walked past Seonghwa and out of the door.

"Don't you worry, I was just leaving, See you tomorrow Y/N, and Seonghwa, thanks for all your help."

He walked down the walkway and Seonghwa walked in and shut the door, confused on what the last part of Wooyoungs sentence meant, meanwhile it made you even more flustered.

“I got you these, I hope you still like carnations, I know they are your favorite.”

He handed you the bouquet, you took the beautiful flowers from him and with a slanted lip.

“My favorite flowers are peonies, but yeah come in I guess.”  You said as you walked over to the kitchen to grab you and him some water.

“Have a seat on the couch, I’m assuming you came here to talk to me?”

“You know me so well.” He said as he took a seat on the couch, Mister came over to sniff him.

“You got a dog and he’s black just like mine was when I lived in Europe.”

You walked back over with two cold bottles of water and handed on to him as you sat down, you were confused by his statement.

“What do you mean when you lived in Europe? Don’t you still live in Europe?”

Seonghwa took a deep breath and exhaled, he needed to lay everything out on the table now.

“Look Y/N, I’m going to get this all out now, I love you more then you know, hell more than even I know… how I treated you when we were together was not okay at all and I can’t ever excuse my actions and if I had the ability to take them back I would, but I can’t. That’s why I’m here now, here to say…”

He paused, he was hesitant about what his next words should be, but he couldn’t risk coming all this way for nothing, Seonghwa wanted his girl back.

“To say what Hwa?”

“To say…I need you back Y/N. I sat in Europe for these past years regretting letting you go, I had to come back for you, I packed up and got a job in town and found an apartment. I want us to work Y/N, there is no one out there for me except you.”

Your heart dropped to your stomach, was this really happening? This wasn’t some kind of dream or nightmare. Maybe you could pinch yourself to see if you would wake up. Was the man you spent 4 years of your life loving unconditionally sitting her asking for you back after breaking your heart and leaving you behind?

Prior to Seonghwa leaving for Europe, back when you started your Senior year of college, things had become a bit rocky in the relationship. Your schedule had lightened up since you took on extra classes in the summer so you could spend as much time as possible with your boyfriend, Seonghwa had gotten a small job working for a local company and an apartment that was 45 minutes away from campus. He never bothered trying to come see you on campus because he was “Too busy with work” or “too tired from work.” He did however find the energy to come on campus to go to parties that he never told you he attended, usually Rina or your other friends would tell you he was there and would be shocked that you didn’t know. He would tell you that wasn’t him or that he was only stopping by to see a friend. It’s not like you could attend the parties to even know if he was there, you stopped going to parties after Seonghwa saw one too many guys eyeing you in a skirt you just bought, which he said it was your fault for wearing it just for attention. This didn’t stop you or drive you away though, not even the many times you’d wait hours and hours for his text or calls. The text would be short and dry, and the calls were mostly silence and you telling him you missed him. Occasionally you would take the bus to his apartment to see him, the bus ride turning the 45-minute drive to a 2 hour one with 1 train and 2 buses. You had picked up an on-campus job as a lab assistant and started saving up for a car just so you could see Seonghwa. When the time finally came for you to buy a car after 3 months of eating ramen and saving you got an old car that could get you from point A to point B, nothing fancy. From there you started to see Seonghwa a lot more since he didn’t have a car he would ask you for rides, having you drive him around from time to time, to on campus parties and even to work sometimes, you’d ask if you could get a key to go back to his apartment to finish sleeping until your afternoon classes and he said he didn’t want you to lose it.

One night you were on the way to pick Seonghwa to go to a huge party that was happening on campus, you were all dressed up since this was one of the rare occasions Seonghwa chose to not be upset about you showing skin. While you were driving your car started to violently shake, you pulled over and the car stopped completely unable to turn back on. You called your insurance company to get the car towed and called Seonghwa afterward.

“Hey, baby my car stopped and had to get towed, so I can’t pick you up, could you possibly get me an uber or something to pick me up? I’m about 15 minutes away still.”

You could hear him pause then sigh.

“Y/N I have bills now that I’m on my own, I can’t spend money on getting you rides, that’s why I get rides from you.”

“But…I’m here by myself and the last of the money I had went toward gas to pick you up.”

“Don’t do that, don’t make this my fault, you could have easily told me no, no one told you to spend the last of your money.”

“Seonghwa I can’t ride with the tow truck driver because my car is being taken to a shop, so could you please just come get me so I’m not alone on the street?”

You started to get upset and hurt that you even had to ask twice, and you started to elevate your tone.

“Y/N, you’re yelling at me and it’s not helping me or you, I guess I’ll be the mature one and talk to you tomorrow when you calm down.”

Before you could respond he hung up, leaving you there in the cold night. You felt the tears well up in your eyes as they started to stream down your cheeks, ruining the make-up you did for the night. You had to end up calling Rina to come pick you up and take you back to your dorm, you skipped going to the party all around and stayed home in bed in the dark. When you were watching snapchat videos you saw one of the girls from your marketing class, she was taking pictures of everyone and there he was, Seonghwa in the back with a drink in his hand. So now as your sitting here on your couch listening to the same man that left you there that night on the street, the same selfish person that left you in America alone, the same selfish bastard that didn’t even bother contacting you until now, ask for you back. You sat there, frozen in shock, what was there to say? The most logical answer was to tell him to go to hell and kick him out your house…but you weren’t a logical person. The feelings you felt for Seonghwa were real and true, you never experienced something so intense in your life, never had this kind of love for someone. You were already 28 and Seonghwa was your only real relationship.

“So…what do you say Y/N?”

“Seonghwa…I don’t know…I-“

Your statement was interrupted by your front door opening, that’s when you noticed that it was raining cats and dogs outside, there was mentions of a rain and thunderstorm on the radio but there was so much going on today you completely forgot. Both your heads turned to see the reason the door opened; it was Wooyoung soaking wet.

“Sorry to interrupt Boss but, I forgot to give you back your house key so I started walking back and wouldn’t ya know it, it started raining.” He walked into the house and closed the door not actually caring that he was interrupting you two. He didn’t have respect for Seonghwa because even though he didn't know him but what he did know about him, lead him to believe he wasn’t going to gain respect for him. “Could I stay here till the storm calms down?” You shook out your stunned state and got up.

“Sorry Seonghwa maybe you should head home for now, so you aren’t caught up when the storm gets worse.”

He signed, in that moment he wanted to just hear you say yes to him, he was tired of being interrupted and tired of you running but he knew that his time would come, he had an advantage with you, but so did someone else. The young man currently smirking like a sly little fox was that someone, Wooyoung may not have had the advantage of history like Seonghwa, but he did have the advantage of giving you a memorable orgasm. Wooyoung did technically need to come back that day to give you the key, he knew he could have kept it or even given it to you tomorrow but no. Even though you two had just met Wooyoung, he took his job as your caretaker seriously. The night he met you in the club meant a lot more to him then you know.

Seonghwa stood up and headed to the door as you followed behind him, he put on his shoes and turned to you.

“Can I at least get your number so we can meet up this weekend?”

Though you were hesitant you still gave him your number, who doesn’t like a free meal right? You (and Wooyoung) waved Seonghwa off as he headed to his car, and you closed the door.

“Well, I thought you’d need some saving, when he came it looked like you seen a ghost.”

You sighed and once again dropped down on your couch face first groaning. Wooyoung walked over to stand over you.

“I guess I was right huh? Is that the guy you were telling me about in the club?”

“Yeah…” you said with your face still in the couch, so the words came out muffled.

“Want a long hug from a wet and sexy man?”

“Shut up. The bathroom is down the hall go take a shower so you can change, I’ll put your clothes in the washer.”

“Look who’s taking care of who now.” You rolled your eyes and Wooyoung went to take his shower while you loaded his clothes in the washing machine. The rain showed no signs of letting up, so you went to get at a shirt and a pair of pants for him to wear for the night. You knocked on the bathroom door.

“I have some clothes for you I’ll leave them in front of the door.”

When you finished, you kneeled to put the clothes in front of the door, before you could get up the bathroom door swung open, and steam came out. Wooyoung stood at the door with only a towel on that covered him from the waist down, his bare chest was showing, water droplets still falling from it, his wet thin gold chain sat perfectly just below his collarbone and his hair was dripping wet with a slight curl. You were stuck, speechless, frozen in time, truly how can one person have this much sex appeal? He had to be a son of Aphrodite; he was just too gorgeous.

“Come on boss you’re making me shy just staring like that.”

You exhaled deeply and got up with the clothes in hand, you felt your face get so hot you probably could melt ice. You shoved the clothes in his hand.

“H-here’s some clothes, put these on and you can stay in the guest room its upstairs and down the hall on the right, the room on the left is mine, just knock or text me if you need me. You know where food is if you’re hungry. Goodnight.”

He giggled at you and damn even his teasing laugh was sexy.

“Good night boss.”

You went up to your room and took a shower in your personal bathroom. You put on your night dress and laid in bed as you tried to decompress. This was the most eventful Monday of your life, with everything going on you had texted Rina congrats and that you loved her, but she hadn’t responded, she was probably tired from spending the day with Hongjoong. You plugged your phone up, it was not 11:21 at night, maybe your life was going to go back to normal tomorrow. As you laid in bed you closed your eyes, not even 20 minutes had passed before the thumping began. Tonight, was a bit more understandable though, your sexy ex missed you and you had a sexy caretaker across the hall, nothing to be done now though. You hadn’t heard Wooyoung come up the stairs yet, so you figured you had a bit of time. You dug in your bedside table drawer and got out your black vibrator wand. You snuggled your self deeply into the covers and bent your legs as you spread them nice and wide. You slide your free hand under your short night dress and on too your unclothed core. You rubbed your hands over your sensitive pussy, you were already wet from thinking about Wooyoung shirtless, what were you some pervy old lady gawking at the sexy boy next door? Even something as simple as that got you this wet? You chose to keep thinking about him as you turned the vibrator on to the 2nd highest setting so it wouldn’t make noise. You lightly placed it on your clit and let out a small yelp, trying to stay quiet so you wouldn’t be heard. You moved the head of the vibrator up and down your folds while your eyes were closed tightly. You started to think about Wooyoung fresh out the shower again, wishing he would have yanked you into the bathroom and bent you over the sink and fucked you until you couldn’t think straight, how would he fuck you? Would he be slow and sensual or fast and rough. You’d do anything in that moment to find out, but you knew you couldn’t, you knew fucking him was taboo, but how turned on you were, you didn’t care one bit. Though the fantasy was fun and the feeling of the vibrator on your throbbing nub felt good something was missing. It felt good but it couldn’t get you to finish, you continued trying your best to stimulate yourself enough that the thumping would stop, and you could get some rest. Little moans fell from your lips as you held the vibrator in place on your clit, without you even noticing you even slipped up and said Wooyoungs name a few times. You started to buck your hips as you felt a building up sensation, was this finally your climax, just as you could see the light at the end of the tunnel a knock was heard at the door. Your eyes shot open, and you hurried and turned off the vibrator.

“Y-yes?”

“Boss, can I come in for a second?” Wooyoung said from behind the door.

“Um…yeah that’s fine.” You shoved your toy under your other pillow and fixed your dress as you got up to open the door, you immediately walked back to sit by the head of the bed, you knew not stand up for long because your clit was throbbing like crazy after you accidently just edged yourself. You sat back down at the edge of the bed and Wooyoung walked in the room making the situation even worse. He had on your sweatpants that you gave him that were a bit too small, so it showed an obvious print you gave him one of your Nike compression work out shirts and it just showed his perfect body, were you trying to kill yourself?

“What is it Wooyoung?”

Wooyoung came in and shut the door behind him, stopping in front of you, your face was flushed, and your heart was beating at almost getting caught.

“I wanted to thank you for letting me stay here tonight, I know we are still technically strangers, but I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah of course, your Jonathan’s family so I trust you.” You gave him a speedy reply just so you could hurry and get him out your room so you can finish your task at hand. Wooyoung noticed your flustered face and how you were talking and raised an eyebrow.

“You sure? You seem uncomfortable saying that, the rain is still going but I can leave if you want.”

“NO” You abruptly yelled, and it made Wooyoung wince, you didn’t want Wooyoung to leave the house because he was the main thing driving your orgasm right now, if you were being honest, you didn’t even want him to leave the room.

“I-I J-just mean that, no I don’t want you to leave because I’d feel bad if something would happen to you.” You said trying to save you, you were frustrated and dizzy at this point, your head was spinning because the achiness of your core was driving you insane, his vary presence was making you want to scream, you opted to crossing one of your legs over the other to give yourself some sort of friction your leg bounced. Wooyoung put on his sly grin again, he knew exactly what was going on and exactly what you were doing. Due to his past, he moves around very quietly so he could enter a room and you’d never hear him. He had got dressed in the bathroom and went upstairs since he heard you lock up the house and set the alarm system. Once he made it to the second floor, he had forgot which room you said was his, he walked over to the room on the left, your room, just as he was about to open it, he heard a consistent buzzing noise start. Now he was no fool to anything sex related, he knew what you were doing, he could hear you fighting back your moans and shift around on the bed. He was going to let you continue and go to sleep, he didn’t want to seem like a creep if you caught him listening but then he heard your sexy and whiney voice call his name, that was the straw that broke the camels back. He could feel the blood rushing to his rod as it started to get stiff in the sweatpants you gave him. He was going to walk away, really, he was, but this opportunity was just too good to pass up.

“Are you sure that’s the reason?” He said smiling down at you as his slightly curled split bangs covered his low eyes.

“Y-yes, I’m sure.”

He smiled then tsked at you.

“Now boss” he said as he sat next to you on the of side the bed.

“Why don’t you tell me the truth? Tell me that you don’t want me to leave because you can’t stop thinking about how bad you want me to fuck you.”

That’s when you realize you were caught red handed.

“Th-that’s not true.”

“Aww boss, I can’t give you what you want if you don’t admit it. Should I work it out of you then?”

You didn’t answer and he took your silence as a yes, he lifted you into his lap, placing you down as you could feel his semi-hard on on your ass. He wasted no time and started to leave wet kisses on your neck.

“Ah, Wooyoung, what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer you and continued to kiss your neck, one of his hands reached in front of you and started to grope your breast, you never wore a bra or underwear to bed, and you were very grateful to yourself for that in this moment.

“Woo~ please”

“If you want me to stop all you have to do is tell me to stop, I’ll get off you and go right to bed.”

He stopped and waited for your answer, his hands even stopped massaging your breast, you thought to yourself for a moment, did you want him to stop?

“Please…touch me more.”

He chuckled at your neediness.

“Of course, whatever you say boss.”

He slid both the straps of your dress down and began to play with your two fleshy mountains. You leaned your head back on his shoulders as he began to lightly tug on both your hard brown nipples, little whimpers fell from your lips. He spread his legs which in turn spread yours, one of his hands eased down the side of your body and on too your thick thighs. He slid his hand up, moving your short sleeping dress up your hips, he began to rub your bare heat slowly.

“Wow boss, you’re this wet thinking about me?”

He was still playing with your nipple in one hand as he waited for your reply.

“I wasn’t.”

“Aww, and here I was thinking you were going to be good for me and tell me the truth. Come on boss tell me how bad you want my dick in you.”

His two fingers started to DJ your swollen clit and you let out a throaty moan, you needed him so bad but fuck you can’t admit that. He smiled watching you come undone with only a few simple gestures, he wanted to push you even more.

“Naughty boss, you can’t admit you want to fuck me but you’re so wet for me. Let’s see how far I can push you. Where is the toy you were using?”

“…under my pillow”

He took his hand off your burning heat to reach under the pillow, you let out a pouty noise in dissatisfaction. He took out your black wand, then without saying a word pressed the button a few times, turning it to the highest speed. He asked you if that was how high it could go and you said yes, his lack of words made you nervous. He took his other hand and move your chin to turn your head to the side. He planted your lips onto his as he maneuvered his tongue into your mouth, the kiss was so lustful you began to buck your hips because your pussy was begging to be touched. As he continued to explore your wet, hot mouth you didn’t even notice him slowly lowering his hand that held the vibrator until you felt the vibration hit your clit softly. You moaned into his mouth and tried to shut your legs, but his muscular legs made that hard for you to do. He gave your clit a break but only for a second as he started to move the vibrator up and down your dripping wet pussy, he pulled back from the kiss and moved his other hand down to spread your pussy lips apart so the vibrator could really be felt on your plush folds.

“Fuck-“ was all you could get out, you’ve been masturbating for so long and it’s never felt this good, it reminded you of the sensation you felt the first night you met Wooyoung, your entire body felt hot, and his touch was driving you insane.

“Boss your hips are moving like a little slut that wants to get fucked, are you sure you weren’t thinking about fucking me?”

He continued to move the toy on your needy pussy, he held it on the ball of your clit then slid in his two fingers. Your head slung back onto his shoulders.

“Ah fuck, oh my god I’m going to cum, please.”

You begged him for your release as your hips bucked back and forth on the toy and his fingers. You felt dizzy as the rope in your mind felt like it was about to snap, is it possible to be dick whipped for a dick you haven’t even had yet?

“Oh, Boss you’re so cute, begging your caretaker to let you cum. Don’t worry I’ll give you what you’re begging for.”

Wooyoung pushed his fingers deep into your velvet walls as they pulsed around them, he kept going in and out while rubbing circles on your clit with the wand, you were seeing stares.

“Woo, I’m going to fucking cum please.”

He sped up the pace of his fingers and pushed the vibrator into your throbbing nub, thank God you didn’t live in an apartment but if still it didn’t matter, you screamed his name as you came around his digits, but not just his digits, you came on the wand, his legs, the carpet, and the bed. When you were done breathing to calm yourself down and your ears stopped ringing you could hear Wooyoungs amused giggling as he turned off the toy and removed his fingers from inside of you, you looked up at him.

“What is it?” you said with an expression of confusion.

“Look down Boss, you squirted for me.”

You looked down in shock seeing everything wet with your release, this was the first time you ever done something like that, then again this was the first time in a while you’ve ever felt that good.

“That’s so fucking sexy Boss, I’m glad to know you can do that.”

“I didn’t even know I could do that.” You said in a lowly tone, somewhat embarrassed.

“Aww don’t be shy, here I’ll clean you up.”

He slid you off his lap and stood up, his erection being more then obvious now, you assumed he was going to the bathroom to grab a towel, but he did something much worse. He kneeled in front of your legs, hooking his hands under your thighs to pull you all the way to the edge of the bed, the force and speed made you fall back on to the bed, you started to question what he was doing, and it was too late. Wooyoung started to lick long stripes up your pussy, you silently moaned as the overstimulation started to kick in. Your pussy was so sensitive you could have sworn you could feel the taste buds on his tongue. You reached down to grip a hand full of his hair and he flicked his tongue on your nub.

“Oh, my fuck Woo please, I’m going crazy.”

He sucked your clit into his mouth, and you inched up away from his mouth, he sucked it back in and a pop was heard when you pulled yourself upward again. He once again yanked you back down to his mouth, you looked down and you were met with his sharp fox eyes, a serious look in his lustful. He removed his mouth from your pussy, your wetness covered his chin.

“Don’t fucking run from me, understood?”

You were so intimidated, yet so turned on, that was so fucking sexy.

“Y-yes Woo.”

“Good girl.” He went back to lapping up your sweet wetness, you groaned from the sensitivity and gripped the sheets, you wanted to run again but chose to save disobeying him for another time. Another time? Will there be another time? Should there be another time and why were you hoping there would be another time? You were pulled from your thought when you felt Wooyoung slip his tongue into your hole, making you yelp. His tongue started to fuck your pussy just like his fingers did a few moments ago and you started to feel the pressure in your core rise. He removed his hand from under your thigh and placed it on the hood of your pussy, he used his thumb to flick your clit as he continued to dart his tongue in and out of you. You once again grabbed his hair as you bucked your hips, babbling curse words and his name mixed in. As you were about to reach the top of your peak you could feel your mind going blank that’s when you said exactly what he needed to hear.

“Ah FUCK! Woo, I need your dick so bad!”

You came around his tongue, he started to suck all the cum rushing from your pussy like it was his job, which I guess it is since he is hired to “take care of you”.

Once you came down from you high Wooyoung dropped your other leg and got up. He lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe off all the cum that covered the bottom half of his face, he looked so primal, you wanted him to fuck you right then and there into the bed with no mercy.

“So, you admit you want to fuck me huh?”

You paused for a moment, there was no lying, hiding, or running, you had already said it, nothing to do now but to double down.

“Y-yes.”

“Mm, good to know, night boss.”

He gave you a kiss on the cheek and left the room.

What the hell kind of Monday-, you grabbed your phone to look at the time to see it was not 1:51am, Tuesday was this?

Next Chapter Link

Taglist:

@sillyhappygirl @atiny-dime-p1ece @angelsaway @bloody-wine @jungeunkyo72

[yanderu-deredere]

hook.

★ your friends decide to do a road trip across a few states, to the coast! what's better than the beautiful boardwalk of lovelock after all? and they need a fifth person to come with them! so, of course, they drag you along. what could go wrong?

a/n: okay so ill be honest, i was kinda nervous to post this cus this is like way longer than my usual shit TBH but i really wanted to write this out and i felt like the usual bulletted thing wouldn't do my idea justice i guess? so have this word vomit LOL cus this baby has more parts (i think)

also these yanderes are very much inspired by all my favourite slashers (think hannibal meets chainsaw massacre meets house of wax) so the themes will be a bit more graphic

part one (here) ★ part two (line.) ★ part three (sinker.) ★ part four (?)

pairing: casimir fiala x reader x emmaline fiala word count: 3236

warning: gender neutral reader, reader is attacted to male and female yandere, readers friends are lowkey pieces of shit LOL, final ship is poly

"This doesn't look like Lovelock." Chloe muttered in that tone that just slightly grated against your nerves.

You, half asleep and kind of buried in bags, jolted at the sound of her voice. You glanced around, eyes blurry and your brain pounding just a little bit. The price of sleeping on a road trip, you supposed.

You looked over to the side to see what your friends were up to.

Chloe, the resident bottle-blonde of the group, had her entire body leaning a bit too heavily against her boyfriend Dirk as she tried to shove her torso out the window.

Dirk, too preoccupied with her body to really pay attention to anything else, only hummed and held her by the hip to prevent her from falling entirely out the side of the van.

You sighed and turned to your other side, trying to make out what your friend was so desperate to see outside.

All you could see, however, was what looked like an abandoned town. There was a little play ground, a parking lot beside that, some apartment buildings too--

Suddenly, the van skid to a halt, making everyone almost fall forward.

"Bran, you fucking bastard!" Dirk cursed before cradling Chloe's head to his chest "You okay, baby?"

Chloe, of course, played the whole thing up, whining up a storm. You just rubbed your neck, ignoring everyone else as you tried to figure out why the sudden stop.

In front of the car was a man much too well dressed for his surroundings. I mean, what business did he have in this place that he needed to wear a button down for? Plus he had what looked like a medical mask on?

What did you guys drive into, Chernobyl?

Anyway, you couldn't see the rest of his face very well because he had long hair with white side pieces and they were covering his face a bit too much but he was waving the van down.

Suddenly, as you were peering out the side of the van, your eyes met his sharp green ones and you felt a jolt of electricity down your spine.

You had a bad feeling about this place and about this man.

Still, not like you could say much. Who'd listen to you? Certainly not anyone else inside the van.

The man walked up to the driver's side, probably to talk to your friend Bran and give him directions. Thankfully, you were on the same side so you could do a little bit of eavesdropping on your own from your open window.

Observing him, you couldn't help but think that he was especially tall. He looked like he could almost be as tall as the van itself! You'd estimate his height at 6ft at least.

You couldn't even imagine how small you were compared to him if the two of you stood side by side.

"You're not supposed to be here. This is private property." The stranger explained and, though he was talking to Bran, you couldn't help but feel like he kept glancing at you from the corners of his eyes "You have to turn back and leave."

Now that he spoke, you also noted how deep his voice was. Though, you supposed, not surprising considering his height.

Big man, deep voice, you noted to yourself before mentally laughing at your own idiocy.

"What? There's no other way?" Bran's indignant tone pulled you out of your thoughts "I was so sure there was a way through here, up to Lovelock."

The stranger solemnly nodded as if completely understanding "There used to be but, after they shut down the factory, the Pharmaceutical company prevents people from passing through here."

Bran seemed to open his mouth to say something inflammatory. After all, he was known in your group to be a bit hot-headed. Even now, you couldn't see his face but you could imagine how red it was.

Kathy, Bran's girlfriend and your best friend, thankfully leaned over from the front passenger seat, her hand rubbing her boyfriend's thigh "It's all good! Sorry for the trouble and thanks for letting us know."

The man gave a curt nod "Just didn't want you all to incur the fines. The company still has the cameras up and there was a sign at the entrance saying something about trespassers."

"What are you, a glorified security guard?" Bran managed at least one quip and you saw Kathy hit him especially hard on the knee for that one.

You couldn't see the man's mouth from under the mask but you definitely felt like you could see his lips shift into a grin from under the cotton "Something like that."

Bran just scoffed and started backing the van up. The man backed away, giving a curt nod.

From the corner of your eyes, you could see Kathy conspiratorially whisper 'crazy weirdo' to you, Dirk and Chloe. Of course, you elected to ignore her.

Instead, you kept your eyes trained on the stranger, still curious as to why he was there.

When his eyes landed on you, you gave him a curt wave. A good-bye. Silently, you mouthed an apology for your rude friend. He gave another curt nod, and you left it at that.

Something about his green eyes unnerved you though--

There was a loud pop and the van jolted, making almost everyone inside scream. Bran himself let out a rather loud fuck!

"What the fuck was that?" He slammed his palm against the steering wheel, that explosive temper getting the best of him.

You watched as the stranger came over and looked at the car, observing it a bit before letting out a rather tired sigh "You popped a tire."

Bran's head swiveled to him and, if looks could kill, that man would've been dead "A tire?"

"This place is abandoned, they don't exactly up-keep the roads." The man explained, crouching to try and see what was wrong with said tire "You must have run over a rusty nail or an especially bad pothole."

Then there was a thumping sound, like he was ripping something out of the rubber "Or a giant copper hook."

Bran slammed his door open and marched over, getting to the tire just as the man stood up.

You watched it all happen and you've known Bran for a while. The two of you were taking the same undergraduate major, after all. You knew Bran was the sporty type, confident and cocky. He was maybe 5'8 on a good day.

This man dwarfed Bran when he stood. Definitely taller than 6ft then. Maybe 6'5?

He placed the hook he took out of the tire into Bran's hand and, though it looked rather hefty in Bran's hand, it seemed a bit smaller in his.

Any bravado Bran had vanished like the wind. Of course, Bran was still Bran so he grumbled, complaining as he dropped the rusty thing before he squatted down to figure out what was wrong with the tire.

You saw Kathy from the corner of your eye dialing a number. You figured it was probably triple-A or some other towing service that could help the group out.

For some reason, you didn't want to look away from the stranger.

He seemed to have the same idea because, as he took out a walkie-talkie from his belt, his green eyes were trained on you again.

Without taking his eyes off you, he took a slender finger and lowered his mask, tucking it under his chin. He had a crooked smile on his face, something like a mixture between a grimace and forced pleasantry.

Near the corner of his face, there was an indent of a diagonal scar. It stretched from above his lip to the center of his chin. You let yourself wonder why he had it. It split his lips a little, made him look kind of devilish.

"Another car needs help." He spoke into the little device, holding it in the palm of his hand and jostling it a little, making the antenna of it wiggle back and forth.

"Miscreants?" The static of it answered back, crackling and almost indecipherable.

The man laughed and you felt your heart skip just a little bit of a beat "No, just people who took a wrong turn. They seem very nice."

You tried to ignore the flash of sharp teeth in his mouth and chalked it off to genetics. Sometimes people just had especially sharp canines, right? Though something felt predatory about his. Not vampiric, maybe, but definitely wolfish.

"What's wrong with their car?" The longer sentence was easier to understand but it was filled with just as much static.

"Popped a tire on the main road." The man answered as he put his free hand in his pocket "They were trying to take the short-cut to Lovelock."

The sentence came out as a drawl, like there was a funny joke about it that you weren't privy to. Your head cocked a little, trying to figure out what it could mean.

He returned your look of curiosity with a small little smirk and a shrug, cocking his hip a little as he shifted his weight from one foot to another

Someone hissed out your name and you turned, finally breaking the staring game in between you and the stranger.

You turned to Kathy with a confused expression on your face, your eyebrow cocked "What's up?"

"I have like no signal like at all." She whispered to you as if it was the end of the world and she wanted only you to know.

Of course, since the two of you were sitting in a cramped van, the other two people in the van heard loud and clear.

"What!" Chloe shouted, scrambling for her own marble-cased phone "There's no signal?"

"No, 'fraid not."

You flinched, head quickly turning when you felt a breath against your ear. Suddenly, the stranger was leaning into the window of the van, crossed arms resting against the lip of the window.

Your wide eyes met his green ones again and he grinned, all wolfish and devilish and all your observations about him seemed to flash warning signs in your head.

"Something about the old factory leaking radiation or something." He answered easily enough just as you scooted a little so he wasn't talking right into your now rather hot ear

You nodded slowly but the tone of his voice as he spoke was that same tone he used when he mentioned the city; like he was telling half-truths and it was on a need to know basis and you didn't need to know.

You had been on the receiving end of that bullshit for so long, with the same exact friends you were with in the van, that you could detect it from a mile away.

"Plus, they've shut down the cell towers near here already." He gestured flimsily in some direction, probably to said cell towers.

Then, there was silence in the van. Chloe kept fiddling with her phone. Dirk, as always, looked distrustfully at the stranger, like a toddler who'd get his toy snatched away the moment he dropped his guard. The toy of course, being Chloe. Kathy just looked panicked and anxious.

You were anxious too. You were never good with silence.

As a way to make conversation, you fiddled with your fingers and decided to introduce yourself before asking the stranger who he was and what he was doing there.

You really didn't think he'd answer.

"Casimir Fiala." His name flipped off of his tongue with a fascinating smoothness "I'm just here to... research... the abandoned buildings."

There it was again, that need-to-know-only tone. This time, you waved away the blaring alarms in your head, tucking them away to note later. Instead, you decided to joke with him "Guess you're not a glorified security guard."

"Sometimes it feels like it." He flashed you a snide half smirk and there was a part of you that felt satisfied that, this time, it felt like you were in on the joke.

It definitely made you grin, that was for sure. Before you could respond, though, the sound of a motorcycle suddenly filled the area, getting closer and closer till it was accompanied by the crunch of gravel.

"That will be my wife." Casimir yelled above the noise as he backed away from the window and tucked his arms behind his back in one fluid motion.

When he did, you couldn't help but curiously peer out.

Just as he said, a woman appeared on a motorcycle, dust cloud surrounding her. If Casimir was overdressed, this woman was underdressed.

She was wearing skin-tight clothes, cargo pants, the works. She looked like she was dressed for an action movie.

Hell, she looked she herself walked out of an action movie. She was buff, tanned, tattooed all over, almost as tall as her husband. She looked like she could take a steel bar and bend it in half.

With fingerless gloves, she removed her motorcycle helmet and her hair fell fluttering out. She had one lock of hair at the very front braided, some of it pulled back, but the rest of it cascaded rather messily, covering most of the right side of her face.

It looked like a bad blue dye job that was already growing back out but, somehow, she made it look ruggedly sexy.

That wasn't what was surprising. What was surprising was the eye patch and the burn scars.

"Oh my god." Kathy gasped out and you could see her and Chloe pull out their phones as if trying to film some circus freak.

Immediately, you were pushing their phones away, scowling at them as you tried to keep your voice down "What the fuck, dude, are you guys serious?"

You could see Casimir walk over to his wife, probably to talk to her about fixing your wheel. How kind of them. All the while, your friends were spitting on that kindness by mocking his wife.

"But like, did you see her?" Chloe tittered, looking through her gallery to try and see if she got a good photo but then pouting when she didn't.

"You're disgusting, Chloe." You spat out, hoping the absolute vitriol in your voice could snap her out of this weird Mean Girls trance she was in "They're trying to fucking help us and this is the thanks you're giving them?"

Kathy just scoffed and flipped her hair. "They're the ones who stopped us and got our tires popped."

"We're the ones that trespassed on private property." You snapped back and, suddenly, you felt too suffocated in the van. You knew who your friends were, of course, and you knew them to be the type of people to make small mean jokes but this was way too much.

You got out of the van, your arms crossed and wrapped around yourself, anything to give yourself any ounce of comfort.

This entire trip was a bad idea to begin with. You hadn't wanted to go but your friends insisted over and over that they wanted you around. You thought 'why not?' but, in the end, you turned out more of a fifth wheel than anything else.

"Oh, hey." Bran greeted you as you stepped up to the trio who were discussing how to fix the car "What's up?"

"Nothing, just wanted to stretch my legs." You lied easily enough since you didn't really want to tell Bran about how bitch-y his girlfriend was being.

Bran believed you, of course. He was too focused on being annoyed by the entire situation anyway. He seemed at least placated by the fact that he wouldn't have to pay for a new tire.

"Thank you so much, by the way, for like helping us out and shelling out cash for a tire." You decided to say since Bran definitely wouldn't say it. The smile on Casimir's wife's face was definitely worth it.

Casimir seemed to realise something because he looked at you in shock before gesturing to you and introducing you by name to his wife "And this is my wife Emm, she's the muscle of this entire operation."

"Nice to meet you." She put her hand out and you were about to take it only for her to quickly pull it back and wipe it on her pants "Sorry, I've been fixing machines all day. I'm dirty as all hell."

"No worries! Not like I'm all showered! We've been on the road for like three days now!" You waved off her concern and held out your hand.

Hesitantly, she took it and the two of you shook hands.

You noted that the burns she had on one side of her face seemed to spread down her body because her entire arm from shoulder to wrist (or what wasn't covered by her gloves) were covered in wrinkly scar tissue.

You tried not to stare. She probably got enough of that in her day-to-day, she didn't need it from you too.

You hoped she didn't get it from Bram already. He could be so insensitive without even thinking about it.

"Anyway, I was just sayin' that I'd love t' ride over to the gate, the one leadin' to Lovelock and send out a call, try to get triple-A over." Emm cupped the side of her neck, looking rather thoughtful "Boss won't be happy since we ain't suppos't have people over but."

Then she shrugged as if she was trying to say 'what can you do' before continuing "I got to go soon, though, 'cus I saw that the weather was suppos't to be terrible later today and--"

As if on que, thunder rumbled above, almost as loudly as Emm's motorcycle. You groaned because of course the weather would turn this horrible so rapidly and just when you needed it not to.

"Fuck." Bran put it so eloquently just as the rain started pouring as if the heavens above ripped open the clouds "Why can't you go while it's raining?"

"She only has a motorcycle." Casimir reminded him, his tone implying that fact in and of itself should've been explanation enough, his expression challenging Bran to say otherwise.

Emm looked much more apologetic but only by a bit "Plus, the road to Lovelock is 30 minutes and it's known to landslide when it's rainin'. I'm willin' to help ya'll but not that willin'."

Bran let out another expletive while you gave them an apologetic smile and a thank you.

"I'll be happy to invite ya'll over to our house. We live only a minute or two from here." Emm continued as Casimir shielded her with his lab coat, ducking her head a little as she walked closre to you so you could hear her over the hiss of the rain "It'll be better than that cramped van."

"I'll let everyone know!" You yelled, smiling gratefully at the couple.

Part of your brain registered the warning signs in your head. After all, though you'd tried your best to be polite to them, you did remember how odd Casimir seemed when you first encountered him.

Still, they were trying their hardest to accommodate your group. And, after how rude your friends were, you felt an odd obligation to make up for how mean your friends had been.

After all, what was the worst that could happen from just being nice?

[xieyaohuan]

Writer Tag

Thank you for tagging me @blindmagdalena and @saintmathieublanc! ❤️

How many works do you have on AO3?

43, but many of them are one shots and one of them is a translation.

What's your total AO3 word count?

203,854.

Ca. 120,000 of those words were banged out in just a few months during a single manic episode in 2017.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ravishing a God (which is still incomprehensible to me as tickle fics normally never get many kudos lol)

I've got you pegged (rushed fic and cringy title)

All a king should be (a collection of 47 drabbles of 100 word -- I want to do a drabble challenge like this again for Homewell or Butchlander)

All God's children took their toll (it's not been abandoned)

Under the Twisted Weirwood Tree (my only crossover fic; I really want to finish this one even though it's no longer my fandom)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I usually do unless it's hate (and sometimes even then)

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

This is a tough one because most of my A Song of Ice and Fire fic is angst lol. Probably Heart of Darkness? Maybe Joanna (despite the relatively 'happy' ending)? But it's a pretty stiff competition.

What’s the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I would say Spinster, which is still pretty angsty.

Do you write crossovers?

I've written only one, Under the Twisted Weirwood Tree, which sets A Song of Ice and Fire characters in a semi-modern AU based on The Purge. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding for this one!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. I gave the wrong name to a character, which REALLY upset at least one person. I think I responded to them in good faith the first time, and then the second time told them to kindly fuck off.

I also used to post my fic on ff.net, where people seem to consider yelling at the author a legitimate type of feedback, and I definitely got a lot of that, but I don't consider that hate since it's just how people on ff.net interact.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, in all kinds of directions, but I don't think it's my forte lol.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I think I might have had stuff reposted to websites I didn't know without credit, but it might have just been one of those mirror sites that didn't include all details??

Not to be cavalier about plagiarism, but my internal reports at work get stolen all the time, so with fic, I honestly don't care, since, unlike at work, I'm not actually losing any money. I think if someone took my fic, passed it off as their own, and then got famous with it, I might feel different about that, but that's never happened to me.

I plagiarized @deliciouskeys' title once (for The Dollhouse), but not intentionally because I'd been working on that fic for a while and didn't realize until after publishing the first chapter that my title had been taken.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, I co-wrote a fic with a fandom friend over 20 years ago, but we ended up never publishing it. Haven't co-written any fic since then, and I don't think I'd enjoy it.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

I don't think I have one since that would require me to maintain an obsession over decades, which is not how my brain works.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

A bunch of fic I wrote for ASoIaF like Lions of the Realm and Fatherly Love. I won't to finish all my fic because I hate not to, but with these two, I'm pretty certain I never will. Probably a few others in that same category out there.

What are your writing strengths?

This doesn't really show in my current fandom, but I think I have some pretty unique ideas. I'm also willing to experiment and play around with concepts, which I generally consider a strength on the whole.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I lean towards GRRM's ways of telling a story, but without the skill of being able to pull it off (and to be fair, he's failing, too).

Also, I will say that writing in a language other than your native language will limit you in some pretty fundamental ways that can't be overcome, and that can be frustrating.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

The most I do is insert individual words and phrases, and I only do that for languages I actually speak.

I did write one fic in which several of my characters spoke with pretty heavy dialect, and if I were to rewrite that fic now, I would really tone that down.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Published: Lord of the Rings

Unpublished and without realizing what I was doing: Asterix and Cleopatra, probably

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I haven't written published any real Maevlander or real Starlander, and I definitely want to change that.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

Hard to say, but I really like Moonlight on her Face. I'm also rather attached to Ravishing a God, but I don't count that because for something to be a true favorite, it has to outlive my obsession.

I'm late to the party on this one and have lost track of who has already been tagged, so I'm not tagging anyone, but consider yourself tagged if you want to do this!

[yourlocaldisneyvillain]

⭐⭐⭐ talk away!!! pls talk about whatever suits your fancy, maybe what kinds of traits and themes draw you to a character/story idea, or what themes or traits you notice reappearing in a lot of your works?

oooooh hi hello!!!! thank you for sending this and enabling me lol

okay, so as for what i'm drawn to -- i definitely have a Thing(TM) for poor soggy little meow meows lol. i like my female characters to resemble wet orphan kittens abandoned in the rain lol, but also have a very strong side to them that is in direct opposition to their soggy-meow-meowness lol. i really enjoy that duality. i enjoy that in all sorts of characters, and when it comes to fanfic i do read m/m and only very occasionally m/f pairings, but i am very rarely -- if ever -- inspired to write for them. i guess the formula for what compels me to write something is the combination of 1. soggy woman i wanna keep in a jar 2. is it something i want to read and feel there isn't much of in the world?

i exclusively write f/f pairings and woman-centred storylines -- not bc it's the only thing i enjoy in fiction, but bc it's the sort of thing i wanted to read when i was young and there was just so little of it, and i found it almost exclusively in fanfiction, with some exceptions such as sarah waters novels that i really enjoyed, but weren't translated in my language when i was a kid so i did struggle with them a bit (i would really wanna reread those now that i have a better grasp of the english language and am no longer a tween lol, i wonder if my opinion on them would change). i like to write from experience, and my experience is that of a rather odd gay woman moving through the world, so i like to channel that in my fiction. i feel like i'm Qualified(TM) to write it lol.

i'm about to be an old man shaking my fist at the world and demanding people get out of my swamp lol, but i feel like even though there has been a huge change in the amount of wlw storylines media we are Served every year (when i was a teen i feel i could count them all, that's how few movies/books there were, and at one point it was like okay..... i've seen it all lol or at least all that was accessible to me). and even though the media landscape has changed drastically in the last 10 years, i still feel like there are such few stories that really resonate with me? and we are generally being bombarded with very meaningless stories/media, just regurgitating the same shit over and over again (disney live action remakes are a good example of that trend, saying that as someone who was always a fan of disney if you couldn't guess by my username lol, and hasn't seen any of the remakes bc i simply Do Not Care, stopped caring around 2014 when maleficent came out). if you asked me to name a wlw story, or even a woman-centric story that doesn't involve a male love interest, that i really, truly enjoy, i feel like i'd struggle a bit. we get a lot of storylines in media that, imo, lack substance, and are often audience pandering (idk why supergirl came to mind, but it's a good example i feel). and tbh, the audience isn't picky. most people will just watch whatever lol, and honestly good for them but i Cannot lol. it needs to Hit A Spot for me. as for books, there is a better choice there i feel, but a lot of it is ya novels and i am simply not interested in that lol. no shade, but it's just not something i like to read. i want an old hollywood style romance with lesbians. i want phantom of the opera, i want the Drama(TM), i want a fucking hugh grant cheesy movie with lesbians. and so that's what i like to write -- just things i always wanted but never had lol.

i feel like in my works the Themes(TM) that appear a lot are:

1. loneliness and finding something or rather someone that quenches the thirst for company in a way that matters (i have always found irl that there's a lot of people who listen but don't hear what you're saying, and since i was a child i was always searching for people who will genuinely try to understand where i'm coming from and not just immediately try to put me in a box in their mind so they can Place Me somewhere and understand me in their own language. can you try to understand me in mine?)

2. pondering of morality, what's right and wrong and is there such a thing, rejecting and questioning societal norms.

3. a lot of kinky lesbian sex lol, through which i like to explore the psyche of the characters (or sometimes i'm just horny lol and sexuality and kink is something i like to think about a lot, esp bc my formative years were so traumatic in that aspect)

4. very character driven plots/characters changing their own fate or what *should* happen to them

5. the Intricacies of interpersonal relationships/developing a deep connection with someone and generally exploring emotional connection

6. this will be most prominent in the thing i am yet to post but is almost written, but i do enjoy some horror elements, gothic horror to be specific! i guess it's all the gothic novels i read in my youth :))

[bthump]

I firmly believe that Guts is someone who indulges in self-sabbotage while Griff is someone who indulges in self-destruction.

Thoughts on this? since i trust your analysis on the characters i would love to know! :)

Thanks, I'm glad you're interested in my opinions!

Honestly though I don't think I make much of a distinction between self-sabotage and self-destruction? I'm not sure what the line between them is for you.

If we're talking self-destruction as borderline suicidal behaviour and self-sabotage as like, career/plan/relationship-ruining behaviour, they both do both imo. Griffith getting himself thrown into a dungeon can be considered both self-destructive and self-sabotaging, he sabotages his own plans by falling for Guts and risking them over and over for him, and he destroys himself by eventually becoming a demon. He also sabotages his relationships by staying aloof and trying to maintain a perfect persona that doesn't let people be close to him emotionally.

Guts' monster-hunting revenge campaign is very self-destructive in that it would kill him if he didn't have a magic healing companion, he wears a suit of armour that can take over his mind and it does several times, his obsession with sword swinging goes hand in hand with self-harm very pointedly, such as in the parallel to child Guts trying to commit suicide by wolf and instinctively fighting. And he sabotages relationships by leaving the Hawks, abandoning Casca and Rickert which Godo admonishes him for, tries to drive Puck away a lot before finally accepting his presence, etc.

That said, if that's the distinction we're making between self sabotage and self destruction, you can probably make a case that Guts is more inclined towards self-sabotage than destruction with his refusal to die, but then I think you could make the same case with Griffith, since his transformation into Femto isn't really death, but perseverence. It's strongly hinted that Guts' refusal to die could lead to him losing himself to his inner darkness, when it's treated as a tempting power-up, and when other monsters we see are temped into using a behelit because they refuse to give up and the prospect of death/defeat makes them despair, eg Count Slug, Ganishka.

So yeah, I guess my take is that Guts and Griffith can't really be distinguished this way imo. But please feel free to elaborate on what you mean, because I'm just kind of guessing anyway lol.

Thanks for the ask!

[thatgirlwithasquid]

I got tagged by @hg-deranged-edition (ty <3)

20 Questions for Fic Writers (& Artists)

1. How many works do you have on ao3(Tumblr)?

41 on AO3, but I think I have another 2 one-shots on Tumblr that I never got round to cross-posting

2. What's your total ao3 (Tumblr) word count?

253,123 which... wow ok neat

3. What fandoms do you write for?

A lot lmao. I organised my google drive a few months back and I have a lot of folders now hahaha. A quick count says I've started something for 24 fandoms, good lord.

The ones I've actually posted for are Stranger Things, Harry Potter, Andi Mack, Detroit: Become Human, Arcane, Encanto, The Host, and Little Nightmares

4.What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Playing Pretend : 2,204 kudos

Severus Snape and the Burden of Responsibility : 694 kudos

Thirium Pooling in His Chest (Bleeding Different, Feeling the Same) : 511 kudos

Communication and Cuddles : 440 kudos

Not Quite Less Than Romantic : 396 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I used to make a point to respond to every comment, but I fell out of the habit. It's something I really want to get back into doing, because I really appreciate receiving them <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Either I've Been There For A While or Severus Snape and the Burden of Responsibility (I got a fair few distraught comments on the latter lol)

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Playing Pretend, probably. That one's just a lot of cutesy friends to lovers that I wrote in a state of sheer obsession when Encanto first came out. Or maybe To Cherish and be Cherished which is just 400 ish words of fluff

8. Do you get hate on any fics (Art)?

I've been lucky enough that people engaging with my writing have been overall really kind. I have had like 2 slightly rude comments, but I don't think that was intentional :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have! It was a challenge cause my ace brain doesn't like working that way, but I wrote a voyeurism/exhibitionism Jonathan x Jason fic. I actually feel quite happy with it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I haven't posted any, but I do have an abandoned wip in my drafts, if that counts?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but if anyone wanted to translate my stuff I'd be perfectly happy with that.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I am open to the idea of that. If anyone wants to co-write a fic feel free to reach out :)

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Cunningway!! At this point I think everyone knows lmao. I feel like I bring them up a lot, even though I am trying to not be obnoxious about them. I just love them a lot!

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Uh, is saying 'all of them' cheating? There are so many wips in my google drive that, realistically, I'm never going to go back to. But if I had to pick one... maybe the this untitled Thomally fic I was writing?

16. What are your writing strengths?

lmao fuck if I know. Coming up with ideas, maybe? Everything else is a bit of a struggle.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sustaining my ability to focus. I also feel like I struggle with balancing speech and description.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Idk. I've done it before in Playing Pretend to match how the characters speak in the film, but I can only speak English so... I gave it a go? I don't mind reading dialogue in other languages in fic, if I need I just have google translate open to understand what's being said.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Depends how we're looking at it. Technically WWE when I was like 7 but idk if I'd count that. The first time I wrote fanfic and was aware that was what it was would've been Andi Mack, but the first fandom I wrote for on AO3 was Little Nightmares.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I feel like I'm most content with the writing in Thirium Pooling in His Chest (Bleeding Different, Feeling the Same) but I am probably proudest in myself for Ceramic Hearts because that fic was a real labour of love.

tagging: @half-oz-eddie @brightside-of-the-upsidedown @bigdumbbambieyes (no pressure!! hope you guys don't mind being tagged. I was really blanking on this aha)

[steriskks]

Hey I just recently found your Dragonets of Despair au and it’s really cool! I have a few questions to ask if you wouldn’t mind answering. The first two are a little more spoilery so feel free to skip those.

1. Do any of the dragonets other than Tsunami get redeemed? I’m guessing Clay probably will since he seems to be the least bad of them and understand their faults. But what about Starflight, Sunny and Glory/Flare?

2. For Queen Scarlets champion is it the same dragon as the animus that helped her create it? If so that means her champion is an animus and since Stonemover and I’m pretty sure Turtle are rule out, that only leaves Darkstalker and Jerboa III as living animuses. Is it one of them?

3. Finally the Sandwing sisters. Are they any different at all or are they the same in this au?

Thanks!

First of all, I'm super surprised people are still finding out about my AU (considering it was made about a year ago?) !! I'm really happy you liked it!

1. Tsunami and Clay definitely get redeemed so ill get that out of the way. Glory/Flare is a character i love to explore in my mind and I like to think she has an arc where she accepts her true self but still has some trouble grappling with it at the end. Something major like lying to yourself for the first years of your life don't go away in a matter of weeks/months. I've thought about her meeting Peril and seeing how she's an outcast from the Sky Kingdom despite Peril being a skywing and all. And Glory getting so confused by how Peril is so optimistic even though her own (superior) tribe abandoned her. Also the juxtaposition of cheery Peril + cynical yet smug Glory haha. I think it would be really funny

Honestly Starflight gets the short end of the stick here. I really think he dies or suffers a tragic end. He's really creepy even though he's instrumental in being the voice of reason (he can literally see the future so he keeps them out of trouble half the time). I also dont like how he fell for Sunny (his adoptive sister) in the original haha. Sunny will not get with him not matter what, although that doesn't stop her from using him to get what she wants.

As for Sunny I see her realising how horrible shes been to Starflight and confessing all her lies to Starflight right as the volcano blows up. Like "I'm sorry i did this and i need to tell you the truth so i can stop leading you on" yeah Starflight gets super pissed and fights her after that lol. Does that count as a redemption arc? For sunny at least

2. I kept this a secret for so long but tbh no one can really guess it. It's Orca. But she shows up as a fake SkyWing champion at first, as a dragon named Spinel. I gave her a whole arc and everything. Basically she got found out as an animus pretty early on by Coral and she was used as a negotiating tool in the SandWing war. She grew tired and defected to the Sky Kingdom, where she believes she's more free there than in the Sea Kingdom. Although tsunami does tell her Orca's not as free as she thinks she is, Orca still says that as long as you're an animus, you will always be working for somebody's benefit in some way no matter what. Kind of a sad situation but hey

Looking back at this it was kinda dumb but i had a lot of fun writing it 💀

3. I have honestly not touched them because i love them the way they are.

Sorry if the answers weren't what you were expecting. I wrote a lot of the initial story in a google doc and i returned to it while answering this ask. I forgot how fun that was, might draw them again someday. Thanks for asking!

[miyu-writings]

Fairy Tail Reread 2023 part 2

It's been hard to sit down and read all of a sudden. Whew. It's quite annoying to want to do this but not having the chance. Sheesh.

Anyways~

Welp, I really am forgetful.

I mean, I like the Galuna Island Arc because it's the first time where we learn about Gray's past. What can I say, Gray's type is right up my alley, trauma included lol.

Moving on to the actual story in this book...

So, Natsu and Lucy are going on their first mission ever. Woot! Natsu behaves like Natsu and gotta love the twisted sense of humour as we're seeing that old saying "to those who love ugly, it looks pretty" - I couldn't think of an English saying that expresses that so, there, literal translation. There's something in the servants that makes me think of Oda's writing (or, drawing?) - the type of gag at least.

Anyway, look, it's a library!! And Natsu gets where he is!!! Wow. Such a difference... I wonder what happened... to make Natsu behave like Natsu here and then later he's a toddler. Seriously, Igneel would cry over how Natsu's being written in 100YQ - good thing he stayed in the canon story and didn't go to the sequel. Or so I hope, I have no clue if he appears once again.

Okay, Natsu finds the book, Daybreak! MC sure is lucky... xD

And then we have the opening for a fight scene. Very tense, very serious, very... Lucy? The way she's entranced in the book cracks me up. And she leaves Natsu HANGING to go read further in a calm corner! I love how shameless she is. But at the same time, seriously? Are you for real, girl???

Good thing that Natsu doesn't seem to mind. He's there to kick ass and that's what he will do. Even though two against one is quite unfair. Natsu was assessing his opponents, also letting them get close enough to hit him, to then give the final punch. No surprises he won.

One thing I quite enjoyed about the worldbuilding in the manga was the trinkets and whatnot, sometimes things that would be so damn useful irl. I wish I had those glasses Lucy wears - I would be finishing a few more books instead of just spending my time reading fanfic. Haha... It also does inspire me to add little artifacts and such while writing - I like to add to the lore lol.

Anyway, we're back to Lucy and the bad guy has caught her. He's such a disgusting dude. Very skeevy, makes my skin crawl and Lucy's too, tbh. Though, well, everyone has their taste at what they like - even lecherous and disgusting people like Count Ebar. YKINMK and all that.

The problem with being a celestial mage though is that if Lucy doesn't have her keys, she's toast. So far, Happy has been coming to her rescue quite a bit. And, is it me or in that mansion, Lucy is the only person with any actual reading comprehension? xD

The actual story of Daybreak is sad. I mean, how it came to be. And then Lucy fights!

How the fuck did Natsu survive the travel with Virgo - we will never know... only shows how super-human he kind of is... ('nuff said for now...)

But the battle was won, the Count was punished (and lost his remaining hair) as well as the book.

Good on Lucy, to give the punchline - you're just a secondary character - she's quite proud of completing her first mission, she's an actual member of Fairy Tail.

Then, we finally get the actual story of the book. Seriously, so much lack of communication and empathy. I mean, as a child who was kind of abandoned by his father, then seeing him chop off his hand, no discernible reason, and after writing such a pitiful book - a shameful book, even! - Kaby really wasn't very forgiving of his father. Going to the extent of really ignoring the words his bedridden father was telling him.

Lucy did great with unlocking the hidden words. Daybreak became Dear Kaby and I like the magic here. All the potential, the wonder and whimsy that is shown to us. How in the end, love does end up speaking louder. I'm a sap so yeah, this is touching.

Natsu waving off the fee - and seeing Lucy basically seeing the jewels gaining wings and flying away from her grasp, that made me laugh a bit.

And here we learn yet another important thing about Lucy. Her goal is to write a novel too, she wants to be a writer. In a way, I totally relate with the cringe of someone irl seeing what I've written.

Hang in there, Lucy! 😂

Next chapter: we're introduced to Erza!

So the chapter begins with Lucy adjusting to life at the guild. All the missions one can choose from are on the mission board and we also get to see a bit more of the background characters.

Mirajane tells Lucy that the Master is away for an important meeting and, just like that, we're given information of what's coming towards us. More of the magical artifacts (this magical pen is just neat!) and that's a small touch I really like. It helped quite a bit with settling the world we're in. Anyway, exposition about how the world is organized - with the guilds and whatnot - and Natsu gives Lucy a fucking scare!

His face cracks me up every time. He's such an asshole. 😂

He wants to team up with Lucy but Gray and Loke scoff at how badly served she would be. And it's back to reinforcing Gray and Natsu's rivalry and Gray's penchant for losing his clothes.

Natsu and Gray fight. Their rivalry was such an important element at the beginning, as well as a comic relief moment. Loke tries to flirt with Lucy but upon realizing she's a celestial mage, he's running away as if the hounds of hell were at his heels. This bit of foreshadowing is well-played, I find. It had happened already but twice is a pattern and it makes one wonder "wtf is wrong with him?" but then he comes back with urgent news.

Erza is back!

The faces of horror will never cease to make me laugh.

Next thing we know, the air in the guild has changed. And we get to meet another very important character.

Erza Scarlett.

Girl, you're insane! 😆 Such a badass.

Most of the members of the guild barely dare to breathe with her there. She definitely imposes respect.

The boys here make me laugh. It is quite a common occurrence in the beginning but throughout the story, their relationship changes and they do become friends. In the meantime, it's hilarious to me seeing how they change completely the moment Erza is mentioned.

Lucy (and us readers) is shocked! Natsu who, so far, has been both assured and goofy - he acts in this very out-of-character way now. And Mira isn't that good at drawing. 😂

Back to business. Erza has something to propose, she needs Gray and Natsu's help. A huge shocker because Erza is pretty much at the top of the guild, powers-wise, so why would she need them?

Mirajane's mumblings surprise Lucy but, well, she might be new but she trusts her elder and if Mira says that could be the strongest team at the guild, then it most certainly might be!

Gray's self-awareness...

(Also, it might be just me but he looks cute here...)

And Natsu is goofy.

At him being topless I just wondered if Gray wasn't being a bad influence already. Also, I realize I didn't remember that scar he has on his neck. Then again, when I visualize Natsu he's wearing the scarf...

Lucy looks cute in Natsu's clothes. Her "I'm so done with you" expression makes me smile a lot. Happy's such a troll.

And for the end of the chapter, we have a small yet ominous introduction to what certainly is the bad guys.

OoOoO

So yeah, here we go for the Lullaby Arc! I feel like I should be listening to the OST, because the music really helps with the whole ambiance.

///\\\

Gotta love how full of themselves both Natsu and Gray are. Of course that the whole rivalry is at play here but Mira sure set Lucy up. However, she was so right in toying with them. Just saying "Erza" and the boys were all buddy-buddy. Very well-done!

Erza sure is an exaggerated person. All that luggage. Sure, she can carry it all but, goodness. There's so. much. stuff!! Mte, Lucy, mte.

Then a small touch at "serious business" with setting up a match, which Natsu is sure to win. Of course...

And then the dichotomy: Natsu all fired up vs Natsu all passed out.

It's a funny gag.

Also Erza is tough and she likes to spread some tough love too. Poor Natsu, no wonder he got K.O. - how does he have the gall to challenge her and say he's going to defeat her when this also happens? Well, he's in a moving train but still.

The trepidation in Lucy's voice while addressing Erza... totally understandable to happen at this point but fun to see how their relationship evolves.

Then we have Gray demonstrate his powers and Lucy has that lightbulb moment as to why they are so at odds. Seriously, that's the foundation of things for me and I'm fine with it, haha.

Now with a passed-out Natsu, Erza gets down to business. She relays what she heard - and it's bad news. A dark guild is never good news, this is what we're learning. More so when they can get their hands on dark spells and use them.

The conversation is so serious that everyone forgets Natsu - even Happy! And the train is moving again so he's kind of defenseless. And we meet the next character.

Ahh, Erza is so tough that punishment is hitting. Why did she ask Lucy for that? I can't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the situation because on the one hand, there is serious and important stuff happening but at the same time, all the Fairy Tail mages are super weird. Even Erza who looks so serious and straight-laced is so silly!

But back to the serious matters, Kageyama is with a big conversation about legal guilds and illegal ones and the indoctrination seems to have been successful to him. And as Natsu is in such a low shape, he has the chance to kick him and have high airs. But Natsu does fight back, when the train stops. And we get a glimpse at the flute though we do not know its importance at first.

Natsu is crazy. He jumped out of the train because it's better to face death than to stay in that shitty contraption for another second. Lucky for him, his friends are there. And what's better to cushion a fall than your rival/friend's forehead? The bonk noise their heads made was enough to incapacitate a normal human. Fortunately the insanity coursing through both Natsu and Gray's bodies saves them from that fate.

Erza was quite unreasonable though. Natsu was totally out of it and they, idk, left the train while having the conversation - how was Natsu supposed to know he had to apprehend Kageyama? As far as Natsu knew, the dude was just an asshole from a dark guild and while dark mages should be stopped or whatever, he wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on if he started apprehending all the assholes that crossed his path, right? (Lucy noticed it but, rightfully, didn't dare say a thing)

Lucy's bookish knowledge allows her to connect the dots. And that makes our friends have a new goal.

The bad guys are making their move and we now have a better realization of the stakes. It's a race against time!

Everyone is moving towards the most logical place.

The Oshibana Station.

I find that this Erza from the beginning was so awkward and funny. Love how tough she is in her own way of being. I ask you a question and you don't answer? Forehead knock is the answer! xD

Now Lucy understands the respect (yes, we'll call it that) everyone has for Erza even further. So scary. xD

And before nothing, they're facing the bad guys. And learn their actual plan to spread the sound of the Lullaby.

Many fights are about to begin and, as Natsu said, at least now he's in firm land and the terrain is a bit more leveled.

Yet, Eligoal seems to have something more up his sleeve. It doesn't look like it's going to be easy...

And the book ends here.

OoOoOoO

I was going to ramble about the whole Lullaby arc but this book's ramble has taken me two weeks too long to write (RL is a mess rn) and so I'm doing this book by book, apparently? Or, maybe not. I'm just rambling about silliness so yeah.

It's quite noticeable how the characters were still at the early stages, their quirks and whatnot still being defined, the art was kind of charming and the silliness and moments where you just go "wtf?" abounded a bit. It's nice. I'm quite fond of this beginning.

@watcher-ofthe-sky hope your reread is going better than mine. Or at least faster.

Hopefully, will have time to go through the next book sooner. But I can say that rereading this is making me smile and in a way find my love for the characters back again. Super needed that. And a good revision of the characters, as I need to have them present for the wack-ass AUs I'm placing them in. 😅

[oodlyenough]

i got spoiled for the end state of harley & ivy in s3 when it had barely begun airing bc DC commissioned another series from the writer of the terrible eat bang kill tour, so i've watched all of s3 with it in the back of my mind

spoilers ig although i think this series ended a while ago lol

i gotta say even knowing in advance this is where we were going didn't make any of it much more coherent...

i felt like this show lost itself a lot in s3. the humour wasn't as funny, it simultaneously felt like it wanted to soften its edges and then the shock/gore/"dark" humour it went for was just... strange, most of the characters were pretty one-note, and harley and ivy's relationship was just kind of ??? ... i mean they had new random conflicts every episode that got resolved in those same episodes... it's not like I wanted them to break up or something but most of their conflicts didn't feel born of anything else they had going on in their history or as characters, just as sort of Marital Problem of the Week

and the ending! i had seen comics fans sometimes complain about how DC now pushes Hero Harley and i never really had an opinion but i guess now my opinion is that it's bad. lmfao. and ivy, i mean, since when *in the show* is ivy so cavalier about innocent people compared to harley?? it doesn't count as development if it's just A Thing That Happens Now.

i couldn't shake the feeling that the show got railroaded into this direction by DC (who apparently won't let Batman eat pussy but will let him create a zombie apocalypse...???). it's, um, nice and all that harlivy are gonna still date but how the fuck is harley gonna be a "hero" if her gf is the supervillain running the legion of doom. neither of them can commit to their passion-of-the-week dreams without conflicting with each other. and I guess maybe that would itself be an interesting enough conflict, IF it made sense for the characters, but I don't feel that it does

the episode i enjoyed the most might honestly have been the joker ep which ??!? go figure lol. but i thought it was funny and at least i didn't feel exhausted by the characterization

lastly i like ivy's wavy hair but the plant leotard sucks can we please abandon it.

anyway, i guess it's fine enough to turn my brain off for 20 mins a week and get the occasional laugh, so i'll check out s4, but this was a let down after such a long build-up and after i felt s1 and s2 were so surprisingly clever

[avelera]

There's like this entire X/Y axis of emerging Stede/Ed reunion takes and I'm starting to see some general patterns but the fact that there's still this huge range of possible agreed upon outcomes is why I'm up late, frothing at the mouth obsessed:

(I'm not gonna make the actual graph guys I can't do visuals lol)

But like, on your X axis you have "How long does it take to reunite?" and on the Y axis you have "Angry reunion" to "Happy reunion" (happy reunion can include breaking down in tears kissing each other, just saying) maybe "Negative emotions reunion" or "Positive emotions reunion" would be another way of saying it.

The sooner they reunite, the harder it is for me to imagine an angry reunion. Because here's the thing, yes Stede fucked up on that beach by not going with Ed (at gunpoint, it's worth saying, even if I think Stede would have left anyway because he'd already resolved to go home to Mary once freed) BUT Ed also kind of fucked up by not going to look for Stede and just sulking when he didn't arrive! Stede could have had his brains blasted out while you were moping on the beach, Ed! IT'S STEDE!

That said, there's totally a version of "they reunite sooner rather than later" where "sooner" means all of Ed's emotions are still high from the perceived rejection (ADHD rejection-dysphoria, anyone?) where the freshness of the emotions means he flips out and tries to use "massive aggression" against Stede despite Stede coming back as soon as humanly possible.

On the flip side, if it takes a long time to reunite (my "no fears one fear" for S2 is that the amount of time for the next season to come out, say it's a year, is worked into the story as the time it takes them to reunite to keep the actor's ages looking the same as the in-story passage of time) it seems more realistic that Ed could nurse the grudge and build up resentment and convince himself Stede never cared and not forgive him even when he does show up again because he ABANDONED Ed.

BUT I can also see a year+ later with the opposite, where Ed's been spiralling and after the initial flash of anger his self-loathing over being the Kraken has gotten worse to the point where he doesn't even care about Stede not showing up that one time if it just means he came back at all. I can also see that "I don't care that you left I'm just glad that you're back" if Stede used the power of OFMD muppet physics and showed up the next morning!

There's just so much shared blame to go around, so many feelings, so many circumstances outside their control (and yeah, Ed has some blame too! He also took off on Stede not a day before to leave with Jack, he doesn't have a ton of moral high ground to stand on about never leaving Stede if Stede comes back genuinely wanting to reconcile because he needed to figure out his own shit first, Ed literally did the same thing to Stede the day before they got captured!), not even COUNTING any external plot factors that might keep them apart or at odds in S2 (other pirates to fight, or Izzy keeping Stede away, or the British coming for them) that could also throw a wrench into any smooth reunion and allow resentments to fester.

And all of those twists and turns would be valid too! It's just really great!! And Making Me Completely Crazy!!! And there's just so many fic takes on the various permutations already so it turns out no one knows!!!! IT'S VERY EXCITING AND ALSO I HATE IT!!!!!