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skzdarlings · 1 year ago

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bodyguard: the first guard | part one | chan/reader

masterlist.

(part one of the previous story.)

( read on AO3 )

A sequel to the Bodyguard. Miroh's daughter is assigned a bodyguard of her own. The past is confronted when old friendships and new enemies are pushed to the brink.

pairing: bang chan/reader content info: sequel to the bodyguard (felix/reader). this is a new reader perspective. please note this story will contain a great deal of physical violence, some committed against the reader and some committed by her. this will include fighting, training, torture, and parental abuse. there will also be explicit sexual content. chapter word count: 7500 words.

enjoy <3

B E F O R E

Felix takes his place in formation. He is the youngest in the youth regiment at only ten years old, but he is no less competent. They all belong to the same special-ops program, a group of specially selected children raised for armed service. They are in the employ of Mister Miroh – and he says they will save the world.

The world is full of shadows, dank black holes and grimy stains so embedded that no regular agent can scrub them out. The young subjects of the soldier program are not regular agents. Their existence is their mission.

Felix has no life outside of the house of Miroh.

He stands straight. He looks forward. His feet are the appropriate width apart and his hands are folded behind his back. He holds this position as the trainers scour the lined formation, studying the young soldiers and reprimanding any flaw.

They need the best soldier for this mission. This is the most important assignment the regiment will ever receive. Felix has trained his whole life for this.

“Miroh has many enemies,” speaks the head trainer. It is a familiar speech, more important now than ever. “But our target is his local rival. This enemy family has been a corrupting force for generations, taking through inheritance what it has not earned. Miroh is not like The Enemy. Miroh is a solider like you. He came from nothing, fought for scraps, and built his own business one brick at a time. He understands the world and he will fix it through you. You will be his hands in the places he cannot reach. Your role is an honourable one.”

A trainer passes Felix. Felix straightens his spine that last infinitesimal degree. They touch his shoulder but do not reprimand him. It makes his pulse hammer with anticipation.

Felix is one of the best. There is a possibility they will pick him, if only because the actual best has a habit of—

“Oh, cheer up, mate,” Chris’s voice comes from a few rows back. “You know what they say: all work and no play makes—”

He is interrupted by a whoosh of air, probably a trainer punching him in the stomach. Felix closes his eyes so he does not wince.

“Bang Christopher Chan,” the head trainer says, his voice booming across the facility floor. “Step forward.”

Felix hears a frustrated sigh, then Chris stomps through the lines to reach the front row. Everyone looks at him.

He is an unassuming character. Not very tall but deceptively strong. Curly black hair and dimpled cheeks. Felix remembers that smile, the lilting and friendly, “Call me Chris,” when Felix was just six years old and first thrown into the regiment.

Bang “Call Me Chris” Chan is the best soldier here. Or he would be, if he did not hate the honour.

Even now he is glaring. Like the rest of them, he is dressed in combat clothes, the pitch black of Miroh. Unlike the rest of them, he stands with a lazy hunch in his shoulders. His dark hair is dishevelled and he scowls like a petulant teenager. He is thirteen going on fourteen but he is far from a normal teenage boy. Even compared to the rest of them, Chris is something special.

“Bang Chan,” the head trainer says. “You have been chosen for this assignment. Congratulations.”

Felix is not surprised. When Chris is forced to apply himself, it is abundantly clear he is the best soldier in the program by a huge margin. Felix is also not surprised when Chris responds with his usual verve and ire.

“Yeah, uh, you can go ahead and shove your congratulations up your ass, mate,” Chris says. He crosses his arms stubbornly. “Even if we kill this guy, do you really expect us to believe that’s the end of it? You’re putting us in the middle of a fight we didn’t start.”

He addresses the soldiers behind him just as much as the trainer. He even glances at Felix who glares back at him, unimpressed with the rebellious dramatics. Chris never learns. He gets more chances than the rest of them because he is so good. If he wanted, he could be unstoppable. He could use his strengths for good.

Instead, he just looks at the trainer and shakes his head.

“Nah,” Chris says. “You started this fight. I’m not ending it.”

A few of the adult guards move towards him. The gathered soldiers take a collective breath, watching with anticipation. It is common knowledge that thirteen year old Bang Chan can take a regular adult guard in a matter of seconds. When it comes to Chris, the question is not who will win, but will he fight at all?

He stands there like he has no intention of fighting. But before anyone can grab him, the door opens.

Miroh enters.

The room is so tense and silent, his footsteps reverberate like thunder. Miroh is every inch a soldier even in his blazer and tie. He walks with purpose, his face intent.

Walking behind him, keeping decent pace despite her smaller frame, is his daughter.

Miroh is a fighter who does not believe in unearned inheritance, so his daughter is trainee soldier like the rest of them. She is the same age as Chris. She trains with the regiment, one of the better agents, but she was not in contention for this particular job. People have tried to kill The Enemy before and it did not work, resulting in the death of innocents. Miroh wants a strong heir and he is not above putting her through the same grueling regime as the rest of them, but he will not recklessly risk her life.

It is fair to Felix. Miroh’s world makes sense. He believes in it. He believes in him.

So he is rapt as Miroh approaches.

The adult guards fall back and the young soldiers stand at attention. Miroh’s jaw is set with grim determination. He stares at Chris.

Chris drops his crossed arms. He is smart enough not to run his mouth at Miroh directly, but his frustration is clearly simmering beneath the surface. His fingers curl and uncurl in little fists.

Miroh stands in front of him. He speaks loud enough to address the entire room.

“I do not begrudge your desire for information,” Miroh says. “You’re soldiers, not animals. I acknowledge that you wish to know about the long-term goals for this company. But that is not your job or your purpose. This business is deliberately compartmentalized so if one cog in the machine fails, the apparatus does not cease to function. The results of your missions speak for themselves. What we’re doing is good work. That is all that matters.”

“Says you,” Chris blurts. Even he looks surprised by his own retort, though he does not take it back. He looks Miroh in the eye.

Miroh looks back. Then he reaches into the holster beneath his long coat and draws a gun. It is smooth, second-nature. Miroh is used to getting his hands dirty. His steady hand points the gun at Chris.

The trigger has not been pulled but the trainers already flinch. They know Chris is the best and they have worked hard to shape him, even if his stubborn mind is not molded as easily as his body.

Chris, himself, does not flinch. He stares down the barrel, unrelenting.

“You don’t want to do that.”

The soft interjection makes everyone pause. Heads turn and eyes dart, everyone’s attention transferring to the thirteen year old girl in the shadows.

Miroh does not lower the gun but he looks at his daughter. Chris looks at her too. Felix is not sure who is more bewildered.

The girl, herself, is calm. She has indubitably mastered a stoic countenance, not a hint of emotion anywhere on her young face.

“He’s the First Guard,” she states simply. “This is not worth killing him over.”

The First Guard. The other kids in the regiment sometimes call Chris that, though he doesn’t like it so it is usually behind his back. Chris does not like that he has been singled out. Chris does not like anything about the program.

This is Miroh’s second attempt at the youth soldier program. The operation raises soldiers from childhood to fight, to withstand pain, to feel no fear. This training is supplemented with medical treatments, hormonal injections that are only effective if administered in the crucial developmental years of childhood. It aids in building a body for soldiership, to take a hit just a little harder than most.

Chris is the only survivor from the first round of injections. He survived every test that followed. He is stronger for it, even stronger than the rest of them. He is a singular asset. He will never be replicated.

Thanks to The Enemy, none of them will ever be replicated. The Enemy recently attempted to recruit Miroh’s developers and killed them when he did not succeed. Detailed knowledge of the treatment died with them.

Miroh can never accomplish anything with his enemy on perpetual offense. Felix knows the stories like the rest of them, the generations of corruption wrought by a single wealthy family with its iron fist wrapped around the country’s throat. Miroh wants to free them. Felix knows if they kill this one man, if the household is left to rot in the hands of its weak successor, then Miroh can finally set everyone free.

It is a noble honour.

Chris does not see it that way. He never has. Maybe it is different for him, having watched those other children die. Felix understands it was a sacrifice, but a necessary one. The Enemy cannot be killed by a regular soldier. So many more innocents will die if he is left unchecked. Surely that is worth the price of a few soldiers. Wars have casualties. It will be worth it.

It has to be worth it.

Bang Chan, the First Guard – call me Chris – takes a deep breath. It sounds frustrated. He glares at Miroh’s daughter who is unaffected.

Felix looks between them. Then his gaze lands on another soldier in the formation. Seo Changbin is in the first row, a boy one year older than Felix. Not the best soldier, not second best, but not the worst. His most notable trait is his humour and his friendship with Miroh’s daughter. They are close – at least as close as anyone can be down here.

Changbin is looking at her right now, his gaze searing with intensity. Their eyes meet briefly and he shakes his head, a small motion, just enough for her to see. Despite his clear warning to stop, she is not dissuaded from addressing her father.

“With all due respect, sir,” she says to Miroh, “Eliminating Bang Chan would be a mistake. He’s the best soldier in the operation.”

“The best,” Miroh says. He presses the barrel of the gun against Chris’s forehead. Chris goes tense and everyone takes a breath.

His daughter is still unmoved. She is a quiet character in general. Felix has barely heard her speak never mind argue. She keeps her head down and goes about her work obediently. She is a good daughter and a better soldier.

Maybe that is why Miroh hesitates.

“He is not the best if this is how he conducts himself,” Miroh says.

“Father, aren’t you the best at what you do?” she asks without hesitation. “Surely a proper soldier like you should be able to control a little boy. Are you saying you are not capable of that task? It takes no skill to shoot a teenager. What message do you send to the rest of us if you have to resort to desperate measures to keep your own army in line?”

The silence is deafening. Even with a gun plastered to his forehead, a little dimple of amusement pops in Chris’s cheek. Changbin exhales. Felix is sick of standing still but he holds his form despite the growing tension.

The seconds feel like hours. Eventually, Miroh lowers the gun.

“Guards,” he says. The adult guards are immediately at his side. “My daughter has faith in our order. I would be remiss as a father to fail her.” He looks down at Chris and speaks with a snarl in his upper lip, “Let us all try our best to succeed.”

Miroh snaps his fingers and points at Chris. The guards swarm him, two of them taking an arm each. At least Chris is smart enough not to struggle. He is an indomitable force but he does not have an army at his call. He lets himself be seized.

“Take him to the Cell,” Miroh says.

An instinctive hiss leaves the mouths of a few soldiers. They have all been trained to withstand various degrees of torture, but the Cell is one of the worst. Even Felix shudders at the mention of it. It is a small windowless room buried deep in the bunker of the training facility, a small prison cell with no light and no warmth. Everyone has taken a turn in isolation, camped on the hard ground in the damp and cold and dark. Down there, minutes feel like days, days like years. At least literal torture causes sensation. The Cell is a great black nothing.

Chris does not argue, knowing it would be useless, but he does glare at Miroh as he is hauled away.

“Take her too,” Miroh says.

With a snap of his fingers, two more guards surface and grab his daughter. Her stoic expression finally fractures, true surprise bursting on her face.

“Me?” she asks.

“As my daughter, your perspective is acknowledged and appreciated,” he says. “As a soldier, you need to remember your place. Throw them in together. Double the people, double the time.”

Felix would not want to be shoved in that tiny space with another person. Certainly not if the trade was double the duration.

But then, Felix does not like company. He does not understand the exhausted look on Changbin’s face. Changbin isn’t being punished, so why would he feel anything?

Felix watches. He holds his form even where others begin to wane.

The guards and their prisoners leave. The door closes and Miroh looks over the regiment.

“Who’s the second best?” Miroh asks.

There is a beat of silence, the scene settling. The trainer finally clears his throat and looks down at his papers.

“Lee Felix Yongbok,” he says in that booming voice. Felix’s heart soars just as high. “Step forward.”

Felix marches forward, keeps his eyes ahead. Miroh approaches him. Felix does not flinch, not even when Miroh circles him like prey.

“He’s young,” Miroh says. “What do you have to say for yourself, boy?”

“I want to do good,” Felix answers. “I’m ready.”

They put a gun in his hand and a beanie on his head. He enters the world looking like a normal ten year old boy.

He puts a bullet in the head of The Enemy.

He suspects one day he will be back for the son and granddaughter.

He hopes it will be soon.

P R E S E N T D A Y

Despite your father’s remarkable propensity for making you feel like a child, you are a grown adult. You are intelligent and conniving and dangerously competent. In some ways, having been raised like a soldier beneath his merciless iron fist, you are more steadfast, more severe. Your life is carved into his, your fates tethered as one to his success. You are your father’s daughter, a Miroh, irrevocably a product of his upbringing.

You do not show weakness. You do not throw tantrums. You might spend twenty minutes in the lobby bathroom, splashing cold water on your face, and you might spend another five minutes shining your shirt buttons, then ten more folding and re-folding the lapel of your long coat – but walking into his office almost forty minutes late is not the same thing as throwing a tantrum.

You think you’re composed until you walk through that door, then the week’s anxieties expand in the cage of your chest. You are capable but you are not stupid. Miroh might be your father but he is a totalitarian man of influence and it would be foolish not to be wary of his power.

You are more apprehensive than you appear, but you march in there like a soldier, shoulders back and head high. You inherited your father’s marble expressions and stone stature. No one would ever guess your palms were so clammy, your neck hot and damp with sweat.

“I’m here,” you say by way of greeting. You are not characters to indulge in artificial small talk. There is no affection here and pretending otherwise is a waste of everyone’s time.

“I won’t bother with pre-amble,” he says, predictably. ”You know why you’re here.”

“I do,” you say. “And I don’t agree with it.”

“I know you don’t.”

The argument ends just like that. You knew it was a dead-end protestation before you opened your mouth, but you had to say something. You are adamantly opposed to your father’s latest imposition.

A personal, twenty-four hour bodyguard. For you.

The decision was not made lightly. Your father’s business rival perished just under a month ago, the bloody circumstances extreme and mysterious. Until Miroh can ascertain what truly transpired at that house on that fateful night, then he cannot be too careful when it comes to guarding his own legacy.

Your father is a military tactician and business man. He is in the habit of bracing for every eventuality with a detached, pragmatic determination. Of course he wants you watched. This bodyguard assignment is imperative in protecting his house.

“I have a security team,” you say.

“They are insufficient,” he replies.

“I trained them myself.”

“They are too numerous.”

“I’ll cut down the roster.”

“Rotations open vulnerabilities.”

“And who’s to replace them?” Your patience snaps. “One of your dogs?”

“You are also one of my dogs,” he says, voice soft for such a venomous retort. It stings like a slash across your chest. “I would not disparage them.”

“Oh, of course, my apology.” You speak with the same false gentility. “What a thoughtful master you are.”

“I must be,” he says, “because the dogs still come when I call.”

There is so much contempt in his voice. He looks at you with more hatred than he ever directed to his worst enemy. It makes you want to leap across this room and throttle him with your bare hands, like you can shake the animosity right out of him.

You are too old to feel like a little girl on the verge of tears, demanding to know why her father does not love her. You have long since accepted there is no easy answer to that question. You would say that Miroh is simply not capable of love but you know that is not true. He can love. He just doesn’t love you.

You are the perfect heir, his exact replica in ability and countenance, but it is not enough. It will never be enough. No matter what you do, no matter how faithfully you obey him. You have bloodied your hands in the shadows while he takes the public credit. You have helped build the reputation of the family name. You have given him everything.

He rewards you with this.

You are not stupid. Regardless of his excuses, he does not want you under surveillance for your protection. You both know your personal training puts you leagues ahead of the overwhelming majority of agents. Your security team is a superfluous accessory as is.

Miroh has just witnessed the collapse of a previously impenetrable legacy. This does not put him at ease. The battle technician accounts for every possible manoeuvre. You know he foresees his own downfall just as easily as he sees his success. Unseated before his time, reputation annihilated, replaced by someone as savage and persistent as him.

A bodyguard will not protect you from the world. It will protect Miroh from you.

For all your inner turmoil, you are a steadfast rock, standing across your father in his office and exchanging a knowing glance. You are just like him. Of course he is scared of you. Of course he hates you. Of course he needs you.

The feeling is devastatingly mutual.

“Who is it?” you ask, calmly.

“Agent Slump, step forward,” your father calls one of the guards posted at the back wall. “This is your new bodyguard officer. He will accompany you at all times, day and night, including your office hours and service train—”

The agent steps forward as your father speaks. You draw your gun out of your chest holster and shoot when the man steps into your periphery. It blows through his shoulder and knocks him down, all in a piercing shriek that reverberates around the small room. The other guards flinch in the ringing aftermath.

You look at your father and re-holster your gun. You lay the lapel of your long coat back over your chest.

“He leaves something to be desired,” you say. “I would have thought you learned your lesson with these undertrained toy soldiers. Maybe a better bodyguard would have kept your wife alive.”

Your own mother died during complications in childbirth. Miroh remarried a few years later, a woman he genuinely seemed to cherish, a woman who was killed in retaliation for a deal gone sour. Nothing fills your father with more righteous fury than the mention of her. Miroh loved her almost as much as he hates you.

You know better than to retaliate with such childish rejoinders, but you want to hit him where it hurts, see something real on that stoic face. It garners you a flicker of rage, bathed in all that loathing, and it makes you smile.

“Let me know if you can find a competent replacement,” you say. “Until then, I have work to do.”

You turn heel and march to the door. The guards move out of your way despite lack of command. They have never respected you the way they respect your father, but they do fear you and it works the same way.

You are dressed for the office but after an unproductive hour spent stewing in agitation, you give up. The head of your security team accompanies you across town to the primary training facilities. Hidden in plain site, here Miroh has trained and developed some of his most deadly assets.

You are one of those assets. You spent your childhood in this facility, training among an elite selection of children, raised for the purpose of violence and victory. It was a unique program. It has never been revived, the medicant administered to the children lost and yet to be replicated.

You are one of the few still living.

Your training was relatively more lax. As Miroh’s daughter, the trainers could not let you die. But neither he nor they had qualms with letting you suffer. Miroh never admonished them and you never complained, at the time naively thinking that if you could prove yourself then he would care about you.

A foolish aspiration long since abandoned.

But the training has served you well over the years. It certainly comes in handy when you need to fucking punch something.

Your security team is comprised of regular soldiers so it does not take much to best them in a fight. The exertion is nonetheless liberating. You have always felt more at ease in action than behind a desk. Combat clothes are less stifling than formalwear. There is a reason Miroh never paraded you at parties the way his late enemy did with his late daughter. Your place is in a fight and always has been.

After a few rounds in the ring, you stop to rest. Your team knows when to leave you alone to brood. You lay back on the mat, flat in the ring.

There is a moment, as often passes, where you question your entire life. It has been a long, vicious fight, clawing your way to your position, that the road back out seems like an impossibly arduous task. Too much has happened, too much pain and loss. It has to mean something.

You cannot surrender now. The very thought has you reeling, physically painful to even consider.

This is where you belong. It is an irrevocable truth. You are a Miroh.

“Yah, murder princess,” comes a voice and the thud of booted steps. “Just three rounds? Tsk. You’re getting soft.”

You roll over, grinning even though you know better. You look up at Changbin who is dressed in similar fatigues, his bulky arms crossed over his broad chest, his dark bangs brushing his smirking face.

“I was waiting for a real fight,” you reply. “Looks like I’m still waiting.”

He barks out a laugh.

Changbin is one of the few survivors of your father’s special-ops program. Unlike others who were imported from your father’s overseas operations, Changbin was raised right here alongside you. You do not even remember meeting him; he has just always been there.

He is a few years younger but he always held your attention, both because of his skill and his ability to retain a sense of humour. It was an often sought breath of relief in the conditions of your training.

You look at Changbin now, grinning and more jovial than someone like him should be. It is a testament to his resolute strength that he can hold a dual personality inside him. He has always been that way. He can flip between a stoic soldier and goofy guy in the blink of an eye. It is part of the reason you have never let yourself entirely trust him. Though you are fond of him, he is like you: just a little too good at what he does.

“Haha, the princess thinks she’s a comedian now,” Changbin says. He nudges you with the tip of his boot. “If you want to make me laugh, you should try fighting.”

“Oh, I see.” You cannot help but rise to his bait, like always. He is a perpetual little brother even though he is not your real brother and certainly not little anymore.

You swipe at him and he jumps back. Just like that, the pair of you fall into a long practiced dance.

It is not the gentle footwork of a real dance, but a violent collision and parry of limbs. It is just as musical and in sync, and somehow almost as tender. You know each other’s weaknesses as well as strengths. You know how to beat each other and how to prolong surrender, where to give advantage so the other can continue. You used to fight until the trainers called a tie, saving you both from selection for the loser’s punishment. To everyone else, it looked like a fight. To you, it was a conversation and consolation. Even if you had been in solitude for weeks, in that moment you were not alone.

Changbin reads you now, in every swipe and jump and dodge. In your matching black clothes and matching strength you collide and converse. Your frustration strains in every vein and his enquires are plain in the deliberate pause of his complicated steps.

“Daddy problems, ah, murder princess?” he asks, grinning.

He catches your fist before it collides with that smirk, twisting your wrist so you are forced to follow with a heavy drop. You roll together, a back and forth until you individually spring to your feet and face each other. You wait for the next move with equal calculation.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” you say, batting a hit.

“Really?” he asks. “Because there are rumours in the pig pen that the general was looking for a big strong soldier to protect his little princess.”

He lets you clock his jaw but it is a satisfying smack nonetheless. A drop of aggravation is wrung out with your sweat. You wipe your brow.

“There was a change of plans,” you say.

Changbin laughs. He is loud, always so loud for someone who can be so stealthy.

“Of course!” he shouts. “Keeping the doctors busy today, are you?”

He really knows you too well. It is mutual. You side-step a movement and body-check him.

“Guess that’s what the general gets for choosing from the pig pen,” you say. You infuse your father’s title with all the sardonic venom it deserves and pig pen with the same playful mockery as always.

“Don’t be jealous,” Changbin teases right back, catching your taunt as easily as he catches your punch. “If you keep practicing, one day you might be almost as good as me.” He has been making the same wisecrack for years, laughing to himself every single time.

“Funny,” you say dryly.

“I am the best,” he continues to tease, embellishing his movements with an unnecessarily dramatic flair. “I’m sure that’s why the general doesn’t want me on bodyguard duty, right? I need a real job, not protecting the princess.”

There are a few rapid-fire moves, too taxing for speech. Then you manage, “Right.” You take his offered opening and catch the back of his knee with yours. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with your probation after the last field mission.”

You expect to take him down but you do not expect the weight of his crash. It is not like Changbin to fully collapse under you, almost like he was truly surprised.

You are just as dazed by the impact. You loom over him, staring bemusedly, like you have no idea how he got on the floor.

It is not like Changbin to take a hit so personally. Of all your father’s soldiers, he was always the best at shrugging off his individuality in favour of a mission. He does not tend to dwell on his losses anymore than he lingers in his victories. The past is a heavy thing to carry into battle. He knows to leave it behind. There is always another job around the corner.

“You’re not still upset about that?” you ask.

The mission was shortly before the enemy’s downfall. Years ago, one of your father’s child soldiers betrayed an operation. Lee Felix switched sides and the enemy did not let your father forget it. But Miroh is an ever-calculating general who knows which battles are worth fighting. After one failed attempt at seizing the enemy’s daughter, he waited until the enemy came to him instead.

When he finally did, you caught him. You sent Changbin after his daughter and waited for the enemy’s imminent surrender. He retracted his operation but Felix, that loose canon of a traitor-turned-bodyguard, fucked the Mirohs a second time and disappeared with her. They all died a week later.

Changbin was noticeably uneasy after the job, but you did not think much of it. You were not worried about Changbin taking the mission too personally. Yes, Felix was a former soldier in this regiment, but Changbin is not sentimental. You chalked up his despondency to his loss. It is not like him to let a target slip through his fingers.

“Upset,” Changbin says. “Me?”

You know him too well. The joking tone is diminished, buried beneath the weight of his gloom. He tries to smile but it does not fit on his face, too big and too wide of a grin.

You tip your head, your regard scrutinous. You have no idea how to talk to him with real depth. You look at each other and understand it, but vocalizing it is another matter entirely.

Like he can read your thoughts, his face scrunches up and he says, “Yah, you, cut that out!” He shoves you as he gets to his feet, both of you stumbling. “I’m fine,” he says. “Come on, hit me again.”

You are certainly better at conversing that way.

You take a starting stance but you are interrupted when someone from your security team whistles. It is a warning whistle, the sharp tone a code for the arrival of your father.

You and Changbin straighten, turning to watch as Miroh approaches with a flank of armed guards behind him. They are all dressed for combat in their black uniforms and black masks. The half-mask is regulation for all field agents. It covers the bottom half of the face and serves as protection in the event of smoke from explosions or exposure to noxious aerosols and gasses.

It also undoubtedly turns a human soldier into a less-than-human figure. It obscures features, faces, flaws.

Sharp eyes stare at you, every face uniform and expressionless. There are half a dozen of them. Your father’s usual security detail trails behind them. Your security team eyes them in turn. The whole room feels like a pot about to boil over.

“What is this?” you demand.

“This is my adherence to our agreement,” your father says.

“Our agreement?” you ask.

“Yes.” He stops in the middle of the room, standing straight and steady. He looks at ease, like he barges in here with a small army every day. “You tasked me to find a competent replacement bodyguard,” he says. “So here is how this will go: whichever agent can beat you in a fight, right here, right now, will be your new bodyguard. If you defeat them all, I will drop the issue and leave the matter of your personal security to you.”

You look at his soldiers then at him. You force yourself to composure. It is not like you to instigate so much confrontation. You prefer to keep your head down and get the job done. Your father does not love you but he knows your work is reliable. Usually that is enough.

This entire escapade with the enemy has unravelled everyone. The house of Miroh should be more stable than ever, your father taking over assets left behind by the enemy, but the whole world feels changed. It is off its axis. You feel unsteady, your body braced for attack with no reprieve. You feel like you are looking at the world through someone else’s eyes. Everything feels wrong.

In difficult times, you fall back on training and soldier instinct. You are a battle technician, just as competent as your father. He is not going to drop the issue and this is a fair compromise. You can fight these guards. Half a dozen well-trained field agents is a handful but not impossible. Your body is built to be a little faster, a little stronger, to take a hit harder.

“Fine,” you say, a single grating syllable. You bite the word. Through clenched teeth, you add, “Let’s do this.”

You and Changbin exchange a look. He reflects your confusion, knowing you can easily take these guards, knowing Miroh knows that too. It makes you feel even more uneasy. Your father must be planning something but you do not know what. But you cannot control him. You can only control yourself. You can fight these guys. You can win.

You take a swig of water then stretch. The first guard takes a position in the fighting ring. You brace yourselves with a starting stance, measuring the other.

You wait, sweat dripping down your brow. You feel their eyes on you, every soldier, your father, your friend. Changbin stands off to the side, sitting in shadows.

It is where your kind belongs. You are not regular soldiers.

The fight begins and you take him down swiftly. Your game with Changbin was just that, a game. This is real. This is a battle. This is what your body was made to do.

One by one, you take out the agents. They charge at you, they swing at you, they even try to taunt you. You deflect it all. Your fist connects with a temple, your foot their knee. You pop joints and flip soldiers and springboard back to action.

You are getting tired by the last soldier but you do not let it show. You sweat profusely, breathing hard, but you run at him and take him down. Your bodies are a swirl of limbs and powerful movements. Then he is on the ground, groaning, and you are rising, victorious.

“Well?” you say. You cannot help but grin, elated from the sheer exertion of exercise, and proud of your triumph. There is a small, stupid part of you that hopes underneath everything, your father is proud too. That he must relent and admit you are good.

Miroh just stands there, unmoving and unaffected. It dims your smile, frustration returning. It simmers hot beneath your skin. It distracts you.

Pain explodes in your left cheek, so sharp and searing it turns the world dark for half a second. You see lightning flashes as you stumble, falling onto your side. There is another guard in front of you, one you did not even see enter the room. Did he drop down from the ceiling?

He is a blurry shape. You blink the stars out of your eyes, holding your throbbing head until clarity returns.

Then your stomach drops.

It is not a guard looming over you. He wears the same black combat uniform and the same half-mask, but everything about him is different, everything from his build to his stance to the ice cold slash of his dark eyes. Emotionless. Empty.

“Ah, I see,” you say, a breathless slur of words. You cannot stop your voice from shaking. “The First Guard. I should have known.”

There are only two living soldiers who can fight at your level. The only two survivors of your father’s special-ops program. One of them is Seo Changbin.

The other is Bang Christopher Chan.

He stands over you in his combat gear, unflinching and barely human. Even without the mask, you doubt you would see any humanity. There is not a single shred of the boy he once was. Chan was a problem for Miroh, once. That was a very long time ago.

That boy, Chris, is dead. He has been dead for years. The soldier in front of you is someone – something – else.

You get to your feet, slowly and shakily. He watches you. He does not speak and he barely blinks, his gaze a meticulous perusal, his body braced for anything.

Chan has the bloodiest, dirtiest hands of them all. He does your father’s worst missions, assignments with details that even you are barred from knowing. He is terrifyingly efficient, deadlier than any weapon in Miroh’s arsenal, and that is saying something because it is a substantial arsenal.

Your own hands are dirty but it is nothing in comparison. He is fast, he is deadly, and he feels nothing. He looks at you like a machine scans a calculation. A broken bone here, a fracture there. You are certain he is already picturing a hundred different ways to contort your broken body.

“Right,” you say.

You are a strategist. You know how to fight. You know when not to fight. But it is like instinct. You look at him and something says fight him.

You feel your father’s eyes on you. You are not sure who is teaching who a lesson.

You take a swing at Chan. He dodges it. He swings too, faster, but you anticipate it. You tuck and roll, moving faster than you have ever moved in your life. You are seldom pushed to the brink of your abilities like this. Even half your skillset is double what most adversaries possess.

But Chan is too much. You spend the fight on constant defense, blocking swing after swing, hit after hit. You take advantage of the smallest opening and crack your fist on his chest, only to realize he deliberately opened himself to it. He grabs your wrist and twists you around before you can retaliate. You are not used to such brute strength. You follow his twisting to prevent a sprain or fracture, which he anticipates. He grabs you by the throat and yanks you into him, right off your feet.

You choke, blue swarming your rapidly blurring vision. He slams you down on the ground, further disorienting you, still clutching your neck.

You dive somewhere deep inside your head. You collect yourself as per your training, then swing your knee up between his legs. It does not fully incapacitate him but it does discombobulate him. He lets go of your throat and you slide between his legs, jumping up behind him. He turns just in time to take a kick to the stomach, blasting him backwards to the end of the ring. He prevents a worse fall by forcing himself down on one knee.

You take the second he is down to catch your breath. You try to calculate your next move but your adrenaline is dwindling. Hopelessness settles in your chest. You cannot win this fight. At best, you can prolong it, but—

For the second time, you are blind-sided by pain. It shatters down the right side of your body, a winded shove that blows right through you. But it is not Chan. Chan is still getting to his feet.

You look up only for Changbin to bring his fist down in your face. It knocks you off your feet and you land with a heavy thud. Your heart races inside your aching chest.

You have never fought Changbin like this.

“What are you doing?” you hiss when he grabs you by the neck and drags you onto your feet. You come to your senses and fight back, but you are hurt and tired and he has been recuperating.

He punches you clear across the jaw and knocks you down again. The world tilts sideways, spotted with black and blue. Changbin drops on top of you. You cannot even wrestle him, so disoriented. He gets you flat on your front and pins you down.

Then he takes a second to whisper in your ear, “Stop fighting me, murder princess. Who do you want as a bodyguard? Me or that thing?”

If you were not so tired, you might have laughed.

Your life is so backwards. Changbin is helping you by beating the shit out of you. But it is undoubtedly helpful. He is right. If Chan beat you, then Chan would be your bodyguard. Your father would win. He would have one of his agents glued to your side. An agent you would never be able to shake no matter what you did.

But it is not Chan over you. It is your friend. Someone from the same shadows as you. Someone your father was not anticipating.

Changbin grabs you by the neck and yanks you up. You look at your father with blood dribbling out of your mouth.

“I win,” Changbin says.

Your father does not look happy. That should upset you. You and Miroh are bound as one.

But it gives you a thrill. His abomination of a soldier looms to the side, still staring at you, like he expects the fight to continue any second. You suppose Chan’s life is one big fight and always has been.

It doesn’t have to be that way for you, you think to yourself, a dangerous thought, one conjured by the feeling of your only friend holding you in his arms. It looks like a death grip to anyone else, purely technical, but you feel it, the way he cups your injuries carefully despite his bulk and power.

Miroh is scared. He is getting desperate. He wants you brought to heel. In doing so, he is only stoking your resentment.

That pot starts to boil over.

“Well?” you say, in a voice as rough as gravel.

“Yes,” your father says with a petty little snarl. “I suppose you have won, haven’t you?”

Changbin helps you off the ground. You suffer through your pains. You can feign steadiness for another minute, for long enough to retaliate.

You climb out of the ring. You pass the other injured guards. You walk right up to your father.

Miroh stares at you. You have identical glares, measuring each other. Two soldiers with the same fire in their blood.

You punch him. It is a nice sharp shot across the face, using all the strength you have left. You are one of the best. Despite your injuries, it is still one fucking hell of a punch.

Miroh falls back in an undignified sprawl, hitting the hard ground with a painful thud. He is good but he is not you. A fall like that would not have broken your bones the way it clearly fractures his arm.

“Until next time, father,” you say.

You step over him. His security team immediately surrounds him, helping him up. Your team comes to your aid as well. Changbin follows too, coming right up to your side. He grabs your arm and slings it around his shoulder, taking the brunt of your weight seconds before you would have collapsed.

You look back over your shoulder. The injured guards are tending their wounds. Chan is looming in the background like a living shadow. Miroh is clutching his arm and staring at you with fury pouring out of him. You walk away, smiling despite your injuries.

Your father should know better than to hit you.

You always hit back.

#bang chan x reader #chan x reader #bang chan x you #chan x you #bang chan fanfiction #bang chan smut #skz x reader #stray kids x reader #stray kids fanfiction #skz fanfiction #skz x you #stray kids x you

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literaryvein-reblogs · 6 months ago

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do u perhaps have any advice/notes on how to write a Deaf character, especially on how to write them signing?

Writing Notes: Deaf Characters

Deaf

The word “deaf” describes a person with profound or complete hearing loss. It is important to understand that many people do not consider being deaf or having hearing loss as a disability. Instead, deafness is often considered a culture.

“Deaf” and “hard of hearing” are the terms recommended by the World Federation of the Deaf and The National Association of the Deaf. Many people in the Deaf community prefer the use of a lowercase “d” to refer to audiological status and the use of a capital “D” when referring to the culture and community of Deaf people. Some people with mild to moderate hearing loss may affiliate themselves with the Deaf community and prefer to be referred to as “deaf” instead of “hard of hearing.” Alternatively, some who are profoundly deaf may prefer the term “hard of hearing.”

NCDJ Recommendation: “Deaf” or “hard of hearing” are the preferred terms. Uppercase when referring to the “Deaf” community and lowercase when referring to the condition. Avoid using “hearing impaired” or “partial” or “partially” in reference to deafness or hearing loss unless people use those terms for themselves.

When possible, ask if a person or group uses identity-first language (deaf students) or person-first language (students who are deaf). However, The National Association of the Deaf supports the identity-first approach.

When quoting or paraphrasing a person who has signed their responses, it’s appropriate on first reference to indicate that the responses were signed. It’s acceptable to use the word “said” in subsequent references.

AP style: The stylebook uses “deaf” to describe a person with total hearing loss and “partially deaf” or “partial hearing loss” for others. It calls for use of a lower case “d” in all usages.

The Portrayal of Deafness in Media

Some examples you can use, and do further research on, as a guide (also to learn from and avoid what are considered problematic representations in media):

A Quiet Place and sequels: Post-apocalyptic thrillers in which monsters with highly-advanced hearing invade America. The main characters are a family who all know American Sign Language, owing to their deaf eldest daughter (played by deaf actress Millicent Simmonds), allowing them to communicate without drawing the monsters' attention, and most of the dialogue (especially in the first film) is in ASL. Static from her hearing aid also proves to be a powerful weapon against the monsters.

Baby Driver: Features a hearing protagonist with tinnitus (Ansel Elgort) who is a getaway driver for a gang and has a deaf foster father (CJ Jones).

Godzilla vs. Kong: One of the main human characters is a deaf girl named Jia, played by deaf actress Kaylee Hottle. She is said to be the last of the Iwi people, the natives of Skull Island, and she has a strong emotional bond with Kong, as both of them are the last of their kind. Past incarnations of Kong typically formed strong emotional connections - sometimes ambiguously sexual ones - with white American women, so this is also the first time the most important human to Kong has been a native of his own island. She also teaches Kong sign language.

Hawkeye: As in the comics, Clint suffers from hearing loss due to his superhero endeavors taking a toll on him. The series also features a prominent supporting character who is deaf (Echo), played by deaf actress Alaqua Cox.

Sound of Metal: An American drama starring hearing actor Riz Ahmed as a metal drummer losing his hearing and working at a school for the deaf.

Switched at Birth (2011) features several deaf characters who are able to sign fluently. The show portrays how they adjust to life and their everyday experiences with being deaf and how hearing people react to them.

There Will Be Blood: H.W. is left deaf after a blast at the oil field.

The entry below focuses on films made by American and foreign filmmakers who have little or no special interest in or knowledge about deaf people or Deaf communities. Casting hearing actors to portray deaf characters is unfortunately common. Because neither the filmmakers, the expected audiences, nor the actors know anything about d/Deaf people, inauthenticities are widespread. These problems are only slightly improved by casting a Deaf actor: Deaf actors can portray authentic use of a sign language but are often limited by the script, the director, and the editing process. Therefore, while the signing community commends the casting of Deaf actors, the discussion here focuses on the deaf characters themselves and reasons for their inclusion in the story. In the following, the actors are labeled either “D” for Deaf or “h” for hearing. If there is no label, the actor’s status is unknown.

Deaf Characters and Sign Language for Intrigue. Thrillers with deaf characters typically put a deaf woman in peril. In Hear No Evil (1993), Jillian (Marlee Matlin d) has been learning from her hearing boyfriend which mechanical devices cause ear-splitting noises. When she is pursued by a would-be murderer, she takes advantage of a fire alarm, a sprinkler system, and a stereo turned full blast to mask the sounds of her movements as she attempts to hide. In Orphan (2009) a family with two children, one of them deaf (Aryana Engineer h), adopts an orphan who turns out to be a murderous psychopath. When this “orphan” cleverly steals the deaf girl’s hearing aid before launching the climactic killing spree, we gasp in horror as the deaf girl negotiates the house unable to hear just where her mother or the murderer are. Suspect (1987) has a major deaf character, a mentally ill transient (Liam Neeson h) who has lost his hearing during the Viet Nam war and is accused of murder, but the film focuses on the efforts of his court-appointed attorney, who first must realize that he is deaf, then piece the case together with minimal help from him. (His treatment by the police will be regarded as unsettling and quite authentic by many deaf viewers.) In a departure from the usual use of the deaf character in thrillers, The River Wild (1996) has hearing characters communicating surreptitiously in ASL after they are taken hostage. A brief glimpse of a Deaf father (Victor H. Galloway d) at the beginning of the movie shows where they learned to sign.

Heightened Sensory Powers. The myth that deaf (and blind) people have heightened sensory perception sometimes prompts writers and filmmakers to provide their deaf characters with supernatural powers. After Image (2001) presents Laura (Terrylene d), a young deaf woman whose visions and strange dreams enable her to discern clues to crimes. What the Bleep Do We Know? (2004) is a hybrid of narrative and documentary filmmaking, with Amanda (Marlee Matlin d) simultaneously experiencing different planes of existence as she struggles with the existential angst of her life.

Writing Notes: Sign(ed) Languages

Sign(ed) Languages are languages which primarily function non-verbally through visual signals, generally invented for the use of the deaf to communicate. As the name indicates, the primary means of communication is generally signs made with the hands in front of the body. However, most sign languages include facial expressions and some, such as Japanese Sign Language, include mouthing as part of their mechanics. It is important to recognize that while almost every community with a spoken language also has a signed language, the signed language used is related more to the geographical region than to the spoken language. For example, English is the primary language of the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand, but the US and (Anglophone) Canada use ASL note , the UK uses BSL, and Australia and New Zealand use Auslan and NZSL respectively - all different languages with distinct signs and grammar.

One important aspect of Signed Languages is that they are, as a rule, fully-formed languages with their own grammar and words. They are not pantomime nor do they necessarily follow the grammar of the spoken/verbal language of the region. Some signs are iconic, or resemble what they speak of, much like how some spoken words are onomatopoeic, but most signs are abstractions of iconic signs or completely original. The grammar itself frequently differs greatly in part due to the spatial aspects of signs and the ability to convey information non-sequentially. For example, within ASL, it is common to establish specific people in a conversation at spatial locations and later use signs moving from location to the other rather than having to reestablish identities or use pronouns. Similarly, since both hands and the face can be used, multiple pieces of information can be encoded into a single sign. For example, a sentence like "I drove from Jane to John and I enjoyed it" can be conveyed in a single sign if Jane and John have already been previously established in the conversation. And, before you ask, most signs convey individual words. There is finger-spelling (you're familiar with that from The Miracle Worker, it's what Annie shows Helen to communicate), but it's inefficient (especially with big words like "inefficient"), and not all signers are necessarily fluent in it because it requires them to depict, letter by letter, words that are not from their native language — specifically, words from the spoken/verbal language of the region.

It is worth noting that Signed Language, while non-verbal, is not necessarily quiet. Even deaf users typically make sounds while signing and it is not infrequent for a very low-pitched grunt to be used to catch someone's attention via the vibrations.

As an anthropological note, it is worth considering that many communities and cultures define themselves by their language, and the deaf are no exception. The word "Deaf" is often capitalized when indicating the non-hearing culture, or membership of same. Though there are always exceptions, most Deaf individuals do not consider their lack of hearing to be a drawback and are proud of the community their condition allows them access to.

For a number of reasons, including religious, eugenics and association with Native Americans (e.g. Plains Indian Sign Language) and other "savages", the oralist movement sought to eliminate Sign in an attempt at normalization and mainstreaming. There were actually laws against using Sign in school classrooms until 2008. Educators such as Thomas Gallaudet recognized being Deaf as a cultural identity and warned that eliminating Sign and insisting on oral speech would put Deaf children at a lifelong disadvantage. Today, Sign is recognized as a legitimate form of communication and oral-only education has been discredited.

Signed Language has nothing to do with the trope of Talking with Signs which involves characters communicating via written signs. It is related to Hand Signals, which range from pantomime to a reduced vocabulary, sometimes with a sparse grammar. Especially within fantasy works, it is not uncommon to have races or nations where Hand Signals have evolved into a Signed Language, typically to provide a method to communicate in secrecy.

In real life, some professional fields rely somewhat heavily on signed language even if nobody in a particular project is deaf. One such field that relies on Hand Signals and signed languages in varying combinations, is professional diving, since one can't exactly speak out loud when wearing SCUBA gear.

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Choose which of these notes and references are most appropriate for your writing. But communicating with someone (or people) in the community would provide you with even more valuable information.

#anonymous #writing notes #writeblr #literature #writers on tumblr #writing reference #dark academia #spilled ink #creative writing #writing tips #writing inspiration #character development #writing prompt #writing advice #light academia #writing resources

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syerra-637 · 1 year ago

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𝓕𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓜𝓮𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓪𝓷 𝓞𝓫𝓼𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓨𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓒𝓮𝓸

TW: Yandere behavior, obsessed!yandere Format: Headcanons A/N: This the first part to this drabble. I plan to quickly release a sequel where I'll detail their first date. I have a lot of ideas for this yandere, I just need to choose between headcanon and fic.

Yandere, an influential and wealthy CEO, is on his way to an important business meeting. His black limousine drives through the neon-lit downtown when his gaze accidentally meets yours as you cross a bustling street.

A shiver runs down his spine, his heart beating faster. It’s love at first sight. Your image is etched into his mind, every detail of your face and posture becoming an immediate obsession.

Back in his luxurious penthouse, Yandere immediately mobilizes his resources. He calls on his hackers to find any possible information about you. Within hours, he has a complete file containing your social media, interests, frequent places, and even close friends.

His private security team is put on high alert, ready to act at any moment. Yandere also starts acquiring everything you might like, filling an entire room of his penthouse with items and clothes you would enjoy.

Yandere monitors your daily habits through surveillance cameras he has discreetly installed around your home and favorite places. He learns your routine, anticipating your movements and desires.

For the first meeting, he decides to create an event that will catch your attention. He organizes a charity event at a luxury hotel, an exclusive and publicized affair, and sends you an invitation, making it appear as a work-related invitation, knowing it will pique your curiosity.

At the event, he arranges for you to be seated at his table. Using his charm and presence, he initiates a conversation, presenting himself as an admirer of your interests or work.

He treats you with exaggerated deference, his eyes fixed on you with almost palpable intensity. Every word you say is a revelation to him, and he eagerly offers you all the attention possible.

After this first meeting, he intensifies his efforts to enter your life more personally and intimately. He proposes dates and starts sending you lavish gifts. As your relationship progresses, he accompanies his gifts with affectionate notes signed "My King/Queen" or "Treasure."

Gradually, he subtly arranges to eliminate anyone who might pull you away from him, ensuring that he remains your top choice. He uses his influence to offer you opportunities that draw you closer to his world, creating an inevitable dependence.

_♡_♡_♡_♡_♡_

Does any one have an idea for the name of this adorable ceo ? :D

#yandere men #yandere ceo x reader #yandere #rich yandere #soft yandere x reader #yandere ceo #yandere oc #yandere x you #yandere x y/n #yandere obsession #obsessive love #obsessive yandere #yandere x darling

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batmanisagatewaydrug · 4 months ago

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reading update: february 2025

I can't believe that with all the bullshit nonsense of this year I've managed to read ten book a month for two months in a row. it's not on purpose but it's crazy that it's happened twice!

what have I been reading?

The Art of Frugal Hedonism: A Guide to Spending Less While Enjoying Everything More (Annie Raser-Rowland w/ Adam Grubb, 2017; audiobook read by Alice Ansara, 2024) - this was my first audiobook, and it was a doozy. the short version is that this book sucked and made me so, so mad. I really hoped to have my scathing haterade-fueled review up on patreon by now so that I could link it, but that hasn't panned out because I just have too much to say about these out of touch cunts offering the world's least qualified financial advice. "just take a leisurely twelve hour hike to a train station instead of going on vacation" kill yourself!!!

The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality (Amanda Montell, 2024) - I quite liked Montell's previous book, Cultish, but unfortunately I fear Magical Overthinking was a bit of a flop for me. I can't help but feel that the ideal target demographic is extremely anxious women in their teens and early 20s who need a compassionate explanation of why they should spend less time on Twitter and TikTok, and I'm afraid that shrimply isn't me.

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2024; audiobook read by the author) - this was, unintentionally, a lovely little counterpoint to Frugal Hedonism. where Raser-Rowland and Grubb focus deeply on individual consumption habits and have a bad penchant of commodifying human interaction, Potawatomi botanist Kimmerer emphasizes the need for structural environmental change that can come by embracing Indigenous models of viewing the earth and its resources as members of crucial members of the family deserving of respect. a thoughtful and lovely balm to the bullshit!

My Year of Rest and Relaxation (Ottessa Moshfegh, 2018) - a book about the original queen of giving us nothing, as our protagonist goes to increasingly drastic lengths to spend as much time as possible asleep and disengaged from anything more complicated than acquiring more prescription pills. what can I say? I love books about miserable rich white women rotting in their own self-absorption.

Don't Want You Like a Best Friend (Emma R. Alban, 2024) - this was my patreonites' pick for my romance novel of the month, and I'll admit I went in nervous - historical romance novels are often not my thing, and the Taylor Swift lyric for the title was a red flag. but you know what? this was a romp. I was entertained. dare I say I was even charmed. sure, it falls into the common historical queer romance pitfall of emphasizing the vague threat of period-typical homophobia while assuring us that every important character just so happens to be startlingly cool with homosexuality, but whatever - I didn't come here to see these girls get hatecrimed by their own parents, alright? I wasn't planning to read the sequel, but it turns out it's a VERY direct follow up where the girls from this book hatch an INSANE plan to (SPOILER ALERT) get their male cousins to fall in gay love so that they can lavender marry each other's cousins and live happily ever after. INSANE! I love it here.

Dawn (Octavia E. Butler, 1987) - on the one hand, I'm a little heartbroken. this marks the beginning of the last of Butler's series that I haven't read; after Adulthood Rites and Imago, I'll have read everything she published in her too-short life, with no new works to look forward to ever again. but on the other hand: MAN, am I glad I saved this one for last. this book has it all: humanity's near-extinction. aliens. psychic tentacle threesomes. maybe the biggest L that any of Butler's heroines ever took. it's wild out here! cannot wait to see where we're going with this.

Iron Widow (Xiran Jay Zhao, 2021) - this was a reread to prep for the sequel, Heavenly Tyrant, which came out in December, and MAN am I glad I decided to check back in with the first book. I really thought I remembered the broad strokes of the plot well enough, but I really did not remember just how blood-spittingly bugfuck viscous Zetian and her two boyfriends are. of the three people in this throuple, the nicest one is the guy who murdered his brothers and dad in cold blood. and I think that's awesome! cannot wait to see what these absolute freaks are up to now, and my hold cannot come into the library quickly enough.

Pardon My Frenchie (Farrah Rochon, 2024) - okay. listen. on paper I shouldn't like this book. the male love interest is boring at best and a full-blown shithead at worst. the biggest driver of the plot is the love interests' dogs going crazy levels of viral. the sex is minimal and nothing to write home about. and yet. AND YET. our female lead, Ashanti, is simply so charming and earnest and plucky that I adored her immediately. girl lost both her parents on the same day, had to drop out of veterinary school to raise her twin younger sisters, and is struggling to run the world's most plush doggy day care AND run a successful side business selling homemade dog biscuits. truly I just want anything to go right for her, ever. she's never even been eaten out prior to this book, and that makes me so, SO sad for her. I may not like her boyfriend, but at least he'll get her off, and that counts for something. overall, it's Ashanti's storyline about learning how to prioritize what's important to her and let some obligations go instead of clinging madly to everything that really got me through and won me over. plus, this book bypassed by usual kneejerk dislike of obnoxiously cutesy plot device pets in romance novels by making the dogs actually completely integral to the story and the characters - Ashanti is hugely defined by her adoration of every dog she meets - in a way that I really enjoy. will I read the upcoming sequel, Pugs and Kisses? fuck it. maybe.

White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind (Koa Beck, 2019) - Beck's book falls in a really sweet spot of building very well on a lot of feminism 101 to actually meaningfully discuss new concepts without being redundant. okay, yes, you've heard "white feminism" is bad, but do you know why? Beck has some of the most well laid-out explanations I've ever encountered, thoroughly detailing the ways in which white feminism reject collectivist anti-capitalist action in favor of individual advancement within the status quo. plus there is, as promised, a great historical throughline, contrasting the actions of historical middle and upper class white feminists against those of actions largely headed up by women who are Black, brown, Jewish, and/or immigrants who served entire communities. the takedown of "lean in" office girlboss culture is particularly killer.

Acts of Service (Lillian Fishman, 2022) - a short novel, ideal for reading in a couple hours if you love mess and happen to be trapped in various airports and flights with not much else to do! I was expecting another entry in the obnoxiously disaffected young woman genre and was pleasantly surprised by how curious and engaged our protagonist, Eve, actually is! much like Edie of Luster, I think she's gonna be alright once this deranged throuple situation blows over. ultimately I don't know if the conclusion of the novel hit for me as well as Luster did, and when I got to the end of the book I did kind of find myself going damn... and what was the point of all that? I have no idea, but it was well-crafted and I'm glad that I didn't read this like six months ago because it probably would have killed me with toxic horny poisoning at that point in my life. I'm normal now.

#bookblr #reading updates #the locked tomb

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ominous-potato96 · 11 months ago

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Ok y'all! Time for the NSFW sequel to Tiefling Physiology:

Tiefling sexuality: The Headcanon that exactly one person asked for!

Heat Cycles: These cycles begin when a tiefling completes puberty and reaches sexual maturity (typically between the ages of 16 and 20). For females (or those who were born with female anatomy) heat cycles occur regularly, usually on a 90 day cycle, though it varies from one individual to the next. Similar to humans, this cycle begins with a menstrual period which lasts for 3 to 7 days. This time can be unpleasant; consisting of cramps, bleeding, fatigue, nausea, headaches, hormonal mood swings, and increased sensitivity. The next part of the cycle is largely uneventful, the body preparing for the third phase in the cycle: heat. Around day 70 of the cycle, hormones shift dramatically. Typically the complexion clears and seems more radiant, pheromones are produced to entice a mate, and all bodily sensitivity is drastically increased. The tiefling will experience extreme arousal, which can often be debilitating. If they do not engage in sex with a partner, the heat will be prolonged and can last up to 10 days. With a partner it can be lessened to 4 or 5 days. If procreation is not desired, measures must be taken as the tiefling in heat is extremely fertile during this time. (Contraceptive potions are a viable option but must be taken as soon as possible or regularly for maximum effectiveness.)

Rut Cycles: A male tiefling (or one with male anatomy) will go into their first rut when they are 16 to 18 years old, once sexual maturity is reached and after the end of puberty. This can be overwhelming or even frightening for the unprepared, as sexual instincts emerge for the first time and take hold. This is also a time when males will often experiment with their sexuality: discovering preferences and tastes for partners and stimuli. Rut, unlike heat, is less regular. It has no designated cycle length and can occur monthly, or for some annually. This is normal and nothing to be concerned about. Rut can also be triggered spontaneously, if the individual is in close proximity to a tiefling in heat (excluding family members, of course) due to pheromones given off. Tieflings have a keen sense of smell, allowing them to quickly scent anyone who is in heat. If there is a pre-existing attraction or relationship between the two individuals the chances of spontaneous rut are significantly higher. A rut can last anywhere from 3 to 10 days, but are typically on the lower end if they have a partner they can work through it with. Be warned, sex with a tiefling in rut can be an arduous experience, lasting hours and resulting in exhaustion and soreness. A tiefling in rut can go into a frenzied state and can unknowingly injure a non-tiefling partner (this will be discussed in a later section).

Important Note: Some tieflings have Incubus or Succubus in their bloodline which can give them unusual traits, especially in heat or rut. Examples include: Saliva (and other body fluids) with an extreme aphrodisiac effect, unusually high stamina, and near non-existent refractory periods.

Intimate Anatomy: As previously discussed, Tieflings possess distinct ridges on parts of their bodies. This includes the genitals. Males especially are known to have ridges and raised protrusions along the shaft of the penis, though pattern and amount are unique to the individual. Females also have them, though theirs are largely just for aesthetic purposes. Male tieflings in rut will "knot" during intercourse, the base of the penis swelling to lock them into their partner and ensure the highest chances of fertilization. A couple may end up locked together for a few minutes, but it's best to wait it out as forcing separation can be painful.

Mating Practices: These can vary widely from one individual to the next, based on flirting styles and directness. But one thing that seems to be consistent is tail posture. When a tiefling is interested in someone, their tail will curve upward into an "S" shape. This is known as "presenting" or, more commonly as "fuck me tail". It is almost always done subconsciously and can cause embarrassment to the one doing it. This behavior is observed in males and females (and those who identify otherwise), regardless of the other party's gender, sexual identity, or race. Tails are often used during the act of sex as well; those who are dextrous can use the tip to stimulate their partner or themselves, it can be stroked or caressed (especially the underside near the base), or it can be wrapped around the partner's leg, waist, or neck (if you're into that sort of thing) Another notable behavior is known as a "Mating Bite". This is typically done during the frenzy of rut or heat when a tiefling will bite their partner, leaving behind a bleeding wound. This can be done as a way to "claim" their lover, or as an act of devotion. This is usually only seen among long term committed partners, as a certain level of connection is required for the instinct to rise. More common among casual and committed lovers alike are claw marks. In the heat of passion a tiefling may drag their claws along a lover's skin and leave welts, scratches, or even gouges behind. This is seen as far less intimate than the mating bite, though looking at it as an outsider it looks fairly similar in the act of marking your lover.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 rolan #bg3 dammon #headcanon #bg3 alfira #holy rolan empire #tiefling #fanfic #writing resources #bg3 #tiefling tail #mating cycles/in heat #mating bites #love bites

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fatuismooches · 2 years ago

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fabulam diu oblitus - postlude.

synopsis: The tale of the raven and the sparrow has long been forgotten by most, but some will always remember.

includes: dottore w/ gn! reader

notes: This is the fourth part of this fic, please read the other parts first! It seems that the fairy tale of you and Dottore comes to an end. Follows some of Sumeru's storyline. Warning for death. Angst. Thank you to my mootie @kaixserzz and my all of my dear anons (🎐, 🐓 <3) who kept me inspired to keep writing this fic :3

prelude. first interlude. second interlude. postlude. sequel.

“The raven and butterfly’s happiness continued for much longer. But of course, every creature is aware that nothing lasts forever, and even the lightning in the sky would agree with that statement. All fairytales must come to an end. That was no different for the raven and the butterfly.”

There had been a buzz around the lab lately. Some of the segments had been ordered to leave for a Fatui mission. Which, would have been a normal occurrence, were it not for the place they were headed to this time.

“Sumeru? You’re going to Sumeru?” Your home country had instantly gotten your attention, not only because you haven’t been back in centuries, but also because the segments were never usually dispatched there, instead causing their usual chaos in other nations.

“Indeed. We will see if the Balladeer is able to become the God he so desires to be,” Omega hummed, moving a hand underneath your shirt to record your heartbeat. Ah, that was right. The puppet had stolen the Electro Gnosis to use as his ascension into godhood… and Dottore would be there to see how his experiment plays out. Well, you already had a feeling about how that would turn out.

Moving on to a different subject, although Sumeru was the home you and Zandik were chased out of, you still held fond memories of it. Many happy things happened there for you, so the thought of it made you smile.

“You have to bring back lots of stories for me! And souvenirs! Oh, I would love to see how much Sumeru has changed from all those years ago,” you dreamily smiled. Yeah, your favorite cafe was probably gone by now… but you’d love to see what replaced it!

“Of course. I expect there will be much to say with the God of Wisdom and the Traveler intervening as well,” Omega chuckled, scribbling down something on his clipboard after glancing at the monitor, before fixing your shirt back.

“Your vitals have been better lately,” the segment commented and patted your head, which you happily indulged in. It wasn’t too noticeable, but it seemed like your body was getting even a little bit better. Not much, a little. But that was good anyway. “But run along now. There is much preparation to be done regarding the trip to Sumeru.”

“Okayyyy,” you stretched your words a bit disappointedly, not wanting to leave the segment, but you knew he had a lot of work to do. So instead you settled with pecking him on the cheek which he of course returned tenfold before you went off on your way. You had quite a few segments to say goodbye to, after all! You’d miss them a lot, but, you still had the other segments here with you. And your lover of course.

Surely, they would be back in the blink of an eye. Yes, surely, they’d return just as they always did. You had no reason to think otherwise. And so for the next few days, everything was normal. Time passed regularly. You got through the days as you did with any other.

But one day was different.

You were in your room by yourself, enjoying your alone time. Because as much as you loved being around the segments, you still liked being by yourself too. But all of a sudden, your tranquility was interrupted by literally a bang on your door, which made you jump.

The knock on your door was frantic and loud. Immediately you hopped out of bed to see what could possibly be so important that your door was getting pounded, but when you opened the door there was no one there. You were very confused… how was that possible? This was a pretty long hallway. Even with the segments’ abilities, there was no way they could just disappear into thin air like that.

A bad feeling began to creep up on you, your stomach twisting and turning. You don’t know why, but it just did. But surely you were overreacting. Perhaps… perhaps… actually, you didn’t have any valid reasoning you could think of right now. Maybe though, maybe you should go and check on them. Just in case. You know that they’ll be there, in the lab doing their experiments or perhaps bickering with each other as usual, but there was nothing wrong with double-checking. And then you’ll calm yourself with a nice hug from one of them. It would all be okay.

But you found that your steps were quicker and longer than usual, your breathing heavier than usual. As you got closer to the main lab’s doors, you strained your ears for their voices, anything, something, but heard nothing. You licked and bit your lip that had gone dry, weak legs walking even faster if that was possible, before you swung open the doors, hoping to see those blue mops of hair you so desired to see.

Nothing. The room was empty.

Your footsteps slowed, walking into the room cautiously. It was strange because it looked as if there were people in here just a few minutes ago. Notes that were left unfinished halfway. Beakers that had broken on the floor, with some mysterious liquids soaking the floor. Strange, very strange. And yet no trace of any segments remained.

The bad feeling had grown into something much worse now. Where else? Where else could they be?

Their rooms. You should check their rooms. They were usually there if they weren’t in the lab, doing their own respective work (because their office and rooms doubled as one since they didn’t need to sleep.) So despite how your chest burned, and your legs ached, it didn’t matter if it meant your heart would be soothed and relieved.

You ran as fast as you could, more like you tried to because your illness had really kicked in since your mind was stressing out a great amount. As you clung to the walls, catching your breath, you paid no mind to the random agents who were looking at you funny, nor did you manage to catch their words of “Omega” or “erased” or “gone.”

It took longer than it should have taken you, but at last, you made it to the corridor with the segments’ rooms. You didn’t bother to knock, swinging open the door to Alpha’s room.

Empty.

Beta’s room.

Empty.

Every single room was empty. Fuck, even Zandy’s room was empty. And he was always in there if he wasn’t with you. Your head was throbbing with unease now, your heavy, troubled breathing sounding throughout the whole hallway. Where? Where? Where did they go…?!

“[Name].” A voice sounded from behind you. Spinning around, it was Dottore. Your Dottore! Okay, at least he was still here!

“Dottore,” you breathed a sigh of relief. He would have an explanation for this. “Dottore, where are all the segments? I-I can’t find them anywhere. I mean, I know the lab is really big, but it’s strange for them not to be in these areas,” you placed a hand on your rapidly beating heart, trying to calm it, not noticing your husband’s expression.

“...” The scientist was unsure of how to break the news to you because he knew of the bond you shared with the segments.

“Dottore? Why aren’t you answering me?” He opened his mouth to respond, but paused, seemingly trying to determine the best way to phrase his words. That only worried you more, because he was never one to sugarcoat his words. Your nervousness had returned once more, burning heat from fear creeping up your shoulders. “Zandik, answer me.”

“They’re gone, [Name].” The words took a few moments to settle in, silence overtaking the area for a little bit. But only for a little bit, as your nervous laughter rang out interrupting it.

“Gone?” You repeated. “What do you mean gone? They just can’t be gone. Right? Right, Dottore?” The nervous smile that had etched its way onto your face hurt badly, the laughter mixed with wheezing was painful, but it was all you could do to convince yourself this was a lie.

“Omega has… deleted them in exchange for the Electro Gnosis.” You looked at him blankly, the former emotion on your face gone.

“Deleted? Deleted from this world? From existence?” Your tone got higher and higher as you continued speaking. You didn’t even know Omega had the ability to do that. Or that the segments could be erased in the first place. Dottore just nodded in response.

“But- but why? Surely t-there was another way?” Your voice was on the verge of breaking into tears.

“He wanted to show respect to the God of-”

“Respect? To a God, of all people?” You hissed, bubbles of anger surfacing now through your agony. “He’s a Harbinger, is he not? And he’s stronger than that God! He- he could have easily found another way! He didn’t have to DELETE the segments! Another method HAD to have been possible! Did he even try to negotiate?!” Hot tears ran down your cheeks as you raised your voice at him. It took everything it had in you not to fully scream. You began to pace back and forth, hand covering your already tear-streaked face, whole body shaking. Your husband could only watch.

Dottore wasn’t thrilled with Omega deleting all his segments either, with the endless resources that went into creating them, but what’s done was done. And both the Electro and Dendro Gnoses were acquired. But you? You were on the verge of hysterics. He had never, not once, seen you like this.

You had come to a stop, head buried into your arm as you braced against the wall. Oh, the segments were gone forever. They were never coming back. You could only imagine how they must have been in their last moments. That they only had a few more moments to live. You couldn’t bring yourself to think about what Zandy must have thought in his last few seconds.

And what’s more, the segments had disappeared into… nothingness. There was no trace, no remains of their bodies whatsoever. And although seeing their bodies on the floor would have certainly destroyed you, perhaps this was even a worse fate. Because it was as if they never existed at all. You couldn’t even hold their bodies one last time, or give them a proper farewell. They were just… gone. Oh, how you wished you could have at least been there in their last moments, to provide some comfort, some love, some sense of peace. The more you thought about it, the countless memories with them flowing through your mind, the weaker your violently shaking body became as you struggled to hold yourself up. Dottore instantly noticed and, worrying about your frail condition, walked up to you before you spat out at him.

“Do not come near me.” Out of all the centuries Zandik has spent with you, he has never been on the receiving end of much anger from you. Rather, it was you who dealt with that from him. But this wasn’t just anger. It felt like venom.

“Why…” You pulled yourself up once again before glaring at him with teary eyes. “Why didn’t you stop him, Zandik? You could have, couldn’t you? They didn’t have to die…!”

There was only one answer the Harbinger could provide, even though he knew you would not like it. “It was necessary to obtain the Electro and Dendro Gnoses for the Fatui.” To this, you could only laugh again once more before digging your nails into your palms so hard it hurt.

“I see. I see…” You mumbled brokenly before stepping off to the side, your steps still unsteady and wobbly as you nearly tripped. Dottore once again tensed up, body wanting to move to support you, but the look on your face made him decide against it. You then walked past him, not sparing another look at him before exiting the corridor, tears still silently running down your face. He could only watch you as you left him standing, wondering about many things yet nothing at all.

—

“From that day, there was a drastic shift in the butterfly and raven’s relationship. The butterfly was indescribably hurt by the loss of the other ravens, and could not bear the pain. It was the first time the raven had ever been subjected to such cold treatment by his lover. Usually, it was the other way around. And it seemed like fixing this would not be easy.”

Dottore thought that if he gave you some space, you’d cool off soon enough.

He thought wrong.

You had flat-out been ignoring Dottore since the day the segments were erased. And not just refusing to talk to him. You didn’t even want to be in the same space as him. If he came into your room, you would just leave. As soon as he opened his mouth, you were gone. In order to give you your meds, he had to wait until you were sleeping to slip in, because of the way you were acting. When it was time to eat, he had to leave the meal outside your door, otherwise, you wouldn’t eat. That is if you even took it. The grief made it hard for you to do a lot of things, which made it imperative for him to help, but you didn’t want it. You were distraught, but you were angry too. Why?

Because you truly loved the segments.

Dottore did not. He did not feel the same connection as you did. So he was at a loss. He didn’t know what to do to resolve this. Apologize? No, he suspected even if he did, it wouldn’t mean anything, because you’d know he didn’t fully mean it, and it wouldn’t bring the segments back anyway. Comfort you? You wouldn’t allow him to hold you or talk to you. Il Dottore did not know what should be done.

Omega received similar treatment when finally returned from Sumeru, the Gnoses in hand. Normally, you would be waiting at the entrance whenever he returned from expeditions. This time, however, you were not, which he supposed he should have expected. You didn’t want his stories. His gifts. No, all you needed to know was that he deleted the segments. They were gone because of him, and you didn’t want to see him right now.

Omega was not a human. He was a segment. Though, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t feel emotions. He did - when it came to you. But Omega was a selfish segment. Selfish when it came to a lot of things, you included. And selfishness and emotions do not bode very well, as it becomes… a convoluted mixture.

The segment thinks of himself as a patient man. He knows how to wait, and wait, and wait until it pays off. He can do that for you, too. Wait for you to come back to your senses. After all, they were just segments, right? And the superior one, the best one of them all was still here - him. So surely you won’t be like this for too long.

Just like his creator, he was proven wrong. He learned the depth of your anger a day he tried reaching out to you, wanting to put this whole situation behind. But you certainly didn’t share the same sentiment. It was like any other day, him talking to you and you walking away, but this time he reached out for you. The segment unconsciously longed for your touch, your affection, that was once so commonplace.

But as soon as you felt his fingers brush yours, you slapped Omega’s hand away with a scowl. You didn’t need to say anything. That one action spoke everything you wanted to.

You would never view him the same ever again.

—

“And so the butterfly found themselves drowning and suffocating in grief. Their whole life had been changed, the creatures who helped them through so much were now gone. But that would not be the last of the butterfly’s sorrow.”

You had been giving the cold shoulder to Zandik and Omega for a long time. Considering how clingy and affectionate you were before, they didn’t even know you had it in you. But now, it was as different as night and day. However, it wasn’t as much as it was before, because you still had to rely on them in order to live. Despite how much you didn’t want to, without them, you’d be dead. They were the ones who had to administer your medicine and give you check-ups so your condition wouldn’t get worse (although it already happened after the segments were deleted.) It was funny how easily progress could be reversed. How one thing, one random day, could change everything.

So eventually you had to let them in a bit. Most of the time you just ignored them and rarely spoke. Even during the checkups and shots, you had your head turned the other way the whole time. They would still attempt to talk to you, in hopes you would even grace them with a “yes” or “no” rather than the rare nod of your head. But it wasn’t very fruitful.

Another habit of yours now was that if you weren’t in your room, you were most likely in a segment’s room crying. Especially Zandy’s. Clutching his plushies. Or maybe Alpha’s. Trying to fix up the parts he left lying on his desk. Or Beta’s. Going into his closet to wear his coat. Dottore knew better than to clean out their rooms because you would most likely snap at him again.

You didn’t have much energy to do anything else but lay in your room, blankly staring at the ceiling all day, your head a foggy, grief-filled mess. It did not feel good… you hated the feeling… but what else should you do…? You just wished you could feel the warmth of your segments… the seemingly annoyed but secretly delighted posture of Alpha as you held him from behind. The bitey nature of Beta that didn’t let you go once you were in his clutches. The small, clingy body of Zandy as he cuddled into your body, sweet dreams blessing him instead of the nightmares. But you could only dream about those things now.

Even the regular Fatui agents had noticed this development. The lovey-dovey nature of Il Dottore’s spouse was now reduced to this. You heard them speak about it.

“Have you noticed? Lord Dottore has been far more irritable lately.”

“Oh yeah, both Omega and Prime! I feel bad for those who have to work directly with them…. At least my job is just standing at this door all day.”

“I know. They always were terrifying, but it seems even worse now. Ugh, and now there’s even more work for us since all the segments are gone.”

“Do you know why? Has Lord Pantalone decreased his budget again?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of obvious…” The agent lowered his voice to a whisper. “His spouse, [Name], has been giving them the silent treatment for ages now. Don’t tell anyone this but, I believe that our great Harbinger, Lord Il Dottore… is feeling the effects of this. I’ve never seen them act like this!”

“Is that so? Speaking of, I don’t think I’ve seen them around here very much.”

“Well yes… if you were here for as long as I have been, you’d normally see them all over the lab but, they tend to stay locked up in their room nowadays. And Lord Dottore as well, he doesn’t leave his office much either. Omega seems to take care of much of the outward responsibilities.”

So that was what it was like. You got your answer to if Dottore missed you. You wondered how many people accidentally became his test subjects due to his rising temper because of you. But though it may not have looked like it, not speaking to your husband was hurting you tremendously as well. Because at the end of the day… he was your love, your life. He was your Zandik, the one who meant everything to you. The one who went through everything and anything with you. He was the only one you had… you still loved him, terribly so. Maybe that was a bigger weakness than your illness.

But that didn’t mean you were any less mad at him.

Omega, on the other hand… ah, you didn’t even know what to think anymore… you were so conflicted, it was so hard to even think… when you said you loved all the segments, that included him too. But he deleted all of them… you hated him… but did you love him too? No, you should continue to hate him, he was the selfish one… Zandy was gone because of him… you couldn’t forgive him! So you didn’t forgive him. The days continued the same as always.

Until one fateful day.

Omega was set to head out on a mission. Which was quite unusual nowadays, because ever since the clones were deleted, he couldn’t afford to leave Snezhnaya with all the work that had to be done. All you had heard was that the blonde-haired traveler would be there too, from all the whispering around the lab.

But what did it matter to you? Whether the segment was here or not, it was the same to you. His whereabouts were surely not of concern to you, so you had no feelings on this. Though the night before he was set to leave, he knocked on your door anyway. You immediately pulled the blankets over your face and curled to the side of the bed so you wouldn’t see Omega. The door shut with a click and his boots sounded against the floor.

“Hello, [Name]. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that I am leaving soon. It is another critical mission for the Fatui, and I suspect the Traveler will be there once again.” He didn’t receive a response from you, which he expected. “But I’m sure this is of no interest to you, anyway.” He guessed right, you thought, you didn’t care. However, even after saying what he had to say, he did not leave. A silence overtook the room as neither of you moved or spoke. But then Omega called your name, with another short silence coming after it before he spoke once more.

“I will not ask for your forgiveness, because I know I will not receive it, nor will I apologize, because I believe I took the right course of action. But…” Omega paused, “I still hold you fondly. I still…” He reached his hand out to your covered body but drew it back before his fingertips could brush you.

“I hope we will be able to talk more once I return.” He seemed to wait a few more seconds, perhaps hoping you would stay something, hoping he could at least see your face before he left, but to no avail. All you heard was the retreating footsteps and the click of your door shutting once more. You pulled the blankets off so you could breathe properly again, as you thought about his words.

What should you do? You didn’t know. The segments had passed quite a while ago, and the pain was still fresh in your heart, but Omega… ugh… perhaps, maybe, just maybe, you could try talking to him once more. Only an attempt. If you didn’t like how it felt, you’d stop. And he wasn’t returning from the mission for a few months, so you had ample time to make your decision anyway.

But Omega never returned.

The next few months flew by quickly, and though Omega had not returned yet, you thought nothing of it. Something must have come up that delayed his return. It’s happened before, it probably happened again. That was until you noticed groups of Fatui huddled together murmuring in the lab. As soon as they saw you, they went back to work and shut up their little gossip quickly, which was very strange. Now you really needed to know what was going on, so you decided to silently eavesdrop on the next pair you found. But you would have never thought of the words you heard next.

Omega had been killed by the Traveler.

Omega was dead.

Omega wasn’t coming back.

You would never see him ever again. The realization made your body weak as you stumbled back, having to cling to the wall for support. He was gone… the tears immediately sprang to your eyes, as you covered your mouth to keep your sobs down. Omega killed the other segments. Maybe a part of you should feel glad. But no, all you felt was red-hot grief and pain, as you crashed into the nearest random room, and cried, and cried, and cried.

If you knew that was the last time you would see him, you wouldn’t have acted like that…

You wonder why things had to turn out like this.

—

“The butterfly never truly recovered from their loss, but as they say, time heals all wounds.”

After Omega died, you didn’t have the energy to be mad anymore. You were just tired. Tired of everything. Everything felt like a chore. Though you saw your husband more often now. Since there were no more segments, and Dottore obviously wouldn’t trust even the best Fatui doctors with you, he was the one who did all the usual medical stuff for you now.

Admittedly, his touch felt nice. It felt good. It felt like exactly what you needed right now. Comfort. So you gave in. When he had finished the usual procedure, as he turned his back on you, you reached out and wouldn’t let go of his hand. Dottore stiffened from the contact - it had been a while since you’d touched him so intimately - but you didn’t let go, and only weakly tugged him closer, which he complied to. You couldn’t bring your eyes to meet his, instead blankly staring at his shoes, but he seemed to get the message anyway. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around you to gauge your reaction, and when he saw no resistance, he pulled you into his chest and held you. You missed this feeling. You missed Zandik.

And maybe you were scared he would leave you too.

Things continued like that for a while. You’d seek your husband out for his touch. His presence. His voice. Anything that would bring you some peace. Though you still remained mostly silent during these times. You just didn’t know what to say. Sometimes you wondered if he was mad at you. Annoyed. Disappointed. You didn’t want to know though. You were content with the fact that Zandik would hold you in his lap even at the wildest hours of the night.

But now, it had been some time since Omega’s death and even longer since the other segments were erased.

You weren’t quite ready to move on, no, not yet, but it was inevitable. Or perhaps you would never truly move on, instead, they would always be a part of you. You’d always carry them with you. But regardless, you needed to try, at least for Zandy. You think he’d want you to try and smile more often. You were speaking a bit more to your Harbinger friends again, and finding some enjoyment in your hobbies. Not to mention your relationship with Zandik was becoming better again. He had still been there, even when your illness and grief had you at your worst, with no complaints. Even though he had nothing to gain from this relationship. Even though you had become someone different. He had always loved you.

But there was still a rift caused by everything that had happened, that you wanted to fix. Because at the end of the day, in this world, you two only had each other. So you decided to talk to him about it. You had a habit of this, just waltzing into his office without knocking, and came upon Dottore who had a small box in his hand, appearing to gaze at whatever was in it, before he quickly snapped it shut at your sudden arrival. You recognized that box. It was the one where he kept his wedding ring in. So he still had it like that after all these years. You pretended like you didn’t see it as he swiftly put it away.

“[Name].”

“Zandik. Are you busy right now?”

“No.” Both of you knew that was a lie. The Second Harbinger was always busy. You knew for a fact he was stretched thin, especially since he wasted so much time taking care of you along with his Fatui duties, which piled up quickly with no more segments.

“Alright… can we talk?”

“Of course.” Zandik had been especially attentive to your words lately. Perhaps because he missed the times you would talk his ear off.

“I want to make something clear.” Zandik looked at you curiously as you took a deep breath. Many possibilities raced through his head.

“I still love you, Zandik.”

Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting that, and you could tell, even though his expression did not betray his thoughts.

“You already know the reason I’m…” Your voice trailed off, not wanting to say the words aloud, but you continued. “But I… appreciate you for staying by me. For all these centuries, through everything. It’s been a… very long time. And although things are different now, I want us to be… happy again. It might not be immediately but… it’s because I love you, Zandik.” You swallowed, at the end, your voice growing a bit softer. Ah, you hoped that wasn’t too sentimental. Zandik’s expression was blank so you couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“So yeah, that’s all… I guess.” All of a sudden, the silence that followed made you embarrassed, and you wanted to leave there as quickly as possible. “Okay, I-I’ll let you do your work now.” And then you hastily made your exit and left the Harbinger alone, before he started chuckling to himself. He’d expect nothing less from you, his dear, darling spouse.

Though he wonders if you realize time is irrelevant for him. He’ll wait for you as long as it takes.

—

“One thing about the raven and the butterfly that would never change was that they were wholly intertwined with each other. Their fates were one. So even if they happened to go their separate ways, they would inevitably return to one another again.”

It was actually quite scary how fast time flew. From the time you woke up, to marrying Dottore, to the segments passing, to right now… it felt like a blur. You guess, now that your life span was no longer that of a regular human’s, time was starting to skew a bit for you. Well, you were just excited to spend decades more, even centuries with him.

Throughout all the years that had passed since that day, you found yourself falling more and more in love with Zandik again. You suppose that should be normal for a married couple but, it never ceased to amaze you how one man could make you feel like this.

Something that had become somewhat of a habit for the two of you was dancing. Yes, dancing. It had come up during one of your wedding anniversaries. To be honest, neither of you really did or planned anything special for the day. Perhaps there was a bit more kissing along with other affectionate activities, but you two didn’t look at it as something that big. First, because you didn’t want to waste his already precious time, but also because you knew from the beginning the wedding anniversaries would be countless. So every anniversary was more of something you expected, so it was nothing too big to celebrate, especially as people who lived this long… if that made sense. And Dottore… was Dottore after all. Never one to care much for dates.

But on one anniversary you were reminded of how you two danced during the wedding. Your clumsy steps as Dottore guided you through it all, and you wanted to relive that, so he indulged you. And funnily enough, you were a lot better! Your steps weren’t as unsteady and your body didn’t ache as much. Dottore’s feet didn’t get assaulted by yours too much. Even Dottore was pleasantly surprised. It probably had to do with the fact that although you weren’t cured yet, your health had been up on an upward curve. Of course, never the best but, much better than you first were. You were proud of yourself for making it this far.

So now, when you had time, you found yourself rehearsing your steps with him and your husband twirling you around. Perhaps one day you could reach his level.

You found that there were days that reminded you of the Akademiya. Where you could help him with his notes and research like a real assistant would. Obviously, it still wasn’t the best but it was something, and you could see that Dottore liked it. These days often came with you teasing him with embarrassing memories from the Akademiya.

“I still remember when you got motion sickness from piloting that ruin golem, Zandik.”

“For the last time, I did not get motion sickness, [Name].”

“Mhm, sure. If I didn’t drag you out, you would have-”

“That is enough from you.”

You found that there were more days he would take you out into the Snezhnayan winters (you were bundled up to the max) so you could finally see the snow. You found yourself attending your first balls at the Tsaritsa’s palace, as Dottore was now forced to attend himself rather than his segments. He didn’t want to leave you by yourself in the dreary lab so… you were often his plus one, where you spent the evening poking fun at him with Columbina. (You also were the one who publicly took sweets to-go from the parties for him so he wouldn’t get judged.)

And perhaps your favorite memory was when he took you back to Sumeru - yes, to another country - so you could witness the Akademiya Extravaganza festival. He, of course, had no interest in it, but you being you and loving fun things absolutely did. Many things happened, including meeting the Traveler… but that story was for another day.

All in all, you always knew this but, you found that no matter how many years passed, no matter what Il Dottore has done, no matter the amount of sins and wrongfulness he has committed… you were hopelessly in love with him. From the time he was that perpetually irritated but in love student from the Akademiya to his current self, the Harbinger that was a stark contrast to his former self but still possessed you for himself.

Sure, it was a bit lonely at times compared to before, but all the tender moments throughout the years made you happy to have Zandik in your life. Which is why you foolishly thought these times would last forever.

When Dottore told you he was leaving Snezhnaya, and therefore the lab, and therefore you, it jolted you right up from your sleepy daze on his lap.

“What?!” The word came out as a half yell, half-whisper. “What do you mean you’re leaving Snezhnaya?”

“It means I’m leaving Snezhnaya, dear,” he continued on his paperwork (which never seemed to end) as if this was common knowledge. “The mission needs a Harbinger to oversee it, and the task falls to me this time.”

You were devastated. There were times when Dottore only had to leave the lab for a few days to attend to matters in different parts of Snezhnaya. (You spent the time at Columbina’s mansion because oddly enough, she always seemed to be there… how did she manage to shirk her duties so often?) But this was completely different. He would be so far out of reach, for a long time probably too. Foreign missions always took a while. You remember how long you had to wait for the segments to return from them.

“Okay, then I’ll come with you!”

“No, you’re not,” he immediately shut down your proposition. “Missions are still far too dangerous with your current state. You will stay in Snezhnaya, and wait for me to come back.” You knew when he used that tone, things were final, and you hung your head low, all sleepiness gone at the fact you wouldn’t be seeing him for months. Sure, you would be staying with Bina as usual but, you had a feeling it’d be hard to replace the rush of emotions Dottore gave you on a daily basis.

Dottore noticed your dour expression, which he obviously expected, and sighed, setting down his pen. At this point, it was a sort of routine that he had memorized, comforting you and all. Although comfort would never be something he was adept in, years of doing it had let him become somewhat proficient.

“[Name],” he moved his hand to guide your chin up so you could look at him. You were pouting. “These few months, or even less, depending on how quickly the work gets done, will only be a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. I’ll be back before you know it,” he hummed. Although he certainly was not pleased about leaving you by yourself for so long, such was the life of a Fatui Harbinger. It was at times like these he missed his segments. (Did that sound selfish? Well, he was a selfish man when it came to you.)

A drop in eternity, huh? Well, when he puts it like that, then maybe it would be just a bit bearable. And, when you think about it, he’s waited over four hundred years for you, all alone. So this little challenge couldn’t be too hard, right?

“Alright… I’ll wait for you, Zandik.”

“Good,” he chuckled at how easy it was to win you over sometimes and stroked your cheek. “In the meantime, you can work on the recipe you’ve been vehemently hiding from me and show me when I’m back.” You immediately brightened at that.

“Oh yeah! I promise you’re going to like these sweets better than the ones at the bakery!” You proudly declared.

“Oh? Now that’s a high standard you’ve set yourself to, dear. Are you sure you’re going to be able to live up to it?”

“Hmph, don’t underestimate me. My baking skills have improved over the years!”

The banter always made you two feel like regular humans, despite what you two really were.

—

“The days went by peacefully for the lonely butterfly, but soon that feeling was shattered when they learned of a golden comet’s presence near their raven.”

The days in Columbina’s mansion went by rather uneventfully. Surprisingly enough, she wasn’t home as often as usual. It seemed like the Fatui were really stepping up their business now. You’d have to ask Dottore about that. Maybe the day Celestia is defeated was closer than you thought. But today was a day Bina had some time to indulge in cakes and conversation with you. The chit-chat was mundane but brought a sense of comfort until the conversation somehow ended up with Dottore as the topic. Your friend always liked teasing you about him. Everything was lighthearted and sweet until she idly mentioned his mission.

“I wonder how your Doctor is doing on the mission~”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s Dottore after all.”

“Mhm, that’s right. I do wonder how he plans to deal with the Traveler though.” The mention of the blonde’s name nearly made you drop your teacup.

“W-What?” Your voice cracked as you implored your friend to tell you more. You were now realizing that you neglected to ask Dottore what the mission exactly was, and he did not reveal the contents as well, probably because he knew you’d freak even more if you knew he was most likely going to confront the Traveler. Columbina looked confused.

“Dear, did he not tell you?”

“No! I- ah, he only told me he has a mission in another nation, I guess it slipped my mind to ask him the details!” You now had your hand clutched to your head and another one trying to soothe your now rapidly beating heart. A naive and very stupid part of you thought it wouldn’t have to come to this, but it already did, so quickly too.

Why were you so particularly scared? It was because all you could think of was Omega’s death by the Traveler’s hand, as well as your fellow colleagues. You knew that Dottore was far stronger than any of them but… you were in a panic. All the worst possible scenarios began invading your mind relentlessly.

“[Name], calm down. Dottore is strong. We do not even know if it will end in a battle or not, but regardless of the outcome, he is smart enough to-” Bina attempted to comfort you before you interrupted her and abruptly stood up.

“I need to go.”

“Go? Go to Dottore, dear?”

“Yes. Yes, I need to see him. I need-” Your words were becoming a jumbled mess from the anxiety this piece of news caused. “I need to see him in person if he’s okay.”

“You do not think you should think about this some more? I suspect the Doctor will not be happy if he sees you there, even if it’s you of all people.”

“It doesn’t matter. If I stay here, all I’ll be able to think about is him.” You could already see yourself losing sleep and appetite over this. “But as long as I can see him okay… even if he’s angry, I can deal with it. Anything is better than being over here helpless!” Columbina watched you silently.

“Alright. Be ready in a few days.” You looked at her in surprise.

“Bina? You’re helping me? You’re not going to… stop me?”

“Dear [Name], I will not get in the way of a decision you’ve made for yourself. If this is what you’ve decided, then it is my duty as your friend to assist you as I’ve done in the past. And perhaps this will teach the Doctor a lesson to stop withholding information from you,” the Harbinger sighed.

“…Thank you, Columbina.” You’d have to repay her sometime later.

—

“The raven and the butterfly found themselves reunited again at long last, and would stay together like that forever.”

It was funny you found yourself back here, your home country. It seems like you two were always drawn back here, despite no longer being welcomed. But that didn’t really matter too much, because as soon as the boat you were on pulled into the port, it was clear that today was not a normal day in Sumeru City.

You were too late.

The fight had clearly already begun, probably only recently too, by the chaotic state of Sumeru. Obviously, it’d be out of order if there were two immensely powerful beings in battle with each other. Maybe, if you were just a bit sooner… but you already had your mind set. Although the Fatui agent entrusted with your safety was ready to head back already, his orders to not let you come to any danger, you just tranquilized him. (It was a courtesy device from Dottore in case he wasn’t near.)

And you ran. Was that a good idea considering your illness? Absolutely not, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Was it a good idea to walk into the middle of a battle? Also no, but you couldn’t shake the bad feeling you had this whole time.

Although it was far away, it was easy to spot the place, as for one there were Fatui swarming the area and also regular citizens running in the opposite direction. Though your lungs were absolutely burning, your knees weak and scraped from tripping, tired from bumping into others, illness flaring up even worse from the added stress and exertion, you continued ahead with only one goal. To see your husband.

Throughout your haggard walking, you thought of the future. You thought of how great it would be to see Teyvat change in the next four hundred years just as he did. And this time, Dottore would not have to witness it by himself. He would have you. It would be amazing, just thinking of all the variety of new inventions and such that would be created! You two would surely dissect them and put them back together for fun. You two would do a lot of things, you think, as you finally made it to the door of the grand building the fight was in. It was already rather damaged, but the door managed to remain mostly intact, so you pushed it open.

Just in time to see the Traveler land the final fatal hit to Zandik, his body landing on the floor with a painful thud.

Your worst nightmare had become reality. But… Zandik told you he’d return to you in no time…

Suddenly, all the will you had before was gone in an instant. You didn’t have the energy or focus to call out his name. All you could do was blankly stare at his defeated body while taking some hesitant steps forward, all while mumbling something incoherent under your breath. The Traveler, despite their exhaustion, noticed you and immediately readied their sword again. But, they soon realized that there was no need for that from the exceedingly dull look in your eyes and the way you tripped over yourself again, landing on the floor, reaching out your hand towards the Doctor. You had to make it to him.

You pathetically dragged your body closer to Zandik, every part of it screaming out in part for you to stop. But you didn’t care. You could take it. After all, you knew the pain would soon be over. The Traveler merely watched you, still a bit on edge for what you could do, but you didn’t care. You didn’t care about anything besides Zandik, so you continued inching your body to your husband before you finally reached him. His body was practically motionless, his face revealed as his mask was destroyed to the side somewhere. When you came into view, a flicker of surprise came across his face but it quickly morphed into one of acceptance.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” You half-laughed at that.

“I could say the same to you…” Your voice had dropped to a soft, defeated one. Huffing and panting, you used your last remaining strength to pull yourself up and kneel, tenderly bringing your husband’s head onto your lap. He did not resist. It wasn’t like he had the strength to anyway. “You didn’t tell me you were going to be here, either.”

“It was not necessary… at the time,” Zandik said, looking right at you the whole time with those red eyes of his. “But I suppose I should have expected this. You never do as you are told, do you?”

“Of course not. But you should remember that whenever I break the rules, things turn out fine for us.” You smiled, and you had a feeling both of you were thinking of the same memories. That time you helped him break into the Akademiya’s library when it was closed, or the time you threw a book at someone for him, or the time you two helped each other on what was supposed to be solo assignments. Or the times you ran away from his needles and medicine, or the times you went behind his back and befriended the others. Those times ended out okay, so this time would be okay too.

Then, the building began to rumble, most likely about to collapse. The battle must have been quite fierce. Although the Traveler felt no remorse for the two of you, their kind heart still couldn’t help but feel the slightest twinge of pity. After all, the blonde had read the notes the two of you left scattered around Sumeru. To think that a relationship could last so long, especially one with the mad Doctor… You noticed their expression before you rasped out a mixture of a plea and demand.

“Why are you still here? Leave us now. I want to be alone with him.” Your words were empty of emotion towards them. There was no point in any hostility anymore, not when you had to treasure the last moments with your beloved. The Traveler didn’t seem surprised by your words, as they nodded and threw the bloodied Harbinger one last glance, before running away with the little fairy. It seemed they knew… you’d rather die here along with him than live without him.

You looked back at Zandik’s face, his once brightly colored red eyes now a darkened hue.

“I’ve failed you, [Name].” Since it was the end of the line now, even a genius scholar such as him had to admit defeat. Dottore thought back to all the times he swore to cure you. He swore he would do it so that you could be who you used to be once more. But he failed. He let you lose centuries of your life and left you in pain for your conscious ones. But you didn’t seem to share the sentiment.

“Failed me?” You couldn’t help but laugh at that, despite the tears that began to run down your cheeks. “Oh darling, you have never failed me. Not once in over four hundred years.” Zandik continued to stare at you because that was all the strength he had to do, so you reached for his hand and brought it to your cheek.

“You’ve loved me continuously for so many centuries, haven’t you? How could that ever be a failure?” You nuzzled into his hand, his own blood beginning to smear on your face, but you didn’t care.

“Your love has changed so much over time. From your prickly and thorny yet beautiful love from the Akademiya. To your smooth and unabashed love now. But your love was unfaltering, to me at least. Perhaps I may be delusional, and I overthink how much you love me. But I think it was real, even though you may never admit it, that is what matters to me. So if you’re thinking about the cure, forget it.” Your hands were shaking and struggling to hold his to your cheek for this long, energy spent, but you continued anyway, even as a piece of the infrastructure suddenly caved in and collapsed on the opposite side of the room with a loud crash. “The cure isn’t what mattered. It was you.”

Zandik thinks you are the only person who has forgiven him. Not even he has. He knows he does not deserve it, but he shouldn’t say that to you now. But he thinks, even at this moment, perhaps it may seem sick or morbid, your beauty still manages to surpass that of any other being in Teyvat.

You thought about the Tsaritsa, who had shown you much love and kindness. You hoped she would finally achieve her goals. You thought about the other Harbingers, the ones who were still alive at least. You would miss them. You looked at your wedding ring. It was still intact. How lovely. Lastly, you thought about Zandik as you looked at him, and he seemed to realize something.

“[Name], reach into my pocket.” You were confused but you complied, wincing in pain a bit but successfully reached it and pulled out a box. It was the box he kept his wedding wing in. Popping it open, you were correct, and still couldn’t help but be a bit incredulous.

“You brought it with you?” You were surprised because a part of you still believed he thought the whole thing was a bit dumb.

“I normally do not but, with the length of the mission, I believed it would be a simple and easy way to be reminded of you.” That was cute.

“Sorry. I guess the good luck charm didn’t work,” you smiled apologetically as you slipped the band onto his finger, to which Zandik scoffed.

“You know very well I do not believe in luck.” You only laughed, though it was mostly drowned out by multiple crashes and rocks falling all around you. Being buried was a fitting end, to be honest. No one else needed to know about the two of you. No one else needed to know your stories. It would be best if the two of you ended up forgotten, lost to time. Then, no one would be able to misunderstand or twist your relationship.

Despite all of the pains that had befallen you, the suffering and hardships, you could happily say you lived a good life. You were happy, so happy, thanks to Zandik. Zandik was what made this life worth living… so this was okay. You would have loved to have been cured and lived out many more happy memories with him but… this was alright. But the time was limited, so this conversation needed to be wrapped up in a way that would satisfy you.

“I love you, Zandik.” You don’t expect any response back because of your husband’s poor track record with saying those words.

The times Zandik has said the words ‘I love you’ have admittedly been scarce and in-between despite the centuries he’s spent with you. It was a grand total of… two times. And both had been said when he thought you were sleeping.

The first time had been in the Akademiya. It had been a while since you two were a couple, and he had yet to say it. You expected that obviously. But one random night, when you two were cuddling and drifting off into dreamland, you heard the three words mumbled into the crook of your neck. It took everything in you not to react.

The second time had been when you had recently woken up from your coma. Dottore was around you constantly, taking so many tests that it made your head spin, and you had to take naps more often than not. And once again, as you were just about to slip off into slumber, you heard the three words whispered as he gently bit your ear.

Surprisingly enough, the third time would be now. Perhaps because he had nothing to lose anymore, as it was the end.

“I love you as well, [Name].” Your eyes go wide for a few seconds before you grin widely one last time, and you give him a look that says ‘I know.’ Zandik watched your eyes flutter shut as you leaned down to his face, and he let himself be enveloped in your final kiss, neither of you paying attention to the shadows cast by the multitude of broken architecture about to fall on top of you.

Let the fairy tale come to a close.

—

“In his last moments, the raven was taken back to a memory from centuries ago. It was a memory where he was truly happy with his lovely sparrow.”

Zandik awoke to a blue sky and a gentle breeze. He blinked, immediately trying to gauge where he was. But then the sound of a familiar voice flooded his senses.

“And you know what this professor had the audacity to say to me, Zandik? ‘Figure it out!’ Like, you’re supposed to be helping me, not writing me off! You’re getting paid for this!” You were lying down on the grass next to him, hands folded as you huffed. “At least I have you, Zandik. Way better than any damn professor.” He blinks at you.

Zandik remembers this moment. It was the day when exams and classes were finally over, and you wanted to relax before helping him with his experiments. And you also thought it was the perfect time to rant about all the professors you had to deal with over the last few months. But soon, you just started bringing up random things that occurred over the term. Zandik couldn’t remember the last time he saw you like this. Donning the Akademiya uniform, so happy and carefree… healthy, strong, like nothing in the world bothered you.

He found himself slightly smiling at how stupidly happy you looked, before reaching out to you. But as soon as merely his fingernails came into contact with you, you began to dissolve right in front of his eyes. Immediately, he stiffened and sat up, again trying to take hold of you but you were no longer there. Zandik’s hands began to shake, and that’s when he realized his surroundings were changing.

The blue sky was now fading away, becoming pitch black along with everything else that was chipping away, ready to swallow him whole into the darkness.

Ah, he understood now.

This was the end.

—

“Finally, the twisted raven met his fate.”

Or so he thought. Zandik woke up once more. Everything seemed normal at first, the blue sky was once again there and the Sumerian breeze caressed his hair. Until he realized there was a sticky substance coated all over his hands.

Blood.

This wasn’t an unfamiliar occurrence for him, after all, he would usually get hands-on with his experiments, but he had an… odd feeling about this. Zandik blinked and all of a sudden, there you were lying on the ground in front of him.

Dead. Coated with blood.

Did he… kill you?

All too quickly, before he could reach out to hold your body or begin to process what happened, he was suddenly somewhere else. The desert.

Zandik laid eyes upon you. What he would usually see was you complaining about the heat while you dug through the ruins. What he saw instead was an Eremite plunging a sword through you.

And again. This time he awoke to you being completely cold and limp in his arms. And again. It didn’t take his brain long for him to understand what was happening.

His victims and test subjects could torture him for eternity, yet Dottore would not feel bothered or a shred of remorse. It would be a useless endeavor. But this? This was the perfect punishment.

His beloved being killed in front of him, by the world, by other people, by natural forces, by his own hands. And for all of the power and knowledge he once had, he was powerless to do anything yet again.

… How ironic, Zandik thought.

—

At last, the tiny Archon closed the storybook.

It had been ages since the events in this tale had taken place. The Fatui were no more, Celestia was gone, the Traveler had long left this world, and Teyvat was at peace. So much time, that the Outcast’s name no longer floated around the Akademiya, now long forgotten. The God of Wisdom herself had gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from all the years that had flown by. And even still, she has not forgotten this story.

Yet, in all of her wisdom, she still cannot hope to fully understand the raven and the sparrow. The Dendro Archon found herself coming back to this tale, trying to comprehend their actions and thoughts. She reads it aloud to herself, draws pictures, and crafts the tale with her own words, yet it only leaves her more lost. Perhaps one day she will understand. But perhaps she won’t. Perhaps no one ever will.

After all, there were only two people who would ever truly understand the bond between the raven and the sparrow.

Zandik and [Name].

An unfriendly and cold scholar and a sweet and caring one.

An immoral villain and an accomplice.

A violator of this world’s laws and a supporter.

A Harbinger and an assistant.

Regardless of those titles, perhaps at the end of the day, they only saw themselves as one thing to each other.

Two people who loved each other as if nothing else mattered.

486 notes · View notes

beomiracles · 6 months ago

Text

𝓦𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒' 𝓦𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

hii ! in spite of my account currently being shadow banned I still wanted to make a little wrapped of the year that was. (I've seen a lot of creators on here do it, though I'm not sure who started it so if you know of anyone I can credit for this please let me know)!

#serene adds ✎.. where to even start >.< ? in February of 2024 I started writing/or more like dumping my thoughts onto a doc and then posting them lol. I never in a million years excepted to finish the year with nearly 1.7k followers and so so much support. This year has allowed me to express myself creatively and explore the world of literature in ways that has both challenged and helped me grow immensely and I'm forever thankful!

𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒 None of this would've ever been possible without you guys ! Your continued love and support for this little blog is what keeps me going and interacting with you guys never fails to make me smile <3 I love to be equally excited over the things I write with you guys, and you've never done me wrong in any way. I don't know how to ever express my gratitude towards you enough, but I do truly, love each and all of you <3

..and now for the wrapped !

𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝟑 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

THE REDEMPTION OF CHOI YEONJUN At 2085 notes trocyj is without a doubt my most popular fic of the year! Posted all the way back in July yet it still gets recognition almost everyday, I'm beyond amazed. You guys liked the concept just as much as me and I'm so excited for its long awaited sequel to be released soon!

NOONA'S ROOM With 1044 notes Noona's Room proudly takes second place, and I'm so happy with this fic! Definitely wasn't one I expected to blow up like it did but I'm forever thankful nonetheless. Brother's best friend trope is a classic :3

THIN WALLS Now this one took me by surprise.. Posted in literally February of 2024, Thin Walls is my second oldest work, ever. The writing is beyond poor and the parts are short. However I can't deny that there's a certain charm to the grammatical errors and the awkward story telling. It shows my growth in a beautiful way I think.

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐎𝐅 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

A MOMMY'S BOY

I think it goes without saying that this fic is beyond my favourite. I talk about it too much for it to go unnoticed. AMB is one of my most emotionally deep works and I think that the storyline flows in a perfect way. The characters are fleshed out to my liking, the smut is divine and ties the plot perfectly. The ending is my favourite ending to ever have written, the way the title ties into the story has me on the floor, in all, I love A Mommy's Boy and will continue to boast it for as long as I live.

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒 One thing about me is that when a fic sticks with me, it sticks. I have read so so many beautiful works this year, but the three that stood out the most to me would be the following:

Divnity for the Damned by @koqabear The storytelling of this fic is so compelling, it draws you in like no else, immersing you completely in the plot. I love the dream aspect of the fic (without spoiling too much) but it's such a niche yet important detail to the entirety of the fic that I feel most writers would just skip over. The ending catches you so off guard yet it's so completely perfect and makes so much sense that you wonder how you couldn't have seen it coming yourself. Perfect fucking fic, cries.

.3:13 a.m. (m) by @agustdiv1ne Onto my long vampire agenda. I've consumed every pixel of vampire!txt that I could possibly get my hands on. This I read back in march, but it's the one that has stuck with me throughout this year and that's why I feel it deserves this mention. The writing, the longing and the yearning. The way he literally cannot hold himself back, I am going to die on the vampire beomgyu hill and I shall do so with pride. This fic had everything I'm looking for.

(sort of) fucking annoying neighbour by @hyewka This fic. I love the idea of cocky Yeonjun being put in his place. There's just something so oddly satisfying about the whole build up of this, the growing tension, Yeonjun's cockiness but also his blatant obliviousness is fucking perfect. Then again, anything by rana I will absolutely devour like I was on death row being served my last meal.

𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 This year has been on my mind a lot, huge things are to come my way, like graduation! And while I'm nervous as shit for most of them, I can't help but feel a sense of excitement too! This year is going to be my year, and I have so many aspirations for it !

I want to finish Criminal Conscience! The series has been on my mind a lot recently and it's something I've been meaning to get around to for the later part of last year as well, I'm hoping that now can finally be the time!

I want to experiment with different au's, explore the depth of my writing skills.

I want to write something big.

And most importantly I wish to be happy and continue to thrive on this blog <3

2024 was amazing thanks to you guys and though I've had a lot of hardships outside of Tumblr, being on here always made me feel better. I'm wishing for an even better 2025 for all of us ! Love, Serene.

#beomiracles ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

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heeikeuu · 2 months ago

Text

Prisoners of Grieve – Park Jongseong

banner credits to loml @imaluvsj7

Main Plot: ex cop! Jay x president's daughter! (inspired by re4 remake)

Warnings: mentions of cheating, killing, gore, toxic relationships, panic attacks, suicide, angst, fluff, suggestive, death, profanity, smoking, abuse, iconic one liner Jay, drinking, addiction, HAPPY ENDING!

Synopsis: Jay who is an ex cop is assigned a top secret solo mission to rescue the president's daughter who has been kidnapped by a cult but the catch is he is also in prison for allegedly trying to kill his father who is an important business man. If he succeeds, will he finally be free and go seek revenge again? Or will he fail and stay locked? What will happen to y/n?

Wordcount: 11k

NOTE: I hope you all will enjoy this! It's been long overdue so thank you to all my lovelies for helping me behind the scenes <3 also if this does well I will make a sequel focusing more on romance!

"Mom, I miss you so much," she said through a quivering breath. Feeling her chest tighten as if the words deep in her heart formed into hands that are choking her out. She hated feeling weak- more than anything she hated being seen that way. Always expected to be perfect no matter what has taken a toll on her. The cold outside breeze hitting her skin, keeping her grounded from the brink of insanity.

Abruptly, her phone rings, the screen lights up

"father"

with shaky hands, she finally answers the call after hours of him trying to reach her. Before she can open her mouth, her father cuts her off with a sharp hushed tone, "where the hell have you been? I set you up on a blind date with Park's son and I expect you to be home before evening. No ifs or buts, don't disappoint me." He says before cutting the call.

Standing there, y/n wanted to scream and break her phone. There it is again she thought, those three words she hated the most, "don't disappoint me."

Turning to face her mother's tombstone again. She softly says "I'll be back soon, mom, I love you."

_______________________________________

Y/n stands in front of the gates of her father's mansion, keeping her composure. Anxious of being the subject of scandals if she so even shows any raw or real emotions other than what is expected from her. While the public might think of her father as a loving, charismatic, and good leader. She knew the truth. Opting to keep her distance as much as she possibly could from him while playing pretend.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Sim, your father is waiting for you in his office." The housekeeper says, y/n offers a small smile to the best of her ability, "thank you, Mrs. Lee."

Her heels clicking through every step she takes, her heartbeat in almost perfect harmony with every click. She knew her father didn't like the fact that she was majoring in fine arts or moved into her own place, he wanted to marry her off to another rich family to follow the family traditions but mostly to strengthen his own connections. She already knew what he was going to ask her. With sweaty palms, she opens the big doors to his office.

"You called for me." She says with a slightly annoyed tone.

President Sim, looks up from his endless paperwork and gestures for her to come sit. "I am sure you are aware by now why I called you,"

she nodded,

"You will meet up with Park's son, Sunghoon, later tonight for dinner so make sure to leave a good impression. Try not to embarrass me."

"I understand." she said absentmindedly, but what she really wanted to say was "I know you want to get rid of me and move on like you moved on from mom's death, but I will not date nor marry anyone just for YOUR benefit." She knew she couldn't say anything yet. Just a little more, she reassured herself.

Standing up slowly "I shall get going then" getting no answer, just like usual. She walks away with a heavy sigh.

_______________________________________

"Girl you have to stop sitting ideally and go get ready already!!" Aurora, reasons with y/n who was lying on the floor like a miserable wet sock, unwilling to get up.

"Aurora, you don't understand, I know Sunghoon is nice but I have uni to deal with and a boyfriend- much less husband is not in my current flow!" y/n whines.

Hearing her best friend sigh again for the millionth time for the past hour.

"Sim y/n get up before I kick your ass, if you're going to reject him might as well look hot while doing it." Before y/n can protest, she is being dragged into her room as Aurora helps her get ready. Choosing to wear a simple but long elegant black dress with a slightly too high slit, paired with classic red bottoms. She kept her hair down.

Y/n looks in the mirror one last time before concluding "I hate humans sometimes,"

Aurora giggles, "you'll be fineeee, if anything happens call me or Jake!"

"I will, I will," y/n tries to sound mad but her tone comes off more playful. Thankful for her best friend for being her anchor.

"Don't worry y/n, you look beautiful now get going!!" Aurora pushes her to the door.

_______________________________________

Arriving at the restaurant, she shakes her head as she notices the scenery looking straight out of a cheesy rom-com movie. Y/n walks confidently to the table where her date was awaiting. She didn't expect anything magical to happen between them. They both were here out of respect obligation for their families. Plus, he was a good friend of her brother.

"You look wonderful, tonight, y/n" Sunghoon says with a gentle smile. "I know you probably don't want to be here so I hope you can bear with me tonight." Her gaze softens upon hearing his words.

"I'm sorry Sunghoon, and thank you." He simply nods to reassure her.

They ate their dinner mostly in silence, but it wasn't awkward silence, it was peaceful. They were catching up with uni and work, how life has been since they last talked.

Sunghoon wasn't a bad man by any means but he wasn't what y/n wanted in her life right now which he understood.

After finishing, she stands up "thank you again for keeping me company, hoon."

"You don't need to thank me y/n, you know you're a good friend regardless and I'm happy with the way things are right now between us." Giving him a quick hug, she makes her way out.

Then her phone started ringing, it was her brother. "Jake what do you-"

"Noona, please tell me you won't marry him" letting out a giggle in disbelief at his words, she responds,

"hello to you too, and no I won't marry your best friend, relax please." She heard him let out a breath

"Oh thank God!"

As she was talking to Jake on the phone, suddenly she felt someone watching her outside. I'm probably just tired, she reasons. Waiting for her ride home to arrive. She can't fully complain though, she needed fresh air.

"Y/n, are you even listening??" She heard her brother complain, "what do you-" before she could let out another sound, she heard something. Footsteps, drawing closer and closer

"y/n?? Y/n, what's going on? Are you okay?" Jake says with a worried tone, picking up on the weird vibes from the other end of the phone. Without warning, he heard her scream before the call was cut off. His blood rising he immediately tried to call her again,

"your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system."

The phone says for the nth time, then finally. Someone or something picks up because the sound that came out of them just couldn't be human, no way in hell, Jake thought to himself as he heard the deep voice say

"If you wish to see Sim y/n ever again then you go tell her daddy to resign from office or he will face the wrath of our God."

The voice cuts the calls right after. Jake stands frozen still for a few seconds, feeling his blood run cold. He quickly grabs his keys and rushes to meet his father.

President Sim.

_______________________________________

"Dad, you have to do something!" Jake practically yells, slamming his fists into the table, it's been almost 4 hours since the incident.

"You expect me to just quit like that?" He suddenly raises his voice.

Jake stands here baffled "SHE’S YOUR DAUGHTER AND MY SISTER? DOES THIS OFFICE MEAN MORE TO YOU THAN YOUR FAMILY? WHAT WOULD MOM THINK??" His blood boiling as he reasons with him again.

"Mr. Sim, please take a seat and do not make a scene." He heard his father's secretary say with a very stressed look on her face. But Jake didn't care, he wanted his sister back home and safe.

"Why are you both so fucking calm right now like she isn't in danger-?!" The secretary cuts him off before he can say more,

"Please do not interrupt me Mr. Sim." She says with a glare before continuing "we have managed to figure out who could possibly do this and our research concluded this could be the doing of the rising cult, they call themselves "The Enlightened Ones" who have on several occasions opposed President Sim and the government, claiming all of them are frauds who will get the punishment their God sees fit." Fixing her glasses, "we don't know much about them as they remain mostly hidden in a far away place, however, we must keep this rescue mission confidential to avoid any public outrage or panic. Which means involving the police will be risky. Staying calm is our best option."

After a few moments of following silence Jake speaks up "I know a guy. Park Jongseong." As the name leaves his lips his father immediately rushes,

"ARE YOU RIDICULOUS?"

Jake interrupts him. "He was one of the best cops we had around before the incident and based on reports it seems like he is not causing any trouble so it's worth a shot. I don't care what it takes, y/n better be back in one piece." He says glaring at his father.

"Mr. Sim, do you understand the consequences of what you are proposing right now?" The secretary suddenly seems more restless now. "The man was a former cop turned felon with a charge of attempted murder. We have to keep him out of the public's eye if we intend on using him."

"If he can get y/n back in one piece without causing us any trouble then set him free, but if he fails, then 10 years of rotting in prison will be the last of his worries." President Sim finally says in a strict tone.

Jake scoffs and gets up from his seat, "I will talk to him, release him tonight. I'll meet him in a secluded spot and discuss the terms." Whatever it takes I'll make sure to keep y/n safe like how she protected me from you, Jake thought to himself as he walked away.

_______________________________________

Y/N POV:

Opening my eyes, with my head throbbing. I'm hit with a strong stench of something that makes every alarm in my body ring. Fear consuming my whole being so much I am unable to move or think of anything but run, you have to run.

MOVE WHY ARE YOU QUIET my entire body screamed.

I tried to speak but the fear of the wrong person or thing listening too kept me as quiet as I could with my inability to breathe regularly.

What the fuck happened to me? I recall being on the phone with my little brother before hearing footsteps and everything went blank from then.

Suddenly, I'm hit with the reality of my current situation and I start to doubt if my father will even notice if I'm gone.

Oh god, Aurora and Jake might be in danger too, what do I do?

My thoughts kept eating me alive as my vision slowly adjusted to the dark room with some rays of light peeking through what seems to be a door, what my eyes follow next makes me physically want to throw up.

Is that...is that a rotten corpse? Where the actual fuck am I?

Thud, thud, thud.

There is it, those heavy footsteps again. The door opens and an eerily tall man appears.

"I see, you're finally awake," the man says, but I can only think of how every fiber and cell of my being is telling me to dash to the door. "There is no escaping, so don't get smart."

I had so many questions racing through my head but all I could muster up was "what the hell do u want from me!" But it sounded more like a plea than a threat.

The man chuckled darkly and bent down to my level, as I had been chained to a large pole. "We want to serve our Lord but your father is in our way, so we must get rid of him somehow."

He brings a hand close to my face and caresses my hair lightly,

"That's where you come in, sweet child. You're our gateway to heaven!"

I looked at him dead in the face as I spat on him, "I don't give a single fuck what your God wants. Let me go!"

I sense a look of shock across his face but instead of knocking me out, he starts to hysterically laugh for about a minute before he pauses,

"do that again and I'll make you regret being alive." He said as he yanked my hair roughly before standing up and leaving.

I don't know where the heck I found the confidence to do that but it was as if my body and mind were suddenly on autopilot.

The smell of what I could only assume to be rotting flesh has become more and more pungent, as I struggle to breathe again.

I'm not that much of a religious person but whoever is out there if you're listening please don't make Jake do anything stupid. I prayed, knowing my little brother would flip the whole world for me because I would do the same too.

It's always been us two growing up, especially after mom died. Father was barely ever home, and when he was, he would be drinking and breaking glass.

-- flashback to 7 years ago --

It was a week after my mother had passed away, doctors told us it was from overwork and old age mixed with her poor health. We didn't really buy it entirely but she was already gone, what could we have done to stop that?

I was already a 1st year in uni, I barely had time for myself let alone looking after the house. That night, my father was drinking a bit too heavily, more than usual, and I had arrived home a little later than usual too due to the projects I was working on. My father didn't like that at all.

"Where have you been? Huh?" He slurred his words. I felt my body run cold. Scared of what he could do to me or my brother.

"I was out studying with Aurora" I told him the truth, he didn't buy it,

"LIAR! JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER! YOU WERE OUT PARTYING LIKE A WHORE" he was barely able to stand straight, waving the empty glass of soju at me.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MOM THAT WAY! YOU WERE THE ONE CHEATING ON HER WITH A WOMAN HALF YOUR FUCKING AGE WHILE SHE PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE!" I screamed at him in rage. He slapped me so hard that I could taste blood in my mouth.

The commotion must've alarmed Jake because as he came downstairs running, my father suddenly swung the bottle in his hand at me, I managed to dodge it with my arm before it hit my face, shards flew everywhere. Jake came in front of me and yelled at father for drinking so much.

He pleaded with me to go to a doctor to fix my wounds but I smiled at him weakly "it's fine jakey don't worry! It's just small cuts!" I reassured him by ruffling his hair. I hated that he had to see all of that.

-- back to present times --

Now those "little cuts" remain as scars in my arm that I cannot ever erase. While father quit drinking after that it never erased the wounds he left in my heart. He never really apologized either. We only stayed with father after that because I wanted Jake to have opportunities in the future to become a man who is capable and hard working, unlike our father. It wasn’t like we could walk away and suddenly be capable of getting our shit together as kids. We only had each other after all.

Blinking slowly to refocus, I notice a piece of broken glass on the floor. Seeing it as a sign to finally escape, my body worked faster than I could think. Using my heels, I carefully pushed the glass shard towards me. Dumbasses should've used metal instead, I thought almost victoriously as I slowly tore the ropes around me. It took me about 10 minutes to be fully free, my shaky hands bloody from holding the glass so tightly.

Really couldn't pick a better day to be kidnapped, sighing. I stand up carefully and take my heels off so I can be more mobile. My dress was drenched. Thankfully, I was wearing black shorts and a bra underneath. I mostly thanked Aurora silently for slipping a pocket knife in my shorts, "just in case" she told me. Her timing is never wrong, honestly. Holding the items in my arms as I try to think of my next plan. I knew I had to be strategic and smart if I wanted to escape alive. I looked at the door with a sharp breath. Fuck, it's cold in here and I miss my cat.

_______________________________________

Jake's POV:

After leaving the office, I went back home to my girlfriend to tell her the news and my potential plan.

"Jake, please be careful, my love" she looks at me worriedly.

I smile at her gently and hold her hands, "I know y/n would do the same for me- heck, I know that stubborn airhead would take a bullet for me before thinking straight." I said almost weakily. Continuing, "she's the only family I have left, I can't lose her, too, babe. I will never forgive myself."

Aurora holds me in her embrace, "I can't lose you either, if anything happens to you or y/n, you will definitely see my face on the news the next day" she says seriously.

I chuckle, holding her tighter. "You scare me sometimes,"

"good," she replied sheepishly while nuzzling into my chest.

"That's kinda hot I'm not gonna lie, babe" she slapped my arm lightly

"you're impossible.” Giggling, I give her a sweet kiss before I head out to meet the infamous Park Jongseong.

Stepping into the bar that's a bit far from the city. I spot a familiar figure holding a glass of whiskey. Taking a breath, you got this Jake, be brave for y/n, mom would want u to be.

Taking a seat beside him, after a few moments of silence. The man spoke, "I'm sure I wasn't released to just go willy nilly with my life. What's the catch" He said in a tone that sounded rather sharp but still calm.

"I am the one who requested you to be let out. I have an offer to make" I said as confidently as I could.

"Listen, kid. I hope you understand what you are doing here."

Cutting him off, "I'm not a kid, and if you want to be released from prison then you have to do as I say." I reasoned.

The bartender interrupts us shortly to ask if I wanted anything. "I'll have the same as him" I point at the man next to me who looks back at me amused.

"Well, kid-"

"Jake," I corrected him.

"Well, Jake, what's your offer?" He says finding this situation all too amusing.

"If you can help find my sister and bring her in one piece then I will make sure you never spend another day in prison."

"Is that all?" Jongseong says with a sigh.

"If you want more, whatever it is, I don't care. Just bring y/n back safely."

The man suddenly stands up, "then, you got yourself a deal, Jake." He says as he extends his arm for me to shake, "you can call me Jay, and I never go back on my word, rest assured." He concluded before leaving. Letting out a huge breath I didn't realize I was holding, I slump in my seat.

I promise I'll protect you noona, please wait just a little longer.

_______________________________________

Jay's POV:

I knew something had to be up the moment I was told "you will be temporarily released from prison per request of President Sim." It's not every day you see the president himself formally request for you to rescue his daughter- and sure as hell not every day you see him asking a former cop who is in prison for murder.

I can't lie to myself, I somehow envy that kid, Jake, for being so brave and compassionate towards saving his sister. I never had a sibling to look after me. It was always me and mom until she died. I had nothing left to lose. Since that day I vowed to seek revenge and find her killer. Little did I know, I would end up being the one locked up instead. Letting out a frustrated sigh. I know mom would want me to make this right. With that, I decided to accept the mission not that I think I had that much of a choice.

I make my way to the secret base I was told to go to. Gathering all the gear I needed. "How much time am I given to retrieve her?" I ask the lieutenant.

"However long it may take you as long as she's safe. She's your top priority. You will be in contact with dispatcher Lee Heeseung who is on his way here to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. You should get ready to head out soon, son, Good luck." The older man pats me on the back before leaving.

Then, another man around my age walks up to me.

"Hello, I'm Heeseung, you can call me Evan." Offering his hand to shake, I take it, holding it firmly, I respond shortly,

"Jay."

"Not a man of many words, huh?" He playfully questions but I simply nod.

"I should get going before sunrise. Get to it, partner." I smirk at him which he mirrors.

_______________________________________

3:45am, the night air was cold and crisp. Jay is dropped off by a chopper to what looks to be a normal village from afar. But upon close inspection, he notices how eerily the town folks are behaving. Dragging their feet to the ground almost aimlessly as if they were following orders like robots. The village smelled like a strong stench of rotting flesh giving Jay whiplash.

“Oh what the hell”, he muttered to himself. Noticing a small and worn out wooden shed with a broken knob, he steadily and quietly makes his way there. Making just to scope out the scene before rushing in carelessly.

It was still dark outside but he used a flash to navigate his way. Shining it towards the poorly made map, he spotted a rather ordinary picture of y/n hanging loosely with a singular push pin, locating to the old church that seemed almost abandoned.

Dialing heeseung using his in-ear, "Roost, this is conder one,"

"Evan here, what's your sitrep?"

"It seems like they are planning to do some ritual up in the old church. It's a bit hard to decipher from the rough lines but it looks like they are keeping her in a secluded spot for now." Jay reports calmly.

"Based on the current information we have, the village's old church is known for its blood sacrifices using virgin women to appease their God. I just sent you the location of where they might be keeping her. Check out the castle in the village and report back anything you notice. Be careful, Roost out."

Jay makes his way to the castle. Stopping in his tracks and grabbing his knife as he feels a presence looming over him. It happened all too fast as he saw a large middle aged man run after him with a butcher's knife.

"Story of my life" he jokes more to himself as he parried the attack before turning behind him swiftly and slashing the man's neck, finally finishing him with a roundhouse kick, just for old times sake he thought to himself. The commotion must've alerted the others around and before he knows it about 10 villagers with murder written all over their faces run at him.

"Well, shit" his body on autopilot as he dodges with his knife. Making sure just to keep a safe distance between himself and them, he pulls out his gun swiftly, "fun's over" he states dryly getting tired of them before aiming to fire.

The soft glow of the sunrise made it easier for him to spot them. 3 go down like dominoes as the bullet cuts through their skulls. After dealing with the rest. He hides behind a wall as he notices 2 villagers throwing arrows in his direction from the rooftop.

"Tsk," he loads his gun and aims for their heads, his movements halted by the sounds of church bells. As if someone snapped their fingers, the villagers are in a daze, walking past him as if he's not even there anymore.

Puzzled, Jay says "Where's everyone going? Bingo?" Catching his breath as he sees them make their way towards the church before closing the loud squeaky old door.

Shaking his head lightly at the weird encounter. He makes his way to the castle. His top priority at the moment is locating and rescuing Sim Y/n.

_______________________________________

Y/n stares at the door awaiting her chance. Her body was shivering from the cold but she knew the outfit she had on previously would only make it harder for her to attack or even defend herself. Unsure of what was going on outside of the room, she heard faint screams and sounds of bullets.

“What the fuck?” She muttered to herself. Suddenly her ears picked up on another sound, it was closer. It was footsteps heading towards the door. As if her body had a mind of its own, she hides as best as she can in the almost completely black room. The door creaks open, this time it appeared that an elderly woman was there but y/n knew better than to get soft now.

Attacking her from behind, with what little she remembered from taking self defense classes in high school. Y/n managed to overpower the woman, locking her in a deadly chokehold before speaking, "what do you people want from me" her tone sounding more pissed than scared now.

The villager yells at her "you are our hope to salvation" she says with a maddening look all over her face.

"Go to hell then!" y/n yells back before cracking her neck. What y/n failed to notice is that they would send more people to get her. Suddenly, she was grabbed by 2 men who looked like villagers too,

"is everyone in this fucking town insane" she yells out in frustration having had enough. Grabbing her knife she tried to break free but 2 vs. 1 didn't sound good in her case. At the corner of her eye she sees one of them holding a syringe needle filled with some weird dark liquid.

"Quit resisting, child, and accept the gift of God!" one of them says as he managed to over power you. Your body almost instantly grew too tired to fight back after hours of being tied up and not having slept a blink.

_______________________________________

Y/n's POV:

I try my hardest to kick and punch as hard as I can to break from the man's grip but he was much taller and muscular than me, making it harder to fight back. Then it all happened so fast, I felt the sharp sting of a needle on my neck, realizing I forgot about the other man in the room. Stumbling back. My vision got blurry by the minute until I hit the ground.

Waking up I feel my body being dragged through a long hallway. Unable to move a muscle, I felt paralyzed. Few tears of frustration fell down my cheeks. Anger slowly but surely creeps into the small cracks, filling my body with rage.

Why why why

I kept repeating in my head. Suddenly I was yanked up, letting out a small wince, inaudible from how dry my throat felt. It was as if thirst was consuming my whole being but water didn't feel like it would be enough. Through a blurry vision I notice what I assumed was the same 2 strange men chaining me to a metal bed, if you could call it a bed that is.

This time I was sprayed out with all my limbs tightly wrapped around metal. Great, just what I needed. Still unable to see anything I noticed a fairly tall figure looming over me with a golden chalice that was gleaming a little too brightly for my eyes.

"I see you are awake now" a deep voice spoke before grabbing my chin forcefully, his hands felt as cold as a corpse. Too weak to respond, I glare at him instead. As my breathing was still irregular from the stuffy air, I feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier by the minute, chants were muttered by the uncanny man, he prayed with a hand placed firmly on my forehead, suddenly a woman takes the chalice from his free hand and with a dagger on her hand, she slits his wrist, carefully but painfully to draw enough blood that was now dripping inside the cup.

Suddenly remembering how I'm practically naked after I ripped my dress to move better, I felt uncomfortable chills down my spine yet my chest was strangely getting hotter. The sweat glistening on my skin caused even more chills. I felt too exposed and vulnerable, I wanted nothing more than to sink in a hole and die.

"Open" the man said- no demanded as he gripped my jaw roughly but I protested as much as I physically could. My heart's beating so fast, my body was thinking for itself at this rate. Letting out small weak grunts trying to escape his deadly grip to no avail. "You can't run from your sins, this is your destiny, child." But as he was bringing the cup closer to my mouth.

Abruptly, a gunshot was heard, then another that was aimed at the man's hand, the cup dropped and the blood splattered everywhere making some land onto me, making me shrink.

"Shows over" another voice spoke. But I was too exhausted. The world stopped spinning for a second before I saw pitch black again.

_______________________________________

Jay makes his way to y/n covertly, loading his gun in a matter of seconds before he aimed it at the woman and shot her brains out; no hint of hesitation. Aiming at the tall man with precision, he asked calmly

“I’ll only ask this once, who is your leader?” but the man just laughed instead.

“Well then,” Jay shot the man in each kneecap, making him kneel in agony. Approaching him, “have it your way” he says lastly before punching the man in the throat. Quickly scoping the scene through his peripheral vision, he carefully shoots the metal bars that chained her limp body. He examines her figure to make sure she wasn’t bleeding or injured badly. Taking off his hoodie, he gingerly puts it on her so she isn’t too cold. Letting out a curse under his breath as he carried her into his arms without causing more of a scene.

After finding a safe spot, he carefully puts her down gently to wake her up.

tap, tap, tap

Sounds of the rain outside gradually fill up the silence in the room making the atmosphere less tense as Jay watches over y/n lost in his own thoughts.

_______________________________________

Jay’s POV:

It's hard to get a signal outside with the sudden severe weather change, letting out a sigh. I try to think of a way to get out of here without alerting the maniacs outside.

I almost miss the sound of y/n stirring in her sleep- if you could call that sleep. Whatever they gave her knocked her out cold as a corpse.

“Mom, please don’t go,” I hear her faintly call in her sleep. I don’t know what came over me but my chest tightened at the sight. Shaking my head slightly to focus I move closer to wake her up.

“Hey, wake up” her eyes opened in panic as she tried catching her breath. Before I could explain she yelled at me

“WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE ARE WE-” I quickly put my hand around her mouth to keep her quiet before our hiding spot is discovered. I could feel her heartbeat loud against my back. Hearing footsteps nearby she stops struggling against my hold. My free hand is hovering over my gun as I brace for an attack.

Suddenly, the heavy footsteps fade further away. Letting out a sigh, I tilted my head, realizing how close we both were. For some reason time seemed to slow down as I looked deeply into her eyes who stared back at mine in urgency.

Clearing my throat, “sorry, I just didn’t want to give our location away” I cursed under my breath as I kept a respectful distance between us.

I heard her mutter something, “pardon?” “It’s nothing. You still didn’t answer my question earlier.” She seemed more embarrassed now looking down at her feet.

Cute.

“I was sent here on a secret mission to bring you back home.” I casually respond as I lift a cigarette to my lips while reaching for my lighter.

_______________________________________

Y/n’s POV:

I faintly try to recall the events that occurred up until this moment while staring at my feet. Looking up to meet his intense gaze.

“I was sent here on a secret mission to bring you back home.” He responded nonchalantly while lifting a cigarette to his lips. Out of instinct- I reached out and snatched it from his lips catching him by surprise.

“What do you think you are doing?” He questioned, seeming half amused and half shocked.

“Sorry, it’s a habit I picked up because of my brother.”

After a moment of silence

“Name’s Jay by the way,” He spoke with an unreadable expression.

“Huh?”

“I never answered your first question.” He shrugged, his tone is ever so casual like we aren’t in a life or death situation.

“Well, Jay, are we just going to keep dilly dallying here?” I respond sarcastically.

“There’s a storm outside so we have to wait it out, there are no signals here to contact help.”

Hearing his retort, I slump into my seat, wrapping my arms around myself to stay warm.

Looking up at him. “Aren’t you cold standing there like a beefeater?”

He just chuckled. The kind of chuckle that makes the butterflies in your stomach flutter.

The moment is interrupted by the incoming sounds of the angry villagers outside. The storm quieted down a bit, only the sounds of the pitter patter of rain and footsteps can be heard. Looking at Jay with a knowing look we both nod.

We need to leave. Quickly.

Opening the old wooden door, it makes a loud creaaakk that makes my skin cringe. Looking left and right, suddenly Jay’s hand held my arm and pulled me into his chest to hide. From my peripheral vision I spot 5 villagers wearing black cloaks heading down the stairs to the left. Holding my breath, I look at him like a deer caught in headlights, he makes a gesture with his finger to say “be quiet.”

The close proximity makes me dizzy as I smell his cologne and natural scent that weirdly puts me at ease.

_______________________________________

Jay’s POV:

I pulled y/n close to me as I noticed the figured men that made their way down the hall. Leaving the cramped storage room, we make our way down in the opposite direction. “Stay close” I command.

The hallway is irritably long. It's too silent.

“Jay, 12 o'clock!” Y/n hissed.

Looking up, I make direct eye contact with 2 men holding arrows aimed at us. “Shit” I grumbled.

“Watch your step,” I shout.

She quickly dodges, the arrow scrapping her arm, leaving a small trial of blood behind. Her moves were calculated, catching me off guard momentarily.

I swiftly reload my gun, aiming at their legs with a calm breath. They fall, dropping their weapons with them before I aim at their heads and shoot again, emptying the click.

Y/n approached them, bending down to snatch the arrows. “Thanks!” she said smiling before returning by my side.

I retort, “not your first rodeo, huh?”

“Maybe,” she winks, “now let's get the fuck out of here, the air is messing up my hair.”

“Yes, Ma'am.”

After we made it down the stairs rushing, I paused abruptly.

“Now, now, children, leaving so soon?” A tall figure appeared in front of us before disappearing again into thin air.

“OH FOR THE LOVE–” I heard y/n shout angrily as I interrupted her to evaluate the situation at hand.

“Stay calm. Don’t let them provoke you.” I look at her with a composed expression. There should be a way out of this castle to reach a signal outside through the hills. She is their main target so I have to keep an eye on her but that’s proving to be harder to do with these freaks being everywhere.

“Y/n listen to me loud and clear because I won’t repeat this twice.” I throw my gun in her direction which she manages to catch. “Go outside and find a way to contact help using the device I attached to the gun. I’ll stay here and distract them in the meantime. If you run into any trouble- Do. Not. hesitate. To. Shoot. Can I trust you?”

“Yes, I can do it,” though she stuttered over her words, she still stood tall. She has guts, I’ll give her that.

“Uh, uh, not so fast” the tall man taunts as he tries to grab y/n. Pulling out my knife, I pivot towards him. “Run. Now.” I shout as she quickly finds the exit to the room before stopping to turn. “What are you-” confused. I am interrupted by her as I grab the man and tackle him with his right arm, he shrieks in pain. Y/n looks at me one last time before leaving “just don’t die.. Okay?”

“Okay” I reassured her. Hearing the long doors close I focus back to the task at hand.

“You know, it was fate that brought you two together” The nameless man snickered.

“Yeah right, and fate will be the one to decide your death next.” I bite back, slamming my foot into his back, earning another pained yelp.” “Now you better start answering before I slit your throat right here. Right now.”

“What the hell is this place,” I interrogate him.

“Paradise! It is God's true creation and glory!” He continued his (coke) rant, “It is Sim Y/n’s destiny to be brought here so we can all atone our sins alas!” “and you,” he looks at me before laughing, I tighten my grip. “You are the key player here.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean-” the next words that leave his mouth make my guard falter just enough for him to escape.

“I’m sure Rosaline Park, or should I say Mrs. Park would be thrilled to reunite with her beloved son.” He lets out an eerie laugh before vanishing again.

“HEY! COME BACK HERE I’M NOT DONE TALKING” but before I could ask any more questions I am met with a crowd of 10 villagers vaulting towards me with a lust for killing.

Thinking fast, I charge right at them with my knife. Grabbing one by the neck I throw him at the others, I turn my knife to the side while maintaining my balance before delivering a kick to the chest at the next attacker.

For their old age they sure as hell have too much energy doing all this shit.

Slashing his neck I quickly duck to avoid getting hit from behind, grabbing the other guy’s wrist, I twist it enough to hear his bones cracking. Wasting no time, I kick him in the back of the knee and stab the knife to the back of his head. Blood splattered everywhere as I started to sweat.

2 down, 9 more to go.

_______________________________________

Y/n’s POV:

Closing the door I hastily make my way to the hills on the other side to reach a signal, my hands are shaky as I hold the gun tight enough that my knuckles turn white. The words that couldn’t escape my head repeat over and over again-

“You know, it was fate that brought you two together.” What the hell does that even mean? Is this one of their bullshit prophecies or something else? How could I possibly be connected to someone I just met?

So many questions are left unanswered making the tension in the air harder to ignore but I try my best to concentrate on the task at hand: getting the fuck out of this hell hole.

I don’t understand why but every fiber of my being keeps telling me to turn back and find Jay.

Making my way up after just barely avoiding those psychopaths, I detect a very strong scent nearby. Death.

The smell is so distinctive that it makes my insides turn. Looking over my shoulder carefully as I’m crouched down, I see it.

Or rather see them. A herd of cows all mauled and guttered in ways I have never seen before. I felt like throwing up right then and there, holding back my gag reflex, I pushed forward, moving as slow as a mouse afraid that someone just might hear my heartbeats.

Finally getting up the hills successfully, I rush to check for any signal. Standing on my tippy toes in the muddy grass, my feet were bruised and cut making me wince at every step I took.

My thoughts are halted by a faint static sound coming through.

“C-conde-r-r” the signal still isn’t clear enough for me to fully make up what he is saying.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” The urgency in my voice must’ve made him pause.

“Y-y/n?”

“YES! I’m alone right now and you need to send support FAST,” before he could pry in further. Another voice speaks but this time it isn’t static, it's behind me. “You can’t run forever.” Reacting fast I make a run for it without looking back.

“LEAVE ME ALONE DAMMIT” I cry out. Vaguely hearing the dispatcher frantically asking if I am okay.

My vision was blurry making me trip on my feet. Letting out a wince, I get up again putting all my weight on my left foot. The same man from earlier teleports in front of me again.

“Now, now, darling,” the pet name made me glare at him with disgust. “You know better than to run off like that.” He reached for me grabbing me by the neck with enough pressure to cut my screams. “Don’t you want to know the real reason why you were brought here?” Noticing the look of curiosity on my face he smirks, “Thought so,” he carefully let go of my neck as I cough loudly to get oxygen back in my lungs.

“Sure, you were brought here as a sacrifice, yada yada yada, but that’s not the fun answer.” Smiling ear to ear, he looks at me before speaking again.

“Let’s just say our master has a lot of history to unpack with your father and our good friend Jay.”

Before I could press on he gestures for me to stay quiet.

“Ah, ah, ah, no interruptions please.” His condescending tones made me want to punch him in the gut.

Steading my feet as best as I could, I grabbed the gun from my side remembering what Jay told me and aimed it at the guy before shooting him in the chest three times. Yet, he is still standing, puzzled, I look at him. How is he still alive from that? His smile never falters as he steps closer.

“You know I tried to be nice and cordial here, but I guess I can play a little rough.” He snapped his fingers before disappearing again, only for me to be met with the sound of angry villagers coming towards me.

Shit shit shit.

_______________________________________

Y/n hurriedly reloads the gun before limping back towards the center of the village. Shooting almost carelessly.

“STAY BACK!” she shouted. Aiming at their heads the best she could with an injured foot she was able to take 2 down.

Suddenly, she bumps into something hard- or rather someone. “Y/n?” Hearing Jay’s voice, she calms down a bit. Realizing her state and the people coming after her, Jay quickly assists the situation. “Let’s go,” not wanting to waste any more time he threw her on his shoulder. “HEY WHAT THE HELL JAY” he heard her squeal but just told her to stay quiet as he tried to find a hiding spot.

Y/n notices his shirt ripped and bleeding. “You’re injured?” she worriedly states but he simply brushed it off. “So are you but we need to stay low.” “but-” he interrupts her, “no buts, I’m fine.”

They both hid behind an abandoned house to catch their breaths. Y/n reported everything that happened to him and the weird conversation she had with that strange man.

“Do you think our moms are somehow linked in all of this?” Y/n tries to reason this madness.

“I don’t know but my mother… she’s been dead for seventeen years so this all sounds like a sick joke,” though he tried to sound neutral his eyes betrayed him. Y/n saw that flicker of pain, she saw he let his guard down for a split second before returning back to being stoic.

“I lost my mom when I was 16” she starts, “my father was never a good role model as much as he tried to showcase in front of the media and public. After mom died he became an abusive alcoholic so I had to look out for Jake. Then one day he somehow managed to crawl his way into presidency as if controlling our lives wasn’t enough.” Feeling a lump get stuck in her throat, she looked at Jay.

His gaze softened while looking at her before speaking, “if it makes you feel better, I used to be a cop before I got thrown into prison for trying to find my mother’s killer.”

A few seconds of silence followed as none of the two knew what to say, “hey, Jay,” she hesitated, “What’s up?” “Do you think if our moms were alive they would be best friends?” she asked unexpectedly, catching him off guard. “What makes you say that?” y/n shrugged, “I don’t know just get the feeling they would be,” sounding a bit more embarrassed now but Jay’s gaze didn’t hold any judgement or discomfort.

The moment is broken by the sounds of the old church bells. Looking at each other with a knowing look, they get up and start planning- this time not their escape but to answers to what is weighing on both of their hearts. Sneakily making their way to the church after the villagers leave.

It wasn’t as worn out as it looked on the outside so they carefully started exploring the place.

“Jay,” she hissed trying to get his attention without being spotted. “Look.” Y/n pointed at a well hidden basement door on the ground. She opened it slowly causing dust to erupt in the air, letting out a few coughs from accidentally inhaling some, Jay grabbed his small flashlight before going down first to inspect the place. “Jay?” she called out after a few moments of silence before she went down too, making sure to close the creaky metal door behind them.

It looked like some sort of small study room. Books were sprawled everywhere, some were open and some were stacked. The place was colder and darker here. She was able to make out where Jay is, he seemed in his own little world as he lit a few candles on the table with a book in his other hand, the ambiance looked chaotic but comforting.

“This handwriting,” Jay breaks the silence in the room, “it looks so familiar.” His brows furrowed as he kept reading, “it’s a journal about this village.”

She carefully asked, “do you.. Think we are somehow connected to this village?” her tone was slightly hesitant but certainty in his answer made a shiver go down her spine. “I don’t think we are somehow connected, I think we are connected to this hell.”

“Here,” he pointed out, changing the pages, “these photographs and writings, they look like my mom’s.” His conclusion stunning her. “What?” She stuttered. “Jay what are you-” Interrupting her, he showed her an old photo. Confused, she looked at it more closely before realizing it was her parents when they were young and next to them was another young couple, they all looked fresh out of high school. “Is that.. Your parents, too?” She asked in disbelief. He nodded, “Jay, do you think that crazy man was telling the truth back there?” The look he gave her was more than words could confirm.

Finally breaking the tension, Y/n speaks, “do you.. Do you think this is connected to our mothers deaths?”

“We can’t be certain just yet but I get the feeling your guess isn’t that far off.”

They spend a little longer looking for any other clues. The sun outside slowly started to set. Jay was getting suspicious now because it shouldn’t take the rescue team this long even with the harsh weather.

_______________________________________

Heeseung was getting frustrated now because the president changed the orders saying to not go rescue them right after he alerted them that Y/n was alive. Jake sat across from him as they tried to think of something to do. The tension in the air could be cut as they both stayed silent.

“We can’t sit here forever, Evan.” Jake finally spoke out. “To hell with my father says, I’m not letting him kill my sister like he killed our mom.” The raw emotions bleed through his voice making his throat feel tight at the possibility of losing the only family he has left. Heeseung nodded, he would do the same if he was in Jake’s shoes.

“I have a plan that might risk my job here but honestly I couldn’t care less.” Heeseung stood up, “Let’s go, we will bring them ourselves but first we need to figure out why the hell he changed his mind all of the sudden.”

They went back to Heeseung’s office and Heeseung started hacking into any sensitive information he could find. Luckily for him and unluckily for the president, he was able to restore deleted data including a recent recorded voice call. Heeseung carefully played the recording.

“I told you to stop bothering me after I handed you y/n!” the president spoke first.

“How cruel of a father to sell his daughter short like that,” the man said in faux sympathy.

“Like you didn't sell your own son with her.” He retorted back.

The room fell silent as Jake paused the recording. Heeseung looked at him before unpausing, no matter how hard this was to listen to, they needed to find out the truth.

“Don't forget to send me the cash. This time in full or you know what I am capable of.” He cuts the small talk short before ending the call, not awaiting a response from president Sim.

Both stare at each other for a moment as Heeseung grabs Jake before he runs off to do something stupid. “Jake, we can't act rashly if we want to succeed.” His voice was firm yet gentle.

“I know but this… this just isn't right!” His frustration was evident as he continued, “I knew the old man was a piece of shit but even this is a new low.”

Heeseung nodded as he was typing, “I found all the evidence of his secret bank statements, it seems like he had been funding this village for a while before he stopped and they have been blackmailing him since.”

“The man on the phone that spoke with Mr. Sim is Mr. Park, Jay's father.”

“What?” Jake blurted out.

“It seems like the two have known each other for a long time, check this out,” Jake peeks closer to the screen inspecting a photo of 2 young couples, he recognizes his mother instantly with his chest tightening. It was a rather old photo and behind them was a church.

“That church there,” Heeseung pointed, “it is the same one from the village Y/n was taken into.”

“And this other couple,” He zoomed in closer, “this is the infamous Mr. Park and his wife. Jay's parents.” He concluded, gathering all the needed information into a flash drive, Jake and Heeseung make their way out.

_______________________________________

“Jay,” y/n called out softly.

He merely hummed acknowledging her.

“Do you think they gave up on saving us?”

Silence.

“Jay,” she called out again before hearing him sigh deeply with his eyes closed. Looking back at her, she knew the answer already, it was written all over his face.

Sitting down, she looked at him before speaking again, “I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess, I know you must be so tired of all of this already and it was my fault I should've-” Jay grabs her shoulders, interrupting her.

“Y/n, it's okay, I knew what the possible risks were and I still took the job, plus this isn't over yet. She calmed down a bit before they suddenly heard a signal.

“Huh?” Jay looked at the communication device he was given by Heeseung.

“Missed me?” A voice spoke.

“Evan?”

“In the flesh! There has been a change of plans and I can not explain everything right now but please sit tight, I am bringing you two back myself since the president changed the orders. For now, avoid anyone you see unless it is me or Jake” Heeseung spoke calmly.

“Jake? Don't tell me he is with you!” Y/n cut him off in a worried tone.

“Y/n, I will be okay, just sit still and don’t do anything stupid. We will be there soon.” Jake finally spoke, reassuring his sister.

“But-” This time it's Jay that cuts her off, “how soon?” He asked.

“20 minutes. I'll send you the coordinates so we can get you out of there fast.” Heeseung announced before the call was cut.

“Let's go, we don't have much time,” he voiced as he gathered any important information they found before quietly planning to leave the church through the backdoor that eventually would lead to a long stretched path. Pulling out the map Jay was given, he inspects the area around them for any safe zones.

“We are here right now,” he pointed, “and we need to go through here to successfully exit the village,” his finger follows the path on the map, marking it with a circle. “The villagers will be on high alert so we need to move quietly, the less trouble we cause the faster we get out of here.”

10 minutes had passed, Y/n and Jay were about to leave the old church, the dark heightening their senses making them alert to any sound, even the small crunch of the fallen leaves made them freeze.

“I'll jump first, then I can catch you.” Y/n couldn't even object as he jumped from the high window, looking down at him, she hesitated.

“I promise I won't let you fall.” His voice and presence are an odd comfort to the chaos around them.

Jay opened his arms. Falling down with a squeal, he caught her effortlessly. The world paused as he stared at her doe eyes, “you alright?” she nodded, a faint pink dusk on her cheeks in the dark night sky.

The cold wind sent chills down her spine as they started moving again. The tall trees and grass made it hard for them to see the hidden bear traps.

“SHIT,” Y/n stepped on one accidentally, letting out a pained cry. Jay quickly turns to her before shooting the trap with a few bullets, it opened but her leg had big gashes left. Squatting down, he pulled the first aid kit from his backpack, “hey, hey, look at me, you will be fine, just breathe slowly.“ He reassured her gently while attending to her wounds.

“I'm sorry Jay, I feel so useless I hate it.” She cried.

His gaze still soft as he spoke, “Sometimes, it's okay to be "useless“ because it lets you know that you can be cared for too instead of always caring for others.” His sincerity knocked the air from her lungs. Finally letting it all out, Y/n sobbed. She just wanted this nightmare to end. Bandaging her wounds, he grabbed her hands helping her stand up.

Gunshots abruptly ruined the intimate moment making both look the direction it came from. Carrying Y/n on his back, they headed to the sound.

_______________________________________

“Aww, leaving so soon?” He taunted.

“I must say, as much as I am delighted by this warm welcome, I'm not here to stay.” Heeseung smiled as he pointed the gun at the man.

“Hand them over if you still value your life,” Jake spat out.

The man smiled back, clearly amused by the situation. “You killed most of my followers, and yet you want me to set you free?” He didn't expect an answer, yet Heeseung laughed at him wholeheartedly.

“Aren't you done playing god after killing your own wife, Mr. Park?”

His blood boiled, “WHO-” Jake interrupts him, “just because you and my father are cowards who threw away their families for power and money doesn't mean we are the same.”

“Hey!” Another voice called out from a distance.

“Jay!”

“Y/n!”

Jay looks up and sees him. His father who was pronounced dead.

“Son!” The man cheered falsely.

“Save. It.” He dryly responded.

Jake carefully carried Y/n on his back. Noticing the guilty look on her face, “you always look out for me, so let me return the favor. Now let's get out of here.”

Heeseung and Jay nodded in understanding. Getting themselves ready, “Jake, take the chopper and get out of here with Y/n.”

“What? What about you two!” She called out.

“We will do our job.” Jay reassured her.

"but-” Jake cuts her off, “trust them, noona.”

Mr. Park laughed, “how brave.. and naive of you to think you can escape.” Preparing to attack, Heeseung stops his next moves by shooting him in the chest twice.

They knew they had to distract him until Jake and Y/n were out of here.

Turning to face Jay, “you won't ask me what I'm doing here?” He questioned.

“I don't need to ask when I already know.” Jay continued, “however, I will ask this, did you ever love mom or was playing god always more important to you.”

“What do you think, son,” Park responded condescendingly, dragging the last word on. “Enough talking now.”

Realizing the other two were out of sight, he got angrier before transforming. His eyes turned red as his head grew intestine like tentacles for hair, his body getting larger and contouring into a spider while his skin cracked and fell off.

Heeseung let out a disgusted sound at the sight. Reloading his gun swiftly.

“Look out!” Jay warned.

Ducking down, Heeseung rolled on the floor aiming at one of the hidden villagers. “I'll take care of them, you deal with that.” He pointed at Park with a smirk.

A loud guttural sound was heard from Park as he went berserk. His vision coated with blood as he almost carelessly attacked anything in his (poor) sight.

Multiple gun shots were fired as they fought in the night.

Jay countered his attacks with his knife. Spotting his weakness, he yelled, “Shoot his back, they won't stop spawning until he is dead.” Heeseung let out a huff and nodded. Standing backs against one another as they shifted, Jay and Heeseung started rapidly firing all their ammo onto his back.

Sweating was dripping from their skin but the cold air of the right helped them pull through. With a few more hits left in him, Jay vaulted towards his father.

“6 o'clock.”

Jay avoided the next 3 bullets fired at the monster's head, swerving to his left, he surged upwards with his hand ready, landing two roundhouse kicks making it fall. “This is for mom.” He spat out with adrenaline coursing through his veins as he thrusted the knife to his head several times. His ears ringing, Heeseung ran towards him pulling away, “that's enough! It's over, that's enough Jay.”

Breathing heavily with blood covering his body, Jay snapped out of his daze with his heart pounding. Looking up at Heeseung who yanked him away. “ Hey, It's okay, breathe, it's over, let's go home, come on,” He reassured him with his hands placed firmly on his shoulders. Jay simply nodded.

“It's over..” He muttered to himself.

_______________________________________

Jake and Y/n made it to the chopper and headed home. The flight filled with awkward silence before Jake reported back everything he found out.

“I booked a private house for all of us to meet there to plan our next move,” Jake revealed

“He has a live interview today for his next campaign.”

“Y/n.”

“I know but this is our best bet.”

Letting out a sigh, “ fine, I'll figure something out. For now let's clean ourselves and wait for those two. There's another secret chopper waiting for them.” The conversation concluded then, shutting her eyes slowly, y/n drifted to sleep.

Jake woke her up when they landed. He immediately went to the office to contact Heeseung.

“Evan, do you copy?” He repeated a few times.

“Yes honey~” Heeseung playfully responded after a few moments but it was obvious how exhausted he was.

“This isn't the time for jokes, what's your sitrep?”

“We- mostly Jay, managed to kill that son of a bitch. We are making it to the chopper right now.”

“Good.”

“How's Y/n?” Jay intervened.

“Woah, calm down lover boy.” Heeseung teases.

Jake let out a sigh before answering, “she's okay, just tired.”

Jay let out a sound of acknowledgement in return.

_______________________________________

The group reunited in the morning as they started planning their next move.

“I bribed the event organizers to keep quiet so Y/n will make her way there without anyone knowing, Heeseung can easily hack into their screens, me and you,” he pointed to Jay, “We will be on standby in case anything happens.”

They all nodded in agreement. The doorbell rang, Jake stood up to get it. He opened the door to see his worried sick girlfriend holding Y/n's cat, who immediately sprung to the floor with a yawn.

“Aurora-”

She basically jumped his bones in a tight hug, “you fucking asshole, I hate you.” She cried.

Holding her tighter, “I'm here, my love, it's all going to be okay, I promise.” He patted her hair gently before she slowly got off of him, wiping her tears, he closed the door and pulled her with him.

“Y/N!”

Y/n turned around to see her best friend running into her arms.

“AURORA!” She shouted back as they hugged.

The boys smiled at the two. Heeseung picked up the cat, cooing at her.

_______________________________________

“Mr. President, what is your next step for the campaign?”

One of the news reporters in the room asked as the camera panned over him again.

“My plan is to reconstruct a village to house the homeless elderly.” He responded with a smile.

The room was filled with claps except for one person that entered the room, smiling wider. “What a lovely speech, father.” It was hard to miss the sarcasm in her tone and the way his face turned pale.

“You know, I would be shocked too if my daughter rose from the dead too after selling her to pay my debt,”

The room exploded with gasps as her sudden disappearance didn't go unnoticed. Reporters roared with questions at this new possible scandal.

Cliché, she thought to herself.

Her heels clicked as she stepped closer. “Let me refresh your memory, dear father.” Y/n snapped her fingers making the room fall silent as a recording started blasting through the speakers.

“I told you to stop bothering me after I handed you y/n!”

“How cruel of a father to sell his daughter short like that,”

“Like you didn't sell your own son with her.” He retorted back.

“Don't forget to send me the cash. This time in full or you know what I am capable of.”

When the recording was finished Mr. Sim looked like he could pass away any moment now, losing his balance slowly he pointed at his daughter who laughed.

“What’s wrong? Is that not enough? That’s okay, I’m just getting started.” She snapped her fingers again as a video played behind him.

“Mr. Sim” a woman moaned, the room was filled with gasps as they saw the president and his beloved young secretary getting it down in a compromising position.

Clapping her hands once, Y/n stared dead in her father’s eyes, “oh I wonder what the young and impressionable masses would think if they saw this.” Poison dripped from her voice at every syllable.

Standing next to him now, the video stopped this time and all the emails of blackmail started playing instead.

“YOU!” He raised his hand, but she was quicker to grab it firmly. “Now, now, father, I thought we agreed you would stop hitting us after mom died.”

“Speaking of mom, I’m sure she was sent to the best doctors abroad for surgery, right?”

The crowd was watching with their cameras filming all of this live.

“Oh what was that you were speaking of earlier? Reconstructing a village for the elderly? Aren’t you just so thoughtful.” She resumed, “You mean the same village you met and married mom? And the same one you sent her to instead of abroad like you promised.”

“THESE ARE FALSE CLAIMS-” Interrupting him, “Are they Mr. President?”

“These images don’t lie.”

The screen started showing old pictures of your parents, fake doctor reports, and lastly an image of your mom sitting next to Jay’s mom.

“Infamous Mr. Park’s wife who died ages ago in the same location with the same story. His son, Park Jongseong, was once a respectable cop who devoted his life to make sure no one felt the same pain as him for losing his mother. Instead you threw him in prison to prevent him from figuring out the truth and made Mr. Park fake his death to place the blame on him.”

“LIES! SHE’S LYING” He frantically shouted to the press.

Laughing at his pitiful cries. The door opened revealing Jay. Reporters started clicking the cameras rapidly as he made his way to you.

“I hope I’m not too late to the party.”

“YOU! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD WITH HER-” He pointed at Jay before shutting up realizing he just exposed himself.

Jay chuckled, standing next to Y/n. He noticed her hand slightly shaking. He grabbed it and they both looked at each other as if no one existed in the moment but then the police suddenly stormed the place shortly after and started handcuffing him as he shouted pleading his innocence.

Jay quickly dragged you to leave the room to avoid the reporters who started swarming you two. His hand is still firmly grasping yours. You two spot Heeseung and Jake waiting for you outside the car with a smile.

“After you, milady.” Heeseung bowed with a smirk. Hitting his shoulder at his playful antics. The group got in the car and drove away as chaos ensued behind them.

EPILOGUE

It has been 6 months since the incident and Jay was rightfully discharged from prison as court orders and he decided to continue his job being a cop. As if for our dear president, he was put into prison instead with no bail, with a better suited candidate planning to take his place.

The old village was soon searched and cleared out by special forces led by Heeseung. Anything that belongs to Y/n or Jay’s mother was sent back to them. Their graves were soon relocated to be next to each other like they promised in their letters. After that, Jake decided to not waste any more time and proposed to his girlfriend.

And for Y/n, she was able to go back to her not so normal life with the addition of a new love blossoming in her life.

TAGLIST: @niyzu @strawberryenha

(If you wish to be added please comment or ask me)

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thiswaytwoinfinity · 10 months ago

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Emma's Epic Multi-Fandom Rec List: 'Top Gun: Bob' Edition

This is technically like, part 3.1 since I've been working on pulling a giant 'Top Gun: Maverick' rec list together, with all the daggers. I wanted to have this done a little while ago (because August was when I joined the TGM fandom, etc.) but frankly everything has been nuts and so I just figured it was better to share what I had ready rather than wait for the whole thing.

Please cut me some slack, my puppy just got spayed and she insists I hold her bone for her while she chews so I have like one free hand and two brain cells at the moment

I do my best to reblog as much as possible but sometimes I miss it so this is my attempt to make up for that and give all of the amazing creators on here the credit they deserve. Thank you all so much for sharing all of your work with us. This past year has been a long and difficult one for me, especially mental health wise, and being able to escape into these stories has been so valuable and important to me.

If you read anything on here that you like, please reblog and/or comment on these pics to show the creators some love!

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: While not everything listed here will include smut, many of these authors have 18+ blogs. Please, please, please respect their boundaries and DO NOT INTERACT WITH THEM/THEIR CONTENT IF YOU ARE A MINOR.

Stories marked with ❤️‍🔥 contain NSFW content

Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd

Full of Surprises ❤️‍🔥 by @withahappyrefrain — You have to admire a fandom that takes one look at the bespectacled, quiet-seeming character and goes “This guy fucks.” I also had that exact thought when I first saw Bob Floyd (along with several other, increasingly filthy thoughts), so when I read this story for the first time I went “oh, yeah, definitely. This guy fucks and this is how he fucks.” Just like our beloved WSO, it starts out so charming and sweet and then gets so incredibly steamy and sexy. 10/10. And when you’re done, there’s an equally hot Part 2.

Behave ❤️‍🔥 by @withahappyrefrain — Bob Floyd bicep choking. Let me repeat that, a little louder: BOB! FLOYD! BICEP! CHOKING! It’s even hotter than you think it is.

Whodunit? by @attapullman — Fun fact: my absolute favorite genre of fiction (books, movies, games, you name it) is a whodunit mystery. So, naturally, I have been obsessed with this series ever since Mo started teasing it way back when, and I love everything about it. Bob and Fanboy are the perfect goofy amateur sleuths, the teasing hints of cameos from all of the other Daggers keeps you on your toes and there’s a dose and campy ‘80s nostalgia running through the whole thing that I adore. It’s just pure, giddy fun.

The Neighbor!Bob Universe ❤️‍🔥 by @attapullman — I am on record as adoring every single version of Bob that Mo cooks up, but neighbor!Bob holds a special place in my heart. He’s so handy and confident and sexy and he needs help dodging the firtations of all of the older women in the neighborhood who are equally obsessed with him! My bff and I once joked that the perfect man could build you a table and then do both you and your taxes on it, and well, that’s neighbor!Bob to a tee.

do you wanna make somethin' of it ❤️‍🔥by @theharddeck — Hi, hello, are you looking for a Bob fic so hot it will MELT YOUR ENTIRE BRAIN? This is that fic. Bob has a secret side hustle as your favorite audio erotica performer (username: BullRiderRhett) and he is just as brain-scramblingly hot in person as he is in your headphones. I finished this fic and said out loud, to nobody, “omg I need him.” And because the universe is kind, there is an equally scorching sequel.

you don’t have to be a star by @sunlightmurdock — Sweet, perfect Bob deserves a sweet, perfect fic where he gets to hear all about how lovely and wonderful he is, just the way he is. Fluffy and warm and the kind of story that gives you the urge to kiss him all over his perfect little face.

Something in the Orange ❤️‍🔥by @sorchathered — I’m a sucker for a “right person, wrong time” situation and this one is a gut-punch of angst followed by a swoon-worthy reconciliation. I imagine it would be impossible to ever truly move on from Robert Floyd.

Delicate ❤️‍🔥 and I Want Your Midnights by @laracrofted — *Tyler Owens voice* Are y’all ready to pine? Bob Floyd is an absolute dream boy and he’s at his most hesitant and lovestruck in these two gorgeous stories. These give me the same like, sinking stomach-feeling I get when I stare at pictures of Lewis for too long — like just the tiniest bit of melancholy that makes the whole experience sweeter and more emotional. Does that make sense? It’s one of the highest compliments I can give.

Covering the Classics ❤️‍🔥by @roosterforme — BOB AND ANNA! ANNA AND BOB! I COULD SCREAM ABOUT THESE TWO FOR HOURS! I love them, this is such a beautiful, heart wrenching, emotional roller coaster of a story about learning how to find yourself and your people after heartbreak and trauma. Anna is such an interesting, complicated character and Bob meets her at every turn with love and tenderness and the biggest open heart in the world. (And also the steamy scenes are BEYOND, like, damn, Bob, neither Anna nor I was ever gonna be able to resist you.)

I Heard Screaming ❤️‍🔥by @oncassette — Yes, it’s a classic fanfic trope — I heard noises and walked in on you enjoying some *private time* while thinking about me — but it’s a classic for a reason. I love it and I reread it all the time.

Four Eyes ❤️‍🔥by @promisingyounglady — I’m going to quote what I wrote the first time I reblogged this wildly, delightfully, insanely filthy fic: “I need to sit in a dark corner and replay this fic in my brain like a movie now.” It’s that good

Misc. Lewis Pullman Characters:

Dancing Beneath the Moon ❤️‍🔥by @delopsia (Rhett Abbott) — Del is *the* Rhett Abbott fic writer, in my opinion, and choosing just one of their fics was so much harder than I thought. But ultimately, I’m still so spellbound by this one, where Rhett is a ghost haunting the former Abbott ranch. It’s atmospheric and moody and gorgeous and the pining is top notch — as is the image of Rhett being a grumpy, mischievous house ghost. Also please check out their Floytt universe which I also adore.

Coyote ❤️‍🔥by @delopsia (Miles Miller) — An omegaverse with a twist! The reader is a wolf being married off to broker peace with another prominent wold family … only to run away with the sweet, gentle coyote who works at the desk of the El Royale. Dip You in Honey So I Could Be Stickin to You ❤️‍🔥by @laracrofted (Harrison Knott) — Harrison Knott, the man that you are. And the man that you are in this fic, specifically. I need him desperately. Carnally. In a way that is concerning to feminism.

#fic recs #favorites #emma's epic rec lists #top gun maverick fanfiction #top gun maverick #top gun maverick fandom #tgm fic #tgm fanfiction #robert bob floyd #my beautiful husband bob floyd #harrison knott #miles miller #rhett abbott #rhett abbott fic #rhett abbott x reader #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd fanfiction #bob fucks #outer range fic

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jakesimfromstatefarm · 3 months ago

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──── YOURS . ↳ one shot // also part of the no doubt series !

✎ᝰ .ᐟ aka everything you're wearing is his, but yet, he's the adorable one

── sim jaeyun x f!reader ౨ৎ wc. 914 ⌗ fluff fluff fluff, crack, banter

↳ IMPORTANT NOTE .ᐟ ── this is part of my no doubt series ─ a sequel series of short drabbles that take place after the events of my fic no doubt, and show jake & reader's relationship throughout their first year together (& how jake wins her trust & love back hehe) ── THIS CAN BE READ AS A ONE-SHOT, however, there will be some easter eggs if you've read no doubt before!

↳ addie's ✉ .ᐟ ── the first part of the no doubt series! keeping it short, sweet, & SIMPle for the first one (emphasis on the simp bc jake really is one for y/n) im so so so obsessed with this jake pls

It’s raining.

Not the dramatic, down-pouring, confess-your-love-in-the-rain-moment type of rain.

But just a soft drizzle—enough to send people scurrying home and definitely still enough to wet your clothes and damage your belongings…(you’re learning this the hard way).

The sleeves of your hoodie (read: Jake’s hoodie because, technically, he let you borrow it once so, naturally, he never got it back) are damp at the ends, your phone is hanging on for its dear life at three percent, and your last bus home?

Just left.

So, yeah.

You’re kind of screwed.

You tuck your hands into your sleeves, pull your hood up, and pray you bought laptop insurance that will cover the costly repairs of a water-damaged computer, and begin to accept your wet fate when—

Screech.

A car pulls up right in front of you.

Not just any car.

Familiar.

Black.

And very, very, dramatic.

The window rolls down.

“You forgot an umbrella?”

Jake is looking at you with an exasperated look that says you just personally insulted him.

“I literally told you it was going to rain today. You’re going to get sick, and somehow, it’s gonna be my fault.”

His hair is a little messy—like he rushed here (he did).

He’s still in his sweats—like he didn’t even change before getting in the car (he didn’t).

Your stomach flips at the sight.

“How did you—”

“You texted me that you were at the café,” he says, like it’s obvious. “And I know you only ever go to this café, so I checked their hours. They close at six. It’s 6:27, and you never texted me that you got home.”

You blink.

Your heart flutters dangerously.

You open your mouth. Then close it. Then open again.

“You were…keeping track?”

Jake scoffs, “Of course I was keeping track. Who else is gonna make sure you don’t, I don’t know, get kidnapped or something?”

You snort, making your way around to the other side of the car, “Dramatic, much?”

Jake ignores you, reaching over the console to push open the passenger door, “Get in before I lose my mind.”

You bite back your growing smile as you slide into the seat, immediately engulfed by the warm heater blasting and the smell of his cologne lingering in the air. The second your door closes, Jake is already reaching over into the backseat, muttering endlessly to himself about the very, very real possibility of adult kidnap and how you never know if—

A towel lands onto your lap.

You freeze, blinking at the soft material, then back up at Jake..

“...Did you just…have this ready?”

Jake blinks back at you as if caught guilty. His ears are pink.

You think he’s the cutest being in this entire world.

“Just dry off, please,” he mutters.

You giggle softly, patting down your hair with the towel, “What, no hot chocolate to warm me up while you’re at it?”

Jake exhales, and tilts his head back dramatically against his seat, his eyes landing on you.

“Y/N, if you dry up properly for me, I will literally drive you to any store right now and buy you every single hot chocolate flavor you want.”

You pause. A slow smile grows.

“Even the expensive imported kind from Germany that you think is too sweet and too thick?”

“Y/N.”

You start laughing, the sound breathless and literally music to his ears, still toweling off, when—

A new weight suddenly settles over your shoulders.

You glance down.

Jake’s jacket.

It’s warm.

And it smells like him..

Jake turns back towards the steering wheel and shifts the car’s gears, aggressively pretending like he didn’t just casually ruin you with such a simple move.

Your heart is pounding.

You glance down at the fabric, then up at Jake.

His hands are gripping the wheel a little too tight. His leg is bouncing slightly. His jaw is clenched and his eyes are focused on the road ahead of him. Too focused.

Like he’s nervous.

A small smile teases at your lips. Your fingers toy at the edges of his jacket.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” you murmur.

Jake lets out a quiet laugh, avoiding your gaze, “You say that as if you’re not literally sitting there wearing everything that’s mine, and I’m the adorable one?”

You huff, rolling your eyes as you shift in your seat, facing him fully, “You also know you don’t have to keep doing all this, right? The little gestures? Proving yourself to me?”

At that, he finally turns to look at you as the car rolls to a stop at a red light.

His eyes are warm. Soft—twinkling with something unspoken, yet impossible to deny.

"Y/N," he mumbles, his free hand reaching over, wrapping gently around yours. His thumb brushes over your skin, softly, slowly, deliberate. "I'm not trying to prove anything. I just care about you. That's it. That's all."

Your breath catches slightly.

And then—he gives you that small, lopsided smile. The one you've seen a million times before, except now, it feels different.

Like it's always been meant for you in a way it never has before.

“But," he adds, voice steady. “If I do have to prove it to you every single day, I will."

Your fingers tighten around his.

God, you’re so doomed.

Jake’s expression softens even more before he turns back to the road, adding casually, “Even if it means saving you from catching a deadly cold or getting kidnapped in broad daylight.”

You let out a snort, rolling your eyes.

“I hate you.”

He grins.

“No, you don’t.”

Then, without thinking, you lean over and press a soft kiss to his shoulder, your words mumbled into the material of his sweatshirt.

“Thank you, Jakey.”

Jake grins even wider, like he just won the lottery.

And honestly?

He definitely did.

no doubt m. list || next >>

tag list! (open ! // bolded couldn't be added!) @bluxjun @ki2rins @why-did-i-just-do-this @favoritten @lovialymisc @xylatox @vivimura @leehsngs @puma-riki @lezzleeferguson-120 @enhaprettystars @laurradoesloveu @sievenderz @somuchdard @kristynaah @hinryh @ltfirecracker @lov4hoon @fangirl125reader @0429jw @dreamy-carat @yuons @thestarinstarbucks @miszes @llearlert @ppeachyttae @hoomin10 @teddybeartaetae @tanisha2060 @therealmrsbahng @beomgyu-bears @ikeulove @jiyeons-closet

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elainsgirl · 1 month ago

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you know what I find is so insane? That none of the GAs ever think why did Gwyn get so much screentime when Azriel already has a li. They make all their interactions romantic but what's so obvious is that Gwyn's character is being set up for something and personally I think she will die.

Every single of the 759 books I've read if any side kick is getting so much time they end up dead in the same book or next and it will be meaningful for not only Nesta but Azriel as well.

Azriel feels proud of her and she's like Nesta's sister. So if something happened to her and she dies it will be meaningful and contribute to their character growth. Or maybe she's unknowingly do something bad from from which they'll save her but her being Azriels li is not even possible if you actually read the book without hating elain.

Yep. Azriels love interest wouldn’t be introduced in a standalone sequel novel especially when Mass emphasised that importance of foreshadowing in acowar and acofas in regards to the sequels, if Gwyn and Az were meant to be, she would have been mentioned or even introduced in acowar and if not there, then acofas. She was introduced in neither books which goes to show how irrelevant her character in regards to being a love interest.

Gwynriel shared no romantic scenes, no tension-filled scenes and there attraction wasn’t confirmed in simple terms - they do not fit the criteria for how Sjm foreshadows a couple/writes the couple prior to their book.

someone theorised that Gwyn is to Nesta what Asterin was to Manon and how G may potentially die for the greater good such as fighting during the war (if there is one) and honestly Im torn because I cant see Sjm breaking up the valkryies and it would be cruel towards Nesta YET Gwyn is the perfect character to kill off. She isn’t relevant enough for any plot. She was the perfect, flawless loveable side character whose death would bring emotional impact towards readers. But again, im not too sure because Sjm does want each book to end on a happy note. Killing off someone Nesta considers a sister doesn’t scream happy ending but ig it comes down to how its written.

Yh anon, with the books I read - side characters that get a lot of focus, end up dead in the following books especially once they’ve had that heart to heart talk that matters to the FMC changing her in some way. I wouldn’t say Gwyns death would be shocking to me personally, lowkey expected from the genre but then I think this is just sequels that leave everyone happy. This technique would be used for the main triology which is the acotar series and it has been used. The suriel died and then you had Amren and Rhys -> all scenes created emotional punches for the readers.

If Gwyn does die - like I said it would in a very special “for a better world!” Way. Nesta and Emerie would carry on her legacy, Gwyns story of bravery and strength would be told to future generations as motivation to become like her. Ig it just depends on how the following books go.

but absolutely, she isn’t a love interest for Azriel especially in canon.

#elriel #gwyn berdara #gwyn acotar #azriel acotar #azriel shadowsinger #nesta archeron

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greenarrow-core · 4 months ago

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THE COMPLETE BATMAN BY DENNIS O'NEIL - READING ORDER

The list won't mention whether it's "a, b, c" story most of the time. Open the issues or check them on the wiki or locg to see what O'Neil wrote on them. Some issues will have a note on whether it's an a or b story.

The order here is based on release order from comiccollectorlive and counts on possible slight chronological adjustments from dcuguide.

Also, I haven't read all of it. This is kinda just me sharing what I organized for myself.

Make sure you really are reading only, and all, O'Neil stories from each of the issues. To a lot of people I believe it wouldn't matter, but to me, and some other people like me, I believe this is really important.

And please, notify me if there's anything wrong in the order, missing issues or issues that shouldn't be here.

PRE-CRISIS

Detective Comics #395, 397, 399

Batman #224-225

Detective Comics #404-405

The Brave and the Bold #93

Batman #227

Detective Comics #406, 410

RA'S AL GHUL SAGA

Sure, some issues here aren't part of it but this is just for the sake of separating a section. I read it in this order

Detective Comics #411

World's Finest Comics #202

Batman #232, 234

Detective Comics #414

Batman #235, 237

Detective Comics #418-419

Batman #239-240

Detective Comics #422

Batman #241

World's Finest Comics #211

Batman #242

Detective Comics #425

Batman #243-244

Batman #245

Detective Comics #431

Batman #247-248, 251, 253, 256-264, 266

Detective Comics #451

Batman #268

Detective Comics #457

Batman #286

DC Special Series #15(b and c stories)

The Batman Family #18-19

Batman #303

Detective Comics #480-483

World's Finest Comics #256(a story)

Detective Comics #484

World's Finest Comics #257(a story)

Detective Comics #485

World's Finest Comics #258(a story)

Detective Comics #486

World's Finest Comics #259(a story)

Detective Comics #487

World's Finest Comics #260(a story)

The Brave and the Bold #159

Batman #320

Detective Comics #488

World's Finest Comics #261(a story)

DC Special Series #21(b story)

Detective Comics #489

World's Finest Comics #262(a story)

Detective Comics #490-491

World's Finest Comics #263-264(a stories)

POST-CRISIS

FABLES

Detective Comics Annual #1

Green Arrow Annual #1

The Question Annual #1

SHAMAN

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1-5

Secret Origins #50(a story)

Secret Origins of the World's Greatest Super Heroes #1(a story)

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #1

PRE-KNIGHTFALL:

Venom and Sword of Azrael, specifically.

Venom

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #16-20

Batman/Green Arrow: The Poison Tomorrow

Batman: Birth of the Demon

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #2

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #27

Part of the storyline The Destroyer

Part 1: Batman #474

Part 2: Legends #27

Part 3: Detective #641

Batman: Sword of Azrael #1-4

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #50

KNIGHTFALL

O'Neil stories from Knightfall. The first two are their own mini arcs. The last one is the end of KnightsEnd. After that, In Knightfall there's only the aftermaths like Prodigal.

Justice League: Task Force #5-6

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #59-61

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #63

Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire

Batman: Death of Innocents

POST-KNIGHTFALL

CONTAGION

Azrael issues from the event.

Azrael #15-16

Batman Black and White (1996) #3(e), 4(d)

Batman Chronicles #6(c)

Detention Comics #1(a, Robin story)

Batman/Aliens #1

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100(a)

NO MAN'S LAND

Azrael issue from the event

Azrael #48-61

Batman Chronicles #16(c)

Batman: No Man's Land: Secret Files and Origins #1

Profile pages:

BRUCE WAYNE: FUGITIVE

Azrael issues from the event

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #91-92

THE ARROW AND THE BAT

More of a Green Arrow story. It's a sequel to Peacemakers(Legends of the DC Universe #7-9)

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #127-131

LAST DAYS OF GOTHAM

2 part story by O'Neil

Batman #684

Detective Comics #851

Detective Comics #866

DC Holiday Special 2017 #1(b)

Detective Comics (1937) #1000(d)

THE OFFICIAL COMIC ADAPTATIONS

Batman: The Official Comic Adaptation

Batman Returns: The Official Comic Adaptation

Batman Forever: The Official Comic Adaptation

Batman and Robin: The Official Comic Adaptation

BATFAMILY, BATMAN MYTHOS, non-Batman family from 'Tec, and others:

BATGIRL

Detective Comics #400-401

DC Comics Presents #19

ROBINS

Nightwing(1995)

^before Azrael #13, chronologically

Detention Comics #1(a)

^Tim Drake story

Batman: Gordon of Gotham

Year One-type story

JOKER

The Joker #1–3, 6

The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1(d)

AZRAEL

Release order.

Sword of Azrael

Azrael #1-9

Azrael Annual #1

Azrael #10-20

Azrael Annual #2

Azrael 21-24

Azrael Plus

Azrael #25

Azrael/Ash

Azrael #26-33

Azrael Annual #3

Azrael #34-46

Azrael One Million

Azrael #47-100

OTHER:

Superman & Batman Magazine #4 Karate Kids! Martial artists I don't know about this one, not even a comic story... I'l leave it here anyway

NON-BATFAMILY:

They are from 'Tec backups, so I don't know, felt like leaving here, at least helps understanding O'Neil didn't write Batman stories in these issues.

Tim Trench by Dennis O'Neil: Detective Comics #460-461

Elongated Man by Dennis O'Neil: Detective Comics #462

#Batman #DC #DC Comics #Dennis O'Neil #Neal Adams #Talia Al Ghul #Ra's Al Ghul #Bruce Wayne #Detective Comics #Reading Order #Reading list #Bronze Age #Copper Age #Plastic Age #Azrael #Jean-Paul Valley #Nightwing #Batgirl

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saphronethaleph · 1 year ago

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So a sort of look at a structure one could do for the Sequel Trilogy, admittedly with hindsight.

Opening sequence? Basically the same, except that Poe is meeting with a Resistance spy - the data he's got is the evidence that means the First Order is more than just a rando Remnant faction but is a serious threat. Then the stolen TIE crashes but Finn and Poe link up together. They meet BB- and Rey, and the four of them escape on a ship - possibly the Falcon, but it could be another of the same type, they're supposed to be common. Alternatively make up a new ship type they steal and have that be the Iconic Ship of the trilogy.

Team dynamic is Poe Flies, Finn Shoots, Rey Fixes.

They're heading straight to the Resistance, or that's the plan - they may need to briefly detour somewhere if their ship got damaged in the escape (if so, this is where they visit Maz).

The Resistance is explicitly described as a deniable New Republic operation which is fighting this specific Remmant faction - at the moment. They've fought others before, they're kind of like knights errant, and they have at least one Jedi (let's say Qu Rahm) who gives both Finn and Rey some training.

The Jedi Order as a whole is not involved with the First Order fight because it's utterly routine, there's dozens of Remnant factions... at least until BB-8's information reveals that the First Order has Kylo Ren associated with it, and also the existence of Starkiller Base.

The knowledge of BOTH of those things means that the Jedi Order is able to evacuate their current temple (Naboo or Yavin? Either way it should be a known planet) just in time before it gets blown the fuck up by Starkiller base. Then there's tension involving the need to swat SK base quickly, which mostly goes as per the original film.

In the second film:

The Resistance is still tiny, and the First Order's actions have promoted them from "just another Remnant faction" to "holy fuck" and they're starting to weld the Remnant back together. It is actually not widely known that Starkiller base got destroyed and the First Order is using intimidation tactics to pretend they're unbeatably strong - not helped by how the Resistance genuinely is pretty weak, nobody on the Republic side wants to be the first to jump, and Leia is trying to talk everyone into giving more support (it does slowly tick up)

The general structure here does need more changes than TFA did, simply to fit into the trilogy as a whole, but here I think a good Driving Question could be finding out who Snoke is and where the Knights of Ren came from. Our Heroes are juggling between getting Jedi training (for Finn and Rey), launching raids on the First Order, and trying to find out Snoke's origin - the latter of which fails, but he does get killed instead by Kylo Ren, who takes control of the First Order.

The main ending note at the end of the film would be the loss of Leia; she tried to turn her son back to the light side with full sincerity, but also went to kill him if he didn't. Neither worked, but he's been badly wounded and about half of the Knights of Ren got taken out. (n.b. if this is cheating to get around Carrie Fisher's death, and it probably is, that could be Luke's demise instead - or both.) Our Heroes might well be involved with a hot-extraction of R2 and C-3P0, who have important details of what happened.

Third film:

The death of Leia/Luke/both has become a rallying point and the New Republic is gearing up for war, which gains momentum with every day that the First Order doesn't blow up a planet; it's made clear in scenes showing Kylo that he's under a huge amount of pressure, because Starkiller Base made promises that the First Order cannot fulfil. In lieu of that they're having to turn instead to more standard means of brutally enforcing their claim to authority, and it's not working out well.

Our Heroes meanwhile are involved in hit-and-fade strikes, one of which sees the death of Qu Rahm. The loss of their teacher causes Rey and Finn some problems, but Poe is the one who pulls them out of it - it doesn't matter if they have a teacher or not, what matters is who they are, and that didn't change because they had a teacher. All he did was open their eyes to who they really were.

That's the realization that drives the stormtrooper-rebellion side of things from the Resistance/Republic side, while on the Imperial side we see Phasma having more and more trouble keeping a lid on things. Finn is The Traitor and basically blamed for everything that goes wrong ever as far as the First Order is concerned.

Running out of options, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren orders a decapitation strike by the entire F.O. fleet on the capital world of the Republic. This is a serious threat, because normal strategic calculus assumes that you just don't DO this, and this is what leads to the big final battle over said capital world - the Republic is outnumbered on a tactical scale, and the available members of the Jedi Order help launch an assault on the First Order flagship to try and disrupt the F.O. fleet.

This is where the Stormtrooper Rebellion is really kicked off, as Finn brings the existing tension in the First Order fleet to a boil (key moment: a Stormtrooper panics at the sight of Jedi, one of their officers tries to gun them down, Finn kills the officer before it can happen; this is the moment that disproves the propoganda and it spreads). Rey gets the big final duel, but it's against Kylo, and on at least two occasions she manages to call in strike support from Poe flying outside in his starfighter. This means the final battle is the Jedi Order versus the Knights of Ren on a super star destroyer being torn apart by Imperial infighting, and the resolution is liberation - for the stormtroopers, for example - and the surrender of the remaining First Order fleet.

#star wars #rey #finn #poe dameron #sequel trilogy

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madhatterbri · 7 months ago

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Secret Santa | A.S.

Summary: 17.) Secret Santa ~ Alex Shelley x plus size reader, plz use pet names rather than y/n.

Requested by: @tahiri-veyla

Author's Note: I changed my mind and posted tonight. He is kind of hot. 💀 Taken from my prompts list found here. No use of Y/N.

Alex Shelley Masterlist

WWE Masterlist

Taglist: @smallestsnarkestgirl @magicalbuttertarts @cowboywritersworld

"Wow! You got your girlfriend for Secret Santa? That's gotta be the easiest thing ever,"

Alex looked at his friend and smiled briefly. He let out a chuckle as he looked at his girlfriend's name written on the slip of paper. Of course it was going to be easy. They had been together forever. What could possibly go wrong?

He put the slip in his jean pocket and drove to a local store. Alex figured he'd walk in the store, buy something for the love of his life, and walk out in fifteen minutes. Nothing could have prepared him for the moment his mind went blank as he looked at all the items. There are so many things to buy but he doesn't know what exactly he should buy.

The Secret Santa was going to be a party amongst their friends. The gifts had to be out of the park. His little miss had to get the very best things. He was sure he would get something lame for whoever picked him. It didn't matter if it would be another Starbucks gift card that he received that would rot in a kitchen drawer. The sparkle in her eyes that night would make his night.

Alex pulled out his phone and scrolled through Google. He was trying to find a perfect gift for her. Google had an answer for everything, right?

Slippers? What are we? 80?

Gift cards? Hey babe, we've only been dating for years. Here's something because I don't listen to your likes. Don't worry. I'll see myself to the couch.

Okay, so Google wasn't the right thing to use for today. Alex closed the window and texted his best friend. Maybe he could give some sort of insight into his dilemma. It went as well as expected. The message poked fun at his current situation.

Dude, you have one hour until the party. Are you serious? Oh man, you are so ducked.

Alex shoved his phone in his pocket. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. One hour. Only one hour to get everything ready. The wrestler looked through the aisle again and stopped.

A rubber duck with a wrestling face mask stared back at him. He questioned how he hadn't seen this before. The toy would be a great addition to her collection. Besides, wrestling held major importance to them. They met at a wrestling show.

"You are coming home with me," he spoke to the duck much to the bewilderment of the customers around him. His hands fiddled with the duck as he paced around the store.

Alex thought about his girlfriend. His perfect little dove from head to toe. She had a smile that could light up the whole room. A body with curves in all the right places. Her beautiful face and eyes lit up as she had her nose stuck in another book. A blanket wrapped around her feet since they were always cold.

Wait, that's it!

The forgetful boyfriend rushed to the book aisle. She was just complaining about almost being done with a book. Her world was made when she found out there was a sequel. Scanning through the aisle, he found the next book in the series. It was the very last copy.

His next stop was the socks section. A cute pair of fuzzy socks in her favorite color lay at the top of the bin. When he saw they were her size, he breathed a sigh of relief. With no time to lose, Alex made his way to the checkout line with a gift bag in hand.

Alex's friend ribbed him the moment he arrived at the party.

Dead man walking.

Coal would be a blessing compared to what you are going to get.

He chuckled at the lighthearted teasing. "Oh no, my baby is going to love this,"

They stepped inside the home. The host of the party didn't waste much time in allowing people to open their gifts. He wanted to have the presents opened before the adult beverage consumption.

One by one, the gifts were spread out amongst the crowd. As expected, Alex was gifted a Starbucks gift card. He thanked them all the same.

"You are my secret Santa? Isn't that cheating?" His girlfriend asked.

Alex shrugged. "Open it up, darling,"

He watched as her fingers removed each tissue paper carefully. She placed them neatly on the couch next to her.

"A wrestling duck?" She asked with a laugh. "He's adorable,"

Her laughter made him smile. "Keep looking,"

Upon further inspection, she removed the book from the gift bag. Her face lit up brighter than the Christmas tree. "I could never find one in any of the stores. Thank you,"

"You have one more thing in there," Alex told her.

She pulled out the pair of fuzzy socks out and laughed. He couldn't help but laugh as well.

"No more putting your cold feet against me at night," he teased. His girlfriend threw her head back and laughed.

"I guess I'll have to put something else against you tonight," she whispered between them. She leaned in and gave him a kiss. Alex smiled in the kiss. Maybe getting a Starbucks card didn't suck so much after all.

#fanfiction #wwe fanfiction #wwe fanfic #alex shelley #alex shelley x reader #alex shelley x female reader #alex shelley x fem reader

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brisquad-unit-4402 · 2 months ago

Text

the sequel for stars above your skin

making the posts for each of my abandoned ike wips was hard, but this hurts the most. i've had zero time to write for any of my 10k+ fic ideas, no matter how i managed it, and i've always fantasized about being able to write a part 2 to stars above your skin, one of my favorite things i've written in my life. i had been planning it, literally, since a week after the original fic dropped

you may recognize some notes from my commentary on stars above your skin. it really does break my heart because no matter how the chips fell, there really wasn't a chance i could have finished this fic. circumstances just get in the way no matter how hard you try to work around them. at the same time, it was one of the biggest motivators for me to post all my ike wips because i just can't fathom the idea of having all these thoughts and never being able to share them.

so that's where these notes come in: i want you to know that this sequel was a dream for me ever since i first got the idea. it was exactly what i needed at that time of my life, and now that nearly two years after i posted it, i see how deeply it affected me. it sounds dramatic, but it was a turning point as both a fanfic writer and as myself

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

this fic would've been largely inspired by online forums. the majority of it would be structured as if reading off of a main thread

the general summary: some especially delulu pen and paper (ike/reader) shippers start theorizing that they're in a secret relationship. obviously no one takes it seriously... until other parasocial fans start connecting some dots

if the original stars above your skin was about the power of friendship, then this fic would've been about the power of boundaries, i think?

better way to put it: if the first fic was taking the piss out of what it was like to be a vtuber, then this fic would've taken the piss out of being a hardcore fan

which includes everything from fanartists to shippers to rrats to vtuber news to doxxers

...that makes it sound a lot more intimidating than i intended. it was going to be a parody of all those while still acknowledging that, yeah, unless you're the one behind the screen with thousands of subscribers, you're never going to know what it's like to be a vtuber

and obviously i wasn't going to include too-real things like irl real-world rrats or doxxes or whatever jesus

anyways. the general structure would be users on a forum thread dreaming about if their otp was real, then realizing there was "evidence" that the ship was read, and others arguing or converting to their side

every time there was "evidence" i would write a scene or two from a stream, or a moment between ike and reader's relationship unbeknownst to everyone else

all in all it would be about 30% forum/tweets/etc inspired by chatfics, 70% standard fic, whatever you call the default

all of this would've started on a fairly unknown forum, then progressively make it onto twitter, which is how ike, reader, and the other vtubers would've learned that pen and paper was on the radar, not just as a ship but as a workplace romance

obviously the important side characters like aia, mika, alban, nina and vox would have known ike and reader got together, and by extension there was a chance that ren and uki figured it out once they met up with the rest of the group after reader and ike kissed. so ike and reader would have to navigate keeping the secret from their chats, trying to read ren and uki's grasp on the situation (and getting them to keep it on the down-low if they knew), and whether or not to tell the rest of the branch

that's one of the many chips against me. nina was central to ike's close friend group, and mika was maybe the most important of all the side characters since she was in both ike and reader's inner circles and one of the most active in getting them together. when they graduated, i tried wracking my head for possible alternatives for this fic, and ultimately failed

most of the fic would take place after the offcollab, except for one quick scene of ike and reader having a heart-to-heart meaningful moment on their first date. it was mentioned at the end of the original fic, where they went to a cafe that uki and ren recommended (without knowing that ike and reader were going to go on a date much less that they were into each other). this scene would've been very brief and a lot of the context of the convo would've been up to interpretation

alban would've taken a more active role in the sequel fic. i wanted to include him as a solely online presence to really drive home the idea that deep bonds are felt no matter the distance

he still would be fully online, like p much everyone else in the sequel, but he would interact with ike more often. first chance he gets after reader tells him that they're dating ike, alban texts/calls ike to give him a shovel talk because i'm always going to be a sucker for friends telling the new s/o "you better not hurt them"

aside from the pen and paper ship wars, the b plot would've been reader and ike trying to figure out how they're most comfortable as best-friends-now-lovers, hiding their relationship on stream, debating if they should even tell their stream...

there were a lot of nuances i wanted to explore there, but the general gist is that reader wanted to tell the stream they were dating someone. they wouldn't give any identifiers like gender or moments together and especially not saying it was ike, they didn't want fans to theorize about who it could be or what they were like, but they wanted their chat to know they were so happy about it. (and also to add some extra rules to their channel on ship art and their relationship's privacy)

(if they actually told their stream i imagine the bookworms would pull a famillie and be like "reader? OUR reader? dating someone? that would never happen" and there would be an ongoing bit between chat and streamer that reader had that pathetic girlfailure/boyfailure/genderfailure rizz)

meanwhile ike really, really, really wants to keep their relationship secret, even with their coworkers and friends in niji. his perspective would've been a character study on how his insecurities work, he's used to keeping a lot of his most meaningful experiences close to his chest and having that divide between personal life and stream persona

so really, reader's afraid of people spilling the secret without being able to control what others know, so they want to be open about what's okay and what's not. ike's afraid of people learning and then using that against him, and especially afraid of his friends and other people directly in his life judging him for it

both of these are irrational even if they're based on realistic possibilities. so being able to overcome those fears while still making sure to be safe with unruly fans, privacy, etc was going to be a key component of the fic

outside of streams, alban would be dropping hints to ike about how happy reader was, kind of acting like guidance on how ike could overcome his insecurities about the relationship

bc even though their worries are centered on opening up about being coworkers-to-besties-to-lovers, alban ends up hearing reader's worries straight from them whenever they ask for help or talk about their relationship, and then ends up connecting the dots about ike's worries on his own

alban is kind of the take-no-shit friend that doesn't want to get in the way, but can't stand unspoken feelings so he tries to tell them to get it together bluntly. meanwhile aia is the more subtle wingman, but instead of speaking up, she tries to stage moments for the two to have a heart-to-heart

at some point she would try to set up a collab with ike, reader, alban, and herself, which would be hosted on ike or reader's channel... so she and alban can say last minute that they can't show up but the game totally works with two players, don't worry about rescheduling, the quillworms will be happy about it, trustttt

i think that this collab would be the outlast trials as a callback to the first fic. in stars above your skin, one of the most defining pen and paper moments was reader calling ike to comfort them while they played outlast on stream

at the crux of their friendship, and why they fell for each other, is because they're always for each other even when they're at their most insecure, like reader playing outlast and ike expecting to be rejected even when reader confesses to him

soooo a horror stream would've been the perfect opportunity for both of them to be scared out of their mind and still cooperating with one another on stream. their true, natural dynamic would be more visible than usual here, which adds fuel to the ship war fire

uki and ren's roles were small in stars above your skin, and didn't get explored much, so i wanted to take advantage of that. everyone else in the fic has no idea if uki and ren picked up on the tension in the airbnb, much less if they figured out reader and ike had a thing for each other

their ambiguous position would've been a major worry for both ike and reader, and they would've spent a bit of the fic trying to analyze the other two for any signs they might know more than they let on

uki is the first of the two to realize it. i think he picked up on ike's nervousness and had an inkling that he liked reader, but didn't fully realize it was serious until the offcollab. he figured it out on the first or second day, definitely before the group zatsu

ren, i think, might've noticed reader's attraction to ike, but didn't realize it was romantic lol. he played fly me to the moon in the moment when reader accidentally sort-of confessed on stream just to mess with them and to keep up the bit for the viewers, but in hindsight, it hits him like a truck and he feels awful about it for a bit

in fact, i think that when they went out to a cafe they day after the zatsu, they were talking about the stream for fun, and then uki touches on whatever happened between ike and reader. he mentions that he thinks they're into each other just to see how ren feels. ren's clueless for a bit, cuts a bite of his pancakes, and then he snaps up and Realizes

of course the rest of the cast has no idea this is their perspective and because the relationship is still a secret from everyone outside of ike and reader's closest friends, uki and ren also try to keep their theory a secret because they have no clue that ike and reader are together now

as you can tell, even though i try to make everything humorous in some way and there's at least a few fluffy moments in the fic, i'd call this one a drama. there's a lot of levity with the fluff and comedy but at the core, it's about a lot of people being uncertain about each other and trying to keep the secrets they have because they don't want to rock the boat

this never would've fit into the outline, but i would've loved to write a tiny side fic about one of them (or both of them) asking uki for a tarot reading. individually, of course, even though they're so close they both have a slight fear of rejection!

reader would've been explicit and asked for a love reading. they wouldn't say anything about their actual love life until uki gets it eerily right and reader can't stand keeping it a secret anymore. i think this would've happened during one of uki's tarot streams, and they'd try to keep face, but the second it ends, reader calls up uki to really unpack it and come clean

i cannot for the life of me remember if ike's done a tarot reading with uki before, so i'm going to make the hc that he would want one but only for serious subjects. so uki would read his cards privately off-stream, i think he would ask for a general spread or try to word his situation as ambiguously as possible without admitting he has feelings for someone. the result really hits home for him, and he still tries not to admit what's going on even though uki already knows. uki's advice ends up leaning into the interpersonal side of things because of the cards, and even though neither of them say it out loud, they both interpret the advice and the reading as ike's connection to someone he's sweet on

closer to the end, ike and reader would meet up irl. they wouldn't even announce it on stream, or reference seeing each other afterward, because the whole point of their vacation together would be to figure out the uncertainties of their relationship

the first few days are a breath of fresh air after weeks and weeks of uncertainty. whenever they see each other irl, their interactions are natural without even trying, which helps them realize how they want to define themselves

i also think this is when their first time happens. it's kind of an inversion of all the communication drama in this fic. just like everything else in this fic, they don't know what each other's opinions on sleeping together are. but they talk it out and figure out where to go from there, and they're both so satisfied afterwards. it becomes a confirmation that they're on the same page, that they can work out what to do about opening up to others, and that they need to communicate with others instead of dreading and assuming

i wanted to describe one of them making breakfast before the other wakes up, and when they turn to tell them good morning they're wearing the other's shirt. i wanted to keep it ambiguous, since ike's a smaller guy, so plausibly he could wear smaller person's clothes if they were zipped or buttoned, and a larger person's clothes while being adorably baggy

no clue if i'd actually include explicit sex in this fic or if i'd just gloss over it tbh

they decide on telling the rest of niji en about their relationship

it starts with uki, who handles it gracefully and tells them that he'll support them no matter what they decide to do, but also has to resist saying "i knew it" SO HARD. they probably make a crow noise once he actually learns the news

then ren, whose reaction is much more chill than expected. he probably goes "really? :D" at first and then cheers them on. he would probably be honest about how he first considered it and then realized it with uki...

the rest of the branch doesn't have a problem with it. actually pretty much everyone says something congratulating or encouraging, which just kinda confirms that one of ike's greatest fears about the relationship wasn't even plausible

i think the fic's scenes would take place over the course of a few months, but the forum posts would take place more or less in the same timeframe. so by the time ike and reader tell the rest of niji en, they've been dating long enough to really call it serious

the end would've been a comfortable recognition of that. they'd have a moment together over voice call once all their friends learn what they need to know and they establish what stays behind closed doors. whatever happens next they know they can rely on one another

which is why the fic would have an open ending. it's ambiguous whether they decide to tell their streams anything, from being in love or being in a relationship to openly saying they're dating their coworker or nothing at all

because does it really matter if the audience knows when the main characters are satisfied with themselves?

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

thank you very much for hearing me yap. even if this fic never came to fruition, not even a full outline, it means a lot to me.

i'd like to thank my close friend unit 1343, even if this isn't the fic they were expecting. consider it a dedication. we met through coincidence and got along well from coincidence, too, and i eventually learned that unit 1343 was one of my first readers. ever since, unit 1343 has been one of my biggest supporters and i thank them endlessly for all the ramblings and readings i've subjected to them before i ever published them. love you baby. i'm sorry this fic never came to be, but i have fond memories of talking about this fic with you, and i'll always treasure how you've always encouraged me even before i told you that. i hope i can continue to make things i love, because i know you'll love them too

i'd also like to thank everyone that has ever commented on my fics, but especially the asks that came from uploading this fic. i was delighted with every single one, and i have a lot of love for the anons that gave me the idea to write ike realizing his feelings and ike and reader's first time. the pliskinverse feels wider with y'all in it.

this post was very difficult to write. i don't think i'll ever have the words for the emotions i have for it. i wish i could put it to rest in better circumstances, but at the same time i think the most cathartic thing i can do is release my commentary into the wild along with everything else i've posted today. the pliskinverse—which is such a stupid name but i think of so fondly—has inspired me so much with writing other fics just as much as things within the au itself, and i thank everyone who enjoyed it just as much as i enjoyed creating it. no matter the circumstance, i hope the pliskinverse can make you smile like it's made me smile

thank you very, very much. this idea is free to use without ai, with love from brisquad-unit-4402

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

✧. ┊ ⁭masterpost ✧. ┊ ⁭kofi ✧. ┊ ⁭ike wip masterpost

#nijisanji en #nijisanji x reader #ike eveland x reader #ike eveland #luxiem #luxiem x reader #4402 writes

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