#inheritance wise and whatnot)

[fideidefenswhore]

so where would anne, george and mary fall in the "five kids in five years" time line if he's the eldest?

hm, well, we don't know what years henry and thomas boleyn died, since the 'c.1520' seems like it was the date their brasses were made, not, obviously, the date of their deaths (both tiny tombs suggest cot deaths). "the exact date of elizabeth's marriage to thomas boleyn is unknown but her jointure was settled on her in 1501 suggesting a recent marriage some time after 1498 [...]"

so, i would think george was maybe born 1499, 1500, or 1501, mary born 1500, 1501, or 1502, and my personal theory is that anne was born either 1503 or 1504 (possibly 1505...)

*also going back to this quote ('general line rather than heirs male'), why would hunsdon have only said 'eldest daughter/sister', not 'eldest child'? the latter would arguably have given him a stronger claim, i'd assume because he knew the first was true but not the second:

"Lord Hunsdon's rather complicated account of the Boleyn titles shows that he had a good grasp of family history. Although his daughter, in her tomb memorial, stated that Mary Boleyn was the second daughter, it seems more likely that Lord Hunsdon was correct. Where the queen was his co-heir to the Boleyn title, he would have wanted to be very sure of his facts." Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII's Obsession, Elizabeth Norton

[fumifooms]

Do you think maybe a large part also of why Chilchuck's wife left him was because of how much he changed after becoming an adventurer? He seemed naive and spirited once, but became more jaded the more dungeon crawling he did. I like to think with the new image of his wife that Flertom and Puckpatti's cheerful demeanor came from how Chilchuck was once as a child. But she accepted that people change. And yet that night, meeting how he is with his coworkers, reminds her of how he used to be.

Yes I do! I go into it in my masterpost on Chilchuck’s family, though I made it before we got his wife’s face reveal. If you want to see my thoughts on what things might have pushed her to leave I recommend you go to the ‘Possible strains on the marriage’ section!

Ooh I like your thoughts! Flertom and Puckpatti inheriting good cheer from him would be soo cute (it’d also be funny with how he’s like "Meijack, my daughter most like me" meanwhile the ones with the opposite of her personality got it from him. Sike Meijack’s like her mom the most lmao), but for Puckpatti at least I’m skeptical.

Chilchuck likes good cheer out of work sure, but he dislikes optimism/carefreeness. It makes him worry on if they can take care of themselves or if they’ll be able to make it (in part due to how he was himself tricked by parties in the past), so I’ve theorized that Puckpatti’s carefree demeanor is actually an effect of Chilchuck working out of home more and more as the years go by, and thus having the least of an influence on his youngest child, leaving his wife to do most of the raising and teaching lessons.

I don’t know what to make of his wife’s portrait yet, she does seem pretty jaded herself, or like she has a lot on her mind. Since it’s supposedly set into the present of canon, it could just be that she’s still affected and upset by having left him… Or maybe that’s just how she is! Maybe Chilchuck rubbed off on her too, or maybe she grew that way more over the years by herself, or maybe she’s always been a little gloomy/ice queen looking, no clue! I don’t think trying to take away a lot of her personality from just the portrait would be effective or wise, but now I do think she’s the more reserved and serious type.

"Yet that night, meeting how he is with his coworkers, reminds her of how he used to be" Asker I looooove this, you’re so right!! That could definitely be part of it, I hadn’t seen that angle. He’s very cheerful and open when sharing drinks with people as we see, so it’s possible she’s like "Wow, he’s having such a good time here with his coworkers. Why isn’t he usually like that with me?" plus just being hit with a ton of bricks of realization that that part of him was why she loved him, but he’s changed so much so maybe they should cut their losses and part away. And especially since they were childhood friends, too! 20 years sure do change a man. Chilchuck does say she fell into a bad mood after the outing on the way back home but didn’t know why, so there’s a lot of thoughts and feelings we can assign to her. Again, I encourage you to read my big post on it if it interests you, I give many different interpretations and whatnot~!

[professional-yapper]

Proximity Epilogue

Neteyam x Olangi! Reader

Warnings: none, it is not confirmed whether the reader or Neteyam was pregnant for the sake of gender neutrality x

"Jëytru, come away from there," you called patiently to your oldest son, who was now a long-limbed 11-year-old and more like his uncle Lo'ak than you would've liked.

Jëytru pouted, continuing to swing from the decidedly very thin vines. "No, Sempu said I could!"

You raised your eyes skyward, then gave him a hard look. "And what am I saying now, Jëy?"

Your son paused, considering, then stuck his bottom lip out even further and hopped down, bounding over to you in search of alternate entertainment. He found it with the baby in your lap.

"Iiwìr," he cooed, leaning over you to nudge at his little brother's round cheeks as the baby slept peacefully, having been a much better sleeper than any of his older siblings, much to your relief.

You were content to let Jëytru touch Iiwìr gently. He meant no harm in it, and it wasn't like Iiwìr was waking any time soon.

Instead, you devoted yourself to your carving. A pair of new toys for the twins, since they'd broken some of theirs playing some kind of war game. No doubt imitating what Lo'ak and Neteyam told them of the raids on the sky demon bases.

Not that there was a raid today. No. It was serene, a bubbling river running by the hut, birds singing in the trees, a warm wind ripe with the smell of spring moving through the area.

Neteyam had taken the twins out for a little daddy-daughter time. He'd inherited his father's blatant girl-dad attitude, as much as he tried to deny it, and doted on 8-year-old Obia and Erel.

Not that you minded. You were more than happy to have your sons all to yourself. Speaking of sons...

Jëytru had wandered off to perch on the riverside, and Iiwìr still slept in your lap, blissfully unaware of the carving knife hovering in the air above his head as you searched the clearing.

"Okoro! Kalzi!" you called finally, unable to locate the final members of your little horde. Well, not so little. Your brood was the envy of the tribe, your four sons and two daughters Omaticaya-tall and Olangi-strong, and everything wonderful in between.

And yes, you did take pleasure in watching Lo'ak mock-gag every time he was reminded of the fact that you were sleeping with his older brother. As if he and his own mate, the one from the Tayrangi clan, weren't just as bad.

The bushes rustled once, twice, and Okoro, 9, and Kalzi, 5, came out, tripping over each other in their eagerness to answer your call. "We were just playing over there," Okoro said breathlessly, turning to point into the undergrowth. "In the dirt."

You surveyed your sons, smeared in dirt and dusty blue skin- Kalzi, Okoro and the twins bore your skin but none of your physical features, while iiwìr and Jëytru were the opposite- littered with minor cuts and scraps. All evidence of having fun. "I can tell," you replied finally, voice warm with amusement.

Jëytru glanced at his brothers, then laughed at their dishevelled state. Okoro looked down at himself and laughed too. Kalzi laughed, but it was likely he didn't understand what was funny and only wanted to imitate his older brothers. He was only 5, after all, and you remembered your older brothers had seemed very wise and impressive at that age.

How wrong you had been.

Then came the sound of distant voices. No doubt your mate and the girls returning from their morning romp.

"Sempu!" Kalzi cried and took off in that direction as fast as his fat little legs could take him.

Okoro followed with a whoop, and Jëytru, trying to seem like he didn't care much, brought up the rear at a more lackadaisical pace.

You sighed, setting down the half-formed carvings and your knife. Standing slowly, you made sure Iiwìr was secured in his sling before going to greet the rest of your family.

Neteyam was being swarmed by the children when you caught up, Jëytru having forgotten his airs of superiority and whatnot and was jumping around vying for his father's attention with the rest of them.

Neteyam gave you a wry look, pleading for assistance with his eyes. "How did we get so many?" he asked wonderingly.

You looked at him pointedly, resisting the urge to let your lips curve into a knowing smile. "I can't exactly answer that in front of the children, now, can I?"

Neteyam laughed and freed himself from the swarm, coming forward to kiss you, tall, broad frame blocking out the sun briefly as he pushed your hair back from your face to better access your lips. "There you are," he murmured contentedly, eyes crinkling at the corners before you closed your eyes and took him in as best you could before the kids' gagging and carrying on got the better of you both.

"The boys missed you," you hummed, curling into Neteyam's side later, back home in the sunny warmth of your hut. "You must take them out sometime."

"I don't know if I could handle them as well as you, paskalin," Neteyam replied, watching the children mess around together through the gap in the curtain over the entrance to your room.

You chuckled. "Flatterer. But you will have to. I mean it."

"I know, I know, I'm just like my dad," Neteyam groaned, letting his head drop against yours. "I can't be blamed for it like he can, though. Our sons are so attached to you it's almost sickening."

"Like you can talk," you scoffed, but there wasn't much effort in it. Rolling over onto your side, you laid your head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart, which always seemed to be in time with yours nowadays.

There was a brief moment of sweet, comfortable silence before he spoke again. "6 kids," he murmured.

"We could really piss everyone off and go for seven," you muttered against his pec.

Neteyam's chest rumbled with laughter. "You're crazy. Are all Olangi this insatiable?"

"I wouldn't know," you snorted. "I haven't slept with any of them lately," you added just to get a rise out of him.

"Oh, you," Neteyam said lowly, shifting to hover over you, golden eyes gleaming.

"Oh, me," you replied smilingly, folding your hands over your chest comfortably as you looked up at him, shifting onto your back.

He lingered for a moment, then pressed a brief, hungry kiss to your mouth before flopping back down beside you.

Chuckling, you cuddled back into his side and let out a deep sigh.

All was right with the world now. Your mate next to you, your children playing out in the main room, and the beautiful day wrapped around the village.

Then Neteyam's mouth bumped against your ear, breath hot on your skin.

"Behave or it'll be 8."

And so we reach the end of my first multi chapter fic! Much love to everyone who liked, reblogged and just generally supported this fic, you are all appreciated! I'm very proud of myself 😭🙏

Taglist: @luvv4j4ybe11 @ikeyniofthetayrangi @rivatar @lunamochii @mochamochimoch1015 @dutifullyannoyingfox @oakbuggy @abcm18339 @atokirina-tsuki

Does actually sicken me to have to finish this so y'all may see more at some point tbh

[windvexer]

hi there! I wanted to say two things. :-)

One! I loved your post about daily cleansing to stay in practice with energy work. I've struggled for a long time to consciously focus on my practice at set times during the day for a variety of reasons, whether it be me being busy, ADHD and whatnot. Since reading it I've cleansed five random things throughout the day each day and I can say so far after a week it does show a difference in helping with my confidence (main sturggle) and also my visualization and focus. So I just wanted to say thank you for that simple and creative post, it's been really helpful for me.

Two! The other thing is. I didn't know you were writing a book! That's really awesome. I am also working on one (fiction fridge "horror" about self acceptance) and though not directly tied to my spirituality it's cool to see other spiritualist writers around. I always struggle with starting the book. I feel like once I get past the introduction and get into rising action, that's when my writing really picks up. Intros SUCK. Do you have any personal quips about how you manage the starts of your books? Motivation wise as well?

Thanks for your patience with the long ask 😅 feel free to ignore if it's too much. I hope you have a nice day.

Horribly sorry this took me a month to get to. As you can see, I clearly have no advice regarding motivation.

I'm super happy that post about practicing sorcery was helpful to you!

I write commercial pulp fiction, which is focused on just telling a ripping fun story - yet also formulaic. In that vein:

Action scene: The POV character attempts to solve a problem in order to achieve a defined goal. There is always a scene antagonist who directly tries to stop the POV character from carrying out their plan. When the scene ends, things will never go completely to plan. The scene ends when the POV character fails in some way, forcing them to retreat and re-evaluate their plans and goals. An action scene always increases tension and pacing. The only exposition allowed in action scenes is there to give context for what is happening right there on the page. Exposition in the form of flashbacks, infodumps, and extended internal monologues is not allowed.

The first time everything goes completely according to plan, the book ends.

Reaction scene: The POV character processes what has happened to them, and has a chance to change. The POV character develops a new plan of action. There is always a scene antagonist who directly challenges the new plan. When the new plan has been finalized, the reaction scene ends. Reaction scenes always resolve some tension/conflict and decrease pacing. Exposition is appropriate in reaction scenes to provide greater context for past events, and to establish upcoming events.

Your opening scene must always be an action scene, never a reaction scene.

Reaction opening:

[exposition] The small town baker wakes up and gets out of bed. She looks in the mirror and thinks about how nice it is that she's a baker who inherited a house from her grandpa, but it's also stressful that her best friend always dates bad guys.

[antagonist] Her friend texts her and asks to go on a double date with the newest bad guy.

[plan] But instead, maybe she should finally get around to baking the rare pokeberry pie who's recipe is so hard to perfect.

Action opening:

[conflict] The small town baker is at a farmer's market. There is a basket of pokeberries, enough to make one pie. There is also a pokeberry bush for sale, but it's sad and wilted. If she can bring it back to life, she could have infinite pokeberries. She only has enough money for one.

[antagonist] The best friend encourages her to give up on her pokeberry dream, saying that the POV character's strawberry pie is county-famous, and that pokeberries are poisonous, and that nobody should ever make a pokeberry pie.

[action/failure] The baker decides to buy the basket of pokeberries, but her biggest competitor buys them first.

[conclusion] She is forced to buy the wilted pokeberry bush.

Between these two openings, I feel like the action one is a lot more interesting to read and write.

Prior advice for writing novels used to recommend your introduction last maybe 20% of the book before you get to rising action. Now, it is common for books to functionally begin with rising action.

As a thought exercise, find a project where you feel like things are starting to get good in the rising action. Cut out everything before the story starts to get good. The chances are that you cut out a lot of exposition and reaction scenes; but by necessity, those reaction scenes are processing things that never happened on page, so they're less engaging.

Start placing stated, on-page goals for your POV characters. Try placing them in the first paragraph of a scene, ideally within the first 1-2 sentences.

If there is any quick trick to zap lightning into a scene, it's giving your POV character a defined goal to work towards. Then, just make sure there is always a scene antagonist, and things will take off.

(Remember, in the example above, the scene antagonist isn't a villain - her best friend is giving her really good advice, but the friend is trying to stop her plan. That is what makes the friend an antagonist)

Your hero is wandering the grimy streets of neo-tokyo, hunting for vampires, but as a worldbuilding thing you want him to walk around so we can see the streets. It's important because we need to start drumming in these specific locations as part of important plot elements later on.

The only problem is, he's just a guy walking around. Give him a goal, immediately. You don't have to say things crudely so there is no mystery; "Jacobo was walking around, looking for vampires."

You can orient your goals around character POV, leaving a little mystery: "Jacobo was walking around, looking for a ramen place well stocked with pork blood."

Once you have defined a goal, worldbuilding and characterization both become more organic:

Jacobo was walking around, looking for vampires. Their dens were easy to find; they always hung out at restaurants, so they could store animal blood in the walk-in freezers.

versus,

Jacobo was walking around, looking for a ramen place well-stocked with blood. He turned the corner and saw a sign for a little cafe that advertised pork blood buns, but that wouldn't do. He was really craving some tonkatsu.

By giving your POV characters specific goals in each scene unique to their immediate interests, you are developing the character. This lets introductory scenes be immediately engaging, because you're immediately developing a character and putting them in situations.

This also creates immediate stakes, because stated scene goals allow you to challenge characters, and facing those challenges is what creates conflict, drama, and tension.

tl;dr:

Start books with action scenes

Start all scenes by telling the reader what the POV character's goal is

Make those goals unique to the character's immediate point of view

Include a scene antagonist in every scene

[helena-and-helena-meta]

Floral Fever

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry if this is a bit OOC! This is my first time writing anything fanfiction-wise, also, I wanted to write this after hearing the song "Compared Child". Also, MC is a complete pushover in this, since this based on my MC. Also, some warnings for lesson 16 and whatnot. But, does flowers sprouting out of your body count as body horror? I'm tagging it anyways. Also, implied death, I think.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you first arrived in the Devildom, you could hear the breath of four of the six demons that had greated you stop, it was the same for Mammon when he first saw you, why? Was it because you were just a teenager, no it was...

Because you were the exact spitting image of their deceased sister, Lilith, the only difference being your left eye.

Ever since that day, you feel as though the demon brothers have forced expectations upon your shoulders, it feels like they're looking and speaking to Lilith when it's only you. It's like you're nothing but a compared child stuck within Lilith's shadow, being forced into her image.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucifer: Whenever you were with Lucifer, he would always play Lilith's favorite record. A tune that despite sounding beautiful, wasn't something you enjoyed. Yet, you felt that if you attempted to voice this, you would anger him, everytime he speaks to you, it feels like he's only talking to the parts that look like Lilith, the pieces that mimic her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mammon: With Mammon, it feels... Stuffy, overbearing, and overprotective. It feels nice when he treats you like a sibling, but not so much when he buys you things Lilith would've enjoyed. You want to decline some things he gives you, but you can't, "It's just his grief, it'll pass." You tell yourself as Mammon gifts you a barrette Lilith would've enjoyed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leviathan: Every game or anime you played or watched with Leviathan were always isekai based. They were fun, but most of the outfits your character in the game wore looked just like Lilith's. Part of you wants to ask him to play different games but, the smile he gets when looking at your character makes it hard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Satan: Satan feels like an outlet to vent to, despite him inheriting Lucifer's love for Lilith when he was born, he doesn't see you in the same light as her. He sees you for you, a teenager who doesn't know how to ask for help or say no. Satan reads to you, listens to you cry, and allows you to be yourself. But sometimes, you can't help but feel like the love he inherited from Lucifer clouds his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asmodeus: Just like Leviathan, Asmodeus dresses you in the same outfits as Lilith, yet it's not in games, it's real. The outfits are cute and sweet, that's what Asmo says. But, it feels like he's just using you to see Lilith one more time, you don't protest as he covers your left eye with your hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beelzebub: Beelzebub immediately became protective over you, watching you like a hawk. You didn't mind that, he was sweet and just like an older sibling. The only thing is, he would just buy you foods Lilith would've enjoyed. All of them were too sweet or too spicy, they made your teeth hurt, but you whethered through it just to make sure he was happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belphegor: Belphegor was angry when he first saw you, he hated that you looked just like Lilith. But, the moment you freed him from the attic, his plans were thrown away. You looked too much like her, looking at you felt like he was looking at someone from the past. With Belphie, all of your dreams were filled with things Lilith enjoyed, aside from humans. The dreams were happy, but they weren't of things you enjoyed, it was like everything you loved was fading to nothing but shadows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One day, you found yourself alone in your room, a rare occurrence, but something that should've felt like it was a blessing to you.

It didn't.

The sorrow, resentment, and fears you had bottled up had finally taken form. You knew no one would hear your soft cries of pain as vines of flowers began growing within your body, slowly forcing their way out of your arms and legs and blooming into beautiful blue Forget-me-not's and lilies. You felt blood run down your cheek as the taste of the stems finally entered your mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's pt2

[sikudastoner]

Stature & change for the OC of your choice

Wanted to do my other ocs with this one but Rilian’s character fits the questions best because… idk I think about this shit too much.

TW: postpartum depression, physical torture, attempted sa, gender dysphoria

stature: What's your OC's body type? How tall are they? Do they wear clothing to accentuate their look or do they try to mask it?

Rilian has a rectangle body type, very athletic and slim. They inherited Daemon’s tall genes, 5’9. When they get pregnant/give birth, their boobs grow and they become uncomfortable and wear baggy clothes for a year or so also due to postpartum depression. Otherwise, I don’t think they choose their clothes based on accentuating their figure. They choose based on practicality. Can I climb a tree in this frock? Can I hide a dagger in these boots? Is there enough fur on my coat to withstand winter? Stuff like that.

change: Has your OC ever drastically changed their appearance? Significant haircuts, big tattoos, complete wardrobe swap, etc? Why? How do they feel about the change?

I think Rilian’s journey - reflected through animals, friends, style and whatnot - is becoming open to change and different perspectives.

Clothing wise - Rilian loved dressing up boyish or poor-core in their youth. They never wore red due to their hatred for their father- until the Dance of the Dragons (hence the half brown, half red outfit.) They even copy Rhaenyra and Baela’s style a little during the war.

When Rilian becomes regent in Kings Landing, they explore their femininity and how to balance it with their masculinity. Less hobo outfits. More Star Wars-eqse robes/gowns. Court appropriate.

Hair lore/moodboard here

After almost being sexually assaulted by a fisherman, they cut their hair short. For most of their life, they had their hair short due to wanting to be “one of the boys” and having no one to take care of their long hair. Having their hair snatched from their scalp made them reluctant to ever cut it again, so they grow it out and keep it long.

[plumbogs]

anyway brandina time.

I've rambled before about how I love Dina Caliente and will defend her to the death etc, plus i'm a "dina was michael bachelor's young and questionable trophy wife" truther. I don't think she was ever necessarily a gold digger in a greedy manipulative sense, moreso that she valued the comfort/security found in wealth and Michael was well-off enough to provide that for her in exchange for him having a hot young wife and whatever. He came around the same time that Flamenco died, and Nighat had been dead since she was a kid, so she was entering the adult world functionally alone apart from her twin sister. I think Nina was probably jealous on some level of Dina/Michael, even if to most outsiders that relationship was questionable, because Nina just had her lameass high school boyfriend-situationship who she didn't actually want to be romantically involved with and whatever, but it still was a bit of a wedge to them for me. that's mostly irrelevant though. in turn Dina was totally jealous of Nina having Don in high school. usual sibling rivalry nonsense.

In my timeline, Michael died around the same time that Bella disappeared, so she and Mortimer ended up bonding in grief and kicked off their relationship. yknow still like, bizarre age gap but to me it's not intentionally malicious on either of their parts. BUT I do think that Mortimer as a partner did help her 'mature' in some ways, primarily because he had kids and wasn't as reckless and whatnot as Michael. She never marries Mortimer to me. She'd never be able to really replace Bella to him or his family and knows that. he has the world's angstiest verge-of-teenhood son and cassandra is literally her age. they're not about to see her as a real mom. Their relationship never really gets that deep to me, either. It gives her some time to come into her own and whatnot, be independent, etc.

Dina never went to college in my headcanon, she kinda just immediately married Michael and lived like that for a while, then lived half off his inheritance and maybe a lower-wage job of her own in the culinary industry. So sometime around her mid-to-late 20s, Mortimer also dies because he's so old. obviously that's sad for her again. With him she did have some more chances to sorta figure herself out beyond being a trophy wife, reconsider what's important to her.

MEANWHILE, Brandi was also engaged and married stupidly young. She was a teen mom to me. She and skip had a shotgun wedding, had their kids, Skip wasn't the best husband anyways before died, she went into a horrendous life-ruining grief period and alcoholism. the broke kids had it rough, the social worker breathing down her neck, etc. so she had to like, get sober eventually because Dustin had enough and had to move out and get his own life together before he lost it completely. she started doing yoga or a comparative social activity, introducing her to the Calientes, and they became friends because Brandi is so friendly and nice :) Dina's still with Mortimer, etc, but they're still getting along and Brandi's life is getting together.

Then Mortimer dies, Brandi's life is together enough and the kids are not little and in need of constant care anymore (not that she was great at that stage either but this is not a brandi broke parenting analysis post shhh). She is older than Dina to me by a bit but personal development wise they're now in the same place of "what do I do now". SO naturally they bond over that. and they start kissing about it because surprise. bisexuality.

to Brandi, Dina's nice. she can cook, she's been through grief more times than anyone can count, and is like an expert in "you need to do something fun for yourself" pep talks. to Dina, Brandi's recovery and work on herself + dedication to actually being a better parent is inspirational in a way. she doesn't really care at this point what people think of her, and Dina "professional arm candy" Caliente never really had a partner yet who had basically no expectations for how she came off to other people, giving her the most space she'd ever had to figure out her own life goals and dreams. brandi's all humble and whatever. her kids are annoying as hell but a very interesting change compared to the goth kids. dina's never a mom type to me but she does end up bonding with them all. whatever. yippee

I think after getting together, Dina would probably finally go to college or get a real career for herself otherwise. I think it can go a lot of ways. Both of them can cook. I think it'd be cute for them to open some kind of diner together :) or a similar thing. bake sale lesbians. mutual mid-life coming of age. trying to pick up the pieces of their young adulthoods not really belonging to them in a way that mattered. whatever!

[rect-bibi]

what kinda universe does your oc’s live in?

SO SORRY FOR A LATE REPLY i wanted to draw the mcs for each universe but,,,, gave up lmao ANYWAY i have a lot of oc universes, most of which i share with my partner and on which we both work on. there is a LOT of em, so forgive me but i will talk about the main 4 we put the biggest amount of thought into this might be a bit long ngl ^^'

"TO BE NAMED" - This one had a name before but we and my gf decided we don't like it anymore but we haven't found a replacement yet T-T EITHER WAY - This univese is set in a world not unlike our world, but it is ruled/watched over by different Gods, each of them related to different attributes (such as Art, Time, Light, Knowledge, the list goes on) and each of them having a separate region to watch over. Same Gods granted humans with certain powers a long time ago, and nowadays (for the storyline) people simply inherit the powers granted to their ancestors. The powers all circle back to the Gods themselves - if your ancestors were granted powers from God of Time, then the powers would be time-based in one way or another. The main storyline for this universe focuses on Special Academy students who are being trained into soldiers who are meant to deal with the main source of threat in the universe - Alters, who are deformed monster-like creatures, as well as the very person creating them.

"BETROTHED" - A more lighthearted universe storyline wise, with the main one focusing on the arranged marriage of the current rulers of the Valley Kingdom, King Lyra (the Valley Kingdom is heavily inspired by late medieval Poland! We had a female ruler bear the title of a 'King' for a while and I thought adding that to the universe itself would be nice) and the Forest Kingdom, King Orion. It's very 'slice of life' kind of story, with the world around it being a fairly simple fantasy setting, with the main gimick being Kingdoms being named after the terrain they reside on (genius, I know)

"SALEM'S DISSONANCE" - Or 'Ilrah' for short as we like to call it with my partner. It is a story revolving around a postapocalyptic-like world, overrun by an alien, parasite species by the name of 'Ilrah'. Those monsters are known to either eat or take over the bodies of humans, which led to the downfall of most of the population. Ilrah take over human bodies by basically forcing themselves into the host and then replacing the body's consciousness, killing the person in the process. However! Sometimes that process may go awry, and the human's consciousness isn't killed, while the Ilrah is still there. The main character of the story is one such case, and the main storyline follows him being forced into fighting Ilrah so that he wouldn't get killed for being half-taken over by the parasites the humans try to fight off.

"ETHTERIA" - My original passion project that my partner now helps me build better (she is an amazing world builder I couldn't be more grateful for her tips and feedback and whatnot). It is a story about aliens coming to Earth again, but this time their nature isn't parasitic like with Ilrah. Ethterians are essentially a refugee race, brought to Earth with the remaining strength their dying Gods had after their original planet has been attacked and fully destroyed by one of their own kind. The best way I can describe them is cosmic elementals, devided by the elements they can wield in a manner similar to magic - Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light and Darkness. The story itself takes place centuries after Ethterians were brought to Earth - the closest planet that had almost the same climate as Ethteria. After years of (partial) peace, their new home is found and attacked by the very same person who caused the downfall of their original homeland, and now, without their Gods to aid them like they did before, they are now forced to face the source of their despair head on and get rid of it

that should be it!!! if you have any other questions, feel free ^^

[nullen-void]

The Rats of NIMH is confusing because... well, a number of reasons really, but my primary question is

Why is Mrs. Frisby/Brisby intelligent?

The Rats and Mr. Frisby and the doctor mouse were all lab animals subjected to genetic engineering, so that's why they're smart enough to talk and read and understand electricity and whatnot. And whatever was done to them was clearly inheritable, since the Rats are self-sustaining, so it makes sense her kids are smart.

But Mrs. Brisby herself is just a normal field mouse. Her genes are all-natural, she has no enhancement, she's just a normal mouse.

The movie, Secret of NIMH, is basically a Disney talking animal world where all the animals are some level of sapient and the rats are just elevated to human levels, but the book would have you believe that all animals other than the Rats are stupid. The crow(? It's been a while) is smart enough to talk to Frisby but clearly doesn't know everything that's going on, and the cat is just a cat. The owl is an outlier but can be chalked up to the wise owl stereotype.

But Mrs. Frisby's just a mouse, but she lives in a cinderblock done up like a house, wears something like clothes, and interacts with the Rats like an equal even if she doesn't fully get all the philosophy and technology they're embroiled in.

What's up with that? I don't have a point, I just think it's weird and it was never explained I don't think.

[lunahmoko]

Anyways, while I try to fix the issue with my account on AO3, have some character details and whatnot from my Batwheels fic. (Part 1).

Robert Pavlovic Cassidy.

Age: 26.

Species: Metahuman (inherited from his mother's side of the family).

Eye colour: Black (right) and violet (left).

Hair colour: Sable brown.

Family: Ciel Cassidy (father) and Alena Pavlovic (mother).

Companions: Poppy, a black kitten whom he is very close to.

Occupation: Mechanic, later a vigilante when his powers awaken.

Abilities: Metahuman-wise, he can control twelve elements (earth, air, energy, water, fire, ice, plant, metal, psychic, light, electricity and toxic). He is also capable of manipulating a thirteenth element, dark shadow, but he must do it with great caution lest it corrupts him.

Outside of his metahuman abilities, Robert is a skilled mechanic and a fast learner with eidetic memory. He can read and learn virtually anything even if it is not something he is interested in knowing. He is also a fairly good cook and can mend and decorate items of clothing, even being able to stitch whole new outfits from scratch. Robert is also skilled in gymnastics, various forms of dance and hand-to-hand combat, picked up from years of co-curricular activities and external programmes he attended during his school and university years.

Shade of gender: Genderfluid.

Pronouns: He/him.

Sexuality and romantic orientation: Greysexual and demiromantic.

Ethnicity: Serbian-Japanese-Inuit-Canadian.

Likes: New tools, reading, making little felt stuffies, decorating/altering plain clothing with beads, lace, ruffles and whatnot, akutaq and various ethnic dishes, playing with Poppy, trying new recipes and caring for people.

Dislikes: Arguments about his gender, people being dicks in general, people he cares about being harmed, LGBTQIA+phobia, accidentally burning or ruining food in some way, messy rooms and crowds.

[tangirlisfangirl]

Alright @the-lavender-creator , here’s that Fleur deep dive I promised! Also for anyone else interested since I’m proud of this character and think she’s super cool and intricate <3

For anyone who doesn’t know this is just a post about my EAH oc who’s the daughter of the Fairy Queen from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so keep reading if that interests you n whatnot

Under the cut because, as always, I don’t know how to control myself and this got longer than it should’ve 🥴

For simplicity/clarification, the Titania we see in Cedar’s opening part of Suzanne Selfor’s “The Storybook of Legends” is the same Fairy Queen that we see hosting the Blue Moon Fest in the animations.

My character, Fleurencia Monarch, Fleur for short, is her and Oberon’s daughter (although she’s much closer to her mother). Appearance-wise she has gold eyes and dark curly hair inherited from her father, and, unlike the other two fairies we know, has much larger and more complex wings akin to her mom’s. Also, she has the same flower powers so that plants grow whenever her hands or feet touch the ground, although she’s almost always flying so it’s not like overgrowth is a problem.

Because the story requires Titania and Oberon to have an air of otherwordly mystery and elegance, they grow up secluded in the forest with limited interactions before being thrust into Ever After High to fulfill their roles. Although with age they’ve been able to improve their social skills and engage with the outer world as they please, from selling flowers in town square to competing in carriage races, Fleur is still entrenched in the loneliness caused from being restricted to the Enchanted Forest, only just being introduced to popular trends and social media in her first year at school.

In spite of all this, she’s just as kind and loving as her parents, just with more of an untouchable air. She’s in charge of both Fairy Club and Enchanted Gardening club, but these are the only times anyone can find her, since she unintentionally spends most of her time in the forest; she has to keep in touch with her future subjects after all (but I like the idea that she can be summoned in a pinch with a fairy ring made up of all her favorite things). Her main circle is with Ashlynn, Farrah, and Nina, since they’re the kindest and share similar interests, but she has nearly none of the popularity. It’s not like doesn’t get invited to parties or get-togethers at all, just not as often since… she doesn’t get it, you know? Doesn’t know the popular bands, doesn’t know the slang, and she’s probably too busy running the realm of fae, anyway.

But she desperately wants to connect with others, have fun and foster relationships, feel the warmth that comes with laughing and spending time with people you care about and that care about you. She cares so much, all the time, and wants to experience the joys of life with everyone else but just can’t quite reach out, partially because she doesn’t know how but also she also has to keep in line with her destiny (you could also make the argument that the powers behind destiny cursed her in a way to be easily forgotten so she can better play her part without distractions).

It’s not like she’s totally lonely, though, she still has her destined king. Aurelius Viridian (introducing him since he’s important to Fleur’s character but I care about him less lmao) was the male fairy chosen to be the next Oberon when he was born, and though the two didn’t exactly grow up together they still have an intimate understanding. They’re not exactly ’dating’, they don’t share any physical or romantic affection, it’s just an unsaid thing that they’re spoken for.

However, Aurelius is much more… ‘kingly’. Stuffy and arrogant, he doesn’t interact with anyone at school but Fleur, and that’s the way he likes it. Whenever she’s left out or otherwise disheartened by the people of Ever After, she always comes back to lean on him, the only person she can truly communicate with. They’ll slow dance in the air or cultivate sections of the forest like a shared art project with their similar powers of growth, any low energy activity since it’s in line with the natural floatiness of fairies; but being around him elevates her poise and elegance, which strengthens her untouchable air, the last thing she wants. This kind of puts her in a difficult position— does she stick with him to validate her desire for intimacy, or branch out to others that might not understand her, but still feed into her need for social connection?

She meets someone that changes things, though. When accompanying her mother to the Top of the World to discuss seasonal matters with the Snow King and Queen, she gets to talking with Crystal, but they don’t exactly click; she’s way too spunky and Fleur is way too gentle and soft spoken. No, it’s a little frost imp she sees messing up his duties, clumsy but still laughing and enjoying himself, that she can’t help but find endearing. His joy is infectious and she finds herself laughing, too, waving to him down below before catching up with the others in the icy throne room. His sister notices this and, still spurred on despite her last plan’s failure, concocts a new one.

Fleur is on the balcony of her dorm late at night (despite her light aesthetic she loves the evening, being surrounded by stars and fireflies, and is actually most active at night), but is visited by Northwind, on a mission to get close to her to take advantage of the magic of the forest and gain power (not Jackie’s best plan but she’s desperate). He’s… forgetful, and is more so focused on just having a good time, like he does all the time. Fleur isn’t used to it, but she’s more than happy to come along, and so he shows her all the fun of winter she’s never gotten to experience (she always used to hibernate during the winter since everything else in the forest would, too). Every chance they got they’d sneak up to the Top of the World together to have snowball fights, make snowmen and snow angels, even go sledding (on him as a penguin specifically cause I thought it was cute), and she cheers him on when he shows off all his animal forms.

The thing is, everything would always be his idea; Fleur always asked for his opinion, what he wanted to do, which he’s not used to, especially because he thought all princesses gave orders. She’s so genuine and non-judgmental that he starts to feel guilty, and tells her the truth, but sadly enough she already knew. It’s not like she didn’t hear about the two twin frost imps trying to overthrow the royal wintry family, and it’s not like anyone would go out of their way to spend time with her unless it’s for a grasp at power (Faybelle would do that sometimes), but she didn’t raise any alarm because for fairy godmother’s sakes she just wanted to go out and have fun for once! But she does wonder why someone as funloving as him would do something so devious, and he explains that all he wants to do is support Jackie since she’s so sick of being an unimportant, nobody imp.

So Fleur gets to talking with Crystal, and they come up with a compromise that the twins will come to Ever After High for Jackie to fill the role of Jack Frost (Northwind’s in a similar situation as Poppy (also sidenote why can’t this happen in-canon?? they did about as much treason as courtly and faybelle and the latter barely even had to apologize, i might actually make a separate post about it cause im so invested in the concept but anyway back to clean professional writing)) and Fleur is ecstatic that she’ll get to spend more time with North. He’s absentminded and doesn’t think about social conventions, while she’s more open-minded and fair to everyone no matter background or intelligence, so it turns into a positive feedback thing where they care for and pay attention to each other when others don’t.

But Aurelius doesn’t like this. He’s not jealous, more so annoyed since he sees Northwind as beneath both him and Fleur, undeserving of either of their time (I can also imagine that they’d be forced to room together since North is new and Aurelius was roomed alone for destiny sake but now they have to worry about saving space :P so North’s need for cold affects the prince’s general need for warmth and general ability for his plants to thrive, which doesn’t help his feelings towards the imp). This further puts Fleur into a torrid emotional situation where she wants to be with North��someone who brings out her inner bubbly spirit, who exhilarates her and helps her become the more easy and welcoming person she always wanted to be—but she doesnt want to leave her long-time anchor Aurelius behind, someone whos been there in a way no one else has despite how it keeps her closed-off, and who she still loves and loves her in his own way, not to mention the whole destiny angle (ignoring the fact that the book was destroyed, I forgot about that when I figured all this out let’s not talk about it lol).

Right now she’s straddling the line between both boys, and though Northwind doesn’t pay it any mind, Aurelius is a steadily boiling kettle, only tolerating it for the moment. After some time it climaxes to a point where Fleur and Aurelius fulfill their destinies in a way, with North filling the role of the boy Titania becomes attached to that causes Oberon to attempt to hex her, this time with the motivation of “use a spell to make her fall in love with an animal to show how frivolous her emotions are in hopes that she’ll give up the imp.” It’s toxic, sure, but that’s how the story goes, and as everyone knows, fairytales are not the kindest…

But yeah that’s about it! Beautiful but sad/lonely character trope but I feeI like thats everyone in EAH afsbdsjfks. I tried making the writing all pretty but it took a lot more work, oh well it’s done ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ Some other fun tidbits I will include is that Fleur loves violin and will listen to covers of pop songs, has pointed ears like Faybelle (and assumedly Farrah), and loves fairyberry candies and anything else with the flavor, and will visit Book-End bakeries and cafés to stock up on treats. Her favorite memories are the few times she was invited to go to them after school with a group of friends. I’m also trying to design outfits for her to fit in with the specials (Spring, Wonderland, Dragon Riding, etc) but idk if I’ll ever post them, so instead I’ll include this messy digital drawing from a while back ‘cause I drew her traditional and scanned it but was still trying to figure out her color palette, plus a vibe playlist cause I do that for all my major ocs :)

[sorryimananti-romantic]

Mist | Choi San | Chapter 6

Pairing: Choi San x OC (Seohyun)

Genre: supernatural (ghost), romance, high school

Trigger Warnings: paranormal, death mentions, violence

Words: 14k

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my original character and the story. I do not own any gifs or pictures used.

Full story on Wattpad (don’t spoil here if you read there too)

chapter directory

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

Seohyun woke up with a groan, her head feeling heavy. She opened her eyes, blinking as the events of last night came to her. San was no longer here though. She checked her phone, and there was a text from him, saying his parents had called him.

After a shower and a cup of coffee, Seohyun sat in front of the television, thinking what she was gonna do. It was Saturday so they had no school, and she'd caught up on her sleep. She wanted to go out, but it was risky. The ghost- that evil, evil thing could turn up anywhere. Plus, she had no idea where Gayoung and Youngjae were.

Seohyun bit her lip as she thought about solving this problem; there was no way this ghost would come to her senses with mere words. It didn't look like she had faith in god anymore too, so a simple exorcism would be difficult. So what could she do? She had never dealt with such a dangerous one before, someone who was hell-bent on killing her.

And this time, it made sense why the ghost wanted to kill her so badly. All the evil ghosts she'd encounter in her life had never had an actual reason to harm her except being angry at life and whatnot. But this woman; what she had said made sense. And if it was true...

She wished there was another mediator she could consult with. But there was the matter of it being an inherited-once-dead thing. She could consult with the shaman she knew. Maybe he could help her communicate with a wise old ghost who'd actually give her a few tips.

The ghost's words rang in her ears: Don't tell me you didn't know? When a mediator dies, there is a short time period during which there is no other mediator in the world. That's when ghosts can do whatever they want; trespass, interact with humans, and much more. She cursed the previous mediators for not making an account of their knowledge and findings. She made a mental note to write a mediator guideline for the next unlucky person.

Seohyun got up, deciding she'd go to the shaman herself. No point waiting; she wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. The shaman was not too far from where she lived. She would take a taxi, just to be safe.

Seohyun was wondering where those two siblings had disappeared off too. She had allowed them to come and go as they pleased; it was unusual for them to be gone so long. Seohyun reached the place where the shaman lived after 10 minutes, getting off and finding the doors locked.

"Just my great fucking luck," she sighed, going to the market right in front of that place and asking if they knew where the shaman had went. She found out he had moved recently. She mentally cursed herself for not keeping his business card with her; she would have to go home and check if she still had it. She usually made some other use of business cards, such as making airplanes and boats out of them. Her origami was going to be the death of her.

Seohyun was just calling for taxi when she felt her heart sink in, realizing the evil ghost was near. She quickly stepped into property instead of hanging around the street, but nothing appeared. Maybe she was going insane, finally.

After waiting for two solid minutes, she was about to sit in the taxi when she heard a voice say:

"I saw that pretty boy leave your house in the morning."

Chills ran down her spine as she finally met her eyes with the ghost. "And what of it?"

"I found it interesting that he has the sight. I was wondering how that could help me."

"What do you mean?" Seohyun paused- this was not happening.

"He can see me. He thought he saw me in the morning but I hid. So I, with the help of those two kids who were too scared to disobey me, led him somewhere. And if you are a decent human, you'd follow me."

"You're lying."

"Go ahead and check if I am," she countered.

With a wildly beating heart, Seohyun pressed call, once, twice, thrice. He was not picking up. She texted in the group chat if anyone had been in contact with San since today. And everyone replied they hadn't.

Seohyun sighed in defeat as she said, "Lead the way."

The woman howled with laughter, making Seohyun grit her teeth and want to strangle her, but she walked, taking her god knows where. Seohyun tried to ask if she really wanted to kill her, and if so, why wasn't she already doing it. Why wait?

They were out in a clearing, near the expressway where cars and trucks rushed in full speed. What was she gonna do, attempt a ritual? Seohyun didn't understand.

"Just tell me where San is. And don't even think about hurting me. You want me, you have me."

"Oh dear," the woman walked towards her, and Seohyun tried to keep her calm as she grew closer, circling her once before whispering in her ear, "I don't have you. Not yet."

Seohyun winced at her foul breath, the woman raking a nail across her neck, drawing out blood. "I can't give you a mortal wound. I can only hurt you so much. That's why you mediators have it so easy."

Even if Seohyun's neck was on fire from the pain, she felt a spark of hope in her heart. That would mean she could run- she could escape.

"But that doesn't mean I can't do it indirectly," the ghost smiled, baring her brown teeth, and it was the evilness in her eyes that made Seohyun gasp as she realized.

She had been stupid- but she had no guarantee that San was safe. That Gayoung and Youngjae were safe. She couldn't run, not exactly. The woman flicked her hand, and Seohyun winced at the sound of a car crashing. She turned sharply; the car had hit the truck. The car had crashed the other way, but the truck-

It was tumbling and was coming right for her- unnaturally.

Seohyun forgot about everything else and ran, but somehow the woman was able to control the movement of the truck. She jumped in an attempt to dodge, the woman was cornering her. She had no choice but to step on the road, but one of the speeding cars failed to dodge the crashed car and struck it, skidding across the road and hitting Seohyun with a tremendous force that sent her flying before her head hit the traffic barrier and everything went black.

The woman laughed even as she cried out in pain. She had emptied the last of her powers on this crash, and she screamed as she felt herself burn from the inside out. But Seohyun was surely dead- she had to be. If she was dead, this wouldn't happen to her.

The woman screamed one last time before disappearing into thin air- this time for good. But it was no good now. Seohyun lay unconscious on the road, bent in a painful angle as people surrounded her and called an ambulance. A student checked her pulse; it was growing weaker by the second.

Seohyun was rushed to the hospital as soon as the ambulance arrived; her heart flatlined once before she was revived again, having escaped death from a hair's breadth. She was put on hold for her surgery as they called her mother for consent.

Her mother had rushed into the hospital- face streaked with tears. She had only had time to touch her face once before she was taken to the operating room, and she sat on the waiting chair, motionless. Her friend, Aunt Yuri that Seohyun had always liked, had comforted her mother, making her drink water and relax a bit. All they could do was pray.

Seohyun's phone, which was now in Yuri's hand, rang. It was Yunho. Yuri picked the phone, inquiring if he was a friend, and when he assured her that he was indeed a close friend, Yuri revealed the accident to him.

Yunho had almost dropped his phone as he heard, terror washing over him as he realized it must have been the evil ghost's doing. He washed his face, sighing as he tried to control his trembling hands. He was not ready to lose a friend.

Yunho called and told each of their friends individually, keeping San for the last, frowning when he did not pick up. He decided to go to his home and check. Before he reached his home, he found San walking outside the house as if looking for someone.

"San, hey," Yunho rushed to him, "Why weren't you picking the phone?"

"I lost it, but then Gayoung and Youngjae admitted they had hidden my phone. I was just going after them; I don't know why they'd done so. What's wrong?"

Yunho bit his lip as he thought of how to reveal it to him. He told him then; Seohyun had been in an accident, and she was under surgery now. They weren't sure if she was gonna make it.

San put a hand to his head, shaking his head in disbelief. "Was it- is it because of the ghost?"

"Not sure," Yunho said, "But seeing how Gayoung and Youngjae hid your phone, it must be. Seohyun was trying to contact you all day."

"Shit. Shit!" San punched the air in frustration, his lip trembling. How had it come to this?

"Which hospital is she in? I need to go."

So Yunho and San took a taxi to the hospital, and Yunho kept a hand on San's trembling one the whole ride. He seemed intent to keep his calm. When they arrived, they asked the reception for Seohyun and rushed to the floor she was in. They saw two women right outside the operating room, and figured it had to be Seohyun's mother and her friend who'd picked the phone. They sat on a distance, and San put his head in his hands as they waited.

Yuri, who had noticed the two boys, came towards them, asking if one of them was indeed Yunho. "We're praying for the best, but the doctors say it's risky. You both should head home, this surgery might take a while."

"It's fine," San finally said, "I'll wait."

Yuri raised a brow but then nodded, saying she was going to grab some coffee for Seohyun's mother and she'd grab some for them too. After drinking and some comforting from both sides, having found Seohyun's mother fallen asleep, the boys decided to get some air.

They walked in the hospital garden which was pretty big, lit by several lamps, and some of the patients could be seen sitting or walking. San's eyes were on the ground; he was afraid if he looked up he'd cry.

Yunho patted San's back and he put his face in his hands, sighing. He'd never imagine this. And the way Seohyun had been last night, so scared, he should have known. The things she said, he should have believed it wasn't just her being paranoid.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa came along with Yeosang; the rest lived too far away and couldn't join at this hour. Yeosang looked visibly pale and he kept rubbing his hands as if he felt cold. Upon asking, Yunho told them she was still in surgery, and yes, her mom was here with a friend too.

They sat in the garden. Seonghwa had bought some sandwiches from home; he knew some of them wouldn't have had dinner yet.

"You should eat, San," he said, "We don't know how long the surgery is gonna be. It's no good if you're on an empty stomach." He handed him a sandwich and San halfheartedly nibbled on it. The rest of them were pretty much silent too, at loss for words. They found comfort in just being together.

After finishing, they decided to go up and check the situation and maybe go back home to sleep. San dusted his clothes as he walked, and stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"San."

The rest of them paused, looking back at San, whose eyes were wide with terror. "What's wrong?" Hongjoong asked.

San dreadfully turned back as if not quite believing, and the water bottle he'd been holding slipped out of his hand.

It couldn't be.

In front of him was Seohyun, unscratched, smiling sadly.

She was a ghost.

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

"Seohyun?"

San couldn't believe his eyes. Seohyun stood unscratched in front of him, but it was not her. It couldn't be. She was in an accident, how could she be in front of him like this?

A cry of pain escaped from Yeosang as he realized, covering his ears as if that could mean he was wrong. Hongjoong and Seonghwa looked at each other, and Yunho stepped towards San, stopping when he found him staring in the distance.

"How are you... here?" San managed to ask, walking towards her, but she took a step back, leaving San's hand dangling in the air. His brows were furrowed in a pained expression.

"I don't know, San," Seohyun said, smiling sadly. San went for her abruptly, and his hand went through her.

"No... This can't be...." San's knees gave out and Yunho rushed to him, massaging his back as tears finally escaped his eyes. He sat down, his face in his hands, now almost touching the ground. Seohyun bent near him as if she could touch him.

"It's my fault," San sniffed. Yunho wiped his eyes, looking back Hongjoong- pale with shock, Seonghwa clinging to him, holding Yeosang's trembling hand.

"It's not your fault. It's that witch's fault. And you have to listen-"

"It's mine," San whispered. Seohyun bit her lip as she began to speak but was cut again as he said, "I'm sorry I didn't pick your phone."

"I know what happened, don't worry-"

"I'm sorry-"

"CHOI SAN LISTEN TO ME FOR A SECOND!" Seohyun shouted and San jerked, forcing his head up to face her. "I don't think I'm dead. Not fully, at least. You have to go and ask the details."

"What do you mean? You're a ghost, doesn't that mean-"

"Maybe not. Please do that."

San nodded, explaining to the others that there was a possibility she was alive, though it did not make sense to him. They started walking to the building, and Seohyun said, "And please wipe your faces. Don't show that you know anything. I don't want my mom to know that I'm a ghost, even if I'm dead."

San winced at that but did so, and they went upstairs in the waiting area, where Seohyun's mother was crying. Yuri was patting her back but looked okay. Upon seeing San and Yunho with other friends, she whispered something to Seohyun's mother, who casted a glance at them and nodded, and Yuri walked to them.

"Seohyun's alive for now. She's in a coma. The surgery was successful but this was unavoidable, so we can expect her to return sometime within 3 months or more, depending on Seohyun now. Can't say anything about that. You guys should go home. They'll let you see her tomorrow."

Seohyun sighed in relief despite herself, and the boys finally managed a smile and asked San if she was here. San nodded, looking at Seohyun. She smiled happily now for San's sake, but he was still gloomy.

"You're gonna smile back or I'm gonna haunt you in your dreams, Choi San."

San let out a short laugh. "I guess you can do that now. Let's go out."

They went to an empty street and San asked Seohyun what had happened. She told him how the woman had used San as a bait for her to call her out. San told her that Gayoung and Youngjae had only taken his phone, assuring her he'd been home all day. Seohyun assured him it was still not his fault, that sooner or later this would've happened.

"So where's the ghost now? If you're still alive, won't it come after you again?" Seonghwa asked.

"I'll have to ask around," Seohyun said. "I can actually teleport now. I'm gonna try and find Gayoung and Youngjae. They must have been pretty scared if they did her bidding."

"Stay safe, Seohyun," San said, and Seohyun brought her hand near his face as if she meant to touch him.

"I will. Don't worry. Go home guys, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, we'll tell the others too now," Yunho said, "They'll be shocked."

"San, please tell Yeosang to stop trembling. I'm alive!"

San looked at Yeosang. He still seemed pale and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. So he did what Seohyun would have done for him; took his hands in his own, telling him it was alright. Seohyun was alive.

"I just can't believe it," Yeosang said, "For a second- when you said her name- I thought-"

"Yeah, I know, me too," San admitted. "It's alright. She's okay."

They waved her goodbye as they went home, and Seohyun cursed as loudly as she could, now that no one could hear her. Then she decided it was time to teleport to that hill, Gayoung and Youngjae must be given an earful.

She closed her eyes shut and imagined being sucked into space. The familiar tingling sensation ran from the top of her head to the tip of her toes; one moment she was here and the next, cold wind hit her face. She was there.

She peeked into the 'cave', basically a home to the ghost siblings. She found them sitting with their knees close to their chest. It was crazy how much they were like each other.

Seohyun cleared her throat and walked in, and the two of them stumbled back, almost falling.

"Are you alive?

"Are you dead?"

"Neither," Seohyun replied, "I did not know going into a coma would make me a ghost."

"Seohyun, I am so sorry-"

"Don't," Seohyun put a hand in the air, shutting them up. "Just tell me what made you do this."

"She threatened to hurt our parents. She knew where they lived. They're who we're staying here for, if she hurt them... I'm sorry," Gayoung looked down in shame.

"She actually asked us to 'take care' of San. We didn't promise her anything, just that he wouldn't interfere," Youngjae added.

"Well, thank you for that," Seohyun smiled, sitting near them. "It must have been hard for you both."

The two of them looked at each other, on the verge of crying.

"I swear if a tear falls down your faces, I'm personally gonna kick you out of this ghost realm."

Gayoung laughed a little, quickly wiping her eyes, and Youngjae did the same. They were just kids, Seohyun thought. They shouldn't have had to think it was their fault or anything.

"But what happened with the witch?" Seohyun asked.

"After she thought she killed you, we saw her screaming. We had just teleported to you when we sensed you were in danger. She just... vanished. And this time I mean like dissipated in the air like ashes. I guess she died again..." Youngjae said.

"Wow. Serves her right!" Seohyun sighed in relief.

"Did you meet San?" Gayoung asked and Seohyun nodded, looking grim.

"I don't think you should leave him alone tonight. He's gonna take this badly."

Seohyun's heart sank. She was right. Seohyun expected San to be alright, but that was just her own expectation. She wasn't actually so sure he would be.

"I don't know where he lives," Seohyun said.

"We'll take you to her," Gayoung said, holding out her hand to her and squeezing it, muttering an earnest thank you. Seohyun nodded, and they teleported once again.

It was an average looking house, much like the ones along the whole street. But somehow it felt more like a home than Seohyun's plain house looked.

"Do you think I can enter?" She wondered out loud, and Gayoung grinned.

"You should try. You should be able to since you're a mediator anyway."

Seohyun shrugged, taking a careful step forward. Indeed, she was able to enter. It seemed like she did have special benefits being a ghost. "I feel like I'm intruding."

"Oh he's your boyfriend, just go," Gayoung waved her hand at her, dismissing her as Youngjae grinned, wriggling hi brows at her. The two snickered, waving bye and teleporting back.

Seohyun stood awkwardly at the front door, afraid she'd be intruding their privacy. She paced back and forth, wondering if she should call San, or just go up and give him a little scare in the process. He probably wasn't in the mood for fun and jokes. She'd seen his face when he'd thought she'd die, and it was something she wished she could erase from her memory.

While she was biting her nails in confusion, she heard the front door open, and for a second, she panicked. But it was only San.

"I saw you from my window," he said, holding the door open, "Come in."

Seohyun bit her lip and nodded, entering. San closed the door behind him and led her upstairs. They went past his sister's room before entering his. Seohyun looked around, his love for plushies obvious by his large collection.

"Which one is Shiber?" Seohyun asked.

"That one," San pointed at the bed. It was a shiba plushie. San slept with it, it seemed.

"Poor thing," Seohyun grinned. San gave her a little smile as he motioned for her to sit. He sat on his bed and Seohyun brought the chair close. "Not how I thought I'd come to your home."

San shook his head, looking down. Seohyun almost leaned forward to touch him until she realized she couldn't. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not, to be honest," San began, meeting eyes with her, "I really thought you... were dead. When you appeared like that. I'm still not over that feeling."

Seohyun felt guilty. She'd found herself a ghost at the site of the accident, right when they were taking her to the hospital. She'd made it there, but she couldn't bring herself to step inside the hospital. She'd spotted San and Yunho from there. "I'm sorry."

"Oh no, you don't have to be," San shook his head, "Not your fault. I just wish I could... touch you right now. Hold you so I'd know you're real and it's not me going crazy."

"I know San," Seohyun almost whispered, "Me too."

They looked at each other sadly, and Seohyun put her hand in front of him, and for a moment San thought she was gonna ask for a high-five. "Put your hand here," she said.

San put his hand forward, and before he could touch, Seohyun pulled hers a little back. "No touching. Just... close. Like this," she put their hands close until there was only a hair's breadth of distance between them. San could have swore he could feel her warmth.

She smiled at him and drew her hand back. "The sibling duo was threatened by that bitch too. I feel sorry for them."

"That explains," San thought, "they didn't seem the type to just turn away like this."

"They apologized thoroughly. But it's okay now. It's only a matter of waking up from that coma... If I can make it."

"Keep your hopes up," San scolded and she smiled sheepishly. "How do you feel though? I mean, now that you're... a ghost. Does it feel any different that being a human?"

"I don't exactly feel weird inside," Seohyun realized, "But there does seem to be something different about this world now. It's like there's a veil over my eyes. Everything is a little cloudy now. Like I have bad eyesight."

"Does that mean you can't see me clearly?" San wondered.

"No, it's like there's a filter now. You know like the ones in the camera where you can decrease the clarity? That's how it feels. Weird."

San nodded. "Will you sleep?"

"I honestly don't know," Seohyun admitted. "I'll watch you sleep though. Maybe that might put me to sleep."

"I don't think I can sleep with you watching me," San huffed. Seohyun let out a short laugh and asked, "Do you want me to go?"

"No- stay. Please," he said, getting up to turn off the lights so there was only light from the little lamp on his desk. He lied down on his bed, facing her, watching her as she stood by the window, peeking out.

She was a ghost, San thought. He wanted her to wake up as soon as possible. He wasn't sure if he could live if Seohyun, god forbid, died and remained a ghost. He couldn't even imagine it.

As if sensing his thoughts, Seohyun turned, staring at him for a moment, those cheekbones pronounced in the shadows. She walked towards him slowly as he watched, and dropped to her knees in front of him, resting her head on the little space on the bed near San, and he crouched too, until they faced each other. She tested once, let her hand hover over his, putting it on top of him- but it passed through, making San shiver a little. So she drew her hand a bit back, until it almost touched at the fingertips.

They stared at each other, and San's eyelid drooped, shutting as he fell asleep. Seohyun closed her eyes too.

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

Seohyun must have actually fell asleep because when she awoke, when she opened her eyes, she was not in San's room but in front of her body, lying still with tubes coming out of everywhere. Her mother was sleeping rather uncomfortably on the sofa.

Her mother. She looked disheveled, and it made Seohyun gasp a little with surprise. She had always seen her so composed, so calm and full of control. She couldn't bring herself to go to her mother when she'd seen her crying of relief, back when they'd heard that her surgery had been successful.

She was glad that her Aunt Yuri had kept her company. She would have to thank her when she woke up. If she ever did. Seohyun shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts.

Seohyun figured this was where she was gonna wake up every time she slept. She peeked out of the window to see that it was already morning. She felt like she hadn't slept at all, which was weird.

Her mother groaned, rubbing her eyes as she woke up. She looked like she had forgotten for a moment where she was, and as she took in her surroundings, Seohyun saw realization hit her as she jerked violently.

Her mother stared at her for a long while, before sighing and throwing her head in her hands. She thought her state must have been a nuisance for her ever-busy mother, but then she saw the tears fall down her mother's eyes as she hastily wiped at them.

She fell back on her seat, laughing, probably at the situation. And then she spoke:

"When your dad left me, I thought nothing could break me anymore."

Seohyun's eyes went a little wide at the sudden mention of her dad, who had passed away due to his heart problem a little after Seohyun's birth. Her mother had told her fragments of her life with him; they had met at work and fallen in love, spending a few years together before marrying and having a daughter.

"Your dad... he had my whole heart. So you can't blame me for my lack of love because it went with him to the grave. I tried loving you, and I thought it would be very hard. But somehow... I didn't even realize that I already loved you, way before you were born. I loved the thought of you."

Seohyun's heart sank. She thought she was invading her privacy by hearing all this... But technically, her mother was talking to her, wasn't she?

"I realize now. Now that you're looking like your dad in his last moments, I realize how afraid I am to lose you. If you followed him, I'd just be an empty shell."

Seohyun wanted to hug her mom and tell her it was alright. She wanted to give her a sign that she was here... but she figured it would do more harm than good.

"I hope you come back, Seohyun. My little girl. I promise to be a better mother, just- come back."

Seohyun's eyes shone with silver as she smiled at her mother's word. So her mother really did love her. She watched as she got up, straightening her clothes. "I'm going to distract myself until you're back. And then I will give you all the time in this world. Take you where you want to. Act like a proper mother that I should have done years ago. I'm- I'm sorry for not doing that earlier."

She walked to Seohyun's body, planting a kiss on her forehead and Seohyun could have sworn she felt a tingle of it too.

Her mother left after smiling at her, and Seohyun inhaled. She needed to distract herself too.

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

"I'm making a video of this, and no one is gonna stop me."

"What if someone sees it, Yeosang?" Hongjoong asked, shaking his head.

"I don't care," he replied as he did exactly as he had said. Make a video of Seohyun drumming furiously.

Except you could not see Seohyun and it looked like the drums were playing itself.

"I could start a YouTube channel and earn money from videos like these," he smirked.

"If you start earning money because I'm on the borderline of death," Seohyun had stopped drumming now, "I'll actually haunt you for the rest of my life."

San, who was watching the whole thing while sulking on the sofa, told Yeosang exactly what she had said.

"Good. At least I'll have company for the rest of my life."

Seohyun threw the drumstick, aiming for his head, and it hit home as he yelled in pain, a few colourful words escaping his mouth.

"You deserved it," Hongjoong laughed. Yeosang threw the drumstick back and Seohyun caught it, putting it down. She was done playing. She took the notebook they'd given her for communication and wrote: If I do end up dying, I'll help you all make money. At least I'll still be useful after death, you morons.

She held the notebook for them to read, trying to hide the view from San, but he ended up peeking too, and shook his head again, sulking even more.

"Back with her death jokes," Hongjoong looked at the book with disapproval.

Seohyun threw the book back at the table and came to sit with San, mirroring his sulking position. "It's so boring to have only you to actually talk to, no offence."

"Some taken," San said, "Be grateful I can see you. Imagine if I hadn't followed you that day."

"Actually grateful for that," Seohyun grinned. A ghost of smile crept on his face.

She heard the door of the warehouse open as the rest of them arrived. "Is Seohyun here?" Wooyoung asked, looking worried.

Hongjoong said yes, and he looked around saying, "Wherever you are, I'm so sorry about the accident, Seohyun. I don't want you to die, please come back! I can't lose you!"

Seohyun picked the pillow and threw it with considerable force at Wooyoung, who screamed and Mingi laughed. "Glad to see you're in good spirits."

"Are you okay though?" Jongho asked, having realized she must be sitting with San, "Does it... hurt or anything?"

San told them she said it was fine, it was just like being alive except no one can see her anymore which is making her sad and bored. He skipped the part where she had said that San was kinda boring these days too.

"Glad to hear," Wooyoung put the bag of snacks on the table. "I bought snacks, but... can you eat?"

Seohyun decided it was time to test that theory. She hadn't felt the need to eat, but she supposed theoretically she should be able to eat. She picked a packet of chips and opened it, the rest of them watching her curiously. She picked one in her hand, and then slowly put it in her mouth.

She could eat.

She danced in victory, making the rest of them laugh as Yunho hooted, "Time to loot the stores!"

"Nice idea!" She yelled back, coming back to sit with San, offering him some. He refused first but she made him open his mouth and put one in it. "This feels good. It's like being able to touch you."

San smiled. He felt that too.

Seohyun got up, going to Seonghwa and waiting for him to open his mouth. He was confused for a second but then opened, and Seohyun put the chip in his mouth. "This feels weird," he muttered, but smiled.

One by one, Seohyun put chips in their mouths, making them laugh. Yeosang filmed the whole thing, saying he was gonna make a compilation video once she was back.

San watched her with a curious look in his eyes. She had been acting a bit... different. More cheerful than she should have been. Or maybe he was too gloomy? When Seohyun came back, San folded his arms. "Did something... happen today?"

Seohyun got quiet for a second before she told him about how she had heard her mom talk to her. San wished he could hug her. Even though she sat right next to him, she felt so distant. His heart ached.

"At least now you know for sure that your mother does love you, in her own way."

"I suppose so," Seohyun sighed, folding her arms, watching Mingi and Wooyoung have a little brawl over who was better at drums, "I haven't ever seen her like that. Makes me want to not... die. Not that it's in my control anymore."

"Don't think like that," San turned towards her, "Your willpower is important."

"Is it?" Seohyun countered, and San narrowed his eyes. "I'll have to test that theory-"

"Do not even THINK of trying something reckless-" His voice was raising.

"I'd like to see you stop me-"

"HEY!" San got up abruptly, and everyone turned to look at him, "Does your life mean nothing to you?"

Seohyun instantly got deja vu. He'd said something like this before too. She stared at him as he groaned and pinched his nose bridge in frustration, pacing back and forth and then stopping again. "I thought your life meant something to you now. You had friends- you had us. We love you and care about you so much. I care about you so much. Your mother does. But all you care about is yourself?"

"San-" Blood rushed to Seohyun's cheeks as she realized, "I didn't mean-"

"You did mean it, Seohyun," San sighed, "I- I thought you finally had something to live for."

"San, I do. Believe me, I do."

San looked at her, shaking his head, and Seohyun felt like she could disappear. "Think about it, Seohyun."

He turned and started to go, and Seohyun grabbed his hand- or tried to- but it passed right through.

"I need some time to clear my head," he muttered as he left.

Everyone watched San leave the warehouse, and their eyes went back to where San had been standing, where Seohyun now stood. She felt disappointed in herself. She slumped down on the sofa, the others realizing she was still here.

"What was that about?" Seonghwa asked out loud. Seohyun just clenched her hair as she groaned loudly, cursing herself, glad nobody could hear her right now.

Hongjoong came and sat near Seohyun, saying, "If you want to talk about it, I'm here."

Seohyun thought it was sweet of him. He'd brought the pen and notebook too, placing it in between them. Seohyun took it, scribbling in it.

I messed up big time

Hongjoong read it, scooting a little closer, the notebook seemingly in her lap. She wrote again:

I'm a disappointment to San.

Hongjoong shook his head, "You're not. Trust me, you're not." He took a deep breath, having figured out what the fight was about. "I know you've had it rough, and you're not used to all these new relations. But whatever happened, you can set it right. San won't stay angry, but he'll be truly disappointed if you don't."

Seohyun thought about, and didn't realize her tears were falling on the notebook. Hongjoong could see it.

"You haven't cried since the accident, right? You're very brave, Seohyun."

Seohyun laughed a bit as she realized, making her cry even harder. She scribbled Thanks in the notebook, putting it aside. She knew what she had to do. Apologize.

She got up, walking towards the piano. Seating herself, she tested the keys, giving everyone a little scare before she started to play.

It was the piece Joon Hyuk had taught her. It was utterly sad but beautiful, and it had took her months to get better at it. As she played, she realized her muscle memory was better now. So she lost herself in the sadness of it, her fingers dancing on the keyboard.

When she was finished, she opened her eyes, breathing. it took her a good minute to come back to reality, and when she did, everyone was staring at her. Or the piano.

"Tell me someone got it on their phone," Yeosang mumbled.

Seohyun threw her head back and laughed out loud as she watched the boys fight over why no one took the liberty of filming this moment.

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

That night, Seohyun was pacing in the park near San's house, wondering how she should make things right. A simple 'sorry' wouldn't suffice. She wished she could touch him, hug him. Maybe that would have put more depth to the apology.

She was out of options. And as she was muttering to herself about how much of a bitch she had been, San came walking in, stopping abruptly when he saw her still pacing and cursing. She hadn't noticed yet. So he shook slightly with laughter as he heard her rather colourful vocabulary.

Seohyun sighed, looking up, and finally saw San, her heart sinking to her feet. "Gosh, you gave me a scare," she put a hand to her heart as she breathed.

"It's not like you can die of a heart attack now," San said.

Seohyun paused, narrowing her eyes at him. "Excuse me?"

San shrugged, but lost his demeanor as he finally laughed. "Oh how the tables have turned!" Seohyun gasped, kicking a pebble at him, glad when it struck his leg and he winced.

She gave him a long look. "Are you okay?"

"I am," San said, motioning to the swings and they took one. As they bobbed lightly, Seohyun finally took a deep breath and said, "I am sorry, San."

"For what?" he asked, looking at her.

"For everything," Seohyun said. "I've been a terrible friend."

"No you're not," he smiled. "I just wish you'd give yourself more credit. You don't have to apologize to me. You should be apologizing to yourself."

"Damn, that's poetic," Seohyun said and she could've sworn she heard San mutter 'insufferable', but he still laughed. "Alright. I'll give myself more credit. I won't make death jokes again too."

"Now what would Seohyun be without her death jokes?"

"That is a very valid point," Seohyun smiled. "Alright, I'll just... be a better person. You know."

It seemed like San was enjoying her struggle to find words. "I know what?"

Seohyun's jaw tensed. "Be glad I can't hit you, San."

San smirked.

That cocky little-

Seohyun got up, searching for something to throw at San, who just laughed loudly as he ran away from her.

---------

Days passed. Weeks passed.

A month passed- yet Seohyun was not awake.

Every morning, Seohyun awoke at the hospital, no matter where she slept. She had made the warehouse her home now, since going back to her house was just a reminder that she was not alive, but not dead either.

She wasn't sure how she felt about this situation. The first few days, everyone had been super sensitive about what they said in front of her. But now, everyone was busy with school too. So Seonghwa advised her to attend school too, to not get behind her studies. But Seohyun said that technically, she was still in hospital which meant she could skip school now.

It took her one day without them, bored out of her mind, and she decided that yes, she would go to school too.

So everyday, she sat in her seat, not really paying attention to the lectures but still feeling like she was a part of this world. A part of the living.

And she'd help a lot of ghosts too. Ghosts didn't find her like they did when she was alive, but occasionally she'd stumble upon a lost ghost and help them out, saying she was 'experienced' in helping the fellow-dead.

She was out helping a ghost, a little girl barely 7 years old. She missed her mom and was still hanging on because she had to give her mom a gift, she had promised to. Seohyun's heart went out for the little girl, and she decided to help her.

Seohyun took the girl to her own house, and the little girl went 'wow' when she realized she could touch things now. So Seohyun gave her a nice page and colour pencils while the girl made a drawing. The gift to her mom.

Seohyun hadn't been home in quite a while now. She walked around her room, memories of San and Jiwoo coming to her mind. She smiled as she took the painting of Jiwoo in her hands.

"I'm done!" The girl said, and Seohyun placed the painting back, going to the desk.

"So your name is Yerim?" She asked and Yerim nodded. She had made a cartoon of herself and her mom, labelling it.

"That is a beautiful drawing, Yerim. I'm sure your mom would love it."

Yerim smiled and Seohyun pinched her cheeks. "Now let's give that to your mom."

Yerim guided her to her home, and they went inside, deciding to hide the painting in Yerim's room so when her mom would come, she'd find it, and think she had already made it before she died.

"Thank you, unnie!" Yerim hugged Seohyun and she marvelled at the feeling. She hadn't touched anyone since she'd been a ghost.

Seohyun picked the girl in her arms. "You're so light!" Yerim laughed and hugged her again. They got out of the house, walking randomly, Yerim still in her arms. The black cat started following them too.

"The cat can see you?" Yerim asked.

"Oh yes. When I was... alive, it was my friend. It's still my friend when I'm ghost."

"That's cool," Yerim said as she waved at the cat.

Seohyun asked, "Now that you have done what you stayed here for, you should go now. There's a better world, where you'll wait for your mom. She'll be there soon."

"Will she?" She asked and Seohyun nodded.

"Can we go to the park over there? I used to come there to play with my mom. It has so many flowers too."

"Of course," Seohyun looked at where she had pointed. The park was full of kids and their parents, playing around. "That's a nice place."

Seohyun dropped Yerim and she asked if she would be able to touch the cat. She squealed in surprise when she could.

"What's the name of this cat?"

"Ah. I haven't named it yet..." Was it Shiber or Byeol?

"You can call it Yerim!"

Seohyun paused. She got the strange urge to stretch her cheek.

"You're very cute, Yerim. I'll call her that," Seohyun smiled.

Yerim nodded, looking at the kids, and Seohyun watched her fade away. Feeling the sudden urge to cry, she shook her head and motioned for the cat to follow her.

After roaming around aimlessly, Seohyun reached the warehouse, finding it utterly dark. Not even the usual light was on.

"Where did everyone go?" She muttered, turning to go out, almost jumping out of her skin when she heard what sounded like a blast.

It was a party popper.

"Happy birthday!"

Seohyun turned to find everyone clapping and holding a cake, the only light in the room from the candles. San was laughing at Seohyun's horrified expressions. She truly had forgotten that it was her birthday. She shook her head, laughing.

"You guys, you're- how did you plan this?"

"It took us days to plan," San admitted, and Wooyoung said, "We had to think of a way you'd be busy today."

"But I was busy today because- no way. No way!" Seohyun looked at San in disbelief and he nodded. "I found her before you did and asked her to keep you busy. She was more than happy to."

"Wow," Seohyun shook her head, pinching her nose bridge but smiling at the effort.

"Blow the candles," Seonghwa said, and Yeosang took to his filming.

Seohyun felt strangely happy as she blew her candles, not bothering to make a wish. Hongjoong turned on the lights and she looked around, noticing the various gifts lying in the corner, and her favourite dishes on the table.

San led them to the table, where she cut the cake and made everyone take a bite from her hands. She couldn't thank them enough; this was the first time she had a surprise- or even a celebration.

"I wish the circumstances were different," Seohyun sighed.

San told them what she said and Yunho answered, "It doesn't feel any different. Only we can't see or hear you, so we have to visualize. Oh, and we get more jump-scares now."

Seohyun laughed, and they dug into the food.

After they all were done, they asked her to unwrap her gifts. So Seohyun grabbed the largest one first, which was from Yunho. It was a school bag, with space for laptop too.

"I noticed yours was kind of worn out," Yunho grinned. Seohyun scribbled on the notebook, saying 'Thank you for noticing! :)'. The others applauded him for the approval.

The next one was from Mingi. It was a beautiful leather band watch, which she loved, saying she wished she could put it on right now, and wondering for a moment that if she did, where would it go when she was back?

Yeosang had gifted her some chocolates from abroad, conveniently his father had been out of country. And since he knew her love for chocolate was one to be appreciated, he decided on it. Seohyun almost cried when she spotted her favourite ones.

"I do have another gift, but you'll have to wait for it," he admitted. Seohyun narrowed her eyes, scribbling 'It better be worth it' and moving on to the next.

Jongho had given her a scented set; shampoo, lotion and candle. Hongjoong got her a cap and sunglasses, rather stylish, and Seohyun had to admit she was impressed by his choice. Seonghwa had gifted her a black cat plushie- very, very similar to Yerim the cat. Seohyun admitted it might be her favourite gift. Wooyoung had gifted her a set of earrings, and she appreciated that it was just her taste. And San got her a couple ring, making everyone including herself gasp when they saw it.

"I didn't know what to get..." San scratched the back of his neck.

"No, I love it. It's so pretty!" It was just her style; a silver band with a tiny diamond in the center. Seohyun tried it on, showing it to San excitedly who laughed, approving. He wore his own too.

"Aw, this is so sweet. Except it looks like San proposed to himself," Wooyoung said, earning a smack from Seonghwa.

Seohyun took it off, handing it to San. "I'll wear it when I'm back."

"You wanna go for a walk?" San asked, and she nodded, getting up and asking him to convey her thanks to everyone, that they should keep this stuff here and she'll properly receive them and thank them when she was back.

After everyone said goodbye, San and Seohyun started walking aimlessly around, San telling her how it had taken them a whole week to plan, which included panicking over gifts too. Since it was their first time with Seohyun, it was more difficult to decide on what she'd like.

"I would have loved anything you gave me, even if it was stupid. I appreciate the gesture more."

"I know," San smiled at her. Seohyun was looking at him with a smile on her face, taking in the details on his pretty face, that she didn't notice a bike rushing and on its way to hit her.

Of course she wouldn't get hit, but out of impulse, San grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the side, "Even if you're a ghost, you should be careful-"

"How- how did you did you just touch me?"

San looked at her, then looked down at his hands, then looked at her again. "Did I?"

Seohyun frowned. Slowly, taking a step towards him, she touched his face, and they sucked in their breath.

She could touch him.

Seohyun laughed in disbelief, touching his face, feeling every angle and curve of it, and San's hands went to grab her hands, marvelling at the touch. He hugged her, not quite believing it until he could feel her arms around her.

Seohyun broke the hug, joining their foreheads, for a moment forgetting everything else as she kissed him. God, it had been too long. They kissed each other in a frenzy, until San felt like someone dumped water on him and he broke apart.

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Seohyun breathed, "I don't know, I-"

Seohyun fell to the ground, clenching her head in her hands as she cried out in pain.

"What's happening?" San asked, panic lacing his voice, and Seohyun muttered that she did not know.

"I think I'm dying," Seohyun said, wincing because of the sharp pain, "Or something's happening. I'm being pulled back. San- I'm scared."

San was sitting down with her now, holding her in her arms, caressing her head, "It's gonna be alright," he said, pressing a kiss to her head, "It's gonna be alright."

He didn't know how long he stayed there comforting her as she breathed and faded. And he did not know how long he stared at the empty space in front of him, where Seohyun had just been.

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

It was utter chaos at the hospital- the doctors and the nurses were rushing around, everyone was borderline panicking. Seohyun was going into shock- her mother was crying hysterically as she watched the doctors go around her in a frenzy. A nurse told her to pray- she would either make it or pass away.

Her mother watched her heart beat flatline and the doctors resuscitate her. Her mother almost fainted as she watched the monitors- she was having flashbacks from the time her husband had passed away. Her friend Yuri came rushing in, leading her outside, rubbing her back and telling her it was better to wait and pray instead of watch what was going on.

Meanwhile, San, who had been staring at the empty space in front of him, where Seohyun had just been, slapped himself to reality and called Hongjoong, quickly telling him what had happened as he rushed through the streets, trying to find a taxi. The boys joined him, their faces pale, and they ran to the main street until they found taxis and drove to the hospital, not being able to calm their loudly thumping hearts.

As soon as they reached the hospital, they looked at each other once, nodding, scared for what they would get to hear. Most of them were trembling now- but they followed each other to the ICU, where they spotted the doctors coming out of the room.

Yunho spotted Yuri and ran to her, "How's Seohyun? What happened to her?"

Yuri narrowed her eyes at Yunho, "How did you know...?"

Yunho internally cursed himself before making up an excuse, "I was passing by here when I heard the doctors call the others to Seohyun's room- I called the rest. It wasn't looking good."

Yuri nodded, "She's okay now. She's awake, in fact. Look," Yuri pointed at the door that was slightly open, and Yunho saw her mother smiling through tears, holding Seohyun's hand, who was smiling too.

Yunho sighed in relief, almost falling on his knees. He thanked Yuri and motioned the rest to join him, and the rest knew it was good news with the smile on Yunho's face. They watched the mother and daughter smile and talk to each other, and they hugged each other in relief, their eyes wet.

Seohyun spotted the group of boys outside, waving at them. The boys waved back and they watched her say something to her mother, who nodded, getting up after kissing her forehead and coming out.

"I never thought Seohyun could have so many friends one day," Her mother smiled at them.

"It's good to meet you," Jongho said, and they bowed in greeting.

"You can meet her now- try not to be too loud," she laughed, waving at them.

The boys walked slowly to her room, taking in Seohyun's appearance- there were shadows under her eyes, a few scars on her face and hands, but her smile was the only thing they could see.

"Come here. I missed you all so much!"

Jongho went first, shaking hands with her, the rest coming one by one, holding back from hugging her or ruffling her hair because of the bandages on her head and everywhere else. They were all a little speechless, having seen Seohyun after so long now.

Even San was speechless- he had seen Seohyun everyday, but not like this.

"I thought you'd be happier to see me," Seohyun looked at San.

"I... I am, I just-" San shook his head, looking down as he trembled from trying to hold back his tears, "I really thought... that you were gone."

Seohyun sighed, pursing her lips. "I have given you all a hard time, haven't I?"

They all shook their heads, Mingi and Wooyoung rubbing San's back who was trying his hardest not to cry but ultimately failed. Hongjoong said they'd give them a moment and they left the room.

"San. Come on, look at me. San!"

San sniffed, wiping his eyes before looking at her. Tears formed in her own eyes and she wiped them.

"I'm so sorry, San. I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry for anything," San leaned forward, taking her hand in his- it had been too long. "Nothing to be sorry about, except scaring the shit out of me."

Seohyun laughed, "I scared the shit out of myself too, not gonna lie."

"I can't believe you're real," San admitted, bringing her hand to his face, reveling the feeling of her touch, "I am awake, am I not?"

Seohyun slapped his face lightly with her other hand. "Very much awake."

San took his sweet time not saying anything, just looking at her face, his lips on her hand.

"Say something, San. You're being weird."

San shook his head, kissing her hand. "I am never leaving you, ever. Get that in your head. No amount of death jokes are going to scare me away. You're stuck with me now until I die."

Seohyun flushed at the sudden confession. "Are you sure? I can make horrible jokes."

"As sure as I will ever be."

Seohyun smiled until she was laughing, tears running down her face. "God, I love you, San. I'm not leaving you too. Even if you're angry with me, disappointed in me, or whatever, I'll keep bugging you."

"Good to hear," San grinned.

"Come here," Seohyun motioned, and San asked her if it was okay. Seohyun just grabbed his collar and gave him a light peck on his lips.

"I can't hug you right now, but I can do this."

San smiled, returning the favour. They both stared at each other, smiling.

"Now that is a creepy sight I wish I will never see again. Tell me you got that on camera, Wooyoung."

"Right on," Wooyoung replied to Hongjoong, and Seohyun tried throwing her pillow at them, groaning in pain when she turned too harshly. San told her to calm down, throwing the pillow himself.

"It's our turn now, you've been seeing her for months now!" Yeosang shouted, and Seohyun laughed as she watched them push San out of the way, making him sit in the corner and pout while they sat in front of her, taking turns to talk to her.

"How did it feel while you were a ghost?" Wooyoung asked.

"Like I was alive, but not real?"

"Did it hurt when you became a ghost, or when you went back?" Seonghwa asked.

"When I went back, yes, I felt like my head was about to burst-"

"Can you still see ghosts now?" Mingi asked.

"I don't know yet-"

"Let her rest!" Hongjoong clapped once, "We'll have plenty of time to catch up when she comes home."

Seohyun pouted and Hongjoong patted her shoulder, "Glad you're back, Seohyun."

Seohyun smiled, wriggling her brows at him and they all waved at her before leaving, San coming to kiss her hand once before leaving. Seohyun sighed- he was being so soft.

Her mother came in, trying to stifle her smile but failing. "You have many friends now, it seems."

"I do," Seohyun nodded, smiling back, "I have a boyfriend too."

Her mother raised one eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips. "Lee Seohyun! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Which one was he?"

"The one who left last, San."

"Oh," her mother gave her a thumbs up, "How did it happen?"

Seohyun told her to sit because it was a long story, and then told her all about how she had met San, how he was able to see ghosts now too, because of her, and how they, at one point, started liking each other.

"Were you a ghost when you were in a coma?"

Seohyun bit her lip, nodding.

"And these friends knew?"

"They did. San could see me, but he couldn't touch me. At least not until tonight, just before it happened."

Her mother sighed, leaning back. "Is there a reason none of them, and not even you, bothered to tell me that you were a ghost?"

"I wanted to- I slept every night and woke up here, with you. I heard you talk to me. I couldn't break your heart, mom. Not when I wasn't sure if I was going to make it."

"I understand," She nodded, earnest, "How did this even happen?"

"It was an old ghost- a vengeful one. Apparently when you kill a 'mediator'- that's what they call me, there are a few moments before the mediator thing passes to another person. During those moments, ghosts can trespass and interact with humans and whatnot. At least that's what that bitch told me-"

"Language-"

"I'm talking about the ghost who tried to kill me."

"Oh, that bitch, go on."

"So apparently ghosts can't kill the mediators. So she tried doing it to me indirectly, which ended up killing her."

"Good riddance! But I hope you will have stopped seeing ghosts now. I don't want you to get in more trouble," her mother's eyes were full of worry.

"I don't think that happened, but at least nobody will try to kill me now."

The mother and daughter sat thinking for a few moments. Finally, her mother spoke, "You're getting discharged in three days. If you want to take a break from school, if you want to go on a trip, I can do that-"

"Thank you, mom," Seohyun smiled, "I just want to live like I had been living. Normally. We can go somewhere during the New Year holidays if you're free- otherwise, I just want to go to school, spend time with the boys, do normal stuff."

"I took extra days off," her mother nodded, "We can go visit your grandparents in the countryside."

"Sure! I haven't seen them in forever."

"You can go with the boys somewhere if you want to before New Year. I won't be home for Christmas- I have business in Japan. But if you want me home for Christmas-"

"Please, it's really okay, mom," Seohyun nodded furiously, "I won't be alone this time. Just promise you'll be home for New Year."

"I promise," she smiled.

"Done. I'll plan something with the boys."

Three days later, Seohyun was finally discharged, the bandages off her and she felt light. Seohyun took a look in the mirror when she got home- the wounds on her face would fade with time. She was alive, and that was all that mattered.

The boys had paid a visit every night, and it was time for her to return the favour. Seohyun decided she would buy something for them each- a Christmas gift, a gift because she woke up. She told them all to be there at night while she went shopping.

Two hours later, several shopping bags in her hands, she stood outside the warehouse. The air felt incredibly different now that she was alive.

Seohyun closed her eyes, relishing the feel of the wind on her skin, blowing the hair away from her face.

"Home."

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

"Hi guys!" Seohyun stood awkwardly, waving the bags in her hands. The boys all turned, hooting as they rushed towards her, and for a moment, Seohyun almost had a heart attack.

"STOP!" She shouted, and they stopped in their tracks, realizing their mistake. "One at a time, okay? Go back and sit."

They obeyed, muttering things under their breath and San approached her, taking some of the bags away from her.

"Can I hug you first?"

"Not fair!" Wooyoung shouted.

Seohyun laughed while San glared at Wooyoung, "We'll have plenty of time later, but here," She gave him a brief hug, sighing into it. It was the first time she was going to hug everyone after the accident.

She had been discharged from the hospital the next night, after the doctors made sure everything was okay. The bandages were off now, mostly. Some scars remained- one running down her temple as well. She had been home the past days, not being able to meet anyone, taking her time to get her energy back, only going out shopping with her mom.

"Alright," Seohyun placed the bags in front of the table where everyone sat, "This is going to be a random pick. I got you all gifts for Christmas, so I'm going to pick a bag. Here-" Seohyun picked one, "Yeosang!"

Yeosang got up haughtily, flipping his hair, motioning at them to applaud and they did, faces grumpy as he approached Seohyun and hugged her, almost picking her up in the air.

"Don't crush me!" Seohyun laughed, and Yeosang finally broke the hug, patting her head.

"We didn't get you anything for Christmas yet."

"You don't need to, you got me enough for the birthday-"

"We'll just give you food then," Jongho suggested.

"Deal," Seohyun winked at him, handing Yeosang the bag. "Open it."

Yeosang looked at her pointedly, opening the box to reveal a small flying drone. Yeosang gasped in surprise and Seohyun looked proud.

"I may have noticed you doodling drones in your notebook."

Yeosang laughed and thanked her, saying she knew him well. Seohyun picked the next bag.

"Seonghwa!"

Seonghwa pumped a fist in the air as he ran to Seohyun, hugging her.

"You hug like my mom does," Seohyun muttered.

"Glad you're back," he said, kissing her temple before he broke the hug. He opened the gift to reveal a set of-

"Hey, how did you know to get me these!" Seonghwa looked at Seohyun in surprise while the others tried to peek at what Seonghwa was holding, who took the boxes out to reveal action figurines. Seohyun smiled as she watched the rest laugh in approval.

"When you guys crashed my first date and took me shopping, I may have noticed you eyeing these in the shop- I don't know what category they are- I just memorized one of the toys of that set and went there and found it, to my relief."

"You're very observant," Seonghwa eyed her and she curtsied, earning another thanks.

"Can I come next?" Jongho said, pointing at the giant bear wrapped messily lying in the corner, "It's a bit too obvious now to pretend I don't see it."

Seohyun bit her lip, trying not to laugh, "Please do."

Jongho smiled, skipping to Seohyun, hugging her such that she was dangling in the air, arms flapping wildly at the side, and then the two skipped to where the bear was- it was about Seohyun's size. Jongho tore the wrappers and laughed-

"You really had to?"

Seohyun smiled at the apple necklace the bear wore- it was a special touch she added to Jongho's gift. "I mean, I could have gifted you a crate of apples-"

Yeosang laughed out loud, causing the others to laugh as well, "The apples wouldn't have lasted a day."

"It's not that bad!" Jongho sulked, dragging the bear to the couch and hugging it, pouting. Seohyun shook her head at him, picking the next bag.

"Yunho!"

Yunho hooted in victory, pausing in front of Seohyun for a second before spreading his arms, and Seohyun gladly hugged him, laughing because she barely reached his shoulders.

"Glad you're back, you dwarf."

"Thanks, you giant puppy," Seohyun shook her head, breaking the hug and handing him the bag. Yunho eyed her before fishing out a long box, unwrapping it.

Seohyun watched as his mouth opened in surprise, and he looked at Seohyun, then back at the boys, then back at her.

"What is it?" Wooyoung asked, "Don't make me get up now-"

"How did you get your hands on this!" Yunho laughed out loud, taking out a wand from the box, "This is Harry's wand, right?"

"Harry's wand!" Mingi wowed, and Hongjoong shook his head, "Isn't this too much! When did you get the time!"

"Actually, this wasn't a Christmas gift," Seohyun admitted, and Yunho looked at her in surprise, "You remember when we talked about Harry Potter all day in school when I was... alive? Before becoming a ghost, I mean-"

"I do," Yunho shook his head, "You're still alive, you know."

Seohyun waved a hand in dismissal, "Anyways, one of mom's friends was in UK, and I had asked her to get me a wand from there, so I asked to bring another."

"I don't know- isn't this too much?" Yunho looked at her hesitantly, and Seohyun rolled her eyes, looking at San who was laughing silently.

"Shut up. Next!" Seohyun announced, ignoring Yunho and picking another bag. "Hongjoong!"

"When is my turn!" Wooyoung wailed loudly, Mingi joining, and Seohyun watched as the two started playing rock papers scissors to bet on who would be next.

"How did you even bring all these here," Hongjoong asked as he hugged her, long and good, "Wasn't it too much trouble?"

"It's okay," Seohyun rubbed his back before they broke apart, and Seohyun handed him the bag. "Here."

Hongjoong looked at her pointedly, "This looks the smallest."

"I can assure you, it was the most expensive-"

"Hey!" Hongjoong laughed, "I'm not opening this."

"Stop being so dramatic, we're waiting!" Wooyoung shouted, Mingi doubling over with laughter.

"I'll do the honours," Seohyun picked the box and tore the wrapper apart. "I had to."

Hongjoong almost dropped the box as he held it- it was headphones- but high quality ones- ones he wish he could have to make him hear the sound betters when he composed in his laptop. "Seohyun-"

"Don't-"

"How can I accept this!"

"You know I could get you better things- my mom's loaded. She was all too glad when I told her that you were the guys I was buying gifts for. Please, Hongjoong, it's not much."

Hongjoong shook his head, "I know it's not much to you, but to us, it is. I'd appreciate it if you don't spend money like that again-"

"Shut up," Seohyun shook her head, "It's my first time getting someone gifts. First time getting someone something meaningful, first time I actually put thought into all of this. First time I was excited. Please," Seohyun wrapped his hands in hers, "Accept it."

"You're gonna make me cry now," Hongjoong laughed, bringing her in for another hug. "Thank you. I won't forget this."

"Thank you for accepting," Seohyun laughed, and Hongjoong went back, flaunting his headphones as he examined them.

"Okay, Mingi, you're next."

Mingi almost fell as he got up in victory, waving his butt at Wooyoung and earning a smack, skipping as he came to Seohyun and hugged her dramatically, picking her and actually making her scream-

"Drop me, you giant!" Seohyun slapped his arms repeatedly, and he finally dropped her, pretending she had hit her too hard. Seohyun slapped his arm again, finally smiling.

Mingi went to where his bag was- finding two boxes- his recent two favourite anime's action figurines.

"You remembered!"

"I also got you the recent volumes!" Seohyun fished out another bag from under the table and Mingi wowed, checking as if he couldn't believe it.

"You have good memory! When did I tell you which volumes I had?"

"Some time in school?" Seohyun smiled, "I didn't know what else to get you- I already gave you the drums, I could have waited till Christmas I guess-"

"Oh come on, they're yours-"

"They're yours now," Seohyun announced, and Yunho started clapping, "I mean, I'm a co-owner. Deal?"

"Deal," Mingi ruffled her hair, thanking her.

"Finally now, it's my time!" Wooyoung came singing, almost running to Seohyun as he crashed into her, spinning her and kissing her forehead, "I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are alive!"

"Even if I was dead," Seohyun began, "I feel like I wouldn't have been able to move on because of you-"

"Hush, now," Wooyoung shook his head, laughing. "Hey, mine is the lightest! Hongjoong!"

Hongjoong was too absorbed in his headphones to respond and San finally got up, telling Wooyoung to hurry up so they could have 'alone time'. Wooyoung unwrapped his gift-

"BTS' ALBUM!"

Seohyun flinched at how loud he was and San came to cover her ears as Wooyoung shouted in surprise and amazement, thanking Seohyun to which she nodded, still flinching as he ran around flaunting the album.

"You brought this upon yourself," San laughed, and Seohyun smiled as Wooyoung crushed her in another hug, thanking her again and again.

"You want me to take it back!"

"NO!"

"THEN SHUT UP!" Seohyun shouted as loudly as Wooyoung who only grinned.

"I knew there was something about you that I just had to make you friend-"

"Anddd that's enough," San slapped the back of Wooyoung's head, "Let's go to dinner after an hour, guys. Meanwhile, I'm stealing her."

With that, San put his arm on Seohyun's back, guiding her out as the boys 'ooh-ed', making her flush. Seohyun couldn't help but smile as San led her out of the warehouse, taking her at the backside where the boys had set up a small place with a tent and couches for when the weather was nice and they wanted to sit out.

"I wish we could go somewhere else, but I don't want to waste this hour," San said, leading her to the couches, pausing to look at her, his hands hesitant as he touched her face, "How have you been?"

"Oh please, it's not like we didn't call at nights the past two days- I'm fine, really."

San touched the scar at her temple, kissing it, making her flush deeper, "I'm glad to hear that."

Seohyun pushed San's chest, "You're being too... mushy."

"Mushy?" San raised an eyebrow, laughing as they sat on the couch, facing each other.

"You're sometimes too romantic for me to handle, you know that?" Seohyun folded her arms.

"I haven't even begun-"

"Exactly what I mean!" Seohyun shook her head, and San laughed, scooting closer.

"Tell me you missed me. Tell me you missed... us."

Seohyun bit her lip, scanning his face- the moonlight making his cheekbones appear sharper, his eyes dark.

"Can't say I didn't," Seohyun sighed, "Let me hug you first."

San brought her closer and she wrapped her arms around him, almost in his lap, her head resting on his chest as she sighed, melting in the embrace. "I definitely missed this. I could sleep right here-"

"Don't you think about sleeping now."

Seohyun smiled, burying her nose in his neck, inhaling the scent of him- it felt like nostalgia, like home. "I never thought I'd appreciate hugs one day- not being in contact for these two months really put me in my place."

San broke the hug, looking at her face, "I could tell. You got Jongho that bear- you know he doesn't really like skin-ship but watch him cling to that bear for the rest of his life. I realized then."

"You're right, I'm surprised you noticed," Seohyun admitted, "He and I are alike in that. I knew he'd love it. Oh, and also, I got you something, but it's not here yet."

"What did you get me?"

"Don't be too surprised when it comes," Seohyun grinned, "I wasn't too sure- yours was the hardest to think of, but it just happened-"

"Please, I'm curious now," San pouted, whining. "I won't be able to stop thinking now that you reminded me-"

Seohyun kissed him to shut him up, breaking apart to look at his reaction- satisfied to see his eyes wide in surprise and then narrow in challenge.

"I guess I could use a distraction. We do have an hour."

Seohyun laughed, kissing him properly this time, taking it slow- it was the first time they were properly kissing since she was back. San held her face delicately, letting her set the pace. Seohyun's hands were more urgent, running through his soft hair, caressing his face, his neck, roaming around his back and chest as they kissed lazily.

"Don't hold me like I'm gonna break, Choi San."

It was all San needed to hear- he kissed her with a force that got her arching back until her back hit the couch itself, and San broke apart to caress her face and draw her hair back.

"I love you, Seohyun. Merry Christmas."

"And I love you, you mountain," Seohyun smiled, "Now kiss me."

The rest of the hour went by as they kissed, murmured sweet nothings as they sat in each other's embrace, or just watched each other, hands caressing hands. The hour went by slow yet it felt like a flash once it was over and they were interrupted with Wooyoung shouting at them to come inside already.

Holding each other's hands, they went inside and sat with the boys to plan where to go for dinner. Yunho looked at the two and burst out laughing, Mingi joining him.

One by one, they all started laughing, leaving San and Seohyun who stared at them. Even Hongjoong and Seonghwa- the serious ones were laughing.

"Did you two only make out during that one hour?" Yeosang shook his head, "Look at how disheveled you both are."

San and Seohyun immediately looked down, but their clothes were straight, and their hair wasn't messed up-

It was only when all of them burst out laughing that the two realized this was a trick- and San covered his face as he laughed while Seohyun gaped at them, getting up in search of something- grabbing a small cushion and running forward to hit them-

"It was Yunho's idea, don't hit me!" Mingi wailed.

"You're still an accomplice," Seohyun laughed as she ran at all of them, hitting them once on their heads to 'get their brains to kick start'. "So what if we only made out? I'll ask you all when you finally have partners, you loners!"

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

It was the first dinner Seohyun had with the boys since coming back to her normal life.

And it was chaotic, to say the least.

People had mistaken them for being a bunch of drunks one too many times, the way they were hollering with laughter and talking about ghosts as loudly as they could. But everything was okay- Seohyun hadn't felt happier in a while.

After a very lavish dinner, they all walked around the town, making fun of each other and playing, and before Seohyun could decide to leave for her home and bid everyone goodnight, Yeosang told her they had one last surprise for her at the warehouse before she went home.

"And why couldn't I get this surprise when we were back at the warehouse just a few hours ago?"

"You'll know why," Jongho teased, "Just come."

Seohyun rolled her eyes, secretly anticipating just what they had in store for her, and followed them to the warehouse.

"We'll be right back- stay here," Wooyoung said, dragging Jongho and Yeosang with him while the rest stood outside, waiting.

"Can I have a hint?" Seohyun folded her arms.

"Uh, nope." Hongjoong was firm.

"Is it something about a musical performance or a dance performance-"

"Can you calm down and wait?" Seonghwa laughed.

"Is this going to be a prank?" Seohyun raised her eyebrow.

"If it was a prank I would have been inside with them," Mingi raised his hand and Seohyun narrowed her eyes at him.

"Me too!" Yunho grinned, and Mingi and Yunho shared a look which set Seohyun pacing due to nervousness.

"Calm down," San laughed, his eyes full of adoration, "You'll love it. It's all I am allowed to say."

Seohyun pouted, eyeing the warehouse, not hearing anything at all. Another minute passed by which Seohyun had scratched near her fingernails out of nervousness when Wooyoung peeked out, giving a thumb up.

"Finally," Seohyun exhaled, and San took her hand in his as they walked inside.

They were greeted by the Siamese cat that Seohyun had gifted San, who finally named her Byeol. Yerim was their stray cat and Byeol was their pet cat, who loved staying inside the warehouse- her home.

Seohyun looked around. Everything was the same, except there was a projector now set up in front of the couches. "Are we watching a movie?"

"A short movie, you could say," Jongho took her other hand, leading her to the couch and making her sit in the middle, San sitting on one side and Yeosang on the other, and Wooyoung made sure everyone was sitting in front of the screen before he put the lights out, grinning as he sat on the floor mat in front of Seohyun. Seohyun playfully kicked his back, earning a slap to the leg.

"Okay, I'm starting it."

Yeosang clicked a button and there was static for a few seconds before music started to play- music she realized was from one of the samples she'd heard from Hongjoong. She raised her brow at him, and he just winked.

Seohyun went back to watching the screen, which went black and then a video clip started playing- she frowned as she realized where it was from- school.

"Hi," Wooyoung said, "I made a new friend today, but she's kind of scary so I don't know when I'll be able to get a proper vlog with her- ow!"

Seohyun smacked Wooyoung's head. The teacher was about to come in. Wooyoung hid the camera and Seohyun said, "I owe you one."

"You owe me nothing-"

"Should I tell the teacher what exactly you were doing?"

"Boomer," Wooyoung muttered.

Seohyun laughed out loud, "I never heard you call me a boomer!" She smacked the back of Wooyoung's head again, and he laughed out loud.

"This is exactly why you didn't hear me!" Wooyoung laughed, rubbing his head.

The clip changed and Seohyun recognized the scene again-

"I win," Yeosang smirked.

"Next game, come on."

Seohyun drew another blank page and the two restarted another game of tic tac toe. This time, Seohyun went first and she won. Seohyun put a line on her tally count.

"This will go on forever," Yunho, who was watching them, said, "Whenever Seohyun goes first, she wins. Whenever Yeosang goes first, he wins. You both have this figured out- why don't you just shake hands and accept the draw?"

"No."

Yunho laughed as the both had glared at him and said no in unison, flipping the page and starting another game. Mingi, who was filming, turned the camera to himself and shook his head.

"They're never gonna stop."

"We did stop," Yeosang laughed, "Only because the teacher came."

"So who won?" San asked.

Seohyun sighed, smiling, "We shook hands and accepted draw."

The scene changed again, and it was from when Seohyun had first seen the warehouse and revealed that she knew how to play the piano- apparently Jongho had caught her playing the melody that she remembered from Hongjoong. It followed by the clips of the truth and dare game they had that night- the one when Seohyun finally told the boys that she could see ghosts. Everyone had a good laugh over it and Seohyun felt nostalgic as she watched Hongjoong's Billie Jeans imitation and Yunho's golden retriever. Seohyun had stopped them from filming the ghost evidence back then.

The clips that followed were all... ghost evidence. The boys used to play games with Jiwoo- like cards, tic tac toe, or such games, and Seohyun watched with her mouth open in disbelief as the amount of 'evidence' clips passed.

"Good thing Jiwoo's not here- if she was, I would have personally seen her out of this realm."

San rubbed her arm, laughing, "You never stopped them from filming."

Seohyun just shook her head, smiling as the clips changed to a compilation of their last day with Jiwoo, of them playing in the water, playing games and just laughing and having a good time. Seohyun felt bittersweet at the memories.

"Now here starts the fun part," Wooyoung winked.

And sure enough, fun it was.

"It appears my definition of fun differs from yours," Seohyun flushed as she saw a compilation of clips of San and Seohyun being the most obvious couple- looking at each other adoringly, holding hands, talking, etc. "I feel exposed."

"This was my idea- to put these in," San admitted, grinning at her flushed self, "I knew you'd like it."

Seohyun rolled her eyes but smiled, and they all watched the various clips from their outings together, until-

"Oh," Seohyun realized why this gift from Yeosang was late.

The drums playing itself, the piano playing itself, food flying in the air, cushions being thrown- all Seohyun as a ghost, and she had to admit the direction of this movie was clever.

"I'm going to wait till the end credits to comment," Seohyun muttered, watching the day of her birthday, smiling because it really looked like they had filmed the whole thing.

Seohyun's grip on San's hand tightened when she saw the clip from the day at the hospital when she finally woke up- the 'creepy sight' Hongjoong had referred to and Wooyoung had filmed- the sight being San and Seohyun staring and smiling at each other, their foreheads joined.

"You really had to add this?" Seohyun kicked Wooyoung's back lightly, making everyone giggle.

"This is like the epilogue of the whole thing," Mingi said.

The video ended with a picture of the 8- which Jiwoo had clicked on the beach. The end credits rolled, crediting everyone except Seohyun- even Jiwoo.

"Come on, I must have made at least one of the videos or pictures there-"

"In case you haven't noticed, you barely use your phone," Yunho retorted, and Seohyun pouted.

"So," Wooyoung turned, "What do you think?"

Seohyun couldn't stop herself from smiling, looking up as she felt her eyes burn, and the boys started chanting "DON'T CRY", making her laugh harder.

"This really is a gift from all of you- the memories, though I think I should thank Yeosang first," Seohyun smiled at him, taking his hand, "Thank you. You didn't have to waste your time on this."

"It wasn't a waste of time," Yeosang shook his head, "I had this idea when you were still... a ghost. So instead of making it bleaky with only ghost memories, I decided to do something like this. Wooyoung helped me a lot too."

"You all make me cry too much," Seohyun wiped the corners of her eyes, "I was never this emotional-"

"Oh please," Seonghwa shook his head, "If we had a clip from every time that you cried-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Seohyun laughed, "Thank you, all of you. This, us here right now, is the greatest Christmas gift I could have from anyone of you-"

"Now don't go being all sentimental on us, Seohyun-"

"Ugh, you guys don't let me breathe!" Seohyun glared at Jongho, who was doubling over with Mingi, "I'm saying it again, and you all better not interrupt. I really love you guys. It's been a great few months, despite the bad things that happened. I wouldn't have made it back without you guys. Thank you for everything."

They all smiled, Seohyun taking time to make eye contact with everyone.

"Thank you for sticking with us, I guess," Seonghwa grinned.

Wooyoung nodded. "I know we can be a loud bunch-"

"You don't say," Seohyun muttered.

"See, you interrupt us too when we're all sentimental!" Wooyoung turned to glare at her.

"Hey, who's idea was it to befriend me again?" Seohyun shrugged, "You brought this upon yourself-"

"It was because we thought a girl in our group would so us good! If I had known you talked and sat like a guy-"

Wooyoung shut up when Seohyun kicked his back, harder this time, making everyone howl with laughter at the two of them bickering.

"Hey, she can be girly when she wants to be-"

"You're not helping, San!"

"It's imitation time, Yunho!" Yeosang called his attention and Yunho bowed, getting up and preparing himself to act like Seohyun.

He walked a few feet away, rolling his sleeves up, which already had the boys laughing, stealing Hongjoong's cap so he could complete the 'Seohyun' look.

"So here's how she walks-" Yunho hunched his shoulders a bit, his eyes darting here and there as he walked with light steps- a habit Seohyun had to make as less of a sound while walking as she could.

"It's because I look out for ghosts!" Seohyun folded her arms, slumping back as the boys laughed at the near perfect imitation, almost howling when Yunho slumped in the chair, sighing, legs apart but feet together, arms folded.

"That's perfect," Yeosang managed to say between laughter. Seohyun clenched her jaw, trying not to laugh.

"I feel exposed..."

"But that's how you really are like, baby," San scoffed.

"I could have been like one of those girls who's always walking like a model, sitting like this-" She tried mimicking those formal sitting positions, "And has her lashes fluttering every second, and is always worried about how she looks."

"See, I knew you'd fit in well with us," Wooyoung grinned, and Seohyun threw a pillow at him as San and Wooyoung started to bicker about Seohyun.

Seohyun smiled as she pet the cat that was now in her lap, looking around at the boys, all smiles and laughter, no worries. Yeosang noticed her expressions and raised his brows.

Seohyun smiled.

"This really does feel like home."

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

Thank you for reading and supporting! <3

[teawiththegods]

You know, I’ve been reading about tales of Hera for the past like hour or so and Ares makes a lot of sense having Hera as a mother, like personality wise, wrath wise, and whatnot. They’re both excedingly passionate in all emotional aspects and forces to be reckoned with, amongst other things. I’m not phrasing things well and I want to go more into detail about this but I’m exhausted and watch me say something that’d piss them both off😂

but anyway this felt like something worth noting because I don’t see it talked about and I just needed someone to talk to about it

*Raises hand* 🙋🏻‍♀️ Ive actually spoken about this a few times and it’s one of my favorite things! How much like his momma Ares is! He’s such a momma’s boy! I love him!

But yeah Ares gets pretty much most of his qualities from Hera for sure! That’s actually one of the reasons, I theorize, that Zeus and Ares don’t get along to too well and he always refers to Ares as “Hera’s son” 🤣

It’s actually become one of my favorite things overall to look at the Olympians and the qualities they inherited from their parents (well mainly Zeus) and it’s really kind of mind blowing how well it fits. It weirdly helps me believe in them more because I just don’t believe the Ancient Greeks purposefully made up those traits on their own.

Anyway here’s a post where I talk about Hera and mention how Ares inherited her rage

[touyaz]

Why do you like Naoya so much? Genuinely no hate, I’m just curious because I can’t stand him, lol

he just makes my dick hard tbh 🥵😩

jjk spoilers for the real answer 😋 this got kind of long lmao

tw familial abuse, trauma. not detailed but it is talked about throughout

okok honestly he's just,, an interesting character to me. like i know he's a douche bc of the misogyny and whatnot, but to me it all just highlights how he's a product of generational trauma & how his entire life is spent moulding him into the image of the perfect zen'in. it's like everything he says is smth he's learned from the zen'in textbook; he was never truly given a chance to become an individual, he was taught how to act and what he should be. idk it's just kinda sad to have all that individuality get taken away from you at a young age. also like, age-wise he's close to gojou (only a year younger iirc) and taking into account the relationship btwn zen'ins and gojous, i feel like there would've been a lot of pressure on him to be the ideal and be good enough to go up against satoru. i think it's emphasised in his wanting to be on par with touji and gojou; he's like constantly pushing himself to this unattainable dream that's been forced onto him because if he isn't as strong as his rivals then he's weak and useless. we already know how influential the zen'ins are (keeping maki from going from grade 4 to 1 or wtv) but she's also... part of a generation sort of helped by gojou. she still gets to go on tough missions and interact with other sorcerers (classmates and otherwise). but then we see touji who left the zen'ins and he. yknow. only made a living through murder. if naoya was to try fight against his own family, it's obvious they'd make his life even more hellish. he wouldn't have the connections maki does as a school student to get to do challenging missions. the zen'ins would keep him at a low grade so he wouldn't get good missions either. staying in the clan was probably the easiest way for him to protect himself from that life. whilst he's still mistreated he hasn't got it as bad as others since he's strong & has a cursed technique - giving all that up and willingly putting himself against the clan is just,, not the smartest thing to do which is understandable, if not a little relatable. he just wants to protect himself. he's putting himself first because that's all he's ever been taught to do.

honestly he reminds me of this girl I knew who was like kind of a model student in the sense that she'd answer all the homework questions and shit, whereas I'd like only answer the last few hard ones and call it a day. like she put in way more effort than i did into things, but then when it came to exams, I'd score higher. and like,, naoya just,, his whole life he's been pushed to the extremes to reach that goal and be the very best, but it's out of his reach. his birth didn't shift the balance of the universe like gojou's did. he's not got heavenly restriction like touji. he didnt even inherit the clan technique like megumi did. he's just some guy who's been put through the wringer, but nothing much amounts from his actions bc he's not as special as the ppl around him.

at the end of the day, he's remembered as being a dick bc no one thinks abt the kind of trauma he would've endured staying in the zen'in house bc it's never talked about in relation to him. we feel sad for maki, mai and touji bc their experiences are told outright, but we never think abt the ppl who had to stay in the house where that abuse all happened. ppl just assume if they stayed in the house they were either okay w it, or they were the females/ servants that you kind of feel bad for bc of implied mistreatment due to status/gender, but some (e.g. the mothers) you may dislike for 'enabling' the men. ugh idk if this point is making sense like I want it to, but it's like,,, because naoya fits the mould of the abuser (male, has cursed energy & technique), ppl don't ever think he can be the victim of that abuser ?? ..... Even tho he can be and he probably (at least imo) was. it's like ppl just assume bc naoya was quicker to submit to his position, nothing happened to him which I personally doubt is the truth. and it's like there's no one around him that can actually save him from that/ take him out of that cycle, so he falls back into what will keep him alive which is just obeying the abusers and fitting into that mould.

tbh, this thinking can be applied to others like jinichi but he's ugly so idc much abt him lolol. jkjk i also don't think he had as much pressure as naoya did to be perfect bc naoya was the one pushed to be the next head of the clan.

and even the extreme reaction of naoya wanting to kill megumi for becoming the next head just speaks volumes on his view of his own self-worth..... he's been trained to be the next head his whole life, but if he's not that then he's good for nothing and useless. all the suffering he endured was pointless.

ugh I really wouldve liked him to ,, yknow stay alive lmao bc i think that genuinely could've pushed him to change. the source of his generation of zen'ins' misery (the elders/ their parents) were all dead and so.... it would mean he'd get to grow into himself. he wouldn't have that external pressure on him, he wouldn't have to worry abt what they would think of him/ fitting their mould, and it just would've been such a nice redemption arc to actually see a change and see the humbling effects of maki's actions on him :(

I swear this is my last paragraph on him lmao but I think some of his own individuality comes out in a v harmless way in the japanese volumes. he actually refers to maki/mai with -chan at the end, and touji/gojou with -kun. the guys one I'm sure is become he's always viewed himself to be on par/ wanting to be on their level, so.... there's still some kind of respect for them & wanting to be closer to/more personal with them? which totally goes against what he's grown up to believe since they're the enemy?? and for the girls, whilst i know that suffix can be used in a belittling/ mocking way, its kinda cute to imagine that he says that bc at the end of the day they're his family and..... they're probably some of the only ppl he actually views as decent, relatable and, well, his /real/ family. he also calls his dad 'papa' which is probably his way of,,, trying to be cheeky and have some personality other than what he's been forced into being? it's like the child in him that's always wanted to be taken care of and live a normal life calling his dad papa to like,, paint the picture of normalcy when it's anything but. he probably gets away with small things like this bc he still generally listens to them and follows their ideals, so he's holding onto the small blessings when he can :(

[queenlucythevaliant]

#7, 9, 13, and 22 for the Bible study asks?

Ooh I'm so excited 🥰

7. Favorite Psalm

This one's very easy for me. There are many Psalms I love, but Psalm 16 is my Psalm, you know?

Like, I never really understood what people meant when they talked about their "life verses" and whatnot until I prayed Psalm 16 with my prayer group several years ago and came out the other side of that meeting with verses 5 and 6 etched across my heart.

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; truly I have a beautiful inheritance."

I'd never had verses that bubbled up inside me like that, and I haven't since. These lines (and the rest of the Psalm, but these lines in particular) cut to the spirit of my faith just so; they are ontologically true for me.

Also worth noting is that this is a Messianic Psalm ("You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.") After a fashion, these are the words of Christ.

9. Highlight from the Major Prophets

Since I've already discussed some of my favorite bits from Isaiah on this blog, why don't I highlight the first half of Jeremiah 23. Because woah. When I read this passage, I'm hit with what feels like a wall of God's faithfulness.

I won't quote the whole thing here, but these are some of the most beautiful promises God makes to the exiles. It's about the return from exile, about Jesus, and about God's ultimate faithfulness when all things are new, all at once.

“Behold, I will attend to [the captors] for your evil deeds [...] Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

[...] I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land."

(emphasis mine)

I love this so, so much because God already did this! The exiles returned to Israel and we have our righteous Branch. Yet we Christians are still in exile, awaiting the day when the faithful remnant is gathered home; when the Good Shepherd will reign over us as King and we will fear no more and no one will be missing from that Kingdom.

It sits so beautifully in that Christian tension between fulfillment and longing; faithfulness and promise; the already and the not-yet.

13. Favorite madcap adventure in Acts

I've gotta go with Peter's escape from prison for two reasons.

a) The whole situation with Rhoda slamming the door in Peter's face and then the disciples in the house sitting around discussing whether it's actually him while he keeps knocking probably increasingly loudly is just. Comedy gold. This is why there needs to be an Acts of the Apostles sitcom. You can't make this stuff up.

b) When I was studying for a middle school Bible test on this part of Acts, my mom pointed out the little detail about how the angel tells Peter to get dressed. What does this mean? In my mom's words, "No streaking during prison breaks!" Cue uproarious laughter.

22. Favorite name(s) of God

I've had a deep fondness for El Roi (God of seeing/God who sees me) since I was young, when I learned that Hagar's use of the name in Genesis 16 is one of the very few times in Scripture (arguably the only time) when a human attributes a name to God rather than God revealing one of His names to us.

It's a very human act, to give a name, and yet God is only really knowable through revelation. I'm sure He revealed that aspect of Himself to Hagar, but it's always felt to me like a very intimate, human moment.

It's also a very intimate, human name. What is intimacy? It's being truly seen. We long to be seen and loved, yet we fear to be seen and not loved. It's the age-old struggle of every human relationship ever. "The mortifying ordeal of being known," to use a Tumblr-ism.

Yet God sees us. He sees me wholly and utterly. He knows and considers all parts of me, from the most base and depraved to the most noble and Christlike. He never stops seeing me, no matter how far I run or how deep I sink. It's sobering, yet it's also comforting. I'm not an easy person to know.

There are others, but I got a whole four paragraphs about just that one. I can discuss others if someone else asks, maybe 😊

[randomnameless]

I realized something else since you just brought up the feudalism discussion.

Feudalism is defined by distinct classseperation.

However there are two characters who transcend this class system in game

Mercedes, who is to marry a Noble as a Commoner, and nobody bats an eyelash. Okay not to bad. Shes crested So its obviously for the crest

But the other character, Dorothea. She is allowed to shamelessly flirt, possibly even mingle with Nobles and wed them. Without any lashback.

Class system, that Edelgard apparently wants to abandon Where?

Well,

I'd say class separation is a staple, but imo what marks feudalism is the reciprocal obligations between a lord and its vassals. In a way, it's a two way contract.

A lord who doesn't rule/protect his vassals loses support and the right to order said vassals around.

A vassal who doesn't obey to his lord, send taxes, men and whatnot per his oath loses the right to be called a vassal, and the lord's protection, and well, the vassal is deposed.

In Fodlan?

We can have Lonato, a minor Lord of the Kingdom... mount an attack against the Church, and possibly fight - with intent to kill - his own crowned Prince!

If Fodlan was a feudal system, House Gaspard would have immediately be razed to the ground, and Ashe? Wouldn't have been allowed to hang out near Dimitri, he'd most likely be treated as a pariah by the Kingdom, he wasn't part of Lonato's rebellion, but Lonato brought "ruin" to his House, Ashe is part of said House, so Ashe loses.

Sylvain "women only want me for my crest and status :( "'s complains would be... completely worthless, because yes, you don't marry for "tru luf" in a feudal system. Houses and vassals try to be more and more important, so Sylvain would have had to marry someone of the same standing - because he has a crest and can offer the Gautier name - to a prospective bride who can... offer the same, more influence to the Gautier family.

Adding to this, I don't know how Faerghus deals with inheritence (crest first?) but if Sylvain is siring bastards right and left, he can possibly ruin his House if the only Gautier heir with a crest of Gautier was sired on Garreg Mach's local washer, and not on the prospective heiress of a certain family.

In the Empire though...

As you pointed out, the "feudalism :( " take makes even less sense, because Dorothea lives from her trade, without being a noble or a peasant or the daughter of a famous singer (maybe she is??). And as a "diva", she can marry into rich and aristocratic families, when she only brings... her looks and not much else, inheritence wise.

Maybe there are novels about doomed romances between nobles and commoners - but only Lorenz talks about it, when talking about his future brides, and even so, this issue is mostly averted because the war happens and we will never know what happens to Gloucester's county, or duchy, or whatever it is called.

Mercedes is even in a worse situation, if a Crest is apparently highly valuable... then why was her family disbanded, or why Papa Bartels didn't want to marry her to someone who had a higher position (or worse, give her to Ionius to gain status as a concubine's house) to upgrade the reputation and standing of House Bartels ?

Why treating Mercedes and Emile, all crested bearers, like shit when they are the gold nuggets in marriage discussions ? Apparently Emile was supposed to marry Constance?

The discussion about the "class system" is so shallow, when you want to tackle it seriously, that it's not really a discussion, but, imo, just something some people "parrot" because "reforms" - not realising that there is not a single class system in Fodlan because Fodlan is 3 countries (+ a monastery) and "Teh Emperor choses who's on top based on MERIT" is also a "class system" based on who is, per the Emperor, the most qualified at their job.