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#sorry to everyone here these are the unfortunate reasons why i relate to this man
sexybabystevie · 2 years
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how you know things are bad - i deeply miss dean winchester
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chnt-confessions · 3 months
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i think i'm the only person in the entire fandom that has any genuine empathy for elijah, and i'm stuck thinking there's something deeply wrong with me for that. i feel like quite a lot of people split black on him (and joshua) and then split white on jedidiah, and sydney. the ONLY two options are to dehumanize or objectify him. no hate to jedidiah-likers, but jedidiah is not a victim. he doesn't act entirely the way he does because of trauma, he acts that way because he implicitly looks down on sydney. what kind of man jeopardizes the entire world for a man that he let gravely sick in the first place, only to gaslight and neglect him?? all this because of mommy and daddy issues that, like, 70% of the population has?? i had to headcanon extra issues and trauma for him to just to keep myself sane. i don't mean to invalidate his trauma, but he has lived such a privileged life and can easily go to therapy and yet. i'm sorry but it's bojack-horseman levels of "how tf do you expect me to feel bad for you? lmao." like, i need him to get better because people will likely die if he gets any worse, but other than i couldn't care less about this guy. i'm way more sympathetic to sydney because he's trying his best but he seems to have an empathy deficiency of some kind (it's not his fault but it is painfully obvious sometimes and i wish i could fix him but i have to fix myself first because i also deal with this); i also relate to the "feeling unlovable" aspect of things.
we have only seen elijah at his worst. the elephant man is elijah "mental breakdown, 2 years and counting psychotic episode" core; did everyone just assume he was born like that? and if he was, that would also make me sad tbh. he had a similar upbringing to jedidiah and yet he does not show it at all and i'm wondering what tf was different. he also generally sucks at being a villain sometimes (i.e. telling sydney his weakness, letting sydney go back to jedidiah, reacting way better than most people would when sydney told him that he couldn't get the journals). when jedidiah says "sydney, you're always fine." vs when elijah says it; jedidiah said it to gaslight sydney and because he feels bitter about the fact he's working so hard to keep sydney alive and can't use it to manipulate him (i'm joking but i'm also not joking), while elijah was just being a little acolyte and also he's symbolically the earth, so when he says the earth will catch him when he falls, he is fr. idk what snapped in him with the murder-suicide thing but considering that he is the earth, and unfortunately due to sydney's weird little mind and jedidiah's horribleness, the earth is, like, post-apocalyptic now so it probably has something to do with that (idk why he switched from stabbing to burning alive; probably cuz of the theatrics/j). anyway, he does suck and he needs to go back to russia and never come back for everyone's good, but i really do think he would be better than jedidiah could ever be (yes, even with therapy; i'm literally speaking facts/hj) if "everyday [wasn't] a living fucking nightmare." and i'm constantly like "._." whenever i remember that jedidiah is the reason "everyday is a living fucking nightmare." also i really wanna see someone do elijah/the elephant man analysis/interpretation that doesn't reek of disgust and hatred (or lust; do whatever you want, but i'm judging you rn), just for variety tbh. here is his official playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/389N5sUULTXFC63I3CSn7c?si=756dacaa18cd491c some of the songs in here are, like, "???" and i want to see someone's else's take on them (even elijah haters tbh) sorry for the essay, that's all i wanted to say :)
also im so happy that i can say this anonymously, thank you chnt-confessions for doing god's work, i love you platonically <3
(ABOUT THE LAST PART) no need to apologize and I'm really glad to make you happy!!
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eletricheart · 1 year
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I miss you
(Mother Miranda x fem!reader)
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*image creds to the owner
Word count: 724
I gave the reader a name at the end, she's called Elizabeth (Eliza for short).
I got this idea from an specific scene from the book The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. It's a few letters exchanged by Miranda and Eliza. Just angst, sorry.
ps: not proofread, sorry for any mistakes.
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(1898 - age 8)
It was a sunny afternoon at the village. You and Miranda were hiding near a cave to read this new book supposedly about an old kingdom named Camelot.
You were sitting side by side, with you doing the reading and Miranda resting her head on your shoulder.
"Is this all true?" Miranda asked.
You paused the book and furrowed your brows. "I'm not sure."
She lifted and tilted her head in confusion. "Then, why are you reading it?"
You smiled. "For fun."
Miranda pouted. "I do not understand you."
You laughed and shook your head. "It's hard to explain. It's like there's no logic, you just find a character like you, relate to them and read it to the end. The reason I'm reading is to find out what happens to Merlin, and Arthur obviously."
Miranda huffed. "How could you relate to an elderly magician?"
You laughed. "Physical characteristics aside, even though he is different from everyone else, he still found true friendship. I suppose I like that." You responded with a shy shrug.
She slowly nodded, deeply in thought. "Can I be Arthur?"
You smiled. "Of course, we'll always be best friends."
����
(1905)
Hi,
I apologize for leaving so suddenly. Father has forbidden me from seeing you ever since that night, and only a few days ago he decided to move to another town. My brother, Luke, said he would help me with the letters. After all, father can't find out about this, I don't know what he would do if that happened.
I'm sorry again, I hope you can forgive me.
Your magician,
Merlin
𓄿
Hello,
My dear, I never blamed you for leaving, you have told me many times of your family. Thankfully, mine does not care for me, therefore I am still "free".
I am truly glad your brother has decided to help with the delivery. My day brightens with news of you, even though nothing compares to having you by my side.
How is the new village? awful?
Your highness,
Arthur
𓄿
Hi,
To answer your question, yes the town is awful. Father has not only pulled me away from you but also forbidden me from leaving the house without him, as if I would run away. (I would)
What truly pains me the most is not seeing you. These past few months have felt like a decade without you here.
I wish I could see you again.
Your lov best friend,
Merlin
𓄿
(1909)
Hi, best mother of the world
My brother just brought the news, I'm so happy for you. I already adore the child. Eva is also a beautiful name. Was it inspired by the bible? and you said you didn't like fiction.
I've been trying to visit you the town. Things in my house have been calmer since Ew Edward arrived. I believe they're trying to arrange my marriage.
please save me
Your elderly,
Merlin
𓄿
Hello,
Eva is such a blessing, it is impressive how something this perfect came out of that disgusting man. Unfortunately the name was taken from that book, his family is religious.
I have also been saving some money for you. I promise we will see each other again.
Yours truly,
Arthur
𓄿
(1910)
This is Luke.
I am sorry for skipping the introductions, but this matter was urgent and I don't have much time. William saw your letters, I tried to defend my sister but once Edward interrupted I knew I couldn't win against them both.
They sent her away, I don't know where, and I'm sorry for that.
I tried recovering some of her sketches but they burned most of it, I only got one.
For what it's worth, she seemed to really love you.
From: Luke
𓄿
(unsent)
Dear Miranda,
Mira,
Dear?
Hi,
This letter is already starting very badly.
Things are weird in my house, father has been more observant than usual. Is it odd that I don't care?
I met this merchant, well, his son, duke. They said I could accompany them to our town. Fantastic, right?
I'm so happy to see you, I've missed you terribly. And I must meet little Eva. and steal her
See you soon ♡
I love you, Mira
Yours forever,
Mer Eliza
𓄿
(1919)
(unsent)
I miss you.
Please be alive.
I will find you.
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masterlist
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ryqoshay · 1 year
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Putting on Hairs - Post Production: Reassignment
Primary Pairing: N/A Starring: Shioriko Also Starring: Kaoruko Rating: T Words: ~1.8k AU: Vampires, related monsters, and mention of other supernatural beings Time Frame: Sometime before the main story and several years after the prior chapter Content Warning: Vampire stuff, and thus mentions of blood. Also depictions of battle and fire. And Major Character Death (?)
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Author’s Note: I’m so sorry, Shioriko...
Summary: Shioriko is reassigned to a different Hunter camp and things take a very unfortunate turn.
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“Shioriko!”
“Nee-san.”
“You’re here!” Kaoruko rushed forward to pull her younger sister into a welcoming embrace. “It’s good to see you. It’s been so long!”
Shioriko had just spent the last several days traveling to the Hunter camp where the rest of her family was stationed. It was a bittersweet reassignment for her though. Sure, she hadn’t seen her family in several years, but she was leaving behind all of the friends she had made at the prior camp, specifically Lanzhu, her first real friend.
As for Lanzhu herself, she had taken the news… poorly, to say the least. She tried everything her rank, family influence and resources allowed, as well as a few things that exceeded such, to try to retain Shioriko’s assignment to her squad and camp. But to no avail. The decision had been made by those in much higher positions than her. Eventually she had resigned to the fate of the two friends being separated but swore they would see each other again someday.
“And you’re just in time.” Kaoruko continued. “We were just heading out. Why don’t you join us?” Before Shioriko could respond, Kaoruko turned the others near them. “Everyone, this is my little sister, Shioriko. She is the best tracker on this side of the globe and her affinity with Holy offers some of the best defense options a squad could ask for.”
One of the women chuckled. “We know. You’ve kept us up to date on all of your sister’s achievements over the years.”
Nee-san told them all about me? Shioriko felt heat rising in her cheeks. She didn’t know any of these people, yet…
“Welcome to the squad.” A young man offered with a nod.
The others offered their own greetings in turn. At least they seemed kind and accepting.
“I know you’ve been traveling, so I’d understand if you would prefer to rest.��� Kaoruko said after a moment.
Shioriko shook her head. “I will join you.”
Kaoruko grinned. “We’re heading to a nearby village that is being harassed by what they believe to be a band of centaurs.”
“This far east?”
“So it seems.” Kaoruko shrugged. “Anyway, let’s get going.”
As the squad departed, Shioriko couldn’t help thinking about how this was yet another case of monsters appearing out of their typical area. She had thought the bukavac from a few years ago had been a strange, but isolated case. Then others started showing up, and with more frequency. It was all very… strange.
Unfortunately, nobody seemed to be concerned about the occurrences. Most were of the opinion that it was less important why an monster was outside of its normal territory, and more whether or not it posed a threat to the people in the area. Thus, for the time being, all Shioriko could do was continue to keep record of her observations.
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“Ughn… what a waste of time…” Kaoruko groaned. “Set off on wild goose chase.”
“You mean wild horse chase?” Harsith corrected, laughing as Kaoruko groaned again.
The squad had spent nearly a week in a vain attempt to track the reported centaurs. While Shioriko was able to discern a few traces, they were all days old by the time they were found. It seemed the creatures had moved on. In fact, it seemed all supernatural beings had abandoned the area, for reasons unknown. And while the villagers were grateful, it wasn’t the same as being able to prove the monsters would never be a threat again by showing off trophies of the hunt.
Now after so many days away, it was time to return to camp for new orders.
“Say, is that smoke?” Jacqueline suddenly asked.
“What?” Kaoruko looked where Jacqueline was pointing. “That’s not cooking smoke.” She cursed softly.
“If we take a slight detour, there is a ridge closer to the camp we can use to assess the situation.” Shioriko suggested, recalling what she had seen on the map.
“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Kaoruko nodded. “Alright everyone, you know the place Shioriko just mentioned. Let’s go.”
The men and women of Kaoruko’s squad acknowledge the orders and broke into a sprint through the forest. There was no good direct path to their destination, but after a half hour or so of dodging around trunks and forcing through undergrowth, they reached a rocky outcropping that allowed a view above the trees.
“Oh gods…” Kaoruko gave voice to their collective thoughts as they took in the sight before them.
The camp to which Shioriko had just been assigned, where she hadn’t even seen her quarters, or unpacked, or even been able to determine that her belongings had been delivered properly, had been destroyed. The wall had been breached in several places. The bodies of larger monsters could be seen from this distance, though Shioriko assumed there was no shortage of smaller bodies strewn around with them, most certainly including those of her fellow Hunters.
And the fire. By the gods, it seemed like the entire camp was ablaze.
“Alri…” Kaoruko cut off as her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and took an uneasy breath. “Alright, let’s go see if any rescue is needed. Or revenge can be had.”
Somber nods were given by the others before they set off toward the camp. Once more into the woods, though far more stoically than before. Gone was the panic caused by the unknown, replaced instead by the dread of dealing with the aftermath of an apparent siege against their home.
The sun was setting by the time the group made it out of the forest and into the trampled and pulverized crop field. The red glow of the sky provided far less light than the fires still raging within the camp. This caused eerie shadows to dance across the battle ravaged land.
Shioriko began scanning the fallen for familiar faces. Besides her family, there had been a handful of others she had befriended, mainly through Lanzhu, over the years, that had been assigned to this region, and thus likely this camp.
Suddenly, a strange whirring caught her attention.
“Everyone get do…” Kaoruko’s voice was drowned out by an explosion.
Instinctively, Shioriko shielded herself, but still flinched as shrapnel and mud sprayed against her barrier.
“Gods damn it.” Kaoruko groused. “One of the shock troops must not have detonated properly.”
Shock troops… Shiriko scoured her mind to recall. Ah, yes. Automaton powered by volatile alchemical compounds that were designed to engage the enemy and explode after sustaining a certain amount of damage. She had heard about such devices, and apparently the training camp had a stock of them, but as the camp had never come under severe attack, Shioriko had never seen them used.
“Ughn…” Harsith groaned.
Shioriko knelt by the man’s side. “I’m so…”
“It’s not your fault.” Harsith gasped. “We should have spotted it. Besides, it’s not all that…” He coughed, causing a trickle of red down his cheek. “Or maybe it is…” He gritted his teeth.
Shioriko murmured a phrase in Angelic and her hand began to glow softly.
“We’re going to keep going.” Kaoruko stated. “You two catch up once he’s healed.”
Shioriko nodded in affirmation but did not look up at her sister, focusing all of her attention on Harsith. While the man’s wounds were healed fairly quickly by the powerful spell, the rest of the squad was gone by the time the two got back to their feet.
“Thank you.” Harsith said. “Now let’s go see what the others are up to.”
Shioriko followed the young man through a shattered section of the wall and into the camp. Which way had the others gone? A strange sensation filled her as she realized she didn’t even know which direction to go to be able to search her family’s quarters.
A baleful moan came from a nearby burned-out husk of a structure.
Harsith cursed and drew his weapon. “Ghouls.” He spat as several figures shambled around the corner. “At least they’re weak to Holy. We didn’t get a chance to see you in battle and Kaoruko really only gushed about your defensive capabilities. Do you have any offensive spells?”
“Yes.” Shioriko confirmed. “But they’re not as powerful as my barrier spells.”
“Better than nothing. Alright, let’s get rid of these foul, vampiric spawn.” With that said, Harsith charged and drove his blade into the first ghoul.
Shioriko raised a hand, setting a barrier between Harsith and some of the other ghouls, allowing the swordsman to focus on fewer foes. She then sent several bolts of Holy energy into those left on the man’s side of the wall. Though the spell did little to damage the ghouls, it did disorient them and left them less able to block or defend against Harsith’s blade.
“Ah, yes, that’ll do well.” Harsith commented, cleaving the arm off one of the creatures. He turned and… “Sophia, no…”
Sophia… was that not the name of his fiancée? Shioriko watched with horror as Harsith averted an attack on one of the ghouls. This allowed an opening for another to rend its claws across his arm.
Shioriko quickly analyzed the shift in the battle to determine where best to place new barriers and which ghouls to control. She raised her hand to begin casting again but paused for reasons did not know.
“There is no need to come between two lovers as they reunite.” A calm voice said from nearby.
Shioriko turned to see the lithe figure of a shado… stunningly beautiful woman dressed in a manner fitting for European nobility. She seemed a bit out of place, not only for being in the middle of the burning ruins of the camp, but also the general region… Then again… maybe… Maybe it was fine…
“Come, my child.” The woman said in a way that reminded Shioriko of Baimen. “Everything will be alright.” She beckoned toward Shioriko.
Shioriko took a step toward the woman. Then another. And another. The clamor of fighting and the garish light of the fires faded from her consciousness as she began to focus solely on the woman.
“You did well, my child.” The woman’s voice was comforting as she wrapped Shioriko in a warm embrace.
Shioriko barely flinched at a pair of pricks on her neck. And what followed were sensations she struggled to define. Wonderful, warm… such words seemed insufficient. And she found herself wanting more.
“…oriko!”
Mmm…? A strange call filtered through the haze.
An unearthly scream shattered everything.
Flames. Cacophony.
Pain coursed through Shioriko’s body like lightning sparking from her neck.
“Shioriko!”
Nee-san?
Kaoruko’s panicked face was blurred, but Shioriko recognized her sister anyway.
“We need to leave. Now.”
Shioriko tried to respond but was unable to do so.
“I don’t know if I actually killed that thing.” Kaoruko continued, stooping to pull Shioriko onto her back. “I wasn’t able to find our parents either. And the others… the others…” She choked on her words. “The camp is lost. I think it’s just you and me now.”
Shioriko’s vision began to fade.
“But we’ll be alright. Right? We’ll be fine… Shioriko?”
Shioriko’s world went dark.
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Author’s Note Continued: Readers familiar with some of my event entries for PoH and my aversion to writing things in chronological order may know the reason for the parentheses around the question mark after the MCD warning. Thus, if it isn’t already obvious, then my apologies for the spoilers, but this arc is the backstory of how Shioriko became a vampire in PoH.
Also, my original plan for this arc was only three chapters. Now, it may end up being five. I didn’t realize I needed something like the prior chapter and I just had some new ideas for a sort of epilogue type chapter for the arc. That said, I believe there is an upcoming event in the IFH server next month, so I may not have time for that fifth chapter. But I will try to get the fourth out by week’s end as it should stand well enough as a conclusion to the arc until I can write the epilogue.
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venusdear · 1 year
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LITERALLY THO LMAO I FEEL SORRY FOR HER HUSBAND
yes it is! heres an issue of it:
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when i looked it up to get this pic, i found out it stopped printing in winter 2016 :( I also used to read American Girl magazine and Discovery Girls magazine. All out of print now (the brand american girl is very much active, just the magazine stopped printing).
LMAO SRY I GO ON LOOOOONG ASS TANGENTS WHEN I GET NOSTALGIC
anyways, about wakeone. they are trash. the only difference between wakeone and a trash bin is the bin. i hate wakeone. the boys of highlight have their own company called around us entertainment and now im wondering can they take in to1? hmmm
literally tho lol. "junhyung is jake from enhypen now" NAWT JAKE FROM ENHYPEN LMAO. staff at belift, dragging junhyung in: okay meet ur 8th member guys! the enhypen boys: o_o /j
me, upon seeing literally any guy: hes cute lol.
the k in kpop does not stand for korean. it can stand for either kim jeyou, kim minsu, kyungho, kobayashi daigo, or kikwang. now everyone stand up for our national anthem u can pick from either sugar shock or predator lol.
i watched the suit dance for predator and my god i was not okay after that for several hours. it was beautiful. the dance was beautiful the song was beautiful the suit was beautiful he was beautiful my god if u look up "beautiful" a picture of gikwang should show up there.
how the hell does the staff work with someone so beautiful and are still able to go back home to their partner or spouse if i were them id be like sry we're breaking up i saw lee gikwang in person and realized i deserve someone better.
my god.
LIKE.
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LOOK AT HIM. hes never defeating the disney prince allegations and i love that.
aND HE CAN ACT TOO. HES GONNA BE IN A DRAMA. HES GONNA DO MARTIAL ARTS AND HES GONNA BE THE VILLAIN. IM OVER HERE GETTING THE WEIRDEST HOBBIES BC OF HIM, FIRST READING NOW KDRAMAS. unfortunately it probably wont release until 2024.
yes i promise i love all 4 members, its just when i have a bias i talk about them like 300 times more than the others.
my god i just wanted to see yoseob and now im neck deep in this damn fandom. highlight's fandom is called lights and lights who bias gikwang are called aces :D likewise, to1's fandom is called TOgethers or gethers for short and gethers who bias kyungho (ex. ME!) are called gaengdans.
also about junhyung. if u think about it "yong junhyung" is such a badass name. aND ON TOP OF THAT HES A RAPPER. AND HES TALENTED. AND PRETTY. AND HAS HIS OWN LABEL. AND HES MOST LIKELY SUPER RICH. AND HIS SURNAME MEANS "DRAGON." god truly does have favorites, my friend.
SO THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE :O super sparkly AWEEE why don't they print it anymore? i would have loved to read it :"D
LOLOLOL SOMETIMES I DO THAT TOO you are so relatable
SCREW WAKEONE ke1per deserves better to1 deserves a comeback IS IT BECAUSE THEY'RE OLDER THEREFORE NOT AS POPULAR????
the enhypen boys replacing jake with junhyung: 😈😈
a cute boy IS a cute boy (please tell me you get the reference)
omg there are so many ppl with the last name kim like kpop could become KIM POP kim everything WE ALL LIVE IN THE KIM LIFE
THE STAFF ARE STRONGER THAN ME BC OF I SAW THEM MY HANDS WOULD BE SHAKING. LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE.
OMG SEND OVER THE DRAMA BECAUSE I NEED TO KNOW 2024???? 😭😭 MAN
me too me too bc the bias is what YOUR BIAS YOU ARE LEGALLY OBLIGATED TO TALK ABOUT THEM 100 MORE TIMES THAN THE OTHERS IT'S CALLED A BIAS FOR A REASON!!!!
AWEEE ACES THAT'S SO CUTE you guys are aces because he's such an ace
DRAGON???? OMG NAHHH THAT'S SO COOL LIKE IMAGINE JUST CASUALLY MENTIONING YOUR NAME MEANS DRAGON.
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bailey-writes · 4 years
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So You Want Your OC to be Jewish
So you’re writing a story and you want to make a Jewish character—great! I’m here to help. I always want more Jewish representation but I want good Jewish representation, so this is my attempt to make a guide to making a Jewish character. What are my credentials? I���m Jewish and have been my whole life. Obligatory disclaimer that this is by no means comprehensive, I don’t know everything, all Jews are different, and this is based on my experiences as an American Jew so I have no idea, what, if any, of this applies to non-American Jews. 
If there’s anything you want me to make a post going more into detail about or if there’s anything I didn’t mention but you want to know please ask me! I hope this is helpful :) Warning, this is long.
Jew PSA
If you are Jewish you can use the word Jew(s), e.g. “She’s dating a Jew.” If you are not Jewish you cannot use the word Jew(s). This is not up for debate. Non-Jews calling us Jews has a negative connotation at best. Don’t do it and don’t have your characters do it.
Basics, Plus My Random Thoughts that Didn’t Fit Anywhere Else
A confusing enduring issue is, what is Judaism? It’s a religion, but some Jews aren’t religious; is it a race? A nationality? A culture? A heritage? The only constant is that we are seen as “other.” There’s a lot of debate, which makes it confusing to be Jewish and as such it’s common for Jews to struggle with their Jewish Identity. However many people agree that Jews are an ethnoreligious group, aka Judaism is a religion and an ethnicity.
Temple/Synagogue/Shul = Jewish place of worship. Shul is usually used for Orthodox synagogues.
Keeping kosher = following Jewish dietary rules: meat and dairy can’t be eaten together and you can’t eat pork or shellfish. Fish and eggs are pareve (aka neutral) and can be eaten with meat or dairy (but again not both at the same time.) When eating meat it has to be kosher meat (e.g. kosher Jews are allowed to eat chicken, but not all chicken is kosher. I know it’s kinda confusing I’m sorry.) Kosher products in stores will have symbols on them to identify them as kosher. If someone is kosher they’ll probably have separate sets of utensils/plates/cookware/etc. for meat and dairy
Shabbat/Shabbos/Sabbath = holy day of the week, day of rest, lasts from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Depending on observance Jews might have Shabbat dinner, attend Shabbat services, or observe the day of rest in its entirety (making them shomer Shabbat)
Someone who is shomer Shabbat will refrain from any of the prohibited activities. These can easily be looked up but include: working, writing, handling money, cooking, and using technology.
Bat/Bar/B’nai Mitvzah = tradition where a Jewish boy/girl becomes a man/woman. Celebrated at 13-years-old for boys, 12- or 13-years-old for girls. Girls have Bat Mitzvahs (bat means daughter in Hebrew), boys have Bar Mitzvahs (bar means son in Hebrew) and twins or two or more people having one together have a B’nai Mitzvah. They will study for this for months and then help lead services and, depending on observance level, read from the Torah. The ceremony is often attended by family and friends and followed with a celebration of sorts (in America usually this means a brunch and/or party.)
Goy/gentile = non-Jew. These words are not slurs, they are literally just words. Plural of goy is goyim and is a Yiddish word, plural of gentile is gentiles.
Jewish holidays follow the Hebrew calendar, meaning that according to the current solar/Gregorian calendar the dates of our holidays are different each year.
Jewish law recognizes matrilineal inheritance. This means that Jewish law states your mother has to be Jewish for you to be Jewish. This is because of reasons from biblical times that I can explain if you wanna come ask, but as you can imagine is a bit outdated. While Orthodox Jews might embrace this idea and only consider someone Jewish if their mom is Jewish, many Jews are more flexible on the idea (and yes, this does cause tension between Orthodox Jews and other Jews at times.)
Judaism =/= Christianity
Some people think Judaism is just Christianity without Jesus (some people don’t even realize we don’t believe in/celebrate Jesus so newsflash, we don’t) and that’s just wrong. Yes both religions share the Old Testament, so they also share some history and beliefs, but the entire ideologies of the religions are different. In brief, they are similar in some ways but are not the same.
What seems to me to be the biggest difference is that Christianity (from what I understand) has a heavy focus on sins, more specifically repenting for/gaining forgiveness for your sins. In Christianity you are born tainted by original sin. In Judaism we believe everyone is born pure and free from sin and everyone is made in God’s image. Judaism has some concept of sin, but doesn’t focus on them and instead focuses on performing Mitzvot (plural, singular form is mitzvah. Direct translation is “commandment” but basically means good deed or act of kindness. It also relates to the commandments, so following the commandments is also performing mitzvot.) Examples of mitzvot include anything from saying a prayer or lighting Shabbat candles to helping a stranger or donating to charity (called tzedakah). One of the main tenets of Judaism is tikkun olam, which directly translates to “repair the world” and means exactly what it says on the tin. Instead of focusing on being forgiven for doing bad Judaism focuses on doing good. The only day we focus on past wrongdoings is Yom Kippur, one of our most holy holidays, discussed below.
Holidays
Rosh Hashanah – The Jewish New Year, occurs around September and lasts for two days, though Reform Jews often only celebrate the first day. Day of happiness and joy, celebrated by eating sweet things for a “sweet new year” (often apples dipped in honey) and circular challah to represent the end of one year and beginning of another. Also celebrated with services and blowing the shofar (rams horn.) Some spend the day in prayer and/or silent meditation. Possible greetings: chag sameach (happy holiday; can be said on almost any holiday), Shana Tovah, or happy new year (which is what Shana Tovah means, some people just say it in English.)
Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement. Occurs ten days after the start of Rosh Hashanah. One of if not the most solemn day for Jews, but also the most holy. The day is spent reflecting on yourself and any past wrongdoings and atoning. The day (sundown the night before to sundown the day of) is spent fasting, a physical way of atoning. We do this in hopes of being “written in the Book of Life” and starting the year with a clean slate. The shofar is blown at the end of the holiday. Most Jews will end the fast with a grand meal with family and friends. Most common greeting is “have an easy fast,” but happy new year is still appropriate.
Sukkot – Celebrates the harvest, occurs on the fifth day after Yom Kippur and lasts seven days. Celebrated by building a temporary hut outdoors called a sukkah and having meals inside it, as well as shaking palm fronds tied together (called a lulav) and holding a citrus called an etrog. Very fun and festive holiday. Possible greetings include chag sameach or Happy Sukkot.
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah – Some Jews (mostly Reform Jews and Jews living in Israel) combine both holidays into one day while some celebrate them as two separate days. Either way they occur immediately after Sukkot. Shemini Atzeret is similar but separate from Sukkot and features a prayer for rain; Sukkot is not mentioned in prayers and the lulav isn’t shaken but you do eat in the sukkah. Simchat Torah celebrates finishing reading the Torah, which we will then begin again the next day. It’s a festive holiday with dancing and fun. Some Temples will roll the entire Torah out and the children will run under it. Appropriate greeting for both would be chag sameach.
Rosh Hashanah through Simchat Torah are referred to as the High Holidays.
Chanukah – We all know about Chanukah, celebrating the reclaiming of the Second Temple and the miracle of the oil lasting eight days. The most represented Jewish Holiday there is. Unfortunately it’s one of the least significant holidays for us. Occurs around November or December and lasts eight days and nights. Celebrated by lighting candles in the Menorah each night with a prayer and kids usually get gifts each night. Also celebrated with spinning tops called dreidels, fried foods like doughnuts (sufganiyot in Hebrew; usually the jelly filled ones) and potato pancakes called latkes. Greetings: happy Chanukah or chag sameach.
Tu B’Shevat – Birthday of the trees, basically Jewish Arbor Day. Minor but fun holiday, sometimes celebrated by planting trees. Occurs around January or February.
Purim – Celebrates how Queen Esther of Persia defeated Haman and saved her people, the Jews. Occurs in Spring. Festive holiday traditionally celebrated by dressing in costumes, eating sweets, and giving tzedakah (it’s also technically commanded you get drunk so woohoo!) Whenever Haman’s name is mentioned you make a lot of noise, booing and using noisemakers called groggers. Greetings: happy Purim, chag Purim, or chag sameach.
Passover/Pesach – Celebrates the Jews being freed from slavery in Egypt. Occurs in Spring and lasts eight days. The first two nights (some only celebrate the first night) are celebrated with seder, a ritual meal with certain foods, practices, prayers, and readings from a book called the Haggadah and often attended by family and friends. Most famous prayer/song of the holiday is the four questions, which ask why that night is different from all other nights and is traditionally sung by the youngest child at the seder. The entire holiday is spent not eating certain foods, mostly grain or flour (the food restrictions are complicated and differ based on denomination so look it up or ask a Jew.) We eat a lot of matzah during Pesach, which is like a cracker kinda. I personally hate it but some people actually like it. Greetings: happy Passover, chag pesach, or chag sameach.
Tisha B’Av – Anniversary of the destruction of the Temple. Occurs in Summer. Very sad, solemn day. Some celebrate by fasting from sunrise to sunset. Not the most widely celebrated holiday. Some also commemorate the Holocaust (also called the Shoah) on this day as it was the destruction of a figurative temple.
Denominations
There are a bunch of denominations in Judaism, we’ll go into it briefly.
Religious denominations:
Reform/Reformed: This is the least religiously observant level. Often Reform Jews don’t keep kosher or observe Shabbat, their services on Shabbat will use instruments. Reform Jews probably attend services for the high holidays at the very least and probably had a Bat/Bar Mitzvah. Might say they consider themselves more culturally Jewish. Their Temple/Synagogue will be the most “liberal”—aka have more female/diverse Rabbis and a more diverse congregation. I’m Reform and my Temple’s lead Rabbi is a woman and we used to have a Rabbi who’s a queer single mother.
Conservative: More religiously observant and more generally traditional. Might keep kosher or observe Shabbat, but not necessarily. Services likely won’t use instruments (not supposed to play instruments on Shabbat). Most likely had a Bat/Bar Mitzvah, but girls might not read from the Torah, though this depends on the congregation. They do allow female Rabbis, but in my experience it’s less common.
Modern Orthodox: Very religiously observant but also embrace modern society. Will keep kosher and observe Shabbat. Men will wear kippot (singular=kippah) and tzitzit under their shirts. Women will cover their hair (if they’re married), most likely with a wig, and wear modest clothing (only wear skirts that are at least past their knees and long sleeves). Emphasis on continued study of Torah/Talmud. Parents will likely have jobs. Might have larger families (aka more children) but might not. Services will be segregated by gender, girls won’t read from the Torah publicly, and female Rabbis are very rare. Children will most likely attend a religious school. Will attend shul services every Shabbat and for holidays.
note: there are some people who fall somewhere between modern Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox, or between any two denominations really. as you can imagine people don’t all practice the exact same way.
Ultra-Orthodox: Very religiously observant and not necessarily modern. Will keep kosher and observe Shabbat. Men will wear kippot or other head coverings and tzitzit under their shirts, and are also often seen wearing suits. Women will cover their hair (if they’re married) with a wig or scarf and wear modest clothing (only wear skirts that are at least past their knees and long sleeves). Emphasis on continued study of Torah/Talmud. Men might have jobs but might instead focus on Jewish studies, while women most often focus on housework and child-rearing. Don’t believe in contraception (but this is kinda nuanced and depends). Will often have very large families because having children is a commandment and helps continue the Jewish people. Might be shomer negiah which means not touching members of the opposite sex aside from their spouse and some close family members. Services will be segregated by gender, girls won’t read from the Torah publicly, and there won’t be female Rabbis. Children will attend a religious school. Will attend shul services every Shabbat and for holidays.
Ethnic denominations (the different denominations do have some differences in practices and such but tbh I don’t know much about that so this is just the basics):
Ashkenazi: Jews that originate from Central/Eastern Europe. Yiddish, a combination of Hebrew and German, originated from and was spoken by Ashkenazim and while it’s a dying language it’s spoken among many Orthodox Jews and many Jews of all levels know/speak some Yiddish words and phrases. Majority of Jews worldwide are Ashkenazi.
Sephardi/Sephardic: Jews that originate from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and southeastern Europe. Ladino, a combination of Old Spanish and Hebrew, originated from and was spoken by Sephardim. It is also a dying language but is still spoken by some Sephardim. After Ashkenazi most of the world’s Jews are Sephardic.
Mizrahi: Jews that originate from the Middle East and North Africa.
Ethiopian Jews: Community of Jews that lived in Ethiopia for over 1,000 years, though most have immigrated to Israel by now.
Stereotypes/Tropes/Controversies/Etc.
There are so many Jewish stereotypes and shit and I ask you to please be mindful of them. Stereotypes do exist for a reason, so some people will fit stereotypes. This means your character might fit one or two; don’t make them fit all of them. Please. Stereotypes to keep in mind (and steer away from) include:
All Jews are rich.
All Jews are greedy.
All Jews are cheap/frugal.
All Jews are [insert job here]. We’ll go into this more below.
All Jews hate Christians/Muslims/etc.
All Jews are white. 
First of all Ethiopian and Mizrahi Jews exist, many Sephardi are Hispanic, and today with intermarriage and everything this just isn’t true.
All Jews have the same physical features: large and/or hooked nose, beady eyes, droopy eyelids, red hair (this is an old stereotype I didn’t really know existed), curly hair.
Many Jews do have somewhat large noses and curly hair. I’m not saying you can’t give these features to your characters, but I am saying to be careful and don’t go overboard. And don’t give all of your Jewish characters these features. As a side note, it is common at least among American Jews that girls get nose jobs. Not all, but some.
Jews are secretly world elite/control the world/are lizard people/new world order/ any of this stuff. 
STAY AWAY FROM. DO NOT DO THIS OR ANYTHING LIKE THIS. If you have a character that’s part lizard, do not make them Jewish. If you have a character that’s part of a secret group that controls the entire world, do not make them Jewish.
Jews have horns. If you have characters with horns please don’t make them Jewish.
Jews killed Jesus.
The blood libel. Ew. No.
The blood libel is an antisemitic accusation/idea/concept that back in the day Jews would murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals and sometimes even for consumption (did I mention gross?) Not only did this just not happen, but it’s actually against Jewish law to murder, sacrifice, or consume blood. Yes these accusations really happened and it became a main reason for persecution of Jews. And some people still believe this shit.
Jews caused The Plague.
The reason this conspiracy exists is because many Jews didn’t get The Plague and the goyim thought that meant it was because the Jews caused it/cursed them. The real reason Jews didn’t get it is because ritual hand-washing and good hygiene kept them from getting it. Sorry that we bathe.
Jewish mother stereotype.
Ok, listen. I know stereotypes are mostly a bad thing but I have to admit the Jewish mother stereotype is not far off. Jewish moms do tend to be chatty and a little nagging, are often very involved in their children’s lives, and they are often trying to feed everyone (although they don’t all cook, my mom hates cooking.) They also tend to be big worriers, mostly worrying about their family/loved ones. They also tend to know everyone somehow. A twenty minute trip to the grocery store can turn into an hour or two long trip because she’ll chat with all the people she runs into.
Jewish-American Princess (JAP) ((I know calling Japanese people Japs is offensive. Jews will call girls JAPs, but with a completely different meaning. If that’s still offensive I am sorry, but just know it happens.))
This is the stereotype that portrays Jewish girls/women as spoiled brats basically. They will be pampered and materialistic. Do these girls exist? Definitely. I still recommend steering away from this stereotype.
Names
Listen. Listen. There are some names that Jews just won’t have. I won’t speak in definites because there are always exceptions but you’ll rarely find a Jew named Trinity or Grace or Faith or any form of Chris/Christopher/Christina etc. Biblical names from the Old Testament? Absolutely Jews will have those names they’re actually very common.
I’m in a Jewish Sorority. My pledge class of ~70 girls had five Rebeccas and four Sarahs. Surprisingly only one Rachel though.
When it comes to last names I have two thoughts that might seem contradictory but hear me out: a) give your Jewish OC’s Jewish surnames, b) don’t give your Jewish OC’s the most Jewish surname to ever exist.
By this I mean I would much rather see a character named Sarah Cohen or Aaron Levine than Rachel Smith. Just that little bit of recognition makes a happy exclamation point appear over my head, plus it can be a good way to hint to readers that your OC is Jewish.
On the other hand, please don’t use the most stereotypical Jewish names you’ve ever heard. If you have five Jewish OCs and one of them is Isaac Goldstein then fine. If Isaac Goldstein is your only Jewish OC I might get a little peeved. There are tons of common Jewish surnames that are recognizable and easy to look up, so don’t revert to the first three that come to mind. Maybe it’s just me, but I find it yucky, for lack of a better word.
Jobs
We all know there are certain jobs that are stereotypical for Jews to have. We’re talking lawyer, dentist, doctor, banker type stuff. To an extent these stereotypes exist for a reason, many Jews go into those careers. Do not make these the only careers your Jewish OCs have. Stereotypes might have reasoning behind them but it doesn’t mean they aren’t harmful. If you have multiple Jewish OCs some of them can have these careers, but not all of them. I do know a lot of Jewish lawyers, dentists, and doctors. I also know accountants, people involved in businesses (“mom, what does Brad do?” “he’s a businessman” sometimes there just aren’t more specific words), people involved in real estate. I don’t actually know any bankers personally, and with money and stuff being one of the most common and harmful Jewish stereotypes I would suggest steering away from that.
These are common fields for Jews, but Jews can have literally any job. Please feel free to get creative. And if you have more than one Jewish OC you can think about making one of them a Rabbi, but DON’T do this if they’re the only Jewish OC. Please.
Yiddish
So I mentioned Yiddish earlier. Like I already said, it’s not a very widely used language anymore but there are some words and phrases that are still used by a lot of Jews (in America at least.) Here’s a list that is absolutely not comprehensive:
Oy vey = oh no
Shvitzing = sweating (but not just a little bit. Shvitzing is like SWEATING)
Kvetch/kvetching = whine/whining or complain/complaining
Mazel tov = congratulations; this is the same in Yiddish and Hebrew
Chutzpah = nerve or gall (e.g. “He’s got a lot of chutzpah for breaking up over text like that”)
Kismet = fate; I just learned this is Yiddish
Bubbe and Zayde = grandma and grandpa
Schelp/schlepping = drag/dragging, can also mean carry or move (e.g. “I had to schlep the bag all around town” doesn’t mean they literally dragged it)
Schmutz = dirt or something dirty (e.g. “you have schmutz on your face”)
Schmatta = literally means rag but can be used to refer to ratty blankets or clothes
Plotz = collapse (usually used in the sense of “I’m so tired I might plotz” or “she’s gonna be so excited she’s gonna plotz”)
Schmuck/shmendrick = both mean more or less the same, a jerk or obnoxious person
Shtick = gimmick, routine, or act (can be used like (“I don’t like that comedian’s shtick” or “he always makes himself the center of attention it’s his shtick”)
Spiel = long speech, story, or rant
There’s so many more so look them up and think about using them, but don’t overdo it. A Jewish person isn’t gonna use a Yiddish word in every sentence (or even every day or every few days.)
Israel
In my community at least it’s very common that by the time your college-aged that you’ll have been to Israel at least once.
Israel is a controversial topic within the Jewish community and in the world. It’s sensitive and complex. I really, really suggest not getting into it. Just don’t bring it up because no matter what you say someone will be unhappy. Just don’t do it.
Ashkenazi Disorders
Ashkenazi Jews have some sucky genes (I’m Ashkenazi so I can say this, you cannot.) These sucky genes cause certain disorders to be more prevalent for us. Children only get the disorder if both parents are carriers of the disorder, so Jews usually get genetic testing done before having children. If both parents are carriers the risk of the child getting the disorder is high, so parents might reconsider or have some indecisiveness/fear. Some of these are:
Tay-Sachs
Cystic Fibrosis
Canavan Disease
Familial Dysautonomia
Gaucher Disease
Spinal Muscular Atrophy  
Fanconi Anemia
Mucolipidosis IV
Niemann-Pick Disease
Torsion Dystonia
Bloom Syndrome
Ashkenazi Jews also have a high prevalence of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women and increase the risk of breast and prostate cancer in men.
Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Lactose Intolerance are also very prevalent
In a dorm of like 40 Jews, six of them had Crohn’s.
Ways to Show Your OC is Jewish
Wears Jewish jewelry, e.g. Star of David (also called Jewish Star and Magen David), Chai symbol (means life), jewelry with Sh’ma prayer, or hamsa (but beware this symbol is used outside of Judaism).
Mentions their temple, their Rabbi, having a Bat/Bar Mitzvah, going to Hebrew School, Shabbat, or a holiday coming up.
Have someone ask them a question about Judaism.
Have someone notice they have a mezuzah on their door. 
Most Jews will have a mezuzah on the doorframe of the front door of their house/apartment, but they could even have one for their dorm room or whatever. It’s traditional to kiss your hand then touch the mezuzah when walking through the door, but most Jews don’t do this every time, at least not most Reform or Conservative Jews.
Have them call out antisemitism if you’re feeling spicy
The end! I hope this helped and if you have any questions my ask box is always open!
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songmingisthighs · 3 years
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[12.43] mafia!seonghwa × reader
⇀ convinced his partner is trying to steal him away from you, you tried conveying your feelings to him. But he didn't believe you, he thought you're just simply jealous.
⇁ tw : mafia life, jealousy, angst, death
⇁ disclaimer : the author does not support any and all criminal/illegal acts. the narrative written in this story is purely fiction out of the author’s imagination. the things written here does not portray real mafia life nor is the author aware of how the mafia life is like. the author is a hermit loser.
Clad in his couture suit, Seonghwa walked into the party venue with you in his arms. You were wearing a beautiful, glimmering Indigo dress that accentuates your curves, earrings that provide shine to your face, and heels that seem to heighten your class.
Despite all that, you had a forced smile on your face as you just had an argument with Seonghwa in his car merely minutes prior.
He is well aware of your apprehension towards his current partner in crime, a female that done the title of a seductress in the organization both for her role and her daily behaviour. You can't even lie and say that she looks like an inside-out, bloated cow because she's beyond perfect. To make things worse, you heard that the reason why she was partnered with Seonghwa was that she and he look good together.
At first, it was harmless observation over the two, wanting to see their chemistry and whether or not what people said was true. But when you see that even outside of their mission she'd flirt and cling onto him, you feel threatened. Naturally, you told Seonghwa about this but he only brushed your feelings off, convincing himself and you that it's merely childish jealousy.
The issue was never addressed and it accumulates to the point that it became the bane of most of your arguments. So he decided to just avoid talking about anything that relates to his partner in any way.
This is why when he accidentally let it slip that she'd be at the party back in the car, you were slightly furious at him for not giving you a heads up.
So here you are, standing by the champagne tower as Seonghwa made his rounds alone only to be joined by his 'partner' when he talked to their ally.
Your hand was clenching the flute so hard, it was threatening to break any second.
"Whoah, never seen you so tense," a voice called out, breaking your focus of glaring at Seonghwa and her. You look towards the source of the voice only to be greeted with Wooyoung's teasing smirk.
You rolled your eyes at him but smiled at his teasing jab, "hi Woo," you greeted, letting him pull you into a deep hug that lasted a while.
"Givenchy," he stated after taking a whiff at your neck, "man has taste," he pulled away to properly take your attire in, going as far as twirling you playfully which made you giggle. The people around looked at you two with a smile, probably thinking about how cute you two looked together. Which didn't go unnoticed by Seonghwa who is now zeroing his vision in on you and Wooyoung as the girl next to him clung on his arm tightly, seemingly pretending like they're together.
"Where's Seonghwa hyung?" Wooyoung asked after he stopped twirling you, grabbing a flute of champagne instead. You rolled your eyes at the reminder and simply nod your head towards where Seonghwa and his partner stood before sipping the champagne.
Wooyoung cringed at the sight of the girl throwing herself onto a taken man but what bothered him was the fact that Seonghwa seemed to not be affected by it.
"How stupid is your boyfriend to still insist that your intuition is nothing more than jealousy? I mean seriously! She's embarrassing herself!" he groaned, knowing full well what's going on between you and Seonghwa.
You were glad that you're not the only one who realized, despite the person who shared your sentiment is not your boyfriend.
But before you can answer, loud gunshots shocked everyone and suddenly chaos broke.
Wooyoung immediately pushed you behind him as he produces a gun from inside his suit. He turned to you briefly to hurry you out, "go out now, run and don't look back, take the stairs by the balcony and get out of here as quickly as you can and do not try to hide," he said before rushing towards the sound of the gunshot before you could say anything else.
People were pushing you left and right, trying to escape the hall and so were you. But you can't find it in yourself to run just yet, you look around the crowd of people, trying to find Seonghwa.
Soon enough, your eyes met his.
"Seonghwa!" you called out, pushing your way to get to him as he was trying to get to you. But then another voice calling his name broke his attention away from you.
Seonghwa looked towards the source of the voice only to find his partner by the tables, her dress stuck between two tables and for some reason she didn't seem to be able to pull herself out.
If you weren't in such a panicked state, you'd roll your eyes and call her out on her bullshit.
Your eyes flit between her and Seonghwa as Seonghwa's flit between you and her. You were hoping that he'd ignore her and run to you instead so you both could go to safety.
But your heart broke when he shot you an apologetic look, mouthing out 'sorry' before running to help his partner.
You can actually feel your heart shatter seeing that in a dire situation, he had chosen the girl that you had explicitly told him you don't trust, that you think she has it in her to steal him away from you. But he didn't seem to care.
Slowly, your feet began moving on their own. You couldn't even register where your feet are dragging you to. But as you reach the door towards the balcony, you look back to the sight of Seonghwa holding his partner closely before going where the other members of his organization are going.
And that was the last time you had seen each other for the night.
The shoot out went for quite a while. Apparently, a rival organization caught wind of the party and decided to use this opportunity to infiltrate the mansion to steal something. Their plans were foiled and that's when all hell broke loose.
When Seonghwa and the others managed to kill and capture their rivals, things began to finally wind down. Most people had already fled the scene, being part of the criminal world surely gave them the knowledge of what to do when a shoot out happens.
There were some guests left, those who hid behind tables or were unable to escape due to fear, and sadly, those who were caught in the crosshairs.
Seonghwa sighed at the sight in front of him, bodies lying on the ground, some belonging to their rival, some were members of his organization, and some were the unfortunate guests.
He looked around to see the lower-ranking workers carrying bodies on a stretcher with a white cloth covering everything. His eyebrows furrowed at the sight, no matter how long he's been involved in the mafia life, he couldn't seem to shake his sadness away when seeing innocent victims.
As he looked around, he saw Wooyoung walking back to the hall where the party was held merely an hour ago. "Wooyoung!" Seonghwa called, running towards the guy to catch up to him. Wooyoung stopped in his tracks and looked back, waiting for Seonghwa, "Hey, what's up?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Have you seen (Y/N)? The last time I saw her was when I went to help my partner a-" "you helped your partner instead of making sure (Y/N) was okay?" Wooyoung cut him off, an incredulous look on his face. Seonghwa was caught off-guard at the tone his friend used at him, "yeah? She was stuck and needed my help, I couldn't just-" "she's a member of a fucking mafia, she kills people for a living and on a daily basis, you really think she couldn't have gotten herself unstuck?" Wooyoung scoffed.
Seonghwa only stared at Wooyoung with a confused expression, not knowing how to answer him nor how to defend his choice in the predicament after Wooyoung explained the situation his way.
Rolling his eyes, Wooyoung nodded towards the door by the table that once had the champagne tower, "Last time I saw her, I told her to run and get the hell out of here," he said simply. Seonghwa muttered a small 'thanks' to him and was about to run to look for you when Wooyoung put a hand on his shoulder, "Just so you know, what you did will change things forever between you two, you got a heck load of making up to do," he said simply before continuing his previous path.
He realized that Wooyoung was right. So he immediately set off to find you, wherever you are.
His instinct told him that you're still around, considering his car is still in the parking lot and that you hadn't known anyone else in the party, he deducted that it wouldn't be possible for you to have gone back.
Even so, you were nowhere to be found. He tried looking everywhere inside the mansion and outside in the garden, but there were no signs of you, not even when he asked the other guests and members of the organization that were still around.
He stepped out to the grand front entrance and look around but only seeing people carrying the bodies of the deceased. He was starting to get worried.
"Seonghwa!" a feminine voice called.
He snaps his head, hoping to see you, but only to be greeted by the sight of his partner jogging towards him. For the first time ever, he rolled his eyes at her and went back to trying to locate you.
She, on the other hand, didn't seem to get the hint as she suddenly hugged one of his arms, "Hey, I was looking everywhere for you, I was worried," she said, pouting at him.
Seonghwa tried to pry his arm off of hers, but she held tight. Wooyoung was right, she's beyond capable of getting herself unstuck, so why did he went to help her instead of you?
"I don't have time for this, I'm looking for my girlfriend," he said gruffly, still trying to push her off as his eyes trail on the people around.
"Oh, come on, I'm sure she's perfectly fine somewhere, maybe even with Wooyoung," she said ignorantly.
At the insinuation that you'd be with Wooyoung, Seonghwa snap his head towards her and was about to say something when suddenly the sight of your dress caught his eyes.
He'd recognize the sparkly indigo dress that he had personally picked for you from miles away. For a second, he forgot about his partner and was about to run towards you.
But his steps halted at the scene in front of him.
Seonghwa hadn't processed that the piece of your dress that he saw was from underneath a cloth that covered your whole body that's rested on a stretcher.
He could feel his heart stopped, his head spinning, and his breath hitching. He was trying to convince himself that you're okay, that you're simply unconscious and is resting, waiting to be taken to the hospital to be treated.
When he realized that a couple of workers were about to carry you away, he sprinted and yelled for them to stop.
As soon as he arrived by your side, his trembling hands held on the piece of dress that peeked out. Again, he tried convincing himself that everything's okay, that maybe this is not you. Slowly, he pulled the cloth back a little to expose your hand. The ring that he had bought you to commemorate your 2nd anniversary brought dread to him for the first time ever. He used to love seeing it on your finger, showing people that you're taken, but not this time.
Bracing himself, he pulled the rest of the cloth off of you. "Oh no," he choked out and finally broke down when he saw your pale, lifeless face. The same face that greeted him every morning and accompanied him every night, the same face that would scrunch up whilst cleaning his wound when he came back home from a mission. The same face that dropped in disappointment when he decided to go after the other girl in her last moments.
He can't believe your last memory of him was him turning his back on you, his last conversation with you was when he called your feelings childish and uncalled for, that the last time he held your beating heart was when he pushed you away so he could talk to people he didn't even care for.
All he could do now is held onto you as he cried, hand going over the wound that ultimately ended your life. Several bullet holes littered your body, but he seems to be focused on the one that's directly on your heart. He thought about how much pain your heart must've born, how much the pain he inflicted on you must've hurt much more than the bullet that struck through. He thought about how he should've gone to you to ensure your safety.
Seonghwa, the usually reserved and collected man, didn't even care about the attention he drew. People around were looking at him with much pity, those who knew him wanted to comfort him but didn't know how to, even Wooyoung can't help but shed his pettiness over his older friend when seeing him wailing over his loss.
But Seonghwa didn't care.
How could he?
When the only important person in his life was ripped away from him before he could make amends.
Without thinking twice, he stood up and carried you off the stretcher. The workers that were supposed to take care of the deceased stood silent and unsure, yet they didn't stop Seonghwa even when he began to carry you towards his car.
"Don't worry, I'm taking you home so you can rest," he said with tears still streaming down his face. He looked down at your face, he could fool himself and say that you're only sleeping, that tomorrow things will be better. Yeah, for now, he can do that.
Once he put you on the front seat securely and went over to the driver's seat, he leaned down and press a kiss to your forehead lovingly, "I'm never gonna leave you anymore," he said before turning the car engine on and drove off.
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iceprincessviviane · 3 years
Text
Eyes in the darkness
Paring: Yandere!C!Technoblade x BookwormEnchanter!Female!Reader
Type: Romantic (Technoblade is yandere). Trilogy - part one. Next part.
Warnings: swearing, possessivness, yandere, angst, injury, sugestive content, threats, blood, silly jokes created by me.
Summary: Technoblade was watching Y/N for some time, trying to stay in the shadows. Unfortunately voices and thoughts won against the logic and he want her now on his side forever.
Author's note: Inspiration from a lot of things, but especially: Hades and Persephone, Beauty and the Beast. This used to be oneshot, but I changed my mind, ut will be trilogy. English isn't my first language, so sorry for any mistakes.
Words in red colour are Technoblade's voices.
Words in blue colour are Y/N thoughts.
Y/N didn’t know when was the last time she ran for her life. Probably during one of the pillagers attack on the village or maybe in the Nether. But none of them was that type. Now she was being chased by something way much more dangerous than besties. At the moment, she’s being followed by the Blood God himself. Despite the aching and pain of her muscles and her throat feeling dry from gasping for air, Y/N was still asking herself how did on earth this happen?
~*~
Y/N always loved books and reading, she came to Smp two weeks after Foolish arrival. Actually her friendship with him leaded her here. They exchanged the letters and she was interested in staying somewhere for a while. After some time, she decided to come. Her divine friend already started to build his summer home and had few buildings done. She stayed there for few couple of days, they decided to build something for herself. She already have met most of Smp members including Dream Team, Bench Trio and rest, but owning home, place for stay was good idea. Sometimes Y/N liked to be alone. Eret allowed her to build something behind his castle, it was always nice to have someone close.
It took time before she ended house, it was cozy one with big field in front, farms, cellars and most important - library with enchanting place. It was huge, biggest part of the house with plenty of regals and reading spots. Y/N loved to spend there time and collectin more books or texts. Foolish had a lot of ancient scrolls or manuscripts and liked to share them with her. They could spend hours discussing about their favourite ones.
Books caused that Y/N met Phil, because he was the second person on the Smp, which had great collection from centauries. Shark god took her at trip to Tundra. Y/N was excited to meet such person and nervous too. Happily, everything went all right, Technoblade wasn't that time in home, so they had chilling conversation. Winged man was very curious about her skills and enchants. Of course during his travells and lifespan he met enchanters, but didn't paid much attention to them. Now, he could meet one in chill ocassion. Their three had a lot of talking, giggling and being wholesome. Phil promised to borrow more interesting books and Y/N said, that she can give some enchantments.
When Technoblade came back he immediately felt, that Foolish was there with... someone else... someone new. It smelled like pine and old paper, very nice. Phil told him about visitors and Y/N, he ignored it a little bit, but voices... voices liked this smell a lot.
'So strange.' 'Which woman can smell like that?' 'Where is she living?'
}*{
Y/N was peaceful person with no intention to harm anybody, staying in her place. She stayed in positive relations with almost everyone, providing needed enchantments and helping caused, that a lot of members were friendly to her. Y/N liked to hanging out with Bench Trio, although they were sometimes so chaotic. Usually she went mining with Ranboo, when it was needed, cutting trees with Tommy for his buildings and staying in Snowchester with Tubbo. That is why she came with almost everyone, when Tommy and Tubbo were in Dream bunkier fighting with him. Discs were just items, but... Dream's obsession, it was dangerous and teenagers were her friends. After that a lot of things changed. Putting him into Pandora's Vault was meant to protect them, but she was getting cold shivers each time she looked at black walls of prison. Knowing that everyone could be locked there...
After Egg's influence grew stronger she tried to find some infromations about it and how could ghe possible defeat it, but that took time. Foolish and Phil were so helpful handing their ancient texts, to make research. Suddenly with crimson vines everywhere, Smp became less safer, at least she felt it that way. More members were busy with their business and stuff, they finally could do them, when Dream was locked. For example Foolish agreed to build big mansion for Tubbo and Ranboo, which got platonical marriage and Tommy started his hotel. Meeting Michael was so wholesome and funny, little zombie piglin started to like her and at each visit she read him fairy tales and stories.
Y/N decided to not think about bad sides of Smp, just being busy and tried to help, if someone needed it. Before Doomsday wandering around could be dangerous, especially for La'Manburg citizens, because Dream and Technoblade were unpleasant for them. Now she enjoyed visiting almost everyone everywhere. After a few visits, she could tell that something was wrong, Y/N couldn't tell what, but it was almost like being watched, blaming Egg and vines was her answer for that, but actually why? Why did it do that? She would never joined their side. Never ever. Sometimes she spotted the Phil's corws, but that wasn't a s surprise, birds were telling him a lot of informations around the Smp. Easy way to know almost everything.
}*{
Y/N was heading to her house, stepping at Prime Path. In opposite direction she spotted Quackity, slowly walking by from prison direction, which was surprise. She smiled softly to him and he smiled back.
"What's up?" Big Q asked when got closer to her.
"It's good I am coming back home, need to eat and get some nap, and you?"
"I... ended some buisness." His face stiffened and his look became more serious.
Y/N nodded little unsure about his changed emotions. Suddenly she spotted that his sleeve is covered in fresh blood.
"Are you hurt?" She asked worried.
Quckity looked at his shirt as surprised as she and frowned, he checked axe which hanged down from his belt.
"I guess so then, but I don't know where did that come from."
"Let me take care of this." Y/N suggested with warm smile. "My home is closer than Las Nevadas."
After a few moments he nodded in agreement. They together headed to her place. Weather started to become stormy, dark cloud covered the sun, threating to start raining.
Then went inside, but when she was closing door, feeling of being watched hit her with dubled strength. House was in the spine forest, but fenced and had a gate. In filed were some farms, trees and small garden, but everything seemed to look normal. Big Q sat on the couch in living room and Y/N brought bandages, water in bowl and even healing potion. He rose sleeve, wound wasn't long, but deep, something cut his arm, probably weapon.
"It doesn't look good, but you will be okay." She said after looking at cut.
"Good." He sighed with relief.
"What did make it? Do you have an idea?"
Big Q looked dead in her eyes and remained silence. Of course he knew what, but he didn't even noticed the wound before leaving the prison. Well, someone will pay for this.
"Maybe working at Las Nevadas, you know... I am still building there." He spoke after a while.
"Oh... ye you have right, but be careful next time." Y/N suggested and started to work on cut carefuly. Starting on cleaning, then gently bandaged it.
"Thank you." Big Q said after seeing the results.
"No problem, just don't walk around with untreated wound." Y/N giggled softly.
He stood up and moved his eyes on windows. Black clouds didn't go away, even became worse.
"I will go now, weather is getting worse, I want to be in home before storm." Big Q said with soft smile.
"Of course, see you next time."
After he left, big storm came, darkness fell upon the Smp, rain and wind were too strong, for coming outside. Y/N decieded to take a chance and nap. She baked some cookies and sit down on a couch with another book, which Phil borrowed her. Only the torches gave light, sometimes thunderbolt stroke and filled room with unatural blue light. Drops hit hardly, making loud sounds, but Y/N was too much into a book. Two hours has passed and slowly night was coming. She moved eyes to meet clock, yep that was supper time, put the book away and up, Gods thr storm didn't let go. Y/N watched for a while outside, then go to kitched. She grabbed blanket and wrapped it around her posture, damn there were cold.
Again feeling of being watched kicked in. She was alone at home, that was sure thing. Outside was deep dark and behind the windows was the wall of the water. Y/N bite her lip and shook head, it was just her imagination, a feeling which stayed for no reason after putting Dream into Pandora's Vault. She took an kettle and suddenly was seeing something in the corner of the eye, something red and unusual in the spine forest. Her figure frozen when she moved back eyes. Deep in the dark, around sprouce trees in the line of forest, Y/N spotted pair of shinning, red eyes, high above the ground. They were locked at her figure.
'This has to be spider... or something else...'
Right after this thought, ceature turned back and disappeard in the darkness, cold shiver went down at Y/N spine. What was that? And why it was here? At least she was safe in home...
}*{
'More.' 'Training is boring, let's find someone to fight.' 'We demand blood.'
Technoblade sighed and stopped, voices today were very, very loud. That was why he decided to train, but during it, they became even worse. He hid sword and walked into home. Phil wasn't here today, he had to do something, but didn't bother to tell him what it was. Blade went back to home by his old path through the forest. His training place was near the cottage, but still hidden from common people. All members of Syndicate knew where it was. First of all he need to take shower. When cold water touched his skin, he felt like even his bloodlust became less, quiet hiss left his lips. He earned some chafings this week. Next, he changed his clothes to common and made a cup of tea, then sit in the kitchen. Immediately his thoughts went to Y/N.
Somehow voices were acting diffrent around her and he even found himself acting that way. They were focused around Y/N and he was more calm, like just her pressence was comforting him. Technoblade remembered their first meeting, it was common day, when someone knocked on the door. He opened it and rose his eyebrows in surprise, outside was standing fragile woman, without any armor and only with trident on her back. They shared awkward eye contact, when suddenly she introduced herself as Y/N. Of course he saw her couple of times, but it wasn't officialy. Y/N has known who was he for sure, she swallowed hard and looked down with shyness. Phil yelled across the room, that she could come in. Ah yes... she loved to read books and his old friend was borrowing her them a lot. Technoblade again felt the spine and old papers smell, for him, it could stay here forever. After short visit, Y/N took books, gave back book of enchantment and left.
Techno's curiosity has increased, when he heard about her more. She was peaceful, friendly soul, completly opposite of him, maybe that was, why he felt so... diffrent around her and voices too. Piglin hybrid enjoyed watching her from the distance, in the shadows, but lately... lately it wasn't enough. Now he wanted to breathe at Y/N scent, holding her close and pressed soft kisses at forehead. He was under voices pressure so long and now his salvation was so close. But what would he make it? As longer he has thought of that, a diffrent ideas came to his head. She was delicate creature, he had to get plan at all. Techno knew almost everything about her: hobbies, traditions, friends and fighting skills. Phil told him a lot about enchanters, they could make enchanting books after years of studying and had magic talent sometimes. As they knew, Y/N could enchant books at any spell, so she had to studied a lot. Technoblade sighed and grabbed his cloak, time to keep an eye on few things.
'Let's not go quietly!' 'Let's go quiet as grave...' 'Blood for the Blood God!'
}*{
That was busy week, Y/N could only one time saw Foolish and Phil, but whole Smp seemed a little bit diffrent... luckily she was able to go on mining trip with Ranboo and Eret visited her with a couple of books, which were about Smp. Now was afternoon and sun slowly started to set, she was heading to her house, where waited for her snow fox, which she found in Snowchester. Cute, little ball of fur stole Y/N heart immediately. When she finally stepped inside, Snowflake - that how she named it, ran into her squeaking high.
"What happend my little one?" She knelt down and pet it's head.
Fox looked at her with big brown eyes and squeaked once more, then jump into her arms.
"Oh oh oh... are you afraid of something?" Y/N hugged Snowflake and looked around. Everything in home seemed normal, door was closed, in a field same, animals were quite nervous, but everything was good. She frowned and stepped inside, then put fox into basket with small blanket.
"I will bring you some berries, you will like it for sure." Y/N smiled gently.
Unfortunately, she didn't have any at this moment in home, Snowflake was there only for three days, so she couldn't make berries farm so fast, because she had to set up a space. Luckily, she lived around coniferous forest, so didn't even hesiatate, Y/N just grabbed backpack and went outside. Sun was lower in the sky, but still it was warm and brightly. Birds were humming quietly and around was quite quiet. Berries bush weren't so far, she founed some, but in order to make supplies, decided to find more, then plant them around the house. It would spared the time and work.
"Y/N." She heard deep, lazy voice and immediately turned at it's direction.
The Blade was standing under big sprouce tree with satisfied grinn on his lips. Eyes locked on Y/N figure, which completly froze at the sight of him. She have never been with him alone, in tundra always Phil or Ranboo were around, now it felt... strange and risky, she still remembered what happend to La'Manburg citizens.
"Technoblade." Y/N spoke softly, being careful to not crack her voice, despite building feeling of fear. She noticed, that piglin hybrid under his royal, crimson cloak was wearing armor, probably not his best one, but still enough to win fight. Part of hair made into bun, rest were freely in his back and shoulders. From his belt was hanging netherite sword and netherite axe was sticking out from behind. She spotted, that his weapons were a little covered in blood, same as his sleeves and parts of shirt. He was killing monsters right? Or just hunting? Uncomfortable, awkward silence reminded between them, only forest noises distrubed it from time to time.
Voices were too loud today, too agressive, too greedy, killing monsters and pillagers wasn't enough, Quackity has already tasted his steel, well he deserved that after showing up in Y/N home. He had so much fun with him, but after that he needed some rest, comfort and calm. That is why without even thinking too much Technoblade went straight to Y/N house. He hoped, that everything will change, that he finally will has some break from voices, violence and killing. Of course he liked his way to be... but yes sometimes, you have to make a nap.
"Are you wounded?" Y/N asked quietly breaking the silence. After all, if he needed help, she would help him, without hesitation.
Technoblade's grinn became more sinister, he put hand on sword hilt and slowly tilted his head on right side.
"This isn't my blood." He said without caring at all.
"Oh, that's good then..." Y/N whispered, but he could hear that.
Piglin hybrid studied her posture, she had only trident at her back, backpack in left hand, no armor, no more weapons. Poor little girl, that's not how you are going outside your home, she was literally unarmed in his eyes.
"So... what are you doing here? Alone? In the forest?" Technoblade asked and moved closer to her.
The way he spoke these words, made Y/N shiver inside, outside, she grabbed her backpack harder. Surely there was nothing to worry about, she has never done something wrong to him or Philza, she wasn't dangerous or wanted to has any power. Techno is probably just passing by. Suddenly he was so close, now she could for real see the height diffrence, for the gods sake, her head reached around his breastbone. Y/N looked up only to meet piglin hybrid's burning gaze.
"I... I was collecting berries for my snow fox. Something scared her, so I thought that she will calm down after getting some and I ran out of them..." she suttered and swallow hard.
"How sweet." Technoblade commented and his smile widened.
"So... you are just passing by?"
"Not really."
Sudden grip on her chin caught Y/N off guard. Technoblade forced her to look straight into his eyes. His face stiffened a little bit, she hissed quietly, when claws touched harder gentle skin. Then she realised... Blade's eyes were red and she heard, that it could glow in darkness. Her skin became pale and pupils widened. It was him, that time during a storm, he was watching her...
"What are you doing?" Y/N asked quietly, without any clue, what was going on.
'She is so innocent.' 'We love her scent.' 'Let her know.'
"I have something to tell you." He leaned and immediately her scent hit him harder, resisting to take deep breath wasn't that easy.
"What excatly?"
"I was watching you for a while Y/N. Belive me or not I found that interesting, because your pressence is calming for me, I can fall asleep while listening your voice and push away my violence behaviour, when you are around." He stroked her cheek by his thumb and smiled haughty. "I am always getting , what I want and I want that so badly, you can't even imagine."
Y/N shook head and made few steps back, leaving his grip, couldn't belive what she just heard. That's impossible.
"I don't know what to say... I can admit, that I had strange feeling of being watching but... I blamed the Egg..." She looked deep into his eyes, trying to put everything together. "What do you mean, you are always getting, what are you want? How am I suppose to understand that?"
"Listen sweetheart, we can do this in two diffrent ways: good or bad. If you choose first one, fine politely you will go with me. Second way? Well I can be very convincing, when I want to." Technoblade frowned.
None of this options was good for her. Y/N sighed and her shoulders dropped. She couldn't do anything literally...
"Come on princess. I can take care of you, I promise, you will be happy." He gave her his hand, but gripped sword hilt harder.
Y/N always avoided the conflicts and argues, never has started any, that was easier and better way to live. She could take care of her interests, powers anf friends by being supportive or neutral. Technoblade's behaviour made her shiver and feel sick, there was no guarantee that he will keep his words, even if it were sweet and promising. Y/N knew that fighting him was pointlees, he were ten thousand better than her, she didn't even have armor or second weapon. But surrender just like that? Without any resistance? She always was determinated, miss 'you can always find a way, solution'. Not a chance.
"I think I have better option, which lay in the middle." Y/N smiled gently.
"Well, tell me then." Technoblade rose his eyebrows with curiosity.
With one smooth move, she put backpack on and immediately started to run. The Blade's pupils widened, he burst out laughing.
"It will be funny."
She has known, that she needed to lose him in forest. Going to home wouldn't help, because door or gate couldn't stop Blood God. Lost him and then ran away from Smp, at least her current living location. Y/N realized that she couldn't even ask for help anyone. Probably Technoblade would come after her friends, helpers, so that was it. Y/N versus The Blade, she was on her own.
'How did she dare to run away from us?!' 'Chase her, catch her.' 'Faster, faster, faster!'
It seemed like running away from Tommy for fun, came in handy and long trips with Ranboo caused her to move fast through forest. Y/N nimbly jumped over obstacles and avoid rocks or roots. Her pace wasn't the fastes, but she could hold it for pretty long time. She wasn't thinking a lot, just tried to run away as far as she could.
'Don't look back, don't look back, it will make you slower.'
Hiding could be good idea, but not now. As long as he was close, she couldn't stop at all. Breaking through the forest was only hearing noise, soon, she heard her heavy breathing. Heading to unknown direction wasn't so wisely, but Y/N had no choice. After a few minutes, she stopped to catch breath. Around was sudden so quiet, cold shiver went down at her spine. Too quiet.
"Already tired?" Technoblade's voice surprised her from left side.
She turned head, just to see him leaning against the tree. In his right hand he held sword, didn't even look like he was running.
"You can't outrun me little one. A lot of people tried, now they are dead." He aimed sword at her. "We can end this farce here. I am not mad, honestly, you made me smile a little bit."
"You will have to catch me, if you want me going with you." Y/N said and then continue to run away.
"Oh I will princess, that's what predator does to the prey."
Y/N started to feel really tired, muscles aching, throat dry from gasping for air, hair dispelled and cheeks red. She ran for a while, but now had to stop. Technoblade immediately appeared in her field of vision. He was walking carefuly, but still looked intimidating.
"Don't come closer!" She released a cry.
Piglin hybrid stopped about eight meters away. He leaned sword against the ground and looked at her with curious gaze.
'Here she is, our reward.' 'Let's finally take her with us.' 'We like that sound.'
"I think, I just caught you." A little grinn appeared on his lips.
She looked straight into his eyes. Her gaze full of fear met a calm and determination. Y/N didn't even want to think what would happend, if he fulfilled his desires. Gods sake, she was free human being, none could take her freedom, she didn't ask for this. In an act of desperation, with the last of her strength, she used her powers. Feeling of warm through fingers and energy drained from her veins, but then burning light. In Technoblade's towards direction flew literally fireball, but he was too skilled for this. He made a dodge and looked at Y/N with mix of proud and shock. She dropped to her knees, struggling to stay conscious, despite the pain at her whole body and tired mind and unclear vision. Technoblade immediately was with her, he knelt down and support her, by putting arm around her waist. Y/N leaned back against his chest, fatigue prevailed over reason.
"Enough for today princess. You run out, if you will keep resisting." He whispered calmly.
"Please, please... please I don't want this, I want to go home." Her voice was cracking, tears strimming down at her cheeks.
"Hush darling, everything will be all right."
Technoblade's body radiated warm, his tone suddenly was so calming and sleepy. She wanted to close eyes so badly, but still fear was too big.
"You are safe, nothing can hurt you I promise."
After this words Y/N gave up and lost consciousness. Sun went down and shadows became longer and darker.
}*{
Phil careful closed the doors, then walked quietly down. Technoblade sat in kitchen with cup of hot tea, he immediately looked at his old friend, his eyes were worrying.
"Y/N is good, she lost consciousness, because was too tired. You said that, she used her powers."
"It was literally fireball, but I dodge that easy."
"Well, now we know about her powers at least... interesting, what you are going to do, when she wake up?" Phil asked and sat in opposite site.
"I know, that you are not glad about this, but I will figure this out. She won't cause any troubles." Techno's voice became deeper.
Winged man sighed and looked at his friend. He knew what he was going through, when voices became louder and demanded blood, each moment of silence or when they were quiet, Technoblade cherished and tried to make it worth. Phil couldn't be angry or mad for his friend about that deed, but... he was torn.
"Come on spit it out. I can see that you want to tell something important." Piglin hybrid said slowly.
"We were through a lot of shit, we know each other for almost ages and we blew up the nation for gods sake, kidnapping isn't the worst thing you have done, but..." Phil started and looked at Techno. "I wish you best and everything good, but I don't know how will I act around. Y/N has come to me for books, we were talking about stuff, I gave her cookies and tea. How will I explain, that I am supporting your decision? And I am always on your side." Phil said aloud his worries.
"I will give her time to get used to. After certain amount of time Y/N will understand." The Blade was lost in his thoughts.
He was so greatful of his friend statement, but still a little bit unsure. This case shloudn't affect on their relationship or Phil's life. Honestly Technoblade belived that his pressence will comfort Y/N at least, as he said they were close and enjoyed each other company.
"Someone will notice her disappering. What then? And Ranboo is visiting us a lot." Phil sighed a little.
"I've got this, trust me."
"I trust you with my own life." Winged man nodded.
}*{
Sunlight kissed her skin gently, when it showed up on window. Y/N felt softness under herself and on her back. Quiet sigh left her lips, when she opened eyes. In the room was very bright, but for sure it wasn't her room. Immediately cold shiver went down at her spine. Still weak, she tried to lift herself, because she was lying on stomach. Bed was big, with good beddings and pillows.
"Don't move, you are still weak." Technoblade's voice was soft, but loud.
Y/N bite her lip and then lifted head. He was standing near the bed and observing curiously, looking completly diffrent. White, linen shirt and high waisted, leather trousers, hair braided tighly. In this version he was... more open and accessible, not so scary.
"Where am I?" She asked slowly and rolled at her back with quiet hiss. Muscles still hurt and throat was dry.
"In my house, in tundra safe and..." He cut off, while noticed that Y/N is trying to get up. "What did I say?" He stepped closer and sat on bed.
She sat unsure on mattress, just to met Technoblade here, he gripped again her chin, as in the forest and forced her to look at him. This time it was more gently.
"Darling please..."
"You can't take my freedom!"
His eyes darkened immediately and Y/N regreted her words. She swallowed hard, when Blade looked deep into her eyes.
"Of course I can and I will, if you don't behave good. If you didn't notice, you aren't chained or tied, but pretty comfy in my bed." He said slowly with threat in his voice. "Think about it."
Technoblade released her and got up. She looked down thinking about situation, yes he didn't tied her, but still it wasn't good case. Y/N just wanted to be free, do stuff which she want and meet friends. Maybe Smp wasn't perfect, but still now it was her home, there were a lot of wars or argues, but she still had house and persons which she cared about and this was mutual, now everything was unsure.
"I am just afraid... " Y/N whispered quietly.
"As I said earlier you are safe here, you are safe with me. Nothing can hurt you." Techno grabbed bowl with soup and came back. "Here, eat, you need to recover."
"Thanks." She smiled weakly to him, took bowl and started to eat slowly.
'Good girl.' 'She will behave for sure.' 'We can teach her a lesson.'
Y/N was napping for the rest of the day, Technoblade gave her one of their books, so she wasn't bored. Probably tomorrow or next day she will stand up.
The sound of closing doors, caused her to closed book and put it away. Piglin smiled gently and took off his shirt suddenly. Y/N eyes became big.
"Wait wait wait..."
"Calm down princess, I am just going to sleep, nothing else." Technoblade smirked for her panic.
"So... where shloud I move?" Y/N asked looking around the room.
"Nowhere. You are staying here with me."
Immediately her cheeks went slighty red. She looked at him curiously. His pink skin seemed gentle from the distance, a lot of scars marked his chest and arms. Some of them little, some of them large, the biggest one was through both sides of chest. Technoblade released his hair and came closer. Y/N moved to make him some space. He laid down, she followed his steps but remain distance.
"Goodnight." She said and turned back from him.
"Goodnight sweetheart."
He blow up torches near the bed and silence fell upon them. Not even a five minutes passed, when Y/N felt sudden grip on her waist. She froze, Technoblade hugged her and pressed kiss on her shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Quiet whisper left her lips.
"Snuggling and cuddling." He whispered softly.
Y/N couldn't help, she giggled quietly. Techno took this as premission, her back touched his chest and second hand slowly stroked her hair.
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ddarker-dreams · 4 years
Text
Yan Childe, Diluc, Kaeya, Zhongli, Beidou & Ningguang / Courting Darling.
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Warnings: Stalking, implied blackmail, kidnapping, and gaslighting. Note: this is a bit of an amalgamation from different asks i’ve gotten, put into one thing bc i thirst for these six characters so hard .
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Childe:
“What’s life without a little adventure? You can stand to miss work for a day or two, it’ll still be there waiting for you when we get back. People have even gone so far as to say I’m an absolute joy to be around. You want to know who said that? Sorry, that source is staying a secret.” 
Childe is an erratic whirlwind of highs and lows. You never know what to expect from him, and he likes it that way, always keeping you on your toes. He doesn’t bother with having his friendliness appear genuine. If you want to doubt his goodwill, then so be it, he won’t stop you. It just makes it all the more interesting to keep you around should you be wary of his presence. 
He doesn’t care for the traditional conventions surrounding romance. It isn’t his thing, and he��s used to being considered the odd one out of every crowd, so why stop now? Childe doesn’t tone down any aspects of his bloodthirsty personality in your presence. It’s difficult to tell how serious he’s being since most of it takes the form of jokes or other lighthearted jests. In his mind, the fact he’s even spending so much time with you should make it obvious he’s interested. Whether that’s good or not. 
You’re going to be dragged all over the place. Childe’s stamina is seemingly an infinite well, as he takes you from activity to activity. By the end of the day, you’ll be exhausted. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take no for an answer, weaseling his way into your schedule despite your protests. Childe is particularly fond of getting into situations where a fight is inevitable, purposefully taking you to areas with monsters to show off his combat prowess. 
“Did you get a look at that, [First]? Aha, I haven’t had this much fun in ages! You already want to head back? Hm, I don’t know, the night is still young. Stop dragging your feet or I might just have to carry you. Not that I’m complaining, should that be the outcome. It’s up to you. Oh! Now that’s the spirit! I’ll try not to be hurt by how fast you’re moving now.” 
Diluc: 
“Ah, [First], I take it you’re doing well. I couldn’t help but notice you eyeing this book at the market earlier. I’ve had a copy of it for ages, but with how busy things are, rarely do I have time to read. I’d be appreciative should you accept this and give it a better home.” 
Diluc is self-assured in many areas of his life, romance is not one of them. He knows how to carry himself in the company of businessmen, staying polite and vigilant, but this rigid method doesn’t work in his favor when it comes to wooing you. To soften the blow on his side, Diluc tells himself that it was never about a relationship anyway. That his main priority was and will always be to ensure your safety. He tells himself this, but... isn’t sure if he really believes it. 
He’s a perfect example of pining from afar. Subconsciously, he’ll drift towards areas you tend to linger around, hoping to spot you amidst the bustling crowds. Each time he tells himself that this’ll finally be the time he approaches you. The opportunity is set before him, waiting to be taken advantage of, but he rarely follows through with his desire. 
It frustrates Diluc to no end how easily others flock to you. He’ll stand there, still as a statue, eyes boring into whatever pest currently holds your attention. This would be the push to finally send him your way. It’s a surprise to you both when Mondstadt’s wine tycoon materializes by your side, politely asking to speak in private. Truth be told, he just can’t stand the thought of another person holding your attention that isn’t him. 
“I apologize for my abruptness back there. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about for some time, and well... would you consider having dinner with me tonight? I’d appreciate your company.” 
Kaeya:
“It’s a funny thing, really. How we keep bumping into one another like this. Ah... that suspicious expression, it wounds me deep, sweetheart. When did you start looking at me like that, I wonder?” 
There’s no doubting Kaeya’s interest in you, from the first time he sauntered over to you and started a conversation. The problem you have is deciding how genuine his advances are. While Kaeya might not be the textbook definition of a heart-wrenching playboy, you’re familiar enough with the many rumors surrounding him to be wary. It doesn’t help that he’ll point this out to you when guessing the source of your apprehension. 
His methods are, oddly enough, effective. Kaeya balances the various aspects of seduction with ease. He reveals just enough about himself to draw out your attention, before focusing the conversation back onto you. You’ll never get to stop and realize how little you know about the man sitting in front of you, he makes certain of that.
Kaeya might hide certain aspects of himself, but his dubious morality is never concealed. He has you entirely wrapped around his finger, words validating his actions falling from his lips with the utmost ease; he’s a force to be reckoned with. You’ll start a conversation heated about something you’ve learned, only for it to end wondering why you were ever upset in the first place.
“Now, now, there’s no need to get all riled up over something like this. Don’t you trust me by now? When have I ever given you reason to doubt me? You need to take a look at the bigger picture. Hey, take a seat. I’ll sit here all night explaining to you if it’s necessary.” 
→[More underneath the cut].
Zhongli: 
“There must be something that I can assist you with. It may not look it, but I’m familiar with many fields of work, even obscure ones. Please allow me to lend a hand.” 
Zhongli, despite having been around for many centuries, is somewhat clueless in romantic pursuits. He’s aware of his fondness for you, but doesn’t know what to do with it. This leads him to becoming your shadow for some time. He focuses on what he knows best: observation and processing new information. Your every little movement will be analyzed and tuck into the back of his mind for later usage. 
Zhongli’s soft over the idea of you coming to rely on him for everything. He prides himself on his wealth of knowledge and work ethic, believing it a strong appeal, one that he puts on full display when you’re around. It’s not rare for you to overhear neighbors and friends speak highly about Zhongli. They’ll mention in passing how they were having difficulty with something, only for Zhongli to come around and help without asking for anything in return. 
This is exactly what he’s been hoping and waiting for. Zhongli has patience and sets himself up to be a desirable partner in your eyes, the efforts from his labor coming into fruition. Before you even speak to him for the first time, you’re likely to think highly of him, having heard all the ways he’s helped people close to you. Now that the stage is properly set, he’s ready to make his interest in you more evident. 
“I’ve heard a lot about you, [First]. Oh? You can say the same for me? Well, I hope I can live up to your expectations. I had just been on my way to Yanshang Teahouse, would you care to join me? My treat, of course.” 
Beidou: 
“You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced a voyage with my crew and I. I’ll set up a nice cabin just for you, how does that sound? Hm? Special treatment? Don’t worry your pretty little head about that, lass.”  
Beidou’s attention is overwhelming and oftentimes dangerous. Traditional social conventions are nothing but a waste of time for her, meaning that common courtesy is disregarded in favor of always speaking her mind. Which might not be so bad if she wasn’t so amorous. Even the most oblivious person couldn’t miss Beidou’s overt favor towards you.
This reverent display of affection is only exacerbated when she’s drunk, face flushed and an arm swung tightly around your shoulder. She doesn’t care who sees, who’s judging, or what gossip will be born from her actions. Beidou makes a point of showing everyone in the vicinity that even if you aren’t officially partners yet, a claim has been staked on you. 
Whether it be coercion or some other unsightly method, Beidou is intent on bringing you on her ship at least once. Or that’s how she initially phrased it to you. Imagine your surprise, that when you finally caved so she’d drop the subject, her crew was untying the ropes keeping the boat at port. 
“The fun’s just getting started, you haven’t seen anything yet. Don’t get all teary-eyed yet, sweetheart, I know you’ll come around. This’ll be a story sung by sailors for generations to come.”
Ningguang:
“If I’m being honest, not many are given the opportunity to speak to me outside of business-related ventures. I never thought I’d find it this... pleasant. I hope you’ll continue to entertain me as you do now.” 
Ningguang starts off her wooing in a subtle, almost coquettish manner. She is confident in her charm and brilliance. Not many have been gifted in the art of conversation to the same extent Ningguang has, her silver tongue paired with quick intellect making it difficult for you to escape. She’ll corner you verbally without you even noticing it. 
Ningguang finds amusement in how you stumble over your words, pure of heart and not chained down by special interests. Your forthright but considerate demeanor intoxicates her. She’s used to people cowering in her presence or trying too hard to pursue their goals. You might even earn a rare compliment or two, disguised as politeness, that doesn’t register for hours. 
She is a lady of fine taste. The sky’s the limit when it comes to her wealth, which is unrivaled throughout Tevyat, and you’ll be quick to notice this. Ningguang is most partial to sending you traditional Liyue adornments, believing the rich culture behind each piece suits your beauty. She’s also fond of the fact that when you wear her gifts, everyone in the vicinity will know it’s from her, due to its extraordinarily high cost. 
“Do you like my latest gift, little dove? It was made custom with you in mind, an unrivaled display of craftmanship, if I may add. Wear this and carry me with you... always.” 
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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years
Note
CQL-Verse: Wen Ning did a whole lot of risky stuff saving JC and the bodies at Lotus Pier. What if NMJ hears and gets talked into helping protect him and the Wen remnants by the Jiang bros, because even if he's a wen, he still 1. whole ass poisoned wen chao 2. straight up commited treason and was punished for it to protect sect heirs and 3. is extremely baby brotherable. you can fit so much h/c into this bad boy
ao3
Untamed
1
Wen Qing was angry about the trials, but Wen Ning thought they made a reasonable amount of sense.
After all, how was the rest of the cultivation world supposed to know what they did in the war without a proper trial? It was only reasonable for them to make certain assumptions about them based on their surname, the same way everyone assumed that those surnamed Jin were rich, those surnamed Lan were beautiful, those surnamed Jiang were bold to the point of arrogance…
The Nie were supposedly known for their tempers, but Wen Ning hadn’t seen much evidence of that so far.
In fairness, his only experiences with a Nie were, firstly, with Nie Huaisang at the Cloud Recesses, which he was fairly sure didn’t count, and now, during the trial, with Nie Mingjue.
Nie Mingjue laughed the entire trial.
“You poisoned the wine,” he sniggered. “At their own celebratory feast…! And then you just went straight to Yiling, where your sister was in charge. And it still took him how long to find you?”
“Weeks,” Wen Ning meekly admitted.  
“Can we go back to the bit where you saved Wei-xiong from the giant dog beast using stolen needles?” Nie Huaisang asked.
“No, we cannot,” Nie Mingjue’s deputy – a somewhat long-suffering looking man that they all called Meng Yao – said. “He’s already gone over it four times, Huaisang.”
“But –”
“No.”
“Spoilsport! Look at how much fun da-ge’s having; it’s not fair.”
“He’s the sect leader. If he wants to hoot like a shrieking monkey, he’s entitled to it.”
“I’m not hooting,” Nie Mingjue protested. “I am recognizing talent.”
“Talent.”
“Exactly. Talent.”
“At…what, exactly?”
“Causing trouble,” Nie Huaisang volunteered. “I recognize it from Wei-xiong, I could spot it anywhere.”
“Could we possibly proceed with the trial?” Meng Yao asked, obviously deciding not to continue with that discussion. “We have six more to finish today. Can I assume that given the evidence of Wen-gongzi’s subversive activities and his subsequent imprisonment throughout much of the Sunshot Campaign, he is absolved of all crimes and allowed to go free?”
“You spoilsport,” Nie Mingjue said, rolling his eyes at him. “Yes, I think so. Wen Qionglin, you are free to go your own way – though if you wish to stay here in Qinghe as a guest cultivator, we would be glad to have you for however long you wish.”
Wen Ning thought that sounded all right.
2
The Nie sect were known for their tempers, and justly so, but Wen Ning quickly figured out that he didn’t need to be afraid of Nie Mingjue’s occasional outbursts (quickly roused, quickly doused) or Nie Huaisang’s temper tantrums (petty) and occasional grudge-holding (rarer but much more dangerous).
No, Wen Ning figured out very quickly in his first weeks that the one to be afraid of was clearly Meng Yao.
Wen Ning had been weak and sickly his whole life in a sect that valued strength above all; he had survived hiding behind his sister, but she couldn’t always be there for him, no matter how she tried. He’d soon learned that surviving on his own meant being quiet and obedient, never making trouble or drawing attention to himself, and it also meant being extremely attuned to the minute expressions that might signal the difference between Wen Chao being angry enough to throwing a teacup at his head and being angry enough to order him to be taken outside and beaten until unconscious.
The same skills helped him in the Nie sect, where people were very often angry. Wen Ning could tell the difference between Nie Mingjue raging to let out steam (moderately common and generally innocuous, easily ignored) and being actually upset (typically only dangerous to the furniture, which was a nice change, but more worrisome in the sense that he might go and do something stupid afterwards), and he could tell that Nie Huaisang’s true anger, so rarely triggered, tended more towards the cold and hidden (definitely a sign he was going to do something, but unfortunately for everyone involved it’d invariably be far more malicious - enough to make you long for stupid).
He could tell that Meng Yao was, despite all his smiles, very often angry.
Like Nie Mingjue, Meng Yao’s temper was easily roused to the point of fury; like Nie Huaisang, his anger lasted a long time and usually called for some malicious action before it could be properly assuaged.
“Senior Meng,” Wen Ning tentatively said one day when his curiosity got to be too much for him. “Could I ask a rude question?”
Meng Yao’s temper, hidden deep in his eyes, flared at once, preemptively, and Wen Ning shivered and looked down at the ground. He had known what he was risking, but he hoped that asking permission in advance might allow him to get the question out with minimal reprisals – cold meals for a few days, perhaps, or being assigned to the training yard only when the most sadistic training-master was supervising, but only for a week or so.
“Of course, Wen-gongzi,” Meng Yao said, and he sounded nice and pleasant and like no question could possibly be rude enough to cause him any disturbance. It was a little frightening how good he was at that. “I can’t imagine what you would want to know that would be rude.”
“Are you related?” Wen Ning blurted out. “To Sect Leader Nie, I mean – his family –”
Meng Yao stared at him. His mouth was slightly hanging open.
“…it’s a stupid question,” Wen Ning concluded, feeling ashamed. Of course Meng Yao had been promoted entirely on merit; it was only his imagination getting away from him. “I’m sorry. I’ll go –”
“No, wait,” Meng Yao croaked. “Related – to the Nie sect – forgive me. How did you reach that conclusion?”
“I mean, you’re obviously treated as part of the main family,” Wen Ning pointed out. There were plenty of Nie cousins that weren’t treated anywhere near as well; both Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang were not only protective but almost possessive over Meng Yao’s time and dignity - surely by now everyone knew that the surest way to get them each angry in their own ways was to slight Meng Yao. “You wear Nie braids like them – you wear clothing like them – you have a temper like them –”
Meng Yao started laughing.
“…did I miss something?”
3
“I’m surprised you didn’t go to the Lotus Pier after you’d been absolved,” Nie Huaisang said, tapping the weiqi piece on the board a few times before making a move. “Given your fondness for Wei-xiong and all that.”
“Wei-gongzi’s very nice,” Wen Ning said vaguely, staring down at the board. He’d played a lot of weiqi in his life – including against Wen Ruohan when the man had still been remotely sane, mostly because he’d been the only one stuck back at the palace with him more often than not – but playing against Nie Huaisang required all of his attention. The first time he looked away, he’d get lured into a trap. “Very kind.”
“And yet you stay here,” Nie Huaisang prompted. “In Qinghe, with us, when even your sister picked the Lotus Pier.”
Wen Ning had never been without his sister this long before. He knew that she still expected him to come to the Lotus Pier. She hadn’t expected him to last the week without her; she’d said as much when she first went, huffing at him for being ridiculous – a Wen as a guest cultivator in the Nie sect, of all places? – and telling him, in between reminders to take his medicine on time, that she’d prepare a place for him there so that he would be comfortable when he arrived.
Her letters, in the weeks and now months since that time, had never overtly asked when he was going to finally get around to moving there, and had recently developed an almost quizzical tone, as if she’d finally realized that he wasn’t.
“I like it here,” Wen Ning said, and moved his piece.
Nie Huaisang moved his own almost immediately in response, which meant that Wen Ning had made a horrible mistake that played straight into Nie Huaisang’s hands. Not an uncommon occurrence. 
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “We like having you here, too.”
Surprised, Wen Ning looked up.
Nie Huaisang was smiling at him – he smiled nearly as often as Meng Yao, but unlike Meng Yao, he never smiled if he didn’t want to, so his smiles were actually sincerely meant each and every time. He had a wide range of smiles: nervous smiles, cheerful smiles, devious smiles…
Wen Ning was good at reading expressions, but he had to admit he’d never had to work as hard at it as he did with Nie Huaisang.
“We’re a very nice sect, really,” Nie Huaisang said, and even seemed to believe it. “We’re always open to people who are like us. The only thing we can’t tolerate is injustice and betrayal; as long as you stick with us and put us first, you’re ours, and we’re yours.”
That sounded nice, Wen Ning thought, and moved a piece blindly. “You think I’m like you? My sister doesn’t think so.”
“I think you fit in very nicely,” Nie Huaisang said, and his smile had teeth to it. He moved quickly, again. “You’re angry and resentful, but you don’t let it get in the way of what you want - just like us. Your sister probably doesn’t think that about you, either, but then again, that’s why she’s in the Jiang sect, with their heads in the air, dreaming of the impossible. I bet she never even noticed that you had a temper.”
She hadn’t. Wen Ning had been her baby brother and nothing else for a long time; he never had to defend himself as long as she was around. 
He’d never had the chance to defend himself.
(He didn’t resent her for that. He didn’t. She was his big sister, his favorite person, and he loved her so much that he didn’t mind the way that all her fussing sometimes made the world feel cramped and small, as if he were being forced into a place that he’d long since outgrown.)
“Do I have a temper?” he asked, and moved another piece.
“Oh, yes,” Nie Huaisang said. “You’re like me – slow to boil – and like Meng Yao, hiding it behind your eyes. You’re even a bit like da-ge: you don’t need to be the one get the frustration out as long as something deals with it, but if nothing does, it nags at you and wears at you, like a thorn stuck in your flesh, until you can’t be silent any longer. Until you have to do something, or else you’ll explode.”
That sounded about right, Wen Ning thought. He’d never really had a chance to explode in the Wen sect, out of fear of what they’d do to his sister if he did, and he’d been sick with it – he’d limited himself to little rebellions, nameless pranks, right up until he met Wei Wuxian, who was kind to him, and couldn’t stop himself from helping him. He sometimes thought, in the days he’d spent in the dungeons, that if he died he’d come back as a fierce corpse, soul-calming rituals or no, and he’d might even enjoy it if only for the opportunity to finally vent his feelings – to finally pay back every single injustice that he’d ever seen, each one marked down in his heart in an indelible list of regrets.
Maybe Nie Huaisang was right. 
Maybe that was why he stayed here, in the Nie sect, the sect of do not tolerate evil instead of the Lan sect’s chivalry and righteousness or the Jiang sect’s attempt the impossible.
Maybe he wanted to fight back for once. To have a temper, to have rage, to be something more than Wen Qing’s shy, stuttering shadow.
“I like it here,” he said again, but if his words were the same then the flavor was different: he meant it this time.  
He understood, this time, what he meant by it.
Nie Huaisang smiled at him and moved another piece. Winning the game, Wen Ning noticed.
“Good,” he said. “Now move over – sit in front of the mirror. I’ll show you how to do your hair right.”
“Really?”
“Really. Also, Da-ge’s been practically champing at the bit to teach you saber, and Meng Yao has been making grandiose plans about redoing the way we recruit and train doctors with you leading the charge, so if you’re not up for either of those, now’s the time to say something.”
Wen Ning settled down in front of the mirror.
“No,” he said. “Those sound good to me.”
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hologramcowboy · 3 years
Note
What I find so interesting about Danneel antis is that almost all of them have experiences dealing with someone with narcissistic personality disorder and find her behavior alarmingly similar. I know that’s what set alarm bells off for me, she reminds me a lot of my mother (confirmed narcissist by a professional). I didn’t care about her for a long time, she was just the wife of an actor I liked and is unrecognizable from her One Tree Hill days so I didn’t even make the connection that she was on one of my favorite shows. But she kept getting shoved in the SPN fandoms face, so I ended up having to pay attention to her despite originally not caring. Only the Ackles attempts to raise Danneel’s status by using Jensen’s fans/SPN fans backfired on them. Why? Because instead of thinking “wow, she’s so cool and pretty! What a beautiful couple, I wish them all the success in the world,” I thought that something was off with her and their whole relationship. And I wasn’t alone in that. At first I brushed it off as internalized misogyny. That maybe I thought her and her marriage were sketchy because she’s not a very attractive or successful women and she married a handsome man. But that feeling of something not being right stayed with me. So I decided to do some research, no one wants to dislike a random “celebrity” (for lack of a better word) that they’ll never meet. It very quickly became clear that she is not a good person, has narcissistic tendencies and is in what appears to be a horrible marriage.
I’ve yet to see a Danneel anti who wasn’t level headed, reasonable and focused on evidence rather than baseless rumors. Everyone on this side of Tumblr seems to have a good head on their shoulders, and it’s so enjoyable to be apart of the discussions we have here. I know we’re in a bit of a sketchy crossroads situation right now because we’re all waiting with baited breath to see if Danneel will succeed in using Supernatural as her cash cow and Chaos Machine Productions to relaunch her career. Hopefully this plot fails like every plot before it, and regardless of what the outcome of this Thursdays virtual press tour at least we’ll have a lot of material to talk about!
Sorry you went through that experience with your mom, having a narcissistic parent can be so twilight zone at times because people can't relate, what narcissist says remains so lodged inside it keeps creating wounds even years after an episode. I can spot one from a mile away due to my own personal experience with a relative. Unfortunately, narcissist can rarely, if ever, be treated so it's the family members that end up in therapy to deal with the inflicted wounds which sometimes cause bulimia, anorexia, self destructive tendencies, just a couple of examples.
You definitely were not alone in that perception of Danneel and I fully agree, I see so many balanced opinions on antiblogs, people joke and exaggerate for entertainment but they never cross lines in real life like Elta stannies do. Plus, the antis focus on real situations and they can express their opinions, the real opinions. As opposed to most Elta stans who think however they think Danneel will approve and that in itself is scary.
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onesillybeach · 3 years
Text
New Beginnings Ch. 17
F!reader x Liu Kang/Kung Lao
First chapter posted to my main. Hope everyone finds it.
slight NSFW
@ancientowlgirl @poor-unfortunate-soul-85 @shang-hung
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 *15 16
You weren’t sure if it was because Liu felt like he needed to ‘catch up’ to Lao, but that very night Liu could simply not keep his hands off you. You didn’t mind; You couldn’t keep yours off of him either. You were moaning softly as his hands roamed all over your body. He was being so assertive. What he’d said earlier to you was echoing in your head. He wanted you.
Liu’s room was closer to the dining room, so that’s where he’d led you. Breathing heavily as adrenaline pumped through your veins, you practically slammed his door shut behind him and locked his door. He backed you up as a hand moved under your gi. Feeling bare skin contact was still so alien to you. Goosebumps again plagued you. His hands were rough with calluses, different from Lao’s. But they still lit a fire within you. Another small moan escaped you as he pressed you back against the wall.
Oh, but this was all moving too fast. What were you doing? Liu’s lips moved down to your neck. Mmm. You knew what you were doing. But, why were you doing it? You gasped as pressed himself against you, feeling his excitement. Shit. You knew why you were doing it. Dammit…
Against every biological instinct to keep going, you moved your hands to Liu’s chest and gently pushed. Liu’s lips reluctantly left your collar as he pulled his head back to look at you. His brows knotted when he saw the frown on your face. “What?” He asked carefully. He then straightened and stepped back as flash of panic washed over him. “Am I hurting you?”
“No,” you answered and shook your head. Your hands hadn’t left his chest. You had gripped the lapels of his gi to keep him from moving away any further. You watched as your fingers played with the fabric idly, trying to sort yourself. “You’re not—… You’re not just doing this because you feel like you have to catch up to Lao, right?”
You glanced back up to his face to see his jaw flex. That alone answered it for you. Your frown deepened and you tugged at his gi, coaxing him closer. “I don’t like the idea of sharing you,” Liu admitted as he settled against you again.
“I know,” you said softly. You couldn’t help but feel guilty. “I’m sorry.”
Liu’s forehead gently rested against yours. Your eyes shifted up to his. He was doing that thing again: staring into your eyes like he was staring right into your soul. You could melt right into him. You sighed.
“What is it?” He asked, voice low and just for you.
You wanted to tell him to relax. But you were sure it wasn’t so much him who needed to relax, but you. You wanted to tell him that this wasn’t a competition, but you realised it was. Your silence only made Liu’s concern grow. His hands gently slid down your sides and rested on your hips. “Tell me,” he whispered.
You closed your eyes for a moment. You forced a small grin that left your face just as quick as it had appeared. “Don’t feel like you have to compete with him,” you told him, sighing again.You knew it was contradictory.
And he did too. Liu’s eyes looked over your face, watching the subtle changes in your features as you fought with yourself. “Look at me,” he said. You opened your eyes and looked back to his. “I love you,” he said.
Your features contorted slightly. You weren’t ready to hear that. “You barely know me,” you tried to reason.
“I know enough,” he reassured, his eyes never leaving yours. Dammit, Liu. Why did you have to make this so difficult?
You sucked in a sharp breath and looked away. Was he trying to guilt trip you? Was he so desperate for you that he’d manipulate you like that? No, you didn’t want to believe that. Liu had been so honest and understanding since you’d met him. You couldn’t believe he’d have a selfish bone in his body. “Liu…”
His lips graced your cheek gently. It brought another small smile to your face. Seeing it, he continued to trail light kisses down your neck. Anything to make your frown go away. And instinctively, you let your head tilt to the side, giving him more of your soft skin to enjoy.
Mmm… No. You groaned and weaseled out from between him and the wall. You raked a hand through your hair as you took a deep breath. Liu sighed as he turned and leaned back against the stone wall. You could tell this was irritating him-you were irritating him. But he was doing his best to hide it. “Y/N…”
“I’m sorry,” it came out like a reflex and you found yourself pacing around his room as your mind tripped over itself with rushing thoughts. His room was so neat--so organized. There were so many books. That tightness in your chest was growing. You knew what it was. You recognized it. You took a deep breath and held it as you tried to focus everything you had on not panicking.
But it was no use. It was coming like a big rig and you were a deer caught in its headlights. You’d done it again. You’d worked yourself up. You’d thought about it too much. You put a hand on Liu’s table to steady yourself as your head began to spin. You covered your face with your free hand. Dammit. Not now. Not like this.
A strong hand had gently grasped your arm. Liu pulled you right into his chest and wrapped his strong arms around you, holding you safe and secure. You let yourself lean into him as you wrapped your arms around his neck. The tears came soon after and you hid your face in his shoulder. God, this was so pathetic. You were so pathetic.
“Come here,” Liu whispered next to your ear and moved his hands down your back. He shifted and lifted you. He carried you for a moment before setting you down on the edge of his bed. He then knelt down in front of you, putting himself lower than you. Those deep eyes of his traced over you, so full of concern.
You were shaking. You were softly cussing yourself out for being such a mess. You were futilely wiping the tears from your eyes. You must have looked so pathetic—
“Stop,” Liu told you gently. Your brows knotted to him. Stop? Stop what? Stop panicking? Stop being pathetic? Stop crying? Shaking? He knew you couldn’t! You were about to tell him off. “Stop,” Liu repeated, tone still gentle as his hands took yours, then slowly slid up your arms. He kept running his hands up and down your arms so carefully as he looked into your eyes. “Breathe. Focus.”
You forced in a deep breath despite your chest refusing to expand with your lungs. You kept your eyes on his. You were glad you’d bit your tongue just a moment ago. Liu wasn’t trying to scold you. He was trying to help you. You sucked in another deep breath.
Liu’s lips pulled into a small smile as you began focusing on your breathing. He let his eyes drift down to your hands. You followed his gaze and took hold of his hands as they moved back to yours. “What are you thinking about?” Liu asked.
“That I’m pathetic.”
Liu frowned, but tightened his grip on your hands. “You are not pathetic.”
“I am.”
“You are not pathetic. You’re frustrated.”
You looked back up to him. He didn’t meet your eyes. He seemed more preoccupied with your hands as his thumbs rubbed over the backs of them… Liu was right. You were frustrated. There was so much you were dealing with, and your feelings for Liu and Lao did not make any of this easier… And you didn’t know how to stop it. Could you? Should you? Raiden said this was supposed to happen. Shit, here came the tears again.
You pulled your hands from Liu gently and wiped at the tears. He watched you before settling there on the floor in front of you. He folded his arms on your lap and rested his chin on his arms as he looked up at you. He was so patient with you. You were sure he’d sit there as long as he had to: As long as it took for you to get past this panic attack. And he wouldn’t complain one little bit.
You took in a deep breath. You’d stopped shaking. Your heart wasn’t racing so hard. “Thank you,” you choked out through tears.
“Always,” Liu simply answered, as if this wasn’t such a huge burden.
“No one else has ever been so patient with me.”
“I’m a patient man.”
“Just not when it comes to me choosing between you and Lao,” you said, immediately regretting it. Liu sighed heavily on your lap, but didn’t move away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s alright. You’re right.” You were frowning at him. “I admit that I would like you to make a choice sooner rather than later. But, I know it’s hard for you. I don’t like it, but I’ll wait.”
“Liu…”
“I’m not usually selfish. This is new for me as well. I feel like sabotaging Lao’s chances,” he admitted.
Your brows knotted. “I told you two, no fighting.”
“I know. And I promised I wouldn’t.”
You lifted a hand. You were so compelled in that moment to run your hand through his hair… So you did. Liu seemed content with your fingers combing over his scalp and closed his eyes as he simply rested there. “What is it about me that makes you feel selfish?” you asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Is it because if I do choose Lao, you’d feel like you'll never find someone else?” You could relate to that feeling. You’d felt that yourself. Before you met Liu and Lao, you’d figured you would take the first guy who showed any interest in you because… well… what if he was the only one? You never would have thought you’d meet two amazing guys who both had such strong interest in you.
Liu sighed again. “I don’t get to meet many women here,” Liu answered. His eyes opened as he looked back up to you. “Probably never like you.”
Your face grew hot as you looked back into his eyes. What were you doing? How could you possibly tell Liu no?
How could you tell Lao no?
You groaned. “Why couldn’t you two be the same person?” That would have made this so much easier.
Liu’s brows rose. He lifted his head. And that question he’d asked you earlier came back: “Do you want me to be more like him?”
“No. Liu…” You took hold of his face as you frowned to him. “I was just talking nonsense… Sure, it would make this all easier if you two were just one person, but I don’t really want that.” You could see Liu was getting more confused. You couldn’t blame him. You were confusing yourself. “I meant what I said earlier, Liu. I like you for you. I like Lao for Lao. I’m here with you. If I wanted Lao right now, I would be with him right now. But, I’m here with you.”
Liu used your lap to help push himself up. He then moved to sit next to you, turned to face you. You caught him glancing to your lips before he looked back up to your eyes. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
You froze for a second, then cracked a smile. A small laugh escaped you. “Me neither,” you admitted as he joined you in laughing. And you really didn’t know what you were doing. You never had a boyfriend before. You’d never been on a date before. Your experience was limited to what you had experienced between Liu and Lao. And it wasn’t much. “What do you normally do after dinner?” You asked.
He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “Meditate? Read?” He nodded to the various books around his room. You turned your attention back to his room. There were a couple books on his bedside table and you reached for them. Unsurprising to you, they were in chinese.
“What are these?” you asked.
“Nothing. I was just doing some research.”
“About what?” you asked as you opened one and flipped through a few pages. You didn’t know why. You couldn’t read them anyway.
But Liu seemed hesitant to answer.
You looked over to him curiously. Was he… nervous? You looked back to the book and really wished you knew some of these words… any of them. What was this book? Before you could flip through it much more, Liu had gently taken it from you and closed it. He then turned your attention to the other book. “This one is about Arcanas. Historical account. I was hoping to find yours in there. Maybe find some way to help you gain more control.
You decided to let that other mysterious book go. Whatever it was, Liu didn’t seem ready to admit it yet. But this one about arcanas… That one he was alright with telling you about. And he was reading it to try and help you… You smiled and opened it to where a scrap of paper had been used as a bookmark. “Did you find anything?”
“Not yet.”
“What’s this then?” You asked, tapping the marked page.
“Fire.”
“Oh!” God, you wished you could read it. “What’s it say?”
Liu chuckled. “Do you really want to know? It’s nothing you can use.”
“So?”
He was grinning as he watched you and surprised when you handed the open book back to him.
“Read it to me,” you said, looking back up to him.
“Read it to you?”
“Yeah.”
Liu chuckled again and shrugged his shoulders. He looked back to the book. “Well, first of all,” he said, then turned the book around.
Your face fell. You’d been holding it upside down? “Oh.” Liu was grinning. “Sorry,” you said.
Liu shook his head as he read over the page silently for a second. The words that came out of his mouth the next second… were not English.
“Hey!” You grabbed his pillow and swatted him with it, earning you another laugh before he used the book to shield himself against another feathered attack.
“You said read it!” He laughed.
“You knew what I meant!” You scolded him playfully. You swung the pillow again, but he’d caught it and yanked it. You weren’t sure if he meant to pull it from your hands, but you hadn’t let go. You were pulled right into him. One of his arms wrapped around you as he finally pried the pillow from your grip.
The book was abandoned as his lips connected with yours. And you didn’t fight it this time. You melted right into the kiss--into his strong arms as he pulled you right onto his lap. It didn’t take long before you felt his excitement again, pressing against you as your kiss grew heavy.
Where Lao’s kiss had be rough and desperate, Liu’s was slow and deliberate. He took his time with you, exploring you. Your tongues were entwinning as his fingers trailed back up under your gi, slowly working their way up your back. You felt him find the clasp of your bra, then follow the band around your sides. You were heating up with his touch. And as a hand moved over your breast, you were reminded just how close you two were.
You gently pulled your head back from the kiss. You slowly opened your eyes to see his eyes, half-lidded as he watched you. Your jaw hardened. This is when you were going panic again, wasn’t it? You didn’t have much time to think about it. Liu had moved a hand to the back of your neck. He pulled you in like he had the first time in the fight pit. Your kiss resumed.
Liu groaned softly into the kiss as you rocked your hips on him. Your hands had begun exploring his body. He was so hard. So vascular. You could feel him flexing beneath your fingers, as if trying to show himself off. And he was throbbing between your legs.
You were weightless the next minute. You grabbed hold of his shoulders as he leaned forward, laying you back on his bed. His hot mouth moved from your lips and down the side of your neck. A strong hand gripped tight to the back of one of your thighs as he settled between them. You bit your bottom lip as you looked up at his ceiling. You were sure Lao wasn’t going to come knocking. Nothing… No one was going to interrupt you. If you wanted this to stop, you’d have to stop it yourself…
A small moan escaped you as Liu’s lip trailed over your collar. Your head tilted back. Who were you kidding. You didn’t want this to stop. Not for a second.
Sliding your hands down from his shoulders, you quickly found his red sash and tugged at it, fingers working to blindly untie it. Liu chuckled into your shoulder as you grew impatient. Pulling away and sitting up on his knees, you watched breathlessly as he untied the sash and slipped out of his gi top. Your eyes widened at the sight.
You reached up, letting your hands trace over his well chiseled abs… He had those strong obliques too. Just peeking out from the waistband of his pants. Looking back up to his face, you found him grinning.
Your turn. Your hands pulled away from him and to your own belt. You made such quick work of it. Without anxiety in the way, you were so eager. But when it came time to slip out of your gi top… you suddenly felt self-conscious.
Liu noticed. He leaned back down to you and brought you back into another kiss. He was slowing you down. And you were thankful for it. His hands began roaming you again. Your own hands returned to tracing his impressive muscles. Feeling Liu's weight rest on top of you was surreal. You wrapped your legs around his waist and gasped when he grinded himself against you, feeling just how hard he was--how much he wanted you. You groaned softly into the kiss. You couldn't deny it, you wanted him too.
But there was a problem…
You reluctantly broke the kiss and reached up to hold his face gently so he couldn't move on to your neck again. "I'm gonna guess you don't have any condoms," you breathed, opening your eyes to look at him.
You were met with a face of defeat. Liu's brows had bunched as his spirits deflated with being reminded that, no, he did not have condoms. He doubted there were any in the temple at all. He groaned his sigh and let his head fall to rest in the crook of your neck.
Liu wasn't angry with you. But he was annoyed. Annoyed at himself for forgetting that one little detail.
You sighed and ran your fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry," you whispered.
To your surprise, Liu began trailing soft kisses up to your ear. "Don't be," he said. "At least one of us is thinking."
You grinned and turned your head to catch his lips with your own.
79 notes · View notes
yniswaifu · 3 years
Text
1. Aran
The match between black jackals and schweiden adlers was about to start. You see the two teams, a cluster of black and white jerseys on the opposites, and play with the ID card hanging around your neck. The stadium was starting to fill out, but it's okay. You were near the vip section since you weren't there as a spectator, rather working for one of the sponsors. Being in the public relations department sure helped in getting the best spots, as you could see the entire court from where you stood. Also, there were lesser people around, something you were grateful for.
The announcers began their announcement, and Hinata's name came up in the beginning. He was doing his debut with this game, and you smiled to yourself. He deserved to be in such a great team. Your eyes then sweep from player to player in both the teams, before landing on ushijima.
Hot dang.
Not gonna lie, he was attractive. His tall figure flexed when he did warm ups, making the jersey tightened around the biceps. You blinked, eyes zeroing on them. Yep, they fine.
But that wasn't why you were his fan. At least that's what you always tell yourself that you totally liked him for his skills. Unfortunately, the truth couldn't be hidden from the voice beside you as it suddenly stated, "not gonna lie, he got a good physique."
The tone was a playful one, but it still didn't make you any less embarrassed. Specially when it came from an equally attractive man who is also selected to lead the Japan's volleyball team in the olympics.
"m-mr Aran." you stutter in his presence. He had shades on, maybe trying to escape the paparazzi's eyes and his face was neutral.
Why is he talking to you? AND WHY DID HE HAVE TO CATCH YOU OGLING OVER MUSCLES.
Aran smiled at you, feeling a bit flustered himself. He isn't the teasing type, and he would definitely not tease someone he met for the first time.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you." he says, palms up in surrender.
You laugh nervously, turning back to the match. The first whistle blows, and the game begins.
"are you supporting the adlers?" he asks after minutes of silence.
You shake your head, focused on the game. "no. I'm with msby."
Aran's eyebrows furrow in amusement. He wanted to ask you something, and you knew what. It would seem like you're supporting the adlers because of ushijima, but in fact you weren't.
So before he could ask you further, you decided to clear the misconception. "sure, I like ushijima. He's a great player. But I've worked for the other team, and I know how much they rock. Moreover it's Hinata's first game with them. They have to win."
Again, Aran is a little surprised. You seemed into the match, your body moving on reflex with the flow of the game. Your little whispers of encouragement for the black clad team was...cute.
Then he notices the card hanging around your neck. It was only for the official members, like volunteers or sponsors. So he wondered which part did you belong to. Moreover the place where you both stood – wasn't allowed to the public. It was for players and the management team.
"are you a volunteer?" Aran took up the courage to ask you.
You glanced at him, before smiling. "no. I'm part of the PR team for one of the sponsors of the tournament. So I have a pass to be here."
He nods at your words, and a sudden roar around the stadium takes both his and your attention to the super spike ushijima just pulled.
"your crush scored against the team you're rooting for. How do you feel?" he asks you, smirking at the flustered expression on your face.
You laugh a little, shaking your head. "he's not my crush. He's just a player I really admire."
"right...that's why you were giving him googly eyes."
You grow stiff at the words. First of all, you seriously felt anxious standing near Aran. He was not only a great player, but he's also very handsome and he doesn't have any reason to talk to you. Not that you minded, since you are used to interacting with popular players. But none of them have ever used such a...teasing tone with you before.
And here he is, trying to be friendly with a no one like you (at least that's what you think).
"you know." you suddenly say, your nervousness diminishing a little. "I was an intern in the MSBY black jackals PR team."
Why did you say that? You wish you had the answer. Best guess is you don't want another word about ushijima and his muscles out of this man's mouth. And how you were staring at them.
"oh? So that's why you're supporting them." Aran chimes in a thoughtful manner, eyes on the game. Atsumu had just served sakusa, and a sense of pride filled his chest looking at his junior.
"yeah. That's part of it. Another part is because they are amazing at what they do. I've seen it first hand. Not that adlers are bad or anything..." you finish in a mumble. You certainly didn't want to seem biased.
Aran gave out a laugh at your words, highly amused by now. You were awkward and nervous, that much was obvious, but it was funny to see you masking it. He didn't know why he came to stand beside you, he just saw a lone figure who probably didn't look like they cared for what's around them, and decided to stand there when he saw your zoned out expression. It looked funny. Following your line of vision, he sees ushijima warming up. You must have thought no one was around so you didn't bother hiding your expression, and Aran caught you. And he doesn't regret it one bit.
"you were an intern. Which means you didn't have a lot of interaction with the boys huh?" he asks.
"no, not really. I did talk to them a couple of times, when we had to promote the players. The most I've worked with is hinata, as he was new. So I'm familiar with him more than the others."
"cool. You know Atsumu? He was my teammate in school as well." he states, smirking.
You give him a tight smile. "yeah I know. Everyone knows."
Aran's smile drops. Right. Atsumu was popular. Who also had a Wikipedia page for himself. So did Aran. Of course people will know.
Clearing his throat, he doesn't say anything, but stares at you. You had a very simple aura about you. And he kinda dig that. You looked at the players taking a break before the second half of the game, which your team was leading, by the way. The only reason Aran had come was because Atsumu insisted he does. And because Osamu had his stall perched outside the stadium – something he had to check out. Seeing the twins grow up made him feel like a mother watching her children grow up.
Aran suddenly had the urge to ask for your number. But he wasn't sure. You didn't seem the type to share contacts just because the other person is popular or attractive. Moreover he had been getting this feeling that you didn't want to talk to him. And even if not a lot of words were shared between you two – he quite enjoyed this conversation. Too bad you didn't feel the same. According to him.
But oh whatever. You won't know unless you try eh? YOLO.
That's what Aran thought when he decided to ask you. "what's your name? I'm sorry I didn't ask earlier."
You turn to him, eyes widening. Did the Aran ojiro ask your freaking name?
Butterflies, calm down. It's not the time.
"y/n." you say, trying to be as calm as possible.
"y/n." he repeats, your name rolling off like Hershey chocolate syrup from his tongue. Wait what?
"it's a pretty name." he smiles.
It took everything in you to not jump in excitement. Is Aran flirting with you? You don't know whether you should panic or fangirl. It's almost like, fight or flight.
"thanks." you reply, tucking your hair behind the ear. Aran is still smiling, his eyes creasing into crescent moons.
Silence. Awkward silence.
You don't know what else to say. No one prepared you for this type of situation. And the same could be said for the man in front of you. No one told him he is meeting a potential soulmate today.
Breaking the tension first, you check your watch and tell Aran, "uh, I gotta go. The match is coming to an end, and I have to get ready for the press conference."
Aran almost, almost frowns in disappointment. "don't you want to see who wins?" truthfully, he didn't want you to go just yet.
At that you couldn't help but giggle. Are you sure it's the same guy who is the ace for his team and who is going to lead Japan's team?
"mr Aran, I'll know anyway. It's going to be announced throughout the stadium. And in the conference." you say, turning to the score board. "moreover, msby is leading. They are gonna win this." you finish, determination in your voice.
With the conviction you said those words, Aran wished he could get them for himself personally. He wished you could only cheer for him. Because if you did, there's no way he'd even think of losing.
"right. My bad. See you around?" he says, hoping for a positive response.
You thought about it for a moment. Is this right? You are no fool, you completely understand what's going on here. The question is, why.
Aran seemed to notice your hesitation. "it's okay, if you don't want to. No pressure." he says, giving you a smile that didn't really look like a smile.
Way to go y/n, you heartbreaker.
You suddenly had an idea. Quickly taking out your phone, you opened your instagram and shot a text to Aran. "that should do..." you whisper.
Aran looks at you confused. What were you doing?
Smiling, you wave him a goodbye and run off towards the direction of a group of media people.
What just happened?
Aran blinks at your retreating figure when his phone buzzes. It was Osamu. He smiles, and then his eyes go towards the notification. Someone had texted him on instagram. And that someone was you.
"hey. Let's talk!"
He stares at your text for a good minute before bursting out laughing. A couple of people looked at him laughing at something on his phone, but he didn't care. The text gave such a dorky vibe he couldn't help it.
He sent you a laughing emoji, and shoved his phone back into his pocket before walking away, the smile not leaving his face.
Maybe he did meet his soulmate already.
***
It has been exactly four months since you and Aran started talking on Instagram. Yet, Aran hasn't asked for your number. He just didn't get the courage to. He is almost convinced it was love at first sight with you, because since the day he saw you and spoke to you, till now, when he's laughing at the memes you had spammed him with, his head hasn't been felt this light. Even Atsumu had commented during their practice for the olympics, that he was seeing sparkles around him. Of course, that got the setter a smack on the head, but Aran knew it was because of you.
What was he supposed to do. He was falling for you, and he was falling hard.
Looking at the conversation y'all shared one last time, Aran decide enough is enough. He was going to ask for your number.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard, hesitation settling faster than it can be allowed. But will you give him your number? Talking on social media is different, and talking through your personal number is different. It was more...intimate.
Sighing, he throws his phone on the bed, taking his head in his hands. The game was in a few days, and he had to do something about you because you're all he's thinking about.
Suddenly his phone rings and he looks at the caller. Aran has never looked so done than he's doing now.
"what is it?" he answers the call.
"is this how you greet your favourite twin?" Atsumu replies from the other side in mock offended tone.
"I'm not coming to the bar, if that's the reason why you called."
"h-how did you know?" Atsumu asks, almost yelling in the phone.
"because that's like, the only reason you'd call me at this time?"
"..."
"fair enough" the blonde states after a minute of silence.
Just then Aran had a thought. It wouldn't hurt to ask right?
"remember a couple of months back, say, earlier this year, someone had interned for your team." Aran says.
"hmm? A lot of people interned Aran san, who are you talking about?" Atsumu asks, confused.
Aran gave him your name, running down a brief description of how you look, and added the fact that you had spoken to hinata because he was new as well.
"hmm...y/n...I think I remember her." Atsumu says.
Aran's eyes lit up. "so d–"
"are you interested in her?" came the question from the other line.
Shit.
Regret fills Aran not a second after that question. He never considered the fact that he was asking the last person he should ask, specially for a girl's number. This ain't gonna end well.
"...yeah." he answers, a defeated sigh escaping his lips.
Another minute of silence. Cue the dramatic reaction in 3...2...
"ARAN SAN DID YOU FINALLY MEET THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE!?"
It was so loud that Atsumu's voice echoed even when Aran had literally walked away from the phone after setting it down on the bedside table. Why isn't he surprised?
There were some more loud incoherent response, that he didn't bother listening to. He ultimately picked up the phone when a series of 'hellos' flooded through the phone.
"yeah, I'm here." he says, cutting the question off.
"gosh, seriously? How? Why? When? WHAT!?" Atsumu asks, flooding the call with questions again.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Aran narrates the incident briefly. Atsumu screams again.
"I can't believe you found a girl for yourself! That too someone I know!"
Aran smiles as your picture comes to his mind. "yeah. I can't believe it myself."
"so when are you asking her out?"
The smile dropped. "I don't have her number." he mumbled.
"say what?"
"I...don't have her number. I was meaning to ask you if you have it or not." he says, this time more clearly.
"you...why don't you have her number again?" Atsumu asks, perplexed.
"because I felt she'd stop talking to me. She isn't exactly the most open person around."
"hmm. That's kinda true, I'll admit." the Miya says, "even when she was an intern here, she mostly stuck to herself and her work. But she was friendly."
Aran nods to no one in particular. "so? Do you have it?"
"I gotta check. Like you said, she was closer to hinata. If I don't have it then he might have it." Atsumu says before continuing. "wait a minute. What do I get from this?"
Aran's eyebrow raises in confusion. "an awesome sister-in-law?" he states like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
Atsumu laughs. "very nice. But I'm serious."
"I'm serious too." Aran says in heartbeat. Did Atsumu think he wasn't serious about you? Rude.
"woah. Okay. But if I get the number, you gotta come to the bar with me." the voice from the other side says.
"cool."
He could at least do this if he gets your number right?
Atsumu cuts the call with a cheer. A few minutes in, Aran's phone pings, and there it was – your number.
I didn't have it. Got it from shoyo. Atsumu wrote.
Thanks man.
You better be there. I'll be waiting.
A'ight.
Feeling giddy, Aran saves the number and sends out a silent prayer that you haven't changed the number.
hey. Is this y/n? Aran texts you, legs bouncing as he sits on his bed.
A second later. who is this?
Aran
Suddenly the phone rings. Panic sets in Aran. He didn't expect you to call.
Picking up the phone, he kept silent, waiting for you to speak.
"how did you get my number?" was the first thing you said.
"I asked Atsumu. Who asked Hinata."
You made a noise, kinda like in disbelief. Then you start laughing. "why didn't you ask me?"
Aran looked guilty. "I...didn't think you would give me your number."
"ah..." you trail off. You couldn't deny it. You were a skeptical person. "I didn't think Hinata would still have my number though..."
"maybe he still thinks you're his friend."
Friend? Sure, Hinata was a friendly person. But being 'friends' with the staff wasn't exactly ideal for players.
"maybe." you say softly.
"ah, I wanted to ask you something." Aran says, after a minute of silence.
Your heart picks up. Was he going to drop the L-bomb? You couldn't deny the affection brewing in you, specially after talking to him for a couple of months now, and knowing how sweet he is.
"w-what did you want to ask?" you ask, stuttering a little.
"will you be there on the day of the game?"
You had the urge to roll your eyes and pass a snarky comment. If there was something that amused you like heck, it was this habit of Aran where he would ask the most obvious questions. Like meeting a someone in the movie theater and asking "whatchu doing here?"
"yes. We are one of the sponsors." you answer, moving aside the urge. This sweet man doesn't deserve that sass.
"oh great. So...will you meet me before the game? I gotta tell you something."
Your eyes widen. Millions questions run in your mind and all point to one direction – something that you don't want to believe is true.
"okay." you answer, your voice coming out a little strained.
"really? Cool! I'll see you then. Goodnight." Aran beams before cutting the call.
You blink at the black screen of your phone. Did he really call you for this? Men are so confusing.
***
Aran was nervous. The room was brimming with men dressed in the red team uniform, and his eyes was floating between the teammates. It lingered a longer on ushijima, and he mind went back to the time when you had commented on ushijima's birthday post with lots of hearts. The jealousy he felt, sheesh.
Then he turns to sakusa. According to you, he was the only one you never spoke to even once. He mostly kept to himself, but every fellow intern with you swooned over the mysterious man. He had grimaced at that. Did y/n too swooned? Guess we'll never know.
Finally, his eyes land on Atsumu who was talking to bokuto. He was the only one who knew about you, and Aran worried that he will open his big mouth, but the blonde proved to be more faithful than that. But it still didn't stop him from hammering Aran with questions about you.
Aran's eyes flickered to his phone every other minute, waiting for the text from you, saying you were here. You had told him you'll text him, so he was waiting for the go.
"you have been staring at the phone since forever." a chirpy voice brings him out of the daydream.
He turns to see Hinata, smiling up at him. "are you waiting for something?"
Before Aran could answer, his phone pings and the screen turns on, displaying your name (that had multiple hearts beside it) and the text saying you were waiting for him outside in the corridor.
Both he and Hinata stared at the phone, at your text. Suddenly the tangerine goes, "is y/n your girlfriend Aran san!?"
And boy, was he loud.
Every pair of eyes in the room turned to their flustered looking captain, who just stood there speechless. Atsumu, who was mirroring Aran, jumped to defend him.
"h-hey now. Let's leave him alone. I'm sure it's nothing–"
"ah, I see y/n standing there though. Hi y/n!"
Atsumu turns to see bokuto and Hinata at the entrance, waving at someone. Too late.
Slowly everyone poured out of the room, looking at the one who apparently stole their leader's heart.
You.
And you? Yeah, you are definitely representing a new born calf with your shaky legs. No matter how many people you have met through your job – a group of hunks, who are also national players mind you, and at least a head taller than you, staring at you like you're some sort of star, doesn't help.
It looked like a herd of huskies looking at a small mouse.
You wanted to run away.
Hinata walks up to you, clapping your shoulder lightly. "long time no see y/n!" he greets you, smile wide.
You give him a nervous smile. "hey shoyo kun..."
"so you're dating Aran san?" bokuto pipes in from behind Hinata.
Your eyes almost pop out of your sockets? What in the world...
"no I'm not." you say, firmly but politely.
His eyebrows scrunched in a frown. "then why did he have hearts beside your name?" he murmurs to himself.
You didn't quite catch that. So you ask, "pardon?"
"nothing. It's nothing." you finally hear the voice of the person because of who you came all the way here. And even put in a little effort with the makeup.
Aran walks up to you three with long strides, his expression almost panicky. He stands beside you and sighs. "guys. Please. Let her breathe."
Both hinata and bokuto look at each other before exchanging a knowing smirk and step back a few steps. Something you were grateful for. It was getting too much.
Aran smiled at you softly before introducing you to everyone. A series of 'hi' and 'hello' circled around in response. Hinata, bokuto and Atsumu knew who you were already. Atsumu even went beyond and did a dramatic bow before taking your hands in his and tried to place a kiss but Aran's loud clearing of throat and your panicked face stopped him.
But nothing prepared you for ushijima's turn. He just stood in front of you, his eyes unblinking and his face without expression. You almost mistook him for an android, when he gives you a small smile. "hello."
It was a polite smile, something people do out of curtsy but that didn't stop you from internally squealing because OH MY GOODNESS USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI JUST SMILED AT ME.
Aran saw how your palms were in a fist. You were trying not to fangirl, he noticed. It made him a little sad to be honest. If only he would get the same reaction from you.
"hello." you say, trying to focus. "all the best for the game. All of you."
Everyone thanked you before they all went inside the room, leaving you alone with Aran. They could see how eager he was to be with you in some privacy.
Aran turns to you and smiles again, but that quite didn't reach his eyes. You frowned at that.
"are you nervous for the game?" you ask him.
Aran shakes his head. "a little. But I know we'll be fine."
"then what's got you looking so forlorn?"
Aran chuckles at your choice of words. He knew you liked reading classics, and that's where you got most of your vocabulary from. "it's nothing. I'm happy to see you. Sorry for the chaos in the beginning." he points towards the door.
You smile. "it's okay. I was a little surprised when I saw bokuto san and shoyo."
"yeah..."
Aran looked distracted. His hands were clasped together and he looked everywhere but you. You tilted your head, wondering what's gotten into him.
"mr Aran, are you okay?" you ask, your voice carrying concern, something that felt like music to the man in front of you.
He stares at you. You squirm a little under the intense gaze, and as much as you wanted to stare back and get lost in those eyes, you had to be sure this is going towards where you think it's going.
Suddenly Aran steps closer, his chest hitting your chin. You look up at him and before you could understand what's happening, he cups your hands in his large hands and place a deep, but soft kiss on your lips.
At that moment, your first instinct was to check whether there were other people in the area.
His lips were soft. You always thought they were. They looked so soft that you had asked him what he used for his lips and actually went and bought the same chapstick. They were also thick, something you were a little envious of.
But oh well, those same luscious lips are smooching the heck outta you.
You grabbed his forearms that held your face delicately. Aran parted his lips more, and you bit on his bottom lip, earning a soft groan from him.
As for Aran, yeah. You can say he was ready to drop on one knee and ask your hand for marriage. He was THAT crazy about you. And the kiss just took the cherry on the cake.
Aran parted from you, both of your eyes in a daze, before he snapped back to reality. His eyes widened at your hooded eyes and parted lips. He tried to remove his hands from you but your grip on him stopped him.
"you really need to check your surrounding before doing something like that." you state moments later. Your eyes looked more clear now, and you were staring at him with some unknown emotion.
Aran gulped and looked around, finding the place empty except for the two of you.
"I'm so sor–"
"sorry doesn't cut it." you cut him off. You weren't even smiling. Are you mad at him?
Aran doesn't know why he suddenly kissed you. He just wanted to. You looked beautiful. You are beautiful. And Aran wanted to kiss you.
Suddenly your face breaks into a small smile. "I don't need your apology. I want you to ask me out so I can say yes."
He just looks at you, stunned. So...his feelings are reciprocated?
Aran wanted nothing more than to just hug you and jump around in joy. Even shout out his love for you. But if he did that it will cause trouble. So he's gonna reserve that for when the two of you are alone.
Placing his forehead on yours, he asks in a whisper. "will you be mine y/n? I'll treat you like a queen."
"only if you get me a selfie with ushijima and his autograph."
Aran laughs, his head too high in the clouds to even feel jealous. He knows you don't mean it. He knows you are his. And he is yours.
"but it's you I'll be cheering the most for. Get em' captain." you finish the sentence.
Aran nods, your foreheads still against each other. He wanted to cry. But no, not yet. He's going to win this game for you. And hug you in front of everyone. And then cry in your arms. And then–
"you should go inside. It's almost time." your voice snaps him back from the fantasy.
He looks at you, now standing a little apart from him. Your hands were beside you, and you were giving him the googly eyes now.
Taking your hands in his, he kisses your knuckles. "I love you." he says, and walks off, leaving you a hot mess.
Well, this is interesting, you think, smiling in anticipation for what's to come.
Best boy Aran deserves a good scenario too. And I hope it lives up to his expectations. 😬
I got three more scenarios coming up for my three favourite boys – Osamu, Suna, and husband Kita. I'm not sure when I'll update it but it's coming soon. Stay tuned.
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jikookiekosmos · 3 years
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Classified & Confidential || kth (Part 1)
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➥Pairing: detective!taehyung/reader
➥Summary: It’s been years since your close friend passed away, case going cold due to lack of evidence. You never once believed the story the police gave you, since they classified it under an ‘unfortunate accident.’ Now that there are telltale signs of something similar at play regarding someone else you hold dear, you decide to take things into your own hands. You hire world renowned private detective, Kim Taehyung. And he goes above and beyond everything you expected.
➥Genre: strangers to lovers (kinda slow burn), detective au, mystery, angst, eventual smut, fluff
➥Rating: 18+
➥Words: ~7.1k
➥Content Warnings: detective/mystery au, (tw: mentions of death, brief mention of suicide in relation to a criminal case, implied foul play, stalking behavior, non-graphic detailing of a crime scene), slight forensic talk, mentions of nervousness and anxiety, some cursing, mentions of cops/police, unhelpful law enforcement (like they’re kinda terrible with the whole solving this case thing), feelings of unease and tension, we get bestie hoseok, tae is kinda extra but for good reason, no suggestiveness/smut in this chapter but it’s still 18+ due to it involving some of the aforementioned warnings
A/N: This will be a multi-part series that explores some darker themes, and each part will have appropriate content warnings listed; please read at your own risk. This part touches on backstory and introduces the characters, things will start getting a little more intense in the following chapters. I don’t have any kind of specific update schedule but ideally I’d like to get updates out every few weeks at the latest! I hope you look forward to this, and if you wanna be added to a taglist, please let me know~
Thank you @dntaewithluv​​​​ for your constant motivation and support (and for always beta-reading for me, even when we scream at each other about our ideas); hopefully I do Tae justice for you! I love you lots ❤️
taglist: @inlovewiththemoonn @mwitsmejk​ @bangtanhome
⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰
5 Years Ago
The night sky was dark, blanketed by stars as it emitted a peaceful aura. There was no way to bask in the calmness of the night, however, with all the hustle and bustle that surrounded you outside of the apartment complex.
Crime scene tape marked off the area, and many onlookers had gathered to try and get a glimpse of what happened. You were one yourself, but you weren’t there out of sheer curiosity.
Your breathing was ragged, staggered, as you tried to hold yourself together and observed the scene in front of you unfold.
Police wouldn’t let you beyond the tape, despite knowing the person currently covered by the white tarp.
Minutes prior, one of the cops had been politely trying to hold you back as you thrashed around, mind muddled by the vision of your best friend’s face before the tarp concealed it.
“I’m sorry, we can’t let anyone unauthorized come past this tape, please stay where you are.”
“You don’t understand, that’s my best friend, please let me through, please-”
You couldn’t control the volume of your screams, prompting a few of the other bystanders to try and calm you down seeing as you were very clearly distraught.
An unknown amount of time passed before the thickest part of the crowd decided they’d had enough excitement for one night, retiring to their own homes. You stayed planted in your spot, prepared to not move until you got more of an explanation for what was going on.
You’d resigned yourself to the fact that if someone wanted you to leave, they’d have to do it by force, but you eventually complied after two cops convinced you to come down to the station and issue a statement, given your relation to the victim.
They didn’t grill you hard, which was something you appreciated at the time, since you were really in no state to handle a grueling interrogation. You knew you could be marked down as a potential suspect, but everything from their investigation pointed to them believing it had either been an accident or a possible suicide attempt, the latter of which would almost entirely exclude your involvement.
Over the next few weeks, you cooperated with the investigation and helped them with whatever leads you could provide; you were determined that foul play was involved, because you knew your best friend better than anyone, and the story the cops were feeding you wasn’t adding up.
The theory as you knew it was this: she jumped from her apartment window, which was up a significant amount of stories, more than enough to kill a person. A potential suicide note was found at the scene on the nightstand by her bed, typed on a sheet of paper, so handwriting analysis wasn’t an option. The apartment was undisturbed aside from the window having been open.
It almost seemed like a cut-and-dried case, aside from one other small factor: unknown DNA from a hair follicle was found in the apartment alongside the victim’s own.
This didn’t surprise you…at first. You knew Ky had been perusing multiple dating apps and would often invite people over to her place after successful dates. But as far as you also knew, Ky hadn’t recently been on any dates, so there wasn’t a clear reason for that DNA to show up.
Ky had told you in the weeks leading up to her death that she was afraid someone had been following her around, and it unsettled her so much so that she deleted all the dating apps on her phone until she felt safe again.
Sadly, that day never came, and this fact alone caused the nagging suspicion of foul play to burrow itself even deeper into your subconscious.
Since the DNA was unknown, tracing it would be no easy task, but that didn’t stop you. Anything you could do to shed light on what had actually occurred, you were going to do it, plain and simple.
Which is why when the police decided to close the file on the case and label it as an ‘unfortunate accident,’ you were floored.
You begged them to keep focusing on leads when there really weren’t any, offering to aid in any way you could because there was no way that there wasn’t something missing.
Their response?
“Go home, Y/N, there’s nothing else you can do.”
You left the station that day only after you had caused somewhat of a scene, arguing back and forth with one of the lead detectives until you were ‘carefully escorted’ outside. Enraged, you banged your hand against the glass of the door before you slid down the wall beside it, hugging your knees as you tried to compose yourself.
You weren’t sitting that way for long before you felt a gentle tug on your sleeve. You looked up reluctantly and were met with one of the softest pairs of eyes you’d ever seen.
The stranger offered you a kind smile, one that made your heart ache in the aftermath of everything you’d endured the last several weeks. You’d been tackling this situation all on your own, with barely any help from mutual friends or Ky’s family since she’d been estranged from them.
But now, this man stooped down in front of you and smiling at you like everything would be alright…
It almost made you want to believe it.
“Hi, I uh, couldn’t help but overhear about your situation,” he finally spoke up, sounding somewhat bashful. He had bright red hair that peeked out under a cap he wore, and he was sporting a rainbow colored sweater.
A tinge of embarrassment fluttered through you. “Oh. Sorry you had to witness that.”
So this random stranger heard you telling off the police by yelling at them in broad daylight. Way to make a first impression.
To your surprise, he simply shook his head, smile widening. “No, don’t be sorry! I was, uh – happy to be able to listen.”
You quirked an eyebrow. “Ok…may I ask why?”
“Well,” there was that bashful tone again, hand flying to the back of his neck as he looked to the side, “I’d been coming up here for a while, hoping to hear something regarding this case specifically. Usually when I stop by, there isn’t much going on and it’s not like I can just walk in and ask for classified information-”
He stopped speaking immediately once you held up your hand. You didn’t want to be rude, but you were thoroughly confused.
“Is there a reason why you’re eavesdropping for information about this case?”
He nodded eagerly. “Sure is! See, I’m working as a crime reporter, and-”
You scoffed as you pushed yourself to a standing position. “Unbelievable.”
Without sparing another glance to the gentleman, you shouldered past him, earlier hopeful mood soured by the fact that he was just another person looking for a scoop about Ky’s demise.
He was quick to follow, almost jumping down the steps to catch up to you.
“Hey, wait! Please.”
The way he begged pulled at your heartstrings because of how genuine he sounded, and for reasons beyond you, you turned around to face him and decided to hear him out.
You crossed your arms as he sighed with relief.
“Thank you. Ok, to start with, I’m a crime reporter, but I’m not trying to report on this case as everyone knows it.”
Another eyebrow raise from you. “What do you mean?”
The man smiled shyly, brushing away the red hair in his eyes. “I want to bring the injustice of the system to the public’s attention.”
That got your attention. “You do?”
“Yes. And I think your story could help with that.”
“My story?”
He nodded again, this time more eager than the last. “You’re pretty adamant that what happened to your friend was no accident, am I correct?”
Any mention of Ky caused the dull pain in your chest to come back, but at least this time, she wasn’t being mentioned in a gruesome or negative light.
“Yeah, I really don’t think it was an accident. But no one believes me.” You looked down at your shoes, scuffling one against the pavement.
You only looked up again when you felt the stranger’s hand on your shoulder.
“I believe you.”
All of the breath was knocked out of you.
“You…you believe me?”
The smile he gave you this time was bright and sincere as he dropped his hand by his side. “I do. I’ve been following everything posted online or in the newspaper about this case, and some of it just really does not seem plausible. And then after hearing you today, it made so much sense as to why.”
It still bothered you a bit that you were loud enough in the station to be heard outside, but that worry was now being overshadowed by the possibility of having someone else who could stand by you on your conviction.
“It…really means a lot to me that you would even consider my side of things. Truthfully, I think the police only tolerated me this long due to protocol.” You wrapped your arms around yourself.
The red-haired man grimaced at your remark. “Yeah, no kidding. For as long as I’ve been in this line of work, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them take things as seriously as they should.”
“How long have you been doing this?”
“About a year. But trust me, I’ve seen a lot during that time.” His determined expression might have made you giggle under other circumstances because it clashed so much with the rest of his soft demeanor.
“I don’t doubt it.” You walked over to the nearby bench seated a few feet away and the stranger followed hesitantly, only sitting beside you when you didn’t give him any indication his presence was unwanted.
The both of you turned toward each other slightly before you spoke up again.
“So, how can I help you with what you’re wanting to do?”
He seemed pleased that you were on board, eyes shining. “For starters, do you think I could interview you? I’d have to ask some sensitive questions, but I feel like I could have a better understanding of the case that way…only if you’re comfortable, though.”
You swallowed as you thought it over. Your participation in the numerous interrogations during the investigation had now proved to lead nowhere, but maybe this time the outcome would be different.
“Sure, I don’t mind. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, to the best of my ability.”
The stranger beamed, looking happy enough to nearly jump out of the bench, despite the current subject matter. “Great!”
His cheerful nature was a little infectious, you had to admit, because you already started to feel a little lighter in his presence. A hand appeared in your line of vision.
“My name is Hoseok, by the way. We haven’t been properly introduced yet so that would be the next best step, I think.”
You did giggle this time at his action. “Nice to meet you, Hoseok. I’m Y/N.” You took his hand into your own to give it a small but firm shake.
“It’s my pleasure, Y/N. Now,” he regarded you with that same soft look he had in his eyes when you first saw him at the station, “what do you say we discuss some logistics over lunch? My treat, of course, since you’re agreeing to help me.”
For the first time in ages, the smile that graced your face was wholeheartedly genuine. “Sounds good.”
Thus, the beginning of a beautiful, long-lasting friendship bloomed that day outside of the one place you’d begun to loathe more than anything else. Over the next few years, Hoseok stood by your side in more ways than you could count, and he was now someone you considered to be one of the best friends you’d ever had.
One of the only best friends you’d ever had.
What you never expected was to be seated with Hoseok at the same diner that started your initial conversation about Ky’s case 5 years later, discussing something much too similar for your liking.
⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰
Present Day
You sipped from your coffee mug, enjoying the warm beverage as you waited at the diner. The weather had been less than ideal, with rain pouring all day long and displaying little signs of stopping.
But Hoseok had been adamant about the two of you meeting up after your voicemail you left the previous night.
As you were thinking about your close friend, you heard the bell above the diner door ring, signaling his arrival. He spotted you across the room and quickly rushed over to your table, leaving rain droplets in his wake.
Hoseok shrugged out of his soaked jacket and tossed in into the booth seat beside him as he shook his head to – hopefully – rid himself of the water trying to slide down his face.
“Hey,” he finally breathed out once he was settled. His usual wild red hair was darker now thanks to the rain, stern expression plastered onto his face.
“Hey.” You responded meekly, attempting to give him a weak smile. Your stomach was churning with unease at the conversation you were about to have.
Hoseok took a deep breath before he folded his hands together and rested his elbows on the table. The coffee you’d ordered for him had been pushed to the side, momentarily forgotten.
He lowered his voice. “Are you sure the pattern of behavior is the same?”
You nodded slowly, going over all the details again in your mind. “I’m positive. The only difference is Yuri waited longer to tell me that she thinks she’s being followed than Ky did.”
Ky. Not a day went by where you didn’t think about her, seeing her smiling face when you would close your eyes at night and try to drift off to sleep.
Slumber came much easier these days than it did those first few months, but every now and then the same nightmare would plague you about the night you saw her on the sidewalk.
You shook your head to shrug the thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time.
“Shit,” Hoseok finally responded. “That doesn’t seem like good news for us.”
“My thoughts exactly. Who knows how long this has been going on. And she’s been receiving the same kind of ‘gifts’ Ky would get, too. Random text messages, voicemails from unknown numbers…she tries to brush it off, but I know this scares Yuri.”
“She doesn’t recognize who’s speaking in the voicemails?”
You shook your head solemnly. “No, they’re using some sort of voice modifier.”
Hoseok cursed again, this time under his breath. “Well, what do you want to do?”
You gulped. Truthfully, you didn’t know the answer yourself. On the one hand, everything currently happening to your friend mimicked what happened to Ky, almost exactly. But on the other hand, Yuri made it known time and time again that she thought you were too paranoid for your own good sometimes.
So, you were at a loss.
Yuri and you were close, in a sense. You’d been friends for the last 4 years, working at the same company after graduating from college and even getting transferred to a new one in the same division so as to not be separated. Outside of Hoseok, you considered her your dearest friend.
But at the same time, you knew that Yuri had those she held very dear in her own life that were there before you, and you’d never try to overstep.
Still…the events surrounding Yuri were too specific to be coincidental in your opinion, and if the hunch you had right now was correct, you needed to do something.
You wouldn’t – you couldn’t – let another person die. Not if there was some way for you to prevent it.
Something you didn’t do with Ky, and that would haunt you for the rest of your life-
Hoseok pulled you out of your thoughts by calling your name, frowning deeply once your gaze focused on him again.
“I…I don’t know. I feel like if I push too hard on this, I’ll also push Yuri away, and I don’t want that.” You worried at your bottom lip, your most infamous nervous habit.
“Be that as it may, this doesn’t seem like something you should ignore either. What’s worse: pushing her away but potentially saving her life, or not saying anything and she ends up in danger?”
A heavy sigh wracked through your body.
Your silence was enough for Hoseok to continue with his own line of thinking. “Well, we could consider going to the police-”
“Absolutely not,” you answered fiercely, with more emotion than you’d displayed the entire conversation, “not after how they handled everything with Ky and how they treated you.”
You and Hoseok had made a name for yourself throughout the town as ‘Public Enemies 1 and 2’ with the local police department. You, due to your persistent insistence that they were wrong in their deduction about Ky, and Hoseok because of the article he published that shamed their name.
The article was the first – and last – one that he published under the company that had hired him to be a reporter, seeing as the police department had enough sway to get him fired afterwards. He wasn’t able to find another reporting job anywhere within the town or those surrounding it.
There also weren’t any remaining records of the article anywhere online or in paper publication, but as a ‘fuck you’ to the department, Hoseok had a copy of it printed and hanging up on his wall for anyone and everyone to see. You had always admired how he handled the situation with grace even though it made your blood boil every time you thought about it.
Even so, some good had come from the whole ordeal. After failing to find another reporter job, Hoseok had made a somewhat notable career as a crime novel author, popular among locals because of how he came to be a novelist, and eventually rising to fame due to his own amazing writing skills.
He enjoyed his career and had a happy life, but that didn’t mean you had to forgive and forget the shitty events that happened to get him to that point.
Hoseok nodded in understanding. “Ok, so no police. Does that mean we try to tackle this whole thing by ourselves?”
“Neither of us have any legit experience with this kind of stuff, so that’s out of the question, too.”
Hoseok tapped his chin as he pondered another idea. The way his eyes lit up as it came to him made your lips curve upward.
“What if we go to someone who isn’t involved with the police but does have experience with that?”
“…not sure I’m following you.”
Hoseok huffed in an endearing way. “Have you ever heard of a private detective?”
The word ‘detective’ made you wince, considering your last encounter with one evolved into a screaming match…but it was also how you met Hoseok, so there’s a silver lining for everything.
“I’m not familiar with a private detective, but I’m open to listening to your idea.”
He grinned. “Perfect. Ok, so in my research for my latest novel, I actually ended up looking into some real-life private detectives.”
“And what did you find?” Your own curiosity was definitely piqued now, as it always was when Hoseok would talk about something so passionately.
“There’s one who’s basically world renowned, like he’s really fucking good. And his office isn’t too far from here, it’s basically in the next town over.”
You took another sip from your coffee, swirling the now lukewarm liquid around in your mouth as you contemplated.
“What else do you know about him?”
Hoseok’s shoulders slumped slightly at that. “Not much. The only information I have on him is his name and how you can contact him. From what I’ve read, he seems to be pretty selective with clients.”
“No idea what he looks like?”
Hoseok shook his head. “None. There weren’t pictures or anything like that, I’m not even sure how old he is.”
You hummed as you pictured this mystery man in your head, automatically defaulting to envisioning an older man, maybe in his 50s with already graying hair. A wise old soul who had seen so much in his long years of investigation work.
“Not like all that really matters, I guess. Do you think I should reach out to him?”
Hoseok nodded around his coffee cup before he tilted his head back to take a large sip. “That’s our best shot right now. And if it doesn’t work out, at least you tried.”
Such a simple statement but it made your stomach twist at the memory of Ky and how you weren’t able to save her because you didn’t know how. “Right.”
Hoseok pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through what looked like Google search results. When he found what he was looking for, he texted you the information.
“Kim Taehyung?” You said the name aloud, making sure you got the correct info.
“Yup, that’s him. If you do decide to contact him, let me know how it goes, ok? I’m already worried as is about you delving into something like this again.”
You patted his hand. “I know, Hobi. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful, and I’ll keep you updated as much as possible.”
He smiled brighter than the sunshine. “That’s all I can ask for, bub.”
⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰
You paced around your apartment, staring at the text that Hoseok had sent you earlier. The rest of your time with him at the diner had been calm and helped to quell your nerves, but now that you were alone again, you were riddled with anxiety.
You had typed in this Kim Taehyung’s number into your phone, ready to call him and just get it over with. The worst he could do is decline your ask for help, but you wouldn’t know unless you tried.
After a few more minutes of useless pacing, you finally hit ‘send’ and raised the receiver to your ear.
You were met with an answering machine almost immediately, wondering if maybe you typed it in wrong until you heard ‘you have reached the number for Kim Taehyung.’ The name had been uttered by a human voice, one that was deep and took you off guard.
You had barely enough time to ponder over the voice before you heard the tell-tale ‘beep’ signaling for you to start your message.
“Oh! Um, hello, Mr. Kim. This is Y/N- well my name is Y/N. I was referred to you by a friend of mine who said you may can help me with a situation I’m having. There’s…some suspicious behavior involving someone dear to me and I’m afraid they could be in danger, but I’m not sure who to turn to. I-If you’d like to give me a call back, you can reach me at this number…”
You finished your voicemail with your contact information before thanking him and wishing him a goodnight. Once you pulled away your phone, you checked the time.
10:36 PM. No wonder you got his answering machine.
The anxiety that had settled down while you were leaving your message started to come back, so to combat that you made the decision to go ahead and get ready for bed. There wasn’t anything else you could do right now, anyway.
You texted Yuri just to wish her a goodnight, and when you received a response almost immediately, you breathed out a sigh of relief. At least she was alright and that was one less thing to worry about for now.
You didn’t dream that night – which was a blessing in its own right – as you thought about the deep timbre of the voice from the answering machine. You’d only heard it briefly, but it left enough of an impact, that was for sure.
⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰
You awoke around 8 AM, your typical time no matter what day it was. It was the weekend, so you could get more sleep if you wanted, but a quick check of your phone had you sitting upright at a record speed.
[Unknown] 6:28 AM: I got your voicemail. If you want to discuss your case, meet me at this address.
Your heart thumped faster as you re-read the words over again. The following message had an address attached, and when you opened it, you noticed how it was for the neighboring town.
With all of the context clues, and taking into account everything Hoseok told you yesterday, you figured that it was Mr. Kim who had texted you. Obviously it would be from an unknown number, and he wouldn’t give out any explicit personal details to lead back to him; that’s just how he did things, as Hobi had mentioned.
And if he contacted you back, that meant he was interested in helping you!
Well…he was interested in hearing you out, at least. Still, you wouldn’t pass up on this opportunity. You quickly crafted a response before you started to make yourself presentable.
[y/n] 8:03 AM: Thank you! When should I meet you?
You had just finished brushing your teeth when you heard your phone chime again.
[Unknown] 8:06 AM: Whenever is best for you. I’ll be here all day and don’t have any other clients lined up.
You clutched your phone to your chest. This was really happening.
Once you were done getting ready to head out, it was just past 9 AM. You called Hobi to let him know what you were doing, and his excitement was tangible even through the phone. He urged you to keep him posted about all the details, which you assured him that of course you would.
The drive to the address you’d been given didn’t take too long, maybe around 20 minutes or so. What surprised you when you arrived, though, was the outward appearance of the building.
It looked abandoned, for lack of a better term, and you checked the text message 3 more times to make sure this is where you were supposed to be.
[y/n] 9:28 AM: I’m here…but I’m not sure if this is the correct place?
There was an eerie feeling settling in your stomach as you waited for a response. Maybe this had been some sort of trick? Had someone set you up?
The sound of a deadbolt clicking grabbed your attention, and the door a few feet in front of you opened up to display an older woman. At first, she seemed a bit disgruntled at having an unexpected guest, but before you could apologize for intruding, her gruff expression was replaced with a warm smile.
“I take it you’re Y/N?”
You gulped and nodded, placing your phone back into your jacket pocket.
“Follow me.”
She turned on her heel to walk back into the building, not bothering to wait and see if you would obey. You quickly scurried after her, only stopping once you were a foot or so behind.
You walked through about 3 or 4 different hallways, trying to remember the directions you’d taken but failing miserably. There wasn’t much to this building…you saw what appeared to be a few offices here and there but otherwise, not much else.
“Here we are,” the woman croaked, gesturing with her arm to a much nicer looking door that had gold lettering on the window.
The etchings were bold, and it was very evident where you were as you read the words:
KIM TAEHYUNG
Private Detective
The older woman rapped on the door 3 times with her knuckles before she walked off. You were standing there, dumbfounded, until you heard a voice softly telling you to come inside.
The doorknob clicked easily under your hand, and as you entered the room, you were in awe of how different everything looked.
The office was tidy and, dare you say, extravagant compared to what surrounded it outside of this room. There were two brown leather couches that had a decent sized coffee table seated in between them; further into the office, you saw the same type of leather chairs, one in front of and one behind a large wooden desk. You also spotted a few plants that looked to be well taken care of, one sitting in a windowsill and the other on a small table next to some black filing cabinets.
Whoever had designed this room clearly had a knack for matching furniture together, because it all meshed well and you appreciated the sleek look to everything.
Your eyes ended their scan as you looked over to the far wall, almost letting out a gasp when you noticed the figure across the room whose back was turned to you.
When you softly shut the door, the other person in the room turned around. It took you a second to start thinking properly again, because he was not at all how you pictured he would be.
For starters, he looked much younger than you thought originally, closer to your own age, which you thought was admirable considering his high status as a detective. He had brown hair parted down the middle that was slightly wavy, with bangs covering his forehead. He had very handsome facial features as well, some of the most handsome you’d ever seen, if you were being honest with yourself.
He was wearing dark jeans and a shirt with black and white print that was hidden underneath a black leather jacket. Everything about this man seemed to scream fashionable and it was throwing you for a loop. You weren’t trying to stereotype him based on your own experience with detectives in the past, but he was just…so not what you expected him to be.
You were wondering again if this might be a prank, until he finally spoke up and acknowledged your presence.
“Y/N, is it?”
You nodded dumbly, scrambling to walk across the office as he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. He sat down in his own once you were close enough, and you shrugged out of your jacket before following suit.
There was a moment of silence between the two of you, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, you felt small under his scrutinizing gaze. He was leaning on one elbow, chin resting in his palm as he stared at you with intensity.
He spoke suddenly, almost making you flinch with surprise.
“So, you mentioned a friend of yours might be in danger?”
You nodded, not sure what to say or if you should say anything.
“Does this friend know you’ve come to a private detective about their situation?”
You opened your mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “Well…no.”
The man nodded, more to himself than you, it looked like. “Alright. That’s not an issue, just have to cover all the basics first.”
“What do the basics entail?”
He seemed amused by your interest as you took the initiative to ask questions now.
His fingertips drummed along the desk, a rhythmic sound that you found to be oddly soothing.
“It entails me finding out as much about your case as I’m willing to before I decide whether or not it’s something I can assist you with.”
He started twirling a pen with his unoccupied fingers, clearly waiting for you to speak first again before he continued.
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything you feel is pertinent to tell me.”
You sighed. “Well, to start with, I think my friend is being followed by someone-”
“Proof?”
You frowned. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Do you have proof? Does this friend have pictures or a video of them being followed, or is it just a feeling?”
“To my knowledge…no. It’s more that they sense it than have actually seen it.”
“And you want me to find out if this is happening or not?”
“Um…yes?”
It was his turn to sigh this time. “You don’t sound very confident in your answer, Y/N.”
His tone rubbed you the wrong way. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What it means,” he broke off to look away from the pen to your face again, “is that I need to know what it is you want from me before I can agree to help you.”
You were catching onto his game now. He wanted you to very specifically lay it all out for him, instead of leaving him to figure it out by grasping at straws.
“Well, Mr. Kim-”
“Taehyung.”
“Sorry?”
“Taehyung. You can call me that, if you want. I’m not super big on formalities for myself.”
You chewed the inside of your cheek. Why was his presence so overwhelming?
“With all due respect, Mr. Kim, I’ve never done this before. All I know is something isn’t right, and I don’t trust the police to offer assistance in the way I need.”
You swore you saw something flash in his eyes.
“Why don’t you trust the police?”
You crossed your arms and leaned more into the chair. “The last time I worked with them, it didn’t end well.”
“You’ve worked on the force?” He almost sounded impressed.
“No, sorry, poor choice of wording. I tried to help them with a case before.”
“Ah,” his eyes narrowed as he busied himself with the pen again. “Were you a suspect, or?”
“I was close to the victim,” you said softly, almost a whisper.
For a moment, his expression softened. “I’m so sorry.”
You shrugged, inhaling a shaky breath as you looked at your lap. “It’s fine. Just…there’s your answer. I don’t want to work with them again, so I came to you.”
“If I’m able to take your case, I’ll make sure you don’t regret that decision.”
His tone had you picking your eyes back up. You noticed a fire within his own, one that made you feel like he meant every single word he’d just said to you.
“Thank you.”
He carded a hand through his hair, the action drawing your attention to the silver watch that adorned his wrist.
“Can I ask…could you tell me about the case you were involved with?”
A slow nod from you. “If it’ll help, I can do that.”
He motioned for you to continue. As you started telling him the details, you noticed as his eyes widened. At one point, he politely interrupted you.
“Sorry, just – I remember that case. You were involved with that?”
“Yes.” You were twisting your hands together in your lap. “Ky was my best friend.”
“And the police just let the case go cold, without considering all traces of evidence?”
“I begged them not to, but there wasn’t much I could do. They made that known several times,” you trailed off. You thought you heard some semblance of a growl coming from the detective.
“I always knew something was weird about that…every report they published made no sense, and none of the pieces of evidence seemed to corroborate their theories.” His hushed tone suggested he may have been talking more to himself, but you didn’t question it.
“There were signs of suspicious behavior leading up to her death that they never considered, and any time I tried to bring it up, I was shut down immediately.”
“Are these ‘signs’ something you’re noticing now, with your other friend?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Taehyung hummed. “I see. You want to inspect this before it gets out of hand, so you came to me because the police are a lost cause.”
You nodded feebly, voice softer than ever when you spoke again. “I don’t want to see another person die.”
“You won’t.”
His answer startled you, even if it was as quiet as your own. Your eyes met briefly before he started looking anywhere but your face.
Another hush befell the room, and this one seemed more awkward than the last, considering Taehyung cleared his throat before he rifled through one of his desk drawers.
“Before you tell me anything else, I need you to look over something first.”
“Sure, whatever I need to do, I’ll do it.”
A crooked smile tugged at Taehyung’s lips. “You know, you’re a lot more obedient than most of my other clients.”
You…weren’t sure how to take that.
“I am?”
“Yeah. Most of the time they come in with demands and don’t like to listen when I push back on something. It’s part of the reason why I’ve gotten choosier about who I decide to do business with these last few years. But you,” he fished out a piece of paper from the drawer, “are proving much easier to work with. I appreciate that.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
He chuckled, the sound low. “You’re also way more polite than most people I encounter.”
You smiled at him for the first time. “I’m grateful you’re taking the time to hear me out.”
His eyes lingered on yours for just a second before shifting down.
“First and foremost,” Taehyung slid a piece of paper across the wooden desk that separated the two of you, “if we agree to do business, you’ll need to sign this contract. It lists my stipulations and services I can provide.”
You picked up the paper, not quite sure what to expect.
“Take your time to read over all of it carefully, just so everything is clear on both our ends.” He leaned back in his chair, the sound of squeaking leather breaking your concentration for a moment.
You scanned through every line, all of the contract terms seeming straight-forward and easy to agree to-
-but the last line caught your attention.
“Could you explain this last part, please?”
Taehyung leaned over to look at which line you were pointing to before he let out a soft chuckle. “Ah, that. My #1 most important rule. Never get involved with clients’ personal lives.”
“But don’t you have to sometimes?”
“For work, yes. But this is more referring to what happens outside of that. Things can get…messy.”
“You talk like that’s happened before.”
Taehyung smirked but offered nothing more to that specific conversation.
“So, are we in business?”
You didn’t have to ponder long before you signed the contract with a flourish. When you passed it back across the desk, Taehyung smiled.
“Perfect,” he stood up to shake your hand, “I’ll be in touch with you shortly, once I’ve reviewed your case.”
You returned the shake. “Thank you, Mr. Kim.”
He squeezed your hand once before letting it go.
“The pleasure is all mine.”
You waited to see if there was anything else he might need from you, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. He leaned down and sifted through his drawer once more, this time pulling out a Manila file folder.
“I use these to get the typical information needed for me to start my research. It just asks for client’s name and contact info, as well as a summary about what you’re wanting from me and other names of those involved. In this instance, it would be your friend. You can give me as little or as much info as you think I need.”
He handed the folder to you, and upon opening it up, you saw everything he had just mentioned to you on a sheet of paper stapled to the inside.
“I’d prefer you fill it out now so you can leave it with me, but of course I can’t force you to do anything.”
His tone suggested he was teasing, but you were quick to sit on one of the couches and begin filling out the paper. It didn’t take you very long, and when you were done, you noticed he was sitting on the opposite couch, elbows resting on his knees with his hands folded.
“Finished?”
You nodded as you slid the file across the coffee table, his pen placed on top. He accepted both and smiled at you.
“Alright, if that’s all you want to discuss, you’re free to go. As I mentioned before, I’ll be in touch with you after I’ve looked over everything and have some sort of plan on how to proceed. And of course, all of this information is strictly classified. You read that in the contract, but I always reiterate it anyway, due to some problems I’ve had in the past.”
“Of course.” You agreed with no hesitation. Honestly, you couldn’t fathom just how much he’s had to endure in his line of work, how many times he’s probably had to change locations and phone numbers.
Hell, Kim Taehyung may not even be his real name, and you’d never know.
“Any questions for me?”
You mumbled some form of ‘no’ as you shook your head. Taehyung walked over to the door to open it for you, and you certainly weren’t expecting the same woman from before to be out in the hallway, but there she was.
“Ms. Choi will show you out since this place is a bit of a maze,” his tone was light, a sheer contrast to the mood that had settled over the two of you from when you stepped into his office. “Don’t forget: I’ll contact you.”
“Yes, sir.” You couldn’t help the authoritative term as it slipped past your lips, and you walked through the door before you could see the look on his face. You thought you might have heard some sort of laugh from Ms. Choi as she escorted you back to the front, but your imagination liked to play tricks on you sometimes.
Besides, Taehyung said he wasn’t one for formalities, so it didn’t really matter that much, did it? He had to be older than you anyway…right?
You spent the entire walk through the building trying to justify in your head what had just happened, and Ms. Choi gave you a soft smile as she held the door open for you to leave.
When you settled back in your car, you gripped the steering wheel and took a deep breath, leaning your head back as you shut your eyes.
You still couldn’t quite believe that the last 30 minutes or so had happened. Taehyung had proven to be quite different than what you anticipated, but he was truthfully better than you could have hoped.
He seemed driven and motivated about his line of work, and the way he reassured you when you had your doubts-
-it made you feel…safe. Like this was a step in the right direction after all.
As you called Hobi to fill him in on everything during your drive home, you started to believe that maybe, just maybe, things would turn out alright.
⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰
➥Part 2
➥Series Masterlist
➥All Works Masterlist
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Homeward Bound (NSFW)
This is a small snipit from my damimaps oneshot. This was based on a prompt wish list from @gumbloodygirl I really like, there were like eight other prompts that I might take a gander at later down the road but this stood out to me.
This one was where Maps and Damian venture back to Gotham with a little surprise for the fam, after a whole year of raising their child away from home.
So a big thank you @gumbloodygirl for the prompt.
Warning: it has smut obviously, so read at your own risk.
Here's the link if you want to read the rest of it: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32561929
Happy Reading!!!!
Maps felt uncomfortable.
Very uncomfortable.
She breathed laboriously shifting awkwardly in her bed, groaning as she did, her eyes slowly fluttered open to be faced with her ceiling. She blinked away the sleep in her eyes, reaching up to rub leisurely at them. Maps wanted to spread out her aching body but found that she couldn't, what she first had noticed was that she felt somewhat pleasantly warm. The second was a substantial weight laying on her bare chest.
Ah, now she remembers, Maps thought fondly.
She sighed contently as she reached down to run her thin fingers through his soft hair, she heard a soft moan from the man on top of her as he snuggled up closer to her, wrapping his arms securely around her waist. Maps placed a soft kiss on his head before she looked over at her clock and read two-thirty in the morning.
The soft glow of the moonlight casting through her window was the only source of light she had, permitting her to turn her attention back to Damian, studying the defined lines and contours of his face to her heart's content. His head rested comfy buried between her breasts, as one of his legs was tucked snugly in between both of hers; so she's entirely and utterly wrapped up in his warmth.
Enwrapped in him.
She couldn't help but chuckle lightly at how cute he looked sleeping on her like this. She ran her thumb across his swollen lips reviving their last-night activities that lead up to this cherished minute. They had basically planned to have a late pizza date night, by starting the evening off with watching a whole marathon of shark week together. Not even ten minutes into the first episode did they venture off into something else... now laid a half-empty box of cheese pizza on their nightstand and a still paused shark week on their tv.
Maps contemplated reaching over for the remote to shut the tv off, but feard waking Damian up in the process. So she settled for leaving it on, they could continue it later on if they had time.
Especially since Damian had promised they'd finish the episode after they were done with their lovemaking, but he had immediately fallen asleep after a few rounds of them tumbling unitedly between sheets with sweet nothings and desperate kisses.
Although, Maps couldn't find it in herself to be upset or even annoyed at their plans being ruined. Moments like this were somewhat of a rare occurrence in their day-to-day life, however, it's not so much due to work or patroling that's been necessarily keeping them busy.
So this was a welcoming atmosphere; or the calm before the storm.
Maps let out a weary sigh.
She knew the conversation she was going to have with him wasn't going to be an easy one, but it was something she needed to address. She can't keep putting this on hold anymore, it wasn't healthy and they both knew it is the right choice for the three of them, for everyone.
She gazed in thought up at the ceiling, pondering on how to go about telling him.
Maybe she could get Dick to convince him? Or Alfred? They always knew what to say to get Damian to compromise.
Maps slowly maneuver her hand from his hair and down his back, her fingers rippled over the many scars and burns he's obtained over the years. She sighed again, as she gets to thinking about the new chapter in their life.
Leaving their new home in Arlington for Gotham.
It was a big step, an overwhelming, terrifying, and nerve-racking step, all at a cost for various reasons.
The main one relates to the boy who is at the moment using her as a body pillow; namely the life he left behind to start a new one with her to be exact. It had happened about a year ago, when she had discovered she was pregnant with Damian's child.
It had been the happiest moment of their lives, knowing that there was a life growing inside of her. It was at that realization that they decided to move, to find a place that wasn't surrounded by its own corruption, a place with new beginnings, a place where they can just leave everything behind and start anew.
They had found that place here in Arlington, yes, of course, it had its pros and cons but it was nice and it was theirs.
But unfortunately, they had moved before their son Isaac was born.
So the family had never gotten the chance to meet him. Their little bundle of joy; the light of their life. And that was something Maps wasn't too thrilled with, no she was absolutely not having any of it.
No matter what happened in their past, or what Gotham consisted of, the bats were Isaac's family too and they have every right to see their nephew and be a family with him.
Damian was just going to have to accept that.
She didn't care if she had to move back to Gotham by herself. Isaac was going to meet the people she now calls her family. Although she will admit, she couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about what the future holds for them, all of them really.
Moving back to Gotham could mean chaos and trouble, but dammit' it was still her home, she grew up there with all her friends, and had even found the love of her life in that godforsaken city.
Gotham may be an eternal damnation, but she had so many treasured memories there. Even if it was a shared agreement between the two of them to leave the city, it hadn't made the move any easier.
And it's not like she wants to leave without her husband... but he can be so selfish and stubborn at times. Maps chewed on the inside of her lip anxiously, or maybe she was the one being selfish?
She glanced down at Damian's sleeping form, so peacefully, completely unaware of the war going on in her head.
"Stop thinking already," he mumbles into her chest.
Or maybe not.
"Damian, did I wake you?" Maps asked, watching him shift lightly.
"You're pinching me," Damian grumbles shifting again and away from her hand.
She looked over and found herself pinching at one of his prominent scars, something she had picked up a year into their marriage, it was a small habit she did when she was thinking hard about something. She smoothed her hand down his back then up to his hair again, pressing another gentle kiss to his head.
"Sorry, I can't help it." Maps whispered, pressing another kiss to his forehead. Damian settled back into her as he sighed into her bosom. Maps felt his hot breath spread up to her neck, she slightly shivered as heat spread throughout her body.
"What's wrong?" he asked, voice sleep-laden and spent.
Maps pause for a moment, now is a good of a time as any to tell him. Better rip the band-aid off now before she chickens out.
She breathes in then out to calm her racing heart, her chest heaved with effort. She let the silence settle in to collect herself some more before answering him.
She breathed then said, "I want to move back to Gotham," she quietly declares into the silent air, hoping her rapid beating heart would just calm down already. Damian stays silent for a moment or two, laying completely still, listening to the beats of her heart.
Maps bit her lip hard as her nerves rush up in her stomach and then into her chest, she was always making declarations like this in the worst times.
Maybe she should have waited until he was fully rested... but then he'd have more energy to argue back with her if she did.
Her hand stills in his hair as she franticly tries to backtrack her statement, but stopped in her mid-panic attack as she felt him move to sit up, now he's staring down at her with a serious look coating his eyes.
He doesn't look mad... but he doesn't look too happy either.
"Why?" he asked the question simply as if he was trying to understand, voice taught and probing. Maps reached her hands up to wrap one around his neck and the other to stroke his cheek gazing up at him with warm pleading eyes.
She smiled as he leaned into her touch, "I want your family to meet our son, I want him to have a life with the people we love Damian, I want them to share these precious moments we have with Isaac with everyone else, that's why." Maps replied back in a soft tone to let him know that she was genuine about what she stated, showing her concern for their son's future.
Damian frowned gently, his gaze intensified.
After a moment of quietness, he uttered, "No," with a sharp tone removing her hand from his face. "And that's final, go back to sleep."
"What?" Maps exclaimed hurt and confused, she knew Damian wasn't going to agree so easily but to reject her proposal without so much as a reason why made her angry. And Maps wasn't one to back down so easily, she hastily sat up glaring at him, and shouted.
"Why not? This will be good for him, for us, why can't you see that?" She threw her hands up as the covers slid down to their waist, the two unmoved by the sudden chill of the room hitting their naked bodies.
Damian straightens back his shoulders to appear taller as he glared down at her with equal fervor.
He crossed his arms against his broad chest, "We had both agreed that we will raise our son somewhere that wasn't Gotham, somewhere far away from the caps and cowls and now after building a stationary life here, you want to go back?" Damian shouted back as his eyes glowed a familiar shade of green, Maps wasn't discouraged by it.
"Yes," Maps replied plain and simple, folding her arms across her chest as well. The two stared down at each other, daring the other to back down, but neither was budging.
"No," he repeated again with more power to his voice, Maps rolled her eyes.
"Give me one good reason why we shouldn't?" she snapped back.
"It's dangerous," he replied.
She scoffed, "Everywhere is dangerous Damian," she spat back rolling her head animatedly, flattening her hands to her hips as if challenging him to continue.
His glare hardened, "Because I said so," he hissed.
"That's not a good reason," she shouted back.
Damian growled, feeling agitated by the minute. He wasn't fully awake to be having this conversation with her, he'll need to turn the tables in his favor. With that idea in mind, an idea pops into his head.
Damian leans in and presses a soft peck to her lips, surprising her for a millisecond before he leaned in further to give her an open-mouth kiss. Maps gasped as she backs away in shock, Damian places his hand on her shoulders gently pushing her down back into the mattress.
Maps had to blink a few times because this was not what she had expected from him.
Maps indistinctly tried to stifle a small groan, as he was now vigorously sucking on her neck, ugh he was being such a complete moron, her stupidly cute moron. Oh God, she loves this man so much, but she's all but ready to punch him in his stupid face.
"D-Damian," Maps shrikes as Damian rubs his thumb against her left nipple.
"Shh, you'll wake Isaac," he muttered into her neck, repositioning himself so he's fully situated between her legs again, which she subconsciously made room for him to do so.
He lies his full body weight on top of her's so the hard planes of his chest was pressed against her soft plump bust.
"I doubt that," she whispered, unsure at the moment, glancing at the door connected to their bedroom that was hosting their child's nursery.
"Anyways we were talking about- ah!" Maps gasped out loud, observing Damian move to bite at her nipple.
"I said no already, will you just drop it," he said kissing the gap between her breast, Maps whined. He pressed his kisses down the valley of her breast, to her navel, all the way down to her pelvic.
He sat upon his knees and forced her legs apart, staring at her wet pussy hungrily, she watched him bow his head between her thighs and gasped as his nose met her hot skin.
Maps clawed at the blankets closing her eyes tight before dropping her head onto her pillow, "H-hey would you sto-mph," his warm breath warned her a second before he brushed his lips against her cunt, spreading her folds with his tongue, he dragged his hot tongue slowly along her clit and teased her.
Humming as his tongue slid in and out of her, running his large hands up and down her quivering legs.
She pulled desperately, trying to pull away, feeling herself become undone by his skillful lips by the second, he grabbed her hips and held her in place keeping her trapped.
She tensed as his tongue flicked over her clit again causing her to jerk upwards, "Ah, Damian!" Maps whispered breathlessly.
He ignored her pleases, pushing a thick finger inside of her, adding another in after hearing a sharp gasp leave her lips. Moving them in and out in time with his mouth, his motions intensified hearing a long sluty moan echo in his ears, he smirked.
"A-at least give it a-ah chance, a month and oh! mph... if you don't like it we could always just m-move back." Maps pleaded, hoping he'd stop distracting her long enough so she could think properly.
But at last, she wasn't going to get such a request any time soon, as Damian moved from her cunt, back up to her neck, then finally her lips. Placing random kisses on her nose, cheek, and forehead still pumping his fingers in and out of her at a vigorous pace.
He was playing a dirty game here.
"Damian-mph" Maps was silenced by his lips connecting with hers grazing a path along her bottom lip with his warm tongue and nips gently with his teeth. Causing her to open her mouth for him so he could deepen the kiss.
Without thinking, Maps wraps her arms around Damian's neck pulling him in closer as their tounges intertwine in a fight for dominance.
Damian won.
Getting lost in the sensation that is Damian, he pulls his fingers free from her throbbing walls causing a short whine from her into their embrace, naturally, he starts grinding into her, creating delicious friction between the two, drawing a deep moan from them both.
Maps couldn't help but grind back into him as their bodies moved like waves together, creating a smooth rhythm. He reached down to knead at her hips and one of her breasts, rolling his index finger and thumb over her right nipple giving it some much-needed attention.
"Damian please," Maps whined breathlessly, Damian couldn't help but smile.
"Please what?" he said teasingly, knowing he now has the upper hand.
"I- you... this- ah! this isn't fair," Maps half-cries and half-moans out loud as he enters her.
"This is fair love," he whispers into her ear as he starts to move in and out of her in slow motions and the occasional roll of his hips, dragging out his thrusts. Causing slight grating against her clit, generating yet another familiar vulgar moan to escape her lips, prompting Damian to moan as well.
Damian sighed heated and sharp in her ear finding her little groans the most enraptured noise to ever grace his ears.
Damian moved his hands down to grip her hips as he thrusts up into her hard. And for a while, the only sound that filled their room was their bodies slapping against each other and scattered breathy moans from the both of them.
"N-no, I-" Maps slides her hands up his chest for leverage as he speeds up his pace, she just couldn't get a single word out for every time she did he'd bottom her out completely stealing her breath away, forgetting what she had wanted to say in the first place.
Damit, she wasn't going out like this.
Maps frowned and leaned up to bit his shoulder, prompting Damian jerk in pain. She quickly shoved him off pushing him to the side so his back was now laying flat on their mattress.
She wastes no time shifting their positions so she was now straddling him, placing both her hands flat on his chest, she looked down at him with dark determined eyes.
"Listen here you idiot," Maps snapped, watching Damian's eyes widen with shock and if she wasn't mistaken... a bit of pride too. "We're doing this whether you like it or not, I already bought the tickets so you can either stay here and sulk while I and your son leave or you can come with us and be a family." Maps huffed angrily, as Damian silently, begrudgingly, contemplated his options.
He sighed closing his eyes, "Fine, but only for a month," he brooded looking like a pouty child.
Maps squealed excitedly leaning down to shower him in kisses and thank you's.
"I promise you won't regret this and this way Isaac can see his uncles and grandpa and-" Damian reached up behind her head smashing her lips against his, he pulled back with a smug smirk.
"Why don't we continue where we left off before you go on your little amusing rant," he suggested placing his hands where her thighs and ass meet.
Maps nodded with a giggle, as Damian began moving her up and down while simultaneously thrusting up into her, picking up his pace where he had left off.
Leaving nothing but soft moans amidst the couple, echoing all throughout the night.
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revivivivify · 3 years
Text
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Viewpoints
I’m putting this under a read more because it’s rather long, but I wrote this analysis on how people experience this novel in vastly different ways based on several related factors. Inspired by a conversation I had with my best friend who has also read the book.
I’ll start with my central point—the character someone relates to will color their understanding of certain events, even if they don’t realize it at first. This character is usually either Victor or the creature, though it may be another (like Henry) instead in some cases. Whose point of view one sympathizes with is likely influenced by their personal background, as it commonly does in all forms of media.
I’ve identified with Victor since the beginning of the book, and I’ve realized that my tendency to sympathize with Victor’s viewpoint most likely influenced the events that most made an impression on me- William and Justine’s tragedy and Henry’s murder.
I’ll admit that I view him a lot more favorably than many. I believe he was never a “mad scientist,” he was simply a brilliant man that was very misguided and dealt poorly with his own fear and the consequences of his actions. He was unfortunately of a rather fragile disposition, which proved to be a fatal hindrance. He had the means and the ability to do what he did- but he did not have the necessary qualities to deal with the situation well. He was not in any way equipped to withstand the stress placed on him. He was short-sighted and made bad decisions, yes; but I believe he’s still a good man at his heart.
When he first saw the creature, he regretted its creation immediately and was certain that it was an abomination that was not meant to exist, a demon to which he had given life. It didn’t occur to him in his fear and panic that his creation might simply be an ordinary living being rather than what its grisly appearance suggested. And in that moment he only had one defense mechanism- run. Later, he acted as a cornered animal, and remained so caught up in his own certainties and swamped with the loss of William and Justine that he was blind to the unadulterated truth for the entirety of the story.
Many others disagree. They’re eager to condemn Victor because of his irresponsibility and abandonment of the living thing he brought into being. It’s true that the creature’s misery is largely inflicted by Victor, and in turn the creature takes out his anger on those Victor loves. (From here, the creature will be referred to by name.)
Adam is arguably only reacting reasonably to the treatment he’s received, and many see things from that standpoint. It’s an entirely fair side to take, and even I, still reeling from William’s murder and Justine’s unjust execution, was moved by Adam’s tale of his misery and forlorn isolation from any kind of love. It’s true that I felt sorry Adam, very much so.
I can absolutely understand Adam’s fury as well as his suffering. To live a life as one who is abhorred and condemned having committed no crime is a horror beyond imagining, and his hope of perhaps gaining the love of anyone being brutally snuffed out over and over shows how cruel humanity can truly be. Adam has seen nothing of the kindness and beauty people are capable of, only their fear and cruelty. He is, in truth, only a reflection of his environment and how he’s been treated. His care and goodness have been trampled like a young flower, and who is anyone to blame him for being angry, wrathful even?
I certainly don’t fully agree with Victor’s decisions throughout the book, especially regarding Adam’s companion, but I can understand his line of thought and why he made those decisions. I feel that a lot of pain could have been avoided by making small changes in how he reacted to certain circumstances, but I digress.
The great beauty of media, literature in particular, is that everyone experiences it differently due to their specific circumstances and personality. And Frankenstein stands out to me as a story that truly made me feel things deeply and in a way I’ll never forget. I’ve greatly enjoyed conferring with those that have different views of the novel, and it’s given me much insight to the nature of how we as humans process the complex morals stories such as this one present us with.
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