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prismkat · 1 month ago

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🧭⚠️💾🛠️

for the ask game!!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

🧭 An alternative title to your/ one of your WIP(s)?

OOH!! So I’m sure everyone knows by now that sincerely your brother used to be flowers for the sick and dead (after the dr dog song where’d all the time go, as well as the source for all the flower symbolism) unfortunately, I don’t remember any of the other titles I had in mind before settling for SYB, but, yeah :D

⚠️ Which wip your most likely to finish or update next?

Probably sincerely, your brother. I’d like to get the next two chapters out before I decide to focus more on my current fandom aka squid game. Not to say I’m abandoning it by any means, but I have a lot of fics I wanna write and as the author I feel that’s the best place to leave it off if I take a while to come back to it (but summer is coming anyway, and looking at the chapter index for the fic I was on a SPREE last year)

🛠️ is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

Honestly, I’m mainly struggling with sitting down and writing the fic, so not really!

❤️ Not a question, just a second kudos to send.

AWW TY!!!

Now, *spins around in my villain chair to face you* as you may have noticed, I have went out of order and saved 💾 for last. That’s because, in answering this question, I went down a RABBIT HOLE of my old Google docs, and felt the need to share stuff that ought to be hidden under read more. Ahem, anyway. potential future SYB spoilers under the cut!

💾 What is your document of your wip/ a wip called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)

So, most of my fics are just saved as their fic titles (save for sincerely your brother, which is separated between act 1 and act 2 due to lag), but in my search to find an interesting answer, I found some old stuff.

Mainly, the one that inspired me to make this dramatic as could be was a google doc titled “fftsad play uno”. FFTSAD standing for, you guessed it, flowers for the sick and dead AKA sincerely your brother.

I remember the exact moment I wrote this. I woke up at 5AM. I was bored. I opened Google docs. I wrote this, and never shared it with anyone because it contained massive spoilers.

However: this was a year ago. The outline has drastically changed since then. So, with some mild censoring to conceal the stuff that STILL does apply to the fic, here’s sincerely your brother characters playing uno, with some commentary at the bottom.

“You can’t superglue 12 +4 cards together to make a +48!”

Evidently, waiting for Jack to come down to the void was boring as fuck. That’s why Dee, William and Chimera were sat together playing uno. “Oh, really?” Chimera asked. “Is that a rule?”

“It’s common sense, you fucking dipshit.” William hissed, taking the game far too seriously. Dee said nothing, glad to be on the outside of the rivalry the other two had going on.

“Hey, Henry!” Chimera called out to Henry, who had been watching the arguments go on with an amused expression on his face. “Can you make a +48 card?”

“Of course you can’t!” William interjected.

Meanwhile, Henry shrugged. “You may use whatever tools are at your disposal to adapt the game to your will.”

William groaned. “Take that, sore loser!” Chimera said.

“Where did you get a bottle of superglue anyway? We’re quite literally on the outskirts of the universe outside of time.” William questioned, refusing to accept his fate and take 48 cards.

“... Dee’s pretty easy to pickpocket.”

Dee, having been unfortunately dragged into the situation, checked her pockets, only to see her many craft supplies she kept on hand in the event of an emergency were gone. She scowled. “You even took my glitter!”

“Get better, then.”

“That doesn’t count!” William yelled, about to flip the entire uno deck. “You stole it!”

“Let’s vote on it, then! I think it counts.” Chimera raised his strange, puppet-like excuse for a hand. Henry did so too, but only because he was bored. “Dee, I promise I will make your execution as quick as possible if you raise your hand. Let us outnumber this fool.”

“Can we negotiate?” Dee tried, “Maybe, say, I don’t know, you spare me?”

“Hm.. tough choice. I can put your request into consideration?”

“This is the most morbid thing ever, and I used to kill children.” William interrupted. “Dee, don’t raise your hand. I have a better idea, we can both beat the fuck out of-”

“That’s so rude!”

“You are trying to erase a kid from existence!”

“Nineteen’s hardly a kid, that’s old enough to be obliterated-”

Dee cleared her throat, cutting off the argument. “Uh, Puppet-boy-girl-thing? You do realise that both you and Henry tried to consecutively murder me in totally separate incidents? Why would I support either of you?”

“Oh, no.” Henry said, “I knew he intended to kill you. I just did it first. I didn’t know him at the time, but I figured it would be much more useful to me to have you as a puppet than in the flipside.”

“Whew, thank Fredbear! I was worried that me and Henry had some sort of psychic link going on, and that we both came up with the same idea. Glad to see I’m nothing like you.”

“You… You still tried to kill me. Actually, you want to erase me. That might be worse than Henry’s idea, and he’s probably one of the evilest people ever.”

“You see, I’m doing it for the greater good, so it’s okay!”

“Do you think Henry’s killing people for a little giggle?” William asked. Chimera had no response.

“Wait. How did you plan to kill me? You don’t have a physical form, and William had already destroyed the arcade machine. How would you have done it?” Dee questioned. Chimera smiled.

“Well my initial plan was just to take control of the Fredbear and Spring Bonnie animatronics and have them crush you to death somehow.”

…

“You know, I’ve never been more grateful to be stabbed in my life.” Dee said.

All i really have to say for this is: yeah. Chimera is way more violent than he is in the final thing. I can't really remember if this is because he just generally was more violent back when i wrote this (remember, fftsad days, huge difference) or if i played it up for the fic since i never planned to share it with anyone. It may have been a bit of both, since the plans he speaks of did happen originally, however unlike the way they speak in this fic, it's always been a touchy subject. Chimera has always struck me as a character who refuses to come to terms with their own wrongdoing because they're clinging on to the little bit of moral superiority they have left (even if said moral superiority lingers only over Henry Miller, which is much below the minimum expectation and means jackshit)

“Well my initial plan was just to take control of the Fredbear and Spring Bonnie animatronics and have them crush you to death somehow.” OH YES THIS LINE. yes, his plan originally included this.

Essentially, on his first phone call with Dee i believe, in sincerely your brother it was replaced with dee going to fredbear's in the day when william and henry aren't there, but ORIGINALLY it was supposed to be during the night in william's nightshift. he was supposed to be like "hey come to fredbear's i need to talk to you :3" and dee would've gone, because i think she was way more naive in the og outline than she is currently, and that really says something. anyway, chimera was supposed to cause the doors to malfunction, trapping william in the night guard's office and then take control of fredbear and spring bonnie and kill her. However, as she took the spring bonnie plush with her, her dropping it would've given chimera a sudden moment of realisation and cause him to power off the animatronics and leave her be.

i scrapped this bc not only did it feel too violent, but also would've established them as a villain immediately (in the reader's eyes at least. chimera wouldve been like woahhh who did that i have no clue and dee would've bought it. um) eventually i decided to introduce them under the guise that they were jack, because they have the same outfit as blackjack does and it would've been so insanely funny for you guys to realise that you have also been conned and maybe you are no better than the gullible 12 year old (and it was very funny, sorry! /lh I know she’s an unreliable narrator)

anyway, upon finding this, i also found a bunch of other scrapped scenes. Here’s a scene that happened in an alternate route to make william and dee (temporarily, don’t fret) part ways!!

“Dee didn’t see the look of resignation on William’s face before she walked in. She didn’t see how he sighed, reaching into his pockets. She didn’t see how he frantically dropped whatever he had reached for back into his pocket once she made her presence known.

She didn’t see any of that because all she could see was red.

She had worked with William. She had trusted him. To her, he may have been like another brother to her. And he had lied directly to her face. What reason would he have to do that if he wasn’t the one who took her brother away to begin with?

Dee wasn’t stupid. Everything had been weaving together in the sidelines. Every flinch, every glance to the side when he was recounting something that happened and every time he fidgeted when Dee mentioned the ones Jack warned not to trust. But she had ignored it. She thought it was a sign of guilt from he and Jack’s argument. But Peter’s revelation proved a different story.

William had done something to Jack.”

As you can see here, this happens in an alternate timeline where Peter tells Dee the lie that William and Henry told him: Jack never went to work that day. So Dee confronts William about it. Not the smartest move with the impression that she was given, but granted…. Gestures to half the fic.

But while this was scrapped, one detail remains consistent: any guesses to what William was holding before Dee walked in? It may still be important :]

And I don’t think I have anything else that either is interesting or doesn’t have massive spoilers, however I did find this quote:

“If I wanted to get with your brother Peter I’d just go to a home depot and pick another white guy who’s the exact same thing with a slightly different hair colour”

This is from fftsad/syb. This was said by William. BUT I FORGOT THE CONTEXT AND NOTHING IN THE REST OF THE NOTE CLUES ME IN. so if I have to live with the knowledge that this could’ve been part of the AU, so do you. bam. Mic drop

#ignore the inconsistent pronouns for chimera #he technically uses any #like she/he/they mainly but they would absolutely use anything #its just he/him or they/them in the fic depending on the pov for simplicity #sincerely your brother

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catt-nuevenor · 2 years ago

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hi, sorry if this have been asked before, but do you have any refs/inspos of clothes that the characters use/is time/region appropriated for myrk mire?

(also, sorry if this question is confusing - english is not my first language :") )

Hi,

Your English is very good!

Clothing, this has proven a topic of flux in the development of the story. I'll include the original answers I gave concerning clothing style below, but I think it's about time I updated this for you all, as things have changed...

Original answers and historical resources concerning clothing:

Historical costume

Source Material 1

Where the world is currently:

I use a little source document to keep track of clothing, so for the most part I'll be copy pasting the text from that into the post. It's quite cliff notes style, but it gets the important information across and the reasons for various stylistic choices.

Quick terms breakdown for those not 100% up to date with the wider lore around the story.

The Four Shores is a collection of four realms containing Diota, Eard, Jǫkull, and Þinda, located on a collection of islands widely considered north of pretty much everything else. Eard is the realm in which the story of Myrk Mire and TBT takes place.

A Wealdend is a leader within the rulership structures used in the Four Shores, a male wealdend is called a Cyning, a female a Cwén, and nonbinary individuals use the Wealdend title itself.

The Riverlands is a separate region on the Southern Continent, with little to no political, social, or cultural ties to the Four Shores.

Falatu is another island in the north, but not a member of the Four Shores. They have sympathetic political and cultural systems, but maintain their own very separate identity in comparison to their unified neighbours.

The Eahtung is a ruling collective of skilled individuals who work alongside the Wealdend. More information than this would open up a deep rabbit hole...

"Warmth is everything to the Four Shores, so layers are favoured.

Rather than high necklines, shawls are favoured, these decorated with swirling patterns.

Lacking a clearly defined nobility, showing evidence of one’s craft or skill is favoured higher than material expense. A metal smith would display their skill by wearing more metal upon their outfit, a weaver a more elaborate hemming, a woodworker finely carved beads.

Amber is the sole reserve of the Wealdend, and should not be worn by anyone else.

All have their ears pierced, women both ears, men just one, others may choose. Rings are worn here, usually made of silver or gold, often times studded with gems.

Everyone wears stringed beads about their necks. These beads can be ceramic, wooden, bone, metal, or stone.

There is no shame in underdresses or tunics being shown.

Women wear linen underdresses, typically white, with woollen overdresses secured at the shoulders with preónas or brooches and lacing at the sides. The lacing only extends as far at the hips, and the overdress is either slit long these lines without further lacing, or it is one unified flair of fabric.

Men wear mid-thigh length linen undershirts with woollen overshirts that are slightly shorter. In colder months this is supplemented by a wraparound jacket secured by belts or ties. Men also wear trousers of ankle length similar to the Riverlands, but these are secured by fur, or cloth wraps up to the mid-calf.

Everyone wears calf height boots. In the winter months these are fur lined.

Everyone wears belts.

Hair is traditionally worn long by all genders, and is braided back from the face and tied in horse tails or buns at the back of the head.

Hoods and hats are used out of doors in colder seasons, but it is seen as rude to continue to wear these coverings indoors as it implies that the host does not keep their home warm enough to be comfortable.

The finest of outfits are hemmed with embroidered banding, these vary from simplistic geometric patterns, to full scenes of foliage or animals.

Bracelets are seldom worn, favoured more by the peoples from Falatu, and rings are only really worn as a symbol of office, guild status, or position as Wealdend. The Tug Stone rings are the sole use of the Wealdend, Eahtung and the respective heads of each province.

The ruling families align themselves to animals incorporating them into their surnames, once picked, they cannot wear anything taken from that animal. Otherwise furs are used to line apparel for warmth.

Cloaks are not worn indoors for similar reasons to hats, but out of doors are acceptable, they range from calf-length to lower-hip length."

As for visual aids, I'm a bit lacking in those right now.

Basic rules:

Warmth and practicality are key.

Linen underclothes, woollen overclothes.

Head coverings for outdoor use.

Ear piercings for everyone.

Belts are the toolkit for all and hold pouches and exterior pockets.

I can do a bit of visualisation for weapons, though (surprising no one). The Four Shores use two main forms of bladed arms, the sæx, and the méce.

A sæx in this context is a short, single edged blade with a tapered point.

Image of the Seax of Beagnoth currently held at the British Museum. Image attributed to Wikipedia contributor BabelStone.

A Méce is a long single edged blade with a slightly curving profile. Wielded one-handed or two-handed, it favours a cutting sweep rather than a thrust approach. If you fancy seeing two chaps demonstrate the historical weapon that inspired this, the messer, I highly recommend this video:

youtube

The first section though, they later switch to different weapons.

Most important features to look at are the pin crossguard that sits at angle to the blade, how the single edge is used to advantage in the application of force, and the length of the hilt to suit the single versus two-handed approach to wielding it.

Anyway, that's enough to be chewing over, I think.

I'll keep an eye out for visual sources on dress and clothing, so folks have a clearer idea on all that.

#myrkmire #asks #background research #tbt #clothing and costume

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lunarwintyr · 1 year ago

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A Single Drop of Color Rating: M Fandom: Twilight (Femslash) Pairing: Rosalie Hale/Bella Swan Content Warning(s): Depictions of Depression, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms for Trauma, Depictions of Mild Homophobia, Graphic Depictions of Panic Attacks

~~~~~~~Summary~~~~~~~

Bella Swan is depressed. She's dealt with it for years, and only just recently began on the road to recovery. In the service of this recovery she decides she needs a change of scenery and uproots herself from Phoenix, Arizona to find a new lease on life as she moves in with her partially-estranged father in Forks, Washington. In Forks Bella will meet new people, have new experiences, and be forced to ask herself painful and uncomfortable questions. Who is Bella Swan? What does she want out of life? Who does she want to spend her life with? And what is she willing to do in the service of those things? Little does she know that by answering these questions she will set in motion a series of events that has been a thousand years in the making, as forces and powers beyond what she ever could have imagined emerge from the shadows and threaten to upend what little peace Bella begins to carve out for herself.

Author ramblings under the cut.

New longfic I've started posting on Ao3 for Rosalie/Bella! 9 chapters deep so far with the 10th already written and in the process of being edited.

Forgot to post updates on tumblr till now, but I'll be posting an update with each chapter going forward.

Most of my ramblings for this story are currently contained in the AN for the first chapter of the fic so I won't really repeat myself too much.

#fanfiction #twilight #femslash #rosalie hale/bella swan #rosella #wlw fanfic

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journeythroughbible · 1 year ago

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UPDATE – I TALKED WITH THE JOSEPHINE COUNTY CLERK, WHO DREW UP THE MAP

CLICK HERE FOR SUGGESTED NEW DISTRICTING (I attended the meeting FOR the Measure on 5/2 in GP to get my questions that were not addressed in SV. The only thing I said was, “Yes, that’s me,” as they started to read my question, I was yelled at and asked to leave, UPDATE TOMORROW)

Ok, to CLARIFY … I AM VOTING NO!! ESPECIALLY AFTER THIS DISCUSSION.

She told me the map had been drawn and could not be changed. The only opportunity was to challenge the ballot title before it was finalized (around submission time) and protest the wording. After it has been approved, nothing can be done. The MAP, again, is the only reason you should vote NO.

So, Ms. Henkels told me it was not changeable if the Measure passed.

I asked her how this map was drawn. She said the following:

The Charter did not differentiate between rural or urban boundaries.

The boundaries were drawn per the state’s guidelines in directive 2021-1.

It was an equal distribution of the population.

The GIS administrator drew the map, the assistant County Council (Stephanie Nuttall), and the state per directive 2021-1.

AND THERE IS NO APPEAL!! This map was drawn AFTER the time to appeal, so we had no clue the county would draw the lines.

Each district has 22k people, and each district is drawn such that the district has about 10k residing in Grants Pass and 12k Rural (note – this was based on an answer to an FB post; I was initially told 50/50 split). She could not answer WHY the boundaries were twisted to include GP in every district besides the bullet points above.

Let us explore 2021-1 since it’s the only issue outside the vagueness in the Charter that can be examined. (CLICK HERE)

It first states, “More uniform and consistent application of traditional districting principles will assist the efficient and cost-effective administration of elections, reduce the probability of administrative errors, and promote easily understandable boundaries for voters, analysts, and election officials.” I look at the map and do not see “uniform and consistent application” other than it all is ½ represented by Grants Pass as it is today without boundaries.

The Measure says this about districting:

Each district or Precinct, as nearly as practicable, shall:

Be contiguous;

Utilize existing geographic or political boundaries;

Not divide communities of common interest; and

Be connected by transportation links.

For districts, be of equal population.

While technically, this works, the districts are not representative of the true population and could have been drawn better. Back to the drawing board here, it CANNOT BE CHANGED. This Measure does not pass the smell test, given how this was presented to get on the ballot and the proposal. I have more GEOGRAPHIC boundaries between Wolf Creek and Grants Pass; that alone should have voided crossing the ridge line between Merlin and GP.

Next, I wish to explore the following statement in 2021-1, which says, “When drawing or altering precinct boundaries, county clerks shall, as nearly as practicable, contain precincts wholly within one state House district and one Congressional district, and must seek to minimize the change to current precincts.” The Oregon House Districts in Josephine County have House Districts 3 and 4, and the Commissioner Districts 1, 2, and 4 cross these boundaries in conflict with the Directive. Also, they have split 4 precincts (19, 21, 38, and 44) in conflict with the Directive. The “Directive” is loosely written and may be applied to these deviations. I would consider submitting a legal challenge to the map if they could provide population distributions for each Precinct and the areas in the SPLIT Precincts. All this is assuming this Measure would pass.***

As a Home Rule County, we can draw up the precincts as desired; I will explore that next.

AGAIN VOTING NO AS SHOULD YOU!!

*** It shouldn’t if we get out the vote and ensure this does not pass CLICK HERE FOR SUGGESTED NEW DISTRICTING

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mint-yooxgi · 2 years ago

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{13} - Morning Mist - Yandere!Dragon!Ateez X Chubby!Reader

Yandere AU & Dragon AU

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst

Pairing: Ateez X Reader (Focus on Jongho)

Words: 5,900

Warnings: Past trauma discussed: torture and imprisonment, scars, death, violence, a lot of angst but with a happy ending. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: Wow, it's really been a whole ass month since I've updated this series. Lmaooo whoops! Anyways, I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, I've got a lot more planned coming up as the following parts will really focus on the development of OC's relationships with all of the guys. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

Also, gentle reminder that I do not do tag lists.

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Mini Masterlist

It’s early that same evening when eight dragons sense a somewhat familiar presence getting closer to their own nest. Focussing in, they soon realize that there are actually two.

Stepping out of their home, all of the Halas (minus Jongho who currently sits on the roof), stare up at the two Neos who descend into their yard. Both dragons are blue in colour, though one is quite a lighter shade than the other. The darker of the two is slightly bigger, but the smaller radiates more of an air of intimidation. A moment later, they discover why.

Landing gracefully on the grass, both Jeno and Renjun appear before the eight Halas.

“Sorry to intrude like this,” Renjun begins, dusting off the front of his pants lightly.

“How did you find us?” It’s Yeosang that asks, brow furrowing slightly as he stares at the Neos.

“Is everything okay?” Immediately, Jongho hops down from the roof, worry clear in his eyes.

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry.” Jeno smiles at him faintly, and he watches as the youngest Hala’s shoulders relax. “You would have heard us roar if something had happened.”

“To answer your question,” Renjun shifts his gaze to Yeosang, “It was easy to find you. You guys don’t really hide your scents as well as you think.”

Hongjoong, San, and Mingi all purse their lips slightly at this, a minor furrow to their brows.

“Why are you here?” It’s Seonghwa who says it, but his tone isn’t as sharp as the Neos are used to. Instead, it holds a genuine curiosity as the eldest Hala crosses his arms over his chest.

“Well, I was sent here to collect a certain dragon.” Renjun says, before motioning to Jeno with a jerk of his head. “Her cub just wanted to ‘tag along’.”

At this, more than a few eyebrows raise.

“I came to make sure you don’t butcher her offer.” Jeno huffs, a roll to his eyes. “You make it sound like you’re here to bring back one of their heads on a spike.”

“Offer?” This catches Wooyoung’s attention, his entire demeanour perking up instantly.

“Who?” San doesn’t even attempt to hide the eagerness in his voice.

Both Renjun and Jeno spare a glance at one another out of the corner of their eyes before their gazes are shifting onto the youngest Hala standing across from them.

“Him.” Renjun jerks his chin in Jongho’s direction.

The younger male cannot help but stand a little straighter in his spot, heart racing in his chest. You sent for him?

“What about?” Yunho does his best to ask the question casually, but his feigned disinterest only serves to make the slight desperation in his voice all the clearer.

“That’s between him and her.” Renjun replies, a mild shrug to his shoulders as he turns back around. “She’ll be waiting.”

“Wait!” It’s the youngest’s voice that has Renjun halting right in his tracks for the moment. As soon as Jongho sees the Neo spare a glance over his shoulder, he’s continuing, “where can I find her?”

The corner of Renjun’s lips quirks upward before turning back around and taking off into the evening sky.

Jeno lets out a sigh, shaking his head. He meets Jongho’s gaze. “Let the lights guide you home.”

In the blink of an eye, Jeno has shifted and taken off into the air, following closely behind Renjun without another word.

All Halas turn to look at their youngest.

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Mingi frowns, arms crossing over his chest.

“Don’t worry about it.” Jongho breathes, blinking after the two retreating dragons as he attempts to wrap his head around this turn of events.

You want to see him? He can still hardly believe it.

Before any more of his brothers can say another word, Jongho is taking off into the evening sky. The faintest hues of pink and orange begin to dust the clouds as the sun begins to set, warming the earth with its final rays. The way his golden scales glint in the fading light is synonymous with the way that his tail eagerly flicks back and forth through the air, cutting through the sky with a newfound purpose as he flies towards you.

It takes Jongho all of three minutes to reach that little special clearing on the edge of the cliff. He sees you just through the thicket of the trees, that small tower of stones resting beside you as you sit on the ground. The way he can feel your eyes on him, tracking his every movement has a pleasant shiver caressing his spine.

He circles lower.

If he’s being honest with himself, Jongho is a little cautious of flying directly into that clearing. You told him the last time he found you here that you only allow people that you have granted permission access to step foot on such a sacred part of your territory. He’d really rather not run smack into that invisible wall again.

Then, as if you’ve read his every thought, you chuckle.

“You may land, you know.” You smile softly as you stand to your feet. “I would not send for you to join me here if I haven’t already granted you permission to set foot inside this circle.”

Jongho’s breath catches in his throat, and he bets more than anything that you’ve heard his reaction loud and clear. So badly does he want to let out a rumble of content, but he feels as if it might be too much for the moment. He simply does not want to read into this more than is necessary. Yet, with everything that you’ve told him so far, he cannot help but do just that.

You called for him. You wanted to see him.

That alone gives him more hope than you could ever imagine.

Gliding towards that small opening on the side of the cliff, Jongho can still feel your eyes on him. The sensation of having your gaze roam over his true form is unlike any other, and for the first time, he senses that you are taking your time to memorize every detail. He simply hopes that you are as mesmerized by him as he is always mesmerized by you.

With his heart soaring in his chest, Jongho stretches his wings as far as they will go while he comes in for his landing. He purposely puts himself on display, fanning his crown as his tail flicks behind him. The way the light of the setting sun catches on his scales, illuminating the clearing with little iridescent reflections of golden hues has him preening proudly as he shakes out his muzzle.

The feeling of your eyes on him is like no other. That soft smile is still on your features as you stand with your arms gently supporting one another by the elbows. Your cloak rests open over your shoulders and as soon as he shifts back into his human form, you begin to take a few steps towards him. Only, Jongho cannot shake that brief look of longing that crossed your features for a moment.

Why did you just look so sad?

Closing the distance between your two bodies, you come to stand directly before him. Slowly, you take his hands in your own, staring deeply into his eyes.

He swallows thickly, doing whatever he can to keep his body from physically trembling while being held in your touch. “You wanted to see me?”

“I did.” You confirm, a slight nod to your head. “I’m glad you came.”

Jongho nearly hums at your words. “I will always come when you call for me.”

You motion for him to join you near the edge of the cliff, sitting down so that your legs are dangling off of the side. “I desired to speak with you.”

The pleased rumble that escapes him could not have been smothered, even if he tried. “About?”

“I have come to a few realizations over the past day, and there are some things I would like to share with you now.” You say, staring out over the valley as you continue to watch the sun set before you. “If this is to continue between us, then you have a right to know. I want you to know.”

Jongho wishes he could deny the way his breath catches once more in his throat. Slowly, he sits beside you on the edge of the cliff, feeling as if his heart is about to beat right out of his chest.

“I am not promising you anything, Jongho.” You turn to look directly into his eyes as you say this. “I cannot. That does not mean that I am not beginning to trust you. If you are as serious about me, about us as you say you are, then I need you to listen to what I am about to tell you. I need you to understand.”

His expression softens, and he has to prevent himself from reaching out and grabbing your hand in his own. Still, he turns towards you, giving you his full and undivided attention.

“I understand.” His voice is low, eyes flitting over your every feature and committing this moment to memory for years to come. The way the sunlight dances across every inch of your figure makes you glow, a warmth flooding his veins the longer he stares at you.

“You continue to prove yourself to me every day that I know you,” you continue, a slight tremble to your voice. “I think it’s only fair you finally get to know some things about me in return.”

“Please, only tell me if you’re comfortable telling me.” He says, a hint of concern in his gaze. “If you’re not ready, don’t force yourself. I can wait.”

“See,” you smile reassuringly, but he’s unsure if it’s more for yourself or for him at the moment, “You just did it again.”

“Did what?” He blinks at you.

“Proved you’re ready to hear what I am about to say.” The corner of your lips twitch upwards, and Jongho notices a few fireflies beginning to float around the area, dancing lightly around your head.

A brief silence settles over the both of you as he waits for you to speak. That is, until you’re letting out a low sigh.

“These are not easy subjects for me to discuss with anyone. Only my closest friends know these specific details about me, so I apologize in advance if it takes me longer to voice certain thoughts over others right now.” You say, shifting your gaze out toward the setting sun. “The chat I had with your brother last night made me realize that it wouldn’t be so bad if you knew some things, too.”

“Take all the time you need,” he gently assures you, his fingers twitching lightly as he rests his palm in the grass between the two of you. “I’m right here.”

He notices you swallow thickly, your hands resting in your lap clinging onto one another as your fingers nervously wring together. This is the most anxious he’s ever seen you, and his heart aches not knowing what he can do to make it better. The urge to pull you into his arms and whisper sweet nothings into your ears is strong, but he holds himself back for now.

Taking a deep breath, your mouth parts, only to close a moment later. Then, you exhale through your nose, shutting your eyes briefly as you steel your nerves.

“I will start with the easier admissions first,” you begin, “But everything I admit to you this evening does not leave this clearing.”

“I would never betray your trust like that.” Jongho replies instantly, nothing but the deepest sincerity shining within his gaze.

A firm nod from you is all the confirmation he needs that you believe him.

Again, you sigh.

“I understand that you and your brothers perceive myself along the likes of the ancients.” You breathe. “You would be correct.”

Jongho blinks in shock.

“Though I am no ancient, I was raised by one.” You tell him. “My father is one of the oldest of the original dragons still alive to this day. Other than my Uncle Ken, of course. He has power unlike anything you could believe, and it has been ingrained in me to be as strong as he is ever since I was small.”

“My mother was a powerful witch.” A slight purse to your lips. “I never met her, for she died during childbirth. My father loved her deeply, and was devastated when he lost her. Every time he looked at me, all he could see was her face, and how he failed her.”

Jongho swallows thickly, already not liking where this seems to be going.

“My Uncle Ken raised me for the first ten years of my life. I thought he was my actual father for a time, for he always treated me better than my biological one.” You huff out a dry laugh. “My father couldn’t bear the grief that came with seeing me, so he gave me away to his best friend. It wasn’t until he learnt I could summon the same powers as my mother that he finally made his presence known in my life.”

The growl Jongho has to suppress nearly chokes him, a deep hatred already blooming in his chest for your father. How could anyone not want you, let alone your own flesh and blood?

“I thought he wanted nothing to do with me after I found out,” you scoff lightly. “Imagine a twelve year old finally being told the truth.”

He has to keep himself from shaking, but still, he remains quiet.

“My training started after that.” You lean back onto your hands, looking upwards into the darkening sky as those fireflies float lethargically around your head. “I was sent to survive on my own in the wilderness. I nearly died eleven times in the first week, were it not for my Uncle Ken.”

Jongho’s jaw clenches, biting his tongue before he says something he might come to regret.

“I was young, and I didn’t know anything about survival. Hell, I didn’t even know I was a dragon at this point yet. My Uncle wanted me to live as normally as possible for as long as I could before subjecting me to certain types of magic.” You swallow. “I learned everything there was about this earth before I was fifteen, and I knew how to wield every type of weapon by the time I was twenty.”

“You were a child.” He seethes, eyes swirling with a deep golden hue.

“I was a prodigy.” You finally turn to meet Jongho’s gaze. “After all, my father had a reputation to uphold.”

“That’s despicable,” Jongho’s frown is prominent, smoke escaping him with every exhale.

“The past is passed, Young One. I’m not going to change it now.” You sigh.

“That doesn’t mean what you went through is okay.” His chest heaves with every breath. “It doesn’t make it okay.”

“I know it doesn’t.” You nod in agreement. “Remember, I am telling you this so you can understand.”

Again, Jongho bites his tongue.

“My father was adamant on me learning physical defence before ever properly training my magic. He believed that my powers should only be used as a last resort since they could destroy anyone in the blink of an eye.” You go on to say. “I realize now he only trained me the way he did because he was always scared of what I could become.”

“Scared?” Jongho’s brow furrows.

“You see, Jongho,” you chuckle, “because of the anomaly my entire existence centres around, I am potentially even more powerful than my father.”

You swear he stops breathing.

Taking a deep breath, you sit back upright.

“Do you recall what I told you the last time we were both in this clearing?” You ask, not even bothering to spare him a glance out of the corner of your eyes. “About My Cubs?”

A brief memory flashes within his mind as he nods.

“I told you that my father ensured I could never have ones of my own.” You continue. “Do you know why that is?”

He shakes his head.

“Other than the fact that my own children could potentially be more powerful than me, my father has never gotten over my mother’s death. He has blamed me for it every moment of my existence.” You tell him. “However, that did not stop him from developing a twisted sense of love towards me. He took away my ability to have hatchlings of my own to ensure I never incurred the same fate as my mother. I am the last living attachment he has of her, so he will do whatever he can to ensure my safety now. It’s why my training only got harder after what happened with Daisy.”

A moment’s pause before Jongho asks, voice soft and barely above a whisper, “what happened with Daisy?”

The way you instantly curl in on yourself does not go unnoticed by him. Your hands grip at the sides of your cloak, pulling it tighter around your body as you look down for the moment.

“Are you familiar with the S’ber Hunters?” Your voice is much quieter than it was before, blinking blankly at the valley before you.

“The ones that are always hunting for the ancients?” He frowns, attempting to wrap his head around what they have to do with anything. “I’ve heard that they haven’t been seen on this side of the fjord for almost fifty years.”

“There’s a reason for that.” You shift your gaze to him, and he notices tears beginning to gather in the corners.

“What did they do?” His heart pounds, already fearing the worst.

Your lips purse for a good thirty seconds, chin beginning to wobble as you attempt to control your emotions. Only, the second you go to speak a choked sob tears from your throat.

“They took her.” Your voice is no more than a mere whisper, words strained as you take an unsteady breath in. “They killed My Daisy right in front of me.”

Your eyes squeeze shut as you cover your mouth with one of your hands. A vicious sob wracks your entire body, and Jongho instantly goes to place a comforting hand onto your back. Only, before he can so much as graze your skin, he stops himself.

Slowly, he shifts closer, reaching over to grab your free hand in his.

Any and every comfort he can, he will offer to you. Even through something as small as this, he wants you to know that he is here for you. You are not alone, and he will be with you every step of the way.

“They killed her for loving me.” Your voice is rough as you sniffle, wiping away your tears for the moment.

Yet, you do not pull your one hand away from his own.

“I had just-“ your breath hitches in your throat, more fireflies coming to float around the two of you as if to offer their silent support. A deep, shaky breath later, you continue, “I am sure you are aware of our marking rituals between imprinted.”

Jongho’s back straightens. “I am.”

“Her mark - my mark - was on full display when she went traversing through the village that day.” You close your eyes, as if the visions are coming back to haunt your memories once again. “They followed her home and ambushed us. I begged her to deny their accusations of loving me. They would have let her go free if she did.” Your eyes blink open, more tears spilling onto your cheeks as you force a strained smile onto your lips. “She didn’t.”

His expression falls, hand squeezing yours tightly as his heart absolutely aches for you.

“My Daisy fought up until the very end. She was so brave, yet I couldn’t save her,” a broken sob tears from your throat as your whole body begins to shake. “I was still so young, and so weak.”

“No-“

“I was.” You cut him off. “I had been neglecting my training, and I couldn’t sense them creeping in around us. They caught me with iron before I could react, and all I could do was watch as the love of my life bled out before me.”

Again, Jongho shifts closer, placing his one hand overtop of your own still held in his other.

“S’ber Hunters are ruthless. They kill anyone who associates with dragons, but they never kill the dragon.” You shake your head slightly. “No. They do something much worse.”

Sliding your hand from his grip, you meticulously roll up your sleeves. Extending your arms to him, you put your scars on full display. The light from the fireflies illuminate the faint lines raised in jagged peaks along your skin, the weight of those iron shackles still ever prominent despite them having long since been broken off.

Jongho’s eyes go wide, his chest rising and falling dramatically as he takes in the sight before him. Furious doesn’t even begin to describe him right now as he sees the scars lining your skin. Though, nothing could prepare him for the anger and guilt that he feels towards himself. How has he never noticed before?

Carefully, Jongho raises his hands to cup your forearms gently in his grip. His thumbs trace lightly over the raised tissue over your wrists, entire body trembling as he attempts to put a leash on his anger for the moment.

“I’ll kill them for touching you.” His voice is low, eyes the darkest you’ve ever seen from him.

You smile, somewhat tensely. “You’re a few hundred years too later.”

His gaze darts up to meet your own, his fingers tightening the slightest bit as he continues to hold your arms gently in his grip.

A moment of silence passes between you as he attempts to keep his whole body from trembling.

“How long?” Jongho cannot keep the fear out of his voice.

You manage to meet his gaze.

“Five hundred and two days.”

The way his eyes shine says it all. You can see the pain, the grief he holds for you. Yet, also the anger, and the concern, along with the growing need to comfort and protect you in every and any way that he can.

“It doesn’t matter what type of dragon you are. To them, we’re all the same.” Your voice is low, and you don’t realize how he grabs your hands back into his own. “To them, we all have connections to the ancients, and we all know where their nests are.”

There’s a part of him that wants to ask, but he’s scared. The thought of you telling him just what type of tortures you had to endure terrifies him because he wasn’t there to protect you. Knowing that you have suffered, and that he could do nothing about it, pains him more than you’ll ever know.

“The S’ber are smart.” You add. “Tell me, Jongho. How do you kill a dragon without taking away their life?”

He shakes his head, a single tear already beginning to trail down the side of his cheek.

“You go for their wings.”

The mere thought of what you had to endure suffocates his very soul. He clings onto you for dear life, squeezing your hands as an unbridled rage festers beneath his skin. This must be why you react so intensely whenever someone touches your back.

“Everyday they asked me where the nest was, and everyday I received a lash for not answering.” Your jaw begins to tremble. “They were smart, too. Keeping me locked up in the dark so I couldn’t tell what day it was, or how much time had passed. The only way I knew was through the lashings. Everyday they would add one to the tally, until they reached one hundred. Then, they would start all over. The scars littering my back still have never fully healed, and it took me years to be able to shift again. I honestly don’t even know what the state of my wings look like now. Not after-”

You cut your words short, lips clamping shut as if admitting to whatever you were about to is far worse than anything you’ve already said. He doesn’t push.

Instead, Jongho’s entire body trembles, golden eyes staring at you with nothing but concern on his features. Right now, comforting you is more important than any rage he feels festering within his soul. No wonder you keep yourself so guarded.

If he ever so much as catches a single whiff of one of these hunters, they’re dead.

“That wasn’t even the worst part, though.” Your eyes are blank as you stare at your hands. The way you can feel him looking at you has a tight smile pulling at your lips. “No, the worst part wasn’t the beatings. It wasn’t being in the dark, or not allowing myself to grieve for Daisy during all of that time. The worst part was knowing that I was alone. My father didn’t once come looking for me when I got captured. He immediately thought I was dead, and would have rather succumbed to his own grief than spare a hope I had survived somehow. It was My Neos who rescued me, but even they had some help.”

“Your own father didn’t even bother to look for you?” Jongho is this close to hunting this bastard down and frying him alive, ancient or not.

“No.” You shake your head. “It was my Uncle Ken that helped the Neos, and destroyed the S’ber hideout. There’s not but ash left. Ash and memory.”

Jongho’s eyes flash, his whole body stilling as realization washes over him. A second later, and each breath he begins to release boarders on a feral snarl.

“My brothers,” his eyes are wide, a crazed gleam shining within, “they compared you to the likes of them. They ruthlessly compared you to the people who hurt you the most without a second thought.”

His fangs elongate, the air spiking with electricity.

Jongho sees red.

“They didn’t know.” You reply, much calmer than anything he could ever expect. As if you’re used to this type of reaction from people.

“That’s still no fucking excuse for comparing you to those beasts.” He snarls, pulling away from you for a moment as his claws extend.

The last thing he wants is to hurt you, or to scare you away. You’ve already extended more trust to him this evening than he could have ever hoped for. Like hell is he going to damage that, or make you regret telling him all of this.

“You understand why My Neos and I react the way we do now?” You state, meeting his gaze which flashes with the heat of his fury. “Why that promise I made to My Daisy is so important to me? Why I do not allow true hunters into my village anymore?”

Jongho blinks, digging his claws into the dry earth beneath him to ground him for the moment. “I do.”

“Good.” You nod once, wiping at your lingering tears with the back of your hand. “Then, I have one final thing to tell you.”

You go on to tell him the exact same thing about the prophecy as you told Seonghwa last night. The way Jongho remains quiet through it all has you watching him carefully. Every minuscule movement of his brow, every twitch of his jaw, you see, gaze calculating and calm.

“I despise your father.” He spits, rather harshly as a scowl tugs at his features.

This causes you to chuckle. “You, me, and all of My Neos. I’m pretty sure my Uncle Ken has started resenting him a long time ago, too.”

“If I ever meet him, I’m going to kill him for what he put you through.” Jongho turns to meet your eyes, nothing but the deepest form of sincerity shining within his electric gaze.

“I haven’t seen my father in over twenty years, and I’d like to keep it that way.” You say, and you feel the faintest of touches brush over your cheek in comfort. For a moment, you believe it to be Daisy, so you think nothing of it to lean into such a touch. However, at the warmth you feel remaining pressed against your cheek, a thumb tenderly stroking over your skin, you realize that that is not the case.

“I am deeply sorry, My Light, that you have experienced such hardships, and that I have not been there to protect you from them.” His voice is low, cupping your face gently in the palm of his hand. “I swear to you that I will never let anything hurt you again. Not as long as I am here to watch over you. I will never go back on my promise. You mean too much to me.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Jongho.” You gently place your hand over his own on your cheek, and he thinks you’re about to pull it away. However, the moment your eyes flutter shut, you leaning even more into his touch, he knows that that’s not the case. “I cannot tell you what happened to me fifty years ago yet, for the wounds are still all too fresh in my heart. I cannot promise you that this will be easy, either.”

A lone firefly lands atop the back of your hand, the subtle glow illuminating the side of your face in the dark of the night.

“I have denied most, if not all dragons who have imprinted on me in that time because I could not bring myself to love again.” You admit, a single tear cascading down your cheek. He’s quick to wipe it away, holding his breath as he waits for you to continue. “However,” that single word has his heart stuttering with hope in his chest, “I am willing to try again.”

Jongho swears that he stops breathing. Your words have filled him with such an unbelievable sense of warmth that radiates outwards from his chest, flooding his veins with every breath he takes, that he cannot help but shed a few tears of his own. Nothing but pure and utter happiness sparks through his soul, his hands beginning to shake as he holds you in his embrace.

He doesn’t even realize that his tail has emerged until he physically draws you in closer to his body. The way your eyes widen the slightest bit, a faint amount of amusement dancing behind your orbs says it all.

He goes to retract his tail, cheeks warming beneath your gaze. “Sorry.”

You smile at him faintly, allowing your thumb to lightly trace over the back of his hand still cupping your cheek gently. “I don’t mind.”

Jongho freezes, your words washing over him. He can feel his heart leaping for joy inside his chest, his eyes searching your face for any hesitancy or uncertainty. When he finds none, he smiles.

His tail, which he had slowly been shifting away from your lower back is instantly around you once more. He pulls you closer to him, your one leg pressed right up against his own as the tip of his tail swishes happily over the skin of your one thigh. There is nothing more intimate to him than this moment, right here, right now, with you, and Jongho is going to revel in this euphoric feeling for as long as he can.

Again, he searches your gaze.

“Thank you,” he breathes, shifting impossibly closer, even if only the slightest bit. “For everything tonight. For trusting me with this. For giving me a chance to prove myself to you. For letting me love you, and continuing to let me love you despite it all.”

You opt to remain quiet for the moment, blinking at him lightly as you observe his every move. You don’t want to acknowledge how quickly your own heart is racing for the moment, but with each passing second, you find yourself melting even more into his touch.

Just what is this dragon doing to you?

“I won’t let you down.” He leans forward, resting his forehead against your own as a pleased rumble escapes his chest.

Jongho doesn’t even attempt to hide the way his hooded eyes continuously flick down to your lips. His tongue even darts out to wet his own, nuzzling the slightest bit against you as he draws you in closer with his tail.

“You are so beautiful,” his voice is a mere whisper, the ghost of his breath trailing against your lips with every word he speaks. A pleased rumble builds in his chest, “And strong.”

It’s almost as if he’s gone into a trance. A trance of which where all he can see is you.

“My Light,” he hums contently, “I do not wish to overstep,” he swallows, his throat bobbing with the movement, “but, please,” his eyes flick down to your lips once more before coming up to stare deeply into your eyes, “please, may I kiss you?”

Your own breath catches in your throat, and you cannot deny the way your heart skips a beat in your chest. It’s been so long since someone has asked you this, and you find that it feels just like the very first time with Daisy.

Softly, you smile. “You may.”

His lips are on yours without another moment of hesitation.

With everything that he is, Jongho pours his entire heart and soul into this kiss. He cups your cheeks gently with both of his hands, tail wrapped securely around your lower waist as he presses you against him. The way he can feel your own hands find purchase on his body has a pleased rumble building within his chest, tingles erupting beneath his skin wherever you touch.

All too soon, he pulls himself away, not wanting to overstep or make you uncomfortable. His eyes remain shut as he leans into you, pressing his forehead gently against your own once more.

“I love you, My Light.” Jongho breathes, golden eyes blinking open to stare deeply into your own.

The subtle pull of your lips upwards is nothing short of sweet, and the way he can hear your own heart racing inside of your chest has a warmth unlike any other spreading throughout his body.

Jongho is used to the feeling of electricity flowing beneath his skin, but nothing could have prepared him for what your touch, your kiss does to him. Now, he only craves more, but even he knows not to push you any further tonight than you’re willing to go.

“Thank you for waiting,” your own voice is soft, tone gentle as you shift slightly so that your body is leaning against his.

“Always.” He hums, grasping your hand in his once more and intertwining your fingers together.

A small silence settles over the both of you now, comfortable and warm. Fireflies begin to dance around the clearing and over your heads, twinkling like the stars above. Both of you are more than content to bask in the other’s presence for the moment.

The way you softly rest your head against his shoulder as you lean into him says it all.

433 notes · View notes

peachsayshi · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 4 - Domain

Gojo Satoru x Female Reader

Tags: Friends with Benefits, Smut, Teasing and a little bit of Fluff.

Summary: Gojo returns from his trip, and while the two of you are hanging out you ask him to show you some of his powers. Unable to resist himself, he breaks a rule along the way.

A/N: Thank you so much for the likes and reblogs! I pretty much only have this updated on AO3 but am slowly trying to add all the chapters onto my Tumblr.

- - -

When Gojo texted you to let you know that he was at his apartment, he did it with a devious prank in his mind. He informed you that you could let yourself in as the door was unlocked but chose to turn off all the lights and hid in one of the closets.

Then he waited.

He heard the patter of your footsteps and a soft “hello”, before creeping out from his hiding place and lightly approaching you. He was quiet enough for you not to hear him, the shadow of your frame slowing down and he could tell you were getting nervous.

She’s going to kill me, he thought to himself but refused to back out now that he had already set things in motion.

He towered behind you, noticing you freeze in place by the unknown and proceeded to wrap his long arms around your waist before pulling you into his body.

“ Boo !” he exclaimed in your ear, earning a well deserved shriek on your part.

“GOJO, YOU IDIOT!”

You elbowed him in the stomach, forcing him to let go of you as a fit of giggles escaped his lips.

You marched over to the light switches, flicking them to illuminate his large penthouse apartment and you furrowed your brows at the six-foot-three goofball who was covering his mouth to hold in his laughter.

“This is how you greet your friends after coming back from a trip?! By scaring the shit out of them?! Who the hell does that?!!”

Gojo tried to contain himself but the image of your jump scare was perfectly etched in his brain, replaying over and over again. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry …” he said in between laughs, breathing in to regain control of himself. “I couldn’t help myself but you should see your face!”

“Ugh, you immature , asshole!” you grumbled, throwing the bag that you were holding in your hands in his direction.

Gojo had superior reflexes and caught it before it flew over his shoulder. He took a minute to calm himself down, extremely pleased that his plan went accordingly.

Meanwhile, you tossed your purse onto his coffee table, huffing to yourself as you plopped down on his black sofa. You folded your arms across your chest, unable to even look at him because of how irritated you were.

Gojo glanced down at the bag in his hand, the clear plastic enclosing a number of rainbow colored candies on the inside.

He bit his bottom lip out of guilt. “Okay, I’m sorry …I mean it this time…”

You scoffed, “are you? Because you still seem pretty content with what you just did.”

“I’m not going to lie, seeing you react like that was worth it…”

You scooted away from him as he took his seat next to you.

“What if you were some kind of murderer?!”

“Now why would you think a murderer would be in this apartment when I invited you over in the first place? You’re smart, use a little logic…” he teased as he tapped your temple lightly before proceeding to open the bag of sweets.

“That’s it, you don’t deserve Rina’s candies...”

Gojo clasped his chest in disbelief, “ you don’t mean that… ”

You snatched the bag away from him, a satisfied smile spreading across your lips as Gojo frowned.

Deep down inside he was really happy to see you. Playful banter and all, your presence was the recharge he needed after his trip.

The two of you met eight years ago at Rina’s candy shop. At the time, your best friend was just starting her own confectionary business which you were helping her with by working part time while you were still studying at university. Gojo couldn’t get enough of her sweets, earning himself a reputation as a repeat customer. You and Rina constantly joke that he practically kept the business afloat during the early days.What you didn’t know is that he also had his eyes on Rina’s pretty friend. Unfortunately for Gojo, you were taken and oblivious to his advances.

He didn’t care; just because you weren’t interested in him in a physical sense, didn’t mean that you both couldn’t be friends. Gojo is the type of guy who would confidently socialise with anyone around him. He knew not everybody took to his personality, especially when the words “narcissist”, “egotistical” and “arrogant” were constantly used to describe him. You knew all this about him but still chose to maintain your friendship. How you put up with his petty behavior and childish ways often had him wondering why you stuck around but he was grateful that you did.

After all, you were his closest friend - the only person he relied on after Suguru died.

Gojo pouted his lips, singing your name as he leaned forward to you and softening his tone. “If I get down on my knees and apologise will you forgive me?”

“Hmmm…” you pondered, “I think that’s a fair punishment and you’re buying dinner tonight, which I’ll be choosing so you can’t make a fuss about it.”

Gojo nodded his head and shifted his position to plant his knees onto the floor. He placed one hand on his chest, his other lifting up his blindfold so he was peeping at you with just one eye.

“I sincerely apologize for the hurt I caused you. Will you please, with a cherry on top , forgive this idiot who is on his knees?”

He noticed your lovely smile, amused that he was the reason behind this reaction.

“Okay, you're forgiven,” you replied, as you extended the bag of sweets back to him, offering him to take his pick.

Gojo returned to his sit next to you, his fingers dipping into the candy mix before pulling out a ruby colored square and popping it into his mouth.

“Mmmm…” he moaned, as the flavor burst along his tongue, “ this is good.. .”

“It’s a fresh batch. She made it this morning,” you replied, picking up a piece of candy for yourself. “Now that we can be civilized. Tell me how your trip went…”

The two of you spoke briefly about his trip but Gojo wasn’t eager to disclose the headache he is currently going through trying to uncover the fingers of a one-thousand year old curse. Instead he shifted the conversation back to you, asking how your morning with Rina went instead. He was only back for twelve hours before he had to leave again. The two of you wanted to see each other but agreed that you would hold off on “grabbing drinks” until he returned three days from now.

However, Gojo noted how good you looked seated right in front of him. Before all this started, you would usually show up at his place in casual clothes, paying no attention about how you looked but tonight he realized that you made an effort.

You made an effort to look nice for him.

He appreciated it, because the pair of denim jeans you had on fit in all the right places that he loved paying attention to. Your white t-shirt revealed a hint of the lace bralette you were wearing underneath and the man wondered if that was a deliberate fashion choice on your part just to tease him. Your lips were painted in crimson, practically forcing him to focus on your mouth. He had to remember that the rules were there for a reason. The rules ensured that the two of you maintained the boundaries of your friendship. The rules were there because you two needed to make sure that this didn’t influence your existing relationship in any way.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, but I can’t promise an answer…” Gojo cheekily replied, popping another sweet in his mouth as he grinned at you.

“Can I see your… domain ?”

“Is that supposed to be a code for my dick or something?”

You rolled your eyes at him, “you keep telling me about all these powers you have but I’ve never seen any of it.”

Gojo squinted his eyes at you, “why are you so curious about me all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you were asking me a lot of questions about work just now, which you usually don’t do, and now you want me to show you my skill set…”

You fidgeted in place, your fingers tapping nervously against the fabric of your jeans. “I don’t know, I think it’s weird that we have been friends for so long but I still don’t know the real you…”

Gojo paused, taken aback by your statement, “of course you know the real me.”

“Not the parts of you that you keep hiding from me.”

It’s for your own good, he thought to himself.

Gojo pressed his lips together to stop himself from saying those words.

“You already know about my Six Eyes…” he light heartedly replied.

“There’s more to you than that! I guess I’m just curious to see what else you can do. Besides, I’m starting to come up with theories about your powers. Starting with the fact that you have to wear this blindfold at all times otherwise you’re going to start shooting blue laser beams at people.”

“No laser beams, I can promise that,” Gojo replied with a nervous chuckle.

“Then show me the you that “claims” to be the strongest jujutsu sorcerer…” you said, poking him gently on the shoulder. “I just…want to see something …”

Gojo pondered for a moment, sighing to himself as he was not quite sure what he could possibly do that wouldn’t risk putting you in danger. A few seconds passed before he stood up, taking the bag of sweets from your hand and placing it near your purse.

“I want you to stand in front of me,” he requested as he walked around the sofa and found a spot in the middle of the room.

You did as he asked and motioned your way to the position that he had requested. Gojo extended his arm out, ensuring that you were a good distance away.

“Alright, now give me a hug.”

You arched your brow, “seriously?”

“Just do it…” he insisted.

“If this is another stupid prank…”

“I swear it isn’t. Now give me a hug, I’m trying to make a point.”

You walked over towards him, taking your time until you were a few inches away from him. Your arms looped around his waist as you embraced him, but you stared up at him in confusion waiting to see what Gojo was planning next.

“Now what?”

“Okay…” Gojo placed both his hands on your shoulders, before motioning you back until you were an arms length away from him again. “Now I want you to try and push me,” he commanded.

“Push you?”

“Yes. Try to knock me down.”

You scoffed and he could tell that you probably thought he was messing around with you again. Just to play along you nonchalantly placed both your hands up and moved over to shove him, only this time Gojo did something that he’s never done in your presence.

Your eyes widened, your hands pressing into the air that was separating your touch from his body. The force like iron poured over concrete, incredibly powerful and completely protecting Gojo from you.

“Wait… why…” you voice shook, as your frustration got the better of you. Your hands started to tremble and Gojo noticed you increasing your force as you tried to fight the barrier of his infinity technique.

“ Why can’t I touch you?…”

You were using your legs to push now, every ounce of energy going into fighting the invisible cloak that shielded him.

Gojo smirked before dropping his infinity.

You felt the barrier lift, the pressure giving way as you hurled into him. Your body collided into his, all that pent up energy crashing into the sorcerer as you fell onto the ground. Gojo braced your fall but your face was planted into his chest and your arms lay flat on the ground besides him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

You gathered your senses, pushing yourself until you were sitting upright to face him. A puzzled look masked your face as you patted Gojo’s chest lightly before clutching shoulders and massaging your hands down his arms. “I can touch you now! How…how did you do that?…”

Your gaze lifted to meet his own both shocked and amazed by what just happened.

With his blindfold on you couldn’t tell that he was looking at you with wonderment.

Gojo straightened his back so that the two of you were facing each other. You shifted your legs, adjusting your position so you were straddling him. Your hands were still pressing his arms, gripping onto them as if you were trying to prove to yourself that you were indeed touching him.

“You asked me to show you something. So I did...” he said with a shrug.

“Was that your domain? Are…are you the domain?!”

Your innocent question made his heart swell, and a laugh escaped him.

“That’s not how it works! It's more complicated than that but this is just one of my techniques that I use to defend myself.”

“That’s… pretty cool …”

“Does it satisfy your curiosity?”

“A little.”

Gojo felt you finally let go of him. He glanced down to stare at your hands which were slightly red. He winced at the sight, bringing his fingers to wrap around your wrist as his thumb circled the center of your palm.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, this is from smacking the floor when I tripped.”

“Technically still my fault, I should have warned you that I was going to drop my infinity…”

“When I tried to push you it was the weirdest sensation. Like, I was touching something but feeling absolutely nothing at the same time. Has anyone ever broken it? Your infinity?”

“You forget I’m the strongest,” Gojo smugly replied, “nobody can touch me unless I want them to.”

You hummed to yourself but Gojo could see that you were lost in your own thoughts. You took his statement into consideration but he could tell you still had more questions you wanted to ask.

“Thank you for showing me,” you replied softly, choosing to let it go for now.

Your eyes locked onto his, your cheeks a little flushed when you realized how close your faces were to each other. Gojo could sense your pulse increasing, your chest rising and falling as seconds passed between you both.

Right now, all he could think about is kissing you.

His lips brushed yours, a breathless sigh escaping you as you broke the silence that hung in the air.

“ Maybe, we should order some dinner…” you suggested, your eyes shimmering with anticipation.

“That’s an idea,” Gojo murmured, his eyes from beneath his blindfold dropping to your lips.

“I was thinking maybe we can take away from that place-“

His lips locked onto yours, interrupting your thoughts as he gave in to his desire. His hands moved to your hips, tugging you forward against him so he was holding you closer. He bit your bottom lip, before licking it and sliding his tongue into your mouth. Completely entranced by what he was doing, he didn’t notice your hands trailing up his chest until it circled around his neck. This kiss was different, slow and passionate as Gojo took the time to explore your mouth. The taste of sugar dance across your tongues as he deepened the kiss, and he could feel himself getting hard as your chest rubbed against his. One of his hands snaked it’s way up behind your back, tangling his fingers in your hair. His other hand began lifting your tee from the front, sliding underneath it as he slowly began rubbing the flesh of your midriff. You broke away from him, taking a second to catch your breath as you pressed your forehead into his and hoping to calm things down before they escalate.

“We shouldn’t…we said we weren’t going too…”

“You’re right, we probably should stop…” Gojo agreed, but his lips spoke otherwise as he returned a kiss instead.

“ Satoru… ” you whined, but he could sense the heat between your legs as your hips naturally bucked into him. “We said we wouldn’t…not tonight..”

“Then tell me to stop.”

“What about the rules…”

“Tell me that you want me to stop, and we can go back to what we were doing.”

His lips trailed to your neck, where he nipped and sucked at your skin with every intention of leaving a mark.

You whimpered, tilting your head instead and giving Gojo better access to continue what he was doing. Your silence spoke volumes and gave him the consent he needed to continue.

“Rules were meant to be broken,” he whispered in your ear. “And tonight, sweet girl, you’re all mine …”

- CHAPTER 5: EDGE -

#Gojo Satoru #Gojo Satoru x reader #Gojo Satoru x ofc #Gojo Satoru x you #Gojo Satoru smut #Gojo Satoru fluff #Gojo Satoru angst #jjk fan fiction #jjk smut #jjk x reader #gojo jjk #Gojo jujutsu kaisen

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jasmine-the-fox · 4 years ago

Text

She got the helping hand she needed

Sorry for not writing anything for such a long time! Don’t worry Loose the model but win a hero is going to be updated soon enough... Just give me some time to read what I wrote so far and I might have a chapter or two up soon?

Marinette only wanted someone on her side after she spoke her side of the story, sure Chloe turned from believing Lila to protecting Mari and she had Kagami and Luka on her side... But her class, miss Bustier and her principal thought she was the bad guy, a bully, a thief or even a villain.

She really just wanted a friend, someone who would let her cry or someone who would listen to her... Even just give her a helping hand! But so far she didn’t have much help, she decided to go online to talk... With the hopes of finding her soulmate, yeah her soulmate... Something that Lila had claimed she was lying about, while Lila talks about her soulmate mark without showing it... Mari was showing her’s to her friends while trying to figure out who it was.

Chloe really wanted to help her, so she went on her international social media accounts and posted Mari’s mark asking for anyone who might have an idea on who might be her soulmate to reach out to her, she really hopes it might help as heck even Jagged Stone did the same thing! Asking his fans to help out with finding his niece’s soulmate making his fans agree and get to work, they began looking at the mark Mari has, asking there friends questions, asking what Marinette is like so they can try and pinpoint possible matches to the girl.

And so far people were doing there best to find something... But still there wasn’t much, anyone could match the orange and black smoking dragon wrapped around her neck and might not even want to reach out to her at all, it made sense since like Alya said if Mari does have a soulmate... They might not even like her and want nothing to do with her once they see her for who she is.

Until someone contacted her.

It was on her instagram, she was just uploading a new outfit she finished that was delivered that she could now reveal when she got the notification of someone reaching out to her on instagram, it was a boy around her age named Katsuki Bakugo. The guy was blond with spiky hair and sharp red eyes, he asked about the dragon design around her neck making her take a picture and sent it to him... Five minutes later he sent a picture of his left rib cage that shows a ladybug with a needle with a red thread.

He was her soulmate... They matched.

He asked if she was disappointed… Knowing her soulmate was an explosive guy who yells often... So it wasn’t smoke but explosions around the dragon, it then made sense to her and so she replied that she would like to meet him before making that decision, Katsuki explained that he was in Japan and he didn’t know if he would ever get a chance to go to Paris to meet her so she explained that she could wait and that for now this was enough for her.

But that didn’t mean her classmates cared about waiting...

They kept bothering her, kept pushing and hurting her, they laughed at her belief of having a soulmate when Lila claimed she was lying, for weeks and then months they kept going and made it worse for the young designer, then one day Lila claimed that the dragon was painted on her so Alya planned to dump water on Marinette to show the whole school that Marinette was lying about having a soulmate, so one day around lunch, Alya had with the help of Kim and Alix a huge container of water and waited over the entrance of the locker room for Mari to come out and when they saw her... They poured the water on her.

Everyone laughed at her... And then gasped.

The sight of the mark still being there proved that it wasn’t a fake... But seeing a boy with spike blonde hair with sharp red eyes glaring at everyone as he rushed towards Mari told them that he was her soulmate “You alright?” he asked softly as he handed her his jacket to cover her shivering body as they walked out of the school and towards the Grand hotel to get dry and dressed in dry clothes, Mari felt relief when she finally saw her soulmate for the first time, he brought her into the room he was staying in and brought her to the bathroom to take a hot shower while he get’s her a change of clothes.

Once she got out of the shower wrapped in a towel with her pigtails down, Katsuki had just set down on the bed a nice dress for her to wear, to find her hair down and slightly dripping with water made him quickly look away, tell her he got her some clothes and leave the room... He hopes she never finds out that he was the one to design her dress as a gift for when he meets her, it was Jasmine’s idea to be honest, Jasmine was his and Izuku’s childhood friend back when they were little and she with Izuku were known as the youngest people to find there soulmate since they met when they were four.

At the time, it was a big thing meeting your soulmate... But when your four? That’s something the world had to know, so Izuku did a lot of research about soulmates and proper gifts and discovered that handmade gifts show a great deal of love... So he made her a green bunny plushie as a gift, when Katsuki saw Marinette’s mark only through Jagged Stone’s fan website he went to look for Marinette and discovered she was his soulmate... Not knowing what to do Jasmine suggested he designs an outfit for her to wear... And he decided to not tell her he made it himself.

Just in case she rejects him in the end.

It was better this way... So he doesn’t feel the pain of her hating his work, he went to the room Izuku and Jasmine were sharing while his parent’s were out to get things ready for the photoshoot he was to work in, he knocked and Jasmine answered “Did something happen?” she asked as he barged into the room “Students laughed at her after someone dumped fucking water on her!” he exclaimed in anger making Izuku look at him in slight surprise “Kacchan... I get that your upset right now... But remember that you just met so your emotions are going to be all over the place right now” Izuku explained making Katsuki sigh and nod.

It was true, it has been confirmed that when you meet your soulmate or at least confirm who it is... Both person’s emotions go crazy for 24h of official meeting, so it’s best to be careful what you say of do when the pair is found “I just don’t know what to do?! What if she hates me!? I mean she was being bullied!! What will she think when she finds out what I used to do to you and Jasmine!?” he asked making Izuku sigh “I know it’s hard... But at least let her decide what she thinks? She might just surprise you” he explained as Katsuki sat down on the bed... He didn’t even notice Jasmine leaving the room to go find Marinette.

She walked into the room as Marinette cried with her phone in hand... She could tell the girl was going through something hard right now from something on her phone “Can I take a look at what is upsetting you?” she asked making Mari jump at her slightly, she then nodded and handed over her phone for Jasmine to look at... On the phone a girl named Alya was calling her a liar by getting a tattoo and claimed it to be her mark and then paying a guy to come over to the school to make them think there soulmates, a teacher sent an email saying she was getting detention for her actions at school and then a guy named Adrien was claiming to be disappointed in her on not taking the highroad like he said she should do.

She sighed and then moved to sit next to her on the bed “Allowing yourself to look at this isn’t healthy... Your allowing them to take you down into a depression to then end your life” Jasmine explained as she handed Mari her phone back “Katsuki would have been heartbroken if his mark vanished before meeting you... Let us help you to get better from this” she then offered and stood up with her hand stretched out for Marinette to take, she wasn’t all that sure of agreeing to be honest but the brunette seemed to be honest and kind... So Mari accepted the hand and follow the girl out of the room and towards another room where Katsuki and a curly green haired boy were.

The blonde turned to find Marinette still with her hair down but while wearing the beautiful sunset styled dress, he felt proud of designing the dress because she looked amazing while wearing it “You should call your parents and explain to them the situation” Jasmine said making Mari nod and quickly call them, explaining why she left school and her current location, they only ask for her to pick up her things from school and then stay safe where she was currently “If you want I can go to the school for you, just tell me your locker combination” Jasmine explained making Mari nod “Oh! Also i’m Jasmine Lessard and this is my soulmate Izuku Midoriya” Jasmine explained making the green haired boy nod to his introduction.

Jasmine left and came back with all of her things with a smile “Police came because someone witnessed the incident and demanded to see the CCTV footage and that the three students who dumped the water on you to be punished... So you don’t have detention anymore” she explained making Mari smile, but she was sure that it wasn’t over just yet, even so the trio began to talk to Mari about there life in Japan making Marinette happy about hearing all of this at the moment, after a while Jasmine left the room with Izuku to head out to find something to eat... Leaving Katsuki to reveal to his soulmate how he bullied his two friends from childhood.

And she still accepted him as her soulmate.

“Your trying to change your ways... The others changed for the worse while your fixing what you did wrong” she explained making him smile, the thought of her accepting him even after finding out that had bullied people before like she had gone through made him happy “I guess I should tell you... I actually designed the dress your wearing. My parents are fashion designers so it’s pretty much in the family” he explained making Mari smile at the news, the idea of her soulmate being close to designing made her happy at the fact he could help her in some ways, they began to talk about all kinds of things... Really anything they could think of until Izuku and Jasmine got back with Chloe right behind them with a look of relief at seeing Mari was alright.

For the next three days, Mari got to know Katsuki a little better making her really happy, after that he had work to do and wasn’t able to see her “Why don’t you come to the shoot? My parents have been bothering me since they saw the dress was gone” he explained making her smile and nod to the plan, when school ended she rushed home to put her things away and then went to the park to find Jasmine and Izuku were getting there make-up done for the shoot “Where’s Katsuki?” she asked making Jasmine look at her “He’s still changing... Turns out he and his mom don’t agree on something so there fighting at the moment” she explained making Mari nod as the two then moved to do the shoot.

She waited for a while as Adrien arrived with Lila, Alya and Nino with him, Lila noticed Mari and began to cry about how Mari had been sending her horrible texts about how her soulmate Katsuki Bakugo will hate her, Alya enraged was just about to head over when Katsuki went over to Mari with a lady who looked like him “Mari, this is my mom Mitsuki” he said making Marinette smile “So your the girl my brat Katsuki designed that dress for! My you are simply adorable!” she claimed making Mari blush at the woman's words.

Alya was lost, didn’t Lila say her soulmate was Katsuki? But that guy is Katsuki since she did show pictures of him... Did she lie? With a shake of her head she watched as Mitsuki took Mari away for something making Alya have no other choice but go back in defeat to her friends, Adrien moved away with Lila to get ready for there shoot while Alya told Nino what she heard “Maybe it’s the wrong guy? Just ask for his full name and see” he explained making her nod as she then saw Marinette dressed in a matching outfit to Katsuki walk over to the boy for a shoot together “You both look amazing! And your marks are in perfect view!” Mitsuki claimed as Alya saw the ladybug with sewing needle and red thread mark on Katsuki.

Lila lied. Katsuki wasn’t her soulmate... He was Marinette’s.

She looked over to Nino who had the same shocked face as she did, the duo then walked away for there shoot just as Lila and Adrien returned and a girl with short brown hair with the bottom half dyed red with glasses and a boy with curly green hair went to sit a little away from them “Oh my god it’s my BFF Jasmine! You know I actually helped her meet her soulmate Izuku a few years ago!” Lila claimed as Adrien while he did look interested... Actually winced at the lie “Dudette... Jasmine and Izuku were the youngest soulmate pair in history... They were four when they met and it’s still all over the news today” Nino explained as Lila went pale.

“You want to know something?” Alya asked the blind Lila who nodded with a smile “I saw the blonde boy, his name is Katsuki Bakugo and his mark on his left rib side... It’s a ladybug with a sewing needle and a red thread!” she claimed making Lila’s eyes widen in shock “The only one I remember being called a ladybug was Marinette who also loves to design clothes! We just began calling you our ladybug after you claimed Mari was insulting us and bullying you!” she exclaimed as Lila looked to be panicking at the fact she was found out like this.

Adrien on the other hand... Didn’t know what to do, he turned to look over where the two from the previous shoot were and saw that they were... Laughing and filming the whole thing, this was humiliating! If the video got out his father would be destroyed and known as the man who hired a liar as a model! He had to try and save himself, he looked around for some possible help but the sudden yelling fight between Alya and Lila made him move away to try and hide, he couldn’t believe he failed... He really thought that by being Lila’s friend she would at some point stop lying and change her ways... And yet it didn’t work... Instead his friends got hurt.

He began to look around for some help and ended up finding Marinette and Katsuki looking amazing during there shoot... Maybe even better then he and Lila ever could be really, he felt his heart break as he looked at his inner right wrist to where a beautiful vine of flowers graced his skin... He still didn’t know who his soulmate was and his father wanted him to date Lila, even so he tried looking at places with plants in Paris for his soulmate and could tell they weren’t in Paris at all... He just hopes to find them soon.

In the end Jasmine was actually livestreaming the whole incident with Izuku commenting the whole time in the chat... Letting everyone know about how Lila is a liar, how she tricked her classmates, teacher, principal and maybe even her parents and bullied his best friends soulmate... It went crazy and Lila was bombarded with insults on her social media... So much that she was reported and all her accounts were taken down, the class, Bustier and principal Damocles were also attacked for what they did to Marinette... Police ended up getting involved and investigated the school and class.

It took a month before the investigation was over, the class was punished, Bustier and Damocles were fired and Lila was sent to live in Italy... The class thought that things would then go back to how they were and would be friends with Mari again... But she never came back to class, there new teacher said she transferred to another school making them try to look around Paris for her... What they weren’t told was that she also left Paris for Japan to be with Katsuki and meet his friends.

She really did get the helping hand she needed all along.

#boku no hero academia #miraculous ladybug #miraculous salt #Katsuki bakugo #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #alya salt #lila salt #lila gets exposed #adrien salt #no quirks au #Soulmate au #oc #izuku midoriya #Izuku x oc #Marinette x katsuki #Oc Jasmine #no miraculous au

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translations-by-aiimee · 4 years ago

Text

Mistakenly Saving the Villain - Chapter 1

Original Title: 论救错反派的下场

Genres: Drama, Romance, Xianxia, Yaoi

TW for this chapter: Mentions of suicide

I wanted to provide some ~variety~ so I'm doing another novel. I'll give a warning that the first few chapters are kind of intense and I'll keep the TWs updated as they come and put a TL;DR at the end if there's anything too graphic.

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter 1 - The Beauty in Red

Song Qingshi is dead.

After his death, he came to in a strange space, and in the space, there was a sphere randomly flashing red.

The sphere said that he is a book-transmigrating system from a high-dimensional world. There was a xiania novel called "The Exceptional Furnace", which was about to be plagued by readers' resentment due to the tragic fate of the protagonist, causing problems in that world. It needed to find someone who is familiar with the tropes of these novels and someone with the power to change and repair the body and mind of the protagonist, and fulfill the readers' wishes - change the fate of the protagonist, dote on him, and let him live the happiest and most fulfilling life □□ □□□□□

The information in the system came intermittently, and in the □□ there were incomprehensible, alien-like characters.

Song Qingshi suffered from Lou Gehrig's Disease during his lifetime and devoted himself to studying medicine to try and save himself. He was a medical student who studied and experimented frantically every day and never wasted time reading novels.

In terms of emotions, he is even more obtuse. Although he is very handsome and has an attractive and obedient personality, due to his physical problems, even the school bully treated him like a precious thing. With all the excessive loving care and sympathy, not only did he never have a crush, but he also suffered from a slight fear of talking to strangers.

This was the worst soul for this task.

Song Qingshi didn't know how he was picked up by the system. He had read Marxist philosophy novels in vain. But from his messy information and analysis from the system's explanation, as long as he accepts the task, the system will send him to the virtual book world, give him a healthy body, and he will come back to life.

After Song Qingshi realized this, he was ecstatic. A healthy body is was his biggest desire. Not to mention the fact that the system only asked that he take care of someone. Even if the system had asked him to swim through seas of fire, he would have accepted still.

Because of this, he ignored his conscience, structured his response, and lied for the first time in his life: "I have read tens of thousands of books that I have memorized. I have extensive medical and nursing knowledge, have taken a psychology course as an elective, and I could solve all the physical and mental sufferings of the protagonist. And love. . . I have lots of experience with love, I know how to communicate, absolutely, I. . . can definitely accomplish these tasks!"

If there was any blood that could exist in a soul, he would definitely be flushed.

The system didn't notice his lies. It registered the identity of the task performer, and sent a series of garbled commands, mixed with all kinds of chaotic and disorderly information into Song Qingshi's mind, sending waves of discomfort through his soul.

Suddenly, the system let out a sharp alarm and the data transmission was cut off. Song Qingshi's vision went black, and his soul drifted away towards a bright white light. . .

. . .

When Song Qingshi woke up, he found himself lying in the woods, surrounded by the faint fragrance of various herbs. He squinted his eyes and looked towards the dazzling blue sky. There was a gorgeous golden luan bird dragging its long tail feathers, letting out a loud caw as it flew past, with countless immortal birds following it.

Was this the world from the novel?

It seemed too real. . .

A soft breeze blew across the forest, shaking off the dew on the trees. The dew fell onto his pale fingertips, bringing a slightly cool feeling. Then, all the memories of the original body flooded into his mind like a tidal wave, trying to merge with his own soul - this body was also called Song Qingshi, the master of the Medicine King's Valley, and the most talented medical immortal and pharmaceutical expert in the immortal world. His medical skills could heal the dead and revive bones, and the spirit pills he cultivates were considered treasures by every cultivator.

However, the original body's temperament was extremely troubling. He rarely left Medicine King's Valley at all, never made friends, and had no interest in matters other than medicine and alchemy. When a patient sought him out, he only looks at their temperament and never asked their identity. When he was in a good mood, he treated mortal beggars. When he was in a bad mood, regardless of the identity of the visitor, he would turn them into flower fertilizer for his garden. He often used living people to test medicines. Cruel, but because of his Nascent Soul cultivation base and various skills with poisons, the immortal sects didn't dare provoke him easily, only secretly calling him troubling behind his back.

Cultivators in the immortal world had long life spans, and the knowledge and memory of this original body had for its hundreds of years of cultivation had not arrived yet. Various data fragments of the system rushed in frantically, with countless garbled codes, tearing the original body's memory into a mess, leaving Song Qingshi at a loss. It took a long time before he managed to figure out his current situation.

This was Golden Phoenix Mountain Manor, the most luxurious place in the immortal world, where there are rare and exotic animals and countless immortals and beautiful concubines.

The owner, Jin FeiRen, was also a great Nascent cultivator. He was a true romantic, an excessive spender, and had friends from both the immortal and demonic cultivation world. He was a well-known figure.

The original body had always been cold, obsessed with his work, and never touched either men and women. Today's arrival was accidental. The Manor Lord Jin wanted to give him Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng to exchange a batch of medicinal pills for him. The original body had recently been lacking Snow Ginseng to make his medicines, so he agreed to the deal.

Since Snow Ginseng grows in the secret realm of the snow mountains of the Jin family. If you wanted to get the ones with the best medicinal properties, you needed to pick them at night and preserve it with a special refining method. Therefore, the original body came here to pick it personally, and Song Qingshi somehow ended up here.

Then, Song Qingshi was sent here by the system. . .

Where was the protagonist? What does he look like?

Song Qingshi wanted to ask the system to ask for more information, but the system seemed to disappear. The materials it sent not only contained no plot points from the novel, but also very little character information. There were garbled characters everywhere, even though the protagonist hadn't been introduced yet. Song Qingshi got dizzy going through all this information before he found some descriptions in the copywriting introduction: the best physique, unmatched beauty shou X□□□□□ gong, procured by trickery, sadomasochistic, □□, □□, □□ There were only three texts that could be read clearly: Banquet of Bea□□□.

. . .

If this were someone who often read these types of novels, they would immediately recognize that this situation was problematic.

Song Qingshi, however, didn't recognize any of this as problematic. He believed that this was a test given by the system to assess his reasoning skills and ability to do things. Song Qingshi was very accustomed to being assessed like this. Usually, when he and his teacher started developing a new drug, he often didn't have any prior results in his hand. It required some experimentation and to experience many errors and difficulties in order to reach the final result. Most of the time, that result was not what they were hoping for.

Many pharmaceutical companies invest billions or even tens of billions in drug research. Scholars have spent decades trying, right until their hair turned grey, only to fail during their clinical trials.

Therefore, every drug researcher is a strong man who has experienced many battles, repeated defeats and never-ending setbacks.

These questions from Teacher System were not difficult!

Scholar-Tryant Song expressed no fear! He will definitely find the correct answer and live up to the teacher's expectations of him!

Song Qingshi thought about the information he was given, determined the goal of the protagonist, and then quickly understood the key points of the novel: the protagonist will appear at the Banquet of Beauties, it will be a male, homosexual, unmatched beauty, superb body; a pitiful character with a tragic fate. He needs to save the protagonist, give him the greatest care, heal his physical and mental health, and then help him find happiness and joy!

During Song Qingshi's time, respect for sexual orientation was written into the law, and same-sex couples could get married.

He once found a novel lost by a rotten girl classmate, titled "His Evil Majesty's Spoiled Husband". On the cover was a handsome and domineering man in a period costume holding a beautiful woman with long hair with a super flat chest. He didn't understand it, and returned the book. When he asked curiously, his classmates told him what Danmei was, and told him that the beauty on the cover was actually male. The beautiful male was the "shou", and the domineering one was the "gong". So Song Qingshi is confident that he would easily distinguish between the gong and the shou in the novel. He would never mistake the gong as the protagonist.

He had thought it through and the direction of problem-solving has been determined. All that was left was to wait for the Banquet of Beauties to start the exam.

Song Qingshi's spiritual sea gradually became clear. The soul and body were merged and became flexible. He sat up with his hands cautiously, took off his shoes, raised his feet, and tried to stretch the toes that had been stiff for many years. The white and round toes curled happily. Song Qingshi stood up shakily, briefly walking forward a few steps with hands and feet before finally remembered the walking posture of a normal person, and his movements gradually changed from jerky to steady. . .

Under his feet was soft green grass and moist soil.

Outside the forest was a calm river. Song Qingshi stepped into the water and took a handful of cold river water to wash his face, confirming that he was not in a dream.

Tears fell out of extreme joy, and the big tears fell onto his palms. His hands couldn't stop no matter how much he tried. The river calmed down from the slight disturbance, and the reflection of the boy's figure appeared.

Song Qingshi was surprised to find that the body given to him by the system was very similar to his high school appearance; he was not very tall and significantly thinner. He wore a Daoist cultivator outfit made of many layers of snow-coloured cloud brocade, wrapped tightly around his body. At first glance, all the layers of clothing gave the illusion of a frail man.

His thin hair was simply tied up with some loose hair dangling freely. His appearance may be related to immortal cultivation. He is a bit more refined than his original body, with a cold, pale complexion and clear eyes. Because he often blocks out the world and focuses on his study, he feels a bit dull and extremely gullible, leading many unlucky ghosts to think that the original was harmless and would become the fertilizer or poison tester.

. . .

After Song Qingshi vented his emotions and saw the red-rimmed eyes in the reflection, he was a little embarrassed. He hurriedly lowered his head and fetched water, trying to wash away the tears on his face, but behind him came the sound of fine bells and ridicule.

"It's useless to commit suicide. It will only cause you needless pain. If you are still not reconciled, you can try and sink slowly to see if you can succeed."

Surprised, Song Qingshi turned around and saw the most beautiful thing he'd seen in his life.

There were trees full of peach blossoms, and under the tree was a beautiful young boy in red. Who knows how long he was watching Song Qingshi stupidly crying. The young man's appearance was blooming, like a scroll of rich colours and ink, painted with all the romantic colours of the world. The warm jade-like skin, the most beautiful thing about him were the dark golden phoenix eyes under the crow-feather-like eyelashes. He resembled a noble and dignified phoenix in the sky, but there was an extremely gorgeous red tear-shared mole under the corner of his left eye, desecrating his nobleness. The dignity of his appearance was crushed, and the phoenix rejoined the mortal world, turning into a creature stained with flattery and seductiveness which made people feel unbearable tempted.

His long hair was untied and hung casually around his waist. The ends of his hair were slightly curled, his feet were bare, and he was only wearing a red dress made of shark silk. The shark silk was as smooth as water, clinging to his body, covering all the desirables underneath.

Song Qingshi did not think anything blasphemous, but because he was caught crying, his social anxiety became more intense. After a long pause of building courage, he stumbled and said: "I, I just..."

His hesitation became reluctant approval in the eyes of the beauty in red.

There are dangerous monsters and birds everywhere in the immortal world. Cultivators were equipped with spiritual auras and keen senses, and can easily detect the wind and grass around them. Even the minor cultivators in the time they were establishing their cultivation base would not miss the sound of mortal footsteps with bells, let alone the Nascent Soul cultivators. If they release their spiritual thoughts, the smallest creatures on the mountain would not escape their attention. Except for Song Qingshi, a newly-born soul who had just arrived in this world, and was still very unused to spiritual power and these world conditions. . .

The beauty in red had completely misunderstood, thinking that Song Qingshi was also a mortal. There was only one use for such a beautiful mortal in Golden Phoenix Manor. He clarified: "A new slave?"

Song Qingshi looked up in amazement. He wanted to ask questions, but his eyes fell on the beauty of the red dress. There seemed to be some strange bruises on his neck as if it had been bitten by a mosquito, but it seemed that it might be something else. He took a few more secretive glances, trying to determine what they were.

The beauty in red noticed his curious glances and his heart grew upset. With growing malicious intent, a very gentle smile appeared on his face, and he said in a sincerely blessed tone: "Don't stare, you will have them soon, too."

Song Qingshi was very sheltered before transmigrating. He had never encountered malice and did not understand the mystery behind these words. Although he thought this blessing was a bit strange, he still answered politely: "Thank you."

The beauty in red choked hearing this answer. He was stunned for a moment. He looked at Song Qingshi up and down like a fool, and found that the person in front of him was clean and his skin was free of any injuries. He had never experienced the ravages of hell in his eyes. He was pure.

This discovery made him feel pity for the heart that had been tempered by suffering. He retracted his sharp malice and said softly, "After tonight, you will know that death is a luxury." He turned slightly to his side, looking at the river's flow. He warned, "When I first came here, I tried to commit suicide many times, but it was useless. We are slaves who are branded with the Acacia Seal. Our spirits belong to our master. So long as the master doesn't allow it, we cannot die, even by our own hands. . .

The beauty in red was silent for a long time. He slowly stretched out his hand and stroked Song Qing's hair that was soft as the fur of a small animal.

Song Qingshi saw several red rope marks on his pale wrists. He realized that this was pain that the beauty wouldn't want to be questioned about, so he pushed down his curiosity.

The fingertips of the red-dressed beauty slipped from his hair to Song Qingshi's delicate face, watching his innocent expression. He held his hand there for a moment before putting it down, conflicted. He didn't want to say any more. Since he didn't know those nightmarish experiences, it was useless to say anything more. Being able to preserve this kind of innocence, it was one more moment of happiness for him. Finally, he sighed, "You look good, but unfortunately the more your looks improve as you grow, the longer it will be until you're freed. . ."

Song Qingshi was puzzled: "What do you mean by 'freed'?"

"You'll know soon." The beauty in red's expression suddenly relaxed. He glanced around carefully, then stretched out his index finger and tapped his lips lightly. With a voice so light that he could barely hear it, he said ambiguously, "Tonight I will be freed. . ."

The beauty in red turned around with a smile and, with a crisp ring of the bells, turned to leave. His steps were a bit unstable, and each step was strenuous, like a mermaid walking on the tip of a knife in pain.

A pair of exquisite gold shackles were exposed on the beauty's ankles under the red clothes. Each of the shackles was decorated with an exquisite bell. The middle was connected by a slender golden chain. When walking, the bell shook slightly and made a clear and sweet sound, just like a tethered bird.

The golden chain dragged across the grass, and a few drops of blood dropped onto the green leaves.

Song Qingshi mustered up the courage to overcome his social anxiety, and shouted to the beauty who was about to leave: "Are you. . .injured? I, I know medical skills. . . Do you need me to treat you?"

The beauty in red turned back, looked at him for a few seconds, and he couldn't help but smile. This time the smile finally reached his eyes, like a ray of golden sunlight breaking through the clouds, dazzlingly beautiful. He shook his head towards Song Qingshi, and gave himself a sincere blessing: "I hope you have better luck tonight."

He turned his head, and the sunlight in his eyes disappeared in a flash, as if it had never existed, only the dark clouds that would not retreat.

Having endured these nightmares for years, he has long learned not to remember the kindness of others, and not to care about being offered charity from others.

He walked alone in this prison without stopping, step after step, wearing those painful shackles.

#mistakenly saving the villain #chinese bl #english translation #论救错反派的下场 #song qingshi #chinese novel #mistakenly saving the villain translation

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apiratewhopines · 4 years ago

Text

Thanks to @teamhook for the updated artwork. She’s the only person I know who will provide a gift for her own gift 💝

Thanks to @motherkatereloyshipper for helping me pick Killian’s hometown in this story and for being an all around lovely person

Midnight

Chapter 2 — The Stroke

Summary: In which our heroine does what she does best

Chapter 2 of 7 on AO3

“And my imagination will feed my hungry heart,

Leave me one thing before we part”

-A Kiss to Build a Dream On, Louis Armstrong

The spot he was referring to was an out-of-the-way pub serving the greasiest onion rings in existence and a lively clientele that didn’t notice it was one o’clock in the morning and all decent people were in bed. After days of getting by on breakfast bars and the memory of what a full meal tasted like, Emma thought she had died and gone to heaven.

Melancholy tunes droned softly in the background as she demolished enough food to feed an army. The pretty waitress earned her respect when the woman didn’t even blink at her handsome companion, and she liked to think she earned it back when she ordered three of their daily specials without a trace of shame.

Ignoring the way Killian watched with an expression close to awe as she stuffed her face, she happily gulped down a cup of coffee and observed, “Nice place. Come here often?”

“Not as much as I used to,” he murmured, taking a sip of his drink. “Tell me about this man you’re hunting. Is it personal?”

“Please, don’t make me lose my appetite. Surely we can come up with something else to talk about,” she groaned around a mouthful of beef and melted cheese. He had removed his leather jacket when they entered the pub, and his black short sleeve t-shirt stretched across his biceps in a manner entirely too distracting for comfort. Their high-backed booth made it feel as though they were on an island all by themselves, the dark wood and Tiffany lamps creating a cozy cocoon while still allowing a view of the nearly deserted dance floor.

“Ah, definitely personal then. Did he insult your honor? Break your heart? Have you ever even been in love?”

It stung how quickly he was able to see through her. Did she wear her heartache like a stamp on her forehead announcing to everyone she was an idiot? Ignoring the last question, she replied, “He hurt the only person who ever cared about me out of petty revenge. Neal Cassidy broke me. Now I’m going to return the favor.”

“Chills, darling.” His tone was teasing, but she thought she saw him shudder at her words. “I guess you don’t abide the notion of turning the other cheek.”

“Not when the first hit cost me my home, my possessions, and my peace of mind.”

“So he’s the reason you haven’t eaten in days and don’t have any luggage? Sounds like a lovely chap.”

“I don’t need your commentary or your sympathy, Captain. While I appreciate your help tonight, and I definitely owe you one for the meal, I think my past is closed for further discussion. Let’s talk about you instead. What’s your story?”

“I don’t have one, love. What you see is what you get.”

“What I see is someone dodging my question. Guess I’ll have to fill in the details myself then. Let’s see…thirty-something-year-old man who lives a life of boredom and pines for more while feeling stuck in his white picket fence world. You have a decent career in a field that pays well but decided to start a side hustle to meet new people and have something to do after eight in the evening.” Gesturing with her chin toward his forearm, she continued, “Currently nursing his own broken heart over the woman who loved and left him. The only thing I can’t figure out is what part of England you’re from.”

“Well, aren’t you the perceptive one,” he answered with a self-deprecating chuckle. “Although, I would argue it’s cheating since I have my emotional baggage inked on my skin for everyone to see while you carry yours around like an invisible tumor on your soul. As far as where I’m from, a man likes to maintain a little mystery.”

“Come on! You really aren’t going to tell me anything about yourself? After I guessed all that about you?”

With an unfathomable look, he smiled softly and said, “Fine, I’m from Cambridge. Now you know all my secrets. And allow me to call your attention to how well my devious plan worked. My first evening with my side hustle, as you call it, and I’m already having a late night rendezvous with a beautiful woman. One full of food and dancing.”

“There will be no dancing, Captain. But I wouldn’t be opposed to more food.”

“Not sure where you’ll put it, love, there’s no more room on the table. But I’m game if you are. Come on, one dance, and I’ll buy you a whole pie.”

She wanted pie but not as much as she wanted to feel his arms around her. She wanted it so badly her mind raced with images of skin on skin and restless hands exploring. Then her stomach twisted at the knowledge they would say goodbye soon. They probably should have already said it, truth be told. As she debated what harm could come from giving in just this once, he extended his hand and pulled her gently from the seat. Slowly, she felt a small section of her walls crumble and gave him a reluctant smile. “One dance.”

The soft music wasn’t loud enough to allow for an appropriate selection of dance style, but she didn’t mind when he gathered her close and swayed gently in time with his soft humming. She felt his breath stir the hair around her face and realized this was a mistake. Now that she knew how it felt, it would be harder to deny herself an encore. Especially knowing tonight was a one-time thing.

“Tell me something, Swan. Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“No, I don’t believe in love at all,” she answered. Her words conveyed her deeply held conviction that poets and Hollywood movie producers invented love to make people so miserable with the lack of it, they had to seek out fictionalized versions to find some measure of happiness. Her tone, however, sounded as though she was open to being convinced otherwise.

“That’s a shame. I think you’ll miss out on a lot of what life has to offer by being so close-minded and scared.”

“If I were scared, which I’m not, I have every reason to be. One of my foster moms told me a long time ago that love wouldn’t buy me a diamond ring, and it was as easy to be in a relationship with a rich man as a poor one. Easier really. I used to think she was a witch, but now I think she had a point.”

“Bloody hell, what exactly did that man do to you?”

She felt his direct gaze like a physical thing caressing her even as his eyes flickered with disappointment. “I told you. He broke me. And my bank account.”

“Money isn’t everything, love.”

“Excuse me if I ignore advice telling me to count my non-monetary blessings from the man who picked me up in his Beamer. It may not be everything but not having it leaves you with nothing.”

“A person who needs forty dollars a day and makes forty is richer than someone who has everything and needs more.”

“Now you’re just being silly,” she said as she slipped from his arms. “And when a rainy day comes? What then?”

“I recently took up being an Uber driver in my spare time, love. I imagine I’ll make more on rainy days.”

Laughing as she looked at his endearing face under the dim light, she shook her head. “About my pie…”

—

She knew what she was doing. She lingered over the large platter containing a sampling of every type of pie the surprisingly eclectic menu had to offer. She watched him with affection as he critiqued each in turn, always saving the bites with whipped cream for her. The best parts, in other words.

She was stalling.

The night hadn’t turned out as she expected. While her main goal was unfulfilled, she couldn’t make herself think of it as a loss when her sides hurt from laughing, and her troubled heart felt at peace. It was a pity it had to end. And not because she had nowhere to go, although that was certainly the case.

Slowly they made their way back to his car, neither one speaking as the noises of the summer night buzzed in the background. She’d said a lot of goodbyes in her lifetime, eagerly in most cases, but was strangely reluctant to add this one to the list. “Well, Captain, it’s been an expensive night for you. I think you better drop me off at the nearest bus station before I cost you any more.”

“You’re always trying to bring the conversation back around to money. Get in,” he ordered as he handed her into the car.

The air in the cabin of his luxury sedan felt heavy with expectation. Neither of them spoke nor hardly moved a muscle. She considered asking him to turn on the radio but didn’t want to miss out on the last few moments of hearing his even breathing next to her. Minutes passed, and it took her a while to notice they had left Storybrooke and were heading back toward Misthaven. “How much further to the bus station?”

“We passed it several miles back. You’re going to stay at my place.”

Under normal circumstances, this would be where she prepared to kick someone’s ass, but she knew deep down, as surprising as his announcement was, she had nothing to fear from him. Well, nothing except a repeat of the broken heart fiasco that was getting harder to remember with every second spent in his company. “Oh no, I’m not. What happened to no strings and no funny business?”

“Calm down, Swan. Our deal stands. I’m working the rest of the night so you’ll have the place to yourself. Trust me, the bed in my guest room is much more comfortable than a seat at the bus station.” Without taking his eyes off the road, he reached into one of the compartments in the console and pulled out a key. “There are some shirts in the dryer if you need something to wear. Help yourself to whatever you want. If you hang around until nine, I’ll even make breakfast. If you don’t, leave the key under the Welcome mat.”

“I think you better keep your key, Captain. There are two ways this could end, and neither one is pretty.” She gave him a sidelong glance and was mildly irked to see him grinning at her.

“Only two? Please enlighten me with your power of premonition.”

Heaving a sigh of frustration, she wished he would be logical about this whole thing. Sure they had attraction in spades; the very air around them seemed to crackle with electricity whenever their eyes met. But she knew it would fade, and the only thing left then would be goodbye. Better to skip the messy part and go straight to the end. “The first is I stay and have breakfast, and it turns into the day and then another night….”

“That doesn’t sound so bad, love. And the second?”

“I leave the key under the mat, and we never see each other again.”

“Hmm, option two is decidedly less appealing. I’ll take what’s behind Door Number One, please,” he joked.

“You think so until reality sets in and you realize you’ve taken in a stray with a score to settle and not a cent to her name. It won’t be long before the sight of me in your shirts makes you cringe, and you resent having to share the couch with a woman who has nothing to give.” She would know having been in a relationship with a person who was only capable of taking, and she vowed never to do that to someone else.

“I have half a mind to hunt down this Cassidy fellow myself after seeing the hit job he did on you. Listen, Swan, the key has no strings. Breakfast is just food. Whatever happens, happens. But if you think I’m going to drop you off at a deserted bus station with only the clothes on your back, fetching as they are, you’ve got the wrong idea about me in more ways than one.”

“I’m not yours to rescue, Captain.”

“You could be,” he whispered in a voice that made her skin tingle. He tossed her a half-hearted smile, eyes stormy with the knowledge she was going to turn him down. Again.

“The fact we both want me to be is warning enough it’s a bad idea. Come on, Killian, let’s call it a night now so we can remember it fondly in the years to come.”

His jaw clenched, and she was worried he was going to fight with her sensible argument. People didn’t meet people in the middle of the road and form attachments in one night. This wasn’t a fairy tale, and she was as far from a princess as a person could get.

Although she had to admit he made a rather fine prince.

Pulling off into a nearby gas station, he turned to her and said almost threateningly, “We’re not through discussing this.”

Then he stepped out and slammed the door as the sky opened up.

—

It was a dirty trick. She knew even as she did it, but it was for his own good. For whatever reason, he felt like he needed to protect her, and she needed to save him from himself. So she waited until he walked into the convenience store and made a run for it.

That’s not to say she didn’t have a brief moment of whimsy. She couldn’t stop herself from placing a kiss on the key he had casually tossed to her as if inviting her into his home and his life wasn’t a big deal. Then she carefully placed it on the dash, grabbing the newspaper from his backseat as an afterthought, and scurried away before she was caught.

Like a rat.

Maybe Neal was exactly the kind of man she deserved.

The rain beat down in a punishing way, her makeshift umbrella getting soggy and soft under the onslaught. She was so busy looking over her shoulder, convinced he was going to search for her and half hoping he was successful, that the sudden absence of the storm took her by surprise.

“Here, miss, it’s raining cats and dogs tonight,” the sturdy doorman of the fancy establishment she was passing said as he reached out to place his umbrella over her. The burgundy awning extended to cover most of the sidewalk and, despite the late hour, classical music was drifting from the open door. Limousines lined the street, spilling well-dressed patrons as they approached the swanky club.

Before she could maneuver out of the way, she was swept into a tide of rich fish, all glammed out and ready for the party to start or continue as the case may be. She overheard one woman, whose hat was so large she had to tilt her head to make it through the door, complain, “Regina’s parties are always so dull even nature weeps.”

Deciding a boring party indoors was better than a lonely night in the rain, Emma changed her stance and walked over the threshold with her head held high like she belonged there. She noticed the plaque on the wall as she entered read The Rabbit Hole and couldn’t help but think it was aptly named. With its marble floors and curving staircase, it was no wonder this wasn’t one of the stops on the Captain’s tour of town. This place was as high-end as they came.

There was a man collecting tickets at a small side table and, with only a minute to improvise, she was glad to see the stubs were roughly the size of the photo she was toting around, one of the few remaining possessions to her name. Without a moment of regret, she turned the photo face down, relieved the love note Neal had written on the back was faded and worn, so only his faint signature was legible. Luckily, the sheer volume of people entering the place meant the employee merely took it from her without looking to confirm it was what it appeared to be.

Following the crowd into a large ballroom off to the side, she saw a black grand piano played with a precise kind of violence by a wild-haired man in a tuxedo. The room was packed to the gills, the group she straggled in with taking the last seats on the far side of the room. The audience was appreciative but far from silent, conversations carrying on as if private concerts of this caliber were a normal everyday occurrence for them. Every time Emma thought she found a place to rest her sore feet and sorer heart, someone took it before she could get there and, in one near miss, she almost flattened a lap dog that warranted his own seat for the show.

Finally, after pushing her way through a narrow row, she found a place and asked the man in the next chair with a hint of desperation, “Is this seat taken?”

Shrugging a silent negative with brooding eyes that lit up when she neared, she tried to ignore the searching glance he gave her as she dropped into the chair and surreptitiously removed her shoes. She could tell by the hint of a smirk he noticed the movement, but at least he had the good grace not to comment on it.

He was handsome in a careworn kind of way. His tousled dark hair and thick stubble were eerily similar to the Captain’s look, and it made her shuffle in her seat with guilt. The man kept staring, his light-colored eyes settling somewhere between gray and green, keenly taking in her appearance and finding it amusing if the continued presence of his smirk was any indication.

As the final notes of the concerto echoed through the room, a burst of applause started. Now that she was fed and able to sit for a few moments, Emma realized she was exhausted. It was a bone-deep weariness far beyond fatigue, and she was fairly confident it could be traced back to a man with blue eyes and more charm than any one person should be allowed to have.

She wondered where Killian was now. If he had already given up or if he was wasting more time and losing out on more money combing the streets looking for his erstwhile damsel in distress. Emma knew what she did was for the best as surely as she knew she would be haunted by the feeling of his arms wrapped around her for a long time.

After a brief break, the musician approached the piano again. Before he could start hammering out another song with the intensity of a madman, a raven-haired woman stepped in front of the instrument. She called out in a commanding voice, “Pardon the interruption but does anyone recognize this man? It would seem there was a mix-up at the ticket counter and someone accidentally handed in a photograph instead of their invitation to this private event.”

Resisting the urge to sink deeper into her chair, she furtively looked around as the audience murmured amongst themselves regarding the unusual disruption. She could tell by the sardonic tone of the woman’s voice and the way she emphasized the word private she wasn’t convinced it was an innocent mistake. A scene would be made if the guilty party were found and couldn’t provide the appropriate documentation.

“Really? No one is going to come forward?” With an annoyed look at the assembly, she sulked, “Fine, I won’t waste any more of your time.”

She saw the woman hurry to the corner and carry on a quick conversation with a few men before the group disbursed and fanned out to cover the room. Feeling her luck was running out, she slipped her feet back into her shoes with barely a wince and slowly stood under the watchful gaze of her neighbor.

She needed to escape for the second time that night, but now she had hundreds of witnesses. Nonchalantly, she surveyed the room, trying to determine the best way. During this perusal, a man caught her eye, and she froze as he began to cut across the room to her side. So much for a stealthy getaway.

Her pursuer had an air of refined boredom with an edge of mischief. His graying hair was an attractive finish to a lean, well-dressed form. Cocking an eyebrow in disdain or maybe curiosity, he spoke quietly to not draw the notice of the surrounding crowd. “A word, madam.”

“With me?”

“Indeed.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Squaring her shoulders, she ignored the way her neighbor watched with rapt attention as she resolutely marched toward her fate.

@teamhook @kmomof4 @jrob64 @motherkatereloyshipper @stahlop @xarandomdreamx @xsajx @klynn-stormz

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