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selfdiagnosedeyemotif · 7 months

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Chapter Five (Aestia), pt. 2:

Aestia bursts through into the final cavern to find the Pontifex, Fabian, and a group of robed figures

Something is already underway. They’ve already begun.

Aestia begs to know why the Pontifex is doing this. She gladly obliges.

“This is a world riddled with flaws, little girl. Orsa and Finis shaped it from this very point, but they were unable to do it perfectly. Death haunts us for every moment of our lives, and it… displeases them. They do not care for death. We are made in their image, and they are beyond death. Why should we too not join them? Well, today, that ends. Today I shall remake the world as they would have wanted it.”

Aestia knows instinctively that this is wrong

I have too much tired to write a whole speech but like. The human capacity to grow. The fate of stagnation that immortality brings. How one stops doing anything for the world after too much time spent alive

But there’s something that Aestia finally here realises

After too much time spent alive one stops doing good in the world, but before reaching that point, one can do so much

To cut one’s own life short through wanton recklessness, even if it has a noble cause, is still a crime

“Mine is a soul that shines like the stars… I can do so much good in this world before I go… and I needn’t put my life on the line to try and protect everyone…”

“I need not face this alone.”

“I know you can’t hear me anymore, but Mal… ride with me into this. I’m sorry for throwing my life away.”

The pontifex responds with some classic “fool, now you face your doom” type way, For Them All roaring to life in the background, and suddenly…

The drums kick into the track for the first time since the Secret Study

“You won’t face it alone, Aestia.”

Flanked by the townsfolk of Riseridge, Sister Lylah Ilibria of the Order of the Sacred Flame charges in, as the drums come into full swing

A piano is added to the track as the rest of your party joins you (Remember how you needed a full party? Here’s where that pays off)

The final touch, the horn that Mal Cheshire once played, joins the score as well as Aestia turns to face down the final challenge

“Let us face this storm together, friends. Now, RIDE WITH ME, FOR ALL OF QAMARIA!”

The Final Boss: Pontifex Victoria Inaméa

Battle opens with a message: Your Talent Self-Sacrifice has had its HP cost halved and now applies to all skills!

Three lackeys once again: two Zealots of the Makers and Fabian, the Hand of the Church (more on him in a sec)

Zealot of the Makers: focus on moves that defend/buff the Pontifex but will not hesitate to stab need be, each lock weaknesses

Is a real bitch with switching around weaknesses but always stays weak to Wind

Fabian: does not lock weaknesses but does take two actions a round (don’t worry the pontifex only takes one turn a round in this phase)

Has lots of Silence and Poison shenanigans that can be very annoying to deal with

Hits HARD but is low on HP

Has a fallen sprite rather than disappearing

Back to the pontifex I'm definitely giving her Plukk's "Get 'em, boys" action where she focuses her lackeys on one member of the party

Might take some cues from Mother with buffs that mix with a debuff

Has healing spells. Screw you.

Each time you break her the pontifex is consumed more with flames

They lick at her sleeves, burning holes, then at her face and her skin

Her cheeks turn sallow under their heat if she survives long enough

She also physically holds a hand over a large stone engraved with markings glowing iridescent green (it's floating and about the size of her head)

Now it's time to detail the second phase cutscene (it stays on the battle screen)

The pontifex screams something about it being "finally complete"

Bursts into monologue

"Mother Orsa… Father Finis… you whose hands shaped the world… today I fulfil your dream for this world, your ultimate vision… TODAY WE ARE QUENCHED IN FIRE AND BORN ANEW!"

Fabian stands up if he was downed and the two transform into their final forms as we enter…

The Final Phase: Divinity-Filled Palimpsest

Floating in the air, feet together, arms spread Mattias-style is what used to be the pontifex

Floating above her head is the stone, which has fully cracked open at parts and is emitting green light

Her body is fully featureless and uncovered; imagine a mannequin fully made of skin

She is wreathed in green flame; at the stone, the vague outline of two heads - those of Orsa and Finis - are visible

Fabian, now named the Greater Vessel, has a similar appearance, just in the same pose he was in before and without the stone or heads

Finally introducing the gimmick for this one: just a real simple HP/SP drain that's constantly in effect, nothing too special

Not a gimmick per se but both the Divinity-Filled Palimpsest and the Greater Vessel are immune to fire damage, hitting them with fire attacks raises their Elemental Attack (DFP) and Speed (GV)

And now. Welcome to Shield Hell.

Remember the gimmick that Eldroy, Ablaze had? Yeah we cranking that up to eleven

The Divinity-Filled Palimpsest, before its first break, has fifteen shields and regenerates three each turn (never goes over fifteen)

After the first break the regen stops but it still has fifteen shields

You better be messing with that BP if you want to have a hope of breaking it

The Greater Vessel, on the other hand, remains frail and hard-hitting, but ditches Poison for Terror (The pontifex also LOVES inflicting Silence and Terror. It’s a whole thing)

Not much on it so back to the pontifex

Will switch between the Aspect of Orsa and the Aspect of Finis after each break

Aspect of Orsa has one action, focuses on buffing the Greater Vessel and launching AOE attacks

Aspect of Finis has two actions, focuses on single-target debuffs and attacks

After the Greater Vessel goes down, both Aspects gain one extra attack as the text “Insolent brat…” appears on the screen

The DFP also talks a LOT during the fight

Rather than having the text appear in a normal text box, they’re a little freak about it and have it appear shakily on the top and bottom of the screen

It does not stop the battle, they just scream from every direction every now and then

In-universe, this is represented by the fact that the Palimpsest itself is not speaking but rather the walls of the cave

After the first break Lylah runs onto the battle again and says that she’s going to try and do something about “that accursed rock” aka the thing that seems to be binding Orsa and Finis to the Palimpsest

I had an idea for the Boost Mode Attack that was called Finality and just. Removed one of your party members from the fight. But that was a little TOO broken even for this.

#iris goes to OC hell #project OCtopath #a gust in the fields

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worryinglyinnocent · 2 years

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Fic: Diverging Paths (31/31)

Summary: Xerxes falls and the only two survivors walk away from the dead city.

Homunculus is keen to make the most of the new human body he now wears, and he goes out into the world, still planning his ascension to godhood as he strips away his vices and turns them into homunculi.

Van Hohenheim believes he has become a monster, and he hides himself away, befriending the other abominations of the world, failed human transmutations doomed to agonising half-life without the intervention of a Philosopher’s Stone.

Years later, Homunculus meets Trisha Elric and sires two sons with her before vanishing into the night, whilst Hohenheim tries to foil his doppelgänger’s schemes.

Years after that, Edward and Alphonse Elric are caught up in the middle of it all…

A Father-Hohenheim role reversal switcheroo, following Mangahood’s main plot with elements of ‘03, based on the premise ‘what if Father was Ed and Al’s father and Hohenheim was the one hiding under Central?’

Rated: Teen

[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [Fourteen] [Fifteen] [Sixteen] [Seventeen] [Eighteen] [Nineteen] [Twenty] [Twenty-One] [Twenty-Two] [Twenty-Three] [Twenty-Four] [Twenty-Five] [Twenty-Six] [Twenty-Seven] [Twenty-Eight] [Twenty-Nine] [Thirty] [AO3]

Thirty-One

The first thing that Al felt was warmth, the warmth of someone’s hand holding his, and as he opened his eyes, he saw Ed grinning down at him. The hand squeezed his, and he tried to squeeze back, but all his muscles felt so weak that even that was a stretch.

“Hey, Al. Welcome back.”

It was strange to be back, a rush of sensation that was at once overwhelming and yet also wonderfully familiar.

“Is everyone ok?” he asked.

“Yeah, everyone’s fine, just a bit battered. We’re more worried about you.” Ed helped him to sit up and Al realised that he was draped in Mustang’s coat as a blanket. He looked around at the chaos in the pseudo-throne room, at the groups of people gathering and checking that everyone was ok. Everyone else was giving them some space and privacy, Teacher and Sig off to one side but obviously keeping an eye on them.

“Alphonse!” There was a small pink blur and suddenly May threw herself at him, sobbing profusely. “Oh, Alphonse, you’re back! You’re ok!”

“I’m ok, May.”

She got off him then, alternating between bawling and apologising for hurting him. He must have looked a sight, barely more than skin and bone, with flaking fingernails like Lust’s talons and hair longer than Hohenheim’s.

“We should probably get you to the hospital.” Ed helped him put Mustang’s coat on properly, the thing was so large on him it felt like a shroud, and Ed pulled him to his feet. His knees buckled almost immediately; he’d managed the few steps through the gate to get back here, but now whatever connection there had been between him and Ed was truly severed and his body was having to sustain itself without any alchemical intervention. He sagged against Ed.

“I could probably carry you,” Ed said conversationally. “You can’t be that heavy.”

“You’ve just nearly died,” Al pointed out. “You’re not exactly in the best shape yourself.”

“Would you like a hand there, Elrics?”

It was Patience, looking at them fondly, and Al nodded gratefully. There was no shame in accepting help, not when they had so many friends who were so willing to give it to them without being asked. Patience took his other side and put an arm around him and together, the three of them, strange siblings as they were, made their way out of the throne room and away from the carnage. There would be time to catch up with everyone later. For now, Al had his body back, and that was the only thing that mattered.

“Are you all right, sir?”

Hawkeye was coming over to him, and Mustang nodded.

For a long time they just looked at each other, and even though nothing was said, Mustang knew that they were both thinking the same thing.

I thought I’d lost you forever.

“Yes, Lieutenant. I’m fine.” He realised that he probably didn’t look fine; the front of his uniform was saturated with the blood that had poured out of his nose, but that had stopped bleeding now and his head was very gradually stopping feeling like it was being turned inside out.

“Good.”

What hurt the most now were his hands, sliced through, palms sticky with the dried blood from the impalement that Bradley inflicted, with spark cloth sticking to the skin and pulling on the edges of the wound. He flexed his fingers and winced, the action pulling in all the wrong places.

He felt a gentle touch against his wrist and looked down to see that Hawkeye had taken his hand.

“We should get your injuries tended, sir,” she said. “Your hands need to be bandaged.”

She led him over to the dais where the throne had been and sat him down before going off to source medical supplies from one of the homunculi, and Mustang watched her go. It had been such a close run thing for both of them, and when he thought about everyone he had almost lost during the long months of this fight - Hughes outside wreaking merry hell having nearly lost his life to a bullet; Havoc downstairs keeping the catacombs safe after almost exploding in the residence; Hawkeye still walking with a limp from their encounter with Lust underground…

It was almost a miracle that they had managed to come out of it as comparatively unscathed as they had done. He looked around for Patience, probably the only reason that he was here right now with no injuries other than the ones inflicted by Bradley, but the homunculus was nowhere to be seen. Neither were the Elric brothers, but Mustang had faith that they’d be ok. He’d track them down later, but right now they probably needed some time to themselves to process everything that had happened.

Hawkeye came back over with disinfectant and bandages, and she sat down beside him, her touch featherlight and gentle as she pulled the slashed gloves off his hands, peeling them away from the wounds.

He knew that he was in good hands too, and whatever happened now that the regime had been so completely uprooted, he knew that Hawkeye would always have his back, just as he would always have hers.

They would always be safe with each other.

Although Pasha knew, objectively, that he had never seen Izumi in this life before, there was something about her that seemed instinctively familiar, and as such, he could not stop staring at her, watching her as she moved through all the hubbub and the hustle and bustle that had accompanied Alphonse’s return from the gate. It was only once things had started to calm down that she noticed his eyes on her, and she gave him a tentative smile before coming over.

It was a moment that neither of them would ever be able to properly describe for as long as they lived, but they both just knew.

Pasha had spent a lot of time with Tempe, Chary and Dili over the years, but none of them had ever felt like a mother figure to him; more like aunties. Patience and Chass were more like siblings, Humility was never really around that much, and Hohenheim was, well, Hohenheim.

Izumi, though… Even though he had never met her, he just knew.

“Mom?”

It was complete chaos, Riza thought as she looked around the ostentatious throne room that had been the scene of a showdown for the ages. Looking at it up close now instead of just observing, powerless, from the lower levels, she still couldn’t believe that this had been sitting on top of Central Command ever since its inception.

Still, even though it was chaos, with people running around and checking everyone was ok, it was a happy sort of chaos rather than a frantic one. It was all over, and the very world itself could breathe a sigh of relief.

“Lieutenant Hawkeye.”

She turned to see Tempe coming into the room with a few of the Briggs soldiers, and she was surprised to see the rifle resting against her shoulder. Tempe followed her eyeline and smiled.

“Well, you didn’t get the marksmanship skills from your father, did you?”

Riza had to grin at that. Things were certainly going to be strange from now on, knowing that Tempe was her mother in another life, and that she was still here and even if she didn’t fully remember, that there was some kind of connection between them. Maybe now that the fate of the world wasn’t at stake, they would have time to get to know each other a little better.

“Do you think that everything’s going to be ok now?”

Hohenheim startled; he had not heard Diligence come up beside him, so lost in his own thoughts as he had been. She laughed at his start, and he had not heard her laugh for so long.

“I think so,” he said eventually. “There are a lot of pieces to pick up, but that’s for people other than me to deal with. My part is done.” He looked over at Humility, effortlessly directing troops here, there and everywhere as the generals loyal to Father were rounded up and the others got medical attention. General Armstrong was arguing about needing medical attention, but Hohenheim couldn’t say that he was altogether surprised by that.

“What will you do now?” Dili asked. “Your entire life has been building towards this moment for hundreds of years, and now you have the rest of your life ahead of you. What are you going to fill it with?”

You, Hohenheim thought. I don’t care how much longer I have left to live, be it days or millennia, as long as it’s with you.

“I don’t know.”

Dili smiled. “Well, just let me know if you want help figuring it out.”

Hohenheim could only stare after her as she went to help Tempe with bandaging up the injured.

She knew that she shouldn’t be here, and she knew that she looked a bit creepy just standing here outside a hospital room, but she couldn’t help it. She had to know that they were ok. Diligence peeped through the glass panel in the door, looking at Ed and Al as they slept, Al for the first time in years. Her sons.

“Come on.” An arm slipped through hers and she let Patience guide her away. They were wearing a soft, indulgent smile. “You remember them now, then?”

Diligence nodded. It had taken months for the memories to come back to her in dribs and drabs and little flashes here and there, but she remembered her life before. She remembered her identity. She was Trisha Elric, and those boys were her children, and they had been through so much without her in their lives; they had been through hell and back to try and see her again, and they had continued living in a kind of hell even as they didn’t know that they had, in a way, succeeded and she was here and living once more. There were so many emotions, she didn’t even know where to begin. And then there was the boys’ father, and then there was Hohenheim, and then there was her newfound family of homunculi, and the fact she could never really go back to her old life, that so much had changed in the intervening time.

“It’ll be ok,” Patience said. “You’ll find a way, all of you. If there’s one thing that’s true of both you and the Elrics, it’s that you’re stubborn. At least we know where they get it from now.”

Dili laughed. “Yes, I think that one’s on me.”

“Do you think that this means we can stop keeping an eye on them?” Patience asked. Dili just raised an eyebrow. “No, you’re right. They can still get into a bunch of trouble even without alchemy.”

Dili just hoped that she would be around to witness some of that trouble in the years to come.

“Take care of yourselves! Don’t forget to write!”

“Patience.”

“Change your socks every day!”

“Patience!”

“Always look both ways when you cross the road!”

“Patience!” Temperance finally managed to shut Patience up with a dig in the ribs, to which they protested profusely. For his part, Ed was dying of laughter as he and Al leaned out of the train window to say their goodbyes to all of their friends in Central before they made the journey back to Resembool.

It was quite the motley crew that had gathered to see them off, a veritable crowd coming together for just two people, but if the other people in the station were alarmed, then they didn’t show it. The seven homunculi were all there, although that might have been because they had also come to see off Humility, who was heading back to Briggs to tie up loose ends there, and Chastity, who was heading out to Liore in the east to search for clues to his past and potentially reunite with Rose - the chronologically youngest of Hohenheim’s family, the timing of his resurrection lined up with when Father Cornello had tried to pull her boyfriend back from beyond the grave with his incomplete Philosopher’s Stone. Even Hohenheim had turned up; and seeing him outdoors was more disturbing than seeing the crowd come to wave them off.

“Patience, they can take care of themselves,” Temperance said. “They’ve been doing it for a while now and they’re perfectly fine.”

“I know, I know, but they’re my younger brothers! I worry!”

Ed thought about all the times that Patience had turned up to help them out of trouble in the past, and he couldn’t exactly blame them for trying to keep an eye on him and Al.

“Besides, the point is that they shouldn’t have to take care of themselves,” Patience continued, before turning to address Ed and Al. “You know that you always have a family here in Central if you ever need one. All you have to do is call. If I can’t get Hohenheim to install a phone in the catacombs then I’ll do it myself. I reckon Fuery’s taught me and Pasha enough about wiring now.”

Ed smiled. “Thanks, Patience. We appreciate it.”

“Let us know when you get back safely,” Hawkeye said. “And feel free to swing by Central Command if you’re ever in the area again.”

“You’re welcome to stay with us whenever you want,” Gracia added, Hughes nodding his agreement.

“Take care of yourselves,” he said. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that you’ll stay out of trouble.”

“What trouble can we get into now?” Ed protested. “We’ve saved the world, we got our bodies back, it’s a quiet life for us from now on.”

Hughes and Mustang exchanged a clearly disbelieving look, but said nothing more.

“I baked you some cookies.” Chary passed a basket through the window and Ed nearly staggered under the weight of it, placing it on the bench beside them next to Gracia’s quiche and apple pie. “I thought I’d make extra just in case Ling turned up again. He can smell sugar at thirty paces.”

The Xing contingent had left the previous day, off to present their findings to the emperor and reunite the warring clans. Although Ling and May were probably never going to see eye to eye about anything, a peaceful future was the one thing that they could definitely agree on, and now they had the power to bring it about in their hands.

Diligence was the last to speak, taking Ed and Al’s hands in hers.

“Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”

Things were never going to get back to the way they were. Things had changed too much for that; they had spent more time without Mom than with her, and even though Diligence had most of her memories of her first life back, they all admitted that she was not exactly the same person as she was before. Ed and Al would never really be able to call her Mom again, probably never thinking of Diligence as their mother in the same way as Mom had been their mother, but she was still going to be important to them, and they were still important to her. The relationship was different now, but no less valuable.

“Take care of each other,” she said, squeezing their hands, before stepping back as the whistle sounded and the train began to move off. As they waved their goodbyes, Ed saw Hohenheim take her hand, and he smiled.

It was a long ride back to Resembool, and although Al soon fell into a doze, Ed stayed thinking about everything that had happened over the last few years. When they had first set out on their quest to bring Mom back, they had never known everything that was in store for them, never known the scope of what they were getting themselves into, but in the end, he would not have had it any other way. As terrifying and trying and painful as the journey had been at times, he was proud of everything that they had achieved, and he knew that there were even more things left to achieve in the future; new forms of alchemy to discover, new things to learn, new ways to be. They had to keep moving forward, for the sake of everyone they had lost along the way. For the sake of Nina, if no one else.

It had been a long and hard road that they had walked down these past few years, but now, this part of their journey had finally come to an end, and when he saw Winry’s tears of joy as she bounded down the steps of the Rockbell home to greet them, Ed knew that it had been worth every minute of it.

#FMA Brotherhood #FMA Fanfiction #Edward Elric #Alphonse Elric #Fic: Diverging Paths

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beantothemax · 10 months

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part one of hopefully only two

And Now, Back to the Finale:

Aestia bursts through into the final cavern to find the Pontifex, Fabian, and a group of robed figures

Something is already underway. They’ve already begun.

Aestia begs to know why the Pontifex is doing this. She gladly obliges.

Aestia knows instinctively that this is wrong

But there’s something that Aestia finally here realises

After too much time spent alive one stops doing good in the world, but before reaching that point, one can do so much

To cut one’s own life short through wanton recklessness, even if it has a noble cause, is still a crime

“Mine is a soul that shines like the stars… I can do so much good in this world before I go… and I needn’t put my life on the line to try and protect everyone…”

“I need not face this alone.”

“I know you can’t hear me anymore, but Mal… ride with me into this. I’m sorry for throwing my life away.”

The pontifex responds with some classic “fool, now you face your doom” type way, For Them All roaring to life in the background, and suddenly…

The drums kick into the track for the first time since the Secret Study

“You won’t face it alone, Aestia.”

Flanked by the townsfolk of Riseridge, Sister Lylah Ilibria of the Order of the Sacred Flame charges in, as the drums come into full swing

A piano is added to the track as the rest of your party joins you (Remember how you needed a full party? Here’s where that pays off)

The final touch, the horn that Mal Cheshire once played, joins the score as well as Aestia turns to face down the final challenge

“Let us face this storm together, friends. Now, RIDE WITH ME, FOR ALL OF QAMARIA!”

The Final Boss: Pontifex Victoria Inaméa

Battle opens with a message: Your Talent Self-Sacrifice has had its HP cost halved and now applies to all skills!

Three lackeys once again: two Zealots of the Makers and Fabian, the Hand of the Church (more on him in a sec)

Zealot of the Makers: focus on moves that defend/buff the Pontifex but will nto hesitate to stab her need be, each lock weaknesses

Is a real bitch with switching around weaknesses but always stays weak to Wind

Fabian: does not lock weaknesses but does take two actions a round (don’t worry the pontifex only takes one turn a round in this phase)

Has lots of Silence and Poison shenanigans that can be very annoying to deal with

Hits HARD but is low on HP

Has a fallen sprite rather than disappearing

Back to the pontifex I'm definitely giving her Plukk's "Get 'em, boys" action where she focuses her lackeys on one member of the party

Might take some cues from Mother with buffs that mix with a debuff

Has healing spells. Screw you.

Each time you break her the pontifex is consumed more with flames

They lick at her sleeves, burning holes, then at her face and her skin

Her cheeks turn sallow under their heat if she survives long enough

She also physically holds a hand over a large stone engraved with markings glowing iridescent green (it's floating and about the size of her head)

Now it's time to detail the second phase cutscene (it stays on the battle screen)

The pontifex screams something about it being "finally complete"

Bursts into monologue

"Mother Orsa… Father Finis… you whose hands shaped the world… today I fulfil your dream for this world, your ultimate vision… TODAY WE ARE QUENCHED IN FIRE AND BORN ANEW!"

Fabian stands up if he was downed and the two transform into their final forms as we enter…

THE ENTIRE TOWN JOINING YOU!!!! LYLAH RETURNING!!!!!! MAL’S HORN IN THE SCORE!!!!!!! EVERYTHING COMING TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!! THE FUCKING LEITMOTIFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AESTIA’S LATENT POWER CHANGING!!!! I AM GOING TO EXPLODE

#asks #chaotic-good-mom-friend

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lindalofbroome · 3 years

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Hey hey request for Steven (and/or nevets) in palette 27??

(tap for quality)

‘His family is... unusual, but of the Plains nonetheless. I am sure that he would be willing to help. He—and his brother.’

Lief’s heart sank. ‘Steven?’ he asked faintly.

Doom’s face creased into a mocking smile. ‘And Nevets. For you cannot have one without the other.’

Return to Del // Ch 4

—

requests open until the end of March :D

colour palette masterpost here

#colour palette challenge #//#IT'S THE BOYS #AHHHHHHHHHH #okay im very soft #listen #im soft for 'we fight together or not at all'#and im soft for rodda describing nevets' love for his brother being just as powerful as his want to destroy (sots)#ALSO #very soft for doom's fondness for them #like everyone pretty much only talks about steven but doom says 'steven and nevets'#he thinks of them both #at least once (sots)#i dont remember if it happened more than once or whatever but im really soft for when doom says that he's glad to see steven and nevets but #with the toran plague he wishes they had stayed away #when i was looking at a previous steven drawing i did i was like 'oh friend shaped!!!'#but now i realise that doom is also like 'friend shaped!!'#///#emily rodda #roddaverse #deltora quest #steven of the plains #nevets of the plains #postlyn #postlyn art #character art #fan art #digital art

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wolken-himmel · 3 years

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In which (Y/n) falls asleep because she was stupid enough to eat a poisoned apple from the Pomefiore dorm while waiting to hang out with her good friend Rook.

Now — knowing that only a true love's kiss can save her from eternal slumber — what will Rook do?

"Rook? Rook! What are you writing again—?"

"I'm trying to write a poem..." the blond explained as calmly as he could whilst rubbing his temples. Concentrating on such a hard task whilst also having you around in the same room was a quite a challenge. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips as you removed the purple hat from his head and instead placed it on your own head, giggling softly. "Ma cherie, please! We can hang out once I've finished the poem."

You let out a little sigh before placing the large hat back to its original place on Rook's head before retreating, deciding you would have to make due with exploring your friend's bedroom while he was occupied. "Whom even is the poem for?" you asked curiously, eyes trained on the beautiful flowers that were resting in their vases.

Rook chuckled softly, his stressed out face relaxing. "For a special person! You'll see soon enough though; now, please be quiet... I've been stuck on it for a week already."

A little huff escaped your lips. "Fine. I won't disturb you any further," you mumbled as you crossed your arms in defeat. Rook let out a thankful 'Merci beaucoup!' before returning to his work that desperately needed doing.

Bored, your eyes travelled around the beautifully decorated room. The intricate design and aesthetically pleasing colour of the tapestry looked like it could be straight out of a real castle, along with the ornaments that framed the white ceiling. The colours inside of this room just screamed harmony, so it came to you as a surprise when you saw one little thing that was terribly out of place here: a brightly pink-coloured apple laying idly on Rook's dresser.

Mesmerised by the fruit's enchanting colour, your jaw fell down and your feet started to automatically carry you towards the innocent apple. Suddenly, you felt your stomach rumble in hunger. When was the last time you had eaten something?

Without thinking, your hand reached out to the apple, fingers curling around its shape. Bringing it to your lips, you took an eager bite — one that would doom you to fall asleep forever.

"Ma cherie? I'm finished now—" Rook stopped in his words as he turned around just in time to witness you falling to the carpeted ground, (E/c) eyes closed and body going limp. A dull thump echoed across the room as he remained seated in his chair, eyes wide in horror. Then, he jumped up from his seat and darted right over to your sleeping form, picking your head up to place it into his lap. "Ma cherie!" he cried out in pain whilst tearing his gaze away from you to look at the culprit — the apple. "I am busy for one second and you get yourself poisoned with one of Vil's apples?!"

Bending down, he softly cradled you in his arms. Tears stained his eyes as he wept. The poem he had worked so hard on was laying next to him in the ground, now disregarded. Rook bit his lip because the creeping thought of you never being able read the poem he wrote for you haunting his mind.

"Why would you ever eat an apple from the Pomefiore dorm?" Rook whispered into your ear, fully aware that you wouldn't respond no matter how desperate his pleas were. "Did the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves teach you nothing, ma cherie?"

As a single tear escaped his right eye, he picked you up bridal-style from the ground and carried you over to his bed, where he carefully lowered you onto. Wiping away at his slightly puffy eyes, he knelt down at your bedside whilst his hands desperately clutched onto your own.

"Rook, what's with the commotion?" Vil asked as he appeared in the room's doorstep, his perfect eyebrows furrowed in slight anger. When Rook didn't respond to his question, Vil grew curious — especially once he realised you were laying on Rook's bed, asleep. "Oh, so it's just (Y/n) taking a nap again? I told her she needed to get some beauty sleep if she wanted her skin to glow more—"

Rook shook his head, interrupting him, "No, she ate one of your apples and now she's cursed to sleep forever, Vil..."

Before worry made its way to Vil's face, a little grin appeared. He clasped his hands together as his eyes drifted to the bitten-off apple innocently laying on the ground. "Well, at least we now know the poisoned apples work!" he chirped, followed by evil laughter. "Please remind me to send Neige some for his birthday~"

"Vil, now is not the time..." Rook took a deep breath as he ran his thumb across the back of your hand. "(Y/n) is asleep, and I don't think she'll ever wake up again..."

"Don't fret, mon ami—" Vil patted Rook's head, smiling a little bit to encourage his friend. "All she needs to wake up is a true love's kiss. Simple, no?"

His movement erratic and frantic, Rook's eyes snapped over to his friend's. "Simple?" he repeated in disbelief. "Who is supposed to be her true love?! That's not simple!"

"Well," Vil began, amused, "don't you always say she's the love of your life? You clearly like her— and she might like you back, as well."

Rook lowered his gaze back to you. "I'm not sure—"

Rolling his eyes, Vil grabbed Rook by the shoulders. "Look, I've seen how much you stalk— no, excuse me— how much you watch her from afar. You like her. And now's the time to find out if she likes you back."

"Wait, you noticed I was watching her?" Rook asked in surprise.

Vil raised his eyebrows, laughing. "You're not as stealthy as you think you are. The poems you write all day? They're for (Y/n), aren't they?"

"...yes, they are..." A little bit embarrassed, Rook's eyes turned to the poem written onto the paper long abandoned next to the apple.

"See? Now go on and kiss your snow white."

Rook took a deep breath before he exhaled, "You're right, Vil. I have to at least try..."

Vil shot him a proud nod as he stepped aside to give him some more space. "Good luck, mon ami."

Nervously, Rook's face hovered above your own, his eyes taking in your unnervingly relaxing face. His gloved hand reached out to gently push a lose strand of (H/c) hair behind your ear, a loving look in his glistening eyes. Finally, he bent down to press his lips against yours, his wildest dreams finally coming true. Feeling a little bit light-headed, Rook finally pulled away to find your eyelids still closed, and the rest of your face void of any change in expression.

"It didn't work!" Rook cried out in sadness, falling to his knees next to the bed. He held onto your hand as if he didn't want to let go. "I-I'm not her true love..."

Vil's eyebrows sank in genuine pity. "Oh, my condolences..." He put his hand on his friend's shoulder, and they stayed like that for a while, only the silence there to comfort them. Rook's cries and sobs echoed through the room, his heart clenching at the thought that this whole dilemma was his fault.

"Ugh, that apple tasted bitter—"

Rook jumped up from the ground as a hoarse yet beautiful voice filled his ears, his eyes as wide as saucers. The hat fell from his head and sailed to the ground, but he didn't care. There you were, sitting on his bed as you held your throat in disgust; there was no other disturbance or such visible on your face aside from the furrowed eyebrows. Once you noticed Rook's tear-ridden cheeks and his wet eyes though, a little frown snuck its way to your lips. "Rook, are you crying? Why are you—"

"Ma cherie! The love of my life!" he cried out in happiness as he jumped right at you, his arms thrown around your neck tightly. "Never scare me like that again!"

Confused, you asked, "Huh, did something happen? Rook, why— Oh, hey Vil!"

The young man standing behind Rook shot you a little wink. "It seems like I better leave you two lovebirds alone," Vil muttered in amusement as he waltzed out of the room, his head held high as always. He made sure to shut the door behind him, but of course stayed behind and pressed his ear against the wooden door to find out how things would conclude.

"Rook? I feel so tired," you mumbled as you absent-mindedly ran your hand through his silky hair. Not able to help yourself, a little yawn escaped your lips. "Can I... maybe take a nap?"

He shook his head, and only tightened his arms around you. "No no! You slept enough for an afternoon, ma cherie!" he protested, startling you slightly.

"What's... that supposed to mean?"

Sniffling still, he eventually pulled away from you to shoot you a gentle smile. "Don't break your pretty head over it, ma cherie," he cooed, just happy to see you awake again. Once the worry left his system, it made place for the subsequent anger to appear. He raised his voice and stood up to his full height, glowering down at you scarily. "Just don't ever eat apples lying around in this dorm ever again, alright?!"

You shrank back slightly in fear. "Why?"

He sighed, rubbing his temples and calmed down. Cheeks aflame in embarrassment, he muttered quietly — almost too quietly for you to even understand, "I don't think you'd want me to kiss you again."

A mischievous grin appeared on your lips as you softly took his hand into yours. "Actually— if it means I'll get kisses from you, I'd eat poisoned apples again any day."

#twst x reader #twisted wonderland #rook x reader #rook hunt #twst rook #rook hunt x reader #disney twisted wonderland #reader insert #y/n #pomefiore #twisted wonderland rook #female reader

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dribs-and-drabbles · 2 years

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Let's talk about...the guitar case...again...

At the beginning of december, I wrote about what the doodles/pictures might mean on the guitar case...

...and just now I saw this post by @scarefox who has amazingly filled in some information for me - specifically about the snake and the umbrella.

The Snake:

So, apparently the snake resembles the image on the cover for Metallica's self-titled album, also known as The Black Album, which itself is derived from the Gadsden flag.

The coiled snake on the Metallica cover makes a subtly veiled reference to Don’t Tread On Me, one of the release’s 12 songs. In it, Hetfield sings words that reference political phrases used during the American War of Independence. But above all, both words and image allude to Metallica’s fiercely independent mindset and their unquenchable desire to plough their own unique furrow. (source)

"Don't tread on me" sounds like it could allude to both Pran and Pat's sense of feeling repressed by their parents and their eventual push back against how they've been treated their whole lives. (I'll leave it to someone who can meta better than me to make a more in depth interpretation).

The Umbrella:

The image of the umbrella (inside the peace sign) seems to resemble the image on the digital artwork for Bring Me The Horizon's album That's the Spirit. Here's the song list (and my very very crude interpretations according to BB episodes):

Doomed "You can have my heart" (Pat and Pran see each other for the first time in three years. Pran's doomed to love Pat again just as much).

Happy Song "if you sing along a little f**king louder to a happy song, you'll be just fine" (They hit a new dynamic, where they're not-enemies-but-not-quite-friends, they flirt, but Pat remembers back to Pran's transfer whilst Pran has to hear Pat's dad slander him).

Throne "Beat me black and blue, Every wound will shape me, Every scar will build my throne" (Following the fight and destruction of the bus stop, Pran takes on the organisation of the re-build, Pat helps him any way he can - they are the two kings of their faculties).

True Friends "True friends stab you in the front" (Their dynamic shifts again, they work together on the bus stop build, share more intimate interactions, but in the end Pran gets his heart broken by Pat).

Follow You "Cause I'm telling you you're all I need, I promise you you're all I see" (Pat slowly realises what he feels for Pran is more than friendship, he follows these realisations, following Pran, trying to get close, meeting him on the rooftop where Pran follows his lead into the kiss).

What You Need "How can I move you when you're stuck in your ways?" (Pran pulls away but Pat won't let him go, Pat pursues Pran, trying to get him to talk, eventually figuring out what Pran needs to be able to deal with the rooftop kiss).

Avalanche "I feel myself go under" (The bet starts with an offer of food, a lick of a finger, but builds, gains energy, momentum, increases in volume, until it finally culminates in their shift into boyfriends).

Run "So give me your every, give me your everything" (They're settling into their new relationship but unable to 'run free' with their love since it's still a secret, and at the moment of the curtain drop there's nowhere to run and hide).

Drown "The weight of the world's getting harder to hold up" (The aftermath, Pran is engulfed by guilt and sorrow for his estrangement from Wai, Pat and Pran are more open in their love for each other but they fear for Pat's future after he gets shot).

Blasphemy "Ask no questions and you'll get no lies" (The truth finally comes out about Pat and Pran's families and the feud, both Pat and Pran gain the courage to speak up to their respective parents in an act of almost sacrilege that they so openly criticise them).

Oh No "Be careful what you wish for" (Yeah, no, I have nothing to say about this one...).

And of course there's no twelfth track...so either the above is all bullsh*t or it's a nice little nod to the fact that ANYTHING can happen in ep 12 😂

#bad buddy #bad buddy series #bad buddy the series #patpran #pat x pran #let's talk about...#okay I really think I'm reaching here #I mean not everything HAS to mean something - right?#but when I get a snippet of a possibility #then I'm going to run with it #because I want it to all mean something #but not all the song lyrics really express the same thing as the episodes #so I'm really taking liberties #so take this all with a huge pinch of salt #I can't believe how much I'm trying to make excuses for this...#you'll either like it/agree or not 🤷🏽‍♀️#no harm done right?

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karajaynetoday · 3 years

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i'll be honest, it's better off this way | luke hemmings

image credit

hello pals! long time no writing! i know it seems a bit weird to post a luke break up fic just after he got engaged but to be fair, I already had this in the works before the news broke yesterday, so soz not soz. It is kind of a happy break up story though... kind of? this one features lyrics from our song by niall and anne marie that are in italics throughout the piece (you know i love a song lyric incorporation lol) and i’m a bit rusty, so any feedback is welcome! a big shoutout to my dearest @notinthesameguey for beta-reading this one for me, you’re a gem blanca! enjoy xo

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: mentions of a break up and a car accident/hospitalisation (minor/non-graphic)

(This is a fem reader insert)

More writing here | send thoughts/feedback/suggestions here | if you’d like to be on my taglist go here

I'll be honest, I'm alright with me

Sunday mornings, in my own bedsheets

The break up with Luke had been easier than you’d first thought. It’d been months of growing apart, feeling like a stranger in your own home, before you finally worked up the nerve to utter those four words: We need to talk. He’d been spending most days and some nights in the studio, and you’d been working overtime at your job too; you were ships in the night who barely had time to say hello and goodbye, let alone have any sort of proper conversation. You’d spent an entire evening rehearsing a script in your head, and as soon as Luke walked through the door and greeted Petunia, you mustered the courage to stand up and speak your truth.

It turned out that you weren’t alone in feeling stagnant in your relationship, and although you could feel your heart breaking as you said the words, Luke’s hand on your knee was all the gentle reassurance you needed. Just like always, even when your relationship was falling apart, Luke was there for you. And that’s what he promised, that night in the living room. It didn’t make sense for you two to become strangers overnight after 3 years together, but you also both knew that you needed space to grow and heal, and that space needed to happen sooner rather than later.

You could tell that part of Luke wanted to fight it, wanted to raise his voice, wanted to convince you to stay. But part of Luke also knew that it was time to walk away, no matter how much his heart was feeling like it was being ripped out of his chest, because he did truly love you, and if he loved you, he’d let you go.

Even though Luke insisted you could stay in the spare room for as long as you liked, it only took a week or so to find a new place. An apartment in KayKay’s building opened up for rent, and thanks to her help, you secured the lease and started moving in as soon as you could. Ashton accompanied you to Ikea and then helped with assembling a new bed and dining table for you, while KayKay helped unpack some of your boxes. You could tell that they were trying to be sensitive, but at the same time were desperate to know what went down in the break up, and after a few slices of pizza and half a bottle of wine, you felt the emotions rushing to the surface.

“It feels dumb to get upset, after all, I was the one who suggested we should break up.” You sniffled, smiling sadly as Ashton handed you a tissue.

“Just because it was something that needed to happen, doesn’t mean you can’t be sad about it. You two shared a lot in the time you were together, it’s only natural that it’s going to take you a while to untangle yourselves from one another and to get your head and heart back on the path that’s right for you.” KayKay spoke softly, throwing an arm around your shoulders.

You knew she was right, and the healing would come; it was all part of the rollercoaster of walking away from someone you thought was the love of your life, but had turned out not to be. Time to adjust and find some independence, and re-shape the life you found yourself in until it was the life you wanted.

But every time I think that I can get you out my head, you never, ever let me forget

Once you’d completely moved out Luke’s house, your reasons to contact him became few and far between. A few occasional texts to advise that he’d let his family know about your split, and a link to a new cafe nearby that he thought was your kind of vibe (and it absolutely was). Everyone in your friendship group was trying their best to help you both cope, but it was hard to avoid the awkwardness that came with a break up of close friends.

You felt like you were walking on eggshells for a while, so you started to say no to invitations out. You threw yourself into a new work project, and barely replied to any group chats. Whenever your friends called, you had the perfect script rehearsed, about how you were going to be up for promotion, and after the next month or so, you’d have plenty more time for catching up with everyone. You were fairly certain that no-one believed your story, but you were sticking to it nonetheless. You’d seen photos online of Luke out and about with various beautiful women amongst the partying crew, and even though you knew better than to torture yourself with doom-scrolling through the internet, you couldn’t help yourself. You had to keep reminding yourself that it was YOU that wanted the breakup, and that it was for the best. Or something like that.

It was coming to the end of your big project, and the entire office decided to head out for celebratory drinks. You only stayed for a couple, because after a month of overtime you were ready for bed. Your boss took you aside to assure you that the promotion was yours and the new contract would be on your desk on Monday, and as you reassured him you were excited to take on the role, a song playing over the bar’s speakers made you stop in your tracks. You’d spent many a Sunday morning dancing around the kitchen making pancakes with Luke and singing these words; something you’d completely forgotten until this moment. As you stepped outside to await your Uber, the first person you wanted to call with the news was Luke. Your fingers hovered over his name for a good few minutes before your Uber driver honked and broke you out of her trance, and you settled for texting the group chat instead to share your exciting update. Lots of confetti and heart eyes emojis started popping up alongside congratulatory messages, and you let out a giggle when you saw that Luke had sent a photo of Petunia with “congrats!” scrawled across it in purple font. It was the last thing you remembered, before the squealing of tyres and your vision going black.

Just when I think you're gone, Hear our song on the radio

Just like that, takes me back, To the places we used to go

The rhythmic beeping of the hospital monitors was the first thing you noticed as you stirred awake. The second was a dull pain across your skull, and the third was that your arm was in a sling. Fourth was the large, warm hand that was holding your own and gently squeezing; without opening your eyes, you knew it was Luke’s. You felt too weak to say any words, so instead you tried your best to squeeze back as you slowly opened your eyes. You heard a sharp intake of breath, before Luke’s smiling face came into view.

“Hey there, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” Luke asked, reaching up to gently brush some hair out of your eyes.

“Like I was in a car accident.” You managed to croak out, shooting him a wry smile and earning a laugh in return.

“You are correct, you can pass go, and collect $200. A pretty gnarly accident, the car’s a write-off, but thankfully everyone’s injuries are relatively minor. Some dickhead ran a red light.” You could tell Luke was trying to remain calm, but under the surface he was pissed.

“Not ideal, but at least I get a few days off work.” You joked, grimacing as you tried to sit up. Luke stood and gently maneuvered your pillows to support your back and shoulders better, and you felt a zap of electricity as his hands brushed your arms in passing.

As Luke sat back in the chair next to the bed, you suddenly realised that it was just the two of you in the hospital room.

“No offence, Hemmo, but what are you doing here? Considering we’re no longer significant others, and all…” You said awkwardly, looking down at your arm sling with sudden great interest.

“Very observant, dear. Glad to see the concussion hasn’t affected your short term memory, I was worried you’d forget me entirely. You did, however, forget to update your emergency contact details, so I guess I was first on the list for the hospital to call. Ash, KayKay and I have been taking shifts but they’re out getting food right now - “ The rest of Luke’s explanation was cut off by a gasp and a cheer at the door, signalling Ashton and KayKay’s return and subsequent delight at you being awake.

The days that followed were uncomfortable physically, but kind of heartwarming emotionally. You got home to your apartment thanks to KayKay’s assistance, and found that your friends had stocked your fridge and freezer full of ready-made meals and your favourite snacks. They’d also made a roster so not a day went by without someone popping in to check on you, although you noticed that Luke never came by.

Your recovery was slow but steady, and soon enough the doctors gave you the all clear. At this point, it was nearly 6 months since you’d broken up with Luke, and you could feel your mindset shifting. He was no longer the first person you wanted to call with good or bad news, or the first memories that popped into your head when you needed cheering up. It almost felt like… relief? Because for the longest time, even though you knew the break up was for the best, detaching yourself from one another seemed almost in possible after so many years of so many memories.

I've been waking up alone, I haven't thought of him for days

I'll be honest, It's better off this way

The tipping point came at Calum’s birthday party, a month or so later. Ashton had invited you out for coffee and nonchalantly mentioned that maybe, possibly, well actually extremely likely almost definitely Luke was bringing a date to the gathering at Cal’s house; a girl he’d been seeing for a month or so. Everyone wanted you to be comfortable, and everyone, Cal especially, wanted you to be there, but they also understood if you wanted to avoid any potential awkward encounters with Luke and his new love interest. You assured Ashton that it would be fine, that you honestly weren’t bothered, and laughed off his suggestion of setting you up with a super hot blind date to help level the playing field.

The night came along, and you found yourself stumbling along Calum’s front path in the dark as you tried not to drop the gift you’d bought for him (a new cookbook and a collection of various hot sauces). “Bloody 5sos and the “no good party starts until 11pm rule”, you muttered to yourself as you almost tripped over again, and you heard an indignant shout that sounded very Ashton-like behind you.

“Oi! Don’t be mad at us, you know that rule has never let us down!” Ashton bellowed, as he came forward with his phone flashlight switched on, KayKay not too far behind him.

“Damn girl, you like fiiiiiine!” KayKay said, letting out a low whistle. You rolled your eyes, knowing she was exaggerating. Your outfit was essentially a denim skirt and a t-shirt - maybe you’d sexed it up a little bit with some thigh high boots, tousled hair and a red lip, but all’s fair in love and war, right?

The three of you made it inside, and a very tipsy Calum greeted you with open arms and a lot of excitement at your gift of hot sauce. It felt so nice to be back with all your friends at a house party, like the old days, and you found yourself stepping out onto the back patio for a moment of quiet reflection and to share some pats with Duke.

You’d exchanged a wave with Luke when you’d entered the house, but hadn’t quite worked up the confidence to go up and speak to him, especially when he had his new girl in close proximity. She looked really friendly, though, and you could tell from the spark in both of their eyes that their relationship was blossoming in the best possible way. Part of you thought you’d be upset about it, but all you truly felt was content. Content in your life as it was, surrounded by friends that loved you just as much as you loved them, and actually quite proud of how far you’d come over the past year. You’d learned to stand on your own two feet, and you’d grown into a much more settled, independent human as a result.

You were lost in your train of thought when you heard the song change on the speakers inside. Duke’s ears perked up and he licked your hand attentively when you stopped patting him as the song registered - it was your song. Or at least, it used to be. You felt a smile creep onto your face when you remembered the Sunday mornings of pancakes and singalongs, and the smile grew wider when you saw Luke’s girlfriend dragging him onto the dancefloor, much to his (fake) protests. You made eye contact with your kind-hearted, softly-smiling, gentle-eyed ex-boyfriend, and for a split second you saw a flash of concern cross his face. In response, you raised your glass in a cheers and shot him a wink, which earned a smile and a small laugh from Luke before he turned his attention back to the beautiful girl in his arms. You took a sip, and smiled to yourself. It truly was better off this way.

When I hear it, I just can't stop smiling, I remember you're gone

Baby, it's just a song on the radio, That we used to know

Taglist: If there’s a line through your name, I couldn’t tag you, so please message me to let me know your new URL or what the go is! @suchalonelysunflower @blackbutterfliescal @redrattlers @loveroflrh @spicycal @notinthesameguey @metalandboybands @cheekysos @ashton-trash @another-lonely-heart @queenalienscherrypie @becihadshawn @allthestarsandthemoon @oyesmendes @andrianawinchester @333-xx @findingliam-o @hoodhoran @rbforsmileycal @myloverboyash @myhappylittleyoutubee @saywhatnow07 @secretsicanthideanymore @ar1analara @killmywildflower

#my writing #luke hemmings imagine #luke hemmings one shot #luke hemmings fan fiction #5sos one shot #5sos imagine #5sos fanfiction #lol how do i even write things anymore #i feel VERY rusty #but alas #hopefully it's okay #lmk what you think!

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nicknellie · 3 years

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Anonymous requested: It would be really cool if you could do a library AU! Maybe one of them works at a library and they keep running into each other or something.

I have been unbelievably excited to write this one, I’m so happy I’ve finally got around to it! This is where my mind went as soon as I read the prompt, I really hope you enjoy it! (If anyone wants to suggest a prompt for a part 2 I’d be more than happy to do that once I reopen requests.)

Featuring he/they Willie because I really need to include that headcanon in my writing more often. Willie’s pronouns alternate throughout.

Books on Boards

Usually it was Reggie whose excuses began with “In my defence…”

“In my defence, I couldn’t see where I was going… In my defence, I forgot water and electricity don’t mix… In my defence, if Luke didn’t want to be shot with a Nerf gun then he shouldn’t have been standing in my way…”

Sometimes it was Luke.

“In my defence, no one told me not to… In my defence, I didn’t realise it could go this horribly wrong… In my defence, I did try to do it properly and I don’t know how it blew up…”

On rare occasion, it was Julie.

“In my defence, I was a little lost in my own head… In my defence, I’m terrible at comebacks… In my defence, I have an extremely annoying boyfriend and he was trying to talk to me about our new setlist the whole time which was very distracting…”

But it was never Alex.

Until now.

“In my defence,” Alex began, raising a hand and talking over Julie, Luke, and Reggie’s shouts, “I have to go to the library a lot. I’m an English major and it’s where all the books are!”

“But you don’t need to be at the library for five hours a day,” Luke countered.

Alex sighed. He had a point, and Alex had no excuse this time. Well, that wasn’t strictly true – his excuse was an adorable library assistant who just so happened to be very friendly to Alex and, by some miracle, worked whenever Alex needed to study. But he couldn’t just admit that to his friends, each of whom was staring at him with flat disbelief.

The assistant’s name was Willie and he was simply wonderful. The first time Alex had met him had been right at the start of his first semester – he had never been to the university’s library before and it was bigger than the one at Alexandria, so he was unbelievably lost. Alex had half-convinced himself that he would be stuck there forever, doomed to wander between the shelves looking for the section he needed, eventually becoming a ghost and haunting the place, still trying to locate his books.

Enter Willie. They had scared Alex half to death – in Alex’s defence, he hadn’t expected to be knocked off his feet by someone on a skateboard in the middle of a library the size of Buckingham Palace. And yet, he had landed on the floor, flat on his face and winded, understandably startled. As he scrambled to his feet, he heard his assailant exclaim, “Aw… you dinged my board!”

Alex had started to berate him but stopped in his tracks when he looked at the guy and realised that he had been knocked to the floor by a literal angel. His long dark hair was majestically swept to one side and tucked behind his ear, his soft eyes were sparkling, and he had a lopsided smile on his face despite the fact that Alex had been shouting at him just a second earlier (well, whisper-shouting at him – they were in a library, after all).

“Sorry,” they had said, picking up their board. “I didn’t see you there. Books were in the way.” He had pointed to a heap of books now strewn across the floor, some splayed open, some with ripped pages. Alex realised that he had been carrying the books stacked up in front of him, skating along with them.

“Oh!” Alex exclaimed, bending down to help pick the books up. “No, sorry, it’s fine. I was just stood there. I’m a little lost, no problem, my fault.”

Together they had stacked the books back up, and Willie heaved the stack onto a nearby table before introducing himself. Alex did the same, shaking Willie’s hand and trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach – he couldn’t let himself get distracted by a cute guy with a skateboard, not while he still had all his books to find in the labyrinthine library.

“So,” Willie had said conversationally, leaning back against the table. “You said you were lost? Anything specific you need to find?”

Alex dug around in his fanny pack before pulling out the list he’d scribbled down. “Yeah, all of these. Do you know where they are?”

“I’d be a pretty terrible librarian if I didn’t,” Willie chuckled. At Alex’s bewildered look, he had raised an eyebrow and said, “I’m not a terrible librarian. I’m actually really good at it. I mean, I don’t usually knock over customers, but these things happen.”

“Oh,” Alex said, clocking on too late. It made sense – of course that was why Willie had been carrying so many books, he was a librarian. Alex didn’t know how he hadn’t guessed before. “Right, I get it, because of the books and the… Right, okay. What about the, uh… the skateboard?”

Willie had picked up their board, smiled at it fondly. “It helps me get around faster. This place is huge, man, you don’t seriously expect me to walk around it all day? Anyway, come with me, I’ll take you to those books.”

That had been five weeks ago.

It wasn’t Alex’s fault that Willie was incredibly cute. It wasn’t Alex’s fault that Willie’s shifts happened to perfectly align with his studying time. But he couldn’t deny that it was his fault that he had stayed there for hours on end every day since, talking to Willie about everything and nothing. And it was also his fault that he had done that very same thing today, checked his watch and seen that he was an hour late for band practise, and kept talking to Willie anyway.

Usually, Alex thought about consequences, but he had been having so much fun talking to Willie that day that he hadn’t considered them. Now those consequences had caught up with him in the form of one very angry rock band.

“Alex,” Luke said imploringly, “you’ve got to get your head in the game! We have a load of gigs coming up, really important ones–”

“We do?” Reggie interrupted, looking baffled. “I thought we’ve got that one at the old folks’ home and then that’s it for, like, a month?”

Luke waved him away. “That’s not the point. These gigs are just as important as any big ones. Dude, we’ve got to build up our repertoire so that we can start playing bigger venues, but that’s not going to happen if our drummer is too caught up in his studies!”

Alex inwardly sighed with relief. At least Luke thought the reason he was staying at the library so often was because he was working hard, not because he was talking to Willie. He would have preferred his tiny little crush on Willie stayed secret for a little longer; whenever Luke found out that Alex or Reggie liked someone, he became unbearable.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if Julie had other ideas.

She huffed an incredulous laugh, saying, “You seriously think he’s staying late because he’s studying?”

Luke nodded, confused, as Reggie gestured to Alex and said, “Of course he is, what other reason could there be?”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed, nodding. He knew that the hitch in his voice was unconvincing – in his defence, he’d never been a good liar. “What other reason could there be?”

Julie raised a challenging eyebrow, but the smirk on her face told Alex that she knew she had already won. “Alex, can I just ask, who was working at the library today?”

Alex cleared his throat and tried for nonchalance when he said, “Willie.”

“You mean the good-looking skater-boy history major, right?” Julie said slyly.

Alex shrugged. “Yeah. I guess he is those things.”

Julie nodded slowly. Luke and Reggie were watching the interaction carefully, though it didn’t seem like the realisation had dawned on either of them yet.

“And who was working last Friday when you didn’t arrive back here until almost ten p.m.?” Julie asked.

“Willie,” Alex said under his breath, avoiding eye contact.

“Right,” Julie replied. “And what about Tuesday when you missed three lectures and were smiling too much to even care about how much that’ll drop your grade?”

Alex scowled and didn’t say anything. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know the answer, and judging by the ‘O’ shape Reggie’s mouth was making and the wide grin that had made itself at home on Luke’s face, they had figured it out too.

“Bro,” Luke said excitedly, “you’ve got a crush on Willie!”

“No,” Alex spluttered, “no, I do not. We just happen to get on really well and he’s always working when I need to study.”

“But he is the reason you’re always there, isn’t he?” Reggie prompted.

Alex shrugged. “I guess,” he mumbled.

Luke leapt up, clamped his hands onto Alex’s shoulders and jumped up and down like an over-excited puppy. The ecstatic smile on Luke’s face didn’t quite make up for how annoying it was.

“Dude,” he said emphatically, “you’ve gotta ask him out!”

“Don’t be silly,” Alex said, shaking his head, “it’s not like that.”

“It’s like that,” Julie, Luke and Reggie chorused. Alex just rolled his eyes.

“Look, Alex,” Julie said. He looked past Luke to her, but only because in situations like this she tended to be the voice of reason. “I actually agree with Luke.”

Apparently, that day she was taking a break from being the voice of reason.

Alex opened his mouth to protest, but Julie interrupted him. “Hear me out. No matter what you say, you’re clearly head over heels for this guy. And it is distracting you – we’re two hours into rehearsal and you haven’t even set up your kit. If you ask him out and he says yes then you can hang out with him at other times as boyfriends, not when you’re meant to be spending time with us. If he says no, you can get him out of your mind and move on, getting your mind back on the band. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Again, Alex tried to respond, but this time Reggie and Luke both yelled over him.

“No!” Reggie shouted. “We agreed never to ask him that question again!”

“Have you forgotten last time?” Luke questioned furiously. “That was the longest three hours of my life!”

Julie held her hands up. “Sorry, sorry, it slipped my mind.”

“Okay,” Alex said, ignoring them and deciding to get the conversation back on track. “Even if I did do that, there’s so many things that could go wrong. I don’t know if he’s into guys, and if he says no for any reason at all then I can never go back to the library.”

Luke shook his head. “Dude, Willie’s the head of the university’s LGBTQ+ Society and he introduces himself as ‘Willie, he/they, gay’ at the start of each session.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve been a couple of times. Hey, wait, we should all go, it’s actually super chill and–”

“It sounds great, Luke, but we’ll talk about it later,” Julie said, easily calming him as he started getting over-excited again. “Right now we have other things to focus on. Alex, if Luke’s right then Willie is definitely into guys. And from the way you’ve gushed about him and your conversations without realising it, I’d say he definitely has a thing for you. And he seems cool – I’m sure even if he said no then he’d act completely normally around you.”

“Yeah,” Reggie agreed, “the guy doesn’t find anything awkward. Last week I was looking through a book for my psychology class and just as I flicked to a… questionable page, he came up behind me. He just laughed it off and then offered to sign it out for me once I was done looking through it.”

Alex thought about it for a moment. It sounded too good to be true. Luke said that Willie was into guys, Julie said they might like Alex, Reggie said that they’d be cool with it no matter what… Good things like this didn’t happen to Alex too often.

“I’ll think about it,” he said. The others sighed, Reggie throwing up his hands with exasperation. “I will! I’ll think. But we should get to rehearsing.”

Almost two and a half hours later than they should have, the band finally set up their instruments and Alex counted them in.

He was at the library. Again. He was always at the library these days, just this time he really did need to be working. He had a big assessment coming up and needed to cram some last-minute studying in.

It would have been a lot easier if he hadn’t been trying to avoid Willie the entire time.

In Alex’s defence, it felt like the most reasonable option. Sure, he could see Willie and ask him out, but if Willie rejected him then he wasn’t sure he’d ever live it down despite his friends’ reassurances. He could have seen Willie and not asked him out, but then he’d be living in constant wonder of what could happen. So he had elected to do the sensible thing and just not see them at all.

It had been going well for the most part. His legs were beginning to ache from springing himself behind bookcases whenever he caught a glimpse of Willie, but it was worth it. Besides – he needed to focus, and an angelic librarian wasn’t about to help him do that.

He made his fatal error when trying to exit the library.

He had been so caught up in scanning the surrounding area for Willie that he hadn’t been looking ahead, or down at the floor. He heard the shout of, “Watch out!” too late.

Alex stepped forward, his foot landed on a skateboard, and he was sent flying down to the ground, landing hard on his coccyx. Pain shot up his back and he let out an agonised groan which earned him a “Shhhh!” from a tired-looking student sat at the nearest table.

“Alex,” came the same voice who had shouted the warning, the voice Alex now recognised as Willie’s. So much for avoiding him. Willie came and crouched down beside Alex where he was still laying on the floor, leaning over him, looking concerned. “Hey, Alex, you alright? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left my board lying there, I was only restocking that shelf.”

Groaning, Alex eased himself into a sitting position. Willie sat back, still looking worried.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Alex lied. His coccyx was killing him. “It’s fine. I won’t sue or demand you get fired or anything.”

Willie chuckled lightly and then held out his hand. Alex took it automatically and was a little startled when Willie began pulling him to his feet – maybe it was the shock, but he had thought the hand holding was them simply having a moment. But no, of course it was too good to be true. Willie let go of his hand the moment they were both stood and then bent to pick up his board.

“I hadn’t seen you,” Willie said. “Where’ve you been hiding?”

Alex shrugged. “Oh, nowhere. Just… doing my English work. In the quiet area.”

Nodding, Willie replied with something that made Alex’s blood run cold.

“That’s cool. It’s just that I was just talking to Luke a minute ago and he said there was something you wanted to ask me?”

Eyes wide, jaw open in shock, Alex looked behind Willie to where they had pointed. Sure enough, standing by the end of a nearby bookcase with his nose in a book (which he was clearly not reading because it was upside down) was Luke. He gave Alex a nervous wave when he saw him looking.

Trying not to sound murderous, Alex said, “Yeah. There was something.”

He realised too late that hadn’t been what he was planning to say.

“Yeah? What is it?” Willie asked with a smile.

Alex’s eyes darted from Willie to Luke and back again, then up to the ceiling and around the library for inspiration, and then they landed on his own wrist and the rainbow bracelet wrapped around it.

“I – well, we, me and my friends – we were wondering if there would be any space for us to join the LGBTQ+ Society. Luke mentioned you’re the head so I figured there’s no one better to ask than you. Right?”

Willie blinked, face faltering for just a moment. Alex tried not to panic – had he said the wrong thing, had he somehow offended Willie? But the look was gone quick enough for Alex to convince himself he’d imagined it, replaced by his radiant smile.

“Yeah, the more the merrier,” he said. But then he cleared his throat and added, “You’re sure that’s it?”

Swallowing nervously, Alex cast another glance to Luke who had given up the pretence of reading and was now urgently gesturing at Willie, making kissy faces, and mouthing words Alex couldn’t understand – but he got the message.

“Okay, no, there was one more thing,” he said quietly.

Willie tucked his hair behind his ear and Alex’s eyes caught momentarily on his earring.

“I was wondering,” he began, slow but steady, “if you would… by any chance… And you can say no, I won’t be offended! It’s just, I would really like to go on a date with you. And if you would like to go on a date with me then I think we should. Do that. Go on a date. Together. If you want?”

As awkward as it felt, Alex maintained eye contact – he was glad he did, because a moment later Willie’s face split in a beautiful grin that didn’t look mocking or apologetic, it looked genuinely happy.

“Yes,” Willie said, laughing quietly. “Yes, I do want that.”

Alex sighed with relief. “Thank god. I’m going to kill Luke.”

“Don’t,” Willie said, shaking his head. “I can’t have you getting arrested before I get to go on a date with you.”

“What about after the date?” Alex joked.

“Yeah, man, that’s fine.” Willie laughed but after a moment their expression softened. “I’m really glad you asked. I was going to, but I wasn’t sure if you’d say yes.”

Alex scratched at the back of his head. “Yeah. That’s the same reason it took me so long to do the actual asking.”

“Well,” said Willie, “that doesn’t matter now. Does Friday work for you?”

Alex’s only form of a social life was hanging out with the band, and his plans for Friday consisted largely of sitting in his and Reggie’s shared dorm room, eating cold pizza and watching reruns of Friends.

“Yeah,” he said coolly, “I can probably make it work. Might have to reschedule some stuff, but it’ll be worth it.”

Clearly not believing him but polite enough not to call him out, Willie laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Great. My shift finishes at five that day, I’ll let you be a gentleman and pick me up. I’ve got to get back to work, but I’ll catch you then, Alex.”

“See you,” Alex said.

Willie walked away and was seamlessly replaced by Luke, who gripped Alex’s arms and shook him up and down. “Bro! You got a date with Willie! You can thank me later.”

Alex left the library, Luke trailing behind him. “I’m not thanking you,” he said, fighting a smile.

“Why not? I got him to come talk to you!”

“You didn’t ask him out, I did that. There’s nothing to thank you for.”

“That is where you’re very much wrong because…”

As Luke went on for a solid ten minutes about why Alex and Willie finally agreeing to go on a date was actually all down to him, Alex zoned out and let himself be happy. He had a date with Willie, the angelic librarian, the good-looking skater-boy history major. He couldn’t believe his luck.

When they arrived back at the studio, Julie smirked and said, “You’re grinning like an idiot, Alex.”

“In my defence,” he returned, “I'm going on a date with Willie.”

174 notes · View notes

squidgamesmut · 2 years

Text

The Guardian Angel | Chapter 13 - A gilded cage

Seong Gi-hun X Female Reader

Chapter 13/14 : A gilded cage

Minors DNI

Contains heavy spoilers

The Guardian Angel navigation post

Kang Sae-byeok was obviously unwell, and Gi-hun observed her from across the dimly lit room. He had avoided Sang-woo at all costs, feeling the sharp tension in the air.

Things between him and his childhood friend had been going south, and Gi-hun had finally realised the reality of Sang-woo’s nature. A heated fight about Sang-woo pushing the glass manufacturer to his death in the final seconds of the previous game had caused their once-strong bond to snap at once.

The dinner had not changed a thing, only thickened the hostility in the dynamic of the remaining three. Their silence spoke louder than words, and Gi-hun dared not sleep, uncertain of what was to come.

The once-full hall was dark, only dimly lit by a tall candelabrum, left there from the dinner, and eerily quiet. He had seen Sae-byeok’s fallen face, the pale depth of her cheeks, the way her lips were chapped and almost white. Perhaps it was their impending doom that sent her in a state of dishevelment, but this was more than just being unkempt.

Gi-hun silently rose and approached her.

“Kang Sae-byeok.” he muttered, and she looked up like a deer in the headlights, shakily holding the steak knife in front of her. “It’s all right. I didn’t come here to kill you. You’ve been dozing off. I’d have killed you already if I wanted to.”

He held up his own knife, hers not lowering. “I have this with me because of Sang-woo there.” Gi-hun peered into the dark room, barely making out the shape of his once-so-dear friend. “Protection, you know.”

Gi-hun tucked his weapon away, which caused Sae-byeok to lower her guard. He sat down next to her bed, and a pregnant silence fell over them for a few moments.

“You’re not holding up too well, huh?” quizzed Gi-hun.

“No, it’s okay,” Sae-byeok lied, “I feel fine.”

Gi-hun was unconvinced. “So how come you barely touched your food earlier?”

“It wasn’t very well cooked, that’s all.”

He looked at her. “Stop lying, please.” he whispered.

Sae-byeok did not dare face him. “And if I’m hurt? Are you going to try and treat it?” She gulped before resuming. “You need to think about yourself. Just leave me, I’ll be okay.”

Gi-hun deeply inhaled. “Hey, Kang Sae-byeok,” said he, “We should stick together. We can beat him. Whatever the game, we’ll help each other get through this as teammates.”

He briefly paused, looking at Sang-woo across the room. “Show that psychopath what we can do.” His gaze shifted to the money. “Share all that prize money and just run away.”

“And do you know what you’re gonna do with all that money once we get out?” wondered Sae-byeok.

“I’d pay off my debt first,” Gi-hun imagined, pausing. “And buy a nice clean store in the city for my mom. She always hoped to run a… A real store, not just that kind of little stall. And I would finally start being a dad to my girl for once in my life. Perhaps… Perhaps I’d even dare to pursue the woman I’ve been dreaming about, provide her with a decent home, in honour of my new and eternal gganbu. I owe her everything now, you know. I’ve taken so much from her, so I must pay her back.”

“How old is your daughter?” asked Sae-byeok.

Gi-hun sighed. “She’s ten.”

“That’s also how old my little brother is.” said Sae-byeok pensively.

“And where is your brother staying now?”

Sae-byeok’s voice was heavy with guilt. “In an orphanage. I promised that he’d get out of there soon. Our mother is stuck in the North right now. I said I’d get her once I was able to make enough money, and I’ll get us all a house.”

“There is so much in there. I Think even with half, you’ll have plenty.” Gi-hun said.

They looked at the piggy bank in the ceiling for a few moments.

“Hey, Gi-hun.” A beat of silence. “I think you and I should make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” he quizzed.

“Just in case either of us can actually make it out of this hellhole somehow, we’ll look after each other’s loved ones, okay?” Sae-byeok proposed.

Gi-hun looked at her for a second. “Don’t say that, come on. We’ll beat Sang-woo, and then, we’ll get out of here together.”

Just now, she turned to him, face glistening with sweat and tears.

“I still want you to swear, though.” She shakily exhaled. “I need you to swear that you’ll look after him.”

Gi-hun did not respond, instead hushed her by pressing his index finger against his lips. Slowly, he stood, eyes glued onto Sang-woo across the room. He began to walk, quietly approaching Sang-woo’s huddled form. The man in question was fiddling with his knife, though dropped it when noticing Gi-hun nearing.

Gi-hun drew his weapon, moving to head for Sang-woo.

“Don’t do it.”

Sae-byeok halted him in his tracks. “That isn’t you.” she said. “You’re a good person at heart.”

He lowered his knife, though still looking at Sang-woo, contemplating what to do. If he were to choose to kill Sang-woo right now, he would no longer be a threat. However, how could he and Sae-byeok leave together if it weren’t for a competitor to fight against tomorrow?

A dull thud behind him, and Gi-hun pivoted. Sae-byeok sat slumped to the side, groaning in pain. He rapidly knelt down over her, holding her up. “Hey, what’s wrong? Hey, you’re…”

Sae-byeok moaned in pain when Gi-hun spotted crimson soaking through her once crisp white dress shirt. “What happened? When? When did you get hurt?!”

It wouldn’t matter. She had lost too much blood, and was too weak to properly recover in time. “Mister.” she meekly muttered, and Gi-hun looked at her.

Her face had the mask of death already over it. “I think I wanna go… I’d like to go home now.” She trembled in pain, struggling to stay awake.

“Hey, hold on, Sae-byeok. Stay here.” implored Gi-hun, “Don’t let yourself go. Just keep on holding this.” He patted her cheeks to keep her awake, but it barely did a thing. “I'll go get someone, okay?”

He did not await an answer and rushed for the thick metal doors, slamming on them. “Hey, hey, we need help here! She’s lost a lot of blood! She’s a badly injured girl! Is anybody out there?!” he begged. “Get in here, you assholes! Someone is dying!”

Gi-hun kept hitting the door with bloodied palms. “You need her alive if you want her in the next round! Somebody out there, please, answer me!”

The lights sprung on, and for a second, his order seemed to be answered. The doors opened with their blaring sound.

“Oh, please! Could you please get a doctor? She’s lost a lot of blood!” Gi-hun pleaded to a guard with a square on his mask. “Hurry, please! She…”

His voice trailed off when a group of pink soldiers carried in no medical equipment, but an all-too-familiar black coffin. Gi-hun followed them with his gaze, heavily breathing, when his eye fell on the blood-drenched form of Sae-byeok.

Next to her stood Sang-woo, eyes bewildered, knife in hand. Gi-hun’s jaw fell slack and he rapidly approached him, running to Sae-byeok's body. He grabbed her, holding her tight, begging her to open her eyes.

Then, he saw a gaping wound on her neck, one that certainly wasn’t there before. “Oh, no! No, Sae-byeok, no!” Gi-hun panicked, tears filling his eyes. He let out a few sobs of agony, though all of a sudden, his gaze hardened.

Slowly, he turned to Sang-woo as he laid down Sae-byeok, when he realised what had happened. In Sang-woo’s hand was his weapon, soaked in the blood of Player 067.

In a fit of rage, Gi-hun grabbed the knife Sae-byeok had been holding off the mattress, lunging out at Sang-woo. Player 218 moved to attack as well, but Gi-hun was shoved to the floor roughly by a guard, who jumped on top of him to keep him down.

Gi-hun couldn’t hear his own shouts of hatred over the way his blood was rushing in his ears.

Sang-woo was looking at him. Calmly. Showing no regret. A soldier shoved him back with his gun. As soon as he was out of sight, Gi-hun saw how Sae-byeok’s lifeless corpse was brought over to the coffin and put down.

His struggle became sobbing, and he wailed over the noise of money being added to the piggy bank.

He loathed the very sound.

~*~*~

Your eyes snapped up from your notebook, and you turned to the door of your bedroom, expecting someone to come through. However, the noise only remained in the hallway and gradually moved towards the bathroom.

Curiously, you stood up, instead of hiding the diary now putting it haphazardly underneath your pillow before going to investigate the sound.

A familiar dark grey coat lay on the floor, and your step quickened in worry. “In-ho?”

The tip of his knife pried out a bullet from his arm, and it sank to the bottom of the sink, where water was stained with blood. “What happened?” you quizzed, approaching him. He held a soaked rag to his shoulder, where a gaping bulletwound sat.

You tutted at it, grabbing the first aid kit at once. Upon your return, In-ho had sat down on the edge of the bathtub, knowing that protesting your advances would be fruitless.

“The intruder shot me, but he apparently had poor aim when he did so.” In-ho hissed whilst you began cleaning his wound.

“Poor aim? He killed a guard here.”

“Perhaps he was standing up close when it happened.” In-ho suggested, and he flinched at your touch.

“Sorry.” you squeaked. “Can you say that he will not be a problem anymore?”

“I shot him and he fell into the ocean.”

“No body recovered?”

In-ho’s jaw flexed. “No.” said he, “I did not see him when I looked over the edge, but a fall like that is not one you can survive. He’s out in the open, heavily injured, if he survived at all. The odds are against him, so you don’t need to worry, ma’am.”

You smirked a bit. “Don’t you ‘ma’am’ me, In-ho. You did very well, and I’m proud of you.”

He managed to softly smile and looked away. “Thank you, (Y/n).”

“That should do it for now. Tomorrow, the doctor will stop by to look after my grandfather. Just approach the man and let him look at your wound, because that needs proper treatment.”

You packed up the first aid kit and sighed, yawning behind your hand.

“Go to bed, (Y/n).” In-ho told you. “Tomorrow will be a long day for you.”

“For you, too.” said you whilst he stood and began cleaning up the most visible bloodstains.

In-ho sighed. “Well, I do not think that I will sleep anytime soon.”

That moment, you heard the earpiece on the side of the sink crackle. Someone on the other side was speaking, hurriedly, panicked.

“Seems like the fun never stops.” you said with a sigh, grabbing it to listen.

“Sir, violence went down amongst the Players. Only two contestants remain.”

Your stomach dropped, and fear screwed shut your throat. “This is the Game Maker speaking,” you said through the microphone, masking your fear. “Please clarify which Player has been eliminated from the Game.”

“Player 067, ma’am.” replied the voice on the other side. It was utterly inappropriate, but you let out a sigh of relief at the revelation that Gi-hun was unharmed.

You took a deep breath. “The Front Man is currently unable to respond, but I will come down to handle this with you.”

“Naturally, ma’am.”

“Seems like you won’t be sleeping anytime soon, either.” In-ho muttered.

You sighed, rolling your eyes. “Well, it’s not like I would have been able to do so. You take care of that shoulder, get some rest, and I’ll… Well, I will handle this.”

“Alright, (Y/n). Take care now.”

You went to get your mask and headed for the control room. Only two pictures remained on the floor of photographs.

~*~*~

Hatred.

It was the sole emotion that ran through Gi-hun’s veins when he stood opposite of Sang-woo the morning after.

No, there was something else. Regret, and perhaps a bit of hope.

Hope that Gi-hun could wake up from his nightmare any time now, and that he would be young again, joyful, carefree. He and Sang-woo would go play outside, and eventually their mothers called them inside to have dinner. He would warn Sang-woo about not investing in the wrong and fraudulent practises, and he himself would not give gambling a try no matter how tempting it was, and he’d seek out you.

If Gi-hun happened to awaken from this dreadful world, and it all seemed to have been nothing but a bad dream, then that was the first thing he would do.

However, reality was different.

“Player 218 and Player 456, welcome to the final game.” said a masked soldier with them.

Gi-hun’s eyes were glued onto Sang-woo’s blood-stained form and narrowed them in anger. His jaw tensed.

“Before we begin, we’ll flip a coin to decide who plays offence or defence.”

The guard held out a coin. “Please choose a shape,” he told Gi-hun. “Triangle or square.”

“Triangle.” said he. The coin was tossed into the air, and it turned a few times before falling back into the pink soldier’s gloved hands.

The shape on top was a triangle. “Please choose either offence or defence.”

Gi-hun stared at Sang-woo for a second, barely recognising the man he once was. So void of emotion, so coldly covered in the blood of his friend. “Offence,” he said firmly.

“Player 456 will play offence. Player 218 will play defence.”

They were led into the next game arena, a place way too familiar. At the very end stood the doll that once was the bane or their existence mere days ago, and Gi-hun swallowed bile.

“For the final game,” said the masked soldier, “you’ll both be playing Squid Game. Let me explain the rules of the Squid Game. One, the attacker must enter the squid shape court, run past the defence, and then tap the area inside the squid’s head with his foot to secure the win. Two, the defender must block the attacker’s advance and force them outside of the court’s bounds in order to win. Three, if a situation arises in which either Player is unable to continue playing the game, the last one standing will be the winner.”

They halted in the playing field and faced one another.

“A player’s inability to continue,” Gi-hun bitterly said. “Could you explain that?”

“That would be referring to the Player’s death,” said the masked man. “And now, with that, let the game begin.”

With one final look of wrath towards Sang-woo, Gi-hun spun on his heel, getting into position.

~*~*~

The Front Man was currently explaining the rules of the Squid Game to the VIPs whilst you were standing near a large window looking out over the playing field. Your mask was uncomfortable, your nervous demeanour causing more friction.

You just hoped that Gi-hun would win. You were not allowed to have favourites, and yet you did.

“Among all the games that kids played back then,” In-ho said, “Squid Game was the most physical and violent.”

“So any kind of violence is allowed?” asked the VIP with the buffalo mask.

You hummed in agreement. “Yes. There are no restrictions.”

Watching how Gi-hun tied his laces, you swallowed thickly, taking a gulp of your drink. Gi-hun began to jump on one foot to the left side of the Squid, eyes focused on Player 218.

“Why is he hopping on one foot?”

“The attacker is given a handicap.” In-ho clarified. “He can only hop on one foot until he crosses the Squid’s neck.”

The VIP began to get the gist. “Oh, so the defender tries to block him.”

“Yes. That’s the first challenge of this game.”

Sang-woo stood with his knife ready to attack, and Gi-hun seemed to be speaking to him. Player 218 lunged out, weapon in hand, but was blinded by a handful of sand. He hunched over in pain, reaching for his eyes, whilst Gi-hun proceeded on the playing field. He halted at the other side of the Squid and said something.

At that moment, rain began to pour from clouds packing above the island.

One of the VIPs, the one with the deer mask, muttered something in mandarin.

“That sounds so romantic.” said the VIP with the buffalo mask. “What does it mean?”

“Good rain knows the best time to fall.”

It didn’t take long for the two Players in front of you to become soaked through. Player 218 stepped in front of Gi-hun, holding his blade tightly.

You held your breath, the glass in your hand almost shattering.

~*~*~

Sang-woo’s excuse was weak and did not hold water.

“I put an end to her suffering. You know she would have died anyway.”

“That’s bullshit.” Gi-hun bitterly replied. “Stop lying. She could have survived. They would have treated her.”

Sang-woo huffed. “I know what you’re like. You’re the reason that I had to kill her. I knew you two would stop all this, so that she didn’t die in there.”

Gi-hun felt his gut tighten. “Was that it? You killed somebody because this might end?”

“Yeah!” Sang-woo exclaimed. “You and that girl would have been the majority you needed to get out!” Going home without a single cent. I couldn’t do that!”

They were polar opposites in this very moment - Sang-woo and Gi-hun. The latter stared awfully calmly at his former friend, muttering his reply. “She’s the one who stopped me, because I was going to kill you with this.”

He took the knife from his pocket and showed it to Sang-woo. “It’s over. I won’t let you leave here with that money.”

Tension grew between them, and Sang-woo scoffed. Gi-hun strode towards him and lunged out his weapon, and Sang-woo dodged it by leaning back. A few moments of struggle, and Gi-hun was soon pulled against Sang-woo’s chest, one arm under his throat, a blade threatening to stab into his face. Player 218’s grip was not strong enough for now and he was soon overpowered by an elbow to the stomach, the weapon clattering to the ground, and Gi-hun pivoted, slicing over Sang-woo’s cheek.

He kicked away the knife and Sang-woo took off his suit jacket to use it as a weapon, catching Gi-hun’s arm with it. They grunted and yelled, fighting each other, slipping on the mud. For a second, Gi-hun threatened to be pushed out of the Squid, but he regained himself, though was hit in the face.

The two men who were once friends continued their assault, punching, biting, kicking. Sang-woo grabbed Gi-hun’s own suit jacket to strangle him with it, but this attack was quickly struggled out of. Both of them were starting to get exhausted and slipped up in their onslaught, meekly fighting until Sang-woo grabbed a hold of a knife that lay discarded on the ground.

A sharp, burning pain erupted in Gi-hun’s thigh, and again, and a kick to the face rendered him momentarily paralysed as he scurried away from Sang-woo, who had stabbed him in the leg, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Sang-woo scrambled to his feet and turned to Gi-hun.

“You recognised it? It’s the damn place where they made us play Red Light, Green Light! So many people played with us, but now they’re dead! Everyone except for us, Gi-hun!”

He kicked him in the chest and grabbed a hold of his knife, kneeling down next to Player 456. “We’ve already come too far to end this now!”

With a loud cry, he slammed the weapon towards Gi-hun, who blocked it with his hand, the blade piercing through his palm. Blood dripped into his face and mouth as they both groaned, and Gi-hun turned to the side, burying his teeth in Sang-woo’s ankle. Crying out in pain, Sang-woo crawled off him. This brief moment had Gi-hun stand up, adrenaline setting his body on fire.

He pushed over Sang-woo, who was whimpering in pain, and bashed his fist against his jaw. “So it was you! It was you who killed them!” Breathing heavily, Gi-hun stood, looking at the knife still embedded in his palm. He grabbed a hold of it and pulled it out, looking at Sang-woo.

With a heavy cry, he slammed it down.

Panting heavily, he sat over Sang-woo, the knife right next to his head. They stared at each other, whimpering, faces dripping with each other’s blood. Whimpering, Gi-hun stood and began walking off, towards the head of the Squid.

Slowly limping, he gasped for air with each step, leaving Sang-woo behind him. Soaked with rain and the scent of iron and death, he halted right when he was about to finish the game. He straightened his back.

“I can’t.” said he, slowly turning around. A guard stood with a firearm aimed at Sang-woo, ready to pull the trigger.

“I want to end it here.” gasped Gi-hun tiredly. The soldier looked at him and he slowly approached them.

“Clause three of the agreement. The Players are able to end the game when the majority agrees.” Gi-hun shivered, pausing briefly. “So if we both give up now, you have to end it, right?”

The masked guard put the radio towards his face. “Player 456 wants to stop the game.”

Gi-hun walked over to Sang-woo, who was still laying on the ground, knife next to his head, buried in the sand. His face was bloodied, eyes focused on the clouded sky, squinting against the rain that was mercilessly falling down.

“I just thought,” Sang-woo began, gulping, “How they used to call our names when our moms had made supper for us. That won’t happen again.”

The rain washed away the crimson surrounding his mouth. Gi-hun was quiet for a second. “Let’s go.” he breathed, trembling, holding out his hand. “Let’s go together.”

Sang-woo began to sob with quivering lips, slowly reaching out his fingers to Gi-hun, though not yet taking his hand.

“Gi-hun.” he cried. “I’m sorry.”

Before Gi-hun could comprehend what was going on, Sang-woo grabbed the knife and pushed it into his own neck, cutting open his artery. Blood gushed out at once, and when Gi-hun knelt down next to him, he knew that there was nothing to be done about it anymore.

“Gi-hun,” Sang-woo choked on his own blood, “My mother, go help her.”

“Don’t talk, Sang-woo.” whimpered Gi-hun, but he didn’t listen.

“Go help her.” were his final words to his childhood friend, and Sang-woo slipped into his endless slumber under Gi-huns wailing screams of agony.

Only one photograph remained lit on the floor, revealing the winner of the annual Squid Game.

~*~*~

In-ho poured you a glass of champagne and you took it with a silent smile, each of you sitting across from each other, with Gi-hun in the middle. The winner was blindfolded, clad in the outfit he had joined the game with, and his facial hair had fully come through now.

You crossed one leg over the other, peering at the Front Man, who spoke up.

“You should celebrate.” he told Gi-hun, “That was quite the game there.”

He took a sip of his drink whilst Gi-hun turned his face to him despite being unable to see him. “Why?”

A brief pause. “Why did you do it? How can you?”

“You bet on horses.” spoke In-ho. “It’s the same here, but… We bet on humans. You’re our horses. I did not expect you to finish the race.”

“Who are you?” Gi-hun muttered with a heavy voice.

“Does it matter?” you said. “You have earnt your money fair and square, Mr Seong Gi-hun.”

He frowned underneath his blindfold, his face now turning to you. His lips were slightly askew. “Your voice… It sounds so familiar.”

You ignored the remark and took a sip of your drink. “You’re a kind man. You’ve shown good morale despite the circumstances. If it means anything, I’m glad it was you.”

“What does that mean?” Gi-hun quizzed through gritted teeth, “People died in there. Tell me who you are.”

You hummed. “No. Everyone there participated on a voluntary basis. You signed a contract, and with your return, you became just as guilty as the others. I suggest you enjoy your prize money, Player 456. Put it to good use. Get your daughter back, get treatment for your mother in the hospital. Live the life you were aiming for when you joined this game. Don’t let the money go to waste, and don’t let their deaths be in vain.”

Gi-hun’s jaw tensed. “Who are you? Who are you, you sick people? Why are you doing this?”

“It was a dream. Just think of it that way. And it wasn’t a bad one for you, either.”

“Who are you?” he repeated. For a second, In-ho and you looked at each other, and brought your masks over your faces to protect yourselves from the incoming sleeping gas. It hissed into the room, Gi-hun calling a few more times: “Who are you? Who are you?!”

As he slumped back into his seat, your heart broke.

“I am sorry.” you told Gi-hun even though he could not hear.

When the gas had subdued, you stood up, tipping up your mask, pressing a gentle kiss against his forehead.

~*~*~

Weeks passed, and those weeks turned to months, and your grandfather grew unwell.

Frequent visits to the hospital were interwoven with your schedule of the aftermath of the Squid Game. Whilst waiting for test results you would sort out archives, type away at your laptop, inform your deteriorating grandfather about whatever necessary.

Oh Il-nam had to wear oxygen masks now. What little hair he had began to fall out, and you knew that he would live for several months at best before he’d succumb at last.

Regardless of his poor health, he tried to be involved in your life.

“What came of him,” he said whilst waiting in hospital one day. “Of Seong Gi-hun.”

You smiled meekly behind your laptop. “He hasn’t touched his money yet.” Clicking on a few tabs, you opened the system to reveal the billions of won sitting untouched on Gi-hun’s account.

Your grandfather clicked his tongue. “Why don’t you seek him out?” he suggested, “In Ssangmun-dong. Perhaps that he’ll give you a reason, or maybe that you can give him a reason to start using it.” He grinned at you, and you raised an eyebrow in response.

“What is that supposed to mean, grandfather?”

He let out a small chuckle, shifting in his bed. You reached over to prop the pillow a bit better behind his head and took a handkerchief to wipe away the drool at the corner of his mouth. “You know what I mean, my dear. You know that Gi-hun has a soft spot for you.”

“That’s nearly a year ago, grandfather.” you said. “His little crush on me is already over. I don’t see why he’d still be smitten with me. I’ve spoken to him once. He has probably moved on.”

“Apparently not, otherwise he would’ve used the money to get his daughter back.”

“There is no way that he’d still want me.” you said sternly.

Your grandfather chuckled. “Then you don’t know how men work, yet. The way he spoke about you, whenever I mentioned you, the way his eyes shimmered… That showed me something deeper than him just being interested in you.”

You scoffed but couldn’t fight a blush.

“Plus, you like him, too.”

You looked at him with a small smile on your lips, shrugging. “If he knew who I really was, he’d never look me in the eye again.”

Il-nam fell silent. “Go seek him out, my dear. Before I die, I’d like to know if he will touch the money. This has not happened before. Find out where he is and speak to him.”

You sighed. It wasn’t a question or a mere suggestion - this was an order.

“I will.” you promised, “I shall go look for him soon.”

Your grandfather smiled, content with your answer.

~*~*~

You had donned the same outfit you had been wearing when you met Gi-hun for the first time, and hung around the streets of Ssangmun-dong a few days later. It was just a bit past ten in the evening as you sat on one of the benches at an underground station you knew him to arrive from.

With the use of some security flaws in the system, In-ho had found out Gi-hun’s personal schedule today, and if all was going well, he could arrive back here any moment, returning home, to his life that was still as miserable as it had been before, safe from the gambling addiction he had not fed again.

A tad nervous, you fiddled with your sleeve as a tube train pulled up into the station, and your heartbeat picked up in speed. People flooded from the crowded space, heading towards the exit.

If you hadn’t been paying attention, you would not have recognised him. It was difficult to not let your jaw fall slack with how scruffy he was looking, as if he lived a vagabond life with no home or shower in his proximity. His hair was grown out, hung greasily onto his shoulders, and he had facial hair that made him look untidy. Gi-hun’s outfit was anything but clean, either.

You stood, holding the bag you had brought along a bit tighter. You had to look busy, run into him by accident. This meeting was as much of a chance meeting as your first encounter had been.

“Gi-hun?” you called out, and he halted in his tracks. Slowly, he turned to see you, something akin to familiarity filling his eyes.

“(Y/n)?”

You smiled a little, genuine happiness causing your heart to soar. “How are you? My, it’s been a while…”

He approached you slowly, inspecting you a bit closer. “I… I never see you around Ssangmun-dong nowadays.” said Gi-hun softly. “I mean… I’ve been well. Been keeping busy with… Life. How about you?”

You wryly smiled, sighing deeply. “I ah… I’ve moved away. I could not afford to stay any longer.”

Something shifted in his gaze, and he narrowed his eyes in pity. You immediately felt bad for lying.

“You couldn’t afford even the poorest flat?”

You pressed your lips together into a tight line and shook your head. “No. I have to travel for a few hours a day now so I can reach my job. It doesn’t pay much, but it was all I could get. I uh… I live in a shelter now. To help out single women with low income. My grandfather, he…”

Your voice trailed off, tears filling your eyes - they were genuine, unlike your story, for you did worry about his health. “He went missing a few months back. They didn’t have him at the centre he sometimes stayed at. Nobody knows what happened, but they fear he might have wandered off and ended up somewhere in a river.”

Your bottom lip quivered with guilt, but Gi-hun mistook it for sadness. He sighed, reaching for your face to wipe some of the tears that escaped your eyes. The brief touch made your face heat up.

“I am so sorry.” whispered Gi-hun with a stern brow, and he inhaled deeply. Seeing you again after all this time had kindled something within him, and he thought back on your grandfather, how he had spoken of you. Would you also think of him as a potential candidate for marriage? With the prize money, he could take all your pain and sorrow away. You wouldn’t have to work, you wouldn’t have to travel all day, he could give you anything your heart desired.

The urge was strong all of a sudden, as if it was his duty towards you, the least he could do after betraying your grandfather.

“You can’t help it.” you said with a sigh. “It’s just that I need some sort of miracle to get back on track again. Perhaps get a team of detectives to seek out my grandfather’s whereabouts. Of course I’ve contacted the police, but they won’t help me, and I don’t have money.”

Gi-hun shakily inhaled. “I can help you out.” he blurted.

Your eyes widened, and a small smile tugged at your lips as you looked at him. “Oh, no, Gi-hun… That’s so sweet of you, but you’re also tight on money, I know. My grandfather told me after you and I met, so I can’t ask you to--”

“I’m in a better situation right now.” he promised, clearing his throat and straightening his back. “You can live with me for a while until you’ve found something else.” he said, “And uh… I’ll help you find another job, one with better pay.”

He smiled at you, shifting on his feet. Some hair fell in front of his eyes, and you reached over to tuck it behind his ear. The action made him freeze, his gaze focused on your face, lips slightly askew.

Next to you, another train stopped at the platform. “That’s my train.” you said. You removed your hand, and Gi-hun immediately chased after you when you walked towards the open doors.

“When will we see each other again?” he quizzed. “I’d… I’d like to go out with you.”

You stopped in your tracks and looked at him. “You would?”

He smiled, brushing a lock of hair from his face. “Yes!” he breathed, “Yes, I uh… I’ve been thinking about you. A lot.”

Your nose dusted pink. “I’ve been thinking about you too.”

It was not a lie. The sole truth in this whole conversation was that revelation. “More than you can imagine.”

You stepped into the train, turning around to face him. “It delights my heart.” said Gi-hun with newfound vigour, and he held out his hand. Right before the doors whizzed shut, you briefly touched his fingers.

Stinging behind your eyes as you looked at him through the window, his gaze suddenly so full of joy and life, so different from what they had been the months after his victory, as if seeing you had sparked something within him.

As soon as the tube shifted into motion, away from his view, your vision blurred. Pressing your hand against your mouth, you let out a choked sob, remorse and anger tugging at your heart.

Yes, you felt for Gi-hun way more than you would ever admit.

You sank down on one of the empty chairs, grabbed your notebook from your bag and began jotting down words that became nearly incomprehensible with your tears falling onto the page.

You couldn’t keep up this act, you told yourself. Your grandfather had to know that, too, that you could not be the messenger between him and Gi-hun.

With an exhausted sigh, you leaned your head against the vibrating side of the train, closing your eyes, letting the machine lull you into a dreamless slumber.

#seong gihun x reader #squid game #reader insert #squid game x reader #seong gi hun #x reader #gi hun x reader #squid game fanfic #gi-hun x reader #squidgame

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theiceandbones · 3 years

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Nova Scotia Bones: a brief listing of famous haunts in Canada’s ocean playground

Nova Scotia is a lobster-shaped granite peninsula that juts out into the North Atlantic on Canada’s east coast. It’s ancient, it’s damp, it’s rocky, and it’s home. It’s also wildly haunted. The impenetrable granite bedrock that we live upon seems to act as its own tomb for the energies of those who departed their earthly vessels on the volatile shores and in the coniferous boreal interior. Or, perhaps, it is our own maritime culture, one that is freckled with memento mori, that adds fuel to these legends that have been passed on through the ages. A culture that lives and dies by the sea is no stranger to tragedy and haunts, eventually one learns to live alongside them. For better or for worse.

I’ve collected a few ghost stories that have stood out to me over the years. When one grows up in Nova Scotia these are a select few that everyone speaks of, some may be lesser known but still thoroughly chilling. These will be arranged in order of popularity.

1. The Young Teazer The Young Teazer was an American privateering schooner who, in June of 1813, would find herself in the waters of Mahone Bay being pursued by the British fleet. Her commander, a Lieutenant Johnston, knew that if he were to be captured he would most certainly hang, and knowing this, he ordered his crew to abandon ship in a major way- the Teazer was exploded, all onboard except for eight perished in the blast. It is now a well-known local legend that on a warm summer’s night, one may still see the reflection of a ship on fire in Mahone Bay’s quiet waters.

2. The forerunner It’s just now occurred to me that I cannot possibly continue without speaking of the forerunner. This phenomenon features extensively within Nova Scotian folklore and is a key aspect of maritime superstition. A forerunner is an omen of death. It may take the shape of the doomed themselves, their scent, a light, an overwhelming sensation of dread directly linked to the individual, a falling photograph of or other object related to the individual, or one’s name being called by the individual. When expecting company, a traditional maritime host will set the large Pyrex kettle on the stove, always containing at least half a dozen teabags, to boil, but sometimes the recently-expected guest may not arrive- ever again. Here are a few selected tales of forerunners from Nova Scotia’s past.

Anyone who is familiar with the series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will remember the story of “The Thing.” What they may not know, however, is that this story is based on a real event which happened in Victoria Beach, NS. A Mr. Thorne and his friend, Joe, were out walking at night when they spied behind a neighbour’s house a long, spindly, pale creature dressed in a white shirt, black trousers and black braces peering back at them. Well they had no idea what this creature could be and so they ran back to Joe’s house after it had given them a right spook. Eventually the pair returned only to discover that now the creature was standing atop the fence in the neighbour’s yard, a fence so old it crumbled under a person’s touch, and that’s when it was decided they were done chasing this thing for one evening.

Years later, Joe took ill with consumption and died. Mr. Thorne, his ever-faithful friend, had stayed up with him right up until the very end. Joe’s condition had wasted him away so powerfully he was nary more than skin and bone by the time he’d passed. Mr. Thorne through the years had been hesitant to tell this story at all, for a good reason. Because, he says, toward the end of Joe’s life, lying in bed in his graveclothes, he looked just like The Thing.

In Liverpool, NS, a Mrs. Viola Oickle was seated at the kitchen table playing cards with her friends when she looked up and in the window, plain as day, was her Uncle Ernie. “There’s Uncle Ernie” she said, they’d heard the latch on the door open, but Ernie never showed. After cards she decided she’d go round to Ernie’s house to check on him, and there he was, peeling apples on his front step fit as a fiddle. However, mere hours later, Ernie had died of a heart attack at his home.

Marion Bridge in Cape Breton is home to a wealth of ghost stories, of course the forerunner is one of these. In addition to one’s apparition, three knocks may also be an omen. A Mrs. MacGillivray tells the story of her mother waiting up one night for her father to come home when she heard the sound of a wagon being pulled by horses up the road. They stopped, then came three knocks at the door- which was strange, but her mother figured he may need a hand with something outside. Looking out, she realised no one was there at all. Of course she knew what three knocks meant and feared the worst for her husband. Eventually he returned home in his usual health, but her mother was still confused. A while later the body of a man was found up a nearby road and the men who’d discovered it stopped at the house to change horses at night. They knocked three times on the door, exactly the same sequence of events which transpired when her mother had heard the knocks before.

3. Treasure The province has a storied history of pirates and privateering, so it comes as no surprise that stories of buried treasure are quite popular. As superstition has it, when digging for treasure, one must not speak until the task is done. If a word is spoken, the treasure will never be found. The spirits of pirates go to great lengths to ensure this, one tale tells of a man digging for a hidden treasure with his wife and young daughter. His wife pipes up, “oh would you look at those monkeys!” This is eastern Canada, as such there are no monkeys native to the area. Unsurprisingly, there were no monkeys to be found, and the treasure itself was never uncovered. Speaking of pirates

4. Black Rock Beach/Maugers Beach In Halifax’s early days as the port city it remains today, it was no stranger to pirates. Pirates, however, were not so welcome in Halifax as one may assume. When a pirate was caught in Halifax, they would be hanged and displayed in an iron cage at Black Rock Beach at the harbour’s mouth, or at Maugers (pronounced locally as Major’s) Beach on McNab’s Island a little further out. This is how the latter gained its name as Dead Man’s Beach.

5. Other phantom ships Nova Scotia’s ties to the sea are a major part of its cultural superstition. From “red sky at night” to “never sail if you see a forerunner,” seafaring superstitions are etched into the fabric of life around here. It comes as no surprise, then, that there are so many stories of ghost ships in the mix. One such story comes from 1874, an experience of a Captain Hatfield from Fox River, NS as he was sailing from Cuba to New York. Asleep in his cabin one night, he felt three taps on his shoulder and a voice urging him, “keep her off half a point.” He figured this was the mate or another of his officers, but they each assured him it was not them. He felt the tapping and heard the voice again. As he was growing annoyed, he got up to look around and saw a man climbing up the ladder but was not dressed like the others onboard. Nevertheless, he got up and gave the order to keep the ship off half a point. When morning came, a wreck was spotted half a point off course of his ship, and onboard came Captain Amesbury of the schooner D. Talbot, his wife, child, and his crew. Captain Hatfield recounted the story of the night before to the captain and his wife, to which the wife informed him the man he saw was her father who had passed ten years prior.

A story from Seabright of a fishing vessel that was lost in a sou-easter tells of a captain who’d not turn back as the other boats did, but instead dared the lord to stop him from staying behind. The ship was lost, of course, and for ages onwards sailors would recount seeing a bright light at night that disappeared during the day. It would tack when the respective vessel tacked, but no one ever saw the shape of the boat itself- just its light. But, as sailors do say, one can feel a ship just as one can feel a person nearby.

6. St. Paul’s face in the window This one dates to the time of the Halifax Explosion which occurred on the 6th of December 1917. St. Paul’s Church is the oldest building in Halifax, its foundation having been laid in the year of the city’s founding in 1749. As legend has it, the deacon of the church was standing in the window parallel to the Narrows of the harbour when the French munitions ship, Mont Blanc, exploded. His profile remains in the window to this day and can be seen via Argyle Street.

7. The Black Window House Another Halifax legend, the Black Window House on Robie Street has a long history of superstition. It was built in 1840 for the first elected mayor of Halifax, William Caldwell. It is said to be haunted because of its infamous black window. Local legend states that once a man peered in the window and saw witches dancing their dance of death on the verandah. When the witches caught him spying, they turned the window black.

8. The Town Clock One of Halifax’s most iconic landmarks is the Town Clock on Citadel Hill. This is one of the few surviving round structures designed by the Duke of Kent during his visit to Halifax in the late 18th century. It is said that before the clock was constructed, there existed a well near the site where it stands today. A young girl was reportedly playing near this well when she fell in and died. Her spirit is said to remain in the clock tower to this day.

9. Citadel Hill No discussion of Nova Scotian haunts is complete without discussing Citadel Hill. The Halifax Citadel is today a national historic site, however in the past it was used as a fully-operational military fortification and is one of the best-remaining examples of a star fortress worldwide. Ghost stories from the Hill are many and varied, and some workers have reported seeing strange phenomena themselves such as footprints behind locked metal grates. In the month of October, ghost tours are given by costumed interpreters at the site where famous stories are recounted. Some guests report their hand being held by a smaller, invisible hand, others talk of seeing a ghostly man in the uniform of the 78th Highlanders Regiment walking the grounds only to disappear. It is worth noting that the Citadel never once fired a shot in anger.

10. The Five Fishermen This popular (and pricey) Halifax restaurant serves up fine dining and spirits...not always of the alcoholic variety. Restaurant staff over the years have reported cutlery flying off of tables, seeing apparitions in the washrooms turning the taps on and off, doors closing on their own, and hearing their name called when no one is around. The form of a grey figure is also said to wander down the staircase.

11. The gallows For a time after Halifax’s founding, a gallows was set up on the corner of what is now Lower Water and George Streets. Public executions were a spectacle that could be viewed by all townspeople of all ages. According to local legend, on a clear night the ghost of a hanged man is said to be seen swinging by his neck in the spot where the old gallows used to stand.

12. Dagger Woods I cannot stress enough how creepy and unsettling this area is. In northern Antigonish County there is a forest known as Dagger Woods. In this forest, there is said to live a demon known as the Hidey Hinder who steals unsuspecting visitors to the underworld, the person is never seen or heard from again, supposedly vanishing into thin air. People travelling through the woods report hearing strange and frightening cries that they cannot place, and, understandably, avoid the area afterwards. The woods are the subject of a song by the same name by Nova Scotian folk metal band, The Stanfields.

13. Peggy’s Cove Peggy’s Cove is by far one of Nova Scotia’s most popular tourist destinations. As a lifelong resident of Nova Scotia, I encourage you to visit this beautiful point but please, PLEASE, stay off the black rocks for god’s sake. Anyway, the ghost who is lucky enough to live here is, of course, named Margaret. The story goes that Margaret and her husband settled here after a shipwreck claimed the lives of their children. Margaret was heartbroken, and so her husband decided to cheer her up. He made his way onto the rocks where Margaret would often sit and lament her lost children and performed a dance for her, but it would turn out even worse- he slipped and fell to his death. In a fit of agony, Margaret threw herself off the rocks and into the sea, and her ghost is said to haunt the rocks of Peggy’s Point to this day.

14. Caledonia Mills, or Mary Ellen’s Spook Farm Back in 1922, the MacDonald family lived on a farm in Caledonia Mills situated in Antigonish County. Their adopted daughter, named Mary Ellen, was not held in high regard. A series of fires that had taken place during the winter devastated the family, and Mary Ellen was said to be at the root of them; it was believed she was born of an evil spirit. When she denied these accusations, she was sent to live in an asylum. Her spirit still resides in her farm, and to any unlucky visitor who’d like to bring back a souvenir, they might find that mysterious fires start to ignite in their own home. Best to leave the farm in one piece.

15. Horton’s Cove This is not one that’s widely known to many, however it is a story very personal to myself. On a spot of land in Guysborough County, the remains of a young boy who died in the early 20th century are buried. The grave is unmarked and the boy’s cause of death is unknown. That being said, his presence can be felt in both the field and the hills around where his resting place is said to be, and trust me when I say there is no feeling quite as unnerving.

16. Cole Harbour Poor Farm/Bissett Road Asylum In the 1920s there existed a mental asylum in a quiet part of Cole Harbour, outbound toward the harbour itself. The building is no longer there, said to have burnt to the ground in a fire, however the spirits of its residents can be felt in the vacant lot on the hill where it used to stand. Across the street on the edge of a sprawling field is a small fenced cemetery containing ten unmarked white crosses. It is rumoured that these graves house the remains of children who used to live in the asylum, though it is more likely that these graves were intended for adult residents. It is not yet known whose remains these are.

Dealings with the paranormal and superstition is a way of life for many in Nova Scotia. It is our maritime history and culture which largely feed these beliefs, whether one believes in them is entirely up to the individual themselves. One thing that isn’t so easy to shake, though, is the sensation that there’s something in the trees or that field over there. Say, what’s on the water?

#nova scotia #halifax #home #ghost stories to make you feel spooky aaaa #ghosts #bleh bleh blehhhh ooo

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a-blue-secret · 3 years

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EPILOGUE: FIVE YEARS LATER

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Chapter XXXIV | Epilogue

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: none!

WORD COUNT: 4.2k+

AN: Considering how monstrously long this fic is, there was no way I was going to end it without an epilogue! Thank you all of you for reading Court of Lies! It means a lot to me :)

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for a year and a day, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

“It’s a shame we couldn’t hold it in Gojongja,” Beomgyu commented from where he had draped himself over the chaise longue, flicking idly through a book.

Taehyun smiled at him through the mirror as he let the maids clasp yet more gold bracelets onto his wrists.

“No matter,” Taehyun said. “We’re too good for Gojongja anyways.”

Beomgyu laughed. “True. Besides, Barumin is nicer.”

“But it’s a real shame that Nabi and Seohyun couldn’t be here,” Taehyun said as his hair was touched and crimped into place.

“Well, it was to be expected,” Beomgyu replied, flicking through his book. “Being rulers of Gojongja is hard work.” He glanced at Taehyun, smiling. “We should know.”

Taehyun grinned. “Oh, definitely.” His hair was patted into place again, and his arms were spread out so his coat could be tweaked to perfection. “And it’s not like we’ll never see them again, anyway. They can always come down to Barumin to see us, even after today.”

Finally, once the maids had deemed him to be perfect, a lace veil was produced, placed over his hair and fixed to the silver circlet nestled in his hair.

“That’s true.” Beomgyu gave a small laugh. “Oh, but I’m so glad that Jiwon was able to come here. You really wanted him to hand you off, didn’t you?”

“If he didn’t come, I was thinking about bringing in the elm tree,” Taehyun admitted, chuckling. “You know, from the garden? That tree was the closest thing to a father figure to me.”

Beomgyu laughed. “That would have been so weird,” he said.

Once his veil had been fixed, and the last finishing touches applied to his makeup, the maids stepped away, and Taehyun walked over to peer curiously over Beomgyu’s shoulder.

“By the way,” he said, “I’m pretty sure that it is custom for the groom not to see the bride’s attire until the wedding itself.”

Beomgyu smiled up at him, snapping his book shut. “Well, this is no customary wedding, is it?” he grinned. “It’s our wedding, after all. Now come on. I wanted to see you before I get dressed, so I don’t ruin my makeup by crying my eyes out during the wedding itself.”

Taehyun stepped back and spread his arms proudly, showing off his suit. Beomgyu’s eyes lit up as they travelled the length of him, taking in the ivory satin with its silver and blue embellishments. Intricate, thick lines of embroidered silver twisted and curled themselves around the fabric of his arms, embedded with tiny, bright sapphires which glittered and shone in the light. His silver buttons, polished to perfection, glittered brightly, but nothing could rival the shine in Taehyun’s eyes. He smiled widely, spinning on the spot.

Beomgyu walked forward, placing his hands on Taehyun’s waist. Taehyun’s hands automatically came up to rest around his neck. Beomgyu nudged his nose against Taehyun’s.

“You look absolutely beautiful, love.”

Taehyun smiled, brushing the hair out of Beomgyu’s face. “I know I do. And when I put on that bridal cloak, I’ll look stunning.” He nodded towards the ivory cape, still hanging on a mannequin.

In contrast to his suit, Taehyun’s cloak was free from any sort of complicated silver stitching. It was a long length of shimmering ivory, and embroidered at the bottom of the train was an intricate detail of blue roses, embedded with small blue stones. Beomgyu gaped at it.

“How long is that cloak? It looks like it’ll carry on forever.”

“The train alone is twice my height,” Taehyun smiled. “That’s why I just have a short blusher veil covering my face. It would be too heavy to have a long veil as well as a long cloak.”

Beomgyu turned back to look at him, eyes shining. “Is this really happening? Am I dreaming right now?”

Taehyun laughed. “You’ve asked me this every single day since I proposed to you. Yes, love. This is really happening. We’re getting married.”

Beomgyu’s eyes sparkled. When Taehyun smiled teasingly, catching a glimpse of the tears, he shook his head rapidly. “No no no, I’m not crying. I’m not crying.”

“I never said you were,” Taehyun laughed, brushing away the liquid building in Beomgyu’s eyes. Beomgyu blinked rapidly, before smiling blissfully. He took a step back, holding Taehyun at arm’s length so he could marvel at his wedding attire.

“You look absolutely gorgeous in the Gyeongju Choi colours. I knew you would.”

Taehyun smiled. “Is that why you insisted that I’d be the bride, even though I was the one who proposed?”

“Why else?” Beomgyu grinned. “Also, Yeonjun and Hueningkai look amazing in dresses. I couldn’t pass up on the chance.”

Taehyun’s eyes widened. “You actually made them wear dresses?”

“Well, they’re the maids of honour. Of course they have to. Plus, they wanted to! Hey, don’t start accusing me,” Beomgyu laughed.

“Alright, alright,” Taehyun said, smiling. He checked the clock in the corner of the room. “Oh, the wedding’s going to start in two hours. You’d better go get dressed.”

As if on cue, Hyunjin knocked on the door and peered inside. “Beomgyu, there you are! I think your maids are going to go bonkers if you don’t get there now.”

He hurried into the room before dragging Beomgyu by his hands. “Come on, come on!”

Beomgyu let himself be dragged out, smiling at Taehyun. “See you soon, love.”

Taehyun waved. “See you soon.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“So Beomgyu, how are we feeling?” Hyunjin asked as Beomgyu had his hair flattened then straightened then curled then straightened again.

“Annoyed at the hairdressers for whatever they’re doing to my hair,” Beomgyu responded, glaring playfully at the hairdresser. “But anyway, nervous. And a little bit scared.”

“Why? Are you scared that Taehyun will turn you down?” Hyunjin asked.

“No, no! No way. He proposed to me, remember? There’s no way he’d turn me down at the aisle. At least, I hope,” Beomgyu said, chuckling. “I’m scared of what Gojongja will think.”

Hyunjin made a noise of reassurance, reaching forward to pat Beomgyu’s shoulder before the stylist yanked at the sleeve of his jacket. “You don’t need to worry about them,” Hyunjin said as the last finishing touches were put onto his suit. “Even if they don’t like it, there’s nothing they can do. These weddings are perfectly legal, no matter what Kingdom they take place in. Seohyun and Nabi made sure of that.”

Beomgyu smiled at Hyunjin through the vanity mirror. “True. Thanks, Hyunjin.” He suddenly gave a laugh. “Oh, I just realised that you’ll have to dance with both Yeonjun and Hueningkai, since you’re the best man.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “I have to what?” Beomgyu laughed, and Hyunjin’s face melted into a smile. “Well, at least I don’t have to dance with Yeji. She’d step on my feet purposefully all the time.”

Beomgyu grinned. “About that… I think she’s one of Taehyun’s bridesmaids so… she might insist on a dance.”

Hyunjin groaned. “Oh, god no! My feet are doomed!”

Beomgyu laughed, and when the hairdresser finally stopped torturing his hair he stood up, walking over to look at Hyunjin’s suit.

“Oh, looking smart,” Beomgyu said, smiling.

“I should hope so,” Hyunjin grinned. “You picked this for me.” He nodded his head at Beomgyu admiringly. “You look good.”

Indeed, Beomgyu did look good.

His suit was simple, but also complicated at the same time. It was traditional black with a white dress shirt, but there were lots of intricate details which made his suit unique. At the shoulders of his black coat, there was a cluster of silver sequins sewn into large, leaf-like shapes, and small blue peonies encircled the cuffs of the jacket, the tiny blue stones sparkling against the glittering silver sewn around them.

On closer inspection, even the traditional black of Beomgyu’s suit wasn’t simple. It was made of a shimmering black fabric, looking like the darkness of a midnight sky sparkling with tiny stars.

Beomgyu stretched out his arms, admiring the design of his suit. “You should see Taehyun’s,” he said, eyes shining. “He looks beautiful.”

Hyunjin laughed at Beomgyu’s bright face. “No matter how nervous you feel, you’re probably more excited than anything, aren’t you?”

Beomgyu beamed. “Yes. Is it obvious?”

“More than anything,” said Hyunjin, smiling. “But it’s good! It’s good. You should always be excited on your wedding day.”

Beomgyu smiled. “I should, shouldn’t I?” He gave a blissful sigh. “I’m getting married.”

“You are,” Hyunjin grinned, stepping down from the pedestal once his stylist deemed his suit finally perfect. He checked his pocket watch. “Oh, and we have to go now if you want to get married. The guests should be seated by now, and Taehyun’s due to appear ten minutes from now.”

“Right.” Beomgyu straightened his suit sleeves, and turned to Hyunjin, a nervous smile on his face. “Let’s go marry me off, best man.”

They walked out of the room, accompanied by several maids.

“I’m not the one marrying you off, though.”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“Five minutes! Oh god, Taehyun you’re getting married!”

“I’m pretty sure I know that,” Taehyun chuckled as Yeonjun waved his hands excitedly.

“You look so beautiful,” he gushed. “I swear, if you start crying I will cry with you.”

“We better prepare tissues then,” Hueningkai said, smiling. “Something tells me that everyone will cry.”

“You guys fuss too much,” Taehyun sighed affectionately, as Hueningkai assisted the maids with adjusting Taehyun’s cloak. “God, this cape is heavy.”

“Pure satin with five hundred tiny sapphires embedded into the end of it, held together by a huge silver clasp at your throat,” Hueningkai quipped, smoothing down the fabric. “Of course it’s heavy.”

“I can take it off after the procession, right?” Taehyun asked.

“Sure. After you’re married, you can do anything with it. Nobody will mind. You could even rip it up and throw it away.”

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ll do that, but I’m sure I won’t wear this again.”

“Fine by me. You could donate it to Gojongja, and have it put into their artifact collection,” Hueningkai said. “This is the first same-sex marriage which has been displayed as openly as a normal marriage. It would make a good artifact.”

Taehyun nodded, adjusting his veil. “That’s a good idea. I might do that.”

“Two minutes!” Yeonjun cried, running back into the dressing room. “Oh, the ballroom looks amazing! We truly have to thank Yeji for convincing Barumin to let us hold the wedding in their palace, everything is so beautiful. And Taehyun, Hueningkai’s sisters managed to make it too!”

Taehyun blinked. “Wait– when did you leave?”

“Stop running around in your dress,” Hueningkai tsked, fixing the ruffles of lace on Yeonjun's dress. Then he registered what Yeonjun said and looked up, eyes wide. “Hiyyih and Lea? They made it to the wedding?”

Yeonjun nodded. “Yep! They’re there right now! Come on, come on, we have no time to waste! Let’s get you married!”

He paused in his tracks and held a hand over his mouth, staring at Taehyun. “Oh my, you look wonderful. Beomgyu will definitely cry.”

Taehyun smiled. “If he cries, I’m going to cry, so let’s hope he doesn’t,” he said. “Anyway, two minutes, did you say? We better get going. Where are the bridesmaids?”

“Waiting by the door,” Hueningkai said. “Waiting for you to walk down the aisle.”

Taehyun took a deep breath, fingers tightening around the bouquet of flowers in his grasp. He gave a smile, turning to look at his maids of honour. “I have to say, you two look amazing in dresses.”

Yeonjun beamed, both of them giving curtsies. “You look amazing yourself! Now come on, come on! We don’t want to keep the groom waiting, do we?”

Yeonjun and Hueningkai chattered to Taehyun as they made their way from the dressing room to outside the venue, standing outside the closed doors.

Inside, they heard someone announcing for the guests to stand.

“Alright, this is it,” Hueningkai whispered. “Don’t be nervous, okay? There’s no need to be scared.”

Taehyun looked at them, face bright. “I won’t be nervous,” he promised. “I have all of you with me, anyway.”

Hueningkai and Yeonjun smiled as Taehyun took another deep breath. The doors opened, and Taehyun faced the front, a smile on his face.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

A bright, tinkling melody played as Taehyun walked down the aisle, smile radiant. Shoulders widened confidently, steps light and hopeful, his cloak trailed gently behind him, unfolding to reveal the glittering cluster of blue flowers.

Behind him, Yeonjun and Hueningkai led the way for all the bridesmaids and junior bridesmaids, and in front of him the flower girls and ring bearer walked forwards.

When he looked back on his wedding day, Taehyun would be able to remember one thing very clearly: the happiness, which was almost tangible in the atmosphere.

Perhaps it was cliche to think so, but he felt as if he were walking on air. All he could see in that moment was Beomgyu: Beomgyu in his midnight black wedding suit, eyes twinkling. Beomgyu with a smile of pure joy on his face, matching the similarly joyful expression Taehyun’s face was alight with. Beomgyu, whose eyes were brimming with delighted tears, and whose hands were trembling with happiness.

His feet didn’t even seem to touch the velvet carpet laid out for him, instead skimming over them as if dancing on clouds, slowly approaching Beomgyu.

Beomgyu, watching him approach, couldn’t help the tears which prickled at his eyes. Taehyun’s face was so obviously bright with happiness as he walked towards Beomgyu, and in that moment Beomgyu swore that Taehyun had never looked more beautiful.

Taehyun came to a stop beside Beomgyu, beaming. Beomgyu could see the glitter of tears in Taehyun’s eyes, too, and gave a smile.

“Look who’s crying now,” he whispered softly.

Taehyun gave a small chuckle. “You’re crying too,” he pointed out. “And the ceremony hasn’t even begun.”

Beomgyu smiled softly, eyes sparkling. “So I am,” he said. “So I am.”

The ceremony passed by in a blur. Beomgyu and Taehyun were beaming, beaming brightly throughout the whole service, eyes still full to the brim with happy tears.

There was much to be said by the officiant, his speeches sentimental and solemn at the same time. But there were little words needed to understand that the two people who were getting married loved each other dearly, with their eyes fixed on each other, fingers intertwined.

Following the officiant’s speech came the ribbon tying, and Taehyun’s tears almost spilled over as the emerald green ribbon tied to his arm was wrapped with the navy blue one knotted to Beomgyu’s, signifying the union of their two clans. It was happening. They were getting married.

Beomgyu, also looking down at their two intertwined ribbons, looked up at Taehyun and smiled. It was obvious how much it meant to Taehyun to be properly part of a family: a family which he had chosen to be part of. A family with Beomgyu.

And then the officiant asked if there was anyone who objected to their marriage, and Taehyun almost expected a crowd of people to come storming into the ballroom, protesting against their same-sex relationship, but instead the guests gave a loud whoop, cheering them on.

And then it was time to exchange vows. Beomgyu turned to Taehyun and took hold of both of his hands. He smiled, took a deep breath, and began to speak.

“Taehyun. My beautiful, determined, intelligent Taehyun. God, I know literally everything about you and yet I feel like I could happily spend the rest of my life learning even more. We’ve had our ups and downs, we definitely have, but my love for you has never wavered. In fact, I think that the circumstances we’ve been in have only strengthened my love for you.” Beomgyu smiled, tears threatening to spill over as Taehyun gazed at him, eyes sparkling.

“Remember how you’d sometimes steal my toys and I’d always let you? I would be annoyed for five minutes, but then I’d completely forget my annoyance because your delighted smile made me feel happy too. Remember how I’d sometimes sneak into your room and you’d tell me off, telling me that the guards would find me? You’d be mad at me, but I knew that you were grateful that I cared enough to visit you when you’d been holed up in your room with your prince duties. And remember those years where we drifted apart? It was a time of hurt, sure, but it made me realise just how much I loved you.”

Taehyun’s tears had spilled over now, crystalline droplets falling down his cheeks. Beomgyu’s eyes had released his tears long ago, the liquid openly streaming down his face.

“You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever met, Taehyun. Honestly, I can never imagine life without you by my side. I can’t imagine life without your sarcastic quips or your thoughtful words, or your bright smile or happy eyes. You complete me. You provide the calmness and peace that I need; you give me the happiness and love at times when I need it the most. You’re the moon to my sun, the calm to my excitement, the yin to my yang. You’re the gentle silver light to provide me with comfort when I feel overwhelmed by the darkness of the night.”

Everyone was crying at that point: the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and all of the guests had shed at least one tear.

Beomgyu had to pause, tears overwhelming his words. But he gave a watery chuckle, smiling. “Most people will talk of how they will die for their partner, but for me it's different. I lived for you, Taehyun. For you, I vow to live happily if you promise to be by my side. I, Choi Beomgyu, will give myself to you through this marriage. I promise to live well, and happily, and be with you through good times and bad, through sickness and good health. I belong with you, and I hope that we’ll never ever have to part.”

With shaking hands, he took the diamond-studded wedding ring from the officiant and slid it onto Taehyun's finger, grasping his hand tight. "I give you this ring as a symbol of our love. All that I am I give to you. All that I have I share with you. I promise to care for you above all others, to give you my love, friendship and support, and to respect and cherish you throughout our life together."

Taehyun took a deep breath, before giving a laugh, blinking his tears away. “Oh, I can’t even wipe my eyes because I'll rub off my makeup!"

Beomgyu smiled, blinking away his own tears.”It looks like we both ended up crying, didn’t we?” he said, and Taehyun gave a small laugh, breathing shakily.

"Oh, God, I swear that you will be the death of me one day, Beomgyu. You say I have thoughtful words? Beomgyu, for so long it has been only your words which have been able to move me to tears. Whether it's you confessing your love to me or just stating your thoughts, your brilliant and wonderful mind along with your silvery tongue have always been things which have been able to bring tears to my eyes.

“To say that we’ve been through a lot would definitely be an understatement,” Taehyun said, giving a soft chuckle. “We’ve been through so much over the past years, even going through a period of time where we were rather opposed to each other. But do you know what made me realise I loved you? It was the fact you cared. Around this day, five years ago, I realised how in love I was with you. I loved you because you were always with me whenever I needed you to be; I loved you because you cared about how I felt; I loved you because you made me feel happy. You make me feel safe, and warm, and loved. When you smile and your eyes crinkle at the corners, I feel like I must stare at you, gazing hopelessly at you like how the sunflower turns its face towards the sun. I realised, after countless years of knowing you, that you were the one. And the reason I didn’t know it before was because I’d never even thought about a future where you weren’t with me. It was like I was made to love you, but I just never knew it.”

Beomgyu blinked rapidly to try and quell his tears, but they just fell faster as he gazed at Taehyun adoringly.

“You, Beomgyu, with your fluffy hair and sparkly eyes and pretty lips and adorable smile… you are my guiding light, my star in the sky, my beautiful sun. You shine brighter than anyone else, and when I look at you I get overwhelmed by the fact that I get to love you. I get to love you despite you being such a bright sun and me being a small moon. I am forever grateful for that fact. And I thank you, for always being with me even though I didn’t know it. I thank you for being a place of comfort, of warmth, of happiness. When I came into this world you were already here, so I get to say thank you for always being there for every moment of my life. No one compares to you, Beomgyu. You make me feel loved in the way I never knew anyone could feel. Truly.”

Through tear-filled eyes, Taehyun gazed at Beomgyu, holding his hands tight.

“Thank you so much for being my golden, shining sun, Beomgyu. And I hope that you’ll continue to be with me, no matter what. I, Kang Taehyun, will give myself to you through this marriage. I promise to live well, and happily, and be with you through good times and bad, through sickness and good health. I belong with you, and I hope that we’ll never ever have to part.”

And then this time, it was Taehyun's turn for his hands to shake as he slid the ring onto Beomgyu's shaking hand, both of them laughing and crying at how they were trembling.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of our love. All that I am I give to you. All that I have I share with you. I promise to care for you above all others, to give you my love, friendship and support, and to respect and cherish you throughout our life together."

There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd. Hueningkai was sniffling openly, and Yeji had a hold of a box of tissues which Yeonjun was constantly taking tissues out of.

But even through the tears, Beomgyu and Taehyun gazed at each other, eyes sparkling. It was clear for all to see just how much they loved each other.

The officiant clasped his hands together, looking at the soon-to-be-weds. “Do you, Choi Beomgyu, take Kang Taehyun to be your lawfully wedded partner? Do you promise to love, adore, and encourage him? Share the good times and the achievements as well as the hard times and the disappointments? Keep him in sickness, in sorrow, and in happiness and in good health? Do you promise to be loyal to him forevermore?”

Beomgyu stared at Taehyun, beaming. “I do.”

They'd gone through so much together, suffered so much hardship, but they'd come out stronger and better because of it. And they’d reached the light at the end of the tunnel which would lead them to so many other new possibilities in their future, where they were by each other’s side. They were standing on the threshold, almost ready to leap forward into the light.

“Do you, Kang Taehyun, take Choi Beomgyu to be your lawfully wedded partner? Do you promise to love, adore, and encourage him? Share the good times and the achievements as well as the hard times and the disappointments? Keep him in sickness, in sorrow, and in happiness and in good health? Do you promise to be loyal to him forevermore?”

Taehyun had a similarly wide smile on his face, words trembling with happiness. “I do.”

And after so many ups and downs, near death experiences and tearful days, they'd made it. They'd made it: to the place where they could finally be happy. They'd reached the point where they could turn away from the past and reach forward into the future together, as one.

“Choi Beomgu and Kang Taehyun, you have expressed your commitment and love for each other through the promises you have just made. You may have kissed a thousand times, maybe more. But today it shall be different. No longer will you simply be friends, for this time you have now been joined together in matrimony. You may now share your first kiss as one body.”

This was no end. Far from it. This was a new beginning. The beginning of a life where they were not separate bodies, but were one. They began that life with their hearts full of love and smiles full of happiness.

Their journey of togetherness had begun. They smiled at each other, safe in one another’s embraces, tears of joy streaming down their cheeks.

Orchestral music swelled into a thrilling, hopeful crescendo as Beomgyu’s hands found Taehyun’s waist, and Taehyun wrapped his arms loosely around Beomgyu’s neck.

They both leaned forward, and their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss.

taglist: @my-moarmy-heart @arohabangtan @a-fragmented-world

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silentprincess17 · 3 years

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Sometimes Things Have To Get Worse Before They Get Better

This is essentially a darker, heavier alternate take on Memory #7 - Blades of the Yiga. I wanted to write a fic with a competent Yiga Clan. (Yes you read that right). It is very angsty in the beginning and then becomes fluffy (hence the title!)

Summary: Link and Zelda have returned from Vah Naboris with Urbosa and have spent the night in Kara Kara Bazaar Inn. Link wakes up and finds her missing.

Cue the angst.

This story is complete and I will post each chapter daily on here but you can read the whole thing on AO3

Rating: Mature (Graphic descriptions of violence) Pairing: Link/Zelda (Zelink) Characters: Link, Zelda, The Yiga Clan, Master Kohga

Chapter 1: Everything goes wrong when you don't have breakfast

Link was having a bad morning. He’d missed breakfast, a cardinal sin, and now he was anxiously darting around the Bazaar, weaving between the trees, in an attempt to see if he could spot a glimmer of blonde hair or a flash of a blue shirt.

She just had to run away. Again.

He sighed. It wasn’t that hard to understand why she constantly gave him the slip, even if he wished she didn’t. He knew it wasn’t fair of him to think such things, especially when he knew it wasn’t really him, she was running from, rather it the sword that was strapped to his back. It wasn’t him she was frustrated with, it was herself. And the sword symbolised how he was apparently fulfilling his destiny and his side of things, whilst she struggled endless with the stone-cold Hylia and had nothing to show for it. Essentially, the sword meant destiny and fate had already set out a predetermined plan for her, and she was currently set for failure. So yes, he could understand why she felt the need to escape what was surely a suffocating sight every day- the boy with the sword that has it all sorted, geared and ready to go, whilst she stumbled in the dark, Hylia’s Divine Blessing evading her.

If only she knew how much he struggled too. He didn’t just pull a sword out a rocky pedestal and boom morphed into Hyrule’s Saviour. He’d trained long and hard too. And frankly, he had felt compelled to draw the sword, it hadn’t been something that was in his control- if he had a choice, then he would also choose to just leave it be in the Lost Woods. It sounded naive and foolish now, but he hadn’t anticipated what the consequences would be when twelve-year-old Link had jumped up and wrapped his hands around that cursed mauve handle. Mostly, the thing he regretted the most about pulling the sword was that he’d effectively doomed them all. Did he want to be the one to basically foreshadow what was now surely coming? No. Another was that it had put a timer on the Princess to find her powers, and he didn’t want to cause her such anguish at being unable to unlock supposed birth-right sealing powers that she clearly didn’t have and didn’t know how to obtain. But… there had been a hidden consequence, one that he couldn’t for the life of him have predicted- when he released the sword from the pedestal, it didn’t just end with him now possessing the mythical legendary blade, oh no. He’d also obtained a whole wealth of memories, memories of past lives, past successes, past failures, and he’d lost whatever childish innocence he’d had then. And it crushed him, having this soul that apparently was doomed in this endless fight, and now he had to live up to them. He had to live up to these past Heroes and by Farore he had no idea if he’d be able to.

Every word that had come out of the Princess’s mouth at his blessing ceremony had cleaved him in two. All those past disastrous events that happened in Hyrule, and all the lengths his predecessors had gone to save the country… Adrift in time indeed. IN TIME. How was he supposed to do the same? And it made him fearful. And he was not easily frightened. He liked to think he was a little bit brave, he would run headfirst into any sort of challenge, be that eating rocks, defeating hordes of monsters, including Lynels, or even redirecting errant guardian laser beams but when he thought about what those Heroes had gone through… He certainty didn’t feel very brave when it came to imagining what exactly he’d have to do, what trials he would have to face, in line with theirs.

He finally finished strapping the sword properly to his back, he’d ran out as soon as he realised she was missing, and he tried to find any distinguishing patterns of her boots nearby. It was a useless venture, because sand shifted, constantly, and as a result any tracks were lost pretty much as soon as they formed. He sighed, deciding to do another very quick run through the Bazaar in case anyone else had spotted her, or she had come back from the baths maybe. He was clutching at straws, he knew it, and he felt that familiar churning feeling in his gut that something was wrong, but he decided to keep calm and check again just in case he’d missed something.

He sighed, even before Urbosa told him how the Princess’s behaviour was in fact coloured by the sword, he could have guessed. One of the biggest signs was that she always looked at it, instead of him. He only wished to tell her that he was just as lost as she was, because yeah sure, everyone Impa stated that he had the Sword that Seals The Darkness. Okay, but how did it do that? How does one go about killing darkness? Monsters he knew. Monsters he’d trained for. But darkness? And the thing that frightened him the most was that most of the past Heroes had fought a man. A power-obsessed, strong-willed and formidable opponent, but still, fundamentally, a man. None of them had fought this… Calamity equivalent that he seemed to be up against. Hence why he was uncertain, and fearful even, if the sword would be enough.

Not to mention how much it pained him that the arrogant idiot bird had managed to find his greatest insecurity, but that was neither here nor there.

But in truth, every time someone mentioned how he was their savour he wanted to cry. Perhaps she didn’t realise that whilst everyone had pinned her as a hopeless case and a lost cause, he’d been saddled with double the expectations to succeed. So much pressure, so many eyes, that he’d all but gone silent. Every word spoken could be misconstrued in some shape or form. Nothing he said was ever safe from scrutiny, so to continue to play the perfect, composed Hero that he was supposed to be, he decided to stop talking. What he wouldn’t give to explain to her that these praises that were lavished on him made him feel sick. Made him feel suffocated. Made him like a liar. Because really, he felt like a failure too- he had no plan other than maybe try and hit the darkness with the sword and hope that works. And the foreboding feeling he had that he hadn’t yet faced the supposedly impending huge trial that most of the other Heroes had, and they had all done said trial well before they obtained the Master Sword. He felt unworthy of it, somehow. All he’d done was train hard, fight and try to eradicate the plague of monsters in the land. He hadn’t travelled through time, he hadn’t transformed into a wolf, he hadn’t lost his sister, or his best friend. Hence why he was dreading meeting Ganon. There was a catch somewhere. He could feel it.

He exhaled heavily, sweat starting to build on his brow. This was why he wanted to tell Zelda that she wasn’t alone. That he knew what she was going through. They were a pair in destiny, fate… even souls after all. But she hated him, his very being, and probably wished he didn’t exist- no correction- she wished the sword didn’t exist, then he wouldn’t have pulled it and wouldn’t have become a direct comparator for her success. It all felt futile sometimes, and he wondered why exactly he was in such a melancholy mood this morning. Probably something to do with not eating.

She wasn’t in the Bazaar. He’d now checked over every stall twice. And Link felt rising trepidation. Of all the places for her to run away, she’d chosen the desert. She’d chosen where the main dissenters of the Royal Family lived. She chosen the one place where it was highly probable that there would be an assassination attempt on her. And he wasn’t there to protect her. Link could freely admit to himself he was scared. What if he didn’t find her in time, what if – No. He had to think positively. And then his eyes fell to his Champion’s tunic, embroidered, as it was, by her hand. Goddesses above, how would he present himself back the Castle if he’d actually lost her this time? And in such a worrisome place too. A stone settled in Link’s gut, as he desperately racked his brains, replaying last night’s events trying to remember if she’d dropped any hints as to where she was going.

He drew a big fat blank.

In the name of Din, where else could she have gone? She had been silent on the way back from Vah Naboris, probably reproachful that he’d managed to find her, yet again. And he had, admittedly, found it suspicious that she’d remained mum, accepted going to the Bazaar, and sleeping in the Inn, and leaving to head to Goron City the next day without a single word of dissent. He should have known that she was planning something.

And now, it was starting to get hot, as he quickly ran off towards the path, wondering if she’d gone back to Gerudo Town. But she’d already said her goodbyes to Urbosa last night... Link sighed, the heat already causing his tunic to stick to his back. It was a desert after all, one couldn’t expect it to get cold during the day, and he hadn’t had time to fill in their canteens, and oh for the love of Farore could he at least get a single sign as to where Her Highness had deigned to grace her presence at. He didn’t want to be beheaded for incompetence so soon.

He saw a small cloud of sand rise in the distance. At this point, it could be a mirage and he was seeing something that his mind had conjured in desperation at trying to find the missing Princess.

And then he saw a flash of red.

And his blood ran cold, despite the heat.

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