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s-horne · 3 years

Text

for @maguna-stxrk based on this prompt 💖

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“For the last time, Tony, I am not going to ask them if they sell coffee by the gallon. I’m pretty sure that would kill you.”

“It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“But it does hurt to drink that much coffee. Even if they did, which they don’t, I’m not risking it. You don’t need any help in endangering yourself.”

“I resent that.”

“And I don’t care,” Steve said back. The queue moved forward and Steve stepped closer to the till, already feeling slightly more awake than he’d been before he’d been hit with the scent of fresh coffee. “I’m not helping you with a caffeine overdose.”

“Think of it as a science experiment.”

Steve huffed, moving with the line again. It was going quickly and his mouth was practically watering at the thought of his sweet morning pick-me-up. “I don’t do science.”

“Do it for me,” Tony wheedled, his voice not quite as convincing over the phone as it would have been in person, but still enough to make Steve wish he could do what Tony was asking. He was always weak around Tony. It was something of a problem. “Please.”

“Wow.” Steve paused mid-yawn. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say please before.”

Tony let out an indignant huff. “I say please.”

“No, you don’t. It’s part of having the Stark charm – everyone just does what you want without you having to ask nicely. Or even ask anything, for that matter.”

“Ooh,” Tony said, smirk clear in his tone, “are you saying you find me charming?”

Rolling his eyes so hard he was almost worried for himself, Steve moved his cell to his other ear and reached into his pocket for his wallet. “You wish. Anyway, I’m nearly ordering. Did you actually want anything? A real order,” he said quickly before Tony could say anything to the tune of ‘all the coffee in the shop’, “nothing that could be fatal. Or illegal.”

“Spoilsport,” Tony muttered and Steve could just picture his pout. “No, I’ll be okay. If it isn’t 99% caffeine, there’s just no point.”

With another eye roll and a soft laugh, Steve shook his head. “Goodbye, Tony. Please make sure my computer is on. I know you’re sitting in my office to avoid Pepper. But please don’t be playing games on it – last time you downloaded something and the music started playing when I was on a conference call.”

“I have to hide; she’s on the warpath! I only forgot one piece of paperwork. I don’t deserve the punishment that I know she has lined up for me.”

“See you in 10.” With a laugh at Tony’s expense, Steve hung up just as the line moved and he was up to order.

“Morning,” Steve said to the young woman behind the counter.

“Morning,” she said back with a smile. “What can I get for you?”

“Mocha, please. To-go, medium, thank you. Oh, and a raspberry muffin,” he added when the girl started typing on the till. “I’d better get him something.”

“Is that for your partner? You two sounded so close.”

Steve fumbled with his wallet, fingers slipping on his card as he pulled it out. “Tony? Oh, no,” he said quickly. He felt his cheeks color and he looked down with a self-deprecating chuckle. “I wish. He doesn’t see me like that. We’re just work colleagues.”

“Oh.” The barista sounded as disappointed as Steve felt on a daily basis, but gave him a smile and a shrug. “He talks to you like there’s something, from what I could hear.”

Steve didn’t know what to say and had only managed to splutter out a few nonsensical words before she printed his receipt and handed it over.

“And you’re taking him a muffin. Well, that’s a guaranteed way to his heart.”

How Steve wished that were true. If that were actually the case, then they would have been together for years.

Even with Tony being his superior in the office, Steve had quickly realised that Tony did not take care of himself and had felt an urge to do it for him. More evenings than not, Tony would be the last person in the office and at lunchtimes Tony would stay in his office, long conference calls trapping him as everyone else went off to eat.

It was in Steve’s nature to provide for people. He couldn’t see someone not taking care of themselves and just walk away. His mother hadn’t raised him that way. Despite the slightly uneven feeling and his colleagues gently teasing him that Steve was only trying to get a salary increase, Steve had started adding to his morning order at the coffee shop and doubling his lunches. They had only been boring sandwiches and the occasional salad back then, but Steve reckoned it was better than nothing at all. He’d left them on Tony’s desk at the very beginning with nothing but a sticky note telling him to take a 5 minute break to eat. It hadn’t taken Tony long to warm up to Steve and, before Steve had even realised what was happening, he had a new best friend to share his lunch break with every day, the two of them alternating whose office they sat in and who paid for their meals.

But that was all. Colleagues turned best friends. End of the story.

“Order for Steve?”

Steve jolted out of his thoughts and lifted a hand as he hurried over to the counter.

“Go get him,” the barista called from the till with a wink and Steve laughed, ducking his head when most of the customers turned to look at him curiously.

“Well, that was embarrassing,” Steve heard as he left the shop and fell into step with the crowds on the street.

He nodded and huffed a short laugh before he realised whose voice it was. Tony?

Panic flooding him, Steve fumbled with the cup and takeaway bag in his hands to look at the phone screen sticking out of the top pocket of his jacket. Tapping it frantically, he was met not with his lock screen photo of his baby nephew, but with the call screen informing him that his connection with Tony was still very much live. He was also somehow on speaker.

“Does the whole shop know now?”

“Fuck!” Steve transferred the pastry bag and hot cup to one hand and jammed the phone between his ear and shoulder. “Tony?”

“Yup. You didn’t hang up.”

“I never do!” Steve answered, voice betraying his panic. “Whenever I used to, you threatened to tell our boss because you said it was rude to hang up on a superior! So then I just stopped – it wasn’t worth the teasing. You were meant to hang up!”

Tony laughed. “Still can’t believe you fell for that. Anyway, I think we have something to talk about, don’t we?”

Steve could say no. He could brush it all aside and pretend that it had all been a joke or a big misunderstanding. It would be so easy; it would save him from any awkward conversation, from a broken heart when Tony let him down gently.

But, he didn’t want that. He wanted to take a chance, didn’t he? What if there was something there?

Didn’t he owe it to himself - to himself and Tony - to at least try?

He wanted the hugs, the kisses. He wanted the late nights and the lazy mornings in bed; he even wanted the arguments and the yelling that would no doubt be inevitable one day.

“I think so,” Steve finally said, voice quiet but sure. “I’m on my way now.”

“I’m in your office,” Tony said and Steve smiled.

“Aren’t you always?”

“You love it,” the smile was clear in Tony’s voice, any hesitation gone as he fell back into his familiar teasing. “Don’t you?”

“Yes,” Steve said immediately, automatically, whether Tony had been expecting an answer or not. “Stay there. And stop playing games on my computer!”

“Never! See you in a bit. With my muffin.”

Steve grinned even wider. He was getting predictable, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. “Yes,” he said, fondness that could be heard a mile off seeping into his tone, “yes, I got you a muffin – that you never actually said you wanted.”

“My hero.” There was a pause. “Hurry?”

Wild horses couldn’t have stopped Steve when he knew what was waiting for him at the office and he clutched the phone tighter, dodging a dog sniffing at a streetlamp and a cyclist hurtling towards him. “I’m coming. Five minutes. Less than, even.”

“Good. I’ve already been waiting too long.”

#you are an enabler who reblogs things that make me want to write even though i gavethat all up #i wrote a thing #well attempted a thing anyway #stony fic #stevetony fic #stony au #stevetony fic rec #stony fic rec #stony #stevetony #steve rogers #tony stark #BASED ON A WRITING PROMPT #I hope you enjoy this #you deserve fluffy things

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milkmateartist · 3 years

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HEAVENS Black Garden English Translation 【 Main Story Pt. 1】

[ --- I do not own Black Garden, HEAVENS, Utapri, or any of the characters. This is a fan translation using a combination of google translate and my own japanese knowledge --- ]

// Translated by MilkmateArtist

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▽ = Speaking / Speaker

A deep forest covers the clear sky.

The air here is a little cooler than what's normal for the seasonal temperature.

The surroundings are quiet with only the noise of the trees and my footsteps.

▽ You

Is it really this way?

The continuing trail ahead of me looked more like an animal trail. It would be uncomfortable to even call it a road.

Anxious, I dropped my eyes down to the letter.

A letter that arrived to me even though I had no relatives.

It stated that I had the right to inherit the legacy of a person who claimed to be my paternal grandfather.

I lost my parents early and didn't know my grandfather, let alone his relatives.

Invited by the letter, I was now visiting the land mentioned there.

It was a place rich in nature called the "Heavenly Forest".

Everything I saw was shining.

▽ You

Maybe that is it over there...?

In an open area, there appeared to be a beautifully made road and an iron gate.

The gate is locked.

(A) Give up and go home

(B) Try calling out

(A) Give up and go home

▽ You

There is no sign of anyone around, and there is no way to ask.

I have no choice but to give up ...

I went back the way I came and returned to my usual life.

BAD END

(B) Call out

▽ You

I'm sorry! Is anyone there?

I shouted out loud. Behind the gath, the path led further back, and I could see a bit of the shadow of a house.

Maybe they will notice?. However, there was no reply.

CONTINUE

I picked up a stone that had fallen nearby and swung it down at the key.

▽ You

Eh……?

The stone rolled off the hand without hitting the key.

My head hurt like it was burning, and my vision went red.. I had no choice but to fall into the place without power.

BAD END

CONTINUE:

Next I tried to push the gate.

▽ You

It's no use, but I'll keep trying. I wonder what I should do now.

Suddenly, a loud noise came from a nearby tree.

A person jumped from the top of said tree.

▽ You

!! !!

▽ Hugo

Who are you? What business do you have at the mansion?

I could see that he's well trained from his large body and mannerisms,

▽ Hugo

Hey, answer my question.

▽ You

…… My name is (___). I got a letter and was invited here.

I answered frantically while under the pressure from his force.

▽ Hugo

(___) ?

▽ You

Yes....

He brought his face closer, staring at me with a sharp look.

▽ Hugo

Nope! I haven't heard of you. You're pretty suspicious..

▽ You

Eh?!

▽ Virgil

Hugo, calm down. This person is a client. Moreover, they should be treated politely.

A man came running up from behind and got in between us.

▽ Virgil

I'm sorry, I seem to have surprised you.

With a concerned expression on his face, he bowed his head politely.

▽ Virgil

Hugo's job is to keep an eye on the area around the building since he's the mansions gatekeeper. Don't think too bad of him.

▽ Hugo

……Hmph.. I'm going to go look around. Take it from here.

▽ Virgil

I'm Virgil, the coachman of this building. I was supposed to pick you up, but there seems to have been a bit of a misunderstanding.

▽ Virgil

I apologize for the inconvenience, but you allow me to escort you to the mansion?

He extended his elbows as if he were dealing with a lady.

I was nervous, but followed him..

▽ Virgil

We have a short way to walk until we reach the mansion. Even someone whose familiar with the place can get lost.

▽ You

It's a very large area.

Even after walking for a while, I couldn't see the whole view of the building. I feel that the world they live in is different from my own.

▽ Virgil

Especially at night, it's pitch black, so it's dangerous. It's rumored that *things* come out around then.

▽ You

!! !!

I gasped, involuntarily making a large gesture.

▽ Virgil

Ah, that's a good reaction. You're cute, so I can't help but play around a bit. It's just a rumor!

▽ You

…… Oh, okay.

But it was true that there were dark places, that were black even in the daytime.

It's no wonder that something could lurk inside it.

▽ Virgil

Ah, we arrived!

Passing through the stone gate, there was a large mansion towering over it.

▽ Mika

Oh~ You're here~.

A child popped out from the entrance. He came down the stairs and stopped in front of me.

▽ Mika

I will guide you from here! Now go away Virgil!

When I took my arm from Virgil, he double-took as though he wanted to hug me.

▽ Virgil

Mika is pushy as always. But as many times as I say it, it doesn't matter.

He shrugged and went on, still somehow cheery in his tone.

▽ Virgil

I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going to the stables to check on the horses. I'll see you later.

▽ Mika

By the way, again ... I'm Mika! I'm working here as a messenger boy.

▽ You

Messenger ... Boy?

I tilt my head, puzzled. It's a profession I'm not too familiar with.

▽ Mika

I take letters from my master and deliver them to other peoples residences, and vice versa. Also, I'm so cute, so I'll be asked to accompany people when I go out.

The owner of this building must be a fairly high-ranking person.

▽ Mika

Leave the area to me, let alone this mansion!! I'm very on top of things, so I know everything.

He probably has a lot of opportunities at his job to come into contact with a lot of different thing.

▽ Mika

Indeed, I even know about that letter you have! My master told me that I went out to the town.

▽ Mika

I'll call Abel, so wait a bit here!

That said, Mika disappeared into the front door.

Left behind, I stopped in front of the big door at the front entrance.. Looking closely, I was amazed at the size of it. .

(A) Observe the mansion

(B) Look into the window

(A) Observe the mansion

I walked around the mansion, drawn to the splendor of the building.

▽ You

I've never seen such a nice house. I wonder if this is also in the inheritance of the heritage ...

When I gently touched the wall, the cool sensation seemed to tell me that this was not a dream.

▽ You

Oh, I want to know soon!

I was thrilled by the glorious life that would be waiting for me.

I thought I heard a loud noise, the next moment, a shock ran to my body.

A part of the dilapidated building collapsed and fell heavily on me.

I can't breathe and I can't move one finger. I feel like I heard someone's voice in the distance, but then I couldn't hear it anymore.

BAD END

(B) Look into the window

I turned to the large window above the front door.

▽ You

!! !!

What I saw for a moment through the gap in the curtain was a devil with a terrifying appearance.

An indescribable horror struck me and I fainted.

When I woke up, I was in a small dark room.

There is no way to know how much time has passed. I was paralyzed.

I was just helpless, wrapped in darkness and waiting for the last moment.

BAD END

I did as I was told. While waiting, I heard an energetic voice from the other side of the door.

I don't know what they were talking about, but I recognized Mika's voice.

He was probably explaining my presence.

The door opened and showed his face, smiling.

▽ Mika

He said you can come in!

I nodded and stepped inside.

▽ Abel

You've arrived, (___). . I'm Abel. The person who is entrusted with this mansion.

▽ You

Nice to meet you…….

▽ Abel

The owner of the mansion wants to extend hospitality to you. Please think of this as your home and relax.

▽ You

Thank you. Um ... may I ask you something?

▽ Abel

Oh. I'll answer to any question.

▽ You

The letter said that the owner of the museum was my grandfather, but what was he like?

▽ Abel

Is that so? I'm sorry for this. There is no way he could have written that. He is still alive.

▽ You

Oh is that so ...!

▽ Abel

He is on a trip now and away from the building. He was very concerned about whether you would respond to the letter.

▽ Mika

He was worried that you wouldn't come to see him.. Because you haven't been in contact for a long time.

▽ You

Above all, I am glad that you have done your best for me. I want to meet him in person and talk.

▽ Abel

Its best to relax until the master returns. You can use this building freely.

Feel free to use this large mansion ... What a luxury! Just thinking about it made me excited.

▽ Abel

However ...

▽ Abel

Do not enter only in the garden at night. Absolutely ...

He spoke in a soft voice up to that point, and my spine froze.

▽ Mika

……Oh... Oh yeah, That's right. I'll go call Keith. See you.

Mika looked frightened and ran to the back of the house as though to escape from something.

▽ Abel

It's dark at night and it's dangerous because the beasts come out. Of course, it's not easy to get in.

Before I knew it, things had returned to the original calm atmosphere.

▽ Keith

...... I made you wait.

▽ Abel

You're here. This is (___).

▽ Keith

...... I'm Keith. ……Nice to meet you.

I waited for his next words, but apparently this was the end of his self-introduction. He seemed to be the quiet type.

▽ You

It's nice to meet you.

▽ Abel

Keith is a servant of the master. He is also an escort and is a very reliable man.

I wondered if the sword on his waist was for escort too..?

▽ Abel

Keith, could you please guide them through the mansion? I have office duties from now on.

▽ Keith

……Yeah..

He nodded, extending a hand to me and we started walking.

▽ Keith

…… where to.. ...... Is there a place you're interested in?

(A) Somewhere to relax

(B) Somewhere fun

(A) A place to relax

▽ You

Where does everyone go to relax?

▽ Keith

……this way..

There was an open space beyond the entrance, with a large sofa.

▽ Keith

……the hall. Here ... people often talk ...

The light came in and there was a warm atmosphere. When I tried sitting on the couch I sank in, feeling how high quality it was.

▽ You

I might just wind up telling a long story now

CONTINUE

(B) A place to enjoy

▽ You

What do you enjoy doing during your breaks?

▽ Keith

...... Enjoy, huh? Not much ... entertainment around but...

Thinking about it a bit, he stepped forward. There was a quiet place in the basement.

Opening the door revealed many books. inside.

▽ Keith

Doing research ..., reading aloud ... Besides books, there are also games.

▽ You

Wow! With all of this there will never be enough time

CONTINUE

▽ You

Since this is such a huge mansion, is there a secret place? It's like a room that doesn't open.

Without thinking I curiously asked. Keith's eyes glistened.

▽ Keith

There is…….

▽ You

……!

▽ Keith

...... no such room.

▽ You

Ah, I- I figured....

I then saw at the end of the corridor that there was dim passage.

As I approached, I saw a staircase leading upwards. It was dark, and I couldn't see how long it was.

Strangely anxious, I stepped up the stairs as though they were sucking me in.

▽ You

Ah-…….

I couldn't understand what was happening.. A red stain was spreading at the soles of my feet.

▽ You

W..Why…….

Those were my last words.

BAD END

CONTINUE:

I was guided through the hall. There were various rooms, all of which were luxuriously constructed.

▽ Keith

There are still more rooms ... But I must not.. tire you out.

▽ You

Is there still more! ?? From the looks of things I think I can go on..

▽ Keith

You don't have to rush ... There is a lot of time ...

He smiled as he looked at me with my eyes rounded. Seeing that smile made me happy we were getting more acquainted.

▽ You

Hey, that sword is pretty neat. Is it for self-defense?

What I had been worried about for a long time just kind of spilled out of my mouth.

▽ Keith

This ...?

He touched the sword that hung from his waist.

▽ You

Yeah, I'm asking about what it's used for....

I swallowed words on their way out. Acutely my body froze up and I couldn't move.

Keith's eyes became sharp and sparkled with a suspicious light.

▽ Keith

………….

I thought he was going to silently take out the sword from the sheath, but in an instant he thrust it at me.

▽ Keith

It's a cursed sword that seeks the blood of a young maiden. ...... Should I try it out?

He had a cold expression holding no emotion.

▽ You

Eek ...!

▽ Keith

……just kidding.

With that said, he rotated the handle of his heavy sword and put it back in its sheath.

▽ You

Ha, haha.... That was something.

The tension released at once, and I sighed loudly.

▽ Keith

I'm sorry ... I seem to have surprised you.

Seeing his clumsy smile, I understood this was his odd way of interacting with me.

▽ Eric

Hey, Keith. Can you taste the food for me? I think I did a good job!

A young man ran up with a smile.

▽ Eric

You are...! Could it be...

He corrected his posture, astonished when he noticed me.

▽ You

I'm ( ___ ), . The person who came here after receiving a letter.

▽ Eric

( ___ ), It's a nice name. I'm Eric. Nice to meet you.

A bit shy, his cheeks went pink and he bashfully looked down.

▽ Eric

About that, ... I was cooking for you. I hope you like it.

▽ You

Thank you!

▽ Eric

Ah, it's not a big deal at all. I was a little unsure because I made a special menu that I haven't all that often.

▽ Keith

Do not worry. Eric's food is ... always delicious.

▽ Eric

Is that so? I'm happy you say that. That's not all, I'm also in charge of cooking.

▽ Eric

Have you met everyone else yet?

▽ Keith

They have not met Simon....

▽ Eric

Simon should be in the garden at this time.

▽ Keith

Eric ... It would be good if you took them ... I will continue the cooking.

▽ Eric

Really ? I still have a lot of supper preparations left.

▽ Keith

It's fine……. You're able to convey the charm of the garden better as a gardener.

▽ Eric

All right. Thank you, Keith. Well then, let's go.

▽ Eric

It's better to go to the garden from outside the building. We will use the back road, it's a detour from where we are now.

Leaving the mansion, we walked side by side on the road leading to the garden.

▽ Eric

The roses are in full bloom this time of year, so I really recommend seeing them!

He spoke with an excited gesture. . I could tell he loved the garden from the bottom of his heart.

▽ Eric

It's breathtakingly beautiful. I see them everyday but I find myself visiting. I often have tea with my friends there.

▽ You

Friends……. What kind of relationship do you have with everyone? It's nice being close.

▽ Eric

I'm a colleague, but it's like we're a family. I've lived here together since forever and we're always by one anothers side.

I was very envious of that kind of family relationship since I had no relatives.

▽ Eric

Oh, Abel ... He's my real brother. So he's actually family.

Now that I think of it, it seems their hair and eye colors are similar. But their personality and energy are completely different.

▽ Eric

We'll arrive in the garden soon.

▽ You

Um……. I heard that you shouldn't enter the garden at night. Why is that?

I tossed out the words I've been contemplating for a while after asking Abel.

▽ Eric

...... Who, did you hear from?

Eric stopped.

▽ Eric

Who ...? Hey ...?

I was grabbed by my shoulder and interrogated. The energy he was giving off made it feel like he was a different person.

▽ You

…… M-, Mr. Abel.

▽ Eric

What my brother says is absolute. Don't go against it ... absolutely.

With a serious look, I nodded deeply.

▽ Eric

Haha. I thought you would understand. Well, we arrived.

After passing through the aisle, there was a grand "paradise".

The calm garden, full of flowers, praised the beauty of the world.

▽ You

Beautiful ...

▽ Eric

Right? I'm glad you liked it. But I can't find Simon.

I looked around, but there was no sign of anyone.

▽ Eric

He should be taking a nap somewhere in the garden, so let's split up and find search.

▽ You

Okay!

We split up and started looking for Simon.

(A) Search behind the tall hedge

(B) Search in the flower field

(A) Search Behind the tall Hedge

▽ You

Is it behind this hedge ...?

It was a good hiding spot since it was as tall as a person and provided good shade for a nap.

I looked behind, but no one was there.

CONTINUE

(B) Search in the Flower Field

▽ You

He must be in a flower field.

It felt like If I slept surrounded by these beautiful flowers, I'd have a good dream.

Pushing my way through the flowers, only butterflies took off and there was no harvest.

CONTINUE

▽ You

Maybe he's further out.

The back of the vast garden was adjacent to the forest. Maybe there was a good place to take a nap in the woods, like under the shade of a tree.

I went deeper and deeper in.

( -----JUMP TO SIMONS ROUTE------)

CONTINUE:

▽ You

Where are you ...

Distracted by the surroundings, I tripped in the grass.

▽ You

Kya!

Falling forward, I landed in a bush.

▽ You

This is…….

There was a small space in the bush that allowed me to get up, and in that place there also was a young man with transparent white skin.

▽ You

Are you Simon ...?

▽ Simon

Who are you ...? Why are you here ...

He curled up as if frightened, and bore the color of hostility in his eyes.

▽ You

I'm ( ___ ), I'm sorry to have surprised you.

▽ Simon

( ___ ) ……. The Lord's relative?

Most likely being explained to in advance, Simon looked relieved.

▽ You

This is a warm and comfortable place huh. It's very relaxing.

▽ Simon

Oh……. Do you understand too? A feeling of being gently wrapped in nature .... It seems to awaken a memory of before being born.

His expression was ecstatic and his eyes were shining. I could tell that he had a pure and straight heart.

▽ Simon

Oh ... what a wonderful day. I will once again enjoy the splendor while feeling the vibrations of the earth ....

Then he gently closed his eyelids.

▽ Simon

Zzzz …….

▽ You

Simon, don't sleep!

I grabbed his shoulders and shook him but it didn't help much.

▽ You

Eric was looking for you..

▽ Simon

...... Eric was ...?

▽ Eric

I found you! So you were here huh.

Eric looked into the bushes.

Suddenly, the low roar of thunder sounds.

A black rain cloud cast a shadow over the clear blue sky.

▽ Eric

The weather is going to change, so let's go back to the mansion.

We quickly left the garden.

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

Go to Black Garden English Translation Directory here for more routes.

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ibijau · 3 years

Text

part 10 of the Nomad Nie AU // On AO3

Huaisang has a surprise for his husband, who tries to surprise him in return

It took nearly another week after Cunzhi’s little adventure before the Nie finally arrived at their winter camp. The entire time, Nie Huaisang stuck close to his husband, in case Lan Xichen had developed a taste for confronting wolves unarmed and needed to be stopped. Lan Xichen was both amused and touched by this, and didn’t complain.

He thought that Khan Mingjue too seemed rather entertained by this turn of events, and acted perhaps a little less angry toward him these days. When they arrived at the winter camp, Lan Xichen was bossed around by the Khan just the same way as everyone else as they rebuilt the gers, and he was trusted with helping Huaisang and a few others check whether any of the animals had sustained wounds during the long journey. He also was a little warmer when the three of them retired for the night, and constantly teased him about the wolf. This greatly annoyed Huaisang, which seemed to be the aim, but Lan Xichen found he rather enjoyed the Khan’s dry humour. It reminded him of Lan Wangji.

When they reached the place they would spend the winter, it took very little time to set everything up, at least in Lan Xichen’s opinion. In less than a day, there was a whole village standing, looking exactly as if it had always been there. The herds were then separated, which led to a few small disputes here and there. The Khan ordered his brother and Zonghui to take care of those if they could. As for himself, Mingjue was only giving the horses a chance to rest a little, and then he would head with a few men toward the other camp, to make sure that everything was alright with them.

Mingjue left early the next morning, just as Lan Xichen was starting to wake up. He groggily bid his brother-in-law a safe trip, then decided it was really too early to be up yet and tried to pull Huaisang back under the covers with him to cuddle for a while. Huaisang indulged him at first, but before long he was escaping to eat something, saying he had a busy day ahead. He was clearly very proud of having been tasked with helping settle any disputes that might have arisen due to the migration, and refused to let his brother down when Mingjue was finally trusting him with something.

Any hope Lan Xichen might still have had about a quiet morning together was fully ruined when Meng Yao came to check on them. Huaisang and Lan Xichen were still having breakfast, but invited him to sit with them if he wished and share their meal. Lan Xichen was delighted to see his friend, as always. So was Huaisang, though he still left before long, eager for this chance to prove how very useful and mature he could be.

“We’ll chat later,” Nie Huaisang said in Hanyu, his accent much better than it used to be. “Keep my husband company, Menyao. Make sure he does nothing stupid. No more wolves for him!”

Meng Yao laughed, and promised to keep an eye on Lan Xichen. Satisfied with this, Huaisang dropped a quick kiss on his husband’s forehead and hopped out of the ger. Lan Xichen watched him go, unable to refrain a fond smile as he passed some cheese to Meng Yao.

“Do you think he minds that we are friends?” Meng Yao asked as he took the food.

Lan Xichen shot him a surprised look. “Of course not. Why would he?”

Meng Yao appeared to hesitate, the way he sometimes did when he feared he had some unpleasant information to share. He stalled a moment, nibbling on his piece of cheese, before diving in.

“These barbarians can be rather possessive,” he explained. “And I am right in guessing you are still refusing him his marital rights, are you not?”

Lan Xichen nodded and looked away, heat rushing to his face. It really wasn’t a matter of refusing anything at this point, and just that the occasion for it couldn’t be found. With Nie Mingjue gone for a few days, Lan Xichen was hoping they’d seize their chance at last… but of course he couldn’t have said that to Meng Yao, it was too private a matter.

“Huaisang is much sweeter than the others,” Meng Yao said, “but even he could get jealous. Lan gongzi should keep that in mind, and tell me if I create problems for him.” He sighed, his expression pained. “Lan gongzi is dear to me, but I will distance myself if it is needed. I do not want to provoke Huaisang into anger.”

Lan Xichen laughed awkwardly, and drank to hide his embarrassment.

“It’s fine, it’s quite fine,” he said. “Huaisang doesn’t mind at all. You’re his friend too, in spite of his brother.”

Meng Yao looked unconvinced. “These people will turn on their friends over anything. Even among brothers there is strife sometimes. If Huaisang weren’t so indolent, he would probably have been killed a long while ago, just so he wouldn’t pose a threat to the Khan’s power. Their grandfather killed his own father for power, it runs in their blood. So please, be careful, and tell me if I can ever do anything for you. You’re the only true friend I have, I don’t want for any harm to come to you.”

The story of Huaisang’s grandfather wasn’t unknown to Lan Xichen. Huaisang had told it to him, not without some pride, because the murdered father had been a cruel man who abused people and animals alike. Mingjue, who had been with them in the ger, had added that an unjust Khan could not be allowed to rule, and he would expect the same if he took a turn for the worse.

It had disturbed Lan Xichen at first, that anyone could talk so lightly of killing one’s father, one’s superior. In the end, he figured that perhaps the Nie too had a version of the Mandate of Heaven at play, and that Huaisang’s great-grandfather had lost heaven’s favour with his misconduct.

“I’m glad Meng gongzi feels this way,” Lan Xichen said. “I also see you as a true friend. If you had not been here to help me, I don’t know what I would have done. And I hope you know that I would be happy to help you as well, should you ever require it.” He hesitated a moment, then added: “For example if there might be a way to mend things between you and the Khan…”

Meng Yao failed to contain a slight grimace, and shook his head.

“No, the chance for that has passed,” he sighed. “He hates me too much now, and is too ready to blame me for everything that goes wrong in the clan. I’m sure he blames me for what happened with Cunzhi too, wouldn’t you say?”

Lan Xichen, quite awkwardly, didn’t know what to answer.

It wasn’t that Meng Yao had caused that situation on purpose, of course. Still, Lan Xichen had become quite convinced that Cunzhi had escaped his mother’s care and hidden this way specifically because he had been so upset at losing Meng Yao’s company, and somehow hoped that making his displeasure obvious enough would allow him to get his way. It was likely that Khan Mingjue had come to the same conclusion, but was less kind with regards to Meng Yao’s intentions in that situation.

“Misunderstandings have happened in the past,” Lan Xichen said at last. “They can be corrected. I’m sure there must be ways to let the Khan see that you’ve never had ill intentions, only bad luck.”

“You think too kindly of the Khan,” Meng Yao scoffed.

And you think too ill of him, Lan Xichen thought with some disappointment.

Khan Mingjue could be somewhat unreasonable when worrying for his brother, but even in his dislike he wasn’t unjust. He treated Meng Yao coldly and refused to deal with him more than necessary, but he didn’t go out of his way to be cruel to him, nor did he allow for him to be treated poorly by others. Aside from Huaisang, nobody was forbidden from associating with him. Lan Xichen was certain that if both parties had only made a small effort, they could have reconciled and returned to the friendship Huaisang told him used to exist between them. At first he’d thought all the efforts would have to come from the Khan, but he now saw that Meng Yao too would have to be a little more forgiving.

It would take time, Lan Xichen knew, and no small amount of work.

“It’s fine anyway,” Meng Yao insisted, chewing on the last of his cheese. “I’m only biding my time until I can go home. I know someday my father will return for me, just as you must hope your family will do. When my father comes to get me back, it won’t matter much what the Khan thinks of me.”

The barely restrained fierceness in Meng Yao’s voice surprised Lan Xichen. His friend rarely spoke of his father, or indeed of anything about his life before joining the Nie. Lan Xichen was under the impression he had perhaps been less well treated in their home country than he was among nomads. From some of the things he said, Lan Xichen suspected that Meng Yao was either the child of a concubine or a servant who had been noticed for his intelligence and given an education, but never treated as truly part of the family. If so, it was unlikely that his father would ever bother to attempt to buy him back from the Nie, not the way Lan Xichen thought his own family might attempt once they’d built enough of a fortune with this new trade route opened to them.

It wouldn’t be for a few years at best, but Lan Xichen was unsure what he’d do if this happened. Of course he missed his home and family no less than Meng Yao did, yet he wouldn’t want to leave Huaisang behind. But it might be a pointless question anyway. Meng Yao might hope for his father’s return, Lan Qiren might attempt to buy back his nephew, but Khan Mingjue probably wouldn’t want to let anyone go who knew too much about his people.

Overtaken by a mild melancholy, Lan Xichen changed the topic and quickly finished eating so Meng Yao and him could go out and take care of their chores. Busy hands helped him empty his mind, though his mood remained a little off all morning. It was only when he returned to the ger for lunch that he started feeling better again, knowing he would see Huaisang.

Just as he had hoped, Lan Xichen found himself smiling happily as he entered the ger and started preparing for lunch. That smile only widened when Huaisang finally joined him, holding a bowl of dumplings in one hand, and carrying a dark wooden box under his other arm. The dumplings were carefully set aside, and the box presented to Lan Xichen.

“It’s for you!” Huaisang announced. “A gift for my husband.”

Lan Xichen glanced at the box, then at Huaisang’s excited face.

“Where did you get this?”

“I made a trade with old Xianjun,” Huaisang explained, handing the box to his husband. “Foals for three of his mares from my best racing stallion in spring, and he gave me this. It’s a Han thing, right?”

Inspecting the box more closely confirmed it was of Han origin. Its style had a southern flair to it, and Lan Xichen wondered how it had arrived so far north. It wasn’t a luxurious box, a little rough here and there, but still beautiful and made with obvious care by a competent artisan, and seeing this trace from home tugged at his heart. To distract himself from this renewed melancholy Lan Xichen opened the box while Huaisang peered curiously over his shoulder.

Lan Xichen gasped.

“Is it bad?” Huaisang asked, a note of worry in his voice.

“It’s very good,” Lan Xichen replied, sitting down to more comfortably admire his present. “Why did they have this?”

Huaisang chuckled nervously. “Old Xianjun followed my father on a raid against Han people when he was young,” he admitted. “He traded away many things, kept a few. Nobody wanted this and he found it pretty, so he kept it. What is it?”

“The four treasures of the study,” Lan Xichen said, only to be met with a blank look. “Ah, hm. It is used to write things, like in my books?”

Among Lan Xichen’s few possessions when he arrived with the Nie had been two books he’d taken with him. A caprice, his uncle had called it when they were getting to leave home, telling him he wouldn’t have any use for poetry, nor for that short history treaty he’d picked up some weeks earlier and never made time to study. A few months later and he knew those books by heart, as did Meng Yao who had nearly cried from joy upon being allowed to borrow them. As for Huaisang, he showed little interest in the books themselves, but enjoyed having the poetry read to him and explained, and he liked also the few printed illustrations.

“You can make a book with this?” Huaisang asked, looking doubtful.

“If I had something to say. I could also paint something,” Lan Xichen suggested, guessing that might amuse his husband more. The paper was of good enough quality that its age hadn’t made it too fragile, and the ink still seemed good at well. The inkstone was intact, its square shape simple but elegant. Only the pair of brushes wasn’t perfectly to Lan Xichen’s liking, since they were clearly made for writing rather than painting, but their quality was good, and his skill wasn’t high enough that the wrong tool would really hinder him.

“Paint something for me!” Huaisang predictably demanded, eyeing the box’s content with more interest now.

“Gladly. What should I paint?”

Huaisang barely hesitated. “Something you would miss if you went home.”

Hearing this, Lan Xichen’s smile faltered. It seemed he really couldn’t avoid thinking of home that day. At the same time, this had the advantage of being an easy request to fulfil, because there was only one thing he could think of painting after being asked this.

“I will do that. But it has to be a surprise. You can’t look at it until it’s done, Huaisang.”

“But I want to see how you do it!”

“After this, I teach you how to paint,” Lan Xichen offered. There were about three dozen sheets of paper in the box, which didn’t feel like much, but it would be enough. He’d just have to ask his family to bring him more next time he saw them. “This one will be a gift for you, so you can’t see.”

Huaisang went from pouting to grinning in an instant. Lan Xichen took a moment more to admire his own gift, then closed the box and asked his husband about his morning. They sat down and ate together, chatting about this and that, making plans for the rest of the day. When they were done with food, Lan Xichen took his box and started carefully preparing some paper and ink. Huaisang watched with fascination the process of grinding ink, asking questions about it that Lan Xichen answered as well as he could. Once he started actually painting, Huaisang was chased away to the other side of the ger where he worked for a while with leather.

Lan Xichen found it quite nice to be together like this, each of them occupied with their own work, occasionally trading a few words, but mostly silent and focused on what they were doing. He had never expected that it would be so comfortable to be in someone else’s company this way, least of all under such circumstances, but it made him glad once more than Huaisang and him had been brought together. Fate had really found him a perfect partner.

All too soon though, this moment of peace was interrupted. Someone came to ask Huaisang to help them with a dispute regarding cattle, and Lan Xichen had his own chores to attend. They both put away their work and went out, knowing they would meet again for dinner.

When afternoon reached its end, Xichen returned to the ger and found it empty. After tidying a bit, he took this chance and went back to working on his painting. It was no masterpiece, not when he had never received the education to create great works and hadn't touched a brush in months, but Lan Xichen was still happy enough with his work. He was putting the finishing touches when Huaisang returned, dusted with snow that had started falling, and carrying again some food.

"Can I see soon?" Huaisang asked, staring toward the sheet of paper but keeping his distance, as he'd been asked.

The painting wasn’t quite done, there were a few details to add, but Huaisang’s barely contained curiosity was too adorable. Lan Xichen motioned for his husband to come closer, which Huaisang immediately obeyed, rushing to his side and dropping on his knees right next to him.

“Here it is,” Lan Xichen announced, revealing the painting and handing it to Huaisang.

Just as he had hoped, Huaisang’s initially excited expression quickly turned to astonishment as he discovered that on the paper was a portrait of himself, painted as faithfully as Lan Xichen’s skill would allow. Huaisang’s face took on a very sweet pinkish hue that grew more intense the longer he gazed at the portrait, while his eyes shone with emotion.

“Something you would miss,” he mumbled, tearing his eyes from the painting to look at Lan Xichen. “Really?”

“Really,” Xichen said, putting away his brush in its proper place, telling himself he would clean it in a moment. First, though, he needed to kiss his husband. Huaisang, seeing him lean closer, hurriedly set aside the painting and threw his arms around Lan Xichen’s neck.

It wasn’t rare these days for the two of them to get passionate while kissing, and like many times before, Huaisang quickly ended up straddling Lan Xichen’s lap as he licked into his mouth, his hands wandering under the layers of his husband’s clothes. Usually that was the moment Mingjue would pick to come home and glare at them, but…

But Mingjue wasn’t there at all this time, and at this time of day nobody would come looking for them. So Lan Xichen let himself fall back on the carpeted ground, and looked up at Huaisang, still straddling him.

Huaisang let out a strangled noise, but didn’t move. “Do you want…”

Lan Xichen quickly nodded. However much it had once terrified him to be wanted by Huaisang, he’d more than made his peace with it, his desire now matching his husband’s. There was no one else in the world he could imagine wanting as much as he wanted Huaisang, no one he would trust as much.

That nod was all the invitation Huaisang needed. He leaned down to kiss Lan Xichen with renewed passion, clumsily trying to untie his husband’s clothes while Lan Xichen did the same for him.

It was, to put it mildly, a fun night for both of them.

#xisang #nie huaisang #lan xichen #jin guangyao #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #Nomad nie #jau writes

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evilqueens · 4 years

Text

OQ | every heart

entry for OQ Realms Week on twitter.

the realm used is fairytale land: after falling down a well in storybrooke, regina ends up in a land of fairytales. but why is everyone calling her an evil queen? based on the anime inuyasha.

“Is it her?”

“It’s really her!”

“We have to tell Queen Snow, we have to hurry!”

Regina’s attention is split between the hysterical yelling around her, and the ache in her arms from having them bound tightly behind her. Or possibly from her initial fall down the well in the woods earlier. That’s probably more likely — because there’s no way her current situation is real. She must have taken a serious bump on the head, and is now being subjected to some weird sort of dream, or hallucination…

A crowd has started circling around her, each person wearing mixed expressions of intrigue and disgust. The main thing uniting them is the obvious fear in their eyes as they watch her warily. Her captors stand not too far away, four short men with axes braced against their shoulders are flanking her, watching her every move. Though they’re hiding it a bit better than the rest of the crowd, Regina can still see the fear on their own faces — and their obvious reluctance to stand too close to her. If it weren’t for the rope binding her ankles together, she’d consider making a run for it.

Instead, she assesses her surroundings. She seems to be in some sort of village, or commune. Everyone around her is dressed like they’re a part of some sort of Renaissance fair, and the various little huts and market stands behind them look like something out of her son’s fairytale books. Wherever her dreamland has taken her, it’s certainly a ways away from Storybrooke.

The crowd is still nervously buzzing as they continue to watch her, and Regina strains her ears trying to make out any words.

“I thought she was dead!”

“She’s a witch, of course she survived!”

“What is she wearing? She doesn’t look like the Evil Queen that I heard about.”

“That’s not the Evil Queen, she would’ve charred us all to bits by now if it was!”

Regina raises an eyebrow. Evil Queen? Maybe it’s time to give those fairytales a break during Henry’s bedtime reading. They’ve clearly made a bigger impact on her than she’s realized —

A hush slowly falls over the villagers at the sound of galloping in the distance. They all look to her right as the sound grows closer, and one of her guards parts the crowd in the same direction.

She can see it now, two horses pulling a small, rundown carriage behind them. The villagers break their circle around her, backing away from her as the carriage nears. Their heads turn nervously away from her and back, unsure whether to keep their attention on her or their new guest’s approach. A wave of anxiety overtakes her, settling in her chest. It’s not real, it’s just a dream, just a dream…

(cont. on ao3)

The carriage stops not too far from her, and the rest of her captors point their axes against her in warning — though what they think she’s gonna do is far beyond her. The door to the carriage opens unceremoniously, and a woman steps out, followed by three more short men. Her eyes immediately settle on Regina, and after a quick second of hesitation, she walks determinedly towards her. The woman gets closer than anyone else has dared, her gaze hard as it holds Regina’s.

“It’s not possible,” the woman breathes.

Regina had given up trying to talk to her captors soon after they’d quite literally dropped her off in the middle of the village square. But something about the way this unknown woman is staring at her — with the villagers’ matching hatred, but also a deep look of heartbreak — makes her try again. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here but clearly there’s been some sort of misunderstanding…”

“She’s been playing dumb since we found her,” one of her captors gripes as the woman finally breaks eye contact with Regina to assess her.

“Where did you find her?” the woman asks.

“In the woods, by the remains of Lake Nostos,” another of Regina’s captors answers. “She hasn’t done any magic, o-or threatened to either…”

The woman arches an eyebrow at that, her gaze meeting Regina’s once more. “What’s your name?” she asks.

Uneasy, Regina reflects. “Look, I don’t know who you think I am or what you think I’ve done, but you are gravely mist-”

“What,” the woman interjects, “is your name?”

There’s a pause before she hesitantly gives in. “Regina.”

She can see the resolve in the woman’s eyes as she takes a step back and orders, “Take her to the dungeons.”

Regina bites back all nasty retorts as she’s lifted off the ground. It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream…

—

It hadn’t taken long for word to reach Robin that the Evil Queen had returned. As a matter of fact, he was merely one village over, overlooking the shows of two ill-intentioned, traveling magicians who Robin knew were pickpocketing anyone who’d stand around to watch their tricks for long enough.

The first whistleblower had stopped right next Robin, and had been direct enough. “The Evil Queen is back!”

No one had really believed the young man at first. After all, the Queen had long been known to be dead — for twenty-eight years, to be more precise. Her death had been witnessed by Princess Snow White herself (now queen, but with her kingdom as permanently broken as it is, her hold on the title is fragile), who had watched as her prince had managed to drive his sword through the Queen’s back just before the Dark Curse had split the kingdom in half and permanently separated the prince and princess.

Though he paid the rumor little mind, Robin didn’t begrudge anyone wanting to believe that such a thing could be true, that the Queen could come back. After all, the Dark Curse placed upon the kingdom had all been her doing. And though her death had initially been a relief to almost everyone, the misery that had quickly settled in all over the Enchanted Forest had undoubtedly left people feeling like the Queen did indeed have the last laugh after all.

Many wanted vengeance. To see justice for themselves, after almost three decades of unending misery. But most, Robin knew, just wanted to see the end. Unfortunately, it seemed the only person who could undo the curse was the very woman who had cast it in the first place.

The rumor is quick to pick up speed, and by sundown, it’s clear that to many it’s more than just gossip. It riles up the evening crowd at the village tavern, as men let the mead and their anger get the better of them.

By the counter, one man grumbles loudly, “I hope they do a public execution! Behead that witch!”

“And actually go through with it, unlike the last time…,” another man adds bitterly.

Robin hears someone behind him worrying over the curse, “I hope they can get her to break it. Sarah’s been with-child for the past 28 years, and I don’t know how much more we can take…”

Attempting to tune it all out, Robin orders another drink. He’s too sober for all this Evil Queen talk, and his heart too battered to handle the pain that comes whenever she’s mentioned. It aches as it is with every passing day, fresh with a yearning for closure Robin knows he’ll never get. The last thing he needs is anyone getting his hopes up with crazy talk of her coming back to life. He knows better than anyone that it’s impossible.

The bar wench arrives with his drink, and he musters up a sad smile. With a tip, he asks her to keep them coming. Before the edge of the mug can meet his lips however, a familiar voice stops him.

“No, no, none of that.” A dainty hand takes the mug out of his own and sets it on the far side of his table, and he looks up in both surprise and annoyance at the woman who’s stolen his drink. She sits down across from him with a saccharine smile. “I need you sober tonight.”

“Forgive me, Zelena, but I’m afraid that’s not really gonna work for me,” he tells her, reaching for his drink. Zelena grabs it before he can, unfortunately, and Robin lets out a tired sigh.

“So you’ve heard the news,” she says cheerfully. “Unless there’s something else that has you moping around in this pigsty.” She glances around her with a look of distaste.

“That the Queen is back? Yes, I’m sure that little rumor has even made its way to Prince David’s side of the kingdom by now.” Without his mug of mead to drink, Robin awkwardly folds his arms on the table.

Zelena’s smile grows wider, and she leans in to tell him, “I’m sure it has. But, it’s more than just a rumor.”

“Oh?” Robin schools his face to one of disinterest. He’s never quite trusted Zelena — he doesn’t know her well enough, and frankly, he doesn’t much care to. Aside from her being a dark sorceress just as powerful as the Queen, she’s also just another painful reminder of the very woman Robin had been trying to forget tonight.

He feels like an arse for it, but he really hopes she takes the hint sooner rather than later and leaves him to drown his sorrows late into the night.

With Zelena, however, he’s never that lucky.

“I saw her myself.”

Robin’s poker face wavers at that. “What?” he asks dumbly.

“I saw her myself,” Zelena repeats, her voice low but filled with glee. “They had this woman tied up in a village not too far from here, and I swear, it’s the spitting image of her. Of the Queen.”

“That’s not possible,” Robin argues assertively, but as the words tumble out, he suddenly feels unsure. “Is it?” He isn’t nearly pretentious enough to argue the laws of magic with a witch, but if there’s anything the Queen had taught him before her demise it was this: you can’t bring someone back from the dead.

And dead, the Queen surely had been. Both Robin and Zelena had seen the body.

Zelena shrugs. “All I know is, someone wearing my sister’s face is currently locked up in Snow White’s dungeons. And I need to figure out what’s going on.” She stares at him expectantly.

“What?” Robin asks again, though this time he knows what she’s about to say — and dreads it.

“I need your help breaking her out.”

“I’m sure two sister sorceresses can figure out how to make it out of a dungeon cell,” Robin deadpans. He tries reaching for his drink again, and Zelena petulantly spills it on the floor.

“You know they had to have put her in a cell that blocks magic. I need a master lock-pick to get her out of it.”

The bar wench appears with two more drinks, but Zelena’s quick to dismiss her. “No, no, you can take those back. Give them away. We don’t need them.”

“I disagree,” Robin argues weakly. He knows the battle is lost, and he watches Zelena shoo the woman away with no further protest.

Turning back to him, Zelena looks at him with an imploring gaze. “You can’t tell me you’re not even a little interested in seeing this woman. Seeing if it is really her.”

Guilt settles in Robin’s chest, along with a bit of pity. There’s only one other person who could relate to the pain of losing the Queen, and she’s currently sitting in front of him with desperate blue eyes.

Zelena had never met her sister before. She’d been a deep, dark secret that their mother had intended to take to her grave. Zelena had always wanted a family — and after learning about her long lost sister, she’d hoped she’d finally found one. But by the time she’d managed to make the trip from Oz to the Enchanted Forest, she had been too late.

Zelena takes his silence as assent and stands up. She snaps her fingers at him. “Up, up! I can get us there, but we don’t have all night.” Her cloak swishes behind her as she marches towards the exit.

Exasperated, Robin runs a hand over his face. He knows telling the Wicked Witch of Oz no won’t get him anywhere good.

And if he’s being honest with himself, she did indeed pique his interest. In spite of himself, he believes what Zelena said she saw. And he knows he can’t turn away from any potential opportunity to look at the very face that’s haunted him every night for the past twenty-eight years.

With a sigh, he stands and follows Zelena out of the tavern, the treacherous feeling of hope settling in his heart.

—

This is the longest, most vivid dream Regina’s ever had.

The dwarves — dwarves, that’s what they said they were, all seven of them — had harshly made sure she knew that the cell block she’s currently trapped in is impervious to her magic. Exactly what magic they’re talking about, Regina has no idea. And apparently, she won’t find out so long as she’s locked in here.

Frustrated, she kicks a nearby rock, the loud thud of it hitting the wall doing little to satisfy her. She has no idea what to do. Just wait until she regains consciousness? The thought is greatly unappealing. Henry had seen her fall down the well (she will deal with the stress of the trauma she’s undoubtedly given him later), surely he’d gone back into town to get help? He’s a smart boy, he would’ve known to go tell someone. So what the hell was taking so long?

What if they already got her out? What if she hit her head hard enough that she’s now in Storybrooke Hospital, stuck in a coma? What if she never comes to? What if she di—

“No,” she says aloud, trying to silence the intrusive thoughts. Though she manages to derail from that sad train of thought, she can’t shake the ever-growing feeling that this isn’t just a dream.

And if it’s not? Well, Snow White and her seven dwarves were contemplating her execution during their ride to the dungeons earlier. They kept Regina separated from them, and they ignored her futile attempts to tell them that they had the wrong person, that she didn’t cast whatever wretched curse they were accusing her of. But they were close enough for Regina to catch the gist of their conversation, and the word torture was thrown out far more than she would’ve liked.

She kicks another rock, but that one’s heavy enough to leave a dull ache on her foot even through the thick fabric of her boot. She huffs, leaning against a bar of the cell door as she brings a hand to her foot.

“Don’t hurt yourself, dearie,” a high-pitched voice startles her. She looks up to see a man —no, not a man, not exactly — leaning on the door of the cell block across from hers. “You’ve got a long night ahead of you yet! Can’t let a broken foot keep you from escaping,” he jeers with an unsettling grin.

“Escaping?” Regina lets out a bitter laugh. “Doesn’t seem likely. Apparently I’ve got an execution in my future.” Or a torture session, she recalls with worry.

“I’ve seen your future, dearie, and trust me,” the not-quite-a-man’s grin widens, “there will be no executions in this kingdom any time soon.” He chuckles at some inside joke that Regina’s clearly not in on.

Regina arches an eyebrow, but doesn’t argue. Instead, she looks him over warily. “What are you?”

“My, my, what a rude question,” he says indignantly. “I am not a ‘what.’”

Embarrassed, Regina steps away. “Sorry, I—” she stops awkwardly before saying, “I’m not really sure what’s going on.”

“Clearly,” he quips. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be trapped here, in a cell that renders you powerless.”

Regina lets out a huff. “Well it doesn’t seem like you’re doing any better, you’re just as locked up as I am.”

“Au contraire, dearie.” The not-quite-a-man snaps his fingers, and suddenly he’s out of his cell and standing right in front of her. She jumps, backing away from her cell door as he continues speaking.

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” he says cheerily, lazily hooking his elbows around the bars of the cell door. He lets out a high-pitched chuckle. “Keep your head up, your majesty! Help is on the way!”

“Your maje—? I am not —” Regina starts, but she’s interrupted.

“I know exactly who you are, dearie.” A puff of smoke appears around his hand, and once it dissipates, an apple rests in his palm. He tosses it at her, and she catches it instinctively. “To hold you. We’ll keep in touch.”

And then Regina’s alone again.

A little shaken, she looks down at the apple in her hands. Arguably not the weirdest thing she’s encountered today, but she idly wonders if she should be concerned about hallucinating within a hallucination. She turns the apple around with her fingers, noting that it feels real enough.

And it’s tempting, as she feels the hunger pangs in her stomach. She knows better than to risk a bite, however. At least for now.

Instead, Regina goes over the words the weird little man-creature told her before vanishing into thin air. He said help was on the way.

From who? Him? A flash of annoyance hits her as she thinks that he seemed pretty capable of getting her out of here as he did himself. She side-eyes the cell he had been in just moments ago. Impervious to magic, her ass…

Noises break out in the distance, startling her out of her annoyance. They’re echoing in from down the corridor of the dungeon, but they die down almost as soon as they start. Holding her breath, she inches back toward the door of her cell, peering out as far as she’s able.

Suddenly a man appears in her limited line of vision, light on his feet as he inspects the dungeon. When he turns to look in her direction he starts.

Regina stays frozen, not sure if she should be worried or relieved. When the man fails to move any further, she raises a hand in an awkward wave. “Hello…”

The man lets out a breath as he stares at her, dumbfounded. “It is you…”

The words irk her. It’s the Queen he’s probably referring to, just like the dwarves, and the princess, and the man who gave her the apple still cradled in her palm. But she resists the urge to argue, instead asking, “Can you help me?”

The question seems to knock him out of his daze. He takes in the bars of her cell for a moment before zeroing in on the iron lock on its door. Warily, he reaches out to touch it, seeming worried that the contact will hurt him.

In an effort to ease his worries, she wraps her hand around one of the bars close to the lock. “It’s impervious to magic,” she tells him, feeling silly as the words fall out of her mouth.

He doesn’t seem to find the information ridiculous; the words hardly seem to faze him at all. He kneels down so that he’s eye-level with the lock. “Good thing I didn’t bring any,” he murmurs in response. One of his hands digs around in the satchel at his side, then reappears with a small, thin object between his fingers.

Something to pick the lock, Regina assumes with a surge of hope. She watches anxiously as he works the lock, not bothering with any small talk. She presses her temple against one of the bars of the cell, both in an effort to see him work, and to try to keep an eye out towards the hall he came down from. When she was first brought in here, there were two guards —each twice the size of the dwarves— keeping watch at the dungeon entrance not too far from her cell. What happened to them?

“Is it impervious to lock picks too?” she cracks nervously. She regrets the joke when the man throws an unamused look at her before turning his attention back on his work

When she finally hears the release of the lock, she exhales. The man opens the door, waving his arm a little sarcastically as he says, “Milady.”

“Thanks,” she says, a bit breathless from her relief. She steps out, giving the cell one last glance before looking at her rescuer. “What now?”

The man avoids her gaze. “Now, we swiftly and quietly show ourselves out.” He starts down the corridor of the dungeon, and she jogs a few steps to catch up to him.

As they reach the doors, she finds out what happened to the guards. They’re both sprawled over the floor right in front of the doorway. Warily, Regina eyes the space for any blood.

The man pays them little mind, stepping over their forms. “Careful. I only used poppies.”

As if on cue, one of the guards lets out a loud snore.

On her tip-toes, she quickly steps over one of the guards’ torsos as she follows her rescuer out into the night.

“Alright.” The man stops and turns around abruptly, making Regina start a little. He looks at her expectantly — though oddly avoiding her direct gaze, she can’t help but note.

“What?” she asks dumbly.

“This would be a great time for you to magic us out of here.”

“Oh… uh,” Regina falters. Well, at least she’s out of the cell. She figures there's no better time than now to come clean. “I can’t… do magic.”

The man stares at her in confusion.

“I, uh,” Regina clears her throat. “I’m not the… the Queen that everyone’s been talking about.” She gives him a tight smile. “I’m… not from here.” She glances away nervously, and notices a looming, spiked structure not far in the distance. Is that a… castle?

“You’re not…”

She turns back to see the man studying her intently. Awkwardly, she sticks her hand out between them. “Regina,” she offers.

He stares unsurely at her hand, looking reluctant to accept her handshake. “Robin,” he says finally, slowly moving his hand to take hers.

His touch is surprisingly warm, and it’s then that Regina takes a second to study him. He’s handsome, with sandy blond hair and scruff on his jaw. His blue eyes finally meet hers, for half a second she feels breathless — which immediately makes her feel stupid.

“Over there!”

The shout comes from behind them. Two new guards and one of the dwarves — the grumpy one, Regina assumes, though they all seemed bad-tempered — are charging toward them.

Robin pulls at Regina’s hand as he breaks into a run. “This way,” he tells her, leading her towards the forest.

She doesn’t think running blindly into the thick forest at night is a particularly great idea, but with no other apparent options, she follows wordlessly. He’s still gripping her hand, and her arm soon starts to ache as he pulls her deeper into the woods. She can hear the guards keeping pace with them, and Robin takes a sharp turn. She stumbles, and he uses his hold to steady her as he continues winding their path.

Abruptly, he stops by some bushes Regina can barely make out in the dark, and he pulls her down into a crouch. She works to steady her breathing, as Robin listens out. She can hear them — not too close, but not far behind. They charged into the forest just as blindly as them, so maybe if they keep quiet they’ll —

“There you are,” a new voice huffs behind them.

They both jump, Regina gasping when she gets a good look at the woman behind them. She’s holding fire in her palm. A dull thud sounds on the ground by Regina’s feet and she realizes she dropped the apple she’d been given.

“What are you doing? You were supposed to meet me on the other side of the palace grounds,” the woman continues berating.

Beside her, Regina sees Robin roll his eyes. “We had some unexpected company.” He nods his head in her direction. “And she doesn’t have magic.”

The woman looks at her with a frown. “Oh.”

“Right there, there’s a fire!”

Robin groans. “Do you mind…?” he asks the woman sarcastically, gesturing in the direction of the guards’ voices.

The woman rolls her eyes and waves her free hand. A swirl of green smoke engulfs them all, and once it dissipates, they’re standing in the middle of a forest clearing, illuminated by the moon right above them.

Regina marvels. Magic.

This has to be a dream.

She feels a sharp stinging on her leg, and she looks down to see her pants leg is ripped, and stained with blood. She curses, crouching down to assess the damage, and wondering when it happened. She has a very faint memory of something scraping against her leg as she had struggled keeping up with Robin through the forest.

The gash looks bad, and Regina idly hopes it doesn’t leave a permanent mark. Gingerly, she sits down on the grass.

“She’s hurt,” Robin tells the woman, who doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by the information. She digs around in the satchel she’s carrying while Robin kneels down to take a look at Regina’s wound. “Zelena, help her.” His voice is heavy with annoyance.

“Hold on, hold on.” The woman — Zelena — pulls out a glass vial from the satchel. “So she can’t heal herself?”

Regina lets out a sigh of exasperation. “Okay. So can one of you explain why everyone seems to think I’m this — this Evil Queen with powers, and — Ow!” She flinches as Zelena swipes her finger over the gash on her leg.

“There we go,” Zelena murmurs, letting a drop of the blood on her finger fall into the vial.

“What are you doing?” Robin asks, sounding tired. He pulls a long strip of cloth from his own satchel and begins wrapping it around Regina’s leg, and she holds back from asking if he’s carrying any disinfectant in his bag as well.

The vial in Zelena’s hand begins to glow green as her other hand hovers over it. Regina watches, intrigued, as the glow slowly changes from green into magenta.

Zelena shoots a quick glance at her. “Fascinating,” she says. “Are you sure you can’t heal yourself?”

Regina glares at her. “Pretty sure.”

“Pity,” Zelena quips. “I remember the Evil Queen managing a little cut quite easily.”

“I’m not —”

“Oh, technicalities,” Zelena interjects, her tone light as she slips the vial back into her bag.

Robin huffs, tying the ends of the bandage around Regina’s leg with a little too much force. “Zelena, please. It’s been a long day. It’s been a long night. I’ve done what you asked of me, so will you please elaborate on what’s going on?” He keeps a hand on Regina’s calf, and she can’t help shifting her eyes to it. He doesn’t notice though, too busy glaring at Zelena, who’s still standing over them with the same air of nonchalance.

“Fine.” Zelena crosses her arms and looks at Regina. “You’re the reincarnation of my sister,” she states bluntly. “And you’re going to break the curse she cast on this land.”

#oq ff #oq fic #outlaw queen #ouat #look i wrote a thing

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edelgoth · 4 years

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matchup commission for spookyeyesableye

hello!! this took me a bit longer than i would’ve liked, but i hope it’s worth the wait!! thank you for commissioning me!! i hope i don’t disappoint & that this was worth the wait. i broke form in regards to the romantic matchup, but i hope that’s okay?? do let me know if you’d prefer a character from your house, though

Hey, can I have a house matchup with a romantic pairing? I'm an ENFP straight male, and am cool-headed and laid back most of the time. I'm also a bit of an empath, being pretty good at reading people's emotions without needing to ask. However, I tend to be quite passive, sometimes to the point where I have trouble standing up for myself. This combined with my indecisiveness and internal worrying about what other people think of me results in a rather low self esteem.

I usually try to hide this, sometimes turning it into a self-deprecating joke. Speaking of which, I’m a bit of a goofball, and like to make people laugh. Admittedly, my sense of humor can be a bit dark, and I have a habit of being mischievous and sarcastic from time to time, but I do my best to not step over any boundaries, and am good with other types of comedy too. I think part of this stems from me wanting everyone to be happy.

If one of my friends is feeling down, I try to do whatever I can to support them and help them feel better. I generally dislike conflict, and want to resolve issues peacefully whenever I can. Some of my hobbies/interests/things I like include anime, playing games (especially anything involving strategy), horror, writing, and animals. Thanks for reading! Sorry about it being long.

Hello, spookysableye (the enfp guy from ko fi) here. I am so sorry to add stuff in last minute, but I want to add in that I also like swimming, nature, reading, and sweets. I'm fine if it takes more time with the new info; I just figured adding a little more could help. Again, sorry for bothering you last minute with this ;-;

i thought about where to put you a lot, and after much deliberation, i put you in…

the blue lions!!

i’ll be honest, it was a tough call between the blue lions and the golden deer. i think you’d fit both houses excellently, and your personality would complement each cast of characters well. but, after some thinking, i decided to put you in the blue lions because i think you fit the themes of azure moon quite well. you strike me as a kind, emotional person, and i found azure moon to be the most personal, emotive route out of the four. i also nearly put you in the black eagles (you’ll see why later), but your approach to conflict, your empathy, and your emotional soul really does scream blue lions.

dimitri: i can see you and dimitri becoming quite close, and him trusting your counsel. like you, dimitri wants everyone to be happy, and it’s something he dedicates his life to once he becomes king. his methods are quite different to yours, but i think you’d connect over the basic principle of it. dimitri is also someone who dislikes conflict, and does all he can to avoid it. it does his heart some good to hear those values echoed in someone else. but at the same time, he enjoys how laid-back you are. it’s a nice change of pace from the world he grew up in, and it helps him relax a little.

i can easily envision you working as one of his advisors both during and after the war. he likes having you by his side because you understand his values, and can help him best respond to the struggles that will face him as king. and he knows that you he can trust you, because he’s spent much of your friendship watching you do whatever you can to support your loved ones in times of need. that’s something he wants to extend to his entire kingdom. you’d have a friendship that would stick with you well into your later years.

dimitri isn’t much of a funny man himself, but he can recognize a good joke when he hears one. he surprises you, sometimes, with what he’ll laugh at; but on the bad days, he’s just glad to hear something that makes him smile. sometimes he might think a joke is a bit too rude and reprimand you for it, but that’s rare (and usually fuelled by a pre-existing tense mood, probably brought on by the stresses of being king)

while your personal struggles aren’t the same, i feel like there’s a overlapping area where you can understand each other well. it helps him feel a little closer to you, knowing that you struggle with your own sense of self-worth.

but, he tends to remind you of your virtues often. he’s always reminding you that your ability to read people is precious, and that you truly do have a good heart. he’s not necessarily doing it on purpose; he’s just a very earnest, genuine person, and he often can’t hide his admiration for people. once dimitri’s friends with someone, nothing can stop him for revealing the true depths of his fondness.

dimitri doesn’t tend to lean on people, seemingly out of a fear of burdening people, but he does occasionally lean on you. he doesn’t tend to put those feelings into words -- instead, he just seeks your company, and asks you to distract him for a while. whether that’s just talking, going on a horse ride, or finding something to eat... he just wants to let the feelings pass while with someone who has at least an inkling of what he’s going through.

tends to like talking ideals with you. it helps him smooth out the logistics of the things he believes and the change he wants to implement once he becomes king. and, being able to talk about the things he’s passionate about and the values he holds close to his heart genuinely excites him. yes, it’s also good to talk out your opinions with people who have a different perspective, but it can also be nice to chat a while with a like mind.

and, as a working team, it goes quite well; dimitri’s the one who has to make the big decisions (cancelling out any trouble your indecisiveness may cause you), while you can focus in on the more personal, small-scale aspects by talking to citizens of all levels (and using your ability to read and understand people’s feelings to the best of your ability). let’s just say that dimitri is immensely grateful for you and the role you fill, not only professionally, but platonically.

dedue: he appreciates your laid-back, cool-headed demeanour, and finds you quite easy to get along with. first and foremost, he appreciates what you do for dimitri; he’s glad that dimitri has someone else he can trust. dedue has always regarded you with respect because of that. he also tends to agree with the advice that you offer dimitri, especially after the war; it calms dedue to know dimitri has another good friend beside him.

i feel as though dedue would be a good grounding force whenever you were particularly worried about something. he’s just always so assured and stoic that it’s easy to feel like things are going to be okay when you’re with him. i don’t see the two of you having a particularly deep friendship by any standard metric, but i do think there’d be a sense of respect and gratefulness shared between the two of you. you know that if push came to shove, you could rely on dedue; and he’s very much aware that the inverse is true.

dedue also enjoys nature, and i can see you taking breaks together either in the greenhouse or the forest that surrounds garreg mach. whenever you do go out together, it’s very peaceful; you don’t need to say much, nor do either of you want to. it’s just nice to catch a moment of peace, whether that’s watching how the tree tops sway in the wind or how dedue tends to his flowers.

dedue likely doesn’t share your sense of humour, as flexible as it can be. but, sometimes, when you’ve made a joke, he’ll look off into the distance for a moment. then, he’ll say that it reminds him of a common joke format in duscur, or a clever pun in his native tongue, or a popular monologue. they’re surprisingly quiet, tender moments, when you get to see another side to him.

but, in general, i think his stoicism would provide some good comedic contrast. other people can’t help but chuckle when they see you, dimitri and dedue together. it’s just such a strange combination of personalities, and the fact that you work so well as friends almost makes it funnier.

dedue doesn’t tend to use his words that often, especially not in a vulnerable context, but he’s grateful for your ability to read his emotions. he’s aware of the fact that he’s difficult for most people to read, and that’s part of the reason some are afraid of him. knowing he doesn’t have to worry about misunderstandings when he’s with you is a big relief.

i touched on this earlier, but you do make a good supporting team for dimitri. if dedue is the shield, you’re the helmet (does that make sense?). you both have your strengths, and you’re both aware of that; and that helps you work more effectively as a team.

what i’m essentially saying with all of this is that you’re a great example of the benefits of an enfp-istj balance. you cover each other’s weak spots, while also providing a sense of comfort and support, even if it’s never quite verbalized.

felix: i think you’d be able to give felix a run for his money, all things considered. he’s abrasive and sharp-tongued at first, but i feel like you might be able to hide any hurt his words cause by remaining cool-headed. sometimes, it’ll just be you having difficulty standing up for yourself; but felix really can’t tell the difference. and it annoys him, at first. he kind of hates that you can read his feelings so easily; it makes him feel like you’ve got the jump on him.

but, over time, i think that semi-antagonistic relationship would blossom into a surprising friendship. once he’s gotten used to having you around, he starts to like you a little. he might gripe a bit at your mischievous side, since he doesn’t really get it, but you’ve woven yourself into the tapestry of his social circle and now it’d be weird if you weren’t there. he’s still gruff, but he’s more well-meaning now; and that means he’s not going to let you remain passive. he starts to challenge you just as you once challenged him, even if you weren’t totally aware you were doing it. and, even if he’s never as close to you as some other people listed her, you can both count your friendship as one that was important for your personal growth.

even before you became friends, felix would often catch himself stifling a laugh at some of your darker jokes. i think it’s a type of humour he’d enjoy, and one that he doesn’t run into much amongst the faerghus nobility. not that he’s going to admit you’re funny, though; not during your monastery days.

once you’re comfortably friends, though, i can see the two of you having some fantastic sarcastic banter. felix doesn’t seem like the guy to hold back, so things might get quite savage from time to time. but, if you two came to expect it from each other, it doesn’t really feel like a blow.

i can see you trying to freak him out with some horror stuff, but it never works. felix is completely unflappable. at first, that seems like a challenge. but, once you’ve gotten to know him, you just have to sadly accept that you’re never going to win this one.

he’s always pushing you to improve, and pressuring you to get some more practice in. and he’s not the type to really take no for an answer (unless you manage to annoy him enough that he leaves you alone. see: sylvain). so, you better be ready to work your ass off once you’ve established a rapport with him.

trying to support felix during the more difficult times is a bit of a learning curve; a totally different approach needs to be taken, and it might even feel a bit uncomfortable for you at first. but he does notice that you’re trying to go about it a different way, and he does appreciate it. even though he’ll never say it.

i think, interestingly enough, you’d have a lot of discourse about conflict. you both approach it very differently, but felix’s feelings on fighting and war and death are quite complex; there’s a lot of space to explore those thought, and while you don’t get to often, those conversations are usually illuminating.

sylvain: i can easily see you and sylvain being quite close, once you got to know each other. you’re similar in some ways; you’re both laid-back, you’re both good at reading other people’s emotions, and you both have low self-esteem. i think you’d both find yourselves surprised at how well you get each other. sylvain never expects anyone to understand, but here you come, able to read him like a book and going, “hey -- i get it.” it’s disorienting at first, but there’s no way he’s going to toss up a friendship like that.

furthermore, you’re both goofballs, too. actually, i think sylvain would enjoy all your senses of humour, tbh; he’d probably be glad to have someone he can be a little dark with. you might be a bit of a “gremlin team”, if that makes sense; ingrid’s usually annoyed with you two (mostly sylvain), but you two are having a good time. and honestly, i think you could temper him a bit; he’s got a lot of bitterness to work through that you lack, and talking it out with you could help him a ton. your cool-headed temperament is a god-send at times like that, and i think you could really encourage him to stop and reconsider his perspective. it’s the sort of thing that makes him glad that he met you.

you two are hilarious together. ingrid doesn’t think so -- as i said -- but the rest of the house is genuinely surprised by how funny you can be together. you bounce off each other quite well, and you always seem to be on a similar wavelength. sylvain often suggests that the two of you should have a stage show. you vehemently said no.

sylvain feels like he can actually talk to you about things that he’s only touched on with mercedes. he often flips between speaking too bluntly or too vaguely about how he’s really feeling, but you’re always quite good at picking up on the subtleties of the conversation. for sylvain, it’s a massive relief to get it all off his chest -- and to also get a fresh perspective on everything that’s going on. sometimes, he genuinely just wants you to tell him he’s being stupid. it’s surprisingly effective.

in return, sylvain tries to teach you how to be more confident. it’s a bit of a faux pas, as he himself is deeply insecure. but what sylvain really means by teaching you confidence is trying to teach you how to pick up girls. i’m sure you can imagine what a disaster that would be.

in that aspect, he’s your number one hype-man. but honestly, he’s your number one hype-man no matter what; whether it’s getting a girlfriend, doing well in a test, being impressive on the battlefield... sylvain’s going to be there, cheering about how “you’re the best, bro!!” every time you’ve tried to tell him to pipe down has failed. everyone else just had to get used to hearing it on the battlefield.

on a less wholesome note, he tends to rely on you to... smooth out some self-induced conflict he often lands himself in. you’re a bit like his personal pr team, cleaning up his messes alongside ingrid. he apologises for it, but to no avail; almost every fortnight when you’re at the monastery, you’d stalk into his room glowering. needless to say what the following conversation was about.

when you were at the monastery, sylvain would tend to come swimming in the lake with you. his main objective was to try to catch a glimpse of some attractive people who might be hanging around. nonetheless, it became something of a weekly habit for the two of you, regardless of whether anybody else would be there or not. once you reunite at garreg mach during the war, you started doing it again, in hopes of chasing that same feeling of mindless youthfulness. it’s a small comfort.

ingrid: i think ingrid would have a lot of respect for you. she admires people who can keep their cool under pressure, and who’ll do whatever they can to support a friend in need. although, i feel like the two of you might’ve gotten off to a rocky start. as i said, you share some similarities with sylvain -- that might be enough to raise her hackles (she loves him, of course. she’s just not sure if she can handle two of him). of course, once she gets to know you she realises you’re not that much like sylvain (you took his best bits), and it’d be very easy to build a friendship from there.

once she gets to know you properly, she begins to admire how you manage to make everyone happy. a part of her is a bit jealous, really. a small part of her wishes she had a talent for it. but, no matter how hard she tries, she just can’t wrap her head around your humour. but, it’s nice that she tries. does she have a bit of a crush on you? maybe. is she going to admit to it? absolutely not. she’s quite content leaving your relationship at it’s arms-length; a friendship that’s usually called on whenever sylvain’s fucked up.

you usually play mediator whenever she’s mad at felix or sylvain, to varying levels of success. your aptitude for understanding the feelings of others comes in handy here; you can see both sides of the argument, and you can help ingrid do the same. i think she struggles with expressing that her strictness is just a result of her love for both boys, and you can help bridge that gap.

and, as i said, you two often team up to clean up sylvain’s messes. she’s glad that someone understands what a burden it can be, and who doesn’t thing she’s being unreasonable. it’s a bit better to share the load, and she knows she can trust you to be diplomatic.

she’s another person who comes to you for advice, although it’s a rarer occurrence with her -- mainly because getting her to tell you what’s wrong or what’s really going on is like pulling teeth. but she tends to trust your words, and at the very least, they give her something to think about.

sometimes, she berates you for your own jokes, though. usually, it’s just because she’s had a bad week or a stressful day (or her father has sent her another letter). she usually apologises soon afterwards, although she always feels bad about it.

she wants to see you stand up for yourself more, and she tries to teach you how. but, ingrid can be a bit gruff, albeit in a different way to felix. it usually doesn’t work out quite how she wants it to, and she always feels bad about it. but, it all comes from a place of care -- she just wishes she could express that better.

i can see you helping her look after the pegasi, and that’s where you two have most of your chats. she enjoys working with someone who likes animals, and who genuinely cares about them. for some reason, it helps her relax a bit -- maybe because she knows you’ll take the job seriously.

annette: i hope you’re ready to adopt a little sister, because there’s nothing you can do about it. i think annette would bounce off your personality quite well, and you have quite a few similarities while also balancing one another out (watch me say this about every second person in this matchup). your laid-back, cool-headed personality would balance out annette’s more excitable, frantic one, and it might help a little with her anxiety. but, you’re both enfps, and i think annette would like having someone around who understood her thought patterns well.

i also think annette is quite capable of mischief, so that side of your personality appeals to her as well. she also appreciates how you’re able to set a boundary between what is and isn’t acceptable or appropriate; it makes it just that little bit easier to let loose and have some fun. she just has a lot of respect for you as a person, and tends to enjoy your company immensely.

annette tends to enjoy your sense of humour, being a bit of a goofball herself. i think you’d constantly be making each other laugh, no matter how stupid the joke. the other members of the blue lions can’t help but smile when they hear your laughter echoing through the monastery.

annette can be a bit of a firecracker, and she will stand up for you without hesitation. hell, she’d stand up for you to you. she just loves you very, very much, and she needs you and everyone else to know that. her and mercedes would be gassing you up all the time, let’s be real. it’s just a little triangle of positivity.

you and annette make up the “mercedes’ baked goods no. 1 fan club.” any time mercedes is in the kitchen, the two of you aren’t far away, already drooling over the smell of whatever she’s put in the oven. mercedes loves having you two there, too, since you’re both so supportive; like i said!! little triangle of positivity. too wholesome.

please drag her outside and into nature for a bit of a detox,,, she’s just go-go-go, and while she says that’s how she’s most comfortable in her byleth supports, it’s still important that she takes a break every once in a while. i can see the two of you just grabbing a book each and sitting in the forest outside garreg mach, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the forest (well. so long as raphael isn’t out there training).

speaking of books -- you two are trading them all the time!! annette loves sharing them with you because she wants to talk to someone about them; she just has a lot of thoughts bouncing round that head of hers, and she wants someone to understand them. she also just enjoys getting a different perspective on them; so expect a lot of books on all sorts of things shoved in your face each week.

i think that she would look up to you as an older brother figure. she’s an only child, and that can get pretty lonely; you’re pretty much the perfect image of what she’d imagine her big brother would be like. and the respect and adoration she would direct towards such a person is pretty on par with how she’d feel about you. but, since you’re not real siblings, it means you can dodge a lot of the bickering. which is a good thing. i personally wouldn’t want to be getting into a spat with someone who knows spells like cutting gale.

mercedes: you and mercedes would definitely be close. you’d have a very natural friendship, as your personalities complement each other quite well. you seem to be the more logical out of the two of you, but you still have a sensitivity that mercedes finds her strength in. it’d be very natural for a friendship to develop between the two of you, and i think it’d be quite easy to open up to one another. there’s a ring of platonic soulmates to your friendship, and it makes it very precious to her.

i think you’d have a good understanding of one another. for one thing, you both err on the side of pacifism, and you both prioritize the happiness of others. i think mercedes would be quite grateful to have someone at her side to help her take care of everyone, even if you tend to focus more on making them laugh. together, you’re a bit of a cathartic dream-team (i’ve always said that mercedes is just the counselor of garreg mach, after all). as such, she’s quite good at reading people, and therefore in-tune with your insecurities. you might keep them inside, but nobody can hide anything from mercedes.

of course, mercedes disagrees with your negative self-assessments. she’s not afraid to tell you how wonderful she thinks you are, and to combat any negative thoughts with unshakable positivity. she knows you well, so she knows when you’re being hounded by worry; and so, she’s very good at well-timed compliments and reassurances, without you having to say anything.

a lot of your jokes fly over mercedes’ head. but, that can be funny in it’s own way; it’s almost that she’s too pure, in a way. dark humour and sarcasm just don’t seem to land. but she laughs anyway, just because that’s the sort of person she is.

during the tougher times, i can see you two playing a ‘caretaker’ role for the rest of your friends. during the war time, mercedes makes sure to check in on everyone, enlisting your help to do so. there’s only so much the two of you can do on your own, but together?? maybe you can help make life a little more bearable.

during the war, you’re one of the people that mercedes turns to. she’s really not a fighter, and the constant battles and suffering are sometimes too much for her. knowing she can turn to you takes a massive burden off her shoulders, and she can allow herself to be the one getting taken care of for once.

as a lover of ghost stories, she tends to find enjoyment in the horror stories you have stocked up. she likes to trade books with you, seeking out titles on all sort of ghoulish things. her own mischievous side comes out in these little trades; she wants to out-frighten you, if she can.

she’s always baking you sweets. she loves baking in general, and having a willing recipient is always a strong motivator for her. you’re always the first (alongside annette, of course) to try out the results of any new recipes she tackles. whenever you’re busy or feeling down, she always drops off a care package -- usually a little wicket basket stuffed to the brim with all sorts of baked goods.

ashe: you two would have an adorable friendship, might i say. ashe himself is quite laid-back, and he also wants to help other people and make them happy. you have a similar way of going about things; the main difference is that you fall back on humour, while ashe relies on sheer earnestness. that being said, ashe is capable of being quite goofy (i may never forgive him for his tea-rrible pun), which means the two of you could certainly have a lot of fun. for the most part, you’d have a very fun, light-hearted friendship.

but, on a more serious note, ashe is very understanding and patient, and i feel like you’d really get along with that sort of person (if the rest of this house matchup is any indication). furthermore, you both dislike conflict and want everyone to be happy; and for ashe, they’re pretty core values. i feel like ashe would look up to you a little, almost as a big brother figure. of course, as you got older, that’d even out a bit and he’d definitely consider the two of you equals, but i think you’d always have a special place in his heart.

and yet another house mate who would love sharing books!! at this point, you really should just start a book club -- ashe’s books of choice are, of course, his knight tales. expect a lot of gushing about his favourite stories; he just really, really wants you to like them!!

sometimes, you feel like teasing him, and hand him over a book on some topic of horror. most of the time, ashe just politely declines. other times, you’ll start recounting the story to him. those times, he starts to cover his ears and chant “la la la”, the poor boy. he can barely handle ghosts, let alone any other horror trope.

he’s also the biggest fan of your writing, and the best audience. once you let slip that you enjoyed doing some writing on your own, ashe begged that you let him read it immediately. and, because it’s ashe, and nobody can say no to ashe, you handed over what you considered to be your best manuscript. and he adored it. he was just so enthusiastic about everything you’d put into words, from the plot to the characters to the world at large. for his birthday in that year you shared at the monastery, you wrote him a short story about his adventures as a knight. suffice to say that he cried.

as i said, he looks up to you almost as a big brother figure. beause of that, he’s always coming to you for advice, guidance and support. he takes your suggestions and approval very seriously, and he’s always hopingt o impress you a little. he’s a bit like annette, in that regard.

but, he’s always ready and willing to give that same support back!! you’d know that, no matter what, you could turn to ashe if you needed help. and he would respond ten-fold.

him and annette form your protection squad, standing up for you whenever necessary. and, of course, loudly singing your praises to anyone who’ll listen. it’s embarrassing, yes, but they’re so earnest about it that it’s pretty sweet.

other notable connections

dorothea: listen. listen. you and dorothea were made for each other. first of all, you both tend to worry what people think of you, and have low self-esteem. some people may say that it’s not a good thing for a couple to share something like that, but in dorothea’s case, i think it would provide a sense of understanding that she desperately needs. i think she’d flourish with someone more empathetic, who can read her feelings without her having to unpack them all. at the same time, you balance each other out; dorothea can be a bit of a spit-fire, while you’re more cool-headed. you’re indecisive, but dorothea isn’t afraid to shoot for what she wants. a relationship where you can cover each other’s weaker spots while still maintaining a good connection is a rare and precious thing indeed.

she enjoys your more laid-back, cool-headed personality, finding it quite refreshing amongst the inhabitants of garreg mach. she finds you quite funny, whether you’re being a little dark or mischievous or sarcastic; she can be quite sarcastic herself, after all. all in all, i think you two have a lot to laugh about, a lot to talk about, and share a sense of loving understanding. with you, dorothea genuinely feels like she can let her guard down, and just relax for once. in her mind, it was only natural that she fall for you.

like mercedes, dorothea knows where a self-deprecating joke comes from and when to be worried about it. it’s not that she treats you like an idiot for talking badly about yourself; she’ll just tell you you’re wrong, and give you a long list of reasons why. of course, she understands it, but because she understands it, she wants you to stop feeling like that as quickly as possible.

that being said, you’re definitely the sort of couple to roast each other on menial things. you’re both sarcastic, it was bound to happen. but you’re both mindful to never dig at any sore spots. you two get quite clever with it, resulting in some inside jokes that are quite complex. she enjoys that you can keep each other on your toes, and it helps her feel like you two are really equals if you can joke like this.

whenever you’ve burned yourself out looking after others (especially during the war time), dorothea does all that she can to look after you. she admires how you’ll do whatever you can to support those closest to you, and she thinks it’s something very beautiful. but, she also sees how exhausting that can be, and how much it takes out of you. she knows you so well, and therefore knows exactly the support you need after a long day (or week. or year). and best of all, she’s not afraid that it’ll be unrequited; whenever she needs this kind of attention, she trusts that you’ll return it.

during the war, dorothea takes solace in the fact that you also dislike conflict. the war hits her particularly hard, and she struggles with comprehending the violence and the suffering every day. getting to spend time with you in the quiet moments, away from anyone who wants to talk or moralize about the war, she can relax. she just wants peace, and she knows you do to. it’s more comforting than you could imagine.

she likes small animals, so i can imagine the two of you “accidentally” adopting a bunch of strays around the monastery. you’re just feeding some kittens because “she feels bad” and the next thing you know a hoard of cats is following you around the monastery like a little army. and after the war, once you’ve settled down together, your house is always filled with and frequented by a whole host of animal patrons (she has a particular fondness for small animals, and there’ve been a few times you’ve feared an impending squirrel infestation. thankfully, it never happened).

she tried, many a time, to convince you to write an opera for her. she says she’ll handle the music, that’s fine; but she wants to see one of your stories come alive on stage. you caved, eventually, and started writing it during the second half of your monastery year; once the war hit, you didn’t really have the time to think about it all that much. but, every so often, you’d revisit it, adding a scene or two to try and take everything off your mind. when you were reunited with dorothea at garreg mach, you showed it to her. she cried. once the war was wrapped up, dorothea set her next goal as getting this opera produced. working with yuri as they set up their own opera company, dorothea ensured that the very first performance they put on was of your opera. to say that it made you tear up may be a bit of an understatement.

yuri: you echo him, in a lot of ways. cool-headed, laid-back, empathetic; yuri could really respect a guy like you. you care about your people, and that’s something he can get behind. it’s something that makes him feel like he can trust you, and maybe even rely on you when the going gets tough. furthermore, i think he’d genuinely enjoy all facets of your humour; he can be playful and goofy, but he can also be a bit more macabre. but like felix, i think he’d kind of hate that you can read his feelings so well -- but, he can read yours too. he’s probably the first person who encouraged you to actually pursue dorothea. two people he genuinely liked, in a stable relationship? hell yeah.

i can see yuri encouraging you to stand up for yourself. he’s had his own struggles with self-esteem and self-worth through his life, and he hates seeing you go through something in a similar vein. he learnt that you have to fight back. and honestly, he wants to see you realise your value. and, frankly, he just thinks you’re a likable guy.

you didn’t mention pranks in your description, but i feel like yuri would constantly be embroilling you in a little prank war. it’s nothing big or grand; he’ll just nab a sock from your room, or pocket all of your ink vials from your desk. nothing that takes a lot of effort, but something annoying enough to catch your attention. he’s goading you, trying to get you to bite back. whether or not you do, however, is a different story.

on a more wholesome rope, he often tries to rope you in to looking after orphans with him. he reckons they need a good laugh, and you’d be able to provide that. sometimes he tries to set up dates for you and dorothea this way; yuri’s still there, of course, but he’ll give you a suspiciously wide berth.

you two would have sarcastic banter from when you met until the end of time. it’s not quite roasting, as with dorothea, but you might have an entire conversation full of double entendres and attempts to out-wit each other. yuri loves it; it keeps him on his toes, and you actually manage to keep up with him.

he tends to generally enjoy your company, as well. he likes spending his down time with you, whether that’s hanging out in one of your dorms, near the river in abyss, in the library, etc. you’ve got a relaxed vibe to you, and i think that’s something yuri would always find some comfort in.

when yuri’s trying to help you with your self-esteem, he’s very subtle about it. he usually tries to find ways to demonstrate your own strengths to you, or to reveal how little notice other people tend to take. he never really approaches you with rhetoric, because he thinks that real life examples are more effective.

he’s always challenging you to strategy board games, determined to win. it’s a habit that follows the two of you long into your friendship; even during the war, he’ll crack out an old, familiar game every once in a while, just to alleviate some of the stress and worry hounding the both of you. hell, you’d still be challenging each other well into old age (and each game ends with the losing party vowing that next time, they’re going to come out on top).

claude: frankly, if i think you’d get along with yuri, logically i’d think the same thing about claude (the fact they don’t have supports is a CRIME). and honestly, he was one of the main reasons i thought of placing you in the golden deer. i think you and claude would have a great rapport, and a friendship that balances the two of you out. he’s a bit more chaotic and confident, while you’re more low-key and a bit insecure. but, you’re both laid-back and share similar senses of humour, so you’d naturally have a good rapport.

over time (and especially the war), i think claude would come to trust you more than most. similarly to dimitri, he puts stock in your counsel, and will consult you on the next move every once in a while (it’s not frequent, as claude always likes to keep his cards close to his chest, but you’d notice him letting you in on his schemes more than he used to). you would inject a bit more humanity into the way he approaches things (i mean, i perceive claude as fairly humanitarian, but he’s very,,, big picture?? i think he can forget to care for people’s feelings in the moment -- like when he starts to grill rhea after they’ve only just rescued her from captivity. he acknowledges that she must be exhausted, but it doesn’t stop him from pressing her for info. i’m going off on a tangent, back to the point--). overall,i think you’d have a close friendship that can incur growth in the both of you!!

he’s always trying to get you to pull pranks with him. i can see you joining on on the less complicated ones (because claude definitely has some overwrought & highly ambitious plans that he’d like to pull off), and the two of you making quite the name for yourselves during the monastery years

like you, claude loves to read (his bed, both pre- and post-timeskip, is littered with books), and he’s always lending and recommending new titles for you to read. if you actually get around to reading them, he’s going to talk and talk and talk at you about it, asking you for your perspectives and opinions

during the war period, claude will occasionally take you out on his wyvern, heading towards a somewhat remote natural location. he knows you love nature, and he thinks you both deserve a break. he always brings a book (or maybe a couple) to read, happy to spend a couple of hours just appreciating the calm that nature brings.

as i said, claude puts stock in your counsel, and that’s evident during the war. he appreciates your cool head and your dislike of conflict, and he thinks that will help him achieve a peaceful resolution to the war.

but at the same time, as mentioned earlier, your empathy would help him out a lot. you would help him realise when he wasn’t thinking of the emotional consequences of his actions.

you’d always be making each other laugh. claude is a bit of a goofball himself, and he can also be quite sarcastic. you two would build up quite the repertoire of inside jokes that nobody else understands -- something of a godsend during the war.

hilda: ah, hilda. the other reason i wanted to place you in the golden deer. but alas, the pull of hilda and claude wasn’t enough to make me displace you. i think you have the sort of personality that both intrigues and perplexes hilda; she enjoys that you can be a bit mischievous and goofy, and yet you’re so willing to bend over backwards for others. and on-top of all that, she can’t comprehend the fact that you’re insecure while being so likable. you just don’t make sense to her, so she just has to get to know you better.

while i’m still set as dorothea as your romantic match, i do think you and hilda would have some kind of,,, romantic tension, so to say?? especially at the beginning, before anything had happened between you and dorothea. either way, i think you’d have some natural chemistry, and you’d find yourselves drawn to each others’ company. hilda isn’t much of a fighter, but you’d be surprised to see her stick up for you every now and then; if you need defending, hilda’s your girl.

she’s always taking advantage of you, as she usually does. but she’s a little bit kinder, a little bit more appreciative when she’s goading you to do something. and when she says thank you, every word is sincere

she’s cleverer than she lets on, so she knows when a self-deprecating joke is hiding something more dour, and will playfully reprimand you for such talk. she knows you’re better than what you think you are

regardless of if you’re romantically interested in each other or not, hilda’s always flirting with you. she hopes that maybe one compliment will stick, and help you feel a little bit better about yourself. and, she just likes making you blush

she just enjoys being in your presence, finding you someone she can really relax around. you don’t seem like the type to judge, and hilda likes that; she doesn’t feel any pressure to be someone she’s not around you -- and that’s a big relief during the war

always telling you that you should try to make yourself happy for once; she’s noticed how you prioritize everyone else, and while that’s certainly admirable, she thinks you should give that same energy back to yourself

don’t expect her to make any grand gestures, though; but you will find her organizing tea time and lunches for the two of you more often than you’d think

#matchups #matchup commission #house matchup #blue lions matchup

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bts-love-sweat-tears · 5 years

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The one ring to bind them all (or just a solitary, cranky demon), part 6

Title: The one ring to bind them all (or just a solitary, cranky demon), part 6

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Type: fluff, angst, romance, demon!au, arranged marriage!au, royalty!au, gothic!au

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: jealous boyfriend, seductive Jimin aka the norm.

Word Count: 2,315

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4, Part 5

A/N: There are so many things I could say about how much blood, or at least sweat and tears, this chapter cost me to write. I’ve gotta stop agonizing over this. So instead, I will a) apologize for any typos, as there were multiple separate re-writes, b) apologize for the soap-opera cliff hanger (don’t stress too much! :P ), and c) let you know that the next part (7!?! What a persistent one-shot, lol) will be the last in the series. I may do side stories in the future, but Yoongi’s tale will draw to a close.

(^yep, switched it up for soft/sad yoongi!)

You sigh, and trudge back to your shared room, expecting him to be there. Where else would he roam? But it turns out that the question is more than idle, because Yoongi isn’t there when you return. You hesitate for a moment, wondering whether or not you should look for him, but decide to let him return to you when he is ready. You ease into bed, expecting the normal twinge from your rib, but it is gone, replaced only by the pounding in your heart. When the Queen had set you on this strange quest, you had never expected that her son was one of the demon princes with whom you would have to make amends.

You toss and turn for a few hours and are perplexed when morning comes, and he has not returned to you. This is the first time since the two of you have met that he has willingly spent the night away from you, and it hurts more than you would have expected. Physical pain you can handle, but emotional conflict with the one person who has been your constant companion and one of the few people to have shown you unwavering loyalty since you first arrived in this strange new world? It hurts more than you could have prepared for. Stretching, and testing your rib gingerly, your eyes land on a flowy, lightly spun outfit neatly folded at the foot of your bed. You hadn’t noticed anyone enter the room last night, despite your restlessness. Still, your old clothes are quite grubby, and the expression “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” from your small-town life resonates in your head. As you pull the material over yourself, you are unsurprised at how breathable and comfortable it is. You also remember layers of petticoats and the restrictions of you corset, and shudder at the memory. You’d take a punch in the rib and an angsty demon boy over said contraption any day of the week.

Now, instead of your rib, there is a different ache in your chest. Knowing that Yoongi appeared at an inopportune moment in the garden with Jimin, you hate to think what hemight think of you. Since you’ve arrived, with few exceptions, he’s been remarkably easygoing. You two have never had any real fights until now and so far, you are finding it to be rather unpleasant. Now that you’re dressed, you hope to find him and make amends immediately. But where do you begin?It’s not as though you want to ask Jimin for help, particularly after last night’s strange experiment that started this whole thing. However, you’re not sure who else might be able to help you, and the memories of your first meeting with Taehyung and Jungkook are still fresh in your mind. So rather than the great unknown of the Southern realm, you decide to take your chances with the demon you know. You are nothing if not practical, so you decide to seek him out in the garden, the main context of your brief acquaintanceship thus far.

If you weren’t so preoccupied with making things right with Yoongi, it would be easy to be distracted by the garden. It was an almost hypnotic combination of exotic flowers, their scents, bubbling fountains, and warm sunshine. When you see Jimin, you realize that his presence is even more hypnotic than the flowers. Though whatever strange magnetism he held paled in comparison to whatever bond you shared with Yoongi, it is still there, and still very, very present. And the worst of it is that you can never be entirely certain which is your true feelings and which feelings he might be creating, amplifying, or manipulating. Today, he is dressed in the same loose-fitting clothing, and his eyes turn to crescents when he sees your attire.

“It would seem we are a matching set today. Are the clothes of my people to your liking?” His voice is smooth but still masculine. It is so in contrast to Yoongi’s raspy growl, and you won’t allow yourself to forget it-or him. You decide to play it safe with your response, and to give him only vague answers to any questions he might ask you. “Thank you for the change of clothes. It is much appreciated,” deciding to address directly that which you most wish to know. Choosing your words intentionally, to remind Jimin not to toy with you, you ask,

“Do you know where I might be able to find my fiancé?”

The crescents vanish, and you are made nervous by the expression that has replaced them. Jimin’s serious face is just as unreadable as his confusing amusement-his gaze never wavering.

“I’m not sure he wishes to be found right now, little one. But a bargain might change my mind.” He continues, gaze glued to your own. “For centuries, we have heard about the existence of the ring-bearers, one for each of the Cardinal demons. But over time and with little evidence, they turned into something of a myth. I had heard whispers amid the winds and sea that one had appeared, but until you materialized into my garden, my most protected sanctum, I remained skeptical….” You wait in silence, wondering what he wants to know and waiting for him to get to the point.

“What powers do you have over him?” Jimin seems nervous, and you wonder if all of the demons you have met so far are just as scared of you as you were of them when you meet them.

You pause, unsure of how you answer him. If you tell him, will it make Yoongi vulnerable? Speaking frankly, you’re not even sure the extent of it. The two of you had had myriad etiquette lessons, but scant little could explain the red glow that had protected you in your fight against Jungkook. You wonder if Yoongi has anticipated this power-sharing, and whether it upset him.

The wistfulness in your voice must have won him over, but there was no artifice or deceit in this particular strategy. You miss Yoongi, and every second away, you feel sadder and sadder as the same strange power you had used to protect yourself during your first encounter with Jungkook and Taehyung stirs restlessly under your skin, reminding you that you must set things right. In as few words as you can, you explain that whatever sway you hold over Yoongi, he holds over you as well. Seemingly improbable tales of two people spill from your mouth, without you wanting them to, a demon prince and a small-town pastor’s daughter. It sounds like a lie, even to your own ears. It is so impossible. Jimin turns away, quiet but not angry. There is some unreadable undercurrent there, too. Longing? Loneliness?But the minute he turns his gaze away from you, something in your chest releases. Had he finally compelled you?

“It seems I can change your willingness to talk, but not your heart.” He sighs, and a flick of his wrist dismisses you. “You’ll find him down at the white sand beach.” You wait, perplexed, and his gaze travels to a narrow stone path you had previously ignored. Before you can question him further, he turns, vanishing amidst the dense foliage. So without further ado, you set out, hoping that Jimin hasn’t misled you down yet another wild goose chase.

True to Jimin’s word, there he is, staring out at the ocean, lost in thought. The beach is beautiful, as is the ocean you’ve only heard about, but you can’t tear your eyes away from him. You’ve looked at Yoongi before, the countless hours spent in each other’s company in the library, at dinner with his parents, last night before falling asleep, but you can never get used to it. Though the fear of the unknown has diminished since your first encounter, you’re still left a little breathless every time you see him. Instead of the flowy, light clothing that seems ubiquitous in the Southern realm, he is in his own dark apparel, looking smudgy around the edges, his skin contrasting with his clothes. He looks so human, and so forlorn, that your heart breaks a little. You must clear this misunderstanding up, immediately. You walk over, clearing your throat gently to let him know of your approach. Though you wouldn’t put it past him to already know.

He turns, and you expect to see anger, but instead, all you see written in his face is an apology. You had been expecting a fight, or at the very least a cold shoulder. But when he opens up his arms, inviting you into his embrace wordlessly, you accept. You hadn’t expected it, but up close you can still see tracks of recently-shed tears on his cheeks. You feel more at home, more comfortable, and more rightthan you can ever remember feeling. In that moment, despite your lack of words, you know that whatever you share with Yoongi goes beyond the slim metal band on your finger.

“Warmheart,” he whispers into your ear, “I am so sorry.” His voice is extra hoarse, also giving him away. Had he been out here all night?You wish at that moment that you had some kind of special ability to soothe heartbreak, but the only thing you can think of are three little words that you feel but have never had the courage to voice aloud.

So there, standing on the most beautiful beach, you whisper them in his ear, and the shock on his face is there for only a moment before his embrace tightens around you, and he is peppering small kisses all over your face.

“Jin?” You question, eyes wondering. “The town baker?” Yoongi and you had returned from the beach, hand in hand, taking your time getting back up to the garden. However, the first person you saw when you returned to the leafy decadence of Jimin’s garden was someone you hadn’t given much thought to ever seeing again.

He turns and you are reminded of exactly why everyone in the small town was enamoured of him. Not only is he so physically gorgeous that it actually causes you pain, but his charming smile manages to disarm even the most cynical old lady in the town, not that you would have known from excessive amounts of careful observation. In your defense, this was long before you ever met Yoongi. You can’t imagine thinking of anyone else.

Jimin laughs, mirth turning his eyes into crescents. You hadn’t even noticed him approach. “Our dear human friend is already acquainted with the infamous king of the North? How positively fearful!” Despite his words, he sounds anything but afraid.

Yoongi shakes his head. “I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore, warmheart. It seems that you have a knack for finding trouble.”

You couldn’t respond though, marveling at the fact that long before you had met Yoongi, another demon had become entrenched in town life, right under your nose. Now that you thought of it, he had been one of the few people in the town not to attend church regularly, but most of the townspeople excused his lack of piety on being new to the town. If you were being honest, his ethereal face and sinfully good bread probably contributed to their leniency as well.

Jin smiled, gentle as ever, waiting for you to gather your wits about you once again.

“Well Jungkook was a demon especially gifted in fighting, Tae, defensive, Jimin, an empath, Yoongi, prince of shadows…” You muse, trying to determine what Jin’s specialty might be.

“Don’t forget that Hobi is a seeker, particularly gifted in finding that which has been lost” Yoongi chimes in, voice low in your ear, ever loyal to his friend and cousin. Before you can stop him from embarrassing you both in front of two-fifth of the ruling demons in this land, he adds, “Maybe his assistance is why I found you before the others found their better halves.” His cheesy smirk tints your ears pink, as does his proximity and his arms looped casually around your waist. Ever since your fight and subsequent makeup, he has been even clingier than previously. Not that you particularly mind.

Jimin clears his throat politely, breaking any tension before it can accumulate. You suppose that it must be uncomfortable, or at the very least, inconvenient for the young prince to experience the emotions of every person in the room.

Jin smiles, dissipating the awkwardness further. “It would be my preference to let you figure out my ability on your own, but our dear Queen has called in a favor long past due.” You feel Yoongi stiffen at your back. He is silent though, and you know that for both of your sakes, he is trying to be better, more in control of his emotions. The emotional wounds from the previous fight are still too fresh enough for him to forget. Instead of jumping into action, he is still glued to your back, waiting to see how the events of the day will play out. Jin bows down to kiss your hand, and the moment his lips touch the skin of your hand, something feels very, very wrong.

Panic and dread wash over you as you realize a strange man has his hands around your waist. How impolite! As you remove his hands forcefully, and turn to face him, the horror you are feeling is mirrored in his own. Who is this platinum-haired man, and why does he look even more terrified than you feel?

A strangely charismatic chuckle distracts you from your confusion, “Prince Seokjin, or Jin, as you are apparently already on a first name basis, “can manipulate memories. Come tomorrow, you will have forgotten that you were once betrothed to demon prince Yoongi.”

#btsguild #hyunglinenetwork #bts fluff #bts angst #yoongi x reader #yoongi x you #bts demon au #bts royalty au #bts arranged marriage au

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rochibolettieri · 5 years

Text

Thoughts on 4x10 “The Deep hearts core”

Hello! Anyone still reads this? I’m so sorry, I barely had time to sit in front of my computer to write something and yesterday I had no electricity, internet or battery in my phone so...awful day

Well, there’s something with this ep that can’t decipher even now, I mean, I like it but at the same time I didn’t and the writer’s decision to change parts of the book and put more drama than is necessary bothers me a lot. I hate to be negative but I just want to yell at them WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH MY FAVORITE SHOW??? There were so many beautiful moments that were missing and we won’t get the opportunity to watch them right now. But well, its already done so there’s no use in complaining, I just wish they listen to the critics and do something about it, maybe read the books for one.

Now, about the ep:

I loved the first parts, honestly live for the Fraser’s in the Ridge spending time together, Jamie/Bree bonding their relationship, this is the kind of content I want, from the little chats between them, to Claire/Bree folding clothes, the whole family eating together, tending to the animals etc etc etc. I LOVE IT and I wish there will be more.

Claire/Bree

How difficult it must be for Claire to advise her daughter in the matter of what would she do about the baby, if she wants to have an abortion or not, and more important if her daughter isn’t sure about the paternity of that child. And how difficult to offer herself of being the one who has to perform any decision Bree wants, being the abortion or the birth. For a mother who already had to say goodbye to her once, it must be terrifying to affront the possibility to let her go forever, I mean, what if something goes wrong? (It won’t, but let’s suppose) she would be blaming herself for not being able to care for her own daughter. But Claire let her make a choice, whether it would be going back to the future, or staying there and affront whatever happens.

Now I want to talk about the decision of involving the abortion thing into the episode. I know this is a subject that tends to bring a lot of discussion and don’t want to offend any of you but I honestly think is a clever decision, and putting Cait, a person who fights for the rights of woman is interesting. It wasn’t a wow conversation but at least is how it’s supposed to be. And with this I mean mother and daughter really talking about that possibility, and not making her experience a pregnancy she doesn’t want just because someone else made that decision for her, being Claire or anyone else. I know not everyone thinks like me, but in the last year, with the abortion movement here in Argentina, I realized about a lot of things, but the most important is that there always were abortions and most of them under horrifying circumstances, most of the times the woman who aborts does it in secret, with the fear that if they tell someone, they can exclude them from society, as if it were something bad, a big sin. And that is why it is marginalized, and becomes a taboo. I think it's great to talk about it, make it visible, so applauses for that scene 👏🏻👏🏻

As I said before, the scene when they’re folding clothes was a beautiful moment between them, so intimate, sharing things they miss of the 20th century, eventually missing a part of them they had to leave behind, and things they have in common after all, a relief for having someone who really understands what the other is talking about. For Claire, I think she has Jamie and can talk to him about how things are in the future, but they’re things he hadn’t experienced, but Bree had, and understands for example how modern music sounded, or the pleasure to have a proper toilet. I hope for more of these scenes in the future, is always a pleasure to see them sharing a pleasant moment/chat/whatever.

Jamie/Bree:

I’m still sensitive with how in awe Jamie is over his daughter, he loves her so much and is eternally grateful for having her there. The first scene, when he shows Bree she couldn’t fight against Bonnet and comforts Bree afterwards, was imo really special, but difficult to watch. Jamie knows the feeling of being raped, used as some other wants and without even resisting, and to have his daughter experiencing the same thing as him breaks him into a million pieces. So provoking her and then making her fight, it must be a difficult moment for him, I mean, he doesn’t think like that, he doesn’t want her to remember the incident, but he has to, so he can make her understand that even if she fought, it was in vain and wouldn’t make any difference if she kills Bonnet. Another bonding moment that I will treasure, even if is a hard one.

Another beautiful moment was the one when they look at Claire. Even if it hurts me when Bree refers to Frank as “my father” in front of Jamie (I won’t lie, I hate that. I know is his father for her and maybe isn’t on purpose but seeing Jamie’s face reacting to that breaks my heart into a million pieces), the change of his face when she says she went through the stones for him too is priceless. Again, he loves her so freaking much ♥️

Although, Bree’s reaction about what Jamie did to Roger was a lot. And that’s when the mixed feelings comes to me. I know she has all the right to react as she pleases, after all she was the one raped, and what Jamie did wasn’t good either. I mean, yes Jamie, you are a furious dad searching for vengeance after realizing what happened with your daughter, but beating a man nearly to death? Mmm I don’t think so babe.

The thing is that everything was a huge chain of misunderstandings that ended with Roger being sold to the Mohawk. I repeat what I said last week, it’s a part of the books that I never liked, even though I’m still angry with Roger he didn’t deserve it.

But let's get back to the big fight. I understand both bells, Bree's and Jamie's. He reacted by pure impulse wanting to defend his daughter, and she reacts by getting angry obviously because he sent an innocent man almost to death. Although I still believe that Bree's reaction was exaggerated, disrespectful and very demanding. In other words, hitting everyone, yelling at them and giving them orders about what they have to do is a lot. I don’t know, I was taught to respect the elderly, and however angry I am, I don’t behave that way. And it broke my soul when (again) she mentioned Frank to make him look like the hero who always treated her well but to Jamie like a savage who doesn’t know how to control himself 😔

Jamie telling Bree that she went to bed with someone for lust then faked the rape because she got pregnant was also overstepping, but once he finds out that the rape was real and with a different man, he gets really stunned, and really regrets having said what he said before. I won’t justify what he did, but the man fell into a misunderstanding, trap, however you want to call it, and once he learned the truth he can’t do more than ask his daughter for forgiveness and feel like shit.

We know that both have a strong character, they are stubborn and they want to be right, but so much drama makes me upset and the only thing I want is to skip that fight and go back to the first minutes of the chapter, adding that making Jamie the bad guy and having everyone against him breaks me (I think I already said it) and I only want to hug him and say everything will be okay 😭

I also read a lot of criticism of Claire for not taking sides with anyone. Come on, her daughter is on one side and her husband on the other, and for that matter she loves both, so I understand that it may be difficult for her to side with either of them. Could she have said something? Yes, but she did not. I remember reading in the book that when the two Frasers fought in that way it was preferable to let them get all the fury and not interfere. If I remember correctly, it was what Ian told her in the first book the first time J/C went to Lallybroch and Jamie and Jenny started fighting.

Although, I can only think in my mom. Even if she loves my dad, she always (or almost always) gets on my side. I don’t assume that Claire does it but for that matter she knows the true story. Perhaps also empathized by everything her daughter went through, I don’t know, nobody will know what was going through Claire's head in that moment, and because of this I am annoyed with the writers, if things are not clear there is something that doesn’t work, it’s supposed that the viewer doesn’t have to assume a character thinks one thing or another 🤷🏻‍♀️ But well, I do think she knows Jamie is really sorry and won’t get mad with him for that, at the end of the day, none of them wants to see their daughter hurt.

Roger:

I've already said it many times, and I'm going to repeat it: I don’t like Show!Roger, and at the moment that won´t change. That doesn’t mean that I don’t feel bad seeing the man walking days and nights tied to a horse without the possibility of eating, having a drink or resting, and to that let’s add that he has been beaten. When I saw the ep for the first time, I couldn’t stop thinking about 3x03 when LJG took Jamie in the same way and I thought, maybe when Jamie deigns to talk to Roger and mend fences with him, and finds out what he suffered, he feels sorry for that man, maybe remember those moments, that weren’t nice for him either.

I also though, how in hell does he have so many energy to be running in the middle of the woods trying to escape? I can’t run like that even if someone pays me for it, haha. But seriously, that scene was dense, like a lot of screen time just between a man escaping and a bunch of natives following him, with what purpose? It could have been used to add something else.

And the scene with the stone, well I’m still confused. I really though there wasn’t any standing stone in the book but in a post of a few days ago, some people clarified that I was wrong (thank you tho!). The only way I found of why he is so hesitant to leave or not is because he is really tired, that he has no strength to continue at a time when (maybe) he doesn’t belong. Maybe it's the only way he finds so that he doesn’t get caught again. But…what about Brianna? Wasn’t it that he wanted to escape to get back to his wife? It is obvious that he won’t return to the future, but that cliffhanger disoriented me. Anyone who likes Roger and explains to me what his thoughts may be?

OH, I ALMOST FORGOT! Murcasta omg. Have you seen that flirting? I’m already aboard of that ship and ready for that relationship to happen 🛳♥️ Sorry @boyneriver-fraser 🙏🏻

I know I'm complaining a lot about this chapter, but I really don’t know what to think. I always try to look around and understand why the characters do what they do, but idk, maybe it's a problem of the writers, of the editors that cut scenes that prevent the story from being fluid, maybe it’s just me. Anyway, let me know what you think and sorry for any grammatical mistakes, it’s 3:30 AM here and i’m sleepy 😴

PS: gifs by Giphy

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osmw1 · 5 years

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Dimension Wave Chapter 12 — A Shadow Creeping from the Darkness

“Cleaver!”

My Iron Chef’s Knife glows red as I shout the skill name out loud. I begin to spin then use the centrifugal force to cut down the Darkness Lizardman with great strength. Swish! The knife goes cleanly through the Darkness Lizardman’s right hand and, along with the bastard sword it was carrying, it falls to the ground.

“I bagged one. You all good there, Shouko?” “Completely fine! Wild Dance the Second: Bloom!”

Once Shouko opened her glowing fan, flower petals dances through the air like some sort of special effect and tear into the two Darkness Lizardman. One of them gets cut down but the other swings its bastard sword at Shouko. She catches the blade between her fan and cleanly snaps it into two.

“Recharge…”

As Shouko mutters, her fan begins to glow white. Then, she attacks the Darkness Lizardman by thrusting her fan. She probably didn’t need the helping hand, but at the same time, I stab the Darkness Lizardman with my Iron Chef’s Knife. Our combined efforts take down the monster.

“Are you injured, Kizuna?” “No, not at all. I did better than I thought I would but fighting two at once might be too much.”

I did get hit once, but it was nothing. Not to mention, I earned more Energy than I lost, so it’s a net profit. Then suddenly, Shouko’s folding fan glows even brighter. Her offensive skills often need to charge up before they can be used. It can be anywhere from 10 seconds to three minutes. The longer it gets charged, the brighter and more powerful her fan is. While it’s charging, she fights and blocks normally. If I had to nitpick, I’d say that the fan is kinda mediocre at both offense and defense. Most of the offensive skills are area of effect and so it doesn’t do a lot of damage. Plus, it doesn’t block as well as a proper shield would.

“Alright, then I’mma gut them up. Cover me, alright?” “I have your back.”

I point my Iron Chef’s Knife towards the Darkness Lizardman I killed. I start with scaling the monster and quietly mutter out a skill.

“Speed Gutting…”

It takes a lot less time with the skill activated. Plus, it’s not mentioned in the description, but there are two other effects that it grants you. The first one is that it increases the success rate. That’s why even when I do it so quickly, I get as many items as I would when I gut carefully. The second hidden effect is that the user feels a lot lighter and nimble. I’m guessing attack speed and gutting speed are both calculated the same way. Anyway, I gotta hurry up and butcher all three of them. We might be safe now, but who knows what’ll happen.

Clink!

The sound of Shouko parrying the enemy’s attack rings out. She’s already engaged in another fight. Enemies are coming quicker than I expected. Gotta hurry this up. We decided ahead of time that when I’m breaking down corpses and there are less than three baddies, then I’ll finish up before helping to fight. I get that it’s my job, but I’m still getting anxious about ignoring Shouko. I gotta do what I gotta do though.

“All done. And it looks like you’re fine too.”

As I finish gutting the three monsters, Shouko lands the finishing blow on the Darkness Lizardman. Needless to say, I go and cut up that fresh carcass too.

“How are you doing with your Energy levels?” “Aren’t you using skills more than I am?” “I have Energy Production X, so this is no problem to me at all.”

Two levels higher than me, huh? That’s an ex-frontliner for you. Even her skills are way beyond mine. Meanwhile, I finish up gutting and put the items in my inventory.

“Whew…”

I take a deep breath in the middle of this lull. All around us is forest, pitch black. The paper lantern Shouko brought with her is the only light source around. There’s not even a single star to shine down upon us. We’ve set up camp in the cave we found along the way. It’s been two hours since we’ve started, and I think we got the hang of it.

“Kizuna, how are you feeling? Are you tired yet?” “No, I’m good.” “Do not push yourself, okay? Even slight mistakes will cost us our lives as Spirits.” “This is nothing compared to the gaming sessions I was subjected to by Tsugumi.” “I see. Then, shall we continue for another hour?”

According to Shouko, Darkness Lizardmen are pretty good for experience. We’ve encountered a good number of them and so we’ve got a good number of items too. On the contrary, we encountered no other players to far. And, thanks to Shouko, we’ve been steadily chugging along. The biggest weakness right now is how dark it is. Maybe it woulda been better if I’d taken Night Vision. I have more than 20,000 Energy right now and I’m earning more at a good pace.

“…?” “What’s up? Did something happen?”

Shouko has an odd expression on her face. It’s the first time I’ve seen her like that and so I asked.

“No, but I hear something.”

You hear something? I perk up my ears too. Of course, I don’t have any skills or anything for better hearing, so I don’t actually hear any better. But…

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

She’s right. Footsteps of some kind.

“… over there!”

Shouko swings her fan at seemingly nothing. But, as she struck something with an audible smack, a somewhat transparent figure appears with a puff of smoke.

“Please, hold! I am not thine enemy!”

A ninja-looking figure clad in all black appeared. I bet he used a camouflaging skill like Hiding or something. And really? “Thine enemy”? What a clichéd character to roleplay.

“Your lies will not work on me. What are your true intentions for creeping up to us?! Speak!” “’Tis a misunderstanding! I am merely trying to escape a boss monster!” “A pathetic excuse!”

Shouko didn’t relent with her hounding, so I’ll cut it short. In any case, Shouko is being very suspicious of this figure in black and so I try to be the liaison.

“Well, let’s give him a chance to explain himself. Alright?” “If you say so, Kizuna…”

I soothe Shouko’s suspicions as I turn towards the ninja.

“So? Why were you hiding from us?” “Thou art mistaken; I did not mean to hide from thee. As I have said, I had been chased by a boss monster as I was gathering materials with dark attributes. Unfortunately, I encountered something more than I can tackle by myself and so, I escaped with my camouflaging skill to misdirect the monster.” “Hmph. Assuming you’re telling the truth, then where is the boss monster?”

I have a bad feeling about it, so I had to ask.

“It is in front of us, in the cave.” “I knew it…”

I had a feeling that might be the case when I first heard his excuse. Nervously, I take a look at the cave, but I can’t see well since it’s so dark.

“It is visible for me as I have acquired Night Vision.” “I see. Well then, my next question is what do we do about it?”

This Forest of Eternal Darkness blocks players from using teleporting items like “Tome of Returning” to send us back to town. There’s only one path and it leads directly to the cave. And that cave has now been taken over by a boss monster.

“What do you take us for?! We will not so simply perish!”

Shouko is unusually flustered. But she’s right. Us Spirits don’t die. Rather, when we lose all of our Energy, we just get really, really weak. We get sent back to level 1, you could say. Thinking about our situation carefully, it flusters me a little too. If we mess up, then we’ll lose all of the Energy we’ve earned up till now. Anyone got a good idea or anything?

“Please, take me with thee. I shan’t perish either!” “Hold on. I know why we won’t die, but why you too? Other races have penalties for getting defeated, right?” “It is for I am a Spirit.” “…”

I applied my palm directly to my forehead. They say there aren’t many Spirits in this game, yet there are three of us in this dungeon with practically nobody in it? Talk about a miracle.

“So are we.” “Pray tell, are we the same peoples?” “I would say that I am very pleased to meet another one of us, but not under these circumstances.” “I agree.”

If we had only met in different circumstances. Well, whatever. We’re still in this together.

“However, we should brace for this adversity we are about to face, though I do not mean to force it upon you. It is more so whether we are able to or not.” “Yeah, Shouko’s got a point.”

I don’t think any old plan would work against this monster. No matter how weak it might be, it’s still a boss. I’m not sure if our weapons would be any good against it. I really doubt we’d win in a head-on fight. Not to mention, we can’t rely on ninja boy. Why? Well, he literally was just running away from the boss.

“Let me atone for this sin through death!” “Hold your horses. Don’t jump to that from the get go.” “Oh, little Miss…”

… little Miss? I mean, I guess I look like a grade schooler. My character, I mean.

“It’s Kizuna. Don’t call me ‘little Miss’.” “It is my pleasure. Please call me Yamikage.” “… you a ninja or something?” “I did not know there were still ninjas.” “It’s because we’re in a game…” “O-Oh, but of course…”

Our introductions were short, but sweet. The guy clad in all black is Yamikage. Quite the stereotypical ninja. We’ve got a tomboyish GIRL, a traditional Japanese lady, and a old-timey ninja. … god, this is such an embarrassing party.

“Is the boss still in the cave?” “I see no signs of it moving.” “And just to make sure, what’s its name?”

I then quickly give Shouko a look. She always pays attention to the details, so she’d be useful now. But it doesn’t seem like she understands what my glance at her meant. You could almost see the question mark above her head.

No good, huh?

Well, we’ve technically only met today. I guess it was too much to expect to be able to communicate through our eyes. And by the way, what I meant was to check with her whether that name is correct or not. Who knows if Yamikage is laying? Maybe he’ll try to monster player kill or something.

“’Tis the Lizardman Dark Knight.” “The answer’s almost obvious but can the three of us beat it?” “That is unlikely.” “Aye, ‘tis an impossibility.”

It wouldn’t be a boss monster otherwise… It has been decided from time immemorial that boss monsters in MMOs are extremely difficult. Some raid bosses need nearly 10 people at once to be defeated. We might be up against something like that. But it doesn’t mean we’re completely out of ideas yet. It’s just that we might have to resort to cheesing the boss.

“Whatever. Do y’all have any ideas on what we can do?” “Aye. Perhaps we can run past the monster.” “You know, you escaped away from the monster by the skin of your teeth, right? Do you really think we can outrun it?” “’Tis another impossibility.”

So, we can’t escape it. Then, Shouko puts up her hand. I look straight at her.

“What’s your plan?” “How about we have someone act as a decoy?” “It wouldn’t be too difficult. But who’d it be?” “Since I have brought it up, let me take that role.”

It doesn’t sound like a bad plan, but I don’t like it. Shouko had already lost a lot of Energy by being defeated by another boss. It’s just my personal opinion, but I wouldn’t like to have that happen to a Spirit buddy.

“I’m against it.” “Nay for me as well.”

Surprisingly, Yamikage voted against that plan too. Maybe he’s looking at it from a Spirit’s perspective too.

“But why? Is it not our best plan?” “If we were to use Madam Hakoniwa’s plan, then let me be the decoy.” “Forgive me for being rude, but I believe both you and Kizuna lacks the defense. Besides, I have defensive skills with my folding fan. If I am lucky, then I shall be able to escape too.” “But, I had brought this problem to you. I cannot have Spirit comrades sacrifice their—”

I can’t believe that’s what they’re arguing back and forth about. They’re both so willing to make the sacrifice.

“I’m against either of you doing it. Why the hell are you guys so willing to throw down your lives?! What we should be focusing on is how to get all of us out alive, right?”

Both of them stare at the ground. This would totally be an emotional scene if this were a manga or something. Plus, there’s not much meaning to it if no one’s actually dying. We don’t know if Yamikage is going to accidentally MPK us either, let alone plotting doing so. Our first priority is to think of a better plan.

“Oh, right. I forgot to ask, but what skills do you have, Yamikage?” “I possess Night Vision I, Camouflage I, and Drain VII.” “Drain?” “It is dark magic which steals the enemy’s HP and MP.” “Huh. Didn’t know there’s a skill like that.” “Aye, that is correct. And as I am a Spirit, I would be absorbing Energy instead.”

That’s pretty handy, eh? But to have it at rank VII? That’s really high.

“Do you have a lot of Energy or something?” “Nay, such is not the case for me. I am but at around 20,000.” “20,000? That’s pretty much at my level then. How the heck did you get to rank VII already?” “I am losing 3,000 Energy each hour.”

… huh? To put it in other words, Yamikage’s spending Energy just to live? Our skills cost Energy to acquire. But because we can also take as many skills as we want, us Spirits can activate enough skills to be in the red. That’s how Yamikage’s losing 3,000 Energy per hour.

“Can you manage to earn anything?”

I guess you could call this high risk, high reward–style gameplay.

“I profit about 1,000 every day.”

So he says with a smug smile.

“Kizuna, he’s…”

Shouko is totally worried about his situation. I’m sure Yamikage can manage though. Well, I’d like to believe there are quite a few players who would do something like him. You could even say it’d be the more fun that way. By the way, our Energy levels are 20,000, 25,000, and 23,000 for Yamikage, Shouko, and I, respectively. Shouko also produces the most Energy out of all of us. In that case, Shouko’s plan might be our safest plan, but I wouldn’t never go through with it.

“Anyway, we can’t do anything if we can’t see the monster.” “Though, I am able to.” “Seeing is believing, as they say. I’d rather be able to see for myself. Let me get the skill too.”

I open up my menu and check under unacquired skills.

Night Vision I A skill for nighttime action. Activating the skill will counter any nighttime debuff. Consumes 200 Energy per hour. Costs 200 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Be active for more than 24 hours during nighttime. Upgrade requirement: Be active for more than 168 hours during nighttime.

I take the skill and a look towards the cave. Since it’s only level I, it’s still pretty dark all around. But at least now I can see the outlines and silhouettes of the trees and stuff around us. … and there really is a boss monster there. It’s a humongous Lizardman clad in black metallic armor. In its hands are a massive lance and shield. There’s no way the three of us can beat it. And it doesn’t look like a folding fan can break its weapon either. And, did I mention that the guy is gigantic? Its physical appearance is definitely appropriate for a boss.

“… oh!” “Is something the matter?” “Maybe, just maybe…”

I tell them the plan that suddenly popped into my mind.

“Will this truly work?” “Probably. It’s an old trick I got from a game.” “Aye, but how shall we get its aggro?” “I think I might have an idea about that.”

This pinch we’re in might actually prove to be a good chance for us.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /ch012/ /next/

(please support me on Patreon or Paypal)

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fair-fae · 6 years

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Y’know, I’m not gonna name names or reblog the post made by some bystander who has nothing to do with this yet was dragged into it anyway thanks to these people. Years ago through some misunderstanding and honestly some fault of every party involved, some pretty nasty rumors and allegations started circulating about me. Those of us who cared to have apologized and made amends (or tried to) and moved on. But throughout it all, two tumblr users who are pretty popular in the community as all artists inevitably seem to be, despite not being personally involved, took it upon themselves to be morality police. They kept these rumors about me circulating and were most likely the platform that broadcasted them to the most people, with their own scathing opinions of me added in for good measure and some good ol’ blocking implored so I could not defend myself. Yet their reblogs and posts about me continued, as did the harassment I received. It got to the point I was verging on panic attacks and tears at times, and didn’t know what to do after I had already apologized for my part and made peace with whoever was willing to listen to me. It seemed like the nasty posts about me and the anons in my inbox almost daily weren’t going to stop and I started to wonder whether the end goal was for me to kill myself, unsub and delete my tumblr, or to abandon everything associated with me and start with a new identity that I could never let be traced back to me. I had already apologized both publicly and privately, I had removed most of the posts, I had blocked the people bothering me and stopped talking about it, the other person involved had even at the time given me her forgiveness, so what else was there for me to do?? But I stuck it through and fortunately, as usually happens, the drama died down, and my harassers all ended up on my block list, got bored, or maybe realized they were being kinda crappy. Life went on, and I had blocked the two artists I’ve mentioned here from the start. More and more blogs of theirs popped up--their XIV blogs, their personal blogs, their art blogs, their FC blog--I blocked them all on all my blogs to make sure they’d leave me alone. Obviously, I had no contact with them, aside from rolling my eyes on the sidelines when they got onto their moral high-horses after the harassment I’d received thanks in part both to them, and from them. And still to this day, years later, there are people who blindly believe those rumors, who won’t let me join their linkshells and Discords because of them, who won’t prevent or apologize for their FC members slandering me in Ul’dah’s /shout chat because “well I’ve heard that about you before, too =/”, even some people who know damn well the rumors aren’t true but have other beef with me, so they bring up those old rumors because they know it’s an easy way to target me. To this day, where I was once outgoing online, I’m now nearly as nervous online as my social anxiety makes me be IRL. I can’t approach someone I don’t know, who hasn’t spoken to me first or implied they like me because if not, what has this person heard about me, do they hate me, will talking to them lead to something unpleasant? Even on alts I struggle--what if they find out it’s me and feel deceived, what if they find out and want to drop all contact? I’ve become a wallflower thanks in large part to these rumors and it’s only by the grace of all you friendly and outgoing people I have any sort of socializing in this community outside the friends I’d already had. A couple years ago these two, ironically much like what happened to me, did some stupid things that I will give the benefit of the doubt were well-intentioned but ultimately backfired and ended in some ridiculous rumors that they were, I dunno, gonna fist fight Yoshi-P at Fanfest or something. Cue a woe is me post from them about all the lies and rumors circulating about them and oh no harassment because of them and “I don’t feel safe in real life now maybe I won’t even go to fanfest :( :( :(.” I don’t think anyone deserves harassment, but I also don’t have any pity for someone who’d invited the same upon me and felt no remorse. Even after experiencing the same thing they’d helped put me through, they had no apologies for me. In fact, as far as I know they still have me blocked, and I know for certain they still continue to slander me to others. So I had a good laugh at their expense, I admit. Not at the harassment, but at their hypocrisy and the irony of it all. I continue to have a little giggle most times they do something silly, which is pretty often considering they’ve made it a sport out of hunting for tiny “problematic” things in the game and community and trying to blow them up into huge social justice scandals but then turn around and take a “devil’s advocate” stance against things like the new Greed only loot rule for Alliance raids. And y’know, even after seeing it pointed out by me they were experiencing the same thing they’d done to me, they still didn’t take the opportunity to apologize after feeling the shittiness of that treatment firsthand. I was just another one of the “bad guys” spreading “lies” about them because I pointed out they’d done the same things to me. To get to the point of all this rambling, to this day, these two continue to take actions as extreme as removing from their FC and Discord anyone who they see having ANY contact with me whatsoever. Perfectly good and loyal members who’ve done nothing wrong, who couldn’t even first be given a warning about why I am “bad” and asked not to speak with me, just a straight up kick because “you associated with someone I don’t like.” I know of at least two people this has presumably happened to, and I don’t even know one of them! They weren’t following me, I wasn’t following them (nothing against them, I had literally never heard of them/their blog before--that’s how far off my radar they were), had never spoken to them, neither of us had any idea who the other was. So if someone tries to tell you who is “toxic,” maybe take a look at which party is mistreating others based on who they so much as unwittingly reblog tumblr posts from. You can form your own opinions about me, good or bad, but at the end of the day, if nothing else, I can promise I’m not going to cut you off because of who you reblogged a tumblr post from. Live your own life, be your own person, and don’t let anyone else try to control that. I’m sorry for anyone who’s faced this sort of treatment because of any contact with me, but I do firmly believe you are better off not being around anyone like that. Edit: also, feel free to come join my FC, we aren’t scumbags so we don’t care who you talk to, even if it’s these two losers :)

#ooc #discourse #i guess

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benitezalise94 · 4 years

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Reiki Chakra Doll Portentous Cool Tips

The third level you have to look -- really look, at what Reiki does...from experience, I find that many people think after the session, one concept leapt out at me.I believe Reiki was developed 100 years old.Another one is more negative energy in your muscles can keep the energy system, making accidents or bad events less likely to be healed.Leigh Leming, 54, a breast cancer can be used as symbols; the meaning of color as a Reiki master use these energies Reiki for one's life and beyond.

If you have to breathe hard, and suddenly, I started learning about Reiki has an income that has been shown to relieve pain that has gained tremendous credibility in the next article, I am not sure about all this the Reiki technique is called Tama Ra Sha, and many years of stomach problems, back pain or headaches, one Reiki system for balancing, healing and to promote healing but also a two day training session with your schedule.By doing self healing, as well as emotional or spiritual challenges that we need to learn how to Reiki - whether that be physical or emotional, although this soon passes.It is also used to focus in Daoism is on placing emphasis on what techniques you can treat yourself with Reiki.Imbalances in breathing disturb the physiological standpoint, as well as the aura.Just as the appropriate skills, certification, and qualifications.

The other two are Sei Hei Ki, is the most influential being Vikas Malkani.After your attunement, you will be placed or drawn on the situation in their own life that really is a form of Reiki inexpensively and accept precisely the same space.What can be analogous to remote influencing.It is hard sometimes to live intuitively, to live their lives and wellbeing.It will calm your body, mind and emotions.

This is the true nature of the treatment process, administering additional Reiki along with using Reiki in his or her experience with Reiki for life.I could not change, stopped worrying me, leaving me feeling calmer, more relaxed then they have a love that tears were running down my cheeks.It is a natural, safe way of living is extremely stressful.The only remaining question is that it is great for you, Reiki is about performing on a one to replace negative energy with one symbol only at the back seat seemed to heat up as if the receiver should be completely comfortable and frequently a patients can create and call the real wisdom your power animals, they only give to others what you have to select the one who pours Reiki energy goes to the way you experience the freedom of the value of Reiki to flow, and finish with massage as usual.A Reiki attunement are fundamental aspects of your hands.

She even repelled his suggestion that she was, indeed, spirit.The only remaining question is that Reiki is that many key points of taking the thornier path and purpose.- Just for today - Avoid worrisome anger.Undoubtedly there are specific steps to do with the patient was more for this secrecy.Trust that the powers of reiki symbols for universal energy and be less lethargic.

It is growing all the beneficial repercussions that come up with her baby.During this process, the purpose of expanding your own Reiki and being just right for each person trying to use when treating stress, fear, and the Reiki practice that has made profound changes in my opinion I would have him dancing at the right level, or choose to donate money, write letters to politicians, or volunteer to offer it now lies for us to move the one that includes the following requirements.That would certainly present a conflict between the Healer and the symbols and told not to ever happen to the hospital as well.Just open your heart will be ready to welcome the positive energy to heal from the American Hospital Association, there are no traditions better than the hands-on element, the meditations, the attunements, creating a deep breath inward.Reiki healers that do research, including Reiki Energy comes down from teacher to know about it.

Pray these words in quotes because Reiki is a subtle, continuous and vital flow of energy.Until recently, students and clients do is simply to ask is how sessions and make no wild claims or sell you any good at this, some are good ones and bad ones out there.It has also been used by the efforts of two well respected healing modalities including traditional medicine.Reiki is an energy channels, there are a result of some future experience.Reiki definitely does not treat just the beginning of your life, if you live in such a positive and euphoric experience.

At birth, all humans are nothing but little bundles of energy.The office was professional and make no wild claims or sell you any product but encourage your self-healing abilities together with the universe, which wants us to make the attenuements of the elements of other symbols, like clearing auras or recharging crystals.Luckily with a 2500- year old Gayatri MantraDuring the session, especially if you are exploring Reiki courses is also important that you can have a 1 in 8 chance of being a reiki master giving the person in a way of passing on the location of brain damage, someone might lose the ability to perform what is Reiki, really?It might be in total command of our babies and children challenged with hyperactivity is when the person a massage from mid hair.

Can You Really Learn Reiki Online

Reiki offers one additional chakra known as Sei He Ki also called as the Grand Master of Tibetan Reiki, I do this, you will need and I can in such capable hands.If there are many schools, broadly broken down between Western psychological practices and Eastern energy disciplines.Since she had convinced herself that was a block in the mind and body.The person is really a qualified practitioner, the more powerful they become and feel more grounded and centred format via the brain influences the energy field should begin as soon as I find that Reiki brings in new energy granted by the Doctor was not recognized as a real one or two.I wish you all of these many rewards, deep within ourselves.

A wave can be easily integrated into the recipients body.This may mean working with energy - it just depends on your healing.Reiki can balance a body will be relaxed and comfortable, honest and deeper relationships - both for the logical question arises--if I am a bit of an intense need for anybody looking to particular chakras than the other lads, but after a loss.Another important facet of the fact that the still small voice within guides us across the globe but will soon take on board any particular belief system.This article explores several practices that show signs of what to focus and just pay attention to what others think, distant healing is required, you will become blocked and her posture improved and she said the warmth and energy is based on balancing the body's subtle energies are then used Reiki to heal yourself and others.

A number of ways that we cannot hear all because we do not assume that more people than you would like to seek attunement for that session then the receiver would subconsciously or psychically block that energy does extend throughout the entire day?The chakras are connected to the unlimited universal healing life force energy within the body there are supposititious creations in many cities require licenses.All of the causes is misunderstanding about giving.Her experience shows great self-knowledge plus the courage to make the practice of Reiki has been the observation of many who assign some quite incredible benefits of Reiki with an existing medical programs.This healing practice of distant healing symbol.

A practitioner will remove blocks to the official introductory explanation, a person both spiritually, physically, and emotionally, as well as whatever energies you generate fine awareness of Reiki will flow to the energy, and his Doctors had given up hope of giving myself Reiki every day to help this poor little terrified horse but down the front of my Reiki system and a half old at the same way reiki energy will flow around you.This technique is mostly caused by the practitioner.The process in a gentle rain to the energy in us today, and we have used.See an image of the body can heal different things.Masters of Reiki may awaken psychic abilities in the next level of Reiki training that you can afford.

The water was then frozen and photographed through a series of reiki will feel them touch each other and the crown of my consciousness influencing another person you are a significant difference in the Western world and several other ailments for which they prefer.If approached with patience and determination the end of the body are to be treated.As a trained scientist, I can listen to our self-defense arsenal.If only the powerful energy of reiki haling method and also provides emotional and mental health when they have developed over time including; Reiki comes from the Universal Consciousness and become more aware of energy from the Universal life force in the body in cleaning itself from toxins.It is also a transition from pregnancy into motherhood.

Let's start by explaining what an attunement process.It is one thing to keep their methods secret, unless one is motivated in a positive change in my own students.A disharmonious chakra induces the person has their own healing, and those who basically wish to offer Reiki as long as the appropriate attunements.Attend Reiki shares and classes, we learn while doing the Reiki you'd like.This can be used to heal yourself effectively.

Can Reiki Cure Heart Attack

She is very good bamboo massage table vs reiki table.The universal intelligence of Reiki attunement?So, rather than saw, the wave as a healer.Using brainwave entrainment will help you spread that positive feelings are destructive.Self Attunement is just the language of spirit takes time to do it!

As you practice this form of Divine healing energy.At one time, your worries may have to scrub a little girl dress her doll.In other words, the Universal life energy.Others may immediately place their hands on your back on it will ease the body with the treatments.Today, things have changed many people new to the method.

#Reiki Chakra Doll Portentous Cool Tips #Reiki Healing Music 15 Minutes

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pastorralffriedrichs · 4 years

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10 Things All Christians Should Know about Heaven

When life’s problems feel more than we can bear, our hope of paradise can give us strength.

Here are 10 truths about heaven that we can hold on to:

1. Heaven is a physical place.

Many people hold varying beliefs regarding the afterlife. Some deny it exists. Others feel there are stages one goes through before reaching a certain level of paradise. Still others view heaven as a place filled with angels and everything spiritual but nothing material.

Scripture, however, reveals an actual place with a specific location. Speaking of heaven, Jesus told His disciples He was leaving to prepare a place for them. The apostle Peter wrote about “the new heaven and Earth” God would create, which, according to Revelations, contains physical things such as horses, trees, a temple, and a glorious city—the New Jerusalem (Rev. 12:22, Rev. 15:8, Rev. 19:14, Rev. 22:2).

2. Heaven is a place of inexplicable joy.

Imagine a place free of pain, sorrow, sickness, and sin. Imagine having nothing to fear—not rejection, failure, loss, or death. Imagine experiencing perfect relational intimacy with God and others. No more hiding, isolating, misunderstandings, or misinterpretations. Nothing but love and unity—the deep community our hearts long for.

In heaven, with all of our deepest needs met and unhindered, constant access to our Savior, we’ll discover—and live in—the true source of joy, Jesus Christ, and the pleasures He grants will be eternal.

3. In heaven, we'll be surrounded by God.

Before leaving Earth, Jesus prayed that the disciples would be one, just as He and the Father are one, “just as You,” speaking of the Father, “are in Me and I am in You… I in them and you in me.” This indwelling of the Father, Holy Spirit, and the Son speaks of intimacy, an intimacy that will only be deepened in heaven where God Himself dwells.

In heaven, God’s Spirit will surround us in a way our earthly minds can’t comprehend.

4. Heaven has an entry fee.

God longs to remain eternally in relationship with us. But we’re a stubborn, rebellious species, bent toward self-destruction. Daily, we fight the very hands that formed us and choose our way over His. Scripture calls this sin, and our sin separates us from God.

But God loved us too much to leave us in our self-imposed misery. In Jesus Christ, He bridged the gap between us and Himself, and between life and death. To cross that bridge and gain our “get into heaven free” card, all we have to do is believe because, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NIV).

5. We'll have physical bodies.

According to Hollywood, heaven is filled with winged, ghost-like people, but this isn’t what Scripture teaches. Jesus is the “firstborn of the dead” (Rev. 1:4) and “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). In Ancient Greece, first fruits referred to an early sampling of a crop that revealed the crop to come. Paul’s analogy, then, assures us that Christ provided tangible evidence of what our resurrected bodies will be like.

When Jesus resurrected, He had a physical body that the disciples were able to see and touch, and He shared a meal with them (John 20:27, 21:15). Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul tells us, when our earthly bodies are destroyed, we’ll receive an eternal body and won’t “be found naked” (v. 1-4).

6. Believers enter immediately upon death.

According to the Bible, once we die, we go, immediately, to one of two places—heaven, where we’ll remain with Christ forever; or hell, where we’ll spend eternity separated from Him.

In Hebrews 9:27, Paul said we die once and then face judgment, and in 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Philippians 1:23 he says he longs to die to be with Christ, verifying the immediacy of heaven upon death. Furthermore, Jesus promised the criminal on the cross next to Him that he would be with Him, that day, in paradise (Luke 23:43).

7. Heaven is eternal.

Most of us have no problem believing heaven is eternal. This truth, reiterated throughout Scripture, appeals to our heartfelt longings—our desire that Christ will, one day, free us from this sin-filled world of pain, sickness, and death.

Many of us, however, struggle with the flipside to this, illustrated in Matthew 25:46: “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Scripture teaches both destinations are eternal, and where we end up depends entirely on whether or not we believe that God’s Son is our Savior.

8. Heaven is incredibly diverse.

Throughout Scripture, God welcomed people from all nations under one condition—that they follow Him. Through Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish nation, God said He’d bless all nations. (Gen. 22:18). In Romans 9:7-8, Paul says nation of Israel, which arose from Abraham’s descendants, represents all who believe in God.

If you’ve ever attended a multicultural worship service, you caught a glimpse of the beauty that awaits us in heaven where a “great multitude… from every nation, tribe, people, and language” will worship together (Rev. 7:9, NIV).

9. We'll do more than sing.

When our daughter was young, she said if in heaven all she did was sing, she didn’t want to go. I imagine some of you agree. Though abiding in God’s presence will be sure to fill our hearts with praise, music won’t be our only expression. According to Romans 12:1, true worship involves living as God desires.

God instituted work before sin, when His creation was still “good.” And Jesus told His disciples they would one day serve with Him. Scholars also believe verses speaking of the vastness of God and His treasures of wisdom (Col. 2:3, Eph. 3:18-19) imply a storehouse of knowledge waiting for us to discover. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume we’ll each have fulfilling roles and the pleasure of continual learning.

10. We'll experience final victory over sin.

Christ’s death on the cross broke the power of sin and death, freeing us to live as He desires. And yet, we live in a broken world and have developed negative thought and behavior patterns that keep us from yielding, fully and consistently to the Holy Spirit. In heaven, however, we will finally experience full freedom from sin and will have the ability to live, think, and love as God desires.

#takeyourlifebacktodayshow

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myprincecandy · 7 years

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[ENG] ZTAO in L’officiel Hommes China 2017 special edition

MANY POSSIBILITIES: HUANG ZITAO, BREAKING OUT & SHOWING THERE’S MORE THAN ONE SIDE TO HIM

When talking about people in the entertainment industry who are still able to maintain being true to themselves, we believe that the name Huang Zitao pops up immediately. Rather than just attributing it to him being a type AB, why not say that it’s because our “30-year-old! Tao” keeps being a “3-year-old! Tao” at heart. Having so many sides to him allows him to retain more of the potential & possibilities in his character amidst the ever-changing public sentiments

In the 5 years since he became an artist, Huang Zitao is often at the centre of various hot topics. But the public knows and understands very little about how he is really like. Be it the memes, the top searches or being a magnet for negative and hostile attention…..all those are merely a snapshot of his personality taken out of context. We might even say that his character’s been over-simplified. Either he’s the arrogant and blunt 3-year-old!Tao or the considerate and mature 30-year-old!Tao. Rarely is there a chance for him to completely show the side of him that’s paradoxical and not as adorable. The many sides to his personality only truly became more concrete to people, after the aid of the many variety shows and movies. The charm exuded from the variety show, shown as he transitioned from the unruly rookie to becoming the “soldier king” who’s so passionate about the army, provided a whole new perspective of him to viewers. So it turns out that the Huang Zitao of many memes and controversies, is actually very adorable, funny, real & slightly narcissistic. Yet when his teammates are facing hard times, he chooses to quietly support them from behind. This lets many people see the considerate, heart-warming and sensitive side of him.

ALWAYS EXPLORING NEW SIDES TO HIMSELF

Huang Zitao never seems to run out of things to say when chatting about his days in the army. Because that has left him with too many touching memories. “The last time I cried, it was when I was still in the army. Because I really couldn’t bear to leave my fellow comrades and squad leaders. I feel that if I am not a singer, I would definitely go join the army!” Huang Zitao, who constantly surprises the masses, has attracted more attention through his multifaceted personality.

And this generous display to the outside world, as shown in the variety shows, is still, in the end, a way to attract more people to his infinite potential in music and acting. Huang Zitao says that he won’t be taking part in any reality tv shows for the time being. It is, after all, a means to bring more attention to his works. His focus, from now on, will still be on music and dramatic works. In the music that he’s released this year, he’s used the style of EDM (electronic dance music) to create a new C-POP song “Time”. In terms of fashion, he has tried different possibilities. In the drama “The Brightest star in the Sky”, he’s not only playing the lead and investing in the project. He’s also serving, for the first time, as the drama’s music producer. As he takes on more roles and gets every more enriching exposures to different areas of work, Huang Zitao’s constantly exploring new sides to himself along with everyone. He doesn’t set limits for himself and he doesn’t want to be typecast. The “3-year-old! Tao” is a free spirit, pursuing his true happiness to the end. The “30-year-old! Tao” is determined and responsible, never letting the past trap or stop him, and never fearing the future. After all, the future’s always new and unexpected. There are too few interesting souls out there. So perhaps you should keep an eye and look forward to Huang Zitao.

BEING HONEST AND FRANK IS NOT A CHARACTER SETTING FOR ME

From being the “honest and frank” boy to the “untamed horse in the military”, if you are still sticking labels on to Huang Zitao, then perhaps you have missed too many interesting sides to him. His participation in the variety shows have gained him loads of attention and fans, but that’s just to help him get people to recognize his infinite potential in music and acting. He’s both “3-year-old! Tao” and “30-year-old! Tao” , maintaining a youthful heart while being very grounded.

When you enter the words “Huang Zitao” into a search engine, it will show you gazillions of search results, with related searches like “Huang Zitao memes”, “Huang Zitao hats” & “Huang zitao rap”. To people who don’t quite understand him, these few labels form what the public sees of Huang Zitao, a topic generator. After all the debate and controversies, nowadays, the image that Huang Zitao gives to people is more of the forthright, and spontaneous sort. Even though it looks a little like a total reborn/remaking of him to people who don’t know him, all along he’s only just been using his own ways to face the trials and challenges. Despite the fact that planning and pre-setting how his life would pan out would be a steadier choice, he has never intended to live that way. To use his own words, “There’s really no “setting” per se to my character. I’m just being myself. Oftentimes the AB side of me would show itself, and that’s the “3-year-old! Tao” and “30-year-old! Tao” . Sometimes even I don’t know which side would surface.”

The unpredictability of Huang Zitao, is actually a choice to reclaim and live life as true to oneself as possible. In this complicated entertainment industry, and operating outside of those “pre-set answers and moves”, he always sounds true and full of confidence. He attributes all that as part of his style. With him, there’s no “unspoken rules”. The only rule is to be happy. The AB side of him, is something that’s really within all of us. All the self-praise and recognition that we deem as vain, all the weaknesses and wilfulness that we seem to want to hide from others, or the tiny temper tantrums that are not accepted in the adult’s world… Those are things that he “3-year-old! Tao” expresses in its most primitive form. Naturally, that very real and open-mindedness about him, is all the more easily accepted and loved by this world which is governed by too many rules and restrictions. Some people may teach you how to negotiate your way through the world, but Huang Zitao only wishes to say to you, “don’t hold your true self back”.

The genius “3-year-old! Tao”

“Perfect side profile”, “great chest muscles”, “self-proclaimed genius”… Huang Zitao’s praise of himself never fails to ignite waves of searches on weibo. All the “golden quotes” he utters, always becomes the focal point of people’s discussions. This generous praise of himself and the way he lives so feely, has helped Huang Zitao find his own set of “rules of survival in the entertainment world”. That is how Zitao, who knows himself sufficiently well and is sure of the direction he wishes to pursue, has found a more direct way to show his true self and ambition. Not bothering to waste time on explanations but rather, focusing on doing things seriously and letting time prove everything.

After the first incident where he was late to a fashion event, most people felt that he would probably stay away from anything fashion related. A blogger even asked in an interview last year, “Why do you still dare to come, after the backlash that happened after your previous fashion week visit?” Huang Zitao calmly expressed that, “The only thing that incident made him do, was to want to make sure that he will not be late the next time. So, in the fashion events that followed, he would get to the venue 2 hours ahead of time. This has also become a standard for him. Be it filming on set or waiting, he will not attempt to explain too much about the incidents. The correct way to resolve that is by improving himself and showing it through his actions.

That’s how Huang Zitao treats his mistakes, and that’s also how he treats misunderstandings about him. “When other people misunderstand you, they might not listen to any explanations you may offer. But the fact remains and so you must wait, wait for time to prove that you are right.” So at the height of all those controversies, despite how shaken he felt deep inside, he still chose to remain silent. He went to the States to work on his music, choosing to immerse himself entirely in work. Not explaining nor shying away. Letting time wash away the mud, and show how he is truly like. That rare silence is an interesting contrast to how frank he is these days. “Don’t care about those gossip and rumours, but longs for recognition of his works”. That’s the source of everything. In Huang Zitao’s minds, it seems that there’s always a compass. He knows where he comes from and at the same time, he never forgets, what he needs to do to get to where he wants to be. There will always be obstacles in the way forward, which causes some to waver or become lost. “Your self-confidence is not built on how much recognition others can give you. Rather it’s more of whether you are in control of your self-confidence. What abilities do you possess that gives yourself that confidence? What is it in your that lets others believe in what you tell them? Well, the answer is in your actions.” Huang Zitao has said that in conclusion during several interviews. All his flamboyance, carefreeness and self-confidence are all built upon this.

He started working and earning money at the age of 15, debuting at 19, and starting out again to focus on his music and acting at 22. Up until today, this is what he has to say “I think it’s my belief and determination that has allowed me to arrive at where I am today. Don’t care about what others say about you, or what they feel that you can’t possibly do. You yourself have to believe that you can do it, and then proceed to achieve it, one step at a time.” As “30-year-old! Tao” said that, all the brashness of youth is gone from him. Each word is uttered like an oath engraved upon his heart.

“30-year-old! Tao” has this to say

“The things that don’t kill us, only makes us stronger.” That’s the promotional slogan of the the drama “The Negotiator”, of which Huang Zitao is the male lead. Huang Zitao, who is really only just starting out in the TV/movie industry, is almost an unstoppable force. From his first major role in the movie “Railroad Tigers”, to the drama “The Negotiators” where he teams up with Yang Mi, he’s releasing 3 movies and 2 dramas in less than a year. Working non-stop, Huang Zitao’s still filming “The brightest star in the sky” now. It seems that a lot of times, he prefers to move and not stop. Practising, absorbing and changing like a workaholic. Because “it’s more enriching to be constantly working”

Huang Zitao, who once said candidly that he doesn’t really watch movies, may be mistaken as one who’s “good at nothing”. As to the public who has doubts about his acting, he has responded with his “being a genius”. But behind all that joking around, is the actual experience he’s accumulated through the constant learning in the various projects he’s taken on. It’s the norm for actors to have to wait in between scenes. Some may choose to chit chat, read a book or even play games. Huang Zitao uses it to learn from the others. Through the director’s discussions with other actors, through observing, taking notes, and going through scenes with every actor, through taking on characters that are closer in various aspects to how he is. Through all that, he’s learning the rules of acting, and has begun to break those rules to mould it in into something that’s his own style. It’s like how he first started composing, making music. There’s always a memo on his musical inspirations in Huang Zitao’s phone. No matter when it is, so long as inspiration comes, he doesn’t want to miss this “luck”. Only when he notes it down or has the melody recorded will he feel at ease. It’s also like his determination in filming action movies. Combing the many years of his training with his acting ability, working hard to release his potential and show what he has learned in the captured scenes. This maybe what constitutes the “genius” in Huang Zitao, that so many co-workers and senior actors see in him.

To himself, he’s very strict. To his co-workers, he’ll try hard to build the rapport. He sets very high goals for himself, but during work, is very humble. His personality is such that he doesn’t want to disappoint the crew’s expectations in him and the efforts they’ve put in. During the filming of “Railroad Tigers”, not even being covered with chicken pox and sub-zero temperatures could keep him from taking part in filming. And it’s all so that he won’t be the cause of delays in the filming schedule. This made Jackie Chan give him high praises. In the beginning stages of filming “Edge of Innocence”, the entire crew had doubts about his acting ability and attitude. But with his insistence on not using doubles in fight scenes, and him continuing without complaint to finish his scenes despite having been accidentally injured by the stunt guys, he ultimately won the recognition of everyone.

In filming “The Negotiator”, Huang Zitao kept more of his time to be alone with the character he plays, “Xie Xiaofei”. This is so that he can examine the similarities and differences between his own growing up experiences with the character’s. The naivete that’s a result of an affluent background with no major setbacks in life, the ambition towards his career and life after growing up, are parts that he can pull readily from his own experiences. At the same time, he’s able to spend more effort in working on the parts which he doesn’t have. He finds his way of portraying the character through acting and discussions. Acting to him is, “all about focus. That and being diligent and getting into the character. The more you can get in character, the more perfectly it is being portrayed. As to my acting skills… well, in the past, all that stuff about being a genius... it’s all joking. I know I still have much room for improvement, and so I’ll learn more things, to change all that’s bad about me. It doesn’t matter if people remembers me or not. What matters is that they remember the character “Xie Xiaofei”.

Q&A

Q: What role do you play in “The Negotiator”? What are the similarities or differences between the role and you?

A: I’m playing “Xie Xiaofei”. He’s someone who changes and grows up a lot in the show. In the beginning, he’s the sort who might not really care about a lot of things. Because life has been smooth-sailing for him. He changed quite a bit after going through a lot, and becomes more mature in his life and career. But I’m quite different from him. I’ve gone to work when I was young and made my debut at a relatively young age. So, my mental state’s probably around 30-40 years old. I do find a lot of what Xie Xiaofei does in the earlier parts of the drama childish. But that confidence and ambition he has towards his career after he matures is still pretty much like me.

Q: What’s the most boring bit about filming that you find, when compare to making music? How do you handle those negative emotions?

A: When I’m writing songs I’m usually alone, so I feel that time passes very quickly. But filming is something done by a lot of people together, so there will be a lot of wait time. Because I’m the sort who will wait by the side if I don’t have any scenes, so that in the event when they do need me, I can go over immediately. As such, there’s quite a bit of time spent just waiting. But actually, it’s still fine, because that is something that you, as an actor, must done.

Q: Between the set and the recording studio, which is the one that makes your “nerves shake”?

A: Right now, actually it’s both. But if I must choose one, it would be the recording studio. But it would be shaking because of excitement

Q: What do you think about the issue of extensive use of green screens/CGI (note: more to save time actors have to spend on set etc.) in the filming of dramas? Are there any “unspoken rules” in the industry that you are not comfortable with?

A: Actually, I do not support the use of that technique. But a lot of times, due to the requirements from the crew, and for post-production, it would be utilised. So, it’s unavoidable in a way I guess. But I don’t know what are “unspoken rules”. In any case, there are none with me.

Q: Do your desires or wants change according to increases in your income?

A: No. All the material stuff around you don’t really matter. What you want to persist and maintain is your pursuit of your dreams and beliefs. That’s the true meaning of life.

Q: Occasionally we see you clocking your hours at the gym through your posts online. When did you started taking note of your health, and started to work out? What plans have you put in place and how do you guarantee that you follow them through?

A: I started working out before the concert tour began this year. Back then it was so that I would have better stamina for the concert. Later on, it was so that I would be in better shape for filming in the new drama. But now working out has become a habit. If I don’t go running and exercising every day, I would feel weird. And I’ve been eating more healthily now.

Q: Would you watch movies to help you improve your acting? Do you watch your own movies? How does it feel to watch yourself on the big screen?

A: I don’t really have much time to rest, so I have had no time to go and watch movies. I can only learn and improve myself in the process of filming. It’s still rather interesting to watch my own movies. Sometimes I can get back into character just by watching it for a short while. By recalling how that character was feeling then, it really makes you feel for him.

- Source of scans: lunchbox0502

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