#i cried about the national debt and how my friends don’t love me and how someone important was absent from school and how no one is serious | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dat-town · 3 years

Text

(we are all someone’s) monster

Characters:

Jihoon, Y/N’s brother

Chanyeol, Jihoon’s best friend

Sehun, Yixing, Suho are Jihoon’s and Chanyeol’s friends

Baekhyun, Xiumin, Chen, Kai, D.O are members of the gang named CBX

Genre: action, crime

Setting: set in somewhat in the future, gang au with scifi and dystopian elements

Warnings: minor character death off scene, grief, mentions of gambling, drug usage, murder, violence and all that usual gang stuff i guess

Summary: Neo Seoul is a place without laws and one reckless mistake can cost you more than you ever imagined.

Words: 8.1k

Notes: partly inspired by the Reign quote: “I miss the girl you were.” “Many will. She was easier to kill.” but mostly by the Lotto and Monster MVs (watch them in this order for better imaginary)

Happy birthday to one of my favourite hype women, this ray of sunshine who never fails to make me smile and even when you think, you’re too much, you’re just enough. Love you, @lily-blue <3

Night had always seemed to fall early on Neo Seoul.

Maybe that was why parents didn't warn their children about nightfall anymore: nobody dared to step outside of their house anyways if they didn't know how to protect themselves. After the curfew, only gang members and the reckless roamed on the streets, playing their never-ending cat and mouse games with the agents in charge.

You thought it was ridiculous, how the government cut off this part of the country and called it rotten and dirty, a lost case. You still remembered when they quarantined the entire city, not caring about the innocent people stuck inside, they merely wished to isolate the most dangerous criminals of the nation. The no way out situation should have made it easier to catch them and in theory it worked great. They just didn't calculate how fast the gangs would take charge and special task forces were required more and more often to stop the chaos. It seemed like some people would have rather burnt the whole city down than to go down alone. One misstep and anyone could die. There were no laws or justice in a place like this. Not anymore. Only power and survival mattered. You had learned that the hard way.

"I told you to stay away," a deep voice sounded from behind you and you gulped a bit nervously, licking your dry lips before turning around. A tall figure stepped out of the shadows but you didn't back away. You knew you didn't need to be afraid of Chanyeol.

"You can't tell me what to do," you retorted and the boy scoffed at you, rolling his eyes, slightly annoyed. There was nothing left from the playfulness emitting from his eyes like when he showed you how to start a car without the key.

"I know but your brother would hate me if I didn't try to keep you out of trouble," he reminded you and the mention of your brother left a bitter taste in your mouth. You remembered his lifeless body on the pavement, blood pouring from his chest, painting the concrete crimson while your screams and cries were muffled into Chanyeol's shirt as he held you, so you wouldn't break apart and fall to pieces in your grief.

"Well, he's dead, so you don't have to worry about that," you bit back a bit more harshly than intended but the loss of your brother was still a fresh wound despite the months that passed since the shooting.

"Doesn't mean I'm not worried about you," Chanyeol said with fire in his dark eyes but it only made you feel momentarily guilty. You turned back to the door without sparing a second glance at the redhead behind you and with quick, skilled fingers you picked the lock, opening the padlock before kicking the back door of the store open. You and your brother used to hang out here a lot with his friends but it had been locked down ever since it became a death scene.

You walked to the basement door, a part of you expecting the lanky boy to follow your inside but he was nowhere to be found when you looked back on. Hah, why was he there and what did he want, you wondered but instead of dwelling over useless things like that, you hurried down to get extra cartridges and some cash from your brother's hidden safe. A girl needed to know how to protect herself in a world like yours after all.

Everything was different before the lock down. You were just a normal girl with normal dreams but then suddenly you were thrown into this game of survival against your will. At first, it all felt surreal and you thought it would be over before you could get used to this but no, that didn't happen. You couldn't even stay out of it no matter how much you wished you had nothing to do with it. Your only mistake was to work a regular cashier job at that exact shop where a dealer was killed and you accidentally saw it. Your brother decided to learn to shoot to be able to protect you and it turned out some of his friends had already had his own connections to the underworld of Neo Seoul. Soon, the chatty movie session turned into shooting practices, fist fights and it all spiralled down. There was no way back to normal.

Not after you saw your brother getting shot for a debt worth only a few bags of rice.

You locked yourself up for weeks, not speaking with anyone, not opening the door to anyone, willing to give it up until the spark of survival instinct pushed you forward. You needed to live in order to avenge your brother. You needed to figure out who gave the order and who pulled the trigger and wanted them dead. An eye for an eye. It was a brutal world after all.

You shoved the ammo and money into your bag, put it on and was ready to leave already. A quick 5 minute job. Chanyeol was worried about nothing.

Stepping out onto the streets that were eerily quiet at first, you looked at the neon lights coming from the main road and decided to take a detour. By passing the garbage on the streets you went from alcove to alcove and waited by fire stairs when you heard noises around you. You learned to be careful, careful enough to get the rundown place you called home safe and sound, knowing fully well that something was off.

Your hands hovered over the light switch and looked around in the dimly lit room, moonlight and neon colours filtered through the blinds. You closed the door three times, not two, you always did, so that meant that someone had either been there or was still inside.

You pulled your gun - used to be your brother's - out from your belt and pointed straight at the source of the noise when the old wooden floor creaked. You pressed on the switch, then suddenly light filled the room and your finger trembled over the trigger.

"What a way to greet an old friend," the boy dared to smirk at you, so sure of himself that you wouldn't shoot him.

Old friend, he said, but it was ironic because he was never a friend. He was the black sheep of the group. He was the silent force. He was only a friend of a friend.

He came with Chanyeol, like a package, and the elder being your brother's best friend, you knew him too. Cross that, you knew of him but you never knew him, not really. He was that kind of mysterious kid who nobody really knew. He was the whiskey on the top of your tongue after a wild night though. He was the mischief in staying out after curfew. He was the lighter and you were the match.

"Where were you?" you asked him firmly, not lowering the gun.

"Around. Heard you didn't want company and disappeared. Yeol couldn't shut up about you," the midnight black haired boy's voice was half amusement, half annoyance but you could at least tell that it was a lie. He didn't find it funny.

"Then why are you here now?" you kept on the interrogation. He disappeared too right after your brother died, he was the only one out of your friends' group who didn't even show up at the funeral or whatever you were allowed to have under the circumstances.

"Because I have info you might be interested in," he tilted his head, almost a challenge and that was what he had always been. Oh Sehun was still a mystery to you, after all these years.

You sighed and lowered the gun, closing the door behind you after toeing off your shoes. Not that you thought Sehun would actually hurt, you just… you were wary of everybody these days. It was better this way: better safe than sorry, your brother would have been proud.

“So… what is it? What’s so important you sneaked in so late instead of knocking on my door like any decent person would have?” you huffed, grabbing two beers from your small, almost empty fridge and throwing one can at the boy towering in your living room before sinking deep into your cozy, worn out couch.

“You wouldn’t have opened the door to any decent person,” Sehun scoffed at you, knowing too well and bobbed his head towards you in appreciation for the cold beverage. He took his time sitting down and playing on your nerves. He wasn’t wrong though.

You gritted your teeth, taking a sip of your cheap beer, trying to be nonchalant. As if you didn’t notice the scar on his cheek or that his jacket was a bit worn. It looked like he had a rough few weeks behind him.

“I asked around to figure out who wanted Jihoon dead,” the boy spoke up eventually and you flinched at your brother’s name. You sucked in a breath, eyes finding Sehun’s above your drink. “Have you ever heard of the organization named CBX?”

“They have that casino downtown, don’t they?” you furrowed your brows, trying to remember why the abbreviation sounded so familiar. Sehun hummed.

“They do have a casino but they have lots of other underground business. Chicken and dog fights, drug dealing, stolen goods, anything you can illegally trade with,” he said and you shouldn’t have been surprised to hear about it. A casino being the cover business for such things was almost too predictable but now these gangs didn’t even want to hide. “They gamble with lives too and they provide loans for desperate ones. So my guess is that Jihoon got on their bad side.”

You have been trying to figure out what was behind the shooting that came from an unidentified grey van but you couldn’t go anywhere. You didn’t even know that Jihoon was in debt and that he owed to gang members, it was Chanyeol who told you but he said he didn’t know whom exactly he had connections with. You didn’t know how Sehun figured this out, or how much he knew but you didn’t want him to get involved because of you. You had enough of people sacrificing themselves for you. Your brother was enough, no wonder you cut ties with everybody after his death. A lonely life wasn’t the best but it was better than the guilt.

“Okay, how good that guess is?” you gulped down your bitterness.

“Pretty good but you can't bring them down alone, don’t even think about it," Sehun told you and his worried tone was laughable. As if it wasn’t him with whom you were almost caught by the agents for staying out after curfew.

"Watch me," you rolled your eyes at him, standing up from your place on the couch and turning your back to him. “I guess you know where the exit is,” you said with a strong hint in your voice, indicating that you wanted him gone soon. But Sehun wasn’t one to take commands well.

“Yah, don’t be stupid,” he grabbed on your wrist stopping you but you didn’t have any of it.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” you snapped at him, yanking your arm out of his grip. A sudden flare of anger flashed through you as you whipped your head around him. “I’m not fucking twenty years old anymore who was stupid enough to fall in love with you just because you spared a glance at me.”

Only silence followed your remark and you could see the surprise in the boy’s dark eyes. He didn’t expect that kind of answer. Maybe he didn’t expect you to bring up your mistake by yourself. It was your fault, being young and foolish, falling for the mysterious bad boy-type of guy just because he was considerate with you. But confessing on a drinking night, lips still sweet from the melon vodka you just had was just as silly as your feelings themselves. Of course, Sehun started avoiding you then. You weren’t going to make another mistake like that: naive and reckless.

“Just… be careful,” the boy said in the end, voice resigned as he backed away, opening the door for himself. There was something haunting in his eyes, something like regret but you refused to think about it as you slid down by the wall, hiding your face into your hands.

With the information you had gotten, you started investigating, collecting articles, wanted posters, anything connected to the CBX and it seemed like they indeed had their hands in many nasty things but nobody wanted to talk about them, probably they were too afraid to. So you didn’t really have much of a choice, you had to see the place for yourself and ask around.

It was actually easier than expected. They didn’t even check you at the casino’s entrance, they didn’t ask for your ID or bank account when you exchanged cash for tokens, they just let you in. No wonder there were all kinds of people there and all kinds of games too the deeper you went inside, following tips of players. It was some kind of sin dungeon with all sorts of illegal stuff some you wished to forget you even saw.

“Are you lost, little girl?” A guy with Chesire smile walked into your vision, his eyes mischievous and not promising any good. He came closer than you would have preferred but you didn’t want to draw attention by pulling out your gun so soon.

“No. Actually I’m looking for someone,” you said, confident and willing yourself to not to grimace at the alcohol smell coming from the guy. “I heard there’s someone lending out loans here.”

This was your best bet. If they could lead you to the guy handling debts here, you could see if he reacted to your brother’s name but first, you had to find him. The Chesire cat smile guy seemed giddy at the mention though, so you were hopeful.

“Oooh... Xiumin? His office is at the end of the corridor,” he pointed at a black painted door and when you pulled away, your steps leading you to said door, the guy yelled after you, laughing. “Have fun!”

His voice creeped you out and you basically felt his following gaze on your back until you reached the unmarked door and knocked three times.

The guy who opened it wore a loose dress shirt, cigarette hanging from his lips and he blew the smoke into your face.

“So… you’re here for money? How much?” he asked straightforwardly as soon as you stepped into his office, taking a seat on the sofa he showed you. There were several safes in the room probably filled with gold and cash but in reality, you didn’t care. You just wanted to meet the man who provided Jihoon.

“Five million,” you blurted out the first number you could think of but Xiumin looked at you suspiciously.

“That’s a lot,” he noted in a calm but warning manner. It wasn’t a no though, so you pressed further.

“I heard you’re the only one to provide enough for that.”

Now that seemed to interest the guy, he took another big inhale from his cigarette while not taking his eyes off you and mumbled: “Who told you that?”

“P.O,” you told him your brother’s nickname but the guy didn’t show any signs of knowing who he was. He didn’t question you about who he was though, so he probably had an idea of his own. You were almost sure it wasn’t enough to convince him to give you that much money, so you weren’t surprised when he asked for insurance.

“What’s the collateral? How will you make sure I get my money back?” The loan shark leaned back in his chair casually, fingertips rubbing against each other while you had to come up with a believable excuse for you to need that much money.

“I need this to get my store running again, if it happens, I will be able to pay even for the interest,” you claimed but it didn’t seem to be enough as the guy merely shook his head.

“Not many businesses survive in Neo Seoul these days. You need to give me a better reason.”

His arrogance annoyed you because you couldn’t figure out anything like this and you weren’t about to sell your soul for five million you didn’t need anyways.

“If you don’t want to give me a loan, just say so. Looks like I’m wasting my time here,” you hissed and stood up, ready to leave hastily.

“You are brave for coming here after what happened to your brother,” Xiumin’s retort was however enough to stop you mid-action. “Don’t you think it’s selfish of you to ask for more money when your dear friend paid back what your brother owed me just to protect you?”

“So you admit you killed him?”

“Me? That wouldn’t have been worth it for me. I needed him alive to get my money back,” the guy lifted his hands in a defensive manner, somewhat amused by your groundless accusation as if you were a child getting ahead of yourself. Your hands turned into fists from the anger bubbling up in you. Because if it wasn’t him then who was it? And why? And who was that friend that paid for the debt? You didn’t even think of it but the loan shark probably sent him men to collect the money after your brother died. Who stopped them before they could have gotten to you?

The last one was suddenly all too obvious: Chanyeol.

It wasn't hard to find him at all. He still lived in that camping car he had been driving around since he was 19 and you knew his favourite parking spots by heart. You repeatedly hit on its door, calling his name but all you had met with were echoes of the metal clashing. You gave up with a huff but when you turned around, there he was crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Are you looking for me?" he raised a brow and you immediately hit on his chest.

"How dare you go behind my back and pay back Jihoon's debt without telling me?"

Chanyeol let you use him as a punchbag until your anger subsided, knowing too well that it was about your trust and not the money. When your shoulders eventually fell, he put his hands over your fist, his warm skin soothing you.

"I'll tell you everything," he promised and pulled you inside his trailer, sitting you down on his bed. He made sure you paid attention before he started speaking, telling you how Jihoon had been acting weird before his death, a bit off. He didn’t want to speculate anything and upset you for nothing in case he was wrong, especially after his best friend died. So he took it upon himself to sell a few of his precious old records and pay off your brother’s loan that he had taken to keep your place even after rents had gone up. He hadn’t told you because he didn’t want to burden you, especially after you had shut everyone out.

“Okay, now tell me how you figured it out,” Chanyeol looked at you expectantly and in exchange for everything he had just told you, you knew he deserved at least that much, so you let him know about your visit in the casino. You saw him get tense at the mention of the gambling den and that you talked with the loan shark but he stayed silent even when you finished.

“I’m not a little girl needing protection anymore,” you reminded him because he kept treating you like you were a child just because you had been his best friend’s little sister. Chanyeol looked at you as if you hit him with those words.

“I know and I miss the girl you were,” he said firmly, voice raspy and stretchy as he looked over at you. Despite the word miss and what that could have implied, his tone missed fondness. You raised your chin slightly and scoffed at the ridiculous claim.

“Many will. She was easier to kill,” you agreed and got up from the worn material of the bed. What was there to miss? Your naivety? You quickly made your way out of Chanyeol’s car and only faltered when he called out your name, his tone resigned.

“They killed him because they think Jihoon had been reporting to government agents,” he called after you, voice dissolving in the windy air but it still punched every bit of oxygen out of your lungs. Breathing suddenly became harder and hiding behind brick fall, you put your trembling hands in front of your mouth.

So Jihoon did die because of you after all...

It all started about a year ago. You had been sneaking out regularly by then, sometimes to meet Sehun in dark alleys, riding on his bike behind him or just by yourself for the adrenaline or for fresh air, away from your brother’s protective eyes. Maybe if he was there with you, if you had called Sehun that day, this all wouldn’t have happened. But you were out of luck, cornered by four patrolling agents. Since it had been your first offence, they had been easy on you, offering you a deal: information for safety, so you were one of their eyes on the inside, letting them know about everything you heard or saw. It had been your little secret and now it killed a man.

You knew you had to act quickly because if the gang was willing to kill a man for your sins, your life was in an even bigger danger than you realized. You were only safe until they didn't know, so you had to be extra careful from now on. Or you had to make sure they couldn't touch you. So maybe your plan was made on the whim, maybe it was a leap of faith but you wanted these assholes to pay for what they had done… in one way or another. So you made a plan overnight. You admitted it wasn't your most secure and foolproof one but it was a plan nevertheless and if everything worked out, this CBX organisation would go down which was exactly what you wanted.

You activated your aurec - a specific type of audio recorder which also functioned as a tracker using GPS coordinates - and thread it onto your necklace, hiding it under your clothes, securing your gun under your leather jacket and stepped out to the streets of Neo Seoul, heading straight for the casino just before nightfall. You were about to act like you came back for that loan you had previously discussed with Xiumin as well but in reality you still had no intention of actually doing anything with their dirty money, you just needed proof or at least a good enough reason for the agents to cut this business off. It went almost too easily: asking around and having people tell you about the drugs they had brought here, the deals they made, the things they had seen. You were sure it added up to enough sin to put the leaders behind the bars for a long while.

But of course, it was suspicious - how easy it was. You knew you should have been more careful when asking around about your brother, whether anyone had heard of him. You should have left until you could when people started whispering behind your back but you were determined and high on adrenaline, so you only noticed the two guys watching you when it was already too late. You had nowhere to run then and then the whole world went dark.

It felt like waking from a very long and absurd dream. You had been running in a white dress and two wolves had been chasing you but neither the dress nor the animals were anywhere when you opened your eyes, so you were sure they drugged you with something. It was still hard to concentrate. You shook your head, looking around but when you tried to move you realised you were tied in place in a windowless, dark room, facing a man on a high chair.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," he singsonged tilting his head as his gaze roamed over your body. "Oh, don't look at me like that. It's like you want to kill me which is funny because it's you who came spying to my place. I should be the angry one."

"This place is a cesspit," you spat at which the guy let out a laughter.

"Hah, you have some nerve calling my place like that. I'm a businessman, you know, I just give people what they want. Not my fault that they make morally wrong decisions," he shrugged and even though there was some logic in what he said, it didn't give him the right to act like an almighty. Not to mention you couldn’t care less about the gambling, the drugs or whatever. But killing people was wrong on so many levels, so you gritted your teeth.

"Do you call murder a business decision as well?" you raised a brow and you knew you were too reckless for your own good, but at this point you didn't care about your well-being. You had been caught and you were alone, your gun on the desk in front of the gang leader. Though if he wanted to kill you, he could have done so easily. Why go through the trouble of capturing you and entertaining you with small talk like this? He must have wanted something from you.

"Oh, is it about your brother? Do you still think it was my fault?" the guy laughed again, condescendingly. Then shrugged. "I don't care about nobodies like him. Sure, he owed Xiumin but a lot of other people do."

You furrowed your brows. Why did he talk like he didn't know about the informer? Was Chanyeol's info wrong?

The guy stood up hence your blood rate increased, fear injected in your veins the closer he got. From this close you could see the dangling piece of earring he wore, the scar under his eyes and the smirk on his face. He took a hold of your chin, turning your face towards him as if pondering over something while you formed fists out of your hands, ready to do something stupid when the door opened bringing the sound of chaos from outside.

"Baekhyun, we are attacked," said the tall, tanned guy whom you had seen getting high the last time. At that, the gang leader in front of you turned his head towards him slowly, disinterested and eventually he let go of you. You felt relief rush through you as you thought the tracker idea indeed worked.

"By whom?" he asked, lazily scrolling through the room and got hold of your gun. Your brother's gun. It would be ironic to die by that. Ironic but maybe fair if Jihoon really died because of you.

"We're not sure. Just some guys. They have smoke bombs and destroy everything they see," the guy explained and suddenly your earlier relief was gone. So weren't the agents coming to get you? Then was it another gang? Hell, did you really get stuck between two?

"Then stop them for god's sake. What are the others doing?" Baekhyun rolled his eyes but the other stood at the door a bit anxiously.

"Chen is too drunk out of his mind and Xiumin is off to do some deals. D.O refused to stop the chicken fight."

"Those imbeciles. I can't believe I have to do everything on my own," the leader scoffed and was ready to leave but at the doorstep he looked back at you with a smirk in the corner of his mouth. "And Kai, make sure she doesn't get out. She might cause trouble for us."

Kai averted his gaze to you with an amused expression on his model-like face and then, closed the door behind himself, leaving you alone in the empty and dark room.

Only a few moments later you smelled something sticky and felt dizzier, absentmindedly realising the effect of the gas that put you in a daze. Like this within the black surroundings, time passed slowly, or at least that was how it felt since you couldn't tell it based on anything. You were also a bit worried about not being found after the random guys managed to bring down the whole building, so you knew you had to get out no matter what. Unfortunately, the ties around your wrists were too tight and you were too weak in that state of yours. Jihoon wouldn’t have been too proud.

You grew anxious at the approaching sounds of footsteps and fight as well, you could only tell that the chaos reached this deep in the multilevel building and you flinched when the door opened once again, light filling the room.

For a moment it blinded you, then narrowing your eyes you had seen two figures but you couldn't tell they were allies or enemies.

"We found her," yelled someone and oh... you knew that voice. The realization made you relax.

It was the one whispering to you on a cold night. It kept you awake, giving you chills. It haunted you when you wanted nothing but forget. It was like a beautiful dawn you could never not miss.

"Sehun?" you whispered, mouth dry and cough as this substance in the air was scratching your throat.

"We'll get you out of here," the boy told you and for a moment you felt safe in his arms. You let yourself enjoy his closeness and care but then you remembered that you wanted, that you needed to warn him, to tell him something but you blacked out again.

Somehow, in the back of your mind, it registered that someone cut through your ties, asked whether you could walk on your own and held your hand. You saw a flash of red, dark eyes and heard people fighting through each other. Your legs led you unconsciously as you ran through a corridor right after Chanyeol while Sehun stayed behind punching the guys trying to stop you. When you turned your eyes at a bright spot from outside, you saw Suho set fire to a pile of money and heard Chanyeol yelling to tell Yixing, he could stop hacking the CCTV even though it seemed like a fever dream.

Why would your friend do something so dangerous for you? Going against a gang by themselves! It was crazy. Especially after how you treated them after Jihoon’s death. But then you heard the sounds of guns and it made you afraid more than anything.

"Shit, the agents," Chanyeol cursed and you wanted to tell him to run, to leave you behind but your tongue was too heavy and you still felt so tired. It made you feel pathetic.

Finally, after what felt like an infinity, you reached the parking lot, and the boy told you to stay still until he jumped onto the hood of this one car there that had somebody inside. You only recognized who when your friend yanked Kai outside of it and knocked him out before helping you sit in the passenger's seat and drive away.

"The others..." You protested weakly but Chanyeol hushed you.

"Don't worry. They will join us soon," he tried to reassure you but it wasn't all too convincing when another swear word fell from his lips and steered the wheel sharply to the right. Apparently you didn't get far this way either and he had to hit the brakes anyways. You forced your eyes open, seeing a row of SWAT cars in front of you, weaponized agents pointing their guns at the car.

You attempted to scream after Chanyeol, to stop him but he got out of the car all too soon, yelling at the government soldiers as if he could have scared them away. It was hopeless, you knew, and tears started prickling your eyes when you saw those men force the guy against the hood of the car, handcuffing him behind his back.

One of the agents helped you get out of the car, gently walking you away as if Chanyeol was a criminal while you were an innocent girl, the irony tasted bitter in your mouth but you were smarter than to try and convince the agents on spot to let him go. You needed to speak with their commander, the one you were reporting for. But you couldn't put your friends' lives into his hands, you needed a plan B.

You acted as if your legs were wobbly, stumbling a bit and the agent kindly helped you find your balance again but this way you got close enough to Chanyeol, to drop your aurec into his hands, hoping that he would get the memo and keep it safe and hidden.

You were taken into a hospital on the border of Neo Seoul where the agents were stationed and after the doctors advised you some rest, you were discharged the next morning. Your first visit led you to Commander Lim, demanding an explanation.

"Thank you for all your help. Without you, we couldn't take them down so easily," he bobbed his head in appreciation towards you, offering you a cigarette too since he was about to light one for himself.

"But there were innocents there too," you tried to reason without sounding desperate. You needed to know whether they got everybody there or at least what happened to your friends.

"Innocents? Do you think anyone who goes to such places can be innocent? Don't worry our jurisdiction system will make a difference between those who gave themselves up and not resented, those who had weapons with them or if they had previously committed crimes," the man said taking a long inhale from the smoke then nodded towards a box on his desk. "Your reward. For your help. Although next time try not to do something risky like this without heads up. I almost couldn't form a unit in time."

You pressed your lips together, looking at the money in disdain even though you knew you needed it if you needed to get your friends out.

"You got everyone?" you questioned, holding your breath back which was followed by a hum from the agent.

"Byun Baekhyun got away but we captured all the other known criminals," he told you and you swore under your breath which didn't go unnoticed by the man. He squinted at you. "Do not fret about him. We will find him soon, too."

You nodded, as if that was your biggest concern and when he asked about your aurec, you told him you lost it while you were inside the casino, before all hell had broken loose. Then you were excused and you knew that you needed to take matters into your own hands.

However, Byun Baekhyun's vengeance came earlier than expected and he found you faster that you could have searched for him at all. The moment you got back to your rundown apartment with shitty security apparently, he was already there, sitting by your living room table as if he was over for a casual chit-chat. Except that the smirk in the corner of his mouth didn't seem kind nor his actions were too promising. A lighter twitched in his pale fingers, its flame's reflection flickered in his dark orbs. Click- click. Burn or not to burn.

"So it was you," he spoke out, voice amused and he even had it in him to let out a bitter laugh. "Wouldn't have thought so no matter your fierceness," he scoffed but despite his easy-going attitude you were careful. Sometimes people like him were the most unpredictable, hence the most dangerous ones. After all, somehow he ended up being the most sly person in his gang, even getting away when the agents captured everybody else.

"What do you want?" you kept a close eye on him, waiting for him to snap and attack you but Baekhyun was like a lazy predator, slowly driving you crazy in the tingling familiar feeling of fear. You told yourself you weren't afraid of death, not if you avenged your brother, but if you died now, there would be nobody to free Chanyeol, Sehun and the others.

"Isn't it obvious? I want back what was mine. But most of all, my money and my men. A few at least," he grimaced before something dangerous flashed in his eyes as he looked over you. "Why us? There are so many other gangs in Neo Seoul, what do you have against us? It's not like you're perfect morally, so I bet we were targeted on purpose."

The fact that he had to ask you made your blood boil. Sure, he must have had too much blood on his hands to keep track of the lost souls but it only angered you more. You wished he was rather tortured and haunted by those he murdered.

"Are you kidding me? You killed my brother!" you snapped at him but you only received an eyeroll to that. How dared he?

"I have already told you that it wasn't us. Where did you get that shit info?" the gang leader spat and seeing your disbelief written clearly on your face, he sighed. "Stupid. There are so many people out there wanting to see me out of the picture, of course they would tell you that. Next time do you research better, little girl."

For the first time, you considered that he was telling the truth. Why would he have denied something like that? He seriously didn't seem to get why he was targeted and if he knew about your brother, he would have probably guessed if it was really him. Right? It wasn't like he was afraid of you, he had no reason for it. Out of the two of you, it was him with a lighter in his hands in the middle of your apartment. But he was alone, just like you. Maybe he needed you just as much as you needed someone who was familiar in the underworld.

"If I help you get out your men, will you help me find out who killed Jihoon?" you proposed with a raise of brow. Though, you hated even the idea of working together with a gangster like him but you realized that this was your best chance. You might have had money and wits but you didn't have connections and enough resources to do anything.

"Is it that important for you that you would trust me on it?" The man tilted his head, watching you closely, probably thinking there was some kind of trick up in your sleeves. But it was about your brother and your friends, so you nodded firmly.

"I would even make a deal with the devil."

"Well, I'm close enough," Baekhyun smirked and hummed. "But only if you actually turn out to be useful and not just be in the way. What can you offer at all?"

It was obvious he doubted you just as much as you doubted him. At least you were on equal grounds based on your trustworthiness. But first, you wanted him to say it, even if his word meant nothing in the end.

"Do you promise to help me?"

"What? Do you need a blood oath or something," the man scoffed, rolling his eyes at you but seeing your determination, he gave up the childish fight first. "Yes, I promise. Now satisfied?"

You nodded and pulled up a city map hologram over your coffee table, pointing at the agent base on the eastern side of the city.

"They keep them locked down for now. There's no way we can get in and out without getting caught but I can find out when they will be moved out of the city. I also know a way to find them but we need someone who can hack aurecs," you explained and Baekhyun seemed seemingly impressed by the technology you had in your shabby apartment. He probably wouldn't have guessed that either.

"That's no problem, I have friends who can deal with that."

"And we get out my friends as well. Then they can tell you who it was who gave the false info to end your gang on purpose. How does that sound?" You looked the man in the eye, hoping he intended to keep his side of the promise as well.

"Satisfying, I have to admit," the gang leader hummed, putting out the flame in the lighter. and got up, pulling his hoodie over his head. "Get the info then and use this burner phone to text me when you have it," he threw his phone at you after resetting it, saving only one number in its contacts.

Then he was gone without traces left behind, like smoke.

Luckily you didn't have to try too hard to get the info. Commander Lim himself told you that soon those who were responsible for your brother's death would end up in the nation's most secure jail. The relief on your face was probably interpreted as happiness over this fact while your hands were itching to text Baekhyun who called you over to some PC room. It turned out, his hacker friend who hastily introduced himself as Taemin while typing furiously on the keyboard was frequent there. You were in awe how easily he hacked the small device to switch on and start signalling its location, giving you an exact position of your friends. You had seen the eight suspects they planned to move together and there were all your friends alongside the criminals called Xiumin, Chen, Kai and D.O.

You anxiously waited for the point on the map to move but it seemed to be as still as a rock until Baekhyun was convinced they had already gotten rid of the aurec and encouraged Taemin to try to hack into the government's system. However, the moment the curfew time arrived, the flashing red dot changed its location and kept moving forward.

"Finally," the man grunted, standing up and he threw something into your lap. Only looking down you recognized your brother's gun. "Let's go," he nodded at you and you didn't hesitate to follow him to the parking lot. You were both already dressed up as government agents, their black uniform consisting of bulletproof vests and helmet since you planned to hijack the moving van before it could have reached the border.

The streets were mostly empty and dark, only the neon lights lighting up the way and your heart was beating so loud and so fast, you didn't quite believe you were doing this: you willingly helped a criminal save his comrades just so you could also save your friends. But you knew that the law was never kind to people in Neo Seoul.

It took you thirty minutes of drive to get ahead of the van approaching the northern gate and seeing the red dot coming closer in rapid speed, Baekhyun gave out the command: "Taemin, now."

"And 3... 2... 1... You are on their frequency, " the guy told them and the gang leader lifting the walkie talkie to his mouth. "Here's NS3351-GK speaking. There's a change of plan. Information has been leaked. Your car model and licence plate number are on the public network. It's an emergency. Do you understand, comrade?"

For a moment there was silence and you weren't sure they bought it even though even the code number you gave to Baekhyun was right. Then the system let out a creaky sound.

"Here's NS5672-LE speaking. We understood, sir. What's the change of plan?" the agent asked and you sighed in relief. Good, things were going according to the plan.

"There's a black van waiting for you at the 34th exit. Licence plate number: 3-7-5 수 5-2-2-0. Transfer the captives and continue your path," Baekhyun gave out the orders and there was a smirk in the corner in his mouth when you indeed saw the car take the right turn on the map. Both of you put on the helmets and saluted to the agents who arrived. Seeing your friends with scars across their faces you didn't even want to think of them getting beaten up for claiming they weren't gang members and instead focused on your role. You stayed in your seat, hand on your gun, watching the agents while Baekhyun got out to help one of the agents to get the handcuffed men into your men. Obviously they weren't too happy about being dragged back and forth but they had no choice.

Once everybody was in your car, you saluted the agents and separately, you headed towards the closest exit out of the city. Taemin also hacked the gate guards’ system, letting them know of the arriving van and their passengers, sending them the modified written order through hologram, hence you weren't surprised by the green light you got as you approached the gates. More salutes and then before you could even believe it, you had already left Neo Seoul behind.

It was too good to be true. You dreamed of leaving the city even since all this shit started but you wouldn't have thought it would be this easy. Sure, it wouldn't have happened without becoming a criminal yourself but at least you were free. Relatively.

Once you were far enough for the quarantined town, Baekhyun pulled the van aside and both of you got out, rounding the van, opening the back door. Eight pairs of eyes looked at you and watched with their breath held back as the two of you pulled your helmets off. It was Chanyeol who spoke up first, calling your name, calling you crazy and it was so familiar, his scolding that made you let out a chuckle.

"I told you I didn't need your help," you shrugged your shoulder, trying to play it cool while you stumbled to find the right keys for each handcuff. You knew that probably your friends felt just as conflicted now as you were when they had come for your rescue in the casino.

“How could you expect us not to help?” Yixing scoffed and you gave him a pointed look.

“Then how do you expect me to not help you?” you asked and reciprocated Suho’s hug once his hands were free.

It was a mess really, you didn’t even pay attention to Baekhyun and his gang already getting away by the time you got to Sehun at the end of the row. You didn’t look at him, instead you focused on his hands, the scars the handcuff left on his wrists and you tried to be gentle as you put the key in the lock but before you could have opened the metal cage around his hands, he shifted them to put his palms over your hands. It confused you, so you looked up on instinct, ready to ask him what he was doing but the look in the boy’s eyes made you go speechless.

His always dark eyes now had even more depth. It felt like looking into a tunnel with no end, up to the night sky with million stars, into his soul with all its secrets and shouldn’t haves. You suddenly remembered his porch, his kiss burning on your lips, calling it a mistake. You remember how much it hurt and yet you couldn’t forget him nor stop this yearning. Maybe it was exactly what went on inside Sehun’s head as well since you both almost lost each other in the matter of days and now even though everything was still so uncertain, at least he was there in flesh, real and tangible.

So when he leaned forward, you called your eyes on instinct and hummed into his bruising kiss not caring about the ones the handcuff stuck between the two of you left. You reached a hand to Sehun’s wounded cheek and caressed it while pulling him closer, needing him like you needed air and your friends’ snickering faded into the background as your heart finally found its pair in this crazy monster like world.

#exo scenarios #exo imagines #exo x reader #exo x y/n #sehun x reader #stories

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krokonoko · 4 years

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the heart wants what it wants. and as much as I love my angst, sometimes I need me some freaky shit like,,, Lacho AUs in which the cartel is not a factor and Lalo and Nacho are just. REGULAR ASS BOYFRIENDS.

LOTS of assorted headcanons under the cut!

shield thine eyes, there’s some heavy ass fluff incoming.

Lalo has his own little restaurant. No one knows how it stays afloat with the erratic way Lalo’s leading it, but it seems his family’s somehow just absolutely loaded, so he can afford it. Honestly sometimes it feels like he just uses it to fuck around with new recipes. Like there’s no real rhyme or reason to what he’s doing, but everyone loves his food, he’s really good with the patrons and if he parties the whole night through then it doesn’t matter cuz the next morning the kitchen still looks spick and span and Lalo’s awake and chipper, ready for the next day! How does he do it? No one knows, especially not his staff. But when someone asks, he just laughs it off and changes the subject and oh my god he’s so charming how could anyone resist him? -

Lalo’s still on the antisocial spectrum and manic af in this AU, so his approach to relationships and emotions is a bit different than your neurotypical one. He seems to have a penchant for breaking rules, can be manipulative at times, and certain things don’t affect him the way you’d expect. But most of the time you wouldn’t even know, cuz generally he’s a really affable guy who’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s genuinely trying not to step on anyone’s toes. That being said, you don’t like him then yeah, he don’t give two shits. -

Nacho used to be part of some gang, but got out in time. He now studies business or something like that. He’s super ambitious and keeps badgering his papá about investing into technical improvements that would make his shop more effective and streamlined. Manuel gets heart burn every time Nacho runs the numbers by him. He’s been running the shop for longer than Nacho is alive, he’s not gonna contract new debts after it took him so long to pay everything off...! And Nacho insists that’s how business WORKS, it’s all about investment and growth. Manuel says with a smile that when the shop is Nacho’s, he can stuff it with all the novelty apparatuses that he wants, but he’ll have to wait until Manuel is no more, and Nacho is like papá don’t be so overdramatic...!! And Manuel laughs and pats Nacho’s back because actually he’s really proud of his son and the fact that he’s so concerned with the shop and they’re HAPPY GODDAMMIT -

For some reason this AU doubles as a modern AU as well. Which means smartphones exist. Nacho spends. SO much time on Instagram. Photos of his car. Photos of Nacho leaning against his car. Gym selfies. All over the damn place. And Lalo doesn’t understand insta cuz he’s a tech averse king, but he still secretly checks out Nacho’s blog all the time cuz yummy! Sometimes he comments on Nacho’s posts with a bunch of. really weird emojis, half of which don’t mean what Lalo thinks they mean, and Nacho thinks it’s cringe af. -

They’ve been having this thing going on for about a year and they’re both suuuper casual about it, like, SO casual, especially Nacho, wow he is so incredibly low key about this, like he is not too all over this or anything, just the right amount of relaxed, laid back, so cool, yeah. -

Just that Lalo is actually incredibly flirty all the time and courts the hell out of Nacho, he’s almost a bit gentleman-like about it, almost a bit old-school, and Nacho thinks that’s kinda dope and the way Lalo treats him like he’s the sexiest thing on earth sometimes comes across as a little condescending but there’s something about it, too, that makes Nacho sometimes lie awake at night thinking about it, brushing his thumb over his lower lip and thinking about the way Lalo pulls him in for kisses. -

When Lalo picks Nacho up from the gym, Nacho smiles when he sees him. When Lalo cracks a crude joke about making people swallow condoms, Nacho chuckles. When Lalo makes him food, Nacho enjoys it. When they walk along the sidewalk in the evening, Nacho casually bumps into Lalo and Lalo puts an arm around Nacho. When Lalo is close, Nacho feels comfortable, and warm, and drawn to him. -

Nacho has had a couple of girl- and boyfriends, but he’s only ever introduced Manuel to his girlfriends. Manuel’s known that Nacho’s into boys ever since he came home early to teenage Nacho and Domingo sitting on the living room couch 6 ft apart with their shirts rumpled and their faces red as beet. But Nacho didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so Manuel respected that. He’s a bit concerned cuz he’s afraid Nacho feels like he can’t talk to him, but he wouldn’t wanna push him. -

So all of Lalo’s attempts to meet papá Varga have been met by Nacho with stone-walling and general avoidance. -

But Lalo’s a very family oriented person so he just decides to make it a surprise dinner! At first Manuel is a bit wary cuz alright, what’s going on, who is this guy? But then Lalo turns up the charm and he’s just one of these guys who are absolutely stellar at wooing older ppl. So he keeps charming circles around Manuel with food and jokes, and Manuel kinda starting to like this guy, and when Manuel wants to get himself some more beer- nonono you stay put Sr. Varga, I’m gonna take care of this for you - and then they get to the part of the evening where Manuel tells childhood stories about Nacho like how he cried when he lost his first tooth and Lalo is just ab-so-lute-ly ENTHRALLED by it all and before you know it he and Manuel are BFF. -

all the while Nacho just. SEETHES in his corner. -

Manuel leaves and Lalo and Nacho start cleaning up the kitchen, and they’re very quiet until Nacho just goes “are you going to tell me what the hell all that was about?” and Lalo’s like “???” and Nacho’s just. “That little sing-and-dance you just did there? Like. What’s your end-game here. If this was some kind of attempt to get to me through my, dad, to, idk, somehow get emotional leverage over me, istg...!” And Lalo’s gets honestly serious and looks and Nacho all earnest-like... “man... is it really that hard to believe that it’s important to me that your dad likes me...?” and then he goes “you know what, Ignacio, you seem upset. Why don’t you just go home and leave the kitchen to me, yeah?” and so Nacho does, and he’s really angry at Lalo, and he doesn’t really get what just happened there. -

a couple days later his dad calls him and Nacho is kinda concerned but Manuel doesn’t pick up on it, he’s just like “Mijo, I just. Wanted to say how important that was to me, to meet your boyfriend, he’s a really nice y-...nice man.” (Nacho notices the gap where the “young” should have been lmao) and actually Manuel is trying to be like “Mijo, I am supportive of you please notice that I am trying to tell you that I think this is super okay!” but Nacho is so busy being confused cuz he’s never referred to Lalo as his boyfriend in his head even though they’ve been at this for over a year. So Nacho’s kinda monosyllabic and like “so. he didn’t upset you or anything?” and Manuel’s like “noo, he was really friendly. You didn’t give him a hard time, did you, Ignacio...??” Manuel gets all stern and fatherly...!! “Let me tell you one thing. Not a single one of your girlfriends has ever been this polite or interested in me. This man, he’s being serious about you. Maybe it’s time to stop being cautious.” -

and that’s when it starts to dawn on Nacho that that’s. Honestly all there is to it. Lalo wasn’t trying to manipulate him or whatever. He honestly just noticed that Manuel is an important part of Nacho’s life, and wanted to connect with that. And that is- actually. really sweet of him, what the fuck?!? -

Nacho lays awake again that night and notices that there’s something going on in his chest, like something big and warm blooming there and oh my fucking god you can’t be SERIOUS this is RIDICULOUS he’s way too old for this shit, AND way too worldly-wise and all that! -

So Nacho drives by Lalo’s place the other day and asks him whether he wants to go for a drink and so they go to a bar and sit there in silence for a moment until Nacho goes “my dad asked about you” and Lalo chuckles and is like “yeah? at least someone who misses me!” and Nacho rolls his eyes but he’s kinda got it coming now. Anyway, so, Nacho starts explaining that his dad is the most important person in his life, and he is soft and sweet and precious and a national treasure that must be protected at all costs and if someone was to hurt him and all that jazz. And Lalo’s like, yeah, no, I get it. Family is everything. And your dad is a really cool guy. The problem is that for Nacho, it’s just been him and Manuel against the world for so long, he’s gotten kinda prickly about letting anyone else get close to his dad. But maybe this is good, and maybe, oh god he doesn’t really wanna think about it in that much detail, but like, Lalo gets it, and they leave the bar together and Lalo immediately gets out his phone and calls Manuel like “Sr. Varga, I’ve been wondering how you’ve been doing! What, Nachito? He’s doing fine. No, nooo, he’s not been mean at all. Couldn’t if he tried. Well, I hope you have a great evening. Yeah, talk to you soon!” and Lalo’s just absolutely obnoxious about this, winking at Nacho and everything and Nacho sighs and accepts his punishment. (Later Lalo’s gonna be like “of course you were right, I did have ulterior motives. I was just trying to butter you up for the dinner I have planned with my uncle Hector!” and Lalo keeps talking about how much he loves his tio and how he’s basically a father figure to him and such a great guy. But then they meet him and Lalo only introduces Nacho as “a friend”, and Hector is this grumpy old guy who hates absolutely everyone and everything, can’t go two sentences without being racist, sexist or homophobic. And Nacho’s like aaalright, guess I gotta deal with THIS now. But they don’t meet him that often so it’s alright.) -

OH but Manuel is still a BIT conservative about SOME things?? Like, he’s fine with Nacho having a boyfriend, but does he have to be so. you know. old...? Like. He’s not your sugar daddy, right Ignacio...? You’re not expecting him to keep you, right Ignacio...??? And Nacho is kinda pissy because UHM?? the implications?? He would never?? He’s nobody’s trophy boyfriend. He does like getting paraded around like one every now and then but he’s not. He buys his own damn stuff. But yeah sorry Nacho, that’s just how parents are sometimes lmao -

ANYWAY the point is, they. They care. Nacho cares Lalo. And seeks out his company on his own accord without any outside influences forcing him to. And Lalo cares Nacho. And they kinda start to accept that this is. a thing. And Nacho learns to accept that he can let himself feel save and comfortable around Lalo. And they’re just regular ass boyfriends. Who go on vacation together. Who have just fantastic sex without any coercion or backstabbing involved. Who fall asleep on the couch watching movies together. Who celebrate each other’s birthdays. All that freaky shit!!! 😭😭😭

#Lacho #Lalo Salamanca #Nacho Varga #Better Call Saul #BrBa BCS #regular ass boyfriends AU #fluffy Lacho hours!!

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whylie · 3 years

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BYE GUYS 🏃‍♂️💨 HI LADIES 👋😫 MWWWAHH 💋💋

hello <3 i’m cc, twenty1 from cst + my pronouns are she / her! i’m super super excited for this i actually have no thoughts ever and i can’t spell ever, either, but i’m enthusiastic about nari and about varieta and i am excited 2 be here. alright. love u guys.

MUSE H - ( kim yerim, cis woman, she/her ) nari chae has lived in naples, italy for eleven months. they’re currently twenty two years old and a housekeeper for vista laterale bnb. people tend to associate them with the ache of heartbreak without really knowing what it is, floating face down in the deep end of the pool to see who’d care, yellow fingernails on particularly sticky fingers + a perfect image to present to the world because you don’t even know who you are anymore.

﹟ ⠀ influences﹕

carl gallagher, shameless.

karen smith, mean girls.

margot, legally blonde.

haley marshall, modern family.

﹟ ⠀ basic stats﹕

birth name: chae nari

nickname(s) / alias(es): nana + ri / lee

preferred name: nari

age + dob: twenty two + aug, third

hometown: undetermined, once said manhattan once said chicago?

occupation: housekeeper + pickpocket + full time dumb bitch

ethnicity: korean

nationality: american

gender: cis woman

pronouns: she + her

orientation: demi sexual + demi romantic

faceclaim: kim yerim

﹟ ⠀ intraperson﹕

( + ) positives: charismatic, perceptive, intrepid,

( - ) negatives: thoughtless, impetuous, equivocal,

labels: the icarian, the bubble brain,

natal chart: leo sun, libra moon, libra rising

moral alignment: chaotic neutral

hogwarts house: ravenclaw ( i know... )

languages spoken: english + korean + italian + conversational french but in a bad way

exterior: just... clueless in the way that you can tell that she’s experiencing thoughts but refuses to acknowledge them. always sort of thinking of the most reckless thing to do and/or the most mundane, first grade-esque question in the world. can come off as both superficial and egoistic, because she is – just doesn’t care enough about people other than herself. allows herself to be a bimbo because old men love it and she’s excited to marry rich ( but also will never give a man the time of day ).

interior: theoretically, brainy, but in practice? technically yes because there’s a plan for everything, but these days kind of just stares off into space like she’s a widow ( because as far as she’s concerned, she is ). kind of conniving because there’s a reason she does everything, but nobody at the bnb is worth conning so she just barely does her job and watches bad things happen at the bnb without helping out <3

﹟ ⠀ dossier﹕ trigger warnings

the circumstances that nari is born into is :/ unfortunate. she is the youngest of five kids and kind of just hangs around while her family remains dirt poor and her parents try ( in theory ) to give their children good lives. but, while nari’s siblings are working hard and getting themselves on the right path, she’s busy sitting in the kiddie pool at the local park with pink sunglasses on, dreaming of a lazy life because – she’s lazy. her eldest sister dreams of becoming a politician, her brothers want to become businessmen and nari wants to be a trophy wife ... so.

anyway, her parents sort of turn a blind eye the first time she brings a wallet home and says “oopsies!”, meaning they don’t outright discipline her for being a thief. too bad, so sad – she gets caught once when she’s younger and that’s when she learns that her crying can get her out of anything. not only is she a notoriously beautiful crier, she can also be super loud and obnoxious about it and a screaming nari just :/ isn’t the way to go, so she learns all the skills she needs to learn when she’s growing up.

but, she gets caught again when she’s fourteen and her parents suddenly grow a conscience and send her to live with her scatter-brained aunt. aunt sissy isn’t even related to either of her parents, but she’s a family friend of a family friend and somehow nari ends up in a stupid rv with a great dane and a woman older than both of her parents. her outlook on life doesn’t really change, since from ages fourteen to sixteen, she watches aunt sissy finesse her way into fancy dinners and onto yachts.

anyway, when nari runs away at sixteen, she spends an entire year with a rich family in the hamptons because she pretends to be a stranded heiress from south korea :/ don’t know how it worked honestly, but it did and she’s better for it. she leaves at seventeen to live in nyc, somehow wrangles her way into a terrible apartment when she’s eighteen after spending a year sofa surfing. started a job as a housekeeper in a high end hotel and stayed there for ... a bit.

definitely was a little bit of a rat in nyc, pickpocketing and stealing for fun and for necessity. when she turned twenty one, was promoted to a concierge which she only really worked for a couple of months ( literally one month tbh ) before she surprised her s/o with a trip to italy because <3 romance <3 and then got to italy and was like “we should break up” so.

now she’s here, cried her way into the bnb and into a job, sorry to nico n nolan because she’s a nightmare. she’s still flat broke but pretends like she isn’t out of spite to muse i and refuses to leave because nari’s never lost a break up and she’s just too sexy to lose now ( her words, not mine )

﹟ ⠀ headcanons﹕

so, here’s the thing: nari has always been poor. her parents aren’t bad people, they’re just unfortunate and all nari could do as a child was learn how to pickpocket ( among other things ). unfortunately for the entire world, nari is really, really good at it. she’s good at pickpocketing and stealing and lying and crying on cue; she’s just all too good at playing the damsel in distress to lie and cheat her way through life – and since no charge has ever really, well, stuck, she hasn’t stopped.

genuinely, actually really smart but has never actually used her brain cell for anything other than crime – because, why bother? bottom of the barrel, she really never thought that she had a chance at getting into a good school anyway without burying herself in debt, so has spent her life just trying to build an underground syndicate while being way too self centered to ever have anything kick off; she’s literally so, so, stupid despite having a photographic memory and a surprisingly high iq. would rather be a dumb hot girl than a smart hot girl for some reason?

doesn’t really have anything to go back to outside of italy, honestly. had an okay-ish life in new york city, but the bills would barely be paid and there’s only so much that pickpocketing + stealing can do for a girl. she did used to have a job as a concierge at a high class hotel, but rich people treat poor people terribly and there were rumors that she had been stealing from guests; which, how scandalous, she would absolutely never! “i can’t even get the keys to work on the first try?”

﹟ ⠀ wanted connections﹕

everything plus angst and fluff and crack and spiderman memes <3

﹟ ⠀ conclusion﹕

i will be reaching out to plot soon just give me a second to find my brain.

#varietaintro #i'm brainless #this is long so i think it should be skipped

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yvghv · 3 years

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They were well stocked with food and drink

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moonchildushine · 4 years

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Mind Over Flames

AO3

Thank you so much everyone for the support! Your likes and reblogs really keep me going but just the fact that you take the time to read what I write makes my day. I highly encourage everyone to leave feedback! Either way, thank you again. Happy reading c: I will be uploading the next chapter right away!

Fuse

Zuko / Fire Nation There was nothing Zuko could put attention to besides the hospital for the water tribe. Two months after their reunion in Ba Sing Se passed flying with all the preparations. Zuko was always surrounded by engineers and architects preparing everything closely. He also spent a lot of time with Bato. Katara sent him a month after with instructions and ideas. He was supposed to go back after a week, but Zuko asked him to stay and give his thoughts on the design. He wanted it to be appropriate for the water tribe.

In one week he was going with two cruisers to the South Pole. He knew Katara didn´t ask him to go personally, but he wanted to. After three years of being the Firelord Zuko did not have even one day for personal projects or even a vacation. Except for that one time Mai kidnaped him to get some alone time. The guards freaked out for a few hours.

He was in his study, as always, getting everything ready for the trip. Also checking some documents about war prisoners. The door then opened unceremoniously.

“Do I have to kidnap you again? I haven’t seen you in two days”. Mai stormed in. She had her characteristically annoyed face. “Not really,” Zuko smiled “hi Mai. I´m sorry, the hospital preparations have me busy”.

She came around the robust desk, leaned down, and cupped his cheek to kiss him on the lips. They remained there for a few seconds, enjoying the closeness.

“Why is it so important to you?” she asked and settled on the desk. “I owe them, after storming in chasing Aang, and all people my father and grandfather took from them”.

She remained silent. At first, she used to get angry or annoyed at all the people Zuko said he owed. But Mai eventually learned that it made him feel better, so there was no point fighting it.

“Alright just know I´m very annoyed that I cannot go. And that you need to repay me”. She got up and left. “As always”. ー He almost forgot how cold the wind was in the South Pole. The last time he sailed those waters he was a different man, with a very different purpose.

“Firelord Zuko we will be arriving in an hour to the Southern Water Tribe” informed him one of the guards. “Very well, make sure the filters for the towers are working well”. “Yes Firelord”. And the guard left. ー Katara / South Pole

“Katara! Fire Nation ships are coming!” yelled a little girl coming into her home.

Katara took the kid´s hand and they both went to the port. Two big Fire Nation cruisers were close to the shore. A small curious crowd gathered to receive the newcomers.

The ships soon docked, Katara left the girl with Gran Gran and she went to reunite with her father.

When the ramp lowered she was speechless. Coming down was no other than Zuko himself. Katara did not ask him to come, she in no way expected him to be there to help her out, yet there he was.

“You did not tell me Zuko, the Firelord, was coming” muttered Hakoda beside her. “I didn´t know” answered Katara. When Zuko finally reached the bottom he greeted his dad Water Tribe style. “It´s nice to see you again Chieftain Hakoda” “You too Firelord Zuko, we are grateful for your help. But please, just Hakoda”.

He then turned to Katara.

“Hello Katara” he smiled at her. She felt warm in her heart. He came across the world for her. “You didn´t have to come” she complained. “I know,” he sighed “but I owed you”.

She finally hugged him. And he hugged her back. They separated smiling. ㅡ Katara didn’t remember the last time she was as happy and excited as she was for the next two weeks. She and Zuko spent almost all day together. Supervising the construction, with both Water Tribe and Fire Nation workers.

Zuko, of course, went all the way out for the design. He brought special carved wooden pillars, and she would even have an office and a private healing room. Including her requested water rehabilitation pond. Special made beds, and three more rooms that she thought initially.

She almost forgot how it felt to spend so much time with a close-aged friend. After Ba Sing Se both Aang and Sokka stayed on the Earth Kingdom. And before that, she did not see them for almost six months.

Unfortunately, as it commonly happened in the South Pole, a blizzard covered the tribe for an ongoing three days.

Zuko and his people stayed in tents near the outsides of the tribe. The construction was halted and there was nothing to do but to stay inside until the storm passed.

On the fourth day, Katara got worried over Zuko. She knew he was alone in his tent, and being alone in a never-ending blizzard was terrible. So she gathered some furs and food and made the most effort with her bending to get though the raging wind and snow to make him some company.

When she arrived and passed through the entrance she was met with a warm room. Zuko was sitting on a pillow, using his bending to control the fire.

“Well I don’t even know why I was worried you’d get cold” joked Katara.

He turned back to see her, a smile as warm as the room they were in took form in his face.

“Hi Katara” “Hi Zuko” she smiled back “I brought some furs and food for you”. “Great I’ll make some tea”

He prepared the tea and she served and warmed the food. She bent her tea over to her cup and they both laughed.

“Oh wow,” she praised tasting the tea “your tea skills have greatly improved since the last time”. “Thank you. My Uncle wouldn´t let me become the Firelord if I did not make him a decent cup of tea”. “He was right, as always”. “As always”.

She looked around the tent, it seemed rather simple for Fire Nation royalty. A rug, some pillows, the little chimney, and a short table in which they were sitting on conjunct sides. Their elbows almost touching each other.

“So, mmm, how is your scar?” shyly asked Katara. “Oh,” Zuko looked at his chest “it is fine”. “Can I see?” Katara blushed realizing what she asked “I mean for medical reasons! I want to see if the method I applied for you helped at all. But is okay if you don’t want to” she finished looking away. “Okay,” he opened his robes enough to see the scar “you can look. It actually healed very well”.

Katara looked back at him, and down, just below his chest. The scarring actually did look very good. The lines were not harsh, it reduced in size and the color was almost the same as the rest of his skin.

“Those medicines helped so much” she lightly touched the scar “I´m glad”. Katara looked at Zuko. His amber eyes filled with and emotion she couldn’t interpret. “I can never thank you enough Katara” he held the hand that was touching his chest. One was cold, the other was warm. “Not only did you save me that day. You saved my nation Katara. Is a debt I will be paying the rest of my life”. “Zuko no,” she made sure he was looking at her in the eye “you saved me. You took that lighting for me. I would not have defeated Azula if it was not for you. Please, I don´t want your debt”.

The fire was slowly dying. But she did not get cold, he was warm enough. Both of them remained silent, only staring at each other. He tucked a strand lock of hair behind her ear. She cupped his scarred cheek. Without thinking of anything else, they approached each other, getting closer. Until finally, they fused. In a tingling shivering, heart-melting kiss. They could no longer feel their different body temperatures, for they were one. There was not a place when one started and another ended. Only warm touches.

A fire lit in both their hearts. One that was long due, and never to die. ― She felt lost and confused. Katara could not get herself to regret it. How could something that felt so good, so natural be wrong? She never found an answer. The storm ended and a letter from Aang arrived the next day, he was coming back and he promised he would stay for long. A choice needed to be made. News about her lover´s return soon spread, and she received excited comments from practically everyone she encountered. She loved Aang, there was no doubt about that. But she couldn´t ignore her feeling for Zuko. Katara finally realized what motivated her so much three years back. She could try to but her heart did not lie, there was more than friendship with Zuko, but was that enough? Was that kiss enough to leave everything she had built with Aang already?

Her answer came from two places. One was her father, he heard about Aang and came to give Katara a talk, about marriage. According to tradition, Katara was old enough. She did not think that was happening anytime soon. But her father looked so hopeful, and when he told her about how he and her mother got married it brought her to tears. The words stuck with her for many nights. You deserve good love Katara, safe, gentle, wise, equal. That was Aang for her.

Her second answer came from Zuko himself, indirectly. He did not talk with her, did not look for her. She knew he was probably as confused as her, and he had Mai to think about, just as she had Aang. Katara was not great friends with Mai, but just the thought of being the cause of someone else´s suffering strained her heart. No. She was not going to be that.

Two weeks later the day came. After a month of work, the hospital was almost done. The rest of the details were finished by the people in the tribe. Many things and gifts stayed at the tribe, and the rest was packed back to the cruisers. He never came to say goodbye to her. And she did not go to see them leave at the port. With the sound of the ships leaving Katara cried. She cried for the love that could never be.

And away in the chilled sea, Zuko cried. His love for the women who saved him in more ways than one could never see the light.

#zutaraweek2020 #zutara week #zutara #katara #prince zuko #fuse #mindoverflamesfanfic #ATLA #fanfic

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castillo-adrian · 3 years

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A Rainy Day in Paris | Part 2

December 23rd. Morning.

An escape wasn’t really a possibility. These weren’t some gang of street fighters who got lucky, these were professionals who had been responsible for sustaining the national security by neutralising their enemies in the most proficient way possible. Adrian would know, they’d done it together. The method with which he’d been chained to the chair had been straight out of the GIGN handbook, too – if you tried to break free and pull at your hands, the rope on your throat would choke you to death before you could break away. In some morbid, prideful moment, Adrian felt relieved he’d be going out this way – by the hands of men he once called his brothers and sisters in arms, not random mobster muscles. As far as dying went, this would be as good as he could get.

Adrian did wonder why they were taking their time. They weren’t the type to make a spectacle out of a murder. Then, as if they’d heard his thoughts, Philippe provided an explanation, not before his fist clashing with Adrian’s abdomen, leaving him unable to breathe for a few seconds.

“Drink,” Philippe held a bottle of water near his face, “I need you to last until 26th. You’ll be our Christmas present for Laure and Varden. He’s been through enough shit, we’re going to let him have Christmas in peace. Laure, too. So she can spend it with her kids, instead of having to be reminded of you,” Philippe said with resentment, “Aren’t you a godfather to Olivier, by the way? Fucking shame. At least he’s alive, unlike Varden’s son.”

The assassin’s jaw clenched. Not out of anger at anyone in particular, rather the tragedy of the situation. Adrian didn’t carry much guilt, but not being able to prevent Gabriel’s death hadn’t be easy to write off.

He stayed silent.

Samir, who’d been hanging in the back for the most part, rammed a plank of wood into Adrian with so much force, it wouldn’t take a medical examination to guess he’d cracked a rib or two.

It wasn’t the pain that was too much to handle, it’s the fact that he couldn’t fight back.

On the flipside, it was his silence that make his former friends snap.

Minute after minute had passed, maybe hours, even. Adrian had lost count how long the absolute frenzy of violence had lasted. After all, they’d been taking out six years worth of frustration.

December 23rd. Noon.

They’d been taking shifts. Agnès had been the first. He knew it was because she still hoped to hear the answers. An attempt had been made, a genuine one on his part, to give her some clarity, for the first and the last time. All the reasons leading to leaving the St. Clair Organisation – losing his father early and having to support his family, hating furthering the agenda of the mob that had the city he loved wrapped into its tentacles, losing purpose and sense of belonging, and finally, not being able to kill a man in front of his child. All the reasons he stayed with the Rutherfords – newfound purpose, a chance to teach, a chance to lead, new friends.

As expected, it hadn’t been enough for Agnès. Not that Adrian could fault her – after all, their experiences in life couldn’t have been more different. She, simply couldn’t relate, couldn’t empathise. Nevertheless, he’d hoped it brought her some semblance of closure.

December 24th. A few minutes past midnight.

A metallic sound of chair being dragged across the floor woke him up. When Adrian raised his head and looked up, Agnès was gone, and sat in front of him was Cédric.

“Believed it not, none of us are enjoying this. Not really,” the Frenchman rubbed his face and let out a sigh. “We were no Laure or Julien, or Évelyne, but Agnès and Philippe, and me, we considered you a friend. Samir, he looked up to you. When he thought you died, he cried, and I’ve never seen him shed a tear. Ever,” Cédric crossed his arms against his chest. For a moment his mind drifted off somewhere else. Adrian wondered if he was thinking about Évelyne.

“You haven’t told Év, have you?” Adrian asked. “It’s fine. I’m sure she won’t be upset with you. At this point, she may want me dead, too.” The last conversation they had got heated. It was better not to dwell on what happened when he last talked to Évelyne.

“No,” Cédric didn’t elaborate. “Do you remember that mission in Lybia?”

“Sure. Harmattan?”

“You saved my life.” Cédric’s words carried a myriad of emotions – nostalgia, hesitation, regret, compassion. “I told you back then that I owed you one.”

“And I told you that you didn’t. It was my job to have your back.”

“No, you’re not understanding what I’m trying to say,” Cédric pulled out a combat knife.

Adrian gave him a puzzled look.

“I owe you one,” the Frenchman repeated as he got up from his chair and walked behind Adrian. “But now we’re even.”

When the assassin felt the rope around his neck loosen, he realised what was happening.

“Are you sure?” Adrian rubbed at his wrists, trying to get back the normal blood flow after hours upon hours of being tied up.

“I pay my debts. Always.” Cédric tossed the rope on the floor. “But if we meet again, there will be no mercy.”

Adrian nodded. There was still honour among thieves, turned out.

“Wait. Before you go, I need you to stab me,” Cédric handed him his knife. “I need to make it look like you stole the knife off of me and got away. You might be comfortable with being branded a traitor, but I’m not.”

He obliged.

December 24th. Half an hour later.

The 24-hour pawn shop was still at the same address where Adrian remembered. He woke up the owner with a ‘ding’ of the counter bell and flashed a Rolex original in the man’s face. A gift from Andrew Rutherford and one of the most valuable possessions Adrian owned, but if he were to get out of country before his former friends caught up to him, he needed money and the watch was the only thing Adrian had on him.

“This is a real Rolex,” the man declared after examining the item for a few minutes, “I just made deposit at the bank today. Don’t have that much cash right now. You should come back tomorrow.”

“Wait,” Adrian pushed the watch back towards the pawn shop owner, “How much do you have?”

“500 Euroes,” the man said suspiciously.

“I’ll take it,” Adrian tried to wrap up the world’s worst bargain as soon as possible.

Well, five hundred Euroes had been just enough to buy a burner phone to call Johnathan and get a cab driver to drop him off at the nearest city close to the Swiss border.

Escaping via the Channel wouldn’t have been smart, he thought. That’s where they’d expect him, not all the way to Switzerland, where by some kind of miracle was exactly he’d been expected.

The driver dropped him off in Dijon.

Hours disappeared into on another, he sat in the highway café, hoping one of the passing trucks would take him to Swizerland.

Finally, his luck started to turn. The man who agreed to let him tag along was a rather loud Corsican with a terrible sense of humour.

“I promise I’m not a murderer,” the Corsican burst into a headache inducing laughter as he put the truck into ignition.

“Good to know,” Adrian leaned into his seat. Five more hours and he’d be in Zermatt.

#Selfpara

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elizabethemerald · 4 years

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Family Janus and Dame Lake

@im-the-king-of-the-ocean and anon. Your requests for Barbmura have been combined. Body guard AU and historical AU. I hope you enjoy!!

I noticed that you were taking Barbmura prompts, so how about some sort of historical AU?

if you're game for barbmura prompts, how about them in some kind of royalty/bodyguard au (I've been on a kick for those lately)? I'll happily pass the torch on to you too :D I don't want to be done with the barbmura ship forever, but I just need to do something different for a while

The year is 1926. Prohibition is in full effect. In attempt to curb national debauchery the consumption, sale and importing of alcohol has been banned. But the common people still want to enjoy their vices. So the crime families have risen to power, by supplying alcohol. Some of the families are new, some are old, and some...are very old.

Doctor Barbara Lake walks home from a long day of working to help the sick and the poor. Her work is exhausting, but satisfying. There are few things in the world, other than her son, that she loves more than helping those in need. Its why she became a doctor. And it’s why when she finds a man outside her house, grievously injured she calls her son out to help her drag him into the house.

His wounds are severe, and she can tell at a glance that they are related to the city’s criminal underbelly. He has multiple gunshots and a stab wound. Even though she knows he must be with the mafia, she still fulfills her oath and cares for him.

Her son, Jim, helps her stitch the man’s injuries, carefully angling the light so she can see what she’s doing. When there is a knock at the door she leaves him to watch over the man. At the door are more men from the mafia. A rival family. She bars them entrance to their home and when they try to force their way past her, she rebuffs them with her uncle’s rifle. She will not have her hard work on healing this man undone.

It is shortly after they depart that there is another knock at her door. This time she grabs the rifle first. It’s only the tired, pained voice of the man on her table that stops her. He recognizes the voices at the door.

Barbara opens the door to find a short and stout man with a heavy accent. And a tall woman, with black hair cut into a bob, she’s Japanese if Barbara would guess. Together the two of them help the injured man into their car. As they leave she hears one of them address the hawk nosed man, with gray hair coming in at his temples as Don, and she realizes how serious this is.

The next day an attempt is made on Barbara’s life. The same mobsters who had tried to force their way into her home the previous night return. They aim to finish their attempt on the Don’s life, and if they can’t find him, kill anyone who helped him. The rifle is too long to bring up quick and is knocked out of her hands.

Her life is saved by the timely arrival of the lady who helped her patient to the car. She comes bearing a generous donation to the clinic Barbara works in. A sign of gratitude from the Don for saving his live. Of course like any good member of the Family she’s always armed. Her Thompson makes quick work of the two assailants. Barbara is horrified by the two men killed at her door, but the raven haired woman pulls her away, makes a call to her cleaner, and then volunteers for the doctor’s protection detail.

Barbara is happy that by the time Jim is home from school there is no trace of the blood shed. She is less happy about the two mafios now hanging around her house.

“My name is Ms. Nomura.” The woman who had saved her introduces herself. “We’ll be here to protect you no matter what.”

“My name is Mr. Nuñez, but you can call NotE.” Her companion says. He looks young, like he could almost be younger than Jim, but he drinks and smokes and swears like a sailor already.

“Mr. Naughty?” Barbara asks, trying to wrap her head around what’s happening.

“Sure. Until Gunmar’s goons decide to leave well enough alone, we’ll be here to keep you and ya boy safe.” He says.

Barbara tries to argue, but Ms. Nomura explains.

“The Janus Family takes things like this very seriously. You saved the Don’s life. Now the family owes you a debt. We’re here to ensure that debt is paid.”

“Fine.” Barbara huffs. “But don’t think that you are going to keep me cooped up in here. There are people at my clinic that need help. And I didn’t become a doctor to become embroiled in a mafia war!”

Barbara is slowly getting used to her new daily normal. Ms. Nomura shadows her to work then stays nearby keeping an eye out. Then they return to her home together. She still doesn’t like her son and his friend Toby spending so much time around NotE, nor does she like Otto, the Family’s “fixer.” But she finds Ms. Nomura’s company to be pleasant enough.

Despite her ties to the Janus Family, Ms. Nomura is an avid art enthusiast. She seems to know every bit of history about every piece in the local art museum. Barbara strongly considers showing the other woman her own paintings.

Before she gets a chance to do so, the Darklands Family makes its second attempt. Barbara and Nomura are walking home from the clinic when a car pulls up besides them. Nomura pulls Barbara behind her drawing her Tommy from her jacket. After a short hail of bullets, returned by Nomura, the car speeds away.

Nomura drags Barbara off the streets, not pausing until they are safe in her home. Jim jumps up from the book he’s reading to help them inside. Barbara has a small graze on her arm and Nomura one on her leg. Nomura also had a much series wound in her abdomen.

NotE calls for back up while Jim and Barbara see to Nomura’s injuries. It’s not long before Otto Scaarbach and Gladys Groe arrive with a small troop. Walter Strickler, Don of the Janus Family comes with them. His fury is something to see. Not only was someone under the Family’s protection injured, but a member of the Family itself is laying on the kitchen table her blood soaking into the hardwood. The only person angrier than Walter is Jim, seeing his mom hurt boils the boy’s blood.

The Janus Family prepares to hit the mattresses. This is a call for war. The Family cannot rest until revenge is had, blood for blood.

Barbara can’t pay attention to them. All she has eyes for is her patient. She knew she would be dead if it weren’t for the woman in front of her. Her blue eyes shine in the light as Barbara stitches her up.

“So what do you think?” Barbara asks.

“It’s beautiful.” Ms. Nomura’s green eyes are wide as she takes in the painting. “Ms. Lake, you have quite the eye for colors!”

The painting isn’t her best work, but it fills her heart with joy to hear Nomura likes it. It captures a scene she has seen only in a book, the cherry blossoms of Japan. From the look on the other woman’s face, Barbara can tell this is the exact taste of home that she needs.

Ms. Nomura turns away for a moment, wincing as she twists her stomach. She’s healing quickly, but she still has some small twinges of pain, now weeks after her injury. She pulls a small package out from her bag.

“Ms. Lake, I got something for you as well.” She handed over the package. “In thanks for your caring touch.”

Barbara opens the package and gasps. The small urn, brilliantly painted, perfectly matches her eyes. She reaches out and intwines her fingers with the other woman’s.

“Ms. Nomura… I-”

“Please, Ms. Lake, call me Zelda.”

Barbara giggled a little.

“In that case you need to call me Barbara.”

They look at each other for a moment, each staring deeply into the other’s eyes.

“Ok, Zelda.” Barbara whispers breathily.

“I can’t believe you dragged my son into your fight!” Barbara screams.

“I didn’t drag him anywhe-” Zelda’s sentence is cut off as she ducks a plate that is hurled at her head. “Please Barbara listen to me!”

Barbara ignores her plea in favour grabbing for another plate.

“I’ve done nothing but help your precious family! And in thanks I’ve been shot at! My home’s been invaded. And now my son is kidnapped! He’s been taken by the Darklands! Zelda, how did you expect me to react to this information?”

“Barbara, please!”

“GET OUT!” Barbara screams. “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! And don’t you ever think of coming back!”

Nomura ducks under another plate and bolts for the door. She turns back just in time to see Barbara grab the blue urn, the present she had given her, and pull her arm back to throw it. Nomura quickly steps outside and closes the door. After a few seconds the sound of something shattering within echoes the shattering of Zelda’s heart. She leans against the door for a second, slow tears falling down her face. Inside she can hear Barbara sobbing against the other side of the door.

Zelda straightens and pulls away from the door. She steels her spine there can be only one course of action now.

Walter had called Gunmar’s attack against her personal and had ordered a full out war with the rival family. But he doesn’t know the meaning of the word personal. Zelda snarls as she strides away. She is going to rain an ungodly hell on the Darklands.

The heavy rain fall pours down. The puddles run red with blood. Barbara Lake, doctor and mother of one, does her best to staunch the bleeding. Her tears blend with rain running down her face. The Thompson, its barrel still smoking from the fire fight, lays discarded to the side.

“Please stay with me Zelda!” Barbara cries.

Zelda struggles to stay awake. The world seems to be fuzzy at the edges. All she can see are the blue eyes, filled with tears, looking down on her. The war was over. Gunmar dead. Strickler gone. Jim safe. Maybe it was time for the soldiers to go as well. Zelda always considered herself a soldier.

“Zelda, I can’t lose you! Not again.” Barbara begs. She fumbles with her purse one handed, while she tries to maintain pressure with her other. Nomura assumes she is reaching for bandages, but instead she pulls out a small blue urn she recognizes.

“You fixed it?” She asks softly.

“I never broke it.” Barbara laughs wetly past her crying. “I couldn’t stand to lose it. It means so much to me.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you Zelda!” Barbara does the only thing she can think of, the only thing she’s wanted to do for far too long. She kisses her. Zelda can feel Barbara’s warm lips against her own, and the rain falling down around her as the world fades to black.

Barbara stands alone next to the simple stone wall. In the yard before her, head stones stretch out as far as she can see. The graveyard always fills her with a sense of wistful sadness. Maybe she will create a painting. Try to capture the feeling inside her. She breaths deeply, trying to commit every detail to memory, so she can recreate them later.

“What’s taking so long back there?”

Barbara turns at the voice and smiles.

“I just had an idea for a painting and needed time to visualize it in my head.”

She hurries forward and catches up with her companion who waits for her at the corner.

“Ms. Lake, we are out for a lovely stroll and here you are admiring graveyards!”

“Zelda, how many times do I have to remind you to call me Barbara?”

“A few more times won’t hurt.” Zelda smiles and leans in for a kiss. “I don’t have many opportunities left. Soon I will have to call you Mrs. Nomura!”

“It’s Lake-Nomura. I’m going to use both of our names.”

“That works for me.”

Barbara grabs Zelda’s face and kisses her deeply. “Here’s to us, forever.”

In time their strolls brings them back to the small house they own. Their kissing continues on the couch. On the wall is a painting of cherry blossoms and on the table under neath it, a bright blue urn.

#zelda nomura #Barbara Lake #barbmura #mafia au #jim lake junior #walter strickler #Trollhunters #tales of arcadia #Listen I am but a simple gay #I love two women #and the way they love each other #I hope you enjoy!

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tomasorban · 4 years

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Inanna: Relevance and Return

The Sumerian Goddess Inanna came to the notice of modern women in 1983 when Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Kramer published Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth. But she first appeared in recorded history about 5,500 years ago. Written myths are almost always pre-dated by many generations of oral traditions, so it plausible to assume that her stories were passed down orally through many generations before writing became extant. Throughout the centuries she has morphed and changed as she moved from culture to culture, empire to nation. Over the years Inanna became Ishtar, Asherah, Astarte, Astoreth, Aphrodite, Ainina, Danina, and possibly Dali of the Georgians. Her worship died out slowly in the Middle East between the third and fifth centuries A.D., but she left her mark in Marion theology with hymns of lamentation attributed to Mary, but taken straight from Inanna’s lamentations for Damuzi.

Inanna was the goddess of sexual love and war. She was fierce, conniving, intelligent: quick to anger, but just as quick to reward loyalty. There are many stories about her, such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Inanna and the Huluppu-Tree, Inanna and the God of Wisdom, The Courtship of Inanna, and The Descent of Inanna. It was the latter that caught and held the interest of women involved in Goddess Spirituality.

Although the myth is titled The Descent of Inanna the salient point is actually her return. The tale begins with Inanna’s decision to visit the underworld to meet her sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld, who is mourning her dead husband. Bad blood exists between the sisters—Inanna has been instrumental in the death of The Bull of Heaven. The other gods gossip about Inanna, speculating about her motives—perhaps she wishes to make peace with her sister, perhaps she wishes to steal her powers, but Inanna keeps her own counsel and determines to go alone.

Wisely, before she goes, Inanna concocts a plan with her trusted handmaiden, Ninshubar, giving her explicit instructions about what to do if her mistress does not return. Then, girding herself with seven powers, she rides away, driving her own chariot toward the underworld.

On hearing of Inanna’s arrival, Ereshkigal orders the gatekeeper to close the seven gates of her palace. As Inanna requests passage through each gate, she must divest herself of one of her powers. In the end she arrives in Ereshkigal’s hall naked. Her arrival coincides with the entrance of the judges of the underworld. They sentence her to death and stick her body on a meat hook, where it hangs for three days and three nights.

Meanwhile, Ninshubar has begun making the rounds of the gods. Each one turns her down until she reaches Inanna’s father, Enki. Enki heeds Ninshubar’s plea. He scrapes dirt from beneath his fingernails. Mixing it with a little spittle, he fashions two tiny winged creatures called gala to sneak past the gatekeeper and fly down into Ereshkigal’s realm. To one he gives the life-giving plant and to the other the life-giving water. He whispers instructions in their ear and sends them on their way.

Down in the underworld Ereshkigal continues to mourn, wailing unceasingly day and night. She is pregnant with her dead husband’s child. When the gala find Ereshkigal they hover by her ears and mourn with her. When she groans, “Oh, my liver!” they groan, “Oh, my liver!” When she cries, “Oh, my heart!” they cry, “Oh, my heart!” Ereshkigal is so grateful to be heard and comforted on her own terms that she offers them anything they desire. Following Enki’s instructions, they ask for the body of Inanna. Anointing her with the precious life-giving water and plant, the galas restore Inanna to life and together they set out on the journey home.

Once again, however, the judges intervene and refuse Inanna passage unless she finds someone to take her place in the underworld. She promises to find a replacement and, accompanied by a posse of enforcing demons, she storms up into the sunlight.

Thus begins a round of visits to Inanna’s hairdresser, her son, and her brother, all of whom have mourned her with the proper mourning rites. Faithful Ninshubar offers to take Inanna’s place but the goddess vehemently refuses. Finally they come to Inanna’s consort, Damuzi, who has barely noted her absence. He is sitting under a fig tree, feasting. Inanna, incensed at his indifference, orders the demons to grab him. But Damuzi calls upon Utu, the sun god, Inanna’s brother, to honor an old debt and rescue him. Utu helps him escape the demons and he manages to hide. The demons, however, are relentless in their pursuit and eventually run him to ground

Even then, his luck holds. Damuzi’s adoring sister intervenes and begs for his life, promising to take his place underground for half of every year. Tired of the whole business and possibly half-inclined to take Damuzi back, Inanna agrees.

This is a complicated tale, dovetailing and interweaving in places with other cycles and creatures of myth. It is a multilevel teaching story, depicting what Joseph Campbell called the hero’s journey; explicit directions on how to properly mourn a death; the advantage of prior planning; faithful service; parental love; the courage to face the unknown and the bad consequences inherent in wrong action. Lots of information to be packed, condensed and synthesized into one fabulous story.

At every level this myth resounds with true situations in which humans of every age find themselves. But it specifically appeals to modern women, because in Inanna we find a heroine who predates the extremes of patriarchal culture in which we find ourselves enmeshed today. She acts independently, while remaining in good relationship with men—her father, brother, and hairdresser. She has a strong, solid friend and ally in Ninshubar. She is not afraid to face the unknown and perseveres in the face of loss and sacrifice. Like many women she struggles in relationship with her mate.

But the part of the story with which women resonate most strongly is the journey of relinquishment, the egoic death, and the restoration of power. Using this part of the myth, circles of women have been manifesting and enacting their own rituals of letting go, creating space, and allowing new ways of seeing and being to take the place of what no longer serves them.

Sometimes the journeys are entirely imaginary, taking place as guided meditations in quiet, dimly lit rooms. Sometimes women build metaphorical gates as simple as seven scarves laid in rows across a room. Sometimes the gates are more elaborate structures, painted and adorned.

The gates may be assigned particular attributes—names, colors, stones, trees, etc. The seven chakras lend themselves particularly well to this rite. Furthermore, the descent and return may be pinned to a particular life passage like a marriage, a birth, the loss of a job or start of a new career, the death of a beloved mate, child, pet, or friend. It works well for any occasion that requires a relinquishment or some kind of death but also offers renewal and restoration.

In every ceremony I’ve been privy to or had described to me, there is always a time of study and preparation. Women do not undertake such a ritual unprepared or in ignorance of what it means. Always the gatekeepers remain present and aware, careful to gauge the mood of the group and the progress of each participant.

Inanna, with her link to sex and death, is not to be invoked without safeguards in place. Her myth specifically calls for opening the doors between the conscious and unconscious mind incrementally and ceremoniously. The story warns us that the journey is a long and dangerous one, a risky business that requires gravitas and can involve tears, howls, vomit, diarrhea, or ecstasy.

The Descent offers a chance to look clearly at tired habits of thought and action. A woman may finally admit to an addiction or see how some long-denied pattern of action has failed her time and again. The Return offers a chance for something to be born or recovered. A woman may reclaim a talent or a forgotten dream, put aside years before, that suddenly offers itself, once more, as a viable choice. The possibilities are endless and unique to each individual on the journey. The point is change.

The Goddess, in every form she takes, is all about change. Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, replete with every kind of talent, adoration, and power, begins her journey because of a desire to change. We don’t know why. Often in old teaching tales the questions left unanswered hold their own secret wisdom.

Perhaps she doesn’t know. Perhaps she longs for mystery. Undoubtedly she is aware that in undertaking this journey nothing will ever be the same again. The point is she decides on change and then rides out to meet it. A wise woman once told me, “Change or die!” At the time she terrified me and I had no idea what she meant or why she would say such a terrible thing. But her words continued to ring in my ears through the years every time I had a choice, every time a risk presented itself or a circumstance demanded courage. Her directive did indeed change my life and always for the better, though at times it took a little hindsight to understand how.

Inanna’s descent and return exemplify the “both and” inherent in Goddess Spirituality. One may change one’s self and hence the surrounding world both by releasing and/or embracing. Possibly, yesterday’s release will one day become tomorrow’s embrace or vice versa. The journey is an ongoing process of dismantling and rebuilding that goes on throughout life. Inanna’s ritual gives us focus, a sacred space in which to step out of time and consciously enact a psychological process that one way or another life will force us to undertake anyway. Engaging in it willingly, we emerge chastened, humble, and radiant, suffused with the power and strength of an ancient archetype. Inanna returns in glory to walk the world anew, as she has so many times before.

#inanna #mother goddess #divine feminine #history #ancient #religion

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alexiethymia · 4 years

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a matter of time till the flowers bloom

title: a matter of time till the flowers bloom fandom: Secret Garden (2010) Korean Drama pairing: Kim Joo-Won/Gil Ra-Im notes: Because of all of the hype surrounding Hyun Bin lately it made me want to re-watch my favorite kdrama and I just had to write a fic for it even if it's not likely anyone will read it

summary: they meet thirteen years earlier than planned but nothing much has changed. Kim Joo-Won still finds himself smitten with Gil Ra-Im. the time may change, but that stays the same.

or the AU where Gil Ra-Im’s father had lived and he introduces Kim Joo-Won to his daughter like he promised.

When we get out of here, I’ll introduce you to my Ra-Im. She’s so pretty that you’ll faint.

It’s not hard for Joo-Won to request that the firefighter that saved him be treated in the same high-class hospital room as him without the latter knowing. After all, it’s the least he could do.

He’s still being treated for his ankle with Ahjussi – Gil Ik-seon, he later tells him – right beside him, when the hospital doors burst open and a high school girl with a tear streaked face, all but tackles the firefighter he owes his life to.

Ah, this must be the daughter he’s already heard so much about.

He should be more sensitive to her plight. After all, she was a turn of fate away from losing her father, and with that thought, Joo-Won is back in that moment looking at Mr. Gil Ik-seon in that cramped elevator and thinking he’d see someone die in front of him without being able to do anything about it.

But all that comes out of his mouth is –

“Ah, ah, what’s this Ahjussi? You said your daughter would be so pretty that I’d faint. All I can see is an ugly face that’s even uglier when it cries.”

He really doesn’t know why he’s insulting his savior’s daughter, only that he can’t stand to see her cry.

For what it’s worth, it works, because although there are still tear tracks on her face, she glares at him with so much fire in her eyes.

The machines in the hospital must be faulty because he’s suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

She comes by often – Gil Ra-Im, after her death stare her father had introduced them– a cheerful ‘Appa, I’m here!’ to her dad, and more glares for him.

He has too much respect for Mr. Gil Ik-seon but he can’t help wanting to rile up his daughter, and he doesn’t even know the reason why.

One day she comes by with home made food and out of the corner of his eye, he sees Secretary Kang bring in the high-class hospital food from near the doorway. He shooes the man away with his eyes when she’s not looking and whines about not having food.

“What, none for me? I’m a sick man you know. Shouldn’t you be feeding me?”

“Are you really too poor that you can’t even afford your own meals?” is her tart response.

“What?!” If only she knew who he was…”You can’t treat me that way. If only you knew who I was, later on you’d say ‘Oh I was actually in the same room as that guy!’, that’s what you’d say.”

“Now, now Ra-Im, let’s share some of our food. Don’t deprive me of the chance to boast about my daughter’s cooking!”

She’s disgruntled but follows her father’s orders. He pretends he can’t even lift his arms and opens up his mouth.

“Ahhh…”

“You’re crazy if you think I’ll feed you! Do you want your fifth vertebrae to become your sixth!?”

“What? You can’t be violent against a sick person.”

“Now, now, Ra-Im…”

She eventually does it, hand-feeding him, but it would have been better without that disgusted look on her face. Now, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Joo-Won has eaten from five star restaurants, dishes prepared with the finest ingredients and the most skilled of chefs, and yet this meal prepared by this ordinary girl, there’s no other word for it. It’s –

“Delicious.”

She looks skeptical at first, but he keeps his face serious, and then he’s rewarded with the most brilliant smile.

“Really? It’s really delicious?” She giggles for once looking like the high school girl she is, and with her sparkling eyes, he can finally see what Ahjussi meant.

For once in his twenty-one years of existence, he’s struck dumb.

He drives them both home personally – waving off Secretary Kang’s concerns that his ankle wasn’t well enough and that his mother would kill him for letting him drive in his condition, but that’s Secretary Kang’s problem, not his. He drives them both to a run-down place, the kind you see on the background of one of those National Geographic documentaries, and he thinks this isn’t right.

Shouldn’t someone have been by to compensate the Gil family already? He thinks, even a new house wouldn’t be enough.

They invite him in and though he doesn’t even know anyone personally who rents, he can’t find it in himself to say no.

He remedies it the next day, presenting new appliances – vacuum cleaner, washing machine, flat screen TV, the works – on their doorstep with a flourish. They’re all from grandfather’s department store so it wasn’t much.

By their astounded faces, he can tell he’s shocked them; yes this is who he really is – scion and future CEO of Loel Department Store – not some mooching patient.

Discreetly, he looks at Gil Ra-Im’s face, but his satisfaction is short-lived as her surprise turns to consternation.

Ahjussi speaks first. “Joo-Won…We appreciate the gesture, we really do, but I didn’t save your life so I could get all of this.”

He knows this, and he knows whatever he’s giving them doesn’t even compare.

Later on, even Ra-Im pulls him aside.

“For Appa, whether you’re some bigshot son of a wealthy family or even if you were some homeless man with tacky tastes in track suits (‘Listen you…!’), a life is a life that’s precious. And also he told me what happened. He said you saved him and that you wouldn’t let go. I should thank you for that. Kamsahamnida!”

She bows formally and Joo-Won is a confused mess of emotions. What is she acting all shy for now after hitting him constantly for his annoying comments in the hospital? It leaves him giddy seeing her act cute, but also apprehensive because it seems like they’re distant strangers.

Why must the Gil family be so hard to thank?

“Well if there’s one thing you could do for me. I was wanting to watch my daughter’s Taekwondo match. Would you want to come with me?”

If playing chauffeur is the only thanks they’ll accept, then Joo-Won will take what he can get.

Gil Ra-Im is a marvel of motion and deathly grace. She brings down men twice her size with ease. Sweat flows off her brow with every kick and strike.

Joo-Won can’t even blink. It looks like she’s sparkling. He is fascinated, enraptured, captivated.

“That’s my daughter,” says Ahjussi with pride.

She must be a health hazard and no one told him. Why else does she make it so hard for him to breathe? At this rate, he really will faint.

“Hey Ji-Hyun, what does it mean that I can’t take my eyes off of someone who could probably break every bone in my body? You know me I prefer the intellectual type. And what does it mean that I actually look forward to when she hits me?”

“Wow, we haven’t even broken up for more than four months and here you go talking about another girl in front of me.”

“You’re the one who dumped me.” Joo-Won points out helpfully.

‘It’s not as if you look that broken up about it’ Ji-Hyun thinks, but doesn’t say. “We’re better off as friends.”

“Anyway, if I thought you actually had the capacity for it, I’d think you were in love.”

Joo-Won snorts in disbelief.

He offers to drive her to her school since it’s on the way to his University. He opens the door and tells her to get in.

“Are you really crazy? What would people think if I was driven to school in a sports car. No thanks. I’ll ride the bus.”

“Most high school girls would go ‘kyaaa’ at this rare opportunity, You’d be the envy of everyone, having a handsome university student like me drive you to school. “

At that, she just rolls her eyes, leaves him gaping as she gets on the bus.

The one time she agrees because she was running late, she demands to drive, and again Joo-Won doesn’t know what compels him to entrust his precious car’s keys to her, but it’s one experience he never wants to relieve again.

Ever.

With the pretext of paying back his debt, he visits them often, Ahjussi and Gil Ra-Im

“I’m very exacting about these things.”

Ra-Im rarely accepts getting driven to places and forget about handing Ahjussi any money. Instead he pays for when they go out to eat rinds, much to his disgust.

“Don’t melt it. Chew it and swallow like a man.”

Funnily enough, it’s Gil Ra-Im who constantly says that while Ahjussi just laughs at him.

He wonders how many rind sessions it’ll be but they pay for the meals as many times as he does, not to mention he always has a place at their table whenever he drops by for dinner. At this rate, paying the debt is slow-going, but Joo-Won finds he doesn’t mind.

One night, he doesn’t realize how much time has passed and how many soju they’d consumed. Maybe it’s not his place to say but –

“Ahjussi, should Ra-Im really be drinking?”

Ra-Im scowls at him as expected but Ahjussi just laughs good-naturedly. “It’s medicinal, don’t worry.”

Joo-Won raises an eyebrow at that but lets it go, long ago accepting that he’ll never understand the workings of the Gil family.

It’s really late and he’s drunk, so Ahjussi doesn’t let him go home and offers him a place to sleep in their living room. Again, Joo-Won has only slept on silk sheets and down pillows imported from Europe, but he still accepts the offer.

“Wait for a bit, I’ll just bring Ra-Im to her room.”

“Don’t worry Ahjussi, let me do it.” Joo-Won picks her up easily, and for all of her tough talk, she weighs as light as a feather. He places her on her bed and places her stuffed toys near her. If he’s staring at her for a bit too long, well that’s just because he’s drunk. There’s a furrow in her eyebrow that makes his own furrow so he eases it away with his finger until her face rests peacefully again.

A soft smile touches his own features though he doesn’t notice it.

“Sweet dreams, Ra-Im.”

Joo-won’s body is in a jacuzzi pool in Deoksan but his mind is in a run-down apartment in Seoul. In his mouth is the taste of caviar, but he can’t help but wish for the taste of home-made tteokbokki. Physically he is present, laughing while being surrounded by pretty girls near his ideal sizes, but in his mind he can’t help but criticize.

Her skin is too smooth and fair. A bit darker would be nice.

Her hair is too long, a bob cut would be more chic.

Her legs are too thin. It’d be better if she had more muscle.

One of the said pretty girls caresses his arm. “Isn’t this fun, Joo-Won?” Her eyes don’t sparkle.

Joo-Won thinks of arguing over rinds, watching some late night drama, a hand on his shoulder and a curt but sweet voice, as they both tell him to take care in going home and drive safely.

The girl is waiting for a response. He smiles blankly. “Yeah, it’s fun.”

Choi Woo-young has been a thorn at his side at worst and an annoying Hyung at best. But never before has he had this visceral feeling of wanting to bury him where he could never be found. Until now.

“A fan you say? Why, my dongsae should’ve have introduced us sooner so I would’ve found out I had such a charming fan!”

“Never on your life,” mutters Joo-Won under his breath.

In the first place, they only found themselves in this situation because Woo-young was following him.

“I was only worried about you!”

“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

He never wanted for them to meet anyway, but to make matters worse Gil Ra-Im is apparently a fan of ‘Oska’.

This is the first time he’s seen her this way. Ra-Im has stars in her eyes and is honestly twirling her hair and popping her foot like in a classic Hollywood movie. It’s sickening. If there’s anyone who should see her like that, it should only be him.

“Can I call you Oppa?”

“Of course!”

“Hyung, if you don’t leave in three seconds, I’ll leak to the media outlets some very interesting photos I have. An artist just beginning his music career wouldn’t want that kind of scandal right?”

“You’re a demon.”

“2 seconds.”

After he’s finally, finally, left, Joo-Won doesn’t waste time. He whirls on Ra-Im, face livid.

“Oppa?! I should be the one. You should be calling me, Joo-Won Oppa!” He knows he sounds childish, but he doesn’t care.

“Never.” She has the gall to stick out her tongue at him. No, no way. She had no right to act this cute after what she just pulled.

Later after Choi Woo-young gets to know Ra-Im better - much to Joo-Won’s frustration- he pulls him aside to talk to him.

For once Joo-Won actually listens because his Hyung never sounds this serious.

“I wasn’t joking when I said I was worried. Your friends say you haven’t been around much lately. What kind of healthy twenty-one year old doesn’t go to parties? You should be having the best time of your life. Is it the accident? Are there still some side-effects?”

Joo-Won waves off his Hyung’s concerns. “I’m fine. There’s no need to make a fuss.”

“Well it looks like it. You seem happier and more, I don’t know if peaceful is the word. So, where have you been lately?”

“You know that fireman who saved me? The girl you met, Gil Ra-Im, that’s his daughter. I’ve just been visiting them.”

“So I’ve heard. Whenever we meet, Miss Ra-Im is always complaining about you sticking around. She’s said it’s like they’ve adopted a stray dog or something.” He laughs boisterously. What Woo-young doesn’t tell Joo-Won though is how Miss Ra-Im looked when she said it, contented, with a secret smile on her face. His Dongsae’s head doesn’t need to get bigger than it is.

Predictably, Joo-Won fumes, “That brat…!”

“So does that mean you? And her?” Woo-young leaves it open-ended, free for Joo-Won to interpret however he sees fit.

“What are you talking about Hyung?” He laughs, but it only sounds fake to Woo-young’s ears. “I’m just playing around with her.”

“I’ll tell on you!” He can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“Go ahead. It won’t make a difference to her.”

For all that this is nothing new for Joo-Won, careless as he is with other people’s feelings, Woo-young wouldn’t be so worried if this was a ‘playing around’ that he recognized.

When Joo-Won played around, it involved candle lit dinners and expensive dates. Woo-young doesn’t recognize this playing around that involves him visiting a girl and her father, and having meals with them. Woo-young sincerely wonders if Joo-Won even recognizes the painful domesticity of it.

As a Hyung, he can’t help but worry.

Ahjussi texts him to ask for a favor, probably the only one he has ever asked of him.

Ah-young is out on a trip so could he stay with Ra-Im for tonight since it looks like he’ll be late in coming home. (He’s met Ah-young, Ra-Im’s best friend once before. She exclaimed ‘omo, omo’ and shook Ra-Im’s shoulder excitedly when they’d met. That is how girls react when meeting him. Ra-Im is just a strange and fascinating anomaly.)

He was expecting a scowl to greet him when she opened the door. He’d actually revel in it. Instead what he gets is a split second where her face falls when she realizes it isn’t her dad at the door. That hurt more.

She tries to keep herself together, pretending everything is normal, throwing insults his way, and yet preparing his meal for him. But Joo-Won can see right through her. He’ll take angry Ra-Im, annoyed Ra-Im, a fawning Ra-Im any day over this withdrawn and scared girl. It reminds him of when they first met.

He plays along with the motions. He says something that makes her throw a punch, an insult no doubt, but he misses his cue, because instead of avoiding it, as he would’ve done, he catches it, and pulls her in for a tight hug.

She struggles, though even that is weak.

“I understand that you’re worried.” He whispers it on her hair, and hugs her tighter. She stops trying to escape. “I’m worried too. But I’m here. You’re not alone. We’ll wait for him together.”

How can he explain to her? That moment that he saw in her father’s eyes that he was willing to let go because he would be dragging Joo-Won down with him. It was just a flip of a chance, but there could’ve been a world where Ra-Im was without a father and it’d all be his fault. So though he doesn’t understand this obnoxious, infuriating, astounding, precious girl half the time, he can confidently say, he understands what she’s going through right at this moment.

Miracle of miracles, she hugs him back, tight as he is hugging her.

It slips out.

“I love you with all my heart.”

She stills.

“Your father wanted me to pass his words on to you.”

And relaxes.

Meanwhile, Joo-Won is the opposite. Because those may have been her father’s words, but the emotion behind it is all his.

They don’t eat dinner yet. Knees drawn, her fisted hand enclosed in his, and his thumb running soothing circles over it, they wait together.

They wait together, and pray for rain.

Would your father have liked me?

Definitely not. What kind of father would like a guy who always looks down on his daughter and makes her cry.

Gil Ik-seon likes Kim Joo-Won. The boy has good intentions even if he goes the wrong way about it. He’s insistent on thanking him and standing by his principles no matter what those principles may be.

But more importantly, he likes Kim Joo-Won because he loves Ra-Im. The most precious thing in the world to Gil Ik-seon is his daughter. And because Ra-Im is the most precious to him, he likes Kim Joo-Won.

For all of Ra-Im’s scathing words against him, Kim Joo-Won makes it so her sad eyes aren’t so sad anymore, even if as a result they become angry instead.

But often she’ll also ask, “Is moron coming by over today Appa? I need to know if I need to make extra servings.” She says it as if it was too troublesome to do so, but he still catches her small smile whenever Joo-Won drops by.

So Gil Ik-Seon likes Kim Jo-Woon, and he’s sure Ra-Im likes him too.

#secret garden #korean drama #asian fanfics #hyun bin #ha ji won #kim joo won #gil ra im #kim joo won/gil ra im #I loved this series so much when I first watched it in 2010 #and I still love it 10 years later #you know those fics #that you write not necessarily for anyone to read #especially for an obscure fandom #but you just really want to write it because the words wouldn't leave your mind otherwise #fanfiction #fanfic #writing

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365daysofsasuhina · 5 years

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[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Seventeen: Ignite ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Itachi, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Healing Waters and Scorching Flames ] [ AO3 Link ]

Just because the war is over doesn’t mean they’re safe.

After all he’s seen her do - both as her enemy, and her ally - Sasuke knows Hinata is no longer a timid little waterbender in need of defending. She’s poised, smart, and strong. If anything, at times, she’s more apt and able to defend him. Fire is a powerful element...but water is versatile. It can heal, attack, defend...all he’s ever known his power to do is destroy.

But, he still holds some kind of...instinct to help her. Sasuke isn’t sure if it’s a simple motivation of male versus female, or perhaps his element’s aggression? But any time there’s a perceived slight against her, it flares his temper, and he often acts before he thinks.

He’s...still working on that. His anger isn’t what it used to be, but it still needs a bit of cooling.

Thankfully, Hinata is patient. Typically his outbursts are met with a hand on his shoulder and a weary smile. “It’s all right. I can handle it.”

But he doesn’t want her to handle it…! She shouldn’t have to! After all, she’s got enough on her plate. With the end of the war, Hinata has taken it upon herself to begin the efforts to rebuild the Southern Water Tribe. That means constructing (or in many places, reconstructing) villagers, creating new ports...and helping the waterbenders displaced by the Fire Nation raids. She’s been putting her power and new influence to use bettering her lands.

As he has tried to do.

True, Sasuke isn’t Fire Lord. Nor does he trust himself to be. Not after the lengths he nearly went to in order to acquire the title. But he does his best to support his brother in any way possible. With Shisui working full-time with the White Lotus, Sasuke takes it upon himself to become Itachi’s closest and strongest bodyguard. After all he did...it’s only right.

On occasion, Itachi asks for his input on this matter or another. Sasuke replies cautiously. He still doesn’t trust himself to make wise decisions. True, it’s still his brother’s call in the end. But being in proximity to power still makes him...nervous.

“Why so timid, Sasuke?”

“...what?”

Itachi gestures. “You have lost your edge.”

“I’m not sure that’s a bad thing, in all honesty.”

“No...I do not refer to your temper. I mean your certainty. Your confidence. You seem to walk upon eggshells in my presence. Is something wrong…?”

“No! No, nothing is wrong. I just...don’t want to be given a chance to repeat my mistakes, brother.”

“But how are you to be my advisor if you do not speak your mind?” The elder brother gives a tired smile. “...I trust you. The changes you have made will not be so easily reverted. You have much that motivates you to remain as you are now. You fought too hard, endured too much, to think of going back.”

A long pause blooms. “...you may trust me...but I can’t yet trust myself.”

“What would it take to earn that trust?”

“...I don’t know.”

“Well...you will have time to find it. But I must warn you, Sasuke: a large diplomatic meeting is fast approaching.”

“...oh?”

“Yes. Representatives from all four nations will be present. And I want you to be there as my advisor. This means I will require your input.”

“...I see.”

Itachi studies his brother for a long moment...and then heaves a light sigh. “Your friends will be here. Naruto, Sakura, Kiba, Hinata...they too are key parts of all of the rebuilding our world is going through. Is it not fitting, then, that you join them…? You were an integral player in the end of the war.”

“I also tried to aid the Fire Nation in conquering the four nations,” is Sasuke’s bitter reply.

“As did all of our soldiers,” Itachi counters gently. “And yet...we must all move forward. Realize our mistakes, and work to correct them. Repay our debts. While we should not lose pride in ourselves, our land, our element...we must atone. And learn. And grow. As you have done, and as you will continue to do.”

Sasuke just heaves a sigh. “...I’ll attend the meeting.” Whether or not he’ll trust himself to speak much is yet to be seen. But he’ll go, if only for his brother’s sake.

“Thank you, Sasuke. I’m sure the others will be delighted to see you.”

Remembering Naruto’s incessant talking and Sakura’s short temper, he can’t help a small wilt. “...yeah, they sure will.”

Two weeks later, the representatives arrive. It’s a bit odd to see many of them done up in their nation’s traditional clothing. Naruto because, well...there simply aren’t any other air nomads left to see. Sakura because her rough-and-tumble nature means that nice clothes rarely last long.

Kiba and Hinata are the most recognizable. They’ve seen each other sparingly during the last few years after the war, and Sasuke finds himself...nervous.

...he’s not sure why.

Greetings are exchanged, everyone all smiles. As he finds himself in familiar company, no matter the time passed, even Sasuke manages to relax a bit.

“It’s so nice to see everyone again,” Hinata offers, always the polite and guiding one.

“Yeah, feels like it’s been forever since all of us were in one place!” the Avatar replies jovially. “I mean...we’ll be talking a lot of serious subjects, but we’ll have time to just spend some time together, right?”

“I believe so,” Itachi offers, hands in his sleeves as he smiles at them all. “The preliminary plans for Republic City will be held in many stages. This is only the first. The rest of your stay you can use however you wish. Please, enjoy yourselves in our fair city.”

Sasuke’s brow furrows ever so slightly He’s only heard vague snippets of this plan: some new city-state along an edge of the Earth Kingdom, a place for all nations to be able to live together. A sort of trial to see how such an arrangement would truly work.

The guests are scheduled to remain for a week, and Itachi guesses that - though they will meet daily from their arrival to their departure - evenings should be free for the non-natives to simply enjoy in the Fire Nation capital.

“I can’t wait to try more Fire Nation food!” Naruto enthuses as the group leaves for their first night off.

“Just don’t make yourself sick,” Sakura chides, arms folding. “If we have to start late because you have a bellyache, I’ll be upset.”

“R...right. I’ll be careful!”

“I’m with Naruto on this one!” Kiba howls. “I wanna try every meat dish there is!”

“Best you be mindful too, Kiba,” Hinata cautions. “You’re not used to food that spicy.”

“This stomach can handle anything!”

“They’ll be all right,” Sasuke offers, stepping up beside her. “If they do get sick, Itachi’s healer can surely handle it.”

“Well, I’d still rather spare her the trouble…”

“So, what about you? Feel like doing anything in particular?”

“Well...I’m not sure, honestly. I’m not really one for spicy food, sadly. What would you recommend us to do?”

He mulls that over. “There’s typically a lot of booths and stalls to peruse in the evenings, when it’s cool. We could go look, if you’d like.”

“I would. Maybe I can find a trinket to take home!”

They move to a more crowded street, the others all moving first to the food stalls. Hinata and Sasuke, on the other hand, visit ones selling wares. Hinata quickly gets lost ogling some jewelry made from fire opals and volcanic rock.

Sasuke, however...keeps an eye on their surroundings. Something doesn’t feel right…

“What do you think about this one?”

He spares a brief glance. “Looks nice.”

“You hardly even saw it!”

Not replying, Sasuke tenses as a spark of light catches his eye. With a jab, he blocks an incoming strike from a firebender, some of his own igniting in the dark of the evening.

Around him, people gasp, watching as the man cries, “Pride for the fire nation! Send that waterbender back where she came from!”

Along with his bending, Sasuke’s temper quickly sparks. With hardly any effort, he spars the attacker into submission, eyes flashing dangerously as he finally pins him down. “...a word of advice: don’t ever attack that woman again. Or I’ll kill you.”

Guards quickly approach, offering to take the man to the city’s prison.

“Throw him in a cell...I’ll deal with him later.”

Looking aghast, Hinata quickly asks, “Are you all right?!”

“Fine...he didn’t even touch me. All he really did was make me mad. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m...I’m okay. You reacted so quickly...!”

“Gut instinct.”

“Well...thank you. Normally I’d want to defend myself, but…” She flashes him a grateful smile. “You handled it splendidly.”

“...I’m sorry about what he said. I -”

She shakes her head. “No...I expected as much. There are still dissenters on all sides, believe me. And there always will be. It wasn’t your fault. If it weren’t for you, I’d likely have gotten hurt.”

He doesn’t argue, even if his distaste lingers. “...do you want to head back for the night?”

“I...think that might be wise.”

“I’ll escort you.”

The others all grumble, but agree it might be for the best to lay low for the rest of the night.

“What a jerk!” Naruto seethes. “You sure you’re okay, Hinata?”

“Yes. Sasuke kept me safe,” she assures the others.

Sasuke feels a strange warmth in his chest at her words.

Going with Hinata to her quarters, he bids her goodnight. “Hopefully tomorrow will be better.”

She nods, looking a bit weary. “Yes...I hope so, too. Goodnight, Sasuke. And...thank you again.”

“...you’re welcome.”

.oOo.

Blugh, tired...and this doesn't feel like a great piece, but...it's done? Been feeling some burnout, I think cuz irl's been pretty busy. Hopefully that won't last and I can be a bit more timely with my prompts so I'm not writing at three am, RIP. Anyway, just...more AtLA stuff. I love this verse, and I should do more with it. I just...don't lol But yeah, that's all from me tonight. Thanks for reading~

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #uchiha itachi #uzumaki naruto #haruno sakura #inuzuka kiba #healing waters and scorching flames [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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paladin-andric · 5 years

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Breaking Point

This story’s a sequel to Joy and Ashes! Here, Jack and Zaphontilku, trapped in the cave, begin to feel a strain between them...

“Sing me another song.”

Zaphontilku lay on the ground, body curled around the human soldier. The white dragon’s head was resting on the floor, staring ahead into the magical barrier preventing their escape.

Jack meanwhile, sat with his back against the dragon, looking off to the side. He had discarded most of his equipment for the moment, seeing as he didn’t need it and wanted to remain comfortable. His jacket, vest, backpack, flashlight, firearms and helmet were on the ground near the barrier. He wore only his boots, pants and a white t-shirt.

It had been a few weeks since the human arrived. One Jack Lincoln, a private in the Geralthin National Guard. He had been on patrol when he noticed a magical barrier at the mouth of a cavern fade away. Not a moment after he stepped inside did the barrier come back, trapping him inside. This alone would have been cause for alarm.

The fact that he entered deeper into the cave and found a dragon awaiting him, however…

He was sure he was dead, or had been captured for nefarious ends. When the dragon spoke however, he found even the beast of legend had no idea what had happened, and did not manipulate the barrier to draw him inside.

The pair theorized that the magic that had been used to raise the barrier centuries ago was fading, and so the barrier, for a moment, failed.

It would be quite a while longer before the barrier fell apart, however.

In the year 1815, exactly two hundred years ago, dragons waged war on humanity. They were through with being ordered about, told where they could go and what they were allowed to do. They wanted a return to the ancient pre-human Geralthin, where dragons soared through the skies, allowed to journey through the lands at their discretion, and beholden to no law.

The advent of artillery, accurate, powerful firearms and professional, organized military structures and systems however meant this war turned out much differently than it would have before the industrial revolution.

The dragons were brought to the brink of annihilation, and those that weren’t destroyed either retreated across the border to other nations, hid in the deepest depths of the wilds, or capitulated to Geralthin, obeying whatever demands were placed on them for survival.

Zaphontilku’s father had prepared this cave, warded with the most power magic either the human or dragon had seen, to protect his son from the humans. He had placed a ward not only upon the entrance, but the walls and ground in the cave.

He knew Zaphontilku would grow bored and try to leave, and that the humans outside would destroy him when he did...so he made sure his son would be trapped inside. For his own safety.

It was done out of love, but Zaphontilku grew miserable during his stay. An empty, silent cave of nothingness for centuries...the dragon began to crave death, and nearly went mad.

That changed when the human arrived.

At first the dragon was furious. Even here, in a hole of endless misery, no trouble to the outside world, they STILL never stopped hunting them after an eternity, the dragons not allowed to live even in prisons?!

When it became clear this was an accident, the dragon’s mood softened...and then flipped completely when the soldier mentioned the army would likely start searching for him, and then break him out when they found him.

For once in his life since he arrived to the cave, Zaphontilku felt hope. His torment was nearly over. Soon, he would be outside. Soon, he would feel the breeze of the Geralthin winds, see the verdant greens of the grass and trees, and bathe in the glorious sun under the blue skies.

In the meantime, his stay here was so much more bearable. Instead of being trapped in a bubble, nothing to offer any reprieve from the endless boredom and misery, he now had a companion. The soldier told him everything he had missed, all of the history that had unfolded while he wasted away in the cave. He explained all the new technology and how it worked, using his kevlar body armor, assault rifle and flashlight as examples.

He told the dragon of his home, his family. His time in the army, and all that he had learned. Most of all however, he sang.

The dragon seemed to have an inordinate fascination with music, and demanded to hear every song the soldier could remember. From rock music from the soldier’s favorite albums to army marching songs, he lusted after them all. Perhaps after an eternity of oppressive silence, the sound of sweet melodies soothed the wounded beast?

“Sure. What do you want to hear?”

“Hmm...something new.”

“I’m afraid I’m out.”

The dragon’s face scrunched up. “Out? What do you mean out?”

“I mean...I’ve already sang all the songs I know.”

“What?!”

“Mhm.”

The soldier was sitting down, leaning against the scaled side of the dragon curled around him. An unnatural light shone from above. Zaphontilku, being well versed in magic, conjured artificial light so that the human could see in the pitch black cave, allowing him to save the batteries in his flashlight, which really wouldn’t have lasted as long as he had stayed so far.

“That cannot be true...you must know something, anything…”

“No…”

“Aha!” Zaphontilku cried, “You are lying!”

“No I’m not! What are you talking about?!”

“I can tell from the quiver in your voice. You are hiding something.”

He was right. Jack did know another song.

“Well?” the dragon continued, “Go on. Tell me the truth.”

Jack frowned. “I...I don’t think I should sing it.”

“What?! I want to hear it! Sing to me, break this deafening silence for me, you said you would!”

“I will, and I have,” the soldier said defensively, “But...this song...I don’t think you’d like it.”

“I do not CARE what you think!” Zaphontilku cried, “Begin singing!”

“I’m warning you…”

“And I am warning YOU!” the dragon returned aggressively, “Now BEGIN!”

The soldier’s eyes narrowed. This was lose-lose, but if he wanted it so badly…

“Fine. I warned you. This is a song from the army...from the war. THAT war.”

The white dragon’s eyes widened, but before he could backpedal on his demands, the soldier began.

“To save our motherland from any monstrous attack,

From vicious giant dragons who have once again come back,

We’ll unleash all our forces, we won’t cut them any slack,

The GDF deploys!”

Zaphontilku swallowed hard, concern written on his face. “You may stop now…”

“Our soldiers are prepared for any draconic threat,

The people volunteer, the army pays their debt,

Even the half-kind joined us, this we never will forget,

The GDF deploys!”

The dragon looked hurt now. “Stop…”

“The dragons have now dwindled and they fall back to regroup,

Our forces have multiplied and formed a massive group,

It’s time to beat these beasts, let’s crush them all in one fell swoop,

The GDF deploys!”

Zaphontilku looked mortified. What could he do? He demanded this, and now…

“Our friends were all killed yesterday as were our families,

At Lannis they did butcher and commit atrocities,

That’s why we’ll never stop the fight, despite our casualties,

The GDF deploys!

Last week my brother died, next day my mother fell,

If you’re defenseless they’ll not pause, on that we must now dwell,

We’ll never stop fighting until they all burn in hell,

The GDF deploys!”

Zaphontilku whispered quietly. “Please...no more…”

Jack glared as he continued.

“A legendary hero soon will lead us to glory,

A thousand years ago she saved us all, that’s history,

Tomorrow we will follow fair Gira to victory,

The GDF deploys!

The GDF deploys!”

There was a lengthy, awkward silence before the soldier looked up and spoke.

“Did you like it?”

Zaphontilku whimpered in response.

The pair had grown closer to each other during their stay, but Zaphontilku had continuously belittled and insulted the human. He had grown tired of it, even though he had the suspicion it was just for show.

The dragon’s eyes were wide as he turned his head towards the soldier. “...why? Why did you…?”

“When I tell you something’s a bad idea, I’m telling you for a reason. We could have avoided all of this, if only you took me seriously.”

“But...I only…”

“You’ve been calling me frail, pathetic, stupid, infantile, uncouth, barbaric and dull since I arrived! I’m sick of it. Either you get it together or I spend the rest of this stay way down there, and we never speak again.”

The soldier pointed away from the barrier, down to the deeper section of the cave where the dragon had spend the last two centuries.

Zaphontilku looked conflicted. “I do not mean...I only speak the truth. I am powerful. I am mighty. I am a dragon...but I am also benevolent guardian. I offer my protection to the lesser races…”

Jack scoffed. “We’re the ones ruling the world, and you’re the ones hiding in caves...remind me who’s lesser, again?”

Zaphontilku’s expression fell between that of sorrow and fury. “H-how...DARE you! I...am the great Zaphontilku! I have so graciously offered you refuge in MY domain, fed you, and assisted you whenever you asked...and this is how you repay my mercy and kindness?!”

The soldier looked ready to snap. “What is it, you wanna kill me?! You want that?!”

“W-what?! No!”

“Than WHAT do you want, damn you?!”

“I...I only…” Zaphontilku looked away, feeling a palpable degree of shame. “...wish for some respect.”

“If you want to get respect, you need to give it.”

“I have suffered misery yet unknown by any other for an eternity...have I not given enough?”

“You’re alive.”

Zaphontilku narrowed his eyes. “No...this is untrue.”

Jack’s brows raised. “Huh?”

Zaphontilku moved his body, whirling around to face the human.

“I have been dead for two hundred years.”

The soldier groaned. “God, Zap, get it together! You’re about to be free, and all you can do is complain! Stop crying!”

“How do you even know?! What if they never find us here?! What if you are trapped with me for the rest of your life?!”

“Well then...I’ll just shoot myself, I guess.”

Jack’s snarl vanished, replaced a forlorn look of grim acceptance. He turned away.

“At least I’d be out of your hair then, right?”

The dragon’s head whipped about in a wild shake. “No...no, I do not wish for your death. I do not think you a nuisance…”

“Could've fooled me.”

The dragon’s confidence seemed to surge again, if only for a moment.

“I do not need you...I do not need anyone...I welcomed you in my infinite benevolence...I offered you my company in my unending kindness...I am the great Zaphontilku…”

“And the ‘Great Zaphontilku’ has spent his life wasting away in a hole, forgotten by all living things. He can continue to do so, if he so wishes...”

The dragon growled, claws scraping at the stone beneath him. “You...WILL APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST ME!”

The cavern shook with the force of his roared demand. Jack shook his head.

“Do your worst. You’ll doom yourself to a fate far beyond what can happen to me.”

“I can trap you here too!”

“For fifty years or so, till I die. You, though...ha! Two hundred years! Zap, if I don’t get you out of here...that’ll just be a warmup. Thousands of years, Zap. Millennia of an empty cave of nothingness, wasting away in madness and despair until you finally whither up and die, without anyone in the world even knowing you existed.”

The dragon seemed to freeze up. His eyes shot open wide, and he took a sharp, deep breath.

Thankfully, it seemed he forgot about the weakening barrier…

“If I die, you die a hundred times over. Is that what you want?”

“I never said I wanted you to be hurt…”

“I told you already. I can walk away. The search parties will never find me. I can do it.”

The white dragon trembled before roaring out in frustration.

“Jack...JACK! I thought…I thought we were...friends.”

The soldier crossed his arms. “So did I...but friends respect each other, don’t they? When you said it wasn’t my mom’s fault she was a ‘human imbecile’...Zap, I told you already. No one talks about about my family like that.”

“I did not mean it in that way…”

“Well, that’s the way I took it. You need to start treating me like an equal.”

The dragon’s head reeled back in shock. “What?! B-but you are...a human!”

“And why does that matter?!”

“Hmph! You are small and frail things! You are foolish if you think yourselves equals to our kind! I may respect that you are above other humans, but you still lack the might of the great and powerful dragons! It is my duty to guide and protect you, as the superior!”

“I’m not your damn pet, jackass!” the soldier screamed, “I’m the one who gets to decide whether you go free or not! So do me a favor. Take a nice, hard think over what you say next...and decide how you want this to go down.”

Zaphontilku’s face dropped. “You...you would not do such a thing...surely this is a bluff…”

“Try me.”

The dragon’s teeth bared as he cringed away from the man. “I thought I was...helping...I thought you would appreciate my assistance and guidance...why…? Why do you...hate me so? I have absolved you of the sins your people have committed against me, of all I had to endure because of you, and now...you say you are the one who is being wronged?”

“I don’t hate you, Zap. I just think you’re a bonehead. Even when someone who doesn’t really have a reason to help you outside of just being nice offers to rescue you, when someone holds the fate of your life in their hands...you call them stupid, beneath you, lesser. I don’t need this. I don’t have to do any of this. I’m helping you because you said you were my friend...so why don’t you start acting like one?”

The dragon shook his head. This was crazy! He’d been nothing but kind and accommodating for this silly little thing, and he had the nerve to think the two of them were equals?! This was the same arrogance of those humans that thought they had any rights over dragonkind and their activities!

That being said...Jack wasn’t lying. He DID hold the keys to freedom. He DID have the fate of Zaphontilku in his hands. He COULD refuse to cooperate and hide away from the barrier, dooming both of them to a lifetime of misery...and Zaphontilku had the sneaking suspicion the human was actually crazy enough to go through with it.

Freedom, joy, and life...at any cost.

The white dragon lowered his head, eyes cast to the ground. “I apologize...you are correct. You have been correct since you arrived. All you have done is bring me hope and joy in the past weeks. All you have offered is your aid to my quandary. I beg your forgiveness, Jack...my friend.”

For a moment, there was silence. The howling winds were all the two could picked up as they stared at one another. Slowly, Jack smiled.

“Ah, Zap, I-”

“Hey!”

A third voice made both of them freeze in place. The voice was that of another man, a human.

But that was impossible.

“This is the army! Is anyone there?!”

They were here! Jack quickly turned to Zaphontilku, voice a whisper.

“Hide!”

“What?! Why?!” the dragon retorted in his own low whisper.

“Just do it! And snuff out the magic lights!”

“Who’s there?! Answer me!”

Jack looked to the barrier and then back to the dragon. “Just trust me! Please!”

Zaphontilku was silent for a moment before he slowly backed away, moving around the bend in the cave and out of sight from the barrier. As he did so, the glowing orbs in the air fade.

Jack let out a sigh of relief before he called out. “Hey! Over here!”

“Identify yourself!” someone called back, voice stern.

“Private Lincoln, National Guard!”

Heavy bootstomps rang out from around the corner until they reached the barrier at last, and when they did…

A group of six soldiers ran up to the barrier. They were all wearing similar uniforms to Jack, but they wore digital camouflage instead of the woodland pattern Jack did. In addition, they had their shirts, vests, helmets and belt gear on, while Jack had left those lying near the barrier.

He noted that four of the soldiers were human, while one was a koutu and another was a dacuni.

They aimed their rifles ahead, which had flashlights taped onto them. The shining lights nearly blinded the man, and he reflexively winced and held a hand in front of his eyes.

“You’re Jack?” one of the human soldiers asked, peering through the waving magical fog.

“Yeah.”

The group looked at one another before turning back to him.

“What the hell is this? What happened?”

Jack shrugged, remaining in his sitting position. “Not a damn clue. I was on patrol when I found this cave. Saw the barrier and got curious. It disappeared when I got close so I took a peek inside...then it went back up behind me. I’ve been trapped since.”

“God...how the hell are you still alive?”

“Drank out of a few puddles of water, ate moss, mushrooms...the usual.”

“Well, you’re damn lucky we found you,” the dacuni wolfman said, “Who knows when the next search party would have checked this place out?”

One of the humans put his hand to his chest, flicking at his radio. “TOC, this is Lancer Team. We found Jack Lincoln. He’s alive and well, over.”

The radio came to life with a burst of static. “Copy, Lancer Team. Good work. Bring him in.”

The man operating the radio pause. “...not possible, TOC. He’s, uhh...there’s been a complication.”

“...can you elaborate, Lancer Team?”

…

“Copy that. Forwarding the situation to Command now.”

The radio man sighed as he clicked a button and shook his head. “Nothing’s ever simple.”

“Whatever,” the koutu said with a shrug, “It’s out of our hands now. Let the magic boys deal with this.”

“Alright Jack, just sit tight and wait for the rescue, alright?”

He laughed. “Not much else I can do, is there?”

“Yup. At least everything’s gonna be alright. You lucked out, man. Between the busted radio and us wandering by…”

“Yeah, thanks. I owe you. If we meet again once I’m out of here, I’ll buy you all a round of drinks, how’s that?”

“It’s a deal!” the wolfman cried, a few of them breaking into laughter. As the laughter died down however, one of the soldiers turned to Jack, face warping into one of suspicion.

“By the way, Lincoln...when we were approaching, we heard talking.”

The trapped soldier’s smile quickly turned into a frown.

“...what was that all about, huh?”

Jack quickly found a lie to run with. “Err, well...I haven’t been using my flashlight. Just been feeling around in the dark, saving it for an emergency, you know? I tripped ‘cause I couldn’t see. Fucked up my ankle pretty bad. Started cursing.”

The soldiers were quiet before the other man nodded. “Ah. That sucks. Don’t worry, Lincoln, just sit back and rest up. Help’s on the way.”

The soldiers left to report their findings in person, Jack promising them that everything was fine at the moment, and even if they wanted to stay, they couldn’t do anything with the barrier there anyway.

A few minutes after they walked off, Zaphontilku stomped around the corner, magical orbs flashing back into existence and lighting up the cavern again.

“I see now why you wished for me to go into hiding. Clever, human…”

“No telling if they would have let me to rot if they knew they’d be busting out a dragon too.”

“I wonder...what is the next step? What will our approach be when they break us free?”

The soldier shrugged. “Dunno. Came up with this on the fly. I doubt you’ll be able to sneak out, though, they’ll probably sweep the cave. I think...we’ll just need to explain then and there.”

The dragon rumbled deeply as he thought that over. What if they tried to kill him? With freedom and joy just behind them, striking him down before he could finally live a happy life again…

“...we shall see. If you wish to know the truth, however, I am...worried.”

“I’ve got your back. I won’t let em’ do anything stupid.”

The dragon slowly smiled. “...thank you.”

“Hey, Zap...let’s forget about that little spat earlier, yeah? Friends?”

The white dragon frowned, eyes boring into the soldier. “...no.”

Jack was about to protest when the behemoth continued.

“...let us NOT forget. You were correct. I shall...try to keep your feelings in mind in the future.”

Jack looked genuinely surprised at that. His expression changed into one of relief as the dragon grinned and leaned forward.

“...friends.”

Tag list: @thereisnothingwrongwithbeingmad, @lady-redshield-writes, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @sheralynnramsey, @tawnywrites, @writer-on-time, @oceanwriter, @zwergis-spilledink, @fluffpiggy, @elliewritesfantasy, @homesteadhorner, @laurenwastestimewriting, @elaynab-writing, @the-ichor-of-ruination, @candy687, @fierywords, @shewrites-sometimes

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wxldchxld · 5 years

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😰when my muse is stressed, how do they act out? & ⧱ what really is my muse’s biggest flaw

😰 when my muse is stressed, how do they act out?

I guess it depends on the type of stress. If she’s just like, overloaded stressed where she feels like she’s taken on too much, her response is to leave. This can be everything from taking a break to completely bailing on the person or situation entirely and not returning to it. Beck is a bottler. So her first instinct is to shove it down and pretend to be happy and make everyone happy and she thinks if she can just achieve that the stress will go away. The end result is now not only has Beck fled the situation, but also that it probably came out of the blue. This was, essentially, the core of why she and Harper broke up. Things changed, Beck spooked, and instead of saying “hey we need to talk” she just disappeared into the night.

That was kind of a special situation, and a lot of the times Beck will come back once she’s cooled off, but she’d still rather not talk about it. Unless you’re someone she trusts and genuinely wants a relationship with. If those feelings are in place she’ll be more willing to talk or even may force herself to initiate it. She didn’t with Harper because... shit was complicated.

If she’s extremely distressed where she feels like she is in danger she either runs or shifts or grabs her wand. Depends because she tends to leap before she thinks, so she’s rarely like “so what would be best for me in THIS crisis situation.”

⧱ what really is my muse’s biggest flaw

My girl is a hot mess, and I could probably fill a book if I tried to list all of the flaws so I’m glad we’re going with one.

This isn’t something that Beck is aware of, and if you confronted her with it, she’d adamantly deny it, but from an authorial stand point Beck’s biggest flaw is she doesn’t value other people just on the moral grounds that they too are people. And it’s not just because she’s a bit vain.

Hang with me, because my explanation for how she got that way isn’t going to seem relative at first because it’s a combination of two neutral things that have, over time, created a negative.

I feel like Beck’s naturally a wanderer. She’s not necessarily a loner, because she doesn’t get those desires to escape being around people, especially if they’re people she likes. For instance in a relationship, while Beck doesn’t prefer clingy partners, she also doesn’t really hit a wall where she’s like “holy shit if we don’t get some space from one another I might explode.”

However Beck will very often prioritize her desire to see new places and travel around over relationships. It’s about the journey, yes, but it’s also about her intense desire to feel free which comes from a childhood of constant criticism and frequent abuse, as well as it’s just a result of her magic. The wilds call to her. This is why in verses where Beck is married and forced to stay still, she keeps herself almost frantically busy, and she doesn’t cope well in urban areas bc she still needs that exposure to the wilderness.

Essentially, the first neutral is that Beck values her own freedom and comfort over the comfort of others. But she’s not emotionless; leaving people hurts. When she left Harper, even though it was her choice, she cried for months. Her solution? Just don’t get close to people. Keep them at an arm’s length. Because the desire to leave is going to come, and someone is going to get hurt and Beck doesn’t like hurting people she loves or getting hurt herself.

The second thing is Beck was severely mistreated by her mother after the death of her father. Denise removed her children from the home and family they knew, took them somewhere else, changed their names, and then proceeded to neglect and abuse them away from prying eyes that might call her out on it. People were just too scared to go against her. Beck bore a little more weight from the abuse because Denise didn’t like her. She was defiant, unlike Fen. Then her mother died (in most verses; in my GoT verse she dies later), and she was given to her great aunt and uncle to raise, and they were abusive as well. Then her brother, once they were older, started to lose his grip on his sanity, and he abused her too.

So Beck’s essentially been passed from family member to family member, and even Fen, who at one time she loved and trusted more than anyone in the world, fucked her over.

This is NOT an excuse. People are handed their deck of cards in life and, to some extent, they make a choice. When Beck hit her crossroads the first time where she was with Harper, someone who could protect her and would believe her, she chose to leave. Again after Fen kills her familiar Dawnbreaker, and she’s found a way to escape, she doesn’t go tell someone what he’s doing. She doesn’t skip the country and make a life for herself in a city where no one will find her with a coven that might protect her. She chooses to go back to the wild. When that very action is what she knows provokes the anxiety and rage in Fenris in the first place.

Over time, both of these factors, as well as the sheer amount of time she spends in isolation, has turned into the fact that Beck (who is also naturally kinda vain) usually doesn’t see people as anything but a danger or a nuisance. This is why she doesn’t care about stealing from them or conning them, and sometimes she even sees the act of manipulating others as kind of a game. It’s why if she feels slighted, she doesn’t feel even slightly sorry for sending a hex your way. She doesn’t even get pissed off about it really. It’s just like “oh he’s a prick... I’ll turn him into a cow for a week or so.” And she doesn’t think at all about how royally that could fuck someone up in their head, especially if they didn’t know about magic. She doesn’t care.

She’ll hex people to get out of tight spots too. I won’t say she likes this, but if she feels it’s beneficial enough she won’t blink an eye.

Like I said she’ll steal, and she’ll spy too. Now she’s not about to go steal like, national information that could endanger millions, but if you want a private investigator that doesn’t give a fuck about laws or privacy just go to Beck.

Probably the worst thing is that a lot of the times she is just either completely unaware of the problems of others or she doesn’t care unless it is extreme. She’s not going to let someone hurt a kid or beat a woman or something like that if she’s in a position where she knows about it and can stop it... but she won’t readily put herself in harm’s way just to help someone else either. It’s not a heroic “I must act now!” sort of thing if she gets involved. Even her work with the SoE in some verses where it is literally her job to remove people that are being abused from situations where the law won’t help, she does it because she feels like she owes the SoE a debt and she almost never puts herself at risk during that time.

Beck just---doesn’t consider people. Often her attempts to make them happy are a result of old coping mechanisms, channeling her own hyperactive energy, or an attempt to make them more pliable for manipulation.

Beck is extremely difficult to get close to on a real level. After two years on this blog I can honestly say she’s got maybe one person SHE would call a friend outside of the muses I write and have given her extended history with. Even in many of her relationships, while she’s gotten to the point where she cares about the other person some and has started to think about how they might feel in a situation and put that on equal footing as how she feels.

I enjoy writing this because I feel like lots of people use this trait, but that they do it differently. Distant characters are often painted as cold sarcastic loners who are just kind of assholes. That’s not Beck. She’s very warm and bubbly and she can be attracted to people, interested in people, and kind to people, all while consistently lying to them, keeping her true feelings bottled up, and lacking trust in them entirely. And like I said she doesn’t really realize that she devalues people like this, but she does. She only realizes it later when she starts to care for them and often has to dig herself out of a mountain of lies she’s told. Some of which are even actively dangerous to the other person.

#hc #leave-one-wolf-alive

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specswritesstuff · 6 years

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The Necklace

The tale of how Francis’ beloved cross necklace became his, became damaged, became stolen and became repaired. This is a warm up but I hope you enjoy nonetheless :)

Stunning blue eyes, soft hair, a pretty smile and a musical laugh. Those were Francis’ favorite things about Jeanne besides the fire of passion within her soul. Back in the day, when he met her, he had become enamored with her, Antonio said it was a phase, Gilbert only laughed but it was true...Francis had fallen for a human, one of the biggest mistakes a nation could make. He would walk her to church and put flowers in her hair, he’d listen intently to her stories- sometimes pretending he forgot a story so she would tell him again! Her voice and her way of storytelling both dragged you in and made you listen. The two became very good friends- but never lovers. Francis would kiss her cheeks in a friendly manner or hold her hands while listening to tales from her childhood but he never pushed what they had. He was bitter, it always hurt to know that he would outlive her by infinite lifetimes...He knew that she would never understand him, most humans didn’t...He knew that he should never have fallen in love but the heart does what it wants.

Jeanne gave Francis a beautiful cross necklace as a gift of friendship. It was a bit dull, a bit too long and a bit chunky but he loved it. He swapped out his old cross necklace for the new one Jeanne gave him and never took it off, even when it didn’t go with his outfits- that didn’t matter.

All good things eventually had to come to an end...Like Jeanne’s life. Francis was not there to see her go, to see her struggle against the flames. He wishes to this day that he could have been there to offer support or to fight for her but he could not have. He cursed the English, he clawed and scratched at Arthur when he dared to show his face around him again

“Demon! Scum! You killed her!” He had screamed “You killed her and you feel no remorse!”

“I do feel it, Francis! Did you think it was my decision? If it was up to me, it would not have been done! That woman would never have been killed!”

“She has a name! She had a life and you filthy English took it from her!” Francis had spat on Arthur’s shoes, shouting for his housestaff to get Arthur out while he retreated to his wine cellar to drown his sorrows in weak alcohol and tears. All he had left of her was that necklace.

He rarely took the necklace off from then on. When he did, he always put it somewhere safe for fear of someone messing with it. Slowly, his relationship with Arthur was repaired, he somewhat forgave him and his people for what they did...He was still grieving internally- through the stages of grief, even years later he never hit acceptance. Francis cannot see ghosts but he can sense them. When he’s feeling hopeless or lost, occasionally he’ll feel a hand on his shoulder or hear a soft whisper...It is her. He can never accept that she is gone since she continues to visit him in the afterlife.

Wearing that necklace got him through many rough years. Through his people hating him, through his royalty being beheaded, through debt and poverty, through the First World War even. He would keep that necklace close to his heart and just pray that his dear Jeanne would be there to protect him, to give him some sort of hope when all seemed lost.

When the Second World War came around, he was so tired. He was tired of the fighting, tired of his ears ringing, tired of the constant pain in his chest- the pain that signaled the mass murder of his people. He could feel each death, one could never get used to that feeling.

Francis himself was captured by the Germans, his country too but of course they stole him away from France, taking him to a place he didn’t recognize in Germany. He was chained up to a chair, unable to move since he was weak already, and interrogated

“I’m telling you, I do not know anything” he repeated over and over but the soldiers had none of it. They shouted and slapped him, shouted some more and when they didn’t get what they wanted, they left the room...It was eerily silent...It was dark too and the air itself smelled like dust...It felt like forever until Ludwig himself came into the room. That changed nothing. Francis refused to give that man a bit of information other than the fact that his shoe was untied- which it wasn’t.

Francis never had realized that his necklace was not on his person until Ludwig held it up for him to see...and his world came to a stop

“How did you get that?”

“That isn’t important. What are the British-“

“Ludwig, honestly! Give that back!”

“I will give it back if you tell me where-“

“I cannot tell you anything!”

“Then I cannot give this back” Ludwig stood angrily, leaving the room once again.

Francis’ heart was racing...He had never felt anxiety so strong in his hundreds of years of living. It sounded absolutely ridiculous! It was just a necklace! But it was so much more than just a necklace...

Ludwig returned with a metal pot...It was bright red with heat “This is your last chance, tell me what the British are plotting. I know you know their plan, you sleep with Arthur”

“Ludwig please...I am telling you the truth...I don’t know- Ludwig that is all I have left of her- I’ll do anything else! I-I’ll make food for your soldiers! I- I can...I can make uniforms!”

“That is not needed” Ludwig sighed and dropped the necklace into the pot, holding it out for Francis to watch “It did not have to come to this...”

“It did...I cannot betray my family over a necklace..” Francis’ hands shook, he could barely think as he watched his precious necklace melt. He was overcome with guilt, the fact that he had not protected that necklace the way he should have...And that he had contemplated giving information to get that necklace back.

The melted gold was turned into a Nazi coin and Francis was left in the dark once more.

Once the War was over and Francis had been released back to his own country, Arthur had bought his lover a replacement necklace. Of course, it was a wonderful gesture. It warmed his heart, really it did, but it could not replace the once Jeanne had given to him. He felt attached to that necklace as children do to stuffed animals or how the elderly feel attatched to objects from their past. Sure, nowadays there were artifacts from Jeanne’s house...Her picture was on display and so was her old house...But that necklace was his. Not a museum’s. It was something that was his and only his, nothing for a tourist or a journalist to write about. It was his little piece of her that he got to keep...It was a coin now, a coin that could be anywhere.

Francis eventually came to terms with the fact that it was gone and did his best to move on. He wore the necklace Arthur gave him instead, moving on in life. He painted quite a bit, re-did his kitchen, got a cat as well as a dove, worked in a hospital for a month or so...And eventually, he was proposed to by his beloved Englishman. It was quite the surprise, one he honestly had not expected!

Their wedding was months later. Their suits matched, they were married by Feliciano and Lovino, they had their first kiss as well as their first dance as husbands! They both cried a lot that day, out of pure joy, out of the fact that they were truly together to live out their long lives together as one...But tears were shed for another reason too

Towards the end of the night, Ludwig approached the hall couple, carrying a small box. Francis, of course, was apprehensive but he accepted the little gift to be polite. Arthur watched as the little box was popped open to reveal a Nazi coin

“Is this some sort of sick joke?” Arthur spat while Francis stared at the coin in shock

“Wait- Wait is this..? Is this my coin?” Francis asked and Ludwig nodded

“It was not mine to keep...I forgot that I even had it until I felt it in my coat pocket...”

“...Merci...”

That coin was melted down within four days. It was melted back into a lovely, new, cross necklace. Francis had it engraved with Jeanne’s name and the year of her death, honoring her in the best way he could.

Francis didn’t wear this new necklace every day. He swapped it out for Arthur’s occasionally so his British husband would see him wearing his gift too, but it felt so good to have that back. It didn’t look exactly the same- not at all really, it was smaller now- but it felt fantastic to have that piece of history back with him again in its rightful place...

#jeanne d'arc #aph jeanne d'arc #aph france #warm up #oneshot #hetalia #im working on the two requests in the inbox dont worry!!#this just came to mind! :)#theres probably spelling errors oh well #nazi mention #ww2 mention

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xx-multi-fandom-fics · 6 years

Text

Simple Man

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Written for: @waywardrose13’s writing challenge and also @loki-wife asked for dean baby daddy. I sort of strayed away from that a little, so I hope this is okay.

Song: Simple Man- Lynyrd Skynyrd

Warnings: Mentioned anxiety and angst

Word Count: 1,641

Summary: You and Dean adopt a kid and stop hunting after finding the child at the crime scene of a hunt. You’ve done everything possible to make sure that he doesn’t become a hunter. Maybe even too much.

You walked up to the apartment that you knew had been owned by Daisy Kahlo, who had been recently killed by a Djinn after it kidnapped her while she was taking out the garbage. You heard a child’s cries echoing in the dark and musty hallway which smelled of mold. Dean, your fiance, gave you a look which asked if you were ready. You nodded as you raised your gun, not sure of what you’d find inside. Dean kicked down the door and the two of you rushed in. The cries got louder as you walked towards a closed door with a light peeking beneath the crack of the door. You opened the door only to see a little boy in his pajamas with a red face and tears streamed down his face. You ran over to him and scooped him up in your arms. You tried to bounce him and hum to him to get him to stop crying while Dean searched the rest of the apartment. He rushed into the room and gave you a thumbs up. You breathed a sigh of relief as you continued to bounce the boy.

“Was he Daisy’s kid?” Dean asked.

“This looks like a nursery and his diaper seems like it hasn’t been changed for days, so I’m going to say yes.”

Dean's head dropped in despair. You teared up at the knowledge that this boy would grow up not knowing his mom.

“Dean, what are we going to do?”

Sixteen years later…

You heard the door slam shut and waited to hear the greeting that your son usually said from the doorway before going to do his homework. However, there was complete silence until you heard his bedroom door shut, which was weird since he always did his homework in the dining room.

After finding the boy at Daisy Kahlo's house, you and Dean adopted him and quickly got married. You moved to a little suburban town in the Midwest and got a house with a white picket fence. It was everything you never thought you’d have due to the hunter’s life. But in the moment that you had held your son in his old nursery in his dead mother’s apartment, you knew he could never be subjected to the life that you were currently living, so you and Dean quit hunting. You and Dean had encouraged your son to become a doctor, so he’d never need to worry about the same worries you had when hunting. You had already figured out what college he was going to and the top ten hospitals in the nation to work at. Your son’s future was all planned out.

You closed the article you were writing that your boss needed two hours ago. Today, Dean had stayed home from the mechanics shop he owned, so he was sitting in the living room watching the tv. You found him and motioned towards him to follow you. You walked to the dining room and leaned on the table.

“What is it?” Dean asked.

“It’s Sam,” you sighed.

Dean had wanted to name his son after the most essential figure in his life.

“Something’s up with him. Will you go talk to him?”

“Let’s do it together,” Dean smiled and grabbed you by your waist. He was there for most of the talks and deep conversations, but he admitted that sometimes he just didn’t have the same effect on your son as you.

You walked up the stairs and knocked on Sam’s door.

“Sam? Can your mother and I talk with you?” Dean asked resting the side of his head on the door until it quickly opened and you saw your son standing there with red, puffy eyes.

“What’s wrong?” you asked worried. You rushed into his room and sat on the corner of his bed motioning for Dean and Sam to do the same.

“It’s the whole doctor thing. It’s too much.”

“You can do this if you try,” Dean offered with a kind smile. “It’s a lot, but you’re a smart kid, and I know you can do it.”

“No, Dad. I can’t,” Sam yelled and began breathing quickly. “I can’t. It's too much. I don’t want to spend my whole life in school just to get out in a ton of debt to do something I don’t even want to do!”

You scooched closer to your son and tried to give him a hug but he quickly wriggled out of your grasp and jumped up from the bed.

“I don’t know what I want to do but I certainly know it isn’t a doctor. And now it’s too late to switch what I want to do. Forget having a head start in life now!”

You saw Sam begin to pace as the tears stream down his face. He didn’t even try to wipe them away. Suddenly, you saw that years of you trying to push him away from the hunter’s life had pushed him into something he didn’t even want to do. Your heart dropped and you felt immense guilt. Your son’s panic was all because of you pushing him. You heard Dean speak which brought you out of your self-destructive thoughts.

“Come sit beside me and listen closely to what I say.”

Your son stopped in his tracks and whipped his head to look at his father. Dean got up and slowly hugged Sam as he cried into Dean’s shoulder. Dean led him back to the bed and took a deep breath.

“Listen. You don’t have to know what you want to do. You’re sixteen. Hell, I’m proud of you for just wanting to go to college. You already got your mom and I beat,” Dean laughed.

You shot your son a proud smile.

“There’s three things that you should never forget in life. One: Troubles will come and they will pass. So what is worrying you now won’t even matter when you’re thirty. Second: You’ll find a woman and you’ll find love. No matter what you choose to do in life, you will have plenty of chances to meet wonderful women one of which will hopefully be your wife. Third: Don’t you worry. You’ll find yourself. Your mom and I were both forced into a life that we didn’t want as kids. We continued living that life and that’s how we met. Eventually, we both got out of it together and raised you. Now look at us.”

Dean smiled at you and half hugged Sam.

”Now, there are five rules that I live by and you should too. One: Be something you love and understand. If you can’t understand yourself, it’s going to be a lot harder for someone else to. If you don’t want to be a doctor, don’t be a doctor. Look at other possibilities, find what you really want to do, and do it. Two: All that you need is in your soul. You don’t need money or nice things in life to be successful. We only pushed you to be a doctor because your mom and I struggled when we were younger. We didn’t want you to go through the same thing. Three: Follow your heart and nothing else. No one can tell you how to live your life. Not even your mom and I. That's up to you. Your friends can’t tell you how to live your life and neither can your teachers. Only you can decide that. Four: Take your time. Don’t live your life too fast. Appreciate what you have now. You have the ability to change what you want to do as a career. You have the ability to change what college you want to go to. You don’t have the same responsibilities that you’ll have later on in life. So take advantage of that. Go out with your friends after school instead of immediately doing your homework.”

You shot Dean a look.

“Just make sure you get it done before the due date,” Dean laughed.

“And rule five: Be a simple man. Don’t make your life too complicated and busy where you don’t have time to appreciate the simple things. Oh, won’t you do this for me son, if you can?”

“Dad? Did you just quote one of those old songs that you listen to?”

You began laughing so hard that you snorted. Dean shot you a glare before smiling at Sam. “Yes, but they’re not old. They’re classics.”

“Classics means old,” Sam stated flatly.

“You’re killing me here, Sammy,” Dean said dramatically clutching his heart and pretending to fall over.

Sam rolled his eyes, “Don’t call me that. Sammy is the name of a chubby twelve year old.”

You began laughing once more.

“What’s so funny, Mom?”

“You’re just so much like your Uncle Sam. If you don’t want to be a doctor, that’s fine me with and your dad. You can even go to college not knowing what you want to do and that’s okay. That’s why they invented undeclared as a major, because it’s ridiculous to expect a seventeen year old or eighteen year old to know what they want to do for the rest of their life.”

You hugged Sam and stood up ready to return to your article, since Sam was now okay. Dean stood up and stood next to you once again placing his hand on your waist.

“All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied,” Dean said with a knowing smirk.

He shut the door and you stood outside your son’s room.

“Good job. I knew you’d be a great father when we found him,” you muttered stepping on your tip toes and planting a quick kiss on his lips.

“You’re a great mom and wife. When do you think we should tell him how his mother died and what we were?”

“Soon.”

Thank you for reading! Likes, reblogs, and feedback is always appreciated! :)

#rose500challenge #supernatural #supernatural fic #supernatural oneshot #supernatural one shot #spn fic #spn oneshot #spn one shot #dean winchester #dean winchester fic #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester reader insert #dean winchester one shot #dean winchester oneshot #supernatural x reader #supernatural reader insert #simple man

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