#i'm imagining this taking place sometime near the start of them living together/the beginning of their relationship

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 重啟之極海聽雷/Reunion: The Sound of the Providence/The Lost Tomb Reboot/this thing has too many names

Reunion (I'm just going to call it that) is a 2020 action drama about the most specialest little babygirl in the tomb-raiding world, his two husbands, and the cadre of assorted weirdos they pick up as they try to follow a set of directions left by a dead (?) man in the thunder.

Imagine if someone showed you the Mandalorian, and you were like, gee, that was a neat little sci-fi one-shot! because you'd never heard of Star Wars. That was basically my experience watching this show, having no idea that the Lost Tomb franchise (DMBJ) was even a thing. Turns out that not only is there a whole big continuity out there with these characters, but that Reunion takes place a few years after the main story's resolution. Don't worry, though -- Reunion doesn't spoil you for that resolution. It doesn't spoil you for much, period. Look, DMBJ has a weird relationship to endings, okay?

I have written a more thorough where-to-start guide for DMBJ as a whole, so if you want to consider other entry points, well, that information is there for your consideration. Yet it is my opinion that this is the best entry into the overall franchise, and a fun thing to watch just in general, and I'm here to make my case for both of those.

The rest of this rec will assume that you have no familiarity with the DMBJ series. That's okay; you don't need any. All you need is to trust my five reasons you should watch this.

1. Old Man Yaoi

As you begin this show, you are introduced to the Iron Triangle. That's them in the picture up there. Left to right, you have: Xiao Ge, magically tattooed immortal hottie who just got back from ten years in [scene missing]; Wu Xie, our protagonist, who's just a little guy and it's his birthday; and Wang Pangzi, the literal best.

(And yes, Wu Xie is in his 30s and Pangzi is in his 40s, which is not technically old man anything, but ... look, if you watch, you'll see why I think I'm justified in calling it that.)

They are extremely married. They are a disaster trio of disasters so disastrous that no one else should ever be subjected to their chaos. They're going to make sure lots of people are, though, don't you worry about it. Sometimes those people even deserve it.

However, because the show (tragically!!) decides that Xiao Ge has somewhere else to be like 95% of the runtime, most of the relationship you get to see is between Wu Xie and Pangzi.

I'm saying this now as an old gay nerd who just this year celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary: I have never, never felt so represented in media as I have watching Wu Xie and Pangzi interact. There's a little wake-up song they sing together near the end of the show, and it just ... it packs so much character development into thirty seconds. These boys have been living adjacent lives for so long that they've made up their own little shared songs about the mundanities of daily living. That is just what happens when you marry your best friend and then decide to get old and weird together. Ask me how I know.

Look, if you want to know whether this show is for you or not, watch to the end of the first episode, to the part where Pangzi flips over the table. If your heart is filled with joy (as it should be), keep going.

Love makes a tomb-raiding syndicate family.

2. A fun-filled action-packed romp of nonsense!

If you're familiar with Hellblazer canon, this will make sense to you: Reunion is Dangerous Habits. If you're not familiar with Hellblazer canon, try it like this: Reunion is a terrible place to start because it plays on your extant affection for a character who gains a terrible status effect almost immediately. It's a also great place to start because it throws you right in the action with measurably high stakes and gives you a reason to build that affection very quickly.

I'm also going to warn you right off the bat: The plot of this show got cut to ribbons by censors.

See, the DMBJ books, being books, are allowed to get away with supernatural shit! So you've got zombies and ghosts and curses and monsters and immortality and all your other standard ooky spooky semi-urban fantasy trappings. But the DMBJ adaptations, being live-action, are heavily regulated in their content. This is why, in the early Reunion episodes, our heroes are menaced by human-looking creatures that are actually ancient mannequins made of leather that are piloted, mecha-style, by evil clams. Because evil clams are more scientific than zombies. I guess.

So yeah, the plot of this book already had to get mangled into a more "science"-compliant shape even before it made it to filming. The real problem is that a whole lot more of it got cut after it was all filmed and put together. I have read an explanation of what the actual storyline was supposed to be, and yeah, if you know what you’re looking at, you can see (and hear) the scars where major elements got hacked out with a weed whacker.

Therefore: You cannot expect this plot to make sense.

But that's okay! You're not here for the plot to make sense! You're here to watch some characters you love run around through ridiculous and sometimes beautiful labyrinths, trying to solve puzzles you're never given enough information to understand, all in search of the resolution to a mystery that had half its guts torn out before you got to see it -- and you are here to love it. If you have ever laughed and cheered your way through a Mission: Impossible film without pausing to care too much about the plot holes it’s dodging left and right, you are in the correct frame of mind to appreciate this. Just believe that whatever engaging nonsense the show tells you is correct for the time being and go with it.

You cannot watch DMBJ and care about the laws of physics. You simply cannot.

Do not, however, let me give you the impression that the shoddy plotting is accompanied by equally shoddy performances. A major part of this show’s incredible watchability comes from how the cast is shockingly good. There are some serious heavy hitters among the actors. A major part of why this Wu Xie and Pangzi are my favorite together is the incredible chops both Zhu Yilong and Chen Minghao have, to say nothing of their real-life affection for one another. (See that scar on Wu Xie's neck? That scar is there because Zhu Yilong commits to the bit.) Effortlessly charming Mao Xiaotong turns potentially irritating wunderkind Bai Haotian into a perfect precious weirdo baby. Wu Erbai's entire second-season character arc could have been unintentionally comedic, but veteran of queer cinema Hu Jun sells even the undignified moments as relentlessly tragic. And of course Baron Chen absolutely kills it with...

3. This giant fucking loser

This is Hei Xiazi. That's not his name, but it's close enough. Allow me to do a dramatic reenactment of my watching his first scene:

[camera pans over to him]

me: Ugh, I recognize this kind of wannabe badass character design. I hate his type. He's self-important, hyper-masculine, and just a big jerk, and the show thinks he's soooo cool. Barf.

[thirty seconds later]

me: Oh no. I was so wrong. I love him forever now.

This is because he is (as indicated above) a giant fucking loser. Yes, he's a good fighter who knows lots of things. He's also a wet potato chip of a man. Sure, he can get you into a headlock, but he can also annoy you into submission, and that's honestly more fun for him. My wife has used the phrase “Vash the Stampede-coded” to describe him. My wife is not wrong.

And the kind of ridiculous thing is, being such a loser is what wraps back around to making him cool again. He's a loser because he just doesn't fucking care. His masculinity is the opposite of fragile. You tell him to wear a dress and makeup, he'll do it -- and sure, he'll complain, but only because he enjoys complaining. He has no dignity. He’s tits-out. He's gender. He's the worst and also the best.

Hei Xiazi is a major character in the other installations, to the point where he and his boyfriend (more on him later) even have their own movie. But of course, I did not know this on my first watch, so I kept expecting the show to explain his whole deal. It does not, but you don't really need it to. He sees better in the dark. He doesn't age. He's a thug for hire. There, that's all the bio you need.

One of the things that makes him great is that he is the least sexually threatening person ever. Across all the properties he's in, he spends a fair amount of time with women -- sometimes in very close quarters -- and they are perfectly safe around him. I actually wrote a whole post about it once upon a time (warning for tiny spoilers for a series that isn't this one) wherein I claim that not only Xiazi but Reunion in general is the television equivalent of the shirt that says I RESPECT WOMEN SO MUCH I DON'T HAVE SEX WITH THEM.

That said, this loser does get a sort-of romance plot here -- and honestly, I find it very cute! It's not even the only instance in this series of a bisexual guy in a long-term same-sex relationship getting a girlfriend, and I like that other one too! Look, the handle of my DMBJ sideblog is @katamaricule because I joked that Wu Xie treats polyamory like a katamari, and if you don't move fast enough, you're going to be rolled right up into his gay little cuddle puddle.

This is not a show for exclusive ships; this is a show for inclusive ships. The Jiumen Association is a polycule. You don't even have to know what the Jiumen Association is to know it's true.

4. The power of friendship

This show has a lot of characters.

I'd say the supporting cast is divided into three categories: characters who have been in previous installments, characters who have not been in previous installments, and characters who probably should have been in previous installments (or at least mentioned) but who were only created for Reunion so we have to pretend like we've known about them all along.

There is no way to tell which is which -- which is part of my argument that this series makes a good entry point to the franchise.

Take Huo Daofu. Huo Daofu is a brilliant doctor masquerading as a donut stand operator who treats Wu Xie with all the cold disdain of a man confronting the person who left him at the altar years ago. On the one hand, yes! We do know Huo Daofu from a previous series, and we've known he's both a doctor and a bitch. On the other hand, oh, we have no idea why he's like this about Wu Xie, and we probably never will. The show just treats it like it's for an excellent reason, and you know what, from what you know about Wu Xie, it probably is.

Consider also Jiang Zisuan. One of the show's principal antagonists, Jiang Zisuan turns out to be the brother of ... well, let's just say it's someone whose having a brother really should have come up before this. It has not come up. (And that's even before we get into the issue of his surname.) His stated identity as that person's brother is so bizarre that my favorite interpretation is that he isn't actually that person's brother -- all the flashbacks we see are just his delusions about a relationship he's completely invented. But there's no way you'd know how fucking weird this is on your first run.

Then there's our friendly little support himbo, Kanjian, who shows up to all occasions with two tickets to the gun show and not a thought in that beautiful head. (His name just means "vest," which is par for the course when it comes to the author's naming conventions.) He was a lot more menacing in the last series (where they kept putting sleeves on him, geez), where most of what we learned about him is that you can loan him out to other tomb-raiding families. Now he's a golden retriever with great aim and a slingshot. It's an upgrade.

The trick is, you cannot be surprised when someone shows up and the show treats them like you should know who they are, even when there's no possible way you could know who they are. I mean, for heaven's sake, Liu Sang arrives in the middle of an obvious beef with Pangzi, the origins of which are never satisfactorily explained, while also having a giant do-I-want-to-fuck-him-or-do-I-want-to-be-him crush on Xiao Ge, which is also never satisfactorily explained. Whatever, you just roll with it. He's got good hearing, a bad attitude, and questionable taste in idols. Now you're good to go.

(I should throw in a special note here that Liu Sang is many, many people's little meow meow, and not undeservedly. For a fuller explanation of why that is, please consult this other post I made.)

Part of the fun of this big cast is the adorable interactions you get. All the characters have appropriately big personalities, and the show loves letting people you wouldn’t expect bounce off one another. It’s not your typical action-hero show where nothing happens without the protagonist in the room. There are lots of exciting combinations and tons of charming dynamics! Unlikely friendships form all over the place! Enemies become allies! Allies become friends! Friends become friends with other friends! Some friends become enemies again! You'll need a scoreboard to keep up!

This is not to say the show treats all its characters perfectly or equally -- one of the precious few main female characters doesn't even get a real name, for heaven's sake, and the less said about the brownface racism, the better. It is, at its heart, a dude show for dudes made in China, with all the troubling decision-making that implies. Where it does deserve credit, though, is in understanding that its supporting characters are actual people with personalities apart from their function in Wu Xie's narrative. Sometimes the show just asks "what if [random character A] and [random character B] had to interact?" and has fun considering the answer! Which is almost always a delight to watch, and sometimes even breaks your heart.

5. Amazing rewatch value!

And by this I mean the experience of watching this show is remarkably different once you have any understanding of the rest of the DMBJ universe.

For instance, there's a point where two characters are scuba-diving past some submerged coffins, and one character tells the other whose coffins they are. Working only on information Reunion has given you, you're like, oh, that's where they buried the guy who built this creepy place, that's a little weird. Once you recognize that name from other series, though, your reaction is far more, excuse me, they did WHAT to WHOSE corpses?

Or another point where a character you've already met is on a train, and there's a handsome gentleman who just happens to be riding with her. He hands her his business card! Aw, that's sweet, he seems like a nice guy! Well, no, Xie Yuchen is not nice, but he is one of our allies, and he's Hei Xiazi's boyfriend, and a lot of what he's doing hits real different when you have a fuller grasp on why he's doing it and for whom. (Honestly, a major reason to watch Reunion first is so you're not fully and appropriately upset by how your black/pink gays merely have one teeny tiny scene together.)

From the way the series treats the persistent absence of Wu Sanxing, Wu Xie's third uncle, I absolutely, 100% assumed that he was a completely new character to this installment of the series, an extremely long-lost relative that we've somehow conveniently managed to never talk about before now. So imagine my gobsmacked surprise when I went to watch a different series, set much earlier in the timeline, where the opening scene prominently features Wu Sanxing as an actual character in the present-day narrative! ...Well, sorta. Look, there's a lot of fuckery with his identity in earlier parts of the story, and fortunately you need to know none of it to understand Reunion. But when you do, it suddenly makes a lot more sense why Wu Xie talks about someone who was a major part of Wu Xie's adult life like he died when Wu Xie was nine.

AND THE FLASHBACK SCENE WHERE A-NING GETS KILLED BY THE SNAKE, AND YOU'RE LIKE, OKAY, AND THEN YOU WATCH ULTIMATE NOTE AND IT WASN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL look, I know there are kinda reasons for this, different production companies and all, but seriously, what the fuck

All of which to say is that the experience of watching Reunion the first time is, hey, this self-contained romp is a lot of fun! The experience of rewatching it after watching any of the other DMBJ installments is a transcendently wonderful head-clutching avalanche of one moment of recognition right after another.

And here's the thing: You will watch more. Reunion is a gateway drug. If you are interested enough to make it through all 62 episodes, you're going to be interested in watching more. Which is great. The English-speaking fandom needs more people. Come down into the tombs. It's great down here. We've got snakes and arguably unintentional homoeroticism. Join us. Join usssssssss

Are you ready for an aventure?

There are a couple different ways to watch the first half, but there's (weirdly) only one way to watch the second, so for both of them, I'm going to send you straight to iQiyi: Season 1 (32 episodes) and Season 2 (30 episodes).

And just so you’re ready when Reunion is done, here’s how you find the rest of the DMBJ series, in the absolutely non-chronological order in which I, personally, think you should watch them:

The Lost Tomb 2 (AsianCrush, YouTube)

Ultimate Note (iQiyi)

The Mystic Nine (iQiyi, Viki)

Sand Sea/Tomb of the Sea (Viki, WeTV, YouTube, also YouTube)

Also, there's a lot of movies and side series and other pieces that are worth seeing, and even a couple of full series I've left off the list, and you can just slot them in wherever. And maybe we'll get Tibetan Sea Flower someday? Look, hope springs eternal.

They're so perfect. Perfect triangle. Perfect boys.

#dmbj #重启 #重启之极海听雷 #盗墓笔记 #Reunion: The Sound of the Providence #the lost tomb reboot #rec post #i made this

[glass-noodle]

safest place in the world

(bonus:)

#happy Valentine’s Day 🥺💕💗 #i'm imagining this taking place sometime near the start of them living together/the beginning of their relationship #connor hasn't quite acquired all his worldly comforts and is still a bit hesitant to really take up space in hank's home #hank's offered him his clothes but he doesn't want to impose #however he does know that Hank big and warm #hankcon #dbh #detroit become human #dbh fanart #detroit become human fanart #dbh connor #dbh hank #hank x connor #conhank #hannor #detroit become human connor #detroit become human hank #Hank anderson #rk800 #dbh rk800 #Connor rk800 #glass art #noodle art #is it initiate or initialize???? fuck

[komihoyinsblog]

Honestly, I'm a little annoyed that we don't know about who Kakashi's mother is. Like, hey, he's one of the four human main characters. We know the parents of Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, we know Kakashi's father, but we don't know his mother. No name, no clan, no appearance. And that's a huge omission.

I have to say, I love Sakumo/Orochimaru and Sakumo/Kaguya. Each of these ships gives me a huge scope for ideas and aww. I love it. But at the same time, it makes me want to think of something more real and possible.

I have a theory that Kakashi's mother was a Senju. What do we even know about the fate of the Senju clan? Only that they all died during the two shinobi wars. Honestly, that seems a bit dubious to me. I think there were a few people who married people not from the Senju clan. Like, for example, Kakashi's mother in my theory.

The fact that the Senju clan is best known for their chakra control is what led me to this theory. Kakashi is known for that as well. Yeah, that doesn't mean that anyone with good control is a Senju, but I'm just saying it's very interesting.

Both Kakashi and Tsunade are the last members of their clans. It's very sad and wouldn't it be nice if they were related and were distant relatives? They both wouldn't be so lonely then.

I generally like the idea that Sakumo, Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade knew each other and even participated in some missions together. We're told in canon that Sakumo's power level can be compared to theirs, then why not?

Hence my au. Tsunade left the village sometime towards the end of the second shinobi war, didn't she? So, she, upon learning that Sakumo committed suicide, decides to gather Kakashi with her from the village. Because Kakashi remains her last living relative and she's not ready to lose him as well.

She arrives just as the villagers begin to poison and abuse him. His, Kakashi's, child, because of his father's "misbehavior". Tsunade sees that Kakashi is slowly starting to break down from the inside and darkness begins to appear in his heart. So she takes him away from that hell. She tells the hokage it's for training. She threatens if she has to. But she doesn't let Kakashi go and she doesn't give up. They leave the village and Kakashi travels the world with Tsunade and even learns things from her? Imagine Kakashi with a byakugo and a kimono, omg. That's beautiful.

This au becomes twice as interesting if it's also so (adored by me) time traveling. Imagine it's Kakashi(what age? Hmm, good question) traveling through time and he gets to the moment when he finds his father's body. Kakashi experiences the same nightmare again. He thinks back to what the future holds for him and how it could have been fixed. The obvious place to start is with Minato's team, but how? What is there to do?

Kakashi tries to make plans and at one point he receives an offer from Tsunade. Kakashi is shocked, he doesn't remember this last time. What was different then?

Kakashi at first thinks of refusing because he needs to save the world, he needs to save his near and dear ones, he has so much to do, but then.... Kakashi wonders if things wouldn't be easier if Kakashi just disappeared from Team Minato's life? It would change the story. There would be no Rin's crush on him, no Obito's jealousy and they would get a third teammate, much better than Kakashi. There won't be fights and problems. Kakashi isn't running away from his problems and troubles, he'll still find ways to deal with Zetsu, Madara and Danzo, but just away from Minato's team.

Kakashi thinks about it all night and comes to the decision that he accepts Tsunade's offer. After all, what in the life of Team Minato would his absence change? Maybe Rin and Obito will get together and there won't be a cannabi bridge mission, there won't be all that disaster in that form. Minato will be with them. It'll all be good, right?

That au can add a third layer to this one. A few months after Kakashi leaves the village, a certain little Uchiha Obito starts having strange dreams. In them, there's a team featuring an ash-haired boy and his childhood friend Rin. There is rivalry. There is blood and death and madness. There are red clouds and the moon. There is Kakashi, who Obito doesn't see in the village until the time of Team Minato. And then there is the time of Team Minato's formation and Obito wonders who is this third comrade of theirs and where is Kakashi?

I like the concept of Kakashi and Obito going 1+1 share when traveling through time. Because Obito wanted to see the future through their shared eye, so why wouldn't he see that very future while in the past? Their connection is beautiful. Will Obito get all his memories and his identity back? That's a good question.

P. S. If anyone decides to further explore this theory, this au, or write a fic, flag to you. I'm all for you!

#naruto headcanons #naruto au #naruto #kid kakashi #hatake kakashi #kakashi hatake #tsunade #Kakashi is senju #tsunade senju #hatake clan #oh help me #My brain cant stop #time travel #kid obito #uchiha obito #obito uchiha #team minato

[beloved-daydreams]

You know, I've wanted to talk about Taryn for a while because I genuinely think she's such an interesting character (and is SEVERELY underrated my god), so here are a couple of things I sometimes think about in no particular order: (and if I'm mistaken about any of those feel free to tell me!!!)

1) In The Cruel Prince, when Vivi brought Jude and Taryn to a shopping mall in order to cheer them up, Jude noted how Taryn is like a chameleon. That if they had to return to live in the human world, she wouldn't be able to adjust as well while Taryn probably could.

2) Despite people often portraying Taryn as a jealous/envious person (which I believe is partly true of course) that part of her has never seemed that big to me and I'm actually more inclined to say she was often on a fine line between being very driven and very desperate. Just like how Jude wanted to find her place in Elfhame, Taryn wanted to find her own through marriage. (Which, I'd like to add, is a totally valid wish in her situation even if it's not considered to be the more "girlboss" choice to make, out of all the things she has done/chosen to do, I don't think this is one if the things she should be shamed for.)

3) Although she accepted Locke's unfair conditions in order for him to take her as his wife knowing that Jude would inevitably get hurt, I believe she has always felt guilty about it deep down which is ALSO why she was so SO persistent with Jude in TCP. She wanted Jude to stop defying the fae because she didn't want her to get even more hurt than how much she already had (+ knowing that the reason Jude's being targeted in the first place is her fault, which is why she felt so responsible in making her stop her defiance.)

4) I'd also like to acknowledge how humiliating this deal with Locke must've been. People always think about how embarrassing it was for Jude but can you imagine how desperate you must be to let your "boyfriend" date your sister? Taryn saw him as a lifeline, as a way to survive and get some sort of power in Elfhame, and while she definitely didn't do it the right way, let's not pretend that she enjoyed it. Who would enjoy having a man play with you and your sister? This is pure disrespect NOT only towards Jude but also towards Taryn, which I find sad. This "relationship" was abusive and unequal from the very start.

5) Additionally, I think deep down Taryn always knew/understood that Locke doesn't especially care about her. It has been hinted at multiple times in the story that Locke didn't actually care which sister he would find that night he came to look for one of the twins and I don't even believe he properly knew how to differentiate them. Near the beginning of TCP there's a scene where Jude's and Locke's eyes meet (at that point Locke and Taryn are already "together") and he smiles at her, possibly because he might believe she's Taryn, and Taryn seeing that their eyes met, tries to get Jude to forget about it. So she HAS in fact noticed that Locke can't differentiate them at that point yet she keeps "dating" him. Why? Well...

6) The sacrifice line in The Wicked King, when it says Taryn looks more like a sacrifice than a bride. I think this was the "goal" all along. Taryn's whole thing is that she keeps making herself small and pleasant and "fitting into the picture". She is also shown to be more like Oriana than Madoc, Oriana who is known for being very careful and making the most "safe" decisions for her well-being and Oak's (+ always warning Jude and Taryn to not go anywhere during the revels and to not interact with the fae because they're humans and weak, and it would be dangerous for them). Taryn is doing the same with Locke, she wants security and some amount of power like Oriana who chose to be with Madoc for her and Oak's safety. Plus, again, Taryn obviously wants a place where she can belong. So ultimately she is "sacrificing" herself to Locke for that freedom.

7) In the lost sisters, Locke tried to make Taryn take pleasure in cruelty by making her dance with that fae boy then stealing her away and making her see how heartbroken that made the boy feel. And it did work somewhat but I believe the reason why Locke and Taryn didn't work out well together in the end is because Taryn is capable of feeling guilt. Locke and Taryn are shown to be similar in the aspect of "being good at telling stories" except Locke likes to make stories happen around him for his entertainment (Drama, basically). I don't think Taryn has that in her just because of that night in the lost sisters, in fact, that might've not even been the cruelty in itself that gave her pleasure but the power she had and was capable of having over a fae for once, instead of them having power over her.

8) Another reason why Locke and Taryn didn't work well together is because Taryn was unequally putting way more effort in this relationship than Locke was. In TCP when Jude and Locke are "dating", he gives her a tour of his estate and it's all mostly empty because no one gives enough of a shit to renovate any of it. Yet in TQN, when Jude is pretending to be Taryn, we see how his estate has changed for the better. Almost each empty room has been filled with furniture and the wardrobes have beautiful clothes in them. Showing how all of this has obviously been done by Taryn. Plus, why did the servant give "Taryn" (Jude pretending to be Taryn) a fairie fruit for dinner? Is it because Locke has made her eat some in front of his guests and Taryn complied to be seen as the "fun/pleasant" wife who does everything her husband tells her to? So maybe, just like how Jude was poisoning herself to build an immunity against poison, is it possible that Taryn was doing the same with faerie fruit? To build an immunity so she can still be somewhat aware of herself during Locke's maze/garden parties?

9) I think in the end, Taryn is more similar to the Ghost which is why they ended up hitting it off. Both of their thing is "being in the shadows/fitting in". Moreover, the Ghost does feel guilt for killing Oak's mother seeing how uncomfortable he got when Jude uncovered that. Plus he's half-human, so that will be easier to bear for Taryn instead of that bullshit Locke was telling her about "fae loving in a different way" to make her comply with his real-life sized drama club.

Overall, I like how layered all of this is if you look for it BUT I wouldn't say any of those conclusions/assomptions are especially difficult to reach if you're careful. I'm just kind of tired of female characters being seen as one-dimensional compared to their male counterparts who will get "understood" much more easily. My very hot take about TFOTA has always been that the truly gray character/problematic female character of the story is in fact Taryn and not Jude. Since Jude is the protagonist and we're always seeing her pov it's not hard for us to understand or be compassionate with her. Despite her actions being "morally gray" in-story, from the readers' pov, I believe the truly problematic female character here is Taryn since we can't actually see the inside of her head. All we get is pieces of information we have to put together.

#taryn duarte #tfota #the folk of the air #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #analysis #sort of? #the lost sisters

[rrxnjun]

from here

Ohh so k-pop does get overwhelming at times like keeping up with all of their comebacks and activities does take a toll on the psyche 🤧 i took a small break of sorts back in 2021 just to get a breather and instead focus my energy on books :') the whole pandemic situation and the lockdown was beginning to get to me + i had to deal with an academic burnout but !! things are definitely better now.

OKAYY so it took me a lot of time to finalise a bias in nct dream and tbt all nct units unghhh i lobe them all but my nct dream bias as of now is renjun. this man has me wrapped around his finger and activates the heart eyes WDYM HE HAS A PRETTY VOICE HES AN ARTIST HE'S PRETTY HE'S SHARP TONGUED AND HE'S A TOTAL SWEETHEART LIKE HE'S SO CARING 100% BFF/BF MATERIAL :( FDIBCFBN GOD HAS HIS FAVOURITES ALRIGHT and oml don't even get me started w the yangyang and renjun interactions im still reeling from when they did this.

In 127 i have a soft spot for the vocal line lol so i usually bias whoever's in the vocal line for a particular song (DO THEY HAVE TO MAKE IT SO HARD TO CHOOSE THO). rn it's jaehyun bc I'm obsessed w his voice (it's his first few lines in good thing <33)

Oof faded in my last song just hits so hard and it hurts so bad the songs so deep. It's one of my favourite nct u songs that and baby don't like it (again. hoe anthems >>>) for 127 it's either heartbreaker (bc it's hyuck's world and we're just living in it) or good thing (bc jaehyun.) Basically love the limitless era. and for dream okayy i can't really choose but reload and boom era were both crazy good. as for wayv it's after midnight and maybee take off. Wbu what are your favourite eras/songs?

Ahh you're a carat ?? I've been trying to get into svt since hoshi's spider came out but it's still a work in progress :') Which all groups do you stan ?? (40k slowburns are segci and it's for Vernon?? sounds v interesting 👀)

and the yangyang fic's going to have angst okay thanks for the warning angst scares me but i find it beautiful (?) as a genre like whoa how do mere scenes and words strung up together in a completely different world make me feel so much. But again that's why i like reading in general. bonus points if i actually find the smth in the fic relatable :')

YUSSUH 5SOS SUPREMACY youngblood was THAT album yk. weird but their music and a few select songs from twenty one pilots and imagine dragons help me concentrate and actually solve calculus ... esp easier and good girls 😭 idk why tho and whahfkfkkg they came to your city ?? Djnffkfm most international artists usually don't come near South Asian countries ie the place where I live 🤧

and yes so i listened to a few more songs by waterparks but I'm obsessed with 21 questions. i can't stop putting it on loop 😭😭 fdhjk pls feel free to send in more song recs

p.s. i enjoy talking to you too to the point where i think i ramble a little too much hrkfjfnf Have a good day/night <3

SORRY FOR REPLYING LATE I SUCK AT HUMAN INTERACTION

kpop does get overwhelming sometimes dfkjlas but also i just kind of got bored for a bit so i didnt feel motivated to check up on it in so long,, but now i just found the excitement again and i feel the same i did when getting into it for the first time its so amazing. i got into kpop just before the pandemic started, so it was something that was keeping me going during the lockdowns and shit :) i am glad you're feeling better now, though!

OUR BIASES MATCH AAAAAAA #besties fdlksaj renjun is literally the love of my life i think us two are similar in a lot of things (our zodiac signs, personalities, interests, anger issues...) so i think loving him so much helped my selflove djfkla this sounds weird but its true to some extent?? AND DONT MENTION THE CAMPING TRIP VIDEO IN FRONT OF ME ITS MY COMFORT VID AAAAA everything abt it is so wholesome,,, their little karaoke sessions, the shopping, the cooking,, them switching languages every now and then,, also yangyang singing i'm gonna love you by d.o. is stuck in my head that moment felt special.

in 127 i tend to gravitate towards mark and hyuck but i cant really count them bc theyre my dream biases as well LMAO but if i exclude them, i'd say i bias doyoung? i have a soft spot for yuta as well haha and recently my head is full of jungwoo but i'm not gonna give that too much weight just yet it might be a phase we'll see

I LOVE HOE ANTHEMS AAAA no one does sexy songs like nct. no one can compare. period. my fav eras would probablyyy be hot sauce/hello future for dream i fucking love that era and i miss it so much it was comfort for me. hot sauce was the first album ive ever bought from my first ever paycheck haha<33 for 127 probably superhuman/kick it/punch era? altho i wasnt a stan back then yet,, so i didnt fully experience it and for wayv turn back time era!!

i AM a carat!! spider is so good oml truly a cultural reset. no one does it like kwon soonyoung. i stan quite a few groups i think?? my ults are definitely nct, seventeen and txt! i keep up w them the most:) and then i stan enhypen, stray kids and p1harmony, although i dont really watch their contents or anything anymore,, im more of a casual stan for them. wbu?

yesyes its an angsty one but its not that bad i think fklf i definitely wrote more traumatic fics than this one. there's actually a yy tiktok i saw that literally represents how i wrote him in this fic it fit so much uh god i'll show it to you if you're interested

SOLVE CALCULUS HDAKL thank god i dont have maths anymore<33 that was a real struggle. i used to have a twenty one pilots phase tbf but im glad its behind me now bc the tyler joseph now is not the tyler joseph i used to stan!:)) and nooo they didn't come to my city! i'm from slovakia and literally no one comes to slovakia so i get your sturggle. they came to krakow and vienna though and that's kind of close to me!

21 questions>>>>> literally one of the songs that inspired my yy fic. do you use spotify? i'll make you a rec playlist if you really want!

p.s. i really enjoy talking to you hihi i missed your asks hhhh please dont think you ramble too much bc i do too!! it shows that we are comfy w each other xx

#💌ask #ni 🌱

[definesanity]

Eternal Director, Forever Lawyer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A carefree whistle was heard from just outside the city, near the old Teleport Waypoint looking over Liyue Harbor.

Hu Tao, the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor; though, some just call 'The Director' and leave it at that. She's certainly lived long enough to keep it that way.

It's so, so ironic... but, hey, she wore out those jokes centuries ago. What new jokes can be made...?

"If you're looking for new jokes, I'd recommend Beidou," a voice behind her said. Turning to face them, Yanfei gave a small wave. "Though, given you're the greatest jokester to ever live, I'd say you're fine as is."

"Ah, Yan-Yan, ever the flatterer..." Hu Tao smiled, patting a spot next to her. "Good thing our days off line up; I couldn't begin to imagine a life without you."

Yanfei sat, and smiled back. "Well, back when I thought you were a mortal, I had problems coming to terms with leaving; what was that you used to say? 'The natural order must be respected'?"

"Counterintuitive, I know, but it still stands; anywho, enough moping, more conversing!" clapping her hands together, Hu Tao started off strong, "Any new civil cases this week?"

"Twenty." the lawyer groaned, placing her head in her hands. (Idly, Hu Tao noticed she's still using the black nail polish she got her all those years ago). "Sometimes, I wish I had your job; call me being in the dark, but you seem to have less problems than me..."

"Oh, in the open, sure I get along with people fine. But, behind closed doors, hoo boy, lemme tell ya; about a fortnight ago now, there was this young lad who passed on due to a heart problem. Now, I gave the family the funeral they wanted, the flowers on the grave, and even some comforting words for them. You'd think they'd accept that and grieve, as all people should..."

"But somebody said no?"

"Yeeeep." popping the 'p', the Director leaned into her palm. "Their grandfather was seriously attached to him and, for what ever reason, had drank before seeing him, and started to go at me. Now, yeah, that's fair; I'm not exactly all doom and gloom, but I'm not sunshines and rainbows neither; in my line of work, you need to balance when to take a step forwards, and when to take a step backwards."

"...He said something about me, didn't he?" at her nod, the Adeptus placed her hand on top of Hu Tao's and squeezed it gently. "Tao-Tao. What did he say?"

"...He said that, 'A person like me can never find true love. Not with that look on life'."

"Tao..." with care, Yanfei slowly put Hu Tao into her arms. "We both know you deserve love. And what does he know? You don't see the world in black and white, and not even in shades of grey: you see the world as it is. A fleeting world, where life goes on."

"...Heh. Qiqi said something similar. Speaking of, how is she...?"

"She's doing well; she understands you mean well, it's just... she's having a hard time adjusting to wanting to be your friend, you know?"

"Yeah, I can't knock her for that. I did give her a lasting impression."

"...Damnit, now I've got you sad..."

"Nah, I'm good. Sides, I get to be in your arms."

Yanfei gave a noise between a scoff and a laugh. "Was this your plan all along, Hu?"

"Who, me? Making a long-term plan? Who do you take me for?" even still, she laughed her beautiful laugh, and Yanfei couldn't help but join in.

Maybe that little zombie was right. Life goes on.

And yet, they never will. But hey, if they have each other, eternity sounds that much more wonderful.

#ryuusei's works #genshin impact #hu tao #yanfei

[little-diable]

Teaching Assistant - Prof!Carlisle Cullen (smut)

Yes I'm stuck in the professor fic phase, but you just gotta love professor Carlisle. Enjoy my loves. xxx

Summary: This is basically pwp, the reader helps Carlisle grade some essays and they fuck.

Warnings: 18+, smut, unprotected sex, p in v, fingering, TA x professor

Pairing: Professor!Carlisle Cullen x TA!fem!reader (2.3k)

“Please send me your essays via email, I’ll start grading them this weekend.” Professor Cullen let his eyes wander through the crowd of students, till his eyes found hers. For a second they held eye contact, but then he turned away from her, not wanting to gain attention from the other students.

Since the beginning of this semester, (y/n) has worked as his TA, she’d sit in his classes, would help him with his computer and the grading that could easily overwhelm the professor who also works as a doctor. And from the moment she had been introduced to him, a palpable tension had grown between the two, like a magnetic field that would crackle whenever somebody would come too close.

(Y/n) stayed seated, she waited for the students to leave, only as the door fell shut did she rise from her seat, “Should we meet here on Saturday? I’m free the whole weekend.” With her eyes glued to her calendar she moved towards the professor, (y/n) didn’t feel his gaze on her, didn’t notice how his eyes followed her frame like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike.

“I have a big surgery on Saturday, I was planning on grading them at night, but don’t worry, I should be able to grade them myself.” Carlisle didn’t want to put even more pressure on her, he knew about her every course, about every subject she was studying. Sometimes she’d study in his office, while he was grading or working on his course material, and whenever she’d knit her eyebrows together, desperately trying to understand her homework, Carlisle would be right there to help her out.

“Nonsense. I can come over Saturday night, I’m getting paid for doing it anyways.” The sentence had left her lips one too many times, like an affirmation she’d speak in the early morning, praying to her lucky stars that the professor would spare her some of his attention. She was utterly oblivious, had no idea about the way he looked at her - a love drunken fool that had been lured in by her soft voice, a call of a siren that had forced him to his knees.

“You really don’t have to, (y/n).” He didn’t want to argue, but just the thought of inviting her into his home, left his dead heart pounding. (Y/n) only shook her head and with a smile tugging on her lips she whispered a small “I’ll see you on Saturday, professor”. And Carlisle could only watch her leave the room with a smile of his own widening on his lips.

—-

It was around 10 pm on Saturday night as (y/n) arrived at the mansion. For the past hours she had been distracted by her nerves, with her thoughts circling around Carlisle and the chance of finally being able to spend some time alone with the handsome man. He kept haunting her in her dreams, would always appear in desperate moments when she needed some relief, a ghost of old times she was chasing like a woman pushed into a Titanic rescue boat.

Before she could knock, Carlisle had already opened the door for her and with a smile thrown her way he allowed her to step into the house. Wordlessly he helped her out of her jacket before he placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her up the stairs.

“How was your surgery?” Her eyes took in her surroundings as she spoke. The house was everything she had imagined and even more, she couldn’t help but admire the clean living room, couldn’t help but study the pictures hung up on the walls. “Your kids?”

“It was good, it didn't take as long as I thought it would.” Carlisle stepped closer, she could feel him near her, was about to press herself against his front as he came to a halt behind her. “Adopted,” the sentence was left hanging in the air. If Edward would be close he could tell Carlisle about her thoughts, but even without his son’s gift, the professor could tell that she was wondering about his wife. “I’m not married.”

(Y/n) turned around to face him, and for a second neither (y/n) nor Carlisle spoke a word, all they did was take in one another’s features. And if her heart wouldn’t beat as loud as a crowd of fans screaming at a concert, she probably would have given into the pull she felt deep inside of her, “Should we get started?”

Both moved towards the big sofas, he had already placed the stack of paper on the small table, and with their hands reaching for the essays, they started working.

Their silence didn’t last for long, every now and then - as their eyes would meet - Carlisle would joke about awful homeworks and the grades he had to give those that wrote stuff he hadn’t asked for. And all (y/n) could do was admire the grinning professor with heat flushing through her like a river ripping trees from the ground, so strong and fierce it could pull her under without another warning.

“I feel like they’ve all copied their answers from her.” A smirk tugged on his lips as he leaned closer, his eyes scanned the paper, they flickered back to the one he was currently grading and threw his head back with a laugh rumbling through him.

“Can’t say I’m surprised, I’d ask her for help too if I didn’t know my way around the subject.” (Y/n) could feel his breath teasing her skin, and as their eyes met once again, she couldn’t help but move slightly closer to him. Suddenly nothing but silence engulfed the two, the growing tension was back, it formed a bond between the two that were unsure if they should cross that one invisible line.

“There won’t be no going back after this.” Carlisle’s whispers met her like a bullet piercing through her skin, but (y/n) couldn’t care about the worries and confusion clouding her mind, all she could do was nod her head. And with both their eyes set on one another, Carlisle pressed his lips against hers.

For a moment both froze, the unfamiliar touch left their skin prickling, like bolts of lighting striking a tree over and over again. She could feel their limbs shaking like a leaf caught in a storm. But even though both their minds were working on overdrive, their bodies began to guide them. With their lips moving in sync, (y/n) pushed herself closer till she was seated in his lap.

Their kiss didn’t break, not once. Not as Carlisle’s hands began to wander down her sides to find her behind, not as whimpers so sweet and soft rumbled through her, not as she pressed herself against his growing bulge. It felt all too right, pushed together with her heart racing and his dead one jumping in his chest, it felt all too right like the sweetest scent of honey dripping from one’s lips on a Sunday morning. It felt all too right from the moment they first crossed paths.

“Can I?” Carlisle murmured against her lips, patiently he was waiting for her reply. Only as a small “yes” rumbled through her did he give in and start undoing her blouse, button by button, inch by inch. (Y/n) searched his lips, she had to feel him, was already addicted to the professor’s taste, what an awful crime she was committing.

“You’re so beautiful. I’ve always wondered how your skin feels beneath my hands, been dreaming about this for months.” Carlisle’s confession coaxed a gasp out of her, a sound so soft he found himself pulled even closer to her. (Y/n) didn’t find the strength to reply, not as his hands undid her bra to explore her soft skin, not as he pressed his lips against her neck to start kissing his way down her upper body.

Neither Carlisle nor (y/n) seemed to care about the essays he pushed off the sofa - so that he could press her back against it. They were making a mess, but with their bodies pressed together and her hands finding their way to his hair, they could only concentrate on one another. Carlisle’s cold lips left her shuddering, goosebumps rose on her skin like flowers blooming in the soft spring sun.

“So beautiful, I wish I could freeze time to explore every part of you.” Both were growing impatient, urged on by their desires and the pent up frustration that has been following them around like a cloud of smoke. She raised her hips as Carlisle tugged on her jeans, allowing him to fully undress her, even as her own hands began to work on his shirt. His pale chest got exposed to her eyes that glistened in the faint light like stars twinkling in the dark sky, he was beautiful, a man so handsome she wondered if she was only dreaming this very moment.

“My beautiful girl, I got you.” Her whimpers were drowned out by the groan rumbling through Carlisle as his fingers found their way to her dripping core. She was soaked, folds covered in arousal just from a few simple touches. But Carlisle was set on teasing her, slowly did his fingers start exploring her skin, he only used light pressure to rub her clit, but the moans that rumbled through her seemed to be enough to urge the man on. He started building up the pressure of his touch, and with his eyes fixated on her features, he pushed two fingers into her heat.

“Oh fuck.” (Y/n)‘s eyes fluttered close, she had to adjust to his touch, had to hold onto him with her hands reaching for his forearms. No man has ever made her feel like this, like she was forever safe in his arms, like she was forever bound to him and the eternal promise of being loved by him. “I need you, fuck me, please Professor.”

She felt him shudder, watched his smirk grow wider on his lips. And with one last kiss pressed to her lips, Carlisle pulled his hand away and rose from the sofa. Impatient as one could be, (y/n) watched him free his cock, his hard length that twitched in his grasp. Like a match alight near a gas station, her body began to tremble, filled with anticipation.

“I’m clean and on the pill, need to feel you.” Carlisle had to force himself to stop saying something that could let her in on his darkest secret, all he did was kiss her, a kiss so powerful and urgent, she found herself forgetting about the words she had just spoken.

The moment he pushed into her heat, (y/n) felt her body growing tense, he was big, stretched her to the fullest. And even though she needed a few moments to adjust, she couldn’t help but try and shuffle even closer, wanting to feel every part of him. Sweet nothings were shared as Carlisle began to fuck her, rough enough to push her into soaring waves of pleasure, though careful enough not to hurt her.

“Been dreaming of this, made myself cum to this thought so many times.” (Y/n) blabbered her every thought away, she wasn’t ashamed of her confession, found pleasure in knowing that her words coaxed the most sinful sounds out of her professor. Carlisle’s hand wandered up her naked upper body, he kneaded her breasts, teased her hardening nipples, set on feeling her like a lost wanderer exploring the forest of Forks.

“What did you dream of? Tell me.” His rough voice left her trembling, goosebumps rose on her skin as she stumbled over her words.

“Dreamt of you fucking me on your table, I imagined myself sucking you off while you were teaching, hidden behind your table.” Carlisle could only groan at her words, ripped away by the pictures that were now clouding his thoughts.

(Y/n)’s hand found her clit, she rubbed the sensitive bundle of nerves with shaking fingers. Both were close, about to fall over the edge with their bodies connected in the most intimate way imaginable. Carlisle pressed himself closer with his lips finding hers, the kiss swallowed most of their moans and groans, protecting them from the nosy shadows of the night.

Her walls clenched his cock, desperately trying to keep him close as her heart skipped a few beats. (Y/n)’s orgasm washed over her without another warning, it left her skin was burning and her body kept trembling. It was all too powerful for her to grasp, too powerful for her to voice out the words burning on her lips. And Carlisle could only stare at her with admiration laced in his gaze.

She felt his heat fill her, he painted her walls white with his release, panted her name like a prayer leaving him. Their bodies stayed connected for a few more moments, no words were shared as they were laying there, trying to find their way back to reality.

“I hope you know that this wasn’t a one time thing for me.” His worries began clouding his mind, but (y/n) reached for his face, she cupped his cheek and kissed his cold lips. One simple touch seemed to be enough to stop his worries from ripping him away, from pushing him away from her warm embrace.

“I won’t let you go, this much I can promise.”

Please like and reblog if you’ve enjoyed reading this, come talk to me about my writing, let’s spill some tea or thirst over our favorite people. xxx

Use this link to join the taglist

#Carlisle Cullen smut #chi's lemon #Carlisle Cullen imagine

[maplecornia]

falling leaves | k.sj

BTS masterlist | masterlist | playlist | taglist

ʷᵒʳᵈ ᶜᵒᵘⁿᵗ : 2.17K

ᵖᵃⁱʳⁱⁿᵍ : seokjin x female!oc

ᵍᵉⁿʳᵉ : angst, breakup!au

ˢᵘᵐᵐᵃʳʸ : when did things begin to break? when did the world start to become numb, fading into a kaleidoscope of blue and grey? before they could realize it, their world had begun to fall apart and them with it. they do not want to let go, they want to hold on. but maybe that is the reason they have to let go. for they have become discarded and fleeting, like the falling leaves that appear at the end of spring.

ᵃ/ⁿ : this is a collab fic for the “Anti-Romance Club” which is hosted by @astramoonchild and @rockwithwoo. thank you for hosting this amazing collab! i’m glad i was able to participate and i really enjoyed making this fic! i hope everyone else enjoys it too lol

while this is another angst fic i have cooked up (what can i say, i’m the queen of angst for a reason eheh) but i think this takes a new look on relationships. sometimes you just fall out of love. it could be for no reason at all you just all of a sudden find yourself unable to love someone that meant the world to you. i feel that this is a realistic, almost painful realization, and something that not many people understand.

also yes, i know that this was SUPPOSED to be released on valentimes day...so happy late valentimes LMAO

ʷᵃʳⁿⁱⁿᵍˢ : heartbreak...that's basically it LMAO

ᵗᵃᵍˢ : @jimeanour @bingyuu @soobmint @jaeyunverse @hyunjxnxee @freckledwinterfalls @fangirl125reader @kookiebbyxx @taradevonne @rae-bear @mangminnie @cana

They weren’t a perfect couple, that much is true.

They had their ups and downs.

The stupid fights, the naive apologies, the struggle to just remain together despite all of the other factors in their lives.

That’s the reason they’ve lasted this long though, isn’t it?

They love each other too much to let go.

Is that why her heart hurts so much?

However, she knows that this is the right decision, and once she tells him, he'll know it too. Maybe he already does. Maybe when he comes home today and sees her, he'll unearth the unlikely truth that has been kept hidden for so long. A truth they have been willing to ignore for the sake of a relationship that has been broken before they could even begin to fathom the reason why.

Even if they were hoping for a different ending, this was the ending that they received.

And that, at least, cannot be changed.

When the door opens, and he enters, she can feel her chest tighten. Her breathing grows shallow and labored, dread building up deep within her gut. Part of her just wants to ignore it, to go on as they have without even acknowledging the things that have changed.

But another part, a bigger part, tells her that she must do that. That if she doesn't then she'd be resigning herself to a place where she does not want to go.

Does that make it hurt any less?

No.

"You're late."

At the familiar sigh the statement receives, Seolhyun is reminded that this conversation has happened multiple times before. Her hands tighten on the warm coffee mug she holds in front of her.

"I know, I'm sorry Seol. I got tied up at work."

A familiar response, one as routine as their life has become.

"Do you know how important today is?"

Inwardly, she wonders if he has forgotten. Perhaps that would be easier, and the pain wouldn't be so ironic. Imagine, losing someone on the anniversary of the day you promised the other to stay by their side.

But he never forgets.

Nor did she expect him to.

"Yes."

In his voice, she can hear a hint of amusement, near laughter. She wants to turn around and see his face, see the sparkles in his eyes and the faint smile playing on his lips. But she knows that if she does, she wouldn't be able to utter the words she needs to say.

So she tightens her grip around the coffee mug and struggles to swallow the lump turning in her throat.

When the flowers appear from behind, and his hand rests on her opposite shoulder as he kisses her cheek devotedly, she can't help but let out a strangled breath. She can feel the smile beside her ear as he whispers tenderly into it, a soft and intimate feeling that years ago would have sent the butterflies in her stomach flying.

Now, it only reminds her of the emptiness, and the numbing feeling she has grown so acquainted with over the years.

"Happy Anniversary, blossom bee." At the strange but familiar nickname, she cannot help but smile. If only to remind her of the past, the way they used to be, and the happiness she felt every day.

Jin sets the flowers down on the table beside her when she does not accept them. He can tell something is wrong in the way she refuses to look at him, the way she holds herself so stiff and full of tension. He knows she is near tears, but he cannot fathom why.

Or perhaps, he already knows why.

Maybe that is the reason he doesn't ask her what is wrong. Maybe that is why he ignores the situation, praying that it goes away, praying that she has not made the decision hanging around their heads these past couple of months. Maybe, he doesn't want to let her go.

Not yet.

Not ever.

Instead, he leaves her side, refuses to acknowledge the fact that she needs comforting. He busies himself in the kitchen, washing forgotten plates and dishes. Finding himself in soap suds, memories near forgotten in the utensils gathered across the kitchen.

In the floor, they had walked on.

The sink where she had hugged him from behind.

The counter where they had flour fights.

The dishes where they would splash each other with the suds.

The places where he had kissed her, touched her, loved her.

Conversations they had, bouncing off the walls and reverberating in his ears.

A home they had built together.

Now on the verge of collapsing with the pressure that being together has bestowed on them.

"Do you love me?"

At the question, Jin freezes. He feels his chest tighten inexplicably, finding it hard to breathe. For some reason, even though he wants to lie, he knows he cannot. It's such a simple question, something that could have the potential to hold them together and fix the bond that has been shattered.

But the last thing he wants to do is lie to her.

The worst thing he could do is lie to her.

"I want to."

He can hear the sharp gasp of air as she realizes he did feel the same. That she didn't misread anything, that there really is no hope.

Perhaps he wishes he could take it back, but if he did then that would mean they would be broken before they've even been provided the chance to heal.

Then again, they're breaking anyway.

So what is the point of it all anymore?

"But you don't."

At Seolhyun's strangled voice, Jin tightens his hand on the edge of the sink, as though that were the only thing holding him together. Inside, he can feel pieces of himself tearing away, tiny fragments falling apart and becoming unable to be sewn back together.

Now is the time to take everything back. Now is the time to tell her the words she wants to hear, not the words she needs to hear. If he wants her to stay by his side, he needs to lie.

He doesn't want to lose her.

"No, I don't."

But he can't afford to deceive her.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

This hollow, numbing feeling, isn't how she was supposed to feel.

She wants to cry, she wants to fall apart and beg for any sign of redemption, a glimmer of hope. She wants to hold onto him, cling to him, and change his mind. Some part of her wishes she could force him to love her.

But then, she would be forced to love him as well.

Jin finally finds within him the courage to face her. He pulls back a chair, and holds her hands, caressing them with such care and devotion that begs her to wonder why she cannot find it within herself to love him anymore. Holding them to his lips, he kisses them forlornly, and this time, he allows his eyes to meet hers.

"I did love you Seolhyun, really, I did."

And within them, he finds a similar hopeless longing reflected.

"I know."

But it is not longing for the other.

"So did I."

Rather it is a longing for what they used to be. A past that both of them are able to remember, but neither is capable of continuing.

"What happened?" Jin asks, his voice breaking. "How did we get here?"

Where did things go wrong? When did they start to break?

Perhaps if he could find the answer to those questions, they would be able to restore everything they had lost.

But there is nothing to fix.

Nothing was broken, nothing needed to be repaired.

"I don't know."

Seolhyun wishes she could erase the pain she sees so clearly in his eyes, but she knows she is unable to. That would require a lie, a facade that she refuses to live in and is unwilling to subject him to any longer.

"You know, I used to dream about our future."

She smiles faintly, a smile that is so beautiful in its woe. A smile that tugs at Jin's heart and makes it bleed with sorrow. It is not so easily described, the pain of knowing you have everything you ever wanted right in front of you, and being unable to love it like you used to do.

"I used to think of this utopia where I was with you and we were happy. We had beautiful, loving children and it didn't matter where we were or how much money we had. All that mattered was we were together and I loved you, and you loved me." When she looks at him, she knows that he desired much of the same. She finds within him a likeness in their pain, so when her first tear drops, she does not regret it. Instead, her smile grows, and she clings to his hands like a lifeline pulling her back ashore. "I want that dream, Jin. I want it so bad it hurts."

Jin swallows hard, focusing on their entangled hands. Both searching for comfort, a light in the midst of the storm, but coming up empty and lost in the dark. He knows the reason for the despair she feels, and the hole that continues to grow in her heart.

"But that person I see next to me? That person is no longer you."

His love can no longer suffice to fill in that hole.

"The dream I had with you in it has become numb and gray."

Seolhyun is shaking by now, and she can no longer look him in the eye. She pulls her hands away from his touch and wraps them around herself for she can no longer find the warmth he used to offer her. She sobs as she holds her head in her hands, frantically trying to find anything that could suffice and help her to feel something, anything. But all she can feel is the cold, the dread at knowing that the person she loved the most has now become someone so detached from her heart that she cannot bear to even hold him for too long.

"I don't want to lose you. The thought of losing you tears me apart. But I don't want to stay only to grow to hate you." Her voice shakes almost as much as her heart, as she struggles to speak, her lips trembling and her tears turning her eyes into a sparkling dewy fountain of pain. "I would rather lose you now and gain you back later, than hold on now before losing you forever."

Unable to take it anymore, Jin stands and runs to her side. He knows he cannot ignore the situation, he is aware that no matter what he does, this is their fate, this is what they have decided. But that does not mean he cannot hold her when she cries. That does not mean he cannot try to ease the pain that she feels inside.

Their world is now shattered.

But does that mean they have to break as well?

"It hurts," Seolhyun whispers into his hold, burying her face into her chest and trying to ease the cold that grips her heart.

"I know." Jin nods, tightening his grip around her, and trying his best to repair the pieces they left on the ground.

"But what else can we do?"

The next day Jin will move out of their apartment.

They'll spend time away from each other until they can face the other without hurt and anger getting in the way.

Some days they may blame the other, and others they may long for the other's touch. They will feel an incredible hole in their heart, consuming them from the inside out.

When they pass each other on the street or see each other in friend gatherings, they will be courteous and civil. They won't speak of the past, they won't mention what happened between them, and they won't hate each other.

They never could hate each other.

But they will not talk to the other, they will not allow the chance to go back to something that was doomed to fail.

And soon, they will slowly, but surely begin to turn into strangers. People that they used to know. A story to tell to their future partners. A mere memory that will soon turn become a blank slate.

And though it may hurt, they will never regret the decision they made.

For they know it was the right one, and they know if they had gone on as they were they would have regretted their future more than the heartache they feel now.

And one truth will forever remain.

That the love that exists between them only remains inside their memories. And the one thing that was left behind was the numbing realization that that was all it was meant to be.

From the very first kiss.

To the last goodbye.

note : saying goodbye and letting go is a concept even if have a hard time understanding, and doing. i don't enjoy goodbyes nor am i ever willing to let go of something or someone i love, even if my feelings have changed. i think this is a reason why the concept of love is so scary to me, because once i have fallen, i would want to hold on forever even if i fall out of love with them. to me, making the choice to let go and say goodbye, deciding to become strangers because it would hurt to be anything else is one of the hardest decisions you could make.

in any case, i hope you enjoyed!

#bts imagines #bts oneshots #seokjin imagines #seokjin oneshots #{falling leaves} updated! #kpop fanfiction #ficscafe #the sunshine shop #kflixnet #k-radio #anti romance club #WIP #OC #writeblr #bts angst #bts x female!oc #bts romance #seokjin angst #jin angst #seokjin x female!oc #seokjin romance #jin romance #seokjin #jin #bts #Drama #Realism #Romance #Tragedy #oneshot

[stanzoeywade]

Tiptoe - Poppy x MC

Taglist: @somewillwin @uhh-the-green-thing @jmojellybae @simp-pony @made-me-deep-blue @uselesslesbianfr @it-lives-in-braidwood-manor @belvoiresqueenbee @alexlabhont @samanthadalton @crazzyplays @sparring-hyena @baexpoppy @cloakanddaggerthings

Summary: Poppy and MC meet in summer and they were dating but broke it off, not related to free falling dhaisja don't ask about ch3 idk either.

A/N: uhm hi I've been a ghost for like months lol but I heard from a little birdie that queen b is coming back in September and I'm so ready to clown for my wife Poppy again. Based on song below which is a bop. I also did not check my spelling or grammar I die like a dumbass. My one braincell would like to thank u all and Gabi for this fic 💗

There's hardly anything in this world that captivates you, until you see her. Her flawless skin, her blonde hair and those deep chocolate orbs that you just want to stare at and drown in forever. Who knew such a beauty existed? It boggles you to know that the Min-Sinclair heiress is perfect. One might say that you're jealous but deep down you know that's not the case. Jealousy? No, it's not jealousy, you're enthralled by her. It's not even because of how fucking gorgeous she looks, it runs deeper than that. There's just this weird sense of kinship that you feel when you look at her. She's more than the ranking, she's vulnerable and actually cares, something you saw when you went to the animal shelter.

The way her eyes sparkled when she saw the rescue animals, the way her mouth curved into that gentle smile. Who knew the queen bee of Belvoire had a heart? Her vulnerability is further shown when you realise that the golden girl of Belvoire has her own scars, her pride a by-product of the hurt caused by family and so called friends.

Having seen the forefront of it all, Belvoire is cutthroat. Everything matters, the clothes you wear, your family name. It's a free for all, no one cares who gets burned, low blows exchanged, it's all a big mind game and those who fall under pressure lose not just their reputation but everything they have worked for. But apart from all of that, she's still the first thing that makes you smile.

It's damning, the way your mind and heart races at the thought of Poppy. The way her eyes light up when she flashes that gentle smile, where one look is all it takes to make your knees weak and the blood rushing up your cheeks. You've never seen such a beauty, her smile is like a soft ray of sunshine, warming you up. However, she's also as mysterious as the moon, especially since she acts so sweet and the next minute she's as cold as ever. It's enough to give you whiplash.

Such gentle and delicate features, yet her personality is as fiery as the sun, I guess it's true what they say, the sun is beautiful yet staring at it can become painful.

It's confusing as to why Rosie's fallen so hard for Poppy, they've been rivals from the start, with each other's goal to come out on top. Things have definitely changed after the night they slept together, Poppy's words have no actual bite to them. If she were brave enough Rosie would've called Poppy out on it, but she's so confused on where they stand that she doesn't want to risk this newfound "friendship" if one can even call it that.

It suddenly hits Rosie like a brick. 'Wait, has Poppy been courting me in her own weird way or am I imagining shit?' She becomes more confused as Poppy seems to stare at her longer than she ever did, sometimes Rosie would meet eyes with Poppy who seems to have a longing stare as if she has so much to convey yet has no courage to do so. Sometimes it gets to the point where Poppy blushes after she realises that both of them have been staring at each other for too long. Both of them being a flustered and blushing mess, looking away as if they've been burned from getting too close to a fire.

Most people in Belvoire would argue that its not longing and wistful glances that the two are exchanging, they'd say that those were intense glares formed from the ongoing rivalry that the two have established in public, but anyone who personally knows Poppy and Rosie would say differently. There's also an ongoing bet between the students of the school. Some argue that Poppy and Rosie are secretly dating whilst the rest argue that they absolutely loathe each other and the ongoing stares are to intimidate each other to give in and leave Belvoire.

Zoey and Veronica are secretly in cahoots in which they bet that the two are definitely dating or in Veronica's words "those two are definitely fucking" which earns her a fond smile as well as a roll of the eyes from Zoey. Chloe suspects something between Poppy and Rosie, considering they genuinely don't seem to put energy behind the insults they throw at each other. She doesn't think that the two are lovers but she definitely thinks that they're secretly friends.

It's not until Veronica sees Rosie wink at Poppy when she thought nobody was looking, and she was certain that the blonde would glare at Rosie but imagine her surprise when Poppy flirts back by winking back. In which she's all too excited to text Zoey about. "Omfg bitch, you won't believe what I saw today, like holy fuck the two gays were flirting when they thought no one was looking." All she gets in response from Zoey was "show receipts pls."

Rosie can feel herself falling for Poppy, both of them know that things have changed. Neither seem too interested in fighting and when they do argue, it's all for show, after all no one knows that they're secretly pining after each other. She suddenly remembers how they met.

-Flashback-

Being relatively new to New York, Rosie was eager to meet new people and what better way to start off than hooking up with strangers from a random bar? After all, the city was big and it's been a while. As soon as she arrived someone immediately caught her attention. One Poppy Min-Sinclair, dressed to the nines, she was definitely Rosie's type. Not really expecting anything Rosie struts towards her, in hopes of beginning a conversation.

At first Poppy seemed uninterested, scoffing and she felt a presence near her. She didn't really want to deal with anyone considering they're usually just random guys who wanted to hook up in the bathrooms or worse they're drunk as fuck trying to flirt with her. However, imagine her surprise when she looks at the person that dared to sit by her. Poppy would be lying if she said that the girl in front of her wasn't her type. She seemed sweet, and had a gentle smile. It was also a bonus that the girl seemed to know how to dress herself.

When their eyes met, there was this lightning spark that just fit into place, the two had chemistry. It was undeniable, the two just knew how to push and pull. The banter was there, so was the attraction.

Poppy wasn't shy about showing her attraction, obviously checking Rosie out, which earns her a low chuckle from the other girl. "At least buy me dinner first before you undress me with you eyes?" said Rosie with mirth dancing around her eyes, whilst Poppy just laughs, soft and languidly slow. At which point Rosie knew she was screwed, the blonde in front of her looked like she just walked out of the runway, and her laugh was definitely something Rosie wanted to hear more of.

She's pulled out of her epiphany once Poppy speaks, voice sultry and pulling Rosie in like a siren. "My name is Poppy Min-Sinclair, and I do what I want sweetheart." The confidence she exudes is shown in her voices. It's addicting the way the blonde presents herself, every move calculated and poised. Every word that leaves her lips is deliberate and elegant in her own unique way. If she was in her right mind, Rosie would've been terrified by how enraptured she was by this girl in front of her.

Rosie wasn't one to back down from a challenge therefore she decides to tease the girl in front of her. "Is your name supposed to be important? I've never heard of it. Anyways, since you've introduced yourself so nicely, my name's Rosie." Poppy just raises an eyebrow at her semi-surprised that the other girl hasn't heard of her. "Sorry babe, the whole world doesn't revolve around you." said Rosie with a cheeky smile and wink and before Poppy can retort Rosie finishes off by saying "but it definitely should revolve around you, I mean look at you, you're mesmerising."

If it were any other person, Poppy would have definitely rolled her eyes and walked away, but Rosie seemed to mean it. The other girl definitely looked like she wore her heart on her sleeve, and it was just so damn endearing that Poppy, against her usual M.O., she decides to stay and talk to the other girl. 'She looks cute enough, but if she's gonna be annoying then I'll just ditch her later.' thought Poppy.

Both women were intrigued by each other, and one thing led to another. Before they knew it they were together in a hotel room. Neither of them cared about who made the move first, all they knew was that they had to have each other one way or the other.

Despite her pent up desire and lust, Poppy still cared about her reputation, after all even if she was on break it didn't mean she can be careless, plus she didn't exactly want to expose Rosie to Belvoire's dirty laundry, the girl seemed nice enough and Poppy wasn't about to mess with this girl. Sure she's a fucking bitch but that doesn't mean she wants people to suffer because of her unless they've wronged her or any of her friends in some way. She's petty but she's not that petty.

God knows Belvoire is a shithole.

They're definitely closer than what should be conceived as acceptable, considering Rosie is literally one step away from kissing Poppy. Not like either of then cared considering they were too focused on each other to pay attention to their surroundings. It's only when the bartender coughs that the two pull away from each other as if taken out of their seemingly lulled state.

Rosie's about to say goodbye, considering the blonde seems like she's torn between leaving or staying, but she's caught by surprise when Poppy yanks her arm back. "Where do you think you're going, little lamb? I didn't say I was done with you yet." The way it was said was enough to make Rosie shiver. The way the Min-Sinclair heiress said it so confidently, it didn't help that she looked to be the epitome of lust and desire at that moment, but from then on Rosie knew she was fucked, both literally and figuratively.

Before she knew it she was pulled into a car headed to the nearest luxury hotel, which just so happens to be a presidential suite at The Ritz. Rosie didn't show but she was shocked. She knew the girl was rich, I mean come on her clothes are fresh off the runway and the blonde exuded power and wealth. But this was like a bucket of ice water being dropped on Rosie's head, this was definitely something she wasn't expecting.

NSFW AHEAD

She's taken aback by the inside of the hotel suite, she expected it to be fancy, but nothing could prepare her for the plush king sized bed, as well as the overall layout of the room. It looks like something straight out of an IKEA magazine, Rosie can't help but think.

"Well, are you just going to stand there or are we actually going to fuck?" says Poppy. Rosie is taken aback from how bluntly Poppy put it. Speaking of which, the blonde girl is already half way through removing her clothes. She couldn't help the gasp that escapes her as she gawks at Poppy and the way her body looks so perfect, unblemished milky white skin that looks so soft, all Rosie could think of is leaving marks in her wake. She licks her lips in anticipation as Poppy gives her the come hither gesture, and Rosie is immediately lured in, like a moth drawn to a flame.

Her hands immediately raise up, helping Poppy out of her clothes, until all that remains is Poppy's underwear. Her eyes scan Poppy's body and out of the corner of her eye she can see Poppy's satisfied smile. Rosie is pulled in, her body pulled in flush against Poppy. Her eyes dart over to Poppy's lips as she leans in to kiss Poppy. A hand covers her mouth as she hears "Not yet Hughes, it's unfair if I'm the only one in my underwear."

Rosie's ears are definitely bright red at this point and she's pretty sure that her whole body is flushed, but she gives Poppy a show as she takes each article of clothing slowly, piece by piece as if testing Poppy's already short patience. As she takes her blouse off, Poppy's staring at her so intensely she can feel her legs wobble. The look conveying an unspoken promise. It's enough to make her a little self conscious, but her confidence is regained as soon as she sees how flushed Poppy is. It also helped that she saw Poppy gulp, looking at her like she's the only thing in the world. "See something you like, Min-Sinclair?" she can't help but tease and the blonde rolls her eyes.

"You were doing so well until you started speaking. Just get your ass over here. I'm not used to waiting for things I want." said Poppy. Rosie struts over to Poppy.

She's immediately back at Poppy's side, the Min-Sinclair heiress looking her up and down which makes Rosie nervous as the way Poppy stares is intense. Her doubts are quickly quelled as she's soon tugged harshly the collar. Poppy pulls her in roughly for a kiss, as their tongues dance and weave against each other, battling for dominance. They both step forwards towards the bed, and the noises that come out of Poppy is irresistible and music to her ears. She sounds incredible and Rosie can't get enough and with a flick of her tongue Poppy is putty in her hands.

They both fall towards the bed, Poppy ending up under Rosie. They pull away quickly to catch their breath, and Poppy's eyes are blown so much so, her pupils are dilated like a cat ready to catch its prey. Her lips parted and bruised, taking in oxygen as if all of her breath has been taken away. If Rosie thought she was in charge, she's got another thing coming. Their position is switched, as Poppy expertly flips them over, landing her on top of the other girl. Rosie ending up with her back against the bed as Poppy straddles her. "You're a good kisser, Hughes." she says and Rosie smiles mischievously "I try." she replies.

Poppy's quick to kiss Rosie again, as if she's her only lifeline teetering her to the world. Every kiss shared feels like sparks flying, the intensity and passion leaving them both breathless. It's not like Rosie's gonna give in and let Poppy top her, she quickly pull Poppy by the waist, bodies completely flushed against each other before rolling over so that their position is once again switched. This time Rosie comes out on top.

Before the other girl can complain, Rosie's quick to shut her up but trailing kisses from lips to her neck. Poppy smells like fresh cherries and vanilla, which for some reason is very fitting. After all cherries are sweet but the fruit itself can be dangerous, however there's a hint of danger. After all cherries do have cyanide in the seed. The whimpers and moans that come from Poppy's mouth are sensual and spurs Rosie on even more. She can't get enough of the blonde.

She can feel Poppy's nails taking across her back, and she's sure that those are definitely going to leave marks, not like she minds considering she's too far gone from the sound of Poppy's moans and whimpers.

Rosie looks at Poppy and she can't help but admire how beautiful Poppy looks under her, eyes half lidded and chest heaving. "You look better when you're quiet, Princess." said Rosie, but instead of reporting Poppy just pulls her back in and their lips are clashing against except this time its rough. Poppy pulling and tugging at her hair, while leaving small nibbles on her lips. Rosie knows that her lips are going to be all sorts of red and bruised the next morning.

Rosie's hand finds their way to the waistband of Poppy underwear, and she can feel the wet patch. She slides her hand inside and moves her fingers to find Poppy's clit, where she rubs small circles, and she feels the blonde jolt from the sudden contact and Rosie is about to apologise until she hears Poppy's breathy moans. "I swear to god, if you stop I'm going to fucking kill you." whimpered Poppy.

Rosie just smiles against Poppy's skin as she continues teasing Poppy until the other girl is a panting and whimpering mess. "I need your fingers inside me Hughes, stop fucking around and actually start fucking me." It's said so desperately Rosie finally grants the blonde her wish and starts pumping her fingers in and out until the blonde cums, back arched away from bed and a loud and filthy moan is all the can be heard. Rosie helps the other ride out her orgasm by cooing gentle words and leaving kisses that are definitely going to leave marks on the Poppy's unblemished skin.

-NSFW END-

-FLASHBACK END-

The casuak hook up turns into dates and outings, and both of them start to catch feelings for each other. As much as it surprises Poppy she genuinely enjoys the time that she spends with Rosie. The other girl always making sure to make Poppy smile. It doesn't help that Rosie had this weird way of knowing when Poppy was upset or stressed in which she'd always do something to help the blonde feel better. Rosie's become a constant, a home away from home in a sort. Always there even on Poppy's worse days, not giving in even when Poppy's relentlessly cruel and bitchy. If she weren't so fucking smitten Poppy would have thought that Rosie was a Saint considering how patient she is. However, she refuses to confess her feelings to the other girl first, after all she's a Min-Sinclair and they don't confess ever. People confess to her.

They're both stubborn, therefore they both refuse to even acknowledge their budding feelings for the other. Though there have been too many times where Poppy has gotten jealous when people stare too much at Rosie, though it's reserved and usually subtle. Poppy quietly stakes her claim by always having some sort of physical contact with Rosie. It could be something as simple as a hand on Rosie's forearm or wrist. But the real warning comes from her passive aggressiveness when others get too close to Rosie or the glares that are given if anyone is dumb enough to try and flirt with the other girl.

It's not like Rosie is any better. Whilst Poppy is subtle with her jealousy, Rosie is not. She's always quick hold Poppy's hand as if to signify that the blonde is hers and it's even worse if anyone ignores that. She becomes more physically affectionate. She hugs Poppy as if her life depends on it. There's also been a few times where if Rosie's patience was tested she'd get really jealous and the next time they're intimate she always leaves marks where no one but her or Poppy knows. It's also when she becomes quite dominant in the bedroom and it genuinely entertains Poppy so much so it's become her second favourite past time. The first definitely being their intimate moments.

It gets to the point where both of then get so frustrated they confess how they feel that the same time, which becomes one of their inside jokes considering they both felt like idiots for not confessing their feelings sooner.

However, it's not like summer lasts forever and both of them end up breaking it off, since Poppy actually likes Rosie and she refuses to put her through the shit that goes on in Belvoire. "It was fun while it lasted, Hughes, but I'm sorry. I have to go back and I'm not sure I'll ever see you again." said Poppy, voice cold as ice as if the whole thing didn't matter. Poppy would be lying if she said that it meant nothing, considering she's never been happier. The other girl definitely had a special place in her heart but as they say if you really live someone you have to let them go. She might be cruel but she's not about to fuck Rosie's life up by involving her in the stupidity of Belvoire, she deserves better. Maybe after unibersity she can find Rosie and they can try again.

Rosie's quite sure that she's never going to find anyone that makes her feel the way Poppy does, but she's not one to make things more complicated. "I'm glad I met you Poppy Min-Sinclair, it's been fun while it lasted. Maybe someday we can meet each other again."

Imagine her surprise when it turns out that Poppy attends Belvoire, both of them shocked to see each other again. The only difference being that Poppy seems much colder than the one she met before. Her eyes didn't have that shine or hint of mischief. It looked too detached. "What are you staring at?" said one of the girls following Poppy. Her eyes widened in surprise as the person her roommate Zoey warned her about was Poppy. She's barely acknowledged by Poppy as she just walks away without a word.

Things start to get more complicated as both of them are put against each other, as they compete for the top spot. It's not like Rosie really cared about the fucking thing, in all honesty she didn't even want to compete with Poppy but it's not like she had a choice considering no one cared that she didn't want to compete with Poppy. It gets to the point Rosie avoids Poppy altogether, not really wanting the unsolicited drama with the other girl.

It becomes even worse when rumours start that th reason why the two girls avoided each other like the plague was because Carter was cheating on Poppy with Rosie, and this gets blown out of proportion during the football game in which the screen shows a poorly photoshopped photo of Rosie and Carter kissing.

The way Poppy looked at Rosie broke her heart. Poppy looked tired and upset. She looked like she was betrayed and worse of all the look was directed at her. It's made even worse when Poppy wordlessly looks away, tears on her eyes as she runs to get away from the stadium.

Things change when Rosie chases after Poppy. It's the first time she sees Poppy cry, and it breaks her heart because how can she be so foolish. This was the person she fell for, and it sucked because she was the reason why Poppy was upset.

She approaches Poppy carefully, and as soon as she's noticed. Poppy's eyes narrow into a glare. "What do you want Hughes? Haven't you done enough already?" she yells, her voice full of venom. The words sting, but Rosie marches on, as she apologises. "I know I'm the last person you want to see, but I wanted to say I'm sorry. You didn't deserve all of that." She reaches out to try and comfort Poppy but she stops as remembers that she's the reason Poppy was crying in the first place. They both stand there in a tense silence, both not wanting to speak until they both say something at the same time. "Why didn't you tell me that you go to Belvoire?" they both say in sync.

Rosie lets Poppy speak first. "If you said that you were going to be attending Belvoire, maybe things would have been different." she says and this catches Rosie's attention. "Different how?" she asks and Poppy looks at her eyes softening as she says "I would have admitted that I was falling for you."

That's how they got back together.

#choices queen b #queen b #qb #queen b playchoices #playchoices #pixelberrychoices #pixelberry #poppy min sinclair x mc #poppy x mc #poppy fic #poppy min sinclair #playchoices poppy min sinclair #my wife #my writing #choices fic #simpisalive #im alive shout ⭐gay⭐ if u read tags #love yall #i promise ill have more content soon once we get our queen back #uwu #love u all #i hope u have a great and blessed day 💗

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (final chapter, pt. 1)

note: ooh here it is, the beginning of the end. I'm not very sure about the quality of this lol-

Donnie couldn't be out long. There was only so much time until the others noticed he was missing and came looking, and in such a tense moment as this was, he didn't know how he'd handle the three of them showing up. All he needed was a few minutes. Just a few minutes.

As he ran the rooftops, he was extra vigilant of his surroundings. Since the last assault, he knew he had to stay on guard, but waiting was simply not an option. As he neared her apartment complex, he could see in the distance a familiar sight; her, on the balcony. He couldn't believe what was happening. That he was running toward her and not away. She looked around, checking everywhere she could think of, but she could not see him. Only his tall shadow on the wall as he slipped into the cover of an adjacent building, perched next to a water tower and watching. In that moment, part of him in the recesses of his mind decided that the soft light of night had a way of making a person look positively ethereal.

He crept closer to the edge, just into sight, and waited.

Now or never, he told himself, leaping ever closer. She was only about twenty feet away, now, him obscured by a door leading to the stairwell he stood behind. The sound of his previous lofty drop into the concrete seemed to have snatched her attention, as he'd noticed, peering around the corner. And so she grabbed the railing and called out distinctly, "Come out, Bo!"

It was silent for a disconcerting amount of time. There was only him and her, the physical gap between them, and then where he hid in the dark.

No more secrets, no more secrets, he repeated, trying to turn his nerves into some kind of hype. The affirmation had no effect on him as it did Mikey, who he'd seen use the "technique" frequently. He still tried it.

"Show yourself," he heard her say, though her tone was not much of a demand. She was just as uncertain as he was.

Not yet could he step out. He hesitated before responding, "Donatello," still from behind the door. She struggled to reply, and when she didn't say anything, he added, "Donatello...that's my name." And with one last burst of courage, he stepped out.

She found herself stuck where she was as he slowly approached, unable to see the details of his face. She squinted. The gear on his back and head glinted in the light. There was a slight hunch in his posture, possibly from the large shell on his back, possibly from the added weight of the gear, possibly because he was trying to look a little smaller. He was conscious of his gait, his posture—his posture, especially—his own body language. He made the effort to straighten out just a bit. Whether she paid attention to those things was beyond him, but it was an unconscious accommodation.

Unblinking, her eyes locked with his, held by each other's gaze. The last thing we wanted to get caught up on was his boyish affection for her (that was how he saw it), but she was simply everything he'd imagined, and more. Impossible to not stare at. He stopped some ways from her and anticipated the reaction he was going to receive.

Her hands loosened their grips on the railing. "You're…" she trailed off, as if trying to find the right words. He shifted in discomfort. "...a turtle," she said breathily, finally able to say it.

"Um...a red-eared slider, to be exact, if you want to be specific," he added quickly, and it made her remember the time he'd told her fun facts about the particular species.

Nerves firing, Donnie resisted the urge to squirm or pace as he did when he was uncomfortable. She knew him in his entirety, now. He did not feel the release he thought he would have upon revealing himself. No, he felt restless. The more time they went not speaking a word, the more he was forcefully grounded right then and there. His attention diverted to her appearance. She was beautiful—one of the most beautiful people he'd seen. And he'd seen plenty of people in his life, but he was held hostage by her and her alone in that moment. Everything around them seemed to fade out.

But the silence couldn't go on forever; one of them had to speak. Both had to confront each other.

He decided an apology was in order. Naturally, he possessed a twinge of guilt for leading her on in a way. "I'm sorry I made you think I was someone that I'm not, [y/n]."

Her hands left the railing and fell to her sides. "Donatello, I—"

"You can just call me Donnie. Please."

She nodded and looked down. Her brows knitted, though not in anger. "Donnie...this is so weird," she said, and his chest tightened. "How?" she asked. He was a little confused by her question, and she went on upon seeing the quizzical look on his face. "How do you exist? Where did you come from?"

He couldn't answer immediately; the story was awkwardly long to be standing out in the open. So he took a small easy step forward, asking for permission to enter the apartment, which felt wholly unnatural. He also didn't want to encroach on her or her space.

Instinctually, his hand drew up towards his neck, where he started rubbing yet again. "The story, it's kind of...complicated. And I can't stay out here too long," he said, motioning at their surroundings, "do you mind if we…?" He was hesitant to even finish that sentence.

"Go in?" she inferred. For a second, he thought she seemed to be seriously thinking about it. I wouldn't be so quick to invite a six-and-a-half foot tall talking terrapin into my home, either.

"Ah—just for now, I'm sorry, I know it's weird and you're probably uncomfortable—"

She shook her head, walking back to the door before sliding it open with some reluctance. "Uh, you can. I just...I'm trusting you right now, Donatello."

He mustered up a slight smile, but it didn't last as she leaned over the railing and held out her hand. For him to take. He wasn't totally sure what to do with himself otherwise as he took the hint and placed his large hand in her smaller one, stepping over the (for him) short gap onto the balcony. Her hand was unmistakably warm against his cool scales. The gesture made his heart flutter, even though he could have gotten across by himself with no issue. He didn't notice how firmly he held her hand until she let go.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, sliding the door open and stepping aside. He had to duck his head underneath the door frame.

Inside the apartment was warm. Warm everything, actually; the only light was the pale yellow glow of the lamps in the living room. He forgot momentarily the circumstances and his eyes wandered the room, finding traces of her personality wherever he could. He noticed the books on the shelf next to them and searched through his own mind library to see if he knew any of the titles. He also took note of whatever the show that was playing on the TV, the scattered knick-knacks, and other telling items. If it weren't for the homely atmosphere, he would have felt like an unwanted intruder, but he was only fairly uncomfortable once he was brought back by the sound of her clearing her throat.

"Oh," he muttered politely, sidestepping out of her way. "Sorry, I've just only ever seen this place from the outside." He continued looking around the room and absorbing information as was his habit.

"Huh?" She quickly turned toward him.

Donnie, sometimes I wish you wouldn't open your mouth, he grilled himself, and instantly went into minor panic-mode in explaining himself. "Well, I—you see, I was out, and…"

She crossed her arms, taking a subtle step back.

She's going to think I'm a stalker!

"It was by pure coincidence!" he exclaimed, holding out his hands nervously. "We took down some bad guys trying to rob a place nearby, and apparently you heard something?" He carefully watched her expression. "You texted me immediately afterwards saying you did, so I just...put it together."

She dropped her arms and seemed to have a revelation. "That's what I heard! And you...took them down?"

He straightened up, one of his hands idly adjusting one of the straps around his shoulder. If he was really doing this, telling her, he'd lay it all out tonight.

"Yeah, my brothers and I. That's what we do. We stop bad guys."

Shoulders losing their tension, she stared at him with a peculiar expression, long enough for him to question what she was thinking. She started, "You never said you had brothers. Or that you fight crime." He gave her a half-smile. "But you also never said where you came from."

"It might take a while to explain."

"We've got plenty of time."

He soon was whisked away into recounting, and forgot that he was missing from home.

Tag list: @spaceman-main @kokokatsworld @criminaly-supernatural @sheepdarkhours @dianounais

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt donatello x reader #tmnt donnie x reader #tmnt x reader #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #tmnt bayverse #tmnt donnie #donatello #tmnt donatello #donatello x reader #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt leo #tmnt raph #tmnt mikey #teenage mutant ninja turtles fanfiction #fanfiction

[giorno-plays-piano]

Cry Little Sister

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, verbal threats, gaslighting, both reader and Peter are high school students, kinda slight incestuous undertones (the characters aren't related, though).

Words: 2214.

Summary: Your adopted older brother is not as nice as he seems, but no one is willing to believe you.

P.S. And yep, I used one of my favourite citations from Grishaverse in the end of this story. Hope you enjoy!

__________

"Peter, sweetheart, I knew you'd make it!" Your mother had clasped her hands together while your father patted Peter's shoulder. "The best test results in the whole class! My goodness, we need to celebrate it!"

You smiled at them tiredly, seeing the faces of your parents practically glowing. True, Peter was a damn smart guy. You had never achieved such high results despite all those nights you spent studying, while he didn't care much about it at all, it seemed. You hadn't seen him with a book yet.

"I'm gonna bake an apple pie for you." A smile of your mother made you feel bitter, and you averted your eyes, missing an odd look your older adopted brother sent you.

Half a year ago he finally came to live with your family once your parents finished gathering all the papers and waited for almost a year to receive "the call". You remembered how you had jumped happily in the living room along with your mom, believing it was finally over. Well, maybe it was over for Peter, but for you it was only a beginning. You could hardly imagine the sweet skinny guy who you considered very shy and bashful would change so drastically.

It started very subtle. First, Peter was trying to be helpful, assisting you when you did the housework - he was actually way better at cooking and cleaning than you and easily got praised by your mom. You were truly thankful to him for his help, especially since it was easier to get to know him while working together. It was then when you first spotted the odd looks he was sending you when he thought you didn't see. There was something... uneasy lingering in his gaze. You couldn't quite put your finger on it, but sometimes Peter made you shiver with the way he spoke or touched you discreetly. It was strange. Of course, the boy didn't do or tell you something that would make you worried, but you just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. You blamed it on the fact you couldn't get accustomed to a new life with an adopted brother yet. Surely, it wasn't supposed to be easy?

But the more you spent time together, the stronger that feeling got. Despite Peter becoming a part of your family as easily as if he had always been your parents' son, you were wary of his sudden urges to touch you and always keep you in his sight. At first you thought he was just touch starved and needed human warmth. Maybe for Peter it was just easier to come to you rather than your parents since you were almost the same age as him.  But then... one day you saw him going through your things and taking one of your lipsticks from your makeup bag. You suddenly remembered losing a lip gloss two weeks ago.

Trying to voice your concerns, you talked to your mom who was so insensitive she went to speak with Peter right away. Of course, he said it wasn't true and you had probably misunderstood him since he only wanted to borrow a pen. He even showed his table and wardrobe to demonstrate he didn't hide anything.

From that time Peter had changed. He didn't hide his unhealthy behavior from you anymore, and he was scaring you with the things he had done, keeping an eye on you when you were around and stalking you if you were not, never staying far away aside from the time he had to be in class.

Of course, he sensed that you were becoming resteless, less and less eager to spend time with him, blaming it on lots of homework or sudden meetings with friends. You weren't blind to his frightening affection - if you could call his feelings like that. Why was he doing it? Despite spending only several months living with you, your parents loved him dearly, paying him twice more attention than you. You had never protested against it, knowing a poor soul like him who didn't have his own family needed all the help he could get now. But this... this wasn't alright. This wasn't a feeling siblings should have for each other. Did Peter consider you one? Did you truly consider him your older brother? You weren't sure. Nevertheless, it still didn't feel right.

Carefully, you attempted to talk to your father about it, vagualy wording your concerns and giving him little details - sure, you didn't like how Peter was behaving, but he didn't deserve to be banished from your family and sent back. You still believed something could be done to set everything right. Maybe the boy just didn't realize things were not supposed to work this way in a family. However, your father laughed it all off. He said little girls like you were thinking too much of themselves lately, claiming the whole world was obsessed with them. Peter simply tried to be a good brother and look out for you.

You had never felt more humiliated in your entire life.

Dropping all attempts to bring Peter's unhealthy behaviour to your parents' attention, you decided there was just one thing to do - separate yourself from him completely.

No more doing the housework together, no more chats in the kitchen in the morning, no more having lunch together at school, no more cuddles in the evening. You kept yourself as busy as you could - in the morning you did jogging, at school you spent time with your friends, in the evening you were taking your books and doing your homework in the park, at your friend's place or anywhere convenient. Even though Peter tried following you, you had started to change places all of a sudden to keep him away from you.

This was when he had enough of you distancing yourself.

Suddenly, Peter fighted for affection of your parents with such ferocity as if you tried to strip him of their love. His gradea were suddenly way better than yours - he claimed he had finally felt safe in his new home and could spent his energy elsewhere. The way he behaved was even more sweet than before. On the other hand, strange things started happening to you: once your mother found your expensive satin blouse torn and blamed it on you and your carelessness; the other time the chicken you cooked was so salty it ended in a trash bin; your friend received threats coming from your phone number, though you had never ever sent anything like that to her.

It was easy to guess who was doing this to you, but Peter never admitted it out loud. Talking to your parents was worthless, too, as in their eyes the boy was a pure blessing. How could you blame him for things you did to catch their attention?

Shit. You knew something was wrong with Peter, but you could hardly imagine to what extent he could go to have his way. It was unbelievable a boy like him could manipulate people so easily, wrapping them around his finger. Why was he doing it? Everyone already loved him. Everyone but you.

"Y/N!" Your mother's sharp voice broke the silence, and you hurried downstares, finding your mom near the washing machine with a wet black sock in her hands. "Are you out of your mind?! Did you put your black socks in there when I said to bring your WHITE clothes?!"

"But I didn't!" You gawked at her, knowing perfectly you only brought her what she asked you to. "I swear I didn't!"

"Oh yes, of course, it's Peter who went through your dirty clothes to incriminate you, dear." She sneered at you. "You have to come up with a new excuse, this is getting old. Look what you've done, my white jeans are ruined!"

"Please, mom, I-"

"Go to your room. I don't want to see or hear you." She snapped, tossing the sock to the floor as you stared at her in horror. She had never been so irritated like in the past month when your "slip-ups" were happening more and more often.

Racing upstairs, you pressed your hand to your mouth, trying not to cry. Why was he still doing it to you? Why did Peter want everything to be like he wished? Why did your parents never believe you? It was you who was their true daugther, for God's sake!

Locking the door, you fell down on your bed, burying your head in your soft pillow. It started to become unbearable. Why was this all happening? Despite your growing hate towards Peter, you couldn't say that he was ugly and unpleasant. He was easy on the eyes and could be really nice to people around him, and it made Peter quite popular among the girls at school. Why on Earth didn't he set his eyes on anyone other than you? There were plenty of girls who'd be willing to date him and give him as much attention as he wanted.

You wiped away your angry tears with your pillow, biting on your lower lip. It was unfair, and you weren't going to give in to him just because Peter wanted to play with you like a spoiled child. You'd find a way to prove you weren't guilty of all those things he wanted to pin on you, you just needed to gather yourself and think properly.

Suddenly, you heard someone knocking on your window and rushed to it immediately: your room was on the third floor. Seeing Peter sitting on the bench of a tree, you gasped in shock. You opened the window right away, praying for him to stay still.

"Are you out of your mind?" You whispered in horror, holding out your hand to him. "What are you doing there?!"

He smiled at you like nothing was happening, taking your arm and crawling towards your window. In the next moment he was already inside your room, grinning like a kid and shutting the window behind himself. You furrowed your brows, your heart racing. Peter was insane!

"What if you slipped?" You asked him furiously. "Are you mad? Do you want to die?!"

"No, but you wouldn't let me in your room unless I came in the window." He admitted carelessly and smiled, reaching out to you and enveloping you in a hug. "I'm glad you don't want me to fall."

"You're out of your mind, brother." You grunted, trying to push him away, but his grip was only becoming stronger. "What are you doing? Let me go, please."

"But I want a hug from you. Is it so bad?"

You clenched your teeth, watching him angrily. "You just made my mom scream at me for that stupid sock. You think you deserve a hug?"

"I only did it because you're stubborn. It's your fault I had come to this, Y/N." His sickly sweet smile made you nauseated as you put your hands on his chest in attempt to keep him away. "Come on, why have you been acting so cold? I just want to be a part of your family."

"Are you serious?"

Your eyes could burn a hole in his face as you stared at him, getting more and more angry with his behaviour and trying to blame you for his own actions.

"This isn't like it should be in a family, Peter. We're siblings now. Siblings don't do it... l-like that." You felt your face growing hot as you became deeply embarrassed, knowing how your words could be interpreted.

"But we're not siblings, are we?" He tilted his head to the side, narrowing his dark eyes at you and smiling widely.

You growled in irritation, still unable to get rid of him holding you like a doll in his hands.

"If you don't want me to be your sister, what family are you talking about, then?"

"We'll, it's not the only family I can have with you, right?"

You stilled, unsure you understood what Peter meant as he chuckled with content, watching you getting more and more confused while he gently caressed your back. What other family he could possibly mean?

It took you a few seconds to realize he was talking about marriage between you two.

Your eyes popped out of its sockets. Was he fucking serious? That kind of family? No, he should have been out of his mind completely. He definitely had to see a psychiatrist or something!

"You're joking, aren't you?" You muttered, shocked. "You can't be serious!"

"But I am, sister." Peter's sweet smile was slowly turning sinister as he leaned closer to you, dropping a kiss to your temple as you shivered against him, wanting nothing but get away. "And you better stop with that silly attitude of yours if you don't want me to get real angry."

"And what are you going to do if I don't? What if I will tell everyone about this?"

He smirked, touching your forehead with his and closing his eyes for a second.

"I see you still don't understand." Peter whispered to you, watching you getting more and more nervous. “I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no one but me.”

___________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki   ​@helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin ​@void-hoechlin @abyssaint @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @rosalynshields @brattycherubwrites @sllooney @angrythingstarlight

#peter parker #dark peter parker #peter parker x reader #dark peter parker x reader #spider-man #yandere #tom holland

[garlichoisan]

Singing in the shower | liu yangyang

➸ Genre: Fluff

➸ Pairing: Yangyang × f reader

➸ Word count: 7 197

➸ Information:

college!au, childhood friends, friends to lovers, friends!NCT Dream 00 line, bestfriend!Yeji (ITZY), very slight NoMin references (Jeno + Jaemin), mention of Mark Lee, reader is a few months older than YangYang (born in the same year)

➸ Warnings: A lot of fluff as usual.

➸ Plot:

You're forced to learn how to live without your closest friend from childhood who has to go live in Germany with his parents, leaving you heartbroken. You thought YangYang was going to be by your side forever. As years have passed and you've almost started to forget about him, he suddenly appears in your life again, turning it upside down, and this time, nobody's leaving.

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➸ A/N: This oneshot took me over 2 months and a half to write and was written as a part of my dear @renjunniehome's song fic challenge (?)

Not really a challenge, but it's an event where diffent NCT writers write fanfics based on songs so make sure to check it here: PLAYLIST FICS MASTERLIST

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“I don't know, it's just something about ya

Got me feeling like I can't be without ya

Anytime someone mention your name

I be feeling as if I'm around ya”

YangYang and you have always been a package deal; you were so close as children that at one point people couldn’t imagine one of you without the other and honestly, you also couldn’t imagine what your life would be without your best friend. There was something about him that made you feel butterflies in your stomach, even though as a child you could not identify and understand clearly what it was.

Besides that, your parents and YangYang’s were very close so you sometimes had family dinners together; that happened often, since you were neighbors and your houses were literally right next to each other. Your parents loved YangYang like their own son, maybe because he spent so much time in your house, had dinner there, and even stayed the night quite often for your sleepover parties. Of course, his parents were also very happy when you went to his house in order to spend time with him. Everyone in the neighborhood thought you’d end up marrying each other when you grow up, even if your child selves denied it with disgust. However, you couldn’t deny that your face always lit up when your parents told you YangYang and his parents would be coming over for dinner. Just the mention of his name made you start jumping with excitement.

But apparently everything good had to end sooner or later. You could still remember the shock you felt when you learnt YangYang would be leaving his house which was right next to yours in order to go live and study in Germany. He explained with glossy eyes that his parents have found better work opportunities there and that this probably meant you wouldn’t see each other very often. When you first heard this, you burst out crying, hugging him tightly, begging him not to go. Even though he also didn’t want to go, he was just a child so he had to leave with his parents. That left you heartbroken; you tried to text him in the beginning in order to keep in touch but it was getting difficult because of the time difference, as well as the lack of personal contact. Slowly you started to get used to life without him, no matter how much you wanted him back, but you couldn’t really learn to be happy without him.

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“Ain't no words to describe you baby

All I know is that you take me high

Can you tell that you drive me crazy?

'Cause I can't get you out my mind”

As the years were passing and you were growing up, you started to understand what your feelings for your childhood friend meant. Before you heard the word “crush”, you thought you just loved to be next to YangYang because he was funny and was making you laugh. But as a teenager, you realized you still missed him, even though you had no idea what he looked like now, how much he had changed, and most of all, you felt how you haven’t gotten over him at all. People your age started to date, but you weren’t interested in anyone, since subconsciously you kept comparing them to your childhood friend. You never even went to dates, and you realized how childish your behavior was, but honestly, nobody seemed like your type anyways. You barely had any friends, since the overly-romanticized idea of YangYang has turned into a standard for your friendships as well. You felt as if you were going crazy because of him as you only thought of him and how you would feel if you could meet him now.

* * *

A few years have passed and you were now in university, trying to live without the thought of YangYang as you realized you were probably never going to meet him again. Now you had some amazing friends who were bringing colors into your life and sometimes distracted you from thoughts about your childhood friend.

You were currently having lunch with your friends from your class. Suddenly you saw Jaemin, one of your friends, running towards your table and finding a place to sit, as he looked as if he was excited for some reason.

"Guys, big news! Apparently we're gonna have a new guy in our class. I heard he's German. I can't wait to meet him! European peopleare so good-looking!" Jaemin said with a dreamy gaze.

“Why would there be a German in our class?” You asked confusedly.

“I don’t know, that’s what the rumors are.”

As you heard the word ‘German’, you suddenly thought of YangYang again, trying to stop the association in your mind before it was too late. For the rest of lunch time you were a lot more silent than usual, quietly eating your food as Haechan was telling jokes, Renjun was laughing, and Jaemin kept annoying Jeno.

The next day you had an early class and as you heard your alarm ring, you groaned softly in annoyance, turning it off and literally rolling out of bed, as you fell to the floor, hugging your blanket, together with your bunny plushie which was actually a present from YangYang.

“Stop overreacting, you drama queen. Nobody has ever died from early morning classes,” your roommate and best friend, Yeji, said.

Sometimes you wondered how could she be so energetic, enthusiastic and optimistic, even early in the morning.

“Yeah, I might be the first one though,” you cried out, while holding the plushie tightly, refusing to accept the reality.

“Come on, if you get up now, I’ll buy you something delicious after classes,” Yeji promised, taking your hand to help you get to your feet.

When you heard her offer, your eyes lit up.

“Really?” You were still a little skeptical about believing her, even though you wanted to.

“Yes, knowing you, you’re probably just going to ask me to buy you a chocolate. Completely affordable,” Yeji chuckled, knowing she was right.

“Correct. Make it two, though. I feel this is going to be a difficult day.”

You finally took her hand and let her help you get up from the floor. After that you quickly put your plushie back in your bed, laying its head on your pillow, as you took the blankets from the floor and put them over the plushie, wanting it to feel warm. Yeji watched your actions with a wide smile on her face.

“Aww, you’re so cute. Now go get ready, or we’ll gonna be late.”

“Oh, how tragic that would be,” you said sarcastically, before going to the bathroom to wash your face and brush your teeth.

* * *

When you and Yeji entered the lecture hall, you found your classmates being more energetic and chattier than usual. You also noticed your friends, who were talking to a new guy, probably the one Jaemin mentioned the day before, as you recalled.

“Honestly I was a little disappointed to find out you weren’t actually German,” you heard Jaemin say and you giggled quietly.

“If those weird comments don’t scare the new guy off, I’d be really impressed,” Yeji noted, as she found a place near the window and you sat next to her.

“I agree,” you laughed, turning around to look at the new guy once again.

He looked somehow familiar to you, but you couldn’t tell why. When he noticed you looking at him he just stared at you for a couple of seconds while Jaemin and the rest of your friends were probably bothering him. You could swear you’ve seen those shiny dark brown eyes somewhere else before. But as you realized you were still looking at the guy, you quickly averted your eyes, so that he wouldn’t think you were some kind of a creep. You thought that maybe there was not a particular reason for his familiar vibe: maybe he just looked like somebody you’d befriend, that’s why he looked as if you already knew him, or at least that’s what you believed.

“I see the new guy has already caught your eye. The question is, how did he achieve that? You’re not usually interested in others,” Yeji pointed out.

“I-I’m not looking at him,” you denied, shaking your head. “Guys are basically a loss of time, except for my friends. But they’re too dumb for me to date one of them. Besides, only two of them are boyfriend material, they are Jaemin and Jeno, and they’re basically almost dating each other, even though they don’t know it yet,” you explained, taking your textbook out.

As you mentioned Jeno, you saw him coming to you and you looked at him questioningly.

“We promised to show the new guy around after this class, and then we’re going to have lunch with him. You and Yeji can also join us,” Jeno suggested and Yeji nodded.

“We’d love to!” You smiled and Jeno smiled back, returning to his seat, next to Jaemin.

When English class ended, you and Yeji went out of the lecture hall, waiting for your friends and the new guy. They were soon here and you all started walking around the hall, as you heard Haechan talking about the variety of books in the university’s library even though you’ve never seen him actually go there, so you were wondering how he knew this information. Meanwhile you and the new guy continued looking at each other and then averting your gaze without saying anything. You realized he still hasn’t introduced himself to you, but you couldn’t ask him for his name, because you were shy, so you just continued walking in silence, as the ones who were talking were mainly Haechan and Renjun.

When you went to the cafeteria and found a table, you left your things, so that the guys could watch over them, and you went to buy food with Yeji.

“Seriously, what’s going on between you and the new guy? You can’t stop looking at each other. You’ve never looked at a guy like that, so you can’t convince me you don’t like him,” Yeji stated, demanding an answer, as she took a bowl of rice.

“He just looks familiar, I don’t know why though. That’s all.”

“You know that when you meet your soulmate for the first time, you feel as if you already know each other?” Yeji asked, as you paid for your food and started walking back to the table with your best friend walking after you.

“Shut up,” you hit her arm playfully; you really wanted her to stop saying things like that.

When you went back to the table, you noticed only Jaemin and Jeno were there. Jaemin was feeding Jeno, holding a spoon of rice which he put into his mouth.

“Eat a lot, handsome,” Jaemin winked at Jeno who averted his head with discontent. “Do you want some kimchi?” He asked, as Jeno nodded, even though he didn’t want his best friend to feed him.

“Why are you feeding him? Can he not hold the utensils himself?” Yeji asked, as you hit her arm again.

“Be quiet, you’re ruining the romance,” you scolded her, as you continued looking at your two friends, as you sat across from them.

“What romance are you talking about, I just lost a bet,” Jeno groaned in disagreement with your statement.

“Was the bet letting Jaemin show his love for you freely?” You questioned him, as Jeno looked too flustered to answer.

“Something like that,” Jaemin confirmed. “Ah, Jeno, you’re such a messy eater! Here, let me wipe that off,” he said, as he wiped the rice off Jeno’s lips, using a tissue.

“Cute,” you whispered, looking away as you started eating your own lunch.

“Jaemin’s actions are making me want to throw up,” Yeji confessed, taking her fork and starting to eat her food in silence.

“You’re not the only one, I feel the same way,” Jeno agreed quietly, looking at Jaemin as if he was going to kill him every second now.

A few minutes later the new guy approached your table, holding his own tray of food, setting it down and sitting next to you. Your heart skipped a beat just because of his decision to sit next to you. You didn’t know why him being close to you was making you feel this special, so you tried to brush it off, but you couldn’t; so during the rest of the lunch you were actually in a very good mood, even though you and the new guy still haven’t talked to each other directly at all. When Haechan and Renjun joined you, you talked to them a lot, trying not to think about the stranger next to you, since you were too shy to ask for his name, and he apparently didn’t want to say it to you or ask you about yours.

As you were done with lunch, you stood up from the table and took your tray in your hands, looking at the new guy as he was doing the same. When he took his own tray, though, you noticed he dropped something. You quickly bent down to get it and give it back to its owner. But before handing it to him, you took a quick look at it – it was a discount card for the food in the cafeteria. You saw his picture and you read your name, saying it out loud as you realized something.

“Yang… Yang?” You looked up in disbelief.

He looked at you with a smile and he nodded.

“Yes, YangYang is my name, not a nickname as people usually think. Sorry for not introducing myself to you earlier, I was just distracted since you seemed really familiar for some reason,” he said, as you handed him his discount card.

“Um, I… My name is Y/N,” you introduced yourself quietly, as you waited for his reaction.

There were two possible ways this could go: he would either recognize his own childhood best friend, or he would take your hand, as he hears your name for the first time, if he wasn’t your YangYang, but some other guy with the same name. But to you, now it all made sense. The visual resemblance, his voice, his cheerful personality… But you still wanted to be sure it was actually him, before hugging him excitedly.

“You… Bunny?” He called you by your nickname he came up with when you were younger. He thought you looked energetic and playful, just like a bunny.

You nodded, as you couldn’t stop smiling.

“You don’t know how much I missed you!”

Before you could do anything, he put his tray and card down on the table as he hugged you tightly. You were a little taken aback for a couple of seconds, slowly realizing your wish has come true. You and your best friend were finally together.

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“Thinkin' of ya when I'm goin' to bed

When I wake up think of ya again

You are my homie, lover and friend

Exactly why”

As you and Yeji went back to the dorms, you didn’t even have any motivation to study, because you were too busy thinking about your amazing day. You still couldn’t believe this was actually him, your childhood best friend who you were meeting so many years after he left for Germany, after you had lost hope of seeing him ever again. You were hugging your plushie, as you were jumping around the room, repeating that tomorrow you were meeting YangYang after classes in a café, where you could talk to each other and get updates on his life, even though everything seemed as if it was still the same; even YangYang haven’t changed in your opinion, except for becoming more handsome now as an adult.

Yeji was smiling at you, as you told her about your long story with your childhood friend. She was sincerely happy to see you so excited and she wished everything would turn out well for you. You kept thinking about him before going to bed and even after you woke up, starting your day with a smile on your face.

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“You light me up inside

Like the 4th of July

Whenever you’rearound

I always seem to smile”

A few weeks have passed since your reunion with YangYang; now you were used to hanging out together all the time, just like before, realizing that neither of you really changed. You craved each other’s attention and presence just the same way as when you were kids. Today you decided to visit a café with a nice atmosphere, suitable for a cozy afternoon and long conversations. After classes were over, you said goodbye to Yeji, as she wished you to have a good time on your date, but you were quick to correct her this wasn’t a date (even though you secretly wanted it to be) and went out of the classroom together with YangYang.

On the way to the café you couldn’t stop talking to each other. Your topics were never ending and it was always exciting spending time together for both of you. You couldn’t stop smiling as he said funny things to you, or even when he didn’t say something that entertaining; you just loved his company so much, that you enjoyed every second you spent with him. Around twenty minutes later you got to your destination and he opened the door to the café for you, then you found a nice table near the window. You both ordered hot chocolate as you continued with your conversation.

“Do you wanna go watch a movie tomorrow? They’re projecting a Marvel movie,” YangYang asked as he gave you a little additional information.

You smiled, even though you honestly disliked these movies, but you only watched them so that you could spend time with YangYang. You’ve watched every single Marvel movie, since your best friend was obsessed with them for some reason.

“Of course, I’m so excited!”

“Great, I’ll book the movie tickets now,” YangYang said with a wide smile on his face, as he unlocked his phone and typed the website’s name to book the tickets.

“Um, Yangie,” you hesitantly started speaking, not knowing if you should continue your sentence.

“Yeah?” He asked, not looking away from his phone.

“I’m going home this weekend, in my hometown. Do you wanna go with me?” You suggested, even though you felt a little shy to be inviting your childhood friend in your house and have the same sleepovers you used to.

“Really? That would be amazing!” Fortunately, he seemed really happy to hear your idea. “Your parents are also going to be there, right?” After you nodded, he continued speaking. “Can you tell your mom to please prepare my favorite cream cheese muffins for her special guest?” He looked at you with pleading eyes you could never say no to.

“Hey, YangYang! Do you only care about food?” You scolded him, as you playfully hit his arm.

“This is my main priority, yes.” He answered, matching your energy. “But you take the second place, you’re the second most important thing to me other than food.”

He looked at you and for a moment you forgot how to breathe. You were looking at his eyes, getting lost again and again; it felt like you were getting out of the trance he put you on, only to fall deeper the next time you looked at him.

“Are you okay?”

His voice showed concern, but his face had a unreadable look; not worried, but also not calm. It was like he knew exactly how he made you feel.

“Uh, yes, sorry, I just zoned out for a second,” you explained as you avoided his gaze. “I’m gonna call my mom later and ask her to prepare the muffins,” you informed him, as you took a sip from your hot chocolate.

“You know I don’t really care, right? I just want to be with you,” he admitted, as you coughed when you heard that. “Are you alright? First you zoned out, now you can’t drink your hot chocolate… So my theory must be true,” he said with a content tone and you looked at him in surprise.

“What theory?” You asked as you continued coughing until you were okay.

“Never mind. Just be careful next time.”

You nodded as you silently took another sip, trying to avoid his eyes.

Around an hour later it was time for you to leave, so you went back to the dorms. He smiled and waved at you, and after you waved back, you finally entered the room you and Yeji shared. You closed the door as you rested your back on it, breathing loudly. Your heart was beating fast and you wanted to make sure you’ve calmed down before you greet Yeji. Now you were absolutely sure you were in love with your childhood best friend and that fact made you quite nervous. You never felt that way before and you weren’t even sure if he felt the same way about you. But despite your worries, you smiled widely before knowing it. You felt like you couldn’t even control your emotions and it made you very confused. You slowly went to your room, then you left your bag on your chair and you took a step towards your bed and you just laid on it for a minute, staring at the ceiling, trying to stop thinking about YangYang, but it was more difficult than you expected.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t the date with YangYang go well?” She teased you and you turned to look at her, rolling your eyes with annoyance.

“It was nice, except it weren’t a date,” you corrected her, sighing loudly. “But why is my heart being like that?” you whispered, putting your head on your heart as you kept looking at the ceiling with concentration, as if you expected to find all the answers of your questions there.

“Maybe because you wanted it to be a date?”

You decided to ignore her, but then she spoke again.

“Look at me, the ceiling won’t talk to you like I can,” Yeji reminded you as you looked at her discontentedly.

“Yes, but it also won’t make fun of me like you do.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I just find it amazing that you’re finally interested in somebody,” she said, as she smiled excitedly.

“You could have stopped after ‘sorry’, you know?” You shot her another annoyed look and she raised her eyebrows as if to say she didn’t care. “Never mind, I’m going to take a shower.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“And people ask me how

Well you’re the reason why

I'm dancing in the mirror and singing in the shower”

As you felt the hot water running down your body, you felt a wave of calmness washing over you. Your mind kept going back to thoughts of YangYang and your incredible day with him, as well as the excitement of going home together with him. It was something you wished for so many years, just having him back with you, the two of you together in your room, playing Plants vs. Zombies or Mortal Kombat, some of your favorite PC games back at the time, when you both were around 10 years old.

Without realizing it, you started singing a random song you’ve heard in school today that somehow happened to be a romantic one, matching perfectly with your good mood and your feelings for your childhood friend. Around half an hour later, you got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around your body. Then you took the hairdryer and stood in front of the mirror, drying your hair, but you felt so energetic and happy that you started dancing in front of the mirror. You were holding the hairdryer and you were moving your body randomly, keeping a smile on your face, even though that way drying your hair took much longer time than usual.

When you finally turned the hairdryer off, you noticed Yeji standing in the doorway of your room, looking at you with a wide smile. You rolled your eyes at her for the millionth time today, realizing she may have witnessed at least a part of your dancing in front of the mirror. She giggled, but you decided to act as if nothing out of the ordinary happened, as if you were always that cheerful.

“Why are you laughing?” You asked, as you put the hairdryer back in its place.

“Someone has a crush,” Yeji almost sang that sentence. “I’ve never heard you singing in the shower and seen you dancing in front of the mirror before… Is it really possible that YangYang is the reason behind all that? Could he have changed your usual grumpiness into cheerfulness?”

“What do you mean? I’m the same as usual,” you denied all her claims coolly, sounding credible enough, since you weren’t such an inexperienced liar; you couldn’t say the same for your love life though – you really lacked experience in that part, knowing that calling yourself a “dater” would be factually incorrect.

“Yeah, okay. But if things between you really do work out, I want to be the first one you’re going to share the news with! You’re gonna tell it to Jeno, Jaemin, Renjun and Haechan later,” Yeji stated, as you were looking at her with confusion.

“Calm down, there won’t be any news to tell,” you laughed as you quietly went back to your shared room.

But the part of you that you tried hard to suppress, really hoped you were wrong.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“All I want, all I need is your lovin'

Baby you make me hot like an oven

Since you came you know what I've discovered

Baby I don't need me another”

The next day was Friday, the day you would come back home together with YangYang, being there with him for the first time in many years. A few days ago you’ve told your mother about reuniting with him and to say she was ecstatic would have been an understatement; she felt as if she was welcoming her second child who has been away for a long time, so she wanted to make sure everything was perfect for him. She even cleaned your room since you weren’t there to do so and its usual state was beyond messy; definitely not the best place to show to such an important and dear guest.

You couldn’t wait to go, but before that, you had classes that seemed endless to you; time seemed to be passing too slowly and for a moment you even thought about suggesting YangYang to skip school today, but your good girl reputation prevented you from doing so.

When the professor said his last words for today, concluding the lecture, you took your backpack. You had put your stuff in it a few minutes ago, while the professor was explaining something about an exam or an “extremely important” group project; you weren’t sure, since you weren’t listening after all. You took out the little mirror you kept in your bag to make sure you looked alright. You tried to comb your hair with your fingers, then you applied a new layer of your favorite pink lipstick; you took so much time with your make up today, even though you usually didn’t wear a lot. When you were ready, you ran to the exit of the auditorium, as YangYang was already waiting in front of it.

“You might need to turn Yeji down,” he said, as you raised your eyebrows questioningly. “The group assignment Mr. Lee mentioned, groups of two are also allowed, so you’re with me.”

So this was what you missed as you were too busy putting your stuff in your backpack in order to be able to leave as early as possible. You smiled at him when you heard his words that made a warm feeling blossom in your body.

“Are we ready to go? All I need is in my backpack, so I don’t need to go back to the dorms, unless you want to.”

“I’m also ready. Let’s go,” he smiled, taking your hand and leading you to the exit of the university.

As you were walking next to him, your hand in his, you felt your heart beating unusually fast; but instead of this making you feel nervous, you felt the same warm feeling spreading through your whole body and this time, you were ready to let go and have fun, without holding back anymore.

“So we have a bus in 15 minutes,” you informed him, as you looked at your phone.

“A bus?” He asked before he stopped walking and you stopped looking at the phone and noticed an expensive black car parked in the university parking. “Why don’t we take a ride in my car?” He leaned on it, tapping the roof softly.

“This car is yours? I can’t believe it, you’ve really grown up, Yangie,” you said with a disbelieving voice in order to tease him, but you still sat next to the driver’s seat in his car, as he has opened the door for you before getting on himself. “Even though I’m a few months older than you, I still don’t have my driver’s license, but I’m working on it,” you said with a discontented tone. You were nervous about driving and when you were stressed, you couldn’t do well so you were trying to get your driver’s license for quite some time now.

“You can do it,” he encouraged you with his usual cheerful tone, holding his fist in the air for a second as a sign of encouragement, as he started the car and left the university parking.

* * *

When you were finally in front of your house, you quickly got off the car as you started jumping around with excitement. He smiled at you as he also got off and when the both of you took your backpacks from the car, you rang the bell of your house. A few seconds later your mom opened the door, welcoming you with warm hugs and her usual good mood, as well as a wide smile.

“Wow, I haven’t been here for such a long time,” YangYang mentioned, as he kept looking around. “Wait, what is this smell? It’s amazing!”

“Oh, it’s the muffins,” she smiled again. “By the way, Yangie, you’ve grown so tall! And my little Y/N is still the same as before, she didn’t really grow up a lot,” your mom teased you,

“Hey, you’re shorter than me, so you aren’t allowed to make fun of me!” You playfully scolded your mom, as you sighed in annoyance.

“But you like girls shorter than you, right, YangYang?” Your mom asked your childhood best friend and you wanted the ground to swallow you up right now since you were so ashamed.

You knew she was only asking this since she shipped you and YangYang romantically ever since you two met. She was truly scared for you not to end up single, while you were living your life, rejecting every guy that tried to flirt with you, especially because they weren’t YangYang. You perfectly understood your own feelings so you knew that you didn’t need and didn’t really want a relationship if it wasn’t with him.

“Actually, yeah, I really like girls like that,” YangYang smiled confidently, looking at you. “They are adorable,” he looked away and only then you could breathe. “And they make me feel tall even though I’m not,” he laughed, as your mother was looking at him with pure adoration in her eyes.

“Ah, you’d be such a perfect son in law! Handsome, good mannered, with a good height and you also know a lot of languages, just like my Y/N! I’m honestly so jealous of your future mother in law,” your mom continued to make you want to disappear and you were on the verge of just taking YangYang’s hand and leading him somewhere far away from that house.

“Believe me, you do not need to worry about that,” YangYang said as he kept smiling at your mom.

Even though you didn’t know what he meant, you really wanted to take him somewhere else, where he wouldn’t be able to talk to your mom.

“Dad is still at work, right? Please ask him to buy iced tea and tell us to come when dinner is ready, see you later,” without waiting for your mom to answer, you took YangYang’s hand and led him upstairs and then into your room.

He was looking around as if he was visiting a foreign place he has never been to before.

“You changed your room color…” He said as he touched the wall. “Baby pink suited you though. Also your curtains are different. I liked the old ones with teddy bears on them, but these are fine too. And the bed… It’s seems suitable for more than one person,” he kept commenting the details about your room, but this time his tone was different, and his look was honestly making you nervous. “Have you invited many guys here, Y/N? In this room, on this bed?”

His question made you choke on air; you were looking at him with shock written all over your face.

“W-why would I…”

You wanted to be honest with him, but then realized that this would probably make you look so boring to him.

“It’s not your business.” You quickly answered, sitting on your chair.

“Ah, my innocent Y/N… I guess I’m the only guy who is not a family member that has been to your room,” he continued teasing you as you glared at him warningly.

“That’s not true! Jaemin, Jeno, Haechan and Renjun have been here too!” You quickly denied his claims.

“Yeah, but I doubt you felt something for any of them.”

You stayed silent for a few seconds before deciding to change the topic.

“Do you wanna play Plants Vs. Zombies?” You suddenly asked.

“Of course! Let’s go!” He answered enthusiastically, seating on the chair next to yours.

It was a whole miracle how you could change the atmosphere and his demeanor just by mentioning a PC game. You started playing and suddenly he was the same old YangYang you knew and loved.

“Plant a sunflower, quickly!” You said, as you were looking at your laptop’s screen.

He did as you said, waiting to get another sun so we could buy another plant.

“Quickly, the zombies are coming!” You were clapping excitedly, looking at your childhood friend play the game you used to play all the time when you were kids.

You were so happy that you got closer to him without realizing.

“You’re making me nervous by staying so close to me,” he confessed, giggling softly.

“A-ah, s-sorry,” you quickly apologized as you moved away from him.

When you decided to take a break from the game, you offered him to watch a movie and he agreed, laying on your bed and you reluctantly laid next to him, trying not to get too close to him. You opened Netflix on your TV and the two of you took some time to choose a movie.

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“No, no all I know (know)

Only you got me feelin' so (so)

And you know that I have to have ya

And I don't plan to let you go”

You haven’t watched the movie even halfway when he pressed the pause button.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he said, sighing deeply as if he had something that caused him a great amount of stress.

“Do what?” You asked him worriedly.

Was he sick? Was he bored? You thought of so many different things that you could have done which could have irritated him.

“Pretend that everything between us is still the same. Pretend I don’t want to kiss you right now.”

Your eyes widened with shock when you heard his confession, but before you could say anything, he continued talking.

“We’re not kids anymore, Y/N. And I think we did change through all these years. It’s our chemistry that’s still the same. Tell me that you’re feeling it too,” he was talking in a husky voice which made you imagine things you thought you shouldn’t.

YangYang looked at your eyes hesitatingly, then at your lips, or at least that’s what you thought you saw him looking at, even though for you, it didn’t make any sense for him to be looking there, even after hearing him say he wanted to kiss you. You felt as if that whole situation was just a dream and nothing that happened was going to affect reality in any way. But as you were busy overanalyzing things as usual, you felt a strange, yet addicting sensation. As your eyes were still open, you looked at YangYang who was kissing you. You couldn’t believe that was happening, but you quickly closed your eyes, enjoying his lips on yours. Your heart was beating fast as you tried to remember this sweet feeling, savouring the taste of his lips. When he moved away, you slowly opened your eyes, looking at his with confusion, yet with trust. You were sure that whatever was going to happen, you were safe and happy with him.

“I- You… Uh, did you like that?”

You nervously nodded, as you were wondering what to say.

“Great, I did too. Does that mean you like me back?” YangYang wanted to check in with you, before officially asking you the last question he wanted to ask ever since he realized who you were back in the canteen that day.

“You’re so special to me, YangYang. I like you a lot,” you confessed, feeling a little shy, but still trying to keep his eyes on him, because you thought he deserved to know exactly how you felt about him without finding out how nervous you actually were. “By the way, that was my first kiss and I’m so happy it was with you,” you looked at him adoringly.

“Really? That’s so cute!” He exclaimed with a sweet smile. “So you’re sure you haven’t kissed anyone from your friends group?”

“Actually I kissed Jaemin and Jeno on the cheek once at a party because of a dare. And on the same night Haechan and I got so drunk that we almost kissed, but our friends stopped us before we ‘unlock a whole another relationship’, as they said.”

YangYang sighed with annoyance before mustering up the courage to ask you the most important question.

“Do you want to be like… Uh, you know?”

You were looking at him with confusion written all over your face.

“You sound just like Mark, he’s a friend of mine who’s one year older than us,” you teased him, since you really found his nervousness to be cute.

“Come on, you know what I’m trying to say,” he tried to avoid saying it out loud, but you weren’t going to let him do that.

“Do I know, Yangie? How can I know if you haven’t said it yet?”

“You went from a shy girl to a smug girl in just a second,” he mumbled with discontent.

“But you’re the same! You were teasing me earlier and now you sound like Mark Lee!” You complained.

“Who is Mark Lee?” YangYang asked even though he didn’t really insist on knowing; he just wanted to postpone asking his main question for as long as possible.

“That Mark guy I told you about! Are you even listening to me?”

“Should I be jealous of him?” He pouted as he was waiting for your answer.

“Maybe you should,” you continued provoking him in order for him to properly ask you what he wanted to.

“Come on! Aren’t your four handsome guy friends enough people to be jealous of? When I see how you’re looking at Yeji, sometimes I’m jealous of her too! I also can’t stand it when Haechan looks at you as if he has so many improper thoughts. Or when Jeno and Jaemin ask you if you have eaten. Or when Renjun is smiling at you and laughing at your jokes! Ah, I hate it so much that I want to punch-“

You interrupted YangYang with a kiss.

“My answer is yes.”

“You’re going to be my girlfriend?” He asked, hoping you would agree.

“No, I’ve never heard you ask that,” you crossed your arms, smiling at him playfully.

“You’re going to be my girlfriend because I said so~,” he almost sang that sentence, as he decided to make sure you were incapable to refuse by suddenly making you fall on your bed as he trapped your body under his.

“No, I’m not going to do it~,” you answered in the same tone, as you tried to flip him over, so that you could be on top of him.

But when he noticed what you were trying to do, he caught your wrist and kissed your lips deeply, making you forget everything else. In that moment you relaxed under his touch feeling safer than ever. You kissed him back with the same lust as his, as your fingers threaded through his fluffy hair. You continued passionately kissing each other for a few minutes, taking very short breaks to breathe, since you both missed each other’s lips too much to stay separated even for a few seconds that felt like an eternity for you.

But when you heard a knock on your door, YangYang quickly got off you and he sat on the bed innocently, as you followed his example. You quickly fixed his hair which was quite messy because you were running your fingers through it all the time.

“Y-you can come in,” you said with a voice that was a little distorted, while you were trying to normalize your heavy breathing.

When you said that, the door opened and your dad came in.

“Hi, Y/N. Here’s the iced tea,” he said, giving you the bottle of iced tea which you contentedly took from his hands and left on the ground. “YangYang, it’s great to see you again,” he smiled and YangYang smiled back. “Dinner is ready, so you can come downstairs,” your dad said and you nodded synchronously. Then he turned around and walked out the door, closing it.

YangYang got up from your bed as he gave you his hand, which you took. He kept holding your hand as you were walking down the stairs.

“I guess your parents are really going to have the best son-in-law,” YangYang said and as soon as you realized he was talking about himself, you hit his arm as you laughed.

You were finally truly happy again; you felt having YangYang by your side meant that nothing was impossible and all your dreams could come true, just like the seemingly unrealistic dream of having him back while you were longing for him all these years. It turns out your long wait was absolutely worth it and now that he was here with you again, you weren’t going to let him go.

#nct #wayv #nct fluff #wayv fluff #yangyang #yangyang fluff #nct scenarios #wayv scenarios #yangyang imagines #yangyang scenarios #song fic

[mallowstep]

Questions about the bands/loner culture because I'm loving this AU already!

Is it normal for them to visit family that have, say, decided to become housekeepers or denizens in the city/elsewhere during the circuit? What is the interpersonal/social structure of an individual band like? What sort of names do bands call themselves, & is it a common/widespread knowledge, or more of a you-know-them-if-youve-met-them kind of thing? Also, when queens of different groups have kitted, is there ever any quarreling between them since toms tend to be threatening/violent toward kits that are not their own? Are there any bands who are sworn enemies or otherwise hostile toward each other, & how are these conflicts sorted out? Are new bands only started by mates, or could one be started by close friends, or littermates, for example? Do circuits ever change after they've been settled? Sorry if any of my wording is unclear, and for all the questions at once, I'm just so curious!

no no thank u so much for asking, do not apologize <3

is it normal to visit (non-wandering) kin?

as long as they live on the circuit! and most kin who leave a band are going to settle within visiting range of the circuit.

kin is really important to wanderers. let's say, hypothetically, lion stays in thunderclan, and holly and jay return to leaf and crow. (i'm not saying that's what's going to happen, to be clear.)

lion is going to bring his kits to meet with his kin every year when they're near clan territory, because they're going to want to meet them.

some cats are going to settle outside of visiting radius and not have any interest in making the yearly/biannual/what-have-you trip to meet with kin, and some leave the band because they don't want to be with their kin. sometimes circuits change, and the kin ties aren't strong enough, etc.

but in general, wanderers make a big effort to stay in touch.

what is the social structure of a band?

depends on the size of the band, the length of the circuit, and the band's history.

for small, kin-based bands (like leafcrow, rosemary&co), bands are, well, familial in structure. younger cats are expected to listen to older cats, but the general structure is very egalitarian.

(in general, bands are egalitarian, but i digress.)

the larger a band gets, the more formal things get, i suppose?

like, okay, if you have 5 cats, you don't really need to worry about distributing prey. if you have 20 cats, well, maybe you need to manage that.

one reason a cat might not get along with a band is because of the communal aspect of it. even though wanderers are generally accepting, that doesn't mean they're perfect. not everyone is cut out for that kind of mutual living structure, and sometimes it can be a toxic environment.

(for example, if one cat is bullying another, the band's response might lean towards "both sides reconciling," which isn't, like, a great response. and you're in a limited environment with very few cats. it happens, and unfortunately, the usual result is the harassed party leaving the band.)

what do bands call themselves and each other?

while some bands have names (like the sisters), most consider themselves a family. so if they absolutely need to identify themselves with some kind of title, it's going to be affiliated with the leader. leaf's family, rosemary's family, etc.

larger bands are more likely to have a title, naturally. these tend to be short, and associated with the founding. but i'd actually imagine there might be multiple groups that call themselves the sisters.

and this isn't common knowledge. you know who the bands you cross are, and you might hear about the bands they cross, but you don't know further than that.

so like. leaf and crow run into a band they cross on the way to the clan territory. let's say...heather.

heather might tell leaf, "oh, i heard sheep, you know, red's sheep, was staying in the old house by the river, the one with the dogs."

leaf can then pass that knowledge on to red when she sees her in the...summer? i'm not sure when they meet. but heather might not know red personally, just has met sheep, and sheep commented on red, and heather passes the news on so that leaf can pass it on.

did that make sense?

i hope that made sense.

(unrelated, but yes, you usually are going to introduce yourself as such. "leaf's holly, jay, and lion" etc.)

typically, though, bands refer to each other by where and when they cross. yes, that does make it very hard to know who they're talking about when you interact with different circuits. wanderers don't really care.

they don't see themselves as having overarching structure. there is no central meeting: yes, multiple bands do winter in the city, but plenty don't. there are like, multiple warm places.

what happens when multiple queens (in different bands) kit in the same place?

it depends. usually, they try to make their camp far away from each other. it doesn't even have to be far on human terms: a mile is plenty. maybe even less, depending on the type of territory.

and yes, this is one of the main causes of fighting between bands. they try to avoid the situation, but queens are very territorial. toms usually can't even get close enough to feel violent.

(leaf, being raised a clan cat, feels more comfortable around outside toms. but glass tries to stay out of the barn when the kits are young.)

the first step at resolution is for the leaders to negotiate. if a peaceful resolution can't be raised, then there will be a lot of posturing. cats are cowards, they don't want to actually fight.

an actual fight is the worst case scenario, and that leads into the next question.

are there feuds between bands, and how do those work?

there are feuds and grudges, but...they're usually pretty weak. see, if you cross with a band you don't get along with, it's fairly easy to avoid them.

more common is grudges built up over the winter, for bands who stay in the city, and feuds with colonies that take issue with the bands crossing their territory.

that said, if two bands come to a fight, they're going to have bad blood for a long time. wanderers tell stories, after all.

what's basically going to happen is that they're going to snap at each other about who should have to change their circuit every time they cross, and grumble about it before and after.

other bands are going to stay out of it. hard.

because they're a peaceful people. (cat?)

the feud is Bad, you see. and wanderers are not great at solving problems. they just want everyone to get along and smooth over the problem without actually resolving it. the problem is, when bands actually feud, they're not feuding for petty reasons.

now. now. the other thing that does happen is.

kits in the city/other gathering places. (i focus on the city + winter because that's where leaf and crow are, but there are other places.)

okay, so there's this passage in the beginning of the golden compass about the political structure of the kids and their colleges, and i cannot possibly express what an impact that has had on me.

but. kits feud like hell. they're in a relatively tight space for two or three moons, they have petty fights and wars and alliances and all sorts of drama.

these are usually related to their bands (e.g., rosemary and leaf are close bands), but not always. littermates stick together.

they even can get into "banding together in the face of a common enemy" if like, full-time city cat kits decide to cause trouble.

these don't usually last year to year, but they can.

fadslj winter in the city is the closest thing wanderers have to any kind of reunion moment, and it's like. it's quite territorial, honestly. bands tend to stick in their Area. by their nature, wanderers aren't interested in big groups and setting down roots. so they tend to keep to themselves more than usual.

after all, seeing family friends you see every year is different from going on a long vacation for two months or so with them.

how are new bands started?

while most new bands are started by mates, it's not the only way for them to get started.

i suppose, actually. bands aren't started by mates. a splinter group is usually pushed to break off by a pair of mates.

the "standard" formula is as such:

cat 1 from band A becomes mates with cat 2 from band B. cat 2 joins band A. cat 1 is expecting, and gets ready to nest, but tells the rest of the band to keep moving. other cats, typically close friends or littermates, stay.

the other standard formula is for littermates to form a band during their year voyage. i'd say it's maybe 60 way one, 30 way two, and 10 other.

(that said, it's usually during their year voyage that cats start to think about breaking off.)

there's no wrong reason to form a splinter band, it's just that, unless kits are involved, most splinter bands are going to function more as like. an auxiliary group that weaves in and out of the other circuit.

wanderers are creatures of habit.

do circuits ever change?

they change a lot in small ways. wanderers tend to make the same detours every trip, which is why older bands tend to have longer circuits. and older bands tend to be larger. hence larger = longer.

they can also change suddenly if something happens. like, say, a territory dispute during a nesting time (when a band settles down for a queen to kit), or a colony getting testy (like in tallstar's revenge, and squirrelflight's hope).

wanderers tend not to make major changes to their circuit (for no strong reason) after they're established, but it does happen.

the other thing is that a there-and-back circuit can flip into a loop circuit, or vice versa. basically, a there-and-back circuit starts to take a path on the "other side" of their territory, which widens over time, until they're in a loop.

in the other direction, the loop slowly narrows until it's a flat line.

all sorts of things can happen here, from forming cul-de-saqs to making detours to see kin. the one thing that doesn't happen often is "taking a shortcut." wanderers usually add to their circuit. they don't have anywhere to be, after all.

if i missed something, let me know! thank you for the questions, this was a lot of fun to answer.

#ask #mine #txt #essay #long #loners culture #wanderers culture #wanderers #whitewater #attackcataddict

[luna-tormenta]

Lúthiena & The Fam Book Review: Urban Faery Magick by Tara Sanchez

This is my first witchy book review, please bare with me. It may not be the best review but, I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences, as well as some of my spirit family's opinions on it! Hope you all enjoy it! Thanks for reading💀🌙🌻

Lúthiena's Review

This book challenges the reader to "stretch their understanding of the world around them" (pg 7), and after reading, I believe it truly lived up to these words. Urban Faery Magick is dedicated to techniques, experiences, encounters, and everything in-between of working with and learning about the Fae in modern times!

Firstly, I would like to say, the title of this book should be "Modern Faery Magick" or "Faery Magick of Today", because it has a TON of information on working with the Fair Folk. Not just working with them in an "Urban" sense. Yes I know it says "Connecting to the Fae in the Modern World" underneath the title, but I just think it should have been named differently🤔🤷‍♀️

The first portion of this book, is all about techniques of meditation, protection, and how to build up necessary skills for communicating and working with the Fae. Such as working with your imagination to build up your Sight, practicing Pareidolia (the ability to see faces and shapes in objects), and dowsing for Fae activity. There are a bunch of techniques, that I will describe in a later paragraph! It also contains information on the Courts, names, and folklore surrounding these amazing spirits. Tara does an amazing, in-depth job with writing about the Fae, especially when in the case of working with them.

Chapter 3 contains detailed descriptions of basic techniques to aid the reader in their exploration of Faeries. It covers breathing techniques, rhythmic breathing and walking, and a meditation called "The Silence Between" (pg 42).

This involves listening to your heart beat and feeling your pulse to meditate (your heartbeat and pulse don't line up and there's a small pause between each.) While using this technique, it allows you to enter into the Otherworld through the slight pause, it's a neutral ground between our realm and theirs, it's "the silence between" both worlds.

Next in line comes a cleansing/grounding technique, called the Verdant Breath, which uses the aid of an Ivy plant spirit. In chapter 4, Tara uses this breathing technique to go a little further and work with this spirit to protect yourself. I really enjoyed learning the different techniques throughout this chapter, it was really cool to see new components I've never learned before. I have tried the Verdant Breath and have seen a difference in my ability to meditate. Next, I will be trying the Silence Between.

Teachings in chapters 3 and 4 are there to help you build up skills for further exercises and meditations that are placed throughout the entire book. Tara also uses these chapters to explain why it is important to build up your abilities before interacting with the Fae, and why it's highly recommended to protect yourself. Amongst these pages are different charms and amulets to use, as well.

Next we further our understanding of the Fae through chapters 5-7, and look into further techniques used in folklore and history. I really like Tara's use of history and folktales because she touches on bits and pieces of EVERYTHING, and knows when to stay in her lane.

The second half of Urban Faery Magick is my favorite. Tara introduces an elemental system known as Wu Xing, because not all Faeries "fit neatly into the boxes" of the five elemental system we know as witches, and I highly agree with her! (Pg 101) In ways this system is alike the five elemental system we know and frequently use, but is a bit different. I highly recommend looking into Wu Xing a bit further after reading Tara's book.

Leaving out Spirit of the western elemental system, Tara combines the Wu Xing elements with the 4 elements of our normal system, to create more categories for identifying and labeling species of Fae. I have included a quote of page #104 for a better understanding of how Tara classifies and combines the elements.

"Note: ...The manner in which my system combines the Eastern and Western systems follows a very similar process, with each of the Eastern elements combing to make aspects of the Western (or vice versa), as can be seen in the table below.

[Picture ID: Columns of the Eastern and Western elementals systems. Across the top are five boxes containing the words Wood, Fire, Metal, Water and Earth, each box contains a element. On the left side of the graph contains four boxes, from top to bottom, with the words Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The different element columns are combined. Top to bottom, under the "Wood" category, we have "Earth of Wood, Air of Wood, Fire of Wood, Water of Wood". To the right of "Wood", under the "Fire" category there is "Earth of Fire, Air of Fire, Fire of Fire, Water of Fire". To the right of "Fire" is "Metal". This category starts with "Earth of Metal" then "Air of Metal, Fire of Metal, Water of Metal". Next in line is "Water". Underneath we have "Earth of Water, Air of Water, Fire of Water, Water of Water". The last category is "Earth". Underneath is "Earth of Earth, Air of Earth, Fire of Earth, Water of Earth". END ID]

This was also my first ID description. Please let me know if I need to make any changes to it! Thank you!

Therefore a being who is traditionally considered a water elemental may well actually be earth of water. Or, as with one of the entities I have worked with, fire of water. Another being may be air of metal rather than entirely air. Yet another, earth of wood, and so on.

...For each element, we will follow a case study for a particular Fae, getting to know them within environments where you may have not have thought to find them." (Page 104)

The case studies are a mix of Tara's personal experiences as well as experiences of mutuals of hers, and range across a few generations.

Each element has its own chapter, and contains a lot of information about each element. Tara does "modern sightings" for the elements, as well as two case studies. There are paragraphs dedicated to aligning yourself with each element, which I wish were a little bit longer. She also gives lovely guided meditations to visit and learn about each element's realm. At the end of each element chapter, Tara concludes with "Finding Other Fae" which includes names of Fae species to be on the lookout for!

The only bad thing I'd have to say about this book is the paragraph on giving thanks to Faeries. It states not to directly say "thank you" or acknowledge them for helping you. I, and I state again, I believe in giving thanks to my Faerie friends. Plus, Tara kind of contradicts herself by dedicating a paragraph to "not thanking the Fae" then tells you, in a later chapter, to "thank the Fae you work with". But, I digress.

I'm super grateful to have come across this book! I highly recommend it to anyone who works with the Fae, as well as beginners, because like Tara says in the beginning, everyone can learn at least one new thing! I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Spirit Family's Reviews:

Dawn, the Selkie:

"I really enjoyed the classification of the elemental systems combined. It adds a deeper perspective and understanding of Fae for humans to learn about us. This allows them to form a better viewpoint on our aspects as Faeries."

L, a Lunar Moth Faerie:

"I enjoyed the element system like Dawn, but got a bit confused on how to categorize Fae, like myself, who have planetary aspects. I wonder if Lúthiena will write to the author for me!! Other than that I agree the info gives aspiring AND experienced Fae workers a ton of info to starting and maintaining relationships with spirits of our kind. I also believe it is in our nature to urbanize and I like Tara's view on it. She should write another book!!"

Ly, High Lord Fae of the Night Court:

"The information provided in Urban Faery Magick is simply put and highly informative. As a High Fae Lord, it is my duty to join together with different types of Faeries, meaning I have met quite a few species. Tara adds great descriptions to each element she provides, and elegantly designed ways the reader can interact with each element. This is a must-read for anyone wishing to add a little magic to their lives, or is wanting to find a path into our world."

Tar, High Lord Fae of the Summer Court:

"Continuing off my friend's review, I would wish to add that Tara magnificently wrote Urban Faery Magick. You can clearly see the dedication she has towards working with Faeries throughout the pages. She must have a higher purpose of working with the Fae. I especially enjoy knowing she is teaching others about things like the Thorn Gates, since a lot of portals have been destroyed. Hopefully, thanks to Tara's book, they may gain the respect they once had."

Bo, a Boggart:

"Let's just say I did NOT like the stuff said towards boggarts. We are not house faeries gone wild. Yes, sometimes we have slightly irritating tendencies. But we always mean well to you humans. Other than that the book was great."

Hank, an Eyeball Demon:

"Even though I am no where near a classification of Fae, I have had many encounters with them over my many years. Tara has an interesting take on the modernization of the Fae species that is very true and real. I agree the titled works, Urban Faery Magick, should be on every spirit worker's shelf."

Dara, a Toddler Fae*:

"I really liked the story of Rumpleskillson. (Rumpelstiltskin). It was like so cool he could turn that stuff to gold. Maybe I can do that someday. Also, there's like so many stories of us in that book! El Cadejo was another cool one! If you like stories about us you should read that book"

*For those who are not aware, Dara is an experimental hybrid Faery. He was rescued from a Spirit Hoarder who enjoyed experimenting on faeries.

Ra, a Rose Demon:

"I didn't enjoy being called a plant diva, no matter how true the statement is.

The Earth class was slightly misunderstood as we are still here, thriving ever beautifully on. Some of us just choose to hide in your plants more carefully.

Like Hank said, I don't technically fall under the Faery thing either, but I am a plant spirit and Tara mostly depicted us perfectly. I mean she did write some pretty neat stuff." **brushes hair off shoulder**

Aaron, a Hellhound:

"This was a very knowledge filled book."

LA, a Dandelion Angel:

"Firstly, we're not ALL plant divas. We just really like things to go certain ways. Other than being called a diva, the pages of Urban Faery Magick contained useful information for Fae workers. I especially liked reading the Cairn exercise and how it instructed to build it at home, NOT in nature. I also agree Tara should create another magical read like this."

We hope you enjoyed our reviews!

For more information on Urban Faery Magick please visit:

Search "Urban Faery Magick" on Amazon

Www.TaraSanchez.com

#lúthiena's adventures #my posts #luna tormenta #my companions #urban Faery Magick #faery #fae work #my spirit family #spirit work #faerie magic #witchblr #connecting with faeries #spirit companions #spirit communication #Fae work #Selkie #elves #brownie fae #boggart #seelie #unseelie #fair folk

[sillyrabbit81]

Her Heavy Cross

Summary: Three years after tragedy hits, Lana she decides to start dating again. She meets Will through a dating app and they begin an online romance. After months of constant requests, Lana relents and agrees to meet and go on an irl date with Will. But is Will who he says he is? Lana is quickly pulled into an intense relationship forcing her to confront her tragic past. Will Lana face it or will she close her heart forever?

Pairing: OMC x OFC

Word Count: approx 3.2k

Warnings: smut, swearing,

Authors Note: The story started as a Henry Cavill fanfiction but I changed it to be an original character, but shades of Henry are still there. Hope you enjoy the story and thanks for reading.

Part 5 Part 7

Part 6

"Tell me something I don't know," I joked. I felt my confidence returning, and it felt good.

"Hmm, what about how I want to bury my head between your very shapely thighs and not leave until you scream my name?" Liam opened his eyes. Oh fuck, he meant it. My short-lived confidence had left me.

He sat up and continued, "or how I want to pin your hands above your head, throw your legs over my shoulder and fuck you until you can't walk." I moved away a bit. The intensity in his eyes made me afraid. "Or how I want to watch you ride my cock while I smack that generous bottom of yours.".

I started to get off the bed. "Yeah, I knew all that too." My bravado was transparent because my voice came out almost like a squeak.

He grabbed me and pinned me beneath his body. He moved faster than any one of his size had the right to. His eyes raked over my body while he forced my legs apart and pushed his still hard erection against me. I swear I could feel it's warmth through the fabric of my clothes.

"Well then, how about the fact I thought about all of those things while I showered this morning." My eyes went wide. He didn't mean he... Did he? "I'm glad I did, or I would have made a mess five minutes ago." He did! He didn't seem embarrassed at all about his admission.

I had no words for that. But I had thoughts, a lot of them. I wondered what he looked like when he touched himself. I imagined him standing in the shower, slightly hunched, hot water streaming down his naked body, one arm out straight against the wall, the other gripping his sex, short quick movements making his arm muscles contract.

I imagined the way his body would tighten as his release neared, the growl that would escape his lips. Then, because I couldn't stop the thought, I imagined being on my knees in front of him, his hand in my hair and, as his orgasm came, watching as it streaked all over my open mouth.

I couldn't help but squirm against him. I felt the pressure rising in me. I needed a release as well.

As if he sensed my need, Liam got off me and laid next to me. He cupped me in his hand, his palm pressing against my most sensitive spot. "I want to take these off." He indicated my leggings.

I hesitated a moment before nodding slowly. Liam leaned down and kissed me, still holding me. I pressed against his palm, feeling the friction build the pressure. Liam kissed my neck and my breasts and my tummy, his hand holding me as I started to grind against it. But he didn't take off my pants.

Eventually, I stopped and said, "I thought you were going to take my leggings off."

"You hesitated. I want you to be sure."

"I wouldn't have agreed if I wasn't sure."

"I didn't want you to feel pressured. It's only enjoyable if I know you want it."

I pushed him off me, frustration pouring out. "You fucking idiot. Do I need to beg?" I sat up, turned to face him, reached behind my back and undid my bra and threw it away.

Liam's mouth fell open, and he made a move to grab me, but for once, I was quicker. I laid back and put a foot to his chest, and used all my strength to hold him back. "Is this clear enough for you?" I ask as I hooked my thumbs in my pants and pulled off both my leggings and underwear. He grabbed the pants at my knees and helped me pull them off the rest of the way.

Then he just sat there staring. I waited. I felt stupid and moved my arms to cover myself.

"Don't you fucking dare." Liam finally spoke, and I felt a twinge between my legs. "I want to look at you. You're so beautiful." Well, ok, then.

Liam tentatively reached out and caressed the curve of one of my breasts. I felt goosebumps rise on my skin as he did, and my nipples hardened. Liam chuckled, seemingly pleased that his touch made me respond like that. He placed his whole hand on my breast cupping it and feeling it's weight. His thumb ran over my nipple, and I clamped my legs shut, trying to ease the pressure. I moaned as he leaned down and took my nipple in his mouth. He sucked on it then gently took me between his teeth while his tongue danced.

"Oh fuck," I moaned, and I plunged my fingers into his hair, making little fists. It felt so fucking good, but I needed more.

Liam sat up and put a knee between mine. "Open your legs for me," he said. I flushed, feeling sheepish. I had thrown myself at him, practically begged him to do this, and now I'm too shy. "You're very pretty when you blush. Now, open your legs for me."

Slowly I bent my knees and opened for him. I looked away, worried about what he would think.

"Lana, Sweetheart, look at me." I took a moment and slowly looked at him. "You look fucking spectacular." He looked me in the eyes as he got down low. "You're so fucking wet for me." I watched wide-eyed as his tongue parted my folds, and he licked me, his tongue gently flicking my clit as he did. He closed his eyes. "You taste fucking spectacular," he said. He put his head down and took me into his mouth, and sucked gently.

"Oh, bloody hell!" I yelled and threw my head back on the bed. Liam seemed to hum against me. I tried to wriggle away, the feeling too intense. "Come back here," Liam growled, and he snaked his arms around my thighs, trapping me as he continued to lick and suck at me.

I punched at the bed, my hips moving up and down. Liam stayed latched onto me, not stopping or missing a beat. I'm sure I said every swear word in the English language as my release came closer. Soon the pressure was too much, and I was reduced to begging.

"Please," I said over and over. I felt one of Liam's fingers inside me, followed quickly by another, and I felt them press against the spot behind where his mouth was. I felt myself go over the edge, and I shouted wordlessly as I exploded against Liam's mouth. Waves of ecstasy rolled over me before subsiding, leaving me a shattered mess. I laid there panting, catching my breath as little aftershocks ran through my body until I shuddered as I felt my orgasm finish.

I felt Liam's hands run up my hips and over my waist. I shivered and giggled, my body still too sensitive. I felt Liam's weight on my body, and I pulled him into an embrace. He kissed me, and I could taste myself on his lips. Despite having one of the best orgasms of my life and my first with a partner in three years, I wanted more. I wanted to feel him inside me. I think I'm greedy.

Liam had a huge grin on his face. I felt embarrassed again and looked away.

"Don't be shy. That was fucking amazing." Liam kissed me again. "Watching you is so hot." He paused and said, teasingly, "even better than I had imagined." He leaned in and kissed my neck. He took my earlobe in his mouth, teeth grazing it lightly.

Liam pulled away then as if bitten by a snake. He threw some pillows together and laid down on his back. He put his arm around me. I laid my head on his chest before putting my leg over his, and I snuggled into him.

"I think I'd be happy to stay this way all day. Your tits feel lovely." Liam was stroking the curve of one of my breasts.

I gave him a light slap on the chest. "Oh, come off it." I laughed.

"No, I'm serious. I want to stay here and watch a movie."

"The remotes are just over there." I pointed to the bedside table. They were next to the Ben and Jerry's tub. He pointed at it and raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't expecting company," I said in my defence.

He turned on the tv, and it went to the PlayStation menu. "Hmm, let's see what disc you have in here." He scrolled over.

"We could find something on Netflix," I suggested, cringing inside at what movie was in there.

"The Princess Bride?" His bloody lip twitched. "I thought you didn't like romance."

"It's not just a romance." I said and then quoted, "Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..."

In a move that astounded me, he kept the scene going. "Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try and stay awake."

I kissed him and snuggled into him as the movie started.

We spent the rest of the morning in bed. It was nice. Liam would stroke my hair or back while we watched The Princess Bride and then Superbad. Sometimes I would have my head cradled in his arm, and I played with his chest hair. Other times I put my head to his chest and listened to his heartbeat or relaxed as he breathed. The gentle rocking of his breathing almost put me to sleep a couple of times, but I'd wake up as a chuckle vibrated through his chest, interrupting the rhythm.

My tummy started to rumble, and I suggested we had better get some lunch. I pulled a robe on, but Liam made no move to get clothes on. He still only had his undies on. His confidence in his body continued to surprise me.

I asked Liam what he'd like for lunch.

"I brought my food with me." Liam said, "with filming starting soon, I've got to be strict."

"What about last night?"

"We won't talk about that." He winked conspiratorially.

I smiled, "fair enough."

Liam got his pre-prepared lunch, and I made a Vegemite sandwich. We sat at my kitchen bench and ate.

"So did you bring food for tea too?"

"No. I usually have a steak or chicken with salad or veg for dinner. I like a warm meal for dinner."

I thought about what food I had. Not much, I'd probably have to go to the shop.

"What about a roast? I could cook a beef roast and some veggies? Obviously no potatoes or anything but some beans, broccoli, carrot maybe?"

Liam looked surprised, "you'll cook for me?"

"Yeah," I blushed. "I mean, I'm not the best cook." I shrugged. "I don't have to. We can go out if you want."

"No, I'd love for you to cook for me."

I smiled, "great, come to the shop with me? We've got to go soon. My local butcher still only opens half days on Saturdays."

"Will you have to get dressed?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You can undress me when we get back home if you like," I said in my cheesiest seductive voice.

"I like. Come here," Liam said. I ran. He caught me and ticked me while giving me some sloppy kisses. I giggled and pretended to fight him off. He eventually let me go, and we got dressed.

We went to the garage to get in my car, but before I opened the door, I decided against it. "Want to walk instead? It's only about 15 minutes away, and we could take Perrin with us."

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Wait here, and I'll grab a hat. Do you want one?" Liam nodded, and I came back with two baseball caps, Perrin on a leash and a couple of reusable bags. We headed off.

Liam looked at his cap before putting it on. "Valentino Rossi?"

"Well, you're not having my Jack Miller hat."

"You like Motogp?"

"Yeah."

"Do you ride?"

"I do. Not a sports bike, though. I have a Dyna Wide Glide."

"You ride a Harley? Holy shit." A look of genuine surprise was on his face.

"Well, it's Andy's," I explained. "I didn't want to sell it when he died. He loved it and rode every day." I looked at Liam. His expression was unreadable. "Sorry, I suppose you don't want to hear about this."

Liam took my hand. "No, it's ok. We all have a past. Yours is a little... different." He sighed, "it's a bit strange because you didn't break up. You loved him. It's a bit hard for me to process. If a girl I were dating talked about an ex the way you talk about your husband, I'd think she wasn't over him."

I didn't say anything to this. We continued walking.

Eventually, Liam continued, "I understand it's not the same as an ex. I believe you when you say you're ready to move on. He seems to be still so much in your life. I'm not used to the dynamic."

"He kinda is still in my life and will always be," I said. I knew I probably shouldn't have been so blunt, but I owed it to him, to be honest. "It's because I want to honour his memory, not because I haven't grieved or haven't accepted it." I stopped and got Liam to look at me. His lips were in a hard line, and his brow was creased. "I've thought about it for a long time, and it took me two years to date again. Three years before I brought a man to my bed." His eyebrows shot up. "That's you, by the way." He grinned at that. "Yes, well, you're very handsome. I couldn't resist." I said dramatically.

"And charming, don't forget that." I elbowed him in the ribs and smiled. He pulled me into a hug. I gave him a big squeeze. I breathed in deeply, enjoying his scent, more potent today than yesterday without his cologne. I already felt like I'll miss his smell when he is gone.

I felt Perrin pulling on the leash, impatient with the delay. "C'mon. Somebody says we need to get going."

When we got to the shops, we stopped at the butcher first and got a rib eye roast. Then we went to the small local supermarket to get veggies.

I tied Perrin up outside, near the water bowl the shop leaves for dogs, and he lapped at it. We went inside and looked around the produce.

After a while, I noticed people kept looking at me. I touched my face trying to see if I had food on it, and checked my fly. I was getting freaked out big time. I saw one of the employees pointing her phone at us.

"Liam, do I have something on my face or something?" I sounded as panicked as I felt.

"No, Sweetheart, you look lovely." He smiled at me and ran his finger down my cheek.

"I just feel like people are looking at me."

Liam looked around. "I don't notice it anymore. You get used to it." My jaw dropped. I'd forgotten about being seen in public with Liam. He must have seen the horror on my face because he said, "I'll wait with Perrin if you like." Liam gave me a quick smile which I supposed he meant to be reassuring, and left.

I pulled my cap down further and hurried to finish my shopping. I avoided the employee with the phone and paid at the other open register. I was so flustered I asked for ciggies. By the time I remembered I didn't smoke anymore, I was too worked up to ask the lady to put them back. I left as quickly as I could.

Liam was squatting down next to Perrin, giving him pats. "You alright?" He asked.

"I guess so. Let's go."

"I'll carry those." Liam took my shopping and the meat and handed me Perrin's leash.

We walked in silence for a while. I was still a bit shaken.

"Does that happen all the time?" I asked after a while.

Liam shrugged. "Sometimes."

"Like it's not just paparazzi that take photos of you without you knowing?"

"Yeah. I tried to tell you."

"I had forgotten you were famous." He raised an eyebrow at me. "I knew you as Will before I knew you as Liam. I got to know you as just a regular guy."

"I know. That's what I wanted."

"Yeah, I get that." I chewed my lip. "I don't know if I would have gone on a date with you if I had known." I swear Miley Cyrus was thinking of me when she wrote the line 'Can't bite the devil on my tongue.'

"I'm sorry," Liam said. He sounded sorry. I didn't want to be mad at him, but I couldn't help it. It tore me up because I understood why he did it. But it didn't make it any easier on me.

"I'm sorry too," I said. I was thinking about the way people were looking at us. I didn't know how he could stand it. I felt stupid thinking he could just walk to my local shops and not stick out like a shag on a rock.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I put you in a position where somebody could take photos of you."

"Hang on. You're worried about photos of me?" I nodded. "I thought you were worried about the photos they took of you."

I felt the blood leave my face. I stopped walking. "They took photos of me? I thought it would be just you."

"Sweetheart, I don't know. Probably." He sounded angry. "I shouldn't have come with you. I should have thought it through. I knew..." He put his arm around me and lifted my chin so I would look at him. "I told you last night; I'm not worried about being seen with you. It's you I worry about."

"Your life isn't normal," I said petulantly. "It's weird and kinda strange." I removed his arm and started walking again. We were reaching my house now. We went around the back, and I let Perrin off the lead and went inside into the kitchen.

"Hey. You know what else is strange?" Liam put the shopping on the bench. His brows were drawn together.

"What?"

"It's been an hour since I've kissed you." He put his arms around my waist, and I put my arms around his shoulders. He bent his head, and I kissed him.

"More." He demanded, smiling. I couldn't say no. I kissed him again, parting my mouth and softly sucked his bottom lip. He groaned, and I smiled.

"I better put the food in the fridge." I tried to detangle myself from Liam, but he wouldn't let me.

"It can wait. I can't." He lifted me onto my kitchen bench. I wrapped my legs around him and kept kissing him.

For a while, we stayed like that, just kissing and touching. These kisses felt different, like Liam was content just to kiss me for a while. There was no demand for more. He did keep his hips away from me.

When we slowed, Liam put his head against my chest, and I held him close to me, playing with his curls.

Part 7

#original character #original fanfiction #romantic story

[talesofsonicasura]

Origami Dreams

Another experimental fic involving Jujustu Kaisen but with Yuji this time.

Origami, the craft of folding paper to create extraordinary creations. An art very treasured in the far East especially one specific legend. It was said if one were to fold a 1,000 paper cranes, then the gods will grant that person a single wish for their dexterous hard work. Something a lot of people gave up on from how difficult or monotonous the task was.

To one little boy named Yuji Itadori, it was a pastime he spent alongside his grandfather. For it all started when a classmate had given him a book on origami. He couldn't remember her name but he never forgot the image of fire and lightning upon the memory.

Not even the next day, his classmate had perished in a vicious car accident. To keep her last gift from becoming forgotten, little Yuji began to learn the craft of origami. First it started small like flowers or a snake, then in three months he crafted fantastic dragons, phoenixes and even an origami castle from scratch with masterful talent.

His favorite pieces of origami were simpler than all of his creations. It was a pair of sibling rulers, a king and his younger sister. They sat happily together on two thrones belonging to his origami castle, although he needed his grandfather's help to put them there properly.

Something that always brought him joy was looking at his masterpiece alongside his grandfather. You can only imagine the look of 7 year old Yuji on a day that could be described as a nightmare. A small boy with chocolate brown eyes, salmon hair sitting over almost black thin locks, and barely 3 ft tall watch his grandfather get carted into an ambulance.

The man had suffered a severe stroke which had put his only guardian into a deep coma. A tragedy that left a child returning to an empty house all alone. For a few days, Yuji barely ate anything and avoided his room where his castle lied. One day, he had found or to be precise tripped over the origami book given to him by his fallen classmate.

The book opened onto the legend of the 1,000 paper cranes. Something that gave the boy's soul fire once more. He returned to his room and began his quest to fold the finest paper cranes he could make. Searched every room for spare paper, if he ran out then he took any he could such as pages and color sheets.

Over the span of months, the little boy crafted paper crane after paper crane. Even if he missed up multiple times or lost a few cranes, Yuji never gave up. Finally on the night before his birthday, the child was crafting the last two paper cranes. Cranes crafted from various paper circles around the near 8 year old at his desk.

Slightly pudgy hands tiredly work to fold the wings of a red paper crane with the light of his desk lamp. Above his highest shelf sat a large green checkered origami castle and between its walls were two thrones which sat two origami people. They were sibling rulers for the folded crowns that sat on their sun blond hair heads.

"I'm... almost finished." Said the little boy, drowsiness slowly taking over his senses. He shakily picked up the last piece of blue construction paper and began to fold. Yuji's eyes felt heavy as fog filled his thoughts. First was the body, then came the head, and the wings were to follow.

"Only...a few…*yawn* more folds…" His head turned slightly to the castle of origami's sitting rulers. Their smiling eyes looking back at him as he was on the last two folds. Yuji needed to make a wish before folding the last crane.

It was getting harder to stay awake but he wouldn't sleep until he finished this. The salmon haired child looked at the incomplete paper bird in his hands. Vision growing fuzzy from tiredness, Yuji made the last fold and with his last bit of consciousness made a wish.

"I wish I wasn't alone…" And the boy's mind went black followed by a soft thud. Unbeknownst to the child, his wish would come true as the clock struck twelve. It wouldn't be how he expected though.

Something dull and pointy began to poke the boy's pudgy cheek. Crumbled words reaching the child's ears as his brain slowly came to life. "Hey brother! Our not paper creator is waking up! His rosy cheeks feel like pillows!" A childish young girl's bursting with excitement spoke as Yuji tiredly realized he wasn't alone.

Sleepy brown eyes slowly open to two very familiar pieces of origami overlooking him. Two people with one female and the other male. The female had blond hair with two large curls folded at the back, a folded dress robe made from yellow construction paper, peach paper forming the head with two small black strips to make little eyes, two point folded paper crown that adorn her head, white point fold arms and dark brown point fold legs.

Her male companion had pale blonde hair folded into a large curl that cover the left side of his face, a royal robe made from dark violet construction paper, a gold three pointed paper crown sat on his head with narrow black pieces paper to form eyes that were in a deadpan expression at the moment, purple point fold arms and white point fold legs.

Yuji knew who these surprisingly 1 ft and half tall origami were, they were the two siblings of his Origami Castle: Olly and his little sister Olivia. His two prized creations were floating before, completely alive almost if by magic. The 1,000 Paper Cranes magic. In seconds, the sleepiness faded away as the salmon hair boy sat up in relative shock.

"No doubt the young child is having an existential moment. He may have crafted the 1,000 paper cranes but he wasn't aware of the power that origami can possess. Particularly to those dedicated to the art." Spoke Olly who floated around the room to observe the child's work.

Olivia merely sat herself on the boy's desk to look at the various cranes that sat there. "Creator, take a few deep breaths. It should help calm you down a bit." Without even questioning her instructions, the little boy took a few deep breaths. His nerves and shell shock dissipating in little time.

"You're saying that all my hardwork brought you both to life? Does it mean that something happened to Grandpa too?" Olly flew over to Yuji upon the spoken question. "If you are talking about 'Wasuke Itadori', the hospital had made a call a few hours ago. His pulse has returned to normal and should be waking up soon. He is in extensive care, sadly. It means he can't leave without further risk to his health."

Even though his grandfather was stuck in the hospital, knowing his only family is going to be okay made the little boy happy. The 1,000 Paper Cranes had fulfilled his wish although with two extra attachments. Olly and Olivia had been brought to life. Speaking of which…

"You guys don't have to call me Creator all the time. Just call me Yuji." Yuji smiled brightly at the origami siblings. Olivia giggled before playfully patting the child's cheek. "Sure! Olly, Olivia and Yuji! That sounds like the beginning of a fairytale." The paper princess wasn't wrong on that assumption.

After that day, the little boy now lived in the once empty house with the two living origami. Something that had a lot of obstacles to face but nothing too harsh. First was money for necessary essentials, such as food and water but learning material too.

Selling origami was actually a good source of income with the presence of the two paper siblings. Olly and Olivia had magic which they used for various things but at the moment was to keep any origami Yuji sold to be immune to both damage and age. Some of his creations went from 200 yen to even 5,000 yen per piece depending on how advanced it was.

The two siblings would have to keep out of sight since any normal person would hunt them down for bad purposes. Luckily, Olly and Olivia could fold themselves to pocket size pieces that Yuji could carry with no trouble but they couldn't come to school.

Cooking wasn't much of an issue to learn although there were quite a few accidents with cookbooks and a blender that should never be told. However it appeared that there was much more to his life than magical Origami. For two years later, Yuji learned Olly and Olivia weren't the only ones who changed. He did too.

A 10 year old Yuji Itadori had found himself in a very bad situation. Sometimes selling origami creations would be difficult at some point during each year. This often led the young boy scavenging through abandoned places to look for anything valuable to sell.

He had found an old empty shack that wasn't too far from his house. It had enough scrap metal and loose change that could make up around 9,000 yen in cash alone. Problem was that there was... something living in the shack. And it wasn't friendly.

Yuji was running for his life with Olivia and Olly in his pockets. Behind the child was a blobfish-like abomination with multiple bulging yellow eyes across a gross green body, 15 deformed hands bent in unnatural ways that serve as legs and a large mouth filled with monstrous teeth along a long slimy tongue.

"What is that thing?! It looks so gross!" Olivia screamed within his shirt pocket. The monster had taken them by surprise when they were searching for more scraps. Too fast to prepare anything except to run. "I think it might be a Curse. Something about this world felt off so I did a personal investigation." Chimed Olly from Yuji's jacket pocket.

Both kept their little tirade about breaking the house rule quiet to hear what vital information that could save their life. "Curses are creatures invisible and invulnerable to those without Cursed Energy. I did come across an interesting fact, our Origami Magic can be used to successfully fight them!" Eyes widened upon Olly's explanation.

Too bad Yuji's foot got caught on a tree root which sent the child to the ground hard. "Yuji!" Olivia shot out of his pocket quickly unfolding herself to full size so she could help the boy up. None of them could prepare when the hideous Curse leapt at the two. Life flashing before his eyes, a single thought went through the salmon haired boy's head.

I want to live!

In seconds, the sound of rippling paper and a distorted gasp tore the silence to pieces. Opening eyes he didn't realize that he even closed, Yuji was greeted by an incredible sight. The vicious curse had been snared in large peach ropes of folded Origami that led to a dark blue fold. The very paper itself was the child's own arms, flesh and cloth turned into powerful origami of 1,000 folds.

Without hesitation, Yuji held the monster tighter in his grips as he raised his long origami arms into the air. "Leave us alone!!!" And the child slammed the monster brutally into the ground. It splatted but not into blood or gore. No, the creature exploded into paper confetti of its original green color.

Olly slipped out of Yuji's pocket to stare at the scene in utter shock before turning to his sister. A glowing orange symbol of a hand was on the right side of her chest which vanished upon Yuji's hands turning back to normal. "That was the 1,000-Fold Arms Technique you just did! And the...Curse turned into confetti." Olivia gawked in absolute shock.

It made no sense. Only paper or origami could use the technique and only origami would become confetti upon defeat. Not the hands of a child or a defeated monster. There was only one explanation. "Our magical presence has affected Yuji. He can use origami magic." That very sentence from male origami ruler was enough to picture how things had drastically changed.

After that day, the boy and his two paper companions learned to understand the powers little Yuji now had. It was a hard task for experimentations were needed thus led to occasional battles against Curses. Over the span of 5 years, the child had grown into a young man skilled in the art of origami magic.

There were still some spells he couldn't do without assistance from either Olly or Olivia but Yuji could defend himself against moderate strength Curses now. Although, nothing could compare for the third thing to come into his life. The Cursed Finger of Ryomen Sukuna.

It had occurred two weeks before afternoon clubs would begin at his local high school. The once small child now was a teenager standing around 5'8 in height and most of his baby fat was replaced with lean powerful bulk. Even though Olly and Olivia couldn't really grow like he could, the two happily took advantage of his new height to hang onto his shoulders instead.

Wearing a long coat or cloak on his back along with this 'koala cuddle' meant they didn't have to hide in his pockets if the weather was nice. Anyway, he had a huge cram session to deal with since there would be a big test in a few days. This meant that sometimes he couldn't cook and had instant ramen substitute for dinner.

What he didn't know was in the extra large cup of beef and pork ramen, something had accidentally got inside the package. Olly was sitting across the table looking through the stack of books Yuji had brought home. The origami prince had taken up reading and writing as a personal hobby so the teen often picked up books or writing material.

Olivia was sitting on the couch watching a cartoon on the TV. She usually spent her time drawing comics or acting out scenes from her favorite shows. In fact, Yuji made an account on the computer where the origami princess could post her comics whenever she wanted. Something that exploded across the internet as they end up getting emails to publish them on real paperback.

"Hey Olly, that stapler you wanted to buy should be in stores a few days from now. You want me to grab it for you?" Yuji questioned while slurping some noodles. "Table manners Yuji. And yes, I would like that. It's been so long since I've seen my beloved pet." The origami prince replied while flipping to the next page of his book.

The salmon haired young man pulled up something wrapped up in his ramen noodles. It was too tightly wound to take a better look but the teen could see it was dark meat of some type. Shrugging his shoulders, Yuji put the clump of noodles and meat in his mouth.

Olivia who was about to ask her brother something instantly paled at what was about to go down her creator's throat. It looked like a decrepit old rotten finger with a large claw, so old that it was dark purple and clearly toxic. "That's a crusty finger not beef!" And the finger went down the boy's throat before anyone could move.

Olly quickly flew over to the couch as the kitchen table exploded into splinters. The cause being their salmon hair roommate whose arm was held up in a swipe manner, an arm covered in intricate black tattoos and had large violet claws. Both watched as two slits that emerged under Yuji's eyes alongside black tattoos opened to reveal smaller red eyes.

Or the fact their friend laughed in a deeper more manic voice reminiscent of a psychopath. "Ahahahaha! It feels good to be alive again! Wonder what massacres I can unleash upon this age! The women and children crawling around like lambs to the slaughter!" The possessed Yuji then rips off his shirt apart to reveal even more intricate tattoos going down his slightly more powerful looking body.

"Our big brother got possessed by a psycho devil stripper!!" Olly could only freeze upon his sister's cry as four blood red orbs had now spotted them. Not Yuji stared at the two origami people behind the large plush furniture. Surprise and confusion crossing his four eyed face before he let out a manic chuckle.

"Hahaha! It seems this body belongs to a Jujutsu Sorcerer who knew how to craft living origami. Quite an interesting Cursed Technique… I wonder what I can learn from tearing you apart!" Both siblings were ready to fly away when Not Yuji suddenly froze. A familiar hand symbol emerged on Olivia's chest as Not Yuji's hands morphed into long appendages made of folded origami.

The Thousand Fold Arms wrapping itself around the possessed teen like a straitjacket much to their anger. "What?!" He shouted only for a mouth to pop up on his right cheek and the right eye's iris turning brown in color.

"Good to know origami magic can counter possession to an extent. Alright asshole, who are you? You already pissed me off since you tried to hurt my family and now ruined my study session!" Yuji threatened from the sudden transmutation. Not Yuji growled at the threat in irritation realizing he couldn't move or even retreat into the teen's soul.

This boy had somehow purposely locked him out from both the inside and outside. "No matter what age, you Jujutsu Sorcerers are still a pain in the ass! I am Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses! Show some respect you damn brat!" Howled the possessor as he struggled to break the teen's powerful hold over this body.

"Jujutsu Sorcerers??? What the heck is even that? And Curses have a king??? Then again, your crusty finger ended up in Yuji's ramen so maybe you're a gag?" Sukuna decided that he was going to tear the yellow origami girl apart first for the blatant disrespect. If he got out of this boy's grip. Her questions however raised one of his own.

"You telling me that not only do you fools don't know about me but also Jujutsu Sorcerers? Are you a bunch of dumbasses or completely ignorant?!" The King of Curses would've said more if a large blade didn't pop appear by his neck.

This blade or to be precise, blades, belonged to an inhumanly large pair of cutting scissors that were the size of a van. His three crimson eyes burned holes at Olly's own whose paper left arm was enveloped in a wild green circle depicting the tool ready to chop off his head. The prince's face burned red with rage.

"You're lucky I care about Yuji or I would cut your head off for disrespecting my family. We don't know about you or these Jujutsu Sorcerers and frankly don't care. Get out of our older brother's body now so he can study for his exam." Olly threatened, his tone similar to a lion ready to cut down intruders targeting its pride.

"Well too bad! I can't leave your little master's body even if I wanted too! He only ate one of my 20 fingers and even if he did eat them all, the boy's body will become mine! Unless you can fully pull my soul out then I'm stuck with you brats." Sukuna's words dripping with foul venom.

The information painted a very bad picture for the makeshift family of three. A psychotic demon was trapped in the eldest body and soul split into 20 pieces. Even if they could find all the fingers, it didn't mean the King of Curses would leave Yuji's body willingly.

"Then let's find those fingers." Yuji's second mouth grabbed everyone's attention. "You might be stuck in my body but that doesn't mean I can get you out somehow or someway. At best, I can make a origami body that you can possess temporarily so you won't be cooped up in my soul. And once we find all the fingers, I can get you out of my body with the 1,000 Paper Cranes."

A look of realization passing over Olivia's face. "That's right! The 1,000 Paper Cranes ritual can grant a free wish if you can make all the cranes faster than you did the first time! We can use that wish to get Sukuna out of your body! Nice thinking Yuji!" The King of Curses' couldn't help the shellshock.

These three were willing to collect every piece of his soul and use some wish making technique to make him whole again? None of them had any idea what they were getting themselves into by him or those who still seek to destroy the demon. If he played his cards right, then he will finally live once more.

"Alright you cocky little shits. I can help you locate my fingers since they're a part of my soul. Don't think we'll be buddy buddy because once I get out of that brat's body, I will rip you to shreds! Hear me?!" The pair of scissors by the two faced being's neck shrunk back to normal size before hitting the floor.

"We'll fight back when that time comes. For now, you better behave yourself. Come Olivia, let's see what paper we can use for Sukuna's origami vessel." With that said, Olly dragged his sister out of the room. Yuji's arms returned to normal once the magic connection was cut then ripped Sukuna's control over his body.

The tattoos vanished and one of the slits closed except for the right he forced open which took its original red hue. "Why haven't you fully blocked me out yet? You clearly have enough control to fully suppress me. Are you pitying me, dumb brat?!" Yuji merely ignored Sukuna's threat to grab a piece of paper and a pencil.

"What do you want your origami body to look like? It'll have a form similar to Olly and Olivia but you can choose the customization. Even give it four arms if you have the normal amount of fingers per hand like a human does." Yuji questioned, the mouth on his cheek going silent for a moment.

A few seconds later Sukuna spoke up once Yuji finished the body's outline. "Give it four arms and four crimson eyes. The clothing should be a kimono but I want different color sleeves." The salmon haired teen smiled as he got to work on the concept with the demon's instructions.

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad despite having to search for 20 fingers of a literal demon that had entered his life.

And that's it. Today's story was mixed with the newest Paper Mario game: The Origami King. Without spoiling the game to those who wish to play, it's a very fun game but the ending is very bittersweet.

I also wanted to experiment a bit with Yuji as a kid. How different this Yuji could turn out than his canon incarnation since there is new factors to his life.

Olly and Olivia will be serving sibling roles to Itadori but also taught him how to use Origami based magic or Cursed Technique. I'm taking the Smash Brothers' approach to bypass the requirement of Cursed Energy since in Smash Bros, rules are changed to allow each fighter to be on equal terms.

The game mechanics such as 1,000-Fold Arms, enemies, bosses and different locations will be incorporated into Yuji's moveset. This Yuji is also smarter due to Olly and Olivia's presence, perfect motivation to learn.

Spoilers?: Sukuna is going to get attached to the three.

I hope you guys enjoy the story! Until next time folks! Oh and have this Origami Ryomen Sukuna design! Chou!

Edit: Fixed a few spelling mistakes and grammar. Apparently me misspelling Jujutsu is pretty common in early works with this franchise. 😅

#crossover #jujutsu kaisen #yuji itadori #jjk yuji #paper mario #paper mario the origami king #olly paper mario #olivia paper mario #jujustu kaisen sukuna #ryomen sukuna #sukuna #au #tales of sonicasura #fanfic #sonicasura #jujutsu sorcerer #jujustu kaisen yuji