#sorry for how rambly this is I was excited to talk about dee

[margle]

Dee!

8. Your favorite outfit of them

14. Best storyline they had

20. A weird headcanon

thank you for the ask!

8: favourite dee outfit

where do I even begin? here's a dump of honourable mentions from my dee outfit notes page:

but my favourites at the moment are:

14: best storyline dee had

this one is hard because sunny doesnt really have that many overarching stories. but I like her ireland arc and how it climaxes with the waitress taking her job and forcing her to acknowledge how she's treated her. when she literally climbs over the waitress to get out I think could represent how she views other women as obstacles but ultimately needs them.

anything about dee and dennis's childhood with frank and barbara is great. dee had a lot of really good early season arcs because of frank's introduction in s2 (which was one of the most plot heavy seasons) and the exploration of her relationship with her biological dad. ultimately choosing her current life over her bio dad and sinking to her lowest depths by fake marrying frank is a great depiction of her character.

20: a weird head canon of dee

idk if it's that weird but I hc her as having a very complicated romantic/sexual relationship with her college roommate that she set on fire.

I think people sometimes forget that dee has a canonical history with mental illness. she was sectioned after hurting her roommate, is the only member of the gang to have gotten a therapist on screen and in the gang exploits the mortgage crisis it is clear she is hiding her history of mental illness from the couple.

I can imagine her moving to college after only hanging out with her brothers friends and ingrid nelson, a person she clearly had a mutually toxic relationship with, and immediately latching onto the first person that was all hers: her roommate. I can imagine her becoming very attached to them, perhaps to the point of obsession. the reason she gave for burning her was for wearing her clothes and copying her. dennis replies that it was dee who was copying her roommate.

this supports my hc because it seems like dee was obsessed with her and simultaneously hated her and wanted to be her. it also has interesting canonical implications because it is another potential cause of dee rejecting (nearly) all women.

#ask #number-one-hog-hater #sorry for how rambly this is I was excited to talk about dee #iasip #dee reynolds

[90spumkin]

Bewitched

Summary:  Emily bumps into one of Spencer’s students, quite literally. Emily doesn’t know what it is about this girl, but she is undoubtedly bewitched by her.

A/N: I absolutely loved writing this. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Here to spread my love and appreciation for Emily Prentiss.

Pairings: Emily Prentiss x Fem! Reader

Warnings: swearing, mention of age gap

Word Count: 1.1K

Emily had decided she missed the curly haired genius and then continued to make plans with him for lunch. That is how she found herself weaving her way across campus towards Spencer Reid’s class. Seeing all the students with their hands full of books made her not miss college one bit. She was lost in her people watching so she didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind her rather quickly. What made her realize someone was rushing in her direction was the collision between her and someone else. 

 She caught her footing and reached out to catch the other person, she was muttering, “Oh my! I am so sorry! I am late and lost and just very late.” 

Emily regretted picking at Spencer and the way his IQ was slashed in half at the sight of a pretty girl because in that instant her brain was failing her. She was only able to let out a response long after the girl had continued in her frantic state. 

 The rest of her walk, Emily couldn’t get the image of the girl out of her mind. The way her beautiful eyes was filled with worry and stress as she apologized repeatedly and rushed away. Emily’s heart aches for the poor girl remembering what that had been like to be late for a lecture or exam. However, there was an underlying feeling there as well and Emily wasn’t sure if she wanted to address it. 

 When she had finally made it to Spencer’s class, he was wrapping it up and Emily filed away the fact that his class was full of mostly females for later teasing. She eased herself into a seat in the very back of the class only to look to her left and be met with the same beautiful eyes from earlier. 

 The girl gave Emily a small smile and her facial expression gave off the impression that she was slightly embarrassed. When the girl turned her focus back towards Spencer, Emily took the chance to really look at the young girl. Of course, she tried to do this as discretely as possible. 

 Emily noticed how she bounced her leg in anticipation or anxiety, how she wrote her notes furiously across her notebook, and her eyes- oh those captivating eyes drank in everything in her line of sight. 

 The rush of students standing and gathering their things brought Emily back to her senses. She stood and was about to make her way to Spencer when she felt a hand on her elbow. She turned to see the girl stare wide eyed at what she had just done. She started to talk frantically like how she had during their first encounter. 

 “Hi umm I’m sorry for bumping into you earlier. I was looking at the campus map and trying to walk. I really shouldn’t have been doing that, I’m really clumsy as it is- “ 

Emily had caused the poor girl to stop her rambling with a hand on her arm, “Would you like to get coffee sometime?” The girl took a dee breath and smiled, “I’d love that. I’m y/n by the way.” She stuck out her hand for a proper greeting handshake and Emily took it trying to not pay attention to how soft it was against her own.

 Y/n’s eyes went wide once more as she let out a “oh” and started writing quickly and tearing off a piece of paper. She smiled shyly at Emily as she handed it to her, “That’s my number you can text me whenever. I’m almost always free in the afternoon so whenever you want to get coffee or not I- “

Emily cut her off with a quick, “I’ll definitely text you.” This made y/n blush and turn her face away slightly. She started to make her way towards the door, “Okay great. I’m looking forward to it.” She almost tripped while she was waving, and she started muttering as she left the room causing Emily to chuckle. Emily knew she was completely bewitched by the clumsy beauty and she was okay with that. 

 She was still facing the way y/n had not so gracefully exited when Spencer had walked up beside her. He let out a low chuckle, “Emily, be careful.” Emily looked up at the tall slender man she called friend. “What do you mean? It’s just coffee!” Emily crossed her arms and gave the boy genius a look telling him he needed to explain himself. 

 Spencer chucked once more, “All I’m saying is there is at least a decade or so between the two of you. Just something you need to remember when you get coffee”. Emily narrowed her eyes and jokingly hit Spencer’s chest at his teasing comment. She started to walk towards the door, “Come on genius I’m starving.”

 Emily tried really hard the rest of the day to not think about y/n. Spencer’s words kept playing a loop in her mind anytime she thought about y/n’s beautiful eyes or her shy smile. She had started pacing her living room with her phone clutched in one hand and y/n’s number in the other. 

 Sergio meowed at the nervous energy Emily was creating. She stopped her pacing and looked at the feline perched on the sofa, “What should I do, Sergio.” As if answering her question, the cat pawed at the hand clutching the piece of paper that could lead to Emily’s heartbreak or her happiness. 

 Emily was buzzing with energy as she made her way to the little coffee shop y/n had suggested. She had texted y/n last night and got an immediate response. Well, responses, y/n had sent a few messages back-to-back that Emily thought mirrored the way she talked in person. Emily smiled at the thought of y/n and started to feel a little nervous the closer she got to the shop.

 She could see y/n standing near the entrance, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Once she caught sight of Emily a huge grin came across her face and she started waving frantically. Emily laughed at how adorable she was. Once they were face to face, they stood there and smiled at each other a moment before Emily broke the silence, “Hi.” Y/n giggled, “Hi.” 

 “Should we go in?” Emily gestures towards the door. “Oh my, yes, of course.” Y/n went to open the door for Emily. Once they had gotten their drinks and were seated y/n spoke first, “I’m really glad you texted me last night. I’m sorry for all the messages. I get excited really easily.” 

Emily smiled over the top of her coffee and before taking a sip casually said, “My cat told me I should.” Without missing a beat y/n responded with, “I should definitely thank your cat.” Emily knew then that this beautiful chaos in front of her would not be her heartbreak or her happiness but simply her everything. 

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Permanent Taglist: @criminalmindzjunkie @brooklynxnicole @the-queen-of-moons @theintimatewriter @imdefinitelyfloating​ @muffin-cup​

Just Because: @homoose @writing-in-april

#emily prentiss #emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss x y/n #emily prentiss x female reader #emily prentiss x you #emily prentiss fanfic #emily prentiss fluff #criminal minds #fanfic #fanfiction

[ask-king-bandee-and-sir-kirby]

Butterflies Lay Upon Our Heirlooms Chapter 1

I thought uploading the chapters directly to tumblr as well would be a good idea, so more people can actually read them.. Full fic is under the cut because it is long

Dreamland hasn't been the same since the loss of its king and his loyal knight. Two years ago a terrible beast of a massive portion came to dreamland while its protector was watching over other worlds, a gruesome battle broke out because of its rage.

The knight was the first to meet his end, swiftly crushed to death as he tried in vain to protect his comrades. The king survived only to the end of the terrible fight, with nothing to heal him the injuries sustained was too much to come back from and soon died in the arms of his adopted son, his dying wishes for him to keep dreamland safe in his absence as its king. It was only after then, did Kirby return home from the stars, only to find two of his closest friends, whom he had seen as fathers each, had perished before he could even try to save them.

Bandee and Kirby hung clinged onto each other for a while after that day. Not talking, but having a mutual feeling of a pain that resided deep within their hearts and would not let up. Days, weeks, months had passed. It was a terrible time, it seemed as if the sun did not shine as brightly as before. But, life goes on and Dreamland needed a king, and the universe needed its best warrior. They could not forsake their duties to mourn forever.

Two years had passed since that day, yet Bandee still remembers it like yesterday. However there is no more time for painful memories. Today was the day the star allies would all be together in one place since before the deaths of Meta Knight and Dedede. He swore that it would be the best party anyone would have in years, something positive to remember in place of the grief that had consumed them.

So Bandee got out of their bed, and got dressed. Carefully putting on their king's robes, which were way too big for the small waddle dee, their kimono and their crown. They could never look in the mirror and think this was right, because it wasn't. But nothing was right anymore. They put their beloved blue bandana over their mouth and headed out to make preparations for the party.

He had already planned everything meticulously the weeks beforehand, so he really only needed to worry about checking in with the other waddle dee's to make sure everything was perfect.

The waddle dees working in the kitchen were now taking a well deserved break, as behind them mounds of food lay deliciously on the tables behind them ready to be wheeled out into the party room. Bandee themself was never quite as food crazy as Kirby or Dedede, they could still admire the sheer amount of it needed to sustain their friends' appetites.

They gave the chiefs praise and made their way to the room in which the party would be taking place. The band (called the 'rockle dees') were setting up a stage,, they were handed a good playlist filled with songs their friends had recommended (that was heavily edited by Bandee, they did not know how anyone could like some of those songs requested).

The room was wide, big enough to hold (probably) hundreds of guests at a time- it was more like a ball room though to their knowledge there has never been one held here. This meant there'd be enough room for games and things of the sort.

As Bandee was thinking about things they could do during the party today, a jolly finger would tap their shoulder making them jump. It's alright though, the owner of said finger was Kirby after all! Always early to show and late to leave, not usually this early but he's been anticipating today since Bandee announced it.

"Kirby! You startled me!" They laughed, Kirby lifted his mask to reveal a great big smile, to emphasize excitement.

"Sorry Bandee- I just can't wait until everyone gets here- it will be SO much fun- ahhh I can't wait to see everyone again!!" He rambles on about how much he's excited, Bandee simply nodded along happily in agreement.

"I'm really excited too but the party won't start for another two hours- no this doesn't mean you can get a headstart on the food." They smirked, to which Kirby made a pouty face.

"Fineee, I won't. So what do we do while we wait for everyone to come?" Kirby asks.

"I've been checking in on the Dee's, making sure everything's in order.. We don't want a big mess happening after all!" The waddle dee was under a lot of stress lately and today was supposed to help with that. The day is still young and the party hasn't even started yet, don't be so negative Bandana! "Say Kirby, do you want to walk around the castle with me?"

Of course, Kirby takes the offer and the two begin taking a walk around the castle, it’s a nice peaceful walk that takes stress off of Bandee. They make conversation about the last planet Kirby visited, what kinds of people he met, his climactic final battle that was just childs play at this point, he goes on and on until a butterfly passes a window. Kirby is oddly silent now. Bandee wants to ask what’s wrong, but he can’t help but shake the feeling that he already knows.

Two hours passed in silence as the Waddle Dee’s set everything up, taking out all of the food while Kirby was distracted with Bandee. But soon enough the gates open and good old friends flood the castle doors, it seems like everyone who was invited came! Marx came in flying chased by Magolor, Taranza was following close behind Susie and the Mage Sisters, even Highness managed to come, Adeleine and Ribbon came in trying to avoid the chaos couple (Bandee was really excited to catch up with the two specifically, seems like years since they actually- wait). The animal friends, gooey (who now had a blade form!!), Daroach and the Squeak Squad came, Elfilin, King Fluff made it to- Bandee was going to embarrass Kirby today defiantly- and even shadow Kirby managed to come!

What a good day today would be! Kirby who stood behind him turned his cape into sparkling yellow star wings and flew to the guests, he seemed in better spirits now that everyone was here! Today would be great!

…. Is what optimistic people said. Bandee could basically smell the coming chaos and probable disaster. Keep your cool Bandana, you are the king. You got this.

#Kirby #Kirby Series #kirby au #au #Butterflies Lay Upon Our Heirlooms #Bandana Dee #only tagging the relevant characters in each chapter...

[simpingfortheages]

//EYE CONTACT//

CORDELIA GOODE X FEM READER

(ANGST AND FLUFF)

A/N : she be looong as fuck sorry nat sorry 😂

Eyes are the gateways to the soul, words and feelings can be exchanged by a simple act of making eye contact.

Cordelia is busy and seems to no longer have time for the reader . All the reader wanted to do was help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~♤~~~~~~~~~~~~~♤~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cordelia knew that being Supreme was tiresome, but she never thought that it would be to this extent. She hasn't slept in almost a week and she is pretty sure that there is coffee coarsing her veins instead of blood. Cordelia has been up, keeping track of all the suspicious activities happening around the world in hopes the cause is a witch. That's just Cordelia for you. She is always looking out for others before herself. Putting the needs of others before her own. Staying up all day and night so that she can grow and teach those in her coven. She really is deserving of Supreme. Cordelia has been trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes for the past while. Her head bobbing while filling out documents and having to shake her head ever so often to keep on track of whatever file she was reading. Cordelia's new project has been her trying to track down this other witch, however her attempts have been futile. Everytime she thinks she has a lead on the witch she seems to change location and vanish . The witch is powerful and would be a great addition to the Coven. This took a toll on her, She was snappish and everyone knew it, but no one blamed her because she was stressed, even Madison didn't annoy Cordelia or made any snarky comments. After internally debating with herself, the choice of sleep won. She shifted the stack of paper that she was currently working on to the side of the mahogany desk. She laid her arm on the desk and laid her head between the crook of the elbow while her other hand tried to massage away the 3rd on coming migraine. Her migraine for the past days were seemingly becoming worse, as though her body was begging her to stop and reset herself. She didn't have a choice at this point, she needed to rest otherwise she would have crashed and gotten less time to get work done.

Y/N's POV

I am fairly new to Ms Robichaux's academy, I was "enrolled" 3 months ago, not by choice but by force. I set my mother's boyfriend on fire out of accident. YES BY ACCIDENT.... Well maybe not all the way an accident. I got angry and let my temper get the best of me. Surprisingly I didn't get in trouble from my mother, she said something about a witch bloodline. I didn't really pay much attention to her words or have much time to react to what i did,because my mother was quick to call some witch lady whose hair was firey red and the way she spoke was regal. I later learned on the ride to the academy, that her name was Myrtle Snow. I have learnt the names of my fellow sisters Madison, Zoey, Queenie, Coco and Mallory. So far they have been fairly nice to me but I don't really interact with them much. Most of the times I keep to myself and listen to Fleetwood Mac in my room all by myself. Apparently everyone has someone to room with but me,not that I am complaining. But i must say, out of everyone in the Coven whom I've met so far, my favourite is the Surpeme. The first time we met I was taken aback by her beauty. The way her blonde hair rested delicately on her squared shoulders , the way her makeup was done in such a way that it highlighted all of her best features, which by the looks of it. It was her whole body. Her eyes were captivating , she smiled at me through them. I couldn't help but stare right back into her dark brown eyes, they held power and safety. The eye contact wasn't uncomfortable, it was an unspoken exchange.

Cordelia took it upon herself to show me around my new home. It was majestic, I took note of every detail ,from the paint brush strokes done on the painting that hung on the walls to the crack on the 4th step going up the twin staircases. My favourite place however was the Greenhouse. Well, her greenhouse. She told me that it was her place of relaxation,her get away from it all. The walls were covered with vines, the sunroof allowed the golden rays of the sun to filter into the room and paint all that it touches. The walls variety of plant species and herbs that she has collected over the years was quite impressive. It was beautiful. Overtime this became our habit. After dinner or lunch we would both make our way to the Greenhouse to create new concoctions. Whether it would be sleeping potions, manipulation potions or simply love potions. We never used on each other , it was just done merely for the fun of it. I felt happy for the first time in many. The little hugs ,inside jokes and nicknames we would share. It was all innocent fun at the time until, one time I was making a potion and Cordelia stood right behind me watching my every moves. I don't know what came over me, I dont know if it was the closeness of our proximity ,the warm breathe of her breathing that brushed my neck whenever she exhaled or the fact that she kissed my cheek right after telling me how good of a job I was at following orders. After that day I can't help but blush whenever we locked eyes. Light brown on dark brown. Neither of us looked away. Her eyes felt like home, a place that i longed to be. These few months I've developed quite an attachment to the Supreme,one might even say a crush on her.

However these past days I noticed that she was quite distant. She wouldn't catch on to the jokes I made, like she normally would. The amount of times she paced up and down the walkway in the Greenhouse, the layer of dirt and colour of orange on the brick floor started to fade. Cordelia kept ranting and complaining about finding a certain witch. Of course I didn't mind her talking to me. I always liked to know what new projects she was up too. But It was evident that this one occupied her mind. When she was with me, she wasn't with me mentally just her physical appearance. She would sometimes forget about our daily meet up, some days turned into few days and eventually a few days turned into none. I didn't hold anything against her. She was busy. I took it upon myself to help her find who this witch was. So you know she can spend more time with me,it wasn't a selfish act. Just killing two birds with one stone. Cordelia would be able to finally relax and I would get to spend time with her more often. It's a Win/ Win.

Cordelia just went into her office so that meant I had basically the whole evening until dinner to find out who this witch was. As I sauntered my way to my room. I began to recollect all what Cordelia told me. It was a little witch on the run, maybe she didn't what to join a Coven like me. Cordelia knew every thing about the little witch. She was a slippery one, evading the hands of the Surpeme. I remember her saying that the witch was a little younger than I was, with black hair and green eyes. Her speciality is Cloaking, she could cover her tracks very well. A rare skill some witches possess.I laid out my pens and my leather bound notebook on the bed and started to make notes of what i knew so far. After I was done, I realised it wasn't much information. I needed more if i was going to help Cordelia. I needed to see from another set of eyes. I shifted my notes aside and laid flat on the bed. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. No one knew but i was Clairvoyant. I could make myself hear and see what someone was thinking.

******time skip*******

THAT'S IT !!. I found the witch. She was running from something or someone. The little witch was seeking safety,maybe she did need to be in a Coven. Without any time to waste. I quickly wrote down all that I gathered into my note book. I couldn't contain my excitement, Cordelia and I will finally get to hang out like old times. I scrambled off my bed and made a beeline towards her office. *knock knock* "Dee I found out how to get the witc-" I began,but she wasn't in her office. Huh where is she then? . After a few minutes of futile searching in the upstairs I decided to check the kitchen. As I walked downstairs, the kitchen came into my view. There she was. My supreme making her possible 7th cup of coffee. I couldn't help my heart from fluttering at the sight of her. We haven't spoken in so long. " Hey Dee, do you remember when we used to hang out in the Greenhouse, i miss those times but thats not the point, anyways you always used to speak about this witch you couldn't find??Apparently I never told you but i am Clairvoyant which is really handy beca-" I rambled but was quickly cut off by Corldeia," Y/N! Be quiet . Stop talking Oh my God shut up. Please can't you see that I am busy and tired??"

Immediately I felt small, wishing the ground would just swallow me whole. Her eyes were locked on mine, the once safety and calm that I loved were replaced with anger and annoyance ....at me. I could feel my chest tighten, so tight that it began to squeeze my heart till it slowly cracked. I bit my tongue to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. It was evident that Cordelia's expressions changed based on my now small demeanour. I forcefully swallowed the lump that built in my throath. Out of hurt I threw my notebook on the marble counter where she rested her half way made coffee. The only words i spat out were "There's how to get your witch to join this shithole Coven Miss Goode". Her mouth was now slightly ajar at my words. No longer wanting to stay in her presence, I turned my heels and made my way back up to my room as Cordelia struggled to find her words.

*******TIME SKIP PT 2********

Thanks to me Cordelia managed to get in contact with the witch who will be joining the Coven in 2 weeks time. For these past few days I have suscessfully managed to avoid Cordelia. Of course I didn't avoid her presence. I had more dignity than that. I just made sure that I was never alone with her. That way she couldn't "apologise"or ask me the questions she really wanted too. I was mad at her. She didn't have to yell at me,I know i am talkative to people when i get comfortable with them, but still out of everyone to yell at me I would never suspect that it would be her. I no longer joined her in the Greenhouse to help her with her potions. Having breakfast and lunch with everyone was the worst. I no longer sat next to her at the table, instead I sat next to Madison,but that didn't stop her from trying to talk to me. As everyone else engaged in mini conversations at the table, Cordelia silently spoke to me from the head of the table " Y/N how have you been?". I lifted my head and focused my gaze from my tea cup to the silver in her bracelet, dismissing the hopeful look in her eyes. "I've been better Ms .Goode" I replied with extra emphasis on her last name. You know for an extra punch of guilt. Cordelia has noticed my lack of eye contact over the past days and she couldn't help but feel hurt at the act.

********time skip pt3**********

It was probably about 7 pm when i heard the clattering on heels on the floor. Shifting my attention from the crackling of the fireplace I looked over my shoulder to see that all the girls were dressed up and ready to head out somewhere. "Hey? Where are you guys going?" I questioned. "Out." Said Madison. I couldn't help but scoff at her reply. "Okayy???And you didn't ask me because??". Madison abruptly turned around "You and Cordy need to fix whatever is going on between you too. Don't think we haven't seen the change" she commented as she roughly pressed her index finger into my chest. Before I could even find my words. The door was slammed in my face. If Madison and the girls think that I am staying alone in the academy with Cordelia alone they are wrong. In another situation I would have taken that chance in a heartbeat. Lost and confused at the exchange that just happened, this gave Cordelia time to enter the living room. " Y/N?" She spoken almost in a whisper. I swear to the ex Supreme herself my eyes almost jumped out my eye sockets . My movements were stiffened as i tried to turn around. I took a deep breathe and attempted to make the situation fall into the better of my hands. " Yes Ms Goode? How are you?" I asked, while facing the floor. " I am sorry y/n I didn't mean to yell at you, you helped me a lot on my project and I cannot repay you enough" Cordelia spoke. I genuinely smiled at her gratitude "you're so very welcome Ms Goode" . Suddenly I felt her hands wrap around my form pulling me in a strong hug. I was stunned for a while and didn't know how to react. Sobs and small apologises fell from her lips as she buried her head into the crook of my neck. I reciprocated her hug but this caused her to cry even more. " Ms Goode please don't cry" I tried to comfort her, but all that left her mouth was a small, muffled "no". As she calmed herself she pulled away and wiped her tears away as she tried to look presentable. "Don't call me that. Call me by my nickname" she demaded. I chuckled at her command " okay dee." She cupped my face into her soft palms. I could smell her vanilla lotion that she regularly applies on her hands. She lifted my face to hers, but my eyes still didnt need hers. " y/n look at me" she whimpered. " Dee I am looking at you" I said smiling nervously as my eyes darted over the beautiful features of her face, never settling on her eyes. " baby..." she whispered. My heart constricted . Cordelia repeated the statement to look at her once more. This time I complied. Did she really mean that? does she like me back?. Her eyes were watering, her gorgeous brown eyes even when they hold the emotion of hurt. I still cannot help but stare in awe. Her eyes were filled with longing and hope. I don't know who closed the gap but our lips met in the middle. Kissing Cordelia was pure ecstasy, the kiss was one of tender and love. It felt as though part of me was finally completed. After a while we both pulled away, she delicately laced her slender fingers together with mine, interlocking our hands. Both of us trying to catch our breathe , Cordelia slowly leaned forward and gently rested her forehead against mine. Ever so quietly whispering to me the sweet words," and I do feel the same..."

#cordelia goode x reader #cordelia goode #angst with a happy ending #sarah paulson #sarah paulson x reader #fluff #ahs coven #ahs

[lovelivingmydreams]

A bond never forged

So @rondoel has decreed that I am the expert on the relationship between King and Virgil in the @kingcreativityau so of course I have to write about it’s early days. Enjoy!

King had his sword at the ready. He had never been this deep into the mindscape before but there was nowhere else to look. Earlier that day Thomas had been adventuring in a volcanic wasteland. It was an awesome adventure but at some point Thomas had tripped. King was sure he was going to fall, but something took over. It made Thomas shift his weight and throw out his arms just so, and then he wasn't falling anymore. It was hard to describe. But king knew one thing. It wasn't him who helped Thomas. Nor was it Logic. That bespectacled know it all would hold it over his head for weeks but he didn't say anything when their paths crossed. And it wasn't Deceit. It was not his department and he'd been taking a nap. So that could mean only one thing. A new side was forming. A side who had just saved Thomas' life so sentient or not, King owed him his thanks.

Then why, one might wonder, would King need to draw his sword at all? Well, there was a reason he and the others never came here to the back of the mind. There were shadows. They might not be violent, but touching them could be terribly dangerous so he ought to be prepared. A side was not supposed to fade to the back of the mind. It did kind of make sense that a new one would form here though. Suddenly he felt his whole body lock in place. He blinked in confusion, then jumped back in fright. He’d been distracted by his own thoughts and nearly walked straight into the shadows. “Oh… Thank you. For just now, and for earlier. You saved his life! My gratitude.” He bowed for good measure. But no response came. Yet he could feel the presence was still here. “I am King Creativity. I make Thomas happy,” he explained. It was odd, talking to someone who couldn’t respond. He wasn’t sure if he could even understand king or if he was just sticking around in case he would walk into the shadows again. Was that his purpose? To guard the back of the mind or something? No that couldn't be right… An idea struck him. Finally that bookworm could be good for something! “I’m going to get the others!” he exclaimed as he manifested a willow to mark the spot. “Stay right here!” he called back as he dashed back to the mind palace.

“King will you quit dragging me and explain yourself?” Logic demanded in vain. “Just come and look!” King insisted. Deceit was following right behind them with curious eyes. Finally King laid eyes on the willow and he was delighted to sense the presence was still there. “A tree?” Logic deadpanned. “Not the tree! I just didn’t want to forget where I left him!” King corrected exasperatedly. “I was playing with Thomas and all of a sudden he nearly fell prey to grave misfortune, but then this… presence took over and Thomas was fine! I went to look for him to say thank you and found him here!” he rambled excited to introduce this new friend. “Hi! I’m back! This is logic!” H exclaimed as he shoved the side in question closer to the tree. “If you are confused he usually has some explanation,” he confessed reluctantly. He did not like complementing Logic but he had to admit, even he asked the brain a question once in a while. And his answers were helpful if he bothered with one. “…This is the reason I blacked out?” the studious side stated drily. “He shut you down?” King gasped, both impressed and slightly afraid. “Not exactly. It was more like he… Focused me on a single task. Calculating how to shift Thomas’ center of gravity to prevent a loss of balance. Though I don’t exactly recall the process. It was like some sort of… instinct took over.” “Instinct! That’s what we could call him until he forms!” King exclaimed excitedly. “Instinct?” Deceit wondered from behind him. “Oh! Deceit!” King shoved his shapeshifting friend to the tree as well. “This is Dee. If I’m not around, you can count on him to help you out. He’s quite reliable,” King stated. Dee blushed and ducked away under the fond praise. “You do realize he is unlikely to hear you? Much less understand you? He doesn’t even have a voice yet.” King rolled his eyes at Logic’s dismissive tone. “Shea can’t talk either, but mom talks to him!” he points out. “That is… Never mind. If that was all, I will be going.” King sighed exasperatedly as the wooden block that was Logic walked away. It didn't matter, he'd done what he was brought here to do. Sort off. Instinct was better than Presence, but King still wasn't sure what to make of this new side. “Don’t worry about him. He doesn’t like anything,” King assured Instinct. “Um… King we should go back. Thomas might miss us soon,” Deceit pointed out. “Oh, yeah. Until next time. Keep up the good work.” He felt a little bad leaving him behind all by himself. Would he be alright alone? Perhaps he should visit him…

“Hi, instinct,” King greeted tensely, stirring the side. King liked to think that Instinct had grown fond of him through his visits and that he worried for him when he was in a bad mood. “I’m alright. Just one of those days you know?” he jested. He wanted to vent. To complain about Logic and be angry about Dee. But he’d promised Morality to give it a chance. And it wasn’t really right to burden Instinct like this when he couldn’t say no was it? No. Instinct was his friend. And Dee might have forgotten this, but friends look out for one another. “I met the other side. You know the one I never talked to? His name is Morality. He is nice. He makes tea and has a lot of plushies. I think you’ll like him…” Surely Instinct deserved to be able to rely on at least a few of them the way they already could rely on him? “Even if you don’t, I’ll be here for you. No matter who you’ll turn out to be, I’ll be your friend.” 

“Instinct?” King asked devastated. He was powerless now. He wanted to check in on his creations in the mindscape. The tree was still there, but it was wilting away. Instinct was one giant ball of nerves that released instantly when King called out. Clearly the changes in the tree had him worried. He did care. King couldn’t help a smile. For once, he was right and Logic was wrong. “I’m alright. Just different. Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Instinct! Hey!? Can you hear me?” King asked excitedly. A voice! Instinct had a voice! “It… is you?” Oh this was just amazing! “You remember me?” he sighed in relief. “Y-Yes. Friend?” “Always!” King grinned before launching in a long monologue about all kinds of things as usual for his visits. But now Instinct responded, asked questions and once or twice, even laughed.

Instinct opened his eyes. He had eyes now. And there were so many eyes staring back. He looked around. He didn’t know what he was looking for. Something familiar. There were kind faces and curious faces and reserved faces… But he didn’t find the one thing he was looking for. He didn’t know why, but he was expecting something. With every second his grip on what that was slipped away more and more. It wasn’t here. He’d counted on it, relied on it to make him feel safe in the unknown. What was going on? “Greetings!” A bright presence marched forward and that smile… Was that who he was looking for? No, not quite… But it felt nice to find something familiar. Even if he was so loud. “Hi!” Another joined the first. Also loud, but limitless in a familiar way again. “Boys stop overwhelming him. He’s only a few seconds old.” A calmer presence, but still bright and bubbly. “Hi, I’m morality. But you can call me Patton if you’d like. Don’t you worry. I’ll…” “You’ll nothing,” a smooth presence. Instinct’s eyes were getting used to seeing and he could now understand that was looking at five sides in front of him. The two loud sides looked more similar somehow and were focused on him still. Standing together like that… Was it them he’d been looking for? “Dee…” Patton pleaded looking from Instinct to Dee worriedly. “Don’t you Dee me. I will be looking after him. Remus?” “Aw do we have to go already?” The limitless one, Remus, groaned. “Yeah that is so unfair! We wanted to play with him!” the other whined. “Now Roman, he might need a minute to adjust.” Instinct was confused. Those names weren’t right… But he was dragged away by the smooth side, Dee, with his scaled half and somewhat familiar presence. Something from long ago, or not long ago at all, told him he’d be safe with him. “Wait. Where are you going? He hasn’t even said his name yet!” Instinct could hear Roman calling after them he looked back and Saw Roman was ready to chase after them, but he was held back by two pairs of hands, neither were forceful so the initial urge to free him subsided as quickly as it came. Dee ignored him. “Where are we going?” Instinct asked still getting used to walking and stumbling every few steps. Remus snickered beside him. Dee stopped and turned to face him. He looked at him, really looked at him for a long moment and his face softened. “Sorry… It’s been a rough few weeks. Let’s try again.” Dee sighed and offered his hand. “Hello. I am Deceit, I protect Thomas from things he doesn’t want to know or wants to keep hidden about himself.” Instinct stepped back confused. Why was he going with this guy again? “I am not trying to hide you, don’t worry. I am taking you home.” “It’s super spooky, you’ll love it,” Remus grinned. Instinct wasn’t sure about that, but he didn’t know what else to do. Was it too late to go with Patton and Roman and whoever the other side with them was? “Just give it a chance,” Deceit implored before leading the way once more. Instinct looked back one last time before curiosity won him over and he followed the other’s lead. They got to the far back of the mind where Instinct gasped in awe. There was a gate formed within the branches of an old willow tree. The tree wasn’t dead but alive wasn’t quite the right word either. It was strangely beautiful. But more than that, it felt like home.

 Many, many years later instinct had become fear and anxiety and then Virgil. He had left the willow and redefined what made a home. And then he finally found that long forgotten something. Only it was twisted and angry and not as safe as he thought it would be. And he could not figure out why he felt betrayed by a side he never met.

#king au #ts sides #ts virgil #Aparently I am still writing for this #This almost friendship gives me feels #it is just so sad

[aritamargarita]

ATTITUDE || 009

ATTENTION!! ATTENTIONNNN!!!! ITS HERE!

i was gonna put my notes up at the top but i kept you guys waiting for too long. more notes are at the end, hope you guys like it!

IT IS THE NEW ERA MY ARITAHOLICS!! i decided to do my things a little differently from now on! fyi: survivor series is over and this is just the vibe after it. we will be back to our regularly scheduled program after. Raw is not [name]’s brand rn, SmackDown is hoohoooo. this is actually pretty lengthy..sorry false advertising no team xtreme. NEXT CHAPTERLDNDBSJ I PROMISE. i was too excited to post and they were in my drafts blueprint but..posting...

SOME GROCERY STORE // 5:38 PM

Valentines Day!

At least a day has passed since the final battle and you weren’t sure how to feel. There was a break in between shows (only one damn day??), and your little interview show didn’t start until SmackDown was on.

The Raw following Survivor Series was going to be a dreary one. For the Alliance, of course. They all broke up. It’s done. The stars of ECW and WCW were at a stalemate.

Just stuck in WWF. You kinda felt bad for them, but on the other hand, you didn’t care. You did feel like you betrayed them too early at Invasion, but things were starting to work itself out as Austin began to turn away from the war itself so that you could slowly align yourself with him, even if it was ever-so slightly.

Speaking of Austin though......

The camera panned up on Stone Cold, who was the second segment of the night. “...So ya’ came through here...” He began, trying to connect the dots. “—happened to run inta’ me.....right here in this store...just to buy some Valentines crap?”

The camera then turns to you. You gave a quick nod, pushing the cart forward lightly. “Yeah! I need your help though. These people are hard to gift. I’m sure you’d know, after all I’m gonna be the one to help you get Debra something special too!”

“When did—“

“Just now.”

You needed to be leaning over to the face side right now, so you were told to head to the local supermarket to buy chocolates and cards for those you deemed friends. Honestly, you figured they sent you up there just to bother Austin, but this would kill two birds with one stone for you because you wanted to get things for your ‘acquaintances’ anyway.

It’s your lucky day. But it’s also his lucky day. “Say, do you think the Hardys like chocolate?” You ask, peeking over at the shelves nearby. “They seem like the type to—“

“The Hardys?” He repeated, narrowing his eyes. “The ones that do all the ‘whoopty-loops’ off the top rope?”

You nod slowly, and he shook his head.

“...No.” He sternly says. “Can’t let you give those to them. They’re bad influences.” Shocking words coming from him. “So is that Lita girl. You’re gonna give your little chocolates to a woman who can’t pull up their pants?! And don’t even think about giving them to those dunces tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb. I know you been eyeing em’. If they try anything funny—“

You cover your face in your hands. You wanted to laugh, you really did. But you needed to be embarrassed. Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dumb though?? Who was that? If it was someone you were eyeing apparently....

....Wait, was he talking about Edge and Christian?! Good grief!

He was acting like your father! This was sooo...you didn’t even know how to describe it. At least the crowd thought it was funny though, that’s all that matters. You uncover your face to complain. “But I—“

“Aht, aht. I don’t wanna hear it.”

Okay. Understandable. You shut the hell up and cross your arms. You weren’t gonna subject yourself to this any much longer! Shutting him out, you began to daydream about things.

Things...stuff....yes....

As he continued to ramble on and on how they were SUUUCH bad influences, he noticed you weren’t really listening. “Kid. Hey, kid.” He called, trying to get your attention. “[Name]!”

When he raised his voice, you immediately snapped to attention. “Yeah, da—yeah??” Hopefully he didn’t hear your slip up.

“...Go get the damn candy before I change my mind.”

“Say less.” You say, making a U-turn with your cart. He trails behind you, shaking his head.

Skidding to a halt, you raid the shelves by using your arm to scoop a majority of the heart shaped boxes right into your cart. You’d have to worry about the price later, you had to splurge!

All was well until Austin noticed something. He yanked you and your cart aside to get out of the way. “Booker’s here.”

“Is that bad?” You didn’t get it. What’s the big deal?

“Very. We’re getting in some trouble. Do you wanna get in trouble?”

You shook your head no, and he nodded. “I thought so.” He leaves for a moment but returns with a bottle in his hand. His next few words surprised you. “Since it’s so damn bad, we’ve got no choice but to take him out. You’re gonna take this bottle here,” He instructed, swinging it lightly. “And smash it right over that little head of his.”

First off, where’d the bottle come from? Second, that’s violent! Weren’t you supposed to be a face?? Spread happiness and save the day?? So much for not getting in trouble.

However, Austin was vaguely hinting that Booker was a bad guy anyway. What he says goes!

Hopefully. Because you were just giving yourself reasons to justify this...

Shrugging, you took the bottle and slowly walked out of the aisle. With each step you took towards Booker, the higher you raised the bottle.

Now, he had no idea that you were right behind him. You took a glance behind you and Austin gives you the nod to take your shot.

WHAM!

Upon impact, the glass shatters and Booker held his head in pain as he crashed down to the floor. You looked shocked. Did you just commit a crime?

Austin was proud though. He concluded that you were a wildcard, so he had to do something with that if you were going to work together. Just as he finished cracking open a cold one, he proceeded to continue the cracking of the victims head. He was pummeling him!

...At this point, you wonder what side you were truly on. This was the behavior a menace to society would do. It is heel behavior. But then again, Booker was the bad guy.

Right?

Yeah.

During your identity crisis, you decide to walk away as if you saw and heard absolutely nothing. Austin definitely had it handled.

Well, that was your original plan. The next thing you knew, you were being yelled at to throw the nuts in the basket over at him. Poor Booker, you felt so bad. “OKAY! OKAY!—“ While intimidated, you were pretty pumped up. You did as he asked and after emptying the container, you try to laugh evilly but it came out as an awkward laugh.

You did not know what you were doing, but you decided to consider it part of the charm.

After what you just did, you realized that and your shopping cart full of junk should probably mind your business. Even though you pretty much started the attack, this was Austin’s battle, not yours.

And here he was, still telling you to dump stuff on Booker! You weren’t sure if he was teaching you a twisted lesson but you felt bad for whoever had to clean this up. Hearing stuff fall over and screams of other shoppers was the least of your worries, all you needed to know was whether the members of Team Xtreme liked chocolate or not. That is literally all you cared about right now.

Buying regular candy was also a back up plan though. They’d never catch you slipping. Ever!

As you mulled over your candy thoughts, Austin tossed Booker into the shelves and jars clattered to the floor. This startled you but it definitely made you pay attention again.

“You’re not standin’ around here like a dunce.” He grabs a bag of flour, handing it to you. “Dump it on em’, kid. Don’t stop until I say so.” He instructs.

Dunce though, seriously? “.....” You look at him then back at the bag. Ripping it open, you dumped it all over the fallen wrestlers head, but not without getting yourself covered in flour as well. It was everywhere! After that bag was done, you grabbed another off the shelf and proceeded to dump the contents out.

So much for good influences! After two bags were dumped, he carried on with his beating and you decided to help him out a little. After he tossed Booker into the little stand of Cheerio boxes, you opened a freezer and look for your weapon in the arsenal of food and drinks. Sour cream caught your eye, so you used that. Opening the plastic cup, you toss the lid away and dump it all over him. But it wasn’t enough, so you used your hand to fling the rest at him. “Take that!”

You shook your hands off of any excess as Austin claps his hands, impressed that you grew a spine and helped. That’s all you were going to do for now, so you gave a thumbs up before carrying on with your shopping as if nothing happened.

Almost forgetting that there was a brawl happening in the midst of everything, you use your arm to shove more stuff into your cart without a care in the world. For one, your hand still smelt like sour cream. Though using your arm was a little faster, this would probably be your last round of items.

With the chaos and mess combined, the police were sure to come eventually. You’ve personally had enough for today, so you stood in the line for check out. You began to wonder if you’d get caught and sent to the slammer....

....If you guys went to jail, Debra was going to kill you and Austin at the same time! That’s probably what you were afraid of the most. And speaking of Debra, the plan to get her something nice went completely out the window.

Your partner seemed to follow in your steps. His cart did not even have groceries! Booker was in the damn cart. Pulling up beside you with a can of beer, he took a drink. “Shopping gets me tired...” He wheezed out. Taking long swigs, he motioned towards you using the can. “I know it gets ya’ tired too, huh [Name]?...Hold this.”

Taking his beer, he proceeds to pummel Booker again. Now you needed a sip. Everyone in the crowd laughed at your incredulous face as you drank some of the beer. You didn’t even drink like that but this was one of those moments where you needed it...damn! WHAT IS GOING ONNN?!

Austin rolled Booker right into the room where everything cold was stored. You didn’t follow inside, settling for peeking in. He brought crackers towards Booker and was superkicked down to the ground in retaliation.

Oh no..but hey, at least he got his revenge! Booker did deserve some sort of counter after being beaten for as long as he did. As he locked the other into the freezer with the milk, he slowly approaches you. He knew there was a second culprit somewhere. “You with him?!”

Alright, this didn’t bode well. You put your hands up in defense, trying to reason with him. “Yes! I-I mean no! I’m sorry-” You were a stuttering mess, but maybe when this is all said and done he could teach you how to do a spinaroonie!

The freezer opens behind you two and it’s Austin, who drenches himself with a carton of milk. “Thanks Book, got milk?!” He ran over to attack once more and you take a few steps back towards your cart. He has officially saved your life.

That’s why he’s so cool. When it came to him, you pretty much idolized him. Inside of the ring and out. Whenever he was in the presence, you felt yourself getting more peppy, even outside of character. It felt like you were a overzealous kid meeting their favorite celebrity. Despite you being all ‘confused’, you were really having so much fun.

You, along with many patrons watch in awe as Austin proceeds to roll him back into the cart brutalize him more. The store was becoming more of a mess, there was stuff all over the damn floor and the three of you stuck out like a sore thumb. With a silent cheer after he mentioned checking out, you dash up there a little faster to secure a spot in line.

Of course, you can’t always have your way. Just as you were going to load stuff up, Austin decided to roll Booker onto the conveyer belt.

Suddenly, you hear sirens. Oh no. The cops were coming! Austin also looked up, hearing the familiar sirens as well. The look you two gave each other only meant one thing; ‘We’ve gotta get the hell outta here’.

Snatching as many bags as you could, you hurriedly shoved your things into it. The people were so concerned with Booker that they didn’t even notice you were stealing. Before Austin finally left the area, he gave one last kick to Booker. “Price check on jackass!” He storms out of the store with you in tow.

This was a chaotic mess....

....But there was no way you were getting arrested today!

BACKSTAGE // 6:20 PM

The cameras were back on you.

You and Austin walk down the hall in silence. You were covered in flour whilst holding your bags and he was covered in milk amongst other things. The rattlesnake considered this a success and you didn’t know what to call it. Just because you two reigned victorious does not mean that you both weren’t in a sour mood.

Both of you needed a shower. Austin smelt like milk, beer, and a whole other ton of things. You on the other hand, smelt like beer, peanuts, and sour cream.

It was embarrassing. You hoped you wouldn’t run into Torrie, she’d make fun of you and completely ruin your day. 

Someone stopped you both from walking though. You look at the perpetrator and...

Please, not him. Anyone but him. 

He may have been worse than Torrie. Chris Jericho was in your way AGAIN. At this point, you were convinced that he was following you one way or another. “Not you agai-”

“There you are.” He interrupted you from speaking, holding a gift behind his back. Jericho used his hand to cover his nose though. “No matter how much you may reek, I know the truth. I know you’re madly in love with me.”

“What?”

“What’d you say, boy?”

Other than your ‘what?’, you were speechless. No words came out of your mouth, but more words came out of Austins. Jericho definitely asked for it.

Jericho smirked. “You don’t know? Oh great one, give me your blessing.” He snorted, not caring about his presence at the moment. “You don’t even have to say anything. That’s why I got you this...” He unveils the box behind his back and outstretches it to you. It was oddly nice of him to give you something, especially since he has been antagonizing you these past few days.

But Austin looked at you, causing you to turn your head to look at him. Was there going to be some sort of lecture after this? You hoped not. Putting down your bags to hold it, you slowly open the box to reveal....

..Wh—....

Today you did not wake up with violence in mind. But now, you wanted to pummel him with a chair. “What is this?” You ask, pulling out a pillow that had his face on it. “I-Is this a joke? Am I being pranked?”

“Come on, [Name]! I got you this gift for Valentines just so that you won’t miss me when I’m not around. When I kissed you that one time, I just know you got mesmerized. You’ve been showing up wherever I am because you’re in love!” He effused, pointing to himself. “You booked yourself a one way ticket to becoming a Jerichoholic.”

Delusional and egotistical, what a combo.

Absolutely appalled that he mentioned kissing you so freely, Austin has had enough of this wannabe heartthrob. “Get lost.” Austin shook his head, immediately disapproving of Jericho. He already disliked him before, but adding you made it worse. Horrible influence, in his opinion.

This really felt like some sort of tv show. You wonder if he was going to stunner Jericho in the hallway. It was safe to say you’d like to see that. You legitimately hated that guy. Or did you? To the point where it makes you laugh. Keeping in character, you huff. “...Thanks.”

He winks and leaves you two alone.

“That dumbass? Really? I thought I was teaching you better than that.”

“I don’t even wanna talk about it.”

You smelt much better. After taking a super long shower, you were dressed in new clothes and decided to loiter around in the hall. You found yourself leaning against a wall. Today was kind of boring, to be honest. Well, outside of the supermarket fiasco.

“[Name]!”

Turning your head, you see none other than Edge holding not one, but two title belts. Two! It immediately told you that he won his stipulation match. “You did it!” You ran over to him, giving him a big hug.

He shifts the belts in order to hug you back quickly. Edge totally deserved to keep his job, and you were glad to keep him around. He was funny!

The thought of tweedle-dee crossed your mind but you tried to not let that deter you.

Parting away but not letting go of each other, you smile. “I told you that you’d be fine. I bet you’re so relieved right now.”

“I really am. Thank—“

Before he could say thank you, they could hear someone else complain. “—I mean, would it kill one person to show some freaking appreciation out here?!”

It was none other than olympic gold medalist, Kurt Angle. “Wait a minute, just perfect.” He paused as he passed by you two and you lightly shove away Edge almost immediately. Edge shared your feelings, it was a little awkward, especially since the sweet moment was interrupted so quickly. “Hey Edge,” he paused, then greeting you quietly, “—and [Name]. But mostly Edge. Don’t you have something to say to me?”

This didn’t seem like your place, so you decided to give them both little waves before sneaking off, but not before spreading a liittle positivity. “Oh, Kurt, good job! You did super well.”

Maybe that would ease him off of Edge’s shoulders. You were completely wrong! As you retreated, you could hear him going on and on about how someone finally showed some appreciation.

You just wanted to go your hotel and lay down. Better yet, the locker room would be your only safe haven for now.

That whole super market thing was scary, but it gave you such a rush! Destroying things were fun. Closing the door, you slump down to the floor. 

And you were going to stay there for quite a bit until you realized that your little cubby had been vandalized! 

Upon crawling closer, you realized that it was vandalized with letters and candy! You were flabbergasted. This was just like high school, or maybe elementary...

The important part was that you didn’t have a significant other, so what’s with all these gifts? You were nothing short of thankful, sure, but the look of confusion had quickly crossed your face as you drank in the sight before you. Sitting on your knees, you got ready to go through the pile of envelopes. The door creaks open but you thought nothing of it because you figured it was just someone else preparing for tonight.

“I knew I’d find you here!” A familiar voice had rang out and you turned around to see none other than Stephanie putting her hand on the doorway. Was she following you? You were slightly freaked out but curious as to why she was so persistent.

[Name], I think you should open mine first. It’s the best one.”  She looked so smug, to the point where you were slightly suspicious. You stare at her and she stares at you. 

Complete and utter silence fell between you two.

But to avoid any misunderstandings, you do as she asks. You pick through the pile and sort through a few names that caught your eye.’ From Stacy’, ‘From Lita + Matt + Jeff’, ‘From Trish’, From ‘E&C’...

Those were only a handful of names, but this must meant that you were in good graces! Thank goodness. They were all acquaintances and you were still warming up to them (vice-versa to you), but it was still nice of them to give you something.

There it was, an envelope that had Stephanie’s name on the back of it. For a moment you hesitate, unsure what the pink letter could contain. It could be anything. It was so neat and you almost didn’t want to ruin it by opening it. “Okay, opening yours first then.” You told her, opening the letter slowly. “Dear [Name]..”

‘I didn’t know exactly what to write here, but I decided to let the words naturally come to me. I think that I can start with...you’re astonishing! Your skills in the ring are amazing and I hope we can work together sooner than later. It’s an absolute need to have someone like you in my corner. I couldn’t think of anyone better than you, and even outside of the ring, I hope we could see each other more. - SMH :)’

The letter she gave to you was sweet in its own way, but it was obvious that the first portion was heavily motivated by pure self-interest. Would this even be considering a Valentines card if it was just her trying her hardest to get on your good side? The ending was cute though.

You could also officially bestow yourself the title of; “Valentine Card Critic”. You had so many and it wouldn’t hurt to rate them for fun! Not like you’d tell anyone anyways.

Stephanie crosses her arms and gives you a grin as if she totally rocked your world with that one.

Yeah, she rocked it alright.

“Thank you.” You genuinely smile. Despite the motivation behind the note, it just meant that she did think of you. ”I’ll make sure to keep it safe.”

Her smirk grew into a genuine smile. “You’re welcome! I just wanted to see you open it, I’ll be taking my leave now.” Stephanie sauntered off into the corridor as you wave her goodbye. But she peaks her head in one last time. “...Just something to consider, you can always flip the script early!”

That woman was strange. 

Once she had left, someone else came in right after her. “Oops, excuse me, sorry.” They pause for a moment after noticing you were here. “...Well, well, well...”

You heard a honeyed voice throughout the locker room. “If it isn’t [Name]. I wasn’t expecting you to be here...when I saw Stephanie leave, I thought she forgot something in here. But it’s just you. I should have known.”

You almost didn’t respond, but you looked up to see none other than Trish. You wondered what she was doing here tonight but you figured might’ve had a match or had a segment. Even if she didn’t, you were sure she had every right in being here like you did.

She held the belt in her hands before slinging it over her shoulder. You fought the urge to look, as you didn’t want to seem bitter or threatening toward her. “I’m shocked to see you in here too.” You finally answer. You tilted toward the left and Trish gave a smile.

“This is the locker room, after all.”

“..Right.” You inwardly cringed, but bounced back. The woman was nice enough and you knew she wouldn’t laugh at you. If anything, she’d laugh with you. “Want to stretch with me, champ?”

She rolls her eyes playfully, putting her belt down and sitting across from you. “Ughhhh, If I HAAAAVE to.” It was very obvious she was down.

Trish was interesting. Perhaps she could be the first person you’d be interviewing for your segment? Thinking it over, it wasn’t too bad of an idea. You’d pitch it to her right now. “Hey, Trish? Do you mind if I interview you? Like, for my show thing.”

She was quiet, thinking it over for a moment. Making an appearance wouldn’t hurt. “Sure.”

That was easy! To think this same girl busted up your nose though...

Fun to think about, yeah?

pretty cool, right? NOW. to all the stuff i want to say. i changed the cover again, i like this theme better!! im also going to go back and change older covers cause i dont like how they look lol. this chapter is special but they all have cheesy little chapter titles,, i will also add mini spacers here and there to make it cleaner ye ye ye.

ANYWAY! sorry for the lack of updates from my blog. i wanted to upload this to show im not dead. i have a decent amount of requests in the box though and idk when imma open...😎🤏, 😉🕶🤏 on the bright side, that one series i planned, ‘Golden’ will be debuting soon yaaaay (but maybe I should upload a request or two...)

uuuunfortunately i also realized how inconsistent i am with dates and events of the story, BOOOOO! but things can easily be fixed by just going at my own pace. i may incorporate ‘flashbacks’ to fix any inconsistency and whatnot

better late than never, you know? [name] was surrounded by hella cornballs in this chapter and the only non-cornball is her “dad”. well, kind of. the grocery store fight between stone cold and booker was so funny that i HAD to put in the tiny drabble about it somehow... there was no reason for me to struggle while thinking of the word ‘conveyer belt’ you know the thingy at the grocery store u put your stuff on and it moves? that!

see u lates! hope u enjoyed!

#besides the nutty stuff... #edge hugs!!! #super cute. now that u hugged him he’s gonna get on one knee— #now that you got E #you need C too #next time.... next time hehe #scheduling a match between jericho and [name] rn #wwe imagine #wwe imagines #wwe preferences #wwe x reader #wwe various x reader #wwe attitude series #the way team xtreme has my damn heart #idk what stephanie doing but neither do you #looks like someone has a crush... hm #i be talking in the tags so much sorry LMAO #stephanie mcmachon imagine #chris jericho imagine #wwe edge imagine

[bangtan-dreamland]

A Fairy Tale’s End [Chapter 3]

Pairing: ot7 x reader; jjk x reader; myg x reader; jhs x reader

Word Count: 18,825

Rating: pg-15

Warning: reader is a little ball of stress and a rambling mess, war is discussed, very brief mentions of slavery, some mentions of discrimination, violence, kidnapping

Genre: some angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, e2l, fantasy!au, elf!seokjin, fae!yoongi, dragon!hoseok, wizard!namjoon, vampire!jimin, kitsune!taehyung, mermaid!jungkook

Summary:  You wanted, for once, to be someone important, someone needed- to be wanted and appreciated, to love and be loved. Well, you should be careful what you wish for.

AN: Here we are with the third chapter… they really do keep getting longer ashjkdasd I’m sorry ;;; I just end up writing and rewriting and adding so much ;-; also, if anyone has questions about the story please do tell me lol my friend said the whole series had so much confusing stuff XDDD

As always, thank you so so much to not only @mindays​ and @btsxdoll​ for reading this over and editing it, but also for @dee-ehn​ who made the banner!!! I’m so grateful, because if not for them I swear this chapter would never have been finished or posted T^T

(Also the banner is fucking gorgeous and if like me you end up staring at it hard sAME)

masterpost // previous chapter

Taglist: @btsxdoll​, @mspjm​, @barbikatherine​, @xxqueenwxtchxx​, @catsandstrawberries​, @bangtan-bestofme​, @bubbletae7​, @butaes​, @serious-addiction​

»»————-　♔　————-«« The morning after that felt, in a way, different.

Oh, at first glance, everything was the same. Nothing much had changed- you were still you, stuck in a world unfamiliar, given a quest that you still didn't think you could do.

But you could try. And... it wasn't as if you were alone. You had Jungkook, and you had Yoongi too, didn't you?

The thought brought a smile on your face- and for once, you began the day feeling... excited? You paused as you saw yourself in the mirror, sporting a shy, sort of half smile, one that eventually grew into a grin.

... Okay, so maybe not much had changed, but the things that did- well, it was very, very important to you.

You opened the door giddily, wondering where the others (Jungkook and Yoongi) were-

-and immediately let out a squeak as you met Seokjin's eyes, the man himself only raising an eyebrow at your reaction to his presence. 

“Um.”

You couldn’t help but stare, your thoughts whirring for something to say. Even in the early morning, Seokjin looked composed and regal as ever. Was being calm and collected something like his default persona?

You resisted the urge to turn tail and flee, the automatic reaction you had towards Seokjin who you really weren't on the best terms with ever since the beginning. Still, your words from yesterday filtered into your mind- and you steeled yourself, gently toeing the water. 

Try, you promised to try.

"Um- uh, good morning?" You winced at the lilted end to your sentence. "Good morning, Seokjin." There that was better.

Seokjin's lips quirked into a slight smile for a moment. "Good morning, Y/N. Have you packed your stuff yet?" He asked. 

Wait, what?

At your blank look, he sighed and elaborated. "We explored the rest of the ruins yesterday. Since we already got the clue we needed, the next plan of action should be to head off to Crossroads, isn't it?"

"Oh."  You grimaced at the obvious oversight, readying yourself for a scolding. "Um- sorry, I'll, uh, I'll go get ready now. I'll only take a few minutes," I hope, "um- are- that, is everyone else all ready to go...?"

He only shook his head, observing you for a moment. "You just woke up," he stated, rather than asked. You hesitantly nodded. "... The others should be waiting downstairs. We can spare some time, but don't take too long."

You internally sighed in relief. "I will- um, thanks. I'll- I'll go now."

The moment he was well out of your sight, you released the tight grip you had on your clothes, the nerves leaving your body. You robotically stepped back into your room, your movements stiff- and then you reached your bed. With that, you immediately dropped to your knees, covering your face with your hands as you held yourself in a fetal position.

You internally screamed. Why did I do that for fuck’s sake what the fuck even Y/N you dumbass we just made progress last night and now-

You cut your thoughts off and let yourself fall forward, groaning as your face met the somewhat soft mattress. Why am I like this...

To the side, when you opened your eyes the few items that you brought along stared back at you. For a few moments, you sulked, feeling the embarrassment of the previous situation wash over you- and then you rolled over for one last scream into the blanket before determinedly getting back up. There was no use regretting anymore over what happened- it was done and over and nothing would happen if you kept moping, right? So!

You nodded to yourself, turning back to your items and checking them over, packing it all neatly into your bag.

“I fucked up, but- then again, it doesn’t seem like he’s too bothered?” You grimaced as you talked to yourself. “... I hope he’s not secretly tallying me up or something. I don’t really want to go back to how it was before... I might just go crazy if I have to put up with that again.”

“Huh. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen then, you’re one of the few people I can tolerate being around after all.”

“Yoongi!” You cried out, the item you were holding falling from your hand in your surprise. You pursed your lips, trying not to pout- then shot a glare at Yoongi who stood by the doorway, who was looking at you with amusement. “Can you not do that, please?”

“I just wanted to talk to you,” he said, though you could see the edges of his lips turn into a smirk.

“Yeah, well-” you bit the inside of your cheek as you tried not to show how upset you actually were. “You know, a little bit of warning would have been appreciated,” you finally said, sighing, before his presence registered into your mind. You scrunched up your nose.

“Um… did you need something?”

“I initially came to wake you up, but I guess it’s unnecessary now,” he shrugged. 

“Oh,” you mumbled. “T-Thanks.”

WIth that, you turned to continue your task. For a few moments there was silence- then the space beside you dipped low, and you could catch hints of Yoongi’s hair at the edges of your vision.

“Don’t mind him,” Yoongi eventually said, his voice much closer than before. You huffed, realizing what he meant.

“... Yeah, well, how can I not? He practically radiates authority and disapproval. Not that, I mean, not that’s a bad thing, but-” You sighed, giving up on your task for the meantime as you turned to face him. “Just… Seokjin really makes me nervous. For a good reason too, I mean- he just wants the quest to go smoothly, and I haven’t exactly been a good, well, leader? But, um, yeah, back to my point, he makes me nervous just by being in the same room.”

Yoongi sat nearby on your bed- the feel of him close helping you calm down as you finished your word vomit. You scrunched up your nose. “... Actually, how are the two of you even friends? I-I mean, you’re calm and nice and he’s, well. He’s very… intense.”

Yoongi cracked a smile at your words before he became serious. “Seokjin… He isn’t usually so strict,” he admitted. “The only time I’ve seen him act like this was during the Great War.”

“The Great War?” You drew your knees up to your chest, laying your head on your knees as you stared at Yoongi, curious. “I… remember hearing the people talk about how you two fought together with the hero.”

It could have been just a trick of the light then, but for a moment, you swore you saw Yoongi freeze, the remains of something dark and empty passing as soon as it came. 

When he answered your question then, it was with a mild tone of voice.

“Yes. The Great War… it was a turbulent period of time. But before that, you know… Seokjin was actually known for being goofy and playful.” He chuckled at the shocked look on your face, before continuing. “This quest… it just means a lot to him. Elves were one of the first to fall under the loss of magic… It may seem like it, but he doesn’t hate you, if you’re thinking that. It’s just that he’s hard on you because he wants this to succeed.”

“...I guessed all that with how he’s been to me since we met,” you sighed, your voice quieter than before. “Although he really was a jerk at first, but, I mean, he does have a point, and we ended up talking it out for the better, so,” you shrugged wryly. “Well. Though hearing that, I guess- his initial reaction to me makes sense. I mean, it’s not like I’m not qualified to be on this quest in any way, right?”

“You were chosen for a reason, Y/N. You’ll see eventually,” Yoongi’s tone contained hints of amusement and you rolled your eyes discreetly.

“Fat chance of that happening,” you muttered as you looked over what was left.

Thud.

You frowned as the two of you heard heavy footsteps, ones that you immediately recognized to be Jungkook’s (the only one other than you who walked so noisily, then again he wasn’t used to using legs so…)

“Y/N?” 

You looked behind, where Jungkook hovered by the doorway.

“What’s up, Jungkook?”

“Everyone is downstairs, save for you and Yoongi, so I thought I could look for you and see if you needed help... Seokjin also asked me to check up on you while I was heading here,“ he admitted.

You winced, realizing you’d taken so much longer than you intended, what with your talk with Yoongi. “I’ll be down in a few minutes. You guys can go ahead.”

“Alright then. I’ll keep him distracted while you finish up,” Yoongi teased as he got up. You could barely hear his footsteps, light, before the noise faded away.

You turned back to pack the last of your items. 

It was hard, deciding which ones to take and which ones to leave. There only remained a small pile of items on the bed by now, including several freebies given to you by the townspeople- you had to admit, even if you didn’t believe in it, everyone else seemed to all but worship the ‘savior’.

One of the items included two small dream catchers- pretty little things that you had to wonder how it was made, considering its design and its size. You put one inside, deciding to bring it along (the craftsmanship was beautiful, after all), before frowning. Where had the other gone to...?

You were surprised when you looked to the side to see Jungkook fiddling with the other piece, curiosity and intrigue visible on his face.

His fingers held each piece gently as he examined it closely- and then you remembered his words from before.

“This is my first time going on land.”

You paused in your packing. “You can have that, if you want.”

Jungkook flushed as he looked up at you, eyes wide, an apologetic look forming before your words sank in. “Huh?”

You fiddled with the bag, cheeks reddening, eyes darting to the side, even as you repeated your words. “The trinket, I mean. You can have it. You keep looking at it, so…”

“Oh… really?” He slowly grinned, relaxing.

“You can think of it as a reminder of today,” you mumbled. “Or, I mean, like… um, something to cement our friendship?”

“... I think I would like that,” he hummed, instantly putting in his pocket. “I’ll keep it safe, I promise.”

Your lips quirked into a smile at the earnest look in his eyes. “Really? I’ll trust you then.”

“The three of you seem much closer now.”

You almost jumped at the new voice, warily looking back over your shoulder.

Jimin casually leaned against the doorway, a nonchalant smile on his face as always, his face unreadable except for the slight thrum of amusement in his eyes. You wondered when he’d gotten there- and how much he’d heard. Beside you, Jungkook tensed up- and you instinctively moved closer to him in the hopes of calming him down, a small detail that didn’t miss Jimin’s eyes. 

“Quite surprising, considering yesterday’s events,” he added. “You seem to have made up? Though I’m surprised you’re as relaxed with Yoongi as you are with him.” Near the end of the sentence, Jimin nodded his head at Jungkook, who remained quiet, lips pursed.

“... Yoongi helped me in talking to Jungkook,” you eventually said, your guard up as well. 

“So you mean to say, Yoongi’s wise counsel was a huge help, then.” Jimin’s smile widened. 

“Yoongi is dependable, isn’t he? Isn’t it a relief that he’s travelling with us? The saviour certainly seems to appreciate him. Not to mention how close she is now with Jungkook,” he remarked, eyes darting to the side for a moment. You glanced there for a moment- but Jungkook said everyone was downstairs already. You frowned at him in confusion- what was he getting at?

Just as you were thinking how to get out of the situation, Jungkook cut in.

“Was that all you wanted to say, Jimin?” His voice was blunt as his eyes narrowed at Jimin. “If so, we’d like to go back to packing up. We are, after all, leaving soon.”

Jimin chuckled. “No need to be so hostile, I was just making an observation.” He cocked his head- the smile remaining on his face before he started to close the door. “Well, I’ll be going downstairs then. We’ll be waiting for you two.”

As the door closed shut, you released a sigh of relief at his departure “Well, that was weird,” you joked, before smiling at Jungkook. “Thanks for the help back there.” He offered you a shy smile.

“It’s no problem. I’ll carry your bag for you- consider it as thanks for the gift.”

You chuckled. “You just want to show off.”

“Well, when you say it like that…”

»»————-　♔　————-««

The next two weeks of journey, contrary to your fears turned out to be, well, not that bad. 

To start with, your departure from the town of Rivermouth was met with tearful farewells from the villagers- who, although you were glad for their support you were equally glad to leave, unable to bear their ever present eyes. 

The second time the eight of you were on the road turned out to be leagues better than the first- for one, you’d come to a sort of mutual agreement with Seokjin. And while it didn’t mean that you and he were friends, or anything like that, he at least stopped criticizing you for your mistakes, though there were times you’d hear him sigh and you’d internally wince. 

You decided to meet him halfway too. It was a given that you were, truthfully speaking, the weakest link in the group. After all, you didn’t have the supernatural abilities the others were born with, nor did you have the training that they had. Hell, you didn’t think you could match up with any of the villagers even, considering what you were used to was so far away from what the people here were used to. 

But that didn’t mean you’d stay helpless and useless.

Resolved to make the most out of it, you began to soak up every relevant information you could grasp from him, or from Yoongi, or (reluctantly, admittedly) from Namjoon. Maybe you wouldn’t ever need to know how vampires fed, or how kitsune made deals, but it was better than doing nothing.

Speaking of vampires, the day you left the town, you’d been surprised then, for Jimin to talk to you as you set camp.

“Good evening, Lady Y/N,” he almost purred your name as he strolled up to you, an easy smile on his face as always. You stiffened, almost dropping what you were holding then- before reluctantly steeling yourself to actually talk with him instead of at.

“G-Good evening- I mean, hi, Jimin.” For a moment you remained in place, thinking of what to say, wondering why he’d even approached you in the first place, but-

“I sincerely apologize for what happened in the town,” Jimin surprised you by taking the initiative then. You gaped at him, before hastily replying.

“Oh, uh, I mean, it’s okay! I-I mean? That, um,” you stammered, searching for the right words to express what you wanted to say. “It’s… okay. It wasn’t just your fault, I mean, Jungkook himself admitted that he should’ve acted better… although, um, I mean, w-why are you telling me this instead of Jungkook…?”

“I tried,” he sighed, looking at you with remorseful eyes. “But I’m not sure my intention came across for what it was. Although, I don’t blame him, after all, I share a huge part in the reason why the commotion happened.”

You shook your head. “No, I’m sure he did understand! I-I mean, if you’re sincere then the feelings should come across? Or, I mean. S-Something like that.”

You fidgeted with your fingers. “Actually, I should be the one apol-”

“I assure you, there’s no need for that.” Jimin’s tone remained nonchalant as he cut you off, at the same time taking over the pile of firewood from your arms. “After all, I’m aware that as vampires we carry a reputation not so favorable.”

You floundered, even as you could’ve sighed in relief as the heavy weight left your arms.. “Um- still. I mean, I’ll…” try to understand you? “... be better?” Even you winced at your words. “After all, just because you’re a vampire doesn’t mean you’re actually bad, r-right?”

You could have sworn his eyes flashed for a moment then, but it was gone all too soon and you were left wondering if you had imagined it. “Of course,” he nodded, a relieved smile appearing on his face. “Thank you, Lady Y/N.”

… Honestly, you still didn’t understand him and you would have preferred for him to keep his space, hopefully distance, but at least- well, at least you made up? Sort of?

There was Taehyung too, who, while when you’d left you’d been on a one-sided cold war with, you’d finally made up.

“Taehyung!” You could have knocked yourself on the head for how loud your voice was, but then again, could you have been blamed? You didn’t want to prolong it any longer- as much as Taehyung acted like an ass the first round of your travels, hell even from the start, having him determinedly keep quiet as he was most certainly pissed off made you nervous as hell. It was so much more easier dealing with him when he was pranking you- you knew how to deal with that, at least, but people getting angry with you and confrontation… not really something you ever got used to dealing with.

“... Yes?” You didn’t let the guarded look on his face deter you, though it made you all the more nervous. 

“Um. Can I… can I tell you something f-for a moment? It’ll just be quick I promise!” The last sentence fell from your lips in a rushed manner, you didn’t want to- well, if you had your way you wouldn’t even be having this talk in person. Preferably over the phone. Or email. At least that way you could think over your words and hide if needed. But it wasn’t as if you had that option now, did you?

“... Alright, I’m listening.” You heaved a small sigh of relief at his words, and so did he, although his sigh was more a disinterested one. You reviewed your words over in your head for a moment- before you spoke it all out.

“I’m sorry for what happened at the store!” If you had looked up then, you would’ve seen him raise an eyebrow in surprise. You’d evidently caught him off-guard with your apology. “I didn’t mean to imply that I agreed with the man, that you were stealing in any way. I was focused on stopping the fight that I didn’t stop to think that maybe I should’ve let him have it for just accusing you without proof, not when it was so obvious that you didn’t at all! Please forgive me!”

There. Short, sweet, simple. You could feel your legs tremble as silence trailed after your small speech slash yell; a part of you just wanted it to be done and over with. Still, your gaze remained locked on the ground, and the silence was deafening- in all honesty, it was probably only around a few seconds or so, but it felt way, way longer than that- and you gave in to your fight or flight instinct.

“Um,” you started, legs already moving. “That was all I wanted to say thank you andgoodluckIneedtogohelpcookbye!”

You didn’t look back at him as you left, too embarrassed.

And, well, if you found a little bit of unknown help instead of pranks the next time around, well. You were only too happy to accept.

Moving on, Namjoon and Hoseok remained the same as ever. Hoseok was still distant, polite, quiet. You had trouble reading him, he was so closed off to everyone. But at the same time- for some reason, you wanted to actually see what was underneath. Hoseok had been more of a mystery than the others, what with his quiet and unassuming demeanor so far.

Well, actually on that- you tried talking to Hoseok too, on the way. If only to thank him at least for what happened before. But…

“Hoseok- um, can I-?”

You looked around in surprise as you saw no one, though you could’ve sworn you saw Hoseok headed this way earlier. So what…?

Oh well. You could try again, right…?

And another time-

“H-Hoseok! Um, please-!?”

You squeaked as you almost tripped over yourself, for some inexplicable reason and what even just happened; when you looked up again, the man in question was gone.

For some reason, whenever you tried to talk to him, something would go wrong and you had to abandon your plan. Still… you wanted to hold hope and continue anyway.

Namjoon- well. It would be a lie if you said anything big had happened with your relationship with him. Although there was that brief moment at the inn, it was mainly centered around the quest- it did nothing to solve the root of the reason why you felt uncomfortable around him. So, sad to say, you were stuck where you were with him from the start- trying to somehow avoid him at all times, without making it obvious.

You grimaced at your thought, though you couldn’t deny it. What was worse was that whenever you tried to muster up the courage to correct his view of you, he would say something that would remind you of his hero worship, and you’d lose your courage. It wasn’t as if the others corrected him too, really...

You shook your head. A lot had changed for the better, at least that you could be happy about.

The biggest change in fact that made you happy yet was the new, easy friendship you fell into with Yoongi and Jungkook.

Ever since your arrival, and the start of the quest- you’d found it hard to relax even a single moment. After all, you were stranded in another world- one where nothing made sense to you, from how magic seemed to be real, or how the people interacted with you. It made you miss your old life terribly. At least, then, you knew what to expect. It may have been dull, and boring- but you never had to deal with so much trouble. These days it seemed as if your heart would stop beating from how much it was overworking.

However, with both men, for once you felt some semblance of peace.

Yoongi, contrary to what you expected wasn’t closed off, nor was he stand-offish- rather, it was in his nature (you giggled at that) to be quiet and calm, something that was your saving grace. Wise, mature and yet at the same time a fucking troll with how he always seemed to have schaudenfraude for your clumsy ass while helping you.

“Ah!”

You almost yelled as you tripped over a root- the twigs and sticks you collected so far in your hands all falling to the forest floor.

You would have, too- if it was for the hand that caught you. Dark eyes met yours, before Yoongi raised an eyebrow. Somehow, even if he hadn’t said anything you could still almost hear what he was thinking.

“I’m- uh, just not that used to trekking in the forest,” you huffed. “You literally live in it. Don’t judge.”

“Whatever you say, Y/N,” he smothered a laugh.

Still, for all that Yoongi seemed to have a witty remark for almost everything, and a complaint for every time he had to go out of his way to help you, you noticed that he was always there to lend a hand, even when in doing so he had to go through so much more trouble than necessary.

“The rain is going to fall soon,” Yoongi commented. You yourself noticed the grey clouds in the sky- still, you continued your task anyway. “We should head back. It’s a hassle travelling when it’s raining, and this one is going to be a rainstorm, I can feel it.”

“Not until I find this herb,” you insisted, a stubborn frown on your face. For all that Namjoon had come prepared, his stock of medicinal herbs was running a little low- so you volunteered to replenish it while the others set up camp, Yoongi accompanying you for both safety and as a guide. You didn’t think much of it at first. It was just picking herbs after all, right?

Wrong.

An hour later still found you searching through the grass for chamomile, your brows furrowed. Still, not even Yoongi’s warning could make you stop- even if you got wet, you would just change your clothes or something.

So invested were you in your task that you didn’t notice your surroundings, nor the time. When you finished, you whirled around to excitedly tell Yoongi- only to gape in surprise.

Around you, rain was pouring down, hard- but not where you were. Just… Just around.

When you looked up, you saw trees clustered around you, close, shielding you from the rain. Huge, and in any other situation they would have been imposing, but as it was, because of the trees even the sound of rain was slightly muffled, creating a semblance of peace within the area you were in. 

On one of the branches, you saw Yoongi frowning at the sky- his hands gently swaying as the trees obeyed his whims. It wasn’t hard to realize what he was doing.

Even when the rain stopped and you two returned to the campsite, not a single part of you was wet from the rain.

Jungkook, compared to Yoongi, was cheerful while shy. After your talk at the pub, and at that night in the kitchen, it seemed that he trusted you enough to let down his guard- becoming more relaxed and open as he told you about his adventures back home. Often he’d needle you about what your daily life was like, though you found it hard to answer. After all, the daily life you knew was drastically different from the one people had in here.

That wasn’t all he asked about, though. Jungkook had the curiosity of a cat and the energy of a puppy. Once he started getting interested about a subject he could keep asking about it for hours- only to surprise you when he would, in some sort of challenge to himself, attempt to learn all about it, proudly showing off his efforts to you after (which most of the time was a success). Talented and eager to learn, indeed- you could now understand why, despite being young even for his race, he was sent on the quest. 

“Jungkook.” If your tone was laced with amusement, well. He’d just have to deal with it.

On the ground before you, remained the mangled remains of a pheasant, a gaping hole in its body from the spear that pierced it.

Jungkook remained silent, but the look on his face told you everything you needed to know.

“I‘m pretty sure I told you spears won’t work the same way here on land that it would under the sea, right?” You continued.

He pressed his lips, eventually forming a pout.

You smirked, for once feeling the urge to tease him playfully. “... Really… you’re used to having your way, aren't you?”

It was obvious that you caught Jungkook off guard with your sudden teasing, and he sighed (in a rather dramatic way that had you biting back laughter). 

“Perhaps just a little…" he said, and you wouldn’t have been able to stop yourself from laughing then at how flushed his cheeks suddenly were, if it weren't for the look in his eyes that said he’d retaliate for any teasing done. “I’ll get it right next time, though. I know I will,” he muttered.

You could barely stop yourself from shaking your head. When you spoke, exasperation laced your voice. “You don't have to be the best at everything, you know. Do you see everything as a competition?”

It was then that he huffed before facing you with a playful grin. "You say that as though it's my fault I'm gifted at whatever I do. And as to your second question... hmmm, I don't know- tell me, do I?”

You scrunched up your nose at him, rolling your eyes dramatically. “Yes, yes, really… what’s even there to compete about?”

He only shrugged. “Well… when you say it like that, I suppose it isn’t so much as a need to compete, rather than a want to learn. I may not get a chance like this after this all ends, after all.”

His gaze lowered- and the words you were about to say were stuck in your throat. 

You scrambled your mind for a safer subject, instead. “If you really want to learn how to hunt on land, I mean… you could ask Seokjin, couldn’t you?”

“... Huh?” He looked back up at you, surprised. You continued speaking, almost stammering over your words.

“I-I mean! As an elf, he has to know a lot about the forest, and, I mean, he’s always carrying that bow! And, um, yeah, he’s old-” you winced and immediately backtracked, “-wise! He’s very wise!”

You cleared your throat as silence fell upon the two of you, the familiar rush of red flooding your cheeks. “So. Um. Yeah. You know. An option. If you want one.”

You kept your gaze firmly on the ground, away from him, resisting the urge to groan.

But then you heard Jungkook put the pheasant in his bag, and in a tone far too nonchalant for what he was thinking, he asked you, "… Y/N, which do you prefer? Hare, or deer?”

You blinked back at him, the sudden question surprising you. “I… I guess- deer? Um, why?”

He smirked. “Oh, no reason at all, I assure you,” he cheerfully replied. 

You couldn’t help smiling as you remembered the smug, but mostly proud expression on his face a few days after, as he presented a dead buck to you. It’d taken him hours to be able to do it as well as he intended, even with (and this part still had you reeling because honestly how, what even?) Seokjin’s help. 

Even more than that, when he shed away the ‘I am the best and you should pay attention to me’ show, you had to admit that Jungkook had this youthful, innocent charm around him, different from the one Jimin or Taehyung had- being able to melt even the hardest and coldest of people.

“I thought you didn’t know archery?” You looked at him curiously. “I’m no expert but this doesn’t seem like something a beginner could’ve done.”

He beamed at you. “I asked Seokjin for help!”

You stared at him in surprise. “You what?”

“I asked Seokjin for help,” he repeated, giggling at the dumbfounded look on your face. “Seokjin is a tough teacher, but he’s very thorough. Much better than my mentors back home,” he added.

You glanced up- meeting Seokjin’s eyes as he raised an eyebrow at you, before deliberately ignoring your gaze when he saw you were just gaping at him. Your eye twitched- and then you looked back at Jungkook, staring at him for a moment before your gaze became mock serious.

“You, are seriously dangerous,” you proclaimed, resisting the urge to smush his cheeks when he scrunched up his nose at you. “Seriously. No one is safe from you.”

He only laughed then. 

That night, and the next few ones, you all had plenty of food- although by the end of it you had to discreetly plead Jungkook to stop hunting, lest the presence of wildlife become too thin in the forest.

In a much better atmosphere than before, the journey to your next destination happened in a blink of the eye, and soon enough you were at the city of Crossroads.

»»————-　♔　————-««

“So this is Crossroads...” you heard Jungkook say in awe. Two weeks of being on the road with him- two weeks of being in close quarters with him almost every second of the day and Jungkook being a naturally open person had you being able to read him better and better. Even as you looked at him now, you could see the way his eyes flitted from almost every part of the city to another, his attention everywhere as he tried to take everything in. It was undeniably adorable.

“Countless books mention that the city of Crossroads is the capital of history,” Namjoon commented behind you. You looked at him to see him reading a book- before he snapped it shut and smiled. “It will be difficult, but for now there are a few inns we can rest at nearby, before we start looking for Alexander’s journal.”

“Still,” you mumbled as you looked at the copy of the map in your hands. “The city is really big, huh… I hope we find it in time…”

“You know, as nocturnal races we could start the search by ourselves,” Jimin suddenly spoke up. “As you’re so worried. After all, it’d be best to have this done as soon as possible, right?”

“Liars. You only want to slip away and do whatever you like,” Jungkook immediately accused them, frowning, before he turned to you. “We should go to the inn first, right?”

You almost wilted under their combined gazes, from Taehyung and Jimin who seemed to find amusement in your reaction to Jungkook’s who seemed to be asking for your support. Your eyes darted to Yoongi who only looked back at you calmly in return, as if to say that he was waiting for your reply too- Namjoon, who looked as if he wanted to intervene but held himself back.

You couldn’t see Seokjin in the back- but you could catch a glimpse of his back- as he crowded around Hoseok, who seemed uncomfortable. No help from anyone, it seemed.

You fiddled with the strap of your bag as you tried to answer as calmly as you could. “Inn first. We’ve had a long trek getting here, so, um, we should probably get some rest first,” you said, before faltering. “I mean, as much as the quest is important, it shouldn’t affect it too much to rest for one night, right? And, um, the shops are closing, so... “

“Sounds good to me,” Yoongi nodded, smoothly continuing your words as he turned to Namjoon. “Where should we head to, then? How recent is that map of yours?”

Namjoon hesitated, before answering. “It should still be accurate, it was made just a few months ago.”

“Well then, let’s go?”

»»————-　♔　————-««

Upon arriving at the inn, it was easy to get rooms, just as Namjoon had said- there were as many libraries as there were inns in the city, and fortunately the one you chose, upon learning who you and your companions were, were offered free service all the way. You still didn’t quite trust nor believe it, but you wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth anymore.

Dinner then on had been a peaceful affair too, as both Seokjin and Hoseok stayed in their rooms the moment they were given them- basically locking themselves up inside. Yoongi too had opted to join them, citing that the crowds were too noisy and technically, he didn’t need human food to survive, so… 

Jimin and Taehyung parted away from your table the moment you entered the bar connected to the inn, for what, you weren’t quite sure. Still, it wasn’t exactly unexpected anyway.

Thus it was only the three of you- you, Jungkook, and Namjoon. Dinner was somewhat peaceful then- or, at least, as much as it was with Jungkook being his curious self. He didn’t ask much while eating, but afterwards he kept asking you about so many things he’d seen as you entered Crossroads, ones that you were, while tired, all too happy to indulge him with. 

Of course, in accordance to your luck someone spilt soup on you as the three of you got up to leave- the perpetrator, a drunk man who, after drinking some water and talking to, turned out to be quite decent. Still, dealing with your wet clothes was much easier and something you preferred rather than talking to the man who was half-intoxicated, you just decided to go on ahead to your room.

»»————-　♔　————-««

“Although I expected it to be big, I didn’t think it’d be this big.”

Currently, you and Namjoon sat in what seemed to be the lobby of the guild, La Salutem. Situated near the middle of the city, it stood proudly and was obviously a center of operations, what with how many people passed through the doors.

Seokjin’s first suggestion in searching for the journal was to visit the guild, saying that if there was any place other than the kingdom of Quies that held Alexander’s old stuff, then it would be in the very guild he founded. Thus found you hours later, sitting in the lobby with the two men. While Jungkook originally wanted to go with you, he’d been told to stay at the inn with the explanation that as Seokjin had to go, someone had to stay behind and mediate if something happened with the others, and Yoongi might need help. With that, Jungkook reluctantly agreed.

Seokjin had gone ahead to talk with the guildmaster. While initially you prepared yourself for another uncomfortable one-on-one talk with a member of the ‘All Hail the Savior Y/N’ club, both men had, thankfully enough, picked up on your unspoken feelings about it. Though you still had to come along to the guild just in case- Seokjin would talk to the guildmaster himself.

You were still left with Namjoon- but, well. You were getting better at the whole ‘not looking like I’m freaking out over everything 24/7’ attitude, and it was getting easier to treat his more subtle (now) hero worship as nothing, so…

“Crossroads has a long history intertwined with not only the war, but the guild. This city holds one of the first guildhalls established, which must have been when it was but a small town- explaining how it remains in the very center of the city, as if Crossroads was built around it,” Namjoon explained, his words delving into a sort of rant near the end, though he soon stopped and grinned. “Though I admit, I find myself fascinated as well.”  

“‘La Salutem’, huh?” You mumbled as you looked around. “That means…”

“- ‘safety’,” Namjoon added. “‘Protection’, ‘health’, ‘security’. All things that La Salutem strives to embody, as a symbol of peace and prosperity for all that supported so many not only during, but after the war.”

“For all, huh…” 

Your eyes trailed over the banners that decorated the walls- and your conversation with Jungkook last night easily came to mind.

“Hey, Jungkook… um, can you… do you know what the war was about?”

“I don’t really know much about it,” Jungkook frowned as he nibbled on a piece of sushi. The inn you were staying at allowed you free reign of their facilities, and guess what- Jungkook actually knew how to make sushi, the food in question actually a specialty of his people. Was there anything he couldn’t do? “I was born after it ended, and even before that, mermaids stayed out of the entire war.”

“That’s okay,” you reassured him. “Just- um, tell me what you know, please? When I asked before in the kingdom, no one could answer me, so… and, well, um, I’m not sure if it’s something Yoongi would be okay with me asking.”

“Oh.” He scrunched up his nose, deep in thought, before answering. 

“No one knows how it started, if I remember correctly,” he started. “But... one day, they say dragons began to grow more greedy and blood thirsty. They started conquering towns and cities, even those from other species, looting and robbing them too, and then using the captured towns as their slaves, their own to use. It was… a pretty dark time. There were many more dragons then- enough that they had a capital too. Their power, the fact that no one expected them to suddenly attack others, and not to mention their numbers helped them. Each race kept to themselves then, and yet all the same it plunged everyone in distress, ready to bow down and acquiesce to the rule of the tyrants- but then there was a prophecy about the downfall of the dragons, and the arrival of a hero.”

“It was the only reason they still had hope. It was a good thing, too, as the dragons had taken over what had to be a fair amount of cities then- and a few kingdoms too, when he came. The Hero, Alexander. They say he arrived as the sky blazed bright. People didn’t believe him at first, when he declared that he was the chosen one, but…”

“Just when a city was about to be besieged by the dragons, he came up with a plan to defeat them. It was ingenious- and no one thought he’d succeed, because his plan seemed too ridiculous to work- but it did. And after that, he began to come up with other contributions to the war, the first and greatest of which was to unite the races to defeat the dragons.”

You released a shaky exhale at his words, at the story he was telling you. It was obvious to see the parallels between you and this ‘Hero’, and the way that the people treated you suddenly made a whole lot more sense.

“The humans and the mages were the greatest partners in the war, then- humans with their inventions and mages with their spells and enchantments. The elves, as much as they disdained getting involved with anything outside of their forests were persuaded to join, by the Hero of course- and so were the fae. I can remember my teacher telling me about Seokjin and Yoongi too, actually, how they fought in the war as well. Together they defeated the dragons and ushered in an era of peace.”

“... What about the other races, then?” You questioned. “What about the- yokai? The vampires? Surely they had to be involved in some way too.”

“That…” Jungkook paused, a furrow in his eyebrow as he tried to remember. “I think… I think I can recall people saying that yokai joined the war, but that most of them sided with the dragons. And as for vampires… They mostly acted as mercenaries in the war, fighting for whichever side offered them more money.”

It offered so much more insight to the way each race reacted to another than the book you read before could. Or, at least, that was how you saw it- piecing in what you could read between the lines as each race interacted with each other.

When the war ended, what exactly happened? To the victors went the spoils, after all. It was easy to imagine it now- the sins of the fathers being passed down to their children, the discrimination that followed those who lost, the whole race branded as evil, as wild, as dangerous. 

Humans and mages led the winning side, and so they were given the biggest credit, flourishing and thriving on the shares given to them as they took over what the losing side had. Lands, cities, treasures of all shapes and sizes taken not just as payment, but also as deterrent. 

For elves, the fae, both entered the war mostly just to protect themselves, and they succeeded- though, of course, the greater the risk taken, the greater the rewards reaped. They lost less than mages and humans, but in return they had little to show for after the war. They only kept autonomy over what they originally had- the lands and the forest that they lived in.

Mermaids- having stayed out of the war, the most neutral of all races as they refused to join in any way at all, remained almost completely clueless and out of touch with the developments that happened after the war then, as they isolated themselves.

Then the vampires, who, in a sense acted neutral- favoring no side but that of coins and money. The yokai who were divided, some joining humans, but most of them joining the other side… not to mention the dragons themselves.

You could easily see how the effects of the war lingered on from what happened then until now. You hadn’t seen even a hint of the last three races anywhere since you began your journey. While at first you chalked it up to each of the races not liking interaction with the others, now that you knew more about the war, it was easier to pick up on the general subtle hatred of the populace against the three.

It was obvious even now, inside the guild. You could hear certain words about vampires and yokai being spoken with disdain, apathy at best and hatred at worst, though more often than not disgust was in there too.

“I wonder if this is why they didn’t want to come with us…” You sighed, eyeing the recruitment posters, and the mission board- both of which further proved your suspicions. The recruitment posters, as long as they were, only held spiel about humans and mages, though a few minor lines were dedicated to elves and fae. And the mission board- you could see several job posters that called for a mediator between them and a ‘troublesome person’.

Well. Though. It wasn’t really much of a surprise, was it? Nothing was perfect- and even this, as much as the guild, as much as ‘La Salutem’ seemed to represent the harmony between races, well. You discreetly slid down into your seat with a sigh. 

Then you jerked back up at the sight of Seokjin coming down the stairs.

“It’s not in here,” he announced as he arrived to you both, a furrow in his eyebrows the only sign of his frustration. “We talked about it, but it seems that the item in question wasn’t given to the guild.”

“B-But there has to be a clue, he mentioned in the recording he wanted it to be known,” you muttered, deep in thought as well.

“It might be with one of the books he kept preserved then donated to the city’s libraries,” Seokjin didn’t quite sigh so much as the words left his mouth in a weary undertone and a light scowl. To the side, you noticed Namjoon closing his mouth, his face twisting before he looked away. Well, no surprise he’s not enthusiastic about it either. Who would?

You tried your best not to groan, you really did. “... The city? The whole city?”

He sighed, evidently dreading what was coming himself. “Yes. And… it seems we have no choice but to search manually.”

… Fucking hell damnit.

»»————-　♔　————-««

When you all returned to the inn, to your relief it didn’t take much before the boys were all assembled again, even as your nerves rolled in your stomach- a common thing that happened every time you held a meeting in regards to the quest.

“Alexander’s journals,” Namjoon spoke up first among you, his notes and a copy of the city’s map laid down on the floor in between all of you. “The guild already spoke to us that they don’t have the journal, but that it should still be here in the city… Although Crossroads is quite large, and there are many libraries around…”

“We should split up then to have an easier time searching,” Yoongi suggested as he looked at the map. “It’d be a more efficient way to cover ground, too.” 

His eyes flickered to you. “... How should we divide the teams, Y/N?”

You stiffened as everyone’s attention fell on you, except for Seokjin who seemed more content examining the notes.

“M-Me?” You stammered. Jimin’s lips curled into an amused smile.

“Well, yes. You are our leader, after all.”

You bit the inside of your cheek at that. Jimin’s words technically, were true, as much as you didn’t want to admit it. It didn’t quite help that Yoongi and Jungkook supported your ‘leadership’, as much as you first considered them trustworthy. 

Actually, on second thought, Jungkook was understandable. Yoongi was the insane one for still holding you to your alleged position when he knew how unfitted you were. Even if he thought you had potential.

You sighed as you looked over the men in the room one more time.

If you had to pair them up, then it would have to… Well, it would have to be by who got along with who, right? Although you definitely couldn’t put Jimin or Taehyung together- you weren’t sure they’d actually get anything done, no matter how Taehyung seemed to actually put in effort, and how Jimin apologized before. No, you had to break them up- but with who? You racked your brain for an answer- recollections of the many times Jungkook and Jimin almost got into a fight flitting in your mind, as well as the way Seokjin seemed to hold everyone at an arms’ length. Then again, so did everyone else to each other, now that you think about it. Jungkook was the exception- after the events in Rivermouth, he seemed to open up a bit more, becoming closer with both Yoongi and Seokjin. Still…

“Namjoon and Jungkook,” you slowly started. Namjoon’s shoulders slumped minisculely, and Jungkook looked disappointed for a moment- but then the next moment they seemed the same again, making you wonder if you had just been seeing things for a moment. Ah well.

“Seokjin and Taehyung,” you continued. Now your decision was met with raised eyebrows- mainly from both Jimin and Taehyung.

“Lastly, Yoongi and Jimin.”

Yoongi only held your gaze for a moment, as if to ask you if you were sure- then he looked away, catching Jimin’s eyes, who frowned, though it soon changed into a smile.

“I have every faith in our leader’s words,” he almost purred. “If she says we’re to do this together, then together we will do this task.”

You had to smother the laughter that built in you at the momentary twitch of the eyebrow you noticed from Yoongi, though he curtly nodded afterwards all the same.

“That said,” you added, “If anyone, um, if anyone has anything they want to say or add, about the teams, we’ll, um, we can discuss it.” You inwardly cheered yourself at how you managed to stop yourself from turning your sentence into a question.

A moment of silence fell in the room as each person looked at the others. Still, it seemed that they’d accepted your suggestions. You looked at Taehyung last, as you hadn’t heard anything from him as you mentioned the pairings, but he only looked nonchalant.

“You won’t hear a word from me,” Taehyung remarked, before a small smile alighted his lips. “Though I hope you don’t regret it,” he snickered. You scrunched up your nose at him before rolling your eyes.

“You’ll be with Hoseok, then.”

You looked at Seokjin, surprised at his sudden words- for a moment you’d forgotten about Hoseok, who remained quiet all throughout the meeting. Meeting Hoseok’s eyes, you flushed, embarrassed at how you were reminded of his presence only because of Seokjin.

“Um, yes. Those are the teams,” you cleared your throat.

Your eyes darted over to Yoongi- who, to your relief read the plea for help as it was and continued the meeting. “Now, as for which pairs will be covering which parts of the city…”

»»————-　♔　————-««

And that was that. Surprisingly enough, as much trouble as there had been deciding which ones would pair up with which to search the city, the rest of the meeting turned out well- Seokjin and Yoongi leading it, planning out what to do.

… Okay, you had to admit, there was a moment after the meeting, when you came down for your nightly talk sessions with Yoongi and Jungkook, that you found yourself faced with a sudden, unexpected little problem.

When you stepped into the kitchen, it was to the usual sight. Tea on the table (brewed by Yoongi, of course), snacks (also prepared by Yoongi, who knew he was such a housewife? You didn’t even think it possible, the image of gentle, domestic Yoongi cooking so far from what you first saw him as, but here you were), an amused Yoongi- you paused, why was he amused? Did something happen?

Then you looked at your other companion and had a double take.

Jungkook sat on the other side of the table from where Yoongi was, body hunched and head slightly turned away from you- and it didn’t take you more than two steps closer to see the frown that practically defined his current mood.

You warily stepped around him, choosing to gingerly take a seat beside Yoongi instead, confused. If you knew why Jungkook was sporting a scowl you might have made some attempt to talk to him, but as it was, you didn’t have a single clue why. If you talked to him now- you had a feeling you’d do more harm than good. Instead, you looked over at Yoongi, who looked a step away from snickering. You could see the smirk that lingered on his face, though he covered it behind the cup of tea he held.

‘What happened,’ you mouthed to him. He raised an eyebrow at you, as if to say ‘you don’t know?’. You narrowed your eyes at him, taking a quick look at Jungkook who seemed fully immersed into the glaring contest he was holding with his tea, before turning back to Yoongi.

‘Would I be asking if I did?’

“Neither of you are subtle at all,” Jungkook finally broke the silence in the kitchen with a grumble, gaze finally leaving his tea, but still, to your confusion, not to you. “I’ll have you know I’m neither blind nor deaf.”

“Well,” you started. “Um, you seemed a little, um, preoccupied?” You fidgeted with your hands, worry and concern bubbling over. “Jungkook, um- I mean, you don’t have to say anything, if you don’t want to, I mean, but just- are you okay?”

“... Don’t concern yourself over me,” he muttered. “This is nothing.”

You paused, feeling a trickle of apprehension flow through you. “But... um. You… seem like you’re in a bad mood.”

“... You said we’d tour around the next town we stopped at, he’s probably upset over that.” Yoongi generously offered, something close to laughter evident in his voice. As if on cue, Jungkook scoffed loudly.

“I’m not upset.”

“Oh.” 

You immediately had to hide the grin on your face with your hands, then, or even show a hint that you were feeling anything close to amusement, but eventually the amusement faded and you felt bad that he was, well, disappointed.

“I… I chose those teams for a reason,” you explained, hoping that it’d lessen his frustration. “I-I mean, if I had my way, I’d want to be with you, you know,” you admitted. “But, um, I made the decision based on who could work with each other best while, um, while taking the others into account. So… please, I mean, I’m sorry… I didn’t want to make you feel like I’d forgotten about it or something.”

You looked down, your hands fidgeting with each other, awaiting his response- 

- and to your surprise, Jungkook only deflated, the scowl turning into a pout. Glaring eyes became downcast,  fingers loosening from the tight grip they had on the cup. For a moment or two he seemed to be torn, before he released a long sigh.

When he spoke, it was still with the pout on his face and you had to physically stop yourself from cooing, finding him and his reaction way. Too. Adorable. “No, I understand. If it happened that you and I were on the same team I would be too tempted to do nothing but what I wanted. Which, admittedly, has nothing to do with the quest.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it though. I was looking forward to going around the city with you,” he mumbled, before pausing, a flush covering his face. “Both. You b-both.”

You ducked your head, feeling a wave of warmth wash over you at his words. Still, it was hard to keep the red out of your cheeks, the giddy smile on your face too wide. 

The shit-eating grin on Yoongi’s face was what made you finally compose yourself though, already dreading the teasing comments you’d certainly be hearing in the future.

“Really? But, I mean, it’s not like we’ll be separated the whole time,” you finally said, your voice light and giggly. “I’ll still see you in the evenings.”

“I know,” he- did Jungkook just roll his eyes at you? You had to stifle your laughter then. “I told you, this is nothing. I’ll get over it.”

With that said, he turned away, but not before you could spot the pout that, if possible, became bigger.. 

“... maybe we can have a few hours the day we leave to have a little walk around?” You suggested, smile faltering afterwards as you corrected yourself. “The three of us, of course. I’d, um, I’d love to do that with you guys.”

You heard Yoongi let out a small half-laughter at your words- you were so, so tempted to kick him then. As it was, you glared at him instead. 

Still, you could hear him snicker as he nodded his head, adding, “Of course, you could also take notes of places you really want to visit together along the way.”

“Yeah,” you mumbled- and this time it was you who had to avert their gaze as he looked back at you two. “So, I-I mean. Um- we can spare some time, m-maybe after the day’s search? And- well, I-I guess not,” you amended your words, wincing at your habit of speaking before you thought about it, descending into a rambling mess now, not noticing Jungkook’s brooding turning into something softer. “Well, I was going to say that we could walk around and take a look at s-some of the shops, but, I mean, on second thought if it’s night time they’re probably gonna be closed and we need to have energy so if we spend most of it wandering around we-”

A huff of laughter, and then- you stilled as fingers gently tucked a loose hair back, Jungkook’s focus on you then making your thoughts just stop.

“Um-” you choked out. “I-I-I-w-what?”

“I told you, I’d get over it. I’m not a child.”

“But if you insist, I wouldn’t be declining. Though…  you should wear the hairpin more often,” he finally said, a hint of smugness visible in his eyes. “If you’re only walking around, it wouldn’t be hard to keep it from falling, now would it?”

“I-” you stammered, “I m-mean, I, I guess so.”

He grinned. “Then, as a symbol of our friendship, and as a reminder of your words,” he grinned. “Tomorrow, before you head out with Hoseok, wear it- please,” he added at the end, though it didn’t erase the self-satisfied look on his face.

“Uh.”

All traces of whatever bad mood he’d been in before was absent then as he finally leaned back, and, with a hum, drained his cup dry of tea in a single swoop.

“Well, I hate to admit it, but I’m feeling quite tired,” he cheerfully announced. “I’m going to retire to my bed now- goodnight, Y/N, Yoongi.”

Even as he left, you could only gaze after him, mouth still slight open at his sudden actions.

What even…

It was only when Yoongi finally burst into loud chuckles that you were released out of your stupor.

“Pfft!”

“... Yoongi!” You cried out, red covering your whole face as you gave in and finally smacked him on the shoulder. “Stop laughing!”

“‘Stop laughing’, she says,” he cracked up even further. “Did any of you even notice at all- no, of course not,” he grinned, before it turned into a smirk. “But you know, if you’d seen-"

“I’m not listening,” you half-yelled half-shrieked, letting your head fall to the table as you covered your ears and shut your eyes. “La la la la la, I’m not listening!”

You stubbornly kept it up, determined to wait it out and spare yourself the teasing- although you couldn’t deny, that, well, a part of you was enjoying this. In some way. As much as you were embarrassed, in the moment, it felt like- well. It felt like the two of you were like closer friends, ones you’d see in so many places, teasing each other even if it made the other person angry beyond hell.

… although this wasn’t quite a normal friendship based on normal things.

And that was that.

Still, even with all the preparations, there was still a part of you that worried whether you would succeed in finding the elusive journal. The city was huge, after all, and a bustling port- it wasn’t hard to think that maybe the book had already been taken. Then again, Namjoon said he was certain, and considering his track record, you took him at his word.

So even as the fourth day rolled in, you decided to keep your spirits up.

In a way, you had to admit that there was something nice about going around the city with Hoseok. Make no mistake, the people at Crossroads, upon learning about your status treated you the same way the villagers at Rivermouth did- with reverence and awe. Wherever you went, you could feel eyes trailing after your every move- something that, while it used to unnerve you greatly, faded a little with every day that you had to endure it. At least, to the point where you could dismiss it as part of the background, somewhat. It helped that there were so many travellers and visitors in the city, who were there only for a short time and thus didn’t know who you were, ironically granting you more peace of mind in a crowd than there was without.

It was the first time since you arrived that you were able to talk to Hoseok one on one, too. That you were able to study him.

Hoseok was… an enigma, in a different way from the others. Sweet, polite and kind- but then you’d notice the moment someone got too close to him, he would back away and reject their touch, one particular time even flinching away when someone hugged him, mistaking him for someone else. It reminded you of the time you met him, though now you knew better.

Spending time with him was preferable compared to everyone but Yoongi and Jungkook.

“Y/N, do you- uh, do you mind if we try that today?”

You looked over his shoulder at the stall he was pointing at, noting the delicious smell of food that wafted from it. Another thing that helped you relax around him- you soon found out that Hoseok, much like Jungkook, held a very short history of interaction with humans. On your second day, after a few cautious suggestions from you, you both decided to satiate your curiosities and take your time examining each part of the city as you went from library to library- which included sampling each of the dishes and snacks you would pass by.

You wouldn’t admit it so easily out loud, but… Hoseok had a certain pull that you couldn’t help but get dragged into. At first, the atmosphere between the two of you was tense, all the way; he put nearly a few feet of distance at most, a foot at least between the two of you at all times, he remained quiet unless spoken to, and even then his words were short. It was almost as if you were with a ghost, but… 

“Hoseok!” You stood firm in your ground then, although the way your heart beat ever so fast, so nervously, easily gave you away. “Can you listen to me for a moment?”

“Uhm.” If the wide eyed stare wasn’t enough, the way he quickly averted his eyes gave away how close he was to bolting. At this point, even you could tell that he was avoiding you- in a weird, sort of way. Actually, it was probably easier for you to notice that he was avoiding you, because the subtle way he’d leave the area whenever you arrived, staying as quiet as possible unless spoken to, his words short and faint, well, you had firsthand experience with all of that.

“I just wanted to tell you something, please,” you lowered your voice, aiming for something soft and easy on the ears. To your endless relief then, he slowly, hesitantly, but all the same he nodded his head.

“Hoseok… do you, um,” you paused for a moment, trying to gather the courage. “It’s okay to, um, to talk to me? I mean-” you flushed. “I just, did I do anything to make you feel uncomfortable? We’re working together on this quest, and, just, um, I don’t want you to feel like you have to- um, like you have to keep so far away from me at all times.”

“I also… I mean, I also want to hear about what you think,” you mumbled out the last parts of your small speech, gaze trained on the ground as you nervously awaited his reply. Then you cringed. “No, sorry, um, you don’t have to if you don’t want to and I’m sorry for being pushy-”

“No!” Your head snapped up in surprise as you met his panicked eyes, and the two of you stared at each other, both shocked and nervous.

“Are you sure-”

“I should be-”

The two of you stopped again as you spoke at the same time, a deeper flush covering both of your cheeks. Though, you couldn’t help but giggle a little at the situation. Hoseok’s shoulders slumped forward, and you gave him a sympathetic smile.

“I...I’ll try,” you eventually heard him mumble. You grinned at him; Hoseok averted his gaze yet again, but you could still see the small tug at his lips.

“That’s all I ask for.”

True to his word, you had an easier time communicating with Hoseok then. What was a few feet of distance eventually reduced to walking side by side, and when you talked you didn’t seem like someone just talking to herself like a crazy person- well. You hoped you didn’t.

It always helped that Hoseok had a nice voice that you liked hearing.

“Sure,” you smiled. “I’ll just wait here, then.”

Currently the two of you had just about explored most parts of the city, at least the part assigned to the two of you. While you weren’t sure, you hoped at least that one pair would make progress in the search- but until then, you had to keep looking.

“Where do we go now, though…” You muttered to yourself as you examined the map in your hands.

“Miss Y/N?”

You glanced up at the voice. A familiar face greeted your eyes- your smile became a little strained as you recognized the person speaking to you. “Hello. You’re- uh, the one from the inn a few days ago, right? Abby?”

He chuckled at you. “‘Abby’... That’s really what they told you, huh? Then again, it is a nickname of mine… yes, I am. Glad to know I’m not that forgettable.”

“I don’t think I could forget someone who spilled soup on me... no offense meant, though,” you mumbled, cheeks reddening at the last part. He only laughed in response. 

“Yes, well, I can get wild when drunk… I apologize for that. Enough about me, though. I didn’t expect to see you again.”

“We’re-” You paused, thinking over your words. “We’re staying here for a while. Crossroads is pretty famous. There’s a lot to see and visit.”

He seemed pleased at that, a grin appearing on his face. “It is, isn’t it? Not only is it a central focus of trade, it has a long history too,” he boasted. “It’s one of the best cities in the kingdom.”

You smiled a little more genuinely at the sparkle in his eyes as he talked about the city.

“Which places have you already visited? Wait- actually, where’s your guide? I want to ask him if there are spots you haven’t visited yet,” he suddenly said.

Guides? … You hadn’t seen any, and you didn’t think there would be any…

“We’re just- um, we’re just actually walking around by ourselves,” you admitted. “I mean, if we had a guide, we’d probably have to set like- a time limit for every place, right? I like to, um, take my time.”

“You like to immerse in the city?” You hesitantly nodded. “You’ll miss out on a lot if you go just by yourselves, though…”

“Oh, I know! Maybe I can help. Why don’t I be your guide?” He suggested, grinning at you. “I never did get to formally ask for your forgiveness, for the other night.”

You fell silent.. 

“Ah, sorry,” he said, seeing your face turn somewhat wary. “Too sudden?”

You flushed. “Oh no, just…”

While the quest wasn’t really a secret, the finer details of it was. You weren’t sure if it was okay to bring in a stranger’s help.

“I’m- um, I’m not sure right now... we kind of already have plans for today,” you cautiously answered. It was best to discuss this first with Yoongi and the others, right? “How about tomorrow?”

He frowned, disappointment evident on his face. “I guess… Though, I’m supposed to leave in two days for work….”

“Oh,” you mumbled.

“Tomorrow, right? Consider it, okay? I could be a big help,” he offered again. “I’m a native to this city, after all. Born and raised here.”

You perked up at his words- though still unsure. Yoongi’s words resounded in your mind- ‘Be wary of everyone, you aren’t familiar much with anything here and it’s easy to trick you.’

“... Are you- um, are you familiar with Alexander?” You eventually asked, deciding on a middle ground- 

“Alexander, the hero? Of course! I know more about him than anyone here,” he jovially grinned. You released a sigh of relief at that. It wasn’t like any of you had been making progress on your own so far, so…

“Um- If it’s alright, can you tell us about him, then? Just for a while.”

“Sure- oh wait, I’ll just finish up my purchase. Be back in a bit.” And with that he delved back into the crowd, though you could see his back enter a shop nearby.

You pocketed the map in your hands, sighing. That… while you were hopeful at the sign of help, you were still unsure- you also felt it could have gone better too.

The smell of noodles under your nose brought your focus back- you looked down, then to the side- meeting Hoseok’s worried gaze. You blinked- and then reacted.

“Uh- sorry, Hoseok,” you flushed. “How long have you been standing there?”

“I just arrived a few seconds ago,” he reassured you, before peering up at you with an odd look in his eyes. “That said… who were you talking to just now?”

“Oh,” you tensed up. “That- someone I bumped into at the pub when we first arrived. It- um, it turns out that he knows a lot about the city, including, um, Alexander, and we weren’t making progress, so…” You faltered.”I mean, he offered to help as an apology? And I thought, again, it’s not like we’ve made much progress so far- not that we haven’t just been walking around, and it’s not like I just took his offer, just talking for a bit- I mean, we’ve covered a lot of the city by now and I’m having fun too, although I know this isn’t really for fun but you know what I mean and oh god I’m so sorry I’m just rambling right now.”

You fell silent, feeling the urge to cover your face with your hands, your face red- though unable to do so as you were holding food. You didn’t dare look up- only giving Hoseok a tentative glance when he hesitantly patted you on the back.

“That’s good news then, right? I mean, if he has information about the man that we don’t, it should help us.”

“That- yeah.” You hardly dared to react too much in fear that he would pull his hands away. For all that he was a dragon and they were assumed to be monstrously strong, Hoseok was gentle as he comforted you. In fact, his touch was light on your back- barely even touching you.

The two of you stayed like that for a few moments, until you saw the man come back, a noticeable bulge in his bag that wasn’t there before. He raised an eyebrow at the two of you- Hoseok withdrew his hands, his face reddening as much as yours did.

“Companion of yours?” He asked as he drew near.

“Um- yeah.” You dithered introducing Hoseok him- should you? It would be impolite, right? But for some reason, you could tell that Hoseok was wary of him. Still, before you could speak up again, Hoseok coughed, nodding at the man, a small, polite smile on his face. 

“Please, just call me Hoseok.” 

»»————-　♔　————-««

“Abby?” Namjoon repeated your words later that night, a slight frown appearing on his face. You looked up at him, a touch nervous as your hands fidgeted with the food on your plate.

“Um- yeah. Remember, the guy I bumped into our first night here? Red hair, silver badge with angel wings on his chest? We met him again earlier, and he said he had information about Alexander…” You trailed off near the end as Namjoon’s eyebrows remained furrowed- and you wondered what he was thinking about. 

“Are you- um, I didn’t say anything about the quest, if that’s what you were worried about,” you offered. “I just told him we were travellers who got interested in Alexander and his journals, since he’s someone famous in this city.”

“Oh- no, I mean,” Namjoon hesitated. “It- it’s nothing.”

“... It is alright, isn’t it?” You looked up, meeting Yoongi’s eyes.

Dinner at Crossroads for the time consisted of only you, Namjoon, Seokjin, Yoongi and Jungkook- you all agreed that you had to meet up nightly to discuss the efforts of the search, if only to conserve efforts. Still, it didn’t take much for you to notice how uncomfortable Seokjin and Yoongi were with the rowdy crowds ever present in the pub.

Currently you retold to them your encounter with Abby. It seemed to be a bit of a saving grace, really, as no one had had any luck so far. 

Seokjin and Taehyung had stuck to the plan quite neatly- you were amused to confirm that even Taehyung bent under Seokjin’s cold gaze, although from what you could tell he remained playful all the way. They followed and checked every place assigned to them in an orderly manner. Seokjin admitted in a quiet voice that Taehyung charmed the librarians and shop owners into helping them, but that they had no progress. No one had even heard of a journal in Alexander’s name, nor had they seen any book that matched its description.

The less said about Jimin and Yoongi, the better. Yoongi and Seokjin were the only ones that could Jimin in check so far, you noticed, so you put Yoongi and him together- but, hearing about their experiences, you realized that in the same line of thinking you set Yoongi up to be his glorified babysitter.

Namjoon and Jungkook, lastly seemed to be like you and Hoseok- simultaneously touring around while checking the appointed locations to them. Jungkook seemed to take a shine to Namjoon too, excitedly asking him about anything that he didn’t understand. Namjoon in turn seemed to take his questions in stride as he answered them as best as he could. 

Honestly, a part of you felt more than happy seeing Jungkook branch out, gaining a friend… or something like that in Namjoon. Even in your nightly chats together, all he could speak about was the little things he’d learnt about, and what he wanted to share with you. Although you yourself couldn’t stand to be in Namjoon’s presence because of the- well. You were at least happy for him. Them.

Still, they didn’t have any information either.

“If you’re sure of what you saw, then it should be,” Yoongi spoke up. When you looked at him with confusion, he explained. “A badge with angel wings means they’re part of the Silver Vanguard.”

“Silver Vanguard?” 

“It refers to an elite unit in La Salutem.” This time, you were surprised to hear Seokjin’s voice. When you looked at him, though, he seemed to be focused on his food, even as he spoke. “They only allow warriors who have a long history of merits to join. And if the person that you met really is a part of it, then... he might be trustworthy,” he finally said. “Still, remain on guard.”

“Wow, Y/N, way to go!” Jungkook grinned. “That’s more progress than any of us have done so far.”

“So it’s alright then, right?” You asked once more. Yoongi nodded. Jungkook bumped your shoulder in support- and even Seokjin seemed to quietly give his approval.

None of you quite noticed the lingering frown on Namjoon’s face.

»»————-　♔　————-««

The sun, painted in red and orange currently made a brilliant backdrop from where you were. Your feet hurt- but at least you were sitting down at the moment. The three of you were now at the park near the Fiendfyre ruins, after a day of touring with Abbadon (you had to ask him his name, you couldn’t keep calling him Abby after all no matter how he didn’t seem to mind it) as he immersed both you and Hoseok in the city’s history.

“You know a lot about the war, and the guild,” Hoseok quietly commented once, after Abbadon went into a rant about how it affected the trade in the city. Abbadon perked up at his words.

“So you speak!” He joked, before assuming a serious expression. “To answer your question, I’m a survivor of the war. There was an attack- my family didn’t survive, but... I was saved by La Salutem. They raised me.”

“You were?” He asked, his taut shoulders relaxing by a fraction, something you noted with relief.

You weren’t quite blind to the tension that existed between the two. For some reason, both were a touch, well, wary, about the other person, although it was mostly Hoseok. Whenever Abbadon wasn’t looking, from your position in the back you could see Hoseok give the other man glances, and then frown, something that happened more often as the day continued. With Abbadon’s answer now, though, he seemed to let go of some of his suspicions.

“Yeah. Trained me, too. And I got offered a place in their divisions right after the war ended,” Abbadon grinned.

“You must have done a lot of missions then,” you murmured. “Looking at your badge,” you explained. Abbadon chuckled. 

“So you’re looking for his journal?” Abbadon asked, a curious look on his face. “Huh. I didn’t think that was even real.”

“Yeah, well…” You flushed. “He seems like a really interesting guy, so.”

“True, true,” he agreed, before sighing. “Sorry I wasn’t much help in the end.”

“Oh, please!” You waved your hand, not wanting him to feel bad. “It’s not like our research was anything serious- besides, um, what matters is that we had a lot of fun today, right?”

For a moment your gaze flitted over to Hoseok who had been approached by a few children. From where you were, you could see him try to politely reject the kids- the keyword being try. They didn’t exactly give him the chance to make good on his answer as they pulled him to play.

Not that Hoseok seemed to mind it too much anyway, considering the smile on his face.

“If you’re curious about Alexander and his relics, then you should visit the castle ruins,” Abbadon told the two of you. “It’s a hidden place, known only to the city residents- a well-kept secret of ours.”

“A secret?” You echoed. “Why?”

“Why not?” He countered, before grinning. “Well, the reason is that there are bad memories attached to the place, so few people ever come there. Not to mention it’s falling apart, too, so it’s dangerous. Those that do are mostly kids curious about the ‘forbidden area’.”

“Fiendfyre, the castle of the late kings, and Blackburn, where the dragon’s fortress used to be.”

“Ah yes, he seems to be having a lot of fun, isn’t he?” Abbadon chuckled. “Still, they should be careful though, the ruins here are-”

“No!”

You suddenly gasped- some of the children playing close to you two had wandered too close to the ruins, tagging and pushing each other, when one of them tripped on the wall- causing a part of it to collapse. It fell straight down, and you could feel your heart beat in a frenzy-

But then dust cleared and there stood Hoseok, an arm propping up the huge rock as he shielded the children under him.

You released a shaky sigh of breath.

“Oh god, that was close,” you muttered, your heart still beating fast, before you turned to your companion. “Did you-”

He was staring straight at Hoseok, with an unreadable look in his eyes.

“Abbadon?” You hesitantly asked. 

“... I knew it. He’s a dragon, isn’t he? And that face… the son of the late king?” He finally said after a long while, and while his sentence ended in a question, the tone of his voice was a statement. You froze, and then you were about to refute his claim-

“Oh, don’t worry,” Abbadon smiled at you. “I’m not the type to talk or gossip with other people.”

You remained quiet, your nerves still strung high. Abbadon chuckled uneasily, a sheepish smile appearing on his lips.

“I won’t! I swear on my badge,” he promised you, a lighthearted air around him now. “That said, you should be careful though. Dragons- people around here have a complicated view of them, you know? Especially considering his status.”

“... I do,” you hesitantly replied. “I’m just surprised you easily realized it.”

He chortled. “Yes, well, in my job it’s an imperative to assess our surroundings, to know if we encounter an enemy or a friend. I just had this feeling when we met and I saw him- the super strength just confirmed it. Still, it’s something special, isn’t it?”

Your gaze returned to Hoseok’s figure, the bright smile contrasting with the red flush on his face as the two children and their mother thanked him profusely. 

True, you’d only recently got to know him better- only recently had you been able to take a look past the first set of walls he’d built around him, but even with the little that you’d seen so far...

“...Yeah, it is,” you smiled warmly. “He’s someone special.”

“Looks like it’ll be a while before they’re done playing, though,” Abbadon commented, frowning a little. “We still have one more memorial of Alexander’s that might help you, if you wanna take a look.”

“Though it’s getting dark soon…”

You hesitated, your eyes darting between Hoseok, the loud laughter of the children, then the darkening sky…

… It was fine, right? Abbadon had proven to be trustworthy, so far. It was the last option you could have at the moment- and tomorrow he’d be gone, while you and the others would have to stay, until at least you could get another clue about what to do next.

“... Okay,” you agreed, smiling at him. “Lead the way, please”

“Gladly,” he smiled. “It’ll just take a minute, I promise.”

You waved to Hoseok- but he remained busy, and you wondered if he’d even see you, the children asking him to play with them- you hurried your footsteps when you noticed your guide almost disappearing from view.

“W-Wait up!” You called, running after him- Abbadon’s figure almost disappearing amongst the trees. You frowned as he consistently remained just on the edge of your sight. What…?

When you came to, you realized that you were in a small clearing. “... Abbadon? Hello?” Your heart beat fast in your chest- a premonition, but then-

Your vision went black.

»»————-　♔　————-««

You woke up to coldness, clasped tightly around your limbs- the chill bitingly spreading across your limbs. When your eyes opened, for a few moments you could only groan- your memories and thoughts too jumbled to make sense of. Still, as you slowly came to, you realized one thing-

You were bound and chained to a wall.

As soon as the realization hit you, you instinctively jerked in horror and panic, the fear within you rising as the metal chains harshly kept you captive. You looked around again in panic- feeling the darkness seemingly close in on you, making you feel even more terrified-

“Y/N!”

You stilled, tears in your eyes. “... Hoseok?”

When you looked across you again, you finally made out the outline of Hoseok’s figure- and then you gasped.

If you thought your current situation was bad enough, Hoseok’s was way worse. Chains adorned almost every part of his body- from his feet, to his neck- even some sort of helmet cuff wrapped around his head. His hands and feet were similarly bound to his back, in a way that prevented him from moving at all, and you had no doubt that it was hard for him to even breathe, with how tight they were cuffed on him.

But it was the metal covering his face that was the worst of it.

“What…? Why are you chained up…?”

He smiled bitterly- or, at least you think he did. “To keep me from transforming. I think... “ For a moment he faltered, looking away, but then he continued. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I suspected it, but I wasn’t sure, and now you’re in danger.”

“‘All your fault’?” You repeated, confused and worried. “What do you- what does that mean?”

“It means that he’s aware of his sin.”

You fully flinched at the sudden voice that echoed through the walls of (what you were now sure to be) the dungeon. You glanced to the side, where the voice came from- freezing in surprise as the person revealed themselves.

“Abbadon?” You gaped, your mind scrambling to keep up. “You- why?”

The familiar figure of who you thought had been a friend and a guide- Abbadon looked at you with a slight smile on his face. “Hello, missy.”

“I-I thought- what’s going on,” you faltered. “Why are you doing this?”

“You don’t know?” He mused, coming closer to you. You flinched back when his hand drew close, a shiver running through you when he patted you on the head.

When you failed to answer, he let his hand fall away- staring at you.

“... You’re a part of La Salutem, aren’t you?” You eventually said. “This isn’t what the guild stands for, I’m sure.”

“Oh, you thought I was part of that stuffy old guild?” Abbadon giggled- your blood ran cold at the insinuations in his words. “Take a closer look, missy. These aren’t angel wings- these are dragon bones.”

“I- dragon bones?” You choked out. “What…”

“... You really are confusing, you know?” He eventually shook his head idly, intrigue on his face. “Maybe I should start with you first, cut you open, see how you can remain so deceptively naive.”

Hoseok suddenly growled- you stared at him in wide-eyed surprise, surprised to see this new side of him. “Let her go. She doesn’t know anything about it,” he snapped.

Abbadon only laughed. “Oh, I knew it! I knew there was something wrong- if she knew, she definitely wouldn’t be so lenient on you for even existing,” he chortled. You shivered at the tone of his voice- although you felt the beginnings of rage bubble up in you at his words.

“What do you mean by that?” 

“Lying before us in chains, is Prince Hoseok of the dragons,” he announced, a gleeful little smile on his face.

“I already knew who he was when I met him,” you frowned, still confused. He didn’t seem like he had a problem back then, so what…? “Not that any of it made me wary of him.”

“But you don’t know exactly why dragons are the vilest creatures, do you? There’s a reason they stay in their dirty little hovels,” Abbadon smiles, a nasty little thing that told you for some reason he believed he had information that would make you change your view. “Then again, it’s where they belong after all.”

“Really,” you narrowed your eyes at him. “And that reason’s what?”

“You’re evidently knowledgeable about the war. But nobody told you about the massacre, did they?”

“There was no massa-”

“Yes, there was. The massacre.” Abbadon’s voice was soft, yet deadly- a far away look in his eyes. “Near the war, the dragons were losing. As they should have been. After pillaging and conquering for so long, every rule of tyranny must come to an end. Good always triumphs evil, you see?”

“Mages and humans, together, on the battlefield, saving lives, not to mention elves and fae… I only watched memories of it, but, god, it must have been a sight to witness,” he sighed wistfully. “The rest of the other races stayed neutral or sold themselves out like whores- selfish cowards.”

“But it wasn’t enough, you know?” He eventually said, sighing as he walked over to Hoseok, looking down at him with sheer hatred in his eyes. He harshly struck him with the heel of his boot- smiling when Hoseok let out a muffled cry of pain. “Dragons are vile,” thwack! “selfish,” thwack! “greedy,” thwack! “filthy beasts.”

By the end of it Hoseok lied on the floor, unable to even speak as he curled in pain.

“Around their empire, the dragons had so many cities under them- a few of them composed from other races, but most of them human,” he said, still smiling, even as the resentment remained in his eyes. The look on his face kept you quiet- frozen in fear.

“Three days. Three days was all it would have taken to storm their dirty little hole,” he spat. “But the dragons, heartless as they were, loathed the thought of anyone taking away what they considered ‘theirs’.”

“So they burned down every city.”

Only the sound of breathing remained unnaturally loud- from who, you wondered. Was it you? It didn’t feel like it- you didn’t feel like you were breathing.

“The ruler of the dragons decided if they couldn’t have their empires then no one could have them,” Abbadon continued, every word smooth and hypnotizing even as he hissed them out. “Three days, and every city was burned. The amount of lives lost then- it was catastrophic. Not to mention how they must have felt. Three days, and dragons filled the sky, flames everywhere and bloodshed covering every area. Though they were all eventually eventually executed, it still doesn’t come close to repaying what they did.”

You didn’t notice Hoseok choke out a cry at his words, tears forming in his eyes. Abbadon only continued, eyes dull with pain and yet sharp with recollection at the same time.

“My family was one of those trapped, you know. I was only saved because I had to hunt animals then- I didn’t even find their remains, days after. All that remained was ashes all around.”

“The guild took me in, tried to give me a new life, but I said no. I only knew how to hunt animals- and even now, I still do my job. After all, don’t I have one in chains right now!?” He suddenly laughed, wild hatred present. “And to think! That I have the previous King’s son!”

“Why, I have the glory of putting an end to this evil bloodline,” he giggled. You wanted to throw up.

He turned around- you couldn’t quite keep yourself from biting your lip when he drew close.

“Knowing all that, doesn’t it make you regret ever standing up for it?” He sighed again.

“... So?” You eventually rasped out. “What does that have to do with Hoseok?”

He frowned. You continued, gritting your teeth.

“What does that have to do with him? So what if he’s that King’s son? That doesn’t mean that Hoseok is just like him!”

“Of course it does!” He spat at you, before calming down again. “No, no, I see now. You’ve spent too much time with it. It corrupted you. No matter, no matter… I’m not the type of person to kill someone innocent and manipulated by dragons to boot. I’ll let you go, on one condition,” he says, the smile remaining on his face. “I want you to kill it.”

“... What?” You stared at him in horrified disbelief. Still, he keeped smiling- manic, wild.

“If you won’t kill it, then I will. I’ll make sure to dispose of you after too,” he nonchalantly added, before visibly rethinking over his words. “Actually, nevermind. I think it’d be more fun to torture it.”

You felt bile rise up in your throat.

“If you’re really friends with this beast,” he hummed cheerfully, his tone becoming twisted as he gestured to Hoseok dramatically, “well, won’t you put it out of future misery then? I’ll even spare you, for finally coming to your senses.” He grinned. “Or- you could try to escape. But trust me, you’ll regret not accepting my deal.”

“Like hell I-!”

“Y/N,” Hoseok’s whimper was both a warning and a plea. You bit the inside of your cheek angrily- glaring instead at Abbadon who only gleefully smiled at your expression. 

When you saw his smile, you snapped.

“You sick bastard, I hope you rot in hell, because that’s where murderers like you belong!”

“Y/N!”

You trembled from the force of the blow- a bright, red mark showing on your cheek as Abbadon’s smile turned dark. Behind him, Hoseok’s growl was loud, fury present in the deep rumble on his voice.

“Cheeky little thing,” Abbadon sighed, swiftly moving away from you as you struggled in your chains to claw him up. “Really. Never would’ve thought you to be this rude too, when we met. No matter, I’m not that petty.”

Backing up, he aimed a blow at your stomach, and then at your head- you cried out in pain again, this time too weak to even fight back. Your sense dulled- you could barely make out anything. For a moment, all you could hear and feel was the thud of your heartbeat-

Moments later, when you felt a rush of clarity in your brain, you were shivering on the floor, weak, injured- but unshackled.

In front of you was a sharp knife.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes, Missy. If your dragon isn’t dead by then, you can watch me as I punish it.” Abbadon’s voice echoed through the hallway. “Or you could join me, if you finally see the light.”

Thud

Thud

Thud

For a few moments you could only lie there in pain, groans leaving you, your heartbeat the only thing your mind could hold onto.

It was- hard to think. Hard to- feel. Brief flashes of pain flared up in your body, and you felt as if you would throw up- 

But then your blurry eyes met Hoseok’s and the situation sunk in.

Why were you lying down? 

You had to- you had to get up. 

You had to get up- do something-

Your stomach hurt so much- and your head, god, your vision was still shaky, your hearing faint. Hoseok’s words barely registered in your brain. You didn’t even understand what he was saying. 

But, you slowly thought, your legs weren’t injured. Neither were your arms.

You took a deep breath- whimpering in pain as you slowly got to your knees- and then to your feet.

Across you, Hoseok remained silent, still. No, no, no… that was bad. That was bad, right? Hoseok couldn’t- he had to keep going.

You took a step forward, your steps shaky- but still you continued. Think. Think. You had to get him out the chains somehow- find a way to free him, so you could escape together.

You forced yourself to go forward, your legs trembling as you reached him.

From where you were, you could see Hoseok’s eyes flutter open weakly. Unfocused- before they fell on you. Good, that was good, he was still conscious, you two still had hope. Now back to your main problem.

“... elf.”

You stared at the chains, still thinking. How, how how how? How were you going to get it off him?

“Y/N,” Hoseok whispered your name. You examined the chains- thick, metal, it was solid and obviously wouldn’t easily melt or break. Okay. Okay, so you had to look for another way.

“Y/N!” Hoseok’s yell was more of a groan- one that immediately took a toll on him as he coughed and hacked after. You immediately flinched, tearing up, even as your hands hovering uselessly above him as you soothed circles on his back.

“Sorry! Sorry- I’ll get you out, don’t worry, just…” You trailed off, frustrated with yourself. Hoseok caught one of your hands as you grabbed one of the chains again.

“Y/N, just go without me. Save yourself.”

The chain in your hand fell to the ground.

“Don’t say that,” you said, your voice calm, even as your hands quivered. “That’s not a good joke.”

“I-It’s not a joke.” Hoseok raised a hand to wipe away the tears forming in your eyes- or, at least he wanted to. Instead the bite of the metal around his arms kept him grounded. “Between the two of us, you’re much more needed. You should escape while you have the chance.”

You dryly laughed, the tears forming faster now. 

“What if I don’t want to?” 

“Think about the quest, Y/N. Give up on me.”

“And I told you,” you seethed. “I won’t. So stop asking. Actually, shouldn’t we talk about what he said? Why didn’t you defend yourself?” You snapped, before deflating. “Is… is what he said before the reason why you wouldn’t let anyone get close to you in any way?”

The two of you lay there for a moment then- you, awaiting his response, even as you stubbornly continued your task to free him and Hoseok stubbornly avoided your gaze. It was only when you took his hands in your own, inspecting the chains around his wrists that you realized he was shaking.

"... I'm just scared," he finally whispered. "I didn’t want you to get close to me. I didn’t want to get your hopes up for nothing. Because it’s instinct for us to shift, I feel like if I show even a fucking hint of this curse, I'll be proving everyone right... that I'm a monster just like him. I could hurt you easily even when I don’t want to. I just..."

Tears formed in his eyes and for once, you could see the resignation in his eyes. You stopped. "If there’s anything I know, it’s that I’m not someone people want to be near. Even if I seem nice, that doesn’t change the fact that I could easily kill at the same time… when we met, you seemed so nice and I wanted to be friends with you, but… I became scared that eventually you’d realize what they know. That afterwards, you’d be afraid of me too."

"But that's it. I'm not afraid,” you frustratedly told him, as the tears fell from your eyes, feeling a plethora of emotions inside you at his words. "Why would I be?"

“You heard it from him. I’m a mons-”

“Stop letting other people's words define you!”

For a moment it felt hard to breathe- rage and sorrow mixing in you as your emotions pushed you over the edge.

“You won't give yourself a chance because you just accept what other people say about you, like they know who you are, but you know what? Even if we’ve only been together for three weeks, even if I only got to actually spend time with you for only three days, the Hoseok I’ve seen so far isn't anything like that!”

“You hate yourself because you believe that you deserve only the worst, but please. I believe in you. I believe in the Hoseok that's kind and gentle, the one that smiles just from being able to make someone happy, the one that cries so easily because they read something sad, wearing his heart on his fucking sleeve, never even being able to lie because he knows how lies can hurt. The one that's honorable, and will fight for what's right. Being a dragon doesn't mean you aren't any of these things, it just means you have powers that others don't have. Being his son doesn’t mean you’re a carbon copy of him either. What you do with those powers- that's what makes you who you are.”

For a moment, after your rant, you breathed in slowly, carefully, all of a sudden feeling as though there was not quite enough air in the room. Still, you continued- and as your hands clutched your clothes, you felt something in your pockets. When you brought the item out-

You grinned wildly, for the first time since you woke up.

The Key of Eden fit snugly in your hand. Looking down, complicated as it was you could see the little keyholes that connected each chain, each one soon becoming undone as you pressed the key inside. With each chain that fell apart, you began to breathe easier. It was only when the last three remained that you began to speak again, determination hardening your voice.

“Even if the whole world says you're evil, Hoseok, how can you expect me to believe them when the whole time we've been together you've only been so far away from it?”

Clang

“Thinking it’s no good even before you try, giving up and just accepting their words and treating it as if it’s the truth…!”

Clang

As the second to last chain was unlocked, you looked him in the eye- ignoring how he stiffened under your hold.

“For once I want you to see yourself as someone that deserves to be heard, instead of something irredeemable.”

You reached down to free the last chain-

“I see you didn’t take my advice.”

-and found yourself gasping as your arms were harshly locked together, your body turned around. Abbadon- his face containing pity for you, never before had you wanted to strangle someone so badly- used one hand to keep you from doing anything. 

You stilled when you saw the knife in his hand.

“While I wanted to give you a chance… It’s a pity,” he idly remarked. “I’ll make sure you have a nice view.”

You instinctively kicked behind you at his words- the sharp clang of the knife as it fell to the ground mixed with Abbadon’s pained yell, one that felt like music to your ears- a split second was all it took before you lunged for the knife and leapt away from him in turn.

When he got up, snarling, you were already on the other side of the room.

“Come now,” he said even as his teeth were gritted into the semblance of a smile. “Give me the knife.”

“I won’t let you hurt him,” your voice was firm- even if your throat rasped.

“But then who’ll stop me from hurting you?”

Your breath caught in your throat- you dived to the side, his hands almost catching the edges of your dress before you scrambled away, feeling behind you for anything- Hoseok’s alarmed yell as he tried to help you but found himself restrained.

And then you felt it. The click of a door. Your eyes widened in surprise- then you grinned triumphantly at him.

“I guess I found my answer,” you taunted him. To your surprise, he only laughed.

“Sure, missy! Take a look behind you, it’ll surely help you escape- from life, that is,” he mocked.

You took another step behind you as you looked back- then felt your knees get weak.

All this time, you hadn’t considered just where the two of you might be. After all, you were much more concerned with freeing yourselves. But now, as you looked over what had to be more than a hundred meters of drop, you wished you did, if only to contemplate how you would be escaping.

You were in Blackburn, the tower’s entrance behind you, lying several hundred feet above the ground- you could see miles and miles of the surrounding forest and mountains.

“I thought it would be fitting, to kill it in its own house. That said, you have two options,” Abbadon said, his voice calm again. “Either take a step into Death’s clutches, or embrace Life. What will it be?”

“My companions are looking for us. They’ll be here any moment. Even if you kill us, you’ll still be caught in the end.” Your mind raced with excuses, words, anything that you could use to threaten him- yet he only laughed.

“But you both will still be dead. It,” he jabbed a finger at Hoseok, who glared at him, “will be dead, and that’s all that matters to me. Besides, are you even sure they’ll be coming? This isn’t the easiest place to find, you know.”

“If I fall, Hoseok will save me. Or have you forgotten dragons can fly?”

“Will it? I don’t think it’s ever even shifted,” he scoffed. “Which is a good thing, really. I would’ve shot it straight if it did. But no, if not just the chains sapping away its magic, then the lack of unease he has with the chains should tell you he’s never even tried shifting. How else could it tolerate the chains? If it tried now- I'd give it 4 seconds before it shifts back.”

Abbadon slowly smiled again. “So, how will you be taking your chances now?”

It was obvious that Abbadon took Hoseok as nothing but an ant, not a threat, just something so worn down that he wouldn’t fight back, even if he was freed. With how much he seemed as if he’d given up earlier, the weak, sluggish movements, and the hatred he had for being who he was- you weren’t surprised, but still, you hated it all the same.

Your heart beat in your chest then- fast, hurried. Inside you, you could only feel fear, the situation being as it was-

-but then you met Hoseok’s eyes. 

For once, they weren’t swimming in self-martyrdom or pity- but rather, in determination. You could see the support in his eyes, the decision he’d made. Trust me, he seemed to tell you.

Whatever fear you had then- it dissolved. 

“Neither,” you spoke up, your gaze firm as you looked Hoseok in the eyes and smiled. Abbadon frowned, his eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not taking chances, because I know he’ll save me.” 

Saying so, you took a step off the edge- and let yourself fall.

Thud

Thud

Thud-

"-Hoseok!" You screamed as you descended. 

When you opened your eyes, instantly a burst of colors surrounded you, the grey walls of the tower being replaced by the vibrant scenery- the sky in itself being a mix of blue and white, with the vivid greenery of what had to be the forest-

The wind rushed around you, harsh, fierce, and you felt the urge to shut your eyes out of fear, but you kept them open, even if your sight blurred with tears. For a second, nothing- then-

You could faintly see the top of the tower collapse, dust and debris flying everywhere, and then a large mass of something diving after you. 

A wheeze escaped you as leathery wings wrapped themselves around you. Heat, warmth that felt addicting to feel after the chill of the dungeons enveloped you, and for a few moments all other senses dulled. Though this time, it wasn’t from any outside force, but rather from the weeping sense of relief of finally being safe, the adrenaline keeping you hyper aware even now that the danger was gone, the added drop in altitude making your heart beat fast, too fast for your liking-

And then a flash of light- and you were wrapped securely in his arms. In Hoseok's arms. You held  on to him tightly- and, even with your heartbeat pounding away at your ears you could finally feel the wind around you two settle down, and the gentle flap of what had to be his wings.

You shivered- Hoseok pulled you closer. Close and closer and you were close enough to smell the faint scent of smoke lingering on his clothes, and then- 

Your feet touched stable ground. Your legs still trembling from the recent, you almost stumbled forward when you let go of him, but Hoseok only held you in turn- firm, gentle, and so you remained safe.

For a few seconds, you could only greedily take in gulps of air, your form still shivering, disregarding everything else. Then- you disentangled yourself from Hoseok, even as your hold on each other’s hands remained.

"You… you saved me," was all you could say.  "I knew you would. Thank you for saving me."

Hoseok looked at you, an unreadable expression on his face."Y/N, I-"

"Y/N! Hoseok!”

You looked past Hoseok’s shoulder- the sound of footsteps becoming louder and louder, as you finally saw six familiar figures. The first to come near was, surprisingly enough, Seokjin- who smoothly pulled to a stop in front of you, shielding both you and Hoseok from Abbadon, who you just discovered was standing a distance aways from you two.

The next to arrive had been Namjoon- who looked at you with a worried look on his face, eyes darting from you to Abbadon. His eyes, when they met yours, widened and he looked away, face filled with something- and then Jungkook, who was obviously furious and also worried- Yoongi, who, while seemingly calm had a tight, neutral expression- and Jimin and Taehyung, lingering somewhere beyond your current view.

“Iron Butcher.” You’d never heard Seokjin’s voice so cold before, not even when directed at you- you trembled, for a moment, just hearing it- Hoseok’s hands squeezed yours in support. “Harming innocent people is against the law, as I’m sure you’d know.”

“Hah,” Abbadon scoffed. “That isn’t a person, that’s only a vicious beast. I’m merely upholding my job as a protector.”

“It has been years since the war,” Yoongi’s voice was without any emotion. “Hunting dragons and dragging in innocent civilians is a crime worthy of many years of jail, not to mention you went for the Prince and the Savior.”

“Your best option would be to surrender.”

“And if I don’t want to?” Abbadon giggled.

“We’ll fuck you up,” Jungkook snarled. “For daring to lay even a hand on them. On her.”

Your heart warmed at his words, even as you wanted to protest. For a moment, there was silence- and then-

“... Ahhh, fine. I know when I’m out of my league.” Abbadon’s voice was light, airy- he spoke as if you were only discussing a friendly match. You shivered at the familiar tone- now aware of the hidden darkness he could easily switch into. You burrowed your head in Hoseok’s chest- your grip on him tight, and while a part of you was afraid of his rejection- he only pulled you in closer, until all sounds were muffled.

You counted the sound of his heartbeats, trying to will your breathing to adapt to its rhythm. One, two, three, four…

You could hear someone’s words as they tried to soothe you, though you trembled not just from fear, but also exhaustion.

“... It’s okay now, Y/N...”

Yet again, you fell unconscious before you could hear the rest of his words.

#bangtanhq #bangtanscenery #bangtanfairygarden #ficswithluv #bts x reader #ot7 x reader #kim seokjin x reader #min yoongi x reader #jung hoseok x reader #kim namjoon x reader #park jimin x reader #kim taehyung x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #bts fanfic #bts fic #bts angst #bts fluff

[sugargliderowl]

Thoughts on Janus’ Playlist...

Some of my first-time-hearing reactions to Janus’ playlist (sorry for the rambling parts):

Black Hole Sun: It’s apparently about depression according to Genius? Like it’s kinda like yearning for the depression to be sucked into the “black hole sun”... The snake references and heaven and hell is definitely Janus. Also, it sounds old-timey like a jazz song, so that sets up the mood of the entire playlist. I don’t really get this... but this feels like a mood setter for the entire thing, unless it means something else. What do you guys think?

It Seemed the Better Way: The strings? CHILLS. Leonard Cohen’s voice reminds me of Hades in Hadestown. “Sounded like the truth, seemed the better way... but it’s not the truth today” is just his motto is what I’m seeing. And then the “I better hold my tongue, I better take my place...” part feels like resignation to me. It’s either Janus is trying to help, but that didn’t work so he resigns to become the “villain” of the light sides. It could allude to the dark sides as a whole: they are all trying to help Thomas in their ways, but because being themselves doesn’t work, they need the villain, spooky facade.

Anywhere: Ooh, I’m seeing a vintage vibe from all of this... Back to the song. “It’s a beautiful / If you’ve been lied to” is a good callback to the whole “society is built on lies” from SvS from Jay Dee. “Let this be a call to arms / At the changing of the avante garde / Nothing in this world... is beautiful.” Is Janus a pessimist? If so, he’s a good juxtaposition to Patton, the optimist. Also, the vocals remind me of like a really old timey radio, semi-haunted... my instincts say that it feels like the singer is like Harrison Bergeron (Kurt Vonnegut; do read it; it’s a good short story) trying to tell the truth about this world that people think is a good place.

Talking at the Same Time: Someone please draw Janus as like a 1920s gentleman character swaggering... wait I can. This song reminds me of “Why don’t you do right” by Jessica Rabbit on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” Jazz or blues? Either one. This song is really depressing? I don’t know why, but there is that feel of everything is hopeless. Pessimistic, again. “A tiny boy... made a sword from a stick and a gun from his hand” reminds me of Roman in a way? But then again, the “we bailed out all the millionaires / they’ve got the fruit / We’ve got the rind” doesn’t remind me of Roman.

all the good girls go to hell: “MY LUCIFER IS LOOONELYY”... sorry I love this song. Anyways, the lyrics really speak to Janus just because of the whole duality and Christian metaphors. Also, J is the side who would definitely “want the Devil on her team”. We love the whole duality motif. I just *chef’s kiss x3*.

Denial: OH MY GOSH THE SVS REDUX... J was denial. HE WAS DENIAL. “Just don’t shut your eyes closed / Not until I get it off my chest” is basically the blindfold metaphor that happened throughout SvS, so would this be the message he wants to send to Thomas and Patton... or maybe the entire light sides. “Have you turned a corner? / Do you think of leaving me behind?” Dark side acceptance arc? Also, “I know you’re looking for direction... I know where you wanna go / Oh I do, but do you?” is to Roman and Thomas for the callback because he knew they wanted to go “so bad.”

(click for more analysis and summary!)

Trust in Me: Of course, snek boi, I knew this could be something you’ll put in. But do we trust you? So this is his suave villainy song. This again shows how Bananaconda child operates; he wants Thomas to trust him and be selfish but excessively. That’s why balance is necessary for all of the sides!

Razzle Dazzle: *gasp* MUSICAL SONGS NOW? YASSS. Definition is “noisy, showy, and exciting activity and display designed to attract and impress,” so the whole facade of being fancy to hide the insecurities and “bad” parts. Sounds like someone we know (*cough* ROMAN *cough*). “What if your hinges all are rusting / What if, in fact, you’re just disgusting? / Razzle dazzle ‘em and they’ll never catch wise” is just a jab and a stab at Roman. Or maybe it’s him. He’s also the dramatic one. If so, we have angst arriving.

When the Chips are Down: HADESTOWN OH MY YES! STRINGS! AAAAA! Does Janus give me Fate vibes in a way? Yes, definitely. “Nobody’s righteous / Nobody’s proud / Nobody’s innocent / Now that the chips are down” Holy CRAPP. It’s the perfect response to Patton’s “Nobody’s perfect... except for Thomas, he loves his friends!” in SvS. Now that the “chips are down,” Thomas should take after himself... after all, the Fates were telling Eurydice to look after herself. Sounds like what Janus said to Thomas after the Redux.

Mandy Goes to Med School: Oh. Um. This sounds like the whole jazz/20′s theme. This song’s apparently about abortion? I’m kinda confused, so feel free to add on! But it’s quite the bop, just listening to it. Maybe the whole thought that society makes laws based on a false conception? Help.

I Put A Spell On You: Janus definitely goes to jazz clubs. “I can’t stand it ‘cause you put me down” and “I tell ya I ain’t lyin’” and “Because you’re mine” makes the whole villainesque feel. I don’t know where this was from, but this stands out to me just because it was on the “Friends on the Other Side Mashup”. 

Evil Night Together: Ominous, and then jazzy. Jay Dee’s flirting skills go to the max. This also gives the villain vibe by the lyrics referencing things that Remus would be fond about. Also, “Who’s gonna make you a hero” seems to be directed to Roman like he did in SvS. This is a very seductive song with really dark undertones about crime. Janus, that slimy snek boi is a lawful neutral to evil. 

Dont’ Tell Mama: Cabaret... a classic musical, eh? “Hush up, don’t tell mama / Shush up, don’t tell mama” goes to Janus’ power to silence people. “If you had a secret, you bet I would keep it / I would never tell on you...” Janus is definitely the one about lies and secrets, so that goes to that.

You’re a Cad: “What’s the point pretending that you could be a better man? / Just give in, since you always end up right back where you began” “You’re a rascal and a rogue, a villain and a crook” is the other sides viewing him, and “Still I tug at your line, I’m a fish on your hook” and “I should be better, but I’m worse” is hinting at some Janus angst. I think it’s going to be something about trust

As Far as I Can See: JANUS ANGST TRUCKING IN ON TO YA: “Nobody loves me / As far as I can tell.” Or even “Nobody’s listening as far as I can tell / And when I’m crying out / Nobody cries back for me.” Haha... I’m totally fine (*sobbing*). Also, the “we’re all going down / all down the staircase aboard” either hints at the Redux statement of pushing people off staircases... or maybe Virgil who went down the staircase and left the dark sides. Gosh, I thought this was gonna be a hype song by the beat, but I stand corrected.

Criminal: Oh, so the angst continues. Great. Totally great. This somehow links back to the bloopers of Thomas, as J, saying “I’m not bad; I’m just drawn that way.” This is peak sarcasm in a way, but I don’t really know. “I’ve done wrong and I wanna suffer for my sins / I’ve come to you cause I need guidance to be true / And I just don’t know where I can begin”... is this from Thomas to Janus or the other way? If it’s from Thomas, Janus is kinda mad and is using as much sass as he wants. If it’s from Janus, it’s either he’s lying or he genuinely wants a redemption arc like Virgil did... but in a not so righteous way with “And I need to be redeemed / To the one I’ve sinned against / Because he’s all I ever knew of love.” I don’t really know, but this is such a bop.

Change: “I’ve been thinking it’s just someone else’s job to care / Who am I to sympathize when no one gives a d-” and “” Wow. Janus has his similarities with Logan. He wants to be listened to the sides. I mean, there is a reason why he impersonates the light sides: to be listened without bias. “Change is a powerful thing / I feel it coming in me” foreshadows some good stuff with Janus! YES! Also, “Maybe by the time this song is done / I’ll be able / To be honest” and the rest of the lyrics just hit me like a truck? It hurts the soul in a way. Change is inevitable is the message, so would that mean Janus could have an upgrade? I mean, the change started when SvS Redux happened with him coming out and being accepted by the light sides, so maybe, maybe things will change from there in a good way.

Devil In The Details: “A house of cards / A supple heart / Is not a place to dwell”.... Patton? Oh no. “But know there’s no backing out / This is gonna be reality / You can never dream it out” is going to his reputation and relations with the sides and Thomas? He seemed to have hesitated to say his name and let his reputation down since that would change everything that he has known over the years. Would this mean the dark and light side thing will break in later episodes? Maybe. “I put the past into the ground / I saw the future as a cloud / If there’s still time to turn around / I’m going to” is a big oof. And then... “I am the first one I deceive / If I can make myself believe / The rest is easy” comes in. Is Janus lying to himself? He’s the manifestation of deceit, but is he also doing that to himself? Or it could be to Thomas. But then again...

Come Little Children: Spooky. Nice. This feels like a lullaby. “It must be this way / To weary of life and deceptions / Rest now my children...” and then “The time’s come to play / Here in my garden of shadows” make me think that Janus thinks that this life is quite... painful. I am not too sure about this, tell me what y’all think!

Into The Unknown: Oh it’s not that one. It’s the one from Over The Garden Wall (the animation if I remember it right). I don’t know why, but I saw Come Little Children and connected that to Into the Unknown as words, so that was cool. “Dancing in a swirl / Of golden memories / The loveliest lies / Of all” refers to nostalgia. This song is about nostalgia. Wait. OH WAIT. Patton’s room is all about that... so would that mean nostalgia is also part of Jay Dee too because of the mood around it that is distorted by emotions? That’s something really cool to think about. One more: “If dreams can’t come true / Then why not pretend?” I feel like this points to Virgil in a way because his dream is complete acceptance, but Janus knows V was a dark side, so maybe he’s hinting at Virgil pretending to compensate for the fact that he is a dark side.

Summary:

Janus’ aesthetic would be a 1920-40 vintage theme with jazz on the background, strings and piano used ominous effect, and being flashy and dramatic. He wants to be listened to the other sides, so he puts up different disguises (like to Pat and Lo), which includes his villain facade he put on for the past maybe 2 or 3 years. He strongly believes that society is built on lies, and like in SvS, he doesn’t want Thomas to be disadvantaged in the said society. He loves the whole duality and juxtapositions (I mean, his name is Janus for a good reason) because he embraces them both. He jabs at several sides for them faking themselves to hide their true feelings, but then again, he might also be lying to himself. He knows that change is inevitable after the whole name reveal, and we know that his acceptance arc is going to come. It could be about trust and facing the reality... just my thoughts. In other words, this playlist gave me a bunch of reasons on why Janus is a great morally gray character.

FEEL FREE TO ADD ON! I LOVE SHARING THOUGHTS! Especially with analysis, more people means more thoughts and new ideas and theories. Thank you! 

#rambles #thoughts #thomas sanders #sanders sides #janus sanders #side tracks #analysis #reaction #it's SO GOOD #I REALLY WANT TO SEE HIM #IN 20S OUTFIT #I LOVE HIM #ASDFLKJ #seriously #where do the crew get all these music for the playlist #it fits so well #also i enjoy the little themes of the playlist #for janus #it's mostly about jazz #musicals and dramatic ones #and some outliers #but still ominous with strings #i love analysis #please add on!

[hongism]

okay hi. so. first of all this incredible and stunning banner was made by the talented and lovely @hobiance​! the banner at the bottom was made by the equally talented and lovely thot @franklytae​, and i’m so so grateful to both of them for helping me out with this and am really touched to have their creations on this post. now. it is absolutely unreal that i am making this post. it’s crazy to see how my blog and i have grown in the past year and a half, and im so grateful for every single one of you who follows me, whether you are an active follower or not. also this is absolutely insane because in just six months you all have made my following nearly quadruple and that’s absolutely bonkers on so many levels. while 2020 has been tumultuous for us all, i cannot argue the fact that it has been my best year on tumblr so far. 

i have been able to meet so many fantastic people, grow friendships, grow my skills as a writer, gain confidence, and i have found friendships that are so treasured and valuable in so many ways. i’m really so so grateful for this platform and for the opportunity to share my work here with you all.

i really don’t know how to verbalize how i’m feeling because on one hand, followers are just a number and it’s unimportant in the long run. on the other hand i truly am grateful for every single one off you and i want you to know how grateful i am. but i really don’t want this to be about me because i really wouldn’t be on tumblr still without the people i’ve met along the way. through tumblr i have found lifelong friends who are beautiful inside and out and i will never stop being grateful to know them and walk this path alongside them. it’s truly a blessing and i feel so so lucky to get to know them. cue the ridiculously long tags of people whom i love and cherish so so much. i apologize in advance because no matter how many times i stare at this post and try to remember and get every single person who is valuable to me, i know i will inevitable forget someone so i am very very sorry if i miss anyone.

*•.¸♡ ✧ 𝓂𝓊𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓁𝓈 ✧ ♡¸.•*

@hobicomeholla29 @thatmultifandomhoe @yoongi-sugaglider @strawbxxymilk @meowxyoong @blondenamjin​ @dee-ehn​ @a-tiny-8iny​ @atiny-dazzlinglight​ @atiny-piratequeen​ @atiny-wooyoung​ @kesmonster​ @theredcarat​ @enchantedyeo​ @seonghwabrainworms​ @jintobean​ @jinterlude​ @joonsrack​ @moonmintrails​ @inkedxclouds​ @koophoriia​ @kimcritique​ @moonpjms​ @daechwlta​ @suhdays​ @ppersonna​ @vivpurple7​ @ironicarmy​ @joopiterjoon​ @btsxdoll​ @btsbiaswreckedwriting​ @minniepetals​ @chillingtae​ @searchingtae​ @ladyartemesia​ @staerrylights​ and many others who i literally cannot for the life of me remember right when it’s important aoifdjjioejsoi some of you guys i only really talk to on discord, but i think that’s where i talk to people the most anyways. i know im really bad at following people so i may miss a few of you here and there, but know that our friendship through tumblr and discord is so valuable and important to me and im grateful for all of you 💕

*•.¸♡ ✧ 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓉𝓈 ✧ ♡¸.•*

@yolokoo​ @franklytae

hhhhh you two little shits honestly i know i won’t be able to tell the two of you how much you mean to me because words are Hard. still i am so so lucky to know the two of you and so so lucky to be able to be friends with you two. y’all know i would swing so fucking hard for you that i would dislocate a shoulder but it would be worth in. i love you both so so much and know that no matter what paths we all take in life, i will always be here to support you and cheer you on along the way

*•.¸♡ ✧ 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝓀𝑒𝓉𝑒𝑒𝓇𝓈 ✧ ♡¸.•*

@hobiance @miamorjoon​

lainey within ten minutes of meeting you on discord i married you iajoidfoisdjfo. honestly that’s the boldest i’ve ever been, but i’m really grateful that i stepped out of my comfort zone and interacted with you because if not i would be missing out on such a crazy crackhead amazing friendship that’s filled with rats and roaches and annoying atlas bc we love her. sometimes it’s scary how similar we are but i love our late night crazy music sessions and your passion for cowboys 🐀🤠

atlas i honestly do Not remember how we met aoidjfoij pls don’t be offended i don’t remember how i meet anyone. i only remember meeting lainey because she reminded me of it the other day. but anyways i am super glad that we started talking because you’re one of tha craziest wackiest zackiest ladiez i’ve ever met and you really unleash the inner crazy in me (in a good way i swear). even though you tell me to shut up most of the time, you are seriously one of my fav writers out there and so knowing you and being your friend is seriously w o a h and a blessing for sure 🐀

*•.¸♡ ✧ 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁𝓈 ✧ ♡¸.•*

@jamaisjoons @honeymoonjin @ddaenggtan @cest-la-tae​ @bangtiddies​ @mygsii @mindays @luxekook @floralsuga 

oh god i hope im not forgetting anyone hhafhiuehisuda oKAY you each are super duper special to me in your own special way and i could sit here for literally hours and ramble on about how much i love each of you. the basic fact of the matter is that each of you have impacted me and my life in some way.

sol, sora, bette - i am so lucky to have been able to meet you and work alongside you and talk to you daily. it’s normally extremely hard to work with friends or make friends through work, but i got so lucky with you guys and am so blessed to get to talk to each of you and know you ((special thanks to sol for Obey Me and 7 demon daddies)) ((another special thanks to backbone bette for having the courage to speak up when no one else does)) ((one more super special thanks to miss sora who is the kindest and sweetest ball of uwu i’ve ever known and Stan the Man the Icon and the limbless basketball game story remains Iconic))

dAIJA gahhh im so lucky to know you, you are such a valuable and incredible friend. you have a huge heart and you’re always looking out for other people. as much as i love screaming about hyunjin and victon with you, i really love just getting to chat with you in general because you’re so sweet and loving :ragecry:

e m i omg i wish i could remember when we first started talking bc i feel like it was some crackhead energy but honestly i feel like we have that crackhead energy 24/7. i really love listening to your stories because you have such a knack for storytelling which duh of course you do you’re an actress you know how to tell a story, but also you are just fun and exciting to get to talk to.

renae my lovely spiritual girlfriend you are such a wholesome sweet soul on every level w o w you have a heart of gold and you are so talented and wonderful as well, truly the whole package and a half, and you are such a good friend. somehow i only recently found out that you’re a multi but having listening parties with you (even if discord doesn’t tell us we’re listening together) is so fun and i just love chatting with you

reese omg i dont appreciate how you attack me with jisung and hyunjin but we are linked because we both switched to jungkook urls aoijsdfoij you’re such a fun person to talk to and i love getting to talk to you more and getting to know you better because you’re so sweet and loving and have a love of tea that rivals emi’s and mine which is crazy

monday mondayyyyyyy omg i remember the first time we talked was in a kakao chat about the flower shop story and i was Shook because i loVE your works and you were talking about how you liked mine and i was internally p a n i c k so bad ajflkjflk but after that we started getting to know each other better and we started the bee gang then we bonded over piercings and honestly you are just such a cool gal. like wow a queen. idek what else to say other than you are so cool i wish i was half as cool as you asoifjiof but really ily lots uwu

and last but really absolutely not least, mr. beau. wow i feel like it’s been such a long time since we met and started talking to each other. you were one of the very first people i talked to on tumblr, and you welcomed me so swiftly and with open arms. i know i can really rely on you and trust you, you are such a valuable friend, and i love being able to talk with you. i am so beyond proud of you, i know both alex and i are so so proud and happy for you, and i am so proud to be able to watch you grow into the person you are and deadass im crying rn just because im so proud and lucky to have been able to talk with you and help you. you know things about me that no one else does hehe and you are truly such a valuable and wonderful friend on so many levels. i will always always always be able to say that i am proud to be your friend and proud to know you 🤧

#thank you #really so so so much #thank you so much #moots #mootuals #follow forever

[enigmasalad]

Weddings Are Great And All But  My Mom Wants You Over For Dinner Tonight

It has been a boring day so far. Deceit was currently typing away on his fifth laptop (his personal one cause the other four are for his “business”). Remus had gotten a last-minute contract from a rather entitled older man who wanted one of his nephews or something killed. So here Deceit was, alone, bored and totally enjoying his day off. And even though he had just planned a “vacation” for them, he couldn’t get rid of the sappy loneliness in his chest. He groaned and shut his laptop because he needed a nap.

He went to their bedroom, a relaxed form of exhaustion seeping into his limbs once he entered the room. He turned his head to where Jekyll and Hyde were. The twin-headed snake was taking a nap after a rather indulgent lunch. Deceit smiled softly at the sweet creature before falling back onto the bed with his arms spread out. As he shut his eyes, he let his mind become passive, letting each thought come and go. With each thought he slowly drifted to that state between consciousness and sleep.

He didn’t know how long he was in this state, but he did know that he was now more on the conscious side. A soft, fond smile graced his lips before he even thought about it. “Hello Remus. How was the hunt today?” he asked.

 Just as he thought, an uneven pitched giggle revealed that the crazed man was indeed there. Deceit opened his eyes to meet wide green eyes that were filled with a mischievous joy, the kind of joy a child who stole a toy from a person they didn’t like had. “Boo! I thought I could surprise you this time!” Remus laughed.

“Were you about to jump on me or something?” Deceit asked, raising a brow.

“Yep! You looked so peaceful I thought it would be funny to startle you!”

 Remus crawled into bed, still in his lightly bloodied clothes and curled up by Deceit’s side. Deceit moved one of his gloved hands to Remus’s hair and gently scratched the man’s head. Remus let out a low, relaxed noise and snuggled closer.

 “Turns out the whole family was in on the kill. They gave me a large tip for not getting the floors bloody!”

 Remus paused before laughing.

 “Heh! Large tip! Heh heh!”

 Deceit rolled his eyes but smiled none the less at the crude joke. He gave a kiss to Remus’s head. Remus perked up and went to go kiss Deceit. Deceit moved his free had to Remus’s mouth to block the kiss.

 “Did you dispose of the body?” Deceit asked.

 Remus huffed and pouted.

 “I did!” “Remus.”

 Remus sighed and slumped a little.

 “I did not eat the body this time.”

 Silence.

 “Or anything else from the crime scene.”

“Good boy.” Deceit softly praised.

 Remus grinned as Deceit removed his hand and kissed him. Remus immediately and eagerly kissed back. And as usual Remus had to make the kiss filthy the second his lips met Deceit’s. They kissed for a while, enjoying each other’s presence. When they split Deceit decided to tell Remus the news.

 “I arranged our little vacation.” Remus grinned and wiggled excitedly, moving Dee with him a little.

 “Oh fun! Oh, we can use the blood money to get some things for the trip! Like toys! You know I love take two Ds at once!”

“Damn it Remus.”

——-

 “Roman get out of the kitchen.” “What? I just wanted to see what you’re doing! It smells good in here!” “Roman get out of the fucking kitchen I swear to go-don’t touch that!”

“Ow!”

 Roman huffed and held the hand Virgil whacked with a wooden spoon. Virgil glared at him and pointed the spoon at him. “Fine, fine! I’ll just go to Patton’s side of the kitchen!” Roman pouted and quickly moved over to where Patton was mixing batter.

 Patton giggled as Roman hugged him from behind and peppered his neck and cheek in quick kisses. Roman smiled and looked at where Virgil was making fresh pasta dough.

 “You could have this too, but you whacked me with a spoon! Also why are you making fresh pasta when we bought the quick pasta?” Roman had to ask.

 Virgil looked at Roman with a deadpan look, stopping the pasta dough making process.

 “I’m half Italian Roman. You fucking know this.” He said

“Well sorry for asking. Just figured with the time constraint you put on

 Patton laughed again, interrupting

 “Your mom makes the best pasta so I’m glad we’re having her recipe!” he praised.

 Roman grinned as Virgil blushed and ducked his head down. The argumentative tension instantly vanished. Patton had that kind of amazing power.

 “Anyways dear heart, what are you making?” Roman asked Patton, swaying them both gently.

“I asked Imaj what we should have for dessert this time and he asked if we could have brownies tonight so Im making brownies!” Patton replied before tasting the batter.

“Oh fuck yeah.” Virgil said while smiling a little.

 The Petrovs love pasta and brownies more than life itself.

 Patton and Roman chatted, Virgil putting his input every now and then. They talked about how Ginerva and Rosita were at the store, wondering what they were getting there.  Patton brought up how excited his boss, Adam, accepted to come as Patton’s father to the wedding. Adam was Patton’s boss, but the southern man from the Lone Star State was the closest thing to an actual father Patton had. Plus, he paid for Patton’s top surgery out of his own pocket without asking for anything back, so the definitely liked him.

Plus he threatened to shoot them if they ever hurt Patton so..

 “Is there anything I can help with?” Roman asked, mainly because he was bored

“No.” “Not really but I’ll let you know!”

 Roman placed a kiss on Patton’s cheek before rushing to Virgil and kissing his cheek. He ran out of the kitchen with a laugh as he heard Virgil sputter and went into the living room where Logan was sitting on the couch talking to Missy while Imaj sat near the corner with his ukulele and sheet music.

 “-used the blood eagle torture method to sacrifice to Odin and also get rid of people who have no honor in their lives.” Missy was rambling, probably about Vikings.

“You are very knowledgeable about Vikings in..many aspects Missy.” Logan attempted to praise.

 It was a little awkward on how it came out but it made the irritable girl grin widely with pride. She pushed her Viking helmet up so it wouldn’t slide over her eyes.

 “Well duh.” Is all Missy had to say.

“Hello Tiny! Teaching Logan about Vikings again?” Roman greeted.

 Just like that, her smile turned back to her usual irritated frowny face.

 “Don’t call me tiny! Im going to rule the freakin world one day! Im not small!” She said, which only made Roman laugh fondly.

 He remembered when he had given Missy the nickname. She leapt off the couch and headbutted him in the gut so hard he curled up on the ground. Good..weird...good times.

 “And how are you right now Imaj? Still practicing?” Roman asked.

 Imaj startled upon hearing his name but he looked at Roman with a soft smile.

 “Mhm. I think I got it this time.” He answered quietly.

“Good! Will you be playing it for us sometime soon?”

Just like that, the young teen squeaked with embarrassment and pulled the hood of his hoodie over his head.

 “Nooooo..” he quietly whined.

“Alright, alright don’t disappear on me. I’ll leave you alone.”

 Roman sat down next to Logan and wrapped his arm around Logan’s shoulders, pulling the nerd closer.

 “And how are you my pocket protector?” Roman asked. “I am well as I can be.” Logan replied.

 Ah, Logan was nervous cause this was his first actual family dinner (and the first family dinner they’ve had since all four of them got together). It’s taken him a while to work up to this moment, but they were so proud of him.

Still didn’t mean Logan wasn’t nervous about it.

 “You’ll be fine mi amor. You know mama and Mrs. Ginerva love you.” Roman reassured.

“I know this, they’ve made it very apparent.” Logan said with a faint hint of a smile.

 Roman smiled and leaned in to give Logan a kiss. Logan huffed a laugh and met Roman the rest of the way.

 “VIRGIL YOUR BOYFRIENDS ARE BEING GROSS.”

 The two men were startled by Missy’s loud shouting.

 “I can’t help you right now! Cooking food!” Virgil called back.

“BUT ITS GROSS.” “You’re gross!” “NO YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIENDS ARE GROSS.”

 Patton came in, apron gone, and hands washed which meant the brownies were probably in the oven.

 “What’s this about being gross kiddo?” he asked. “They’re kissing!” Missy huffed.

“Kissing!” Patton faked a gasp.

 Missy nodded and crossed her arms grumpily. Roman watched as Patton came over and put his hands on his hips and gave a disappointed look.

 “Boys Im shocked at your behavior. How dare you be kissing-“ Patton then grinned widely. “Without me!” With that Roman’s arms were full of his bubby, kind boyfriend and Logan’s lips were being kissed by said boyfriend. Roman laughed as Missy let out a shriek and stomped to the kitchen. Soon Patton was kissing all over his face to, each kiss slightly ticklish and with an audible “mwah!” sound. They could hear Virgil chuckle from the kitchen. Logan was smiling softly, more relaxed with the ones he cares about near. Patton got up and sat next to the other side of Logan and held his hand tightly.

 “I’m happy we’re doing this. I’ve had family dinners before but..they lacked warmth.” Patton admitted.

“That’s one thing our family doesn’t lack is warmth.” Roman said with a grin. “Indeed. You and Virgil have…exceptional mothers.” Logan agreed.

 Roman grinned and wrapped around Logan’s shoulders.

 “I wasn’t just meaning them my iridescent nebula. You both are part of this family too now.”

“Awwww Roman!!!” Patton squealed.

 The sound of the front door opening interrupted anything else that could have been said.

 “Booooooys! Missy! We’re hoooome!” Roman’s mother, Rosita sing-songed

“Hi Miss Rosita! Hi Miss Ginerva!” Patton called back.

 Rosita giggled and came into the living room.

 “Dawww I hope you weren’t mentally scarring poor little Imaj over there.” She said.

 Oh shit Imaj has just been sitting there quietly. The thing about that kid besides having almost crippling anxiety is he could disappear from people’s view despite being there.

 “Don’t worry Rosita. I don’t mind.” Imaj softly said with a smile. “This is why you’re my favorite.” Roman said.

 Immediately there was a loud, high pitched angry “WHAT?” from the kitchen.

 Rosita grinned and bent down to kiss Patton’s cheeks, the usual greeting she gives loved ones. Patton giggled and held onto her arms as she went “Mwah!” with the two kisses. She then bent down and did the same to Logan. His face went red as Roman’s varsity jacket, but he sat still and allowed her to do so, because he honestly didn’t hate it. He’s never had any form of parental love and he once admitted he liked the affection the mothers gave him.

 “I’m so glad you both are here today. Our first dinner as a whole family!” Rosita cheerily said.

 Roman grinned at his loves. They looked happy. Things were normal. This family was normal.

 “Well hello my dears. Patton, thank you for making dessert.” Virgil’s mother, Ginerva said as she too entered the living room, holding two rather thick books in her hands.

“It’s no problem! I love baking! Plus, a meal isn’t complete without a sweet!” Patton said.

 Ginerva smiled. Then she held up the book with a mischievous glint in her eye.

 “Would you like to see some baby pictures after dinner?” she asked.

“Oh my gosh YES!” Patton squealed.

“Absolutely.” Logan agreed, his own grin on his face.

 Roman gulped.

 Maybe this was a horrible idea.

———-

 “Going to the sex store~ We’re going to the sex store~” Remus sang, unashamed as they walked through the mall.

 People glared at them as Remus walked next to Deceit, arms swinging back and forth happily. Deceit has once thought maybe he should stop Remus. Here’s the thing though.

 He didn’t give a fuck.

 These poor bastards can deal with Remus happily singing the lewdest things for a small portion of their lives, even if they weren’t going to the sex store.

 A mother gasped, offended and covered her child’s ears.

 “Shame on you!” she shrilled.

 Deceit flipped her off with both of his hands while Remus held his index finger and middle finger in a V formation in front of his mouth, wiggling his tongue in between the fingers with a wicked grin. The mother shrieked in horror.

 Deceit laughed as they left her. However, Remus grabbed his wrist and yanked him back to where Remus was.

 “I want that.” Remus said, pointing into an arcade.

 Inside the arcade was a claw machine with many stuffed animals. On top of the animal pile was a plush green octopus with tiny black eyes.

 “I’m not wasting my money on a rigged game,” Deceit said.

“But Deeeeeeee!” Remus whined.

“that’s why I’m not going to.” Deceit continued, holding up a wallet that totally was his.

 Remus grinned widely and held Deceit’s hand as they planned to spend every pound of an asshole’s money.

————

 Dinner was good, as usual. Virgil was a phenomenal cook and every dish he made was some of the best Roman’s had (he wont tell mama that though). He blushed as they complimented him.

 “This is yummy! What is this called again?” Patton asked.

“Bucatini all’Amatriciana. It’s nothing.” Virgil replied, eyes averted and blush on cheeks.

“I have no idea how to pronounce that but I love it! Logan loves it! Roman does too!”

 Roman will deny he was shoveling the pasta into his mouth messily ‘til the day he dies. It never happened. No way. Thankfully he wasn’t the only messy eater in the family, for Missy was doing the same thing, but messier.

 “You did good. I’m proud of you.” Ginerva praised with a soft smile.

“Whatever.” Virgil said, faint smile on his face at his mother’s praise.

 “So how is the wedding coming along?” Rosita asked with a smile. “We found a venue. It has a garden area that looked rather appealing to us so we’re planning the ceremony will be there. The reception will be inside.” Logan found himself effortlessly saying to Rosita.

  Roman was so proud of him and judging by Virgil and Patton’s smiles they felt the same.

 Imaj smiled, looking a bit excited at all this wedding talk.

 “I like gardens. They’re quiet and yet they’re lively.” He said, his approval and delight making the four men internally sigh in relief.

“Fuck gardens.” Missy grumbled as she stuffed pasta in her mouth.

“Marietta Ursa Petrov, you will not swear at this table. Do it again and you’ll be grounded.” Ginerva warned sternly

 Missy huffed but nodded, shoving more pasta to get everyone’s eyes off her. Ginerva turned to Virgil with stern eyes as well.

 “You too Mister. I know what a mouth you have.” “Yes mom.”

 Roman snickered at the scolding.

 “Oh! Remy got us measured for our wedding outfits a few weeks ago!” Patton cheerily said, changing the topic.

“Im so jealous of you boys. Friends with a famous fashion designer and won’t even get me a dress.” Rosita teased.

 Roman chuckled.

 “Mama he’d freak if he got to make you something. He’s our very own Edna Mode.” He said.

“Good to know! He better not hit me with a rolled-up newspaper or have heavy security in his studio.”

 Yeah dinner was nice, but afterwards was downright embarrassing. You see, Roman was convinced Miss Ginerva forgot about the baby pictures. He was so wrong.

 Logan and Patton sat on both sides of Ginerva as she pointed to pictures. “-on that Halloween I tried to get Virgil to be a cat or a witch or even Wednesday Addams. Whenever I’d propose an idea, he’d pout. He insisted he wanted to be Elton John for that Halloween, specifically Elton in the Im Still Standing video.”

 And for sure there was a picture of a small Virgil standing next to Roman, who was dressed as Hercules from Disney’s Hercules in Elton’s iconic outfit. On the other side of Virgil was a kid dressed as a garbage can who looked almost exactly like Roman.

 As embarrassed as he was, Roman smiled to see the picture of Remus, back when the three of them were the best of friends. Innocent.

 “Oh, and this picture didn’t turn out the way we wanted it. Rosita sneezed so the boys started crying.”

“I’ve said I’m sorry at least once a year since then Ginerva! Get over it!” Patton giggled at the picture of Virgil in the middle of Roman and Remus in a purple onesie crying. Roman was in a red striped overalls outfit sitting up and crying just as hard. Remus was in the same outfit but green and he fell back as he cried. It was adorable.

 “Mom please stop.” Virgil weakly pleaded, hood pulled over his face.

“Hush. They need to see these.” Ginerva said with a laugh.

They avoided pictures of Virgil’s father, who just up and left one day to go back home to Russia without a word. A slightly angry aura surrounded her, but she pushed on.

 “Oh, this is Rosita’s favorite!” Ginerva pointed out.

“Is it the play time one? Oh my goodness I love that one so much! Their chubby cheeks and tiny hands aaah!” Rosita squealed with a grin, getting up from the armchair and hurrying over.

“Mama stoooop.” Roman groaned.

 Logan gave Roman a look that suggested yes, this was indeed blackmail material. Roman flipped him off, only to be whapped lightly from his mother.

Damn you Logan.

 The photo had a “castle” made from cardboard boxes. Inside the castle was a grumpy, if not bored looking Virgil with a plastic princess tiara on his head and a bright pink princess dress over his black sweater. Roman had a plastic crown and pointed a foam sword at Remus, who had devil horns and fairy wings on. That was the closest they could get to a dragon.

 Rosita smiled wide, but it held a small bit of sadness. Roman knows, cause he feels the same way.

 “Ugh this one?” Virgil grumbled, looking over.

“You guys are adorable! I love your princess costume!” Patton cooed. “It was Roman’s.”

Roman laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

 “CUUUUUTE!”

 Rosita was telling the story about that day, but Roman found he wasn’t listening. He just stared at Remus in the photo, his grin wide and his hands bared like claws. His eyes filled with his usual mischief. He always wanted to be the villain or the monster. He remembered a time when Remus built a city out of blocks and toy cars and proceeded to stomp through it and making monster sounds, making Roman laugh at his brother’s silliness as he altered between making noises or pretending to be the shrill voice citizens of the town either being afraid or just saying the weirdest thing like “Dang it I left my pudding at home and now my pants are on fire!”.

Memories came rushing. The times they tried to do a secret handshake but could never remember the steps. The times they slept over at Virgil’s home with red and green matching pajamas and sleeping bags. The times they’d fight over the last homemade churro and forced to split it and apologize. When Remus would come to him when he had horrible nightmares of terrible actions his mind told him to do and he’d cry while hugging Roman tightly, who would cry cause his twin was sad. The gap-toothed grin Remus would give him as they planned to do some mischief and even sometimes dragging Virgil into it. Their red and green “brothership” bracelets they wore until they broke.

 “Im going to the bathroom. Don’t start dessert without me!” Roman suddenly blurted out, leaving the room and rushing quickly up the steps to the upstairs bathroom farthest away from the stairs.

 He locked the door and turned the fan on. He let out a shuddered gasp and pressed his back against the wall.

“You’re fine Roman. You’re fine. You’re with your family, your loves are enjoying themselves. Don’t ruin this for them. You’re fine.”

 Suddenly a sob escaped his lips. He couldn’t stop it. Oh god he was a horrible person. A fraud.

 He was the one that abandoned the other two members of their little musketeer group just for some ill-deserved attention by horrible people.

He was the one who pushed his brother away, insulting him and ignoring him when Remus didn’t understand what he did wrong.

He was the reason Remus was gone, never able to attend his wedding, to see his loves or be part of their growing family and instead out there doing who knows what. Was he even still alive?

His loves had poor choice in men, since they were marrying him.

His mother was a fool to love him because he was a horrible son.

 His fault.

His fault!

 A knock interrupted his thoughts.

 “Hijo I know you’re in there.”

 It was his mom.

 “I’m fi-“

“Open the door Roman.” She said, usual sass or warmth in her voice gone.

 Roman gulped and unlocked the door. He opened it for his mother to come in. She stepped inside and locked the door behind her.

 “Roman, my sweet baby.” She cooed comfortingly and cupped his face, which was wet with tears. “Lo siento mama. Lo siento!” he sobbed, burying his face in her shoulder.’

 She stroked his hair as he sobbed and shushed him softly. He gripped her white blouse and sobbed, feeling like a child again, guilty for doing something wrong.

 “Lo siento. I’m sorry! I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for turning those pictures into sad memories!” he cried.

 It felt like a million eyes were glaring at him, a phantom hand was gripping his throat. Harsh voices whispered his guilt over and over and over until he was dizzy.

 “Hijo it’s not your fault.” She whispered.

“But mama it is! I’m the reason he’s gone! I’m the reason family dinners feel so empty! I’m the reason I split our family apart!”

“Roman.”

 Rosita’s stern voice made him push back to look at her. Her green eyes stared into his blue ones, filled with tears, but held a strong determination and a love he could never comprehend.

 “Roman, it’s not your fault. Yes, you’ve made some mistakes, but it’s not your fault.” She said firmly, wiping his tears away with her thumbs.

She sighed shakily and frowned, which was never a good look on his usually happy mother.

 “It’s mine.” “Mama how could y-“ “It’s mine because I didn’t do anything. I didn’t guide you to make better decisions back then, like a mother should.”

 Roman’s lip wobbled, god he was an ugly crier.

 “It’s my fault that I was so focused on fixing Remus because I was scared for him that I didn’t even think about how he felt or wanted. Yes, your brother’s actions were troubling, deeply so, but I did nothing to help him. I did nothing to understand or support him. And now, its my fault for having you endure so much guilt.”

 It was quiet for a bit. Too quiet.

 “You may never stop feeling that guilt, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry you carried this with you for so long. But honey, I’m so proud of you!” Rosita said with a wobbly grin.

“What?” Roman shakily asked.

“I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself and making a change. I’m proud of you for making things right with Virgil. I’m proud of you for being such a hard worker, and an amazing dreamer. I’m so proud of you for being a kind and determined man who puts everything into what he does.”

“And honey, I’m proud of you for being a good lover. For being true to yourself even though its scary. I’m proud of you for saving Patton from those god-awful people and supporting Logan during this dinner cause I know he was nervous. I’m proud that you and Virgil and Patton and Logan love each other so much. That despite polyamorous marriage not being legal here, you all said fuck it, cause love conquers everything.”

 Roman whimpered before sobbing again. He may never get over the guilt, but with time he can move on. He was so fortunate to have people who he loves with all his heart, and they love him with theirs. He had the best family and the best friends, even if it was hard to see that at times.

 He had the best mother.

————

“Why don’t we break it?” “Remus we need to remain as anonymous as we can.” “Boo!” “Do you want this octopus or not?”

 It was their last dollar out of like, three hundred. They took a break ‘cause they got hungry, but they came right back. Remus watched, eyes looking between the claw of the machine game and his love’s concentrated and yet frustrated face. He looked like he was about to scream “YOU LOSE! Good DAY SIR!” in a shrill tone.  The claw once again picked up the green octopus. Its floppy tentacles hang limp as the claw started to slowly move over to the little dispenser chute. It suddenly slipped through the claw’s metal arms.

 “NO!” they both almost screamed.

 Ah, but a miracle has happened! One of the octopus’s tentacles was caught on the claw! The claw moved over the chute and dropped the plushie down into it. “YEAH!” Remus cheered, hearing a startled yelp from someone.

—————

Roman came down with his mom, face clean and no longer blotchy. He smiled as he saw his family still sitting downstairs. They turned to him and Patton grinned, looking relieved. Logan and Virgil just stared at him like he had done something stupid.

 “Dude I can’t believe you got your hand stuck in the faucet drain. What were you doing?” Virgil asked.

 Roman turned to Rosita, who grinned. Oh, his mom made up an excuse to check on him, which was nice, but still that’s embarrassing. He came up with a lie to not seem like too much of an idiot.

 “I was washing my hands when one of mama’s earrings she left by the sink went down the drain! I had to rescue it! It was her favorite pair!”

“Well now that you rescued the earring, we were gonna have brownies and watch Frozen 2! Interested?” Patton proposed.

“Definitely!”

 Roman felt so much better. He sat down on the couch with Virgil pressed against his side and Logan’s head on his shoulder. Patton came back with brownies for everyone and gave Roman a peck on the lips as he gave Roman his treat. Rosita and Ginerva argued over how Disney Plus worked, only for Logan to instruct them carefully. As Ginerva got the movie set up, Imaj sat down on the floor with his knees drawn up in between Patton and Virgil, happily nibbling on his brownie. Missy walked over and crawled into Roman’s lap, still looking irritated, but there was a shy plush on her face. He decided not to say anything and just ruffled her hair. She smiled a bit at that. Then, she grinned a mischievous grin that reminded him of when Virgil jump scared them as a vampire last Christmas and..someone he used to know.

 “I hope Olaf dies.” She said.

 Patton and Rosita gasped in horror as Virgil laughed loudly.

———-

 “What are you going to name it?” Deceit asked Remus.

 Remus looked at the cute octopus in his hands.

 “Can Mr. Squishyboo join your tea party Roman?”

“Yeah, but he can’t poison the tea this time! Ms. Fluffybottom got sick last time!” “Fiiine. Then you can’t call him a squid. He’s an octopus!”

 Remus smiled softly down at the octopus’s happy little face.

 “Squishyboo jr.” he said.

“Oh thank god. I thought you were going to name it hentai.” Deceit sighed.

“Oh! His full name is Squishyboo jr Hentai Lokir!” Remus laughed loudly.

“Do not use my last name for your stuffed animal.” Deceit huffed.

 Remus giggled and kissed his love’s forehead. They walked hand in hand out of the arcade, past Pac-man games and children giggling and playing ski-ball. They were near the entrance when a man with a pink Sailor Moon T-shirt stopped them for a moment.

 “Oh my stars I love your Invader Zim crop top sir!” he said, Irish accent prominent.

“Thank you! I love your anime titty lady!” Remus greeted back as they left, Deceit snickering and squeezing his hand with affection.

——-

 The man just blinked for a moment before noticing his phone was ringing. He smiled and answered it.

 “Heeeey babe! How’s your like, family reunion going?” a voice spoke from the other end.

“ ‘ello Remy. Its going fine! Mum, Mama and Dad want you to come next year!”

“Maybe I will go. Like, making wedding stuff is okay, but like, when its for your friends, it sucks. Like, I know im the best bitch in this business, but it has to be so perfect they cry.”

“You are the best Remy. They wouldn’t ask you if you weren’t”

 A laugh on the other end.

 “This is why I love you Emile, my little piece of Picani pie.”

 Emile Picani giggled.

 “So, what are you doing now?”

“I’m about to set a high score on the DDR machine. I saw they had some Miku songs and I wanted to try them!”

“Fuck yeah Miku. Hey, face time me so I can see you like, totally shame on everyone’s scores.”

#weddings are just funerals with cake #weddings are funerals with cake #Sanders sides #sanders sides fanfic #thomas sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #LAMP #tw blood #tw mentioned cannibalism #tw self blame #Remus sanders #deceit sanders #demus #dukeceit #prinxiety #logicality #Analogical #royality #logince #sanders sides fanfiction #Remy sanders #ts sleep #sleep sanders #Emile Picani #Dr. Emile Picani #Dr. Picani #ts deceit

[southslates]

hi dee! i’ve recently gotten into writing fanfic and whenever i try writing dialogue, it just seems...out of place. do you have any tips for writing dialogue?

Hey! Anyone who reads my fics knows that I shift between writing fics with no dialogue and fics that are mostly dialogue :) I thought about this for a hot second, and I think that there are two things that matter to me a lot when I'm reading/writing dialogue:

First of all, grammar/punctuation. I don’t want to sound really stingy here, and perfect punctuation or dialogue is certainly something that I’m not the best at, but some things are important for readership! These are just a few things which I see a lot in fanfic :)

Don’t end every piece of your dialogue in a period -- and if you do end your dialogue in a period, don’t add a verb after that period -- use a comma there. 

“I feel like this is going to be a night to remember.” She said.

“I feel like this is going to be a night to remember,” she said. ☑

When you add an extra period you disturb the flow, and the verb flows as another sentence, though it should be lumped in with the initial statement. I’m not the best at the opposite of this, lol, but I see more prominently than its opposite. 

Along with that, just . . . generic dialogue things! 

Always capitalize the beginning of your dialogue, unless it’s within two commas.

“yeah, this looks like it’s going to be fun.”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “this looks like it’s going to be fun.”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “This looks like it’s going to be fun.”  ☑

“Yeah,” she smiled, “this looks like it’s going to be fun.”  ☑

And I’m sure these are all obvious, but general proper and consistent capitalization, proper spacing, and punctuation at the end of the dialogue is always important!

“Yeah” he told her. 

“Yeah,” he told her.

“Okay, fine “ he glared over at the other side of the room.

“Okay, fine.” He glared over at the other side of the room.

“I’m so excited!” She said.

“I’m so excited!” she said.

“ How are you doing?” She questioned.

“How are you doing?” she questioned. 

Secondly, flow!

Everyone’s dialogue is really personal to them. I think making sure your punctuation is mostly correct adds a lot to flow. There are no rules to dialogue or writing :)

Here are some things I do in order to maintain ‘flow’ --

I have my characters interrupt each other with em-dashes a lot. This is something I feel is really reflective of the way most of my conversations in real life occur, and it’s something decently unique to me, but I really enjoy doing it. (These are excerpts from ‘we walk a fragile line’ because I have no imagination, lol)

“Did you tell the ambassador —”

She was dreading this. “I don’t know, Zuko. He said that he can’t give me the job back. There are too many applicants.”

Same thing with ‘. . .’ because a lot of people trail off a lot when they talk as well. 

“You can’t work while . . .”

“I know. But I can’t quit.”

Have your conversations out loud if they feel awkward! Sit down and talk to yourself or a trusted friend, and either say what you have out loud or record your conversation. You can incorporate the nuances of your voices into your conversation. 

Every character has a unique voice. You can choose one thing about a character and give them a voice. In ATLA, Uncle Iroh speaks formally, slowly, so his words are enunciated and very thought-out, while Zuko just speaks his mind. Azula has a haughty tone that’s combined with a large vocabulary, and she tends to use words with cruel connotations. Aang is really excited, so he speaks clearly and with a lot of exclamation points.

Dialogue is really reflective of you. Personally, I do debate and had a terrible lisp growing up, and I’ve gone through years of speech therapy. I personally speak very fast and using run-ons. I know other people who tend to speak very slowly. Characters can have these differences too.

Don’t be afraid to let characters stutter, forget what they say, or stop talking in the middle of their sentences and blush xD

I think the biggest thing to remember is that dialogue is not description. Characters don’t tend to use gigantic academic words when they speak even if those words are a part of their vocabulary, and your general writing is going to be more varied and include more words than what your characters are going to say. Don’t be afraid to have characters repeat speech patterns, especially with different people, because we do that. A lot of dialogue can end up stilted and formal, and sometimes that doesn’t always flow in fic.

Explore your writing and your dialogue! Read your work to yourself! Get a beta-reader! Explore your capabilities :) I will do that as well! Sorry for this long and rambling answer, but I hope this made some sort of sense. Thanks for asking this, @i-guess-the-tables-shifted, it made me think about my own writing a bit!

(General PSA that I’m sixteen and write fanfiction, so this is not the word of God, or even someone incredibly credible, but take it as you will, and let me know if you disagree with anything here) 

#dee writes #zutara fics #fanfiction #writing #writing dialogue

[purplerose244]

Thinking journal for season 12 Prime Empire 😎😎😎 (1/2)

So, I'm keeping this during all of season 12 to put down my thoughts as they appear. It's mostly for not ranting every single time a new episode comes out so please don't mind me too much 😅 I'm following the English release so please no spoilers 😙

I'm gonna split it in two, since apparently the season has 16 episodes. So this is the first part, enjoy my rambling 💜💜

It's the 30th of March and here we go!

IN GENERAL

I'm so, SO HAPPY, we have a theme for this season. For my experience apparently silly themes (tech ninja, ghosts, pirates) had brought very surprising results so I'm SO DOWN FOR THIS 😍😍

It seems that they fixed the mood, there is a specific mystery and a specific mission to follow. I like it too

THE NEW WHIP IS DOPE AS ALWAYS

I'm really glad there are plenty of references to past episodes, comebacks are my jam

The only thing that still kinda bothers me is the length of the episodes. It's not all bad, I just think the 20 minutes format was better. One thing is splitting 20 in 10 minutes, another is putting together 11 minutes of important stuff. Doesn't bother me too much, I just wish there was more time for my favorite show 🤷‍♀️

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENTER PRIME EMPIRE?

Is it normal for me to feel really old after they made the "what is a VCR?" joke? Like, I'm a uni student so still pretty young, but I lived through the transition from that to the DVD so... eh, I laughed anyway👵

Jay is smart, I really believe he is. Yet I saw him putting a possibly corrupted motherboard into a legendary game randomly found into a villain's lair, and I was like "Of course he did that, I love you you dumb*ss" raising my glass of juice towards him 😎

Okay, I'm down for this Lloyd. I'm down for a season with Lloyd being creeped out just because, being silly, just a ninja helping his friends and- (remembers there's a Harumi avatar in the sets) I'M NOT READY

The ending was actually nicely creepy. Cool nods in approval

DYER ISLAND

THAT INTRO THOUGH, THAT WAS EPIC! Love the techno sounds, love the clear gaming connection, I rate it 10/HECK YEAH LONG LIVE THE FOLD

I was scared about how the shorts were supposed to play along with the season, but it looks fine so far with the mechanic and later for Scott. Good 👍

Ah, Fist to Face, that game came all over from the nostalgic season 1. That's what I'm talking about 😎

So they just associated that Unagami is probably Dyer's avatar like that? Like sure, I thought about it, but it looks a little rushed. Mm, I wonder if there's something more behind it?

LEVEL 13

Cyrus Borg is back and he TALKS!!! Finally, he gets some action! Go tech dad!

I'm so happy he referenced the Digiverse, I would have been very disappointed if he hadn't. Time flies Borg...

Not gonna lie, I thought the next to follow up Jay's spot as best in videigames was going to be Kai or Lloyd. It's not disappointing though, since pretty much all the ninja have been seen playing, and to be honest I like the implication that Cole and Jay probably played a lot together. As bruiseshipping or as BrOTP, I still love them together no matter what 💙🖤💙🖤

Ooooohhhhh, that's why Zane and Pixal are left behind. It makes sense, sure, but I don't understand the implication of the plan: they saw Dyer entering Prime Empire, so why looking for him in real life? Mm, maybe they will investigate about his life and what happened... PIXANE ON THE CASE 😍

Already saw Prime Empire's world in the shorts, of course it looks DOPE, still very happy to finally being there!

SUPERSTAR ROCKIN' JAY

I don't know why, but Kai questioning the double jump made me laugh. Also poor him, he just got his powers back from last season and they're already gone again 😂

And of course. Them. Wow. It must be the most amazing and CURSED thing I've ever seen so far, the League of Jay 🤯 I'm so happy they exist and they freaking use past seasons' suits!!! Awesome!!! Never thought I was going to see Jay's old plain haircut again... yeah, he got better with the curly one, but I'm feeling nostalgic 🤷‍♀️

Their nick are histerical omg, Jaybird, Dee-Jay, Jaywalkin, I'm loving this way more than I should 😂 Also they freaking screamed "JAY-NJA GOO!!!" and I don't know what to do with that, it's too great for me to comprehend 👏👏

And then, THIS happened:

Your Honor, I would like to confirm this as THE MOST SECRET DREAM I'VE EVER HAD FOR THIS SHOW FINALLY COMING TRUE!!! A NINJA FROM NINJAGO DOING THE NARUTO RUN!!! 🤯🤯🤯 Done, I'm done, conclude the season, this is more than enough for me 😍

First Kai gets hit and fall from a building, DYING, then Lloyd gets desperate for his brother (MY BROTP 💚❤💚❤), then Kai respawns and Lloyd looks so relieved and Kai is all panting while slowly realizing it's a game and MY HEART CAN'T HANDLE THIS MUCH OKAY???

As a very passionate Kai fangirl I always expect the cringy moment, it really is inevitable for my favorite hothead. I love that idiot so much it's unbelievable, even if it's an absolute and costant suffering 😅 Holy Garmadon it was painful seeing his VERY slow realization that in this game you only have four lives

... SO HE HAS ONE NOW!?! NINJAGO CREW YOU ALREADY KILLED ZANE, NYA AND LLOYD ONCE AT THE END OF A SEASON, DON'T YOU DARE PLAY WITH ME AGAIN 😱😱😱

Okay, I did not expect to hear about Mr. Cuddly Wamp ever again since Hands of Time and BOY if I'm happy it was actually a password, I love this show 😂

SCOTT FINALLY!!! YESS!!! 😍😍😍

Okay, for as long as it is not debunked, I will hold onto the Scott is Jay's brother/twin theory. I'm sorry but: his jacket has dragons AND lightnings on it, they have very similar skin in avatar mode, he said he was waiting for him in the short, he could very well have his same hair under cap and hoodie and he's a mechanic too. I know, I know, they could have the same skin because Scott helped him for the avatar, and there might be shadier reason behind the 'I was waiting for you' thing, and there are tons of good mechanics in Ninjago... STILL HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE??? 😍

SCOTT HAS ONE LIFE POINT TOO??? NO! NOOO!!! NOOOOOOO!!! Don't you dare appear and steal my heart only to die at the end of the season, come on!! 😭

So for now it seems like he just wants to survive. Can we actually confirm he's an avatar and not an NPC? I mean he could be, but I don't see the point of an NPC self aware of his life points. Idk, maybe I'm overthinking this 🤷‍♀️

Lol, Kai is the only one weirded out by the Jay-con all around him. Probably because he hasn't heard from his fans since Skybound 😅 (I'M STILL HERE MY FLAME BABE, ILY ❤❤❤)

And in all of his glory, freaking Superstar Rockin' Jay!!! 😎😎 Okay, I loved the design since the first time I saw it, but it looks possibly even better in the show 😍😍😍 And Jay looks absolutely adorable in it, and he's got a guitar, and he was waiting for his friends, and he hugs them (I'm weak for LEGO hugs for some reason) and he is so happy and AAAHHH 💙💙💙💙💙

I'm very curious about how Scott will play into the situation, clearly he will provide some kind of insight about Prime Empire. I can't wait to know more about him!! 😍

I AM OKINO

I did not expect this when I saw this Okino guy in the trailer... and I'm so happy I was surprised, I love him 👌

And he's voiced by Alessandro Juliani?? HECK YEAH!!! With all the hype about the DnD 13th season, and consequentially the knight theme, I really miss Nexo Knights and having Aaron's VA around makes me happy... any hope to have Giles Panton as well? I miss Clay the most 💙💙

This is what I'm talking about, the game theme needs this stuff! I was already happy to see life points, double jumps and respawns, but this? The NPC guide? Awesome 👍 It's nice to see the take on the matter, the guide seeing so many players getting killed, first because they did not listen, then because they were actually just unlucky. The touchy matter I always expect watching Ninjago 👏👏

At least I THINK he's an NPC? For now I don't really see a way of knowing, and it doesn't look like it matters. He didn't show life points so maybe? Does this mean he can't die? I have questions people

Which brings me to the cube thingies. That's what happens to the dead players? I mean, I would understand if they just become pixels, but there's also the drone that takes the datas every time. Idk, feels like there's more behind it. And honestly? It looks like great material for angst, like one of the ninja dies but then they discover they just need to get where Unagami stores all of the players! I hope it's something like this!

They designs of the players are really cool, I already saw them in the other episodes, but seeing them this close just confirmed it. Between this and Jay's awesome avatar, I see lots of great cosplay ideas coming 😍 I wonder when will Kai and Lloyd use their avatars, and why would they since I'm guessing Jay did for disguise and to distinguish himself from his fans

PLEASE TELL ME WE'LL SEE SCOTT SOON, I ALREADY MISS HIM!!! 💙💙💙 I have too many theories about that tech dude, I'm so excited about who he might turn out to be!

I was a little skeptical about the new ninja suits, but seeing them in the show convinced me, very cool! Especially on Nya 💕💕💕

THE GLITCH

Alright, Okino is indeed an NPC. Cool the fact that at first he could not understand the fact that he was in a game, but when reality changed he was forced to. Welcome into the crew! 😙

I'm kinda worried about it though, either they will shut down the game and he will stay inside or he will sacrifice for them. He's a very loyal samurai, I can see that happening and I'm SCARED

I WAS SWEATING BULLETS AT THE AMBUSH!!! I 100% saw it coming, we all freaking saw it coming, even the ninja did but where like 'we can walk and die or we can risk and die so might as well'. But still, my babies DYING and respawning so fast was not pretty 😱😱

Nya got the scariest death until now in my opinion, holy Garmadon Dyer DOES have a twisted mind...

Seeing Kai so scared of being in a new situation and with one HP reminds me A LOT of the Digiverse, and that's actually a nice touch. Give him a cellphone, hothead is a social media expert, but put him in a game and... huuhhh... 😅

Have I mentioned I love the ninja's new emoji masks??

BECAUSE I DO!!! 😂😂😂😂

So Unagami knows about them trying to stop him and he sent the rat people because of it. Considering how little we know about this guy, I'm wondering what we are about to discover

Alright, going to the next challenge, very curious about this adventure. So... beware of the rats, ninja? Still not sure what I think about the rats 😅

THE CLIFFS OF HYSTERIA

I would like to say Okino is the edgiest character of the show I've ever seen... but I've seen MORRO. But still poor guy, he got a case of the Matrix

Oooohhhh, the major question in videogames: better go grinding for more money to get the better stuff but while losing lots of time, or get the least expensive just to go on with the story but definitely risking to lose lives?

Ah there we go, so the energy cubes mean something! Also reference to the Sushimi guy of the set (gosh that name, I can't 😂). So do people actually die in Prime Empire or they are just kidnapped kinda? Can the ninja just bring back? ANGST POTENTIAL

Cole please don't die please don't die please don't die for the love of Garmadon please don't die somebody help-

HOLY FSM KAI I MEANT HELP FROM SOMEONE WITH MORE THAN ONE LIFE DON'T DO THAT BE CAREFUL PLEASE I FREAKING LOVE YOU YOU RECKLESS HOTHEAD ❤❤❤

Nya giving Kai a sweet look after seeing her brother is okay, that's what I live for 😍

So apparently Unagami is trying to build some kind of device using the energy cubes of the dead players (sounds kinda creepy like this 😱) to create some kind of portal? To Ninjago? I don't understand, if Unagami is Milton Dyer then why this? Just to bring his army and conquer? I mean I guess, sounds a little simple though. Then again, if it turns out it's not Dyer, it could be Unagami wanting to be real and get into his creator's world? Mm...

I like the message, having the ability to choose your own path. Very fitting for a game themed season, I hope it gets explored even more!

More for the "I love the ninja emoji masks of this season"'s compilation 😂😂😂

THE MAZE OF THE RED DRAGON

Duuuude, Jay being good at mazes comes all the way from Possession, the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master! 😍 ... or maybe I just rewatch this show too much... could be both really 😅

Unagami is NASTY!

Confirmed the thing about going into the real world, what scares me is how much powers Unagami seems to actually possess. Like, can he do the block thingy whenever he wants? Just straight up pause and do whatever? Wow...

Jay being extra 😎

I mean, of course he is, he's got better statics! 😂 I like how he seems so focused and in charge, I still hope we see more of him... and Scott... WHERE IS SCOTT???

I love dragons, this metal one is cute 😍

So now we have two ronin: a samurai looking for a path on his own in a digital world... and a shady guy named Ronin 😛 Total respect for Okino, he really showed the values he believes in. No matter he was programmed his way, I hope he finds what he's looking for. Better come back for the final battle!

One Keytana down, two more to go. I know one is the price of the race, while the last one... I don't really know.

More of the masks because I love them 😂 Here we have Vegeta Lloyd and Kawai Cole ✌✌

#ranting #this is kinda therapeutic #i feel good #i like this season #ninjago #lego ninjago #prime empire #ninjago season 12 #ninjago spoilers #spoilers #ninjago s12 #ninjago kai #kai smith #ninjago jay #jay walker #jay gordon #ninjago nya #nya smith #cole brookstone #ninjago cole #kai ninjago #ninjago lloyd #lloyd montgomery garmadon #lloyd garmadon #ninjago zane #zane julien #ninjago pixal #pixal borg #ninjago okino #ninjago scott

[imaginapalminthemorning]

Study Me How to Please the Eye Indeed, Ch. 2

Ch. 1 here

Warnings: cursing

Introductions Pt. 2

Jesus, that kid is a lot, Janus grumbled as he readjusted himself on the tiny bed. Five minutes and he’s trying to get me to spill my whole life story.

It wasn’t even that great a story. Just your typical troubled child— bullied, outcast, problems with authority— the usual. Why did he care? And what’s so wrong with using a nickname? Lots of people go by nicknames. Why’d he have to call him out on that of all things?

Janus wondered if Remus’s story was much different. He certainly looked like a troubled kid. Leather jacket, ripped jeans, piercings everywhere. And that stupid mustache. He looked like he belonged in a strip club. Or a porno. What the hell was he doing here?

Oh, who am I to judge someone based on their appearance? Janus groaned and shoved his face into his pillow. I certainly wouldn’t know anything about that.

Don’t fall into old habits, Dee. You’re here to make a new start, remember? Clean slate. No mistakes. No judgment.

No lying.

Hell, that’s probably why he’s here too. A new start. Rude and annoying huh? Does he get that a lot? Hah. I fucking wonder why. Well, he won’t get that from me. We’ll keep each other in check. He’s sure to call me out on my bullshit; I’ll make sure to let him. Together we can start fresh.

But for now, I need to fucking sleep.

                                   *            *            *            *            *

It was well past dark when Janus heard the door open. Remus sauntered in and slammed the door behind him, causing Janus to flinch slightly. His head was still pounding, but he tried not to look too irritated.

“You were out late,” Janus said in as calm a tone as he could muster.

“Sorry, mom,” Remus mocked. He flopped down on his bed and let out a long sigh. He didn’t seem to be in the best of moods either. Janus decided not to push the issue, and went back to the book he was reading.

Remus watched Janus read for a while. “Did you get some sleep?” He finally asked.

“Some,” Janus replied.

“That’s good.” Remus turned his gaze back to the ceiling. Funny, he’d been so talkative earlier. What happened out there?

“What have you been up to?” Janus tried casually.

“Wandering the campus. Found the science building. It’s big.”

“Is that where your classes are gonna be?”

“Yep. Chem major,” Remus continued to speak to the ceiling. Janus wondered if this was payback for being so defensive earlier.

“What about you? What are you majoring in?”

“Philosophy.”

“Oh dope. That’s tough shit. You must be pretty smart.”

“I could say the same thing about a chemistry major.”

“Yeah well, I really just wanna learn how to make a bomb,” he paused a moment, but then turned and smiled at Janus. “Kidding.”

“Funny,” Janus said flatly. This guy is so weird.

“Hey, have you had dinner yet?” Remus suddenly popped up and sat cross-legged on the bed. He bounced slightly, causing the old wire frame to creak underneath him.

Janus was caught a bit off-guard by the sudden change in demeanor. “N-No, not yet.”

“Catch.”

Remus reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a small package, and tossed it to Janus. Janus turned it over in his hands, and found it to be a package of pop tarts— strawberry flavored.

“They have a whole stand of free snacks in the cafeteria. I took a bunch of ‘em,” Remus stated as he began unwrapping his own morsel.

“Healthy,” Janus said snidely, eyeing the sugar content.

“If you don’t want it, give it back,” Remus mumbled, half of the pop tart already in his mouth.

Janus very much would have given it back, if it weren’t for his growling stomach. As well as not sleeping, he also hadn’t eaten anything since that morning. And considering how late it was, the pop tart was probably his best option.

“Thanks,” he mumbled as he unwrapped the frosted pastry.

“Welcome,” Remus smiled, “figured you probably hadn’t eaten much. I’ll make sure to get something ‘healthier’ next time.”

“You got this specifically for me?”

“Of course not. I got it for me. But then I thought you might want some too, so I went back,” having practically inhaled his pastry, Remus tossed the wrapper and began work on a second one.

“That was... very thoughtful. Thank you,” Janus repeated.

“What can I say, I’m just a thoughtful guy,” Remus finished his second pack and laid back down on the bed, satisfied.

“And here I thought you were just another guy with dicks for brains.”

Remus shot a glance at Janus, surprised, but Janus just gave him an impish smile.

“Kidding.”

Remus’s face broke into a wide grin. He looked almost proud.

“I like you, Dee. I think we’re gonna get along just fine.”

Janus smiled as he took a bite out of his pop tart.

“Me too.”

******

“Hey Pat, you dropped this.”

“Oh, Lollihops!” Patton plucked the stuffed frog from Roman’s hands, and carefully set it down on his pillow next to the other two.

“So you like frogs, huh?” Roman commented.

“Yeah! I know it’s weird, a grown man with stuffed animals, but I just couldn’t leave home without em! They’re like my babies!” Patton smiled at the little trio. Lollihops, Croakington and Sir Hopsalot had stuck by Patton his whole life, even when everything around him was constantly changing. He wasn’t about to let them go anytime soon.

“They’re cute,” Roman said encouragingly, and gave Lollihops a little pat on the head. “Nothing wrong with a few little cuddly companions. As long as they make you happy right?”

“Yes, yes, exactly! Thank you!” Patton beamed with excitement. It felt so good to be validated, especially by someone like Roman. He figured Roman would think he was weird, or childish; after all, he seemed so strong, and mature, and confident,

and pretty,

but he also seemed really nice and compassionate. It was clear Roman was way out of Patton’s league, but he didn’t seem to mind. Patton counted his lucky stars that he got such a good roommate.

As he did, Patton noticed a ringed notebook sitting on the desk next to his bed. It wasn’t one of his; it was red and sparkly, and had a small drawing in the lower corner— a dragon wearing a little witches hat, etched in black ink.

“Hey Roman, is this yours?” Patton asked as he picked up the small notebook off the desk. Not thinking, he opened it up and started reading a page.

Roman turned and jumped when he saw Patton reading. “Oh, that’s nothing,” he said as he snatched the book out of Patton’s hands. “Just a journal.”

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Patton said sheepishly. Come on, Pat, you should know better. That’s private!

But what he had seen had made him curious. He had to ask, “Do you write poems?”

Roman eyed Patton cautiously, still clutching the journal. He seemed to be deciding what to tell him.

“They’re... song lyrics, actually.”

“Really?” Patton’s jaw dropped, “That’s so cool! Do you sing?”

“Sort of,” Roman shifted in place, looking both flattered and embarrassed. “I’m better at guitar, though.”

“You play guitar?!” Patton’s eyes shone in excitement. “Wow! I wish I was talented like that. I can play Chopsticks on the piano but that’s about it. And you write your own songs?”

“Well...” Roman’s lack of enthusiasm was quite perplexing. What was he so embarrassed about? Patton wondered.

“I try to write songs,” Roman explained, “I haven’t finished any of them. None of them are very good anyway.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, they’re just... I don’t know, I just...”

Patton watched Roman fumble with the notebook as he fumbled over his words. Perhaps he wasn’t as confident as he looked. He needed some encouragement.

“Do you mind if I read some? I don’t want to overstep my boundaries, I get that it’s private, but...” Patton trailed off and waited for an answer.

Roman thought about it another moment, but finally relented and handed over the journal.

Patton opened it back up to the page he had seen, and read quietly. He read another page. And another. Each one was covered in beautiful phrases about love and loss, happiness and anger, risk and regret. Patton read and read, amazed at the talent and heart that was being poured out onto every page.

“These... are really good, Roman,” Patton spoke softly with wonder, “Why did you think they weren’t good?”

“I don’t know. They all sound so... cliché. Everybody writes love songs, you know? I wanna write something new, y’know, something nobody’s done before. I just always start out with an idea, but then... I start hating it halfway through. That’s why I never finish anything.”

Patton finally closed the notebook and handed it back to Roman. “Well, I think people write about love so much because there’s so many ways to talk about it. It’s not so much what you write about, it’s how you write it, right?” He gave Roman the warmest smile he could possibly manage, “And I think you write beautifully.”

Roman’s cheeks burned red, and he looked down at the little notebook. “You’re not just saying that?”

“Of course not!” Patton dared to place a hand on Roman’s shoulder. He didn’t shy away. “I think you’re a very talented individual, Roman, and I look forward to getting to know what you’re all about!”

Roman smiled, “Thanks Pat. I... I can call you Pat, right?”

Patton smiled back, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

******

The diner was small and cramped, but in a cozy kind of way. Logan and Virgil had settled on it after assessing the state of their wallets, and were now sat at the counter, watching the chefs bustle about in the kitchen. The smell of eggs, bacon, pies, pancakes, and maple syrup hung in the air. Oldies crackled over the speakers, almost drowned out by the mumble and bumble of conversation from the other patrons. Logan’s deep voice added to the sound, as he continued to ramble about this and that. He wasn’t paying much attention to what he was saying; he was focused more on Virgil’s reaction. The boy next to him sat hunched over, eyes averted, fidgeting with his fork. He looked like he was trying very hard not to look too uncomfortable.

Logan’s heart sank. He had been so excited when Virgil agreed to accompany him; the prospects of making a new friend were slim for Logan. It was his own fault, he knew. He just couldn’t seem to relate to others— his interests never matched those around him. Even now, the boy in the dark sweatshirt and shaggy black haircut couldn’t be less interested in what he had to say. However, Logan would have to share a room with him for the next four months at least, so this was not a relationship he could afford to lose. He decided to accept defeat before the situation got any worse.

“I’m talking your ear off, aren’t I?” Logan tried to sound pleasant and positive, and not disappointed at all.

Virgil perked up immediately. “No no, you’re fine. Sorry,” he said, almost instinctively.

Logan cocked his head, confused. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Oh, I just,” Virgil stuttered, “Sorry, I’m not— you know, sorry for not, contributing to the... the conversation... much...” his voice trailed off to a whisper as a soft pink spread across his pale cheeks.

Logan was taken aback. He had not expected an apology. What’s more, Virgil seemed embarrassed. Why would he be embarrassed?

“That’s nothing to apologize for,” Logan said earnestly, “I should be the one apologizing, I’m yammering away and not letting you get a word in.”

“Oh, that’s ok. I’m... not really a big talker,” Virgil dared a glance over at Logan, “If you couldn’t tell already.”

“Well, I tend to talk a little too much,” Logan smiled back, “If you couldn’t tell already. Just let me know if I start to annoy you. I won’t be offended at all.”

“Do people say that a lot?”

“What?”

“That you annoy them?”

Yes, thought Logan. All the time. Not in so many words, but in their actions, their reactions, and their subtle body language. A quiet sigh, a resigned look, a shallow excuse to end the conversation; no one ever mentioned it, but it was oh so clear to Logan— nobody seemed to care. No one had ever really listened. No one had tried to understand. No one had ever, ever said the words—

“You don’t annoy me,” Virgil’s voice cut through Logan’s thoughts and struck him at his core. He had set down his fork, and was staring intently at Logan with his dark eyes.

“I’m sorry if I made it seem that way. I’m just, not very good in social situations. I have a hard time talking, making eye contact and all that. But that doesn’t mean I’m not interested.” He looked down for a brief moment, and then back up again, “The truth is, I was really nervous to do this. I mean, I don’t know you. But you seem like a nice guy, and I mean, I’m gonna have to get to know you eventually, right? And if you don’t mind me being so quiet, I don’t mind just listening to you.” His cheeks flared pink again and he muttered quietly, “I really like listening to you.”

“...Oh.” Logan was struck speechless. Who was this boy, who spoke so softly, but so sincerely? Where had he learned to be so heartfelt with such simple words? Could he really be telling the truth? Logan searched his face for some semblance of deceit, but he found none. Only concern creeping up behind his eyes.

“Uh... are you ok?” Virgil asked cautiously.

“Yes!” Logan said a little too excitedly, “Yes. I just... don’t hear that very often. Thank you.”

Virgil smiled for the first time since the two had met. “No problem,” he said quietly.

As if following a cue, the waitress arrived with their orders, and the two boys turned their attention to eggs and hash browns. However, Logan’s mind continued to play the words over and over: You don’t annoy me. I like listening to you. You don’t annoy me. I like listening to you. You don’t annoy me...

Maybe, just maybe, this would be a friendship to last.

#ts sanders sides #college au #all the boys #tw cursing #dukeceit #royality #analogical #madz writes

[vintage-squid]

Clandestine Chromatism

Pairings: Virgil/Deceit Warnings: sympathetic Deceit; anxiety; kissing; cursing; partial nudity (Virgil’s shirtless at one point); nontoxic relationships; a ridiculous amount of fluff

Summary: Everyone knows Deceit is unique in the Mindscape with his scales and oddly coloured eye, it's a part of being a Dark Side ...but Virgil lived there for years and he looks perfectly normal. Right? Wrong. They're not as different as initial appearances suggest: after all, doesn't anxiety function through the act of lying to oneself? Maybe it will take true love's first kiss for the truth to be revealed.

Part one of A Reptilian Romance

AO3 link

A/N: A gift fic I wrote last November for one of my best friends (@mightymegatron) birthdays. Originally posted on AO3, but I figured I would cross post it here :) 

-----

Okay. You can do this. You’ve got this Virgil. He’s your boyfriend, right? This is something you want to share with him.

Summoning his courage while he could, Virgil raised a hand and knocked on the dark mahogany door he had been standing in front of for the past five minutes. Thank god no one had come upstairs from the Commons to witness his embarrassment. The door opened, startling the anxious side from his thoughts, but he relaxed quickly upon seeing the familiar golden eye peering out at him.

“Hey Dee, can I come in?”

Deceit smiled - a genuine expression, no hint of snarky sarcasm to be found - and nodded. “No, go away.” He stepped back, allowing Virgil into his room, before closing the door behind them and draping his arms around his boyfriend to nuzzle one pale cheek. “What drives you away from here today, cheetah?”

Virgil hummed, leaning back into the embrace and finally letting the tension loose from his body. He was safe here, free from the fears his own mind plagued him with on a daily. How had he doubted them, as a couple, so strongly? They grounded one another, supported one another; this was something they had been working together towards, something they mutually desired at their own pace. He could do this.

“I want to kiss you.”

Wow Virgil, way to be subtle and work up to asking like planned. Now Deceit was going to think he was some sort of needy hussy or something and-

His thoughts were cut off as the other side slipped free of their embrace to step in front of him until they were face to face, holding their hands together in the space between them.

“You aren’t sure? This isn’t what you want? If Roman hasn’t been pressuring you with his genius thoughts about how all romance shouldn’t play out, I swear I won’t kick his as-”

“No!” Virgil startled at his own yell just as much as Deceit had, grabbing hold of the others capelette. “No.” He repeated more quietly, looking down at the black fabric still gripped in his hands. “Roman hasn’t been forcing me to do anything I’m not ready for or comfortable with. He… actually he was the one I talked to about this first. I needed to vent at someone and get their input, to make sure I was actually feeling ready and not just pushing myself into this to make you happy. Roman helped a whole lot, and this probably wouldn’t be happening without him, so please don’t beat him up on my behalf - this time” Virgil chuckled with a lopsided smirk

He looked up to see Deceit gazing at him with such a sappy, adoring expression that it stole his breath. Time seemed to slow, and before Virgil knew it, they were leaning in and closing their eyes.

They pressed together as one, fumbling momentarily with a shared laugh as their noses squished together, Virgil’s own deeper chuckle offsetting Deceit’s truly adorable giggle-snort. Their second attempt slid together much more smoothly as they tilted into the kiss and leaned into one another, Virgil all but melting into the other side. The brush of Deceit’s lips on his own was soft and dry, like the sensation of running one’s fingers over the pages of a long-loved book.

He released his nervous grip on the other’s capelette, one hand sliding up to cup the warm scales decorating Deceit’s face to smooth his thumb along the long scar that extended his lips, while the other flattened against his chest. In return, a pair of bare hands cupped his own face and drew him closer into the sweet kiss. Virgil adored when his boyfriend would forego his gloves; in his opinion, there was no feeling more comforting than the rarely seen scaled-skin.

What would it feel like, he wondered, if those scales were to brush along his own hidden away on his back? For wine and butterscotch to meet for the first time? Would this most unusual pairing of flavours mingle in the sweetest of manners, or would their taste sour and shrivel any appetite for desire?

Before those thoughts could spiral any further, Deceit, with his seemingly telepathic knowledge of Virgil’s intricate state of mind, reached around to pull the patchwork hood over the anxious side’s head and blanketed them further in their own little world. Any and all worries were swept away as their kiss deepened ever so gently. Deceit nibbled on his lip, drawing a soft noise from the shy side before Virgil gathered his courage to return the favour, blushing a brilliant scarlet when Deceit groaned out what sounded like Virgil’s own name.

When they finally pulled apart, only far enough for their noses to brush and their breaths to mingle, Virgil couldn’t help but smile and touch their foreheads together, losing himself in Deceit’s beautiful eyes. The gorgeous heterochromia was ironically hypnotic, but Virgil couldn’t find it within himself to care to look away. A charming smile spread across Deceit’s lips, so soft and adoring and in contention with his usual smirk, as one scaled thumb caressed beneath Virgil’s right eye.

“There you aren’t,” the dishonest side murmured.

Virgil’s cooling blush flared once more beneath his smeared eye-shadow, his face scrunching in confusion. “What are you talking about? I’ve been right here the entire time, kissing you, doofus. I thought one of your ‘things’ was perception?”

Instead of rising to the fond taunt, as usual, Deceit only smiled wider and leaned up to kiss the center of Virgil’s brow. “I don’t know, I haven’t been here experiencing the worst kiss of my existence with you. I overestimated my own skills, however, because apparently I’m terrible enough to get you to raise your guard.” He paused, seeming to lose himself in Virgil’s gaze. “You have grotesque eyes, such an awful shade of purple…. I hate that we match so horribly.”

Wait.

What!?

The eyes in question widened, the anxious side’s complexion rapidly paling. He pushed away from Deceit’s embrace and scrambled to get his phone out of his hoodie, dropping it with a curse before managing to lift it with the front camera open. A mismatched gaze stared back at him, a bright purple iris stark next to its chocolate partner. Oh no. Oh no no no no no. The bliss of his first kiss had stolen his mental control, letting slip his shape-shifted ‘glamour’ and revealing to the world his true visage. His secret was out. This was it, the beginning of the end. Deceit was going to break up with him for lying, and everyone was going to find out. They were going to shun him again, and this time there would be no hope to escape from the solitude.

Breath quickening, Virgil looked in panic back at the other side. “I’m sorry-” he wheezed, chest heaving. “I should have told you, but I was sc-scared - not of you! Well, h-how you would react - I mean! Sorry, I’m so so sorry, Dee! I never meant-”

His rambling was cut off by a gentle hand cupping beneath his purple eye. Through his tears, Virgil could see Deceit lean in with another one of those soft smiles before the other’s hand reached around to caress the scales peeking out from his collar along the back of his neck, smooth skin running along keeled purple.

“Excite yourself, my cheetah, nothing is okay. Forget your breathing techniques, dear one, I’m not here.”

With Deceit’s help, Virgil nodded and followed the 4-7-8 pattern which his boyfriend (ex??) tapped out on the back of his neck until he was breathing steadily once more. Hood still raised, the anxious side sniffled loudly and wiped at his cheeks, smearing his makeup further until it looked like he had buried his face into a pile of charcoal. Once he had visibly relaxed, as much as he could in this situation, Deceit spoke again.

“I know you’re not freaking out right now, but please just ignore me for a minute?” Upon receiving Virgil’s nod, he continued, “I’m going to hold it against you for hiding this from me, okay? I don’t understand why you kept it to yourself, and I promise I’m going to tell the others without your permission.” Deceit leaned into kiss his temple, once again touching their foreheads together. “You are the least important person in my life, and I don’t want you to know how distasteful I think your true appearance really is. I feel more alone knowing I’m the only one who looks like this. I feel more alone when I’m with you.”

As Deceit spoke, tears had welled in Virgil’s eyes once more, spilling over his small, but growing, smile. “You really think they’re beautiful?” He questioned, laughing wetly with a hiccup as Dee nodded. Darting into the minuscule space between them, Virgil enveloped his boyfriend in a hoodie-hug to end all hoodie-hugs, smiling wide as he buried his face into the scaled neck with a nuzzle. He felt complete as Deceit returned the embrace with a reassuring squeeze around his middle.

“Love you, basilisk.”

“Hate you always, cheetah.”

Pulling away with a sheepish shrug, Virgil dug his hands into his hoodie pickets. “So, um, I guess… Do you wanna see everything then? All of me?” Deceit’s excited gasp was the only answer he needed. He could do this. For his boyfriend, the side bound in deception who could still ground him so effectively in the truth of reality. For the one he loved.

So, with a deep sigh to settle his ever-present nerves, the anxious side slipped his hoodie off his shoulders and dropped it onto the ground next to the pair of discarded yellow gloves. He spent a moment fiddling with the lower hem of his long-sleeved shirt before scrunching his eyes shut and tearing it off as quickly as he could manage - the band-aid technique never failed. It was so easy to picture just what Deceit was looking at right now, what Virgil had seen so many times while hating his reflection: the intricate wine-dark scales, iridescent in the light of sconces lining the room, crawling up each arm and over his shoulders, where he knew they met and covered most of his back; a few patches were visibly hugging his sides, while another crept up the back of his neck to his hairline. The rest of his body was an expanse of creamy, pale skin and a tummy made slightly chubby by frequent stress eating.

When only silence greeted the reveal, Virgil hesitantly peeked his eyes open, expecting to be greeted with disgust, or worse, for Dee to have fled altogether. Instead, he felt his heart stop. If it were possible (and it very likely was, what with they’re being mental constructs of Thomas’ personality) Deceit was pulling off the most convincing Steven Universe ‘starry-eyed’ expression that would have put even a fusion-greeting-Garnet to shame.

“Uhhhh… Dee?” Virgil coughed self-consciously, crossing one arm over his torso to rub the scales at his elbow. “You...gonna say something?”

“You’re imperfect,” Deceit whispered. He reached out with a hand trembling in awe, waiting for Virgil’s nod of permission before running the pads of his fingers across the milky collar bone and over the smooth curve of one shoulder. Stepping closer, he circled the other side, never breaking contact, until he stood behind Virgil. Both hands covered the slim shoulders before sliding down the curve of Virgil’s back, down to the small of his spine, and across the lines of his hips, where they met over the pudgy stomach, fingers laced in a gentle hold.

Virgil held motionless, breathless, as he was caressed like the finest of silks, only daring to move his arms to lay his hands over those currently embracing him. He could feel Deceit’s breath against the nape of his neck, closer and closer until - oh fuck! The brush of scales against his own, as Deceit nuzzled between his shoulder blades, was intoxicating. Virgil muffled a groan behind his hand as the touch starved area of his body was treated so lovingly for the first time ever. He was all but melting into the sensation of being loved and cared for.

“I’m not going to have to give you a back rub soon,” Deceit teased. Virgil could feel that grin against his dorsal scales and couldn’t stop himself from chuckling as well.

“I’m holding you to it.”

And for once in his life, Virgil was actually looking forward to showing off his scales. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to stand out a little after all.

#anxceit #healthy anxceit #sanders sides #virgil sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #fanfiction #a reptilian romance #kylie look #squid scribbles

[g0msatang]

Pairing: Kim Seungmin x Reader

Genre: Dumb

Word count: 801

A/n: I'm sorry, Y/n. I made you look really dumb this time (":

Opening your eyes again for the nth time tonight, you see the clock on the wall at the other side of your room is showing a straight line with its hands. You've been tossing and turning around on your bed, being so restless, but why don't you feel tired yet? Rather than the sleepiness, the memory from this afternoon in the library totally wakes you up.

You were such an embarrassment! How could you just absent-mindedly stare at Kim Seungmin, for like straight ten minutes, without blinking, when he explaining his thought on your group's project?

The worst thing was when he asked you if there was something wrong with him, you just casually said “How can a person is so smart and cute and handsome at the same time? Choose one, you're so greedy.”

And — yeah. The awkward silence it is.

The more you remembered that, the more you want to dig a big deep hole and buried yourself inside! You kick the air in frustation and pressed the pillow on your face to muffled your frustated scream.

How can a person is so dumb and embarrassing at the same time? Choose one, don't be so greedy!

‘Bzzz…’

The buzzing of your phone on the nightstand stop your kick and scream right away. Reach and unlock it, you found a pop up message on the screen. Kim Seungmin.

‘Hi. Are you sleep yet?’

Just a simple question. But it made your mind complicated. How would you answer to this? Should you answer with ‘Not yet, still thinking about you’ ? No, girl. Big no. You can't be any dumber than you are right now.

Or you could just ignore his text and pretend to sleep — no? Your finger was accidentally press on the message and now he know you've read that and not sleeping yet.

Seriously!

“Aaaaaarrgghhh!!!!” what will you do now?!

Jumped out of the window? Unfortunately, your room is on the first floor.

‘Bzzz…’ your phone is buzzing again, and this time he's calling you! What what what what will you do?

Pick that up, dummy!

“H– hello?” Your brain is hesitated to put the phone on your ear, but your dumb excited heart make you talk in a slightly higher tone. With a crack.

You can hear his smile through his words, “Hello, Y/n. Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Uhm,” you clear your throat a little before answering his question in a rather softer voice, “No, not sleepy yet. Is, what happen, Seungmin?”

“Nope, nothing. I just cannot sleep, and I found that you're also awake. So, yeah.”

“Yeah, haha.” you let out a breathy laugh as your legs begin to restlessly shaking out of the nervousness. “Why you cannot sleep, Min?”

“I don't know, just been thinking of this and that. What about you, Y/n?”

“Do you think of me?” You asked that at the same time with his last question. And you have to mentally slap your head. So hard!

“Sorry?” He chuckled.

“Uuhh… No, it's just, there's mosquito in my room. Yea. There's mosquito in my room and I can't catch it nor open the window. So it's just keep 'ngiiiiinggg' around me, that's why I can't sleep. Yeah, that's why. Haha.”

His chuckle turn out to be a giggle by the time you finish your ramble. And of course, you feel impossibly dumber.

“You're so cute.”

Wait, what? It's not you being dumb again this time.

“What? Do you mean dumb, Min?”

“No no, you're not dumb. Actually you're so smart and, yea. I mean, you really are cute.”

Oh. My. Freaking. God.

Did you hear him right? Is he really? Say that you're cute? “Like, cute see you tea ee?”

“Haha, yea. See you tea ee, not dee you am bee.”

“Oh.” It's acceptable to say that you're malfunctioning by now.

“Uhm, Y/n?”

“Y– y– yes?”

“I think, we should sleep now.” Seungmin sounds really careful this time. But you can't do anything about it either. You really need sleep to regain your braincell right now.

“Yea yea yea. Let's sleep.” why does it sound weird? “In our own room!”

“Haha yea, of course.” If you're sane enough, maybe you would catch the nervousness in his voice.

“Good night, Min.”

“Wait, Y/n!” his voice stop your thumb right over the red button of your phone. Bring it back to your ear with a simple yes, you hear him saying,

“I do think of you. Good night!”

And the call ended. Left you dumbfounded in your bed. With widened eyes and dropped jaw.

“Kim Freaking Seungmin!!!!”

“SHUT UP!” Minho, your older brother shouted from the next room.

And now all you can do are kicking the blanket and muffled your scream with the pillow. Once again. For the nth time tonight.

#stray kids fluff #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids seungmin #kim seungmin #seungmin fluff #writing

[luci-the-android]

Finally (A Christmas Fic)

AO3 Link Ko-Fi

Ship(s): Prinxiety, Intrulogical, Past Anxceit Character(s): Virgil Sanders, Roman Sanders, Logan Sanders, Remus Sanders, Deceit Sanders, Patton Sanders Content Warning: None Word Count: 1016

Finally

Virgil was fully prepared to spend another Christmas alone. He had spent the last three Christmas’s alone, in fact, and was perfectly fine. This was why he was so surprised when he got a text from Roman. He had only met Roman at pride last June, and though he would consider them friends he hadn’t expected them to be close enough to be invited over for Christmas. Roman had explained it wouldn’t be just the two of them as it would also include Roman’s brother Remus and his boyfriend Logan. Roman had sent a long rambly text to make sure Virgil knew he wasn’t obligated because meeting new people was always a scary thing and to meet them at Christmas would just add to the stress. But Virgil was ready to face his anxiety. Spending Christmas with Roman seemed nice. He was sure Roman probably went all out on Christmas. Virgil shrugged on a jacket and headed to his car. Halfway there Virgil had a mild breakdown of what would happen if he didn’t bring anything. After all, weren’t you supposed to bring something? He made a quick stop at a grocery store and grabbed a veggie plate. Hopefully, this would be fine. The celery looked a little wilted and the carrots weren’t the best, but it was all the store had. He took in a deep breath as he approached Roman’s door. He had never actually been to Roman’s house before. He knew Roman lived with his brother and Logan. He went to knock but before he could even touch the door, it flew open revealing an all to excited Roman. Roman looked up mischievously. “Mistletoe.” Virgil took in a deep breath. “Why would you put it above the door?” He demanded. “Thought maybe I could get lucky,” Roman said with a wink. Virgil rolled his eyes and kissed Roman’s cheek. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, after all the two had flirted so much in the past months that the natural next step would be something like this. Once inside, Virgil took in his surroundings. “You really went all out didn’t you, Princey?” “He does every year,” a monotone voice replied. Virgil looked up to see a man take a sip from a mug. “Are you Logan?” Virgil asked hesitantly. “Yes, and you are Virgil?” “Well, who else could this be?” A man who looked like Roman but just radiated chaos said. “I’m Remus. Roman hasn’t shut up about you.” Virgil felt his cheeks flush a little. He looked around the room and felt out of place. What was he supposed to do now? He awkwardly held out the veggie plate. “I brought this?” He felt awkward now. Roman and him weren’t technically a couple, yet he found himself wishing they were. “How thoughtful!” Roman cheered taking the platter and bringing it to the kitchen counter. There was another knock on the door. “Remus, did you invite someone?” Roman asked, looking genuinely confused. “Maybe,” Remus replied skipping to the door. “Just Dee and Pat.” “Remus!” Roman glared at his brother. “Why didn’t you let me know?” He turned to Virgil. “I didn’t know, I’m sorry. I know meeting new people scares you and-” “Princey, it’s fine. I already committed myself to this, two more people aren’t going to hurt.” “See, he’s fine.” Remus opened the door and Virgil’s world shattered. “Virgil?” “Declan?” Roman glanced between Virgil and Declan, who stood in the doorway. “Do you two know each other?” Virgil nodded before darting down the hallway to keep the waterworks at bay, or at least so Declan didn’t see that Virgil still cared. He locked himself in the nearest room, which just happened to be the bathroom. “Virge, it’s just me. I’m going to come in so we can talk, okay?” Roman said. “Okay,” Virgil said, unlocking the door for Roman. Roman entered the room and quietly locked it behind him. “Who is he to you?” He started. “Remember when we met and I said I couldn’t date because I was still getting over a painful break-up?” Virgil started after staring at the floor for a while. “Was it with Declan?” Roman asked. Virgil nodded. “I thought I would never have to see him again.” Roman sighed. “Well, I guess I should tell you he’s my brother’s best friend.” “That makes sense. Surprising I didn’t meet Remus before.” Roman laughed. “That’s probably because Dee hides every relationship from Remus. Remus is overprotective, more so over Dee than me. If you had met Remus as Dee’s boyfriend he would’ve threatened to kill you with a morningstar.” “A what?” “It’s this weapon he has, he bought it at a RenFaire. He’s not really kind to people who try to take Dee’s attention from him.” “That’s strange.” “They’ve been friends since kindergarten, they’re very close. We all thought they would start dating.” Virgil bit his lip. “I’m sorry.” “What for?” “I’m ruining Christmas.” “No, you’re not. I wouldn’t have this Christmas without you.” “You’re a sap.” “But you like me that way,” Roman said, getting closer to Virgil. “God help me, I do.” Virgil said before leaning in for a kiss. Roman closed the gap between them. “Virgil,” Roman said quietly his lips less than an inch away from Virgil’s. Virgil hummed a response. “Does this mean you’re ready to date again?” “Yes.” Roman smiled. “Can I call you my boyfriend?” Virgil rolled his eyes. “I guess, you dork.” “Are you ok with going back out and mingling with the others?” Roman took Virgil’s hand. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. We can sneak into my room, maybe watch a Christmas movie?” “No, it’s time to face him anyway. Let’s go.” Virgil said. Confidently, he strode out of the room. Roman followed behind him still unsure whether or not Virgil was putting up a facade for him. Patton was the first to see Virgil. “Hey kiddo! I’m Patton, it’s nice to meet you.” “Virgil.” “Now, are we going to open Christmas presents or what?” Remus declared from the couch where he was effectively laying across Logan and Declan.

#sanders sides #prinxiety #christmas fic #intrulogical #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #remus sanders #hurt comfort #this is my writing blog