#Call me uncle Zu! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dreamauri · 9 months

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‧˚⊹ 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 ଓ :: 𝗠𝗩𝟭 ‧₊˚⤾

you are reading :: part twelve !!

╭╯ pairing . . . max verstappen x fem! driver! reader ) ┊ summary . . . this part of your life is called: healing <3 ) ┊ genre . . . fluff ) ╰╮ warning . . . google translated german )

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2013 — somewhere in France

You flicked the visor up, nodding in thanks as the steward handed you the trophy. "félicitations, seventeen. C'était une belle performance aujourd'hui" [congratulations, seventeen. That was a beautiful performance today] He clapped your back, standing beside you for the photographer to take his shot before moving onto Max in second place, then Charles in fourth.

You go back to your little station once the trophy giving is over. Gathering your stuff, you couldn't help but overhear the shouting between the Verstappens a few tents away. And you did what any person did. You watched Jos fuss around in Dutch before ultimately stomping away.

Max looked down at his feet defeated, angry tears in his eyes as he looked around for the things he had to pack. [you need help] He looked back to see your figure standing at the entrance.

He didn't say a word, watching you silently. You were the reason he got the scolding after all. Jos wasn't pleased that his son lost to a girl.

"Ich bin mit dem Packen meiner Sachen fertig und dachte, du brauchst die zusätzlichen Hände." [i finished packing my stuff, i thought you'd need the extra hands] You offered gently, taking a step in. Max looked away from you, clicking his tongue in visible annoyance. "Das mit deinem Vater tut mir leid. Ich weiß, wie scheiße es ist-" [i'm sorry about your father. i know how much it sucks-] "Du weißt nichts." [you don't know anything] Max spat back angrily.

"Das tue ich leider." [i do, unfortunately] You sighed scratching the back of your head only to find your helmet there instead. "Unsere Väter sind sich sehr ähnlich." [our fathers are very similar] "und wie ist das? Ich wette, du bist nur Papas Tochter, die immer wieder gewinnt." [and how's that? you're just daddy's girl who keeps winning, I bet]

"Er hat mich in ein Zimmer gesperrt. Er will nicht, dass ich gewinne." [he locked me in a room. he doesn't want me to win] you looked away feeling ashamed. "aber das ist nicht der Punkt. Ich bin hergekommen, um dir beim Packen zu helfen. Habe ich die Erlaubnis?" [but that's not the point. i came here to help you pack. do I have permission]

He looked at you for a few moments before nodding hesitantly. You got to work. And although you were still in your early teen years and weren't as strong as a full grown man, you were able to help him as much as he needed; with his kart, with the tent, his tools, his spare parts, everything.

"Vielen Dank, dass ich Ihnen helfen durfte." [thank you, for letting me help you] You put your hand out for him to shake and he took it gently. "Danke, dass du mir geholfen hast." [thank you for helping me]

"Ich gehe jetzt, bis bald, Verstappen." [i will be going now, i'll see you soon, Verstappen] ". . .-wie geht es dir nach Hause?" [how are you going home] why was he asking? You weren't that relevant or important for him to worry about your safety. Then again, Max couldn't imagine a podium where you weren't P1.

He could see the smile and sunshine reach your eyes. That was the first time he noticed your eyes. Safe to say he was mesmerized by the gentleness and warmth that came with them.

"Mach dir keine Sorgen, mein Onkel holt mich ein paar Blocks weiter von der Tankstelle ab." [don't worry about it, my uncle will pick me up from the gas station a few blocks down] He watched you pull your machine in your pull cart, keeping your helmet on as you exited the circuit alone.

Max never thought you'd have such a big heart to help him or such pretty eyes that still lingered in his mind when he closed his eyes for a nap during the car ride home.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"I am your father."

"Nooo." You and Leon said at the same time in monotone, syncing with Luke Skywalker on the screen in front of you. Mkayla looked out the window worried, watching your brothers run after Max around the garden in the rain.

"Should we be worried—" "No." You and Leon answered at the same time, eating popcorn in sync, 100% focused on the master piece of a movie. Star Wars: the empire strikes back.

"That was . . . Enough cardio . . . To last me . . . 50 reincarnations." Meike flopped on the couch wet with rain and sweat. You pushed him away, fake gagging from the gross smell and touch.

"Pink." He retorted ( trying to insult you ) before moving onto his girlfriend who wore the same grossed out reaction. You watched as Killian walked in with Max in headlock, one dropping in his father's chest and the other in yours.

"Get off me, kid." Leon fussed pushing his oldest away, cringing at the beads of sweat in his hands, which he wiped off in your shirt ( an inside joke you were surprised he still remembered ).

"But that's not fair! Micky and Nunu are with their partners. My wifey isn't here! Dad, be my dad for a second— I don't want to third wheel . . . Or not." Killian backed away upon meeting his father's deathly glare. The rest of you couldn't help but laugh watching Killian sit beside his father's legs, hugging his calf.

"So, does this make us official?" Max whispered in your ear. You've told him he had to complete a ritual from your father's side of the family, usually for relationships and such.

"What do you mean? We've been official since Monaco." You teased, plopping a popcorn in your mouth with a smirk. Max pursed his lips, holding you from your shirt, gently shaking you back and forth.

"Stoooop- Maaaaaaax. This is my favorite part." You giggled, pushing him away, wiping his face dry with your sleeve.

Somewhere in Italy, Killian decided to rent out a small mansion to absolutely chase and kill the living hell out of Max for the week off. And since Killian invited your boyfriend, he also invited Mkayla ( who you had done the ritual with quickly before the clouds arrived ). Killian also invited Leon because he didn't want to be a third wheel on his own like a pussy.

"Okay the wags share a room and the siblings share a room." Killian jokes, pushing Max away from you. "Me? The wag?" He laughed, shaking his head going around to hold your hand again.

"Wag or not, you're not sleeping beside my sister." "It's not like we haven't done that before."

You watched as Meike chased Max around with a cooking spoon.

Max and you did get to share a room eventually. You let him take a shower while you searched for your phone to check on Leila. "Hey, papa. Have you seen my pho-" "Shhh." You looked at the tv to watch the scene. "Where's padme?"

You sighed, leaning on the door frame as you watched the last bits from the movie. You never knew why, but your family was almost identical to the Skywalkers. Broken up and torn only to try and fix itself up in the last few moments.

You sighed once the movie was over, eyes following your father's hands that held up several packets of condoms along with your phone. "Papa-'' You snatched the items from his hand, blushing. "I'd rather you stay safe—" "—Papaaaa!" You whined embarrassed, running away. "Yeah yeah."

"Where did you go?" Max was sprawled on the bed, warming it up for you. "Revenge of the sith." You explained, jumping in beside him while clicking through your contacts.

"3ayzah eh?" [What do you want] Was the voice you heard after a few ringtones. Max remembers her, Leila's mother. "Jumanah! Ezayek?" [How are you] You grimaced, trying to sound polite as possible. "Zeft. 3ayzah eh?" [Shitty. What do you want].

You sighed, wincing at her harsh and drunk tone. "Momken Leila?" [can we talk to leila] "meshmaugoudah." [she's not here]. You laughed nervously at her reply while Max listened confused, pulling out his phone to attempt using Google translate.

"Azdek eh?" [what do mean] "azdi mesh maugoudah." [i mean She's not here] "mat3arafish benteik fein?" [you don't know where your daughter is] "La2, mate3melish feihah malak. El bet geryet wanna mesh na2sa koleshwaya agri waraha." [no, don't pretend to be an angel to my face. the idiot girl ran and i don't want to waste my time running after her]

You pressed the red button, turning to face Max who looked down at his phone absolutely confused and lost since Google only showed gibberish translations. "Were you guys summoning demons?"

"Leila ran away." You sighed, pulling his phone from his hand and giving him your phone instead. "Wait- What?!- oh your gallery." You quickly distracted him by opening the camera roll.

Going through his contacts, you swiped on Charles' name to FaceTime him. A sigh of relief escaped your lungs as you saw Leila's forehead pop up on the screen. "Leila! konthamout!" [I was going to die "Leila, what are you watching on there?" Charles' voice came from the background.

"Please tell me you're not learning how to summon a demon in a Ferrari driver's apartment." He took the phone from her gently, looking at the screen absolutely confused. He saw Max in a dark room, face illuminated from your phone's light.

"Charles!" You fixed the frame so he could see you. "AAA!" The Monegasque jolted and screamed ( high pitched like a girl ) and threw the phone away like a Goddamn visco girl seeing a cockroach, successfully ending the call.

You and Max stared at the 'call ended' screen unimpressed for a few moments. ". . . Was that Charles screaming?" "Yes." "Never thought I'd hear such a noise." Max sounded completely unfazed as he went back to scrolling through your photos.

Charles called you back and when you answered you knew it was Leila who dialed. "You cracked the screen," she scolded Charles, turning the phone to face him. The monegasque cringed seeing yours and Max's judging eyes on him, gently pushing the phone away.

"Maxie!" "Hey, Lei." He put your phone down, leaning closer with a relieved smile. "I missed you." Max cooed and you gave him an unimpressed and jealous look.

Leila giggled blushing. "I missed you too! Can we play football together in Monza next week? Please?" She pouted, giving her best doll eyes, successfully convincing Max.

"Don't think you're escaping the consequences of your behavior, young lady. How did you even get to Charles." "I walked." You frowned deeply at her answer. Jumanah's apartment was a 1.5 hour walk from Monaco. Did she walk an hour and a half?

"Do your feet hurt?" "Nope. Charles is getting us pizza." "Don't drag me into this! I don't even know how she got my address. And what are you two doing together-" He gasped loudly upon seeing Max's bare chest. "ARE YOU TWO- Pierre is going to love this."

You face palmed once Charles ended the call. Not even saying goodbye. You shared a quiet look with Max who only shrugged, wearing a small smile. You rolled your eyes, going back to his phone hearing a notification ding.

From you? You opened it only to see "you" sent pictures to Max. You gave him a look and Max couldn't help but crack a smile. "You're cute. Plus, so I can put you as my wallpaper." He defended, pulling you in his embrace by your waist.

You shook your head in disapproval as he laughed. "Come on, you're so cute." He trailed his hands to your ass, feeling your backpocket crunch. "What's this?" "No— wait—" He pulled out the packets before you could stop him. Upon recognizing what they were, Max smirked at you, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Papa gave them to me! I didn't want them." You plead your innocence, trying to pull away only for Max to pull you closer with his mouth dipping to your neck. "He just wanted to make sure if something happens-'' You found yourself moaning upon feeling Max suck a sensitive spot under your jaw. "If? Why not?"

"Be—because— You know—" You stuttered, praying that he couldn't hear your stammering heartbeat. "Max—" you gasped, feeling him climb on top of you and undress you. "I-I've never done anything like this before." Your confession was muffled against his lips as he kissed you passionately.

"Oh . . . Do you want us to stop?" He pulled away, looking deep into your eyes. You could only see the sincerity and care in his eyes. You couldn’t help but bring your hand up and stroke his cheek gently. He closed his eyes, nuzzling in your palm.

"We can do this another time." He comforted, kissing your cheek and rolling to your side. Your eyes caught a bulge in his pants which he was quick to cover with a pillow.

The two of you stared up at the ceiling quietly for a few minutes. "Do you need help with that?" You whispered shyly. "Hmm?" He turned his head to face you confused only to find you already looking at where he was trying to cover.

"Are you sure?" You nodded with a small hum, sitting up.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You laid your head in your hands while Max argued with half of the grid on a discord call.

"Meike shut up, your dating Mkayla." Max shot back and you could hear the girl laugh from the room next door and through the voice chat. "And why are you not taking my side. Were brothers in law now."

"Max, you're mad." Pierre joked and you could hear Lando, Carlos, Charles and Alex laugh their ass off.

"Give me the demon. Let me speak to the Demo— AAAA—" Lando screamed and threw his phone away in fear upon seeing your angry expression pop up on his screen. He didn't expect you to be right over Max's shoulder

"You are speaking to the God of death, do you have an appointment?" You pulled a few laughs from your competitors, which in turn induced your own smile.

"Miss. Anubis. If you would be oh-so-kind to confirm the information Charles is feeding our ears." Alex says in a formal tone, doing a little bow.

"Are and Max fucking?" Gorge asked, straight to the point.

You found yourself wheezing on the floor, hugging your stomach. You didn't realize the way everyone was teasing Max over the loving gaze he gave you as you ugly laughed on the floor. "I HAVE A SCREENSHOT!" You heard Yuki laugh evilly among the weird collection of laughs from the other drivers.

Max raised the phone, showing your wheezing figure on the floor beside his smiling one, holding up a peace sign. "Take another one."

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

R10 - RACE DAY Sunday, June 23 2024— Monza, Italy

You jolted in shock as Yuki held you in place while Max poured the cold alcohol down the inside of your suit. You gasped and jumped around to try and warm yourself up. Christian and Max laughed as Yuki ran around the stage trying to spray you with his bottle.

It was yet another successful win for Max, and a great race for you and your teammate with a 2-3 finish. It was Yuki's first podium as well and you were going to celebrate till the sun rose the next day.

Max had his hand gently holding your back into his chest as you danced so you wouldn't fall over or escape. "SHOTS!" Yuki called, raising the bottle. "Y/N and Max!" He pointed at you jogging over with the bottle.

Max kneeled down on his knees while you learned your hands on his shoulders, bowing down just a bit. Yuki poured the bottle down which trailed down your stuck-out tongue and into Max's mouth. The crowd cheered, clapping their hands once the bottle was finished.

"KISS! KISS! KISS!" The crowd cheered as Max pulled you in his chest. He dipped you down and you yelped in surprise, gripping onto his shirt. You relaxed once you felt his lips dancing with yours. Wrapping your arm around his neck, Max pushed his tongue in your mouth.

"Kraustappen!" The crowd cheered over and over as you got back on your feet as the DJ flipped through Spanish songs.

Max smiled brightly, leaning his forehead into yours as you sang along. "Didn't know my girlfriend spoke Spanish." He commented surprised. "Reserving for Ferrari does things to you." You joked as he kissed you.

"Can confirm." Charles added in as he passed by, patting Max's back in good luck.

You and Max laughed at him as he looked at both of you tired. "You two are literal devils, mon dieu." Charles joked before scurrying off.

How you and Carlos ended up flamenco dancing on a table, you will never know. The crowd cheered your name as Carlos dipped you to where Max was standing. You didn't hesitate to pick your boyfriend's lips softly while the crowd roared in approval. Phones flashed, taking videos and photos.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"In my defense- in my defense," You cut yourself off, looking at the camera aimed at you. "I was forced to do this."

You had a cute pink tutu on as you walked into the ballet studio. It was quiet and calm with Max and Leila sitting against the wall, who clapped once they saw you walk in.

"The skirt suits you, Schat." [darling] He greeted you with a kiss once you leaned down to put your bag beside him. "Got a nickname! Score!" You whispered to the camera before going off to warm up.

"Hey vroom vroom fans. We're here at Paris, France. And with a lot of encouragement from my best friend, I'm starting a channel in the middle of the season. Because I can."

Max couldn't help but smile as he watched you mess around with elegance and beauty, trying out if you could still do stuff from your toddler years. Leila just watched football matches on her phone, not really giving a fuck.

"I'm here!" Meike jumped through the door, disturbing the peace and calmness in the room. Max glared at him for interrupting his girlfriend's beautiful choreography, folding his arms in with a deep sigh.

THe dutch covered Leila's eyes so he could flip off your twin, who returned the favor. "Bet I'm more flexible than you." Meike hummed, pretending to flip his hair, looking at the camera in the corner with a confident look.

Leila watched this part amused, versus Max who was unimpressed. He watched you and Meike cause chaos, competing to see who was more flexible.

He was more intrigued by the fact that your flexibility can come in handy for a few things, wink wink. "Oh! I know!" You concluded standing up from the bridge stretch. "Remember that dance we learned with Randy?"

"Nunu, that was 18 years ago. It's going to take me longer than that to forget that dance." "Max is going to be the judge." "Wait what? I don't even know what you guys are doing."

"Loser kisses Maxie." You put your hand out to seal the deal with your brother. It wasn't going to be any trouble for you if you lost. "Ew no, I'm not kissing Max."

"What's wrong with kissing Max?" Said driver scoffed, folding his arms. "Yeah, loser gets a kiss." The blond nodded, concluding the consequence, giving you the que to start.

You did end up winning. Max involuntarily thought you were beautiful, even if you messed up here or there. You were an angel in his eyes.

"Wait wait, let me get my phone." You giggled pulling your phone from your bag's pocket. You pulled out your phone filming the two. Meike looked like he was going to shit himself and Max looked Meike up and down, examining his target.

"I have permission from Mkayla." You put a thumbs up, watching Max hold Meike in head lock. You found yourself laughing, trying to keep your phone steady in your hands as your twin tried to squirm away from Max.

Max chuckled, kissing your brother's cheek who screamed in pain. "The agony— oh God. Someone save me—" "—It has to be on the lips!" You corrected them laughing hysterically.

If Meike wasn't struggling before, he is now. You watched as the boys scrunch their noses once they pulled away from each other. "You taste like watermelon lip gloss." Meike pointed at Max grossed out.

"You taste like girl." Max pointed back at him. You fell on your belly wheezing like there was no tomorrow. The whole street could hear you and you couldn't stop.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

RACE DAY - 2:24 AM Sunday, June 30 2024 — France

"It's pretty." "You think so?"

"I think so." Max butted in on your and Lei's conversation, taking a sip of his red bull.

"Kraus! You're up." With a deep breath, you kissed Leila's cheek one more time before pulling your balaclava and racing helmet on.

Max furrowed his eyebrows with a tired glare. He wanted a kiss too. "Go to sleep." You pulled on your gloves and shoes, giving one last hug to the sleepy cousin before pressing your forehead to Max's.

"Take a nap, ya 2amar." [moon, nickname / petname] You stroked his cheek gently before pulling away to greet the arriving hyper car pulling into the pit, replacing the driver. The Dutch man carried Leila in his arms, draping her with his leather jacket while she slowly started to fall asleep with the noise canceling headphones on.

Max on the other hand watched you race around the French track. He was through his 3rd redbull can of the night, determined to watch when you were in the car. The Porsche held on nicely, he had no doubt you'd overtake Ferrari sometime down the next few corners and take the lead.

He felt himself smile hearing your radio messages and seeing your concentrated face on the screen. He's never seen your face when you're racing before, mostly because he was driving alongside you.

Max went upstairs, setting the girl on a couch so she could sleep peacefully. He continued to watch you, feeling pride and joy swell in his heart seeing you cheer as you began to lap other cars, extending the gap to your lead. Max couldn't deny that along with the joy he also felt fear. He felt goosebumps crawl on his skin, scared you'd lose footing in a corner and hurt yourself.

You were too important to him. He couldn't lose you or the little family the three of you had become. Max found himself lulled to sleep, hearing your voice over the radio. Giggles and cheers and silly questions, quiet singing with the bad jokes and attempting to create pick up lines for max ( who you didn't know was listening ) for when you finished.

Porsche seemed to be treating you well. He was surprised to hear from your PR about the email directed to you. He remembers sitting with in a corner of the paddock after media duties were fulfilled. Your PR had come over and showed you an email, one where your face lit up with joy, getting you to jump around in joy.

"Porsche wants me personally! Their first driver backed out and they wanted me! I'm their first choice! In the 24 hour of le mans!" You squealed, jogging in your place. He's never seen you so . . . happy.

Max was disappointed to see you were getting back in the car once he had woken up. Your break was short in his opinion ( he didn't get enough cuddles ). "Three more hours." He reminded himself watching you zoom out of the pitlane and back into the track.

"She's holding up nicely." Max looked beyond the wall to the other garage balcony next door. Charles stood there with a soft smile. Max found himself laughing, sharing a short hug with the Monegasque. "Mate, I didn't know you were coming."

"I wanted to see a successful Ferrari team. You know the drill." Charles joked, patting Max's back before going back to lean his forearms on the fence. "Does successful mean second place?" Max returned the joke, watching you speed by. "Ha ha. Very funny, Verstappen."

They listened to the French commentators, watching the few pit stops and opening conversations about a few teams here and there. What's a conversation with Max without maxplaining. "She seems to be doing well though." Charles commented. Max hummed in confusion, even if there was only one 'she' he could be talking about.

"Y/N?" "Yeah. I haven't heard her shout or cuss one time today." Max sighed deeply at the statement. "She's not usually—" "All fussy? I know. She has been for the last couple of months. But maybe she found her sport and team." Charles chuckled. The two formula drivers watched you come into the pits for a change of tiers before taking off again.

"found her sport and team" Why did that hurt Max? As much as it made him happy that you were happy, it also made his heart clench in a painful way knowing that the team you needed was not with him. He felt himself gulping at the thought of you leaving formula one for hypercar, a whole different world.

Max was only broken out of his trance once the crowd got impossibly loud. He's missed you crossing the checkered flag. "Congratulations." Charles shook Max's hesitant hand. "Y-yeah."

Leila dragged Max along to Parc ferme where they greeted you. With your German flag draped on your shoulders, you leaped in Max's arms pressing kisses to the French girl and the Dutch Man's cheeks. He watched the way you hugged your team in euphoria, the way you jumped in your place like an excited kid as you made it to the podium. The way you put your hand over your heart and sang with a bright and wide once the German anthem came on.

He couldn't help the small smile that made it to his own lips seeing you so happy and upbeat. He'd do anything for that smile, even if it meant letting you go.

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pandor-uhhh · 1 year

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Grieving Apologies 4

Tsu’tey x reader series

Warnings (contains spoilers for this chapter): almost character death, description of CPR, self blame, talk of cheating, a little long (over 5K words), (please let me know if I missed anything)

Description: On the day you and Tsu’tey were meant to break your bond, tragedy strikes, twice

REVISIONS IN PROGRESS!!!:

This series is currently being rewritten to improve its quality and overall plot, please keep that in mind as you read.

Notes: This took longer than I thought it was going to, I’m sorry

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (you’re here)

(GIF/PICTURE IS NOT MINE)

“Not so hard Tuk!” Kiri scolded, as the littlest Sully tugged your hair, she let out a panicked ‘sorry’ before putting the comb down. You patted her head “it’s okay, Tuk, thank you for wanting to do this” you told her, she let out a laugh, jumping up to sit in your lap, and you wrapped your arms around her. The girls wanted to try to make you feel better after what had happened the night before, and they decided they wanted to try to do your hair before you saw Ronal.

“y/n” Tuk called, you looked down at her “yes?” you answered, beginning to sway from left to right, earning a giggle from the child. But she looked down, as if questioning her words “promise…” she trailed off, not meeting you eye, you heard the sadness in her voice. Kiri stopped combing your hair to look around your shoulder at her little sister, Tuk wrapped her arms around one of your’s, “promise this won’t change anything” she finished.

You stopped rocking, and ran your free hand over her head, pushing her hair back, before leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the forehead. “I promise” you stated, Tuk let go of your arm and instead hugged you. Kiri also hugged you from behind, you could hear both of them crying. “But if you aren’t with uncle Tsu’tey anymore, where will you go?” Tuk cried, “I’ll still be right here, little one” you assured her.

The time came for you to see Tsu’tey, you stood outside Ronal’s marui with Neytiri by your side. She took your hand and gave it a squeeze, you looked at her and she nodded. You took a deep breath and walked in, Tsu’tey and Jake sat side by side next to the fire pit in the middle. You and Neytiri moved to sit on the other side, Ronal sat between the two groups that had formed, and Tsireya sat behind her to the right.

“Two of you have come to break the bond you made with each other under Eywa, a bond that you have shared since you chose each other as mates” Ronal explained, and motioned for Tireya to continue.

“You were united under the great mother’s eye, so by tradition you…” Tsireya looked nervously over to her mother, who only nodded, Tsireya sighed “you must break the bond under the great mothers eye, on sacred land”

Neytiri and I looked at eachother, confused. Ronal stood up “we must go to The Cove of the ancestors”

Tsu’tey looked over to you as your eyes casted downward. None of you had been there, not since Neteyam’s passing…

You choked back tears, Neytiri put a hand on your shoulder “we can wait, we don’t have to-” “-no” you interrupted, “we must do this now” you stated looking to Ronal “I’ll do it”

You mounted your ilu, looking to the shore with the kids getting on their own. Jake and Neytiri tried to convince them that it would be better if they didn’t, but they wanted to be there for you, both of you. “You ready, Zi-zu?” You ask your ilu, who responded with a loud shriek and her fins hitting the water.

You laughed, patting her side. You heard a louder shriek, you flinched and your ears tucked back. You turned to see Tsu’Tey with Jake on their tsuraks, you looked over to Neytiri who was on her ikran. She laughed at the sight of Tsu’tey still struggling to stay on the large beast.

Tonowari and Ronal showed up on their tsuraks, and you set off for The Cove of The Ancestors. The waters were calm, and the children laughed and joked on the way. When you arrived at the cove you looked around and took in your surroundings, even above water, it really was a beautiful place. You wished the past times you visited could’ve been under happier circumstances.

Your group stopped not too far from shore, Neytiri landed on the shore and Jake went off to get her, since ikran weren’t the best swimmers. You heard a small splash and looked over to see Tuk had slid off the ilu she was riding on with Kiri to slip into the water, “Tuk!” Kiri called, looking for her sister. You looked down into the water from the surface trying to find the small Sully, Tsu’tey did the same, even guiding his tsurak around trying to find her. “Tuk!” you repeated, “Tuk, now isn’t the time or place for games!” you grew worried when you didn’t see any sign of her.

You dove under the waves with your ilu, you couldn’t hold your breath as long as the children had learned to, but that mattered little to you at the time. You looked around for any sign of the child, panic filled you and you resurfaced to get a breath of water. Jake came over with Neytiri on his tsurak, “what’s going on?” Jake asked, seeing everyone’s worried expressions. “Tuk, she dove under the water, and I don’t know where she is!” Kiri cried.

Jake jumped off his tsurak and into the water to look for his youngest, you started panicking. This can’t be happening again, Eywa, please say this wasn’t happening again. Tonowari, seemingly the calmest out of the group, spoke up “the ceremony can wait, we must find the child, now” he said before diving under to help look.

Tsireya and Lo’ak dove under on the ilu they were sharing, followed by Kiri. You and Tsu’tey shared a quick glance, you nodded and dove under as well. You searched around every bend, every Tuk-sized nook and cranny. It was about the fifth time you surfaced when you started to cry. Tuk was small, even with training and her high-energy spirit, she couldn’t hold her breath for that long. On top of that, the waters had become rougher, the current could easily push her around.

You knew Zi-zu was tired, so you got off of her to swim on your own. You hadn’t noticed how far you had ventured from the cove, you dove under one last time. You saw something shining on a jagged piece of coral. You swam over to find a small bracelet, you recognized it, you had made it for Tuk with a shell you found on the beach. You began to cry, your tears carried by the waters around you.

If the bracelet was here, where was Tuk? She swore she would keep it on her at all times, no matter what. Could the current push her out this far? It was hard for you to swim, even with your ilu, Tuk was alone. Did she try to come up for air to call out? Did she not make it? Thoughts swarmed your mind to the point you began ignoring your lungs screaming for air, did Tuk’s do the same?

You wrapped the bracelet around your hand, as it was too small for your wrist. Your vision began to blur, you coughed out bubbles of air, and your mouth filled with salty water. You remembered the argument you had with Tsu’tey all those years ago, skxawng, maybe the phrase fit you better than you had hoped at the time.

You felt, arms wrap around you and push you to the surface. You spat out the water that had invaded your mouth, and felt a hand moving your head to face the one who had saved you. “y/n!” Tsu’tey yelled, shaking your face, “stay with me!” You began to cry. You didn’t want to tell him what you found, all that was left of the little one you two watched together.

Your small sobs turned louder, then into screams. Tsu’tey brought you to his tsurak and helped you up, he tied your ilu to the tsurak, as to not leave it behind. Soon he got up and took your face in his hands, “what happened, are you hurt?” He asked, trying to dry your tears. You shook your head and held your hand out, showing him the bracelet he looked at the jewelry, recognizing it immediately. Horror spread across his face.

“She could’ve lost it, it was a quick trip here, it might’ve just slipped off” he told you, you violently shook your head. “She’s gone!” You screamed, “I failed, again!” you yanked at your hair, remembering just that morning she was sitting in your lap and laughing. Tsu’tey hugged you.

You didn’t want this, you hated him, or at least you should. . .

But you can’t, you melted into him.

He pulled your hands from your hair, he said something about going back, about it being late.

Before you knew it you were back at the village, Tsireya noticed you two and waved for you to dock by them, Lo’ak was beside her. Tsireya was smiling till she saw you, “what happened?” she questioned. Tsu’tey put a hand up as a silent way to say ‘not right now’

He guided you to sit beside Lo’ak, who you wrapped your arms around and hugged tight. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I failed you” you cried, he looked at you like you were crazy. You took off the bracelet and gave it to him, “please forgive me” you cried. Lo’ak shook his head, “y/n, it’s okay-”

“-it’s not!” you shouted after breaking away from Lo’ak, “I never should’ve come here! I should’ve stayed in the forest, or maybe on earth! She never would’ve been there if it wasn’t for me!” Tsu’tey ran to your side, but this time you pushed him away, but gently “if I had never fallen in love with you, none of this would be happening!” you yelled to Tsu’tey.

“It’s my fault, if there had been another, stronger than me, they could’ve protected Tuk from the start!” Tonowari and Ronal had come out of their marui to see why there was yelling. “It’s all my fault, I failed, not you!” You pointed to Tsu’tey. “It was my weakness that killed them! I killed Netayam, I killed-!”

“-y/n” a familiar voice called out, it was Tuk. You looked at her, believing you were hallucinating. You walked over and put your hands on her shoulders “you’re crying” she noted. You looked at her, scared if you blinked she would disappear. “Tuk?” you questioned, she hugged you “I’m sorry!” She apologized, crying. “I don’t want to lose you, I don’t wanna lose uncle Tsu’tey!” she cried “so I ran, then I swam out too far so I went to the shore, but-” you shushed her, hugging her “it’s okay, you’re safe, that’s all that matters”

You looked up at Neytiri and Jake, Neytiri was looking at you, crying with a mix of happy tears and sad ones, but Jake didn’t take his eyes off Tsu’tey, Jake looked like he wanted to wring his neck. Lo’ak, who had been standing beside Jake, walked over, “y/n found this, Tuk'' he showed her the bracelet she had lost. “My good luck charm!” Tuk cheered, taking it from her brother, she looked back to you “thank you” she sighed. You smiled and nodded, “don’t mention it kiddo”

Jake loudly cleared his throat “it’s been a long day. Kids, go with y/n and get some food” he patted you on the back, and ruffled Tuk’s hair. “Tsu’tey, meet me inside” he said through gritted teeth, motioning to Tonowari and Ronal’s marui. Tonowari, Ronal, Jake, and Tsu’tey walked inside. Tuk tugged on your arm “come on, let’s eat!” you smiled at her, “you go on, I’ll be right there” you said quietly, Tuk pouted, but ran off with Lo’ak.

You walked far enough so they couldn’t see you, but you could still hear.

You heard Tsu’tey sigh “Jake I-”

“-do I look stupid to you, Tsu’tey?” Jake interrupted “does y/n?” He added

“I never meant to hurt them” Tsu’tey stated

“Oh! Really!” Jake laughed out “and what about the woman in your house last night?” he accused

“She wasn’t there for me!” Tsu’tey yelled “I told you, she was there because she had heard y/n was no longer mated!”

You heard a snap like Jake punched a wall of the marui

“You really expect me to believe that?! We were the only ones who knew you were breaking your bond!” Jake boomed “and now, while they are at their lowest, thinking they lost Tuk after Netayam, you rushed to their side like some savior!?”

“I was trying to comfort them” Tsu’tey defended, it sounded like he was getting angry

You decided to walk closer, so you could see what was going on. Ronal noticed your presents, and let Tonowari know, but neither of them alerted the two fighting.

Jake stepped to Tsu’tey

“I’m sure you were, I’m sure you wanted to comfort them so much so they would crawl back into bed with you, huh?” That was the snapping point for Tsu’tey who punched Jake in the face. Tonowari stepped between the two, trying to stop them from fighting any further.

“Enough!” He yelled, causing the two to stop.

You stepped into the marui, everyone looked at you. “You are like children” you said, with the same tone as a mother saying ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’.

You shook your head “Tsu’tey go home” you commanded, not even looking at him, he was frozen in place. “How long were you?-” “-I said go home!” you cut him off, his ears went back, he only nodded and walked away. Jake continued to glare at him, until he was out of sight, at that point he turned to you. “You don’t deserve to be-” you cut him off with a slap. Everyone, even Ronal, looked shocked. Tears filled your eyes “don’t think I only wanted to do that to you, Tsu’tey will get the same in time” your voice was shaky, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath before continuing.

“My mateship is just that, mine. I don’t need your help, I know what you must think about why Tsu’tey did what he did. You think he only wanted to hold me so I would reconsider breaking our bond, or even that he only wanted me for a night” You sighed, wiping your tears away “but I felt it, he wanted to care for me, to protect me. I might not be able to choose if I love him, but I can choose if I want to be with him, and you can’t make that choice for me” Jake looked down, in what seemed to be shame. “I know that” he said “it’s your choice, but he hurt you” you put a hand on his shoulder, “I know you are mad at him for the things he’s done, I am too, but fighting will not change what he’s done” you said before turning to leave, giving Ronal and Tonowari a nod as a way of saying ‘sorry my mate and friend fought’.

You walked to the marui you used to share with him, standing there for a moment. You looked around to see if anyone was around, when you saw no one you stepped inside. You walked to the middle, next to the fire pit. You looked at your old bed, it looked like it had been disturbed since the last time you were there. Your lip curled up and your ears went back, ‘it must be from when that woman was here’ you thought to yourself. You looked to the other side of the room, seeing the bedroll that Tsu’tey slept in after your argument. You kneeled down and pushed on it, seeing how comfortable it was or wasn’t.

You laid down on it, looking at the ceiling. Is this what he left like when he laid here? Did he think of you? Did he regret the things he said, maybe the ones he didn’t?

*It was not long ago that you move into this marui, with the intentions of making it a home*

You carried the last of the many bags the Tsu’tey insisted that you take with you. You opened it to see what was in it and where to put the supplies, it was mostly medicine and dried fruit and meat in this one.

You and Tsu’tey had one bed roll that you shared, Tsu’tey had said he would make a proper bed once you settled in more. That was on the right side of the house, while you hung the bag of food up high.

You felt a hand touch brush your waist, you jumped before realizing it was Tsu’tey. “Kiri and Tuk want to go past the reef, I’m going with them” he stated, before turning to leave again. You took his hand, causing him to turn back to you.

You put your hands to his face “we are safe, the children are older, we don’t need to watch them all the time”

In reality, you weren’t taking the move well, the idea of Quaritch being back, him kidnapping Spider, and the fact the children were almost taken. You wanted your mate, you wanted to be held and told everything would be okay.

Tsu’tey pulled away from your touch, but he didn’t look happy about it. “I will be back before eclipse” he said. You looked at the ground and began walking away, but he took your hand in his and gave a light kiss to your knuckles. You smiled softly, he nodded and walked off.

Eclipse was on the horizon, and you decided to step away from unpacking to get some fresh air. You took a walk around the village, you got a lot of looks.

Some mean, some kind, some cautious, but mostly confused. You felt out of place, and for good reason you would say. You saw Tsu’tey watching over the children playing in the shallows of the reef, you started walking closer and saw that Tuk wasn’t playing with the others. You looked back to Tsu’tey and saw that she was sitting beside him asleep, leaning on his arm. You smiled and walked over.

“Long day?” You asked, Tsu’tey had a faint smile. He never really laughed, but you could tell when he found your joke funny. “Ask this one” he said, motioning to the sleeping child. You laughed, and sat on the other side of him.

You loved these moments, being with your mate and the children. You smiled and leaned on Tsu’tey, and closed your eyes

*you felt tears run down your temples as you laid there*

You blinked a couple times, before you wiped the tears away. You stood up, dusting yourself off. You turned to leave when you saw him, Tsu’tey, he was standing in the entrance. You sighed, “I…” you trailed off. This was the first time in a long time that you had a good look at him, and you saw bruising next to his eye. You reached out to touch his face, he looked surprised. “What happened to your face?” You asked, he pulled away. “Nothing” he said, kneeling next to the fire pit to get a fire going.

You scoffed, grabbing a cloth from the basket you remembered keeping them in. “Why do I doubt that?” you mumbled, soaking the cloth with water from the water skin.

You pulled Tsu’tey up and started dabbing the bruise with the cloth. “This won’t help much, but it should reduce the blood coming to the surface” you explained, “though it might’ve been better to do it earlier, this looks about a day old. What happened to you?” You pulled away, turning to look for something to help more.

Tsu’tey sighed “Lo’ak, he hit me when he came for your things” you spun back around, shocked. You put some of the herbs you had into the makeshift mortar and pestle you had made, and ground the ingredients. “Lo’ak hit you?” You couldn’t wrap your head around it, sure Lo’ak got in fights with the other boys, but never adults, let alone Tsu’tey.

“He and Jake Sully are angry with me” you looked up from your work as he spoke, “I cannot blame them”. You sighed l, gathering the paste you made into a small bowl. “That doesn’t give Lo’ak or Jake an excuse to get physical with you” you scolded, applying some of the paste to the cheek.

You went to walk away from him when he grabbed your wrist, you froze looking in his eyes. “Are you angry with me?” He asked, you yanked your wrist from him. “Of course I’m angry” you answered, kneeling in front of a bowl you used to wash your hands and the mortarl “you cheated on me”.

Tsu’tey stood up, he seemed mad at your words. “I have been many things to you!” He raised his voice, it shocked you a little. “I’ve been a poor mate, I’ve put too much pressure on you sometimes, I have not always been calm with you! But I-!!” You flinched back when he began to yell, he immediately stopped and took a moment to calm down.

“I’m sorry, I should not have yelled at you like that” he apologized, you nodded. “I failed in many places as your mate, but I was never unfaithful” he finished. You picked up your mortar and pestle and walked over to your make-shift sink, turning your back to Tsu’tey “I heard” you began to wash the mortar with your hands “when you said that the woman wasn’t there for you, that she was waiting for me”.

Tsu’tey walked over and pulled the mortar from you, you looked up at him. He saw that the tears that began to form “I would never choose another, there is no other to replace you”. You shook your head “how am I supposed to believe you?” you sighed, getting up to leave.

“I cannot apologize for something I never did” he called out before you left, you turned to him. He stepped to you “but I haven’t made you feel loved a long time, and for that I am sorry”. You looked to the ground, unsure of what to say, “take care of that bruise” was all you said before leaving.

You walked back to The Sully’s marui, Neytiri smiled at you as Tuk crawled from her lap to hug you. You hugged her tight, before kneeling to her height “hey, if you ever do what you did back there again, no more rides on Zi-zu” you stated, in a serious tone. Tuk nodded, and quietly apologized again, you hugged her again before letting her run to Kiri.

You smiled and turned, only to see Jake behind you. “Can I help you?” You half-joked, “where were you?” he asked. You rolled your eyes, “I was just taking a walk” you tried to go inside.

Jake blocked you with his arm “where were you really?” he pressed, you glared at him “I was walking” you pushed his arm out of the way and walked inside, Jake followed.

“Lo’ak!” You called, the boy's head popped up from the knife he was sharpening, “I need to talk to you, outside” you declared. You stepped back outside, and soon Lo’ak came out, “is there a problem?” He asked, he seemed genuinely worried.

“You want to get out of earshot from your parents before you ask me that?” You didn’t give him time to answer as you walked away.

Lo’ak followed behind you, “can you just tell me what I did?” He seemed irritated. You didn’t respond, just kept walking. The boy huffed, “look, whatever it is I’m sorry” he apologized, you still said nothing. After a little while you stopped and turned to him, “is this about Tsu-” you put a hand over his mouth before he could say anything.

“Jake, this isn’t the forest, you don’t have good cover!” You called out, Lo’ak looked around in confusion “leave me and the boy to talk” you requested. Jake stepped out from behind a pillar, Lo’ak looked at you in shock.

Jake looked at his son “we’ll talk when you get back” Jake stated, pointing to Lo’ak, before walking away. Once he was gone, you turned to Lo’ak. “Let’s cut to the chase, why did you hit Tsu’tey?” You crossed your arms and looked down at him, Lo’ak sighed.

“He’s a dick, he deserved it!” He seethed, you knew he was frustrated, you kneeling down you put your hand on his shoulder. “Yes, he is a dick, but you shouldn’t have hit him” you scolded, Lo’ak rolled his eyes “if it was Spider cheating of Kiri you would do it for her!” Lo’ak argued.

“I’m sorry, do you know something about Spider and Kiri that you want to share?” You questioned, Lo’ak froze before shaking his head “n-no I just meant in a hypothetical!”.

You let out a ‘mhmm’ before standing up, “you’re wrong I wouldn’t beat up Spider” you corrected “do you know why?” you put your hands on your hips. Lo’ak let out a huff “‘cause it’s wrong?” He questioned, “no” you laughed “he’s smaller than Kiri, if I punched him I’d kill him” you jested.

Lo’ak laughed, your face dropped “but, seriously, if you try to fight someone twice your size again, I will throw you” you said in a serious tone. Lo’ak stopped laughing and nodded. You patted his back and you walked back to the house.

When you got back to the house, Jake was waiting outside to talk to Lo’ak. The two walked off together, in the same direction you had just come from. You went inside, and immediately, some food wrapped in a banana-leaf-like plant was handed to you.

“You need to eat” Neytiri stated. You took the food with a smile and sat down to eat.

“Mama!” Tuk cried out, you looked up to see Tuk soaked in water pulling on her mothers arm. “Help!” you heard Kiri cry from outside, you ran out while Neytiri watched Tuk. Kiri had Ao’nung’s arm around her, while she practically dragged him. He was unconscious, you ran over and picked him up and brought him inside. “Go find your father and brother!” You told Kiri, she nodded and ran off. You ran inside and listened to see if the boy was breathing, when you heard nothing you started compressions. “‘Tiri, I need the bag!” You called out, Neytiri handed you a CPR bag that Norm had given you, ‘just in case’ he said. You handled the bag while Neytiri continued compressions.

Lo’ak ran in, freezing when he saw Ao’nung. “Lo’ak” you called out, he didn’t respond, “Lo’ak!” you yelled, he snapped his attention to you. “Where is your father?” You asked, “he’s… he’s getting Ao’nung’s parents, what happened?”.

“The avatars” Kiri spoke up, she was holding Tuk who was crying. “We went out for a swim and one of them hit Ao’nung with a rock” Kiri explained. She started crying “he was distracting the demon while we got away” she sobbed.

Lo’ak grabbed his knife, “where?” He yelled out, “Lo’ak, no!” you barked, “I’m not letting you get yourself killed!” You stated.

“Look at Ao’nung, he’s dying, Should we just not do anything?!” Lo’ak argued, making Tuk cry more. “He isn’t dying, sit down with your sisters!” You fumed, Lo’ak headed for the entrance.

“If you take a step outside that door, so help me Eywa, they will be your last!” Neytiri snapped, which seemed to persuade Lo’ak not to go.

Tonowari and Ronal ran in, Ronal dropped to her knees “my son!” She cried out. Tonowari looked mad, really mad. Jake walked in next, “how is he doing?” he asked. “We’ve been doing compressions since Kiri brought him” You answered, growing frustrated. Ronal grabbed Ao’nung’s hand, “my son, please come back!” she cried, Tonowari put his hand on his mate’s shoulder.

Ao’nung coughed up water and began gasping for air, you took the mask off his face and rolled him on his side. Ronal cried out, you aren’t sure if it was out of happiness for her son’s survival or in horror of seeing him nearly die. “Ao’nung!” You called out, he looked up at you “you okay, buddy?” he nodded between coughs. You sit him up, Ronal hugged her son.

You let out a sigh, and fell on your back. “y/n!” Neytiri exclaimed, shocked. You put your hand on your face, and started crying “I thought they were gone”. The weight of an avatar attacking again had just hit you, Jake walked over. “It’s only one, we can handle one” He reassured, “then how many? What, you don’t think he called for reinforcements when he realized where he was?!” You cried out, Jake put his hand on your shoulders. “Hey, breathe, you just saved a boy’s life, focus on that right now” you looked at Ronal, hugging her son.

Ronal took her son’s face in her hands, crying still “maitan” she sighed out, Tonowari smiled at his son. Then Ronal flicked his forehead, Ao’nung recoiled in shock “sa’nok!” he groaned out, “you’re lucky you almost died, otherwise I would kill you!” Ronal yelled before hugging him again. You laughed, before covering your eyes again “I need a nap, or a drink, both if possible”

Kiri and Tuk went to see Ao’nung, and thanked him for trying to keep them safe, and Ao’nung thanked Kiri for saving him. You noticed one missing, “where’s Lo’ak?” You questioned, Jake and Neytiri looked around, just then noticing their second born being gone.

Lo’ak stumbled into Tsu’tey’’s marui, Tsu’tey sighed at the sight of him. “If you’ve come because of y/n, I told you I-” “-they’re back!” Lo’ak interrupted, Tsu’tey’s eye widened “who?”

“The demons”

To be continued…

Thank You For Reading! ♥

Taglist: @eirianna @zatarias-pandora @fanboyluvr @agustdeeyaa @brooklynscherry-z @ssc7514 @tejas-kris @iwanttogohomeandtakeanap @thesheelfsworld @theesexystallion @saltedcoffeescotch @pandoraglora @c0comichi

#avatar tsu'tey x reader #tsu'tey x reader angst #tsu’tey x reader #avatar x reader angst #avatar x reader #avatar 2009 #avatar the way of water #atwow #atwow x reader

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little-smartass · 3 months

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so i havent watched? read? otherwise consumed?? the untamed but every post i see from you makes me more intrigued, because theres nothing i love more than a Schemer. never happier than when a character has plots and plans and perhaps sinister intentions. Is it worth getting into the untamed for this? and if yes, where tf do i start (theres so much of it)

short answer: yes! much scheming in this story! I think you would like it!

long answer: do you like MORALLY AMBIGUOUS BISEXUAL TWINKS WHO ARE ALL NARRATIVE FOILS FOR EACH OTHER? do you like MEN WHO AFTER YEARS OF SUSTAINED DOMESTIC TERROR MAKE CHOICES THAT WOULD MAKE THE AVERAGE PERSON RECOIL IN HORROR IN ORDER TO SURVIVE? do you like the CHARACTERS WHO MAKE MORAL PURIST TUMBLR USERS FOAM AT THE MOUTH IN RAGE AND CONFUSION? do you like STORIES WHERE THE PROTAGONIST IS A SERIAL KILLER AND ALSO TECHNICALLY COMMITTED CANNIBALISM (BUT IS STILL ALSO A FUNNY LITTLE GUY)? do you like CHARACTERS WHO OBSESSIVELY CHASE JUSTICE EXCEPT OOPSIE IT'S NOT JUSTICE ANY MORE IT'S JUST REVENGE WITH ZERO CARE FOR COLLATORAL DAMAGE?

there is scheming! there is plotting! there is patricide and fratricide and accidental indirect frat-in-law-icide! everybody is Jin Ling's Uncle and everybody has been traumatised by their dad! the live action drama decided that in order to get the one canon queer couple past the censors they would just make everyone gay so they didn't stand out!!!!

so I would personally say that the live action drama (The Untamed) which was on netflix (I'm not sure if it still is but it's definitely on youtube) is the easiest route in, if you aren't super familiar with xianxia/wuxia - the characters may seem confusing but they are all colour coded by family so after a while you'll learn how to keep track of them. The novel the drama is based on is called Mo Dao Zu Shi (english translations are available), and there is also an animated show, as well as, I believe, a radio drama? one thing I would warn about the show is... look... the first few episodes are shit. they are just. not great. I do not know WHY they decided to start with objectively the weakest episodes. but I swear to god if you can get as far as the end of episode 2, where the flashback starts, IT WILL GET GOOD. I watched the show during the lockdown and four years on IT IS STILL REWIRING MY BRAIN.

#the untamed #I would........ highly recommend it okay #ask #anonymous

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 1 year

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Why do people say cultural and contest wise the wen remands death wasn’t wrong cuz blood revenge how does that work? Tried asking someone who said and they called me white American even though I’m neither like they’re the once saying agent China didn’t have morals but I’m the uncultured one for some reason

Because they're pulling excuses out of their bum.

Now, there WAS a system called "Family Extermination" or the Execution Of the Nine Guanxi (The principles that dictated calling others as kin by confucian concept) Or 诛连九族 zhulian ju zu, guilt by association. This was done in mass as Lingchi 凌迟 (I doubt I need to remind this fandom what this is now do I?)

The punishment of death went as so:

The criminal's living parents

The criminal's living grandparents

Any children the criminal may have, over a certain age (varying over different eras, children below that age becoming slaves) and—if married—their spouses.

Any grandchildren the criminal may have, over a certain age (again with enslavement for the underaged) and—if married—their spouses.

Siblings and siblings-in-law (the siblings of the criminal and that of his or her spouse, in the case where he or she is married)

Uncles and aunts of the criminal, as well as their spouses

The criminal's cousins (in the case of Korea, this included up to second and third cousins)

The criminal's spouse

The criminal's spouse's parents

The criminal (The first offender)

But even historically, this was almost unheard of to implement and was all but nulled by the time of the Shang dynasty's (1600–1046 BC) rise in China and "post-modern" East Asian society.

With that out of the way, The text of the work condemns what was done to the remaining Wens as cruel and unusual punishment, and hypocritical for the cultivation world as a whole. There is no cultural excuse given in the work for the justification that killed the Wens, remaining cultivators or not. MXTX also did not condem Wei Wuxian for being radical for standing against the persecution of the remaining Wens. What was done to the Wens was anachronistically influenced by this historical process, but as with everything else in the book, is written as a heinous act.

There is no such thing as blood revenge within Family Extermination as it was only used in regards to treason, of the divinity of the Imperial Court, and Emperor. The Cultivation world is neither divine, or imperial within MDZS. It is a separate political entity in that universe. They have no reason to logically claim this punishment, and it was not used on the Wens. They were brutally beaten instead and left to rot in a pool. Lingchi, was a very public execution as a warning of what happens when you go against the divine right and rule. Those children left alive due to "statutes" lost any previous status their family name once held and were all but nameless slaves. The Wens, was just a senseless murder under the veneer of righteousness for a nameless concept that was different for all involved with the deaths. Family Extermination was for the Divine Family, and them alone to establish as a sentence.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wen remnants

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truly-morgan · 8 months

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[The way of the househusband AU]

XiCheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi Modern AU 28-12-2021

[the way of the househusband, but make it #xicheng >:3]

Where Lan Xichen was high in the Lan triads, powerful and feared, gaining the name of Zewu-jun. The last story about Zewu-jun was how he beat up many people from rival groups before just... disappearing!

stories of him being killed, sent to jail or moving to another country are travelling around while no one in the Lan group will confirm anything.

But lxc isn't dead, far from it.

He is playing house husband for a hard-working salaryman He fell head over heels for the beautiful Jiang Cheng the very moment he saw him, taking his nephew out as a reward for being a good boy.

Cue a scary, but polite, man trying to seduce the tired uncle.

Jc is a bit unsure at first, but quickly finds the man intriguing and nice.

Wanting to be with jc without pulling him into a world he doesn't belong in is what caused him to want to get out of it.

Some wouldn't believe that the great Zewu-jun was now a house husband, cooking diligently for his husband, taking care of the house, loving two little boys after another one joined the weird family.

jc and the boys even got used to how weirdly lxc could speak sometimes as if he was talking about criminal activities. but this makes him endearing to jc, who finds it funnier than anything when he knows what he's talking about. The boys sure seem to be amused too.

lxc: then you cut it into little pieces, stuff it into the little bag and dump it into hot what, then the job is nearly done

oyz parent: *looks concerned*

oyz: mister lan xiao long bao are the best!!

ljy: of course, my baba's cooking is the best😤

teacher 1: Who is this scary-looking guy? Should we call the cops?

teacher 2: I don't know, I think we-

ljy: baba!!😮☺️

jl: shushu came to get us?

lxc: the boss is doing overtime 😔 but like this, we can surprise him with a good dinner, will you help me 🤭🤫

kids: yay!!

yes, I've finally started reading the 6 volume of the way of the house husband I bought this semester, and I just thought lxc could work well too 🤭 although we just gotta imagine that himbo looking scary to other people smh

also OF COURSE lxc has a cute apron with a bunny on it that the big boss (aka a-cheng) gifted him soon after they moved in together, he takes great care of it and always uses it

oh and of course all the older ladies on the street also love lxc because they find him funny and love seeing a good husband working so hard for his family. also, they love sharing tips with someone who needs it and gossiping around 🤭

I really wanna draw this now 🤭 maybe if my hands don't hurt too much once I get back from work I'll try drawing this little family adding some more for 3zun: jgy was in the triad because of jgs, taking his step-brother (jzx) path of quitting, especially after lxc just decided to quit they meet again when jgy comes by to see how jl is doing with jc, having heard that he had found someone to live with (and want to make sure that person would be safe for little a-ling).

what a surprise than to find back an old friend because of a-cheng ☺️

nmj is either still in the triads or the nie clan got disbanded after his father died and some other gang used that to attack. maybe NHS saw how it affected his family too much and left it happen (they are much happier now anyway)

maybe they meet again by "accident" when nmj "happens to be passing by the neighbourhood" (totally not jgy telling him where Zewu-jun was and him wanting to make sure he was alive and well)

nmj 100% approves of jc after seeing how he treats lxc with all the love and cares in the world.

Original

#tweet archive #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #xicheng #lan xichen #jiang cheng #way of the househusband au #modern au #ex mobster lan xichen

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egnidres · 2 years

Text

There is the English version at the beginning and the French version afterwards •w•

The Post Dark Cream Comic and Aim belongs to @zu-is-here (and it's also thanks to her that you can read this story XD)

𓆩☬𓆪

The sound of a music box began to be heard in a distorted way, drowned out by the shores of the awakening. When the boy stretched, he tried to remember the melody. Where had he heard it? And who was that dark figure who had suddenly vanished into his dream?

He got out of bed, walking quietly towards the living room where Dream was, who had already started to prepare breakfast. Cross was still sleeping, taking advantage of this Saturday morning to sleep in.

The little one helped his father take the cups and the bowl he gave him, being too high for him, before putting them on the table. He sat quietly at the table, before starting to put milk in his bowl, while the positive one went to wake up his husband.

They both came back into the room, his father's eyes still clouded with sleep and calmly holding his soul mate, having still managed to trap him with his arms. Dream smiled, touched by this gesture he received from his husband every weekend.

He managed to free himself from his hold by sitting down quietly. Cross, before sitting down, kissed his son's forehead, wishing him good morning. They ate lunch in good spirits, as usual.

Then, as he did every weekend, the little skeleton got ready to see his uncle. He looked in the small library in the living room for his favourite book. It was the only one that had been made by hand and his father had already told him that his uncle had made it.

He loved its hardback cover covered with a layer of blue leather, where a huge apple tree was engraved. Some of the apples were completely engraved while others had only the outline defined. On the corners furthest apart, the leather was tinged with yellow at the top and purple at the bottom. Silver corners were attached to each edge of the book, representing a moon and a sun. He knew that the book was called The Power of Feeling, because his uncle told him every time, he read it.

He grabbed it, and then went into the kitchen, taking two small chocolate bars as usual. He checked that he hadn't forgotten anything before opening the door and greeting his parents. Cross said to him:

“You be careful going in.”

“I promise, have a good day.”

They said the same before he closed the door. He went as usual to the playground, where he always waited for his uncle. He liked to have fun here, and sometimes Killer would come and play with him too, but he left quickly after Nightmare arrived.

He walked over to the swing before sitting down, putting the book on his lap. He began to swing quietly, being careful not to knock the book off by going too fast. He stopped abruptly when he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him asking if he was expecting his uncle.

He turned to answer him when he saw his face: a skeleton with pastel pupils and a paintbrush with an ink stain on his cheek. The skeleton his parents had always told him to watch out for. He remained silent, not knowing what to do.

“...You're very quiet. I thought you'd be more talkative than that. You must get that from Cross, he was never really talkative at first. But after we became friends, he was more so.”

“Are you a friend of Dad's?”

“Yes, although I'm more Dream's friend. We've known each other for a long time, and we've had many adventures together. He even bailed me out a few times.”

“Really, it's so cool!”

“But then your parents met, and I never really saw them again... But they never told you about it?”

In the face of Aim's silence, Ink added:

“They never showed you where they declared their love? If you want, I can take you there. It's a place full of so many memories.”

“But Uncle Mare-”

“Nightmare already knows this place; he'll join us when he gets here and doesn't see us. Don't you trust your parents' friends?”

Deep inside, his instincts were screaming at him no, reminding him of their warning. But on the other hand, he knew his uncle and fathers and was a friend of theirs, so he could trust him...? And his uncle knew this place too.

He took the taller boy's hand before the latter combed the ground with his brush, then jumped into the puddle, dragging the child with him. They found themselves in a wooded area, the smell of pine trees could be felt. The snow covered them gently, giving the place a fresh feel.

Ink began to walk through the forest, followed by Aim who marvelled at the place. It reminded him of the woods where he and his parents used to go in the winter. They would have fun skating on the frozen lake that hid in his place, having a snowball fight where his papa would watch them, before starting to have fun with them after taking a snowball on his shoulder because of his dad, and they would end their day all at home over hot chocolate. Maybe he would see a place like that here, and he could go with his parents, that would be nice.

He was about to tell the other skeleton about it when this feeling, or rather lack of feeling, crept into his mind. It was strange, but usually he felt like he knew when someone was doing well or not, like a hunch. It had always been the case, yet when faced with this stranger he felt nothing, and unconsciously it twisted his stomach slightly, chilled his bones, without him really knowing why.

Inwardly he tried to find a reason for this exception, as the trees around them became less and less numerous. Buildings began to appear in the distance. Aim, seeing this, wondered who they would find. If this was where his parents had declared their love, then surely, he would meet friends of theirs.

The excitement of seeing more of his parents' friends was short-lived when he saw that the buildings were in ruins. Some had their facades ripped open, others had their roofs and probably their interiors collapsed. Others had only broken windows, and the only ones that had no apparent damage made the atmosphere strangely even heavier. A ghost town, that was the vision before their eyes.

Aim's bad feeling resurfaced, even more powerful than before. How could his parents have decided to declare themselves in a ruined place? What could have happened here? He pulled the book tighter to his chest, becoming slightly alarmed by the scene before them. He stammered:

“Sir... Are you sure Uncle Mare will find us here? He was waiting for us in the playground, he might get worried if he doesn't find us, and it's not inhabited here at all, he might not find us.”

“Do you know who destroyed this place,” asked the protector, his back still turned to the boy.

“...No...”

“It was your uncle with Killer, to try to show Cross that he could never be happy, and also because of his betrayal and escape.”

“You're lying! Uncle Mare and Killer would never do that!”

“You seem to like them, maybe that's a good thing... But know kid that I never lie.”

As he said his last sentence, he turned around completely, his pastel pupils and his slight smile had given way to a face devoid of all emotion. He crouched down facing the child, before declaring:

“What follows is simple: I ask for your help, you accept and after you have helped me, I will take you back to your parents, no one knows.”

“Help with what?

“You just have to use your power over me, you know the one that can change emotions.”

“Dad and Papa said that's a power that can hurt people, and that you shouldn't use it.”

“And why not?”

“They said that by using this power, people can get hurt because they wouldn't know if they really liked us. They said that it is more important that they like us for who we really are, than by lying to them and changing something so precious.”

Ink thought for a moment before saying:

“I won't mind you using your power on me, on the contrary. I have no soul; I can't feel emotions like others. But if you used it, I could be normal.”

“Don't you have a soul? But my power only works when people already have feelings.”

“How can you be so sure when you haven't even tried,” he asked in a colder voice.

“My power is used to change the emotions of others, to rewrite them. If they don't exist, I can't change them.”

“So, you can't help me... I don't see why I should do what I told you then.”

The atmosphere was becoming frightening. Ink's voice and face was like that of a cruel psychopath in frightening nightmares, and the quiet of the place seemed to become oppressive. The boy took a step back, shaking more and more.

“You're scaring me.”

“Scared? I'm just asking you to help me. Your parents never taught you to be nice,” Ink said as he grabbed Aim's arm, dropping the book he was holding.

A Gaster Blaster appeared beside him before firing at the other skeleton. At the same time, the boy's soul turned blue, throwing him into his dad's arms. He boiled with rage and anguish, his eyes now only two blood-red pupils.

The latter was about to use his knife to teleport with his son when Ink created ink bones which he hurled at them. Cross smashed them with his weapon before setting Aim down beside the tree behind him. He would have preferred to get his son to safety before starting this fight, but Ink prevented him from actually doing so.

So, he turned his knife into two daggers and teleported behind the protector, trying to slice him by surprise. Ink dodged before hitting him with a brush, knocking him back a few feet.

Even though the monochrome had failed to hit him, he was slightly pleased that the fight was taking place away from where his child was. He sent bones at his opponent, who liquefied, before resurfacing next to him and trying to summon a Gaster Blaster. Cross gave him no time, sending his leg slamming into his stomach, smashing it against the tree behind him.

Ink coughed from the impact of the tree and also from the kick. Even though they were skeletons and didn't have stomachs or diaphragms, their magic reacted as if they did, and they really didn't appreciate that kind of blow. He lay down on the ground to dodge the Gaster Blaster shot that Cross had just fired, which destroyed and burned the plant and those behind it.

Then he grabbed his brush which he had dropped before creating a wall of ink to protect himself from a volley of bones. This separation disappeared after his opponent sliced it with his daggers, coming closer to him. To keep him away, he created several rows of bones before landing on a low tree branch near Cross.

Black tears began to fall from Cross's eyes, showing his growing negative feelings to the point of overflowing.

“I haven't seen your face like that for years,” Ink added. “The last time was the day I paid you and Dream a little surprise visit. I didn't expect to see you with a baby, but what surprised me most that day was that your child had this power. Honestly, we could have a lot of fun, and thanks to him, I could have feelings like the others again. You can do that for your friend.”

“You're not my friend, you're just a skeleton who has become obsessed with something he doesn't have and never will. Because of your madness, you put Aim in danger that day and you just did it again today.”

“... In danger... I didn't do anything wrong... I took him to a place that is important to you, I told him everything that happened here, and I kindly asked him to help me. There's nothing wrong with that. On reflection, maybe I should have been more radical... But I can always make it right.”

Three Gaster Blasters appeared in front of the boy, startling him and his father. Before the shots were fired, they heard the AU protector speak his words like a death sentence:

“If Error can create new things when he is repulsed by it and our agreement still stood at that time, then I may as well do the same. I'll never be forgotten again, even if it means going from good guy to bad guy protector.”

“AIM!!!”

Cross was too far away from Aim to get there in time, so he made a giant wall of bones to protect him. He didn't have time to reassure himself that he was okay or even make another move, as Ink had already launched a bone attack. He had let his guard down, desperate to save his son, and before he could even protect himself, bones had embedded themselves in his torso, several touching his soul.

His purple blood began to stain his white top, and to run from the corners of his mouth, before falling to the ground. Two shrill cries rang out at that moment: Aim's, who had moved away from the half-destroyed wall to reassure his father, and Dream's. He was teleported to his son in spite of himself, thanks to his husband. The latter had arrived in his place after sensing his soul mate's overly negative feelings. But he had arrived too late to protect him from the treacherous attack that Ink had launched against him.

Dream held him in his arms on his knees, his eyes flooded with tears, trying to use his healing magic on him. But the wounds on his soul were too numerous for him to do so. Aim rushed towards them, seeing with horror the gaping holes in his father's torso, his breath choked and his soul cracking from the damage it had taken.

He searched his pockets, trying to find the chocolate bars he had taken a few hours earlier. He had taken two, but he was unable to find them. His hands were shaking, and his tears were appearing more and more, blurring his vision. He searched desperately before realising that they were not where he had put them.

He had probably dropped them without noticing, then he remembered the playground, that moment when they had jumped into the gate. Surely that was when he had lost them. After all, he had been careful not to drop and damage the book, but he hadn't checked for the chocolate bars.

“Dad...”

Aim didn't know what to say or do. His father was starting to crumble, and he didn't know how to save him. To reassure him, Cross pulled him closer to him, before giving him a kiss on the forehead, as he used to doing.

Then he put his hand on his husband's cheek, trying to remove the tears that were running down with his thumb, even though new ones appeared right after. He tried with difficulty to take a steady breath before saying:

“I'm sorry, I let my guard down again. I couldn't protect you anymore... Don't cry... I've always preferred it when you smile... I wish I could keep seeing you smile and laugh...”

His husband tried to put on a smile, but it looked more like a forced grimace distorted by sadness. Cross stood up slightly before placing a final kiss on his soul mate's teeth.

“You are my two rays of sunshine...”

He had spoken his words with the last of his strength, before disappearing entirely into a pile of dust. His son looked down at his remains, his tears growing more and more uncontrollable. His eyesight was blurred and he couldn't see what was around him, except for the dust as his tears fell.

Dream, on the other hand, stared into space before screaming at the assassin. His scream was filled with rage and hatred, changing to a promise of death as his voice became different, dark, corrupt.

Bones cracked as tentacles ripped through the back of his jumper, moving uncontrollably like snakes preparing to bite their prey. Black liquid began to cover him, devouring his blind eye again, making it disappear.

Before he left to take his revenge, he saw the look in his son's eyes that was mixed with sadness, fear and horror. He didn't know if it was due to his appearance, which he considered hideous, or because he was afraid of simply losing his papa, but that look made him even more angry at the painter. Because of him, he had lost his husband, but he had also had to traumatize his child with his appearance.

Nightmare and Killer arrived shortly afterwards, to see Dream in his corrupted form lashing out at Ink's inert and almost completely destroyed body, while Aim cried at a pile of dust. The two skeletons had quickly guessed who he belonged to by the scene before them.

The negative one moved towards his brother to stop him, but Killer stopped him by holding his arm, feeling only angst at the scene before them.

“I need you to take Aim and get out of here, while I calm Dream down,” he announced, pulling his arm free of the other skeleton's grip.

“No, you'll get killed. I-”

“Because you think you can do it? Take Aim and leave! That's an order,” he shouted.

The tearful man looked at him in despair, wanting to say something more. He knew that Nightmare was right and that he was just wasting time, but he couldn't help the fear that was eating away at his stomach. It was Cross who had managed to bring Dream to his senses, not Nightmare, so how could he be sure he would? He shook off his worries, confidently thinking that surely, he was the only one now who could do it. Then he walked over to the boy, before picking him up and teleporting into the boy's room.

The negative began to rush towards his brother, getting between him and Ink, dodging the tentacles that struck in the protector's direction. He caught him in his arms, trying to block his movements.

“Calm down, you can't kill him, he's immortal like us. Think of Aim and calm down!”

The attacks stopped, and his tentacles collapsed as if they were empty of energy. He dropped to his knees, his brother following his fall, still holding him in his arms. He turned his eyes and saw his husband's dust. If he had arrived earlier, he could have saved him, he would still be here. This sentence kept coming back in his mind, hammering him with blows, driving the nail of remorse even deeper.

Tears began to flow down his cheeks, creating ever larger wakes. He returned his brother's embrace, holding his coat as if it were the last thing, the last hope he could hold on to. His sobs were almost the only sound to be heard in this charred and destroyed world.

His soul froze, twisted, and felt as if it would crack and shatter at any moment. How he wished at that moment that it had. He would no longer feel that pain in his chest, that vice in his throat. He would like to join him, but he couldn't, and never would. It was one of the few privileges that was taken away from him.

The crackling of the flames was muted by the pain of the desperate cries that the positive was now throwing into the void, tearing at the same time at his brother's heart.

It was one of the few moments when the negative felt so helpless in the face of his younger brother's pain. What could he say, what could he do to heal his broken heart, except wait and show his presence and support through a simple hug. Only time would soften his grieving soul and they both knew it, but at the time it was hard to take.

All this pain and sorrow was preventing him from returning to his normal form. He didn't want to scare his son; he didn't want him to see him like that again. So, between his uncontrollable sobs, he stammered:

“I don't want to show myself to Aim like this.”

“Take your time,” his brother added in a calm voice.

Meanwhile, the boy was crying in Killer's arms, unable to get the image of his dad turning to dust out of his mind. It wasn't possible, his father had always been strong, he couldn't die like that. He would probably come back and say it was a joke, his papa would scold him for it, and to make up for it he would hug him, as always. As always, he would walk quietly out the door. He was coming back! He would come back... right?

He knew in his soul that reality was not what he wanted to see. He knew what fate had befallen his father, he had seen it with his own eyes, but he could not accept it. Or rather he didn't want to accept it.

“Dad will come back, right? He's coming home,” the boy whined between sobs.

“It'll be okay,” Killer reassured him.

It was the only sentence he repeated softly, as if he only knew that one, which was becoming more and more meaningless with its relentless repetition. He rubbed his back to soothe him. He kept a mask of calm to reassure the little one and not to show his feelings, even if his molten heart gave him away.

Aim slowly calmed down. He wished so much that time would wind up like a simple stopped music box. It was then that he asked Killer if he could rest, to wake up from this cruel bad dream, which the taller man accepted. Before going to sleep, he left his room, followed by Killer who did not understand why he was leaving.

The little skeleton walked through the house towards his parents' room. He entered the room and saw that it was in the same state as it was in the beginning, tidy, the bed still made in the same way, the wardrobe still closed, the sunlight partly filtered by the curtains almost entirely open.

It was like an unchanged vestige of time, a vestige that reminded him of that happy time he spent with his parents. He kept hoping that it was a nightmare, so that he could wake up and hug his fathers again.

He walked over to Cross's bedside table, picking up the slightly cracked heart-shaped locket that lay on it. He had seen it once and simply asked what it was. He remembered the image as he opened it and turned a small mechanism inside, making the soft sound of a music box playing Always with me.

He remembered the wistful look on his father's face, before he calmly told him that this jewel was very important to him, and that he would rather leave it safe than risk it being damaged even more than it was by wearing it. He remembered that his father had not said who the people drawn with him were, nor the meaning of the word written above it, and he had preferred not to ask him.

He hadn't touched it again, not wanting to risk breaking something precious to one of his parents. But now he just wanted to have it so he wouldn't feel like he was breaking himself like a fragile object. Or maybe he just wanted something that belonged to him so that he would feel like it was still near him.

He took it in his hand, tangling the golden chain between his knuckles. Killer said nothing, understanding that the smaller boy was trying to hold on to something that would remind him of Cross. Nevertheless, when the boy returned to his room, he said softly:

“Kiddo, if you need me, I'll be right here in the living room. Dream and Nightmare should be back soon, I'll wait for them.”

“Will you stay with me? I'd like one more hug.”

The teary-eyed man agreed, sitting down on the bed with his back against the wall before taking him in his arms. Aim, for his part, had abandoned his Rubik's Cube, which he used whenever he felt bad. Instead, he opened the locket and activated the mechanism, which instantly pierced the silence with the soft crystalline notes of the lullaby.

He stayed there, listening quietly, thinking of nothing but the hope of waking up from this nightmare. He closed his eyes, letting himself be carried away by the sound of the lullaby and the sleep. A tear rolled down his cheek, before falling onto the taller man's shirt as the last note of the song was heard, leaving them to be engulfed again by the morbid silence.

It was also at this point that Killer silently broke down, shattering the mask that had been forged on his face earlier, unable to hold back his tears and grief at the death of his friend.

𓆩☬𓆪

Le son d'une boîte à musique commença à se faire entendre de manière distordu, noyé par les rives du réveil. Lorsque le petit s’étira, il essaya de se souvenir de cette mélodie. Où l'avait-il bien entendu ? Et qui était cette silhouette sombre qui s'était soudainement évaporé dans son rêve ?

Il sortit de son lit, se dirigeant tranquillement vers le salon où se trouvé Dream, qui avais déjà commencé à préparer le petit-déjeuner. Cross quant à lui, dormait toujours, profitant de ce samedi matin pour faire la grasse matinée.

Le petit aida son papa prenant les tasses puis le bol qu’il lui donnait, étant trop haut pour lui, avant de les poser sur la table. Il s’assit tranquillement à table, avant de commencer à verser du lait dans son bol, pendant que le positif allait réveiller son mari.

Ils revinrent tout deux dans la pièce, son père ayant les yeux encore embrumés de sommeil et tenant calmement son âme-sœur, ayant encore réussi à l’emprisonner avec ses bras. Dream sourit, attendri par ce geste qu’il recevait de son mari chaque week-end.

Il réussit à se libérer de son emprise en s’asseyant tranquillement. Cross, avant de s’assoir à son tour, fis un bisou sur le front de son fils, lui souhaitant bonjour. Ils déjeunèrent dans la bonne humeur, comme d'habitude.

Puis comme chaque week-end, le petit squelette se prépara pour voir son oncle. Il chercha dans la petite bibliothèque du salon son livre préféré. C’était le seul qui avais été fait à la main et son papa lui avait déjà avouer que c’était son oncle qui l’avait fabriqué.

Il aimait énormément sa couverture cartonnée recouverte d’une couche de cuir bleutée, où un immense pommier y était gravé. Ses pommes étaient pour certaines entièrement gravée tandis que d’autre n’avais que le contour défini. Sur les coins les plus éloignés l’un de l’autre, le cuir se teintait de jaune en haut et de violet en bas. Des coins en argent était accrocher sur chaque bord du livre et représentait une lune et un soleil. Il savait que ce livre s’appelait La force des sentiments, grâce à son oncle qui lui disais à chaque fois qu’il le lisait.

Il l’attrapa, et se dirigea ensuite dans la cuisine, prenant deux petites barres chocolatées comme à son habitude. Il vérifia qu’il n’oubliait rien avant d’ouvrir la porte en saluant ses parents. Cross lui dit :

—Tu fais attention en y allant.

—Promis, bonne journée.

Ils lui répondirent la même chose avant qu’il ne ferme la porte. Il partit comme à son habitude vers l’aire de jeu, où il attendait toujours son oncle. Il aimait beaucoup s’amuser ici, et parfois, Killer venait aussi jouer avec lui, mais il partait rapidement après que Nightmare soit arrivé.

Il s’approcha de la balançoire avant de s’assoir, posant le livre sur ses genoux. Il commença à se balancer tranquillement, faisant attention à ne pas faire tomber le livre en allant trop vite. Il s’arrêta brusquement lorsqu’il entendit une voix inconnue derrière lui demandant s’il attendait son oncle.

Il se retourna pour lui répondre lorsqu’il vit son visage : un squelette aux pupilles pastel accompagné d’un pinceau et ayant une tache d’encre sur la joue. Le squelette dont ses parents lui ont toujours dit de se méfier. Il resta muet, ne sachant pas trop quoi faire.

—…Tu es bien silencieux. Je pensais que tu serais plus bavard que ça. Tu dois sûrement tenir ça de Cross, il n'a jamais été vraiment bavard au début. Mais après qu’on soit devenu ami il l’était plus.

—Vous êtes un ami de Dad ?

—Oui, même si je suis plus l’ami de Dream. On se connait depuis longtemps, et on a vécu beaucoup d’aventures ensemble. Il m’a même déjà tiré d’affaire plusieurs fois.

—Vraiment, c’est trop cool !

—Mais après tes parents se sont rencontré, et je ne les ai plus vraiment revus... Mais ils ne t’en ont jamais parlé ?

Devant le silence de Aim, Ink ajouta :

—Ils ne t’ont jamais montré où se sont déclaré leur amour ? Si tu veux, je peux t’y amener. C’est un endroit chargé de tellement de souvenirs.

—Mais Oncle Mare-

—Nightmare connais déjà cet endroit, il nous rejoindra quand il arrivera et qu’il ne nous verra pas ici. Tu ne fais pas confiance aux amis de tes parents ?

Au plus profond de lui, son instinct lui criait non, lui rappelant leur mise en garde. Mais d’un autre coté il connaissait son oncle et ses pères et était un ami d’eux, alors il pouvait lui faire confiance... ? Et son oncle connaissait aussi ce lieu.

Il prit la main du plus grand avant que ce dernier peigne le sol avec son pinceau, sautant ensuite dans cette flaque en entrainant l’enfant avec lui. Ils se retrouvèrent dans un lieu boisé, l’odeur des pins se faisait ressentir. La neige les recouvrés doucement, rendant une sensation de frai à ce lieu.

Ink commença à marcher dans la forêt, suivit de Aim qui s’émerveillé devant les lieux. Ça lui faisait penser au bois ou ses parents et lui avaient l’habitude d’aller l’hiver. Ils s’amusaient à patiner sur le lac gelé qui se dissimuler dans ses lieux, à faire une bataille de boules de neiges où son papa les regarder, avant de commencer à s’amuser avec eux après avoir pris une boule de neige sur l’épaule à cause de son père, et ils finissaient leur journée chez eux tous autour d’un chocolat chaud. Peut-être qu’il verrait un lieu comme ça ici, et qu’il pourrait y aller avec ses parents, ce serait bien.

Il allait en parler à l’autre squelette quand cette sensation, ou plutôt cette absence de sensation s’immisça dans son esprit. C’était étrange, mais d’habitude il avait l’impression de savoir quand quelqu’un allait bien ou mal, un peu comme une intuition. Ça avait toujours été le cas, pourtant face à cet étranger il ne ressentait rien, et inconsciemment ça lui tordait légèrement l’estomac, lui glaçait les os, sans qu’il ne sache vraiment pourquoi.

Il essaya de trouver intérieurement une raison à cette exception, lorsque les arbres autour d’eux devenait de moins en moins nombreux. Des bâtiments commençaient à apparaître au loin. Aim en voyant ça, se demanda qui ils allaient trouver. Si c’était ici que ses parents avaient déclaré leur amour, alors il rencontrera sûrement des amis à eux.

Cette excitation de voir d’autres amis de ses parents fut de courte durée, lorsque qu’il vit que les bâtiments étaient en ruines. Certains avait leurs façades d’éventré, d’autre le toit et surement l’intérieur d’effondrer. D’autres encore n’avait que les fenêtres de brisés, et les seules qui n’avait aucun dégât apparent rendais bizarrement l’ambiance encore plus pesante. Une ville fantôme, voilà la vision qui était devant leur yeux.

Le mauvais pressentiment de Aim refit surface, encore plus puissant qu’avant. Comment ses parents auraient pu décider de se déclarer dans un endroit en ruines ? Qu'avait-il bien pus se passer ici ? Il resserra le livre sur son torse, devenant légèrement inquiet par les lieux devant eux. Il bredouilla :

—Monsieur... Vous êtes sûr qu’Oncle Mare va nous trouver ici ? Il nous attendait dans l’air de jeu, il risque de s’inquiétait s’il ne nous trouve pas, et ça n’est pas du tout habité ici, il risque de ne pas nous trouvé.

—Sais-tu qui a détruit ce lieu, demanda le protecteur toujours le dos tourné vers le petit.

—…Non…

—C'est ton oncle avec Killer, pour essayer de montrer à Cross qu’il ne pourrait jamais être heureux, et aussi à cause de sa trahison et de sa fuite.

—Vous mentez ! Oncle Mare et Killer ne feraient jamais ça !

—Tu sembles les aimé, c'est peut-être une bonne chose… Mais sache petit que je ne mens jamais.

En prononçant sa dernière phrase, il se retourna entièrement, ses pupilles pastel et son léger sourire de façade avaient laisser place à un visage vide de toutes émotions. Il s’accroupi face à l’enfant, avant de déclarer :

—Ce qui va suivre est simple : Je te demande de l'aide, tu acceptes et après que tu m'es aidé, je te ramène à tes parents ni vu, ni connu.

—De l'aide pour quoi ?

—Tu as juste à utiliser ton pouvoir sur moi, tu sais celui qui peut modifier les émotions.

—Papa et Dad ont dit que c'est un pouvoir qui peut blesser les gens, et qu'il fallait surtout pas l’utiliser.

—Et pourquoi donc ?

—Ils ont dit qu’en utilisant ce pouvoir, les personnes peuvent se sentir blesser parce qu’ils ne pourraient pas savoir s’ils nous apprécient vraiment. Ils ont dit qu'il faut plutôt qu'ils nous aiment pour ce qu'on est vraiment, qu’en leur mentant et en leur changeant quelques chose d'aussi précieux.

Ink réfléchis quelques instants avant de dire :

—Je ne prendrai pas mal que tu utilises ton pouvoir sur moi, au contraire. Je n'ai pas d’âme, je ne peux pas ressentir des émotions comme les autres. Mais si tu l’utilisais, je pourrais être normal.

—Vous n'avez pas d’âme ? Mais mon pouvoir ne fonctionne que lorsque des personnes ont déjà des sentiments.

—Comment tu peux en être si sûr alors que tu n'as même pas essayé, demanda-t-il d'une voix plus froide.

—Mon pouvoir sert à modifier les émotions des autres, à les réécrire. S’ils n'existent pas, je ne peux pas les changer.

—Alors, tu ne peux pas m’aider... Je ne vois pas pourquoi je ferais ce que je t'ai dit alors.

L'ambiance devenait angoissante. La voix et le visage de Ink était semblable à celle d'un cruel psychopathe dans des cauchemars effrayants, et le calme des lieux semblait devenir oppressant. Le petit recula d'un pas, tremblant de plus en plus.

—Vous me faites peur.

—Peur ? Je te demande juste de m'aider. Tes parents ne t’ont jamais appris à être gentil, déclara Ink en attrapant le bras de Aim, faisant tomber le livre qu'il tenait.

Un Gaster Blaster apparu à côté de ce dernier avant de tirer sur l'autre squelette. Au même moment, l’âme du petit vira au bleu, le projetant dans les bras de son père. Celui-ci bouillonnait de rage et d'angoisse, ses yeux n’étant plus que deux pupilles rouge sang.

Ce dernier allait utiliser son couteau pour se téléporter avec son fils lorsque Ink créa des os d’encre qu’il projeta sur eux. Cross les brisa avec son arme avant de poser Aim à côté de l’arbre derrière lui. Il aurait préféré mettre son fils à l’abri avant d’entamer ce combat, mais Ink l’empêcher de véritablement le faire.

Alors il transforma son couteau en deux dagues et se téléporta derrière le protecteur, essayant de le trancher par surprise. Ink esquiva avant de lui asséner un coup de pinceau, le faisant reculer de quelques mètres.

Même si le monochrome n’avais pas réussi à le toucher, il était légèrement satisfait que le combat se déroulais loin de là où était son enfant. Il envoya des os sur son adversaire, qui se liquéfia, avant de resurgir à côté de lui et d’essayer d’invoquer un Gaster Blaster. Cross ne lui laissa pas le temps, envoyant sa jambe frapper son ventre, le fracassant contre l’arbre derrière lui.

Ink toussa dû au choc contre l’arbre mais aussi dû au coup de pied. Même si c’était des squelettes et qu’ils n’avaient pas d’estomac ni de diaphragmes, leur magie réagissait comme s’ils en avais, et elles n’apprécié vraiment pas ce genre de coup. Il se coucha au sol pour esquiver le tir de Gaster Blaster que venait de tirer Cross, qui détruisit et brûla le végétal et ceux qui se trouver derrière.

Puis il attrapa son pinceau qu’il avait fait tomber avant de créer un mur d’encre pour se protéger d’une salve d’os. Cette séparation disparue après que son adversaire la trancha avec ses dagues, se rapprochant de lui. Pour l’éloigner de lui, il créa plusieurs rangés d’os avant de se poser sur une branche basse d’un arbre, proche de Cross.

Des larmes noires commençaient à couler des yeux de ce dernier, montrant ses sentiments négatifs de plus en plus important, au point de déborder.

—Ça fais des années que je n’avais pas vu ton visage comme ça, ajouta Ink. La dernière fois, ça a été le jour où je vous ai rendus une petite visite surprise à toi et Dream. Je ne m’attendais pas à vous voir avec un bébé, mais ce qui m’a le plus surpris ce jour-là, ça a été que ton enfant est ce pouvoir. Franchement, on pourrait bien s’amuser, et grâce à lui, je pourrais de nouveau ressentir des sentiments comme les autres. Tu peux bien faire ça pour ton ami.

—Tu n’es pas mon ami, tu es juste un squelette qui est devenu obsédé par une chose qu’il n’a pas et n’aura jamais. À cause de ta folie, tu as mis ce jour-là Aim en danger et tu viens encore de le faire aujourd’hui.

—… En danger... Je n’ai pourtant rien fait de mal... Je l’ai amené dans un lieu important pour vous, je lui ai dit tous ce qui c’était passé ici, et je lui ai gentiment demander de m’aider. Il n’y a rien de mal. En y réfléchissant, peut-être que j’aurai dû être plus radical... Mais je peux toujours rectifier le coup.

Trois Gaster Blasters apparurent devant le petit, le surprenant ainsi que son père. Avant que les coups soient tirés, ils entendirent le protecteur des AU prononcé ses mots comme une sentence de mort :

—Si Error peut créer de nouvelles choses alors qu’il est répugné par ça et que notre accord tenait toujours à ce moment-là, alors je peux tout aussi bien faire pareil. Je ne serais plus jamais oublié, même si ça signifie passer du gentil au méchant protecteur.

—AIM !!!

Cross était trop loin de Aim pour arriver à temps, alors il fit un gigantesque mur d’os pour le protéger. Il n’eut pas le temps de se rassurer qu’il aller bien ou même de faire un autre mouvement, que Ink avait déjà lancé une attaque d’os. Il avait baissé sa garde voulant à tout prix sauver son fils, et avant même qu’il puisse se protéger, des os s’étaient planté dans son torse, plusieurs touchant son âme.

Son sang violet commença à teintait son haut blanc, et à couler des commissures de sa bouche, avant de tomber au sol. Deux cris stridents retentir à ce moment-là : celui de Aim qui s’était décalé du mur à moitié détruit pour rassurer son père, et Dream. Il fut téléporté vers son fils malgré lui, grâce à son mari. Ce dernier était arrivé dans ses lieux après avoir sentis les sentiments trop négatifs de son âme-sœur. Mais il était arrivé trop tard pour le protéger de l’attaque traître que lui avais lancé Ink.

Dream le tenait dans les bras à genoux, ses yeux inondés de larmes, essayant d’utiliser sa magie de soins sur lui. Mais les blessures sur son âme étaient trop importantes pour qu’il y arrive. Aim se précipita vers eux, voyant avec horreur les trous béants qui parsemés le torse de son père, son souffle haché et son âme qui craqueler à cause des dégâts trop importante qu’elle s’était prise.

Il chercha dans ses poches, essayant de retrouver les barres chocolatées qu'il avait pris quelques heures plus tôt. Il en avait pris deux, mais il était incapable de les retrouver. Ses mains tremblaient, et ses larmes apparaissaient de plus en plus, brouillant sa vision. Il chercha désespérément avant de réaliser qu’elles n’étaient pas là où il les avait mises.

Il les avait sûrement fais tomber sans s’en apercevoir, puis il se rappela de l’aire de jeu, ce moment où ils avaient sauté dans le portail. C’était sûrement à ce moment-là qu’il les avait perdus. Après tout, il avait fait attention à ne pas faire tomber et abimé le livre, mais il n’avait pas vérifié pour les barres chocolatées.

—Dad...

Aim ne savait pas quoi dire ou quoi faire. Son père commençait à partir en poussière, et il ne savait pas comment le sauver. Pour le rassurer, ce dernier le rapprocha de lui, avant de lui faire un bisou sur le front comme il avait l’habitude de le faire.

Puis il posa sa main sur la joue de son mari, essayant d’enlever les larmes qui coulaient avec son pouce, même si de nouvelles apparaissait juste après. Il tentait difficilement de prendre une respiration régulière avant de lui dire :

—Je suis désolé, j’ai encore baissé ma garde. Je ne pourrais plus vous protéger... Ne pleurez pas... J’ai toujours préféré quand vous souriez... J’aimerais tellement pouvoir continuer de vous voir sourire et rire...

Son mari essaya d’afficher un sourire, mais ce dernier ressemblait plus à une grimace forcée et déformé par la tristesse. Cross se releva légèrement avant de déposer un dernier baisé sur les dents de son âme-sœur.

—Vous êtes mes deux rayons de soleil...

Il avait prononcé ses mots avec les dernières forces qu’il lui resté, avant de disparaître entièrement dans un amas de poussières. Son fils regarda ses restes, ses larmes devenaient de plus en plus incontrôlables. Sa vue se troublait et il ne voyait pas ce qui l’entourer, à part les poussières lorsque ses larmes tombaient.

Dream quant à lui regarder dans le vague avant de hurler en regardant l’assassin. Son cri était rempli de rage et de haine, se modifiant en une promesse de mort en même temps que sa voix devenait différente, sombre, corrompu.

Des craquements d’os se firent entendre lorsque des tentacules déchirèrent le dos de son pull, bougeant de manière incontrôlable, comme des serpents se préparant à mordre leur proie. Du liquide noir commença à le recouvrir, dévorant à nouveau son œil aveugle, le faisant disparaitre.

Avant qu’il ne parte pour assouvir sa vengeance, il croisa le regard de son fils qui était mélanger de tristesse, de peur et d’horreur. Il ne savait pas si c’était dû à son apparence qu’il jugeait hideuse, ou parce qu’il avait peur de tout simplement perdre son papa, mais ce regard l’énerva encore plus contre le peintre. À cause de lui, il avait perdu son mari, mais il avait aussi dû traumatiser son enfant par son aspect.

Nightmare et Killer arrivèrent peu de temps après, pour voir Dream dans sa forme corrompu s’acharné sur le corps inerte et presque entièrement détruit de Ink, tandis qu’Aim pleuré devant un tas de poussière. Les deux squelettes avaient rapidement deviné à qui il appartenait vu la scène qui s’offraient à leurs yeux.

Le négatif se dirigea vers son frère pour l’arrêter, mais Killer l'en empêcha en lui tenant le bras, ressentant que de l’angoisse face à la scène qui se déroulait devant eux.

—Il faut que tu prennes Aim et tu partes d’ici, pendant que je calme Dream, annonça-il en dégageant son bras de l’emprise de l’autre squelette.

—Non, tu risques de te faire tuer. Je-

—Parce que tu penses que tu peux le faire ? Prends Aim et pars ! C’est un ordre, hurla-t-il.

Le larmoyant le regarda désespérer, voulant rajouter quelque chose. Il savait que Nightmare avait raison et qu'il perdait juste du temps, mais il ne pouvait s’empêcher d’avoir une peur qui lui dévorer le ventre. C’était Cross qui avait réussi à ramener Dream à la raison, pas Nightmare, alors comment être sûr qu’il y arrivera ? Il se débarrassa de ses inquiétudes, en pensant avec confiance que c’était sûrement le seul maintenant à pouvoir le faire. Il se dirigea ensuite vers le petit, avant de le prendre dans les bras, puis se téléporta dans la chambre de ce dernier.

Le négatif commença à se précipiter vers son frère, se mettant entre lui et Ink, esquivant les tentacules qui frapper dans la direction du protecteur. Il l’attrapa dans les bras, essayant de le bloquer dans ses mouvements.

—Calme-toi, tu ne peux pas le tuer, il est immortel comme nous. Pense à Aim et calme-toi !

Les attaques s’arrêtèrent, et ses tentacules s’affaissèrent comme s’ils devenaient vide d’énergie. Il se laissa tomber sur ses genoux, son frère suivit sa chute, le tenant toujours dans ses bras. Il tourna les yeux et vit les poussières de son mari. S’il était arrivé plus tôt, il aurait pu le sauver, il serait encore là. Cette phrase revenait en boucle dans son esprit, le martelant de coup, enfonçant le clou des remords encore plus profondément.

Des larmes commencèrent à couler le long de ses joues, créant des sillages de plus en plus imposants. Il rendit l’étreinte à son frère, tenant son manteau comme s'il était la dernière chose, le dernier espoir sur lequel il pouvait se raccrocher. Ses sanglots était presque le seul bruit qui se faisait entendre dans ce monde calciné et détruit.

Son âme se glaçais, se tordais, lui donnais l’impression qu’elle allait se fissurer et se briser à tout moment. Comme il aurait aimé à cet instant que ce soit le cas. Il ne ressentirait plus cette douleur dans sa poitrine, cet étau dans sa gorge. Il aimerait le rejoindre, mais il ne pouvait pas, et ne pourrais jamais le faire. C’était un des rares privilèges qui lui était ôté.

Le crépitement des flammes se faisait discret face à la douleur des cris désespéré que lancer maintenant le positif dans le vide, déchirant au même instant le cœur de son frère.

Ce fut l’un des rares instants où le négatif se sentait aussi impuissant face à la douleur de son cadet. Que pouvait-il bien dire, que pouvait-il bien faire pour soigner son cœur brisé, à part attendre en montrant sa présence et son soutien à travers un simple câlin. Seul le temps adoucirait son âme en peine et ils le savaient tous deux, mais sur le moment c’était dur à encaisser.

Toutes cette peine et cette douleur l’empêchais de retrouver sa forme normale. Il ne voulait pas effrayer son fils, il ne voulait pas qu’il le voit comme ça de nouveau. Alors, entre ses sanglots incontrôlables, il bredouilla :

—Je ne veux pas me montrer à Aim comme ça.

—Prends tous ton temps, ajouta son frère d’une voix calme.

Pendant ce temps, le petit pleurait dans les bras de Killer, n’arrivant pas à enlever de son esprit l’image de son père qui se transformait en poussière. Ce n’était pas possible, son père avait toujours été fort, il ne pouvait pas mourir comme ça. Il allait surement revenir en disant que c’était une blague, son papa allait le gronder pour ça, et pour se faire pardonner, il lui ferait un câlin, comme toujours. Comme toujours, il allait passer le bas de la porte tranquillement. Il allait revenir ! Il allait revenir... non... ?

Il savait au fond de son âme que la réalité n’était pas ce qu’il voulait voir. Il savait quel destin avait eu son père, il l’avait vu de ses propres yeux, mais il ne pouvait pas l’accepter. Ou plutôt il ne voulait pas l’accepter.

—Dad va revenir, pas vrai ? Il va revenir à la maison, pleurnicha le petit entre deux sanglots.

—Ça va aller, le rassura Killer.

C'était la seule phrase qu’il répétait doucement, comme s’il ne connaissait que celle-là, qui se vidait de plus en plus de sens à force d’être inlassablement répétée. Il lui frotta le dos pour l’apaiser. Il garda un masque fais de calme pour rassurer le plus petit et ne pas montrer ses sentiments, même si son âme en cœur fondu le trahissait.

Aim se calma lentement. Il aurait tellement voulu que le temps se remonte comme une simple boite à musique arrêté. C’est à ce moment-là qu’il demanda à Killer s'il pouvait se reposer, pour se réveiller de ce cruel mauvais rêve, ce que le plus grand accepta. Avant de dormir, il partit de sa chambre, suivit de Killer qui ne comprenait pas pourquoi il partait.

Le petit squelette traversa la maison se dirigeant vers la chambre de ses parents. Il y rentra voyant la pièce dans le même état qu’elle était de base, rangée, le lit fait toujours de la même manière, l’armoire toujours fermée, les rayons du soleil qui était en parti tamisé par les rideaux presque entièrement ouvert.

Elle était comme un vestige inchangé du temps, un vestige qui lui rappelait ce temps heureux qu’il passait avec ses parents. Il espérait continuellement que ce soit un cauchemar, pour qu’il puisse se réveillait et serrait à nouveau ses pères dans ses bras.

Il se rapprocha de la table de chevet de Cross, prenant le médaillon en forme de cœur légèrement fêlé qui était posé dessus. Il l’avait vu un jour et avais simplement demandé ce que c’était. Il se souvenais de l’image quand il l’avait ouvert et actionné un petit mécanisme à l’intérieur, faisant retentir le son doux d’une boite à musique jouant Always with me.

Il se souvenais du regard mélancolique de son père, avant qu’il lui dise calmement que ce bijou était très important pour lui, et qu’il préférait le laisser en sécurité, que de risquer qu’il soit encore plus abimé qu’il ne l’était en le portant. Il se souvenais que son père n’avait pas dit qui été ses personnes dessinées avec lui, ni la signification du mot inscrit juste au-dessus, et il avait préféré ne pas le lui demander.

Il ne l’avait plus touché, ne voulant pas risquer de briser quelque chose de précieux aux yeux de l’un de ses parents. Mais maintenant, il voulait juste l’avoir pour ne pas avoir l’impression de se briser lui-même comme un objet fragile. Ou peut-être qu’il désiré simplement un objet qui lui appartenait pour avoir l’impression qu’il était toujours près de lui.

Il le prit dans la main, emmêlant la chaine dorée entre ses phalanges. Killer ne dis rien, comprenant que le plus petit essayer de se raccrocher à quelque chose qui lui rappeler la présence de Cross. Néanmoins, lorsque le petit retourna dans sa chambre, il lui dit doucement :

—Gamin, si tu as besoin je serais là dans le salon. Dream et Nightmare ne devrait pas tarder à rentrer, je vais les attendre.

—Est-ce que tu veux bien rester avec moi ? J’aimerais bien encore avoir un câlin.

Le larmoyant accepta, s’assit sur le lit, le dos appuyé contre le mur avant de le prendre dans les bras. Aim, quant à lui, avait délaisser son Rubik’s Cube qu’il utilisait pourtant à chaque fois qu’il se sentait mal. Au lieu de ça, il ouvrit le médaillon et activa le mécanisme, qui perça instantanément le silence avec les douces notes cristallines de la berceuse.

Il resta ainsi, l’écoutant calmement, ne pensant à rien d’autre qu’à l’espoir de se réveiller de ce cauchemar. Il ferma les yeux, se laissant emporter par le son de la berceuse et le sommeil. Une larme roula sur sa joue, avant de tomber sur le T-shirt du plus grand au même instant que la dernière note de la chanson se fit entendre, les laissant se faire engloutir de nouveau par le silence morbide.

Ce fus également à ce moment que Killer craqua silencieusement, brisant le masque qui s’était forgé sur le visage un peu plus tôt, n’arrivant plus à retenir ses larmes et sa peine face à la mort de son ami.

#undertale #nightmare #au #ua #cross #dream #aim #writing #écriture #post dark cream #killer #ink

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transboysokka · 9 months

Text

A short Zukka h/c story through dialogues. They're just really fucked up.

CW: big themes around eating disorders, small themes around alcoholism, one or two mentions of [emetophobia], general angst

"Zu...?" "Hm?" "You know how you said you'd tell me if things got bad again?" "Yeah?" "Well..." "What?" "When was the last time you had something to eat?" "...Oh."

"You wanna talk about it?" "I don't even know what to say, Sokka. I'm just Like This..." "Well, you know I'm here for you." "I know, babe. I love you so much."

"I'm so hungry..." "Then you should eat something, baby..." "I just... can't."

"Would it help if we went somewhere else? We could sneak out to the night market and find some xiaochi." "Okay, yeah. Some watermelon juice sounds nice." "Okay, but maybe something else too? Would you share some douhua with me?" "...Okay. I'll try." "That's all I ever ask, babe."

"Another headache?" "Mmhmm. Bad." "It'll help if you..." "Can't eat right now. I'd just puke it up." "Okay, let's try some apple juice."

"Babe, you know I don't like to pressure you..." "I know. I love you for it." "I'm just really worried..." "I know. I'm sorry." "I'm sorry too, babe... But I have an idea." "Hm?" "Would it help if every night before we go to bed, you tell me what you've eaten that day? For accountability." "...." "Zu?" "I hate that idea. But I do think it will help..." "Okay, great!" "Today I had some orange juice." "Babe, that's..." "What?" "Nothing. Thank you for sharing with me."

"I had some rice at lunch today." "I'm proud of you."

"Sokka? It's a little early to be drinking." "What? Oh, I just--" "Hang on, I'll get a glass and join you." "No! That's... Really not a good idea..." "Why?" "I mean... on an empty stomach?"

"Babe, I had dinner with my uncle today!" "That's great! What did you guys have?" "You mean, did I eat anything." "Well-" "Yeah, I had a bowl of bantiao and a few servings of cabbage." "That's so great, baby, I'm so proud of you! How do you feel?" "Like I'm gonna be sick."

"Baby, I'm sorry, I try not to be like this with you, but I'm just so worried..." "Sokka, I'm fine." "You haven't been yourself at all. You're having outbursts during council meetings. You aren't training anymore, you sleep way too much. You look... This getting dangerous, Zu." "I said I'm fine! I've made it this long." "Baby. You haven't eaten anything in days..." "That's not even true! I've had juice!" "Zuko. I think it's time we let somebody else help us with this problem." "It's not a problem! I have lots of issues, but this isn't a problem-" "I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said-" "Just leave me the hell alone! This doesn't even affect you." "Doesn't affect me?! Do you know what it does to me to see you like this every day, wasting away? You're killing yourself, Zuko, and I can't let you. If you don't eat something tomorrow, I swear I'm going to have to take you to-" "You wouldn't dare." "Babe, I have to. I can't just-" "If you take me there, I'm never speaking to you again. You can't do that to me. I thought you loved me!" "Baby..." "I'm... I'm sorry. Please don't cry. I'm so sorry Sokka, I know I'm fucked up and I love you so much, I'm sorry..." "...I... I can't do this right now."

"Sokka, I'm getting worried about all this drinking..." "Oh, you're worried about me! Fucking rich." "Sokka, really, you've had enough." "So eat something, then." "...What?" "Yeah. You're the one doing this to me. I won't stop drinking until you get help." "Sokka, that's... not fair..." "You doing this to yourself is what's not fair!" "Sokka..." "I won't eat until you eat."

"I'm so sorry, baby. I'm sorry I said that..." "I'm sorry too."

"Today I ate-" "You're fucking lying." "...What?" "I asked the kitchen staff about what they've been preparing for you and they said you haven't been in the dining room all week." "So you're spying on me now?" "Baby, you need help. We both do. I'm calling Katara." "I... Fine."

"Katara says I need to eat three meals a day, every day." "She says I need to stop drinking." "She's gonna watch me eat." "She's gonna check up on me every day too." "Why are you laughing?" "How did we get like this?"

"Sokka, I'm sorry I haven't been there for your recovery." "Hey, this is for life. And you know you're not responsible for this, right? It's... always been a problem." "I just want to be there for you." "And I know that, baby. But the best way you can help me right now is by working on yourself."

"How are you doing, Zu?" "This is... really hard." "For me too. But it's worth it." "Yeah." "I'm always... thinking about it." "Me too." "I just feel like I need to be in control, you know?" "Is that how it started? The food thing?" "Yeah, maybe." "Thanks for telling me, babe."

"I just get so angry sometimes." "You want to talk about it?" "I'm angry that I did this to myself, that I couldn't see that I was sick. I'm angry that it took me so long to even want to get help. I'm angry that I destroyed my body. Katara says it will take time, but I want to go train and I hate that I'm not strong enough yet." "You need to be kind to yourself. Your body is recovering from starvation." "I know that. And I'm trying. To be kind. But I hate that I've already starved once in my life and I've done it again to myself, but willingly this time." "Not willingly..." "I'm so weak, Sokka." "No, babe. You're strong. You survived this. And you decided all on your own to get better." "We'll help each other." "Yeah, we will. It's not gonna be easy." "It never is. I knew that when I fell in love with you."

#did i write this just because im Going Through It? lol yeah #maybe ill post this to ao3 but probably not bc its so short #zukka #atla #drabble #disordered eating /#emetophobia /#alcohol /

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s0larts · 15 days

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I've made another fanart ♥️

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enchantedquill-40 · 2 months

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Title: "Embers of Affection"

Tags: #Zukka #Romance #Fluff #FireNation #WaterTribe #BoomerangFights #RelationshipGoals #Fanfic

"Sokka, you know you're cute, right?" Zuko finally voiced his thoughts, a small smile playing on his own lips.

Sokka turned to him with a raised eyebrow, feigning innocence. "Cute? Me?" he teased, nudging Zuko lightly. "I thought I was ruggedly handsome."

Zuko rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the affection in his gaze. "Ruggedly handsome, cute, whatever you want to call it. I just can't get enough of you."

Sokka chuckled, his laughter a melody that echoed through the quiet night. "Well, you're not so bad yourself, Fire Prince."

They lay in comfortable silence for a moment, the crackling of the fire providing a soothing backdrop to their shared warmth. Zuko couldn't help but reflect on how much had changed since they first met. The once tense dynamic between the Water Tribe warrior and the disgraced Fire Nation prince had transformed into something beautiful.

As Sokka shifted closer, Zuko wrapped an arm around him, feeling the steady rise and fall of Sokka's chest. The firelight played upon Sokka's features, casting a gentle glow that softened the edges of his tough exterior.

"You know," Sokka began, his voice taking on a more serious tone, "I never thought I'd find someone like you."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. "Someone like me?"

"Yeah, someone who challenges me, makes me laugh, and," Sokka added with a sly grin, "puts up with all my weird quirks."

Zuko smirked. "Well, I never expected to fall for someone who fights with a boomerang."

Sokka chuckled again. "You love the boomerang fights, don't deny it."

Zuko couldn't argue with that; he found Sokka's unconventional combat style oddly endearing.

"I just... I appreciate you, Zuko," Sokka admitted, sincerity in his eyes. "You make everything more interesting."

Zuko tightened his grip on Sokka, his heart swelling with warmth. "And you make everything better."

The night continued to envelop them in its tranquility, the flames flickering as they shared quiet moments and whispered confessions. As Sokka rested his head on Zuko's chest, the two drifted into a peaceful sleep, grateful for the unexpected connection that had blossomed between them. Uncle Iroh, a keen observer of people, noticed a peculiar energy surrounding Sokka. As the trio gathered around the campfire, sipping tea beneath the vast night sky, Iroh couldn't help but sense something unusual about the Water Tribe warrior.

"Sokka, my young friend," Iroh began, studying Sokka with a thoughtful gaze, "I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be all over the place tonight. Is everything alright?"

Sokka glanced up from his cup, a half-smile on his face. "Yeah, Uncle Iroh, everything's great. Just enjoying the stars and the company."

Iroh nodded, but his perceptive eyes lingered on Sokka a moment longer. "It's just that I've observed you fidgeting quite a bit and your attention seems to wander. Is there something on your mind?"

Sokka exchanged a quick glance with Zuko before letting out a small laugh. "Nah, just my usual scatterbrained self. Nothing to worry about, Uncle."

Iroh raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "My dear Sokka, I've traveled the world and met many people. You can't fool an old man like me. There's something more, isn't there?"

Caught off guard, Sokka scratched the back of his head, a sheepish grin forming. "Okay, fine. Maybe there's a lot going on up here," he admitted, tapping his temple.

Iroh chuckled knowingly. "Ah, matters of the heart, perhaps?"

Sokka blushed, and Zuko couldn't help but hide a smirk behind his teacup. "Well, I guess you could say that," Sokka confessed, his gaze flickering to Zuko.

Iroh leaned back, sipping his tea with an amused twinkle in his eyes. "Love is a powerful force, my friends. It can make even the bravest warriors feel like clumsy teenagers."

As the conversation continued, Iroh observed Sokka's subtle glances at Zuko, the way he absentmindedly played with his necklace, and the occasional dreamy smile that crossed his face. It was evident that Sokka was navigating the uncharted waters of a blossoming romance.

Later that night, Iroh found himself sitting beside Sokka, the crackling fire casting a warm glow on their faces. "Sokka, my young friend, love is a beautiful journey. However, it requires patience, understanding, and a willingness to embrace the unknown."

Sokka nodded, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. "I never thought I'd feel like this, Uncle. It's like my brain is doing somersaults, and I can't keep up."

Iroh chuckled, placing a reassuring hand on Sokka's shoulder. "Love has a way of turning even the most composed minds into delightful chaos. Embrace it, my boy, and let it lead you to places you never knew existed."

Sokka sighed, a mixture of excitement and uncertainty in his expression. "I want to, Uncle Iroh. It's just... it's all so new, you know?"

Iroh nodded sagely. "Take your time, Sokka. Love is a journey, not a destination. Allow yourself to savor each moment, and remember, there's no need to rush. The best things in life often unfold at their own pace."

As Sokka absorbed Iroh's wisdom, he looked across the fire at Zuko, who met his gaze with a reassuring smile. In that shared glance, they found a silent agreement to navigate this new chapter together, allowing their hearts to guide them through the uncharted territories of love. The morning sun painted the sky with hues of orange and pink as Sokka burst into the campsite, his energy infectious. Zuko, who had been quietly tending to the fire, couldn't help but notice the extra spring in Sokka's step.

"Sokka, what's got you so lively this morning?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sokka flashed a wide grin, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "Just feeling the vibes, Zuko! Today's gonna be a great day."

Zuko exchanged a puzzled glance with Uncle Iroh, who merely sipped his tea and observed Sokka with a knowing smile.

As they journeyed through the day, Sokka's vibrant energy didn't wane. He chatted animatedly about everything from battle strategies to the latest Water Tribe inventions, leaving Zuko slightly taken aback by the whirlwind of words.

When they finally met up with Katara, Sokka's sister, the dynamic shifted. Katara, with a playful smirk, greeted them with arms crossed. "What's got you all worked up, Sokka? You're practically a chatty box today."

Sokka feigned innocence, his eyes wide with mock surprise. "Me? Chatty? I have no idea what you're talking about, sis."

Katara chuckled, sharing an amused glance with Zuko. "Oh, come on. I've known you your entire life, Sokka. This level of chattiness is definitely a new development."

Zuko smirked, catching onto the playful banter. "He's been like this all day. I thought he had discovered a new source of caffeine or something."

Sokka rolled his eyes, elbowing Zuko in jest. "Very funny. Just because I'm in a good mood doesn't mean I've consumed any mysterious substances."

Katara laughed, shaking her head. "Well, whatever the reason, it's nice to see you in such high spirits, Sokka."

Sokka's grin widened, and he slung an arm around Zuko's shoulders. "Maybe I'm just happy to be surrounded by such great company."

Zuko couldn't suppress a smile, feeling the warmth of Sokka's touch. It seemed that Sokka's energy was contagious, lifting the spirits of everyone around him.

As the group continued their journey, Katara pulled Zuko aside, her expression mischievous. "So, what's the deal with Sokka today? Did he accidentally stumble upon a secret stash of jokes or something?"

Zuko chuckled, glancing back at Sokka, who was now engaged in an animated discussion with Uncle Iroh about tea preferences. "I have no idea. He's just... extra today."

Katara raised an eyebrow, her smirk growing. "Extra, huh? I've seen Sokka in many moods, but 'extra' is a new one."

Zuko shrugged, a playful glint in his eyes. "Maybe he's just excited about our journey. Or maybe he found a new appreciation for boomerang aerodynamics."

Katara laughed, shaking her head. "Well, whatever it is, it's entertaining. I haven't seen him this chatty since... well, ever."

As the day unfolded, Sokka's energy remained a constant, bringing laughter and joy to the group. Whether it was his infectious enthusiasm or the newfound glow in his eyes, everyone couldn't help but be swept up in the whirlwind of Sokka's vivacity.

As they settled around the campfire that evening, Sokka's chatter gradually subsided. He gazed at the stars with a contented smile, his earlier exuberance giving way to a quieter sense of satisfaction.

Zuko, sitting beside Sokka, nudged him gently. "What's with the sudden change of pace, Sokka? You were a veritable fountain of words earlier."

Sokka chuckled, leaning against Zuko. "I guess I just needed to let it all out. But now, it's nice to enjoy the quiet moments, too."

Zuko nodded, appreciating the balance between Sokka's boundless energy and the serenity of the night. As they shared a peaceful silence, surrounded by the crackling fire and the whispers of the wind, Zuko couldn't help but be grateful for the unpredictable and delightful journey they were on together.

#Tags: Zukka Romance Fluff FireNation WaterTribe BoomerangFights RelationshipGoals Fanfic

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txxfiles · 3 months

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give me all the fics where the boys kiss

Hi! It looks like I'm week 3!

I honestly have no idea idea what im doing really but i guess you'll just have to listen to me ramble about something i enjoy. Seems to fit the theme we've accidentally settled on and well! if theres one thing im good at rambling about its bl fanfiction. i read ALOT of fanfiction. like 13million words worth of it in 2023 alone (an estimate but i did the ugly math for jan and feb last year and id already read 2.7 million words so i dont think its too high an estimate).

ive read fics from too many fandoms to count and also have way more hyperfixations then any one person has a right too but the one that has owned my ass consistently for the last 4 years is The Untamed otherwise know as Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS).

The lovely Eucalyptus from week 2 was watching the untamed during covid (and holy shit what a wild ride that was) and the next thing I know im neck deep drowning in fan art and tiktok edits of beautiful chinese men that have no business being as talented as they are (Im looking at u Wang Yibo) This. shit. fucked. up. my. life.

then i turned to my good friend AO3 (love of my life i could not exist without you) and 4 years later ive read my tags dry. if its complete, ive read it. im getting desperate and ive started reading works in progress, yikes. its so risky i honestly cannot tell you how much anxiety it gives me. ive been burnt too many times.

HOWEVER

this does mean if you need a fic recommendation then your girl has got you covered, so i figured i would share with you my TOP SIX fic recommendations. im sorry i tried to make it 5 but i just couldnt do it.

I will be chasing a starlight by feyburner & sundiscus

Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji - 71,479 words - Complete

Omg. Wangxian Startrek AU. The pining, the miscommunication. I felt every range of emotion on this roller-coaster. I literally printed this out so that I could keep it forever. I wish I could read it for the first time all over again. This Fic hit AO3 like a comet. It even has it’s own Tumblr thread! Also comes with stunning fanart.

Paint smears on sunny days by SnowshadowAO3

Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji - 53,808 words - Complete

Modern Day AU, Musician/Single dad Lan Wangji falls in love with his son’s Art Teacher Wei Wuxian. I swear it's one of the cutest stories ever written, makes me feel all the good things. A-yuan is adorable and wangxian are hot and charming. The Ultimate wangxian comfort fic.

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller

Jin Rulan & Wei Wuxian - 63,907 words - Complete

Jin Ling fishes his Da-Ju out of the gutter post canon (Literally dying alone in a dirty inn, Wei Wuxian it's been 5 minutes pls) and decides if no one else is gonna keep him then he damn well will.

It is perfect.

Junior Quartet goodness, Yunmeng bro reconciliation and Jin Ling being a boss bitch little shit that has no time for anyone's bullshit. I cried as much as Jin Ling did in this story – which is alot. (Also another story ive made myself a solid copy of that i can love forever)

Joy In The Mindst of These Things by Glitterbombshell

Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji - 52,901 words - 5 Works

TEACHER WEI WUXIAN! I love this trope with my whole soul. Lots of adorable baby Lans, I would kill for them. Beautifully written. Lan Qiren gets a much needed wakeup call. Last story is incomplete but can be read without the 5th installment. SO WORTH IT, ive read it like 10 times

The One-Body Problem by mitisket

Lan Jingyi & Wei Wuxian - 28,689 words - Complete

Well shit. How many times have a reread this story? I honestly couldn't tell you. Jingyi gets possessed by Wei Wuxian’s very tired soul pre canon and it changes nothing and yet everything. Their friendship gives me life and Jingyi fixes a lot of problems for his new bestie/mentor/uncle with his big mouth. Mom I love him

The Edge of Night by Hobbsy3

Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji - 277,225 words - Complete

The best Zombie Apocalypse au on the MDZS tag honestly. There are so many good zombie film references in this one, i see you Train to Busan. Baby junior quartet, a perfect Wei Wuxian modern day depiction and so much love, angst and stress. It's delicious and I've never recovered.

All of these fics are actually part of a mother document i made last week of all my favourite fics organised by tag because apparently thats what i do with my free time. hit me up if you need a rec!

Now that ive gotten that off my chest i'll let you be lol. maybe I'll do a rec for a different fandom next time. I definitely have enough to choose from!

Lots of Love,

Iris

#blog post #fic rec #mdzs #rant post #2024 #Iris

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animanganerd · 7 months

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Everything Annoys Me And I’m (Too) Hot - Chapter 17

The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi Fanfic

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47881336/chapters/128678194

All chapters: here x

Chapter 17 ❖ Liu Fenghua (Part 2)

When Lan Xiaoli opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dimly lit room. The first thing he saw was a wooden ceiling. The second thing that caught his attention was the delicate fragrance of incense in the air, mingled with the refreshing scent of flowers.

“A-Li!” a soft voice above him called out. Lan Xiaoli’s field of vision shifted slightly as his head moved of its own accord.

A beautiful woman with the most gentle expression on her face smiled at him. As far as he knew, he had no connection to her; she was nothing more than a stranger to him. Yet, as he gazed into her eyes, an indescribable warmth spread through his heart.

He felt so at ease, so comfortable, so safe. He felt at home.

That’s when Lan Xiaoli realised he had woken up in his own younger body, but as a mere spectator, his senses intertwined with those of his past self. He could neither speak nor move himself. He did what the body did, saw what the body saw and felt what the body felt. Only his thoughts were his own.

The sight of his mother’s face was overwhelming. He had entered the memory session believing that the lack of attachment to his birth parents would leave him unmoved. He’d underestimated how deeply the emotions of his past self would affect him.

A sense of sorrow mixed with the bliss he felt, knowing that the woman before him was long gone. He’d expected many feelings, but not that of loss. If he were in his own body right now, he’d be on the verge of tears. He desperately wanted to call her, reach out and touch her, tell her that he was alright.

Unaware of Lan Xiaoli’s presence, the woman cradled her baby in her arms and gently stroked his hair, when loud voices disrupted their moment of peace. Outside, two men were arguing.

“It’s not fair! How come you get a fully furnished house, while all I got is this meagre statue?!” one of the men complained.

“A-Zheng, please calm down,” the other tried to placate him. “My house and your jade statue are of the same value. You know full well that auntie gave me the house because I have a family to care for. How many times do we have to talk about this?”

Trying to tune out their noise, A-Li’s mother hummed a melody and rocked him in her arms.

“It’s only fair if we both sell what we inherited and start at the same point, else I am at a clear disadvantage here!” the first man insisted.

“A-Zheng…”

But it was no use. Outside, one pair of feet angrily stepped away.

Shortly after, the other man joined A-Li and his mother. This had to be A-Li’s father. The man looked incredibly worn, yet he carried a kind expression on his face. Much like A-Li’s mother, he emitted an aura of great comfort. A-Li truly felt at home. His father approached them and greeted A-Li with a warm smile, gently caressing his hair.

“Is he gone?” A-Li’s mother asked in a calm tone.

“Yes. It appears he won’t change his mind, but neither will I,” A-Li’s father stated with a grave expression. “It’s such a shame. We used to get along so well. Property truly turns people into monsters…”

While Lan Xiaoli could only watch as a silent spectator, most of the memories passed in a blur, nothing more than a flurry of images. The most striking ones, however, stood out with intense clarity.

Thus he learnt a lot about his birth parents through conversations and observations.

His father’s name was Murong Qiang. He was rather average, always polite and soft-hearted. Depending on who you asked, he could also be considered a pushover. He preferred harmony and in order to avoid conflicts, he would rather bow down with a smile than fight back. The only thing more important to him than harmony was his family. Hence his quarrels with his younger brother, which he tried to solve as humanely as possible.

Murong Qiang’s brother, A-Li’s uncle, was Murong Zheng. He had always been spoiled to the point of feeling entitled to whatever he wanted. The same was true for the house that Murong Qiang had inherited from their aunt.

When they were younger, Murong Zheng’s strong will had helped them out of many unpleasant situations. Murong Qiang also didn’t mind that he got protected by his younger brother – quite the contrary. When he realised it pushed Murong Zheng’s confidence, he’d gladly let him take the lead.

The brothers had quite a harmonious relationship, both benefiting from each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Murong Qiang didn’t have to fight and in turn, Murong Zheng got whatever he wanted. This didn’t change once Murong Qiang got married to A-Li’s mother, Murong Xinghua.

Murong Xinghua complemented Murong Qiang in all traits he was missing. She was a beauty, but it was a mistake to be fooled by her soft features. The sharpness she was lacking in her appearance was all too present in her personality. She resembled Murong Zheng in many ways, especially in her determination and outspokenness.

She was the one that approached Murong Qiang and joked around until he finally opened up. It didn’t take long for him to feel comfortable around her. He proposed to her on their first anniversary – some tradition had to be maintained, else Murong Xinghua would’ve done it herself way sooner. Not long after their marriage, they had their son.

Lan Xiaoli had seen in reflections that he had, in fact, not been born with white hair. At first, he was happy to learn his natural hair was dark, as it was supposed to be. At the same time, he was puzzled. Just why had it turned white then?

The house the small family of three lived in had once belonged to Murong Qiang’s estranged aunt. The Murong brothers didn’t even know she existed until they’d received the inheritance letter.

She was already at death’s door, and without children of her own, the Murong brothers were the only close relatives she had left. Before she died, she wanted to make sure that her belongings were properly passed on.

The aunt had two things similar in value: her house and a jade statue.

Murong Qiang’s responsibility towards his small family made it easy for her to decide on the distribution of the inheritance. As a result, Murong Zheng received the statue, and Murong Qiang inherited the house.

Their aunt lived in Linguang, a small forest village. She had settled down in this isolated area with her husband for reasons unknown.

The aunt’s house, like every other house in the village, was mainly made of wood with a simple thatched roof. Due to its small size, it exuded a sense of cosiness. For the little family, it was more than enough and they were grateful for the generosity shown towards them.

The small front yard of the house was separated from the main road by bushes. The road led to the village’s marketplace, where locals traded their goods. Behind the house was an open field of lush greenery that stretched into the vast forest surrounding the village.

Linguang was located far from the Murongs’ original hometown, which made Murong Zheng’s frequent visits all the more puzzling. There was no benefit to him in this long journey. The sole purpose of his visits was to cause trouble.

The family of three lived an ordinary farmer’s life, growing produce to sell at the market. A couple of years later, Murong Qiang’s beloved harmony was disrupted by a rumour that got spread in the village.

A-Li was playing with cicada husks at the kitchen table while his mother was preparing dinner when A-Li’s father returned from one of his daily trips to the market. He heaved a batch of meat on the kitchen table.

With a sigh he said, “He did it again.”

“What is it this time?” Murong Xinghua asked.

She wasn’t fazed at all by the situation. She was just as stubborn as Murong Zheng and really wished to deal with him once and for all, but ultimately decided to stay out of it for her husband’s sake. She didn’t want to worsen the conflict any further. It was already good enough that Murong Qiang, in order to protect his family, firmly refused to back down, always kindly rejecting his younger brother, no matter how persistent he could be.

“He’s claiming that we’re attracting the evil spirits and monsters that linger in the area.��

Murong Xinghua thrust the knife into the kitchen counter with more force than necessary. “This is ridiculous! Who would fall for that? These creatures have been here long before us!”

And she was right. While it was well known that dark creatures lurked in the woods, they had never posed a significant threat to the village. Hence, the people reacted to the gossip as anyone would – they laughed it off, but remained cautious nonetheless. They didn’t want to take any risks after all.

However, the rumour took on a life of its own and spread like wildfire, much to the Murongs’ disadvantage. Soon, whenever a monster or any other suspicious activity was sighted in or around the village, those who believed the rumour to be true would blame it on the family’s existence.

As no one wanted to be targeted, they began to avoid as much contact with the Murongs as possible. At first, the villagers just low-key shunned them, but it quickly escalated to the point where they actively ostracised the family. No one was willing to buy their things anymore, nor sell anything to them.

In short order, everything the Murongs had built up over time crumbled, and the family was left to fend for themselves, both day and night.

To keep the family fed, A-Li’s parents had to resort to growing their own food in the front yard during the day. Considering the limited space they had, they mostly planted vegetables. It was also easy, cheap and filling.

In addition to their vegetables, they also harvested potatoes and domesticated a few chickens to add variety to their food. Meat was rather rare, but sometimes one of A-Li’s parents would return with some wild game they had hunted in the forest.

At night, Murong Qiang and Murong Xinghua had to fight off the monsters that had begun to actively seek out their house. The villagers’ belief had led to the passive summoning of resentful energy upon the Murong’s house. This energy had accumulated over time and now attracted these nefarious creatures like a lantern attracted moths.

This, of course, only added to the villagers’ superstitions, creating a vicious cycle that seemed impossible to break. The stronger their beliefs, the more resentment accumulated, and the more monsters were drawn to the area.

Due to its remote and secluded nature, Linguang lay beyond the reach of any cultivation clans. So when A-Li’s father sought help, no one felt compelled to take on the responsibility. That was until Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji came along, but by then it was already too late.

Instead, Murong Qiang was dismissed with spiritual devices. However, as ordinary folks, the Murongs had neither cultivation skills nor spiritual powers themselves. Hence, the devices were of little help in fending off the monsters.

Any sane person would’ve left the village long ago, but it wasn’t that easy for A-Li’s family.

Having sold all their possessions in their original hometown when they moved to Linguang, the only option they had was to sell their house and start anew somewhere else. However, any attempt to sell their house proved futile. Who would want to buy a haunted house after all?

The Murongs were trapped in their own home, with no escape from the evil spirits that plagued them.

But no matter how harassed and disturbed they were, A-Li’s parents always maintained a facade of composure and kindness in front of their son. However, even with their best efforts to shield A-Li from the grim reality, they couldn’t fully protect him from the villagers’ cruelty.

At the time, he was too young to understand the gravity of the situation, but as he now relived the memories, he realised that the constant exposure to such resentment had caused him immense stress and resulted in his hair gradually turning white. Lan Xiaoli could only watch in horror as his hair, once as black as ink, slowly lost its colour.

When the villagers caught a glimpse of A-Li’s hair, now as white as a ghost’s, their attention immediately turned to him. Convinced that his hair was proof of their beliefs, they deemed him the bad omen that brought evil upon them. Surely, he must be the reason for all the misfortune that had befallen the village!

Thus, the legend of the evil-attracting child was born.

Matters soon spiralled out of control when the already agitated villagers became increasingly violent in their actions towards A-Li and his family. It first started with small attacks, such as throwing rotten food at them.

But upon seeing how well the Murongs were managing in spite of their difficult circumstances, the villagers’ aggression intensified. They tried to make life unbearable for the family in every way possible to drive them out of the village. The chickens were killed and the soil was spoiled, leaving the Murongs with no other choice but to switch to more resilient produce such as turnips, spinach, and cabbage in order to survive.

The assaults reached their peak when someone set fire to the Murongs’ house in the middle of the night. It was one of Lan Xiaoli’s most vivid memories.

The smell of burnt wood seared into his brain as thick clouds of smoke filled the room he stood in, leaving him blind and gasping for air. His eyes burned with a dryness that was only relieved by the tears that now trickled down his face.

Alone in his room, he had been seized by a paralysing fear that kept him frozen in place. With his vision obscured, he was too scared to take a single step forward.

“Quick! Take A-Li and get out of here!” Murong Qiang shouted. The next moment, A-Li was swept into his mother’s arms before she ran out of the burning house.

Outside was a crowd of villagers already waiting for them. They wielded torches and farm tools as weapons to prevent Murong Xinghua from fleeing. They truly thought they were doing the world a favour by eliminating this evil. Their hateful comments rang out in a jumble.

“This house is no good!”

“It shouldn’t exist!”

“This child is wicked!”

“Truly, a spawn of evil!”

“Let it die!”

Not long after, Murong Qiang caught up to them. The couple was at a loss at what to do, desperately thinking of a way to escape, when one of the villagers said, “Let us deal with the child and we’ll let you live!”

Another exclaimed, “When the house and the child are gone, we’ll finally be able to live in peace again!”

Murong Xinghua’s grip tightened around A-Li. There was no way they would let A-Li die. Even though they had no weapons, the couple was prepared to fight against the villagers at any cost. They would protect their son with their lives, willing to face any danger to ensure his safety.

Whenever they approached the mob, the villagers pushed them back with their pitchforks, hoes and rakes.

With the fire getting bigger behind them, and villagers closing in in front of them, there was just no way out. Murong Xinghua pulled Murong Qiang close and whispered into his ear, “I’ll distract them. You take A-Li and leave!”

Before Murong Qiang could protest, Murong Xinghua had shoved A-Li into his arms and went for it.

Since the spiritual artefacts they’d used against the creatures of the night had been of limited help, the Murongs were already used to fighting monsters in close combat. And the villagers turned out to be nothing more than daytime monsters, causing the family even more distress and turmoil.

Murong Xinghua kicked up a cloud of dust from the ground to obstruct the vision of the attackers in the front row before delivering a few targeted blows. With the first few assailants on the ground, she grabbed a burning piece of debris and hurled it into the mob. The crowd scattered in panic, but quickly regrouped.

“She’s gone insane!”

“Evil has clouded her mind!”

Undeterred by their remarks, Murong Xinghua continued to throw burning debris at them until she found a sturdy stick that she could wield as a weapon. She fiercely fought off anyone who dared come at her and her family.

Murong Qiang took advantage of the chaos to steal away with A-Li in his arms. He ran into the open field behind their house, casting anxious glances over his shoulders. Not only was he worried about his wife, he also made sure that no one was following them. When he had put enough distance between them and the fire, he placed A-Li on the ground.

Murong Qiang got down on one knee and put a hand on A-Li’s shoulder with a firm grip. “Listen to me closely. You have to run this way,” he said, pointing to the forest in front of them. “Run. As far as you can. And never turn back! Can you do this for me?” As much as he tried to keep it together, he couldn’t help but slip into a pleading tone.

A-Li’s teary eyes widened. “A- Alone?” he said in a shaky voice.

His father offered him a comforting smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll be right behind you. We just have to make sure no one follows us.”

Although his father’s words sounded reasonable, A-Li’s legs were rooted to the spot.

At this point, Lan Xiaoli had long forgotten that he was just an observer. The emotions of his memory self and his present self had completely merged, making him feel as if he were reliving the moment himself. He was overcome with intense fear, every fibre in his body reluctant to leave.

The thought of separation left A-Li in a petrified state. While his body was trembling nonstop, his limbs remained rigid. He couldn’t bring himself to move, helplessly staring at his father with big eyes.

Murong Qiang was feeling just as helpless, but he used all his strength to maintain his composure. While father and son stared at each other, Murong Qiang heard the voices of the mob coming closer. He whipped his head around, suddenly overcome with panic.

The fire had spread even more, now engulfing their crops, as well as the grass and the bushes around their house. The villagers had found their way around the fire and were now catching up to them.

In the midst of the fire, there lay a body.

At the sight of Murong Xinghua’s corpse, Lan Xiaoli’s heart went cold. A glance at Murong Qiang revealed that his devastation was even more profound. It was obvious from his face that the demise of his wife had shattered his heart into a million pieces.

It was all too clear what was going through Murong Qiang’s mind, for Lan Xiaoli was thinking the same, despite knowing the harsh truth.

Murong Qiang understood that his wife had been defeated, but he still clung onto a tiny shred of hope that she wasn’t dead. That she was unconscious, that he could save her, that they’d find their son and start over somewhere else. That all of this was just a nightmare from which he would soon wake.

But then, her body suddenly moved.

At first, Murong Qiang appeared confused, but then his expression changed to one of overwhelming joy. Maybe she really wasn’t dead? She had been quite tenacious after all. But then he was confused again when the body began to twist and jerk in an unnatural fashion.

Murong Xinghua’s body slowly crawled to its feet. Before anyone could realise what was happening, she’d already killed the people standing closest to her.

A-Li, of course, didn’t know what was going on, but Lan Xiaoli did.

With the malicious energy surrounding them, and the deep resentment she’d carried in her heart as she breathed her last, she had turned into a fierce corpse in no time, and got right back up.

⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩

Murong Qiang reacted fast. He gently, but forcefully pushed his son towards the forest. “Run! Never stop running and never look back!” he called after him, his voice breaking at the end.

As if he’d just woken from a dream with a start, A-Li’s legs began to run as if his life depended on it – because it did.

While Murong Qiang watched the small figure that was his son disappear into the dark forest, tears inevitably started to roll down his face. But he didn’t have much time to mourn his family’s downfall. He quickly pulled himself together and hurried back to help his wife.

He knew she was gone, but he still wanted to support her, even in death. He paid the people closing in no mind, not even when they started to brutally attack him. His mind was just as numb as his body as he resolutely advanced towards Murong Xinghua, who ferociously killed one villager after another.

Murong Qiang had been so engrossed in the anguish of his wife’s death that he hadn’t realised he, too, had been fatally stabbed and had lost a significant amount of blood. In a split second, his vision went black, but his body got right back up. Just like that, he had turned into a fierce corpse as well.

The couple relentlessly fought the villagers, driven by an unwavering determination to protect their son. As corpses, they of course didn’t know why or what they were fighting for. It was an instinctual response, the reverberation of the last thing they had felt.

In spite of his father’s warning to never stop running, A-Li couldn’t resist the urge to look back once he’d reached the edge of the forest.

Seeing his parents defeating the villagers with such ease, A-Li was filled with hope. He turned around and continued to run, believing that his parents were strong enough and would eventually come for him. Knowing the true outcome of this scenario, Lan Xiaoli couldn’t help but pity his clueless past self.

A-Li kept running for his life, as far away from the fire as possible. He was still running when dawn broke. Even though he was sobbing uncontrollably and his legs were sore, he didn’t stop until he ran into the arms of two men.

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