#they make my standards through the roof this is the only romance ever | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

revols-headcanons · 1 year

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random karasuno headcanons

daichi has never once had a break because of his four siblings, which is why he is so uptight and stressed. volleyball is the only place he can really relax (specifically w the other third years) and even then kageyama, hinata, noya, and tanaka are constantly testing him. he brought this up to ukai and takeda once and they both were like “have you ever went to therapy kid?" before they gave him info for a local therapist.

sugawara knows every kpop dance imaginable and forces his teammates to do them during their breaks. the only people who humor him and dance with him are hinata, noya, and tanaka sometimes. during a team sleepover, he convinced kageyama to do a dance with him, but kageyama is badly coordinated when dancing so it was horrible.

asahi knits when he’s anxious— which is all the time. he’s made a blanket for each teammate with their names on it and his bedroom is just piles of blankets at varying levels of complete. his dog appreciates the nest he can sleep in. he jokes that this is where his parents college fund has gone to. also knitting is what gets him into fashion because he jokingly knitted a bucket hat for noya and immediately wanted to make more— his room ended up having 30 bucket hats all over it and he had to give them away to his classmates and teammates.

kiyoko likes reading intense smutty romance books with a blank face. her expectations for romance are through the roof and she’s unashamed. suga has tried reading it over her shoulder and he’s walked away flustered. she reads a wide variety of books but specifically chooses the horniest and/or creepiest to read in front of the team. yachi’s shocked when she learns that kiyoko’s favorite genre isn’t dark romance and that it’s actually fluffy romance.

nishinoya made a fake tinder account of tsukishima with the worst photos imaginable (like tsukki mid-trip or him giving a disgusted face to kageyama). the bio says something like ‘i’m 6’1 if that matters and i think red heads should be killed.’ noya matches with the most amount of people and also updates with the worst opinions ever. people still get interested in ‘tsukki’ even when the bio has ridiculous takes and standards. noya is pissed that it is doing so well.

tanaka’s strangely good at dancing but horrific at singing. he tried to serenade kiyoko one day but his voice cracked so badly that he stopped mid-song and left the room. kiyoko laughed but patted his back in reassurance afterwards. the team never lets him live it down ever— the wedding speeches he received all mentioned the event somewhere. he has an excellent moonwalk and can occasionally successfully breakdance.

ennoshita writes fanfic (“story scripts”) about the team and changes the names. he gets the team to act as the characters in his films, which raises some questions when he writes a tragic story about ‘kai’ (a sarcastic asshole) being killed by his rivals ‘tora’ (a dumb asshole) and ‘shouto’ (a dumbass). he once posted a fanfic shipping two teammates (with name changes) and it got really popular.

kageyama uses 3-in-1 body wash/shampoo/conditioner. he says it’s because it’s efficient, and he gets no acne or sweat stench— this makes everyone hate him. he only changes when miwa comes back into his life after college and is horrified. he tells this story as a little joke whenever he wants people to be shocked and/or disgusted at him, even when he’s a pro.

hinata can cook but only because he has a sister and an overworked single mother. he cooks for himself and natsu often, but it’s really simple and uncreative meals because he would rather practice volleyball than work on making interesting dishes. after the time skip, his cooking skills have vastly improved and every meal he makes is some form of brazillian-japanese blend.

tsukishima had a major my little pony phase and is deeply secretive of it. he listens to the soundtrack often and has a drawer full of little collectibles. yamaguchi is the only one who knows about it, and tsukki compares himself to twilight and yamaguchi to fluttershy. he once almost said ‘everypony’ but yamaguchi screamed to cut him off. it went like: ‘stfu everyp-‘ ‘PISS’ ‘…what?’ ‘WE GOTTA PISS. both of us. right now.’

yamaguchi had a musical theater phase and forced tsukishima to sing along with him. he forced tsukki to dress up as michael to his jeremy one halloween. yamaguchi can only workout or study to musicals, which is deeply unfortunate. his favorite songs were helpless from hamilton and michael in the bathroom from be more chill. he tried to audition for school musicals multiple times but would end up having panic attacks and leaving before his audition.

yachi’s notes are the aesthetically color coordinated ones, even though her teachers talk rapidly fast. she’s always humble about it but she spends hours on them. she never has to study because she spends so much time rewriting them that the notes just stick in her brain. she’s had to recently laminate her completed notes because hinata once’s spilled broth onto her notes, which made her cry.

#haikyuu #haikyu #haikyu headcanons #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! headcanons #kageyama tobio #hinata shouyou #sawamura daichi #sugawara kōshi #azumane asahi #nishinoya yū #tanaka ryuunosuke #ennoshita chikara #tsukishima kei #yamaguchi tadashi #kiyoko shimizu #hitoka yachi

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nomoreusername · 3 months

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Fluff Alphabet

A-Affection-What does he do with you? How does he spend time with you?

He likes reading to you. Cuddling while going to sleep, staying up late and talking, and looking at the sunset are also daily things.

B-Beauty-What does he admire/think is beautiful about you?

He likes listening to your voice and seeing your smile whenever you're happy or excited. He just really admires you when you're in any kind of good mood.

C-Comfort-How does he confront you when you're upset?

He's very upfront on asking what you need. If you need time alone he'll give it to you and come back to talk to you when you're feeling calmer. If you're too upset to speak he'll just sit beside you so you know he's there for you.

D-Dream-What is his dream life with you?

He wants a traditional life with one or two kids.

E-Equal-Is he more dominant or passive?

He's absolutely the more passive one in the relationship.

F-Fight-How often would you fight? What would it look like?

You two don't fight often, but it's when you do it's more of seeming passive aggressive than yelling. Before anything gets too bad you both give each other space to collect your thoughts. After a few hours to a day, depending on how bad it was, you sit down and talk about it.

G-Grateful-How grateful is he for you? Does he notice things you do for him?

He's very observant in general and definitely to what he cares about. He always notices the little things about you and is just always happy to be around you.

H-Honesty-How honest is he with you? Does he hide anything?

Honesty is a big thing to him. The only thing he isn't good at talking about is if he gets jealous or is worried about the relationship. If he bottles it up for too long it usually comes out in an argument.

I-Inspiration-Did you change him or is it the other way around?

It's a mix of both. You helped bring him out of his shell a little bit, and he put the bar for love and standards through the roof.

J-Jealousy-Does he get jealous easily? How does he deal with it?

While it's not extreme it happens usually when you're apart for a while. He just bottles it up, but you can tell when something is wrong and have to force it out of him.

K-Kiss-Is he a good kisser? What was his first kiss like?

Most of the time he's a very gentle kisser, and if things get heated and he ends up leaving marks they're usually in a place that's easy to conceal. Your first kiss was short, sweet, and when you two were alone.

L-Love confession-How would be confess his feelings?

He would take you somewhere where you two could be alone. He'd really have to hype himself up for it, and it'd take him a while, but eventually he would find the courage to just straight up admit that he likes you.

M-Marrige-Does he want to get married? How would he propose? What is the marriage like?

He absolutely wants a traditional wedding. He'd take you somewhere private that means a lot and has played a part in your relationship to propose.

N-Nickames-What would he call you?

He usually just calls you your name, but sometimes he'll call you bubs, angel, or my girl.

O-On cloud nine-What is he like when he's in love?

He gets very flustered around you when he first realizes his feelings to the point where he debates avoiding you so he stops tripping over his words.

P-PDA-Is he upfront about your relationship? Does he show you off or is he shy about affection when others are around?

He doesn't see the point in PDA or trying to prove you're his. The thought of everyone's eyes on your relationship makes him uncomfortable, but he'll do subtle things like holding your hand, keeping his arm around you, or kissing your cheek.

Q-Quirk-Some random ability that's helpful in your relationship

He's firm on boundaries for both of you no matter what they are. Even if he doesn't quite get one of yours he'll never cross it, and if he ever does it's never on purpose.

R-Romance-How romantic is he? What would he do to make you smile? Cliche or creative?

He's a hopeless romantic. He likes to schedule time alone with you, but sometimes he just gives you something out of nowhere just because he can and he loves you.

S-Support-Is he supportive of your girls? How so?

He's your biggest supporter no matter what you're doing. He'll always celebrate your accomplishments no matter how small.

T-Thrill-Does he do new things in the relationship is he not one for change?

He likes what you have and takes his time when it comes to changes.

U-Understanding-How understanding is he? Is he empathetic?

He's pretty good at reading you and knowing how you feel. If he doesn't he tries to put himself in your shoes. He never judges you for how you feel.

V-Value-How important is the relationship to him? Where does it rank compared to other things in his life?

After not constantly almost dying in the Safe Haven you're his top priority. Your kids are the only thing that mean as much as you.

W-Wild Card-A random fluff headcannon

He is clingy. He always wants to be around you no matter what you're doing.

X-XOXO-Is he affectionate? How does he show it?

He's really affectionate when you're alone. It's usually small and innocent things like holding your hand, cuddling, and having time just enjoying each other's company when you first wake up.

Y-Yearning-How does he deal with it when he's missing you?

He tries to distract himself, but it doesn't work for long because everything reminds him of you.

Z-Zeal-Is he willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind?

He would literally give his life for you.

#fluff alphabet #sfw alphabet #aris jones #aris x reader #tmr aris #aris tmr

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k7l4d4 · 29 days

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K Reviews and Rants: Miraculous Ladybug Season 5! Episode 9

Hello everyone! I'm dropping this a bit early, since I have work today.

Honestly, in retrospect, this episode kinda best represents the kind of hypocritical double standards MLB can get up to. As always, whenever Ladybug does something creepy, overly insistent, or boundary pushing, it gets treated like a joke, yet when Chat does it, it's presented as tragic that the person he likes isn't giving him a chance. Even leaving to the side this episode bringing the show's obsession with treating romance as the be-all end-all to life (which feels pretty insensitive to any aromantics in the audience) to the forefront, the episode has Alya, who has consistently been a person who, even after learning Marinette's secret, a near-rabid LadyNoir shipper, acting as a low-level obstacle by turning her stance on Ladybug get with Chat Noir on a dime. It's not healthy to treat romantic feelings like that; they aren't something that can be controlled, or reasoned with, or that you can just decide to no longer love someone or not. And the show treating love as this thing that can only ever happen between two people at any given moment is... unpleasant.

Now, enough of my rambling, onto the review! As always, please forgive my profanity.

Episode 9: Elation

Okay, somehow Ladybug pulls out an entire table, complete with a cloth covering, chairs, and snacks. On the top of a roof. WHAT!? Okay just... no, this isn't any kind of funny. It's just weird and out of place.

I'm honestly creeped out by how forward Ladybug is being. She's actively trying to keep Chat around, despite the fact that he is literally starting to time out of his transformation, and insistently trying to kiss him. Like, this is uncomfortable on so many levels to watch.

I'm just exhausted, and it's not even five minutes in. It's just cringe-inducing role reversal between Ladybug and Chat Noir's usual dynamics, but whereas Chat, as annoying as he could be at his worst, limited himself largely to just flirting, Ladybug is actively trying to forcibly kiss him... and somehow doesn't seem to get the problem with that. Just... this show in general seems to have a severe issue with informing kids that you have to willingly and knowingly consent to be in a relationship, and that rejecting someone's advances SHOULD BE THE END OF IT. What makes this fiasco all the more infuriating is that Weredad was literally an entire episode dedicated to shutting down the idea of Chat liking Marinette.

Okay, the thing I find the most annoying about this current set-up is that they aren't actually addressing anything INTERESTING about this change in dynamics. They just have Chat play it off as a joke or a test, and Ladybug moping. It's just boring drama.

And now we get Marinette complaining about Chat Noir shutting her down... and we get Alya, one of the people who has ROUTINELY called out Ladybug for "not giving Chat Noir a chance" despite him constantly pushing Ladybug's boundaries, saying that her old behavior of keeping Chat at arms length and wanting to be just friends was perfectly within her right to do so. Yet her wanting to move on from Adrien is treated by both Alya and Tikki like some dumb joke. Wow, I am amazed (sarcasm).

Okay, and now we get Marinette going "wait a minute, what if he's turning me down because he doesn't love me (Ladybug) anymore!?" Wow, it's almost as if he's a person with his own emotions and not obligated to return how Marinette feels... just like how she wasn't obligated to return how he felt back when he was being the ultimate flirt. It's just so... bland. Like, they aren't making Marinette be DUMB, but they are making her come off as oblivious that she can't see these very obvious reasons for things.

Oh, and one really annoying thing that's coming through to me is that Marinette doesn't seem to grasp that she's coming off as obsessive and massively pushing Chat's boundaries even further than he has ever pushed HERS.

And we get yet another repeat of "blab our secret identities if we got together then Monarch would find out," but they never expand on HOW THAT WOULD EVEN WORK. And if I ever see anyone unironically point to Chat Blanc and Ephemeral, I would throw a fucking shoe at them because those episodes made it very fucking clear how contrived Gabriel "figuring it out" really is. He somehow failed to pick up on the truth FOR MONTHS in both throw-away timelines, and only figured it out based on a wild guess because of overhearing Adrien/catching Ladybug on video. Because it's not as if Ladybug is a nice person and would agree to pass along a gift for a girl's crush, or that anyone other than Chat Noir would use fancy pet names like "my lady."

And now we get the strawmanning of Marinette deflecting the already shoddy argument of "revealing their identities, leading to Hawkmoth figuring out who they are!" by getting mad at Nino and Alya blowing their secrets to one another... when as Alya pointed out, that's literally all her fault since she gave them their Miraculouses while they were directly in front of one another, at the exact same time.

And now we get the "Marinette's lying to herself" point. Sigh, the level of deligitimization of romance going on in what's supposed to be a love story is honestly disgusting to me.

Is Alya supportive of Marinette moving on, or isn't she? Is Alya respectful of Marinette's right to reject (or not reject) Chat Noir's advances, or isn't she? Are Marinette's feelings for Chat Noir real, or aren't they? It just can't seem to make up its mind and just clings to whatever stance makes the most drama.

And now Marinette's just having a meltdown. Honestly, this is probably the most interesting part of the entire season to date, in that it's Marinette finally losing her cool over how her "love" for Adrien is functionally dead in the water and how she's basically been making a fool of herself for the majority of the school year all in the name of impressing a guy who hasn't shown any interest in her in nearly the entire time.

Okay, Adrien just showed up to the bakery and he's acting super awkward. I would find it adorable to see him visibly out of his depth and having no clue what he's doing if it weren't tied to more Love Square BS.

Uuuhhh... I am honestly just... tired of how this show treats teenage crushes between awkward kids as if they are gonna be together forever.

It's one thing if it's just the teens themselves, but the adults too? They should honestly know better. Okay, I'm honestly mostly annoyed at just how incessantly Alya is trying to push Marinette in Adrien's direction. It honestly looks more like she cares more about getting them together than about how Marinette feels and what she wants. To note, I don't blame this on her, but on the writers, since if they think THIS is being a good friend, I pity whoever they claim are their best buds.

Because let's be honest, even though the writing is very strongly portraying Marinette as a Strawman against HERSELF, her position is honestly the most moral (however loose and twisted a definition of the word you use) in that so far, everyone who should be in her corner is ignoring her agency and pushing her to do something she (currently) does not want to do.

She had me at "for once, we aren't talking about Adrien" and then lost me at "we are talking about Chat Noir." If this narrative of ignoring what she wants and feels and trivializing her desire to stop pursuing Adrien in favor of Chat Noir hadn't been pushed as an inaffective case of denial on her part, seeing her shut down Alya honestly acting like a bad friend and just having actual turmoil in their friendship would be interesting, but because it's all about this stupid Love Square BS, it's just irritating.

And the stupidest part of all this is that I'm still not even five minutes into the episode.

I will say this, seeing Marinette's downward spiral into paranoia, self-loathing, and just a flatout inability to cope with being a superhero could be interesting... if they weren't trying to make it all about the Love Square.

Adrien getting ambushed by someone who wants a photo "with the Alliance guy" does a surprisingly good job at pointing out that the so-called "freedom" of Alliance supplanting his responsibilities as a model is just a facade. It's almost entertaining.

What really makes this whole thing with both Alya AND Tikki treating Marinette's crush on Chat as if she's lying to herself so obnoxious to me is that the battle against Safari with Marinette becoming Lady Noir kinda strongly implied that her feelings ARE real... and now this episode has her having to convince herself that this is true. It's kinda pathetic how inconsistent the writers are.

I'm honestly kinda banging my head against the wall at how Marinette doesn't seem to realize she's acting around Chat EXACTLY how she acts around Adrien; i.e. a flailing, awkward, motor-mouthed MESS with limited self-control and non-existent self-confidence.

Okay, just got it started again and WOW, they are seriously doing the "awkward whistling while up on a balcony" scene. Oof... it just looks so awkward.

EEeeeyyuupp... Marinette's inability to talk to her crush (THAT ONLY EVER SEEMS TO APPLY TO ADRIEN/CHAT NOIR) is back again. Ugh, they seriously can't come up with any new material, can they?

Honestly, what's throwing me off the most with this is that they are having Chat be so awkward and dodging addressing his apparent attraction to Marinette... which doesn't make much sense to me given his track record for being blatant to the point of being pushy when it comes to Ladybug. Why in the world is he so awkward HERE, with Marinette?

Okay, awkwardness sorta passes a bit with Chat providing a cheesy pickup line... but I will (grudgingly) give the writers credit, since this comes off as the most heartfelt and genuine moment in all of S5 I've seen so far.

And Marinette goes and says "she thinks of Chat like a fan." They SERIOUSLY cannot keep her from self-sabotaging herself, even for a second, can they? Okay, they recovered it. Still cringe-inducing. But the fact that they set this up as being doomed to fail, despite this honestly being the BEST romantic representation the show has had ALL THIS TIME, is infuriating.

And now we FINALLY get Alya having a moment of self-reflection over how she's treating Marinette's feelings... now how are they gonna fuck this up?

Okay, and we get TIKKI being the one to ruin things by claiming that Marinette's feelings for Chat Noir having "caused negative feelings between her and Alya!" Like... Tikki. THOSE NEGATIVE FEELINGS WERE PURELY BECAUSE YOU AND ALYA WERE IGNORING AND DISMISSING THE VALIDITY OF HER FEELINGS, WTF ARE YOU ON ABOUT!?

And I honestly just "love" how Tikki claims that romance between the holders of Creation and Destruction has the risk of causing the end of the world... when we literally have ONE OF HER PAST WIELDERS CONTRADICTING THIS!! As much as I fucking utterly HATE the revisions they made to Joan of Arc's history, SHE AND DARK GRIMALKIN NEVER PUT THE WORLD AT RISK JUST BY GETTING TOGETHER!! And Tikki KNOWS that Adrien and Chat Noir are the same person, SO BY THAT LOGIC SHE SHOULD BE DISCOURAGING BOTH OF MARINETTE'S CRUSHES!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT DOES THIS PISS ME OFF!!!

And here comes the Ice Cream Crybaby. Ughh... I'm just gonna tune out this idiot, since nothing he says is anything more than a bad joke about shipping. Okay, them acting as if Andre going "Chat Noir is supposed to love Ladybug, and Marinette is supposed to be in love with Adrien Agreste" and having them be rattled honestly annoys me. It's just more feelings invalidation.

Nope, nope. N-O-P-E. This all just absolute BULLSHIT. I don't mind Chat Noir learning that Marinette used to crush on Adrien, and literally EVERYONE knows Chat Noir is obsessed with Ladybug, but why the absolute FUCK are they treating Andre telling them this as if it's some big reveal that they never knew about!? Like, yeah, in this context, CHAT has a reason to be upset because he now has a reason to think that the girl he now has a crush on wouldn't love him if she learned the truth, but why in the world is MARINETTE acting as if her crush on Adrien is this big secret OR that Chat's crush on Ladybug was a big secret!? This episode ITSELF had it pointed out that Chat was head over heels for Ladybug, and that idiotic two-parter Truth and Lies had it revealed to Marinette that her "crush" on Adrien is WELL KNOWN TO ALL OF PARIS!!! Dear LORD is all of this obnoxious. I just... can't deal with this crap. I'm just gonna try and tune this out, for real, because this pisses me off way too much to be healthy.

And the forced drama BS just keeps on coming. I knew, I just KNEW, that Marinette describing herself as a fan would come back to bite her in the ass, because now Chat thinks he's taking advantage of her, not building a real relationship, meaning the ONE possible bright spot in this BS season has just been shot in the foot. FUCK ALL THIS NOISE.

And we get another fucking meltdown from Marinette, and unlike the prior one, this one is just obnoxious because it's entirely forced by the writing insisting that she HAS to be pursuing a relationship to be happy instead of, you know, HAVING FRIENDS, HOBBIES, AND A FAMILY THAT LOVES HER!!!

Because all this BS? It's just the show artificially creating drama FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME!! All to shoot in the foot a ship they were never gonna let get off the ground in the first place, and I FUCKING HATE IT!!

And of FUCKING COURSE they make it be Chat Noir forcing Marinette into a kiss in a panic be the thing that stops the Akumatization, BECAUSE WHY FUCKING NOT!?

And WHY THE ABSOLUTE FUCK ARE THEY ACTING AS IF IT'S THE FACT THAT MARINETTE IS PURSUING CHAT NOIR THE REASON SHE WAS ALMOST AKUMATIZED!? Seriously, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST CLOSE CALL SHE HAS HAD!!! It is not possible, NOR HEALTHY, to be lacking in negativity every second of every fucking DAY, and I just GAAHHH!!! I can't even put into words how much this nonsense both disgusts and angers me. I'm just... I'm just gonna stop typing, and wait until we get past the Akuma before I add any other thoughts, I just can't DEAL with this.

Alright, I'm wrong, one last moment. Seriously, it has been who knows how many moments since Andre last saw Chat Noir and Marinette, WHY THE FUCK IS HE GETTING UPSET NOW OF ALL TIMES!? He wasn't even fazed to see them when they showed up asking for Ice Cream, SO WHY IS HE UPSET!? Was he spying on them and saw them kiss somehow!? Because that's the only thing I can think of that would make this manchild flip out like that.

OH DO NOT EVEN GIVE ME THAT "LOVING CHAT NOIR WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!!" BS!!! WHAT HAPPENED HAD NOTHING TO FUCKING DO WITH YOUR CRUSH AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE WRITERS FORCING DRAMA FOR THE SAKE OF IT!!!

Marinette IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT AT ALL!!! Andre has been set off by FUCKING PICTURES in the past, and I'm just fucking SICK of this forced drama nonsense. SICK OF IT!!!

Huh, we get ANOTHER Akuma that's actually incapable of retrieving the Miraculous. Who knew an Akuma that's a giant Ice Cream Golem without actual hands and whose limbs are too big to even remove the Miraculouses to start with was a bad idea? /s

Okay, never mind, apparently he can reach his human limbs through the ice cream.

I would be more impressed by Alya learning to let Marinette make her own choices regarding her feelings if it weren't coming off the heels of her attempting to FORCE MARINETTE TO LET ADRIEN KISS HER IN A PRIOR EPISODE, among many other things. It's a sharp case of "too little too late."

The way this show treats the fact that they are superheroes and having secret identities as this overwhelming obstacle against being a couple is exhaustively stupid.

And like, AGAIN, the "we love each other as friends" resolution is so much a case of "too little too late" I just roll my eyes.

Okay, how did Hawkmoth know where Ladybug and Chat Noir were hiding??

You know, the stupidest fucking part of all this, Andre's obsession with Ladybug and Chat Noir being a couple, is the fact that THEY WERE NEVER A COUPLE TO BEGIN WITH. Making him going "what matters is that you are happy" bit ring hollow, because the actual status of their "relationship" has never stopped his nonsense in the past.

Show of hands, who thinks that Gabriel learning that Chat Noir is "in love with Marinette" will amount to all of fucking nothing? (Raises hand)

And now they are having Chat write off Marinette's feelings as "idolization." Which, yeah, is partially because of Marinette's fumbles right from the very beginning of this episode... but that honestly more accurately describes Marinette's feelings FOR ADRIEN than it does for CN.

Huh. Chat Noir managed to make me find a joke of his funny. ...Please check outside your window to make sure the sky isn't on fire and raining cats and dogs. And we get the ending being Plagg (accidentally) encouraging Adrien to keep pursuing Marinette on the basis of "she could fall for me again!" Instead of doing the emotionally healthy thing and try to move on.

#miraculous ladybug #mlb season 5 salt #mlb season 5 spoilers #mlb writing critical #mlb writing salt

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hillarysss · 3 years

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random astro notes / roasts

do not repost or plagiarize or reword my work plz wosndodj ok thank u

painfully emotional bored, pls do not take this seriously 😀 this is not profesional of me but i’m bored

Cancer venuses way of flirting is “ have you eaten today??” no i haven’t, they treat you like a whole baby.. it’s kind of cute tho😋

i swear having cancer + leo in a chart makes someone very petty and dramatic exposing myself but it’s true

venus in leo were that bitch in high school that started drama but somehow wasn’t necessarily in it?? like they somehow still had a good reputation idk but y’all charm with people is through the roof amazing

having sun - chiron can make someone have very bad sense of worth like damn u hate yourself that much babe? if u have this aspect i love you pls don’t hate urself, i swear everyone i’ve met with this aspect had low self esteem :/ pls don’t i love you

why do pisces risings look like fairies??!?! like cute ones and some of them look like “🥺” i stg

cancer mars women def love to dream abt getting dominated

why do taurus women look so good with bangs?? i swear omg looking like whole models yall. LIKE I SWEAR EVERY TAURUS WOMEN OR PLACEMENT IVE MET HAS CONSIDERED GETTING BANGS AT SOME POINT..

scorpio mercuries scare me tbh they can literally ruin you with their words, they’re so sharppp

i’ve noticed a lot of women with pisces / cancer placements attract people especially men who wanna “take care of them” like no theyre an independent woman

why are people with venus in 10th so hot ok bye no for real y’all be so beautiful physically and the fact everyone knows this too and most of them deny it😀 like model agencies would love your ass

why do so many sagittarius moon have such low self attention span?😀 also it’s impossible to get them to do something they don’t wanna do they need the thrill & passion

leo moons... y’all are petty asf when someone crosses the line and i’m here for it

aquarius moons to the contrary belief of being “detached” y’all are too nice for your own good tbh

sagittarius risings have amazing hair, usually really curly or/and puffy too it’s not just the leo risings y’all looking like a whole hot babe and i’m here for it

libra placements have probably fantasized abt the perfect romance since young age theyre wayy more loveeeee sick than given credit for.. they always in the clouds too (especially libra moons y’all are too kind)

gemini moons.. yall r so intelligent?? like y’all are just wayyy too smart it’s hard to win them agaisnt an argument like you physically and mentally can’t

every gemini rising i’ve met had chubby cheeks? but their head shape was really round idk y’all cute tho like adorable

sun dominants and leo risings literally light up the room anywhere they go enough said, good vibes from them only🥰

why does everyone say leo placements are the most confident? every leo placement i’ve met rots in low self esteem, yet they’re so beautiful in every way😀

why do virgo placements get fixated on one thing and then leave it??? like they’re like one day okay let’s do this.. mission accomplished onto the next thing it’s like their ego boosts from accomplishments

a lot of scorpio venuses don’t get into relationships cuz they know ppl aint shit and their love out this world tbh

pisces venuses all they need is a chill smoke buddy just someone that will love them and chill with them, they rlly don’t have high standards

virgo venus culture is going on like 300 dates and still not liking a person

every virgo moon i’ve met was so nurturing??😭😭 like they the type to say “i’ll always be here with you and if you wanna talk ever”

cancer women placement probably attract men who want their mommy issues treated.. like no ma’am..

i wouldn’t suggest crossing or pissing off an aries moon, like do anything to mess with them and you’ll regret ur whole bloodline 💀

every capricorn moon i’ve met was really good with their money + purchases 🤔

why do cancer placements look so safe?? like they look like home

aquarius placements love really unique drawings or really unique posts especially on the internet, theyre the type to have a lot of blogs for every little unique thing

virgo mars are the definition of perfectionist!! but they also want things really simple? they’re not the type to go over the top

sagittarius mars are usually really protective over their friends, just something i’ve noticed but they’re really protective + they’re never scared to stand up for themselves or others

libra risings look good with anything venusian!! like lip gloss!!

i’ve noticed a lot of air venuses, especially Aquarius have considered an open relationship or it’s not completely off the table..

virgo mercuries are usually really honest or people usually don’t suspect them of lying + they usually have evidence or anything to back up what they’re saying

mars in leo probably fantasize about getting a lot of attention and pampering in sex lol or the complete opposite complete domination

i noticed a lot of scorpio risings / pluto in 1st struggle a lot.. but they never seem that way? they’re the masters of masking up things :/

leo risings tend to have really nice eyes that are glowy and kind of big?

cancer risings have the cutest round noses.. i keep simping for y’all LMAO

virgo risings look like fairies too but like garden fairies.. they look so youthful!

a lot of aries risings had freckles? a lot had rlly thin lips as well, with a REALLY pretty slim nose

aquarius risings are the ceo of having really nice thick eyebrows!! i swear omg

sagittarius venuses are lowkey simps in love when they find that one person😅 they like to dream just as much as a pisces venus stereotypically does

sagittarius moons have really wild imagination!! they should draw their imagination, it’s really beautiful

cancer moons probably have felt their families emotions when younger or probably still do! cancer rules 4th house! they’re very sensitive to energy

12th house stelliums either sleep too much or NEVER sleep💀

uranus in 3rd people are the most intelligent!! like the stuff they say shocks me all the time🤔 how do y’all come up with these thoughts

a lot of virgo risings, especially the females were really tall! they should model tbh

aquarius moons like gemini moons when you’re close to them they said the most random facts “oh did you know that..” first of all how u come up with all this🤔

capricorn moon / rising women are so beautiful bye😀 every single one i’ve met had perfect face structure! like every single part of their face was so perfect kind of like they were designed?? not even trying to ego boost but y’all are beautiful..

why do pisces moons desperately try to love everyone and try to make sure everyone feels included? tbh not everyone deserves ur amazing energy

gemini placements ALWAYS have a comeback to things 😀 at this point don’t bother to win them in an arguement

why do water placements purposely put on sad music 💀 i noticed a lot of water placements are sometimes “addicted” to being sad 😀, enough said these babies fr absorb everyone energies :/ it’s important they’re with the right crowd

cancer rising women & libra rising women have the most beautiful plump lips 😀

leo risings & placements love jewerly?? they love having things that represent them a lot! maybe even tattos

I’ve noticed virgo placements after socializing they need a “time out” from the social world..💀

every fire moon i’ve met loves napping! like it refills their energy a lot! especially sagittarius moons

wanna make a libra placement like you? it’s simple.. worship them 😊

leo venus x scorpio venus in a relationship just screams intense love but passionate 😀

uranus square midheaven probably would get into a lot of scandals in their career if they’re not aware of what they say / do!

if a virgo placement compliments you, it’s REAL these people just don’t give out compliments! especially if it’s specific like take it to HEART

mercuries in libras are so forgetful😅 every single i’ve ive met

cancer mercuries can be kind of passive when they’re angry in communication.. like they will be like “k” “ok”..

capricorn + gemini in a chart= someone that gets irritated from people’s idiotic acts easily 😀

sagittarius mars love partying?? like they’re amazing partiers

scorpio moons can “retreat” when they’re sad, some friends may not hear from them for a while. alone time is everything for a scorpio moon

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thegreymoon · 3 years

Text

FRIENDS!! WORD OF HONOR IS SO GOOD! JUST SO INCREDIBLY GOOD!! PLEASE GO WATCH!!

***

So, if I am understanding this right, the Five Lakes Alliance consists of five sworn brothers, two of whom are now dead (one of whom was Chengling’s father and the other the master of those two kids that are now being chased through the woods)? The other two are Shen and Zhao, and there should be one more whom we haven’t yet met? And the Five Lakes Alliance is (was?) trying to establish supremacy over the martial arts world, but there are dozens of other smaller sects that are resisting? And assassin clans and rouge cultivators are also getting involved all over the place? And the Ghosts are the martial arts world’s outcasts? And I still haven’t figured out how ZZS’s master fits into all this, but he is a prince, which is a separate institution of power (I guess), like in NiF? 🤔

Also, I still don’t know exactly what this armour they are all after is, but it is clearly some magical artefact that gives you superhuman power and which has now been shattered into several pieces that each of the players is trying to put together for their own benefit.

***

LMAO, this shameless opportunist! 😆😆

A-Xu, you are not getting out of this anytime soon!

***

And I am in love 🤗

***

OMG, there is a female assassin in charge of executing unfaithful men!! 😆

Cheat at your own peril! 🔪🔪

***

Big brother’s favourite disciple, eh? 🤨🤨

***

LMAO, poor ZZS, there is always some crap going down, interrupting his attempts to get blackout drunk 😆😆

***

Well, shit 😕

Didn’t the ghost lady say she had no quarrel with him, though? This seems suspicious.

***

LMAO, I very much doubt it!

Considering that the ghost is among you and the only reason Chengling is still alive is that he is the one protecting him!

But, OK! Let’s wait and see!

***

LOL, I thought she was an actual ghost for a moment there and was wondering if I had misinterpreted the genre 😅

Anyway, kill him, pls.

***

LMAO, please 🙄

That child is adorable, I’ll be surprised if you make it farther than the gate!

***

Of course it’s him! 😆😆

***

LMAO, did he just cut his sleeve?? 😆😆 WKX wouldn’t know subtlety if it hit him in the face 🤣🤣

***

Oh, shut up, you disaster!

***

Philanthropist Wen 😂😂 Why is this so funny??

***

Wait, what??

I am confuuuuuused!! 😵

***

OH WHAT THE FUCK 😱😱

I JUMPED OUT OF MY GODDAMN SKIN!!

Are we still in a hallucination, or do they have zombies here too?? Also, wtf, how do they have better zombies with their reportedly non-existent budget than CQL, which was all about zombies, did??

***

Oh, so he does know exactly who he is??

***

I am fascinated by how colourful all these random characters are!

***

CQL set such low zombie standards, I am SUPER IMPRESSED by the ones we are getting here!! 👍👍

***

LMAO, I love it when he flips the switch into murder mode 🔥🔥

***

“A kindhearted man who couldn’t kill a chicken” 🤣🤣

Wen Kexing, why must you lie?

I am afraid to even guess at his body count 😅

***

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME WITH THIS SCENE

***

LMAO, does he ever stop talking bs 🤣🤣

Oh, yes, Philanthropist Wen, you are so peaceful and rational when dealing with your enemies! You would absolutely never kill anyone! 🤣🤣

***

I mean, can it even be considered a romance at this point if our couple doesn’t have an extended homoerotic fight in the middle of the night on a roof or next to a body of water? 😋😋

***

Would it have killed them to film this scene in a real pool? 😑

***

Perfect strategy, dump him in a lake so that his makeup washes off 😂😂

Anyway. It’s just unfair how beautiful this man is 😭😭

***

LMAO, even if he wasn’t in love before, he’s in love now 😂😂

***

LMAO 🤣🤣

Drag him, A-Xu!!

***

LMAO, this blatant nut promo 😂😂

Anyway, I read on Twitter this morning that the nut company people did not manage to score tickets to the upcoming SHL concert, which is an injustice! 😂😂

#word of honor #woh spoilers #woh ep05 #woh ep06

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srta-minutes · 3 years

Text

Form ORC-75 (Romance, Office, Non-Spousal)

pairing: loki/mobius rating: pg13 words: 1441 (unbeta’d) summary: mobius formally acquires a boyfriend. ravonna, formally, is very tired.

An optimist and pragmatist. That, generally, was how Mobius self-reported on TVA employee evals. Most people did not actually want to unleash that much malice upon the universe, and those who did were usually too ill-equipped to do so. Looking on the bright side and then looking at the facts when the bright side suddenly evaporated: this was Mobius M. Mobius, top analyst at the Time Variance Authority, in a nutshell.

So while he knew that, yes, technically, he and Variant L1130 were manipulating the shit out of each other, he chose to look at the silver lining. So the flirting was inevitably for gain, sure. Loki was a black hole for all the praise and admiration that Mobius was willing to give, yes. But underneath all of that manipulation there was some semblance of real affection, wasn’t there? And at least no one was getting hurt, right?

Right.

“You’re becoming way too attached to that variant, Mobius.”

Mobius paused with the tumbler of extremely vintage bourbon midway to his mouth.

“Which variant?” Mobius asked innocently.

Ravonna’s stare was one of cosmic, timeless, omniscient exhaustion.

“Okay, okay,” said Mobius, taking a strengthening gulp of the bourbon and putting the drink down on the side table. (On the coaster.) “So we’re finally going to talk about it. I’m sure you’ve heard so much. The scuttlebutt around here is the stuff of legends.”

Ravonna sighed and reached for a stack of tan manila file folders on the coffee table and swept one open with her hand. She was ready.

“Hunter L-12 filed a conduct complaint with regards to ‘openly flirting’ in the mess.” She leafed to the next page. “Anderson in Dimensional Analytics filed a conduct complaint saying she was unable to use the West Dome elevator. I’ll not expound on why.” She shuffled through several more pages, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, and perhaps my favorite. Inappropriate use of standard-issue TVA batons. Filed by Hunter B-15.”

Mobius pinched the bridge of his extremely broken nose. “Come on, B-15. I thought we were buds.”

“Mobius!” said Ravonna, slapping the file shut. “What in time were you two using the batons for?”

“Listen, it was Loki’s idea—” Mobius shrugged, feeling himself reddening. He didn’t want to say that you can prolong a lot of wonderful sensations when you’re moving at 1/16th time. Ravonna didn’t need to know that. “And hey, just putting it out there? The West Dome elevator has been broken for time immemorial.”

"The only reason,” Ravonna said, closing the case file and ignoring him, “that we’re allowing that variant to walk around un-pruned is because he’s helping you with a case. And while nothing you’re doing is technically against the rules—”

“—Which I’ve read. You know I love rules—”

“—It seems like everything that you two do together has nothing to do with the case!” Ravonna leaned in. “ A case about a variant who is still killing our hunters. Every week we lose minutemen and every week I have to sign a mountain of paperwork for you with nothing to show for it. I need you to stop playing around.”

“You know, Ravonna,” said Mobius, also leaning forward, elbow on knees. “I feel like I don’t ask for much here. I don’t think I complain about much, do I? I always go by the book, I put in overtime, I don’t ask for more benefits. I haven’t cashed in on my vacation time in Lord knows how long. And not to brag, I’m one of your tap analysts, have been for years. Yes, we haven’t caught this particular variant but with this Loki—look at the results. My numbers are through the roof! We’re finding variants left and right; we’re stopping nexus events before they’re even happening. We are outperforming in every sector, ever since that Loki showed up. And if I’m being honest, he actually helps me think because he doesn’t think like the rest of us. We need more of that in the TVA.”

He thought he made some pretty good points. He reached for the bourbon on the table while Ravonna kept staring.

“Mobius, off the record,” she said slowly. “Have you ever been seduced before?”

Ravonna handed him a handkerchief to mop up the bourbon that had dribbled out during his spit-take. Mobius coughed.

“Has anyone in the Authority ever been seduced?” said Mobius, recovering. “Is anyone here even capable of that?”

“Variant L1130 manipulating you!” she shouted. “Making you feel good by getting in your pants, helping you slam dunk cases so we think he’s an asset, and then he’ll use whatever knowledge he’s been slowly acquiring to unleash hell on us and the entirety of time.”

“He won’t,” said Mobius, standing up. “I’ve given him plenty of chances. Variant L1130—Loki—wants to catch this guy just as much as we do. And if I’m being real with you, Ravonna, I think he might actually like being at the TVA. Because he might actually like being around me. Since apparently, I’m the only person in the universe who doesn’t think he’s a lying scourge. He’s a beautiful singer, Ravonna, did you know that?”

Actually, Mobius did not stand up and he actually said none of that out loud. But he felt it in his mind very strongly. He might stupidly be falling in love with the god of mischief but he wasn’t stupid enough to yell at his boss. Also, no one else needed to know about Loki’s singing. That was a special thing for him.

“This one won’t run. I assure you.”

Ravonna stared back at him. Then she rolled her eyes and slapped a very thin folder onto her lap. It only had one sheet in it but she stared down at it like it was 300. It was a browning sheet of paper that looked as old as the TVA.

“I have to do so much paperwork for you. Paperwork to not prune this loki. Paperwork for you to go on your cute little apocalypse dates ("calling them dates is a little much—") And now. Paperwork to let you have a boyfriend.”

Mobius stared. “What?"

"I'm filling out a form so you and your Loki can make out and not be swarmed with conduct reports, Mobius." She was filling in lines on the document with a fury. "You're partners. I have about 20 hunters under similar dispensations. You should be under probation for being romantically engaged with anyone non-TVA. But since this Loki technically works for the TVA, this paperwork allows for a temporary partnership.”

He suddenly recognized the sheet from upside-down. He gawked. “Form ORB-75. Workplace Romance.”

“Form ORC-75,” Ravonna corrected. “Non-spousal. Though if you want to get hitched I can make it spousal. But the TVA only recognizes temporal marriages that have witness in three dimensions. I have no clue if Loki is on speaking terms with his family in any of them. Why am I even telling you any of this."

She slashed her signature into the form and handed it to Mobius. In faded twelve point courier new the paper read:

M. M. MOBIUS and VARIANT L1130 (LOKI). TEMPORARY PARTNERSHIP.

Well, gosh

, that was

sad

, he thought staring at the word temporary. He thought briefly of Loki during that avalanche on Ganymede in 3074. Loki had pulled him through the time portal just in time, and they landed on top of each other, panting, covered in snow and panting.

“Spectacular,” said Loki, grinning. He pulled Mobius to his feet. “Outstanding. Mobius, I think, I could do this forever.”

Mobius brushed a dusting of snow off of Loki’s jacket. “You promise?”

Loki met his gaze and the grin simmered down to something less giddy. “Who would I be if I started throwing promises about?”

“It’s okay if you don’t mean it,” said Mobius. “You know I can tell when you’re lying.”

Loki smiled and let his fingers trail up Mobius’s chest to the knot of his tie. It didn’t need straightening but he fixed it anyway. “Then I promise you, Mobius M. Mobius. It’s you and me. Forever.”

Mobius stared down at the paper. He knew this setup couldn’t last for all eternity. Time must come for all things, he thought. He was a pragmatist, after all.

Nevertheless, he signed as an optimist.

Ravonna got up and placed the form in the out-tray on her desk. “You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, Ravonna. Like, so much. This really means a lot.”

“Dismissed, Mobius,” she sighed, sitting down at her desk.

He picked up his stack of paperwork and walked to the exit, letting the silly grin creep on his face. Then he turned around at the door.

“So your options were pruning the Loki, taking me to HR, or me signing the Workplace papers?”

Ravonna put a pen down. “No HR, and of course I wasn’t going to prune that Loki. Mobius, your numbers have been through the roof.”

#wowki #lokius #words #loki: um so why didn't I get a say in signing those papers #mobius: you don't technically work here #loki: and yet i was just placed in formal romantic partnership without any consultation #mobius: you know darling one of the other options was killing you

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fandomsonrequests · 3 years

Text

𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓..? [𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 12]

fandom: ATEEZ

characters: prince! park seonghwa

reader: fem! knight

word count: 4.5k+

summary: It was time for another Selection. No- not a Selection for a bride but rather a well-trained knight to keep Prince Seonghwa safe after a failed assassination attempt. You, a blacksmith’s daughter, manage to make it to the elite group of knights worthy and skilled enough to protect the crown prince after months and months of training. This alone catches Seonghwa’s eyes- in more ways than one

a/n: part 12! that’s a lot more than i usually write lmao sjsks but we have more seonghwa interactions! i hope you enjoy! this is unedited, so i apologize for spelling errors!

taglist: @iwanttohitmyself @minihongjoong @i-purrple-u @taetae123094 @jeonartemis @barcelona-sergei @theoinkypiglet @sparklychangbin @krystal-cole @mangotexts @tooweirdforyou @park-simphwa @seonghwaskitten

↞previous ♛ next↠

It’s been two weeks since the first round of elimination. Out of the fifty delegates that arrived, only half remained— ten females and the rest males.

The dining hall then was filled with goodbyes and some sobs as a guard came to collect the eliminated delegates. Fortunately, they were allowed to keep the uniforms provided for them to serve as a memoir for their time spent here. It seems like a form of mockery to others, a reminder of their failure, but it was better than heading home with nothing.

Seonghwa remembers watching from his spot in his room as the remaining delegates rush to bid their friends a farewell. They remained by the palace gates, waving and jumping goodbye. He felt a slight tug in his chest, a pang of pity if you will, at the sight. From his time spent observing the delegates, he noticed how some had developed seemingly tight knit friendships. It was heartbreaking to see them end there.

Now it was a new day. More lessons from the duke and the captain of the guards, this time being more rigorous than the last.

With a sigh, Seonghwa pulls away from looking out the window and goes about his morning routine: wash up, dress for the day, and have breakfast with his parents. By the time he was finished the delegates were already holed away in the library for their new set of lessons. The young prince on the other hand had some free time to spare before his lessons in diplomacy and kingdom relations.

He makes his way to the royal garden with another book in hand. He was probably on the fourth one of the series he was reading. The garden was situated at the back of the palace, stretching far and wide and housing the most elegant and colorful flowers one could ever see. He bows his head humbly whenever he passes by the gardeners, greeting them a good morning.

“Good morning, my prince,” Says one of the old gardeners. She was a rather frail looking and small framed woman. But anyone who knew her would say that she could walk and work for hours. And that one smile from her can brighten anyone’s day.

“Good morning, Auntie Florence.” Seonghwa greets, stopping in his tracks to kiss her cheek. He wasn’t related to her in any way but he frequented the garden so much, ever since he was child, that the old woman practically helped raise him. “The garden looks blooming today.”

“That’s because the rains have blessed them last week,” Florence croaks, flashing him one of her gummy smiles. “Ah, by the way Prince Seonghwa. Lady Ayeong is waiting for you in the gazebo, I believe she wants to talk to you.”

The young prince quirked a brow at this but thanked the gardener nonetheless. He makes his way over to the gazebo in the middle of the garden. It was built in the middle of a makeshift pond, its pointed roof painted white while columns of marble held it up. True to Florence’s word, there among the plush benches of the gazebo, awaited the young woman, her back to him. Her head was lowered, seemingly staring at something on her lap, as if she were deep in thought.

“Ayeong,” Seonghwa calls out to her gently. The duke’s daughter turned to him, a soft smile on her painted lips.

“Seonghwa, come sit.” She coaxes and pats the space towards her. “You don’t mind if we talk for a while do you?”

“Oh no, not at all.” He promptly heads over to the bench and sits beside her. Although, he maintained a rather respectable distance from her.

They were well past the first stages of awkwardness but a sliver of tension remains. Maybe it was the pressure of knowing that they’d one day be married to each other, maybe it was having to keep up a good impression. It felt kind of fake that they’d have to put up with this kind of demeanor around each other. Maybe they weren’t all that comfortable with each other just yet.

“Oh, I had no idea you were into romance novels, Seonghwa.” Ayeong speaks up when she notices the book in his hand.

The young man looked down at the novel and chuckled quite bashfully, a little embarrassed of being found out. “It’s probably ‘wimpy’ of me to be interested in such things, isn't it?”

“Not at all,” she responds genuinely with a shake of her head. “I think people are entitled to like whatever genre of novel without being ridiculed for it. It honestly doesn’t make sense to me as to why men can’t like romance... or that women can’t like philosophy.

“I find it very unnecessary times.. when they impose these standards on us because ‘it’s only fitting for people of our stature,’” She scoffs, tucking a strand of hair away from her cheek when a breeze flies by. “Hopefully that changes soon.”

Seonghwa knew, since they were young, that Ayeong was a strong willed young woman. She always stood up for what’s right and spoke up on behalf of the people that couldn’t. Most of the time, it garnered disappointed shakes of the head or disapproving whispers but it never deterred her. She was willing to make a point and fight to get it across.

“You’ve really never changed, have you?” Seonghwa asks with a small chuckle and a shake of his head.

The young woman lifts brow as she playfully hits the young prince’s shoulder. “You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”

The two share a short but mirthful laugh before lapsing into silence once again. Only this time, it didn’t feel as awkward. Ayeong opened her mouth as if to say something but was interrupted as Hongjoong came jogging towards them. She pursued her lips together and quieted down. Hongjoong bows towards the pair before straightening up.

“I’m sorry Lady Ayeong but I’m going to have to take Prince Seonghwa away. Madame Olga is here for his lessons.” The shorter man said.

Seonghwa sighed but complied; his tutor always favored punctuality. “Thank you for the company, Ayeong.” He says and nodded his head at her.

“No, thank you. I’ll see around then.” She waved goodbye to him returning to her own thoughts again, deciding to refrain from telling him what she wanted to earlier.

As the young prince looked back at the duke’s daughter, he couldn’t help but wonder what she had wanted to say. It nagged at the back of his head during his lessons, making Madame Olga snap her fingers at him when she noticed that he wasn’t paying attention.

“Focus, Prince Seonghwa. You’re quite distracted today— is anything wrong?" The old tutor asks with folded arms.

“It’s nothing, Madame Olga.” The prince answers and returns his focus to the woman before him.

The day goes on as usual lessons in the morning, training in the afternoon. By the time lunch was over the delegates were back in the courtyard under the heat of the sun. The only difference this time is that you were dealing with actual swords.

You could feel your sweat drip down your cheek as you practically baked within the light chainmail you wore to protect yourself. You’d grimace whenever the sun’s rays reflected off of the swords, it’s glinting lights blinding you whenever it hit your eyes.

“Same rules apply but be cautious this time,” Byron instructs and stares pointedly at the troublemakers among you. “These swords may actually harm you. No simple bruises will come out of this but wounds and blood. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good. Now begin!”

You face Raviv, your usual partner in training, and point your sword at him. You didn’t worry too much about your grip and technique with the weapon but it was still nerve racking to finally use it against an actual person. The only time you’ve ever tried something like this was when your father let you hold a blade he was making and let you rain down hell on the poor tree behind your home.

You circle around your friend for a moment before lunging at him. The sound of metal against metal rang through the air and you struck again. Raviv has certainly improved on his technique and grew stronger. He could practically take you down in a few moves but you were quick enough on your feet.

“I see you’ve improved your joust, good sir!” You exclaim haughtily, swiping across him.

“Why thank you Madame,” Raviv replied just as mockingly. He grunts as he brings down two consecutive strikes against you. “And you’ve improved your speed. Why not run away from this battle instead?”

“And let you reclaim all the glory?” You let out an obnoxious, pompous laugh that caused your friend to snort in amusement. “Oh hohohoho, you’re quite ambitious. But I shall never relinquish my blade against yours!”

“Then prepare to taste the bitterness of loss, Madame! Hiyaah—“

Raviv lunged at you, thrusting his sword right at you. You exclaim in surprise and jump to the side, almost stumbling on your footing at that. You manage to miss the blade by a margin and glare playfully at him. You knew he was challenging you. He wouldn’t really put your life at risk like this unless he knew what you were capable of.

But before you could retaliate, Hae-seong walked in with a maid pitifully scrambling after him with a parasol to protect him from the sun. “Attention, ladies and gentlemen..!” He squawks, effectively halting your movements.

“I have an important announcement to make,” He continues. “I’m afraid training will be cut short today. You’re all required to freshen up and look presentable before the prince as he will be talking to each of you individually.”

This sparks conversation amongst all of you. The delegates all whispered to each other excitedly at the prospect of being able to personally meet the crown prince. You, on the other hand, we’re excited to finally get another chance to meet up with him again. Only this time, you didn’t have to sneak around the palace.

“Oh, _____, can you imagine? We’re gonna meet the prince.” Raviv says as he shakes your shoulders lightly.

Guilt gnawed at the back of your head; you haven’t exactly come clean to your friends that you’ve had a chance to meet him already. Twice in fact. Nevertheless, you were still happy. At least Seonghwa got a chance to personally meet your friends, even if you weren’t really the one to introduce them.

“I wonder what he’s gonna be like…” Raviv muses as he leans against you, putting most of his weight on you. He chuckles while you struggle to hold him up.

You push him off of you with a grunt. “Yeah.. I bet he’s great.”

“You may now freshen up. The prince is expecting you lot, soon.” Hae-seong drawls out before turning around on his heels and heading back inside.

“Well, you heard the duke,” Byron says with a warm smile. “Start getting ready.”

You all line up properly and return to your rooms. It was a nice change to be able to have more time to bathe and relax; you didn’t have to hurry up too much to avoid taking up too much of the others’ time.

Siyeon turns to you excitedly once you return to the room, her wet hair wrapped up in a towel. “______! This is so exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. What do you think the prince would say? What’s he like? I hope I don’t bungle up things-”

“Wolfie, you’re gonna do great! Don’t worry too much.” You reassure your friend with a playful shove to her shoulder. “You’re a social being, I don’t think he’d have a negative view on you.”

“You speak like you know the prince,” She smirks at you as she unravels the towel from her head and brings her brush to her hair.

You knew she was just teasing you but it still made you nervous that maybe she had caught on. Nevertheless, you played it cool and rolled your eyes in amusement. You threw on your best clothes, a simple blouse and a pair of trousers Siyeon had gifted to you on your birthday.

After fixing your hair and drying it, you were practically ready to meet the prince. You looked around to the other girls to see if they were done getting ready. As your eyes scanned their neatly pressed dresses and colorful clothing, you couldn’t help but feel a little out of place. It was only then did you notice that the majority of the girls that had made it past elimination was from the city-towns.

You tried not to let this get to you, especially since a couple of those city girls warmed up to the rest of you. The others… not so much.

“I wonder what he’ll talk about.” You heard Adrianna, one of the girls from the Capitol, ask. “I bet he’ll ask about the political climate.”

“Maybe,” her friend, Ryuko, responded before glancing back over to you and Siyeon. A mischievous smirk adorns her lips as she brushes her hair over her shoulder. “I guess some people are lucky they’re literate enough to comprehend some things.. or at least seem like it,” She feigns innocence but her voice was loud enough for you to hear.

Her and her little group chuckled to themselves as if they’ve said the most clever thing in the universe. Irina, a girl from a mining town, scoffed at them, mumbling to herself in her town’s dialect. She glanced up, accidentally meeting your gaze, to which you awkwardly pulled away from. Irina simply chuckled at your action.

“Don’t worry I don’t bite,” She reassures you— her accent thick. “Unless you’re one of those girls.”

Now it was your turn to let out a laugh of your own. Sure those girls were nasty but you tried not to pay no mind to them. Just focus on yourself.

You were awkwardly waiting by the tables in the library, anxiously tapping your foot against the marbled floor. Off by the couches at the farthest window was the prince and one of the male delegates from Sinna, a city-town. Their voices weren’t heard from where you were but you could see from the way the delegate was animatedly moving their arms around that they were having a rather pleasant discussion.

You found it kind of ironic but no less amusing that you were supposed to meet the prince here. It was almost as if fate was foreshadowing your meeting with him.. or it got too excited and decided to speed things along so that you’d meet on that fateful night almost a month ago.

You decided to read as you waited, wanting to get your mind off of your nerves. (You didn’t even know why you were so nervous. It’s just like talking to a friend.) Luckily enough, Hae-seong allowed you without one of his offhanded insults. Maybe he was having a good day… You picked a book off the shelf, turning it over in your hand to read the title: The Iliad.

You return to the table, getting lost in the world of Odysseus that you had conjured up in your imagination. And for a while, your nerves disappeared. You immersed yourself in Odysseus’ different travels and adventures. You were practically so invested in the novel that you almost didn’t register your name being called. You jolted out of your trance when Siyeon poked your shoulder, glancing up to see the familiar pointed look Hae-seong threw at you.

“Miss _____, don’t make me repeat your name for the third time. It’s your turn to speak to the prince.” He huffs.

You scramble out of your seat and you heard a few chuckles and sneers of amusement from the other delegates. You absentmindedly bring the book along, your nerves suddenly returning and hitting you with full force. As you approach Seonghwa though, you couldn’t help but feel a little at ease when he flashes you his charming smile.

“Ah, so that’s why you’ve ignored me,” He teases as he motioned to the book. “I don’t blame you— its a great book.”

“Sorry about that, your highness.” You apologize sheepishly as you sat across him, setting the book into his hand when he held it out. “But yes, it really is a great book.”

“Well it suits you. The story, I mean.” He sets it down by the window sill and turns to look at you.

Seeing him up close in the light of day was much different than seeing him at night under the dim light of the moon. The sun’s rays glinted off of his luscious and well kept curls, reflecting back against the elegant crown that sat upon his head. You could finally appreciate his features, from his sharp nose, to his strong jaw, and all the way up to his bright eyes that held some sort of childish wonder to it.

He was absolutely ethereal.

“What do you mean by that?” You manage to say when you break from your trance.

“You’re somewhat like Odysseus. You’re both determined to get your end goal— and you’ll stop at nothing to do so,” He deduced and leaned against the couch’s backrest. “Or at least, that’s what your eyes say.”

“My eyes?”

“Yes, you’re eyes. You have this… this determined yet intimidating look in it whenever you’re faced with a challenge.”

You do..? You were so puzzled yet impressed on how he was able to detect that from you… and why he was able to do so. Did he look at you often whenever he observed the whole group during training? Or did you bring too much attention to yourself whenever Hae-seong scolds you for the upteenth time that day. Whatever the reason, you didn’t think that the prince, out of all people, would pay this much attention to you.

“Speaking of which, what is your end goal? You never really told me.”

A wave of nostalgia, and homesickness, washes over you. You release a sigh, shoulders sagging. You fish out the simple necklace that was left to you, untying it from your neck and holding it out to Seonghwa.

“This,” You point to it, dropping it in his waiting palm. “This is my end goal. You know how my father runs a smithy back in Trelark, right?” He nods and you continue. “Well, I promised him that one day, I’ll get him the life he deserves. Open another smithy and bring in more money so that he’d never work another day in his life again.

“But then this selection thing came up. It’s not exactly what I had planned, but it was something. A warmer home, a softer bed, better food to eat,” You listed off and stared out the window. The town looked nice at this time of day. “And maybe, a chance to heal. Not only physically but emotionally.”

The prince remains silent at your heartfelt confession. That explained a lot of things about you. Why you valued your relationship with people so much and why, despite the many times you’ve fallen, always pick yourself back up and strike back with even more vigor.

A fond smile graces his lips as he looks down at the necklace you handed over to him. His delicate fingers ran along the smooth edges of the marble pendant as if tracing the memories held within it. “You really love your family a lot, don’t you _____?”

“They’re all I have,” You mumble when he gives the necklace back over to you. “The whole world can turn around on its head for all I care. As long as I have them, it’s all that matters to me.”

Hearing that stirs something within Seonghwa- a warm but heavy feeling inside his chest. He knows he has a lot of duties as a prince to take care of his kingdom, to give most - if not all - of them a good and stable life. But hearing you say this really spurred a sense of urgency to do better and to find practical yet effective ways to alleviate his kingdom.

He rests a hand on your knee, pulling you out of your thoughts. “I believe in you, _____. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this.”

“Why would I not trust you? I mean, I’m literally fighting so that I’d end up as the one protecting your life. If anything, you should be the one doubting me.” You chuckle, tucking a stray hair behind your ear.

“I suppose so,” He muses.

The two of you continued to talk till your time with him for the day was up. He told you about how pleased he was to finally be able to meet Siyeon and Raviv, since you’ve told him about them before. He even talked about his slow but steady progress in mending his relationship with Ayeong. You were glad that he was able to move past that awkward stage and was now talking to her like nothing ever happened between them. He was more open in talking about him this time; last time you were with him it was mostly you who did the talking. You never knew how complicated, and boring, the royal life was until he spilled it all to you. Your lives were so different from each other yet here you were— exchanging stories and learning from one another.

You learned that he had an older brother, who was now living in the kingdom where his father came from. He was married to the princess there and had twins- one boy and one girl. It was quite a bit endearing to see the prince gush over his niece and nephew. His eyes sparkled with love and whenever he gets excited, his hands move animatedly.

Before you knew it, your time with the prince was up. Hae-seong walked over to the two of you and cleared his throat. “Prince Seonghwa, your time with Miss _____ is up. I shall call on the next delegate.” Seonghwa nodded. “Thank you Duke Hae-seong. Let me just wrap up my conversation with _____.”

The nobleman nodded and turned on his heel to collect the next person. Before you could stand to bow towards the prince he reached out to you, making you pause in your actions. You look at him quizzically, quirking your brow up at him.

“I almost forgot to ask; would you and the rest of the delegates like it if you were given a break? Just a few days off to rest and recuperate. Maybe even go around Capitol; the first Autumn Light festival is coming up soon. Maybe you’d like to witness that.”

Your eyes brightened at this. You haven’t been able to appreciate the city when you arrived. Aside from that, you were barely able to write more than a few letters to send back home to your family. Heck- you didn’t even have the time to send those letters. So of course you didn’t pass up an opportunity like this.

You nod your head with a grin, excitement bubbling within you. “I can’t speak for all of them but I’m sure most of us would enjoy that.”

Seonghwa nods and releases you before bowing his head humbly. “Well then, until the next time we meet.”

You curtsey in response, a playful glint in your eyes. “I’ll look forward to it, your highness.”

He chuckled and watched as you walked away. It was only when the next delegate came in did he draw his attention away from you. There was truly something about you that had drawn you to him.

“He was so nice and charming,” Siyeon gushes as you brush her hair.

It was late at night and everyone was preparing for bed. Once again, the girls were huddled into little groups or off by themselves doing whatever fascinated them at the moment. Now the chatter was about their time with the prince instead of the usual recap of the day. It was a nice change of pace, you all needed slow days like this.

“And his teeth— he has such nice teeth. I want nice teeth,” She pouts and turns to look at you.

“But you do have nice teeth, Wolfie.” You tell her as you shake your head. You set down her brush by her bedside table and flopped onto your own bed. “Your teeth are so nice they’re practically blinding.”

Siyeon huffs out a partially sarcastic laugh before tossing one of her pillows at you. “Ahhh, I can't wait till we meet him again. It was so nice talking to him.” She sighs as she lay sprawled all over her mattress. “Okay enough about me. What did you two talk about?”

You throw the pillow back at her and hum in thought. “Not much. Same as you: how my day has been, what things are like back at home, all of that.”

You felt bad for not coming clean to your friend— especially since it was unfair. But you promised yourself that you’d tell her and Raviv one day. Now was just not the right timing. You push the thought to the back of your head and move to settle under the covers.

“That’s it?” She prodded, convinced that you were holding back something. “Come on, you can tell meeeee~ I doubt it was just mundane stuff when you two were talking so excitedly with one another. Was it the book you brought with you?”

Your heart pounded rapidly against your rib cage at her suggestion but soon calmed down when she brought up the book. Thank the gods she noticed that. “Fine fine, we did talk about the book. But that’s all.. well— wait he actually asked if we wanted to have a break and I said yes. So maybe we’ll have some rest.”

Siyeon’s eyes widened animatedly at that. A large grin adorned her beautiful face and she bolted upright from her bed. “Seriously?? We get to have a break? Can we go around Capitol? I want to see the whole place.”

You chuckle at her reaction, leaning against your arm. “I think we can, hopefully; that’s if Hae-seong doesn’t throw a fit at the idea.”

You two chuckle at the little jab you put against the duke. Mina soon comes in to tell you that it was time for bed and curfew has started. You found it a little childish for this part of the nightly routine but you suppose it was implemented in order to keep the castle quiet and orderly at night.

As you blow out your candle and settle into bed, allowing your exhaustion to finally lull you to sleep, you think about the next days to come. Especially your next meeting with the prince.

And in the opposite wing of the castle, as Seonghwa shuffled into bed, he was thinking of the same thing.

#ateez #ateez x reader #ateez fluff #ateez smut #park seonghwa #seonghwa #park seonghwa x reader #seonghwa x reader #prince seonghwa #prince!seonghwa #prince park seonghwa #royalty au #fantasy au #ateez royalty au #ateez fantasy au #regiis #fandomsonrequests

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adorablele · 4 years

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@riothae ♡ to my darling table leg 💞 this is to push the doyoung dream boy agenda. and also i’m sorry for not releasing this on your birthday, please accept this belated birthday gift.

☍ pairing; kim doyoung x reader ☍ genre; fluff, romance, a little bit of angst but mostly fluffy // apocalypse!au, zombie apocalypse!au, strangers to lovers!au, soulmate!au, parallel world!au ☍ word count; 4, 210 ☍ summary; you have your very own dream boy, a literal man of your dreams and he goes by the name of Kim Doyoung ☍ a/n; don’t be fooled by the beginning, 99.9% of this is just dialogue. also I tried my very best to avoid using the word zombies to describe the people who were affected by the virus because...yeah it has something to do with the characters mindset but i didn’t get to explore that because I wanted to focus on the romance lmao ANYWAYS PLEASE ENJOY AND FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS APPRECIATED since this is my first ever apocalypse!au and longest fic (in general and for doyoung)

trigger warning(s); mentions of weapons, use of weapons (doyoung uses a machete, mc also uses a weapon to kill the zombies), mention of blood

This has got to be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.

“Hey!” you screamed, banging together two pots.

The growling behind you started to multiply.

You smirked, continuing to clash up more noise, “C’mere!”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw two rotted figures make their way towards you. The adrenaline in your veins pushed your legs to move faster. You heard the growling behind you grow louder, more shuffling of feet syncopated between your own. Out of either confidence or pure insanity―quite possibly both―you turned around to admire the hoard of creatures that you managed to gather.

Disgust swirled in your stomach. They were ugly with skin so pale that you could see the infected black veins running through their body. They snapped at you with rotted teeth, blistered lips and blood-shot eyes.

You laughed. “You’re so slow.”

Those vicious, viscera eating monsters didn’t seem to like your taunt. With inhumane twists of their bodies, they started to sprint towards you. This was, without a doubt, the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. Still, you shouted at them and banged your pots. Your pace was already outmatched by theirs, but it didn’t help that you were walking backwards.

“Just a little closer, I know you can do it!” you cheered.

By now, more monsters have noticed the ruckus that you’ve caused and they decided they wanted to join in on the fun. That’s when you decided to continue running. You could hear their growls growing closer and closer. For a split second, there was a single drop of fear that touched your spine, or rather, a finger. Acting on instinct, you slammed the pan into the head of the intruder.

You were done for. They were catching up to you.

And yet, you kept running, faster than you’ve ever ran. Despite the fact that any one of the, probably, hundreds of virus-infected bodies were one step away from tearing you limb from limb, you laughed.

This was it. This was the end.

This was where you die.

The maniacal smirk on your face never ceased. You didn’t know how long you’d be able to run for, but you kept going. At least, you tried to until you were suddenly slammed by a body quite larger than your own. The wind was knocked out of your lungs, the buildings behind you a blur until you were pulled into an abandoned convenience store.

“Are you insane?” the stranger scowled.

One second, two, three before you gathered up your wits.

“Let go of me,” you shouted, pushing off the stranger, “and yeah, I am.”

You aimed your gun at the stranger who held his arms up in surrender.

“A thank you would be nice,” he frowned.

The tall man was dressed in tattered jeans and a fitted black t-shirt. Around his wrists were newspapers bound by masking tape. He was covered in blood, dirt and grime; chapped lips and sharp eyes; black hair nestled messily on top of his head. Aside from all the cuts and bruises, you would deem him handsome. Although, that’s not of importance right now.

“What would I be thanking you for?”

“For saving you,” he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I didn’t need saving.”

He scoffed, “You were about to die.”

“I’m already dead,” you muttered, “we all are.”

The stranger raised his brows, “Is that so?”

“There’s nothing to live for,” you replied.

He stared you in the eyes. “Then go back out there. Go say hello to your fanclub.”

A brief staredown occurred, his gaze challenging your own. Both of you knew that you wouldn’t walk back out there. At that moment, you wanted to see how close you could get to Death, but when it really came down to it, you didn’t want to die, not to those things anyways, and―as much as you’d like to say otherwise―most definitely not now. You were on the brink of insanity, yes, but you weren’t completely diving in head first. You also knew that deep-down, you’re relieved that he saved you.

And he knew that too.

“Don’t move!” you shouted when he started to lower his arms.

He paused and looked over to the counter, “I’m just reaching for the candy.”

You eyed the counter where a bag of food laid and followed his movements closely as he reached for the opened bag of gummy bears on the counter.

“You’re human, just like me. We’re not like those...beasts out there, but if you really want to become like them, then go ahead.” He reached for the backpack lying on the floor by the counter and slung it over his back, “I already tried saving you once, though your actions aren’t in my controls.”

He opened the back door of the grocery store and left.

Your shoulders finally relaxed. You lowered your gun, then glanced out the window at the horde of monsters that roamed around aimlessly looking for the meal that had escaped them. Those soulless creatures were easy to read, easy to know what their intentions were. You turned back to the door where the stranger walked through. Who knows what his intentions were?

Yet, you decided to follow him.

For a block or two you followed him, watching as he slashed through the creatures with his machete. Occasionally, you too, killed the monsters that made their way towards you. Eventually, he entered a building and climbed all the way to the roof.

You found him sitting at the edge, feet dangling as he stared ahead. His weapon lay next to him and his previous bag of opened gummy bears sat in his hand. You joined him by the edge, and this might be even stupider than attracting a mob of bloodthirsty fiends.

Rather than shoving you off, he offered you some gummy bears which you accepted. He didn’t turn to look at you once. In silence, the two of you observed the abandoned city in front of you. Rubbled buildings weakly stood, streets filled with crashed cars, various monsters (who were once human) lingered on the sidewalks. The prettiest of all the ruins was the sky. A toxic mix of orange hues. Shapes of clouds filled the sky, providing no rain and no shade. The Sun was half over the horizon. It sent out constant waves of warmth.

“I’m Doyoung,” he whispered, as if it were sacred to share his name. He turned to you, eyes vulnerable, a soft brown like the fresh soil used to plant a flower, “Kim Doyoung.”

You gasped out your name as you woke up.

You sat up in your bed, dazed from the dream. Or, was it a dream? Panic slowly tickled your spine and you immediately turned on the news, phone dialing with numbers of your loved ones.

After constant reassurances from your friends and family, you slumped on the couch. It was all just a dream. It was just a dream! You shook your head and went to wash your face in the bathroom. It was just a dream. A dream that you vividly remember.

A dream with Kim Doyoung.

For the next few months―each month―you had one overly vivid dream that included Kim Doyoung and the apocalyptic, orange skied world. It mostly consisted of the two of you running around in empty fields, abandoned cities and hacking away at monsters. In many ways, it was you and Doyoung against the world.

“Any updates on dream boy?” Kara, your best friend, smiled, sitting at the bar-counter of the diner you worked at.

You placed her usual order of coffee in front of her. “You’re still calling him that?”

“Well, isn’t he?” she shrugged.

“Yeah…”

She smiled, “Any updates?”

Your heart thumped slightly at the question, the memory of the dream you had this morning resurfacing.

The squelch of flesh echoed against the walls of the room as you and Doyoung explored the bakery.

“Believe it or not, I was a baker,” he shared, slashing at a crazed waitress

“A baker?” you asked, raising your brows, quickly opening the door to the kitchen area. Running towards you was a murderous customer who, you assumed, didn’t receive the food they wanted. After taking care of the virused creature, you frowned at the disemboweled chef on the floor, “Should we bake in this kitchen?”

“Do you want to?”

“Not with this on the floor,” you mumbled with a pout, “I thought we finally found a place!”

He shrugged, “Let’s just move the body.”

Together, the two of you, while trying not to gag, dragged away all the dead bodies in the kitchen and tossed them out. After another check around the bakery, the two of you barricaded the windows and doors, also checking through them to make sure no more rotted mouths were running towards you.

Once all safety precautions were taken care of, Doyoung took out a container of sanitary wipes.

You snorted, “Are you really going to clean?”

“I told you, I was a baker, and in order to cook or bake, you need a clean area.”

You didn’t say anything, only smiling in amusement as he started to wipe the counter.

“Aren’t you going to help me?” he asked.

Your smile turned upside down as you saw the dusty counter, bloodied floors and molded dishes. “Do I have to?”

Doyoung threw the container of sanitary wipes at you. You caught it with a grumble. After a good three hours, the kitchen was finally clean enough for Doyoung’s standards.

“I can’t believe you wanted to clean on your birthday. We could’ve just grabbed one of the pastries or gotten a cake from another place,” you sighed.

“Well, if we did that, then you wouldn’t make me a cake.”

“Aren’t you the baker?” You countered.

“Yep!” he leaned against the counter, “but you’re the one who promised to make me a cake.”

“Fine,” you grumbled, dragging your feet as you made your way over to the pantry.

Somehow, you managed to follow the recipe that you tore from a cookbook and not burn down the entire building. You grabbed the cake from the counter, “Let’s hope you enjoy this, Mr. I’m-a-baker-so-I’m-going-to-give-your-novice-attempt-at-a-cake-a-rating-out-of-ten.”

“Just an FYI, I had my own bakery,” he proudly added.

“Showing off now, I see,” you chuckled, placing a one tier cake with a very messily and unnecessarily large ‘Happy Birthday Doyou’ written on it. “I ran out of space for your name,” you explained as you added a candle, “but it’s the thought that counts, right?”

“2 points off,” Doyoung called out, “didn’t complete your decorations, y/n? Not good.”

“No mercy, huh?” you tsked, lighting up the candle, “not even one point for the effort?”

He shrugged.

“Guess I’ll just have to impress you with my singing skills,” you sighed.

Doyoung watched with amused eyes, “You can try.”

“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Arden- ”

“Minus another two points.”

Your jaw dropped, “What, I totally was hitting that high note!”

Doyoung shook his head, “First off, no. Secondly, who even is Arden.”

“Don’t know, maybe it was a classmate of mine whose birthday just happens to be today,” you shrugged.

He raised a brow.

”Look, I just wanted to say a random name other than yours.”

“Another point off.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Insulting the judge,” he shook his head, holding back a smile, “another point.”

“Doyoung!” you whined.

He laughed, “Okay, okay. I’ll give back two points if it tastes good.”

“Four if it blows you away,” you bargained.

“Deal.”

Although you watched with a confident smile, your heart pumped nervously in your chest. You weren’t the best cook, nor baker, so you knew that there was a chance that the cake wouldn’t taste that good. And you were right.

Doyoung’s face twisted into a sour expression.

“It’s…”

“Just say it,” you sighed, “don’t hold back.”

“Horrible.”

You sighed and sat down next to him. You took a piece of the cake to taste. Upon the abomination you called a cake landed on your tastebuds, you realized that you deserved a final rating of -54325/10.

“This tastes like…very salty sand,” you gagged, “did I forget the sugar or something?”

Doyoung got up from his seat and analyzed your ingredients. “My love, I think you did.” He then placed the bag of what you thought was sugar in front of you.

“It’s salt?!”

Needless to say, Doyoung saved his own birthday cake by making one himself. You insisted that you should help which, reflecting back on it, you weren’t sure was a good idea or not. Multiple times, you got distracted by the way the dim lights of the kitchen seemed to highlight his face, or the way it felt too comfortable with his hand over yours when he would teach you how to do something. It left your stomach flipping, palms a little sweaty, and your heart ready to burst out of your chest.

“And it’s done!” he smiled, finding the last flower decoration on the cake.

It was clear who decorated what.

All the orderly placed strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, along with the prettily swirled flowers and legible font were obviously Doyoung’s expertise whereas the little random patches of unevenly placed blueberries and poorly attempted flowers that ended up looking like dots were your humbly added touches.

“Wait, I want to add one last thing,” you told him.

You took the piping bag full of royal icing from him and started to shakily draw on the corner of the cake.

“Is that...a bunny?”

You bit the inside of your cheek as you concentrated, “Yep.”

“Why a bunny?”

“You look like a bunny when you smile,” you nonchalantly confessed.

Doyoung didn’t say anything.

“Alright!” you smiled, proud of the animal that you drew. You turned to Doyoung who you were surprised to see already looking at you. “Doyoung?”

He looked towards the cake and cleared his throat, “You uhm, you ready to sing?”

“I thought we were just going to eat it?”

“Oh…”

“Well, I mean, unless you want to hear my amazing vocal-”

“Let’s just eat,” he grimaced.

You laughed, taking a knife and slicing a piece. You offered for him to take the first bite.

“No, no, you taste it.”

“You’re the birthday boy,” you countered.

“And as the birthday boy, I want you to take the first bite.”

You frowned, “Pulled that one on me, huh?”

He only gave you the bunny smile that made your knees weak.

“Fine,” you grumbled, taking a bite of the cake. It tasted a thousand times better than the cake that you made. “Oh my- This is really good! You need to try it.”

You didn’t get a chance to fully give Doyoung a piece of cake because he gently cupped your jaw, turning your chin to face him.

“I think I’ll try it now.”

Before you could respond, he kissed you. It was quick, unexpected on both sides of the party. That didn’t stop him from kissing you a second time though. This time, it was less hesitant and a little longer. He pulled away, yet again.

The two of you took time staring into each other’s eyes. His thumb rubbed against your cheek.

“You’re absolutely breath-taking,” he confessed.

You smiled, “Doyoung…”

“Completely stunning,” he whispered, leaning closer.

Your eyes started fluttering close as you muttered his name.

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

Kara’s smile widened, her eyes glinting with mischief, “Oooo someone did have a dream.”

Your face felt hot.

“Someone had a dream?” Felix asked curiously. He took the seat next to Kara and placed a plate full of waffles in between the three of you.

Kara stuffed a piece in her mouth, “Dream boy strikesh ahjain.”

“What?” you mused.

She swallowed her food. “I said, dream boy strikes again,” Kara smiled, “perhaps, a little something happened?”

“Maybe a little something.”

“Like…” Felix trailed off.

“Like… a kiss.”

“You kissed him?!” your friends both exclaimed.

Luckily, at the early hour of 6 in the morning, the diner was always empty except for the three of you. You rolled your eyes. “So what, we kissed,” you shrugged, “it’s just a dream.”

“Y/N,” Felix sighed in an exasperated tone, “it’s not just any dream-”

“It’s a dream with your dream boy!” Kara finished.

“He could be your soulmate!” Felix gasped, “What if he’s having dreams like this too!”

“C’mon,” you gave your best friend a look of disbelief, “he’s not even real.”

“You don’t know that,” Kara told you, “there are people out there named Kim Doyoung.”

Felix tilted his head and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “You know, his name does sound pretty familiar.”

You shook your head, “You guys are crazy.”

They continued to converse about people named Doyoung and possible suitors for you which you ignored and, instead, focused on continuing to wipe down the counter. The door to the diner then jingled as a customer stepped in.

“Welcome in!” you greeted, still not looking up from the counter. Not hearing a response from the customer, you looked up. The rag in your hand dropped onto the counter. At your reaction, your friends stopped talking.

Doyoung.

The man dressed in all black that stood at the door, smiled slightly, “Hello.”

You felt the eyes of your friends.

Clearing your throat, you nodded, “Oh uh, hi. Sit where you want.”

He nodded before making his way towards a corner table.

“Looks like someone likes-” Kara started, but you interrupted her.

“It’s him,” you told them quietly.

“He’s the man of your-” they both exclaimed.

“Shut up!” you hissed before they could finish their sentence.

They both glanced over at the man looking out the window before turning back to you with wide grins.

“He’s the man of your dreams?” they both asked excitedly.

“You two are unbelievable,” you mumbled, taking a menu and walking over to the man.

“Here’s your menu. My name is y/n, I’ll be serving you today. Just let me know when you’re ready to order,” you smiled.

When Doyoung, or the man that looked like Doyoung, heard your name, you could’ve sworn that his eyes widened slightly, but you shook off the thought and left when he mutely nodded his head at you.

“It’s dream boy,” Kara immediately said once you returned back to the counter.

You shook your head in disbelief, looking over at him before back to Kara. “No.”

“What do you mean no?” Felix quietly whispered.

“Just because it looks like him doesn’t mean it is him! He’s just a dream,” you nodded over at Doyoung, “that guy, he’s real.”

While you bickered quietly with your friends, Doyoung spared another glance your way. It was odd seeing you in normal clothing, ones that weren’t tattered or bloodied. You weren’t holding your usual weapon, and you most definitely weren’t bashing heads. Though, he couldn’t help but admire you in the same way he had in his dreams.

“Completely stunning,” he mumbled.

When you dropped the rag, he was sure that you recognized him; recognized him as the Kim Doyoung from NCT. When your friends kept whispering and looking back at him, he knew that, not only you, but also your friends knew who he was. Doyoung turned back to the menu.

He doubted you knew had the same dreams as him. He did feel a bit awkward considering the fact that he dreamt of kissing you without knowing that you were an actual person. Maybe he should leave? After all, he was hoping to come to this diner because it was relatively empty, and he just hoped that the people in here wouldn’t know him.

He glanced once more over to the counter where your friends quickly turned their gaze away from him.

“Guys, he’s looking over here,” you muttered, “you’re making him feel uncomfortable.”

“You’re right,” Felix mumbled, “we can’t destroy your chances at dating dream boy.”

Kara nodded, “Yes, we’ll leave.”

“What?” you exclaimed, a bit louder than intended. Lowering your voice, you sent a panicked glance at your friends who were packing up, “Where are you going?”

“Well, I have to go to work now,” Kara sighed loudly, slinging her bag over her shoulder, “I’m going to get going.”

Felix followed Kara’s lead and stood up, “Yeah, I have to go walk my cat.”

Before you could process that Felix doesn’t have a cat, they were out the door, leaving you alone, in the diner, at approximately 6:37 AM with a boy that―just this morning―you dreamt of kissing. Your face felt heated again.

Shaking your head, you looked over at Doyoung who was analyzing the menu.

For the first time, you could clearly see him. His hair matched the color of his black long-sleeve turtleneck that was tucked into some black jeans. No blood, no dirt, no machete, just him. Just him and the highlight of the Sun on his cheeks. That reminded you of the dream you had and you shook away the daze, turning your attention to the very interesting tile of the counter that looked like it needed some serious scrubbing (not really).

“I’m ready to order,” Doyoung softly called out.

You quickly walked over to him, jotted down his order, then ran away to hide in the kitchen. Your body worked on auto-pilot as you prepared his meal. With his drink and food in hand, you started to walk back towards his table. Doyoung was staring out the window and he was humming.

As you got closer, you realized that you knew that song.

“Do you remember what the stars looked like?”

In the middle of an empty grass field, you laid with Doyoung. Your head was rested on his chest, and you felt his voice vibrate throughout his chest.

“Yeah,” you told him, “they look like your eyes.”

You could feel Doyoung roll his eyes, “I’m serious.”

“So am I!”

He chuckled and brushed his fingers through your hair. “Did you ever stare at the stars and see everything you wanted? Did you ever see your ambitions? Your achievements?”

“Getting deep here, aren’t we?”

Doyoung sat up, “Have you?”

You stared at him for a moment before turning to the endless orange sky. The Sun never seemed to move from its place over the horizon.

“Yeah, I have.”

A pause of silence.

“When I looked up at the stars, I saw my future. I saw the plans I had, the answers to my problems, I saw hope. However...” you smiled sadly at the orange hues, “they all went up in flames.”

Doyoung placed his hand on yours.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get that deep,” you crookedly smiled, but Doyoung only pulled you into a hug. And the two of you stayed like that for a while.

“What did you see?” you asked when the two of you were back to laying on the floor.

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

“Me on stage, singing.”

“Singing?”

He sighed, “Yep. It was nothing more than a hobby, but my grandmother would tell me that I was a singer in some other life. She told me that if I looked at the stars, they would show me.”

You chuckled, “Kim Doyoung, a singer.”

“I’m sharing a heart-touching story and you’re laughing.”

“Sorry,” you gave his knuckle a kiss, “it’s my coping mechanism.”

He intertwined his hand with yours, “I’m just kidding, but is seeing me as a singer that funny?”

You shrugged, “A bit hard to believe.”

“Really?” he asked, sitting up, untangling your hands.

“A little,” you admitted.

He stood up and lent you a hand. “C’mon.”

“Where are we going?” you asked, taking his offer.

The two of you were back to traversing through empty fields and abandoned streets (fighting zombies along the way) until you stopped in front of a music store. Ripped posters hung from the window, a broken open sign dangled from the door, and a few savage creatures were lingering inside. Using the power of teamwork, you and Doyoung were finally able to do what you pleased.

“So why’d you bring me here?”

He sat a keyboard, “I’m going to play for you.”

“Doyoung, that’s going to attract a lot of noise,” you peeked through the boarded windows, “is this really a good idea?”

“Aren’t you five kills behind me?” Doyoung asked.

The competitive side of you perked at the mention of your kill counter. You were reminded of the little daily game that you and Doyoung decided to play. It was simply just to see who could kill the most virus-infected barbarians you could in a day.

But, your smarter side still worried about safety.

“I’ll sing you two lines,” he told you, “just two lines.”

“Fine,” you sighed.

“This is an original, by the way.”

“Wow, an original song,” you teased, “just for me.”

He winked, “Of course.”

“What’s it called?”

“Lost Souls,” you mumbled, “the song is called Lost Souls.”

“You’re actually my dream boy,” you blurted.

“What?”

You awkwardly placed his food down on the table, along with his drink, “Uhm-”

Outside the window behind him, you could’ve sworn you saw the setting change and a creature run head first into the window. You gasped as Doyoung quickly turned towards the noise. “The apocalypse,” he mumbled.

Slowly, the blue sky started to change. “Orange skies,” you announced.

The tables were rusted, chairs torn, walls peeling. “Empty buildings,” he added.

Doyoung turned to face you, the same warm eyes as in your dreams staring right into your own. A certain dream resurfaced.

You looked at the familiar looking convenience store, “Is this the building where we met?”

Doyoung didn’t answer you, only saying, “I hope you like watermelon ring pops.”

“What?” you laughed, watching as he reappeared from between the aisles.

He stood in front of you, unwrapping the watermelon ring pop. He then bent down on one knee.

“Just you and I?” he asked.

“Against the world.”

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daydream-believin · 3 years

Text

Never-Ending Roadtrip (Autumn in New York, pt 1)

Summary: (ch 1) (ch 10) Reader joins Douxie in the quest for Nari’s safety. He’ll need company won’t he? - chapter 9) new york tourism and some relaxation for a stressed-out emo wizard

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol mention, implied nudity (just a bath)

Word Count: 3542

A/n: Go listen to ‘autumn in new york’ by ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong to set the mood for this chapter and the next lol. i do like lovecore i promise. also this was going to be it but ive split it up. enjoy

Douxie was very careful to take inventory. One head, two head, dragon head, his own head. All accounted for. Four heads, no more no less. Not even a pesky stowaway gnome. His family was together. Up in the air, on the ship, winding blowing through their hair. Douxie could see sky scrapers on the horizon.

The trolls had been cordial in their goodbyes, but made no effort in giving the impression that they wanted the wizard family to stay any longer than they had. In fact, it was discouraged if not outright. The trolls almost gave off an aura of relief when they faded from view of the settlement. But that was understandable. Douxie’s family had caused a bit of trouble during their stay.

Bagdwella was certain that Archie was a bad omen for her shop and would freak out whenever he tried to enter. Y/n had been a bit confused and tried to explain to her that black cats were in fact supposed to bring wealth, not financial ruin, but apparently Bagdwella had been thinking of an old trollish superstition about dragons instead. Y/n had no counter to that.

Nari had no real knowledge of how money worked, and was determined to make that Douxie’s problem. And the problem of all the trolls in the shops of the town. There was a bit of a problem with her “dining and dashing” in the pub, the one troll eatery in the still developing town. Poor thing had no idea food costs money. Someone had always been around to feed her. Douxie and Y/n almost couldn’t keep up with the demand of sweaty socks they had to produce in order to pay the annoyed barman. Turns out it was somewhat hard to make sweaty socks when you’re actually trying to. It was like their feet realized what was happening and couldn’t pass up an attempt to make their owner’s lives harder.

As much as dear Y/n prided herself on being tolerant, she and Dictatious were going round and round. It was easier to ignore the guy when she didn’t have to live in close quarters with him but that luxury was lost on this stay in Trollmarket. Y/n and Dic argued every time they were in close proximity. She couldn’t help it. The old troll had opinions, and those opinions were wrong. And don’t even get Y/n started on how sad and then angry he made Blinky feel with the whole dead, wait not dead just an evil traitor, wait now he’s okay somewhat, thing. And his personality was shit. Peace was never an option.

Needless to say the trolls were in fact happy to send off the wizards. Douxie was happy to no longer suddenly hear a clatter and then instantly get a headache knowing it was probably one of his problems. They had only been in Trollmarket a few days. Okay so a week, they had stayed there a week. It was only seven days. Eight actually. So to say, they hadn’t been there long enough to cause any real problems. And now they were headed to New York. New York New York.

Douxie was ready to get some quality romance in with his wife. Autumn in New York was perfect for that. The city streets glowed with life. A nice stroll down the sidewalks painted in golden light, arm in arm, carrying the warmth in their hearts and bodies with them, was just what they needed. There were lots of sights to see, and Y/n loved to see them. And it was heavily populated, which would make it safer. Safe was something greatly needed.

For some reason, ever since that one night in the forest, Doux had felt like watching his back. It was tiresome, always being on edge. Of course, he had been this whole trip. But recently it had been amplified. Douxie didn’t know if he was sensing the Order’s presence or if being wed had turned up his protective instincts up to an eleven, but it really would be fantastic to be in a safer environment. He was crossing his fingers New York was one.

Just outside of city limits, the boat was shrunken into a little toy and placed back inside of it’s bottle. The little bottle fit neatly in the backpack that Y/n was wearing. Everything fit neatly into the backpack that Y/n was wearing. It was charmed. Doux would rather it be in hers than his, just as a peace of mind. A quick getaway for her lest they ever be separated. He wasn’t too worried about himself. Nari clung to her side, so it would also be best to keep it with her in order to protect Nari. Yeah, that was totally the reason.

They hailed a cabbie and took it into the bustling city. Douxie had pulled a couple strings with his old buddies, and managed to get them an apartment to stay in. The owner wouldn’t be back for a few weeks, and was happy to have someone to house sit for her. Douxie was happy to have a roof over his family’s head he didn’t have to pay for. It was a win-win.

Y/n never stopped looking out the window the entire cab ride. Douxie thought her excitement was adorable. She had her arm stretched over Nari in the middle to be able to hold his hand. The veggie lady didn’t mind. She was also focused on the view out the windows, fascinated by the sheer number of cars and the heights of the tall buildings. Douxie could feel Y/n’s wedding ring as she squeezed his hand. It helped calm him.

This apartment was owned by a starlet. It was huge, for New York standards. It was really high up, which made Douxie a wee bit nervous. Eleventh floor. It was eccentrically decorated, with bright colors. There was a wall in the living space that was a floor-to-ceiling window, covered by pale pink curtains and strings of heart-shaped beads. The other walls had a wallpaper that was white with red rose motifs. The couch was bright cherry red, furry, and oddly shaped. The kitchen cabinets were painted hot pink, with frosted glass doors that bore a rose pattern. The refrigerator was also cherry red, with white and pink heart-shaped stickers stuck onto it. Everything was fucking red, white, or pink. It looked like Saint Valentine himself threw up. Douxie was afraid to see what the bedroom looked like.

Douxie checked the fridge. Yeah, it was empty, apart from the box of takeaway from who knows when and the three bottles of wine. To be expected, of a single young up-and-comer, one supposes. They would have to go get groceries. Archie was making biscuits on the fluffy surface of the couch. It was probably very soft, Douxie had yet to touch it himself. He was kind of afraid of it, to be honest. Nari seemed to also like it, and was spread out on the top, limbs hanging over the back of the couch. Y/n opened the curtains a bit and was staring out the window. Doux headed for the bedroom, to go see what they were working with.

The bedroom was not in any way tamer than the open living space, but at least it wasn’t as bad as Douxie was expecting with the ah, love theme this place had going. It could have been worse. It was fluffy, pink, and glittery, but at least it was rated PG. Apart from the heart-shaped bed, it looked like it could have been a dressing room. There was a vanity with lights ringing the mirror and one of those dressing screens in the corner with several feather boas hanging over it like some kind of cliché movie set. Douxie was setting his backpack down, as he sat on the side of the bed turned away from the door, when he heard someone go into the en suite. And then he heard various noises of,, happy surprise? Sounded like Y/n.

“DEWDROP! THERES A HEART-SHAPED TUB. A FUCKING HEART-SHAPED TUB. COME LOOK.”

Bleeding balroths. Douxie rolled his eyes as he stood up from the comfy feather mattress to go see what she was shouting at him about. The tiles that covered the bathroom were annoyingly pink. The air smelled like something he could only describe as pink. Sure enough, there was a heart-shaped tub like someone’s cheesy honeymoon suite, and his wife was already in it, despite it not having any water. She wore an all too familiar cheshire cat grin on her face. He had one word for this.

“No.”

“Whatever.” Y/n stuck her tongue out childishly. “You’ll change your mind tonight. You will join me in the incredibly fragrant heart-shaped bubble bath, Dewdrop. Mark my words.”

~ ~ ~ As a first stop on the itinerary, they decided on Central park. Some greenery for Nari. And for Y/n too. Trees were good for the soul and one should never spend too much time on concrete. Gave Archie something to scratch that was not the couch that they did not own. It was fine when he did it in Arcadia, their sofa was old and tattered anyways, but not here in the apartment they were housesitting.

Y/n claimed the walk through nature was necessary to restore the energy lost on the trip into the city. The walkways were paved, and Douxie had to really keep an eye on both Nari and Y/n, who should know better, from wandering off the path. Maybe he should get two baby leashes when they were to shop later. Occasionally they would pass by a café. Douxie was glad he was not working in one of those. This trip was a much-needed vacation, as stressful as it was.

A little ways in and they came across a pond, with a cute little bridge that the walkway went under. Douxie rubbed his hand over the stones as they walked through. It was worn, as many hands had also done so over the decades. This bridge, as old as the park itself, was still younger than him. And it had met so many more people than he could even fathom. Doux himself had met so many people over the years. He had been touched by many too, like this little bridge. And just like the people who touched this bridge, none of them quite knew the impact they would be leaving. What they were wearing down. He heard a happy squeal as Y/n and Nari made a sudden sprint ahead of him. Apparently, there were ducks in this pond.

The Met was just a few minutes’ walk from where they exited the park. Douxie was happy with the idea of a quiet art museum trip, that sounded peaceful and relaxing. He needed all the peaceful and relaxing he could get right now. Y/n was actually really excited about this one despite it being not that exciting of an activity. She was trying to psych up Nari. “It’ll be fun, we can pretend we’re a gang of art thieves and we’re doing recon for a heist.” The veggie lady had no idea what any of those words meant.

There were lots of paintings in the Met gallery. It contained multitudes. One painting, they passed as they walked down the corridors, Y/n stopped, transfixed, stared at the painting for a few minutes, and then carried on like nothing happened. She didn’t look particularly sad, or happy, just confused, like she was processing something. Douxie made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Next stop was a walk down Fifth Avenue. It’s not like they could afford to shop, but it was a must-do in NYC so they must-did. They walked holding hands with Nari in the middle like their child. She liked looking in all the window displays. Every so often she would stop to stare and they would tug her along. The trees lining the sidewalks presented their autumn colors. The oranges and golds gave the streets a cheery vibe.

They passed a few food trucks. The trucks were filling the air with various delicious aromas. Douxie’s stomach growled loudly. Y/n giggled and suggested they pick a truck for lunch. Douxie had his eye on a fish and chips truck. It didn’t make ‘em quite like you could get in London but it was trying. A for effort. Y/n thought it was fantastic. Douxie was just spoiled.

They made their way over to the Rockefeller Center, just around the corner. A short walk and Y/n had spotted a coffee shop. So now they were going to a coffee shop. Douxie couldn’t help it, she looked at him with such big eyes. What was he supposed to do, say no?

The coffee shop was warm, and much appreciated relief from the autumn chill that had taken over. And a nice warm drink was sorely needed. Y/n found a nice couch in the back of the shop. Douxie sunk in, deeper than he expected to be able to sink in, but it was an old couch sunk into by many people. It was cozy. The love of thousands made it the sofa the way that it was. Love had made it squishy, love had made it comfy. Speaking of love and squishy and comfy, Doux pulled his dear wife Y/n to his side in an embrace. Low-key cuddling on the coffee shop couch was the best part of Douxie’s day. Nice, relaxing, he needed this. He pressed a kiss to the top of Y/n’s hair.

The Top of the Rock is an observatory deck in Rockefeller Center. Very high up in the air, one can see a great view of the city skyline and get a peek at that famous empire state building. Archie didn’t really care about it, he could get aerial sights any time he wanted, so he took this time to take a nap. Y/n leaned close to the glass, amazed and getting slightly wooed by the city. Douxie slung his arm around her, and, under the guise of affection, pulled her a few steps back. She really was hell-bent on stopping his fragile heart. And then Nari just straight up put her hands, paws, on the glass and put her body weight on the window. Nope. Douxie made sure to ask her to step away from the glass nicely, lest he frighten her, but still tried to convey that what she was doing was something he saw as dangerous and it worried him. Doux was very happy when they were back on the ground.

Douxie liked people watching. So did Y/n. It was one of the things the used to do on weekends in Arcadia, strangely enough. It wasn’t weird. All those people, they all had lives of their own. They all had stories they were living, and it was interesting to glimpse just a small insignificant piece of it. Or sometimes even significant. It was always hard to tell as an outsider, whether or not an ordinary moment was really the turning point of someone’s life. NYC’s famous Times Square was perfect for people watching.

There was something odd about it. The square itself felt wrong. A hundred neon advertisements all at one time. Not an inch of surface didn’t bare the name of a brand. There was something profoundly sad about it. One might even go as far as say disgusting. And there were many, many signs and people. Douxie tried not to attempt to take it all in at once, lest he risk sensory overload. The sun had already set, the brightly lit signs were brighter than ever. There were so many people around them. There were some buskers, some even playing at the same time, so the music clashed. Perhaps there was too much life here. It was loud, and Doux liked loud, but he liked harmonious loud, like music and excitement, not the chaotic loud that surrounded him. He made sure he could see Nari, that she was close to them. Douxie squeezed Y/n’s hand. He thought maybe he should just pay attention to her, tune out everything else. The lights made a brilliant halo around her gorgeous face as she turned to him. The beautiful goddess he called his wife’s eyes searched his, and she noticed he was not so comfy.

“C’mon, let’s go get some dinner.”

They walked away from the square for a few minutes, putting some distance between them and it’s light, before coming across a pizza place for dinner. It was good. The classic, New York slice. And it was pizza. Y/n would admit, it wasn’t special. She actually liked the pizza from the local pizza place in Arcadia Oaks way better. Douxie and Archie agreed with her. But don’t tell any New Yorker’s that. The main thing is that they got a nice dinner, and it helped Douxie calm down. There were only a few other people in the restaurant. The booth they were in was off to the side, away from everything. Y/n stroked Douxie’s palm with her thumb. Archie sat in his lap and purred. He appreciated them.

They’d had a long day. It was best to get home. Once opening up the cherry red door the valentine’s day décor assaulted their eyes once again. This would be okay for the time being but Douxie had no idea how someone could dwell here full time. As he plopped down on the furry couch, he noticed for the first time the numerous little cherub figurines that littered every available surface. It might be interesting to meet this starlet one day. She seemed to have a cupid schtick going. She probably looked the part too.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, Y/n had made a sneaky beeline for the bathroom and that honeymoon suite style tub. Douxie rolled his eyes fondly and scoffed from his place on the sofa when he heard the water turn on. Of course. He supposed he could use some extra relaxing. But she’d feel like she won. Y/n was gonna make a big deal out of this, he could feel it.

Miss starlet had an unhealthy amount of soap bottles filling the storage space in the bathroom. A dragon hoard of fancy scented soaps. As fun as pouring some various vividly colored, strong and flowery goops into the tub and pretending it was a potion would be, and it would be, Y/n opted to find some more calming aromas for poor Doux. Lavender, lemongrass, and jasmine, were what she was on the hunt for. She managed to find both lavender and jasmine soaps, and a lavender candle. No lemongrass. But Y/n wouldn’t have held her breath on that one. It wasn’t exactly glamorous or glittery.

With the water hot, bubbles high, candles lit, Y/n had crafted a very romantic and relaxing evening. She stood back to admire her work for a moment before going to go get Douxie. He was laying across the couch, using his crossed arms as a pillow, with Archie snoozing on his chest, when she found him.

“Sorry Arch. Find a different pillow for the night?” The dragon-cat understood. That didn’t stop him from throwing a look at the two as he settled back down into the couch’s fluff.

Ignoring Archie, Y/n took Douxie by the hand as she led him back into the room she had set up. The air smelled very strongly of lavender. The pink of the tiles was muted in the dim light, which Douxie was thankful for. Then he noticed the giant fucking mountain of bubbles Y/n had turned the bath into. He supposed she wanted him to get in that. Somehow. They’d have to be careful not to accidentally choke on any bubbles.

Douxie let out a little groan as he slid into the bath. The hot water felt great on his tense muscles, he had to admit. He was feeling better, and more relaxed. He certainly wasn’t anywhere near as stressed as he was in time square anymore, but the tension of this strange combination vacation/flee-for-their-lives-trip was taking its toll on the master wizard. He wouldn’t put it past his hair to start greying soon. A wizard was only ever as old as they felt, after all. And boy, did Douxie’s bones feel old. He laid his head back and closed his eyes. No worries right now. He was safe, Nari was safe, Archie was safe, Y/n was safe. Y/n was right beside him, so extra safe too.

“So, how’s it going.” Y/n laughed at Douxie getting a little lost in the hot water sauce.

“Nuclear.” Douxie opened his eyes to take in his wife’s pretty face he just knew was smiling, he could hear it in her voice. Doux pulled Y/n into his embrace and against his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder. “Thanks. I- I guess I sort of maybe needed this.”

Y/n snickered. “Of course you did. Remember, I’ll always be here to take care of you.” She brought his hand up and kissed his knuckles. “Always, Mr. Casperan.”

“And that goes the same for you, I’ll always take care of you, Mrs. Casperan.”

#douxie x reader #hisirdoux casperan x reader #douxie casperan x reader #douxie imagine #hisirdoux casperan imagine #hisirdoux x reader #hisirdoux casperan #douxie #tales of arcadia x reader #tales of arcadia imagine #my writing #nert

76 notes · View notes

anjuschiffer · 4 years

Text

Following the Unknown

Okay, so sometime ago, I wrote something up about another soulmate au that was inspired from a dream I had (and for some reason I can’t find it in my archives...f* you Tumblr! And if anyone remembers what I’m talking about, think you can send me a link? Cuz I can’t find it QQ).

So the AU concept went something like this:

Some people know they have soulmates because they can hear their soulmate’s voice. If you’re lucky enough, you can actually see them, or rather their silhouette in the form of a swarm of leaves, that trail away once your soulmate stops talking to you. These leaves fly off and sometimes if you chase them, lead you to your soulmate. However, if they go on, that means that your soulmate isn’t close. Some people have feathers as guides, however, those who have seen these feathers and followed them are guaranteed to see their soulmates...but only at the brink of death. People dread to have feathers guide them to their soulmate, despite their gold color.

The only con of this soulmate bond is that only those with the bond can see the glowing white leaves, no one else can see the leaves but those with that type of bond.

And I haven’t touched the au until I was listening to Into the Unknown...

With that explanation out of the way, I hope you enjoy it!

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Song: Into the Unknown by Idina Menzel | Daminette Soulmate Au

Context: Damian is 17 years old, never once telling anyone he had a soulmate bond. Mari is 16, her soulmate bond appearing that very year, something she always wanted, but hated that it was at the worst time to receive a bond. After all, defeating Hawkmoth was her top priority.

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Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life

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AO3

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Damian stirred in his bed, a whisper ringing in his ears. Attempting to block them out, Damian wrapped his pillow over his head, his knuckles turning white as he did so.

Damian threw the pillow to the side, wincing at the voice that echoed within his head. Struggling to get up, Damian quickly drew out his sketchbook, flipping to the back of it. There, a meticulously set of dates were written and organized, a tip of a quill meeting the page, Damian writing down a new date.

Ever since his 16th birthday, he had been having these effects, a voice whispered to him.

It was soft, soothing, but annoying all at the same time.

Hello. It would whisper. Can you hear me?

I can hear you but I won't.

Of course he was able to. It bothered him to the ends of the Earth, causing him to become distracted at school and during patrols.

He regretted ever answering back to them after they kept trying to contact them for four solid months.

With that single response, he had been able to hear the voice clearer, causing the noise to grow stronger, something that Damian hated.

Because of it, his grades slowly slipped, but Damian had managed to keep them up. Patrol, however, was another story.

He kept getting a scolding from his father and brother, causing his mood to sour even more.

He already had a pretty shitty sleep schedule and the noise just made it worse.

He would awaken at random times during the middle of the night, ranging from one in the morning to four. He rarely got them at five and six, but nonetheless had them then as well.

Ignore your whispers which I wish would go away

Damian got back to bed, hoping to fall back to sleep as he heard the noise stay with him. Damian didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but he did, nonetheless when the noise had whispered to him.

Sorry.

And the voice remained quiet for the remainder of the night.

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“-and only one in every three million have this type of soulmate bond.” Damian paused the video, writing something down in his notepad, circling the new piece of information.

The Wind Bond.

A bond that those who had it describe it to be like a wind itself.

It caused you to hear the voice of your soulmate, ever so softly heard like a midsummer breeze.

The soulmate’s voice would only grow stronger if they were close by.

Those who had a romantic version of the bond would also see their soulmate’s silhouette in the form of leaves, scattering into the air if you managed to see it.

However, only the people with the bond were able to see and hear their soulmate.

It was also because of this that people called it the Wind Bond; many only faintly heard the voice of their soulmate and almost never got to ingrain the silhouette of their soulmate, causing them to lose all hope in ever seeing their soulmate.

It was hard to catch, hard to believe, just like the wind.

As Damian tapped in pencil against the table, the noise returned, Damian dropping his pencil to cradle his head.

You're not a voice, you're just a ringing in my ear.

With shaky hands, Damian reached for the headphones laying on his desk.

Damian paired them to his phone and put music to drown the noise, his shoulders relaxing when he could no longer hear it.

I'm sorry, secret siren, but I'm blocking out your calls.

Damian looked at what he had written, huffing at the paper.

Why would he ever believe in this?

Soulmates?

Damian ripped the paper and tossed them into his metal trash can. Seeing that all of the pieces were inside, Damian opened his desk drawer, rummaging through it until his hand found a small rectangular-like item.

Flicking the lighter, Damian took the final piece of his ‘research’ and lit it on fire, tossing it in with the rest, watching as smoke rose from the can.

Soulmates…

Why would he ever think he had one?

Even if he did have one, he shouldn’t care.

They were unnecessary, a hindrance to him…

At least his mother and grandfather told him.

As he watched the last ember die, Damian went back to studying, the ringing fading from his mind.

------

Damian’s eyes widened as his eyes caught the thing behind him.

He had just gotten past the manor’s gates when he heard someone call out to him.

Turning, Damian found a girl made of softly glowing bluebell leaves.

He watched as they soon scattered into the air, Damian taking a step forward before going into a sprint.

He had the Wind Bond. And the romantic type at that.

Romance…

Love…

Chasing…

Damian quickly came to a stop, watching as the leaves finally left his view.

I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you

Damian didn’t know for how long he was standing at where he was, but when he was done accepting what had happened to him, he let out a long deep sigh.

A soulmate, huh?

He would just have to try his best to ignore it.

------

Damian dug his nails into his hands, the noise coming back inside his head, and at the worst possible time.

What do you want?

He was busy trying to concentrate on the math problem in front of him, the clock ticking as his professor reminded the class of the time constraint.

“There’s ten minutes left!”

Are you here to distract me so I make a big mistake?

Damian wanted to scoff at the answer, racking everything he learned to solve the integration before him. It was the only thing left, but for some reason he just couldn’t seem to figure it out.

Just breath.

He did.

Recheck your fourth to last step. That’s where-

“Five minutes!”

Damian quickly rescanned his work for the twentieth time, finally noticing where he had gone wrong. Reworking that step, Damian began to internally grin as he confidently finished the rest, smiling when he placed his pencil down and the professor called time.

Damian hated to admit it, but was glad to be able to hear her voice clearly this time around.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the next class, Damian quickly walking out to get to it.

Thank you.

------

“-I simply did what I had to do!” Damian yelled, a snarl present on his face.

“You endangered the civilians inside the building!” Dick yelled, throwing a glare at Bruce. “And you allowed him to-”

“It was necessary for the mission.” Bruce simply stated, walking out the cave, leaving Dick with his feelings.

“I thought you had changed B!” Dick yelled, grabbing his coat. “Seems like you haven’t.”

Damian watched as Dick left, wanting to call him back, but knew that he shouldn’t. Instead, he went off to his own room, heading straight to the shower to get rid of the sweat that made his shirt cling to his body as if it were a second skin.

As he stood under the steaming hot water, Damian pondered to himself.

While he always held his father in high regards, Damian struggled to follow his standards, finding himself to lean more towards Dick’s. Who was right? Who did he have to follow? To please? Who’s standard should he even begin to follow?

Neither.

But he had to.

But don’t you already have your own set?

He did.

Then follow it.

Damian pursed his lips, turning off the water.

Why should he follow his own instead of one laid out before him?

Because if you try to meet the standards someone placed for you, you’re going to burn out quicker. You will start to lose yourself. Believe me. I’ve been there and hated it. Every. Second.

Damian kept wondering about the words the voice told him, catching the resentment behind them.

Despite having lived under the same roof as his father and older brother for seven years, Damian could still measure the tension between themselves. The air was suffocating, made his breathing heavy and felt off.

Or are you someone out there who's a little bit like me?

They did mention having to choose a decision and regretting it.

They had been through it…

Was it when he told them to take the ring from the other person she was fighting with?

If so, were they once like him? Did they once have these unwanted thoughts? Thoughts of fleeing?

Who knows deep down I'm not where I'm meant to be?

Damian shook his head, throwing himself onto his bed, Titus laying beside him.

As he laid in bed, Damian closed his eyes, replaying the day he stopped chasing the bluebell leaves.

Damian found himself reaching towards the ceiling, grabbing one of the leaves. He watched as the bluebell turned red before it slipped out of his hand.

Damian quickly chased after it, stopping as he reached the edge of the manor’s garden, watching as the red leaf turned bluebell once more and disappeared into the distance.

His hand reached out in an attempt to grab it again, despite knowing it was futile.

Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go

Into the unknown

------

Are you out there?

“-you alright Bugaboo?” Ladybug blinked as she registered what Chat had said, finally facing him after scanning their surroundings. “Is there something-”

“You didn’t hear that?”

“Hear what?” Chat asked, tilting his head, his ear twitching in anticipation.

Marinette looked to her side once again, wondering what the hell was happening to her.

Migraine? No, definitely not.

“Do you really-” Ladybug was about to ask, only to get interrupted by Chat.

“Seems like you can do it with a day off.” Chat said with a grin, twirling his baton. “You know, maybe a date at-”

Marinette zoned out Chat’s voice, wondering what was going on. She swore she had heard someone call out to her, a smooth voice that sent chills down her spine. But despite that, she felt curiosity behind that whisper.

“-and who knows? We might find out that we’re actually-”

“Soulmate.”

“You mean soulmates.” Chat tried to correct, watching as Ladybug’s face pale. “Bugaboo. What-”

“My soulmate bond.” She whispered, feeling a lump in her throat. “I got my soulmate b-”

“Does that mean-!”

“No.” Ladybug said, sternly looking at Chat. “We’re not soulmates.”

“How are yo-”

“When I asked if you heard that, you said no.”

“And what does that-”

“My soulmate bond has to do with hearing each other’s voices. Our thoughts.” Ladybug watched as Chat’s smile dropped, his eyes turning dull. “You’re not my- Chaton!” Marinette yelled out as Chat ran away from her, using his baton to launch himself to who knows where.

Sighing, Marinette called off her transformation, Tikki flying up to Marinette’s cheek. “Why now? Why now of all times?”

“I wish I had the answer to that Marinette, but even we have no knowledge on how soulmate bonds are assigned and given. If we did-”

“I always wanted a soulmate bond.” Marinette confessed, Tikki giving her a small smile. “But to think I would get one right now, with Hawkmoth-”

“It’s going to be alright Marinette.” Tikki assured, snuggling closer. “It’s going to be alright, you’ll see.”

“I hope you’re right Tikki. I really hope you are right.” Marinette said, embracing Tikki in her own way.

------

Do you know me?

Or rather do you remember me?

Marinette had not heard back from her soulmate in a solid month, wondering what was going on.

Was it just a fluke?

“I don’t think so.” Tikki said, munching on a cookie. “While we may not know everything about soulmate bonding, we do know some basic principles. Using those, I’m pretty sure you have a soulmate bond. It’s just taking a while to settle into your life. Well, lives.”

Marinette sighed, placing her head on her desk, attempting to reconnect with her soulmate for the umpteenth time.

Months continued to pass, Marinette now dealing with a tantrum-throwing Chat and an unresponsive soulmate.

Yes, the soulmate bonding was supposed to be the least of her worries, but how can Marinette ignore the fact that she hadn’t heard from them in three months?

In attempts to push it to the back of her mind, Marinette focused on retrieving the cat miraculous from Chat.

Another month passed when a miracle occured.

Marinette was sick and tired of playing cat and mouse with Chat, promising herself to try this one last time before she officially gave up on taking back the cat miraculous.

They were once more fighting an appearance changing akuma, the akuma changing the appearance of any person they touched, Marinette doing everything in her power to avoid being touched. What should she do? She didn’t want to be a useless fish nor-

Take it when he gets hit by his opponent.

Marinette stiffed at those words, feeling as if he knew then from experience himself.

Marinette didn’t get a response, but stuck with their advice, watching for her opportunity to rise.

An hour later, there it was.

As she flung him out of harm’s way, she slipped the ring off of him, her eyes closed as she renounced his ownership of the ring and of Plagg.

A single tear slipped as he heard him scream at her. As he begged her to reconsider.

Ladybug simply ignored the growing guilt in her chest, but knew it was for the best.

With a final tug at her yo-yo, Ladybug took down the akuma and prepared herself to be the hero Paris truly needed.

Back at home, Marinette hugged her pillow, crying her heart out as she started to doubt her decision from earlier that day.

Sorry.

———

A month had passed since that day, Marinette slumping into her bed as she de transformed. Plagg and Tikki quickly checked on their Guardian before going off to replenish their own energy.

With a heavy sigh, Marinette threw her arm over her forehead, feeling the tension in it.

Hawkmoth was still out there, searching for her, using all her allies against her. All but two.

Rena Rouge has the first out.

Then Carapace.

Lady Guêpe was forced to resign.

Then Chat Noir.

Ryuuko and Viperion remained, but at what cost?

But she couldn’t keep burdening them with her duties, with her life.

The trio were the only ones to protect Paris, although it was majorly Lady Chat in the scene.

Announcing to Paris that Chat was no longer going to aid with the defeat of Hawkmoth ended up turning for the worst, half of Paris wondering why Ladybug would ever do such a thing.

Why would she ever let Chat go when she needed him the most?

She ignored them, knowing it was for the greater good. She knew that what she did was necessary.

She wasn’t going to allow Chat to continue to corrupt Plagg, even Viperion and Ryuuko agreed with her.

And yes, she did always meet up with them...in their slightly hidden civilian forms.

While the previous guardian told her the importance of keeping their identities, Marinette’s morality began to waver.

If they wanted any chance of defeating Hawkmoth, they needed more trust with each other.

Yes, they can potentially leak out each other’s identities if akumatized, but she was willing to risk it.

So with Ryuuko and Viperion’s help, Ladybug sought a way to take down the enemy, once and for all.

Marinette’s thoughts soon became muddled, equations blurring into her mind.

She sat there, cradling her mind as math flooded her head, a concerned Tikki rushing to her.

They are rushing it.

They had to use substitution there, not the answer they got in the first part.

What do you want?

Are you here to distract me?

No.

Just breath.

Recheck your fourth to last step. That’s where-

The voice faded, becoming a soothing hum. Mari felt as her shoulders relaxed, only then noticing she had then square and tense.

She decided to sit up, eyeing her sketchbook.

When was the last time she opened it?

Just as she turned to a clean page, Marinette started to sketch, writing the word red at the side.

That’s when she heard her soulmate say something she thought they were never going to say to her.

Thank you.

Giddiness filled her imagination, Marinette got to designing, Plagg and Tikki smiling as they watched her emerge herself into her work.

———

Marinette placed a final pin into her alterations when her head began to angrily hum.

Who’s standard should I follow?

Marinette wondered what was going on with her soulmate that made them question and doubt the morality standards around them. But if she went off experience…

Neither.

But I have to choose a side.

Don’t you have your own set of morals? Principles?

I do.

Then follow them.

Why can’t I just choose one of the ones laid before me?

Because if you keep trying to choose one of them, you’re going to burn out. You’re going to lose yourself. And you’ll hate it. Every. Second. That passes.

Marinette began to panic when she didn’t hear anything said back, looking at Tikki for some type of explanation.

Tikki simply looked at her with sad eyes while Plagg purred against Marinette’s cheek, Marinette deflating upon not getting an answer to her situation.

———

Can you feel me?

The voice asked, Damian debating on whether to answer it.

Because, no. He couldn’t feel them, but certainly did feel their emotions

He had been for the past half year.

And he knew that whoever they were, they were either a hero or vigilante.

He was able to clearly feel their emotions and hear their thoughts when they finally defeated someone called Hawkmoth.

He had tried to ask them who it was, but they never responded, quickly changing the subject.

Mostly about their upcoming schedule.

Something about having to make a dress for some event they were invited to.

He remembers telling them about him being in the same boat, having to get his measurements taken for a new suit for the gala.

Can you show me?

Their bond only allowed them to hear each other.

And our silhouettes. They added.

“Master Damian, there you are.” Alfred spoke, Damian looking over at his grandfather (not that he would ever say it out loud).

“Is this about the gala? I presume Father wants me to do something for him.”

“More like remind you of how-“

“I won’t let some random harlots try to seduce me.” Damian stated firmly, picking up Alfred the cat. “They can try, but I will not waver.”

Alfred let a smile out, giving a few words for thought before leaving.

Damian sighed, going back to his conversation. Or at least attempted.

He tried to say something to his soulmate, but never got a response…

Not even as he tried to talk to her for the next few weeks.

———

Marinette stood by the punch bowl, watching as everyone around her talked like old time friends, chatting away into the night.

She rubbed her hands against her bare arms, wondering why someone like her was even at the Wayne Gala.

Oh right. She was personally invited because of her other identity: M.

M - the mysterious designer that had taken the fashion world upside down with their presence and style.

Marinette sighed, taking her glass of champagne and walking towards the balcony, not a single set of eyes following her crystal embedded red dress that stood out like a sore thumb.

Leaning against the stone railing, Marinette huffed, twirling the glass between her fingers, watching as the champagne sizzled as it swirled.

Finding herself bored, Marinette hummed to herself, wishing she was still able to talk to her soulmate.

Ever since that night a few weeks ago, she hadn’t been able to contact them, even Tikki growing worried as to why it was happening.

Marinette missed talking to them, even if their relationship did start on the wrong foot.

She missed them...dearly.

As Marinette continued to hum to herself, something caught her attention; a single emerald glowing leaf flew into her line of sight, her breath hitching.

It continued to fly away, into the hall in which the gala was taking place.

Where are you going? Don't leave me alone

Without a second thought, Marinette quickly followed it, not caring about the stares she was gathering as she pushed her way through the crowds.

She stumbled a bit as she saw the butterfly take a corner, almost losing it in the process.

How do I follow you

Into the unknown

Marinette quickly called out Kaalki, giving out an order to bring Mullo to her.

As soon as she had made it out into the open, Mullo quickly joined Marinette into the chase, multiplying to help with the search.

Marinette’s heart beat louder and stronger as she watched the butterfly begin to pulse brighter than ever before, a smile growing unbeknownst to Mari.

The joy died done when the butterfly stopped going, hovering in the middle of the garden which Mari found herself at.

Finally having a moment to breath, Marinette looked around herself, hedges and rows of flora surrounded her, shades of camellias encircling her. In the distance, she noticed some blue salvias, the tips peeking from under bushes.

Why was she brought here?

Here of all places?

Her thoughts were broken when she heard a pair of shoes click their way towards her, Marinette watching as the shadowed figure became another person.

When their eyes met, a group of leaves burst around them, the soft bluebell mingled with the emerald ones, dancing around each other.

“So you’re my soulmate.” He started, Marinette wondering how he wasn’t breaking a sweat in the layers of formal attire. She also couldn’t help but notice that his suit had kevlar integrated.

“I must be if the leaves guided us to one another.” Marinette responded, wondering what to do next.

The two looked at each other, wondering who was going to take the next step when the man broke into a smile.

“Damian. My name's Damian Wayne.”

“Marinette.” She followed. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m glad I found you, Damian.”

She really was.

She was happy to have followed the wind bond into the unknown.

Epilogue/Bonus:

Dick watched as Damian ran through the crowds in the gala.

“Damian! Where-“

“Somewhere!” Damian yelled, peaking Dick’s curiosity.

Dick waited until he saw him leave the hall before tailing him, having to pick up the pace when he almost lost sight of the boy a few times.

Dick wondered where exactly Damian was running off to, worry growing stronger when they had left the manor and were running into the garden.

He quickly tumbled into a hedge when he watched Damian slow down, following his gaze.

There, a few meters away, was a small stature girl with the most captivating red dress. The off-shoulder dress perfected fitted the girl’s small frame, Dick watching with the utmost glee as he saw Damian approach the girl.

Just as the two were three feet apart, Dick watched as a kaleidoscope of butterflies burst around them, leaving Dick starstruck.

He’d always heard of the wind bond, some of his friends telling him they had it. But this was the first time he’s ever seen it, let alone seen actual soulmates-

Soulmates…

HIS BROTHER HAD A SOULMATE AND NEVER TOLD HIM?!

Filled with hurt, Dick curled into a ball and stayed there in shock.

“Grayson. How long do you plan on staying there?”

Dick raised his head, watching how Damian attempted to keep a smile in check while his soulmate was wrapped around his arm. “Come on, the gala’s about to end. I need to make an announcement as it does.”

It took a quick second for Dick to figure out what he had meant by that.

“Damian! Don’t you dare-“

“Watch me.” Damian said with a grin, watching as the girl looked at Dick in confusion as Damian led her back inside.

Dick, however, didn't make it in time to warn their father, watching as Damian announced to the world about his soulmate… right as his own father was going to propose to Selina on live.

“That idiot.” Dick muttered, a smile still on his face as he watched Damian glow alongside his newfound love.

#maribat #daminette #maribat song inspired fic #daminette soulmates #maribat soulmate au #daminette soulmate au #anju writes

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rangshi4ever · 4 months

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Why does reality have to exist. Like wdym I can't have a romance like pereshati and therdeo?!?!

#my in laws are obsessed with me #milaowm #pereshati lapileon #therdeo lapileon #webtoon #manhwa #they make my standards through the roof this is the only romance ever #who ever said that romance only exists in fiction #you're right because wdym i cant fall inlovd like pereshati and therdeo #i love them sm

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yoonsshadow · 3 years

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BLIZZARD BLUES ⎯ myg

⇰ summary ; There’s a storm coming. Literally. And some idiot is standing outside singing Christmas carols.

⇰ pairing ; yoongi x fem!reader

⇰ genres ; strangers to friends to lovers[?], snowstorm!au, romance, fast burn [?]

⇰ themes ; fluff, a bit of crack

⇰ warnings ; talk of a natural disaster [blizzard], lots of banter, brief talk of male genitalia [balls lol], a bunch of sweetness

⇰ word count ; 1.8k

⇰ note ; Happy holidays everybody!! I hope that you all have a safe and happy day, no matter what you are celebrating. [Also this is largely unedited.] xx

It doesn’t always snow on Christmas Eve. Sometimes, when the sky feels selfish, it will open its clouds and welcome through the sunlight, especially harsh against the previous snowfall that is melting on the ground. What was once a white wonderland, snowflakes clustered together in a fine powder, becomes a muddy expanse of grass, dampened by the flowing tears of the melted icicles.

The magic of Christmas, so often associated with the pure white sheen of snowfall, is gone within hours of a clear sky.

But not today.

Today, the sky is selfish in a very distinctly opposite way.

“Temperatures will be reaching a record-low tonight, and snowfall is expected to only get heavier. With the possibility of a blizzard on the way, citizens are urged to stay indoors tonight.”

“Aish.” Licking droplets of mulled wine from your lips, you sigh at the latest news update. Just yesterday, you had been complaining of the warmth in the air, expecting yet another disappointment out of Christmas Eve. The universe seems to have answered your pessimism with a natural disaster.

Thankfully, you are one of the many lucky ones with a roof over your head tonight. The townhouse is small by standard means, but it feels so big to you. Though it may be cosy, it holds everything that is important to you, every memory that you have collected over your life, every momentum that has ever brought you joy. It is an extension of yourself, of your innermost being, and now it even protects you from the howling wind that you can hear picking up outside.

As you sit in front of your roaring fireplace, wrapped in blankets and listening to the Michael Bublé christmas album play on your scratchy record player, you think that maybe this is serenity; this feeling of calm, of contentment, when chaos surrounds you.

A harsh knock at your front door breaks through the sound of the wind.

At first, you think that maybe it was a trick of the mind, or perhaps a branch hitting a window, but the rapid knock-knock-knock against the wood is far too deliberate to be a mistake. Plus, when it’s followed by several more⎯⎯less patient⎯⎯knocks, you know that someone is here. At your house. At ten o’clock at night, as a blizzard is brewing.

It takes a moment to detangle yourself from your comfortable cocoon of blankets, but you eventually shuffle to the door as quickly as your cold toes [the things just never seem to be warm] will allow. You’re expecting an emergency official telling you to evacuate, or a neighbour asking to borrow supplies.

You don’t expect a shivering, disgruntled man reluctantly singing ‘Oh Christmas Tree’.

“Your boughs so green in summertime...stay bravely green in wintertime...O tannenbaum, O Christmas Tree...How lovely are thy branches…”

“Are you seriously carolling right now?”

The man stops his ‘singing’ to glare at you, as if you’ve just interrupted the most important performance of his life. “Hey, either let me finish the song or let me move on. It’s fucking cold out here.”

“No, but like, why are you singing at all? Didn’t you see the news?” The chill of the wind is biting at you even through all of your layers, so you don’t know how he’s surviving right now.

The man sighs, the air fogging in front of his face. “Look, lady, I lost a bet, okay? I gotta sing these carols, and I’m not backing out just because it feels like my internal organs are shutting down. So, what’ll it be? I can take song requests, if you’re feeling spicy.”

It takes you barely a moment to make your decision. “Option C. Come here.”

And you all but drag him into your house.

“Y’know, this could be considered kidnapping,” the stranger says as he slides out of his soaked jacket and toes off his boots. Despite his words, he doesn’t seem at all reluctant to be within your warm abode. “You could at least take me to dinner before inviting me in.’

His voice sounds harsh, mean even, but for some reason you aren’t intimidated by him. Maybe it’s the way his nose shines pink from the cold.

“Well,” you say, already gathering some towels for him, “it seems as though you haven’t watched the news in the last three hours. There’s a blizzard on the way, buddy, and you looked about halfway to frozen already. I thought that I would save the neighbours the trauma of digging your body out of the snow.”

“How considerate.”

“What’s your name, by the way? Since I’m extending my home and hospitality to you. I’m Y/N.”

“Yoongi. Also, you barely extended anything. More like forced. But, I’m a kind man, so I’ll let you believe that you’re being selfless. It is Christmas, after all.”

“And a merry Christmas to you too, mister Yoongi.”

“Ugh. Don’t call me mister.”

“Whatever. You should go take a shower to warm up, I should have some of my dad’s clothes for you to wear. I also have a shit-tonne of blankets and a big pot of mulled wine, so whenever you’re done just come downstairs and sit by the fire. And don’t steal anything. Or piss on the carpets.”

“Oddly specific, but okay. Thanks, generous kidnapper.”

Yoongi takes nearly an hour before he re-emerges from upstairs, to the point where you wonder if he’s actually pissing in your carpets. He looks clean, though, and flushed with warmth. And absolutely adorable in the ugly, oversized Christmas sweater that you laid out for him.

“This is fucking horrendous.”

A snort escapes you at his blunt statement, watching as he sinks into an armchair opposite you. His hair is sticking out from where he’s hastily dried it. “Thank you. My dad is the reigning champion in his workplace ugly sweater competition. He takes immense pride in inducing nausea. Want some wine?”

“Absolutely.”

When you pass him a mug, the liquid steaming and aromatic, he seems to pause, hesitation in the grip of his fingers. You give him the time he needs to arrange his words.

“I guess, um...thank you. For bringing me inside.” Yoongi isn’t meeting your eyes, but the tips of his ears are turning pink. “I was probably too stubborn to realise how bad it was and...I don’t know, it could’ve ended up really bad. So. Thanks.”

“Hey.” His eyes flicker up, briefly, but enough to see the bashfulness hiding behind all that sarcasm. “It’s seriously fine, but you’ve got to make a habit out of taking care of yourself. I’ve known you for two hours and even I can tell that you don’t take yourself very seriously. Hell, I could’ve been a serial killer, and you still just walked into my house.”

“I could’ve been a serial killer as well, hypocrite.”

“Killer Caroller does have a certain ring to it,” you admit. He’s deflecting, but you accept the divergence easily. “So, mister serial killer-”

“Don’t call me mister.”

“-Why don’t you tell me about yourself? There’s a chance that you’ll be here for a little while, so we may as well become acquainted.”

Taking a lingering sip from his mug, Yoongi keeps his eyes trained on the fire before him. “My name is Yoongi, I’m a Pisces, and I enjoy long walks on the beach.”

“Romantic.”

“I was born in Daegu.”

“Makes sense.”

“I’m a music producer.”

“Impressive.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes, though they hold more mirth than annoyance. “Oh, and what about you, miss charity? Tell me about yourself.”

Biting back a chuckle, you reposition yourself in the armchair to face him better. “Well, my name is Y/N, and I have never been to a beach.”

“That’s sad.”

“I take self-defense classes.”

“Convenient.”

“And I’m a social worker.”

“Very fitting.”

The quick banter between the two of you pulls a smile across your face before you can tamp it down, but it seems like Yoongi is fighting one of his own.

Somehow, you have both converged to your larger couch, huddled together in a wine-drunk, giggly mess.

“No, I seriously would’ve won! But then he totally caught me off guard. I was sabotaged.”

Yoongi’s recounting of the story of how he lost his bet is nothing short of hysterical. “This Jeongguk guy sounds like a menace,” you say, throwing your legs over his lap. “I mean, who swings their balls in a friend’s face just to distract them? That’s just low.”

“Right?!” His voice is so loud, but your little bubble is barely disturbed. “And they were all hairy, too. I swear that I found a pube in my hoodie.”

This sets you off, for some reason, and your chest erupts in light giggles. Yoongi has only told you a few stories about his six male friends, and it has filled you with a kind of joy that you don’t remember ever feeling.

“It’s just...I bet that women aren’t this immature with each other. Am I right?”

You hum. “Sort of, but also not really. A friend of mine once stole my diva cup just because she was mad at me for using her hair brush. I tried to explain that it was an accident, but man was she pissed.”

Yoongi pauses. “What’s a diva cup?”

Blinking at the man that you’re draped across, you bring a hand up to pat his soft cheek. “Oh, honey,” you whisper, offering a small smile.

Slowly but suddenly, his hand comes up to cover yours, keeping it on his face. Your heart skips a beat, but you don’t notice.

“You’re really nice,” he says. His pupils are blown from drinking, and maybe from your faces being so close. Your cheeks are flushed for the same reasons. “And totally not a serial killer.”

“I’m still undecided about you,” you joke, breathing out a laugh. “But I do know that you’re pretty nice, too. And not as bad of a guest as I thought you might be.”

“Is it-” Yoongi cuts himself off, takes a slow breath as he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, he seems determined, if a little nervous. “Is it weird if I say that I enjoy spending time with you? And would, maybe, want to spend more time with you in the future?”

A lazy grin stretches your cheeks as you tuck yourself a little closer to him. It’s peculiar, maybe, that you’ve just met a man that you feel you’ve known your whole life. Curious, perhaps, that conversation with him feels more natural than with most people you know.

But weird?

No, you don’t think so.

“No. Not weird.” You lean forward a bit, shyly; wait for him to maybe do the same. “You do owe me the rest of a Christmas carol, after all.

He does lean forward, just a bit, and just as shy.

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squadrablog · 4 years

Note

ok I've joined the Ghiaccio hype train, could I request a Ghiaccio fic with a reader who doesn't like sudden loud noises and will definitely cry if you yell at them? they're really intimidated by Ghiaccio but they're comfortable with the rest of La Squadra, so he's struggling to be a good team member to someone who's always nervous around him. feel free to make it romantic or platonic, your writing is amazing!! 💕💕

Here you are! With the stuff I ended up focusing on I thought that shoehorning a romance in would feel weird, so I focused more on exploring the beginnings of a platonic friendship with him. Lots of awkward Ghiaccio and miscommunication but it all ends up good. :^)

Ghiaccio & Reader (platonic, gender neutral)

Ao3 Mirror Here.

Word Count: 3921

Warnings: Reader has childhood trauma w/ loud noises, not gone into in depth. Assassination job implied but doesn’t happen in text.

Under cut for length!

The last thing you saw yourself doing with your life was becoming an assassin, but here you were. You were a tough kid, scrappy and resourceful when it came down to it, but only because you had to be to get by. You always thought you’d eventually leave that old life behind. The gunshots echoing into the night from rival mafias squaring off to claim the neighborhood you lived in as their territory. The shouts from the man who took you in when you had nowhere else to go, only to berate you when you failed to pick enough pockets to meet his quotas. The way the older and meaner children would torment you, taunt and deride you, whenever you let your vulnerability show.

And you had, more or less, left those parts of it behind at least. When you joined Passione as a last ditch effort to survive you were given a sense of stability that you had never had before, and after initiation when your stand manifested as something powerful and deadly, it didn’t take too long for you to get placed into La Squadra di Esecuzione, Passione’s team of elite assassins.

As a stand user working with other stand users you rarely relied on guns to get your work done. You were no longer struggling to get by, and although your new Capo held his team to high standards he made sure you had ample training and was patient with you while you were still getting your footing. All your teammates were surprisingly supportive; even if they were wary of outsiders, when it came to their own family they looked out for each other.

It was a dangerous life, not without its own anxieties, but it was a much quieter life. It was a life in the shadows, with a roof over your head, with work that allowed you to use stealth and silence. Even if you couldn’t exactly say you were thrilled about being an assassin you were at least surrounded by people who genuinely cared about you now, watched over by a man who never raised his voice at you for things outside your control, and most comforting of all: you never needed to use a gun.

Not all loud noises set you off, just the ones that reminded you of the violent instability of your childhood and the cruelty of your guardian and peers. Your new teammates could get pretty noisy and spirited, but the boisterous and jovial nature of their laughter, even from their more intense teasing, was a comforting change of pace. You didn’t doubt your value or the fact they respected you.

Well, mostly. There was one teammate who was a bit harder for you to let your guard down around.

His name was Ghiaccio, and to say he was loud would be an understatement. When you first met him he had been a bit standoffish, but so were Risotto and Prosciutto. You knew it would take some time for everyone to accept you as a real part of the squad, and you were ready to be patient. But as you quietly observed everyone for those first few weeks, getting a feel for their individual personalities and their dynamics with each other, you found yourself very intimidated by Ghiaccio. He was able to pal around with the rest of them, even if he was gruff as a default, but when something upset him it was like a switch had been flipped.

He was critical of his squadmates’ performance out in the field, and he never hesitated to offer his critiques regardless of how little anyone wanted to hear them. He was critical of the way people talked, constantly nitpicking everyone’s pronunciations and word choice. He was critical of the way that chores around the house got done, judging everyone’s efforts by timeliness and thoroughness.

Everyone was able to brush him off most of the time without problem. When they actually valued what he had to say they never seemed to take the mean way he said it personally. They’d had plenty of time to get used to him and sift through the bullshit. They knew when something actually mattered to him and when something was just him blowing off steam for the sake of it. They knew when it was fair to ask him to shut up and when it was best to let him get it out of his system.

You steeled yourself as best as you could in those first few weeks, just telling yourself you needed some time to understand his quirks like the rest of your squad did, but your opinion changed immediately after your first mission with him.

“Is Prosciutto teaching you anything?” he barked out at you after you two finally managed to take out your hit. You flinched and looked away from his intense gaze. You were a bit anxious about being alone with him for the first time, and you wanted to give him your best effort to impress him, but being on so on edge caused you to make some big mistakes.

“Well?” he demanded when you said nothing. You had assumed it was a rhetorical question.

“Y-yes?” you stuttered out.

“Then you’re the one accountable for fucking up today. What the hell was that?” he asked, his question ending in something similar to a snarl.

Something that was different about working with Ghiaccio as opposed to working with the others was that he argued out loud to no one in particular about random topics that pissed him off. At first you thought he was expecting you to talk to him about how nonsensical some phrase was that Formaggio used before the two of you left, and you listened attentively, but he never gave you any room to respond. Eventually you realized he wasn’t really conversing, just yelling to yell. It was very distracting and it only made you fidget and lose focus.

“I… well…” you choked out. “It’s usually quieter… on my missions, since my stand is- well, since my stand is made for stealth and-”

“Me talking prevented you from doing your job correctly?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. You just shrunk even deeper within yourself. The last thing you wanted to do was insinuate your mistake had been his fault. There was no way that wouldn’t provoke his ire.

“N-no! You didn’t do anything wrong! It was me, I’m really sorry! It won’t happen again!” you squeaked out.

“Better not,” he grumbled sarcastically with a huff before turning to walk down the street towards his car. You followed, keeping a good distance behind him, not looking forward to the ride back to the base.

---

That had been weeks ago. While you had been doing a decent job at tolerating Ghiaccio before that mission, afterwards was a different story. You actively avoided him, checking if he was in rooms before entering, excusing yourself when he came into a room you were already in, shutting yourself in your room upstairs when you heard him start up on a rant somewhere on the main floor.

Eventually it was shamelessly (or perhaps shamefully) obvious to just about everyone.

“Dude, what happened on your mission with them?” Formaggio asked in a hushed tone one time after your footsteps had disappeared up the stairs. “They’re terrified of you.”

“How the fuck should I know? They haven’t said anything to me about it,” Ghiaccio shot back.

“Uh, yeah, duh. That’s what I’m saying. They won’t even sit in the same room as you,” Formaggio muttered.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” he said, scrunching up his eyebrows. “But it’s not like they talk much to begin with.”

“Are you kidding?” Illuso interjected, inserting himself into his two teammates’ conversation, much to Ghiaccio’s annoyance. “I can get them to prattle on for hours about themself. They’re a real chatterbox once you get to know them.”

“Illuso, dude, have they told you the story about their mission with Pesci down at the wharf?” Formaggio asked with a big grin.

“Fuck, I almost forgot about that,” Illuso replied with a chuckle. “What about the time where-”

“Hey! Shut up for a second,” Ghiaccio snapped. “We’re all talking about the same person, right?”

Upon being interrupted Illuso narrowed his eyes at Ghiaccio before turning to Formaggio. “It’s obviously because of Ghiaccio’s poorly controlled rage. Have you ever seen the poor thing freeze up over a gunshot before?”

“No, but I can imagine. One time I tried scaring them from behind and it took them ten whole minutes to recover,” Formaggio responded.

“I haven’t done shit to them, what possible reason do they have to be scared of me?” Ghiaccio asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, what happened on that mission?” Formaggio asked again.

“It was pretty standard, I killed the bastard while they assisted. They did fuck up pretty bad, which is typical during training, so I pointed it out for their benefit. Then we left,” Ghiaccio recounted. “Nothing else happened.”

Formaggio raised an eyebrow. “What did you say?”

“I don’t know! I think I asked if Prosciutto was doing his job right since they didn’t seem too confident. I asked if there was anything that might have contributed to their lackluster performance, but after thinking it over they said that it was on them.”

“Sounds pretty level headed and analytical of you,” Illuso said, stroking his chin. “Are you sure that’s how you said it?”

“Probably not in so many words, I was probably more casual about it,” Ghiaccio grumbled. “Why does it matter how I said it? What’s important is what I said.”

“Ghiaccio, your brand of casual is a few decibels above what’s average,” Illuso said.

“Not to mention the casual expletives, or the casual sarcasm,” Formaggio added. “Are you sure you didn’t casually tell them to go fuck themself without realizing it?”

“No! I mean, if I was stern with them it was in the context of training!” Ghiaccio insisted.

“Are we being trained right now? Is that why you’re yelling at us?” Illuso asked with a smirk.

“This is just how I talk!” Ghiaccio said, bringing a hand up to his temple. “Ugh, I don’t fucking know! Maybe I yelled at them? I remember being very straightforward. They seemed kind of on edge, but I just assumed that’s how they always are!” He dropped his hand and turned to look at his two teammates. “Are they really not like that on missions with you?”

“Not anymore,” Illuso said with a shrug. “At first a bit, but they’re pretty reliable now.”

“You’ve got to go slow with them. They’re easily set off, but if they know they can count on you they’re able to push through it,” Formaggio said.

“My stand is invincible and I never even let the guy near them. There’s no one better suited for watching someone’s blind spot than me,” Ghiaccio said with his hand splayed out on his chest.

“I mean, like… emotionally,” Formaggio said, scratching the back of his head. “If I was to put myself in their headspace I’d say they probably think you hate them.”

“I don’t hate them,” Ghiaccio spat loudly.

“Good! Now step two is letting them know that,” Illuso said, clapping a hand on Ghiaccio’s back, causing his glasses to slide down his nose.

Ghiaccio grumbled and pushed his glasses back up. He knew that things were weird between the two of you ever since your mission, but it never even crossed his mind it was because of something he said. Is this what Prosciutto felt like training Pesci? But even Pesci had never been avoidant or scared of Prosciutto for all the tough love that he gave him. Pesci looked up to him like an older brother.

If he was really the only one in all of La Squadra that you were uncomfortable around, then he supposed it was on him now to figure out why.

---

The base was pretty quiet today, with a lot of missions landing on Risotto’s desk this week. While you were quite fond of your new teammates you liked having the common area all to yourself on a quiet evening, especially if you were curled up with a novel. When you first started living at the base it felt like a luxury, but even after you had gotten used to the quiet its novelty hadn’t worn off for you.

The sound of a key jingling at the front door had you peeking over your book. When Ghiaccio appeared framed by the living room entrance you held your breath. Hopefully he’d be going upstairs… no, it looked like he was coming into the common area. That’s okay, you could move, so you started standing up, except… he was looking right at you, heading in your direction.

“Sit down,” he said stiffly, and after a beat he added, “Please?”

“Uhh! Okay!” you said, sitting back down and bringing your book right back up to cover your face.

“Can you also, uh. Please. Put the book down?” Ghiaccio said, his voice strained to maintain a monotone and flatten out any inflection. You did as he asked, although you still couldn’t meet his eyes, and he just stared at you awkwardly.

“Uh-”

“Hello,” he said, and it left his mouth at the exact same time your muttered exclamation had. Another awkward pause.

“Hi?” you said, unsure. This wasn’t what you were expecting from your next conversation with the man, for as long as you had postponed it. You thought he’d be demanding to know why you were ignoring him, or getting on your case about being too sensitive to handle his criticism on your last mission. Maybe that was yet to come?

“You are afraid of me,” Ghiaccio stated flatly. Then perhaps he realized he wanted to ask it as a question. “Yes?”

“Oh, no, I’m…” you muttered.

“Of course you are,” he said quickly, cutting you off before you could mumble out an excuse. You got pretty embarrassed by that, but you swallowed and moved your eyes up to gauge his expression. He didn’t look angry, but he looked hyper focused to the point of distress. His lips were pressed together tightly as if he was trying to hold back from speaking again.

“I’m sorry,” you said.

“For being scared of me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. He was being sarcastic again, wasn’t he?

“No, I… I mean… I’m sorry for,” you started, trying to think of something legitimate to actually be sorry about. “For fucking up on the mission.”

“Did fucking up on the mission really bother you that much?” he said. Not only were you stupid for fucking up the mission, but you were also stupid for letting it bother you for so long! What did he want you to say?

“No, I mean…”

But Ghiaccio cut you off with a long loud exhale. “Look, I’m not great at this kind of thing. I understand that I make you anxious, and I understand that for whatever reason it’s hard for you to talk to me, but I really can’t understand what people say unless they drop all the bullshit.” When you frowned and looked away he tried again. “Not bullshit, fuck, uh. No, not fuck... It’s just that. I need you to say exactly what you mean. I can’t tell what people are thinking unless they make it… easy for me.”

You looked back at him. Whatever he was here to talk about with you, he was trying very hard not to raise his voice. The way he was talking to you was too stilted to be anything but intentional. If he was doing this for your sake, then you would try to meet him halfway. You took a moment to think, to choose what you wanted to say carefully.

“I don’t do well with loud noises. I also… take things very personally. I’ve been worrying that you…” You took another second before committing. “...Hate me.”

He pressed his lips in a thin line again as some noise tried to escape his throat, perhaps an instinctive denial. “What about me makes you think that?”

“Well… you seemed pretty disappointed in me after the mission.”

“I was checking in with you. I wanted to make sure Prosciutto was properly training you.”

You raised an eyebrow. “But… but you sounded really angry and sarcastic.”

Ghiaccio closed his eyes and thought about that for a second. “I probably was angry, but not at you. You just fucked up on something so basic that I had to wonder if Prosciutto was actually teaching you anything useful.”

“That’s… not how you said it though,” you said, feeling defensive. “I… I know I did something dumb… but I’ve never messed up with my stand like that before. It was different on that mission.”

“Me talking to myself?” Ghiaccio asked. He had been fixating over what he said to you at the end of that mission for days now, trying to remember all the details. He recalled how you had started with one explanation, but you quickly retracted it.

“You were… so angry the entire mission,” you complained. “Everyone else is quiet on missions with me because my stand is better suited to it.”

“It wasn’t a stealth mission,” Ghiaccio countered. “We were using your stand for something different. I wasn’t even talking to you.”

“I know!” you groaned. “You weren’t trying to distract me, but when things get too loud I…”

“But you took it back. You said it wasn’t me,” Ghiaccio said, leaning forward. His voice had risen just a little, but when he noticed how you reacted to that he tensed up.

“I took it back because I was afraid of upsetting you!” you said, leaning back into the couch as far as you could. “Because when I brought it up… you were mean about it… so I took it back! I thought you were trying to tell me it was my fault, so I took the blame like I thought you wanted!”

“I was… I was asking for clarification! If I did something that caused you to fuck up then I want to know that I did so we can talk about it!” He was clenching his fists to keep his upward inflections from becoming full-blown yelling.

“None of that came across!” you complained. “Like… maybe you technically said those things, but the way you said made it come across completely different!”

“What about you? Now you’re telling me that you meant something completely different from the things you actually said to me!?”

“I-I… but I was obviously upset! I was obviously just trying to appease you!”

“How was it obvious? I thought you were upset because you fucked up! No one likes fucking up!”

“Yeah, no kidding!” You realized at this point that your own voice was starting to rise, which was making Ghiaccio raise his to match yours, and you took a deep breath before speaking calmly again. “I was upset because I was afraid.”

It was quiet again for a little while until Ghiaccio broke the silence.

“Being mean and angry comes really easy to me,” he said, running his fingers through his curls. “Even when I don’t realize it, I still am. Even if I think I’m being reasonable, people misunderstand. I’ve been so used to the others actually being able to take it that I forgot how bad it was.” He scratched at his head a bit. “I also have a hard time telling how loud I actually am until someone points it out.”

You sat there for a moment, soaking that in, before you gave a small amused huff with a half-smile on your face. “I’m not great with loud noises because of what they mean to me. Gunshots remind me of a time when I wasn’t safe… but I can protect myself now, and I have other people who will protect me too. But yelling reminds me of… how I was never good enough for anyone.” You tapped your fingers on the cover of the book on your lap and shrugged.

“I hear from the others that you’re really skilled and reliable on missions,” Ghiaccio said. “I didn’t see that from you when we worked together, but maybe that’s because I was the one who fucked up.”

“But you didn’t...” you started.

“I fucked up by not meeting you where you were at. You’re new. I don’t know you, I don’t know what you’re like. If we had talked beforehand, if I had worked with you, then you probably wouldn’t have made that mistake. I was taking the lead on that mission, it was my job to train you to use your stand in an unfamiliar circumstance. I use missions to get out all the shit that makes me angry, since I don’t need to stay quiet. You don’t work like that. You had no idea what I was yelling for. I never told you how I do things, I just expected you to brush it off like everyone else does.”

You blinked a few times. You had been pretty quick to blame yourself for your own shortcomings, but hearing him say that really recontextualized that entire mission experience. You might have fucked up, but it was now obvious that he did not hold it against you. “That’s surprisingly self-aware of you.”

He rolled his eyes and set his elbow on the couch’s armrest, plopping his head on his fist. “You don’t know me either. I’m more than a raving heartless bastard. Stuff like this… not understanding why other people think the way they do, or what I’m doing wrong… it really fucks me up. I don’t hate you. You’re a part of my family now and I genuinely want to help you get stronger. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

Ghiaccio was nothing like you thought. He was actually really sensitive and introspective. You could tell it was hard for him to confront you like this, almost as hard as it was for you to be confronted. You appreciated that he wanted to put in the effort to have a relationship with you.

“Thank you Ghiaccio. And I’m sorry I avoided you instead of trying to talk about it like this.” You reached over and placed your hand on his shoulder with a gentle smile. He seemed taken aback by the contact, but he relaxed after a moment.

“Are we… good?” he huffed out.

“I think so!”

He let out one long exhale that seemed to go on forever. “Thank fuck,” he muttered, before turning to look at you. “Goddamn it, sorry.”

“It’s not the swearing that bothers me,” you clarified. “It’s the intention behind it. You’re… uh… fucking good, my dude.”

He let out a snort at the awkward way you said that before bringing his hand up to cover his face, looking away in embarrassment.

“Aw, no, that was cute,” you assured him, which only made it worse.

“Well, if we’re done here then I’m heading to bed,” he said, and you glanced at the clock in the living room. It had gotten pretty late. He stood up and started walking towards the stairs.

“We have a mission together again this weekend, right?” you asked, and he looked at you over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“I’m looking forward to it,” you said with as much enthusiasm as you could muster. And you meant it. “Goodnight!”

“...Night,” he said, before he disappeared around the corner.

#ghiaccio #ghiaccio x reader #jojo imagines #jjba scenarios #jjba x reader #jojo's bizarre adventure #jjba #my writing #anon

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highonchocolate · 3 years

Text

Take Two: The Guardian in Gotham Chapter 12

First Previous Next Ao3

He’s a little boy again, laughing and racing through the halls of the Mansion, surrounded by the auburn warmth and love of his mother. Her green eyes, so similar to his own, sparkle down at him as she smiles. He reaches out for her, beaming hopefully, but as soon as he touches her, she crumbles, form blurring and fading. The warmth around him vanishes with her, and then he is alone. Stuck in the cold, silent, Mansion, a gilded cage for him to perform like an exhibit on display. He almost never catches a glimpse of his father, seeing more of Nathalie than him. Piano, fencing, Mandarin, photoshoots, the never ending cycle of activities goes on and on. He is a puppet, a doll. Dancing to their tune. He meets Ladybug, bounding across the rooftops, and the warmth sparks anew. It’s a different kind of heat, red, not the oranges and yellows of before, but still bright. He jokes and laughs, and keeps quiet to preserve the peace. Then, their identities are revealed and his world comes crashing down again. Chloé tells him about sexual harassment, screaming at him for being such an asshole to Mari, and he feels the familiar, numbing, cold creeping up his spine. What had he done?! He...had done… He goes to Ladybug-Marinette-and gets on his knees and apologizes. He apologizes for being too loud as Chat and too quiet as Adrien. He apologizes for not being there, for leaving her struggling in both aspects of her life, just so he could keep the warmth a little longer. But she smiles at him, and says they’ll work on it, and the fire blazes anew. He still loves her, but not in the same way. She is his sister, his sibling, someone to care for, and protect. She is not his lover, but his friend, and somehow, that's all he ever wanted.

--- He opens his eyes with a nostalgic smile on his lips. His eyes are wet, and he tastes salt on his tongue. He reaches out to his other half, his family, and she reaches back, grabbing him in a tight embrace. He hears the green hero telling him he’s not an enemy, but he ignores him, clutching Marinette like a lifeline. As Chloe steps forward, he loosens his hug, keeping his arm around her shoulders instead and turns to watch. She saw how they cried, relieving whatever horrific memories they had been subjected to. As she squeezed her eyes shut, blackness enveloping her, she couldn’t help but feel the familiar tingle of fear wrapping around her like a cloak. --- She is five again, watching as Mommy and Daddy scream at each other. Mommy’s mouth is open in a snarl, and Chloé can’t help but think she looks like a scary monster from her bedtime stories. The one that eats people. Seven years old, and every day they’re yelling at each other, screaming and shouting mean words in the other room. She hears Mommy say ‘This was all a mistake!’ And she huddles under her blankets, pulling Mr. Cuddly closer to her chest. She hears a door slam, and her Mommy is marching away to the helicopter, and there are suitcases being loaded inside. She sees her yellow suitcase is not in the pile, and Daddy is still standing on the roof, not in the helicopter. Her heart skips a beat and she clutches Mr. Cuddly even tighter as she stands beside Daddy and watches Mommy fly away. Does Mommy not love me anymore? She is eight and her Daddy is running for Mayor. He’s too busy to spend time with her, so he buys her a phone to say sorry. She takes it, but there is a weird feeling in her chest, like something is missing, and it doesn’t disappear as she sits alone in her room, playing some mindless game. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Daddy spends less and less time with her, buying more and more gifts to try and make up for his absence. The gifts fill her room, but they don’t fill the empty space in her heart. Sabrina tries, but Chloé knows she doesn’t really like her. She’s only doing it because Chloé gives her gifts too. Then Marinette comes along, and Chloé feels her hatred grow. How come her parents spend time with her?! What makes her so special? ... Why don’t my parents spend time with me? So she huffs and bullies and wraps herself in a cloak of thorns, keeping everyone at arms distance so that she won’t be let down and left alone again. She has Adrien, of course, but she knows she is using him. And he lets her use him, moving through the motions like a doll.

Then Ladybug soars through the sky, catching her as she plummets from Stoneheart’s grasp, high above. Bright blue eyes and signature red, and Chloé watches from below as she flies, wishes and dreams kept secreted away in her heart.

She finds Pollen’s comb, and suddenly her wildest dreams have sprang to life. She is a superhero! She can stand beside Ladybug and Chat Noir, and everyone will love her and her parents will be proud, and maybe now they’ll stay…But Ladybug is mad, and everyone hates her, and she knows Mommy Mother is already disappointed. So she carves a wall of ice and frost around her heart, and wraps her thorned cloak tighter around herself.

And then a Miracle happens, and Ladybug forgives her, and adds her to the team permanently. And they reveal their identities, and she apologizes to Marinette and Adrien because she knows she was wrong, and they give her a second chance.

And her heart is racing and she can’t hear properly because the only thing she can understand now is the simple thought running through her brain over and over.

Permanently? They’re staying? I’m staying? They won’t leave me..?

And they are a family now, and she is loved, and there is Kagami, looking at her with that knowing glint in those deep brown eyes, reaching over to pull her into the warmth of her arms, and finally, finally, that empty space is full again.

---

She saw the familiar darkness of her closed eyelids again, signaling the mind search was over, but she kept them shut for a moment longer, savoring the memories, the love. Only, she didn’t need to savor them, she remembered, because they were right here.

And so she opened her eyes, and saw her friends standing right there, arms already outstretched to pull her into their comforting embrace. Grinning, she let two sparkling tears roll down her cheeks. Only two, for the childhood she never fully had, and the family she finally found.

Kagami was a creature of discipline, and as she closed her eyes, she willed her breath to stay even, her heart to continue its pulse, and her hands to remain steady.

---

“Again!” Her mother’s harsh demand cracked through the air like a whip, sending ice skittering down her spine. Her face stung from where it had scraped on the concrete, it’s cold temperature soothing her scratched skin. Her arms trembled, refusing to bear her weight as she struggled to push herself up in time to block the next blow from her mother’s boken. With a grunt, she parried and thrust, only to fall flat on her back with a grunt.

“Again!”

A whirl of movement, then her knee screamed with pain-

“Again!”

She stood on shaky feet, raising her foil, only to get knocked down seconds later.

“Again!”

So she rose, and she fell, and she rose again.

Nothing she gave was ever enough. She bled, and she cried, and she worked herself to collapse, only to be rewarded with another training session, harsher criticism, and higher standards for her to meet. Nothing she did was ever enough. She was weighed down by the expectations of her mother.

And then she met Adrien, and she knew they were only forced together for their parent’s benefit, but how she longed for his love. For any love.

So she told herself she loved him, and he loved her, ignoring how she felt nothing as she looked into his eyes. She knew she was stubborn, and had a tendency to do things on her own, but even after she messed up as Ryuko Ladybug gave her a second chance.

It was...surprising to say the least. She had expected a scolding, and harsh, cutting, words, but instead she had revived another try, and words of encouragement. She felt a smile tug her lips upward, as she stood and charged into battle. And then, to her surprise, she was given a permanent place on her team. They never expected her to work herself to exhaustion, they accepted what she gave, only pushing her gently. And it was after their identity reveal, when they were talking about romance, and crushes, and that sort of thing did she realize she wasn’t messed up.

“Well, I’m totally bi,” Marinette giggled from where she lounged on a nearby chaise.

“Really? Nice. I’m lesbian as fuck.” Chloé spoke as she braided her hair.

“Ay, it’s a fellow gay!” Luka called from his seat on the floor.

“Aro and Demiace over here my people!” Adrien exclaimed, throwing up peace signs.

“Lesbian? Bi? What do those mean?” Kagami asked from her perch on the bed.

“Oh! Well bisexual is basically me liking men and women, lesbian means you’re a woman that only likes women, gay is a man that only likes men, and aromantic means you feel no romantic attraction towards someone, and demisexual means you need to form a strong emotional connection with someone before experiencing sexual attraction.” Marinette explained.

“Oh,” Kagami frowned in thought. “So it’s not..bad to like other women?”

“Of course not!” Chloé exclaimed, looking scandalized at the thought.

Her friends had taken it well.

Her mother, however, did not. Although most Japanese were okay with homosexuality, Tomoe Tsurugi wanted a biological heir to continue their bloodline.

“You’re just confused, Kagami. This is why I don’t like you spending time with those friends of yours. They talk about all these things, and suddenly you start thinking that you are like...that. Stop this foolishness at once.”

She hadn’t raised her voice, but the disdain was clear in her tone. And with those words, the fragile shell of joy she had built around herself shattered in the face of rejection.

She opened her eyes, feeling as though someone had reopened her scars and left the wounds bare and bleeding on display.

Her eyes were dry, and the salt of tears was not present on her lips, but she felt bad though she had cried for hours. With a small shudder, she grabbed Chloé’s hand and allowed herself to be pulled into a warm embrace.

And then it was Luka’s turn, and there was no hint of nervousness on his face as he closed his eyes.

---

Scenes burst to life behind his eyelids in a flash of color and sound. He was five again, creeping down the hallway on their boat in the direction of the muffled sobbing emanating from his mother’s cabin. “Maman?” He questions uncertainly, pushing open the door and allowing a thin ray of light to shine on his mother’s tear-streaked face. “Maman are you okay?”

Anarka’s head jerked up at his voice, hands coming up to wipe at her cheeks.“I’m fine, baby. Mama’s just feeling a little sad today. Why don’t you go play with Jules, huh?”

“Okay Maman. I love you!” He walks back to his room on small feet, knowing even then, that his mother’s sadness stemmed from larger problems. Six years old and he still struggles with speaking to other kids. Miss Adeline says he’s just shy, but he isn’t. It’s just hard to find the right words to use.

So he uses music to speak, and in every strum of his guitar there is a word; in every measure, a sentence; every song is an expression, an exclamation, a lament, that conveys more than words ever could.

He still struggles with the words sometimes, and he focuses on all his friends too much, so sometimes he forgets to focus on himself. But that’s okay, because everyone tells him to be empathetic, and put other people’s needs before his own, so that’s what he does.

And then Ladybug asks him to be Viperion, and he can’t say no. So he accepts, and watches time and time again as his friends and family die before his very eyes, bodies slack, eyes unseeing, blood everywhere. But he knows she can’t bear this burden alone, so he keeps marching on.

And on.

He opens his eyes to the still-haunted faces of his friends, looking at him with concern.

He gives them a smile to assure them he is fine, he is not and then turns to Martian Manhunter with a polite expression on his face. “Now that we’re all cleared, what’s next?”

---

@laurcad123, @liquid-luck-00, @toodaloo-kangaroo, @stainedglassm

#maribat #marinette dupain cheng #damian wayne #adrien agreste #chloe bourgeois #luka couffaine #kagami tsurugi #alfred pennyworth #bruce wayne #tim drake #jason todd #dick grayson #lila rossi #alya cesaire #lila salt #class salt

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wangxiandecoded · 4 years

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Episode 3

Previous Episode | Next Episode

(Spoilers for the whole show ahead!)

Seeing Lan Zhan For The First Time

Ever since I saw the fanmade romcom trailer of the show, I can’t get the image of bridegroom Lan Wangji out of my head. His entry is so elegant and his presence throughout the show truly ethereal. (Wei Ying, you’re not even trying to hide those heart eyes. We get it! You’re impressed.)

Lan Zhan’s Character Growth

We only remember Lan Zhan as the guy who reserved all his emotions and smiles for Wei Ying, so rewatching the rigid, inflexible person he used to be kind of drives me crazy. Lan Zhan before he met Wei Ying started his journey as a lone, icy, untouchable snow-capped peak and by letting himself love and be loved by Wei Ying in return, the person he becomes in the end is like a warm, summery mountain shining with life and no trace of the glaciers that thawed over. His character evolution is no joke and it is only because Wei Ying’s companionship makes him more human and allows him to be the best version of himself. Lan Zhan’s arc is one of the best things in the show and the most rewarding reason to watch it.

Did I Just Meet The LOML

Lan Zhan taking note of his future soulmate showing off his intelligence right from the start. But shhh, he’s too much of a tsundere to admit that right now.

But Lan Zhan, What About The 9pm Curfew?

Notice how Lan Zhan is up late at night waiting for Wei Ying, like a Good Obedient Boy from the Lan clan ready to catch a lawbreaker red-handed. Are we sure he has not simply mistaken his positive feelings for annoyance and found a way to spend more time with Wei Ying?

Wei Ying, my bro, I think you might be the moon in this case.

Flirting With The Law Enforcer? That’s One More Violation!

It’s cute to watch their dynamics in the beginning, Wei Ying is already so familiar with Lan Zhan, tries to share his drink with him, teases him for the first of many times. And Lan Zhan just looks like “?????? Are you flirting with the law enforcer?! That is yet another violation of the Lan clan rules!”

Wei Ying coquettishly pushes Lan Zhan's sword into its sheath and the chase that comes next is the beginning of something monumental and exciting.

(I understand preserving the original meaning is difficult in English translation but they really had Wei Ying call Lan Zhan inflexible only to follow it up with a beautifully choreographed fight sequence? Really?)

Wangxian’s First Meeting Is Romantic Cinematography At Its Finest

This scene right here is in my opinion, the most romantic scene to ever exist in all of fiction. If anyone tries to argue that Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are best bros, show them this scene. There is no hetero explanation for why it is so romantically shot. We have seen it countless times in fairytales. This is unmistakably the meeting of two people destined to be in love forever. It stole my breath the first time I saw it, and has done every time since. Like legit, it needs to be on top of those lists that boast the most iconic meetings in romantic history and taught in academic institutions worldwide.

First of all, a moonlit first meeting is enough to immortalize a story in our memory as being inherently romantic. But Wangxian are so effortlessly and picturesquely sword fighting (or should I say dancing?) on the rooftops, hair and clothes gently swaying to the tune of WuJi and thanks to the slow-motion closeups that make them glow like a live painting under the moonlight.

(And surely I was not the only one who heard this random bell ringing at night and got reminded of wedding bells or the film ‘Your Name’? Lol!)

We see that neither of them has the upper hand in the fight. This is important because it establishes they were born to be each other’s equals on the battlefield, something Zewu Jun points out later. (Just one of the many soulmate things Wangxian share.) I have no doubt Lan Zhan is freaking out wondering, who the fuck is this guy? How can he match my every strike and step without even uncapping his sword?

In these above shots, there is a beautiful, unmissable symmetry in the way they are framed that drives it home that they are two halves of the same whole; their paths will be bound together, their perspectives will come to reflect each other. They are one and the same. The way they fight is also kind of intimate and very poetic. The super romantic backdrop and their placement shows that they are in perfect tandem and their chemistry is loud and luminous from the first time they meet.

There is nothing straight about this scene. Not even the shot angle. Look!

There is also something quite god-like and celestial about their meeting, like we are witnessing two prophesied immortal beings whose encounter is going to change the fate of the universe. And does it not, indeed?

I think I heard the moon longingly sigh in this scene because she felt so single. Honestly, understandable. It’s so maddening how two soulmates meeting for the first time can turn out to be this iconic, beautiful, brilliant, breathtaking and every other word you can think of. (We’re lucky Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan are used to dancing, the fight sequences are all so graceful. *chef’s kiss*)

I feel like this one scene reduced every straight romance I’ve ever seen to ashes. I’m honestly curious, can anyone outdo this in the future, gay or not? It has become The Standard for first meetings. I envy the talented, creative minds that envisioned and executed it.

TL;DR : The whole scene is drenched with a romantic field of vision meant specifically for the audience to swoon over.

“Lan Zhan!”

Wei Ying drops one of his two precious pots of Emperor’s Smile because Lan Zhan attacked them. Most people would just be mad in this situation but it's the first time Wei Ying calls him "Lan Zhan”. I wonder what led Wei Ying to have such an informality with Lan Zhan, who didn't consider him his friend until much later. It could be that it’s just who they are, two people with opposite personalities. But we don't see Wei Ying exhibit this closeness with strangers and yet he's whining Lan Zhan's name in that classic style of his, right from the first night they meet. Adorable! (Lan Zhan who owes him two bottles of Emperor’s Smile for breaking them spends the rest of his life buying them for Wei Ying.. In case you needed a reason to cry.)

Breaking The Rules & Breaking The Barriers To Lan Zhan’s Heart

Wei Ying actively criticizes the Lan clan’s rules and finds their teaching unreasonable. He thinks drinking Emperor’s Smile when he’s sitting on the roof technically doesn’t count as being “inside” the Cloud Recesses where alcohol is banned. A small detail but it shows Wei Ying’s gift of seeing through the grey areas in morality. It is a trait that ultimately influences Lan Zhan to shed the hard and fast ideas of orthodoxy he was raised on and share Wei Ying’s quest for justice. This makes both of them the only people inside the world of The Untamed who are able to see the deep-seated problems in the existing system and question them. Their love story is inextricably tied with rewriting the laws of their world and if that does not make The Untamed the most revolutionary romance to ever exist, I don’t know what does.

Lan Zhan Really Just Cares A Lot

Turns out Lan Zhan didn’t let the Yunmeng Jiang clan stay out in the dark after all. Love how he’s Gay Gripping his sword in panic and backing away from Wei Ying because he doesn't want him to know he's a good person whose heart is in the right place. You know, because that's a horrible reputation for his tsundere persona to have. Zewu Jun takes one for the team and blows his cover, which becomes a common occurrence in the show. Wei Ying is also quick to apologize to him like, “I had a good feeling about you!” when we’ve seen he rarely does that with disciples from other clans.

President In Action

The conversation between Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun needs no analysis and the latter’s triumphant smirk in the end when Lan Zhan walks off is all the evidence you need that He Knows What’s Up. I love how Zewu Jun probably sits around like, "I have to personally do something or my dumbass brother is going to spend his whole life alone, when he's clearly met his soulmate and is too blind to admit it." Thank you, President of the Wangxian club. We do not deserve you.

What Did Wei Ying Mean?

Wei Ying says all the female suitors from all the clans admire Lan Zhan without knowing how cold and rigid he really is, and he doesn’t complete his sentence because Lan Zhan uses the silencing charm on him. What did he mean by this? What were you going to do, Wei Ying?!

Episode 3 gives us insight into the inception of their romance and we see every moment since the beginning has been tailor-made to tell the audience this is going to be a love story set against fantasy-driven, action-packed odds in ancient China.

#the untamed #the untamed rewatch #the untamed analysis #cql #cql analysis #cql rewatch #wangxian #wangxian analysis #wei ying #lan zhan #lan wangji #wei wuxian #cql spoilers #cql episodes #the untamed episodes #mdsz meta #mdzs #chen qing ling

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