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#unfortunately i dont really have the time/energy to figure out all the classes and then yknow.
lake-cosay · 10 months
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i still want to make a post about jesse lake nate tulip and mikayla playing dnd together but i am tired and have too many thoughts and i dont have the energy to type them all out atm
that said i will happily answer asks about it, like specific questions, if anyone wants to send any,,,
but for now what i can give you is these couple ideas:
tulip would prob DM. and also probably run a pre-written campaign, bc i feel like after the train she'd be able to realize that trying to create an entire homebrew campaign that includes her former reflection and 2 other people she doesn't even know is way too much when she still has school to deal with
jesse starts out playing a healer/support class (i can see him being drawn to bard lol) before he eventually realizes that he's Not Really Enjoying It so the group helps him figure out how he does want to play and figure out a story reason for his character to suddenly change
both tulip and jesse tell lake they think they'd enjoy a rogue but lake looks at the rogues and goes "nah" and plays either a barbarian or a fighter. i think lake would enjoy being a tank
there are numerous times that someone has to take a break from a session bc something stirred up trauma, but of course everyone's really understanding and they always work it out. sometimes they try to help that person work through the trauma, sometimes they just change the story to avoid it altogether
jesse and lake unitentionally make their characters fall in love and everyone else realizes it before they do
i'm not sure what races jesse, nate, and mikayla would pick bc yknow. unfortunately quite a few of them are racist toward real people and i think that they would be able to see those negative connations easier than me, so i'm gonna try to do some research before i pick races for their characters
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elytrafemme · 2 years
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all i know is homestuck zodiac and my troll is cool can u diagnose me with libra diseases
i keep fucking forgetting my homestuck zodiacs and types and classes and whatever because i feel like the times i took them they never really fit me? which i don't think is the fault of the quizzes persay just if i had to handpick assign myself i think that would go better. unfortunately i dont know Shit ever so ! yeah </3
uhh yeah libra tracks for you! libra's whole stereotype is that they seek out balance in everything, which has a lot more people not sides energies than anything hate to say it ! but they're a cardinal sign so again one of those very dominant/leading ones compared to other air signs; get inspired quite a lot by the world around them and also seeks stability in partnership a lottttt
libra to me gives me the energies of the kind of person that would not outright defy an authority figure to their face, but would absolutely disrespect them behind their backs and defy them whenever possible. not really into the confrontation of it, but has the heart for justice and has their own perceptions of what that justice looks like that might not necessarily match others
i really should know more about Libras seeing as Klav is one and Dahlia's rising is in that, and I have a Libra in Jupiter myself, but shrugs. I hope that kind of makes sense most of this is me extrapolating off of what sources say again so like . yeah </3
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worldwright · 4 months
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good evening
i just learned that one of my friends (well, he's not, we're "worst enemies") is in the unit for the people who went to the psychiatrist emergencies. so the place i went after my attempt. so gonna see him with a friend tomorrow afternoon
i dont have any fucking energy and that'll probably trigger me tomorrow evening but we're not there now so im gonna see him and then im gonna cry alone in my fucking bed because when i was there he went to visit me, and im not a bitch for fucks sake
also. i somehow passed one of my classes last semester. fucking unbelievable but that's way too funny to inform my university lol. like i went only once in that class that last 2h and didnt even did the 2h because i had a horrible panic attack. so i passed my literature arabic class by doing nothin
i also made someone's day bc i doodled the design he went with for a character in his fic. i should be happy for him and all but rn im feeling next to nothing
i think, and i might be wrong, but the news about my friend may or may have not triggered me this evening. hopes it wont be worse tomorrow
but i didnt take my anxiety meds this evening so it should be part of why (my blister has an odd number bc my mother, that bitch, went and reorganized the part of my room where i keep my meds, and the blister ive started went into my bedside so i didnt see i didnt take my meds yesterday and since my meds are now in an odd number that's highly distressing for me so now i have to suffer bc a dickhead couldnt just keep her hands to her stuff)
have a wonderful morning my friend im gonna hide myself real quick from my emotions and read fanfics for the good of my pitiful life
oh god that sucks TwT I hope your friend (?) is getting the right care 🥺😭
& I also hope you'll take care of yourself-- if it would be too awful to visit, I hope you'll find a different way to support him
slightly obsessed with how your friend is also your mortal enemy lol
my friend is doing bad as well, still -- they figured out at least one of the problems & got meds for it, so that's a great step, but she's still having a terrible time while the meds do their work 😭😭😭 im just really glad that she's living with friends that can make calls for her and help her get places and bring her food n stuff. I'm not nearly as worried for her, knowing that there are ppl who love her in the same apartment
I met with the person who's catsitting for me this weekend, she's super nice and interesting :333 I feel really comfortable having her care for my kitties lol. unfortunately she's moving away next month :')))))))))))) so I'll have to find another new catsitter if I wanna travel overnight :'))))))
excited for the train ride tomorrow!! I need to bring that organization book again, I've been bad about reading it. lol. a book about organizing tips for adhd. hard to finish due to. the adhd
I hope you find some juicy fics to dive into tonight!! good luck tomorrow, take care of yourself <3
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opaljm · 8 months
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I miss you, how have you been? 🌟
Omg hello. I have been okay. Kinda stressed cuz I went to the doctor and they took even more blood tests and gave me even more prescriptions so now I'm up to 12 different pills a day. Which is a little annoying to schedule in because some of them have to be taken an hour before eating, right before I eat, or with food. Others have to be taken with certain liquids (orange juice) or are totally ineffective if I drink certain liquids (milk) within a two hour window that I've taken the pill. And lastly we have some pills that cannot be taken in tandem with each other so I need to space those out.
But that's just life. I'm applying for grad school right now, I dont have a specific master I've got my heart set on so I'm applying to a couple of different programs at schools I like. I'm tbh sticking to completely online programs because I can't deal with working and doing school at the same time and having in person classes.
I'm also currently planning my winter time off with friends and family. I think I might do a couple of trips so that's fun.
Oh and I have been reading A LOT. I keep reading popular booktok books expecting it to be good but its not 😭 (cough Icebreaker, cough Twisted Love, cough The Sweetest Oblivion, cough If He Had Been With Me). I will say though I recently read all of Throne of Glass and I enjoyed that.
Oh and unfortunately I have been infatuated with Henry Cavill and he's taking over my mind. Like its so bad, I will literally watch movies just because hes in it. And like the warner brothers Justice League movies are so bad 😭😭😭. Like he's just so big and so tall. His muscles make me scream and his blue eyes are so 😍 they pierce into my soul and sometimes when he looks into a camera I almost blush cuz its too intense. His good looks make me almost forget all his red flags its so bad out here.
Lastly, I've been on a couple of dates with this guy and it didn't turn into anything but it made me realize I don't want to date millennial men OR gen z men like it just sounds so hellish. I've identified that I am really only okay with guys who are cuspers and that that's when I get along with them the most and we have the most in common. So now my dating age group has dwindled down to men born in between 1995 and 1999 🤪 but like I wanna say the second half of 1995 and the first half of 1999
Wow, that was really long. Still I hope you enjoyed hearing what I've been up to.
And I'm really sorry, like I barely have the energy to do work and errands and other life stuff that I can't take on the weight of writing. Having chronic issues is just a bitch. I hope that I can one day figure out how to insert writing into my life again. I hope you guys understand 🩵🩵🩵
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leonyl · 11 months
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im js gonna.. dump everything i already have developed
i develop stuff in dms with a bot on discord then post it here :3
(fair warning this story is INCREDIBLY inspired by percy jackson and i dont plan on ever publishing it!!)
julebees are human-bee hybrids that go out and find demigods and sometimes other human hybrids. they rarely ever find other human hybrids though, because theyre mostly born in the town of Craelune
let’s talk more about Craelune! Craelune is a town where demigods, hybrids, and outlaws live together because it is not currently safe for them outside of Craelune. Either or, there’s a group of people who kill those that reside in Craelune or there are things only they can see that hunt them down.
If,
A) There is a group of people trying to kill them,
then they will be the main antagonist. But if,
B) Something only they can see is hunting them,
then they must find the oak tree that powers the great big bad monster’s energy and poison it, because that monster can tell where they are at all times but is too big to move, SO it tells smaller monsters where they are and to kill them. Once the oak tree is destroyed, the gang must kill the monster.
anywho back to Craelune! Craelune is located in an abandoned forest in Norway. It used to be in California, but their town was overrun by monsters and soon destructed as they relocated. The area in which they lived is still protected by a magical barrier, but it only repels humans right now. They aren’t sure if it still even works, as the monsters broke through it.
There’s a school in Craelune that holds many other schools inside of it. The entire building *is* The Academy of Craelune but within it is like School of Flying, School of Fighting, School of Spells, Witchery and Mages(though is usually shortened to School of Spells), and other normal mortal like classes(cooking, medicine, mathematics etc).
Crime rates inside of Craelune are nearly 0, because its a community of ultra magical people surviving. However, there are officers who survey the area to make sure that no monsters come in and that snotty little kids don’t steal, or maybe teenagers.
The town of Craelune uses drachmas, as James Craelune(the founder) found a mine of them when he first founded Craelune and decided to just use those, but people have been wanting to switch to mortal money for awhile. Rich folk in Craelune (those who wield 100,000 drachmas or more) are either snobby shitheads or really kind people. They’re also usually mages.
So, what exists? Well, demigods! The main star of the show. There are children of most gods, and they live together in a dormitory. The dormitory is honestly more like a hotel, and each floor is a different god. Some floors are nearly empty, some are bustling. Every floor is endless and a new room will appear if you are discovered as a god’s child. You will get your powers evaluated, or your divine parent will claim parentage. But what if your parent never claims parentage, or your powers are too hard to figure out? Well, you reside on Floor X, which is unfortunately very full.
I think its also worth mentioning that a god is claiming that they are your parent, which means a god who isnt your parent could totally claim you.
Once your divine parent is found, your room can be magically moved to the correct floor or you can request a complete bare room to start over.
In the dormitory, there is a cafeteria where demigods can eat but not with other children. Breakfast, lunch and dinner must be eaten separately. During dinner, the massive tables that the demigods eat at will rearrange themself into a massive circular table, and in the middle a helper will read names of the unclaimed/unevaluated to see if they’ll get claimed. They rarely ever do, but its nice to keep trying. Also, this is an absolute nightmare for demigods first day who missed orientation.
(i didnt specify when writing this, but by separately i mean they cannot intermix godly parentages within their long ass banquet tables they eat at.)
The rooms are also enchanted to change to your desires. There are limits, like nothing illegal, and nothing too big. Strictly room decor. That’s why a lot of goblins attempt to sneak into the demigod’s dormitory, so they can force a demigod to summon a room made of gold or other things they want. Goblins are always welcome in Craelune but theyre often criminals.
The rules of the demigod dormitory!
- No mixing parentages in rooms.
- Max of 4 roommates per room. If you would like a roommate, you may not pick.
- No cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, cannabis, and other illegal substances.
- No alcohol.
- No parties.
- No skipping meals unless it is required medically, prophetically, or in some other, important way.
- No fighting.
- Be safe, respectful, and responsible.
What classes are mandatory for demigods? There’s fighting, usually with swords but a demigod may use a different weapon (besides firearms) if they wish. Seeing as demigods are often sent off on “adventures” (They’re actually called quests, investigatio, and missio depending on what type they are but adventure basically sums it up), they must train to fight monsters and other powerful things.
Demigod’s powers! What powers does each child have?
- Children of Zeus:
: Children of Zeus have the power to manipulate air around them to fly, summon lightning, change the weather, shapeshifting, and summon raw electric energy.
- Children of Poseidon
: Children of Poseidon can control water, speak to horses, create earthquakes that vary depending on the demigod, create storms (which often creates a rivalry with Zeus kids).
- Children of Hades
: Hades has no children, as he is married to Persephone. Except he does, and they’re technically not half mortal as he had them with Persephone but he wanted to have a child in Craelune so he put a curse on them that limited their abilities to that if they WERE half mortal.
- Children of Apollo
: Children of Apollo have the ability to heal, control and emit light, force someone to tell the truth, give someone a plague or disease (varies depending on the demigod), and make things happen through poems.
- Children of Ares
: Children of Ares are insanely strong. These children usually fight with their fists or very brutal weapons due to their boosted bloodlust. They can also instill violence in others and aggravate them merely by talking if they wish.
- Children of Aphrodite
: Children of Aphrodite all have a specific charm to them and are great at convincing others to do their bidding. Some children of Aphrodite are able to instill a deep greed that may drive someone insane. Also, they’re all insanely beautiful.
- Children of Hermes
: Children of Hermes are very sneaky, able people. They have the ability to turn invisible but only if they have the desire to steal. Every single child of Hermes can sweet talk their way out of situations where they’re caught, but only to those who are weaker to them either mentally or physically. SOME children of Hermes can run incredibly fast, and just do things incredibly fast. Now this is *insanely* rare, but very few can teleport.
- Children of Athena
: Children of Athena are insanely intelligent. They usually orchestrate the adventures that demigods go on. They can also sense a spider within a 900 mile radius, which sucks, because there are usually tons of spiders in a 900 mile radius and theyre either deathly afraid of them or have an intense hatred.
(None of Athena’s children are by blood, but more over she gave birth to them with her mind and or blessed a random mortal with abilities that a child of hers would have.)
- Children of Hephaestus
: Children of Hephaestus can make almost anything, and most usually have fire powers. It is rare, but some can summon/control magma/lava.
- Children of Dionysus
: Children of Dionysus can control vines, impose a false state of intoxication and only one could drive mortals insane. He went mad and was eventually killed.
- Children of Demeter
: Children of Demeter can grow plants immensely and or kill them instantly. They’re also.. very tough.. for some reason.
- Children of Achlys
: Children of Achlys and create and control poison. They can drive someone to suicide, and are usually very dangerous. Often banished from Craelune, but were brung back because Cherry thought it was unjust.
- Children of Hestia
: Well, Hestia doesn’t actually have children. She often takes in children and allows them to reside on her floor in the dormitory, which is floor X. Love Hestia!
Any other deities you can imagine; they have a floor! Their children’s powers relate to them in some way. Use your imagination!
Who conducts fighting classes at Craelune and reads out names at dinner? Achilles, of course! James Craelune made a deal with Hades to allow Achilles to work at Craelune for the demigods. Achilles gets his own quarters, office, everything!
Who teaches mental healthcare classes? Patroclus! Patroclus was also through a deal James made, and he gets his own quarters and office as well. He has prevented many suicides.
Who takes technical calls? Daedalus! Daedalus also evaluates your powers if your divine parent does not claim parentage. He’s a very busy man.
— aaaaand thats everything!!! if someone reads all of this, bless your heart. i still have much more to develop like politics, fantasy types of trees and fruits and soils and.. alla that.. vampires, werewolves, mermaids, sirens, the different mythologies in the story, things outside of craelune, the animal-human hybrids, so much… and then i can finally start deciding what i want to happen in the story..
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piplupod · 1 year
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in my writing class in grade 12, i was at like the lowest level of functioning i ever was while in k-12 school, so I was really struggling to keep up with schoolwork and could not devote the amount of time and energy necessary to remembering people's names.
i was assigned to put together the class group book, where we would all have one or two assignments from the class in one little book to take home. at the beginning of making it, i put in a bunch of placeholder random names in the table of contents just so i could get the layout figured out, and I told myself I would change them as I went along and added people's assignments to the book.
UNFORTUNATELY I forgot to change one of the names bc i could not remember her name and missed going over the table of contents to ensure I hadn't messed anything up, and the book was printed and we stapled it all together and handed it out and the girl whose name I forgot to change noticed the placeholder (i dont think it was anything mean or rude lol, it was just some random name) name still there and she was (rightfully) very upset and offended
and i feel so fucking bad about that to this day fhdjsl like I can't even look at the little book at all bc i just feel sick to my stomach thinking about it. idk how i could've avoided it bc i was extremely unwell (i was tossed into the psych ward literally two or three days after the grad ceremony a couple months later lmao) and definitely shouldnt have been tasked with putting that book together but man. i wish I'd checked it over better :''')))
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lloydskywalkers · 4 years
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any port in a storm
Pixal and Lloyd and the evolving nature of friendship, as highlighted by the regular burning down of your city. 
(desperately trying to break through writer’s block and classes again, this was supposed to be under 2k and it is...very much not hdfjkgh but! i’ve been meaning to write for Pixal and Lloyd for a while so here are a whole bunch of feelings about the two of them and s8)
Pixal meets — truly meets — Lloyd Garmadon shortly after his brother’s been blown to pieces.
She says truly, because if you ask her, Pixal will tell you she met Lloyd Garmadon at exactly 8:48 in the evening outside his father’s monastery, moments before a horde of nindroids led there by Pixal herself descended upon them.
But Lloyd argues that since they said about two words total to each other, it doesn’t really count as meeting, and by the time Pixal’s spending the better part of her day with him running high and low around Ninjago City, she’s learned that it’s easier not to press the point.
Lloyd can be stubborn, like that.
She’d first learned that when she’d met him, just after they’d lost Zane. That loss hadn’t lasted long, especially for Pixal, but the immediate aftermath of it had been devastating. She’d watched with blank eyes as the team had fractured, splitting at the seams as they all fled their separate ways, too heartsore and dizzy with grief to do much otherwise.
All of them had fled, save Lloyd. She hadn’t paid him much attention before that point, the surprisingly small bearer of the Golden Power. Of course, he wasn’t the bearer of that power anymore, but his eyes alone had shown the experience of it. There’d been a brief, lost look that had crossed his face as the others had mentioned leaving, before it had been swept under a mask of stubborn, determined blankness. He wouldn’t be leaving. Someone had to stay behind and watch out for things, he’d claimed, even as the loss had bled through his voice.
Pixal hadn’t quite grasped the concept of empathy at that point, but she’d felt something dangerously close to it.
At any rate, the only interaction they’d had alone was brief. In fact, the only one Pixal can truly remember — and her memory never fails — is the quick exchange they’d had in the hospital lobby directly after the battle. The hospital was for Mr. Borg, and for the ninja’s minor injuries.
There was nothing any hospital on earth could do for Zane.
Pixal had found herself next to Lloyd in the waiting room, trying to distract herself from those thoughts while Lloyd stared at the stark white tiling with dull eyes.
“They never mentioned what your power was,” she’d asked him, almost absently. Collecting data, processing information — anything she could do to distract from the crushing grief.
“Oh.” Lloyd had blinked, startling back into awareness. He’d suddenly looked painfully young. “It’s, ah, I guess it’s just green, now.”
It had been Pixal’s turn to blink. “Green.”
“Yeah.” Lloyd had bit his lip, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, two habits he’ll never quite lose. “I mean — it’s more than that, but it’s like — energy, I guess, is the best way to put it?”
“Interesting,” Pixal had remarked.
“Yeah.”
They’d stared at each other in silence after that, before they’d both been called off to other errands — and then they were having Zane’s funeral and then Pixal was making realizations she never got to tell anyone, and that had been that in her early introductions to Lloyd Garmadon. Quiet, awkward, and possessing an incredible power he hardly even knew the name of.
Looking back, Pixal figures her introduction hadn’t gone much better.
They’d continued as passing acquaintances as time went on, separated by danger and the confines of Zane’s head, and Pixal had figured that’s all they’d ever be. But then their Sensei goes missing and, despite Pixal’s increasing disappearances on Zane as she rebuilds her own body, she’s been given the role of watching out for Ninjago city along with Lloyd.
She quickly learns that quiet is not a term fit for Lloyd Garmadon when you’re trapped alone with him.
************
“How is there not a single station playing actual music?” Lloyd seethes, flicking through the channels almost manically. “It’s two am, who’s gonna be listening to your stupid commercial for toothpaste now, are you kidding me?”
“Statistically speaking, this is the prime time for long-distance driving near Ninjago City,” Pixal supplies, her voice a hint scratchy where it comes through the his car’s radio speakers. “Or, if you factor in the construction in the east district, there could still be traffic from late-night bars.”
Lloyd groans, thunking his head against the steering wheel as another ad screeches through the small space. “Wonderful.”
“Your vocal tones suggest you find it otherwise.”
“Dont trust ‘em, my vocal tones are traitors.” As if to solidify his point, Lloyd’s voice cracks in the middle of his sentence, shooting up an octave higher. Lloyd goes bright red, and thunks his head against the steering wheel again.
Taking pity on him, Pixal aims for reassurance. “It is normal for your voice to break, Lloyd. It shouldn’t last too long.” She pauses, momentarily scanning through another article. “On second thought, this one suggests it could also take two to three years for your voice to stabilize.”
Lloyd gives a strangled moan. “End me.”
“Unfortunately, that would defeat the purpose of why I’m here in the first place.”
Lloyd tilts his head, cracking an eye open as he glances at the camera feed he knows she’s watching him from. “Unfortunately, huh,” he muses. “So you’re saying if Zane hadn’t made you promise to look out for me, you would end me?”
“That — no, that is not — of course I wouldn’t end you,” Pixal backtracks. An odd feeling flickers through her, almost as if she’s lost her place, floundering.
Or embarrassed might be more accurate, she thinks wryly. She briefly considers projecting a a glaring face at Lloyd from the monitor. This is his fault. She rarely stuttered before Lloyd started teasing her at all hours of the morning.
“I mean, you wouldn’t be the first,” Lloyd continues, conversationally. “And if we’re being honest, I’d definitely rather you be the one to off me, instead of like, random bad guy number eighty-five—”
“I know you think you are funny,” Pixal cuts over him. “But casually planning for your death is something Kai listed I was not to let you do. Also, it is not nearly as funny as you think it is.”
“Ouch,” Lloyd mutters, though he looks chastised. “Never mind, you just took me out in one sentence.”
Chastised might be the wrong term.
Pixal studies him through the monitor, then sighs. “I am, however, honored you think highly enough of me to offer the right to murder you,” she gives in.
She’s rewarded as Lloyd breaks into a bright grin.
He still looks painfully young these days, but it’s less obvious. His voice is pitching lower and he wears his hair different, and he’s gained a whip-like tendency to quip at people, as Pixal’s experienced firsthand. Kai calls it sass in grumbling but fond tones, and Nya calls it snark somewhere between the fourth book series she’s sent for Pixal to try.
The ninja have been kind like that, sharing the interests they have in an attempt to make her feel…well, more human, she supposes. Less confined to a voice in a computer. Of course, Pixal isn’t confined to a voice in a computer anymore, but they don’t know that yet. She’ll tell them someday soon, she promises herself. Any day now.
In the meantime, it’s easy enough to keep up with Lloyd by lurking in his car radio, as he spends half his time in there anyways.
************
“You’d think we’d have found their hideout by now,” Lloyd notes, as they wait in a darkened alleyway again. It gives them an excellent view of the major highways, so if the rumored biker gang does show up, they won’t miss it.
If they show up being the key point.
“Whoever their leader is, they certainly know how to keep a low profile,” Pixal answers, closing out another dead end police report in frustration.
“It’s weird,” Lloyd says, propping the notebook he’s sketching in on his knee as he squints at the paper. “Normally the boss types aren’t this quiet. They like to show off, y’know? Make a big scene, dramatic speeches and all.”
“Are you referring to the villains, or yourselves?”
“Touché,” Lloyd snorts. “But still, you gotta admit it’s weird they haven’t even made any demands. What’s their end game here, elaborate advertising for motorcycle design?”
“I would hope not,” Pixal says. “Their color coordination is lacking.”
Lloyd fights back a smile, his pencil scratching as he shifts his notebook again. “I don’t know, I kinda like the punk look.”
“I noticed that, when you tried to redecorate the car.”
“Hey, skulls are cool.”
“They are also conspicuous, especially when they come in acid green colors.”
“Everyone’s a critic,” Lloyd sighs, making a face as he scrubs the eraser across the paper. Pixal tries to tilt the camera further, to see what he’s drawing tonight, but the angle he’s holding it at remains just out of sight.
She could probably guess what he’s drawing, if she tried. The notebook is one they’ve been steadily working their way through on these late-night patrols, the pages filled with little hangman games and Lloyd’s sketches of animals and his teammates. He’s drawn her a few times from memory, and she’s been tempted to ask him to draw her in the new Samurai X armor more than once.
Soon, she tells herself.
“What are you drawing?” she finally asks, curiosity getting the better of her.
Lloyd’s cheeks tinge pink, and he quickly plasters the notebook to his chest, hiding it entirely from view. “Nothing.”
Pixal waits, letting the silence fill with her judgement. “Lloyd, I have seen your drawings before.”
He doesn’t reply, and Pixal tries again. “It gets boring, being stuck with the car monitors for eyes.”
“I know you can hack other cameras,” Lloyd mutters, but he sighs, relenting as he turns the notebook over. Pixal’s eyes rake over the detailed sketch — it’s a comical little thing of her and Lloyd, jammed together on a tiny lifeboat in the middle of a darkening ocean. She can spot the smudges where he’s redrawn her head several times, and the numerous attempts he’s made at his own hair. Pixal studies Lloyd’s portrayal of himself, which is noticeably lacking in facial features. While Lloyd draws the others plenty, it’s a rare occasion that he draws himself, and she can’t help but be curious.
“I thought you were drawing the others again,” she admits.
“They’re on the ship,” Lloyd says, absently. “I’ll draw them when they remember to pull us back in.”
There’s nothing bitter in his tone to suggest it has any bearing on their actual lives, but the lost expressions Lloyd ends up giving their tiny caricatures feel familiar nonetheless.
“Zane has assured me they will be back as soon as they can,” Pixal speaks ups quietly.
Lloyd finally looks up fully, and flashes the monitor a smile. “I know,” he says. “So we better have this thing busted by the time they do, or they’ll never let us run a city on our own again.”
“If only we were truly running the city,” Pixal grumbles. “I could do a better job in two days than the current leaders could do in a year.”
“I’d vote for you,” Lloyd says, sincerely.
It’s a sweet gesture, but Pixal is unable to resist. “You don’t know how to vote.”
“Yes I do, it’s not hard!”
“Really? Then why are you not currently registered in the Ninjago voting system?”
Lloyd makes a strangled noise. “That’s a thing?”
She’s unable to keep the smugness from her voice. “I make my point.” Lloyd scowls, and scribbles a mustache on his drawing of her in revenge.
Pixal thinks it looks nice nonetheless.
************
She can’t really hold it against Lloyd for talking as much as he does, considering she does the same. It gets dull, sitting on patrol for hours on end, and there are only so many hours of light reading they can do before the silence begins to drive them both insane.
Pixal finds herself talking about more useless things with Lloyd than she has in her existence, pointless conversations in circles with each other. She also finds she doesn’t entirely mind. She’s become quite good at quipping back and forth with him, at least. It’s different than the kind of talk she has with Zane, lacking in the depth of feeling with the love they share. Her exchanges with Lloyd are lighter, though that’s not to say they’re less sincere.
For example, Zane hasn’t tried to teach her how to redesign a gi in poor lighting in the early hours of the morning because he’s bored out of his mind, that’s for sure.
“I’m teaching you how to sew,” Lloyd corrects, wincing as he accidentally stabs himself with the needle. “And I’m not redesigning the whole thing, I’m just adding some designs to spice it up.”
“I did not know you were allowed to wear colors other than green,” Pixal comments.
Lloyd pauses, squinting at the monitor. “You’re teasing me,” he finally says. “You’re making fun of how much green this gi has in it.”
“I would never,” Pixal replies, her tone flat and even. “The intricacies of your human humor evade me—”
“Human humor, nice—”
“—unlike the unusually bright shade of green you’ve chosen will fail to evade any eyes of your enemies.”
“I knew you were making fun of me!” Lloyd accuses, then flinches as he stabs his finger again trying to point at her. “And bright colors are our thing. Being subtle is, uh…not. Usually.”
Pixal is losing the battle to laugh at his expression by the minute. “I am shocked.”
Lloyd glares at the monitor, shifting his sewing to rest on his knees as he slouches in the car seat. “How’d you even get so good at sarcasm, anyways,” he mutters. “Zane still doesn’t get it half the time.”
“Perhaps it is part of my glowing personality,” Pixal says. Lloyd gives a huff of laughter, relenting.
“Fair enough,” he says, shifting in his seat again. “Fine, you win. The green is probably too bright, but that’s not the point. I’m gonna show you how to do a backstitch."
Pixal falls quiet, letting Lloyd gesture with the needle as he explains. There are a hundred, a thousand tutorials she could pull up online, digitized knowledge instantly learned on all the countless types of stitches she could use, sorted and categorized in neat columns of use and effectiveness. All of them more detailed, more easily understood than Lloyd’s absent rambling and unsteady hands as he struggles with the end of a knot.
Not one of them will care whether or not Pixal learns the odd way Zane likes to loop his stitches, or will quietly add which stitches knit skin back together quickest.
So Pixal ignores her programming, and does her best to follow Lloyd’s rambling instructions, watching as his scarred fingers tug another thread of dull gold through the green mess of fabric, the city quiet around them.
“You never did tell me where you learned how to sew,” Pixal says, as Lloyd starts up a new thread of black on the other side of the gi. “Was that something the others taught you in training?”
“They’d have to know how to be able to teach it,” Lloyd snickers. “And, uh, no. I taught myself to back at Darkley’s.”
“Oh,” Pixal falters. She’s heard about Darkley’s, both from Zane and the legal reports she’s read online. Neither gave a positive impression of the place. Her mind is suddenly filled with images of a younger Lloyd trying to give himself stitches, and her heart twists.
Lloyd starts, seemingly having picked up on her train of thought. “I mean, I did it for fun, mostly. I like sewing,” he explains. “It’s useful. You can pull things back together, and fix ‘em.”
Pixal is quiet, but she hopes Lloyd takes her silence as agreement with his motive. She likes to think he knows her well enough for that, by now.
************
Pixal finds, somewhere during their fourth month alone, that she’s glad the team elected to stick her and Lloyd together. Not because she doesn’t want to be with Zane — there’s never a moment she doesn’t miss him, and with every day that passes her resolve to keep her secret from him grows weaker, as the longing for actual connection grows stronger.
But there are conversations she can have with Lloyd that she can never have with Zane, and the dangerous thing about spending time with Lloyd, Pixal finds, is that they’re more similar than she’s realized.
“Sometimes I think I’m jealous,” Lloyd whispers to her one night. It’s one of the bad ones, the ones where their enemies struck too sudden to stop, and the mission ends in the hospital. “I think I’m jealous of Zane, and I hate myself for it.”
Pixal is quiet, trying to pick apart the tone of his voice in the words he’s just spoken, and factors in the victims they’ve just left behind at the hospital. She finds herself no closer to an answer.
“Is it the metal skin part?” she finally asks, though she knows that’s wrong. “The, what was it, technical immortality?”
“No,” Lloyd shakes his head. “I’m not afraid of dying,” he says emphatically, his fingers fluttering at over the steering wheel, tapping incessantly with unspent energy. “I don’t want to, but that’s — it’s not what I’m scared of. I’m more scared of how I go out.”
He swallows, and his fingers move to dance over the woven bracelet on his wrist instead, twisting at the tiny beads and tracing senseless designs in constant, steady movement. It’s a motion he does often, and it had puzzled Pixal at first. She’d decided to write it off as an odd tick, a way to spend excess energy.
Now, she recognizes the desperate kind of reassurance that movement gives. She understands too well the need to remind yourself that you can move — that your body will obey you and you alone.
Pixal thinks back to the other factors in tonight’s accident, of the way the drugged man’s eyes had cleared when they’d finally turned him over to the police, the way he’d sworn he’d never do such a thing in his right mind. She thinks of the way the first victim had thrown themselves over their companion.
That victim hadn’t made it to the hospital.
“Ah,” Pixal says, quietly.
She’s silent again, and she thinks back to when she’d met him, the very first time. She recalls the way her programming had rebelled against her in favor of the Overlord, corrupting her body and forcing it against her, twisting everything she was and wanted to be into something different.
She thinks back again, to the searing-hot anger, the terror, the despair as she was torn apart, piece by piece like a machine, burning out at the whims of another. Her end purposeless, her demise belonging to someone else, just like every other part of her.
She thinks of the last glimpse she’d caught of Zane, bright and beautiful as a supernova. Burning with the terrible brilliance of his own, determined choice. Terrible, because the death of something always is. Beautiful, because it was his own. Zane died, not a machine, not a weapon, not a tool of anyone or anything, but as himself. Zane died to save the ones he loves. Pixal could’ve died for spare parts.
Never again, she promises herself. If she goes out, she goes out on her own terms. This time, they choose the end of their own destiny themselves.
In hindsight, it’s the kind of promise they’re both too young to make, but neither of them have ever seen themselves as such, and promises like that are easy.
“Love can be terrible, sometimes,” Lloyd murmurs. Pixal watches him scrub at the blood on his uniform, and thinks how ironically well-timed it is that he finished the stitching on his new gi this morning. “Sometimes I forget how ugly it can be.”
************
The end of their nighttime stakeouts begins with a break-in at Mr. Borg’s tower. Lloyd argues that she should get to call it her father’s tower, if she wants, but the ninja aren’t the only ones Pixal’s hiding herself from.
And then Lloyd gets very tense at the thought of fathers very fast, and they never finish the conversation.
They stay at the edge of the bridge long after the parachute, emblazoned with the unmistakable visage of Lloyd’s father, disappears from sight. Pixal wonders if it’s burned into Lloyd’s eyes, like the way she’s read black spots linger in humans’ vision after they’ve looked at something too bright. The way Lloyd stares at the river, his shoulders tense and his teeth worrying at his lip, she thinks she might be right.
They’re waiting on the report from the commissioner —they’re waiting for anything, anyone who can offer them any explanation of what’s going on. Pixal’s reminded of how much she loathes this kind of waiting.
“It could be—” Lloyd begins, then breaks off, his voice wavering. He swallows, and Pixal can see the way his fists clench tightly from the cameras they’ve put in his car. There’s a fierce part of her that longs to reveal herself, to meet his eyes herself and offer some semblance of comfort. But there’s a time and place for things, and Pixal isn’t ready.
“It could be anything,” Lloyd finally continues, his voice small. “It could — it doesn’t mean anything. It could mean nothing, right?”
Pixal is silent, her mind racing. She’s run the calculations over and over in her head already, scouring the internet for anything related to the bikers. She’s been foolish, she realizes — they both have. Letting the gang go unnamed for so long, thinking nothing of it. Now, with the name flashing vibrant across Pixal’s vision, a part of her wants to let them go nameless just a bit longer.
Before she can answer, Lloyds phone goes off with a sharp ping, just as Pixal’s sensors alert her to the message from the commissioner. Lloyd snatches for his phone like it’s on fire, and Pixal’s already scanning the message frantically, as if she can salvage this if she’s fast enough, save Lloyd from this one pain.
Lloyd’s gotten much better at reading quickly though, these days.
She can pinpoint the moment he reaches the last paragraph, because his breath hitches. There’s a long, pressing pause of silence, Lloyd’s hands trembling as they clutch weakly at his phone. Then it’s punctured by a reedy, wheezing gasp, and Pixal’s suddenly wishing she’d revealed herself after all.
Instead, all she has is her voice as Lloyd crumples, crouching over in visible distress. Pixal’s mind races, recalling everything Zane’s ever told her about his team, the way their panic manifests in different shades. Lloyd’s is quiet but desperate, rapid breathes that stutter as his eyes slide more and more into a frightening kind of blankness.
“Lloyd, please, listen to my voice,” she begs, trying to reach him in the only way she can. “Please, you have to breathe—”
“He’s gone,” Lloyd rasps, unhearing of her words. “He’s s’posed to be gone, it’s supposed to be over, I’m supposed to be done—”
Pixal fights back the sense of overwhelming helplessness. She knows loss. She knows how to finish his sentence. He’s supposed to be done grieving, done mourning, done clinging to false scraps of hope that his father isn’t lost forever only to be met with heartbreak.
And now, to be met with the possibility of something so much worse.
“We’ll stop them,” she tells him, unflinching. “We won’t let it happen.”
Lloyd’s eyes are a vivid green where they stare at her through the monitor, almost ghostly in the misting light reflecting from the river.
He’s silent, but Pixal is, too.
Pixal remembers the way her head had spun when she’d first picked up the traces of Zane in the system, how the world had rushed then steadied, flooding with color as she’d realized he might not be lost after all. She remembers the surging, overwhelming flood of joy, that someone she’d thought she lost might live after all. She remembers being so happy, at even the smallest chance to get him back, because the voice was Zane’s, without a doubt.
She watches the color seep from Lloyd’s expression as his shoulders shudder, the words from the commissioner’s message almost echoing through the air. Watches the terror as the both of them fill the silence.
Will we?  
The radio scratches, as if echoing Pixal’s anxiety. Love can be terrible, sometimes. She’s underestimated how it also be so cruel.
************
She’s also, apparently, underestimated how the universe on the whole could be so cruel.
She should’ve revealed herself to them from day one. That way, when Harumi’s corrupted programming suddenly ravages through her like an electric shock, she could be reassured they’d at least be familiar with the person they were fighting.
Instead, she doesn’t even get to scream. Pixal’s only able to force out a desperate, broken warning before she’s lost again, drowning in her own body as she’s forced under. Furious panic grips her as she screams without lungs, bashing herself against the overwhelming helplessness that’s taken over her.
Not again, not again, not again—
Her limbs creak and jolt against her will, lashing out at the people she cares most about, and Pixal can’t even rage back in her own voice. She’s sworn, she’s promised herself she’d never let anyone do this to her again — she’s sworn she’d die before she let someone reach into her head and snatch control away, and yet here she is, frozen as her body’s used to target her friends.
If she could cry, she might.
There’s not much more to say than that. She breaks free, her body her own once again, but by then it’s too late.
************
If Pixal had the same gift of foresight that Zane did, maybe she would have seen it coming. Maybe she’d have remembered how similar her and Lloyd are, and that this kind of pained desperation always yields impulsiveness and mistakes.
She doesn’t, though. She barely even manages to do what she’s trying to, which is convincing Lloyd to join the others while they celebrate their victory. Their off-key singing is something he normally wouldn’t hesitate to join in on, she thinks, and she hates Harumi a little more.
Maybe she’ll try his mother next. The expression on Lloyd’s face screams unapproachable, and remains fixedly sullen.
Almost to her surprise, he meets her eyes as she draws near— it’s odd, being able to meet his back — and his own eyes are dark, from despair over Harumi or despair over his father, Pixal isn’t sure. She’s thinking it might be both, when his eyebrows crease, and a flicker of concern cuts through them instead.
“You good?”
It takes her a moment to realize why he’s asking, but the answer is obvious. Her head tilts downward, and she watches as her fingers curl and uncurl. Her movements, her choices. She lets out an even breath.
“As I can be,” she replies. Lloyd nods, and his eyes are understanding. His lips twist in a scowl.
“She shouldn’t have done that to you. That was a low blow.”
Pixal’s mouth curves into a humorless smile. “That it was. She’s rather good at those, isn’t she.”
Lloyd’s eyes shadow again, and he looks away, crossing his arms. “This isn’t supposed to be about me,” he mutters.
“Yes, it is,” Pixal counters. “It is why I came over here, in the first place. She hurt—”
“All of us, and who’s fault is that,” Lloyd snaps, his arms crossing tighter.
“I would hope you know it’s hers,” she says, holding firm.
Lloyd looks away again, biting his lip, and Pixal shifts anxiously, rolling her wrists. The sensation of control sliding away still haunts her, worse than it had the first time. She should be better than this, she tells herself hotly. She’s lived without a body long enough that losing it so briefly shouldn’t effect her this much.
Curse her programming, she thinks, tapping agitatedly at the banister. She knew she should have reinforce it sooner.
“Hey, um.” Lloyd is looking at her again, hesitant. He twists at his bracelet, and his eyes lose a fraction of that darkness. “Kai made this for me, after Morro,” he says. “I kept shredding the sleeves of my uniform, so he told me to mess with this instead, when I needed to remember that…that I was in control.”
He shrugs, hesitant. “We could make you one too, if you wanted. It helps, having something.”
Pixal lets out a steady breath, despite not actually needing to. The action is grounding, she’s found. “I would like that.”
Lloyd gives her a ghost of a smile in return. “Soon as this is over, then.”
There’s a heavy weight to his words, and Pixal’s eyes narrow.
“Lloyd,” she says. He looks at her, his eyes dark. “Don’t do anything foolish.”
He’s quiet, not meeting her eyes, and this is where Pixal should stop him. This is when she should see the end of the road they’ve been on since they started this, and force him to turn before it’s too late.
“I know what I’m doing.”
She doesn’t.
************
Lloyd is battered and bleeding by the time they drag him onto the ship, a gruesome portrait of cruelty. Pixal is frozen as she watches him writhe in Kai’s hold, his screams cracked and wet as he thrashes erratically like a broken thing.
Nya is already barking orders before they’ve even gotten Lloyd fully on the ship, and Zane is running scans with a horrified, wavering focus. Pixal follows Cole as he carries Lloyd to the medbay with a blank numbness, the rush of wind streaming past the Bounty sails thunderously loud in her ears.
This isn’t Lloyd, she thinks, staring at his crumpled form. Lloyd isn’t this battered, broken shell of a person. Lloyd isn’t hazy eyes that fail to recognize them and frantic murmuring through bloody lips. Lloyd is bright-eyed and gentle and would rather die before he screams the way he does when Cole moves him to the table.
Lloyd is her friend, and this is where that promise they made has led them. She knows why Lloyd set out for the prison, hot on the collapse of his own star. She also knows he wouldn’t have chosen to burn out like this.
Cole calls out for Zane, his voice ringing in panic as Lloyd screeches in pain again. Pixal thinks of quiet words in the safety of his car, and she feels sick. This is the ugliness of love, the terrible, hideous side of it.
And Lloyd would hate it, if he could see himself, if he were any semblance of lucid. He’d hate to know just how much better he was at breaking himself than Morro ever was.
Zane is gentle as he pushes past her, but Pixal can feel the tremble in his hands. He’s every bit as rattled as she is, if not more so — Zane’s heart is larger and softer than hers has ever been, and he cares about each and every one of them with a painful intensity. It’s a cruel thing, to have to pull those same people back together with your own hands.
Kai’s eyes are streaming as he clutches at Lloyd’s wrists, pinning him in place. Zane’s hands waver again over one of the jagged wounds near Lloyd’s ribcage, the green of his uniform already dyed dark in blood, soaking over the careful stitches Pixal watched him put in himself.
Pixal finally finds her footing, reminding herself of the solid wood beneath her feet. She recalls the steady, smooth stitch Lloyd’s scarred fingers traced out for her.
“Here.” She takes the needle from Zane’s hands, squeezing his briefly before letting go. “I can do it.”
She sets the needle against Lloyd’s skin and wonders what kind of stitch it’d take to pull your heart back together.  
************
Pixal cannot cry. It’s one of the features Mr. Borg spent hours debating, weighing the pros and cons of giving her the ability before he was truly sure how rust-proof she was. He’d never gotten the chance to, as the Overlord had interrupted him, then Pixal had lost any body to give the ability to cry to, which had eliminated the need entirely.
She cannot cry, but she can hurt, and the rain that streams through her hair, dripping down her forehead spotting raindrops on her cheeks, could be tears if she pretended.
She doesn’t, though, because tears are a waste of water and overall useless in the grand scheme of things. She doubts they’d have helped her fare any better in the battle with Colossi, either.
Tears won’t bring anyone back.
Lloyd cries anyways. She can’t see him, but she can hear it in his voice, the way it wavers and breaks over the radio, nasally tones pronounced.
He’s barely able to gasp a few coordinates to her before he cuts the radio off abruptly. Pixal’s spent enough time with him to envision his scarred fingers snapping it off with a particular desperation, green sparking from his hands in distress.
She reminds herself those sparks are gone, now, bled away into nothing like the vivid green of Lloyd’s eyes had. The thought makes her sadder than she’d expected. She had a joke, about his eyes, she had wanted to make. Now that she has a body, and her own set of glowing green eyes, she’d — there was something he would’ve laughed at, she thought —
It doesn’t matter, now. Neither of them are likely to laugh anytime soon.
The coordinates blink brightly in her vision, and she’s almost surprised she managed to key them in. She’s running on autopilot, she supposes. It could be ironic — she’s been so desperate for control, it’s been so important that she’s the one feeling. Now, she’d give anything not to feel at all.
She lets out a shaky breath, dispelling the mist in her vision left from the rain. She leans forward, just over the edge of the building she’s crouched on, and her loose hair falls forward, silvery and synthetic and horribly tangled. Irritated, she reaches for another hair tie, and her hands falter around her wrist.
Lloyd had promised her a bracelet there. But he’d promised Kai would make the bracelet, hadn’t he, and Kai couldn’t make the bracelet if he was dead, could he.
Pixal blinks, her breath hitching. She’s been so numb to the pain of Zane’s loss, it hasn’t yet occurred to her that she’s losing Kai, too. And Jay, and Cole, and—
She sucks in the same shuddery kind of breath she’s seen Lloyd do, and carefully fists her hand in the area of her uniform above her chest. Her fingers dig in tightly, clutching in a hopeless attempt to feel some sort of comfort she knows she’ll never find.
But perhaps, for these few seconds, she can pretend the action is holding her together.
************
“It was inevitable,” Pixal tells Lloyd blankly, as he rasps out his third apology in the dark cover of their small hideout. “That one of us would fall, eventually. It had nothing to do with you.”
Lloyd swallows thickly. “It could’ve — it should’ve been—”
He doesn’t finish, but he doesn’t need to. Pixal’s hand shoots out, clamping tightly around his wrist, and there’s a beat of gratitude that she doesn’t need to rely on her voice alone anymore.
“Don’t.” Her voice is strung tighter than the tension in their shoulders. “You cannot change anything. You can’t, Lloyd, and you should not wish to — to change it that way.”
Lloyd jerks his hand free, wiping miserably at his eyes. He sets it back down within her reach, though, and if Pixal were any different, she’d take it.
But Pixal isn’t that different from Lloyd at all in the end, and neither of them reach for the other’s hand, no matter how desperately they crave the contact. Fear is more familiar, and it’s easier to give into it than it is the clawing need for comfort in your chest, after all.
“Still,” Lloyd finally whispers. “Still.”
Pixal swallows. She doesn’t disagree. If one of them had to fall, she knows she gladly would have taken it upon herself. She knows the others care for her, certainly, but she also knows her place in the grand scheme of things. They were six before she came along, and even now she’s kept far too many secrets to be fully counted among them.
She listens to Lloyd’s quiet, cracked voice, and she wonders if he’s thinking that they were five before he came along, younger than Pixal got to know him as.
Now they’re three, hollow and heartbroken. Though counting herself as one whole feels like cheating, right now.
Pixal squeezes her eyes shut, and wonders what it’s like to cry. Perhaps it helps, though Lloyd doesn’t look any less miserable.
************
“I was thinking,” Lloyd tells her, during one of the precious few quiet moments they have while trying to overthrow Garmadon and Harumi. Pixal’s turning the tiny tea flower he’d given her over in her hands, a part of her mind already marking articles about flower-pressing, another part wondering if it’s already too late to save the blossom. “About that promise we made, before all this.”
Pixal finally tucks the flower into the pocket of her uniform, pressed close to her chest. If anything, it can be a reminder of the lives that are safe — the life that’s coming back to her, if she has to drag him back from another realm herself. “And?”
Lloyd’s hands twist together. “Maybe we should focus more on staying alive.”
Pixal coughs out a laugh, breathless and startled. Lloyd wrinkles his nose at her, but his eyes are amused, even with their light lost. “I mean, the emphasis would be on keeping everyone else alive, but it’s kinda hard to do that if we’re dead, so…yeah. Priorities.”
“Staying alive should always be a priority,” Pixal corrects him, but she tugs the edge of his armor out of place with a smile.
“Why didn’t you teach me how to graffiti?” she nods at the designs on the green leather. “Or was this another Darkley’s tradition.”
“This is a refined art, called whatever I had on me that showed up on dark green,” Lloyd grumbles, fixing his armor. “I’ll teach it to you when we get out of this.”
“Another reason why staying alive would be a more productive focus,” Pixal points out. “I’ve heard teaching is easier when you’re alive.”
“And I’ve heard you’re a real riot,” Lloyd mutters. “It’s a promise, okay? I promise to teach you how to do cool armor design if you promise not to disappear into another realm on me.”
Pixal nods, adjusting her own armor tighter as screams ring out from a street nearby. “A promise, then.”
She keeps both the promise and the flower, the tiny blossom dried and faded by the time she’s escaped from the prison, heart racing with leftover adrenaline as Zane sweeps her into his arms. She clutches back every bit as tight, listening to his breathless laughter as cheers rise from the streets behind them, the smoke drifting across the early morning sky above them pale against the lightening blue. Pixal buries her face in his shoulder and breathes, tucking the moment away in her heart where it won’t fade. There’s a future stretching out before her, and she’s got the limbs to walk her path on her own, but all she wants right now is the steady ground beneath her feet and the bright laughter of what she’s managed to keep.  
Lloyd meets them shortly after, his own promise kept as he tears his gaze from his father, handing him off to the authorities before sprinting for the others. Pixal barely snags a moment alone with him, and even then no one’s particularly keen on letting him out of their sights.
He meets her eyes as they pick their way through the wrecked streets, the city more alive around them than it’s been in weeks. In the dark of the early morning, Pixal’s eyes glow a bright green, reflecting oddly in the windows they pass. It’s always been her preferred color, in contrast to Zane’s bright blue. Lloyd glances at her, his own eerily green eyes glowing back. He bites his lip, but it’s to hold back real laughter this time.
“My eyes were green first,” she tells him.
“Sue me,” he shoots back, before Kai’s throwing an arm over his shoulders again, tucking Lloyd neatly in between him and Nya. Pixal smothers a laugh at the look on his face, and tightens her own arm further where it’s linked firmly in Zane’s.  
It’s going to be an easy promise to keep, she thinks.  
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icecreamkink · 3 years
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watched all of the untamed / cql in two weeks after my friend 1 told me abt mdzs a hundred years ago and my friends 2 and 3 tried to get me into cql for like two whole years and there are.
feelings.
very first scene is a very dramatic death in the middle of nightmare battle on sith planet land . i will forget abt it in the next tenish episodes and then will be very surprised when it becomes Extremely Painful
anyway magic flying gays and possession and human sacrifice! we are off to a great start
in retrospect, chaos goblin wei wuxian must have had a blast pretending to be so cRaZy and be as disruptive as he could as mo xuanyu lbr
listen. why is fire always evil coded. cant a magic clan wear red, black and orange and have flame motif while being wholesome?
For Legal Reasons These Are Not Zombies
i wish the politics of the sect were a bit clearer, especially at the beggining when the wen clan had sm power, was wen ruohan the chief cultivator? is that why they were so slow in responding to the attacks? im v confused by the pre yiling patriarch politics
fighting in the roof by the moonlight as way of flirtiiiiiiing. as i understand this is a wuxia/xianxia trope and honestly...... thank u for ur service
slight bullying and being a nuisance in general, as a way of flirting we love to see it
wwx: if i drink on the rooftop, thats not inside the cloud recesses! hmmm check and mate :D lwj: i will fuck u up so help me god   wwx: :0
i lov them
through hell or high water (quite literally) wei wuxian rem ains a trashfire gremlin till the end and i love him with my whole heart
in the pt subs wei wuxian calls jiang cheng a stubborn duck and i dearly wish that had come back
my opinions on almost every character goes from love to hate u - Hmm Me Like U - BABY. ILY. and i am Very Pleased w that. its been a while since i loved such a complete cast so much i think
no really. i WONT go into a detailed rant abt what i love about each of these characters and each of their relationships to each other. but i COULD. 
some lan disciples in the loudest whisper ever: YEAH THATS THE JIN BASTARD MENG YAO HEARD THE GOT SUPER HUMILIATED BY HIS DAD LOL SURE HOPE HE DOESNT TAKE SLIGHTS TO HIS CHARACTER TO HEART
lan xichen, immediately: i must Love him 
being into problematic ppl is in the Lan genetics, we come to realize
wen qing deserves so many awards for so many things but not snapping and just stabbing wen chao is at the top 
that scene at lan qirens class where wwx talks about using resentful energy to fight a violent spirit. exquisite.
 It establishes Good Student lan wangji, wei wuxian as curious and questioning and not afraid of taboo,  lwj sees that wwx is not, in fact, a dumb ass hes just a Dumbass,  shows us the audience (esp. a western audience) how shocking the idea of disrupting the dead/dying and controlling resentful energy actually is,  the theoretical foreshadow arguing, everyone else like ‘shUT UP’,  “and how could you ensure that the resentful energy would obey you and not hurt other?” “well i havent thought that far” and of course, lan qiren just straight up lobbing a hard object at wwx head,. chefs kiss
fellas is it gay to bother the hot rule obessessed nerd from ur school and make drawings of him with flowers in his hair and then hide gay porn in his book to antagonize him and ask him to hold ur hand and be ur friend and talk to him all the time and get him drunk and give him bunnies bc you know he likes them and give him a lantern and always want his attention and dedicate yourself to getting him to smile-
and after all of that wwx rly said oh i Admire him, aksd like yeah we all were there in high school buddy
i have Learned. caves = gay.
 accidental marriage +beint physically tied together with the sacred married ribbon+ gay panic+foreshadowing+bunnies! in the cave (1)
the story abt lan yi and baoshan sanren tho. i would like to see it
early days wen bros pull my heart strings like a guqin 
EVERYTHING about the lantern scene; disaster hets jiang yanli and jin zixuan; how wwx made lwj a bunny lantern. how soft and touched lwj was. wwx gleefully pointing out he was smiling and lwj IMMEDIATELY PULLING HIW SWORD ON HIM LMAO. tragically foreshadowy promises to do right by pepople, living without regrets. lwjs 'oh no do i love him??' face. just. all of it. 
i have it on good acc that in the novel lwj is explicitly Repressed Gay Panicked Big Horny which is delightful and rly Adds to the performance
 baby lwj is really just conceal dont feel dont let them know u have EMOTIONS (derogatory)
jiang cheng rly went "why dont.u go play with HIM if u like him so much"
jc and wwx have big BIG annoying sibling energy dont think too hard abt it or youll cry
lotus pier is soo pretty :((((((((((((((((
up until episode 13 you could think this could be a magical ancient chinese gays pride n prejudice w swords and shenanigans ................youre just not prepared for the game of thrones of it all
seriously ha ha ha i cried so much w this show my eyes genuinely swelled up . like. physically. fun timez fun timez
that being said, its hilarious that wen xu goes to cloud recesses like 'come out or ill kill all these hostages' and then DOESNT WAIT FOR AN ASWER AND KILLS THEM ALL IMMEDIATELY. do u know how blackmail works sir
 would like to make it recorded that from day one i was like 'CALL A GODDAMN CULTIVATION G20 THIS ASSHOLE SECT IS LITERALLY MASSACRING YALL!!' and it took them like 3 or 4 massacres to do anything and they STILL sent their heirs into their territory  LIKE
when wwx cites the gusu lan rules to wen chao tho. that rebel/attention whore/cutie pie 'look lan zhan i DID memorize the rules after all' ‘also a big fuck you to the wen sect :D :D’ sweet spot that scene achieves . delicious
all the cultivator young masters being petty af even though they are practically prisoners at the cave is hilarious and i love them
hurt and comfort + gay mistunderstandings + watsonian gay declaration music + accidental evil acquisition! at the cave (2)
its like where do i start? the fact theyre both trapped and kind of heavily injured inside an isolated cave with a murder turtle? wwx gay panicking lwj into coughing up bad blood? lwj being jealous as wwx babbles abt mianmian? telling him he shouldnt play with people and wwx saying he never played him? wwx going Oh. I See what is happening. YOU like mianmian, and lwj absolute done face ??? (iconic) wwx touching the sacred married ribbon Again? the telepathic communication? the sword? WEI WUXIAN ASKING LAN WANGJI TO SING TO HIM AS HE IS PASSING OUT AND LWJ SINGING HIM. THE SONG. HE WROTE. FOR WWX. AND THAT HE CALLED. THEIR SHIP NAME????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
they are SO insufferable pleeeeease
in the words of my friend 1 : “CQL is so gay we were all amazed how it got past the censors Ofc unfortunately it can't be novel level gay But they did their best And we love them for it”
in the theme of songs THIS OST. WUJI HAS BEEN LIVING IN MY MIND RENT FREE SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT the whole ost is so so sO beautiful.
 the costuming in this is also soooo exquisite. the embroidery? the fabrics? the details? how every sect and clan has a distinct style and architecture? (also ik they based each off of dif periods in chinese history which is REALLY fucking cool) just chefs kiss
the direction too!. i enjoy the unusual camera movements and i think they give it that Vibe, also their composition is PARTICULARLY good when it comes to telling the subtext through position of camera/position of character (like nhs off to the side in scenes he at first glance doesnt need to be/ how lwj is often centered when hes Jealous Yearning at wwx being affectionate w other ppl, wwx return from burial mounds etc)
ik madam yu is like Badass Milf Check and shes not getting any mom of the year awards but im delighted at how messy she is. IMAGINE that woman on tiktok
you better have enjoyed gay cave (2) bc its Just Pain from here on out! 
jiang fengmian and madame yu win the Most Dramatic Way to show they do care about each other, actually ..... ever :)
i thought jiang yanli jiang cheng and wei wuxian forcing themselves to escape yunmeng barely holding on after their parents are killed was going to be the height of pain in this show. ha. 
the family dynamics in general on this showwwww, both blood/ adopted/ found families, brotherly bonds and lifelong friendships just. rly. truly. fucked me up. theyre all so important and complicated and well rounded and beautiful and tragic
and beyond being a Win For the Gays im so glad the relationships w wwx and jiang yanli/ wen qing were NOT changed from platonic bc they are so much better like that imo. like maybe if we didnt Live In A Society it wouldnt be so, but the fact wwx and others can love and value them so much and theres nothing romantic or sexual abt it is like. so refreshing. especially @ jyl, with the way he and jc are overprotective of her and shes such a nurturing/care taker figure for them, it would just not vibe as well if they made it romantic
i love that this is a story abt Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch aka Actual Satan/Boogey Man/Village With/Public Enemy Number One , my dude is literally a necromancer who only dresses in black and has evil smokey black tendrils wafting out of him, but the really edgy one is still jiang cheng, pastel purple fashion icon
and speaking of best/worst siblings wei wuxian and jiang cheng *immediately starts crying* 
The Golden Core Transfer i just. no thots only tears 
wen qing and wen ning putting themselves in so much danger just.... to help them. wn saving jc from wen chao. wq finding a way to get wwx to transfer his core. like thinking about the monumental work these two did to help wwx and jyl and jc... jyl trying so fucking hard to be strong and keep on moving and giver her little brothers comfort after losing everything... jiang cheng. losing his parents and his home and his ability to do anything abt it and his complete desperation and lack of self worth and turning on them with agression  when he didnt realize all that they did for him ... hhhhhhhhhhhhh
me, pointing at the whole cast “i just LOVE them mom!!!”
its sad tho, that BARELY ANY of the women have like.... actual important conversations let alone relationships with each other at all in the story. and like wq and jyl have stayed at the same place for extended periods of time, where wq actively took care of her TWICE,  and still! not one measly convo, nothing! ................ .𝓌ₕᵧ
everyone in this show need a good sip of Self Worth and Stop Sacrificing Yourself juice 
ngl the sword flying looks very dumb 
“a-cheng, please bring a-xian back.” “i will, i promise.” ;-;
the whole calling each other by the More Intimate Version of the name, first as teasing and later as true intimacy. mmmhmmm yes
untamed where everythings the same but wwx evil flute song is eoeo
related that scene when wwx comes back from the burial mounds for the first time w demonic cultivation and he acts all formal and calls lwj hanguang-jun and keeps being evasive and distant and mean and soooooo................. facetious 
and how hes kind of desperately trying to keep intense lwj at bay (A FIRST) and avoiding actually talking to either of them and its all tension ughhh and then he MOCKS his and lwjs relationship, he jokes w him in this like... mean echo of their usual ~banter~ oof 
 and like!!! uncertain but so relieved jc who just HUGS him w no reservations for once and its not like he isnt just as worried as lwj abt wwx and what hes doing, but he chooses in that moment to enjoy getting him back first and mmhmMMMmMm yes (maybe my favorite scene in the whole show? MAYBE SO. ) 
highkey hurt me but also. i might be into mean wwx. i will take no criticism.
lan zhans sad eyes tho :((((((((( 
on one hand i wish we could have seen what happened at the burial mounds but on the other the timeskip adds so much flair to his return so im hnnn
also i love that hes been missing for 3 months reappears kinda melancholic and bloodthirsty and knowing malign tricks and jc is like 'so. are u sad bc of lan wangji'
when ur bae survived the war but he thinks ur evil/ might be evil so you cant kiss :///
hmmm talking at the rooftop under the moonlight not mentioning everything that stands between usssss
they are the two jades of lan and we’ll be the two heroes of yunmeng is the type of line u dont even need to know whats gonna happen to know thats gonna be sad
when they fight wen ruoshan at the nightless city i thought that was the battle we see at the first ep and its not and its so easy and theyre all like ‘yayy we won go wwx!’ i was just. SCREAMS WHAT is gonna HAPPEN
so like. post burial mounds/sunshot campaign pre yiling patriarch wwx is like. ultra arrogant, ultra mocking, peak lil shit and it gave me e v e r y t h i n g i wanted
even tho having the wen prisoners at the targets at phoenix mountain and still having wwx and jzx shooting the arrows was???? so.... tone deaf 
wwx: fucking w demonic energy   jyl: he has never done anything wrong in his life, ever <3 <3 (mood)
the parallels between meng yao/wei wuxian (and even xue yang a bit?) are Seen and they are Valid
wwx post burial mounds: can yall SHUT UP abt the goddamn sword (suibian left the chat)
LIKE truly, we talk abt the angst and yearning with wangxian. but what abt wwx and suibian. xianbian / xianqing angst and comfort 100k
take a shot everytime someone coughs up blood
zidian is simply the coolest spiritual weapon rip to suibian and chenqing and bichen and sendou and baixa........ but tis the truth 
cons: everyones families died in a nightmare war! everyones homes burned to the ground! everyone is traumatized! pros: everyone gets cooler clothes and weapons!!
wen ning and a-yuan and yanli bestest babes squad dont touch me rn
everyone: brooding and fighting                                                                wq and jyl: why dont you try some acupunture/drinking some soup and calm down huh? how abt that bitch?? 
showing the battle/massacre at the nightless city first was genius actually bc then everytime we have a cute scene w yunmeng bros and theyre like 'we'll be together forever! uwu' youre like oh. oh no. oh no no no. 
justice vs lawfulness vs means and ends 👁
jc: stay in the right path and practice the art of the sword                        wx: yeah thats not gonna happen chief
my reaction to wwx renouncing to the sect politics to help the wens was just that elmo burning gif in succession
the dramatic rain. wen qing desperately calling out to wen ning. the ghosts/puppets killing the guards. how terrifying wn actually was while wwx was controlling him :( lwj goeing after him to try and stop him and then he just; he Sees him and understands him even if he cant actually do anything about it other than let them go. 
“there must be somewhere in this earth we can go to :(((((((((”
"IF I HAVE TO FIGHT THEM, I'D RATHER IT BE YOU. DYING BY YOUR HANDS WOULD AT LEAST BE WORTH IT." oh my god oh my god oh my goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddd
also lwjs umbrella is white w black smoke.. .  . nice
yiling patriarch / demonic farming burial mounds settlement is like one of my favorite concepts. they an "EVIL" FARMING COMMUNITY LED BY THE VILLAGE WITCH COME ON
they planted TURNIPS and LOTUS FLOWERS and ONE (1) baby and made lanterns and a common hall :(((((((
wen qing and wei wuxian, baddest bitches and genius science best friends i absolutely LOVED to see it. they rly went ‘is anyone gonna sibling/project partner that’ and didnt wait for an answer
both wwx and jyl getting lotus ponds at the burial mounds and in lanling bc they miss lotus pier ;;;;;;;w
;;;;; wish jyl had actually gone into the burial mounds. we were robbed of jyl and wq meeting again and jyl meeting a-yuan and seeing the settlement and the homes and all ;w; at least jc did go, stab wounds and broken arms and all
wwx like... having thrown his whole life away to help the wens (yeah the sect leaders and jin guangshan in particular wanting his stygian tiger amulet was an Element but still) and not.... necessarily regretting it, but grappling with all of the consequences of it... becoming moody and drepressed at times, missing his family and lotus pier and his friends and probably simply missing being around people and causing trouble, extrovert that he is, lashing out at the wens and at a-yuan, just in general the whole messiness of that experience
the way the resentful energy does affect his temperament is rly nice bc its not too in your face,(i mean outside of the Shaky Hands of Rage) but like he clearly has a much lesser control on his anger and impulsivity (tall order) than both before bm and after hes ressurected
on that note A-YUAN BABIEST BABY BOY BEST BOY
lan zhan being like oh hey there wei ying fancy meeting u and our son here. just passing by u know how it is hmmmmMm and then PLOT TWIST having defied orders to go see him and being punished for it. oof;;
 they habent seen each other in like? a year? and now theyre tgt 10 seconds and are already parenting a child together
also lwj rly kneels down in the snow way too much to be healthy
wwx: calm down guyssss i wont lose control of demonic cultivation omgggg  .   spoiler alert: he loses control of demonic cultivation
did u enjoy cute children? good bc now the Real Pain Begins
jiang yanli and jin zixuan rly out there APROPRIATING both disaster gays AND bury ur gays huh ;w;
i KNEW jin lings birthday was gonna fuck something up but the GASP that left my body when wwx lost control of wn and killed jin zixuan .. . . 
im sorry and thank you aaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAaAAAAA 
when wen ning and wen qing were telling wwx their plan i was saying NO NO NO NO NO NO out loud in despair 
also can we talk abt how wq is definetely talking about only the both of them surrending themselves but then? everyone else just surrenders w them? IT MAKES NO SENSE LIKE WHY WOULD THEY what would be the Point
 sometimes there are some pretty gaping jumps in logic and continuity that are just like                     ?          ?
wwx: oh so when you try to murder me its justified but when i survive through dark magic and murder all of you its a "war crime"
unsurprisingly, his most feral, most spiraling moment talking to the sect leaders on the roof and attacking them and even fighting lan zhan is among my favorite scenes... its like, so painful to watch but also   so       thrilling   (and maybe my wen bbs dying arose some resentful energy in me what can i say) 
and its JUST, all they ever wanted was to do good but then... war. and trauma. and hubris. 
jiang cheng on the ground clearly thorn between what to do and feel is a Mood, lets just say
i was already crying when jyl showed up, but if i wasnt-
 i suffered SO MUCH through this series trying to figure out WHY jc would kill wwx. and when i understood. its somehow not as bad as i thought and also MUCH MUCH WORSE
a look into my group chat during the last flashback episodes:
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SO ANYWAY. after the BLOOD BATH and RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT and FEEDING IT TO YOU  the untamed goes ‘ayy back to the present!! tu du dud ud du’ 
literally it ends a quarter into an episode and then KEEPS GOING i had to pause and stare blankly at the ceiling for an hour
babie cultivators and detective soulmates . i do need some cute after All of That 
(not that the pain is over LOL)
lwj is significantly less emotionally repressed in the present and its delightful. hes just ALL IN with wwx. and not just in the ‘i would and have killed various men and risked my reputation for you’ but also ‘ur tired here have a drink i brought it up cause i know u like it and it want you to be happy, always’
“when everyone praised me and wanted my power, you were the only one that challenged me. now that everyone hates me and wants me dead, youre the only one that stands by my side.” hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 
and just filling in the blanks how lan zhan searched for him. for all of those 16 years he searched for him and was punished for it and raised a-yuan, the only survivor of the burial mounds settlement, as his own in gusu......
and jiang cheng.  being the tough love uncle . having raised the yunmeng jiang clan from the rubble all alone, his whole family dead, some of it on the blame of his own brother, his siblings, his closest friends gone.......and only jin ling there needing his guidance. 
THE PARALLEL BETWEEN JIN LING BEING A LIFELINE FOR JIANG CHENG AND A-YUAN FOR LAN WANGJI AFTER THE BATTLE AT THE NIGHTLESS CITY  
great now i made myself sad
and like . the fact! that lwj and jc dislike each other!!. jc projects blame onto him for wwx both “leaving” him and indirectly causing their families deaths and when hes so consumed by it he makes wwx an enemy, lwj is there now? trying to protect him?? and lwj, who can never understand the pain that wwx , indirectly or not put jc through, but who was right there when jc tried to kill him and will never allow him to hurt wwx again. and how they like. in a way project blame of their tragedies onto each other while dealing with some type of survivor guilt and in their own way still loving wwx through it all???  amd in way its kind of fundamentally selfish but also tragically understandable? and like when u put it against the fact that after he disappears during the sunshot campaign they were looking for him together and fought together??
JUST. THE CHARACTERS. AND THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS. MAN. UGH. GOD. 
and like i think thats what makes it so good? its such a sad and painful and violent story, edgy even, but its compelling bc at the center of it there are all of these relationships and different types of love and hope and. :( i love it
enough crying lets talk abt wwx sleeping at the jingshi with lwj and wearing his under garment for a minute 🙏
 jin ling just has that Was Raised by JC energy tho lmao i love him
babie cultivator squad is the perfect ammount of cute and comedic relief while still bearing the weight? of the narrative in a way, both from sizhui and jin lings existences, and also. like. how do i put this. they feel hopeful? they were born after a war, they came of age at a time of relative peace, they dont hold on so closely to the resentments of their parents/father figures, they are specifically shown as more accepting and open minded. and its like.... Hope for the future  
one of the ?? things  i love the most is the fact that the main cast are often in situations where theyre hunted/running but they like. never wear disguises... just going around in their gorgeous expensive clan clothes and hair ornaments and distinctive spiritual weapons.... maybe w a straw hat on, just for kicks
wwx teacher 🥺🥺🥺
so this is why its called Yi City Misery huh
a-qing is such. an icon. im so sad. my girl even knew to leave xys dumb self rotting by the road but no one listens to her thats why theyre all dead or sad 
her and xue yang measuring each other up was so entertaining lmao
 its the funniest thing when hes like. HERES MY SAD STORY. FOR WHY IM A SADISTIC MURDERER. I BROKE MY HAND ONCE. 
like ok someone broke his hand in a horrible way, and like Poverty, i get it but also like.......... that lost the brunt of a proper sob story like, 50 sadistic murders ago bby
and i love that xingchen does not entertain that for a second hes like ‘not ?????? good enough???’ and the best thing is he wasnt even like 'u hadto be the bigger person' or sth but ' well then break that dudes hand back, rip his arm off for i care, what do the rest of us have to do w anything???” 
anjo sensato :(
xue yang is like..... the sexy sadistic evil version of a himbo..... a meanbo...
the fucked upness of xy’s feelings for xxc/ xxc and sl feelings for each other... like my dude literally gave his bf HIS EYES. and xy getting so attached to xxc .... the fucked up fake domesticity.... having him hurt sl..... then desperately trying to bring him back ...................... oof
song lan........... literally had his eyes AND tongue removed, his bfs eyes put in place, was almost killed, turned into a puppet by his bf unknowingly, manipulated by xy, sees his bf killing himself in despair.... and STILL finds the strenght to get up from there, and keep on traveling and helping people and attempting to fix xxcs soul.......... like, my man. damn. 
wangxian looking at songxiao and seeing an Actually more painful parallel for themselves. ft. that Color Coding. 
THE A-YUAN/SIZHUI REVEAL PUNCHED ME IN THE HEART but in a good way for a change
should have know that he would be the Best Boy the cute one w all the braincells
the butterfly AND the bunny lantern. i see how it is
u know is very convenient that no one can see the stark black veins on wen nings neck, ever 
BAT WEN NING 
wns face when lwj comes into wwx room like ‘:0 omg did u two finally get your shit together? good for you master wei good for u’ 
(they didnt) (yet)
DISASTER DRUNK LWJ. JUST. THRUST SOME CHICKENS TO SHOW UR RESSURECTED BAE THAT U LOVE THEM.
i have absolutely no idea WHY they gave lwj the same punishment for fighting his own sect/allies to protect the burial mounds as when they got drunk on cloud recess class days.... like? its such a ... emotional continuity error again
also is lwj gonna get an actual friend besides wwx , ever
mianmian marrying and having a family and a cute life after saying FUCK U AND UR SYSTEM TOO in a much less unhinged and dramatic way than wwx......... fills me w joy
also lol the idea that like. her husband not knowing that shes friends w satan/the boogey man/the village witch is hilarious
i love nie mingjue bc hes the resident Though Guy but also the most dramatic bitch in this show and thats Saying Something
jin ling cant have one uneventful relative can he
the fact that everyone present already knew “mo xuanyu” was wwx at the stairs is so funny, their faces are like ‘oh............ wow. that. sure is a development. shock” 
in the tradition of extremely loud whispers wwx tells lwj with twelve guards standing like one meter away from them: HEY PSH LAN ZHAN PRETEND IM FORCING YOU TO STAY W ME DO IT
oh my god oh my god
the absolute Yearning on his face when he leaves wwx and a-yuan at the burial mounds and refuses to stay for dinner was already Enough but the fact?? they brought it back?? to this declaration of love?? their expressions??????? strike me dead right now just go ahead
lFor Legal Reasons We Cant Kiss but we will have a very sappy declaration of love and trust and look at each other in way that is the actualization of 💞💘💗💖💓💘💞💗💖💘💗💖💕💞
also icb all the sect leaders and guards are standing there watching them say they like like each other with a dozen swords pointing at their neck
i enjoyed the depiction of the fickle public perception and how easily it can be used to scapegoat people. when the sect leaders turn on jgy and wwx knows thats its more for convenience than anything else...
poor lxc is literally like 'oh so when YOUR problematic boyfriend gets called evil its a misunderstanding but when its MY problematic bf-'
ok like i cant get over nmj let jgy play a song that messed with his temperament at all, like maN u KNEW he might be shady wth
wwx: “hey dont say anything bad abt lan zhan hes not an arrogant dick, thats just his face. 
ME ON THE OTHER HAND"
the cultivators as wwx is poking holes in their narrative is literally *nazaré meme*
"wei wuxian-!" "what did i break your leg, too?" not to be problematic but i laughed so hard
not as hard as "you dont have the rank to talk to me " tho
i Enjoy that, over the course of story, wwx sees that... theres nothing truly to Do, but move on. he saw how his arrogance and his mistakes hurt others, and hes trying to fix what he can, but he already did die for his mistakes and there are things he cant fix and that's. just how it is. even towards jgy, the narrative doesn't go gleefully and completely with "lets make THEM pay bc theyre the big bad" bc its not that simple, and it wouldn't lead anywhere but more pain...
re him and jiang cheng and the wens and kinda. isnt that what nhs did? scheming to displace jgy out of revenge more than any justice and doing so in the most painful way?
idk if that actually makes sense im truly just babbling
i thought the scene at the lotus pond would be CUTE but the context was PAIN again
jiang cheng finding out about his golden core and his conflict with wwx at the guanyin temple .... destroyed me but in a nice way kinda.... same way it destroys him look at his face oh god
and. the fact??? he sacrificed himself for wwx?? first?? and he'll probably never tell anyone much less wwx???? keeps me up at night
i havent decided if the neckbreak transition between jgy does sth super Evil or does he he does OR Does He yes he does O R does heeeee is sth i dislike or not
jin guangyao and wei wuxians most interesting parallel is that... theyve both seen 'hmm hey this system is fucked up' and wwx went 'so fuck it all i will renounce it and challenge it' and jgy went 'so fuck it i will use all of it to my advantage and manipulate it to my goals and whims'
the fact jgys mom was actually great and he loved her and his whole issue w it was more than simply being ashamed of being a bastard kinda got me ngl
never trust a dude with a fan.
nhs and jgy: the first rule to a convoluted and decades spanning violent revenge plot is to have fun and be yourself! 
when a-yuan finally FINALLY remembers ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; wen ning has someone in his family back and a-yuan has someone to talk abt his wen family and wwx has him back bc he survived and lwj raised him anD HES THEIR SON. THEYRE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. UGH.
and theyre allowed to heal. everyone is allowed to try and recover and be happy
netflix put all of the 3 endings on top of each other and it looks kinda weird actually BUT I DONT EVEN MIND :’’’’’’’’’)
the gasp that left me when lwj says ‘wei ying’ and wwx turns.........
there was also a screen with ‘thank you mxtx for creating these characters, we hope their wishes come true’ and i might. have cried then too. maybe. 
that was . a ride. as is proven by this behemot of a ramble clearly i just really needed and Outlet. i am currently trying to convince dumb monkey brain to not consume the other medias of mdzs immediately bc i REALLY need to like. live. a life. and take care of real responsibilities.  *longest oh boi ever*
51 notes · View notes
simpsiren · 4 years
Text
sticky notes: the story
mark lee x reader
introduction 
main masterlist
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description. you use sticky notes to get into contact with your soulmate.
genre. soulmate au, high school au, strangers to lovers au
warnings. nonee
a/n. so some people requested for a full story of this so here it is! i really liked making this because the concept is just so cute cudndn oh and i did include the same idea as what i did in my previous post but i had to change it a little so that it would fit the plot. this is a really really long ff since its a slow burn typa thing so please try to stick with me on this one HAHA anyways enjoyy! :D
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“you actually believe that?”
you lift your head up from your notes to look at soyoung. she nods her head and hum eagerly. you rub your temples from seeing her respond. “i do believe soulmates exist. but sticky notes to talk to them? what’s social media for then? and how is it even scientifically possible?” you question soyoung, bringing your eyes down as you continue to do your homework.
“that’s the beauty of soulmates, ray!” soyoung whines. you shake your head. “you’re dumb to believe it without confirming the information with other relevant sources.” you mutter out bluntly. you hear soyoung letting out a ‘tsk’. “here you go again being a history student. i swear im glad i never took it.” you scoff and slam your pen on the table gently.
“excuse me, woman! at least i dont have to memorise the whole textbook and only having 5 pages of content coming out in the exam.” you stick your tongue out playfully to tease soyoung. “i cant get over the fact that valcanos didn’t come out eventhough i memorised so much for it.”
the both of you laugh, knowing that the two of you can never stop debating on whether history or geography is the better subject.
“ray complete your homework at home. we cant stay in the classroom for long you know?” soyoung stands up to get to her seat, which is 2 rows down yours since you were sitting right at the back. you liked sitting at the back. it allowed you to always be able to use your phone in case you get bored in class. you still cant believe that your teachers think you’re a good and obedient student. you figured they only assumed that due to your high grades.
you sigh “that’s true.” you turn around to grab your back that was hanging in your chair and start packing your materials. once you were done, you grab the class key and walk over to soyoung’s seat, waiting for her to finish packing. you notice soyoung has finish packing and went to switch off the lights. you allow soyoung to step out first before you close the door behind you and lock the classroom door.
you and soyoung walked down the hallway silently, you were looking out the window to watch the sunset while soyoung had her eyes on her feet. only your footsteps could be heard as almost everyone has left the school grounds except for some teachers who were working late. the school normally closes at 7pm and you’re walking out at 6:50. to break the silence, soyoung opens her mouth to start a conversation.
“okay if you dont believe me why dont you try it yourself? like write a simple introduction to your soulmate.” you raise an eyebrow as you shove your hands into the front pockets of your mom jeans. “why dont you do it?” you fought back as you huff. soyoung bites the inside of her cheek as a moment of silence passes for her to think of an answer.
“because i believe it. and you do not. so you should try it.” you smacked soyoung’s arm, making her flinch back and shouting a loud ‘ouch’. you roll your eyes, knowing you didn’t hit her hard and she was just overreacting. “brilliant excuse,so. but if its going to make you stop talking about it, i might as well.” soyoung face lit up as she jumps happily and starts skipping ahead of you. you laugh and pull the handle at back of her bag to keep her explosion of excitement to the minimum.
“you owe me brown sugar milk tea. large.” you taunted. soyoung waves her hand lazily. “i’ll buy you one after school tomorrow. but you better update me during math.”
you wanted to say how you could just text soyoung to update her, but you remembered the fact that soyoung’s mother took away her phone since she didn’t do well for this year’s midterms. although to you, soyoung’s grades were decent. unfortunately for her, soyoung has to live up to her asian mom’s high expectations. the thought of this made you want to frown, but you showed a bright smile regardless as the two of you finally made it to the school gate, waving to each other and bidding farewell before walking down opposite paths.
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once you arrived at home, you took out your phone from your back pocket. you saw a notification from your mother saying that your parents would be home late. you shrug your shoulders as you walk to your room. “as always.” you breathed out.
you did your normal routine of showering and eating leftover dinner that you needed to heat up at the couch while you completed one episode of the anime series you were so hooked on. you continue watching but with the amount of homework you have, you might finish them all by midnight if you dont slack.
you turned off the tv and washed your plate before heading into your room. as you close the door behind you, your eyes immediately went to your desk, which was pretty messed up since you had a test to study for yesterday that you completely weren’t prepared for and had to squeeze in as much information as you can. hence, the scattering of notes and textbooks.
you stroll over to your desk and sat down. you take out your homework from your back which was beside the desk. looking at the stack of homework, you groan in despair as shove it to the back of the desk till it hit the wall. “ah fuck it! im just going to ask kun for help.” you admitted your defeat depsite thinking you would be able to gain some energy from your dinner. you also thought about how you’ve done your homework in the morning plenty of time so i shouldnt be a problem unless kun doesn’t offer his help.
you jump to your bed and lay down, bringing your phone out and immediately start scrolling through instagram. as you swiped your finger up to look at the posts of the people you follow, you stop at one. a picture of a couple who met through the sticky note theory. or so they claim. your thumbs hover over the screen as your eyes look up to the ceiling, starting to remember what soyoung asked to do to get your bubble tea.
yoy tap your index finger on the side of your phone as you constantly started to think whether you should do it or not. you’ve heard the rumours. but are they even true? the more you thought about it, the more intriguing the idea got. but at the same time, you also thought of how stupid it sounded and was probably made to fool people.
after contemplating and having in a debate in your head that felt like forever, you finally place your phone down beside you and take a deep breath. “ill do it.” you groan to yourself, letting curiosity take over your other feelings.
you gather up your strength to stand up from your bed and walk over to your desk. you push all the papers and textbooks aside, grabbing a yellow sticky notepad from your stationery organiser. you had other colours too like pink and purple, but you figured that you should go with the classic.
pulling out a random pen that was laying in between the pages of one of your textbooks, you tilt your head to the side as you start thinking of what to write, unconsciously biting the end of your pen in the process.
you bite the side of your cheek and shrug, deciding to go with the plan of writing whatever that comes to your mind.
um hi? i dont even know if you’re going to see this. its funny, really. i heard a rumour that you can communicate with your soulmate through sticky notes. it’s probably just fake news and im writing to a nobody. that would honestly be embarrassing but it’ll be like love letters.. to myself(?) or my soulmate. write back? haha
you read over what you wrote an endless amount of times, thinking if you should make changes. you groan and immediately stick the sticky note onto your wall, giving up on giving second thoughts about what you call this ridiculousness.
you went about your night, forgetting you have left the sticky note on the wall. as you were on you bed scrolling through tumblr at 2 in the morning, you hear something. it sounded like a piece of paper had fallen from your desk.
unable to see in complete darkness, you turn on the flashlight from your phone and walk around your room, trying to find whatever it is that fell. it didn’t take you long to find a small yellow sticky note that you accidentally stepped on.
you pick it up, remembering that you wrote on the sticky note and thought that it was yours. however, once you were able to get a closer look, you noticed that the words on the sticky note have changed. so has the handwriting.
holy shit. i dont know what is this. but apparently a sticky note appeared on my wall saying i have a soulmate. my friends told me i should write back because of some rumour. so here i am trying. hi im mark. i dont know your name, but hope you’ll tell me once you recieve this. you’re in luck because apparently the rumour is true. im just as crepped out as you are.
you froze in your spot. your fingers shaking as you read the note again. you scratch your head. being too tired and unable to think straight at 2 in the morning, you place the sticky note on your desk and went back to bed to play with your phone. you soon forget about the fact that your soulmate has replied to your message that you have written on your sticky note.
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as you got ready for the next period which was math, soyoung immediately runs over to you, dragging the chair from the desk beside you and taking a seat. you flinch a little when you suddenly see her close to you. 
“so did you try it?!” soyoung asks, her voice filled with enthusiasm . you brushed a few pieces of hair behind your ear, nodding your head as you take out your textbook from under the desk. “did you get a reply then?” 
your mind started to take you back to the mysterious encounter that you had last night. “mhm.” you reply simply. “though the only thing i remember because it seems to be the only relevant information is that the person’s name is mark.” soyoung gasped loudly, making you crease your forehead as you watch her overreacting again. 
“your soulmate’s name is mark then.” soyoung concludes, folding her arms confidently as if she made a great discovery. you laugh, rolling your eyes sarcastically. “isnt it obvious?” soyoung frowns fakely. 
your mouth gapes open as you hit soyoung’s arm lightly. “buy me my milk tea!” you demanded with a wide smile. soyoung places her notebook on your table and nods constantly. “i will you addict.” she groans. you happily say thank you as your teacher comes into the classroom and class began. 
“what are you going to do about it now though?” as you recieved the question from soyoung, you kept silent for a moment, giving time to think of an answer.
 “ill write something back? i dont know.. ill have to read the letter again when i get back home.” you whispe to soyoung. she nods in reply as the two of you payed your attention to the front again. it surprised you that soyoung was paying attention but you only assumed that she wanted to do better in class and shrug your shouders, writing down the notes youve missed while talking to soyoung.
as for you, your concentration in class dipped slightly because now, the thing that is occupying your head the most is the thought that the sticky notes theory might actually be real and you cant say its not possible anymore, making you even more shocked than you did last night.
lucky for you, today is the only day of the week where your class ends the earliest, along with two other lower ranked classes. you and soyoung quickly pack up to go to the mall to get your reward. after soyoung buys you your drink, you and soyoung went your separate ways.
after about 30 minutes of taking the bus and walking, you finally arrived at home. you place your drink on the living room table and proceed to place your bag in the room and head for the showers.
once you were done showering, you walk out of the bathroom to head to your room while drying your hair with a small towel. opening the door, you enter and went straight to your clothing rack. just when you were about to grab a shirt from the hanger, you heard the same noise last night. another piece of paper has fallen on the floor.
you turn your head and look down. this time, you found another sticky note right in front of your feet. the colour of the sticky note changed from yellow to a light blue. you tilt your head as you pick up the stick note from the floor, finding it odd as you wonder how the colour of the sticky note changed.
you take a deep breath before reading it, noticing that the handwriting was similar to the one you read last night. a little messier, but still readable.
hi again.. im not sure if you’ll recieve this since its the afternoon and i know people are busy with work or school. i skipped school today so haha. um i just wanted to write to you, despite me not knowing a single thing about you. its odd really. its like i feel the need to write something to an unknown identity that people assume to be my soulmate. i still dont know your name, so i hope youll reply soon. take your time and take care :)
- mark
“skip school? what is he, a bad boy?” you scoff to yourself. you try to take in whatever’s on the note, but another thought comes to mind. you walk over to your desk and saw that the yellow sticky note with mark’s reply was still there. you find everything about this weird and just odd in general. a lot of questions sprouted, but you didn’t want to think of it since you were afraid you would complicate your thoughts and just throw yourself into a stress hole.
you continue to dry your hair with one hand while the other held onto the light blue sticky note. you bit your lip and gulp. after letting out a long sigh, you place the sticky note next to the other one and changed into your clothes, as well as bringing your drink from the living room table to your room, placing it on the desk as you sat down.
you take out your pencilcase from your bag and brought out your fresh new black pen that you just bought at the school’s stationery store. the previous pen you had was full of ink till soyoung was dumb enough to drop it, spoiling the pen and was unable to be used again.
peeling off another yellow stick note from the stack at the edge of your desk, you were about to put your pen on paper when you realise you dont even know what to write. what do you say to this person you barely know about? you continuously tap the edge of the pen against your desk as you take a sip of your drink. you look over to the two sticky notes with the messages that the person has left. its funny how you have to think so hard just to write a short message.
hey again. i actually ended school early today. my name’s raven. but my friends call me ray. i honestly don’t know what to say to you. im still dumbfounded over the fact that you’re my soulmate and we’re here communicating over sticky notes. the world really does work in a strange way. if you dont mind, i guess i want to know how old you are and you’re education status?
you held out the sticky note in front of you and sigh in satisfaction. why? it’s because of your neat handwriting. it was always a trait of yours that you deeply appreciate. you place the sticky note on the wall and advert your attention to the other sticky notes, placing them on the wall beside the new one you have just written.
“will this drive me insane? i might end up with a whole wall of this.” you say to yourself, rubbing your face with your palm before going to your bed and laying down, wanting to have your evening nap.
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“this is awesome!”
“no its scary.”
mark and his group of friends stared at the sticky note that has a message written with beautiful handwriting. mark flinched when he felt an arm on his shoulder, turning around to notice it was chenle’s. “when did you write your previous sticky note?” renjun suddenly asked. mark tilts his head as he tried to find an answer.
“less than an hour before you guys came i guess?” mark shrugs, standing up from his desk and taking a seat at the edge of the bed beside jaemin and haechan. “this raven girl is your soulmate then.” chenle walks towards mark and stands in front of him. mark nods slowly. the room grew silent again with everyone having the similar thoughts.
“you know what would be funny?” haechan smacks mark’s thigh, the sound making everyone turn their attention to mark and haechan. “what?” mark asked with a sigh, running a hand through his hair.
“why dont we prank her and say you’re a sugar daddy and live in a mansion?!” everyone gave yuta weird looks, making haechan laugh hysterically. “are you crazy? do you think i want to chase my soulmate away?” mark scolded haechan, smacking him hard on the chest, resulting in haechan’s back falling onto the bed.
“you’re always asking for a beating i swear.” renjun comments, walking towards haechan and balling his hand into a fist and acting as if he was about to attack. jaemin laughs to try and calm them down. “kids let’s not fight.” jaemin announced, looking over to jeno only to find him standing there watching quietly.
“go ahead, mark. you should write something. we cant keep her waiting.” jeno finally spoke up, grabbing the sticky notepad and a random pen from mark’s table and passing it over to him.
mark stared at the blank paper while the others were talking about what to have for dinner. it didn’t take him long to decide what to write. when mark starts writing and began to be in full concentration, everyone crowds around him to see what he’s writing.
sup raven! i wont call you ray since we aren’t friends yet. im still shocked. like the possibility of things like this being possible is just another possibility that can possibly happen. but anyways, to answer you question, im a high schooler from dream high. im in my third year. its kind of awkward for me while im writing this since my friends are reading every word im taking down. i guess i should ask you the same question back then. hope to hear from you soon.
“will you guys stop being nosy?” mark groans, standing up and pasting the sticky note on his wall, along with the other sticky notes he received from you. “you didn’t have to say that we’re here.” haechan retorts. mark rolls his eyes. “jesus..” mark mutters under his breathe. “anyways, yall are paying for dinner since you guys bribed me to write back.” mark sticks his tongue out playfully and runs out to the living room. everyone follows suit.. except for jeno.
jeno slowly walks towards the wall and leans forward to get a closer look of the sticky notes, specifically the two others beside the new one that mark just wrote. “raven? why does that sound so familiar? the handwriting...” jeno brings his finger up and lightly hovers them over the uniquely written words. it looked like calligraphy, and retro looking. jeno felt as though he had seen it before somewhere, or knew someone who wrote like that.
jeno snapped out of his deep thoughts when jaemin called out to him, making him walk towards the door and glancing at the sticky notes once more before joining the others in the living room.
you were currently video calling your friends when you heard the crackling of a piece of paper. of course you knew what that meant. you peered down the the floor from your bed and reached your hand out to pick up the sticky note. “ray?” doyoung called out to you when he noticed your face wasnt on screen. you lay back down on the floor and brought your phone up to show your face.
“what was that sound earlier?” lucas asked, currently sounding hyper. “the mysterious mark sent me another sticky note.” you reply sarcastically, waving the sticky note to the camera to let everyone look at it. everyone nodded their heads at the some time, some letting out a long ‘ah’ as well. “read it out loud!” yuta shouted.
“the fuck no!” you shouted back. you stared at the sticky note, but didn’t bother to read it. you thought of doing that once you’re done video calling them.
“how was today for you guys?” you asked, wanting to know how they’re doing.
“its tiring! we had dance practice, then we have to do recordings for our new albums. we barely get any sleep.” ten whines, his tone filled with stress. you laugh loudly. it made everyone frown and pout. you sigh. “pursuing your NCT world domination is never easy.” you commented, highlighting the word ‘world domination’ with a change of tone.
everyone lets out a long sigh and started to complain one by one, making the whole video call chaotic for almost 10 minutes. you could only smile and shake your head.
after about an hour or so of talking about basically everything and catching up with each other, everyone decided that they should end the call here since it was beginning to get dark and they needed to start practice soon. you bid your goodbye to them once more and ended the call.
you now adverted your attention to the sticky note. reading the letter, you raise both eyebrows. “dream high? that’s not far from here..” you mumbled to yourself. you started to think about everything you know about dream high. you know it’s was about an hour’s journey from where you live. it wasnt really well known either. the overall vibe of the school was mediocre.
however, you felt like you were missing something. something about that school is somehow related to you. you just couldn’t think of an answer despite squeezing all thoughts that you have in your brain. you groan and stood up from your bed and to your desk, proceeding to wanting to write a reply to mark.
hey. sorry if you get this quite late. i was busy video calling my friends. to answer your question, im a third year as well from jookin high. i would ask for your number so we dont have to do this all the time but my friend would scold me saying “but you’re removing the fun out of it.” but anyways, mark aka my soulmate, tell me about yourself, to start off.
you stick the note onto the wall, looking at the row of messages you’ve had recieved so far. you found it weird how the first time you’ve sent the note and got a reply back, it was on the same sticky note, just different handwriting. but you had to write on a new sticky note to send a new message only to get the same sticky note with a different message in return.
you only see his answers lined up on your wall. you started to wonder how this mark guy looked like. is he good looking? what are his hobbies? his attitude towards school? you really wished you could just text him through instagram and not have to go through all this trouble. but that option would earn you a large smack on the back by soyoung and your really didn’t want that.
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“do we really need to be here now? like now?!”soyoung whined, while pushing the cart and following behind you while you tossed some packets of frozen bacon. you stopped walking and turn around, nodding your head intensely. soyoung groans and took out her phone, proceeding to use it while still pushing the cart.
you walk around the supermarket, trying to find the ingredients listed on your notes in your phone. it was the weekends and you’re parents were going to be away for a business trip for a week so you thought of inviting soyoung over and making home cooked meals as a bonding session for you two.
after about 30 minutes of gathering the ingredients and having soyoung constantly screaming and fangirling over tiktok edits of jaehyun from NCT. one note: she has yet to know that you know them and that they’re your friends. you figured that it would be best to not let anyone know so as to avoid any situation that would put your friends in a tight spot, since well they’re idols, you were looking for one last item that you had trouble finding.
“soyoung help me! stop watching tiktoks!” you groan, snatching soyoung’s phone away and shoving it in her back pocket. soyoung rolls her eyes lazily and the two of you proceeded to scan the different isles and shelves, looking over every item.
while you were too concentrated looking at the bottom shelves, you felt that you have bumped into someone. you squat down, letting out a soft ‘ouch’ before standing up and looking to see who you bumped into.
“wait. jaemin?” you furrow your eyebrows as you tilt your head, pointing your finger at the guy in front of you. “raven!” you noticed that it was jaemin after all, and both your faces lit up and the same time, grinning widely at each other.
“uhhh..” soyoung says out loud, you and jaemin turn your heads to face soyoung who was behind you. “oh! this is jaemin. we used to be neighbourhood friends before he moved out 4 years ago.” you introduced jaemin to soyoung. jaemin nodded and gave her a bright smile. soyoung only shrugged her shoulders and took out her phone. you turn your attention back to jaemin.
“why are you even here? dont you live quite far?” you ask, your fingers interlocked behind your back. jaemin nods, running a hand through his hair.
“well yes. but we came here to find something that only this supermarket sells.” jaemin replied back, his warm smile never leaving his lips. you smile, reached your hand out to ruffle his hair, laughing softly afterwards. “we? who’re you with?” you stared at jaemin with eyes of suspicion. jaemin started pinching your cheeks, making you whine and begging him to let go.
“with my friend, ray chill. im still single.” jaemin pulled away and folded his arms, pouting. “im sure you’ll find one soon.” you reached out to ruffle his hair and give off a wide smile.
while you and jaemin were catching up and being in your own world, soyoung got too bored of watching the two of you and decided to walk around the supermarket, leaving the cart behind you.
just as she was looking at the drinks isle to get her favourite sweet drink, she sees someone picking up a bunch of bottles one by one and placing them back on the shelve. out of kindness, she decided to help, picking up a bottle and placing it on fhe shelve before looking up to face the guy, who had a straight face while looking at her.
“i was just trying to help. im soyoung.” soyoung smiled, reaching her hand out and waiting for thr guy to greet back. he looked at her but doesn’t respond, proceeding to pick up the last bottle that was seen on the floor. “im jeno.” jeno stands up and nods his head to greet soyoung. soyoung nods back, walking down the isle to grab her drink from the shelve. “have a nice day.” soyoung says before leaving the isle and disappearing out of jeno’s sight. he only shrugged in response and went to do his own thing.
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“you met who?!” haechan asks as he takes a sip of his ice cold water. everyone had their heads turned to jaemin, who raised an eyebrow at everyone’s weird expression. “i met my old friend raven. what’s so shocking?” jaemin asks back casually, picking up a few pieces of fries and dipping it into the sauce before shoving it in his mouth.
“dude that’s the name of mark’s soulmate!” haechan screams, making everyone flinch due to the loud noise. “i highly doubt it. there’s plenty of girls in the world with the name raven.” jaemin protests with his mouth full and chugging down gulps of coca cola.
“i mean that’s true. jeno you were with jaemin, right? dont you suspect anything?” renjun starts to question jeno, who was silently playing with his phone. looking up at the others, he gulps.
“i didn’t know he met his friend. i was picking out drinks. i just met a girl named soyoung.” jeno shrugs, taking a bite of his burger. mark scratches the back of his head, now starting to think of the fact that jaemin might have met his soulmate. though he also thought about how that could not be totally possible.
“nah i dont think its her. like really ‘raven’ could be anyone.” mark says, siding with jaemin. haechan tilts his head in awe. “jaemin do you know what school she’s going to?” jaemin only shakes his head.
“i lost all contact with her when i left her neighbourhood. plus we were young. i barely knew her honestly.” the living room falls silent, everyone trying to think of a conclusion to this.
chenle groans, standing up from his seat and slamming his hands on the table, gathering everyone’s attention as their heads shot up. “instead of pondering as if yall are solving some crime, why dont mark just ask her through the sticky note god dammit?” chenle pinches the bridge of his nose.
everyone’s mouths gape open as the room was suddenly filled with ‘ah’s all over. chenle shakes his head. everyone was now looking intensively at mark. mark furrows his eyebrows. “okay guys hold up ill grab the stick note.” mark stands up and takes one bite of his burger before going into his room for awhile and coming out with a sticky note and a pen.
jaemin noticed jeno being silent the whole way. and althought thats normal since its jeno’s nature and personality to not be so outspoken like the others, jaemin could sense that jeno was off and seem to be in deep thoughts.
and jaemin was right. jeno couldnt stop thinking about jaemin’s encounter with ‘raven’. the name sounded so familiar. he tried to recall every girl he has came into contact with during his life. why did he feel like the name was tied to the handwriting he saw on the sticky notes?
“jeno.” jaemin nudged him in the shoulder. jeno mumbled a soft ‘oh’ before turning his attention to mark just like the others. “she didn’t send me a reply after my last one though.” mark says, looking up.
“its fine. she probably didn’t see it. just write already.” chenle says in anticipation. mark shakes his head. “calm the heck down its not like we can get an answer immediately.” mark rolls his eyes and began to write.
hey raven. um i know this may sound weird. but have you gone to a supermarket and met a guy names jaemin? im not a stalker i swear. its just that he’s my friend and apparently you know him. though i dont think that such a coincidence and come by just like that. hope you hear from you soon.
jeno stared at the sticky note that mark proceeded to place at a random wall of the living room while everyone continued to eat and chat. his thoughts finally linked and a imaginary lightbulb appeared on above his head when he finally realises why he was so drawn to mark’s soulmate.
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you were focused on wanting to solve a math question when the sticky note above your desk’s wall had fallen in front of you, revealing a new message. you place your pen down and let out a sigh, remembering that you hsve forgotten to write a reply and that mark probably sent you another one.
you tied your hair in a messy low bun before picking up the sticky note to get a closer view. you blink your eyes rapidly as your eyes furrow in awe. what the note said really shocked you and made you freeze in your spot. jaemin is friends with your soulmate? there’s no way.
you sat there for awhile as you constantly read over the words, still in shock with your moutb hanging open. you just couldn’t believe it. was it really what it seemed to be? another thought came to your mind as well. the thought of just who is this friend of jaemin’s? could it be mark? was your soulmate literally in the same place as you yet you never knew?
you grab a fresh new piece of sticky note and proceeded to write a reply after staring at it for so long and thought that it was finally time that you do something.
okay what you wrote really was weird. jaemin’s my old neighbourhood friend. its such a coincidence how you know him. i guess the connections are there. so haha yeah. damn. im very mind blown right now.
you take a look at your handwriting again, smiling to yourself. “i really do love my handwriting.” you mumble under your breath. you stuck the sticky note on the wall and resumed doing your homework, hoping that mark would reply soon.
while the boys were immersed in the horror movie they were watching on friday night, everyone turned their heads to each other when they heard the noise of a piece of paper falling onto the floor. in unison, everyone turned their head to where the noise came from and seeing the sticky note that fell.
jisung grabs the controller and pauses the movie. “we’re watching a scary movie and creepy stuff like that happens?!” jisung asks, stuttering out of complete fear.
mark decided to be the brave one after seeing everyone’s terrified face and stands up to pick up the sticky note, going back to take his seat on the couch soon after. “d-does that always happen?” mark shrugs. “well duh. that’s how i know she sent a reply. it wouldn’t be this scary if we weren’t watching a horror movie.”
everyone’s heads once again gather around mark as he read the note out loud. everyone gapes their mouth open, some covered their mouths while jeno could only stare at it in disbelief. “i guess we’ve confirmed its her.” mark breathes out, placing the sticky note on the table.
jeno reaches out to grab the sticky note to have a look. the unique handwriting that he suspected would belong to you really was yours. out of anger, he tears the sticky notes into two. everyone had their eyes widened at jeno’s sudden shocking action. mark snatches the now torn note back, looking down at them before facing jeno.
“what the heck was that for?!”
“dont talk to her anymore. she’s trouble.”
everyone lets out a sigh in unison except for mark, looking at everyone’s weird reaction. “what do you mean trouble? and why does it look like you all know something except me?” mark furrows his eyes as everyone exchanged glances continuously for a moment.
“she’s just not someone you should be with. that’s all.” jeno stands up and walks to his room, slamming the door shut and produring a piercing noise. the room was silent for awhile until mark speaks up.
“what am i missing here you guys?”
no one replies.
“we’ve been friends for a year and you guys are all keeping secrets for me?” mark scoffs in disbelief, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“we arent in the position to tell you. its jeno.” jaemin murmurs under his breath, looking down on the ground just like the others.
marks keeps silent and stands up from the couch, the palm the torn note was in is balled into a fist as he goes into his room as well.
haechan sighs. “jeno has to tell the truth. he’s been holding onto that grudge almost forever now.”
everyone nods their heads in agreement. “if not, he’s going to live in despair now that he knows she’s his best friend’s soulmate..” jisung adds on. 
everyone could only silently hope that things could go well. 
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after that day you’ve sent a reply, you havent heard from mark since. you dont know why. due to your lack of information on him, it felt as if he disappeared into thin air. although only a week has past by, you felt concerned and somewhat worried for him. did something happen to him? what made him cut off his connection with you? its not like you did anything wrong. 
out of pure desperation, you decided to skip school today. youve never skipped school before, and you felt so rebellious and bad. why did you do this? so you could go to dream high and meet mark in person. youve had enough of the sticky notes. you just wanted to see how he was like in real life, not having to think about it through notes. 
with a little help from jaemin by texting him on instagram, you knew that mark’s class should be ending by 4pm, and you were there at 3:50 in the canteen where jaemin told you to wait. funny how the security guard lets a student from another school come in with a pass or anything.
you slowly start seeing groups of students going down the flight of stairs that lead to the canteen which had a path leading to the front gates. some eyes glanced at you as they notice someone who doesnt belong at their school, you couldnt care less though. your thoughts were only filled with mark. how he looked like, how he would carry himself. your anticipation was the only thing you felt.
you wore your headphones yet you could suddenly hear a lot of squealing and shouting. you look up, turning you attention to the stairs. a large group of girls crowding around another group of people, who you assumed to be guys. you scoffed, thinking about how there’s always that one group of good looking guys all girls seem to go crazy for. you watch as the group of guys push through the large crowd.
once you got a closer look, you tilt your head to the side. you slowly bring your headphone down from your ears and let them rest on your neck, getting intrigued by how the girls were getting so crazy, even more crazy than the ones from your school.
“its mark! he’s so cute!” 
you widen your eyes as you heard the word ‘mark’. you stood up from your seat, peering your head up to find which one is the girl referring to. you only see two guys walking. one smiling sheepishly while the other kept a straight and cold face. just which one is mark?
suddenly, you felt an arm grabbing yours and pulling you back. you jump out of fear and turn around noticing it was jaemin. you calmed your breathing as you look at jaemin. 
“meet mark under the block nearby. its too hectic here for you to talk to him.”
jaemin dragged you out of the school grounds and to a secluded block where only a few students where walking past and left you there. you were lost in confusion but decided to trust whatever jaemin was doing, sitting down at a random bench.
“jaemin told us to meet him here where is-” 
“raven.”
“what?”
you immediately stood in front of the two guys you saw at the canteen as you notice a familiar face. you werent able to get a clear look at them before, but now you realise that you knew one of them. “jeno..” you look at a different direction a you tried avoiding his gaze, though you knew you couldnt, forcing yourself to meet his eyes.
mark looks at the both of you, utterly confused as his attention shifts from you to jeno constantly. “this raven?” mark points at you, tilting his head. you nod slowly as your turn your head to face mark. you observed his body up and down. he was good looking, just like jeno.. yet his aura told you that he was way more outgoing and open than jeno. 
“you look...”
everyone was silent.
you gulp in nervousness. “im busy. bye mark.” before jeno could go, mark pulled on his arm to bring him back to stand beside him, earning a glare from jeno. the one you could never forget. “stay. i know something happened. you were always quiet whenever we talked about this girl. and i also know you all kept something from me.”
you slowly turned to jeno. you could he was annoyed whenever he looked at you. you felt it through his eyes, and it was terrifying. jeno took a deep breath in, folding his arms and placing his weight on one leg. 
“if you remember clearly, chenle told you that before we became friends with you, we had a fight and didnt talk to each other for a long time. we didnt tell you this, but it was her who caused it. she brought chaos into our group. everyone forgotten about it clearly, but i cant. after what she did.. i cant forgive her.”
you opened your mouth, wanting to reply but your words were somehow stuck in your throat. you didnt exactly know what to say or do in this awkward situation.
“it.. it was a long time ago jeno, please. my feelings for you were real, even if we werent meant to be. i dont know how many times you need me to say sorry.” you pleaded, biting your lip as you waited for jeno’s reaction.
jeno sighs and runs a hand through his hair as he lets out a huff of rustration. “then why did you leave? you left me stranded, and because of you, i almost left my friends becaused i lived in agony since i missed you so much. i almost pushed everyone away.” you shivered as jeno’s voice started to raise. 
 you also glanced at mark, who still kept his confused expression on his face. through his gaze never left you as you felt his eyes scanning you body up and down. 
“you two used date?” mark asks. you nod in reply.
“we were kids. we didnt know about all this soulmate stuff. but now..” 
“you know what? be together. im not going to leave my friends just because of my pent up grudge and feelings. i cant control fate either.” 
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years had now past since you met mark. it really was fate. the two of you became close in no time and now.. you were fianally married. you couldnt be more happy to be with mark. who you were destined to be really was made for you, and you only. and to think this all escalated due to a note you sent out in pure curiosity.
you still remember what happened with jeno after that day, despite the lack of interaction between you two, jeno was open enough to accept you as his friend again. you are now living a happy life with mark, and always being able to hang out with his group of friends. today was no different. 
“haechan get the chilli sauce!” you hear mark shout as you smile widely, feeling his arm snaking around your waist to pull you close. having a barbeque was a great idea to celebrate jisung’s birthday. 
you soon see haechan with the bottle of chilli sause, placing it on the table where everyone gathered around the table which had jisung’s birthday cake. “before we do anything with the cake, let me announce my wish.” jisung announces proudly. you raise an eyebrow. “you cant say you birthday wish out loud!” you scolded jisung, but everyone laughs.
“his wish is something we all know.” jeno says, winking playfully at you. you tilt your head in confusion when you suddenly feel mark’s arm leaving you waist. you look over to mark who was shoving his hand into his pocket as if to find something.
you were completely clueless when mark nods towards jisung, to show some kind of signal. “i wish for mark and raven to get married!” jisung shouts. 
you gaped your mouth open in shock when mark pulls out a small box, opening it in front of you to show a ring. you cover your mouth in disbelief. “did you guys really-”
“please marry me, raven. my sticky note soulmate.” you hear everyone clapping s a tear of happiness drips from your cheek. you quickly wipe it away as you heard the nickname that mark gave you. “we wouldnt normally do this but it was jeno that suggested this.”
you look over to jeno who had a soft smile on his face as he nod his head. looking back at mark, you grin widely as more tears started flowing out. “of course ill marry you, you dork.”
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mikamink · 3 years
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What are your pokemon headcanons for some of the characters teams lol
I've figured out some fitting pokemon for most characters but I like to try to find a neat theme and setup to go with the choices. I don't have all of them set in stone but I'll share the choices I'm the happy with atm.
Some of the descriptions will be a bit long. Characters included are Rasiel, Fran, Belphegor, Chrome, Ryohei, and Bianchi. (With very slight mention of Haru and Kyoko)
Rasiel- I’ll just get him out of the way first. Due to his status and traumatic childhood Rasiel’s preference in pokemon revolves around high class ghost types. Vain status symbols and testaments to his ability to overcome death. His team is comprised of pokemon like Cofagrigus, Chandelure, and (Authentic)Polteageist. His most notable pokemon is Cofagrigus.
Not long after the “incident” that left him terribly injured and ill, employees around the castle noticed the presence of a distressed yamask pacing the outskirts of the castle grounds. Some noted the unsettling resemblance between the young prince and the mask the pokemon carried. At some point during his recovery, the Yamask found it’s way into the castle and rushed straight to Siel. It’s presence didn’t scare the prince, it was oddly comforting and the stray pokemon offered him some small bit of company while he remained isolated.
The consensus between his caretakers was that the Yamask had mistakenly taken the likeness of the prince during the moments he was buried after his brush with death. Rasiel miraculously surviving and Yamask retaining his likeness made the pokemon confused and curiously drawn to him. And it wasn’t just Yamask. Rasiel’s near death experience and the recent flood of negative energy throughout the castle grounds turned it into a beacon for ghost type pokemon. Overtime Rasiel developed a fascination with death and the afterlife and became as drawn to ghost types as they were to him. Not once did he have to go out of his way to catch his own pokemon, all of his partners eagerly sought out their new prince of their own accord.
Rasiel’s main partner Cofagrigus is a very unsettling and dangerous pokemon and most are surprised by how docile it is in his presence. Not only is his connection to Cofagrigus deeply personal, his family is wealthy enough to satiate it’s appetite for gold and his status as future king makes him a perfect match for that particular pokemon based on it’s history. -“There are many depictions of Cofagrigus decorating ancient tombs. They're symbols of the wealth that kings of bygone eras had.”
Fran- Fran has a very notable lack of motivation when it comes to most things, being a trainer included. He doesn’t really have a preference and his team is made up of pokemon he obtained through odd circumstances. Notable pokemon in Frans possession are Espurr, Zorua, Mimikyu, Appletun, and Hatterene.
A tiny apple-less applin became infatuated with Fran’s hat and was determined to make it it’s new home. Though Fran tried many times to shoo the pokemon away or lock it out of his house, it always found its way to him again. Eventually he grew tired of constantly dealing with it and just let it take up residence in his hat. It’s delighted little eyes always poking out of the top. Fran eventually evolved it not long after he acquired a new hat.
Though I don’t have an idea for how he acquired Mimikyu and I do have the hc that Fran is for some unknown reason is the only known person capable of looking under Mimikyu’s disguise without it having any negative affect on him. Not even Belphegor or Mukuro are willing to personally test their luck in that regard.
Hatterene are scary and near impossible for the average person to approach without provoking. However Fran’s monotonous disposition and overall lack of outward emotion made him unintentionally cross paths with one. Though he had no desire to catch or battle it he noticed it had intently started following him. It had never encountered a human that didn’t instantly agitate it and that made it curious.(She also just liked his big silly hat) He didn’t particularly like the idea of having such an aggressive and volatile pokemon in his possession but he also didn’t want it following him through places filled with people that could potentially provoke it, not that he was concerned it might attack other people, he just didn't want it to attack him. So he made a compromise to take it with him while in the safety of a ball, and it surprisingly obliged.
There is ONE perk though. Hatterene HATES Belphegor. He’s loud and hostile and his vibes are terrible. He is everything Hatterenes hate in a human. If Fran tries to use Hatterene in battle while Bel is nearby it will turn it’s focus straight to him. Sometimes Fran does it on purpose because honestly Bel deserves it majority of the time. Her Fairy typing also directly counters Bel’s favored dark type.
Belphegor- Gonna be honest, I’ve tried to put a lot of thought into Bel for this AU but he is incredibly difficult to work with. It’s hard for me to assign him pokemon because I just can’t seem to find any that are good enough to fit his vibes. Or in his case bad enough. The main thing I decided for him was that he would have a focus on dark types and two of his pokemon would be a shiny Absol and the exception to his preference, Gengar. Alolan Persian, Deino, Weavile, and Skuntank are pretty solid contenders but i’m not 100% on all of them yet. Tho I do like the idea of both of the twins having meowth, Bel ending up with alolan persian and Rasiel ending up with Kantonian Persian.
Absol’s are considered bad omens, bringers of disaster and death, and that is exactly what comes to those whose paths are crossed by this crimson visage. It’s presence is a warning that it’s master is near. Bel has had this fearsome partner since he was a child, it’s first appearance before him marking the “death” of his brother. Since then Bel has been a beacon for disaster, anywhere he goes he happily brings death with him, and that is why Absol is never far from his side. Always there to be a warning, or a threat, to those who venture too close or are unfortunate enough to have Bel’s sights set on them.
The exception to his preference in dark types is Gengar. He liked it’s vibe and got it as a direct response to Fran’s Hatterene being a constant pain. Though head-to-head it does come down more to skill than typing since both have disadvantage and weakness against the other. Generally they tend to be pretty even in power.(when you don’t consider the fact that Fran doesn’t really put much effort into battles.)
Chrome- Chrome isn’t one for battle when it comes to pokemon and doesn’t really have a preference. For Chrome her pokemon are therapeutic and a source of comfort in her day to day. Her pokemon are Musharna, Sylveon, Togetic, Shiny Audino, Kirlia, and Gothorita. Pokemon that specialize in soothing the fears and anxiety of their trainers, and bringing them happiness. Her very first partner was a Munna.
It isn’t uncommon for doctors to use pokemon as assistants for a variety of medical treatments. Though they were not exclusive to that ward, munna were often found in the pediatric ward at night. They provided assurance and comfort to recovering children, soothing their dreams and eating away the nightmares. Though there was little hope she would survive, Chrome had one assigned to her bedside. A small comfort during what would likely be her last few nights. Her moments of consciousness were short and scarce, so her dreams were all she had left.
Up until Mukuro’s odd intervention, Munna remained snug by her side. It would sometimes visit her in her dreams, providing some company within her peaceful, yet lonely world. After all what company could she dream of if everyone had abandoned her? When she awakened and had miraculously stabilized due to Mukuro’s aid she just so happened to take the Munna with her on her way out of the hospital.
Ryohei- While not one I tend to think too much on and I dont have a full party thought out for him, I recently decided I like the idea of him having Mega-Lopunny. I know that seems like an odd choice, because it is, everyone thinks it's an odd pokemon for him to have, including himself, but under no circumstances would he ever consider removing it from his team because it was a gift.
When his little sister Kyoko became a trainer the first thing she did was try to find a pokemon she could give to her big brother as a gift, as a way of showing him she was capable of catching pokemon on her own and to thank him for helping her get to that point. At the time Buneary felt like a good fit in her eyes because it was cute and its ears seemed to pack the kinda punch Ryohei liked his pokemon to have.
Ryohei was overjoyed by the gift and didnt question in the slightest why she would give him a normal type when he specialized in fighting types, he was just proud of his sister. His synergy with Lopunny is surprisingly solid as it makes for a good pseudo fighting type, and in it's mega form it not only becomes a proper fighting type it also gains the ability to PUNCH GHOSTS which is cool as hell!
Once Kyoko is a little older she feels kind of embarrassed about her choice given Ryoheis type preference but he insists Lopunny is amazing and gladly shows off it's power to anyone when given the chance, making sure everyone knows it's because of his little sister he has such a powerful partner. This does not help ease her embarrassment. Ryohei eventually returned the favor by gifting her a stufful. Something that suited her that was cute and strong, and also because Haru had one and he knew how much Kyoko loved it.
Bianchi- Instead of going full poison types like I originally planned to, I started liking the idea of her having food themed pokemon that are just kinda wrong. She's the only char I have considered taking some liberties with the canon designs and typing of her pokemon. At the moment I hc her having Alcremie, Vanilluxe, and Tsareena. All "shiny" though people are sure Bianchi's pokemon were not always those sickly off-colors. Their designs would be more warped/melted with tsareena being an exception as she seemed to have a better response to it's trainer-inflicted poison typing. (A G-maxed Alcremie in her possession would be a horrific sight)
Bianchi herself isn't doing this intentionally to her pokemon and also doesn't seem to notice their differences. Her love for her pokemon and the care she provides for them are genuine, they just somehow always end up “wrong”. Their sickly appearances haven't hindered their ability to function in battle and they actually seem to be unusually stronger than their average counterparts.
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wakandascrystal · 4 years
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BET. II
Erik x BlackReader
Summary: Erik and his friends place a bet to get with you little does he know who you and family are.
Part 1
......................................
“Ahh Ray Charles.. Ray Sings, Basie Swings. How did you know? I’m going to enjoy this..“ Your father held the vinyl closely reading all the fine print on the back of the casing.
“How could I not? Ray was all you listened to back then. Your one and only obsession.“ You smiled fondly at the older man. He seemed to be really happy about the gift. That made you feel good. Job well done.
He called one of the four men that stood guard around his office. Dressed in black suits with black earpieces. One hurried towards him. With quickness he took the vinyl from his hands and pulled out the vinyl to insert it into the gramophone.
He dropped the needle and Oh, What A Beautiful Morning started playing. Ray Charles voice filling the wide space. Your father's office was the backdrop of your childhood when you were still innocent and hopeful. You used to run between the wooden chairs and hide behind the large curtains. Minding your blissful business.You missed these days but thinking about the past did nothing but let pain into your heart. Now you were back years later, a grown women. Wiser, intelligent and sometimes harsh.
 Your father's smile took you out of your train of thought. He seemed happy these days. You didn't live with him so seeing him was a treat. You would told anyone this but you were much closer to him the your mother. There were reasons for that, none that made your mother seem unfit but you felt more willing to share your woes and problems with your father. It just felt right.
Next moment the guards left, moving swiftly and closed the door behind them. Offering much needed privacy. While they left he poured himself a glass of whiskey. 
“Thats is not true, Ray is not my only obsession...speaking of..how is your Mother doing?“ He carried on the conversation as if nothing had happened.
“For a divorced couple you both do sure ask about each other a lot.“ You placed your bag on his wooden table and sat down on the leather chairs. Your large dreadlocks laid down the sides of your body. 
“She is the Mother of my beautiful children how could I not care about her well being Y/N?“ He was being sarcastic to cover up his true feelings. He felt bad that you had figured him out already. He sometimes forgets how in ture you are with people's motives and emotions.if only he knew that you didn't judge him one bit. You loved that he wanted her back but you couldn't make your mom fall for him. Not after what happened. 
“I guess, but I know you miss her ...and not in that way in the other way...in the making a 4th child way.“ You took a sip of his whiskey since you already decided to be cheeky with him.
“Y/N!! I am your father!!“ He gently reminds you.  
“And I am your daughter, who can see through your bullshit....I have a good idea! Marry her again!!“
“Y/N!“
“Okay I'm sorry about swearing but you know i'm right.“ You cross your legs and arms.
He leaned back and siped what was left of his whisky. A coy smile on his face thinking about his ex wife.
“How are the twins by the way?” 
“They are fine. Somewhere in Spain, partying. They are young, Dad. Let them live okay. Don't do what you did with me.  Look, now i'm a introverted bitch who cares more about her hair care collection than a real relationship. Call them ...ask how they are doing...show them ...that you care even if it looks small. We love affection.“
“Okay I won't be strict on the boys and ill send them love letters every 2 seconds”
You rolled your eyes
“- But your mother will defendant be strict with them. I can't help you there. Speaking about relationships..you still up on my offer?”
You let out a sigh thinking about his offer. 
“No..I love you dad but i have to decline.I appreciate it I really do but..but you know I'm not a fan of your line of work... and I know what your gonna say. The money raised us, yes and it came when we really needed it. It's a double standard but I can't have someone with such a risky ...lifestyle. I worry about you and Uncle Ronny too much already. Just for my piece of mind I can't go out with the men you have in mind.“ 
“Don't worry sweetheart. Your old man understands.“
“I mean do you know any teachers, bus drivers, an IT guy...hell you know any barrestas.“ He laughed and your sense of humour.
He was glad you were very open with him. Unlike your younger brothers you had reached maturity that surprised him but sometimes you being alone with no one did worry him. 
“Dad Im happy. Don't worry. I really dont need a man. I'm good.“ You tried to convince him.
“I wouldn't be this...concerned if ...if you were active.“ 
“No! I'm not having this conversation with you.“  You were shocked. He had due restriction when it came to your sex life.
“Baby listen you can't be ...scared your whole life. I know what happened when you were young and I know how damaging that experience was to you. You were so young and brave-.“
You cut him off.
“Brave? I wasn't brave dad. I just.....I just layed there and he-” Your voice cracked. You squeezed your thighs remembering the pain “..I Know I can't think like that, that a man who wants me will treat me that way but ...it's so hard. The thought of opening up to a stranger ..it's bit crazy.” 
You wanted him to knew you were afraid but at the say time you didn't. You wanted to live up to this strong daughter image but you had your moments of weakness. Bearing them deep in your soul was better than reliving them. 
“You forgave him, made some calls and you took care of him.”
“Is that what we calling murder now.“ You pushed your hair back.
“You know you didn't have to do it.“ He leaned back into his chair. The smirk on your face worried him.
“I'm glad I did.“
“but... you became stronger. I dont think you should let that event lead you stray from love..potential love. You are-”
“Putting a bullet through his head was never going to take the pain away.“ You whispered
“Does it make me a bad person that I loved the sound of his ...agony... The scream he let out when Uncle Ronnie started cutting off his fingers. Does that make me a bad person?” You voice was soft and dry.
“You wanted revenge....Anyone would have. You a good girl Y/N. You deserve to be happy, I'll make sure of it. If anyone tries anything. I mean anything with you. They so much as move a hair out of place. Call me and they will wish they were never born.“
You wink at him trying to lighten the heavy mood
“Speaking of that..... I did met someone!“ You looked down fearing his reaction. It was bad timing but you wanted him to know 
“Really now?“ he looked surprised.
“Yes..and I have his number. He seemed kind and he said he came out of a bad break up about a year ago. I'm not sure about him but he..he made feel comfortable.“
”Well I’m very happy to hear that. When are you planning to meet the young man.“
“I’m not sure maybe tomorrow maybe next week, maybe never.“ 
“Okay then. Tell me when you or if you do meet him. But I do need to leave unfortunately. I'm leaving the country for a bit. Business of course but please do get comfortably. I will see you in 4 days.“
You got up from your chair and gave your father a hug. He was warm and large just how you liked. Your face rested on his chest. Hearing his calm heart beat.
“Thank you for being understanding, for being patient with me and supportive. Please stay safe and come back in one piece.“
“Always. Now please. Get some rest. Eat something.” He gave you a kiss on the cheek and you left his office.
You strolled making your way to your ride. You instructed Frank, your driver to take you to the Hilton hotel. You had been living there since you arrived. The suite you booked was beautiful and you wish you could live there forever. There were no memory, no stress, no anxiety, no fears. when you layed in your bubble bath in the lavish hotel room you at peace. Milky bubble bath sat still around your curvy brown form, hair up away from the fragranced  soapy water. 
You remember telling your father you didn't need a man. That was true you didn't need one but having someone would be nice. The gilded hotel rooms, marble floors and first class flights to any country. They would be so much better with someone. Someone who cared and loved you. Maybe giving Someone a chance would a right start but you really didn't want to date. The process seemed tedious and time consuming. 
But Erik seemed....different. Well that's what you thought. He was a gorgeous black man, there was question about that but beautiful men are everywhere. Your priority was finding someone with a good heart, maybe some who is simple. No flashy lifestyle. Someone would have patience and be slow with you.
Taking a chance climbed out of the warm tub heading to get your phone on the messy bed...Wrapped in a towel you decided to call him.
***************************
“You are a punk, look hoe I'm beating your ass.“ Erik shouted
They were in a heated basketball video game. The guys had brought drinks, weed and snacks to Coles place. It was a friday so they wanted to unwind. 
“Trey, I will body you next round I swear. How could you let this fool win.”  Jadyn complained 
“...And you put money on this nigga.“ Trey called Cole out.
“”What? I thought I could win...I really did have it..“
“Don't lie! You never had it.“ Erik mocked him.
“Ahh I wouldn't be talking if I was you ...shawty still hasn't texted your ass..“ Cole gave back the same energy.
“..She will ..just give her time.“ Erik really didn't expect you to take time long to text him. It pissed him off. He underestimated your thirst.
Any girl with half a brain would have texted him by now.  He was used to that. There was no instant gratification with you. He felt ashamed a bit that you didn't fall to his feet and he tried to avoid talking about the bet.
“..Stop all that..just reload the next game..i'm going to the bathroom... “
He up and left. Minutes later he heard Cole telling him he had a phone call from an unknown number.
“Let it ring...“ He shouted back as he dried his hands
“So E who’s calling you so late. Its almost 11. Early booty call.“
Erik made his way back to the living room.
“Nah all my booty calls are saved. I have Friday Linda big Titties, double cheek up Nikki, Lisa Titties could be bigger ....and my absolute favorite.....Nasty Keke. Now that bitch is crazy. “
“Call it back maybe it's an important call from the hospital or something.“ He stopped playing the game.
“Man why would you say that...playing with my guilty conscious and shit.“
He dialed up the number and called it.
It would be an understatement to say he did not expect your voice. It was sweet with just enough of nervousness to make it sound more attractive.
“Hey“ Erik’s voice involentarly went high as well and all the 3 men in the room with him looked at him. 
“Are you alone?“ You asked. Erik signaled them to turn of the games and stay quiet then proceed to put the call on speaker.
“Yeah It's just me. I..I didn't expect you to call.“ 
“Oh ...Im sorry. Its just I feel like calling is better? Don't you think?“ You waited for him to answer. Tip toeing around your room. 
“Don't apologise...I mean..Yeah..Calls are more personal. Makes the person in the other end feel..... real.“ 
All 3 men knew Erik was talking shit but for a small moment Erik forgot about the Bet. It was actually nice to have a female call him like this. It had never happened before. They always just texted him. Texted him where to pick them up and when to. They never really wanted to get to know him. 
“Did your father like the gift?“ He asked 
“Yes, he did. He’s a big fan of Ray.“ You hated how nervous you were. It really annoyed you. You didn't understand because you weren't this emotional when you meet him back at the music store. Why did you feel like this now. You liked how deep his voice was, You tried not to be affected by its smoothness.
“ - and hows that heart of yours?“ Erik remembered the lie he had told before.
“His doing much better now that you called. You made a brother wait 2 weeks.”  You let out a playful laugh
“Believe or not but I have other things to deal with...but you're very corny Sir. Do you know that?“
“Yes. I'm just trying to be myself. Corny all day. How was your day Y/N?“
“Well, I facetimed my brothers, Dwayne and Dean. They on vacation right now. Then I visited my dad. I actually gave him the ...gift today. Now i'm at home...its a hotel but still.. Nothing much really and you? A handsome man like you surely has tons of women -“
Erik knew that in order to gain your trust he had to destroy any doubt you might have about him. That yeah, a tall, handsome man could be available like that.
“Its 11: 20 and Im on the phone with you ..what women?”
The line went silent for too long. You didn't know what say. Erik and his friends could hear your soft breaths. You were lying face up on the bed now.
“You still there“ he asked.
“There’s a Japanes restaurant downtown... Nine o'clock sharp. Tomorrow.“ You hold your breath.
Erik stood up and did a victory dab and the men smiled
“Let me pick you up, Where do you live?“
“No you dont have to...you know what yes“ Erik thought your outburst was strange but he didn't dwell to much on it.
But that would be hard to explain. Why you had a 6.2ft armed guard following you at all times ....at any given moment he was always next to you. You didn't want him to see that. It would be too early to explain to him. Joe, your bodyguard didn't like leaving you alone. He would meet your father's wrath if anything happen to you. So you would have to talk to him and make sure he stays low.
You would just cross that bridge when you got there.
 “......Yeah. I'm excited.“
You regretted saying that. It just came out to fast. You really didn't want Erik to think you were forward.
“Me too.“ Your heart melted a little. For some reason you thought he would make fun of you.
“Have a nice night Erik. I'm going to bed now."
"Okay goodnight Princess."
You bit you lip and hung up before you moaned out loud. Rolling around in bed you giggled from the adrenaline from the pet name paired up with his voice. You couldn't believe what you just did. You felt a sense of victory. You felt proud of yourself. You hoped Erik felt the same.
**************
He hung up and the boys went wild with excitement.
" fuck that....I'm not letting you anywhere near my girl no more. You too smooth nigga." Trey said laughing with excitement.
"She eat that shit up like breakfast. I hope yall have got my cash ready."Erik said 
“You better send us some evidence though.“ Trey reminded him
“Yeah whatever. I need to leave anyway get ready for my date and shit. I think i'll stop by Tati’s house first. That girl knows how to throw it back. I'm out.“ He got his belongings and left. Meanwhile you left to call Joe. He had rather stand guard outside the hotel door then inside. He liked to give you your private space. You called him. 
“Joe could you come in for a bit i need to talk to you.“
“Sure.“ By the time you had slipped into pjs he was standing in the living room area.
“Joe...Please take a seat. There is something i need to tell you....“
“Yes “ the incredibly large man sat down legs wide on the soft couch.
“I'm going on a date tomorrow.“ You would be lying if you said you didn't expect his reaction to the new.
“..and who the fuck is that punk.“
Joe had watched you grow up in front of his eyes. he was assigned to you when you were 12. He knew you better than most people in your life so he cared for you a lot and he had his own way of showing it.
“Joe please. He’s nice. And he's taking me out tomorrow.“
“Is he that nigga that was bugging you at that music shop. Him and his friends were acting too fresh for my liking. Eyeing you like a piece of meat. “
“okay i get it men are weird but the reason i called you in ..was to ask you ...to not come.“
“Forget it. If something happens to you ..your father will kill me.“
“I know...Its just i dont want him to know. Can you at least just keep a low profile.“
“Okay. I'll try...but if he so much as hurts you ill...“ You covered his mouth quickly.
“I think you forgetting that i can take care of myself.“
***********************************
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thelaudown · 3 years
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hyouka poly slowburn so its like: (post-anime)
satoshi and mayaka are dating all through highschool and houtarou and eru are maybe a little more invested than friends would normally be, and step in when they have problems to a degree that regular people would call a boundary issue.
houtarou and mayaka still give each other shit at every opportunity, but theyre much more outwardly friendly than before, and if she ever argues w satoshi houtarou is the first to say that theres no way its her fault. maybe one time it is and he confronts her abt it in a way that forces her to take him seriously. its the respect and codependency for me. 
mayaka and satoshi have functioning eyes and houtarous feelings for eru are completely obvious to them. unfortunately shes a little harder to read, so they never really get further than being very close friends and committing to being together for the foreseeable future, as far as this road will take them - its the same dynamic for the entire friend group, but satoshi starts seriously considering a proposal in third year. 
he and mayaka will be seperated through college - she wants to go to art school, he thinks he might like to be a teacher (specifically of like, textiles or language) and he thinks long distance is too much to ask of her. after a serious conversation she agrees and they take a break through college, but they are tentatively engaged, will be keeping in touch, and want to pick things back up once theyre both in the same location again. 
mayaka and eru flat in college, bringing up mayakas long buried feelings for her, and theyve always been so touchy, and she has a feeling that erus guilty about something? but she doesnt want to get her hopes up. she gets really frustrated and confides in the only person who knows both satoshi and mayaka and isnt involved - HOUTAROU, who attends a less prestigious college than eru but is taking similar business courses (he hasnt forgotten) and is commuting from home. 
hes closer to them than satoshi, but theres still a little distance and they dont meet as often as theyd like, partially bc he doesnt often make the effort - the energy he does have is expended on his classes, bc he has a motivation to do well - if he does, maybe eru will consider him without him even putting himself out there. anyway she still calls him on the phone all the time tho. 
he doesnt really have any advice when mayaka speaks to him, but hes quick to reassure her that satoshi wouldnt be bothered by her feelings - "because its eru". functioning adults refer to each other by their first names. it was a super embarassing transition period but theyre used to it now. 
so mayaka takes the leap and eru admits that while shes never really been one to dwell on romantic feelings, she reciprocates but is concerned abt satoshi - she loves him too, after all, and he and mayaka were/are/will be a great couple. she ends up confessing this to houtarou, filled w apologies and assurances that he neednt worry abt her personal matters, but he doesnt mind listening. anyway it stings (in a sad way, not a bitter one) that she apparently has interest in both mayaka and satoshi but not him, but he REALLY cant blame her. he tells her that he doesnt know how to advise her and she thanks him for listening, and then he does probably the most meddlesome thing hes ever done and calls satoshi and tells him everything. 
satoshi is really cool abt it, and hits him w "lol if theyre dating what if i just take you out to lunch. fairs fair. what do you mean you dont know about my massive crush on you, mr observer didnt pick it up? oh wow okay youre really stupid when it comes to yourself. ill pick you up on friday" and then satoshi calls mayaka and gives her his blessing and assures that he loves them both and wishes them the best and wow they REALLY need to catch up soon. hell bring houtarou and they can compare date notes! and he hangs up. 
satoshi is still kind of a petty guy and he probably only confessed to houtarou bc he was taken off guard, but hes not being inauthentic by any means. this is the new improved satoshi 2.0, who is becoming more comfortable w there being things he doesnt like abt himself and working on them and getting his feelings out constructively, rather than pushing them down and refusing to put himself in situations that might turn out badly. he gets his hopes up again, and is happier for it even when hes let down. 
eru is shocked to hear abt houtarou and satoshi. mayaka isnt. they talk abt it, interspersed w making out, and are shocked to realise that they like both of them - mayaka is ESPECIALLY taken off guard, both by her own feelings and erus, which shed never noticed before. she almost tells eru abt houtarous 3+ years of pining, but stops herself lest things get messy. shes starting to get an idea, but needs to tread lightly. besides, its not like houtarou wld ever like her. theyre barely even friends. it doesnt all add up as evenly as shed like. 
for houtarous part, hes genuinely in wtf mode irt satoshis feelings for him, and hes been in eru chitanda hell for so long that he never considered anything else, but now that he IS.... satoshi isnt so bad. he was always really cute w mayaka, when he wasnt being annoying for fun and profit. sure. okay. so they do some gay double dating through college, but the cross couple pining dont stop. satoshi is absolutely still obsessed w mayaka, but houtarou doesnt mind bc he cant take his eyes off eru whenever they meet up either. 
she still calls him on the phone all the time, and when schoolwork picks up he often finds himself calling her w thoughts or questions. they do some more thought exercises, but they dont need to argue as an excuse, and she barely has to badger him anymore. one day he looks at himself and sees a functioning adult who spends a moderate amount of energy on things that arent necessarily necessary, and wants to sigh, but. hes happy. 
college ends and they all find themselves back in kamiyama - satoshi is student teaching at their old middle school, eru is hard at work for her family, mayaka is working while she works on her manga debut, and houtarou is working while he figures out what he actually wants. 
its clear to all of them that mayaka and satoshi need to have a talk, so they do, and they come up with... poly. its unconventional, but they really are happy, and they really do love each other, and mayaka would love to start wearing her ring again (satoshi never took his off, and she pretended not to notice but she had the biggest lady boner over it). 
so now sometimes eru and houtarou are hanging out while their boyfriend and girlfriend are out on dates being engaged, making up for lost time and considering the practicality of marriage while they both have sidepieces, and houtarou and eru are pining BAD, but neither notices the other and he asks how her business is going and maybe kind of offers his assistance platonically. 
so now THATS happening, and satoshi and mayaka get to talking one day abt how those two should date, shld we do smth? and if they did then the only pieces missing are mayaka/houtarou and satoshi/eru which is a beautiful dream but wld never happen, what do you mean he/she wld love to date you, wait really, oh my god, what, are we doing this, 
and houtarou who has been working himself up to confessing for the past SEVEN YEARS, never gets to bc satoshi and mayaka interrupt while theyre at work and do it for him 
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jack-kellys · 5 years
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it’s fizz, with another fic, another au. idea lowkey stolen from the lovely @vioislit, but she has input don’t worry :)
anyhow
———————
“super” broke
words: 1.2k
warnings: cursing, pain description, passing out...yes that’s all
—————
Jack
Jack didn’t actually like being late.
Crew was supposed to be at tech way before the actors, and yet here Jack was, earning a disappointed glare from his stage manager. Especially as her ASM, assistant stage manager, he should be ten minutes earlier.
Another thing Jack didn’t like- or understand, really: why was he, a design major, assigned to assistant manage again? He could’ve helped design this whole set instead of attending rehearsals and taking notes and all the damn reading he had to do and the organizing and piles of paperwork… Well. Maybe he was assigned this to reorganize himself, actually. God knew he’d been wildly caught up in...himself.
Jack had reason, of course. It wasn’t some self-absorbed thing (for once, Spot would say). He was genuinely busy outside of Shakespeare In Love—he had semester courses that were finishing up and finals were damn near literally creeping up his asshole, he swore. He had an entire art project to do that in actuality would have taken him two months...if he didn’t have only two weeks to do it.
Jack groaned inwardly as he set up his laptop backstage, nabbing his printed pre-show list to start checking things off around the area. He was used to burying himself, but lately the soil felt suffocating. The show—which had turned out to be much bigger than anticipated—his classes, upcoming finals, and...y’know.
The whole superpower thing.
Back in September, when Jack was working a play and running the lighting board, he’d been alone on headset and bored. He hadn’t learned much about sound design yet, so of course he was messing around. The spotlights weren’t up on the catwalk yet, their PSM wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and no one’s voice was crackling over the headset. Jack was idly turning dials on the soundboard as a result. Because Jack—and he knew this—was an idiot, he turned one of the many colored dials way up to one side. He’d done it before to a few different dials and nothing had happened, so he figured ...Wrong. He figured really fucking wrong.
A piercing sound struck horizontally in his skull, like it's lightning-bolt points were stabbing through his brain and out of his ears. His hands lost feeling and he tried to cry out, eyes squeezed shut, though he could only emit a small gasp of agony. Honestly, Jack couldn’t feel much of anything with the blinding pain at the forefront of his nerve endings. He knew his knees were to the ground now, he sure as hell wasn’t standing with his legs heavy as lead. It wouldn’t end, it seemed, the pain still as powerful as it was initially. If his hands decided to be useful, they could switch off the dial, or take off his headset, but for now, they were set on feebly attempting to protect himself. For some reason, he’d stuck his hands out and away, like the pain source was right in front of him.
Then, the brain-burning feeling dropped away, and Jack carefully opened his eyes to find a slightly opaque blue forcefield surrounding him like a bubble. He shifted to one side, and the blue moved with him. He sat up, and it adjusted. Jack broke out into an astonished grin. How the fuck had he gotten a forcefield from a sound board? Not like he cared how he got them—all that mattered was that he could make a forcefield with his fucking hands and that was the coolest shit he’d ever seen.
So that was the whole ‘superpowers thing.’
Since that day, Jack had been experimenting with himself, hence why everything else was becoming even more heavy on Jack’s back. He couldn’t help but dedicate real time to figuring out this random new ability. Homework kind of took a backseat to mysterious abilities.
Jack would find himself a private area in between classes—secluded enough not to simply be found but reasonable enough to not look sketchy—and just concentrate. Envision the blue around himself as he held up his hands, eyes scrunched closed. Picture its shade, a stark and royal blue, but still able to see right through it.
“Jack.”
The pulse of something so close to being emitted from his palms.
“Jack.”
Feel the zap of energy between his ears, somewhere deep in his brain-
“Jack FUCKING Kelly! You in there?”
His gaze finally focused back in with a gasp. Someone was whapping his cheek.
Oh, god. Right. Shakespeare. Shit. He was still standing backstage, and was apparently staring at nothing.
“Hi Sarah, um,” Jack chuckled sheepishly to his stage manager. “I, uh...dissociation’s a bitch, huh?”
Sarah Jacobs frowned. “Technically true,” she muttered. “Just get back to it. Actors are called in twenty, so make sure your side’s all set up.”
“Thank you, twenty,” Jack sighed with a smile as her boots padded away. Thank God he was on her good side. Sarah was one of the toughest seniors Jack had ever come across. Her glare could probably cut straight through a freshman’s heart.
Jack had finished setting in only ten minutes, about to decide to help the other ASM when something blinked out above him and a loud “SHIIIIIT, Jesus…” called from the back of the house.
“Oh God, Spot, what happened?” Jack groaned, glancing up towards the lights as he came center stage. A whole line of them had gone out. Shit. “The hell did you do, man?”
“Whatever it is, you’re dealin’ with it!” Spot yelled back. “I’m going over cues in three minutes. You figure it out, Kelly.”
He was on Sarah’s good side. Not Spot’s, despite he and Jack being in the same grade and shared many classes together.
“Fucking….fine.” At least it would give him something to do.
Jack’s investigation led him outside, unfortunately. He shivered against the cold as he checked the power box, only understanding what about half of the switches meant. Conlon never gave him a damn break, did he.
A gust of wind blew through him, making him shake like a damn leaf in addition. Fuck Spot rights, Jack decided spitefully.
“Uh, hello- hi?”
Jack paused, turning around to see leaves swirling in the air still as well as a curly-haired kid staring at him with wide eyes. He looked freaked.
Jack’s lips pursed, hand coming up to gesture.
“Did you…” Jack pointed to the kid, then in the direction the leaves were blowing.
“Yeah,” the kid nodded hesitantly, “I was running-“
“You were running?” Jack scoffed, surprised. “And it created a damn windstorm?”
“Well, yeah, what’s it look like?” The kid shrugged, taking a few steps closer to Jack. “Maybe don’t...tell anyone, okay?”
He looked rather vulnerable, eyes shifting around their surroundings in search of other possible witnesses. A pang of sympathy struck Jack’s heart, he couldn’t help it.
“Sure thing, kiddo,” Jack smiled. “I’m Jack. You can trust me, I promise.”
Jack watched the guy breathe out a small sigh. “I’m Anthony,” he smiled slightly, sticking out his hand. “And thanks.”
Jack’s smile grew. “Nah, nah, I get it. Gotta keep your identity secret, and all’a that.” He shook the kid’s hand as Anthony let out a small laugh.
Something white and hot zig-zagged up Jack’s arm at the contact. He felt his whole body nearly vibrate, and then he blacked out. This really wasn’t Jack’s goddamn day. ——————
of course the first thing I write is gonna be a series, because I hate making life easy please tell me if you don’t wanna be on my tag list anymore! or if you wanna be on it! it’s been a few months heh :) just message me I don’t bite
TAG LIST:
@suddenly-im-respecsable @getchapapes @felix-loves-albert-and-ralbert @spot-conlon-king-of-brooklyn @stopthe-presses @technically-whizzy @papesdontsellthemselves @starrysence @seasickdolphin @iamliterallyaghost @beep-beep-byler @the-newsies-justice-for-zas-blog @accidentalnewsiesblog @thebroadwayaesthetic @spot-me50-papes @i-got-no-clue-what-im-doing @kingofsantafe @we-dont-sell-papes @eveningpaper @sure-as-a-star @godhatesjordan @awkwardstranger98 @ireallyloveiainyoungwow @big-potato-asshole @have-we-got-news-for-you @bxnesof92 @backgroundensemble @orollyitsracetrackhiggins @a-most-auspicious-erster @modern-race-owns-airpods @asphodelnerd @albert-eats-cookie-cake @certified-kingofnewyork
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wincore · 5 years
Text
wayv + sci-fi!au
a/n: i dont have a lot of time but i do have a lot of ideas so here’s my attempt at a bullet scenario!! i also wanted to write sci-fi aus which are not post apocalyptic so here’s my best and i know these are all like really far fetched and maybe a little cliched but it was fun writing them!!
doctor!kun
a doctor for mutants!!
so kind and steady, he pretty much won you over the first time you met
when you find yourself crying by the side of the street after being kicked out of your apartment
you did not expect a man with kind eyes and sweet smile to show up and offer you water and some tissues
especially an attractive man with an angelic voice 
even the unblemished white of his jacket adds to the whole angelic look
you’re so out of it after the whirlwind of events that the slightest of kindness makes you even more emotional
you start bawling your eyes out when he offers to listen
and you actually want to tell him everything
how you just naturally attract trouble, especially with your strange powers
how you’re not trained enough to control them and you’re just sort of clumsy 
how you really hate yourself for being born this way
but you can’t - you know he’d freak out, and you’d lose the last shred of kindness left for you
the serious look in the man’s face takes you by surprise
‘you’re...you’re a mutant, are you not?’
your eyes widen as you feel alert
he’s not part of the government, is he? he’s not trying to take you those horrible labs, is he? - oh god
you sit frozen in shock and no idea what to do
‘don’t worry!!’ he reassures you when he notices your obvious discomfort
‘i won’t harm you! here, i’ll stay five feet away if that makes you feel better’
he gets up and moves away, putting his arms up to emphasize he means no harm
you shy away from him but he stands still in his place
‘please don’t be afraid. i’m just like you.’
you raise an eyebrow at that and when he signals you to come forward, you do, albeit reluctantly and cautious
he takes your arm, careful enough to be gentle and presses his palm against the burn mark you got last week
you hiss at the contact and he mumbles a sorry before letting his palm rest for a few moments
when he removes it, your burn marks are completely erased like they were never there
you stare at him agape and he breaks into a wide smile
‘i’m kun. and i was wondering if you’d join our school for mutants.’
‘i’m sorry, what?’
‘it’s to train people like us for the world. how to survive and pass off as a normal human being’
kun seems serious about this, and you can’t help but feel a certain feeling of trust towards him - he’s like you, after all
well, not as messy as you are, though
which is why you agree, and find yourself in front of a large yet old brick building - it’s so large, you’re sure it could house over hundreds of people!
there’s a giant courtyard behind the first entrance, and the housing lies on the other side
the top floors of the housing building, lined with bay windows, catches your attention with how comfortable they look, how inviting
and the numerous people of all ages - children, teenagers, adults - present in the courtyard doing their own thing livens up the atmosphere of the entire place
you feel yourself smiling as kun gives you a tour around the place
unfortunately, you don’t listen to any instruction he tells you
when you look at kun, the stern expression he gives you makes you freeze
‘you didn’t listen, did you?’ he frowns
‘i...uh...ho-how would you know?’
‘i’ve seen enough kids on their first day’ he loosens up and gives you a smile
‘wait how old are you?’ you ask, puzzled ’don’t tell me you’re like 50′
‘do i look 50 to you?’ 
you laugh at his expression, all sour, and despite you barely learning anything about the place, you’re hopeful again
the next few weeks are the difficult part
you have different trainers for controlling each aspect of your abilities - defense, cover-up, intensity control
very occasionally, kun takes your defense classes and boy is he good at martial arts
the entire point of the defense classes is to defend yourself without getting your opponent hurt
you kinda suck at it but you have never seen anyone move so easy to find but so difficult to get a hold of, almost as if he’s untouchable
you wonder if you’ll ever be able to do that
there’s lessons on how to behave too - the ones you hate most
but those are probably the ones you need the most, you think disdainfully
the worst part, however, is that you don’t get to see kun very often
he’s always busy tending to the kids and other patients (particularly, these two kids called yangyang and chenle) or taking classes for other students in his free time
and while you have your own schedule, you really wanted to spend more time with kun
shhhhh no you totally don’t have a crush what
surprisingly, kun barely ever uses his abilities - just for really young kids to amaze them or if it’s a serious injury
he’s gone through med school, and you’re sure he possesses superhuman memory too with the way he has every part of the human body memorized
he’s really kinda cool to you - the way he works systematically and thoughtfully 
the night your sleeplessness is at its worst, you walk hesitantly towards kun’s office, hoping he could give you some mild sleeping pills
and maybe get to talk with him with that excuse
but instead, you eavesdrop on something you’re not supposed to
‘the government?’ kun asks the figure in black, sitting opposite him in his room
‘yes. they’re saying they know our location. but they want us to peacefully surrender ourselves.’
‘they’ll never find this place. sicheng’s invisibility barriers are the strongest ever known. plus, you’re good at masking. you know that.’
‘yes, but aren’t you worried? they’re not usually this bold.’
‘taeyong. you know this is the safest place we have. if we were to have been breached, we already would have.’
the figure called taeyong relaxes into the chair and there’s a quiet pause
‘yeah, you’re right. there’ll always be threats. i just got worked up.’
there’s silence for a while and you hold your breath for fear of being caught
kun has his eyes focused on taeyong
and you think he’s about to say something when his eyes suddenly move to your form behind the door
you freeze, a shiver running down your spine at the strong gaze you’re met with before scrambling away
you sneak into a narrow space between two walls, suddenly afraid that you’ve done something you shouldn’t have
you try keeping a watch on the corridor, looking out for any shadow or figure
you don’t wanna be caught eavesdropping by kun - he’s pretty strict about keeping meetings confidential 
and when you’re sure enough time has passed, you peek your head out to find an empty corridor
you sigh in relief and push yourself out of the narrow cramped space to take a deep breath
‘you know, you should really focus on the sounds you make if you’re going to sneak around.’
you jump at kun’s voice and take a step back on reflex only for your back to hit the wall
‘i’m- i’m really sorry i- i didn’t mean to- i’m sorry’
kun doesn’t say anything, only draws closer till you wish you could fall through the wall for some space between the two of you
judging from the deep frown, you’d say you’re in for quite some scolding
but all you get is a long silence
instead, he presses his hand gently against your cheek
‘how’d you get that cut?’ he asks, looking concerned
you never noticed but now that he mentioned it, you feel a low burning on your cheek
you rack your brain to find an answer to when you could possibly get a gash like that 
but instead of waiting, kun just draws his thumb along it
and the burning falls numb
you look at him, confused
you thought he disliked using his powers
‘why did you- why did you do that? you could have just sent me to the infirmary. a band-aid would have been fine.’
‘that’s okay. it’s fixed either way.’
‘i thought you didn’t like using your gifts.’
‘it does take up the better part of my energy, yes, but i’m off to bed now anyway.’
kun takes a step back and you finally detach yourself from the wall
‘kun?’ 
you call when he’s about to turn away
‘hm?’
kun looks at you with the same warmth he had when he brought you here
‘thanks. i’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.’
he laughs, his brow up in a confused twist
‘i just want to keep you safe.’
kun presses a light kiss to your forehead, so soft you almost don’t feel it
‘good night’ he says and walks away
leaving you blushing deep red in a lonely corridor
gamer!ten
when you find your ex-boyfriend at the city aquarium, you feel the urge to crawl into some hole and wither away
you just wanted a day to relax and have fun, but it looks like fate doesn’t want you to
your ex hasn’t noticed you and you quickly hide behind one of the corners to avoid confrontation
you sigh when he leaves in another direction, and turn around to get back on your little tour
your heart almost leaps out of your chest when you find a puffer fish staring right back at you
you’re so sure there wasn’t any exhibit behind you - it was just a wall, wasn’t it?
when you look around and back at the glass enclosure, there’s suddenly a tiger shark there instead of a round little pufferfish
you’re honestly starting to freak out
you slowly back away from the shark staring at you, but when you bump into someone, you let out a scream
‘JEEZ you’re so loud!’
your eyes meet another’s and they stare at you with a calculating sort of expression
‘i uh hi...uh...sorry......about that’ you stutter
he stares at you blankly
‘oh,,,uh, it’s okay’
there’s an awkward silence before he opens his mouth again
‘wait a minute you’re real aren’t you?’
you knit your brows together
‘i’m sorry?”
he cocks his head to the side and the expression on his face changes into a mortified one before he looks back to you
‘okay don’t freak out’
and of course you turn around to see what he saw
and it’s a fucking blue whale in a tank that’s probably not meant to hold a blue whale
your eyes follow the slow cracking on the glass, every new vein kicking a bout of fear in you
but the guy beside you wastes no time in grabbing your hand and bolting before it all comes crashing down
at least one of you knows what’s going on
you’ve barely reached the exit, when water rushes in from behind and the grip on your wrist tightens 
‘this is gonna be messy’ he warns with a grimace
and you’re hit with a giant wave of water
great you’re gonna drown in an aquarium full of weird sea creatures who may or may not try to eat you
and the blue turns to black but you don’t feel the grip on your arm loosen, safely anchoring you
you wake up in an empty convenience store when bright daylight streams in through the windows
‘where the hell and fuck am i’
‘oh my god you’re awake i didn’t know if you could respawn i thought you died FOR REAL-’
‘what’
you see the guy from the aquarium, dark hair all mussed and wet, sitting with a towel around his neck and he passes one to you, which you take reluctantly
‘you really don’t know?’ he asks
you glare at him as you stand up and walk closer to him
do you look like you’re joking?
‘okay okay. you’re in a video game. i have no idea how you got in though. last time i checked glitches aren’t sentient.’
huh okay
at least it explains the shape-shifting fish and why an entire aquarium came crashing down on its own
you try to not think about the obvious madness of everything so far
‘i’m ten, by the way. and you’re welcome.’
‘for what?’
‘for saving your life?’ he answers with an incredulous face
you’re both quiet for a while before he sits down in front of you, still drying his hair
‘did you really not suspect a thing till now?’ he asks
‘i mean,,,,uh,,,,,when i saw my ex something had to be wrong’
he snickers as he adjusts something on his watch
you look at him expectantly
‘so are you going to explain why i’m here or why my ex is here or why everything feels so real’
‘oh right. have you ever seen those drones around your neighborhood?’
‘the round black ones?’
‘yeah! those are our scanning drones. we wanted the game to be as realistic as possible!’
‘so you spy on people?’
‘no’ 
it takes ten a full fifteen minutes to explain that this is just one of the new releases from his company and he’s a beta tester (or avid gamer, if you may) looking around for glitches in the background to report them before missions and enemies and other details can be added
you might live in one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world 
and you know times are changing from phone screens and ar/vr headsets but
never in your life would you have thought virtual reality could get so real that you confuse it with actual reality
‘what are you doing?’ you ask as you eye ten tap away on his watch
‘reporting that glitchy fish’
‘glitchy fish’ you repeat
that’s one way to put it
when he’s done he looks up and stares at you for a while till it gets on your nerves
‘what?’
‘i still don’t know if you’re a glitch or a player, darling’ he says with a hard stare
you gulp
he’s not going to leave you behind, is he?
‘you have any idea where your real body could be right now? maybe we could disconnect you from the server’
you shrug. you don’t remember starting or even purchasing this game
‘the game’s not even released to the public though, i have no idea how you’d get the game.’
you sigh. this isn’t getting anywhere
suddenly ten seems to realize something as he stands up straight
‘maybe your save files got deleted! that’s why you have no memory.’
you nod along without fully understanding
an explanation’s better than none
‘and? what do i have to do to get out of this game?’
ten scratches the back of his head sheepishly
‘haven’t figured that part out yet’
you sigh into your hands
‘we’re not giving up yet don’t be so sad’
you look back up to be greeted with a thousand watt smile
‘i, personally, think that sentient glitches are kinda cool’
‘i’m not a glitch!’ you protest
you can’t be. you just don’t know how you got into the game that’s all
‘well then let’s get going!’ he says as he pulls you up
you stumble behind him trying to steady yourself with his walking pace as you both exit the store
‘where are we going?’ you ask
‘you have a place to live, don’t you?’
‘but it’s,,,,,a simulation’
‘so are we now let’s get going, glitch’
‘i’m not a glitch, dickwad’
ten hesitates for a moment before nudging you to lead the way
‘we can try jogging your memory tomorrow’ he shrugs
‘if it doesn’t work, i’ll go back and try searching for your save files’
and you trust him on that 
virtual sunsets can’t be so pretty, you think as you walk towards your apartment, your only hope lying with a stranger
maybe this video game isn’t so bad
secret agent!winwin
uhh more like intergalactic secret agent
as someone from earth, you’re not happy with how things are going
illegal activities have grown in numbers, with crime rate off the charts
and the worst yet, the government is desperately trying to hide that everything is going wrong
so of course they want to send agents on covert operations to solve some of the problems
and man, being one of earth’s best secret agents is a pain in the ass
because you get sent to bring down an illegal kaiju fighting ring all on your own
if those monsters are let loose, you can’t even begin to comprehend the damage
you have no idea how they even made those - and they even established a command link with them!
it’s like mankind is itching to drive themselves extinct
as for your plan
getting in is easy for you with your disguise as a spectator 
you’re gonna thank the face sculptors you borrowed from the labs, but the rest was all you
in all honesty, the plan you made is easy
sneak into the team chambers, make sure the kaiju are put to sleep, and destroy the command links
and then of course, you make sure the ring is irreparably destroyed
should be easy enough - you have all your limbs and vital organs, what else can you need?
turns out having a few more eyes or blades on your spine or being as big as a skyscraper would also be cool
the near death experience you have in the spectator area makes you wonder why people come here at all
the creatures aren’t fully limited to the ring - sometimes their deadly sharp tails shoot into the watching bay
perhaps someone forgot to give you the memo
but you regain your composure as you sneak out while the crowd goes wild with their eyes glued to the monsters
seriously, how could anyone enjoy monsters tearing each other apart?
when you’re in a team personal room, you take down the players easy enough
but you hesitate when you look at the giant creature in the glass container
it sleeps so peacefully, even if its programmed to be controlled, to kill
just plug the poison in and they’ll die just as peacefully, you remind yourself
you get a horrible feeling in your gut though 
all these years you’ve managed to keep your missions almost casualty proof
and the first murder you’ll be doing is of innocent creatures tainted by mankind to kill
but of course, you think again, they’re a threat to other life if freed
you’re about to plug the driver in, when an arm snakes around your waist and twists you to the ground
you groan in pain but retaliate with a kick nonetheless
the figure dodges it by a hair’s width and tries wrapping a hand around your neck
the fight continues and you’ve never felt so drained in your life - this guy really knows hand to hand combat huh,,
you’ve never sparred with someone who moves so fluid, almost feline in how his footsteps never make a sound
you can never predict his next move
it’s difficult to fight him so you settle for restricting his movement as much as possible
you have him pinned for a while, as you demand an answer of him
while most of his face is covered, his eyes are not and you’d find them pretty if they weren’t from a person so dangerous
in all your years of training, you’ve never encountered an enemy this skilled
‘who sent you?’
he doesn’t answer, and an almost satisfied look passes across his features
in a flash, your positions are reversed and he cuffs your wrists with magnetic locks
you groan
this is not how you’re going out
you watch him as he sticks three patches on the container and it makes you wonder
they can’t be,,,,teleportation patches,,,can they
you thought they were just rumors
‘what are you doing?’ you ask, desperate to enough to distract him in any way
he raises an eyebrow and walks slowly towards you with a hard glare
‘putting things back in their place’
‘okay,,, and how’d you sneak in?’
you admit you’re a little curious - he doesn’t look like he’s been using face sculptors or presence erasers
he looks like he got in way easier than you did
‘you’re only the best on earth’ he says with a scoff
‘you know me?’
‘i know everyone who works for earth’s government. your firewalls are primitive’
you crinkle your nose at how casual he looks saying something so condescending
‘do you mind explaining what you’re gonna do with them?’
‘i told you. i’m putting things back in their place.’
‘what you’re gonna put them back in a test tube?’
he stops to look at you for a moment
‘you really don’t know?‘
you shake your head
why does he look at you with so much disdain?
‘a race of thieves pretending they’re pioneers,,,huh‘
‘now you’re just being mean :(’
you’re starting to form an idea of who he is, and it isn’t any less interesting than who he might be
‘how do you think you humans started breeding them?’
‘so you’re telling me,,,they were stolen?’
‘yes, and now they’ve been genetically modified to only fight. it’s sad’
‘sorry to break it to you buddy but human beings kinda suck’
he tilts his head
perhaps that was not the response he expected from your arrogant little race
he continues walking around the glass, analyzing the creature
‘they’re from a less developed planet under our protection. they’re going to die out if we don’t restore the natural order‘
you sit still, curious about the whole situation unfurling
he looks at you one last time, eyes unreadable again
‘i hope you stay out of my way. i’ll take care of the creatures‘
‘let me help you‘
‘i’m sorry?‘
he has an eyebrow raised in disbelief
‘i’ll help you. you wanna get them home, right? i want to help‘
it is a better way to get rid of them - that way you won’t be committing mindless murder
‘well, i need to get them to the labs first to rewire their bio codes, and then get them home‘
‘so you’ll let me help‘
‘i’m not used to,,,a partner‘
‘you wouldn’t tell me all of that unless you wanted me to help‘
you see a ghost of a smile across his features even if his lower face is masked
‘you’re going to wear a freezer bracelet in case you try something funny‘
you groan
‘we literally want the same thing - a little trust would be nice‘
‘you talk like a rookie too much to be a good agent‘
he walks up to you and removes the magnetic cuffs only to put the freezer bracelet on you
you massage your wrists and shoot him a glare
if you’re offering to help him, he could at least be a little nicer
in the next second, he pulls down his mask and extends a hand towards you
you’re almost a little starstruck by his face, honestly
his expression is strictly business when he speaks, a little uncaring even
but there’s a hint of a smile in his voice
‘i think it’d be a win-win situation for us to work together and get all these kaiju home’
time traveller!lucas
you go to the old park early in the morning not because you’re fond of waking up at ungodly hours
but there’s something about the silence of dawn that really helps you focus on your work
of course you do skip some days, it’s normal
but you like to be at the top, ahead of your own anxieties
on the fated day you don’t skip
you certainly weren’t expecting to find a boy hanging upside from a tree branch right in front of your face 
a lot of people don’t know about this place - only old couples and little children and dogs owners come visit
definitely not college kids
and it’s even emptier at this hour
the boy is startled by your presence, which isn’t good for him
because he ends up on the ground in a crumpled mess clutching his arm
the weirdest part is you recognize him from your classes, nanoscience maybe?
you’re sure he’s one of the more popular kids,,,,wong yukhei, is it?
you’ve seen him laugh with a giant group of friends in the hallway before
‘oww,,,,’
that snaps you out of your thoughts and you quickly kneel down beside him
‘are you okay?? did you hurt your arm?? do you need help??’
‘i’ll be fine!!!’ he squeaks when he sees you so close to him and shoots up
but something else catches his attention as he mutters an ‘oh boy’
and takes off in another direction
you look behind you but find nothing and scratch your head trying to figure out what’s up
what a weird boy
and you’re about to take your regular spot on the bench with your laptop
when the boy sudden materializes beside you again nearly giving you a heart attack
‘you’ve gotta come with me’
and suddenly you’re pulled by the arm into a strange darkness
like you’ve fallen into a lake of the murkiest waters, everything there and not there at the same time
but it lasts only a few seconds 
and when you’re able to see again, you’re not in a park
in fact you’re not in any place familiar
and there’s a horse cart coming right at you
you’re about to scream when you’re pulled to the side into an alley, almost tripping over the cobblestones
and you fall back into that murky water
light shines back again when you’re suddenly in a sort of desert
‘is that a fucking dinosaur?’
instead of an answer, you get arms wrapping around you and you’re back into murky waters
you take a breath of life in a dimly lit place
but it’s a different sort of darkness - more like someone turned the lights off instead of something that pulls you in
‘what the fuc-’
‘i’m sorry! i really am! but the situation is,,,,,,really bad’
you glare at him and a sliver of satisfaction crosses you when you see him stumble back at your gaze
‘i’m yukhei hi,,,,,,,and i’m also in your nanoscience class’
‘you know me?’ 
you don’t see his ears turn red in the dim light as he nudges you forward into a more lit area
‘we’re in 3145’
‘what? where’s that?’
‘no- that’s the year’
‘WHAT?!’
yukhei winces at the rise in your voice as you look at him for answers
in all honesty, he looks like a guilty puppy trying to avoid its owner
‘i’m so sorry i had to pull you into this!! but i didn’t have a choice, okay? the agents were after me, and they saw you too! and there was no way letting you be was okay-’
‘yukhei’
‘yes?’
‘tell me about the agents part’
‘oh right i’m supposed to deliver some information to the president of earth in 3145 but the old earth colonies sent them to get it from me’
‘.....okay’
he grins sheepishly 
‘don’t worry, okay?’ he says, eyes round and words firm
‘i just have to get this to the president and report the agents - and it’s finished!’
yukhei walks off in another direction and you follow nimbly behind him
the first sight that comes into view is the giant glass window on your left
there’s no wall - only a view of the city
and you swear you’ve never seen anything grander
it’s night but the lights are so bright it might as well be day at certain parts
there’s no being afraid of the dark here - humanity seems to have built empires to keep out their fears
drawn to the view, you walk closer to the glass and peer down
‘i can’t see the ground!’ you exclaim
yukhei turns around to look at you for a few seconds confused before coming to stand by your side
‘yeah! we’re like on of the tallest buildings ever built in human history! and this isn’t even the top floor’
your jaw drops as you look around at the rings you assume are roads with the vehicles moving on them
they have a sort of grace as they glide by at an incredible speed
there are rings after every few storeys and the bright lights nearly blind you when you try to look directly at them
the buildings themselves are of varying shapes, but they’re mostly black with lined windows emitting differently colored lights
you can see a tower in the distance, stretching out into skies you’ve never seen before, lights sorting out the texture of the clouds
you never thought nighttime could be so wonderfully lit
you turn your head to find yukhei grinning at you
‘i was totally dazed too the first time’
you find yourself smiling as yukhei points out certain things in the distance he finds cool
he’s so enthusiastic about all the places you feel yourself drawing closer, curious with certain questions
‘yukhei’ you ask suddenly ‘where are you from?’
‘the same as you! i was born in 1999, and i’m a university student- i mean, you know that,,,,,,,because we share a class together,,,’
he looks outside the glass
‘i don’t know why i took up this,,,,,,,,,,time traveling messenger job,,,,,honestly,,,,,,but it’s more fun when i’m not alone’
his shoulders sag but he straightens in a moment, like he refuses to be discouraged
‘anyway i gotta do this quick i’ll be back’
and you watch him run towards the end of the long corridor after shooting you a grin 
the hallway is tremendously large and he disappears into the dark soon despite the bright lights from the windows 
now that you think about it, it’s quite difficult to make out the ceiling - the corridors seem to be made for giants
you look back out the glass, wonder filling your senses again
you hope yukhei succeeds in his task quickly
would he ever mind giving you a tour of this place?
or just walk around with you here
it’s like every video game illustrator’s dream come true, this place
but yukhei comes back distressed after only a few minutes
‘i need a plan b’
turns out he forgot about the dinner party tonight - and there’s hundreds of thousands of guests beyond that door at the end of the corridor
there is no way to meet the president without greeting a horde of people
‘yukhei no’
‘i promise i’ll pay you back! anything you want!’
‘i am not sneaking into the president’s chamber while you distract the guests’
but you sigh and give in when you’re met with puppy eyes and pouty lips
where the hell did he learn that?
‘okay my face should be enough to distract people but just in case’
you roll your eyes as yukhei procures a black coat with gold embroidery and changes into dress shoes
he tries to comb aside his bangs as best as he can with his fingers but the strands make their way onto his face anyway
he then taps a button on his watch and his hoodie and jeans change into a dress shirt and formal pants in a blink
‘okay can’t believe that came in handy’ yukhei whistles at his garments
you, on the other hand, aren’t as calm
the president? of the entire earth? in the year 3145?
you can’t even dream up something this wild
and as yukhei drags you towards the door while you’re chewing on your nails
you pray nothing goes wrong in this plan
as you hide behind a large silver chair, you’re amazed at how good yukhei actually is at distracting
you can’t decipher the garbled nonsense that’s coming out of his mouth - you think it must be a different language, an alien language maybe or a new earth language
the guests look at him enamored and gleeful and with laughter
and you think he must have that effect on everyone he meets
well he certainly is charming, although in a weird way
with one last look at him and the crowd around, you sneak from table to table
till you reach the door at the corner 
you wouldn’t even have noticed it with the way it’s so well hidden - only at a certain angle can you make out the outline of the door, which is oddly circular
who knows maybe circles are back in fashion in the 32nd century
you push the door at one side 
and walk right into the presidential chamber
honestly, you expected a lock at least
it’s not as intimidating as you thought it’d be - in fact it looks like a normal office
well except for the techy stuff you can’t quite figure out
the lighting is soft blue and the mild smell of fresh flowers wafts through
it’s almost like a normal present day office
just keep it on the desk and go back just like yukhei said
you do just that and go back to the entrance
except the door is locked on the other side
you tug at it - it’s supposed to be rotating door, sort of like a spinning coin
but it’s wedged on tight
you slide onto the floor and hug your knees as you weigh the situation
what happens when the president finds you in her chamber? or worse, her security personnel
the president is a just but kind lady, yukhei had said to reassure you
but will you be prosecuted for trespassing? do laws even apply to you when you’re not from this era?
you swear you’ll have a mental breakdown right there
when yukhei walks in with trouble written all over his face
‘okay so,,,,another change of plan?’
there’s loud knocking at the door as yukhei scrambles around to seal it
‘okay the guards figured out i’m not the prince from some planet and we can’t go out now’
the terror on your face is obvious
‘well? what do we do?’
‘....wait for the president? she knows i’m supposed to be here’
you sigh into your hands
this is taking far too long and in a place far too closed for your liking
you find yourself having difficulty breathing
but when yukhei notices, he starts talking to you in halting words and laughter - his stories of where and when he’s been and all the dumb situations he got himself into
and even though the lilt in his voice gets loud
it helps you calm down
and you end up resting against his shoulder
you don’t know how you fell asleep but yukhei shakes you awake by the shoulder
‘the president’s here!’ he notifies
and you immediately jump up to stand straight
and when yukhei relates the events to the president in fumbling words,
you notice how dignified she is, especially with the stark contrast against yukhei’s awkward form in front of her
you almost giggle as he flusters over incorrect word usage
and your bumpy journey is over as soon as yukhei passes a small device to the president
‘good work’ she says with a smile and you’re escorted to a new room in a flurry
‘a gift’ one of the guards hands yukhei a small device
‘oh man! the latest one? this looks so cool!’
the bright smile on his face radiates excitement
your heart freezes when yukhei walks over to you, his smile still stretched across his face
‘let’s go home’ he says 
you take his hand and smile back
and the murky waters aren’t as suffocating this time
you’re by the park bench again like you haven’t been gone for a few hours
there’s an awkward air between you and yukhei as you try to part with a goodbye
and you’re about to sit alone on your bench again
when yukhei turns around to jog back beside you
‘hey,,,,uh,,, do you wanna hang out in 3145? i know some really good cafes and gaming joints,,,’
you break into a livened up smile
‘i’d love to’
therapist!xiaojun
but like,,,,a therapist for cyborgs,,,,
he mainly works with newly made cyborgs and helps them get used to their new body parts in one way or another
you’re actually one of the first long term patients he gets
and you’re,,,,well,,,,a special case
on one hand, you’re technically still human
but your brain has been replaced with processors to help your body function
the only patients he’s ever helped are ones with more outer cyber body parts like arms and legs and eyes
they think the same way, and it’s just adjusting to related physical activities that they need help for
he’s a little scared to admit that he might not know what to do, how to distract you from associated difficulties, how to help you completely adjust
but he’s going to give you his best shot anyway
all you know is that a car accident left you with irreparable brain damage 
and this was the only way to save you
you know who you are because that information has been fed to you
you know who you are but you just don’t think the same
in a way, you’ve gone back to thinking like a child because of the reset
learning things little by little 
but it wasn’t good enough for you to get back to where you were
it’s like you understood things but stopped feeling them
a sort of hollow shell for a computerized mind
and of course, you were having trouble getting used to processing things at an abnormal speed
the amount of information in your environment sometimes gave you a nasty headache
so your family had to call in a specialized therapist 
xiaojun is kind when he first meets you
he’s a little awkward in movement but he still smiles at you
and he’s genuine in the way he speaks
even you can tell him apart with your limited intuition
but you don’t talk to him - can’t talk to him even then
maybe you’re still afraid (with whatever remnants of fear left with you)
that the more you adjust to this, the more robotic you’ll feel
so the first three sessions you keep your mouth shut
but xiaojun doesn’t get exasperated with you, or groan or click his tongue
the simplicity of the room saves you a headache - the reality simulator of the room probably adjusts to the patient’s comfort
but honestly you wish you got one to get out of there
xiaojun is still kind, you think
he smiles when he asks you if you want to hear a song
you nod - whatever harm could a song do?
maybe it’s how he helps the other patients distract themselves from their sudden changes
and so he brings the guitar from the corner of the room
and plays you a song
it’s a sweet song at that, about gardenias and love
you want to hear it again, but you don’t want to speak
what if the voice that comes out is not your own?
so you settle for smiling at him and quietly appreciating the soft strumming of guitar
and at the end you thank him and leave
but on the fourth day, when he asks you a question you answer it
‘what’s your favorite fairy tale?’
‘it’s peter pan’ you answer without thinking
it wasn’t your favorite before the accident, but you’ve come to love it now
reading it over and over again, you’re sure the words are saved perfectly in your memory
especially when you have a computer for a brain
what would it be like to become a lost boy? 
run away to a place where you felt freedom?
it’s one of the nicer thoughts you have, really
and to your surprise
you find yourself talking to him easily and freely
maybe it’s his warmth, maybe it’s how he smiles
maybe you just like being in his presence
even if he’s just a therapist for people who aren’t quite human anymore
and you feel happy
you didn’t think your new brain would give you the chance to feel that
in fact, you’re feeling things so much that you start to dread the end of the therapy sessions
you tell xiaojun what you feel after a lot of internal debating
‘í’m not stupid i just can’t think the same way anymore’
xiaojun looks up at you
‘i know that. that’s why you’re here‘
‘no, you don’t get it - i used to be someone who worked a lot, right? but i don’t wanna do that anymore! i want to be more free, and you know, do less’
xiaojun has his full focus on you like every day
but something feels different
‘that’s perfect then. you’ve identified your problem,,,and well, there’s nothing wrong if you want to sit back and rest‘
‘but- but my family needs me to work!’
‘you know they don’t. you’re being unreasonably harsh on yourself‘
‘because i’m not the same anymore!‘
xiaojun leans forward at the rise in your voice
‘everyone who walks in here have changed in some way or another. everyone who hasn’t come in here are also the same. people change. that’s what they do, right?‘
you stay quiet for a few moments and see a flicker of worry across xiaojun’s face
‘but i’m not a person anymore, right?’
he frowns 
‘well you think and you feel. i think that’s enough to feel like a person’
‘i’m afraid i’ll stop feeling with this- this robot brain i have‘
xiaojun smiles again
‘but you’ve been feeling the past few weeks? and you’re feeling afraid now?’
you nod
‘then you’ve already proved your brain lets you feel’
he’s right, of course, you try to reason with yourself 
‘but what if i just stop feeling again?’
‘then you’ll start feeling again too’
you start to think again
you’re still feeling now 
fear is still the primitive feeling in your headspace
and maybe that’s what’s holding the humanity in you
you sigh and sit back
‘maybe if you try to let go of fear, you’ll have space for other feelings too’ xiaojun says with a smile ‘but that’s advice for everyone’
he checks the time on his watch and breathes out, signalling the session is over
but before you can leave, he comes and sits beside you
‘i know i’m your therapist, but can i speak to you as a friend for a moment?’
you’re a little taken aback but nod a yes nevertheless
‘when i was a kid, i had an accident too‘
you’re curious at the sudden words
‘and i had to get parts of my brain replaced‘
you look at him as he plays with his fingers
‘i decided to help people in an unbiased way, get them back on their feet‘
‘i didn’t feel for a very long time honestly. in fact, not until i met you. i felt understood after so long - and i wanted to thank you for it‘
‘since the sessions are ending, i just wanted you to know’
you feel a little embarrassed when xiaojun rubs his neck and awkwardly smiles at you
‘so if we’re friends, does that mean i can talk with you anytime?’ you ask with a shy smile
xiaojun smiles, warmth ever present
‘anytime‘
android!hendery
the moment the delivery bot dumps a fully functional android at your place, you know something’s wrong
‘i haven’t ordered this...gosh, i don’t even have the money!’
‘don’t worry. it’s already paid for.’
you knit your eyebrows together as you scan your finger over the delivery bot’s tablet and look at the giant box now in your living room
you walk around it, scrutinizing it when a note catches your eye
thought you might be bored of living alone, so here’s a cutie - xoxo, 10
what the fuck
ten really has nothing better to do huh
you immediately call him and his holographic image shows up on your living room in that damn posh suit
‘ten just what is this?’
‘huh?’
the look of feigned ignorance on his face pisses you off even more as you adjust your camera to focus on the box
‘that!’
‘oh it’s an android!! the latest from our labs’
‘and why is it here?’
‘it’s an early birthday present, darling’
you groan as a smirk makes its way onto his face
‘i mean he might be having the feature too but i’d have sent a sex droid if that’s wh-’
‘ten i will personally march into your office and slaughter you with every weapon possible if you continue talking’
he laughs at your repulsed expression for a good few seconds before standing up straight to face you
‘who’s gonna run the company if i die? besides, i personally helped with instructing for this one. i’m sure you’ll like him’
you sit on your couch and sigh
you definitely won’t if ten designed it
your best friend might be the ceo of a leading tech company but he’s still so annoyingly childish
‘well activate him! actually wait you know what i’ll do it myself cause you’re a prick’
‘ten no-’
there’s a sudden whir from the giant box sounding dreadfully like the booting up of a system and you stand up alarmed
‘oh wow it’s darker than i thought it would be oh boy.....and way more bubble wrap’
you freeze at the unknown voice
‘have fun, darling!’ ten says and disconnects after blowing a kiss at you
you groan and hesitantly make your way to the box which is surprisingly stagnant considering there’s a whole robot inside
your shaking hand presses the unpack button and inside stands a rather confused figure in standard android black, but it’s a hoodie and jeans instead of formal attire
with stretched and destroyed bubble wrap by his feet
but when he steps forward to greet you with a bright ‘hello!’ you swear it’s the prettiest boy you’ve ever seen
you’re at a loss for words for a few seconds
before you remember you really don’t want anyone else running around your place
‘hi uh,,,,’
you read the tag on his hoodie
‘hendery. hi. uh. i don’t know how to say this but,,,,is there any chance you could be returned? like you could be with ten maybe?’
his smile drops to a sad frown
‘you don’t want me?’
‘no. i mean yes! no wait! it’s not like that i just don’t- i don’t know- i’ve never had an android before. yes, that’s it!’
you grimace internally at your own words
he’s just an android - he’s not a real person! why are you getting so nervous?
maybe it’s the look of a kicked puppy that’s all across his face right now
you sigh and decide far too hastily that you’ll keep him for a month 
but you’ll talk to ten as soon as possible
‘um,,,,so like,,,,what do you do?’
‘you have to calibrate me with your bio readings!’ he says with a regained smile
‘uh what’
hendery raises an arm out and looks at you expectantly
‘give me your hand. only if you want. since i’m your personal android, i have to do this, you see?’
you look at him quizzically but give him your hand nonetheless
he clasps it with both his hands and goes still for a few seconds
you’re about to freak out when he moves again, the same polite smile on his face
‘my sensors are pretty accurate, but i think a saliva sample would’ve been more helpful for analyzing your dna’
‘i’m sorry? what?’
he presses his index finger against his lips to think (or pretend to think? do androids think like that?)
‘your permission for a kiss will get me the sample?’
you swear the smile on his face turns devilish as he winks
you step back with a glower trying to sputter out a response while he breaks into laughter
did ten include flirting in hendery’s code?
oh you are so going to kill him
‘that was a joke!’
you scramble back to your room with one last glare at hendery when he starts following you
‘did i say something wrong?’ he asks, the innocence on his face surely fake
it’s weird how your days adjust to hendery’s presence in them
he’s helpful, yes, but he’s also programmed with an annoying sense of humor
no, his jokes are not funny, you convince yourself every time you find yourself almost grinning
he’ll do what you ask him to do if you ask nicely
and he’s a little protective perhaps 
he never lets you go out without the companion band, which transmits location and biological data to him
it makes you feel safer in your neighborhood if you’re being honest
but of course, all of that is in his code
he could be modeled after ten for all you know with the way he gets on your nerves
but something about him is not like other androids - he’s a companionship android but you’ve never seen one so human
it’s unnerving to think he’s not human
only sometimes is he a little snarky with you
because apparently he’s programmed with common nineteen year old adult behaviors
and all that’s well and good but
the thing with hendery is that
he never
stops
talking
anything and everything - he just shoots off at the mouth
here you were thinking androids were made to be emotionless and fully catered to their user
but it’s his experiences hendery loves to talk about
what he feels when he sees things for the first time
and maybe it’s because you’ve been so used to living alone 
that the lively talk gets too much sometimes
‘hendery! just,,,,please stop,,,talking’
you massage your forehead trying to figure out the answers to the latest problems your professor just posted
when you turn to look at him, he’s staring at you with big doe eyes and you’re already starting to feel bad
‘i’m just,,,,not used to another person being here’ you explain
‘oh but i’m not a person!’
you frown at the nonchalant expression on his face
right. he’s right
not a person
but it doesn’t sit well with you as you get up to sit beside hendery
he’s not a person maybe, but he’s treated you nicer than anyone you know
‘i’m sorry. for snapping at you. and not welcoming you here.’
‘that’s okay. i’m an andr-’
‘no, no that’s not reason enough. i know it’s your code and i should thank ten, but thank you for being here with me.’
hendery smiles, and you wonder who put the twinkling lights in his eyes
‘i didn’t think i’d ever be treated as a person’ he says 
‘even if i’m intelligent enough to learn and feel’
you smile at him, it’s all you can do to reassure him
‘thank you’ he mumbles as he wraps his arms around you, a warm scent engulfing you
when he pulls away, his bright grin falls to a sudden frown
‘your data said you like warm hugs!! why are you so red and panicked?’ he asks, worried
your heart beats faster at his words and you scowl
gods he’s stupid for the latest AI
he presses all his fingers against your cheeks and furrows his eyebrows
‘your surface temperature isn’t right!’
he presses two fingers against your neck
‘neither is your pulse! i need to do a scan- oh’
his face breaks into a cheeky grin
‘don’t say it’ you glare
‘i wonder why you’re flustered,,,,,hmm’
‘hendery i will ship you back to ten’
he pouts and you throw your head back and laugh
you’ll be keeping hendery around for longer than a month after all
alien!yangyang
when you see the building suddenly collapsing a few blocks ahead of you, you think ‘shit this is it this is how i die fuck fuck fuck-’
you certainly did not expect to wake up in a weird room lit by dim blue lights, or even wake up at all
and the first thing you see is a boy at the corner, hugging his knees and dozing off against the leg of the bunk bed
you sit up on the bed, your head still feeling fuzzy and dangerously close to shutting down altogether
you steady yourself, and try taking in your surroundings
the walls are probably white, but they appear blue under the lights - in fact pretty much everything in the room is white that way
however, one of the walls seems to be a giant mirror, and you stare back at a very dazed version of you
even your clothes are white, you look unhealthily pale, a little skinnier and your hair is a mess
‘how long have i been here?’ you think
you absentmindedly get off the bed to walk towards the mirror, and that wakes up the boy with a start
he looks surprised for a moment to see you there, but it quickly turns into excitement as he rushes towards you
you register light brown hair and warm eyes, and a giant smile
but barely because your brain is still mush
‘omg are you real wait a minute are you really human??’
you’re suddenly bombarded with a lot of questions your weakened state can’t answer
and you find yourself getting a headache, to which he appears really confused
‘if i had my watch right now, i’d know what’s wrong with you ://’
‘i,,,,ow,,,,my head hurts,,,,,,stop talking’
‘oh,,,,’
you gaze incredulously at the boy - has he never heard of a headache before?
‘aren’t headaches eradicated yet on earth?’ 
he looks so genuinely curious that the mystery of everything around you just worsens your headache
you just continue staring with a ‘huh??’
he suddenly looks startled before looking back at you
‘i’m so sorry for my manners!! my name is yangyang. what’s yours?’
you look blank trying to register his words but manage to respond with your name
‘you don’t look too good,,,,,’
you almost snap with a ‘yeah no shit genius’ when the giant mirrors part and two people walk in wearing thick black suits and a black helmet 
you can’t see their faces and they carry a weird looking item that remotely resembles a gun
but the moment the doors open, your headache suddenly resides and you take in a large gulp of air
‘step forward’ one the guards demand, pointing the gun-like device towards you
you jump up in panic, and take a step forward when yangyang grabs your arm
‘they’re not going anywhere till you answer us’ he says, pursing his lips
‘we are not obligated to answer you.’
yangyang frowns but continues nonetheless ‘well,,,,’
he suddenly wraps an arm around your neck and bends it at an uncomfortable angle while pinning your struggling arms together with his other hand
‘you better take me to the commander of this ship unless you want their neck snapped in half’
the guards take a step towards you but increased pressure on your neck causes them to stop
they hesitate before agreeing and yangyang holds you close to him as you both follow one of the guards while the other stays behind you
you take a few turns like this before yangyang lets go of you subtly and kicks the guard behind in the chest and grabs their gun while they’re still in shock
when the front one turns to react, yangyang shoots without thinking and a beam appears knocking them unconscious
‘this does that?’ yangyang scratches his head before dropping the gun
you stare at him frozen but stumble backwards when he walks towards you
‘where are you going?? i’m not gonna hurt you!’ he defends
‘oh yeah? it didn’t look that way when you were ready to choke me to death!!’
‘that was just to get out! you’re obviously important for them to not have killed you and chucked you in with me’
‘and who are you?’
‘uhhh’
yangyang looks away at the doors sliding open at the other end and a look of panic temporarily crosses his face before he looks back at you with pleading eyes
‘please come with me. we don’t have much time’ he rushes
you look confused and worried at the same time, running over the options you have and their possible outcomes
‘it’s either me or them’ he points towards the guards who have a slightly modified version of the previous guns you saw
and in a split second
you choose yangyang
you don’t remember exactly what happens next - there’s a lot of running involved and the rush of adrenaline, and a lot of dodging deadly laser beams aimed at you
and by the end, you’re sitting in a rather small spacepod with yangyang frantically analyzing the buttons before the pod finally takes off with some clicks and whirs 
yangyang sighs in relief when the thing accelerates, almost grinning like an idiot when your surroundings change to a blur
you look at him quizzically and he shrugs - ‘what? i like the speed’
and when it finally slows down, you’re in some remote corner of the universe with a complete stranger, and not sure if you’ll ever get home
‘uh,,,yangyang,,,do you wanna explain everything now?’
yangyang hesitates at first but begins anyway
and you’re dizzy with the sudden influx of all the new information but it also excites you
‘,,,so you’re the prince,,,,,,of a whole planet,,,’ you repeat
yangyang nods, suddenly a little shy
times are hard for your neighboring galaxy, he tells you, after one of the more military advanced planets declared war on the others in an attempt to conquer the entire galaxy
and if they wanted to move onto earth too, it’s major trouble
the ship you both were on was just a spy ship, which means they’re just exploring earth and not setting conquest on it just yet
and you were probably a main test subject
however, he says he has full faith in the alliance between the three ruling planets of his galaxy and hopefully, this war will be the last
yangyang, in the meantime, was supposed to not get kidnapped but,,,,well,,,,,that happened
and now he’s not sure it’s safe to go back to his planet
you stay quiet for a bit before an idea strikes you
‘wanna visit earth?’ you ask
yangyang’s eyes light up as he turns to you
‘really? you’ll show me around?’
‘well, i can’t promise every place,,,but definitely around my city,,,’
and yangyang smiles the brightest of smiles at you, before turning to the controls and punching in earth’s coordinates
you grin back at him, dizzy with a sense of adventure
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red-elric · 5 years
Note
The Sohma boys as boyfriends/husbands?
*cracks knuckles* okayyy this one is fun lets get down to it!
yuki sohma is! a fuck boy! yuki is the boy who sends machi/kakeru/whoever tf late night “you up?” texts, who lightens the mood by saying “noo dont do x youre so sexy aha,” who is always down to fuck. he and machi watch titanic together; yuki is crying halfway through the movie but hes also being a slutty slutty boy together with machi. he wants machi to draw him like a french girl. with kakeru its a little less obvious because yuki would Rather Die than be caught screwing around with kakeru, but hes still the type to shut him up with a kiss, to avoid serious conversations by doing sexy stuff lmao. that being said, he is still a very emotional boy, and rather open with his feelings; he tends to intellectualize emotions (abby would say its his libra moon) but overall he is very sweet. he believes the only way to respect women is through pleasure and tbh can you blame him??
ayame sohma is an absolute sweetheart omg, tbh discord and i hc that he and mine have the fewest fights of any of the couples; they just exude that “perfect communication, perfect for each other” energy yknow? anyway aya has plenty of flair to spare and he spends a lot of it complimenting mine and making her feel like the most perfect and beautiful princess in the world. they both wear the dress on their wedding day and its gorgeous; theyre beautiful and soulmates and aya is very sweet.
kureno sohma is head over heels in love w his girl uo (if youre gonna fight me over kurenuo dont plz :P)! he’s the type to always assume that uo is doing fine because “shes much more capable with most things than he is” which is true! uo will call him and be upset about something or other and he’ll ask her if shes okay; when she explains whats going on and how shes wondering if she can’t handle....... whatever it is (college uo college uo head canon that actually instead of them travelling together immediately kureno went on his own and uo went to college but they still stayed pen pals anyway shes worried about not doing well in classes) he says something incredibly sweet along the lines of “well, of course you can handle this! you’re capable of everything” and she can tell he really really means it and it doesnt solve the problem but it does make her feel better, and reminds her that she is loved
shigure sohma, once things settle after canon, finally has the chance to spoil the girl he loves, and he does; actually, i think it negatively impacts the rest of his relationships for a while. he becomes completely subservient to akito for a while because he’s found his “happy ending,” so it’s okay to give into those feelings of wanting to spoil her now, right? she’s the most important person in his life, after all. anyway, that mindset lasts for a bit until suddenly it breaks bc akki isnt suddenly perfect either, shes still naturally jealous and afraid that he will leave her, that he’ll cheat on her, so they have a fight at some point; they spend some time apart where shigure learns that it’s okay to love his family and himself, on top of akki, and that being in love isnt about doing everything for the other person; meanwhile akki gets some therapy about her anxiety and rage issues and settles down enough to trust shigure. from then on he’s still very loving and spoiling, but he spends more time teasing her than before, and spends time discussing pros and cons of various couple decisions that they have to make.
hatori sohma is super super cute and super super awkward oml. he spends the early days of his relationship with mayu trying to be cool and impress her because shes so cool (!); he buys aviator sunglasses bc he heard they make people look cool and mysterious and his lactose intolerant ass will go on ice cream dates with mayu which doesnt always.... end well lmaooo. hes very protective of her, perhaps a bit overbearing when she’s sick or injured especially, but it’s always very clear that his heart is full of love for his girl, that he loves her to bits.
hatsuharu sohma has big dick energy  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) now that thats out of the way: if anyone on this list was gonna tease his girl its haru, oml. haru spends 99% of his day finding new and exciting ways to annoy rin cause he thinks shes cute when she’s annoyed (she is) and because hes very confident that they’ll be together forever p much no matter what (they will be). the other 1% of the day is being the sweetest guy in the world bc thats just haru, he tells rin that shes beautiful, that she’s the only girl for him, that its just facts that they would be together, and then the 1% is up and hes explaining that its bc “who else has this goth energy” and “anyway i like your tits” but! its still sweet, even though he’s annoying.
momiji sohma is a cutie! but he’s also a little shit sometimes. he’d rather be a little shit to the rest of the world, with kimi, than to her specifically though; the two of them are dramatic little shits who stage fake arguments, uncomfortable couple dynamics, overly slutty relationships, etc for the specific purpose of the Drama TM of it all. they also like to play up traditional “male and female, husband and wife” roles to the point of satire, because they think it’s funny to point out how ridiculous it is to be such stilted characters together; unfortunately, however, no one around them pays enough attention socially to figure any of it out :( but! it doesnt matter bc for the most part theyre just starting drama and making each other laugh, so its good :).
hiro sohma is v v v sweet and protective; when he gets a little older he joins the “respect women at all costs” gang with kyo, hatori, kureno, and ayame (vs the “respect women through sex” gang with yuki, shigure, haru, and momiji); he’s a bit of a shit about it bc its hiro but its very sweet! anybody comes and bothers kisa and he’s on their ass about how you can’t treat girls that way blah blah blah hiros v talkative lmao. anyway he’s cute moving on.
kyo sohma (bc i like making kyo stans wait til the end to get their man >:P) is completely obsessed with doin right by his girl. he loves tohru to bits (he’s never ever loved anyone else either, man is a tohrusexual through and through) and honestly its a little overbearing sometimes here too lmao. hc that during the v stressful time when theyre planning their wedding (and tohru is pregnant haha) kyo does his whole “let me do everything for you are you sure you should be doing that in your condition? get some rest i can do this for you also fuck anybody coming to bother her with anything yall are assholes” thing--which, normally tohru thinks is cute n sweet tbh (cause it kinda is) but when shes stressed out of her mind, hormonal, and annoyed w herself for not being able to do as much as she normally can? she gets a little snippy with him sometimes :) however its just a learning experience for them kyo eventually gets better at reading the mood and they live happily ever after forever
thanks again for the ask anon! i love doing stuff like this, anyone can feel free to send me asks whenever! special thanks to the discord for making some of these headcanons in my mind, especially @machi-kuragi, @thewinterose, and @yunsoh, and also MANYA who is not on tumblr but should be tumblr famous  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) anyway yeah all we do on discord is talk about furuba headcanons and make fun of each other so a lot of this came from collaborative efforts with them! love yall
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Text
The Secret
By: ModLennon & ModMcCartney
Rating: T
Pairing: John/Paul
Summery: Modern AU! John meets a boy with a secret, but will he ever find out what it is?
Chapter 3/?
Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Tags: @the-beatle-queen
When Paul took off John got truly worried. Something was wrong! And Paul was saying he had to protect him? He couldn't let him run off like that, he had to at least try to stop him.
"Hey, woah! Paul come back!"
John took off after him. Paul wasn't really thinking about being careful and as he ran over a worn dip in the pavement he stumbled and fell to his knees. He couldn't find the energy to get up. He just stayed there, sniffling and not caring if he got funny looks. John was able to catch up to him quickly then. He immediately knelt down to check Paul over.
"Are you hurt??" He looked so worried, horrified at the idea of Paul hurting in any way, whether physical or emotional.
Paul just shook his head. He couldn't look at John. John carefully pulled Paul into a little hug.
"Cmon Paul.. what's all this business about protectin me? You dont have ta worry so much.. if ya don't feel the way I do.. I'll recover. I'm okay with bein friends, you know..."
John couldn't help but think it had to do with that. He simply had no idea what Paul was going through.
"N... no I... I'll hurt ya....I... I like ya f...far too m...much but we... we can't.... I can't.... can't..."
Paul would never be able to be just friends with John.
"Paul.." John spoke softly, lifting Paul's chin to look at him properly. "It's gonna be okay. Whatever this is about... it's okay. We don't have ta move fast. We don't have ta set any kind of expectations for the future. Just relax, yeah? I just wanna spend time with you, as much time as I can while I can, okay?"
"But when the time comes-"
"Then we'll deal with whatever this is about."
John had a sinking feeling, but he wasn't lying. If Paul was terminally ill or something similar, which it was starting to seem like what with how secretive he could be and the vague comments he made now, John still wasn't lying. He wanted to spend as much time with Paul as he could.
"For now, won't you let me take you home?"
"There... there can be no ‘we’ in the matter, don't ya get it? All I can do is leave ya behind an...an just...hurt ya."
Paul fell forward so his forehead rested against Johns shoulder. John's assumption was pretty much solidified by that comment. He hugged Paul tighter, feeling the strangest little ripping in his chest at the very thought.
"Then stay with me now, while you can." He spoke in barely more than a whisper.
Paul just nodded. How could he say no to John now? He understood the situation and he was still wanting to try for a little while. He was willing to have his heart broken to spend a little time with Paul. He knew either way John would lose him. If he didn't pick John he'd have to leave eventually. If he did...Paul swallowed and sat up.
"Alright... alright."
John relaxed a bit at that.
"Did ya hurt your knee?" He looked worried. He had seen Paul fall and wanted to make sure he wasn't too banged up from it before they got up to walk.
Paul gave a little nod. While he was sure he could probably walk on it, there was a nice lump forming. Besides he wanted an excuse to keep hold of John.
"Here, get on my back, I'll carry ya back." John insisted.
He knew he could just let Paul lean on him for support, but he wanted Paul closer. He wanted to show Paul he would carry him through whatever.
"Ya... ys sure?"
Paul knew he wasn't exactly fat, but he was pretty much the same size as John.
John nodded, "of course."
He smiled kindly and shifted so that Paul could easily climb on his back. Paul was unsure but still got himself settled on Johns back.
"Dya know where Forthlin Road is?"
"Yeah actually. That's right near me..."
John sounded a bit shocked again. Paul lived that close to him... and he had never seen him before today? It didn't seem possible. When Paul was settled he started walking. Paul relaxed completely. He didn't usually like others carrying him, self-conscious about his weight, but John was so comfortable.
"Now ya know where I live I suppose there's not a whole lot I can do ta stop ya comin round ey?" He sounded quite happy about that, despite everything.
"Not a chance. And I'm not the kinda guy who waits three days or whatever other nonsense people do these days. I'll be pestering you as soon as possible." He sounded very pleased with himself. He wanted to spend every free moment he had learning more about Paul.
"Well... this will be interesting to say the least." Paul commented.
"I can promise you that much."
John spoke with so much fondness in his voice it was almost even alarming to him.
"That and I have never taken a boy home ta meet dad before." Paul chuckled.
"Is he very strict?" John asked, for once actually sounding a little nervous. His own experiences with parental figures in his life had left him wary of parents.
"I wouldn't say strict. Just... protective."
Paul had a feeling it wouldn't exactly surprise Jim, to bring back a boyfriend. But anyone he brought back would be under a lot of scrutiny until Jim was satisfied they wouldn't hurt Paul.
"I can handle protective."
John could understand that, after all. He felt strong urge to protect Paul himself, so he was sure he'd get along with others who shared that feeling.
"And Mikes younger so he don't get a say in who I see." Paul joked.
John laughed at that. When he spoke again it was in a much softer voice.
"Dya think they'll like me?" More than anything, families made him insecure.
Paul had a little think, wanting to answer truthfully.
"Yeah... I think they will."
John seemed to relax a bit, though he'd been unaware of it he had automatically tensed up when Paul's father was brought up. Paul rested his chin on his arm. He could easily fall asleep like this.... he found he had dozed off a bit, only to be brought back to reality by John asking which number.
"Huh...?" He mumbled as his brain caught up. "Oh... 20... we already here?"
"Unfortunately, yeah..."
John really didn't want to leave Paul now, but he couldn't stay by his side forever really.
"Oh... well now I gotta decide if we should say bye at the door or if I should invite ya to my room."
Paul hated the idea of John leaving.
"Hmm.. dya have classes in the morning? I wouldn't wanna keep ya up, but if you're not doin anything else..."
Paul shook his head.
"Then I'll leave it up ta you," John smiled.
"W....well... would ya?" Paul asked almost shyly.
"I would love to." John said sounding so sure.
The more time he could get with Paul, the better.
"Ya just wanna be nosey ey?" Paul giggled.
When they got to the door, he carefully got off John and let them in.
"Oh, of course." John grinned. "I wanna see how ya keep your room. I bet ya keep it nice and tidy. And i bet... hm.. i bet ya alphabetize all your records and books or movies or whatever else ya got in there."
"I do not!" Paul gasped.
Paul shut the door behind them and yelled a hello to anyone around then led John up to his room. It was neat, but not so tidy. Paul hadn't exactly been expecting company so didn't tidy up. He blushed a bit. John looked very amused when he saw it.
"I guess I'm not always right. That's okay though, we'll get along even better than i thought."
He instantly went to look through Paul's record collection. It was obvious Paul took care of his collection. It was the tidiest thing in the room. On the shelf were various record and record player cleaning items. It seemed to be a little music corner, as Pauls guitar was on its stand near the shelves. His desk had a few scattered guitar picks of various thickness and colour. His favourite was stuck in the strings of his guitar. His desk was a whole other story. It was a creative mess. Not one thought was ordered, scraps of paper with drawing practise were laying mixed in with his actual collage work and some lyrics. A few of Pauls favourite lyrics that he wanted to really work on were pinned to a cork board above the desk. There seemed to be some kind of order there, with lyrics on the left side of the board while college notes were on the right. Other than that it was an ordinary room, a shelf of books and dvds, his laptop on his bed. A wardrobe with a few posters on, showing Paul did enjoy modern bands too. He had a muse tour poster, one for the American idiot musical, a small Elvis tribute act with a little signature in the corner and a clearly vintage Elvis poster in a frame on the wall. On top of some draws were various family pictures. It was a small room but had so much of Pauls character packed in. John took his time looking at everything. He didn't speak as he did, just silently walked through observing everything he could. The room told him so much about Paul and he wanted to learn everything he possibly could. Paul took his shoes and jacket off then sat on his bed.
"Well? Now ya here... did ya have any idea what ya would do once ya did?"
"I had a few," John looked over with a wicked grin. "But tonight I wanna keep things simple." He finished flipping through Paul's stack of books and finally went to sit on his bed. "When did you first start collecting records?"
John went right back to asking questions. He couldn't help himself. He just wanted to know everything. Even the things that might seem boring to others.
"Um... when I was about 11/12. Mum showed me a record she had and I liked it so much she said I could keep it. We used ta go record shoppin."
"Which record was it?"
John was very interested in that. His own mother was the one who got him into records as well. Paul stood up and went to the shelf. He flicked through until he found it. He carefully pulled out a best of Buddy Holly and handed it to John.
"She said she remembered Grandma playing it when she was younger. Probably not this exact record but... yknow."
"Ahhh Buddy Holly.." John smiled appreciatively as he looked it over. "So you've always had good taste then."
Paul blushed a bit. "W...well thanks ta her. Left ta dad it'd be jazz an brass bands."
"I'm sure she's quite proud of the collection you've got now."
Paul suddenly went quiet and turned his back to John, finding something to distract himself instead of responding to the comment. John wasn't too sure, but it did seem a bit odd. He moved so he could hug Paul from behind, resting his chin on Paul's shoulder.
"Paul... I want your whole life story. From the very beginning.. from your first memories.. tell me everything that led to you being this person, with those posters and those books... tell me about your favourite films and your favourite place to play as a child. I wanna know everything."
Paul quickly wiped his eyes.
"Well I... I can't remember /everythin/..." he mumbled.
"That's okay. Just tell me everything you do remember."
John wasn't stupid. He could tell something was a bit off after the comment he had made. He could only assume the worst.
"W...well I dunno where ta start... a lot of it is... borin growin up stuff yknow."
"I don't think I'll find any of it boring," John said with a smile.
"I can't think of anythin you'd really wanna know." Paul shrugged. "What I went ta school, rode a bike, hung out with friends?"
"Mmm.. tell me about your friends? Maybe favourite childhood memory?"
As John spoke he laid back on Paul's bed, making himself at home. He wanted to get a feel for Paul's life, see what he saw every night before bed.
"Oh... well I dunno... I mean I never had any like... really close friends. Coz we move around so much yknow? An kids ain't great at keepin in touch..." Paul paused for a moment. "Well... for a few years I did but... moved again so we fell outta touch." Paul found he never had problems making friends. But he did have difficulty keeping them. Mostly because he got secretive, hid away a lot and disappeared for months on end. Most of them just moved on. "Best childhood memory? Well... usually when we managed to go to a beach. Formby was the best but we would sometimes travel to New Brighton or Blackpool."
There it was again, a sudden fondness for water, specifically the sea. Which didn't add up to how he behaved around water.
"Huh, I was kind of under the impression ya didn't like water. Ya seemed so skiddish at the docks..."
John wondered briefly if something had happened during one of those beach days that traumatized Paul. That could explain the love and hate relationship with water he seemed to have.
"O...oh well.... the... the beach has other stuff yknow... playin in the sand an most have...the arcades..." Paul couldn't look at John. Instead he sat at his desk. "Anyway there was a reason you asked to know everythin. You wanna know somethin specific but ya don't wanna ask outright."
Paul raised an eyebrow. He had seen the behaviour before. He knew he could get funny when Mary was mentioned and people were so worried about upsetting him they would ask sort of vague questions in the hope he'd tell them. But Paul was careful with how he answered, only letting them know what he wanted them to. Sure if they asked he'd answer, but how much information he divulged would depend on how much he trusted them
"Actually I do just wanna know everything," John smiled. "But I am curious about somethin, yeah.. your mum.. she isn't around anymore is she?" He asked, his voice a bit softer now, sympathetic.
Really all the signs were there, the way Paul only talked about John meeting his father and brother, how he had said they used to go record shopping as a past tense. They were subtle clues but John was more attentive than most. Paul sighed and just shook his head. At least John made it a bit easier to answer, rather than the usual 'so what happened to your mum?' John didn't know what to say, so he just went to hug Paul again from behind, a bit tighter this time.
"Mine isn't either.." his voice was barely a whisper.
John just wanted Paul to see he understood, that /this/ was something he didn't have to feel alone in. He had lost his mother just a few short years ago, and he knew the pain all too well. Paul looked at John for a moment before turning to face him and just letting himself cry, hugging John just as tightly. He understood. He wouldn't expect Paul to be brave or tell him crying was childish. John held him tight, letting him cry. He had a horrible feeling that Paul had never been able to properly cry or show anyone how he felt about this. After a while, Paul pulled away wiping his face.
"S...sorry..."
"Ya don't have ta be sorry for anything." John said with a sad smile.
Johns own eyes were a bit puffy, as he had cried a bit as well. He was bad about Julia, he had never really processed it properly either. Without thinking, Paul gently wiped Johns eyes. It felt so good just to be able to grieve. He missed Mary so much, much more that the others just couldn't understand. Sure they missed her, but sometimes it physically hurt Paul to think she wasn't there. His future was so uncertain, there would be problems only she could help with. Paul bit his lip, looking at John carefully.
"I...do...are ya gonna...go home soon?"
It hurt less with John around. He felt so safe around him.
"I'll do whatever ya want me to. I'll stay however long you'll have me."
John closed his eyes at the feeling of Paul's hand on his face, leaning into the touch a bit.
"I just..."
Paul looked away. He felt so silly feeling like he did... he just met John a few hours ago.
"What is it?" John asked softly. "You can tell me.."
John couldn't deny their connection was quite odd, and it was all so sudden.. he didn't want to overcrowd Paul. He was worried that he might be, if the intensity was more one sided and Paul was just too kind and soft to push him away. Paul had a light blush across his cheeks.
"Ya just... make me feel... safe." He mumbled.
John's answering smile was so bright and pleased, the insecurity that had been bubbling up completely washed away.
"Good. I wanna make you feel safe."
Paul gave John a sad smile. He knew it couldn't be forever and one day, maybe soon, he'd lose that safety. Either way he couldn't resist cuddling back up, hiding his face in the crook of Johns neck. The only thing that made him pull back was the need to be a good host.
“Are ya hungry at all?" He asked. "Dya need anythin ta drink?"
He had no idea how long John did intend to stay. He wasn't sure if he would find it weird, staying the night, so he wasn't entirely sure how much to offer. Would he want to borrow pyjamas?
"I'm alright for now."
John was perfectly content just cuddling with Paul for the moment. He did hope that Paul might let him stay. He felt like he could stay with Paul forever and never get tired of him.
"W... well...dya wanna get more comfortable?"
Paul seemed a tiny bit bolder in his own room, but was still rather nervous about asking John these things. He didn't want to push it.
"I could go for that."
John was trying to take everything at Paul's pace and not be so bold now that he was in Paul's space. He didn't want to make a nuisance of himself. Paul moved off John then looked a little lost. He wasn't sure what to do now. They were clearly moving forward, getting closer, but Paul had never been in this situation.
"Here, why don't we put on a record?"
John suggested, thinking ahead a bit. There would be less pressure on Paul to say or do anything if he could just relax to music.
"Sure... what dya fancy?" Paul relaxed a little as he went over to the shelf.
"Maybe some Elvis?"
As John spoke he took his shoes and jacket off and settled in on the bed, leaving room for Paul to join him to cuddle. Paul nodded and put on a best of collection. Once playing at a nice low volume, he turned back to John. He carefully climbed onto the bed. Because it was a single he was practically on John, cuddling up. Outside it had gone dark and rain had started to fall. It was so cosy, Paul found himself quickly relaxing into Johns arms. John tried to make sure Paul was as cosy as possible before properly relaxing himself. He ran his hand along Paul's arm and back, stroking gently. The moment felt so perfect and surreal, he never wanted it to end.
"So um... this... this is pretty... not normal... for two guys who just met right? So... so what...uh...what...do we...what did ya... ya want...?"
Paul wasn't sure what John expected. He didn't know what was acceptable and what crossed a line.
"Well, to be honest I've kinda thrown normal out the window for this. I've never had a connection like this with someone before so.. I don't really know what ta do. But... obviously if anything I do makes ya uncomfortable... you can tell me yeah? Or if ya just get tired of me bein in your bed.." John smiled, "otherwise I'd just say do what feels right. I don't have any expectations, Paul. I'm just thrilled to be here with you."
Paul nodded a bit, but he was a little giddy after all this.
"So.... so you... ya my... friend? Nap buddy?.... body pillow?" He joked.
Maybe labels didn't really matter, but they did help set boundaries for Paul who was new to all this. John grinned a bit at that.
"Hmmm.. well I'm not big on labels, really.. but I was hoping for something a bit more than friend.." he mused.
John in as he spoke to gently run his nose along Paul's jawline, leaving a little kiss on his neck. Paul gasped a bit at what John was doing.
"I... I just...I don't know how ta... ta..."
Whenever John got near to his ear, specifically behind it, he would gasp louder and pull away. It almost looked like he was ticklish there. John had to bite his lip to hide the huge grin from that reaction. There were more serious things being discussed right now, though he did file that information away for later use.
"Have ya never dated someone before?" He asked, his tone gentle and understanding.
Paul shook his head.
"Like I was saying earlier... it could never be for long so... so I never bothered."
"Well... Paul... if you'll have me, I'd like to be with you for as long as you want me."
John's heart ached at the knowledge that that might not be long, but it only made him hold Paul a little tighter.
"I just... you'll be hurt. An... an ya ain't gonna understand why... I just... I can't say..."
Paul was so worried about this. He had no doubt Jim would make him leave when he had to, and eventually he would spend less and less time in Liverpool. Jim wouldn't let Paul do what Mary did. And even if he did, John would have to watch him die, like Jim had to watch Mary die. Knowing it was because she chose him, he was the reason, Paul saw it tear his dad up. How could he do that to someone he loved? Paul froze. Loved? He looked up at John and felt the flutter. Oh fuck...
"I know... you don't have ta tell me why, Paul. But like I said, I want this. I can't leave now knowin you exist and live in a world where I can't hold you, at least for now. I'm very...taken with you. And I want you for as long as I can have you... and the rest... I'll deal with it when its time. But that's on me, that's my choice yeah? So let me choose this."
"What if... hypothetically... ya... ya were the..." Paul sighed. He couldn't lay that on John just yet. "Nevermind. Ya right. It is your choice. An I suppose ya not gonna be that easy to deter right?" Paul gave a little smile.
John grinned, "ya got that right. The only thing that you could say ta make me leave ya alone is that you don't want me. So.. if ya ever change your mind.. I won't bother ya forever. But as for right now I happen to think you want me around just as much as I wanna be here. So lets steer into the skid and just live a little."
John had a triumphant smile, like he had won the lottery in getting Paull. Paul knew he should tell John he didn't want him. He should send him away. But he just couldn't he couldn't stand the idea of John going out with someone else. As selfish as it seemed, he didn't want to let anyone even consider having a chance with John. Instead he gave John a sweet kiss on the cheek. John turned his head to catch Paul's lips in a proper kiss, a bit more than the ones at the docks, but he was still very gentle and slow. He didn't want to rush things, but he was just thrilled to be able to kiss Paul. Paul felt a tingling through him as John kissed him. He could do it forever. However eventually he had to pull back to breathe. He looked up at John gasping a bit, lips red and swollen and a blush across his cheeks. John looked at him and felt his heart swell. Fuck! He had /no business/ being that hot! He had to look away or he didn't trust himself to not get carried away, so instead he closed his eyes and covered Paul's face in sweet little kisses. Paul screwed his nose up and giggled as John tickled him a bit. In the end he resorted to hiding his face in the crook of Johns neck again, still laughing. John finally gave up when he hid his face and just laughed with Paul. It felt so right to hold him. John tried to commit this moment to his memory, one thing he would never forget no matter what the future held.
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