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w0nslvr · 3 months

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𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑹 - 𝑭𝑰𝑽𝑬

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒚!𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕, 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆!𝒂𝒖, 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒖

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑹𝒀𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑨𝑰𝑫 𝑰𝑺 𝑨 𝑱𝑶𝑲𝑬, 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒖𝒎𝒂

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔: 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕��𝒓𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚’𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆, 𝒏𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚’𝒔. 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒖 𝒌𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒚/𝒏… 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕?

𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝒊𝒕𝒛𝒚, 𝒊𝒗𝒆, &𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎, 𝒛𝒃1

𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕: 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏!

𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒆: 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒅𝒂𝒚

𝒘𝒄: 3𝒌

𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 | 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 | 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕

no one loved nights out more than nishimura y/n. she was smitten for the idea of being able to forget her inhibitions, make herself feel pretty, and get drunk with her friends, although she manages to detach herself from them long enough to scope out her next male target. she didn't always love partying. a year ago, she would've said her favorite thing to do was to have a night in, snuggled up underneath a warm blanket with her boyfriend. but that was before he got the girl to open up her well-guarded heart, just to chew it up and spit it out right in her face. after her heartbreak with yudai, she vowed to never date ever again. she instead, got what she needed through the boys who worshipped the ground that she walked on. her friends claim that yudai created a monster, and to a certain extent, y/n agrees. but she was in far too deep to care.

finishing the final touches on her outfit for the party, she turned to her brother who was sat on her bed occupying himself on his phone, and waited for his approval. he nodded his head and sent her a thumbs up. "i can't believe i'm taking you to a frat party. where did i go wrong?" she mumbled, putting her shoes on. riki chuckled, watching her idly, "it's not like i wasn't gonna go anyway even if you said no," the girl stood up, a glare on her face as she slapped the back of her brother's head, and pulled him up to his feet. his figure towered over hers while he trailed behind her. "hurry up and put your shoes on, liz and chaewon are waiting for us in the car." she ordered firmly, grabbing her clutch and making her way outside, her kid following not far behind.

she got herself comfy in the driver seat, her passenger princess, chaewon sitting beside her with the younger two in the backseat. "well don't you look sexy," chaewon nodded in her best friend's direction, buckling up her seatbelt. y/n sent her a quick smile, before starting their journey to MAD house. it wasn't a long drive, being that the two houses weren't far from each other so within 10 minutes, they had arrived. they saw yeji come out to let them in, standing in the doorway and giving a small wave. the few piled out of the car, making their way to her. "you're late." she raised an eyebrow in y/n's direction. the girl shrugged nonchalantly, "outfit change. beauty takes time," she patted the older on the head before brushing by her, welcoming herself into the frat house with her little brother (or as her sisters like to call him, 'her shadow') following her footsteps.

jake let out a whistle at her outfit as she entered the kitchen where the entire group resided, making her do a little spin before approaching fuma first. "hey sweetheart," he smiled, dapping riki up before putting an arm around her shoulder. she watched her brother make an immediate beeline for jungwon, the two looking extremely pleased to see each other. "since someone can't be relied on to show up on time, most of the setting up is done, so thanks for the help." an annoying voice she was able to point out all to well, (and far too quickly for her liking) spoke out from the other side of the island counter. he somehow has a way of getting under her skin with hardly any effort. all it took was the tiniest jab, or a snarky comment under his breath to get that feeling of anger burning in her chest. she would never let it show however, she would never want sunghoon to get the satisfaction of knowing how much he irked her to her core. so she presents herself as unbothered as she possibly could.

"where's my drinks?" she fixed her hair using her reflection in her phone, not even bothering to look up, or make eye contact with him. the boy sighed in agitation, walking away to get her drinks as she hummed in triumph as she locked fingers with fuma who still had his arm around her. their group was used to their open display of affection. everyone knew how close the pair was and that their gestures and the pet names were never sexual or romantic, they just cared deeply for one another. fuma had always taken good care of y/n, so she found comfort in his presence. that being said, that didn't stop their friends from teasing them. "okay lovebirds, we're set up and we have an hour before people start showing up. i'm too sober at this point so less PDA and more alcohol intake, got it?" just as jay started whining, sunghoon reappeared with a case of drinks and two tall cans, and placed them on the counter in front of her in an aggressive manner. she didn't bother saying 'thank you' as she opened the case and slid one bottle in her little brother's direction. everyone sent her confused looks, not believing she was letting the 'protective older sister' guard down for the night. "one. you can have one. the alcohol percentage is low and you're big enough to where it won't get you too drunk. this is a trial run. if anything and i mean, ANYTHING goes wrong, you will never step foot back in this house, am i clear? you stay with one of the girls or any of the boys, yeah?" she jabbed her finger into his chest to get her point across, but the way she had to crane her neck to look up at him made their little brother/big sister dynamic ironic. "got it, mom." he rolled his eyes sarcastically, but she knew he understood. she was super nervous and anyone could tell, which was a complete 180 compared to her usual aura at any nightly function. she even contemplated staying sober for the night so she could be there with him and watch over him but before she could even get the words out, fuma put a hand over her face, stopping her,

"you enjoy your night, i got him. he's an adult, sweetheart. he can handle himself and i will be there if anything goes wrong, okay?" he put her mind at ease with a few simple words, making her sigh and nod. "gross, i'm gonna violently throw up everywhere, please for the sake of my eyes and my stomach, get a room." jake fake gagged, throwing his empty can of beer in the duo's direction. "i for one, think their friendship is cute!" liz smiled picking the beer can up off the floor and putting it in the trash can. "you're cute, jiwon." y/n blew a kiss in the younger girls direction before hearing jay mumble a sentence of an agreement under his breath. "you leave my child alone, you dog." yeji slapped his chest, watching liz's ears turn a shade of red. the group laughed at the interaction, knowing jay just liked to tease yeji and liz and never meant any harm by it. they spent their last hour of alone time drinking and conversing before they opened the doors for free entry.

after some time the house was filled, mostly with people that y/n couldn't even ponder the names of, but by this point she was too inebriated to care. she had danced with chaewon and yujin before making her grand escape, on the prowl for the cutest guy she could find. as her eyes scanned the room, they landed on her baby brother, who was seated on the couch with fuma and jungwon, clearly having the time of his life, laughing at something so hard that his face was turning red. fuma sent her a nod of his head signaling everything was okay, and she sent him a smile and blew a kiss before her eyes zeroed in on the hottest boy in the room (in her honest opinion) only to find him already looking at her. the guy beckoned her over to the wall he was leaning on, and her feet moved faster than her brain could as she pushed and maneuvered her way through the crowd of people until her feet were planted firmly in front of him. "hey pretty." she could hardly hear the boy over the bass of the music ringing her ears. she studied his face that was flushed from the alcohol in his system, his hooded eyes that trailed her figure, head to toe and his hair that was disheveled from the cap he sported earlier. "hi nicho."

"you having fun?" he asked taking a swig from the can of beer he had been holding in his hand, to which he offered her a sip but she shook her head, "no, thanks. i don't drink beer. but yes, i'm enjoying myself." the two made good conversation, talking for more than 30 minutes before they entered a conversation she wasn't prepared, nor sober enough for. "so you and matthew…" he trailed off, giving her an idea of where he was headed. she shook her head quickly, leaning on the wall next to him, "no, we're just friends. he's helping me get some of my grades up, nothing more." he nodded his head in understanding, "but either way, if you're insinuating what i think you are, you know nothing can happen between the two of us, even though i know you feel the same way about me that i do you about you. it's part of the rules." she sighed, genuinely upset she had to put a halt to his advances even though she didn't want to. "yeah? and how do you feel?" a grin took over his face, his eyes never straying away from hers. she laughed, rolling her eyes sarcastically, "That you're the finest dude on my roster, and every time we're in the same room it takes every ounce of self-control in my body to not jump your bones. sound familiar?" he nodded his head with a chuckle, "yeah, sounds about right."

nicholas couldn't even finish his sentence before someone grabbed y/n's shoulder, flipping her over so her back was against the wall, making her wince, "you dick, what the fuck is your problem?" her eyes met a pair that she used to look into so fondly, one's that used to look at her like she was the moon, the stars and everything in between. that sadness that panged in her chest quickly turned into anger, rage even. "you have some fucking nerve, yudai. what the hell do you think you're doing here?" she spat, pushing his hands off her. her ex-boyfriend sighed, not expecting the venomous response. "can we talk? please? i wouldn't have shown up here if you would answer my texts, calls, or DM's. i know your frat brothers don't like me and i understand i'm not welcome here-" his speech was cut off by nicholas who put his arm in between yudai and y/n creating some very much needed distance between the two, "yeah we don't like you, and you sure as hell are not welcome here." he frowned, a very angry look etched over his usually smiley features.

"look man, this doesn't concern you, this is between me and my girlfriend. as soon as she and i talk i'll be out of the way. this isn't my scene anyway." he brushed the younger off, ignoring his hand in front of him. "she is not your girlfriend anymore and clearly does not want to have a conversation with you." he snapped, not backing down. although the girl wasn't speaking, her eyes angrily bored into her ex-boyfriend's. "listen, man, i'm not talking to you, so mind your fucking business, alright? don't piss me off. find some other girl to be your fuck buddy for the night and get the hell out of here." yudai glared at him harshly.

"there he is!" y/n applauded sarcastically, laughing in the man's face and making him send her a puzzled yet irritated look. "i was waiting for your patience to be tested enough so we all could see the real koga yudai. i just needed a reminder of why you don't deserve a conversation with me or even an ounce of my time. you are a real-life piece of shit, and i have no interest in anything that involves you, so you can go." she dismissed him in a bored tone. "is there a problem over here?"

she snapped her head towards the voice loud enough to be heard over the booming music, a voice that under any other circumstances, would have irked her down to her bone. but she had had enough of yudai holding her hostage in the corner and was desperate for any out she could get because it was starting to be too much for her, especially it being the first time they'd seen each other in person since the breakup. "no, sunghoon there are no problems." yudai rolled his eyes, growing more and more frustrated by the human form obstacles in his way of talking to 'his girl.' sunghoon stood with his arms crossed, reading the look on his friend's face (who looks the angriest he's ever seen him), then shifting his eyes to the girl being pinned to the wall, her usually stoic face, is an artwork of emotions. she looked miserable, nearly on the brink of tears. and for the first time in years, sunghoon felt somewhat bad for his ex-best friend. he would never say that sentence out loud, and as much as he hates to admit it, all those years he spent being by her side allowed him the ability to read her emotions like a book, cover to back. her usually perfect posture has been replaced by slumped shoulders and a hunched back resting against the wall, her eyes swarmed with hurt and a mix of anger. as much as he hates nishimura y/n, he hates koga yudai even more. "seems to me that there are issues, so it's probably time for you to go." he spoke, but it sounded more like a warning than an offer. yudai shook his head a laugh dripped in sarcasm leaving his lips, "you MAD boys love sticking your noses in places they don't belong."

sunghoon ignored his comment. he hates you, he truly from the bottom of his heart does. but being raised with only his mom and sister, his conscious saw a girl being mistreated and had to step in. he told himself if it was any other girl he would've done it in a heartbeat. so his morals acted for him and without hesitation, put him in the middle, pushing his feelings towards y/n on the back burner.

"you need to leave or you're gonna have much bigger problems than a little girl barking at you." he advised the older male, who looked as if steam was about to blow out of his ears. "you' threatening me? over a girl who hates your fucking guts? you're that desperate? stand up man, you look fucking pathetic." yudai berated before grabbing y/n's wrist pulling her, and trying to lead her to the exit. sunghoon finally had enough, and quickly grabbed his arm and threw it off the girl, pushing her behind him. "nicho, go get heeseung and fuma. i tried to be nice about this but you've decided to push your luck. you have 30 seconds to get the fuck out of here before you have 9 of her angry frat brothers to deal with. we can add her not-so-little brother into the mix who honestly probably hates you more than she does, he's been on the hunt for you since he moved here. so my advice? scram." sunghoon narrowed his eyes at the man, still holding onto his wrist. yudai contemplated his options, before trailing his eyes over to his ex-girlfriend, whose small frame was slightly hidden behind her old best friend. "this isn't the last time, y/n. we're going to talk." he mumbled as he saw the other boys making their way over, some of her sorority sisters trailing not far behind. he pulled his arm out of sunghoon's grasp before storming off into the swarm of people and assumingly out of the frat house. y/n let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "'the fuck was he doing here?" she heard her brother's angry voice approaching. "it's nothing riks, just let it go." she put a hand on his arm not wanting to talk about it.

"what the fuck did he want?" fuma scanned her body for any harm or distress, and she shook her head. "nothing, and to be honest i feel more sober than i did when i got here. so now that my buzz is killed and my energy has been drained, i'm gonna call it a night. but you guys enjoy it, yeah? hee, where should i sleep?" they didn't want her to end her night so soon, especially since on normal occasions she was usually one of the last people standing, but by the dejected look on her face, they could tell she needed it so they didn't push her. "you can sleep in my bed, i'll be quiet when i come in so i won't wake you. come on, we'll get you comfortable, yeah?" fuma put his hand on top of her head, nodding for the others to continue their night as he led her up the stairs.

she was disapointed that her night was ruined by the guy who broke her heart, but the confusion she felt was far louder, so loud that it drowned out every other emotion she had swarming through her. why did sunghoon help her? they hate each other, have done nothing but argue, and get on each other's nerves for years, so why did he get involved? and why the hell did he seem so protective?

A/N: WOOO CHILEEE😭😭she long asf LMFAO she a read fr but it literally took me forever to write this but then we’ll be back to texting chaps after this for a little while lololol ANYWAYS FUCK ME!YUDAI ALL MY HOMIES HATE ME!YUDAI!!! (he’s one of my &team biases idk why i made him the bad guy im stupid) reply to this or send an ask to be added to the taglist!! reblogs are appreciated🫂

taglist: @goldenjupiterz @enhalov @hoonmidnights @je11yhee @minleeeknow @dimplewonie @hoondiors

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onehundredandeleventropicalfish · 1 year

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First, I love reading your analyses of the Sandman comics.

Destruction never gave me younger sibling vibes, so it was really interesting to see the post where Dream is big brother to Destruction. Do you remember any other instances?

i think that's pretty much it, for moments of dream being a comforting older brother, which is why that scene is such an interesting twist for me!

and also in that scene, like. he's not even really being comforting, because the panel specifically draws attention to his hesitation. he and destruction don't do this, they're two brothers close in age, comfort has never really been their thing (and then corinthian shows up to cause problems before he gets to change that)

but dream is trying. and i include the panel above bc there's an interesting through line of dialogues between the endless about their purpose

because like. i've said it before, i'll say it again, the endless are, in general, not okay. the kind of responsibilities they have, the things they're made of and were created for, i don't think you can put what still is a fairly human mind in the middle of that and not have it break in some way

so the entire endless family dynamic is just seven people doing their best to cope with their overwhelming existence in the only ways they can, which rarely work for any of the others, and they're all helping and hurting each other at once every time they talk about it but all of them, even desire, care so much about each other, and it's this huge mess that i find really interesting

death's coping mechanism is to be more human, and to rely on humanity. to remind herself she's not alone and there's always something new to discover. she finds her purpose in being the one who can help, she shares the responsibility, and she lets herself take the occasional day off

so when dream's struggling she tries to get him to see things her way, to engage more with humanity on their terms, to see the world beyond just what he knows of it, and to try and live, not just exist

which has minimal effect because dream's coping mechanism is to detach himself from the concept of life entirely. he tried, when he was young, to both have a life and be dream if the endless, and things kept blowing up in his face. whether or not he actually had to choose is up for debate, but as far as dream's concerned, a choice had to be made there, and he chose his duty over what he wanted, because that's what he was created to do. and he doesn't think about the things he could have had if he wasn't who he was, because that'll just cause pain, this is his purpose and what he was made for and he will serve it with everything he has

(though his never ending series of romantic disasters are the last vestige of that war inside him, the part of him that wants a life reaching out and the rest of him pulling away, and no one wins)

so then we get destruction. and dream can see destruction's struggling with the idea that endless don't change, they're the only things in the universe that don't. and that's grating on him in a huge way. for dream, this is an easy thing to accept, because if he doesn't change he doesn't have to worry about things going wrong or failing in his duty, he always is and always will be, for as long as he is needed. and dream reminds destruction that he's felt like this before, it will pass. everything will return to as it was. but destruction needs that change, needs to believe the endless can change, so dream's advice can't help

and then the end of brief lives where destruction gets to be the one giving advice back, because now 300 years later it's dream struggling again, and destruction thinks he has the answer (though again, it doesn't help, because destruction chose himself over his duty. and dream can't do that)

(there's also the end of doll's house, which i wouldn't call dream trying to help, exactly, but is still relevant here - desire's coping mechanism is to lie to themselves, push everything that bothers them to the back of their mind where they never have to think about it. they've constructed a neat little world in their head where they're always in control of everything and nothing bad will ever happen, and deep down they know that's a lie, but every time they remember it they immediately do their best to forget. which dream just crashes through by telling desire the endless exist to serve humanity, not the other way round, and that doesn't compute with the fake "i am in charge of everything and everyone bows to me" world in desire's head. and they have a moment of almost coming to terms with this, before they just snap back to "i really got under his skin this time", and it's already forgotten)

(destiny is another interesting older sibling, because he also gives a lot of advice in this vein, but unlike the others he always knows it won't be followed)

which is a really long winded way of saying between brief lives and destruction comforting daniel in the wake (the only times we see them talk), dream's been on the receiving end of the older sibling-ing two out of three times

but to get back to your question, there's one more in terms of dream having more maturity than destruction

which is when they're talking about orpheus

because it was destruction who found him after eurydice's funeral, who encouraged him to make the underworld journey, after dream had specifically told orpheus not to

and dream is still less than happy at destruction going behind his back on that, because dream was right, orpheus making that journey led to nothing but tragedy

destruction tries to defend himself with "it was what he wanted" and dream snaps back with "he was a child, he didn't know what he wanted."

(and god that quote kills me, like. you knew when your son was born his life would be far shorter than yours, but this is nothing, he got so little time to live and despite your best efforts you couldn't stop him walking to his death. he was a child.)

and i think that's the other moment you can tell dream is older. dream's not seeking vengeance on this one, which he would have done were it anyone else. but destruction caused this tragedy because he didn't know better, he never did do well with seeing the long term consequences, it's not in his nature. he's your little brother and he was trying to help. but what do you do with that?

#why is it every time i try to answer a simple question we get two pages of meta #endless siblings go brr #it also doesn't help that destruction is so much taller #the sandman #sandman comic spoilers #dream of the endless #destruction of the endless #death of the endless #desire of the endless #destiny of the endless #meta #mine #ask #brief lives

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lshark-cs · 4 months

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Iron God Chapter 27 [Kolo]

The moment she touched Xigon's bare hand, Kolo disconnected from time and space. Far away, she heard herself scream. The world spun and disintegrated.

Through a veil of swirling dust, she saw the grinning dog that made her necklace burn. His tail wagged and his eyes twinkled like fireflies caught in a spiderweb. He stretched downward, as if he were bowing to her. Then, against her will, she returned to that moment.

Linn had eaten every life in her family's commune. Entirely at Kolo's command.

But to think he would stop once only she remained – what a fool she had been. He had never aspired for her freedom, only her soul. Linn's urge was to consume, and he would devour her with as much glee as he'd devoured her family.

Family was a strange way to put it, Kolo thought. Howl Hollow was a world of madness where her worshippers and captors were one and the same. They had begged her to be their angel, yet they had broken her wings.

To Linn, she had never been a goddess. Only prey.

That night, she lost everything but her name and her power. If not for her talisman, he would have swallowed her completely.

It all came back in an instant that dragged on forever.

When she pulled away from Xigon, no time had passed at all, but she knew what she had to do.

She pictured the poison eating Xigon's mind like Linn had eaten hers. In her mind's eye, it became a predator tearing at the master's bones. The mere idea made her burn. Xigon was not prey and neither was she.

Kolo did what she wished she could have done to that grinning demon. She gathered all her strength and annihilated the poison from existence.

When he thanked her, Kolo replied with more certainty than she had felt in a very long time. "Not devil. Goddess."

She turned to the others then. While Lalek and Rizval fussed over Channei, Azvalath stared at Kolo like she had sprouted horns.

"I've got it from here," said Xigon. He detached himself from Qila and knelt by Channei's side. "Go now, all of you. You too, Qila."

No one disobeyed. No one except Kolo. She stood firm as everyone else left the room.

Xigon looked up. "Did you hear me?"

Kolo folded her arms. "Yes. But until I have any reason at all to believe otherwise, you're not my master."

White sparks burst from Xigon's hands as he pieced Channei back together. Then he glared at Kolo. There was fire in his eyes unlike any she had ever seen. She almost wondered if he were still insane from the poison. "I don't like your tone, Kolo. Just what is it you saw when we touched?"

"Nothing I wanted to see." Kolo looked down. "I'm not who I thought I was. But that's beside the point." She glared straight into his eyes. Her spine tingled. "What is it you saw in me? Why did you want me so much that you'd send Aza to hunt me down?"

"You're still upset with Azvalath?" Xigon turned back to Channei. More white sparks erupted. "I thought you two were finally getting used to each other."

"No." Kolo scowled. "It's you I'm upset with. Now answer my question."

"Don't distract me." Xigon didn't take his eyes off Channei.

"It's a simple question. Shouldn't be all that distracting." Kolo paced behind the tall man. "Why me?"

He let out a long sigh. "When I look at you, I see the same fire I once saw in the Iron God."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Kolo, I..." Xigon hesitated. He clenched his fists and swallowed hard. "I can't put all my trust and faith in a god who can't help us. Not anymore."

Her eyebrows rose. "What...?"

"Our god is gone, and the more time passes, the harder it is for me to believe that he can or will ever return." Xigon pulled Channei into his arms and held her against his chest. "Then we found you, and I knew you were beyond any dead god."

"Xigon." Kolo broke out in a cold sweat. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He stared at her, his eyes wide with emotion she had never thought him capable of. "Really, it was a selfish pursuit." Xigon blinked and averted his gaze. "I needed someone to believe in. Someone to give me purpose. Not our god who left us nothing."

"Selfish." She ran a hand through her white hair. "At least you admit to it. But you're out of your mind if you think I'm anyone's savior."

Xigon's head snapped in her direction as she started walking toward the bluehole. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, so it's a lie?" With a bitter laugh, Kolo stopped. "We can't really leave?"

Xigon seemed baffled. "You have nowhere to go."

"True, but not at all what I asked." She turned back to face him. "What's a better reason for me not to leave?"

Xigon looked down at Channei, who was still unconscious in his arms. "If you really want to leave, then I won't stop you. But I have a sense that's not what you really want, is it?"

"No." Kolo extended an invisible arm and brushed it against Xigon's shoulder. "But I'm not anyone's prize. I will be strong." She balled her hands into fists. "Before you come to me begging for miracles, give me my second ascension."

#iron god #original work #dark fantasy #fantasy #my writing #writing #web fiction #web novel #creative writing #original writing #writer #writers #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writers and poets #writerscommunity #writing community #see pinned post for masterlist

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harper-ance · 2 years

Text

Kit and Zoey (A himbo romance series part 5)

Zoey drank a milkshake while sitting at the drivers seat of a rented box truck. The day was supposed to be a straight forward, flat rate job, but had quickly devolved into something much more complicated.

Justin had received a call from a self storage facility about their unit 23C. The person renting the space had fallen six months behind on fees and the facility wanted to outsource the labor. After Zoey had gotten there she figured out why. The unit had been so packed with boxes she almost failed to open the rolling door. The only thing worse than the jam-packed space was finding out the contents of the unit.

Almost entirely books and a decent amount of magazines. Each box was incredibly heavy. The best that she could guess, the unit had either belonged to a small library or someone who had hoped to sell the books online. Everything needed to be packed and delivered to a second location where someone else was going to evaluate the books for sale online.

The idea that someone would buy out a storage unit of books in order to flip them for profits was amusing to Zoey. She knew people made livings doing weirder things, but she couldn't even begin to fathom how to figure out the worth of a book. Let alone having the space to store them all.

Calling Justin as soon as she saw the unit was the only logical thing to do, as they had been led to believe that the job could be accomplished in a single day with only one person. But there was no way that Zoey would have managed alone. Her boss showed up an hour later with the strongest men he could find on short notice and had disappeared into the facility's office to strong arm them into paying for a second rental truck and to cover the extra labor.

Zoey had tried to help but ultimately she had just gotten in the way with her slower movements as she struggled to not only lift but also carry the boxes. Instead it had fallen to her to keep Kit's younger sister company, as he had only been able to help by bringing her along. There was a diner next to the storage facility so the two of them had walked over to buy milkshakes and fries to eat in the truck.

The younger sister's name turned out to be Christina. She seemed friendly enough and was polite enough to thank Zoey for the milkshake, but she seemed to be a much more quiet individual than her brother was. She sat in the passenger seat and stared at her phone, not entirely dissimilar to what Zoey had been doing.

After a while, Christina finally broke the silence. "You're the girl in that picture, right?" she asked. "The one with the dust storm or whatever firing out of the garage?"

Zoey smiled at Christina's description of the events. "Yeah, that was me. Why?"

Christina shrugged. "My brother talks about you sometimes."

"Oh?"

"Mhhm. He-"

Whatever Christina was about to say was interrupted when Justin knocked on the window beside Zoey. She jumped from being startled, but laughed it off as she rolled the window down. "Sorry," Justin apologized. "I've got everything worked out. I'm going to take the other guys with me when they're done loading your truck to pick up another rental. Since you'd already got Christina keeping you company, hello Christina," Justin waved at the girl, "I'll have someone else tag along behind to start unloading. I can't believe they tried to pawn this off on one person. They told me a couple boxes!"

"That's hardly a couple boxes," Zoey agreed.

Before Justin even finished chatting with Zoey, the passenger side door opened and Kit climbed up inside while Christina moved into the middle of the seat. She offered the rest of her fries to Kit who started eating them. Whatever it was that Christina had wanted to say, she wasn't going to bring it up in front of Kit as she didn't resume speaking when they finally began driving off.

The house they delivered to sported a very sizable garage and detached sheds behind, where apparently they were to move the boxes to. Whoever lived there seemed to have a sizable internet business, as Zoey could see all sorts of things collected in organized stacks.

Zoey backed the truck up as close as she could to the garage, and resigned herself to the long wait it would be for them to unload. She didn't recognize the car they followed in or the workers themselves. When she wondered allowed as to who they were, Christina filled in the missing information. "They're friends of my brother. They work at the gym, I think, where he works out."

"Hey, weren't you going to say something earlier about your brother?"

"Hm? Oh, right. I was going to say he talks about you like he's got a crush on you or something. I just thought you should know, he's pretty oblivious to a lot of social cues. It's cool if you like him, I guess."

#author harper ance #romance #short stories #original writing #original characters #harper ance #himbo #himbo romance #hoarders #himbo love story #opposites attract #wip

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funkymbtifiction · 3 years

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I absolutely loved the sorting chats thing but I was wondering if you have any other questions for figuring out your primary house? I took the test and I got the hatstall thing twice so I basically had to give my own imput on what house I think I am, but I can't figure out if I'm a Slythering primary who models Ravenclaw or the other way around and the questions on the quiz were too abstract to be helpful

Both the questions and the official descriptions, while helpful, are indeed vague. It always helps me to ‘see’ a House (or anything else) in ‘action’ in an actual person or a fictional character, in order for me to wrap my head around what someone of that House ‘looks like.’ They had a great many examples on their tumblr page until it was accidentally deleted / purged which helped me -- you kind of need to think about what each House values and represents, and then see them in a character that manifests those traits. Which is what I try to do when I write up my ‘Sorting’ posts (on my blog, previously linked) -- show how this character differs and how they might disagree with someone from another House, because of their primary focus.

But all of that is rather abstract too, isn’t it? ;)

Bottom line. Are you a Katniss Everdeen or a Luke Skywalker?

When you consider Slytherin, think about Katniss. What is her #1 priority in life? Her sister, Prim. She volunteers as Tribute so her sister does not have to go into the arena. She is willing to run off with Prim and Gale (another “chosen” family member) into the woods, and let the rest of society fend for itself, because at least her prioritized people, those to whom she is most loyal, would be safe. Katniss cares nothing for most of the other Tributes, but she adopts Rue in the arena, because Rue reminds her of Prim. She hunts for Prim. She tolerates the big orange cat that she hates for Prim. She does everything... for Prim, and later, for Peeta, once she has invited him into her small circle of ‘caring.’

For Slytherins, it’s MY people. MY family. MY city. MY country. It’s possessive, and personal, and it would gut them not to feel a sense of responsibility to prioritize THEIR people. If they were on their way to help a friend or a sibling and they ignored someone stuck in the ditch that tried to flag them down, there would be no guilt, because My People Come First. Always. That’s how they are wired. If this is only a ‘Model,’ it will be dropped like a hot potato the minute things get rough, and the person will feel no guilt. But the Slytherin would feel enormous guilt at not putting their people FIRST.

The Ravenclaw is not a loyalist house, but an idealist house. The Jedi Code is a perfect example of a Ravenclaw system -- it asks the Jedi to abandon their own instinctual feelings and gut impulses and live according to a set of high idealistic rules. Their expectations are lofty and their chosen system is something they live by, because they have created or adopted it to take the place of emotionalism. The Ravenclaw might craft ‘it is good to defend and prioritize one’s family’ into their system, but it would come from a place of intellect more than emotion. Luke Skywalker is a good example of this -- of a man who chooses to live by the Code of the Jedi, but who also crafts and shapes it more to his own form. Luke, being a compassionate individual, adds such things as love and mercy to his own version of the Code. And he lives that out. Kylo Ren is also another Ravenclaw, who is rejecting his own emotions in an attempt to live up to an ideal -- for much of the first two movies, a bad ideal, but a system he believes in (the Dark Side of the Force, and a renouncement of his feelings) and tries to enforce on other people through persuading them to join him (Rey).

Fortunately, being a Ravenclaw also means that when he sees another, better way to be (again, through Rey’s influence and her healing him)... he can discard the old system without a second thought, without guilt, and adopt an entirely new one. That is the skill and talent of the Ravenclaw. To forever be tinkering with what they hold to be true, and what they live by. If they find out their system is flat out wrong, irrational, corrupt, or immoral, most Ravenclaws will abandon it. Like Kylo Ren, they will toss the broken lightsaber into the sea and go build a new one. (The lightsaber being their “I live by these principles.”) These ideals come from the outside and their own tinkering, but they aren’t instinctively felt. Unlike the Slytherin, they do not go by emotions -- they go by what they have chosen to be.

As previously mentioned, I know a Slytherin. She always had a deep abiding affection for Katniss, because she understood her completely. When The Hunger Games first came out, and I was struggling to understand why she liked it so much (I found it incredibly depressing and morbid), she just said, “I would do that for my sister.” Years later, when she was taking the Sorting Hat test, I knew she would come out a Slytherin, because... she is Katniss. But the difference between us was distinctive. She would rush to defend, to protect, to be loyal to, and I would sit back and analyze the situation from a detached viewpoint, ignoring any emotions I might be having in the process... because I am constantly weighing everything against my logical reasoning and my faith. It’s as simple as that. Of course my family comes first, but my faith also says to treat everyone with kindness and “do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” So there is always a push-pull in me between instinct (my family, not MY family) and everyone else, according to my belief system.

Consequently, if you want an idea of what a Hufflepuff looks like, look no further than Rey Skywalker. She may be a little grouchy and standoffish, but she also stands up for and defends... everyone. She has a collective emotional loyalty to the entire human race. She protects BB8. She protects Finn. She attaches herself easily to Han Solo, then to the mission to find Luke, then to the Rebellion, and finally, she even sees the potential for good and healing in Kylo Ren. Everyone is fair in her mind, everyone is equal, it would never occur to her to prioritize a select few over the greater good. Hufflepuff values.

And Leia, of course, is a Gryffindor. Someone who has found her Cause and intends to champion it, and you can come along for the ride or get the hell out of her way. She and Han, a Slytherin, butt heads a lot, because he has no interest in a Cause, until he attaches himself to her. Then her Cause becomes his Cause, in a truly Slytherin fashion -- what matters to My People, matters to me. She trusts her gut and does whatever it tells her to do, and entertains no turning aside for anyone. She will stand alone if she must.

You need to ask yourself, who am I? What do I trust? And what would gut me to ignore? My loved ones? Slytherin. My system and logic? Ravenclaw. My general concern for humanity? Hufflepuff. My gut instincts? Gryffindor. What are you willing to do in your life? Sacrifice other things to maintain and cultivate your intimate relationships? Slytherin. Abandon belief systems that you know to be erroneous without a second thought? Ravenclaw. Defend everyone who cannot defend themselves? Hufflepuff. Walk away from your entire family and friendship group on a matter of principle? Gryffindor. Who, by the way, do you ‘understand’ on a completely instinctual level? My Slytherin friend understood Katniss. My Hufflepuff friend understands Hufflepuffs. I understand Ravenclaws like Kylo Ren, because I get his struggle. It’s familiar to me. And my Gryffindor father understands Gryffindors and in true Gryffindor fashion, thinks cowardice is unforgivable.

#question #sorting hat chats #hogwarts houses #ravenclaw #slytherin #hufflepuff #gryffindor

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football15-7fics · 4 years

Text

Tu M’appartiens - Chapter 5 Part 1

But still, although Tessa was cursing Mats in the most spiteful of the way, Nicole read through the lines a truth that Tessa herself wasn't aware of. Her loathing against Mats gave the impression that it seemed more of an animal attraction, that she was in need of him, that she wanted to fuck him. Yes, Nicole had the perfect eye combined with the perfect brain in terms of body language, and concerning Tessa, it was an unquestionable topic, her body was craving on Mats.

Mats' presence had a bad impact on Tessa, at the view of him, she came to the saddest reality that her relaxing holiday came to an end. His stupid smile on his stupid face rose her tantrum a little bit more. When Tessa returned to the apartment, Nicole knew something was wrong based on the look on her friend's face expression. This one was amused at Tessa's reaction, laughing uncontrollably each time Tessa was repeating over and over again how Mats raised his hand at her.

Nicole's clumsiness to this situation gave Tessa a feeling that her bestie didn't care about her, especially about the hot point that Mats saw her boobs.

July 7, 2018

The big day finally arrived, Tessa turned 29, a new age for her. Life hasn't always been kind with her, but as the strong woman she was, she always kept her head steady and proved she had enough of maturity to take care of herself. Tessa developed a fierce maturity from a very young age, probably due to the divorce of her parents when she was still a child. She forged herself a strong personality and was never afraid to raise her voice to say what had to be said. Tessa was loved by everyone, first her dad and mom with whom she had a privileged strong bond, her friends, her coworkers and of course the BVB players that absolutely loved her. Never ever a player from the team disrespected her in any way or never proposed a friends with benefits relation, she was considered as their sister. But nevertheless this didn't refrain her from having a personal opinion on them, in fact she did find Sancho and Bürki really cute and attractive.

Nicole had been very evasive about the birthday party that she organized for her best friend. Only two hints were revealed, first Tessa had to be sexy and the second one was to make the most of it. As a smart girl, Tessa knew that everything seemed fishy, she felt something was on it's way and that it would be somehow of nasty. But to please Nicole, she decided to keep that feeling for herself.

"You look fine as hell bitch!" Nicole said as both her and Tessa accessed the elevator.

🔴⚫[Tessa's Outfit]⚫🔴

"You look fine as hell bitch!" Tessa shot back sarcastically.

"So where are we going?" Tessa asked curiously as her fingers typed her phone screen answering to the many birthday wishes via her Instagram.

"You'll see!" Nicole said as she pressed the 20th floor button on the elevator control pad.

"Ehm why is the elevator going up?" Tessa frowned her eyes curiously.

"Surprise!"

"I thought we were going out!"

"Why go out when the best is right in our hand!"

"Alright!" Tessa answered but mumbled [I feel I'm having a lot of fun!] Out of earshot to Nicole.

The elevator doors opened at the 20th floor, both stepped out when Nicole grabbed a red scarf out of her bag.

"Wow wow what are you doing!" Tessa made a step back when Nicole was about to roll the red silk scarf around her eyes.

"It's a surprise baby, do you trust me?"

"Ehm.. I guess so!" Tessa said as she felt a little tensed but nodded approving Nicole's move.

"Now relax, and keep walking, don't worry I'll guide your steps, you are not going to hit nothing!"

"Ok…" Tessa said, feeling a bit more at ease.

Girl, trust me, you'll thank me!" Nicole said as they entered a room.

"Nicole, what is going on?"

"There she is…" An unfamiliar female voice exclaimed.

As the red scarf was detached off Tessa's eyes, this one got speechless at the stunning set of red themed decorations. Masquerade masks, huge red sequins carefully wrapped around a huge table served with a delicious buffet. Fine wine and champagne, petits-fours, luxurious lobster and a wide variety of seafood, it all looked like one of these socialite private parties. Tessa examined each detail, but the gorgeous black and red birthday cake was too catchy to be unnoticeable. Everything was decorated based on Tessa's favorite red color. In the past Tessa always had amazing birthday parties, but this one was just on another level.

"My gosh, Nicole… it' s so perfect and beautiful, how… how did you do that!"

"I got some help in the name of this amazing girl, Amani!"

Tessa looked at the short woman, who looked absolutely stunning. As Tessa looked closer at the woman, her mind sent her flashbacks, enough to recall who she was the same woman with whom Mats was at the swimming pool.

"Oh gosh!" Tessa mumbled. "And who is Amani?" Tessa behaved foolishly.

"Oh, a friend… she's a sweet person!" Nicole said on a reassuring voice tone as she tapped on Tessa's shoulders.

"Happy Birthday sweetie, hope you like the decoration set, Nicole told me you were obsessed with the color red, so we based your little party on that!" Amani exclaimed excitedly.

"It's really beautiful, I can see you put a lot of devotion and of yourself, thank you, it's really perfect!" Tessa said in a sort of approval behavior.

"Don't he shock darling!" Amani said funnily..

"I'm so glad you like it, we know that you're not a big fan of big parties with a hundredth of people, private parties are way funnier and much more intimate, basically anything can happen without having to justify over certain things!" Amani spoke with a suave voice tone while she approached Nicole with a surprising behavior of her having her mouth locked with Nicole exchanging a passionate kiss. Tessa in shock had her mouth opened, in the unknown of how to react to this situation or of what to do or even what to say.

This was a new side of Nicole she found out and in the most of the explicit way.

"I'm… I…" Tessa baffled continuously with her eyes blinking several times.

"Tessa, you know me, I'm straight but sometimes crossing the line feels so good!"

"Nicole, I think I'll go back to our apartment room, you can stay here and have fun in my name!" Tessa spoke out foolishly.

"Yes, probably…" Tess was out of answers

She walked to the table where the food and drinks were displayed and served herself a glass of champagne that she gulped in one sip and filled up the empty glass immediately.

"No, you stay here, the fun hasn't even started yet, grab your glass, sit comfortably and relax!" Nicole guided Tessa to the living sofa.

"Are you girls dating or something similar to?"

"No, no, but from time to time when Nicole comes to Dubai, we get to have the best of the fun, we love to fuck!" Amani answered as she sat next to Tessa.

"Oh okay, I see, but yesterday, I saw you with Mats, at the swimming pool, you guys looked as a couple!" Tessa felt hungry to know further more about this sort of triangle couple or partner.

"Oh Mats, one of the greatest guy I know and probably the best lover ever, fuck with him for the first time and you'll get addicted to him!" Amani admitted with a sigh filled with lust.

"Gosh, why are every woman addicted to Mats!" Tessa said with an annoyed voice.

"She hates Mats, he's the enemy!" Nicole joked.

"What, you hate on him, oh girl, this is the worst mistake of your life, he's one charming man, treats women with the biggest of the respect and will make you go insane on him, and you're totally his type of girl, sexy, gorgeous and smart, and you're definitely my type as well!" Amani said as her eyes examined Tessa from head to toes.

"Oh my gosh, girls, can we just go out, I want to go dancing to a nightclub, I want to meet some handsome boys, I want to have real fun, get drunk and behave naughty." Tessa begged with puppy eyes.

"Why to go out when we have everything here!" Amani spoke with her eyes focussed at another direction, precisely behind Tessa. This one turned wanting to know what caught Amani's focus, for a second she thought she saw Mats Hummels, but it was from being a mirage, Mats was really there, standing beside Tessa.

"Tessa, so nice to see you again!" Mats had one of those charming smile, but Tessa had a different opinion about it. She had the look of a killer in her eyes, following his steps to the bar where he served himself a glass of red wine. Tessa's anger took hold of her entirely, she was literally boiling to a point that it became hard to contain herself. Inside she was yelling, spitting out her venom at Mats.

"Okay, tell me that this is a fucking joke?!" Tessa stood up from the sofa while she stared at Nicole with annoyance.

"Sweetie, calm down please!"

"How the fuck you want me to calm down when this fucker is here, smiling stupidly!" Tessa felt the tension rising so hard.

"Tessa, it's okay, it's your birthday, enjoy this moment please!" Amani tried to gain control of the situation while this one looked at Nicole for support.

"OMG, I can't believe it, you set me up, you set up all of this situation, Mats, the birthday, this place and everything, how could you do this to me!" Tears started to form in Tessa's eyes, not tears of sadness, but tears of rage.

"I didn't set you up darling, it was planned to have your birthday on a luxurious yacht but due to bad weather we had to find an alternative plan, and yes Mats is here because he is my friend and I thought that it was a perfect occasion for you guys to get to know each other!" Nicole shouted loudly enough.

"You know what, I never asked for all of this, I knew I should never have come here, wanna have fun, then just have fun, I'm out of this shit!" A flustered Tessa made her way out to the balcony, not even paying attention to Mats who did feel somehow bad for her.

"She's really mad Nicole, I think you should go and talk to her!" A concerned Mats said as he joined the two other girls.

"No, I have a better idea, she'll have a memorable birthday!" Amani said as she put a tiny white pill in Tessa's glass of champagne.

"Is that what I think it is?" Mats asked with a grin of satisfaction.

"Yes baby you got it, the most erotic natural drug that will make her change her mind radically!"

"Oh gosh, her wide side will take on her because believe me she is a savage!" Nicole laughed.

"Is she?" Mats frowned his eyes with curiosity.

"Oh Mats, you have no idea what you'll deal with!" Nicole winked an eye at him.

"Give me her glass, will bring it to her!" Nicole said.

#mats hummels #mats hummels fanfiction #football fanfiction #mats hummels tu m'appartiens

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yourjughead · 6 years

Text

Ghosts

Pairings: readerxSweetPea

A/N: are you guys sick of Sweet Pea fics yet 😂

---------------------------------------------

3rd Person

Heart racing, rage running, rain beating. You ducked down empty streets, the darkness of the Southside helping to conceal you from them. Your legs were screaming at you to stop running but your head knew better not to listen. The rain burned your wind beaten face, they were still tailing you. You ran down a slightly busier street hoping to fade in. No luck. You bolted down an alley behind a familiar family shop. The wet floor and the speed you went coupled with your burning legs and poor fitness sent you sliding along the floor, dashing your knees, just adding to your already vast collection.

“Fuck!” The blood mixed with the muddy water it dripped into. You attempted to stand on your deteriorating legs

“Yn?-” You jumped at your name, looking out from under your sweatshirt hoodie to see Sweet Pea standing at the back door of his family's shop, smoking. He dropped his cigarette, crushing it into the damp and went cautiously to you.

“-What-what the hell are you doing back?”

You glanced panickedly over your shoulder before pushing off the concrete, deciding to take your chances with Sweet Pea. He thought you were going for him to hold onto him and was surprised when you ducked behind him and into the store room.

Sweet Pea followed you with his eyes before the sound of new footsteps came up the alley after you. Three brutish men appeared, equally out of breath as you.

“Hey you! We're looking for a girl-”

“Aren't we all?”

“Hah, funny. We're looking for a y/h/c girl with y/c/e, she has a scar from the corner of her eye to the end of that side of her jaw, she's kinda cut up and she's wearing a hoodie and probably a smug face”

“Nope sorry, haven't seen her” he lit a cigarette again. His cooperation caught you off guard, you didn't think he'd help.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive and this is a private alleyway so if you don't mind” he waved them off with his hand and they looked menacingly between each other.

“You're on Serpent property my friends, I don't know where your girl is but I know she won't get through here alive” Sweet Pea remained level toned the entire time. You stayed pressed against the inner side of the wall, just next to the doorway so you could still hear clearly.

“Fine... we'll just keeping walking then” one bit before the three of them continued walking and then jogging. Sweet Pea waited a moment or two after they rounded the corner to be sure before speaking.

“They're gone yn” he leaned against the doorway again, taking a drag.

“Umm thanks” you slip passed him, pulling down your hood to sweep your damp hair back from your face. He hadn't seen it in so long and he hated how he still thought you were the most beautiful person he's ever laid eyes on.

“So, boyfriends of yours?”

“Oh they're my fan club” you smirked

“Same old yn” you could only nod at that.

“Do you want a something for those cuts?”

“No thanks Sweets” his head shot to yours at the mention of a nickname long gone, you bit the inside of your cheeks.

“I should be going…” you pulled your hood back up to conceal your face once again.

“Leaving me again?” Your breath hitched slightly but at the sight of his small smile you relaxed.

“Welcome back, for however long your trip is this time”

“Thanks again for...yeah, okay bye” you gave a small wave before jogging off in the opposite direction the goons went, leaving Sweet Pea to mull over his ghost sighting.

Sweet Pea POV

“You'll never guess who I saw last night at work?” i dropped my tray on the lunch bench, my friends all giving me a little nod hello.

“Your ghost from Christmas future telling you that you go bald?” Toni laughed at Fangs. Jughead just came along to sit alongside her.

“That doesn't even sound a little believable...I'll never go bald” I ran my hand through my hair joining in the laughter.

“No I saw YN” they instantly silence as if I just mentioned the bleep test ((pacer test etc.))

“Who?” we looked at Jughead, forgetting he's only a baby Serpent. Fangs and Toni returned their attention to me again.

“Wha...wh...ho...why?” Toni could only manage.

“She ran down behind the shop last night when I was on break and literally fell in front of me, some guys were chasing her and she hid in the store room”

“Wait you- you helped her?”

“Well yeah I was going to let her get mobbed...or whatever they wanted with her Fangs”

“Well that's big of you considering...”

“I've moved on Toni” I said through half gritted teeth. She didn't look too convinced, probably because I wasn't very convincing.

“Wow, a rare yn sighting, we should call the Smithsonian” Fangs smiled but I was honestly considering it.

“Did she say why she was back? How long she'd be back?” I shook my head.

“Who is yn?”

“Oh Jones, so much to learn, so little time” Fangs patted his shoulder.

“You don't need to concern yourself with her Jughead” I had forgotten just how much yn had hurt Toni with her absence. We ate the rest of our lunch in practically silence. Even when yn wasn't here she managed to leave us speechless.

I walked back to my trailer with my friends as usual, Toni was staying with Jughead while home was difficult for her but it just meant we all got to be around each other a bit more. Jughead had grown on me since going through the gauntlet. Punching him was one of the happiest moments of my existence, not going to lie, helped me to like him more I think.

My trailer was closer to the back and so I walked the remaining distance by myself. I loved my trailer, it was my own space. My parents lived down the road in a two bed semi detached but they decided I was ready for my own space when I joined the Serpents. While at first they were far from thrilled, the idea grew on them....As long as I still helped out at the store and didn't get into fights….i did one of those things successfully. I looked at my home and instantly knew something was off.

The door was ever so slightly ajar but there was no sign of breaking and entering. Something is wrong. I picked up a discarded plank of wood before peeling back the door and stepping inside.

“Jesus Christ!” Yn gave me a fright when I came around the corner into the kitchen, she jumped too.

“What the hell are you doing here yn! You scared the crap out of me! I thought it was your fan club coming to kill me!” I dropped the plank and put my hand to my chest. Ordinarily I would not let anyone see that they've shaken me but this was only yn.

“And you thought one little plank of wood would save you?” She laughed a little. I haven't heard that sound in months. I missed it dearly. Focus!

“Why are you here?”

“I wasn't ready to go home yet and-”

“I meant what are you doing back in Riverdale?”

She bit her lip and looked to the ground, I tried not to look at her for too long like this or she'd quickly turn me to putty.

“I want to fix things” she whispered. Oh that's hilarious, a wrecking ball trying to put things back together.

“I know it's crazy Sweets but I have to try” she must have read my face, I hate when she does that. What are you doing Sweet Pea?! This girl is dynamite in a fireworks factory.

“Don't call me Sweets….i think you should go”

“Look I know you're mad at me but-”

“No that's it, no buts, I'm mad at you and seeing you is unearthing a bunch of the things that should stay dead in the ground! So do what you do best and leave!” I was half shouting at her now. It felt kind of therapeutic. I had imagined this encounter for so long and I couldn't think of all of the things I wanted to shout at her but what I said was enough to get her to move.

“Sweets...Sweet Pea I can't even begin to apologise-” she turned in the doorway

“You're right, you can't” I spun from her again. I can't look at her right now or I might change my mind. Toni had reminded me that I am meant to be angry with this girl...this beautiful girl.

“Bye” she whispered. Well I suppose at least this time she said goodbye.

---------------------------------------------

Much love Xx

#sweet pea fic #sweet pea imagine #sweet pea x reader #sweetpeaxreader #sweet pea #riverdale fic #riverdale fanfiction #riverdale imagines #riverdale #riverdale x reader fluff #riverdale x reader #riverdalexreader #riverdale serpents #southside serpent x reader #serpentxreader #southside serpents #serpent

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sage-nebula · 6 years

Note

I don't think Cheritz would nix the free talk in particular, just that there are probably talks about the characters and the story beforehand and if the voice actress said "Oh, Rika never did anything wrong" then Cheritz would have said something if they disagree. I'm not saying romantic relationships can't be abusive, but considering how many people are surprised and consider V admitting it's never love only obsession a retcon, it's clear the abusive nature come as a revelation to them. (1/2)

So I feel it's fair to call Another Story handling a text-text in particular. Because before there's more posts of how V and Rika should have stay together and how their love is beautiful, nowadays those people still exist but they are in the minority instead of the other way around. And this is it from me, sorry for pestering you I just don't know if I should give Cheritz credit for writing a good female villain when they probably don't mean it.

Once again, just quoting to show specifically what I’m replying to.

“I'm not saying romantic relationships can't be abusive, but considering how many people are surprised and consider V admitting it's never love only obsession a retcon, it's clear the abusive nature come as a revelation to them.”

I’m going to have to disagree with you here. I am one of the people who has said from the beginning that V saying that he was only ever “obsessed” with Rika and didn’t actually love her was bullshit, and that it was a retcon Cheritz wrote in order to make the player feel more special and important.

As I said, Rika being an abuser has been text-text since Original Story. Those who missed it either did so because they weren’t paying attention, or because their reading comprehension skills aren’t where they need to be for this game. Again, I recognize that phrasing it like that sounds mean, and I’m sorry, but it’s the truth of the matter. There has never been any question that Rika was abusive to both V and the Choi twins, as well as to the Believers that she (forcibly or otherwise) brought into Mint Eye. That has always been glaringly apparent.

However, in Original Story, it was also glaringly apparent that V genuinely did love her. The two of them were in a romantic relationship. We see this in the way he talks about her in the five original routes, we see this in the flashbacks we get of the two of them. The only way in which it comes across as an “obsession” is the way that he can’t detach himself from her, and that in itself reads as a trauma bond rather than some weird, objectifying obsession. V entered into a romantic relationship with Rika because he was attracted to her. He pursued that romantic relationship with Rika because he loved her. And ultimately, he found himself unable to leave that romantic relationship despite how abusive it was because of trauma bonding, as well as heaps upon heaps of guilt and abuse-induced responsibility. All of this is present in Original Story. That was what we were meant to take away from that relationship.

However, Cheritz seems to be aware of how entitled and desperate to feel special many of their players are. For many players, the idea of being someone’s second love feels . . . demeaning, or insulting. They feel as if they’re getting “sloppy seconds,” or as if they’ve come in “second place,” as if they’re “second choice,” et cetera. None of that is true, of course, and it’s a sign of immaturity if someone genuinely feels that way. But it’s how a lot of people in this fanbase feel nonetheless. This is why you see people who want both Choi twins obsessed with MC (and that if the twins do repair their relationship, said relationship is always secondary to the love / lust they feel toward MC), as well as people who are legitimately jealous of Elizabeth 3rd for receiving affection from Jumin. Players in this fandom don’t like the idea of their chosen love interest having someone else that’s important to them in their lives. They get jealous over the fact that the Choi twins are each other’s family, and that Saeyoung especially is desperate to save Saeran. They get jealous over the fact that Jumin really cares about his pet cat. And they especially don’t take well to the idea that their love interest (V, in this case) could have possibly loved another woman before meeting them. At least in the case of the Choi twins and Jumin those “rivals” are platonic, but to have a legitimate romantic rival? Oh boy.

So Cheritz did what they felt was in their best interests to do: They invalidated V’s relationship with Rika by saying that it was never actually love, therefore it’s not fair to say that V’s first love was Rika. Instead, that honor can go to MC, just as it goes to MC for literally every single other character in the game despite how absurd that is (except for possibly Jaehee, who mentions dating in the past, but then, Cheritz doesn’t allow her to be a canonical romantic interest). By invalidating V’s relationship with Rika like this, they make the player feel special and important, and remove the risk of the player feeling jealous, insecure, and upset over the fact that they weren’t V’s first love, even if they are his last. It’s petty, childish, and frankly bad writing, but it is what it is nonetheless, and seeing how immature this fanbase can be at times (again, I’ve seen people say they are jealous of a cat) . . . I can’t say I don’t understand where Cheritz was coming from, even if I don’t agree.

(I especially don’t agree because they wrote it in such a way that tried to frame things as, “V was just as guilty for how badly this relationship turned out as Rika was,” which is nonsense. V was an abuse victim. He was an abuse victim who tried very, very hard to change his abuser for the better (e.g. suggesting she go to therapy, trying to encourage her to keep going), but ultimately he failed, as abuse victims do, and that’s not his fault. I’m so beyond tired of the victim blaming in both this fandom and that route. V made mistakes with regards to the twins, most definitely, but he was not in any way at fault for how Rika turned out. Rika’s decisions are her own, not V’s. I really wish this wasn’t so hard for this fandom to understand.)

“I just don't know if I should give Cheritz credit for writing a good female villain when they probably don't mean it.”

If someone carelessly tosses a bowling ball down the lane and gets a strike, do you give them credit for the strike even though they weren’t trying to make it?

If someone randomly hits notes on a piano and ends up creating a pretty melody, do you give them credit for creating the melody even though they weren’t trying to make beautiful music?

If someone gets behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated and mows someone down, do you charge them with involuntary manslaughter even though they weren’t trying to kill anyone?

Just because someone does something by accident doesn’t mean they didn’t do it. It’s important to acknowledge that they did it by accident---you wouldn’t call the person in the first example a skilled athlete, you wouldn’t call the person in the second example a brilliant composer, and you wouldn’t charge the person in the third example with first degree murder---but you still acknowledge the end result. You acknowledge that it was a strike, a pretty melody, and involuntary manslaughter. That’s what I’m saying happened here. Rika is an unapologetic, fantastically written villain even if Cheritz wasn’t trying to do it. They might not have been trying to write her that way, but they still did, and that should be acknowledged. The only time you want to actually withhold credit is if something isn’t actually what it might appear to be on the surface, such as people who try to give Toby Fox credit for nonbinary representation in the game Undertale. Yes, Chara and Frisk are both referred to with they/them pronouns. However, Toby has gone on record as saying that this is only because he wanted to leave their gender up to the player, and when pressed about it, has specifically said that he doesn’t want to talk about gender representation in Undertale and hard passes on any questions posed to him about it. Toby didn’t intend for either Chara or Frisk to specifically be nonbinary in Undertale, he has made that quite clear, and thus he shouldn’t receive credit or accolades for doing so. But this situation with Rika is different from that. It’s not a matter of Cheritz trying to get props; rather, it’s a matter of analyzing their character based on things the character has said and has done, and enjoying (or not enjoying, ymmv) the character from there. It’s a different matter entirely.

Hope that helps.

#atnak16

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taekwonduh · 7 years

Text

Don’t Forget, Pt. 3

Summary: “It is okay if you do not remember me, I can do the remembering. But in a world where I hold absolutely no place in your life, not even as the girl who knew your name before your face, I think it would be a place too cruel to live in.”

Characters: Jungkook, (she/her) Reader, Taehyung

Tags: Angst, romance, food for thought

Memo (Prologue), Pt. 1, Pt. 2

There is a certain lucid quality in the way time ticks while on commute, the idea of leaving behind a neighbourhood so faithfully occupied during the past years of your life for a territory beyond breeds a sense of detachment in your system. Your body remains bound by the ropes of reality, yet your spirit wanders with no desire of ever returning.

Perhaps it is in your best interest that you cultivate the habit of breaking away every once in a while, though admittedly, the prospect of retreating into the dreams that afflict you so for comfort, be they night or day, is terribly ironic. But you cannot help it. You suppose it is to do with being born a dreamer. Trodding through life with no solid plan, the tiles behind you crumble with the lifting of each foot, and the path ahead is formed in the space where your feet land next, a future made of earthquakes that threaten to pull you under.

Nothing is ever clear to you. Not reality. Not dreams, certainly not the days ahead. And you question why you continue to go through with such uncertainty, why you have not yet called it quits with the world and cross into the other side when the boundaries that separated each half have long blurred and blended together.

You like to think that up until last night’s events, you have lived a life in search of answers to questions you did not know to ask.

His name is Jungkook.

“Y/N… You okay? Who was that guy?”

His name is Jungkook.

“Hey- hey, look at me. What’s wrong? Did he say something to you?”

His name is… his name is-

“Taehyung… I can't… I can’t remember his name.”

You remember barreling back to your bedroom, nearly ripping the drawer off its hinges with the sheer force of desperation. After all that has happened, the deja vu sensations, inexplicable memory loss, and the very bizarre but definite swap in places between you and Taehyung’s incident at the pier, you are hit with the sudden fear that perhaps in the time you spent away, the mysterious book might have disintegrated into nothingness. Another mind trick. Another surefire step towards irreversible insanity.

But you are immensely relieved to find the item still within the confines you thrust it, grasping the book and locking your door. You finally work up the courage to discover its’ contents. To learn the answers which you always believed you worked tirelessly towards, but in actual fact have been going around in cowardly circles, feigning ignorance and hoping the misaligned pieces of your memories will somehow adjust themselves and find their rightful place.

The reason why you have put the book off for as long as you have is the underlying rejection of everything you have believed in, everything you live for. The book, expectedly, throws your entire world off its axis.

There are photos of you. Photos of Taehyung. Of a boy named Jungkook. The pier. Your neighbourhood back home. Alongside these polaroids are penned memorabilia, in a recognizable style of writing belonging to a single person— it is yours.

taehyung died three years ago, on graduation day. you were supposed to meet at the intersection at 8, but he had gone to the pier instead. he died by suicide. he did not leave any note. on this day, you met with an accident trying to look for him.

please do not call mrs. kim anymore.  - 23.04.16

“Why were you at the pier?”

“I was looking for you.”

“Why would you be looking for me at the pier? We promised to meet by the school gates at eight-thirty sharp. You said if I were even a second late, you would pretend to not know me even if we managed to get into the same class in high school.”

“Taehyung?”

The train doors shut, carriage picking up speed as the now empty station is gradually left behind. There is a boy beside you. There is always a boy beside you.

He looks up from his phone. “Hm?”

The eyes you spend your entire life looking into appear foreign today. The disparity is not in its physical qualities, for the pools of liquid chocolate remain crystal clear, a reflection of the light that pours in from the glass panels adjacent your heads, it is perhaps in what lies beneath it— in what he holds within.

when you finally move on, the first thing i want you to do is pay more attention to taehyung. i feel like this all started because of his incident. if you can, save him, if you can’t, just keep waiting at the school gates. keep waiting until someone calls you and tells you the news of his demise. that is how you will keep your memories.

Even though it might not have been this life in which you lose him, you cannot help but feel as though there is a dormant element of sorrow that he locks up in a place so deep you cannot hope to find unless you sink your own two hands between his ribs and tear up whatever’s inside, destroying all that is good along with all that is bad. That is a resort you never wish to turn to, and you may only take comfort in the fact that you have somehow managed to save him. That he is here with you.

He is here.

“Do you believe in a parallel world?”

The boy cocks his head, corner of his lips elevating into a lopsided smirk that gives away intrigued amusement, curiosity of why you might suddenly pose such an uncharacteristic question. He first decides to answer it. “I could be convinced.” The shift in his gaze to meet yours sparks electricity upon your skin, and you find that although your bodies are pressed against each other’s sides, though you can feel his heat radiating towards your profile, you are beginning to think that much like the dreams you lose track of each time you awaken, you might, on a day you least expect, lose him too.

“Why do you ask?”

“Imagine that there are little doppelgängers that live on a planet and follow a timeline that is linear and parallel to ours. They live a similar life to us, except sometimes the decisions we make aren’t always one and the same. So that results in certain… branches that lead to outcomes different from the ones that happen here, in our world. Imagine, there is a whole new world created for every choice we make and didn’t make. In those worlds… do you think we are still friends?”

Taehyung shifts in his seat, his shoulder leaving yours in his act of turning his entire upper torso to face you, a position that is no doubt awkward in the limited space of his seat, but sufficient in indicating that there is something he wants to find out.

“Where is all of this coming from?”

“I dunno.”

“Okay, let’s start small then. Is this about last night? I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but it keeps bugging me. You just ran, Y/N.” You suppose Taehyung must have known the somberness he was portraying would push you further into discomfort, and as concerned as he was, he does not want to guilt-trip you into divulging anything you were not ready nor willing to. And so he contorts his features into one of his signature unsightly yet comical frowns, shape of his mouth forming a drooping rectangle, eyes slanted outwards with the pull of muscle, his eyebrows tilted at an angle to match. With that face on, he proceeds to whine in a small, child-like voice, “You ditched pier night.”

And you burst. Uncontained, heartfelt laughter tumbling from the back of your throat out your mouth, shattering the early morning daze that hung over the rest of the train car. A few eyes shift towards you. But you could care less.

“Stop making that face!” Your palms fly up to cup his cheeks, thumbs pushing and molding the flesh to rid that ghastly expression from his otherwise handsome face. Taehyung, relieved by your joyous reaction, eases back into his usual laidback demeanor, his own hands coming around yours to bring them down.

“Well?”

“Well…” You answer his prompt pointedly, sighing into your next words, “I’m still figuring things out. But what I can tell you is that ever since that coma… things haven’t been the same. I don’t know what’s different, I just- I just feel.”

“Do you think we should pay another visit to the hospital? Maybe they might’ve missed something—”

“No, it’s not that. Don’t worry, Tae, I’m working things out. And when I actually have the answers to my own questions, I’ll gladly answer yours. Hmm?”

The mystical qualities of a train ride away from home dissipates into a familiar sensation of emptiness the moment a warm hand is wrapped around your wrist, and you are lifted from your seat towards the car doors, merging with a disarray of early morning commuters on their way to offices, schools, workplaces. The crowd is thick like wet cement, your senses held captive to an atmosphere so hot and humid that instantly all bearings are lost, and you rely solely on Taehyung’s lead to get you out. If this is what ensues a commute, it has become apparent that you detest it.

“Thank God we’re not late,” your companion huffs as he straightens the quality of his pristine new uniform, smoothing out wrinkles and dusting off lint. Though you don garments that are entirely alike, only tailored to suit each gender, you have found that from the time a communal code of wear was first introduced to you both at the age of seven, your dearest friend has always managed to find ways to look starkly superior in his clothing in contrast to you.

Maybe it is in his physique, broad shoulders and filled chest to match his tall and still growing height; perhaps it was in the choice of hairstyle, kept simple enough to abide by conventional school dress codes, yet presenting a tasteful styling in the way his bangs fall in a voluminous arc down his forehead, parted just over the the arch of his left eyebrow, a classic boyish look. Today, he sports his new pair of eyeglasses, an accessory he had showed off generously earlier in the morning when he came to pick you up. The look probably would not have been considered anything special if pulled by anyone else, a sight that blends into the surroundings and is easily skimmed over. You suppose that is the leverage over you he possessed by birth.

In your trek from the train station towards your school, you are joined by many other youths sporting outfits identical to yours, and surprisingly enough, it is quite easy to tell freshmen apart from more senior students. Like yourself, they carry crisp new backpacks, bulky with the weight of brand new textbooks possibly packed inside, style their uniforms strictly in line with the specified guidelines, and in their eyes, they hone the same glint that currently shone in Taehyung’s— excited for a new start, anticipation of the new experiences to come.

Even as the school compounds gradually come into view, marked iconically by a domed roof atop a massive brown-brick structure, you find trouble in drawing out a sentiment to match your peers. To say that it feels as if you have done this before would not be a stretch; the transition from middle to high school in terms of routine does not feel all that drastic. Aside, of course, from the hour-long commute-from-Hell you now have to make. It continues to follow the same monotonous regiment of rise, work, sleep, repeat. What sort of new start could one possibly hope for? You have not the slightest clue.

Upon your arrival to the parted steel gates, beyond which is an expanse of a yellow dirt field, at the core of which is a lush, green quad where wooden benches and umbrella-like trees are spread for the students’ lounging convenience, you discover a handful of senior-looking students, supposedly part of the welcoming committee, ushering in the students with smiles much too bright for such an early morning.

Amongst them, a particularly sharp boy catches your attention with his refined posture, herculean-shoulders and tightly wound school tie; his aura alone sets him apart from the rest of his comrades, exuding sublime confidence and ultra authority in his greetings to fellow students. Supposedly having been aware of this quality, the intimidation he knew he would surely evoke in students is neutralized by two lovely crescent-mooned eyes, his plush, pink lips curved into a matching smile, displaying prominently that despite the richness of his features, he too, remains a teenager like the rest.

You observe him keenly throughout your passing through the gates, leaving the sidewalk and entering at last the compounds of your new school, and you cannot help but be tinged with disappointment when the celebrity-esque boy misses the chance to offer you one of his well-rehearsed introductory phrases. Instead, you are merely shuttled along with the rest of the crowd around the perimeters of the quad, ascending a short flight of steps to pass through a set of warm, red wood double-doors, propped open by two rubber stoppers to facilitate the heavy stream of students arriving for the school day.

Officially within your new school quarters, you and Taehyung unite with other fresh-faced students towards the completion of the first step at getting yourselves oriented— finding your class registers.

At the end of the broad, linoleum-floored hallway you now stand within, lined on one side with display shelves of trophies, medals and framed certificates, and the other, with various club announcements, colourful nutrition posters, advertisements for upcoming school events, was a large whiteboard clipped with sheets of rolling paper dictating which student was assigned to which class. You and Taehyung would refer to this whiteboard, find your classes, and disperse. Albeit due to the sheer amount of people herded around it, Taehyung suggests that you wait at the outskirts for him to come back with the necessary information. You are much too small to be pushing through a crowd like that.

“Bad news, Y/N, we’re separated,” Taehyung announces, looking evidently dejected by the conclusion of your once unbreakable nine-year fate as classmates. “You’re in one-four, I’m in five. Good thing is all the first year classrooms are on the same floor. At least that’s what I heard. Let’s get going?”

You nod affirmatively, angling your body towards the stairs. “Yeah.”

Once on the third floor, the lot of students on the way to their assigned classrooms spill into yet another boxy hallway, this one significantly less decorated, walls lined with chunks of metal lockers waiting to be taken up. The rooms are relatively easy to find, from the left of the stairway are classes one to four, and to the right are five to eight. Ultimately, this is where your and Taehyung’s togetherness reaches its momentary end, and the boy parts with you after an affectionate clap on your shoulder, wishing you good luck and a promise to meet for lunch.

The subsequent absence of his warmth beside your shoulder is larger than you ever thought it would be, and though there is the assurance in knowing Taehyung is only one room away, the fact that you now go solo licks a hot flame of nervousness up the back of your neck, your footsteps grow significantly heavier as you trudge to class.

You are amongst the final few to enter, and like any sizable crowd trapped inside a room, it is no surprise to find that the seats towards the back have all been filled, and you very barely snag a desk at the furthermost column from the door, seating yourself between a girl in front and a boy behind. As the last remaining desks are filled, a man appearing to be in his early-thirties strides into the room, obliterating every decibel of conversation with his preppy entrance, now becoming the center of utmost attention.

He dresses himself rather casually, in a blue knit vest over a white dress shirt, khaki slacks and brown boat shoes. And upon assuming position between the presentation desk and the whiteboard, he lifts his spectacled gaze to size up the class of twenty, nearly thirty-odd students seated in their neat five by five, single-file organisation of desks, all poised and perked.

“If this is the class environment for the rest of the term, we are going to breeeeze right through it.”

The stiff silence in the room is punctuated at last by the hearty chuckle that the man proceeds to let loose, joined only a second later by the harmonious laughter of the other students. The man, introducing himself as Mr. Nam, then begins to break down the events for the rest of the day— first of all going through administrative matters, sorting out the issue of lockers, handing out class schedules for the semester and recruitment pamphlets for various school clubs and sports teams. He goes on to guide you all verbally on the expected movement throughout the day: after the thirty minute homeroom, the entire school would gather in the main hall for a welcome (and for the returning students, a welcome-back) ceremony that would involve recapping last year’s achievements, laying out the expectations for this year, and the introduction of new faculty members.

Seated amongst your new classmates, some of which you have already broken ice with, you delight in the chance to catch Taehyung in his own plastic chair some rows behind you, already surrounded by a hefty group of male friends. You suppose at this stage the girls are still too shy to make advances, but surely they will come— they always do.

And at last, to conclude the two-hour long ceremony, the dean invites up a student whom he addresses as the student body president, handing over the podium to the sharp-looking student you were all but disinterested in just moments ago. The boy skips up the steps at the side of the stage, bowing slightly to the senior figure before assuming the now vacated position at center-stage.

“Good morning everyone, this is student body president, Kim Seokjin.” The cheers that erupt following this brief introduction hails mostly from the returning students seated towards the back, according to their years. Firsts being at the very front. Seokjin allows them, and perhaps himself, a moment to revel in the applause, before promptly continuing with his speech, “I’d just like to say a quick welcome to all our new students, our prestigious members of faculty and my own committee extend our warmest regards. We promise you’ll have a splendid freshman year ahead. And to all my returning juniors, friends, classmates and seniors, a great big welcome back to the grind after a wonderful two-month vacation that I am sure was well-spent.

“Now, to get on with business, I am pleased to announce that our highly-anticipated homecoming night will be held two weeks from now, on the 14th July, Friday evening. Details will be posted on the student portal, so as always, visit the site to register your attendance. No one wants to show up to a party uninvited. Following that, we will be kicking start our week-long of sports tryouts and club recruitment for our lovely freshies, there will be a fair held in the quad by your seniors to try and rope you into an extra-curricular you don’t always actually need… but will enjoy nonetheless.

“And just before we close the semester with finals, the school will be having our annual Arts Fiesta month, during which all our arts teams will hold concerts, guerilla performances, exhibitions and more. You may find all the information on the respective extra-curricular notice boards located in the main hallway on the ground floor.”

Like his professional predecessor, Seokjin continues to lay down the events for the rest of the school year, albeit his tone is laced with a code of humor much more appropriate for the audience that it keeps everyone’s focus on him. At the bell, the ceremony is concluded and you, along with the rest of the freshmen, are shuttled into the cafeteria while the seniors return to their classrooms.

The massive movement traps you amidst a bunch of unfamiliar faces, and it despairs you to know that you can no longer spot Taehyung in the crowd, having lost him to the taller bodies around you. Hoping to meet him outside the hall, you resign to the crawling pace of the crowd, one tiny step at a time until you finally pour out of the entrance like a drain unclogged.

The hallway outside is a clutter of frenzied traffic, some heading one direction towards the cafeteria, the others going another to hang out in the quad, and then there are little cliques blocking up space by the notice boards, the water coolers, chatting and waiting for their friends. You find an empty space against the wall and press your back into it, standing on your tiptoes to screen the crowd for the familiar black-rimmed glasses set against healthy golden skin.

It turns out that when put in a crowd as big as this, it is near impossible to distinguish Taehyung from literally hundreds of other people following the exact same trend. Since when did so many people start wearing geek specs?

As the last of the herd trickles out, the hallway significantly clearing and decreasing in activity, all having gone on to spend their lunch break with friends, you are stuck in the same spot, no sight of Taehyung whatsoever.

You do, however, come across a rather peculiar scene taking place inside the emptied school hall. With the bulk of students gone and faculty members returned to their classrooms or the lounge, only a handful of council members remain, busying themselves with the stacking up of plastic chairs and pushing them to the back of the hall. Amidst the myriad of floor-scraping screeches, light jokes tossed around to brighten up the otherwise mundane task, you recognize the taller of a pair of figures to be Mr. Nam, and the other to be that of a fellow student.

The humbly slumped posture of the student gives off an impression of apology, guilt, perhaps, and you can only assume the student must have done something to warrant a light chastise. As your mind wonders what could possibly have been the reason for it, you notice a bright red backpack still slung over the student’s shoulders, a hint that he could possibly only have just arrived, and therefore missed his chance to leave his belongings in the classroom.

Right at that moment, the conversation appears to be concluded by a friendly thump on the boy’s shoulder, and their bodies turn towards the doors, towards you.

That is when you see him.

Chestnut hair. Round, curious eyes. Lightly tanned, troubled skin.

He sees you too. But you are well aware of the fact that the recognition flashing in his eyes in that moment is not at all aligned with yours. You remember each other from a different time. Different memories. There is the thought of how this is even possible at all, yet he is now standing before you, gazes locked, lips pursed.

“Oh? You look familiar!” You’re certain you must not have looked anything less like a deer caught in headlights, and suddenly you are questioning why you have foolishly left yourself in plain sight, in the direct line of conversation with a teacher who looks particularly eager to be addressing his new student. “Let’s see… Y/N, right? What are you still here for? Not joining your classmates at lunch? The school food is really good, scout’s honour!”

“H- Huh?” The response comes out astray, obviously distracted. You are forced to avert your vision from a set of smoldering charcoal eyes to the kind (yet insensitive) teacher standing before you. “Yes, I plan to. Was just waiting for someone.”

“Is that so?” The man begins to smile, his larger, veiny hands coming upon the younger’s shoulders, the whites of his knuckles evident of a light squeeze being delivering from his fingers to the muscles beneath. For a first meeting, the two seem rather friendly. “Don’t tell me you know Jungkook over here?”

The focal point of your shaky vision once against resumes on the boy, who openly watches you, keenly awaiting your next response.

“Jungkook…?”

“How do you know my name?”

who… are you? his name is jungkook. he sings at the bar. he says he doesn’t want you to remember him. when you wake up tomorrow, decide what you want to do with this information.  - 22.04.16

“N- No, no I don’t.”

“Ah, is that so? Well, there’s lots of time to get friendly. He’s the last one to join us in class. Super, super late, but forgiven since we go way back.” Mr. Nam turns to the boy beside him, grin stretching even wider as his tone takes on one of affection, “See, Kooks, a whole lifetime of perks await you if you have me for a teacher in primary school!” The boy amiably joins in laughter, though the poor, ignorant man remains clueless about the massive elephant trapped between you and him. “Anyway, there’s no one left in there other than the student council. You’re better off checking the cafeteria to see if your friend’s already waiting. Go with Jungkook! He’s about to head there anyway.”

Your heart leaps from between your ribs, lodging itself in the back of your throat, and you find yourself stuttering, garbling, nearly choking, as the words struggle to gather on your tongue. “I- I- I was going to… to the washroom first, a- actually. Seeyouaround, Mr. Nam!”

And you spin curtly on your heels, ninety-degrees towards the path of escape, muscles cramping up from the restrain on your legs from bolting out of the conversation.

You are unsure if it is the heat of embarrassment earned from your display of conversational skills, or lack thereof, that burns the skin on your back with hot, white flames, or if it is the mystical properties that inevitably surround a daylight rendezvous with the very embodiment of all things you cannot explain, the equation that you are unable to make sense of that has come to mock you in the flesh.

The muscles in your leg lose strength the moment you round the corner, your entire frame doubling forward, chest heaving, breathing laboured. No matter the volumes of air you take in, the exhaustion does not recede, it instead grows in magnitude, transitioning from mere breathlessness to a frame-splitting ache blooming in the center of your chest, a sadistic twist-and-wring rhythm taking over the once steady beats resonating within ribs.

This is a feeling not at all foreign to you. In fact, it is so familiar that it is akin to a homecoming. The only thing that registers beyond the rapid pumping of blood and the hammering in your chest is the vague echoes of a paragraph that you think your mind will never be fully rid of. Not when the very subject of it has broken the chains binding it to dreams, and is now present within the realms of your reality.

my last request is this: apologize to jungkook. he says that you are someone who has suffered enough, but your pain does not nearly amount to his. you are able to forget, but jungkook remembers- he carries everything with him to the next day and the next. but let’s say you meet him and he does not recognize you- just leave him be. i think he deserves to live without you, because all his memories of you are laced with suffering. i do not want that for him in his next life, and i am sure you do not want that either.

#bangtan bookclub #btswriters #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #bts angst #jungkook #jaeworks

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