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charlie-pippin-faraday · 2 years

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Joy Mercer and Will Byers are essentially the same character

While looking at the parallels between House of Anubis and Stranger Things, I saw that there are a lot of overarching plot similarities (of course with their numerous differences). However, I couldn't help but notice the striking similarities in the narrative arc of one character in each show: Joy and Will. Almost the exact same thing happens to both of them, and they both follow practically the same plotline for a very large portion of their respective shows. Their respective season 1's are practically copies of each other, with their major differences starting to appear in later seasons when they actually have major screentime. A lot of the differences in their stories are due to their personality differences; as for the plot, they have the exact same role, and follow the same path with a lot of the same consequences.

So I want to break it down and show the parallels side-by-side to really just lay out how much they have in common (because it is a LOT). Here you can see all their equivalent plot points, narrative events, and their almost identical journey.

✨ Heads up: this is going to be a long post ✨

[please click on the photos to see them better]

1. Sudden mysterious disappearance

Both series are kicked off by the same initiating event: a character suddenly mysteriously disappears. We get to see them and establish their friendships for a scene or two before they vanish for the majority of season 1. For both shows, the plotline of the first season revolves around their disappearance. Joy gets kidnapped and hidden by the Society, and Will gets taken into the Upside Down by the Demogorgon, both without a trace.

Additionally: they also might have both been stolen away for a reason, because they were believed to be special. This is true for Joy, as they thought she was the Chosen One. This isn't confirmed yet for Will, but there are a lot of theories that he's got powers too, which is why he was chosen and how he survived the Upside Down and why he can sense the Mind Flayer/Vecna. There's also speculation that that's why he was spared in season 1, because they wanted to use him for a purpose, like the Society was planning to use Joy for a purpose.

2. Cover-up conspiracy of their disappearance

Both disappearances are covered up by secret organizations (the Society; Hawkins Lab) in order to hide a conspiracy. Joy's records are scrubbed and her social media deleted to try and erase her from existence, as well as fake correspondence sent to her friends in order to stop them from sniffing around and discovering the immortality cult, and perhaps even forget about her entirely. Hawkins Lab also tries to cover up Will's disappearance by producing a fake dead body and making it look like he died so that no one would come looking for him anymore and no one would stumble upon what was happening in the Lab.

3. Their best friend refuses to believe that they're gone and relentlessly looks for them

Both Joy and Will have a best friend who will stop at nothing to find them once they realize they've disappeared. In fact, their unrelenting search becomes one of the major plotlines of their respective season 1's. Both Patricia and Mike refuse to believe there's anything normal going on, and they refuse to stop looking or believe their friend is gone, despite the evidence to the contrary, and despite people telling them to stop. When the people in charge (the teachers, the government) try and get them to stop, they don't. Even when their other friends think it's useless, they never stop believing, to the point where just about everyone else thinks they're crazy.

Regardless, they never give up, even if they get involved in supernatural/otherworldly activities along the way.

4. Messages from beyond

While missing, both Will and Joy are able to communicate and get messages out to their family and friends, who are able to use it to help find them. Joy sends a coded message to Patricia (and eventually just texts her), and Will communicates with Joyce using the lights, along with the phone and radio. (Bonus points for the fake mirror message from "Joy" aka Alfie.)

5. A "girl with powers" coincidentally shows up right after they disappear

It feels very notable that almost immediately after they disappear, someone new shows up. And not just anyone: someone special, someone with some form of powers. Nina is the Chosen One, and Eleven has psychic abilities. It's almost too convenient how quickly these girls show up after they disappear. Almost like they're there to replace them (but not actually). And both girls are there to help solve the disappearance and save the day, both of which would not happen without them. The biggest difference in these shows with regards to the girl with powers is that the best friend (Mike) and most of the group embrace Eleven right away, while the best friend (Patricia) and most of the group shun Nina at first.

6. When they return, they're not the same

Both Will and Joy return for good in season 2, but as noted by the other characters, they're not the same. They go through major personality changes. Joy is a lot more guarded, harsh, and mean than her past self, for reasons we'll get into later. In her isolation, she also lost some of the bubbliness we see in the pilot episode, and she becomes rather withdrawn. The same goes for Will, who is even more quiet and withdrawn than before. He also has the unfortunate side effect of literally having pieces of the Upside Down within him, making the "not the same" comments more literal. Still waiting for Will to have his true angry arc like Joy had tho.

7. Their love interest is now dating the girl with powers

When they do return, they find out that something happened while they were gone: specifically, that their love interest got away. Both love interests become romantically involved with and eventually date the girl with powers, who had "replaced" them. So, not only were their love interests dating someone, but they're dating someone new and unfamiliar to Joy and Will. This leaves both of them pining for someone they can no longer have.

In Will's case, the best friend and the love interest are the same person, making it a double whammy for him.

8. Feelings of being replaced and others moving on without them

Both Will and Joy changed because of their experience, but everything else changed, too. After returning, they have to come back and try and find their place again in a group that has changed and maybe moved on without them. They expected it to remain the same as when they last saw it, but it's not anymore. Both of them are experiencing feelings of being replaced in their friend circles, particularly by the girl with powers, who showed up to fill their space while they were gone. This results in both of them fearing that their friends don't need or want them anymore. Joy, who is not a member of Sibuna, feels excluded, and feels that Nina is stealing her friends and taking what is rightfully hers. Will, while still a full member of the Party, also feels excluded and feels that Eleven and Max are stealing the attention of his friends (Mike and Lucas) away from him and the group, as they're acting like couples and he is obviously not part of one due to the fact that he's gay, even though no one knows this. Both Joy and Will feel "othered" and excluded. They're growing apart from their best friend and can no longer have their love interest (though for Will, this is the same person). They just want to go back to the way things were, even though that's not really possible anymore.

In their minds, they have someone they can blame for part of this change, someone they can point to: the girl with powers, who's throwing a wrench in everything (though Will also throws a tiny little bit of blame on Max, who's also new to the group, but most goes to Eleven because he is focused on Mike, the best friend/love interest). They each react to this situation differently, mainly because Joy hates Nina and Will likes Eleven (and eventually becomes a brother figure to her). Joy tries to actively do something about it and remove the "problem" while Will is passive, preferring to fade into the background or even just take himself out of the equation if anything.

9. Lashing out

All of these frustrations eventually lead to Joy and Will lashing out, albeit in very different ways. Joy writes a nasty, defamatory article about Nina with the intent to hurt her, ultimately hoping it will remove her from her life and eliminate her problems, even though it ends up backfiring on her big time. Will, on the other hand, goes into a rage and destroys Castle Byers, the fort he and his brother made when he was a kid. Joy lashes out to hurt others like they hurt her; Will keeps it to himself, and instead of punishing his friends he punishes himself to compound the hurt. Castle Byers is a representation of his friendships and his childhood, so he gets out his frustrations about his situation and about growing up that way. His lashing out is more symbolic, as he's not intending to make any active change like Joy is. But do their actions make either of them feel better? No. Because it doesn't change anything, and it just leads to tears.

10. Lasting trauma

As expected, they both have a whole boatload of trauma. Joy is still clearly traumatized by her experience, though less obviously than Will who can still physically see the Upside Down. Joy is hesitant to return to Sibuna activities, and robes are a trigger for her, as seen in the above photo. And I don't feel like I need to say much for Will, that boy is constantly being terrorized by the Upside Down, particularly in season 2 but he can still sense stuff in seasons 3 and 4 as well.

11. Almost die to supernatural causes and have to be revived

Save for some notable exceptions (ex. Max, Eddies plural), Joy and Will are the only kids in their respective shows that were seriously close to actually dying. Joy might've actually died, I'm a little fuzzy on that; either way, she was brought back to life with the Tears of Gold. Unsure if Will officially died, but he did have to be resuscitated by Hopper and Joyce. Both of them had a very very close brush with death due to supernatural forces (Senkhara, Upside Down), which is the last parallel I'm going to use to bond them together.

Now, I'm sure I could make more points and bring up more similarities. But Will's story isn't done yet, and I want to see what happens in Stranger Things 5 before I compare to Joy's healing and journey in the latter stages of HOA season 3. So, up to this point, I rest my case.

Joy Mercer 🤝 Will Byers = the same

#give them each a hug and send them both to therapy #riiiipppp some of the will pics are so daaarkkkkk nothing i can do about it #i also had to do a bunch of editing on the joy pics to get the subtitles in the right place #please enjoy this in-depth character study and comparison #of my two fave shows atm #this is incredibly niche content but i needed to make it for me #i hope all my wording makes sense #they are the sameeeee these two are the SAMMMMEEEE #SO MANY PARALLELS #THE SAME NARRATIVE JOURNEY AND SAME TRAUMA #not the mention the whole thing with both their respective girls with powers #with el/will kinda being two sides of the same coin #and joy/nina DEFINITELY being two sides of the same coin #THERE IS SO MUCH HERE TO UNPACK #joy mercer #house of anubis #will byers #stranger things #long post

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papabearbobbynash · 2 years

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After my initial frustration over how they wrote Bobby’s decision for that scene I’m now wondering if this excepcional weird out of character judgment for Bobby (given the recent events and how he was so overprotective of picking someone that did not ruin the rhythm of the team) was actually intentional.

I already see some people comparing this situation with Buck not being considered to be interim vs how Bobby did deal with Eddie.

I wouldn’t say Bobby didn’t learn from how the lawsuit go with Buck, even because dealing with Eddie was the obvious contrast to that situation where Bobby was completely valid for his decision and did not fail in communication as he voiced his concerns right on Eddie’s face, who initially didn’t take well (because he was not well and had a escape route of his problems taken from him), but then understood where Bobby was coming from.

I think the biggest difference here between this situation and the situation with Eddie is that Bobby was in a well mental state when Eddie was struggling, and this is not the case here. Bobby was literally about to break sobriety very recently, only being stopped by Eddie (who was in a place to recognize the path Bobby was going). It saved Bobby, but we can’t say it’s all a issue solved... I was expecting to see some implications Bobby is not completely well, and this might be the implications... so as someone else mentioned he might not be in a place where he can notice this behavior.

Not to count on how Bobby was struggling to keep himself as a rock for everyone in the team (and how it all went downhill when his choices backfired with Jonah) and then he is thrown right into Athena’s parents health and personal case where he feels the need to support her (as interviews hints). So I’m interested to see how this goes for him as he is once again in that position, even though he is not very well to do it ans was struggling with.

But this is all speculation, there is much we ca theorize over a single out of context scene. I can’t wait to see how this will go specially how the interview teased more Bobby and Buck dynamic.

#911 on fox #911 spoilers #911 speculations #bobby nash #evan buckley #eddie diaz #athena grant-nash #athena grant

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isolaradiale · 1 year

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Data runs rampant, not only within the mists that crawl through city streets and shadow kissed forests, but upon the illuminated screens of technology that both Stars peer into. Every reaction was duly noted in the glimmer of Pleiades' glasses, much as she assumes it is for Caelum, likely keeping vigilant eye on his own respective area of interest. Before long, she offers an almost contented hum at what she sees, head tilting as she shoots a glance from the corner of her eyes toward him.

"I think this is more than enough data for my purposes. Is it enough for you, though?"

Part of the scientist attempts to smile, though it comes as more of a grimace.

"Well, it didn't turn out how I expected. Certainly not as much carnage as I thought. But I think that overall, they were able to connect with themselves a little deeper. So if they gained any knowledge from that... hm. I suppose that's good enough for me."

Emeralds linger on her fellow scientist, finding herself in agreeance the more she thought on it, moving to stand from the seat she'd been in. "They've learned quite a bit, I think. Perhaps next time we can put you in charge of our next little test? Maybe you can think of something more... ah, murder-y to tune everything up? There are always opportunities to see them raise from the ashes, of course," she shrugs almost leisurely at the suggestion, reaching over to input a few keystrokes.

To that, it seemed he finally relaxed--perhaps a little too much--he wobbled a bit on his feet. Now seated, his one good eye turned to the other.

"Something about that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I'm starting to like this place after all, hm-hm~"

Slender fingers tapped on his cane as he chuckled.

"...We'll have to see. Maybe that won't be necessary for a while."

Pleiades' expression hardly shifts, her smile growing, if anything, as she finally places the last inputs in with silent acknowledgement. Everything was set up, the last of their experimentation to be silently swept away with but another click of a button, thrusting everyone under their gaze back into a sense of normalcy. Or, perhaps, as normal as one can find themselves after the trials and things they have faced until now.

"Oh, but I do wonder if our darling subjects have come to notice the reality of themselves yet," she muses, hands shoving themselves into the pockets of her white coat, all before offering a speculative smile. "No, allow me to correct myself: if they've come to understand what they actually aren't一"

"--Pleased with our antics, I imagine." Came a cheeky little laugh.

"Well. I'll take care of the ones stuck in Purgatory if you take care of our surface-dwellers."

A gentle roll of her eyes in turn. "Very well. Then, let us begin..."

And with one click of a button does it all begin to return to how it once was. Where Caelum works upon his Purgatory tenants, her fingers are swift to realign the way mists swarm the perimeter of the city, peeling it back to release any still snared within their very own data. No longer does the crimson eclipse watch their every breath, returned once more to an innocent moon that lights the streets as if nothing has changed at all, before the mists finally settle at long last as a looming reminder of what had transpired.

All except for one opening, a new path to be taken, toward an area of Radial Island that was once blocked only a few days ago...

and that concludes our event rerun for MISTIFIED!

to start, there are a few notes on clarification: compared to other times when your muse returns to life, this time they'll discover they aren't being manifested into their homes and waking up in their bed anymore. instead, they get the unique experience of walking out of where they were kept during the event for the very first time! going forward, this is what you’ll expect if your character dies in isola, with the echo being the point of origin for post-death situations until they leave. for more information on this, refer to the 'exiting abyss' section of the echo's branch page!

we'd like to thank everyone who participated in this rerun. when we first ran this event, it was when we introduced THE ECHO and SKY-STREWN ISLES to our list of locations. you can still find them over on THE MAP, of course, alongside the other branches listed!

we're also happy to say that those who participated in this event will be receiving a FLAT REWARD as a prize for it! this means that so long as you participated in some way with the event and show us, you'll be able to redeem a small unlock without any other strings or word counts attached! some examples are:

one weapon unlock

one small power unlock/upgrade

500 stars

however if your character has already participated in the original mistified run and received an unlocked weapon or ability, you may only claim the stars reward! we have records of what was given out during the last run of the event, so do not try to claim an unlock if you already have. we will know!

all you'll need to do is go to THE GALAXY inbox and send in a request with what you'd like and your participation. much like the requests for housing, you'll have between MARCH 20TH until APRIL 3RD, 11:59PM to redeem this if you qualify!

once again, thank you all for your participation, and we'll see you in a new event in april!

#isola event #isola event: mistified #isola event rerun

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cosmicangel888 · 1 year

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Truth - The collective Energy & New Earth

We create it all - what fears and what programs have you been sold and told; you set the tone and create it all ~ false stories

As we stated on Twitter this week - re;; UFO's

There is so much that you will be asked to discern; based on the old programs aching to remain in fear and in separation of our celestial Oneness, and what is meant to be the living proof of you looking at you -

Infinite universes, of course there is divine life in every aspect of Creation - a 3D belief system, when you observe you create, from beliefs and perspectives, and thus manifest in focussing, intending, directing your energy while being embedded with billions of others - manifesting - all is our own divine unfolding to heal, to transcend - all are on their own path of ascension - 3 D perspectives will not see or observe or even believe in higher consciousness life and potentials - everything is consciousness and all exists on bands of songs of vibration - grouping is dimension; reality constructs;

youtube

Lightships carry light, are light and feel exciting - anyone that feeds fear with graphic photo's and such, will have an agenda, like the narcism that many of old programs of enslavement to separation are now having to face their shadow; all too is our government and independent systems to sway the belief and energy of our collective;

Sovereignty is rising above and stating anew - who are you?

Here is the truth from 9th Dimensional beings;

All is purposeful so that you clear the beliefs, what power you give to others, including government and so on;

Who are you

he UFOs Shot Down Over North America ∞The 9D Arcturian Council, Channeled by Daniel Scranton

“Greetings. We are the Arcturian Council. We are pleased to connect with all of you.

We are very aware of the so-called UFOs that have been shot down in various locations across North America, and we are also aware of the wild speculation that has gone on within the new age community about what these objects really were. Now, we want you to all understand that your skies are filled with spaceships from all across the galaxy and from other dimensions, and we also want you all to rest assured that no one has shot down a spaceship. Something being a UFO does not make it a spaceship.

These were all human-made crafts that were shot down. Now, there is more good news coming from us around this story. Having mainstream media and government officials, including the military, talk about the possibility that they could have been extra-terrestrial is very good for all of you who want the e.t.s to hurry up and land their ships already. You are being readied for that experience. Soft disclosure is happening, and it will continue to happen. There will continue to be less laughter around the idea of extra-terrestrial life amongst those who operate in more of the mainstream than all of you do.

And again, the average person who does not focus on these things very much is being readied. Those of you who are ready have to of course wait for your fellow humans to be ready enough for that experience, but you still get to have your own experiences with e.t.s and with actual spaceships, and you have all taken a step closer to those experiences as well. So you see, it is all good news, and you don’t need to worry about the wild speculation that goes on amongst those who are conspiracy theorists and do believe that they have the one and only truth at all times about what’s really going on. ©

In fact, we would recommend that you tune out anyone who starts drawing lines between different events that have no relationship to one another whatsoever. You need to focus on you and your readiness for e.t. contact. You need to focus on what you still need to let go of and the places within yourself where you still need to raise your vibration. What you want is a harmonious planet to live on where humans and e.t.s can walk side by side and where space travel will be available to everyone. And what will not get you closer to that reality is finger-pointing and speculating about what the cabal is doing today, or what they were doing yesterday, or what they will do tomorrow.

Continue to focus on yourselves, on what you need to clear, what you need to forgive, what you need to let go of, and you will continuously inch closer and closer to that time where the real ships can land, and you can be reunited with family members from out there in the stars. We are so happy to bring you this message because it is a message to let you know that you are still right on track, and this is yet another step forward on that track to joining the galactic community in an official capacity.©

We are the Arcturian Council, and we have enjoyed connecting with you.”©

Daniel Scranton

Thank you Daniel

Blessings and good will

Joanna

#sovereignty

#unity

#Oneness

#5Dleadership

Remember dear ones,

A true 5D leader will be humanitarian and empowering oneness and peace, unity, and the all-ness that is simply innate - so be discerning of what you read, see, feel - are you being empowered, inspired, and encouraged;

#ascensionbooks

#ascensionclasses

#intuitivehealings

#intuitivesessions

#healinghumanity

#UFOs

#lightships

#Firstlandings

#firstcontact

#God

#Source

#healingtrauma

#transcendingcontrol

#transcendingfear

#alchemy

#understandingenergy

#5Dnewearth

#Youtube

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grannysgraceblog · 2 years

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Courage is a funny thing. It is defined in Webster's College Dictionary as

"The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person 2 face difficulty, danger, pain, etc. w/o fear; bravery. The confidence 2 act in accordance w/ one's beliefs. To nerve oneself 2 perform an action." A few interesting similes I found included "Bold as a lion"-- Holy Bible, "Valient as a lion"-- William Shakespeare, "Indomitable as a lioness"-- Aharon Appelfeld, "Bold as love"-- Edmund Gosse, "Bold as Paul in the presence of Agrippa"-- William Cowper. Additionally, Katherine Mansfield once stated that, "Courage is like a disobedient dog, once it starts running away it flies all the faster for your attempts 2 recall it."

I once was an extremely courageous person. Bordering often as more aggressive rather than assertive. It took years of recovery & several sessions in my NIV 2 tame my unruly spirit which was more a reaction 2 my fear inside than actual bravery. Not that I ever gained a docile spirit but not so much a pit bull in mid flight. However, several events chipped away @ that firey personna, 2 the point that when I lost my daughter that fighting spirit was kicked out of me. Gripping on2 my sanity was about all I muster, in order 2 care for my grandchildren on a daily basis. But when my younger daughter was arrested for murder & then my mother was killed 3 days later, sanity left the building. A rage began building inside of my soul & not a healthy rage. A sick, twisted decay of anything good in me. It boiled & festered & grew 2 the point where I did not know where I ended & bitterness began. I was more than a mess & it cost me huge. More loss, more heartache & in my unbearable grief I reached out for the familiar. I truly thought God had abandoned me. How could He claim 2 love me & allow all of this heartache? I know that people encounter trials but there had just been so much. I felt like I had no other options but one & that one thing is truly not my style. Besides, I saw what it had done 2 my husband & his brother when their dad checked out like that. I just could not inflict any more pain on those precious 2 me than I already had. I just drowned the pain. Slipped away in2 nothingness & oblivion. Numbness was the ONLY option I could see. However, anyone who has walked that path knows how well that works. Eventually the pain is larger than the bottle (or whatever) & you must come up for air or die. I needed 2 do something; anything other than what I was doing, but how? I felt I had nothing inside. No will 2 breathe let alone fight. Where had my courage gone? "Courage is like love; it must have hope 2 nourish it" --Napoleon Bonaparte.

I was wrong though. So very, very wrong. Courage has been w/ me all along. In me, around me, through me, pushing me, & protecting me. Jesus has never left me. Ever. His Holy Spirit had been softly whispering 2 me 2 come back from the edge but I just couldn't hear Him. I wouldn't hear Him. I was 2 angry 2 listen. Oftentimes, when we don't hearken 2 the soft whispers of God, He will turn up the volume. Getting loud is exactly what He did. Subtly @ first but increasingly He became more emphatic until everything in my life just exploded.

I was so angered by the actions that followed. The people who betrayed me...my people. People I loved & trusted. People I had been good 2 & should have been able 2 trust. The individuals who lied & should have known better. The professional ones who behaved in unprofessional & unethical ways. Negligent, inefficient, & fraudulent ways that, for whatever reason, that I am only able 2 speculate on.

All of that is truly irrelevant though, bcuz bottom line, if I hadn't already have been so broken, they could have never finished the job. I am responsible. For.-It.-All. No, they didn't do what they did for my betterment. Nor for my grandchildren's. Yes, their motives for the most part were actually quite sinister, crazy as that sounds. No, I'm not some irrationally, deranged, conspiracy theorist. My mind is pretty well clear now. But I finally realized that they were only a tool that, @ first was put in motion by the enemy, but GOD in His Amazing ways, used all of their actions 2 rescue me. He is my hope. He is my courage. He is my everything & I can do all things thru Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13. He just needed 2 get my attention & @ the same time remind the planet just how incredible He is. Because I am a miracle. A walking, talking 2nd time around miracle & that Glory is ALL His.

His Grace & that God-infused courage has restored the relationship w/ our oldest grandson. It has helped me move forward in the pursuing of visitation w/ my other grandbabies. Despite having 2 face the very people who came @ me last time, it will happen. I know it will. In His time; when I'm ready.

I do find it quite interesting that courage is often correlated w/ lions. Mothers are often referred 2 as a lioness protecting their cubs. I am feeling just like that. But along w/my courage that comes from God also comes the discipline & the common sense restraint that He is endowing me w/ so as 2 do this appropriately. Because I have 2 take responsibility for my behavior & what others do is not my problem. Their His department & He will deal w/ them. He is God & He knows exactly what the precise amount of justice combined w/ the right amount of mercy is.

God gave me back my life...AGAIN. He gave me the courage 2 face life w/o my daughter in it. W/o that courage I would not have my grandson back in my life. Little by little everything is coming 2gether & that is only bcuz God has been leading the way. It has not been an easy path but it has & is so worth it. A path full of practicing forgiveness & letting go of anger. A road full of pride-releasing vulnerability that has definitely been an unforgettable & eventful journey. God instructs me 2 forgive, mainly myself because that is who I am hardest on. Expects me 2 forgive. Hard...oh yes, but the alternative is so much harder. Have a wonderful day. God Bless.

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tempenensis · 3 years

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a (sort of) comprehensive analysis of the second opening

So, this opening from what I saw really got people think. There’s so much to unpack here.

Heavy spoiler warning. Also, very long post.

1. The cat and Gojo

Right on to the first, we see this cat with only one eye illuminated perching on the window. There’s an allusion to Gege - who always draws themself as cyclops cat. But then there’s a scene with Gojo with one of his eyes shaded white. The one opposite of the cat.

By now we knows that sometimes the opening of the anime can allude to the things happening in the manga. In addition to my previous post related to the lyrics of the song used, one of the possible explanation - if we consider the things already happens in the manga - that this might alluded to his sealing during the current arc. Another speculation is that he possibly actually loose one of them in the future to come.

More liberal and loose speculation; one of his eyes is ‘stolen’ and then put into someone other - possibly an adversary and we may see another “Gojo” emerge as an enemy. The current villain is very capable of doing that.

2. The Funeral

The black clothes, the incense, the rain, and the solemn faces. It all alludes to a funeral. But whose funeral? There are two possibility - first is after Shibuya incident because Nanami is the only one who doesn’t wear black and he also doesn’t wear his glasses. The second one is they are paying respect after the the incident during exchange event with Kyoto school, as several staffs of Tokyo Jujutsu High are killed by Mahito when he infiltrates the school to obtain the fingers.

There’s also Gojo here, walking alone without umbrella because he actually doesn’t need it with his technique - with same atmosphere as a funeral. The interesting thing is the bouquet he brings -- blue flowers and white flowers.

Someone in twitter points that the blue flowers could be Periwinkle (in flower language means “lifelong friendship”) or American Blue (means “the bond between two people”), while the white flower is possibly lily - a common flower for funeral. As he is shown alone, this maybe indicates that he is in separate mourning from the rest of the Tokyo Jujutsu students and Nanami above. And yes, I mean Getou.

3. The Bubbles

There is a saying that human life can be compared to bubbles in a stream. Mahito blowing bubbles here may alluded to him who plays so easily with human’s life. People are nothing but literally mere bubbles for him to toy with.

Especially here. If you see how this bubble break, it shapes like a jellyfish. Yes, it’s Junpei. This shows how he destroys Junpei’s life.

4. Chocolate desert

Alludes to the curse manipulation power that the Fake!Getou coveted that he took control of Getou’s corpse. And then there’s fillings inside the chocolate ball - which maybe a nod to the ‘something’ inside that body - more specifically, inside the skull; the brain.

5. Nanami’s death

Nanami is only shown to be walking straight ahead - yes, that’s all he does in his life. Walk straight in the ‘right’ path of being a sorcerer after he returned from his office job. But where that got him? A half-eaten bread.

Nanami is a foodie and his favorite food is bread. It is a foreshadowing of his death in the Shibuya arc on the hand of Mahito who is shown right after the bread scene. The ants may be a nod to the transfigured human that he kills just prior to Mahito killing him - leaving only his lower body, surrounded by transfigured human he defeats.

Mahito here seemingly is doing the incarnation of the Kusouzu brothers - behind him is a human suspended in T-pose. That means this cour possibly cover the Origin of Obedience arc too.

6. Origin of obedience arc

There’s a pretty sizable chunk of possibility that this cour probably covers up to Origin of Obedience arc. That Mahito above and this river with crystal-like structure. This is where Fushiguro does his first ryoiki tenkai to fight a curse who has one of Sukuna’s finger. In addition Sukuna here shown in a river - watching over him.

Also, here the original Kamo Noritoshi, which we only see during the flashback of the Kusouzu brothers - when they fight against Itadori and Kugisaki on the Yasohachi bridge.

7. The traitor

Utahime looking for something - rather, someone. Yes, the traitor in the Kyoto school as Gojo asks her. And then we get this shot of Kyoto students.

Mechamaru is the only one in the shade - as he is the one traitor working with Fake Getou and Mahito because they have a deal. Literally shady - he is the traitor that Utahime is looking for and finally found. Subsequently, that deal with Mahito causes Mechamaru’s death.

8. Yu-un and Hyakki Yakou

Yu-un (Playful cloud) is originally three-section staff special-grade cursed tool owned by Original Getou, which he used when he attacks the school and fights Yuuta in Vol. 0. Here Yu-un shown in the midst of ruins is a strong nod to Getou’s defeat during Hyakki Yakou and subsequently his death. Yu-Un is then picked up by the school and used by Maki to fight Hanami during Goodwill event arc.

But Yuuta here is really just a cameo. He is with Miguel, ex-Getou family, maybe over there in Miguel’s original country.

9. Three becomes Two

The three of them are together during this scene. But during the flashing back scene sequences at the end of the opening after the guitar scene - there are only two of them.

You can probably imagine what will happen to Itadori. This just drive that point home. A strong nod to his death penalty.

10. Flower and The Fish

Another nod to Junpei after that bubble - the same fish that alluded to him as in the first opening. There are a lot of symbolisms here; firstly Junpei’s incident is what makes Itadori “blooms” as a sorcerer. This also supported by how the flower shape likes Itadori’s family crest here, which someone pointed out in twitter.

Secondly, a nod to Itadori’s fight with Hanami - the special-grade curse with power based on plant and forest. Hanami has a cannon shaped like flower. Also, the first time Itadori does Kokusen (”Black Flash” - see? Black, like the color of the flower) is against Hanami. Another part of his growth as jujutsushi.

And lastly, the flower is possibly black lily, which means “curse” that Gege mentions on one of the extra page. It is also drawn in Fushiguro’s flashback scene in the background of Tsumiki who is cursed and has fallen into a coma.

tl;dr: amazing opening. 100/10.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk manga spoilers #brain vomit #jjk meta

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violettelueur · 3 years

Text

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE FIFTEEN || KYOTO SISTER SCHOOL EXCHANGE EVENT - GROUP BATTLE 1

↳ featuring : basically everyone at this point from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 22 march

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 3.6k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : kyoto sister school exchange event - group battle 0

↳ next episode : kyoto sister school exchange event - group battle 2

↳ barista’s notes : let me admit...i can’t wait for my school term to finish...i am so done with education at this point ʕ ꈍᴥꈍʔ but other than that, i will continue my best to study for my last four exams (ugh) and get the best grades that i can ╲ʕ·ᴥ·　╲ʔ i hope you enjoyed this episode and let’s be excited for your coffee orders (requests) to be given at the 31st of March or 1st April ʕ≧ᴥ≦ʔ

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only.

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’ - but none is mentioned in this chapter.

2.5. for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique

no cursed spells used this episode..

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing.

“We’re starting in one minute”

“Now, let’s hear a few words of well-appreciated encouragement from Iori Utahime-sensei,” Gojo suddenly declared, leading the mentioned teacher to look at her colleague in complete shock before quickly beginning to sprout out whatever came into her head.

“U-Uh...Um, some degree of injury will be unavoidable, but, um..now and then, help each other out..or something…” Utahime stuttered out causing you and everyone else from the Tyoko team to look up at the speakers in both confusion as well as fed-up expressions since all of you knew that it was one of Gojo’s teasing antics again.

“Times up,” Gojo quickly stated in a playful tone leading you to look off to the side as you began to look around the area since you were wondering how the principals, teachers and possibly other jujutsu sorcerers were observing you since there were no cameras located to which caused you to suddenly come in eye contact with a pair of piercing pure onyx eyes that were staring down at the group you were with now making you come to the conclusion that someone was using a technique that allowed them to share sights with crows or have their sense being shared with them...either way, it was like having someone watching you 24/7.

‘Creepy...it’s like they’re sensing my death’

“Hey! Gojo, you little…” Utahime yelled out, irritated that she was interrupted out of her little encouragement speech - well, it wasn’t like she had a lot to say to you all anyways.

“Now, let the sister school exchange event...begin!” Gojo enthusiastically yelled out like it was a sports match, encouraging everyone in your team to start running forward in order to gain a head start on whatever the plan was.

“Respect your seniors!” the Kyoto teacher exclaimed loudly through the speakers after since it seemed like she wanted to remind your adoptive father that she was older than him, which can to a surprise for you since she looked much younger than you thought she was - well...you could say Gojo was a bit of the worst end when you found out his age, he seemed completely younger than he had mentioned to you when he took you out to a dessert place after a mission he set for you.

“Ichiro?!” Itadori questioned as he turned back to look at the speakers as if he was going to get the answer he wanted while Fushiguro looked at him with a non-chantant look on his face.

“So stupid,” Kugisaki commented as she gave off a disappointed look as she continued to run.

“Where do you think the cursed spirit boss is?” Itadori asked both Panda and Maki as he came toe to toe with them as he ran since he was truly determined to win this event as soon as possible.

“It was probably unleashed halfway between both schools, but it’s not just going to sit still, we just need Gojo to get there first to exorcise it since she isn’t allowed to fight anyone,” Panda answered, as you managed to catch up to your first-year classmate leading him to question how fast you could actually run since you didn’t show any athletic signs back when you and him were students at Sugisawa Municipal Highschool.

“At the time we agreed upon, we’ll split up into the Megumi squad and the Panda squad for scouting, we’ll be counting on you after that, Yuji,” Maki stated while turning her head slightly to look at the younger student leading Itadori to give her an encouraging salute and smile informing her that he knew what he had to do.

As you all continued to run, the black demon dog was running in front of all of you while barking to indicate where he was going leading you to quicken your speed to make sure you didn’t lose track of it since you now had the role to exorcise any curses that were around with the help of Maki, no matter what grade they were.

“Where are you going?” a spider curse questioned as it began to hang down by a string of its web, trying to seem intimidating when in reality it really wasn’t.

“That's a small fry,” Panda commented, leading you to unhook your katana that was behind your back from its position as you prepared to exorcise the thing by sliding it with the wooden stealth one since it was an extremely weak curse anyway. However, before you could even push yourself forward to cover the remaining distance that was between you and the disgusting spider curse, the demon dog that was in front of you turned it’s head to the side as if it had sensed something else from a distance.

“Gojo, stop!” Fushiguro shouted at you causing you to turn back to him before pressing your front foot to the ground to help slow down and halt your movement causing the demon dog to stand proactively in front of you as a sudden eruption of broken tree trunks as well as a huge cloud of debris covering the remaining path that everyone was running in leading them to pause around you.

Rapidly, as fast as the destruction came was as fast as the instructor appeared from the mist as Todo struck everyone was a confident grin since he was joyful that he had found everyone from the Tokyo team right in front of him - it was as if he had struck gold.

“Great! You’re all here! Come at me altogether! I want a re-match, Gojo!” Todo declared ambitiously as he pointed at you, leading everyone to go into a fighting stance since they didn’t want the possibility of losing you even when you knew that they knew that you could defend yourself, just not attack your opponent back at all.

As expected, Itadori took the first step as he ran towards the large student before suddenly jumping up to reach and grab onto Todo’s face as he proceeded to slam it against his knee, causing you to slightly cringe since you didn’t want to know how much pain his nose might be going thought at the very moment in time.

“Gojo! Don’t worry, I got Todo in check!” Itadori informed you, leading you to smile and nod at him as a way to thank him, causing Maki to shout out the command that everyone needed to do right now.

“Scatter!” Maki yelled out causing everyone to run off in two different directions with Kugisaki, Panda and Inumaki going to the left side of the forest, while you, Fushiguro and Maki took the right side, as you all needed to go in different directions to cover up a large amount of area you all had to cover in order to find the grade two cursed that was released for the players to exorcise to win the event for today.

“Todo was alone, it seemed like he really wanted to fight Gojo though,” Fushiguro commented as he turned back to look at you and Maki, while still running since there was a possibility that the grade-one sorcerer would come looking for you.

“We were right to swap Gojo with Yuji into that role,” Maki stated as she turned to you with a confident smile on her face leading you to give her one back before shifting your eyes to the dark blue metal pole that was dangling on the side of your hip, where you held it in place with a black belt that Kugisaki had gifted you one day during one of your random shopping trips.

‘I’ll thank her again later when all of this is done’

ꕥ

BEFORE THE EXCHANGE EVENT STARTED:

“Todo will absolutely be out to crush us straight away, Mai might follow behind him to come after me, too,” Maki mentioned to everyone, as she held her chin in a thinking posture as you sat next to her with your arms placed behind you to help support your upper body.

“Todo’s a monster, the worst possible outcome would be that we all face him and get wiped out,” Maki explained before turning to look at you before letting out a sigh of disappointment since she needed to change the current plan due to the fact there was a few new little rules being placed upon you to make the game fair. “So our plan was to leave just one person, that’s why we wanted Gojo to take him on since she is the most capable of keeping him at bay or more like knock him out to give us some time but rules are rules. Itadori, we’ll leave that role to you,” your senior classmate declared as she took in yours and Fushiguro’s suggestion from before leading to the mentioned sorcerer to point at himself with a little uncertainty.

“We’d rather not lose anyone who can scout out our enemies, you don’t have to beat him, just hold out as long as possible and buy is time,” Maki said with a smile as she lifted a thumbs-up to somewhat cheer up your classmate since she wasn’t completely sure on how well this plan would work, but she had a gut feeling that it was going to go well due to yours and Fushiguro’s previous statements.

“But you can be daring against him! To be blunt, we weren’t counting on your abilities anyway, so it won’t affect us too much if you have to quit,” Panda teasingly commented while giving him another thumbs-up, leading Itadori to inform his upperclassmen on how ‘mean’ his comment was in a whining tone.

“Sorry, Y/N. You wanted to face Todo, didn’t you?” Panda asked as he leaned his body forward to get a quick look at you.

“I’m good either way, it’s such a complete drag to fight him again anyways,” you answered before leaning your head back to face the ceiling as it seemed like a wave of unnecessary tension has been lifted from your shoulders - even though you knew you were more than capable of beating Todo, you weren’t too keen on fighting the close-ranged sorcerer since he was just plain annoying in your mind.

“But Senpai, if I’m gonna do this, then I’m gonna win,” Itadori declared with determination laced in not only his tone but his posture as well, leading you to look back down at him before gifting him an assured smile that quickly displayed itself of your face as you then gave him the final thumbs-up of approval that he needed.

‘Yeah, he’s got this’

ꕥ

While you, Fushiguro and Maki continued to run in whatever direction you three were going in, you were more focused on locating the second-grade curse you needed to exorcise to get this event done and over with since today you weren’t really in the mood to get into many first - you didn’t even have a single drop of orange juice today, and that already made you irritated.

However, as you continued sensing for the cursed spirited that you required to know the location of, your mind couldn’t help but get distracted by the amount of cursed energy that was looming around the area Itadori and Todo were located before at least four people from the ground and one person from above started to unexpectedly move away from leading you to become perplexed but slowly beginning to understand what was happening as you looked up to the sky to find a familiar blonde-haired sorcerer as she rode a broom across the sky.

“Fushiguro, use Nue right now,” you commanded, leading your classmate to look at you before looking up at the direction you were staring at to finally understand what you meant, which caused him to quickly summon the owl-like shikigami right in front of you.

“Take her down,” Fushiguro demanded his shikigami leading to the bird to unexpectedly appear behind the flying sorcerer with purple electricity enveloping his wings before flapping them down to transfer the high voltage lighting bolts to the third-year student leading to her falling from the sky into the maltitude of trees below to break her falling or possibly help her land somewhere that was not the ground to have a lighter impact than it should really.

“That’s strange,” Fushiguro suddenly commented, as you and Maki halted on your sprint since you all knew you couldn’t discuss the matter in hand while running to god knows where you three were planning to head to.

“All the Kyoto students are moving together, they’re all going to the same location,” you mentioned as you continued to survey where they were heading off to with your sense still enhanced.

“You mean that’s where the target is?” Maki asked you since she didn’t have the ability to see cursed energy at all, unlike you and Fushiguro, while the divine dog decided to nudge his snout against the back of your hand leading you to rub its head causing it to emit a rubble/purr as it begins to lavish on the affection it was receiving from you.

‘Not really the best time, but why not…’

“No, unless the second-grade is especially cunning, my demon dog would have noticed it,” Fushiguro said in a stern tone causing the dog to bark once in response before returning back to the attention you were giving it. “They’re trying to kill Itadori, aren’t they?” Fushiguro rhetorically questioned, leading a sigh to come out of your mouth before you turned your head towards the predicted location where you could sense the Kyoto’s students' cursed energies.

“It’s possible,” Maki replied as her gaze moved downwards, trying to understand why they would attempt an assassination during the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event, especially since the act of killing was prohibited as one of the main rules.

“I don’t sense that much hostility from them, but due to Itadori’s surprise survival, it is possible that Principal Gakuganji ordered then to that but to be honest, that was quite stupid of him since they don’t have the strength to even fully commit the assassination,” you quickly mentioned to your teammates leading them to look up at you with confusion on their faces.

‘I have to thank Gojo for this information later as well’

“Zenin Mai: grade three, Miwa Kasumi: grade three, Nishimiya Momo: semi-grade two, Muta Kokichi: semi-grade one, Kamo Noritoshi: semi-grade one and Todo Aoi: grade one,” you listed as you adding in their grades to make sure Fushiguro and Maki got an idea on what you were about to explain to them. “Out of all of them right now, Todo is the only one that has the capability to fight Sukuna, so Principal Gakuganji was willing to sacrifice his other students really quickly for the execution of Itadori since the rest of them wouldn’t survive,” you informed your schoolmates causing them to shudder at the fact on how informed you already were about the other students without them even ever mentioning about them to you.

“We’re turning back, guys,” Maki stated, causing you to turn to look at her before giving a nod to indicate to her that you understood what she wanted.

“Sorry,” Fushiguro unexpectedly apologised, while Maki just turned away and started to walk back in the opposite direction where everyone was running from.

“What are you apologising for, dummy? There’s no point in winning or losing the exchange event if your friend dies,” Maki said in a disappointed tone, leading to both you and Fushiguro to look at each other before starting to slowly follow her from behind leading you three to go back into the wooded area in search for the other Kyoto students, who were technically on the run now since they seemed to have failed to execute Itadori from what you could sense in the back of your mind.

‘Team Panda is probably doing the same right now since I can faintly sense Panda and Kugisaki going into the forest again, where is Inumaki though?’

ꕥ

“They’re up ahead,” you informed both Fushiguro and Maki since you could feel a stronger presence of cursed energy that was in front of you, leading you to realise that there were at least two Kyoto students since the rest of them seemed to split off somewhere.

Maki turned back to you and gave you a nod before fastening her pace as she suddenly noticed a shine of blue hair coming into her view leading the weapons specialist to prepare her red spare before quickly appearing out from your guys hiding spot to attack Miwa, who quickly managed to notice your upperclassmen as she pulled out her katana from her sheath to deflect Maki’s surprise as well as incoming attacks.

“Gojo, go ahead and find the curse, I’ll take care of Kamo-san,” Fushiguro informed you to which you replied to him with a nod.

During that second, Fushiguro came out from the side and headed towards Kamo leading you to take the small time that you were given to go on ahead and search for the grade-two curse that you needed to exorcise, only to suddenly feel a presence coming from behind leading you to rapidly turn around while raising your katana at the same time, only to discover Kamo standing right in front of you with his bow making direct contact with your weapon, leading you to become confused on why the semi-grade one sorcerer would even try to sneak attack you from behind.

‘Huh?’

“You didn’t even unsheathe your weapon, that’s strange,” Kamo commented, leading you to give him a deadpan look since you didn’t want him to notice or sense your confusion right now.

“Didn’t your little principal inform you to not fight with me or are you just getting a little too confident? That attitude of yours is going to be a drag,” you stated back in a nonchalant tone.

“Kamo-san, are you guys planning to kill Itadori?” Fushiguro asked from behind causing the mentioned sorcerer to turn his head back to view the erratic-haired sorcerer, leading you to smirk before you switch your hand that was holding the katana as you swiftly pulled it back to thrust the tip of your katana into Kamo’s stomach causing him to widen his eyes in shock as an immense pain started to engulf him as his body was pushed back with vast pressure causing Fushiguro to move out of the way to avoid his body colliding with Kamo’s.

‘Don’t get distracted next time, you drag’

Holding onto his stomach, Kamo slowly looked up at you and Fushiguro before coughing out in pain since your attack was more than what he had expected.

“And if I said we were?” Kamo answered, causing you to look at him with massive suspicion in your eyes.

“You failed, then. Itadori wouldn’t go down in such a short time,” Fushiguro declared with a small praise for his friend as he raised his tonfa in a defensive pose while you just straightened yourself up since you had no worries about being attacked again.

“We have no reason to kill him,” Kamo stated with a smirk on his face causing you to turn your head to the side and scoff at him since it was hilarious that he was acting so confident after just barely managing to withstand a simple physical attack from you before you turned back to face him again.

‘What a drag~’

“Yes, you do. The higher-ups and the three major clans have plenty,” you mentioned before resting your katana over your shoulder to relax for a second since you could sense that this fight was either going to be easy or too easy for your liking.

‘It’s surprising that he is attempting to fight me though, I wonder if Gojo-sensei forgot to inform them about this little extra rule but I still need to find out about that mole...’

ꕥ

“Ah~ I thought I told you to tell your students to not attempt to fight Y/N? they’re only going to get hospitalised in the process,” Gojo playfully asked, as he turned to look behind his seat to be eye to eye with the Kyoto Principal, who was in charge of informing his students about this new rule that he and Principal Yaga implemented.

“Well, she attacked Kamo, so she’s breaking the rule isn’t she?” Utahime asked as she took a sip from her cup leading Gojo to turn to look at her with a slight frown on his face.

“Well, your student did attack her first, she can’t help but retaliate since that was her normal strength right there. If it was any other student, they would have been eliminated real quick,” Gojo informed his colleague causing her eyes to widen before turning back to the screen to only discover your eyes were directly looking at her since you were directly looking at the crow that was inspecting you right now.

“She’s quite an interesting girl,” a sorcerer from behind commented as she proceeded to open her eyes. “Not only did she notice my crows looking at her since the start of the event, but she’s also quite strong, no wonder you took her in,” she mentioned as she faced forward to notice Gojo looking at her.

“She’s a tough cookie, isn’t she Mei-san?” Gojo said with a proud smile on his face before he processed to face the screens again with the smile now straightening.

‘I don’t know what he’s trying to do, but I know Y/N won’t fall for it naively, she’s more the type to manipulate his plan...besides, it’s as if she’s giving him a death glare right now’

This thought of his caused him to giggle lightly, creeping out Utahime as she stared at him in pure confusion.

‘I know she can do it’

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inhuman-obey-me · 3 years

Text

On Simeon and what it means to be an angel

The beautiful, gentle angel who can smile through just about anything. But what's underneath the ever-present smile of his? Is he really just pure, sweet, and kind?

Not at all. Simeon can be very mischievous at some times, and scarily wrathful at others. Some of you may be thinking, just what kind of angel is someone like that? Well, let's talk about that.

(includes spoilers up to lesson 52)

Starting with the idea of what angels are supposed to be like - the common, pop-culture characterization of angels is that they are pure, merciful, peaceful beings who can only do good and are horrified by anything dark or bad.

And admittedly, Simeon doesn't seem to quite perfectly fit that mold.

[Disclaimer: Neither mod of this blog belong to the Abrahamic religions, so this is purely from our own research]

In terms of how angels have been described in various scriptures, however, this isn't actually what they are like. Angels act on behalf of God, and are usually not meant to have any free will of their own. The thing that separates angels from demons is not a tendency towards kindness and purity, but that their actions are aligned with God's desires rather than their own. What this means in effect is that, both in actual scripture and in the game, angels can and will do things that are a lot less pure and peaceful than their modern mainstream depictions would suggest.

For example, there is a part of the Bible (at least in various versions) where it is mentioned that an angel was ordered by God to kill one hundred eighty-five Assyrians, leaving their camp full of dead bodies in the morning.

The poet Rainer Maria Rilke states in his The Duino Elegies - "Every Angel is terror".

Seraphim - which is what OM!'s renditions of Simeon and Lucifer both formerly were - are basically six-winged snakes. Cherubim, as OM!'s Beelzebub formerly was, are actually multi-faced humanoid-lions with wings. "Do not be afraid," is a line angels often say when they meet humans because they are just as scary-looking as demons - just they're, you know, the "good" ones.

Actual descriptions of angels aside, even in-game, we are presented with example after example that angels are not perfect "pure and good" beings either. The game itself emphasizes this point at various times - if you upset Simeon during Surprise Guest interactions, one of his displeased lines is: "Just because I'm an angel doesn't mean I'm all forgiving." In lesson 51, though he initially says he left Satan to be with the Angel versions of his brothers for Satan's benefit, if MC actually agrees that he was just being kind, he is surprised that they really believed him.

It's not just him, either. Similar to Simeon's upset reaction, if you give Luke a present he doesn't like, he says, "I know I'm an all-forgiving angel and everything, but even so, this is a little too much..." When MC briefly lands in the past, the brothers actually describe Simeon as the least intense of the seraphim. Back when the brothers were angels, Lucifer was still known for being strict and arrogant. On the more extreme end, Raphael was known for keeping the angels in line via the pointy end of his spear, as Asmodeus fears will happen to him as punishment for going to a party. And Michael himself, the top-ranking leader, who one might think should be the most angelic of angels, is described as a sadist. In the Angelic Demons event, Michael even gets Simeon to give the demon brothers cursed bracelets that temporarily turn them into angels. It's not a very nice prank to pull on them, as it makes the brothers miserable to be converted back to their old forms, not to mention that the curse goes so far that they are turned into the caricature of overly nice and polite angels - but as it could be considered more in line with pulling them towards "God's will," this would actually be considered a good angel thing to do.

As the game points out, being the least intense doesn't exactly make Simeon easygoing, either. In fact, we have seen at this point quite a few examples of Simeon's rage. As a play director, he berates the brothers so much over any mistakes that they call him a dictator. Not to mention, the reason they are in the play in the first place is because the entire previous cast quit because they couldn't deal with him.

Later, when he and Luke are running the Angel's Halo, he drags the brothers into helping out. Though he is shown still smiling, everyone agrees because they are terrified of his menacing aura. Even Diavolo, when on the home screen, remarks about hiding because he made Lucifer mad again, but it's Simeon who he calls "the one person in this world I don't want to anger."

On a much lighter note, some of his less "angelic" behavior also comes from his playful, mischievous side. As referenced earlier, he is surprised if MC believes he was just being nice, but if the player says they thought he was pranking Satan, it gives intimacy points with him, and he says:

He also joins in on the teasing of Luke, having his name as "Luke (Chihuahua)" in his D.D.D. contacts. Multiple of his home screen lines also show how much he loves messing with Luke in general:

"I'm free right now, so I think I might go and tease Luke."

"Luke is like a Chihuahua who thinks it is a German Shepherd. Cute, huh?"

"I'm back! I was so excited to meet you that I left Luke behind."

"If you don't eat enough breakfast, you'll turn out tiny like Luke."

Plus, in dance battles, one of his chibi poses is him teasingly scaring someone, while Luke has a corresponding scared pose, suggesting that he may be meant to be scaring Luke in particular.

He also gets MC to mess with Belphegor when they are looking for him, instructing them to kick the tree that he knows he's probably asleep in as hard as they possibly can.

However, while none of those things make him any less of an angel, there is evidence to support that he is, in fact, a "bad" angel in a different sense.

As the two Celestial Realm exchange students, Simeon and Luke represent two opposite ends of a spectrum of angel attitudes. Luke, having still been very young when the Great Celestial War happened, has been taught to have very uptight views of the demons, insisting that they are evil and should be avoided at all costs. When he first arrives in the Devildom, he is terrified at the idea that the two of them could get corrupted by the demons and fall. This is the prevailing attitude taught in the Celestial Realm: that demons are wicked, and that angels are inherently better than them.

By contrast, Simeon does not hold this view at all. He is happy to spend time with the demon brothers, and doesn't look down on them for falling. On the home screen, Luke complains, "Simeon is too sweet to demons! He's sweeter than a cake from Madam Scream's!" In the Rain, a Fire and Simeon Devilgram story, Simeon even talks about how he actually prefers the hustle and bustle of the Devildom, feeling that the Celestial Realm feels too quiet now.

This difference between him and Luke is not only expressed in his fondness for the demons, either. Simeon understands the nuances of good vs evil, and he himself seems to operate in shades of grey at times, rather than being perfectly aligned with Michael's (and by extension, it's implied, God's) wishes. More than once, he displays quite a flippant attitude towards following the rules, such as his very hand-wavey dismissal when MC asks about his lying.

Luke also calls him out on his disregard for rules, saying that Simeon is just too loose about following them:

However, this glib attitude should not be taken to mean that Simeon doesn't know exactly what he's doing. When it seems the only solution to restore stability to the three realms is for MC to sever all their pacts with the demon brothers, he quickly realizes that the other option, the Ring of Light that used to belong to Lucifer, must be hidden among Michael's things rather than lost to time as everyone thought. He tells Luke that he needs to go back to the Celestial Realm to take care of something, but he is firm that Luke should not come with him - because he is going to steal the ring from Michael, a risky, rebellious move that he doesn't want Luke to get involved in. He is perfectly aware of what he's doing, and actively chooses to do it anyway, consequences be damned, because he wants to do what he feels is right.

When Michael does confront him about it, he's not the least bit sorry, either. In fact, he sasses him and talks back, unafraid to show disrespect to God's top angel.

We also know that he's been demoted at some point. Luke tells MC that Simeon is an archangel, making him one of the Celestial Realm's warriors, or as Simeon himself has jokingly described it, a "low-level grunt" who is overworked by higher-up angels like Michael. However, during MC's time travel back to the Celestial Realm, we learn that Simeon used to be a seraph right alongside Michael and Lucifer. It is again referenced during the fairy incident, when he makes the low-level grunt joke again but is then reminded that he was a seraph at this point in time. We're not sure yet why he was demoted - there's a lot of speculation on this point, and we can't draw any definitive conclusions yet - but if we take that being a "good" angel means being obedient to Michael and God, we start to get a far less rosy picture of Simeon's good standing as an angel.

What does this mean? Is he a "bad" angel? Kind of, but not for the reasons some may think. His mischievous, devious, and playful side is not what makes him less angelic. It is his more rebellious, nonconformist way of doing things that actually opens up the possibility of him gradually getting further and further away from being an ideal angel, and potentially putting him on the path of falling from grace.

#obey me #obey me simeon #om! simeon #obey me!#obey me swd #obey me analysis #character study #so now that we are outlining these .. they're all long #yes we said we were gonna focus on demons but #we also got to talk about our fave angel

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yostresswritinggirl · 3 years

Text

Meister of the Stars

Genshin Impact College!AU but it’s in canon universe with canon elements

Otherwise: Hogwarts in Teyvat, Sumeru Academia

Welcome to Exiled’s first public domain post! What does that mean? Well that just means that this work is entirely repriseable and can be used by other authors for their own plots, fics, stories, or even AU characters. So long as you credit me appropriately by either tagging this post or just tagging my url hehe.

Why is this Public Domain? It’s too big and extensive of a plot for me to write alone and I’m sure other authors can do this plot justice than I do. Besides, with my schedule and writing manner, I won’t be delving into this plot anytime soon. Or at all.

Story Prologue Summary:

Sumeru Academia, the oasis of knowledge in the vast continent of Teyvat, is a constitution inhabiting scholars around the world. Within its walls harbors great minds and masters of elemental prowess and higher intelligence. Only select people can enter or even pass the trials of the scholars, some are gifted by invitation by the Headmaster and leader of the nation, the Dendro Archon.

When you had been gifted your Dendro Vision one day when you encountered and rejuvenated one of the many ley lines connecting the world together, it was guaranteed the next day that you were to receive a letter by a majestic hawk: within its claws it clutched a cured scroll, locked by a tie and the logo of Dendro, and the insignia of the famed Academia.

The Archon, shut and reserved as he may be, he knows and keeps close the gifted ones who received a sprinkle of his power.

Sumeru Academia does not value itself with how long you had been under scholarly guidance, students are not recognized by how many years they have been in the constitution, no. Instead the students are split into three different systems of prestige: elemental, mastery, and admission.

Elemental System separates students into different, well, elements corresponding to their Visions: Dendro, Pyro, Cryo, Hydro, Electro, Geo and Anemo. There are no titles do scholars who enter the Academia, but scholarly jargons had opted for either ‘awakening’ or ‘waiting shell’, because more often than not, many scholars had been blessed while inside the walls of the Academia, as well as the obvious fact that being blessed by a Vision comes at a natural time and age in your life.

Mastery System comes in four main hierarchies and two sub-categories, all of which are determined by the Trials of the Scholars upon being allowed admission into the Academia. The four main hierarchies are classified by prestige stars or which the amount you are allowed pinned on your Academian sash:

Six stars are those who come near the grace of Celestia’s understanding of the universe, very rarely are scholars placed into this category, and many scholars even dispute the existence of such a class. However, they do exist as they are honored by the God of Wisdom himself deeming them to carry the blessings of the wisdoms from the stars. A Six star only comes one in a generation, some say. Many speculations linked to this class are supernatural and absurd rumors.

Five stars are those who master the flow of their visions powered by their undeniable talents in their major scholarly interest, renowned as true geniuses of their professions, a lot of them turn into prodigies after leaving the Academia and even serving under ruling kingdoms with high roles.

Four stars are the base level a Vision-holder can reach and is the starting system for said Vision-holders; even tho this is the default level of Vision holders, wielders of Visions in Academia are not to be trifled with, as they are expected to exceed their mastery over Vision-holders residing outside the Academia.

Three stars are non-Vision scholars that have an adeptness in both academics and weapon mastery, they are proficient in combat prowess enough to par those who have basic grasp of their Visions outside of the Academia. Most three star scholars are also known to have a higher chance of receiving their Visions.

There has been no record of Two Stars or One Star scholars in the records of the Academia.

Sub-category of the Mastery System are reliant on physical properties of a scholar: Adepts are those with mixed blood with mystical beings of the continent, or simply put, scholars that are not just of mortal origins. Mortals are simply normal mortals. These sub-category, meaningless as it may seem, are actually used to observe patterns for research purposes regarding power and skill differences.

Admission System is the plainest and easiest judge for all scholars and is not that much given attention to unlike the other systems, except for the last one. Entrance Admission simply means you have taken the appropriate customary tests of the mind, body and element (if you are a Vision-wielder) and passed the marks to enter the Academia. Letter of Recommendation means that you were either transferred from another academy besides Sumeru or some prestigious bloodline convinced the headmasters of Sumeru to allow such easy admission. Meisters are those who wield Dendro Visions with full potential, invited by the Dendro Archon himself to join the ranks of the Academia.

During the Rite of Prominence in the main hall of the Academia, the Dendro Archon descends from his temple to hold this important annual event for new scholars, together with the Headmasters. Rite of Prominence is where new scholars are given their first prestige systems, and those who are convinced to have ascended gets their new titles.

Your knees almost buckled when your name echoed through the wide building, calling you upon the presence of the Headmasters to finally receive your classification. Your first friend and fellow newcomer Chongyun pats you in the back, urging you to approach the aisle that leads to the stage up front. His smile was enough to push your legs to a subtle tremble as you made your way through the carpeted path, standing before the Headmasters.

There was a beat of silence and unmoving, and then the Headmaster starts to raise his hand- before the Dendro Archon himself suddenly stands up from his large throne of a seat at the very back. The movement caused a series of gasps to erupt from the scholars and staff behind you, and you must have hallucinated one from the cloaked Headmasters, as the God of Wisdom made his way to stand in front of you.

His presence was both ethereal and overwhelming as his imposing figure looms over you. You politely raised your head to rest your view by the bridge of his nose, not wanting to offend by making direct contact. “Child,” he extends his large hand and you looked at it, “Your hand.” Your eyes fleet back to his with wary but his gaze softened in assurance. With a sharp inhale, you finally placed your hand into his-

And a burst of gold streams flew out from your connected hands, with enough force to send a pulse of a wave through the building. Hanging cloths were whisked by the elemental burst, flames of candles extinguished, as suddenly all the Visions in the building began glowing. You blinked the surge of nausea away, and it was only the Dendro Archon that noticed the golden glow that pulsed from your iris, and looked around in confusion.

“(Y/N) (L/N),” you felt the hand under your palm move away as six glowing rocks manifested and twirled around you. Scholars knowledgeable enough gasped once again at the sight. And you warily watched the glowing rocks forge themselves into star-shaped badges, slowing down as they descend in front of you and on to your palm. “Welcome to this new age, Six Stars Meister of the Stars.” And the hall blows into a series of thunderous claps.

(This area is a WIP)

In the back of the Ancient libraries of Sumeru Academia resides the domain of the record holder, and there upon are bookshelves of numerous records about every scholar that has been admitted into the Academia. Each book corresponds to a student and its first pages carry their basic information, however the pages after that are hexed with powerful lexical charms to make it unreadable to anyone that dare looks at the other pages:

Albedo: Geo Vision. A Five Star, Adept scholar who has been in the Academia for two years through a letter of recommendation. Albedo is a master of the sword too, but his expertise lies in his expert handling of the concept of Alchemy. Hailing from an unknown continent, Albedo aims to spread his knowledge and master it enough to become a Six Star, a prestige title his master once held before mysteriously disappearing. Upon your appearance, the master alchemist had been not so subtly observing and following you around whenever you were in the vicinity. You're not sure if you saw this right, but when you once had seen his passing look, you swore you saw a slight squint when he looks down at your sash.

Amber: Pyro Vision. A Four Star, Mortal hailing from Mondstadt. Her grandfather was an alumni of the Academia who mastered the arts of gliding, and was thus allowed the opportunity to accept his letter of recommendation for Amber when she reached the age of 15. She continued her grandfather's work in the Academia and carried the Outrider title, focusing on aerodynamics and her bow mastery. Seeing as she was around your age range but having been admitted years prior, Amber took it upon herself to tour you around the campus and also introduce you to her friends from Mond. During the weekends, you find yourself gliding over the university's towering buildings with her.

Baizhu

Beidou

Bennett

Chongyun: Cryo Vision. A Four Star, Mortal from Liyue with ties to the spiritual realm. His expertise in exorcism had earned him the title of Master of Spirits despite being a newcomer, and many of services are seeked out even in the new continent. With his mischievous Liyuean friends, he's seen roaming around the halls of the Academia during ungodly hours. Chongyun was your first friend in the Academia after you both rendezvous at the entrance as newcomers and finding solace with the company of each other. When you earned your Six Stars title, Chongyun had become protective of you yet still treated you as a normal friend, not wanting you to think he was only there for prestige. During random nights, you'd find yourself in the darkest and secluded areas of the Academia as he pulls you around with Xingqiu, hoping to find roaming spirits of scholars from years ago.

Collei

Cyno: Pyro Vision. A Five Star, Mortal that had been in the Sumeru Academia for years. He is one of the senior scholars and running for Headmaster after his graduation. In the Pyro Visions, he is one of the renowned masters of the element, and can usually be found tending the books of the ancient libraries of the Academia. As of Sumerian descent and strong ties with the Academia, under the buddy system Cyno became your senior buddy on your first year to make sure you do not incur a failing grade nor misunderstood the practices and customs of the Academia. Because of this, you meet with him daily for check-ups and tutoring.

Diluc

Fischl

Ganyu

Jean

Kaeya

Keqing

Lisa

Mona

Razor

Sucrose: Anemo Vision. A Four Star, Adept of an unknown cat species from Mondstadt. Master of Bio-Alchemy as renowned of her multiple contributions to the field, Sucrose made her way to Sumeru Academia at the news that it harbors the one and only Master of Alchemy in it. She passed the entrance exam with expected ease and has then exhausted the laboratories and resources of the Academia for her researches. You've ran into her once when you were lost in the halls of the large Academia, stumbling on her unsupervised experiments in one of the laboratories. Her cat ears caught your attention and had since then become engrossed in researching about it, with her next to you, you were both brought together into a friendship focused on nature and a thirst for discovery.

Tartaglia: Hydro Vision. A Five Star, Mortal that carried with him a different aura opposite of the stars. Childe entered the Academia after near perfecting all his scores in all the tests, before the Headmasters realized that he carried a letter of recommendation from the Tsaritsa, which was then useless by the time he revealed it. One of the few Masters of Hydro, Childe was more fond and known in the arts of combat, Warmonger was a title he was more confident in as he shows prowess in all weaponry he touches. When Childe heard about the existence of a Six Star, his first instinct was to test out the difference between him and the fabled child. But his mastery in combat alone was enough to show he was still ever more superior. Irked yet still curious of a hidden potential, Childe ended up tortur- tutoring you in mastering weapon proficiency. He manages to persuade you in his test spars (still looking for that six star glory) by a promise of an expensive dinner everytime. Damn rich people.

Venti: Anemo Vision. A Five Star, Adept that was personally invited by the Dendro Archon after his retirement from his position as archon of Mondstadt. Despite the idea being absolutely preposterous and against his principles, clearly he had nothing better to do, he was ultimately persuaded after hearing his fellow retired archon resided in the Academia as well. The Master of Winds and Weaver of Tales had become your partner in your Anemo classes, and what better way to teach you about Anemo than flinging you into the sky to 'feel the fresh air' up there? He'd always make sure that you were there everytime he performed for the Academia, and lingers around you whenever you were free just to loiter around before the next class.

Xiangling:

Xiao: Anemo Vision. Five Star, Adept that passed the examination in hopes to follow his master in search for the truth. Master of the Polearm is the title he boasts, and a lot of pupils under him are always devastated upon entering combat with him. Although he's only been there for a year, he has secretly been enjoying the new atmosphere. Xiao had noticed you during the Rite of Prominence when he felt the familiar touch of the Gods, and he had found that whenever you are near, there is a cleansing aura that silences the demonic whispers in his head. Ever since then he'd be found usually in your vicinity yet unapproaching, subtle. When Zhongli officially entrusted him of your safety during your stay in the Academia, he doesn't know whether to scuff or sigh in relief as he was finally introduced.

Xingqiu

Zhongli: Geo Vision. A Five Star Adept that was also invited by the God of Wisdom but was dependently persuaded by Venti. He carries with him 6000 years of knowledge and had since then assisted in collating those sacred years to be immortalized in the Academia's libraries. As the Wielder of Earth he prides himself with his elemental mastery despite the removal of his true power, and yet he is more known of his title as Historian of the Wars. Zhongli was no ordinary student, he carries himself like that of a Headmaster and yet he does not situate himself with matters of either scholar of staff interests. You encountered him during a nightly walk to calm yourself over the burden of your academics and Meister title, and his presence had been the best comfort. Ever since then you'd always find him when you need him, and he always helps you with any troubles, if you count a 500 words dialogue as such.

Storyline - Arcs

Arc Socrates : the foundation

i. Rite of Prominence - earning ones title

ii. Welcome to Sumeru Academia - the dormitories

iii. The Seven Majors - first classes for the seven corresponding elements

iv. Buddy System - newcomers are always paired with senior scholars on their first year in the Academia

v. Labyrinth - the libraries of Sumeru Academia is large and secretive, hence the perfect domain for treasure hunt exercises

vi. Combat Mastery - dive into the trials of weapons, another major

vii. Science Side of Sumeru (SSS) - numerous laboratories harbor different individuals and strands, from alchemy to biology to— wine-making?

ending. The Walk of Scholars - every midyear, scholars are entitled to a week long fieldtrip/vacation in the nation of Sumeru, beyond the walls of the Academia

Plato : the calling of the stars

i. The Midyear Examinations - annual exam to retest your standing in the Academia

ii. Divine Intervention - archonistic convention of a looming celestial presence

iii. The Leyline Disorder - a leyline in the Academia became corrupted, forcing a halt in the academics as malignous forces plague the Academia

iv. The First Miracle - as the Six Stars scholar with a touch blessed by the stars, you were the only one to succeed in repairing the problem

ending. Advancement of Medicine - after the First Miracle, the Six Star scholar was plagued with eternal sleep. With this new case, the Academia scrambles for medical intervention

*shrugs*

This is not a series I'll be working on, but may be referenced in oneshots in the future.

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crescentsteel · 3 years

Text

Burns

pairing: Suna x f!reader genre: fluff with slight angst (childhood friends to lovers) wc: 3.8k summary: you planned to confess to Suna on Valentines day. Unfortunately for you, he finds the holiday stupid.

[a/n]

Did this in one sitting, brain went zoom zoom

Not really comfortable writing for Inarizaki for some reason. Suna and Miya twins stans, don’t come for me.

Thank you @tokyosdawn, @luvnami, @fayeiparis (my ride or die ily) for the betaread.

ngl. I almost wrote smut after the fluff

Happy Valentines Day! 🖤

This is it. This is the day.

You’re finally going to confess to Suna.

You have been close friends for so long, and for the whole duration of it, you have tried your utter best to feel only as such.

You became friends with the rest of the Inarikazi team because you were always present in every game, with you being the loudest person to cheer for Suna leading everyone to pester him until he introduced you to them. Knowing Suna, he wasn’t fazed by his team’s persistent request and never mentioned to you that the team wanted to meet you.

It had been Atsumu that day who approached you during lunch break saying that Suna asked him to ask you to attend their practice after class.

You’ve been asking him non-stop if he can come watch them practice but he strictly prohibited you from going to the gym at all, so you were thrilled that he finally let you watch.. only to find him unpleasantly surprised that you were there.

Apparently, the whole team thought you were dating. As much as you wish you were, you could only agree with Suna when he said you were just a long-time friend.

But that changes today. Hopefully.

You already know what confessing to him means, and you’re not ready to lose Suna as a friend in case this doesn’t work out. However, with the both of you being third years already, it was now or never. You keep asking him what his plans after graduation are and he’s infuriatingly very consistent with his answer - a shrug and an apathetic ‘dunno.’

While you’re not ready to lose your friendship, you’re probably going to after high school — which is why you spent almost all of your allowance to buy ingredients to make homemade chocolate. It’s not actually that it’s expensive — you wasted so much ingredients making them that you ended up having enough for only three pieces.

But you’re satisfied because they were of three different designs. Three cute fox-shaped chocolates of different colors. They weren’t perfect but you tailored them according to Suna’s taste - just mildly sweet so he can actually enjoy it.

You smile into the February air.

You really aren’t sure about his feelings for you, but you know that you’re special to him.

You’re his only female friend and despite his aloofness, he actually spends time with you outside of school. It was you who he spent New Year’s with. He celebrates your birthday even if you know he’s not really into that kind of stuff. He walks you home when you stay late from club activities.

Being his friend since elementary school, you know he’s not the kind of guy to be nice to someone just for the sake of being nice.

So instead of dreading for your confession, you’re actually excited.

On your way to your first class, the chaotic twins block your path with a mischievous grin from both of them, except Atsumu’s way too obvious and upfront about it.

“So, y/n. Anything for me?” Atsumu asks as he cocks an eyebrow at you.

“Why would she give you any, idiot?” Osamu glares at Atsumu before turning to you with a smirk that makes you wary for some reason. “When she’s obviously giving them to Suna,” he adds.

You try to not look affected at his spot-on statement, but shit, you can already feel your heartbeat just a bit faster. Are you that obvious?

“Don’t you have hoards of shit from other girls? Why the hell are you ganging up on me?” you ask instead of answering Osamu’s speculation.

“I want to show them to Suna during practice. His pretty little childhood friend givin’ me homemade chocolates,” Atsumu teases animatedly.

Your eyes widen from what he said. “Wait, how did you know they were homemade?”

The two give each other meaningful looks before Osamu leans down a bit on you. “So there really are chocolates, huh?”

You go rigid when you realize you’ve exposed yourself to these two. Shit, they’re going to tease you non-stop about this. Worse, they might tell Suna before you even get the chance to do it yourself.

“Those are some burns on your hands, y/n. Have you treated those properly?” Atsumu eyes your hand that accidentally touched the hot pan yesterday. You tug the sleeves of your uniform lower to cover the purple-pinkish marks.

“I’m going to be late for class, bye,” you abruptly bid goodbye and hurriedly escape from the two. God knows what else they’ll get from you if you stay longer.

You erase your encounter with the twins from this morning. You can’t buckle down now. You worked hard for this day, both in body and in spirit. You’ve already had more than a fair share of doubts and second thoughts up until last night when you successfully pushed any cynicism away.

You won’t back down, especially when Suna is just a seat away from you now.

“Got any chocolates yet?” You prod at the topic as you put away your used cutleries.

“Yea,” he answers lazily. “It’s so dumb.”

“What is?” you ask with a frown.

“Valentines,” he deadpans. “Atsumu’s gonna get a fucking diabetes from the amount of chocolates he took from me because I was about to throw them away.”

You try to not let it get to you and breathe steadily to strengthen your resolve. You’re special to Suna. Surely, he won’t treat yours like that.

“What’s more idiotic is confessing this day,” he rambles on. “If a person really likes someone, why wait for Valentines to say it?” He asks rhetorically while putting away his own finished lunch.

You feel your stomach lurch, like riding down a rollercoaster at full speed unexpectedly. You try your best to mold your face into an impassive expression to not give anything away.

On the inside though, you’re a mess. Your head feels too loud and the air feels too heavy. You want to close your eyes and disappear.

Then he looks at you. “What about you? Did you give chocolates to anyone?”

You vaguely hear his question. You feel like you’re in a bubble and every sound is muffled -- your classmates chattering, the chairs scraping against the floor, the laughter all around you feels distant.

You planned to give him the chocolates you worked so hard on, but definitely not anymore. He hit two things right (Or wrong? Who knows anymore.) on the marks and right now, you do feel idiotic for trying so hard.

You should’ve known better. Of course, he’d find it stupid! He’s never the person to be all excited with events like this. What were you even thinking, spending all that money and effort when he obviously thinks the whole thing is a farce?

Did you really think this was going to go well? That he’d accept your chocolates and everything would be fine and you would go on as friends? In hindsight, there is never going to be a way out of this where you win. It is a stupid idea, and you’re stupid for even thinking about it.

‘Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb,’ you chant in your head.

“Y/n?”

You flinch and find him staring at you, waiting for your answer. His golden eyes are studying your face carefully. You think you see a little bit of concern there but you brush it off.

“Oh no,” you laugh hesitantly. “No way I’d waste my time on some boy on the very rare chance that he actually likes me back, pfft.” Your laugh turns ironic and bitter. “Like you said, it’s just a dumb holiday,” you respond with a forced smile.

“Anyways, I have to go back now. Later, Rin.” You quickly stand up and head to a comfort room because you feel like shit and you need to cry it out before your classes start again, else you’d be tearing up during lecture.

“Wait.” He grips your hand firmly, adding salt to the injury as you wince when he presses the burn you got from yesterday.

“Ow!”

He’s startled by your sudden reaction, but doesn’t say anything.

He loosens his hold and moves his grip to your wrist as he pushes up the sleeve of your uniform, revealing the burn on your hand along with small others on your arm.

“What happened to you?” he asks with muted concern while his eyes are trained on your arm, fingers gently skimming over the burns.

You aggressively retrieve your arm and pull your sleeve back down while you come up with a lie, “Oka-san needed help in the kitchen yesterday.”

He furrows his eyebrows with suspicion. “Why? Everyone knows you’re useless in the kitchen.”

Yeah, but you wanted to do something for him, and the burns would have been worth it if he at least accepted the chocolates you worked so hard on.

“Honestly, I don’t even know.” You try to laugh it off, but you’re losing it already, so you just give him a quick wave with whatever smile you can muster and saunter away from him.

After a pathetic sobbing session in one of the cubicles, you make your way back to your classroom looking as normal as you possibly can.

Thank goodness it’s Valentines. You’re not the only girl with eyes puffy from rejection.

“Hey.” You feel a hand on your shoulder and solely from his voice, you can tell it’s Osamu. “You okay?”

Maybe it would’ve been better if you had fallen for Osamu instead. Despite being always teased by him and Atsumu, he’s actually a nice likeable guy. Unlike Suna.

God, why did it have to be Suna Rintarou?

“Come with me,” you say without looking at Osamu and drag him with you back to your classroom.

“Uhh, okay.” He sounds unsure but he goes with you anyway.

You ask him to wait for you just by the doorway of your classroom and grab the stupid box of chocolates you made from your bag.

You practically shove it to him when you get back to where he is. “Happy Valentines, ‘Samu,” you greet with a dead expression.

Osamu gapes at you then at the box in hand, an expression of disbelief spreading across his face.

“Weren’t you asking for chocolates this morning?”

“That was ‘Tsumu. Also,” he looks closely at the box. “It says ‘Rin.’

You immediately rip out the wrapper where you wrote Suna’s nickname and tuck the crumpled paper in your pocket.

“There. It doesn’t anymore,” you announce passively.

Osamu scratches his head with discomfort. “I can’t accept this, y/n. I can give it to Suna if you want,” he offers kindly.

“Miya Osamu. Either you accept it or I’m throwing it away right now.” Your voice is dead serious and so are you. If Osamu won’t accept it, it’s going to the trash where Suna would’ve tossed it in as well.

“Okay, okay!” He surrenders with panic and opens the box slowly.

“Holy sh-,” he clears his throat. “I mean, wow. These are so cute, the cutest I’ve received today,” he comments appreciatively before returning his gaze at you. “You sure about this, y/n?”

You nod, more convinced now that you saw his reactions towards it. “Yeah. I figured I’d want to give them to someone who’s going to actually like them.”

The soft ring of the bell alerts you that your next class is about to start.

“Thanks Osamu,” you utter with a grateful smile before sauntering back to your classroom.

“Oy ‘Samu, why are these chocolates so cute? How the hell can I eat these?” Tsumu whines.

“You shithead, those are mine!” Osamu rushes to where his twin and grabs the box protectively.

Suna just watches the two and silently waits for another fight to erupt.

“You’d just taste them and give them to me anyways. What’s the deal?” Atsumu asks with a frown.

“If you must know, ‘Tsumu. Y/n gave this to me,” Osamu announces with a condescending grin as Astumu gawks at him in disbelief. “No fucking way, you stinking liar,” Atsumu retorts.

Suna looks at the tiny box Osamu is holding and agrees with Atsumu. There is no way you’d give those to Osamu. You said so yourself this morning.

‘No way I’d waste my time on some boy on the very rare chance that he actually likes me back.’

Did you lie to him and made some for Osamu? Do you like Osamu?

Suna’s mind wanders back to the burns on your hand and arms and how your mom ‘supposedly’ asked you to help out in the kitchen. He knows something is off. You’re never asked to help out with anything that involves cooking, so why did you lie about it?

So what is going on? There’s just no way in hell you like Osamu. Not once have you mentioned liking his teammate enough for you to venture into the ‘horrors of the kitchen’ (as you put it). And more importantly, why Osamu?

It is true that Suna doesn’t give a shit whether or not he gets a mountain load of chocolates on this superficial holiday. He’s not eating them.

However, he’d make an exception only if they come from you. He wouldn’t mind if they’re just store-bought ones as long as they’re from you.

So why the fuck would you go to the troubles of making them for Osamu and not him? You can’t possibly like Osamu. He won’t allow it.

He marches to where the twins are and turns to Osamu. “Did y/n really give you that?”

Both the twins face him and while Osamu looks pensive, Atsumu wears a shit-eating grin. “Aww, Suna. Are you jealous that your beloved y/n gave us chocolates?”

“‘Tsumu, shut up for the love of God. And she didn’t give it to us. She gave it to me.” Osamu pulls the box closer to him possessively which ticks Suna off even more.

“Did she say why?” Suna tries to sound calm despite the stupid jealousy bubbling up the pit of his stomach.

“Obviously because-” Atsumu starts, but Osamu grabs his twin’s face with one hand to halt his babbling as he sighs to face Suna.

“Actually, the box had your name in it,” Osamu admits. “She just ripped it out and said she’d rather give it to someone who’ll appreciate it.”

“-mmmmff Samu!” Atsumu successfully removes Osamu’s hand. “You shouldn’t have told him that! Do you realize that y/n didn’t want him to know?”

“Duh! Of course, I know. But I really can’t accept chocolates that’re supposed to be for another guy,” Osamu sighs before handing Suna the box.

He opens it and sees the fuss Tsumu was making about it. They really are cute and are obviously made with care and precision. If someone else had told him that you made these, he wouldn’t have believed them.

But there’s something about the chocolates that he can’t ignore.

“Why are there bites on the two pieces?” He asks as he lifts his gaze up from the chocolates.

Atsumu puts his hands behind his head and starts whistling as he avoids Suna’s gaze while Osamu smiles apologetically.

“Sorry, I wanted to see if they taste as good as they look,” Osamu confesses. As for Atsumu, Suna can already tell that the piss-haired setter just couldn’t help himself despite receiving so many already.

“They’re a bit bland, Suna. Tell y/n she needs to improve her baking skills,” Atsumu comments shamelessly which makes Suna scowl at Atsumu’s ungrateful ass. The fact that you made something look edible is already something commendable.

“They’re okay. Just needs a bit more sweetness,” Osamu backs his twin up.

He brings the remaining chocolate that’s still untouched to his mouth.

“What are you two talking about? It tastes perfectly fine,” he states truthfully. It’s just the right amount of sweetness that he’s able to finish it despite not really being a fan of chocolates.

Osamu laughs softly before speaking. “She really did make them for you, Suna.”

That night, you toss and turn in your bed while trying to keep your focus on the movie you played. As entertaining as it is, you can’t fully enjoy it with constantly wanting to smash your head against the wall of your room.

For a good while, you really thought everything would go smoothly and that by the end of today, you and Suna would be more than just friends.

Maybe today is a sign that you shouldn’t push it anymore. Suna said so himself: if someone likes a person, they don’t need the holiday to confess.

So why hasn’t he?

The answer is clear as day and you wish you were blind to see it, but you aren’t.

There had been too many chances for you two to move your relationship forward, but not once had he shown a sign that he wanted to.

He doesn’t like you like that. It’s just you and your delusional head. He doesn’t love you the way you love him. Even with the cute, romantic scene playing before you, you start tearing up.

You grab one of your pillows and bury your face in it, effectively silencing the sob and stopping the tears that are coming as you remember your folly attempt to confess today.

You should’ve been satisfied with the comfort of your friendship. If you hadn’t been so greedy, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt like this.

You hear a text alert from your phone. You open it and see a text from the source of your misery.

‘Come out’

You don’t want to. Tomorrow you can be back to normal around him, but not tonight.

You hurriedly respond with a lie.

‘Went out zzz’

You throw your phone somewhere on your bed and lie down with your pillow still squeezed between your arms while you space out at nothing.

Your thirst brings you back to your senses so you stand up and get to the kitchen. When you come back to your room, you almost scream when you see Suna sitting slouching on your bed.

“What the heck, Rin?! How did you get here?”

“Your mother let me in. Why are you even asking obvious questions?”

You massage your temples as you plan to tell your mom later not to just let anyone in your room even though it’s someone she knows. You might be childhood friends but you’re no longer kids. He can’t just pop in and out of your room anymore like he used to.

“Why are you even here? I said I was out.”

“Your lights are open, dumbass,” he answers, to which you respond with a sigh.

“Didn’t it occur to you that I don’t want to see you?”

He stands up from your bed and although his expression doesn’t change, you feel alarmed from how he’s towering over you without saying anything.

“W-what?” Your stutter betrays your attempt to sound fine.

“Why the fuck would you give Osamu chocolates that are supposed to be mine?”

You gawk at him. He isn’t supposed to know that. That bastard, Osamu! You don’t have a prepared excuse for this kind of confrontation.

“What’s it to you even? You would’ve thrown them away anyways,” you snap back with an accusatory tone.

“Not if they’re from you,” he discloses as his usually austere eyes soften up, holding your gaze. You feel like you’re about to melt.

You feel your heart beat wildly against your chest. Not long ago you had said that you didn’t want to see him, but now that he’s here, you don’t feel like moving. You don’t feel like going anywhere. Everything could be on fire around you but you’d still stay by his side.

But… this is not right. Did you already know? He doesn’t love you back.

You try to turn away to hide the gnawing pain in your chest, but he’s faster. He grabs your arm to pull you closer. When he dips down to claim your lips while his arms snake around your waist, you melt within his hold.

His lips are so warm and uncharacteristically tender as he moves them intricately against yours, causing you to place both hands against his chest to feel him even more, to feel that he is real and not just a dream induced by how badly you yearn for him.

He pulls away a bit and finds a bewildered look on your face that just makes you look adorable. There had been many times when he thought about doing this, especially whenever you’re staring into nothingness with parted lips as if coaxing him to fuck everything else and just cross the boundary of your platonic relationship.

But to be honest, he didn’t like the complications of being in a romantic relationship with you when you already have this comfortable friendship. At the end of the day, he knows you have him and he has you.

Yet, he absolutely despises the idea that you might have liked someone else. He’s never felt any resentment towards his teammates, not even to Astsumu who’s a fucking handful most of the time.

Only today.

Only when he saw that box of chocolates in Osamu’s hands that he realized that he didn’t want to share you with anyone.

It was selfish of him, wanting to keep you to himself but not really doing anything to actually make it happen.

That changes tonight.

He removes one hand from your waist to hold your hand that’s resting on his chest.

“I love you, y/n.”

You blink twice at him, evidently surprised with his confession, but immediately recover when you look down and giggle softly.

When you look back at him again, your eyes are a mixture of content and mirth. “I thought you said it’s idiotic to confess on Valentines Day,” you remind him with a wide smile.

His loving stare becomes a cold glare when you point out what he had said this morning. He didn’t plan to do it today. He just couldn’t wait until tomorrow, thereby forgetting that he had actually told you that. Although, he still believes people shouldn’t wait for the holiday to confess, it just so happened that today is when he decided to do it.

“Fine. I take it back,” he says out of petty spite.

“I’m kidding!” you respond defensively before intertwining his fingers with yours. “Actually, I was about to confess earlier, but you said the stuff about Valentines being dumb.”

“It still is,” he says, undeterred. In his defense, he really hadn’t been expecting you would.

“Right. Yet, here we are,” you state as a matter of fact as you grip his hand tighter.

“Can you answer the damn confession already?” he asks exasperatedly which makes you laugh out loud.

You settle down with an affectionate smile. “Yes, Rin. I love you too.”

He loses his stern expression as he takes your hand to his mouth and kisses it, rubbing the minor burn with his thumb, a reminder that he does appreciate what you did for him.

“Happy Valentines, I guess,” he says before he goes for your lips again.

mlist of other stuff I wrote

taglist (those crossed out can’t be tagged)

@ameliaxo @suikrem @akaashisslave @tsumurai @babythotshq @loving-unicorns106 @flairlust @geektastic84 @anaiss97 @hqbeesun @megatron-1199 @lovershaikyuu

#suna fluff #suna x reader #suna angst #suna rintarou #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu angst

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Text

Spilled Pearls

- Chapter 5 - ao3 -

The Nightless City was like nothing Lan Qiren had ever seen before in his life.

It was grand and glorious, everything writ large on a massive scale – the number of people, the number of buildings, the size of the buildings…it was said that Lanling City was more crowded and full of people, but that was because it had a smaller scope, shoving all those people into a small area, while the Nightless City never ran out of space because any time it did it would just expand its borders further.

For someone like Lan Qiren, who longed to travel to the strange parts of the world and see all sorts of things for the first time, it was a dream come true –

Or rather, it would be, if only he had the ability to give it the attention it deserved. Which he didn’t.

The issue had initially arisen in the week leading up to their departure from the Cloud Recesses. Like all the other disciples, especially those nominated for their musical talents, Lan Qiren had spent a great deal of time in the library pavilion, perusing score after score in search of the one that they would present as their own individual selection.

He’d found one he rather liked: an exceedingly complicated piece, composed for the guqin, meant to signify the orderly chaos of nature and winning mastery over the internal chaos within. It had been a challenge to master the complex finger work, not to mention the necessary qi fluctuations required to properly showcase the song even if he had no plans to wield it as a spell – no one actually needed roots to leap up from the earth to try to trap his enemies in the middle of a musical demonstration – but he’d accomplished it, meeting even his own stringent standards for excellence. He’d been very proud, and eager to display it at the discussion conference.

His brother, in conjunction with the teacher that would be accompanying them, had rejected it.

They hadn’t even let him demonstrate that he’d adequately mastered it – their teacher, the swordfighting master that his brother liked so much, had taken a cursory look at the score and deemed it too eccentric; his brother had judged it too flashy, and thus too risky. They had recommended he perform one of the more traditional Lan sect songs that they knew he had mastered perfectly: Inquiry, perhaps, or Evocation.

Lan Qiren had decided to ignore them.

He hadn’t told them that, of course. He’d kept his decision hugged close to his chest, buried beneath a façade of calm that was easy enough to keep in place since most people couldn’t tell his stressed expression from his regular one, and his tone never really got that far from a monotone anyway.

He’d kept that secret, turning it over and over in his head, unable to think of anything else, unable to enjoy the distant travel (well, unable to enjoy it as much as he should), unable to really appreciate the grandiose opening ceremonies, the sect leaders of the Great Sects seated together on their platform, the smaller sects beneath them…

Luckily, the music competition was scheduled for the very first day of the conference, right after the opening ceremony. First there was the technical challenge, in which they all played together – that made it especially difficult, because a single wrong note by your neighbor could knock off your own playing if you weren’t focused, while the judges were all cultivators powerful enough to sharpen their hearing and pick out any discordant sounds even out of the large crowd of them all going at it together – and then the individual performances.

Lan Qiren had the honor of going fourth.

He went out there, saluted the judges, saluted the audience of sect leaders, sat down on the platform and played the song he wanted to play. If perhaps he had his heart in his throat because of a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, if perhaps his gut churned, feeling unusually full of spite and rebelliousness – he put it all aside in favor of the music.

Nothing mattered when he played but the music. Nothing.

When it was done, he stood and saluted again – the judges, then the audience – and retreated back to the area where the Lan sect was standing. As he’d expected, his teacher was waiting for him, hands behind his back and apparently calm on the surface; a small jerk of his head, and Lan Qiren knew to obediently follow him.

They couldn’t leave, of course, since that would be rude, but they went a little ways off to the side to a more secluded corner of the field where they could be safely ignored - everyone’s attention was on the performances.

“Do not tell lies,” the teacher said, a censure, and Lan Qiren dropped into a deep salute.

“I did not lie, honored teacher,” he said, eyes fixed firmly on the ground. “According to the guidelines set out when the event was announced, each disciple has the right to select his own music for the independent portion of the competition, provided that they can perform their selected composition to an adequate degree of mastery. Although you and my brother recommended that I select Inquiry as my performance piece instead, I did not accept your recommendation, and have never said that I would.”

His teacher’s frown deepened. “I would have expected better of you,” he said, and Lan Qiren’s shoulders curled inwards a little, the words cutting as deeply as any knife. “Quibbling over such a technicality with your elders – do not forget, arrogance is forbidden.”

Lan Qiren held the salute in place. “I understand, honored teacher.”

“Have you anything more to say to yourself?”

Lan Qiren thought about simply accepting the punishment that his teacher’s tone warned was inevitable, but – he really, truly did not believe he deserved it. And so, even though it might only make it worse, he opened his mouth and stumbled clumsily through the argument he had written out in advance, citing the rules and prior interpretations of the rules that he believed supported his actions. He was very confident of his grasp on the rules, but less sure of his persuasive powers and altogether despairing of any oratory skill, and yet...he had to try.

His teacher listened in stony silence. When Lan Qiren was done, he said, “I had never supposed you to be born with a lawyer’s tongue,” which was an insult – the Lan sect, like most cultivation sects, were gentry and thus had no need to seek employment in the magistrates’ courts. “Do you intend to continue on this rebellious path?”

“No, honored teacher,” Lan Qiren said emphatically. “In all other respects, I will listen to your orders, and my brother’s, as if they were carved on the Wall of Discipline.”

His teacher huffed disbelievingly, but he flicked his sleeves and went back to the crowd of Lan sect disciples currently spectating the next player in sequence without imposing any immediate punishment. That was an implicit concession to Lan Qiren’s argument: if he had failed to be convincing, a punishment would have been imposed at once.

Lan Qiren straightened himself out of his salute – his teacher had not granted him permission to rise throughout his recitation, and he hadn’t wanted to make his rebelliousness worse by presuming – and allowed himself a brilliant smile.

His teacher’s departure did not mean that he would escape all censure; his brother, sitting up at the sect leader’s pavilion, would undoubtedly have his own views on the subject, and of course simply disrespecting age and authority in public was reason enough for discipline. But Lan Qiren had done it. He had maintained his own position despite adversity and remained true to himself; he had not yielded, even if only in such a small matter, and he had persevered. Truly, it was as the rules said: have a strong will and anything can be achieved.

He looked around to check to make sure that no one had noticed their little interchange, mindful of his promise and his brother’s instruction that he not lose face, but it didn’t seem to be that way. Even on the sect leader’s pavilion, the sect leaders were all watching the performance – Wen Ruohan even had his head tilted to the side as if sharpening his hearing so as to listen more intently, which Lan Qiren supposed was further evidence that he wasn’t as disinterested in musical matters as others had speculated, and also that whoever was playing (he wasn’t paying attention) must be quite good.

It didn’t matter. Lan Qiren hadn’t played his selection because he’d been obsessively determined to win; he had only wanted to display some part of himself sincerely, and he had done so. Whatever else happened, that was sufficient.

He took a moment to find his calm once again, allowing his face to return to an expression of neutrality – gloating was unseemly, and forbidden by the rules, if other lose to you, don’t look down on them, even if the victory here was minor – and then at last returned to his place among the other Lan sect disciples.

He watched the remaining performances calmly, and without incident.

After the competition was done, the judges began to debate their rankings. Musical competitions were generally not favored at discussion conferences because of the need for careful consideration before victory or defeat could be determined – unlike in a contest of martial strength, when the contestants were near to each other in strength there was no immediate understanding of who had won – but Wen Ruohan had apparently planned ahead for that.

He announced that the contestants and audience would be dismissed while the judges’ deliberations were ongoing – in order to allow them to begin enjoying the wonders of the Nightless City, he explained with a supercilious smirk – and that the results of the competition would be announced shortly before the banquet planned for dinner.

Lan Qiren was not surprised when the sect leaders largely stayed behind, at least initially, to continue conversations; he was only relieved that he had a small reprieve before his brother came to scold him. Similarly, he was unsurprised when his fellow disciples immediately split into groups to go out to explore the Nightless City, and when those groups did not include him – even the ones that he would have otherwise expected to invite him, the ones he was more friendly with, cast fearful glances at their stone-faced teacher and apologetic ones at him; no one wanted to be associated with a troublemaker lest they be dragged into the mire alongside them.

It was fine.

Lan Qiren nodded at them, indicating that he understood, to their evident relief, and turned to look at his teacher in silent question. It was not unthinkable that he could go out alone…

“Perhaps you should stay behind,” his teacher said icily. “You can use the time for contemplation.”

Lan Qiren had promised himself: one rebellion, and nothing more. He raised his hands into a salute.

“As you say, honored teacher.”

Instead of following the others out, as he might have otherwise wanted to do, he turned his feet instead to one of the internal gardens in the Nightless City, brightly lit and shining, with a bench for him to sit and observe the designs, seeking calmness and clarity.

Maybe he could meditate a little. At least that would help pass the time -

“Congratulations on your victory.”

Lan Qiren raised his head, surprised out of the trance he’d settled info.

He had not expected anyone to find him in the garden where he was lurking, least of all Lao Nie.

“What victory?” he asked, and the older man grinned at him.

“Your imminent one, of course,” he said, gesturing for Lan Qiren to move over on the bench and settling down next to him once he complied. “That was a fantastic performance you gave earlier, and it wasn’t like we weren’t all expecting the Lan sect to win the music competition anyway.”

“Expecting the Lan sect to win doesn’t mean that I would be the one to win,” Lan Qiren mumbled, feeling his cheeks and ears go hot. “Arrogance –”

“Forbidden? Big surprise,” Lao Nie teased, and Lan Qiren ducked his head.

Technically, as a junior, he shouldn’t be acting overly familiar with sect leaders from other sects, but Lao Nie – no one ever called him Sect Leader Nie, and it wasn’t disrespect but fondness that drove them – was an exception to most rules. His Nie sect was longstanding allies of the Lan sect, and he himself was effortlessly charismatic, charming and gregarious. Even Lan Qiren’s brother admired him.

Lan Qiren also admired him.

It had been Lao Nie’s occasional intervention that had convinced his brother to take Lan Qiren along on some night-hunts when he’d been younger, and while they weren’t especially close by any means – Lan Qiren suspected he was currently simply too young to interest Lao Nie as an equal, as opposed to a junior in need of mentoring, and he longed to get old enough that that to no longer be an issue – Lao Nie was one of the few people Lan Qiren knew that had never minded indulging his eccentricities.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Lao Nie remarked. “With all your talk of travel, I would’ve thought you’d be out exploring the city.”

Lan Qiren’s mood, which had been starting to improve, plummeted.

“Hmm. Sore spot?”

Lan Qiren’s shoulders were up by his shoulders. “I shouldn’t complain.”

“That just means you want to,” Lao Nie said wisely, and nudged him a little with his shoulder. “Did you get ordered to stay behind? You? You never break the rules.”

“I didn’t break the rules! My teacher made a strong recommendation that I reconsider my selection for the independent performance portion of the competition…”

“And you didn’t take the suggestion?” Lao Nie was smiling. “What a show of rebellion.”

Lan Qiren flushed red again. He was being teased, he knew.

“Since you’ve already had one rebellion, why not another?”

Lan Qiren frowned, not understanding.

“Go out,” Lao Nie clarified, still smiling. “There’s still at least half a shichen before dinner; you could see some of the city, apologize later – no? Why not?”

Lan Qiren was shaking his head. “I promised I would listen to my brother,” he said simply. “He instructed me to listen to the teacher, and the teacher said to stay, so I’ll stay. Perhaps tomorrow he will yield and allow me to explore by myself.”

“By yourself?”

“It would trouble the other disciples to be associated with me until there’s been an appropriate opportunity to review my behavior and determine if punishment is required –”

Lao Nie shook his head. Presumably things were different in his Nie sect, as they often were.

“Well, if you really need some company to go out, let me know,” he said.

“I couldn’t presume –”

“I’m offering,” Lao Nie said firmly, and this was why he was Lan Qiren’s favorite sect leader other than his father. Sometimes, secretly, even more than his father. “Really, I don’t understand your sect sometimes. What’s the point of keeping you so restricted? You’re already an adolescent, you’re old enough to join your own night-hunts…you can go night-hunting, right?”

“I can,” Lan Qiren confirmed, because he really was old enough to have gone on his own - old enough to night-hunt and swear oaths, that first formal stage of adulthood - but then conceded, “With company, and permission from the sect. Otherwise, disciples are only permitted to leave the Cloud Recesses to visit family.”

“…your family is the Cloud Recesses, Qiren.”

Lan Qiren shrugged.

“Don’t you feel stifled by it?”

Most of the time, he didn’t. Lan Qiren truly loved his home: he loved the routine of it, the rules; the peacefulness, the predictability, and all the familiar people; he loved the comfort of knowing where everything was and why. There was no place in the world he would rather call home, not even if he had the rest of it placed at his feet.

Still, sometimes…

He shifted a little in his seat, and decided to be a little daring. It was only Lao Nie, after all. “Well, knowing I’ll be able to leave one day helps.”

Lao Nie laughed and reached out to pat Lan Qiren’s head. His hand was large and warm.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t consider a little adventure, earlier on…?” he asked, trailing off.

“No, Sect Leader,” Lan Qiren said, and he wasn’t even that regretful. “I promised my brother. It’s important to him, you know, that I not lose face for him and the sect, and that means it’s important to me. So I won’t. I wouldn’t do that to him.”

Someone cleared their throat.

Lan Qiren looked at the doorway even as Lao Nie pulled back his hand: it was Wen Ruohan, standing there with his hands behind his back, a false smile on his lips and his eyes glittering with some strange and inexplicable emotion. “Several of the other sect leaders are demanding that you come and settle a dispute,” he said to Lao Nie. “Assuming you’re not too busy.”

Lao Nie chuckled. “For my fellow sect leaders? Never. I’ll be along momentarily.”

Wen Ruohan nodded, surveying them both briefly – Lan Qiren felt strangely vulnerable beneath his gaze, and he didn’t know why – before turning away in a swirl of robes.

“He seemed angry,” Lan Qiren observed, wondering why, but Lao Nie was already shaking his head.

“Oh, Hanhan’s more bark than bite,” he said confidently, and Lan Qiren nearly choked. Hanhan? Who would call Wen Ruohan by a diminutive? And anyway, since when did Lao Nie do that – had their relationship changed since the Lan sect conference or something? “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him. Enjoy your upcoming triumph, Qiren!”

Lan Qiren didn’t bother to remind him once again that he was not sure to win, watching him go after Wen Ruohan with long, loping strides that Lan Qiren could only envy, his own frame gawky and still uncoordinated.

He sighed.

“ – such a fuss!” He could still hear Lao Nie in the distance, the older man’s voice carrying a little too far as always. “Really, Hanhan, haven’t you done enough already, with all those rumors that are always going around since last time…?”

A brief pause, murmurs in lower voices.

“ – more honored in the breach. Even in the Lan sect!”

And then there was laughter.

Lan Qiren wondered what Lao Nie meant by that. Was he talking about Lan Qiren? To Wen Ruohan?

Surely not.

#mdzs #lan qiren #sect leader nie #wen ruohan #my fic #my fics #spilled pearls

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yanderart · 4 years

Text

Took me longer since the “drabble” that was supposed to accompany this turned into a kind of extensive one-shot, but here’s the next installment in the Yandere POV series. Inspired by a juicy request from some thoughtful anons!

Below the cut is, as customary, a fic I wrote exploring the underlying themes of the portrait (creepy best friend tamaki x reader, nsfw, dark themes, 8k).

TWs: usual yandere content (delusion, obsession, deceit, etc), explicit noncon, violence, Tamaki making the frienzone his bitch. Generous implementations of the pet name “bunny”.

If you had known the chain of events that would spiral from telling Tamaki about your new relationship… well, perhaps you would’ve stayed quiet. It wasn’t like it was that serious yet either, but you had an inkling (“I really like this one, Tamaki”) that made it worthwhile enough to mention in your book. Remarkable enough to share with your very best friend.

Besides, in your defence, you really had no way of knowing just what hid behind his agitated reaction. Nerves stretched thin, voice terse as he congratulated you with a smile that appeared a little too bright, a little too strained. With someone like Tamaki, it was easy to go chalk it all up to his anxiety, stress or an unfortunate mix of both.

So easy to underestimate him, wasn’t it?

Nevertheless, there were no uses for any what ifs in your future, speculations and paranoia not even close to creeping up on you yet. So almost a week after your reveal, when you got a call from Tamaki himself, you didn’t even hesitate as you picked it up in the last few dredges of your work shift.

“Need something?” you answered distractedly as your fingers continued typing on your keyboard, sorting out the last few remnants of some menial task.

The prolonged silence however, only brokered by a subtle sound you identified as actual sniffling, was your only response. Your hands stopped mid movements then, brows furrowed with worry.

“What’s happening, dear?”

This time your voice was as calming as you could compel it to be, your tone trying to imbed reassurance into every syllable, “Tamaki?”

You heard what sounded like a whine, a strangled sound that conjured up an image of tears trailing down his cheeks, bottom lip quivering in a sorrowful grimace.

Calling him dear despite having a boyfriend now, it was like you were taunting him.

“Bunny,” Tamaki’s voice was shaking as he called you by your old nickname, sobs making it hard to understand anything but how panicked his intonation was. “I-I need you.”

Thinking your pro-hero friend was having another budding panic attack, or perhaps on the brink of a new stress induced mental breakdown, you were on your feet before he even stopped speaking. The protective side of your brain had overridden any apprehension to leave your post, your hands already reaching to turn off your work computer before you wordlessly left your desk.

You were working overtime, anyways, and any consequences that came out of going to your friend’s aid were well worth facing in your book. And by that point too, you knew enough of all of their schedules to know yours would be the easiest to clear. Mirio and Nejire had their own heroics to worry about, while you only had an unremarkable office job to account for.

Not like he’d want Mirio or Nejire there, though. Not like he would ever call for them when he had you.

“I’ll be right there, Tamaki. Please stay put,” was the last thing you told him before hanging up and rushing to get your coat.

The urgency in his timbre, the utter need, was all you could think of as you left your building in quickened strides.

And by the way you were rushing, it was clear that you actually cared for him, your very best friend. All you needed was a gentle reminder of just how much.

You got to Tamaki’s apartment in a matter of minutes, letting your cab driver keep the change as you stumbled up the stairs in urgent skips. It wasn’t the first time he asked you to be there for him (asked you without actually saying it, because he would never dare utter the words), yet you knew enough of the turmoil he went through on a daily basis. A pro-hero he might be, but his anxiety was his eternally undefeated foe.

Although was it really that bad if it kept bringing you two together?

Opening the door into a room enveloped by shadows, you dropped your things without a care before attempting to make your way into the living room.

Barely a heartbeat later, an audible hitch in someone’s breathing alerted you quickly of your friend’s location.

“Y/N?” his voice sounded hoarse and choked up as he called for you. And it felt like a fist was squeezing your heart, the same that had been consistently gripping your chest ever since you first picked up the phone in your office.

“I’m here, dear.“ You comforted him while redirecting your steps to the sound of his trembling voice.

Despite the darkness, your eyes were acclimatized enough to distinguish the silhouette of his body hunched over the only sofa in the room. Even without getting a glimpse at his face, you could sense defeat and pessimism oozing off of him in waves. As you got closer, however, he made no movements of retreat, nor flinched away when you sat beside him.

Instead, it was like his body started to release all of his pent-up tension as a response to your proximity.

You were there and it was like he could finally breathe. You were there for him, right where you were meant to be.

One of your palms was reaching out and drawing quick circles across his back, the thin fabric of his t-shirt bunching up while your voice hummed what you hoped was a tranquilizing melody. With the other one, you clasped one of Tamaki’s own vacant hands and gave it a gentle squeeze, almost as if you were willing the worries to leave his body, a piper’s songs coaxing them out in the form of your enticing presence.

By that point, you knew enough about his episodes to know physical contact and reassurance were the fastest ways to get him to come back up from his lowest of lows. So it was no wonder, then, when your reward came quickly in the form of a content sigh leaving his lips, anguish still visible in his posture but his body clearly leaning into the solace you offered.

The balm you provided had always been intoxicating for him.

“I… I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he stuttered through distressed hiccups. He looked so fragile like that, so much like a kicked puppy, that you instinctually wrapped your arm around his waist and hugged him closer to your side.

“Oh, Tamaki…,” you shushed with a note of guilt, preoccupied with the fact that he would ever think you’d leave him hanging, “why would you even say that?”

You could feel his shoulders stiffen in your embrace, his hand tightening around yours for a moment before going limp in your grip. His lack of an answer stung even more.

It was ridiculous truly, to feel so protective over a man who was a pro-hero and clearly several times your strength. Even hugging him like you were, his lanky silhouette overshadowed yours in an almost comical portrayal of your height difference.

But he was your dearest friend —taking care of him came as second nature.

He adored you for it.

“You know I could never ignore you when you need me,” you whispered as your thumb drew patterns on the hand you were holding, soft insignificant drawings that to him felt like ancient secrets being exchanged. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

It was always like this with you two. Tamaki stayed quiet while you rambled on in his ear, trying to scatter any doubts or anxious thoughts still clouding his mind. At first you had thought it’d be annoying for him, overbearing in the worst of senses, but he had quickly insisted that you always knew just what to do to calm him down. You were his best friend, the one person besides Mirio and Nejire who just got him, who truly understood…

So it only made you feel guiltier, to think that you wouldn’t be able to help him this one time. He was a hero who saved countless lives, someone whose time was worth more than you could ever hope to achieve as a meager civilian. And yet you couldn’t even comfort him as a friend?

But it wasn’t your fault. You just needed to unlearn your behaviour. And if he truly was your best friend, didn’t you want him to feel loved too?

Which was precisely when an idea came to you, an epiphany from above in the form of a vivid memory of the last time you two met up, of the news that had seemingly left Tamaki acting oddly sour.

“You didn’t think I’d just forget about you because I have a boyfriend now, did you?,” you joked good-naturedly.

Only instead of having the comforting effect you’d hoped, your comment resulted in your friend stiffening even more, his face finally snapping to look at you with hurt written all across his features. The strength was back in the manner in which he was now seizing your hand, clasping it until you started to feel the blood circulation being slowly cut off.

“Isn’t that how it works, though?” His question was fretful on his tongue, barely above a whisper and with the slightest hint of resentment. His eyes were impossibly wide, impossibly alert as he studied your reaction, “Isn’t your boyfriend supposed to be your priority? The person you care for the most?”

But even with the switch in his behaviour and the worrisome path his words were taking, you were still too preoccupied by him to heed any of it. It was just Tamaki over analyzing things, as always, and his anxiety popping in to get the better of him.

“Human relationships don’t work like that, dear.” And there the fucking nickname was again, that jest of a loving pet name on your lips. “It’s not a hierarchical structure. I care about both of you in different ways.”

It felt silly to explain it out loud, to say such an obvious thing, but you couldn’t help wanting to appease some of the conflict eating away at your friend. Did he really think you’d ever drop him for anyone else? You had known Tamaki for years now, cared for him for what felt like a lifetime. The thought alone seemed completely ludicrous to you…

Even as his touch started hurting, as you felt a stern pressure that would surely become a bruise on your wrist, all you could think of was that this was just Tamaki being Tamaki, right? And you just needed to calm him down, like you always did.

He saw the misery on your gorgeous face, the blossoming pain colouring your expression despite your attempts at hiding it. For once, he wasn’t the only one hurting anymore, and he oddly enjoyed that.

“You’re saying that, but why… why can’t I believe you?” It sounded like he was conflicted, tone frantic as he attempted to wrestle down whatever doubts were increasingly plaguing his mind. He tugged at your wrist with a clenched fist, stealing a whimper out of you while his face got closer and closer, “Uh, I bet he doesn’t give you as much trouble either. Bet he takes care of you.”

I bet you love him was left unsaid. I bet you love him like I wish you loved me.

You attempted to push him off with your free hand at that point, discomfort quickly growing into annoyance despite your best intentions of being understanding. You were still under the impression that this was just a moment of clouded thoughts on his part, something bound to pass as he regained a grip of his senses. But the nerves flaring from the strength of his hold were impossible to ignore.

“Tamaki, let me go first,” you commanded in a carefully composed manner, still attempting not to sound as harsh as you would’ve if this was anyone but your anxiety ridden best friend, “and then we can talk about why you’re feeling like that.”

Yet his reaction was abrasive once more, twisting your arm by the wrist harshly until your entire body was collapsing into his.

“Don’t be like that. Don’t lie to me and tell me everything will be okay,” he was agitated, jittery and unstable in the way his eyes kept darting around. “All of this time I’ve been waiting… waiting to gather the courage…” He was making little sense now, just mumbling while he kept cradled your pained hand between his, a darkened gaze fluttering from your own eyes, to your lips and lastly some obscure point in the wall behind you. “And then you couldn’t wait for me anymore. And now you don’t need me.”

It was hard to think through the mist of your budding worry and the agony still emanating from your wrist. Somehow, your other arm had stopped fruitlessly hitting him and was instead just trying to keep him at a distance, your neck cramping from how far back you were trying to get yourself.

He was impossibly close, intense and expectant as his stare once again found its way to yours. You could still see the doubts twisting there, but it was rapidly becoming eclipsed by a new creeping resolution. Even while you continued silently fighting to escape his grip, as terror encased you and you tried to understand why your best friend was acting like that all of a sudden.

After that night, would you perhaps think a villain’s quirk was to blame? Or maybe you’d think one of his enemies had decided to impersonate him in a twisted bid for revenge? Surely you couldn’t accept what the reality was, the fact that his love for you was just that blinding.

Don’t worry, though, he’d make you understand.

Tamaki’s voice was feverish once he broke through the silence again, a new type of determination steadying his usual stutter in a way you’d never heard before.

“But I’ll fix that,” and then he was cupping your face with his free hand, your numb one still clutched tightly in his lap while his attention was diverted to your worried expression. “And then you will need me just as much as I need you. Then…“

And there was a pregnant pause before he continued, a space of time where his stare bore into yours full of hidden meaning, “We can go back to being best friends again.”

Somehow though, on his tongue the term best friends sounded suspiciously like something else entirely.

“Tamaki, listen…,” you tried again, refusing to quit still, before being interrupted by a terrifying sequence of actions unravelling.

Because he was tugging your wrist down again after that, but this time twisting and twisting until your entire field of vision filled with the aftermath of an unbearable pain. A snapping sound echoed in your ears, a scream clawing its way out of your throat before you had a notion of what was even happening —Tearing through the rest of your composure, probably hurting his ears just as much as it left your vocal cords feeling raw. By that point, the hand that was previously pushing at his chest with firmness had turned frenzied, clamped fists now carrying the weight of urgency.

Tamaki looked halfway surprised at his own actions, halfway scared. Halfway excited, too.

Following a pattern of behaviour which did little to deter the horror rapidly embracing you, your so-called friend inhaled thickly before, suddenly and without warning, capturing your lips in a kiss. Your eyes were opened wide as you felt the pressure of his mouth claiming yours, taking advantage of your numb state to persuade you into opening up and allowing an even more intimate intrusion.

It has to be a nightmare, you thought in shock as his hands fluttered against your cheeks, sliding down to your neck and massaging your shoulders. It was like he couldn’t decide whether to stay still, where to touch or caress as his lips openly devoured you.

He waited so long for this, an eternity of yearning for someone right at his side.

“T-Tamaki,”i, you willed yourself into speaking up once he broke away from you, gasping for air and with his hair looking as wild as his gaze, “I don’t know what happened but… you’re not being yourself.”

Were you seriously still trying to deny his feelings? Trying to pretend like it hadn’t taken everything in him to finally gather his courage and just act. What a fucking friend you were.

If he didn’t love you so much, he’d hate you for that.

“You need help. Something happened”, you were rambling, too intimidated by the intent with which your friend was now listening to your words. “Once you’re feeling better, we can talk. I… I’ll promise to be understanding.”

And despite the throbbing sensation in your injured hand, despite the disgust at his actions and unadulterated horror, the worst part was that you really meant it…

But who were you really trying to convince at that point?

His hands were still on your shoulders, but the way they squeezed around your flesh reminded you of the talons you had seen him grow with his quirk, sharp nails sinking without a warning and driving more half-hearted cries out of your throat. You looked like a mess now, lips still plump from the force of his kiss, mixed spit clinging to your face from it, fat tears freely cascading down your cheeks.

“But… Y/N,” his voice was oddly soft when he addressed you again. There was a timid smile back on his face, one that reminded you of the friend you refused to believe no longer existed, and you briefly wondered if you had finally gotten through to him despite the unflinching strength of his grip, “I’ve never felt better.”

He genuinely sounded so relieved too, so content with the dark implications behind his words, that you felt the blood become icy currents in your veins, liquid fear being pumped instead in its place. Before you even realized your course of actions, you were leaning your head to the side and biting down on one of his arms with everything you had.

Tamaki was the one groaning then, retreating his hands instinctively and giving you the spare second you needed before you were jumping from the sofa and diving for the door.

It’s unlocked, was all you could think about as you leapt to the exit. You could get away if you just managed to cross it, run until your legs gave up on you. You could go to your boyfriend’s place and wait there until you had enough courage to reach out to the police, to a hero —to anyone who could help you. Things could still be fixed.

And maybe, just maybe, the silliest part of you added, whatever was clouding your best friend’s senses would magically be gone once you had gotten away from his grasp.

You never knew how to quit, truly. But it was okay, he liked that about you too.

A suffocated cry was all the sound you could make as you were fiercely shoved to the floor, your face smashing against the carpet and your nose making a horrifying sound before your entire head felt like it was on fire. The white-hot pain was all you could think of, the dam lifting entirely from your eyes as tears trickled down your cheeks in copious amounts.

“D-don’t make me hurt y-you,” Tamaki didn’t sound at all winded, but anxious, pained himself from the wounds he had to inflict on you, “I want to make you feel good, not like… like this.”

Which only made it more fucked up when, once you started fighting again, you felt the unmistakable pressure of a growing erection pushing against your lower back. As pained as you were, you willed yourself to keep struggling after that, trying fruitlessly to get away or somehow kick him, bite him, do anything in your power.

In all honesty, it only made him get more excited. He really was a sick, sick man. But only for you.

“Stop, Y/N,” Tamaki pleaded in hushed whispers, his hands shaking as he tried to comb your hair out of the way. There was blood pooling around your face, flowing freely from the place your nose had smashed into the floor. You could barely breathe through it, your mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as you attempted to otherwise fill your lungs through panicked gasps, "If you… if you stop, I’ll stop too.”

It was easy to recognize the lie as soon as it was uttered, a poor excuse for deceit as his hips stuttered into yours almost of their own volition. You heard him curse then, right as you both noticed that all your wrestling did was just press yourself harder against his arousal.

However, before you could voice your growing terror, one of his hands was suddenly on your back, drawing circles in a mocking imitation of how you had tried comforting him earlier. The sickness in the pit of your stomach at that gesture, that feeble attempt at consolation, was all you could think about as the tears of impotence continued furiously trickling down your cheek.

You were disgusted, not only at the monster humping you as he continued mumbling poor excuses and null reassurances, but also sick at yourself for willingly going there to attempt to help him in the first place. You couldn’t believe part of you still stuttered to call him your friend moments ago, yet, even through your disgust, you’d also be lying if you didn’t admit how hard it was reconciling your aggressor with the soft spoken boy you had grown to foolishly treasure.

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” his voice tickled one of your ears as he allowed himself to continue resting more and more of his weight on you, almost suffocating you under the pressure. He wasn’t even pretending like his hands weren’t wandering now, palms still mockingly gentle in their nervousness, but stopping his poor attempts at consolation long enough to grip your shirt and lift it up. “I don’t even remember what it felt like not to want you.”

You wished you could scream again, but breathing was already such a laborious task between your fractured nose and Tamaki’s hold. When you refused to turn on your back after he gently nudged you, his hands just closed tighter around your top and tore it apart from your body, leaving you shivering —not due to the cold but due to a fear and impotence that trumped any temperature.

Then, because he couldn’t even leave you to suffer in peace, you felt the torn fabric of your shirt being pressed against the side of your face, prodding you with a meekness that felt completely out of place as the cloth started to soak in the blood gathering around you.

“Press it against your nose, so it stops the bleeding.” He continued softly tapping it against your cheek until your unharmed hand went to roughly retrieve it out of his and do as he preached.

You could’ve told him nosebleeds didn’t exactly work like that when you had a busted nose, that just pressing a piece of cloth wasn’t going to help your case much (or that his kindness was void, when he was the reason you why were bleeding in the first place), but all of that implied talking, and right now all you wanted to do was shut up, pass out, dissociate. Whatever it took to ignore his fingers now drifting to the hem of your pants.

Yet he just wanted to take care of you. So why wouldn’t you let him? You were making it so difficult, when all Tamaki only ever wanted was to make you feel loved. Loved by him.

“You… hmm, you aren’t going to trust me right now,” it appeared like he was fidgeting with the waistband of your work pants as he drew out the admission, the thrumming in his voice sheepish and uncertain. It reminded you of how he would sound like when he attempted to talk to strangers, forcing himself into being pro-hero levels of courageous just so he could exchange a few words, “But that’s okay, Y/N, because you’ll understand.” One of his hands ghosted the plush curve of your ass, so lightly that you could’ve thought you imagined it in any other situation, “And when you do, you… you can break up with your boyfriend then. Things can go back to how they were. To just us.”

The image of your partner crowded your thoughts then, his kind smile being conjured up in your mind as you heard your pants being torn apart next. It was enough to have you openly sobbing, biting down on the fabric of your ruined shirt as you tried to quiet down the sound of your own grief.

But you’d thank him soon, once you understood. You already loved him before…so how hard could it be to love him again, but properly this time? To show him how much he knew you cared.

Once the remnants of your pants were thrown aside as well, you didn’t even get the luxury to cross your legs and put any kind of further struggle. Tamaki sat up on top of you, relenting the pressure in your chest and waist but comfortably setting himself on your hips, his legs encasing your thighs in an inescapable prison.

You could almost sense his eyes scanning your exposed flesh, hear his delirious muttering as his fingers got greedier and greedier in the paths they weaved across your body, the quick circles from before being exchanged by longer, drawn out movements. It felt like he was memorizing a map, with every little scar and indent in your complexion being the marks leading down to a hidden treasure, wonders to marvel at and inspect.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve dreamed of this for so long…” His tone was barely above a reverent whisper as you felt him finally reach your bra, unclasping it with a shaking that could only be attributed to unrestrained excitement, “dreamt of you even while awake.” He parted the fabric and left it precariously hanging off your sides on the carpeted floor, hands ceremoniously splaying across your shoulder blades next, “But you feel so different from anything I could’ve come up with. So much softer.”

His lips were on your back in an instant, almost as if he just couldn’t help himself, and he was sucking and licking while trying to cover up the sounds of his own elation. The slow grinding against your backside had stopped, though, and the weight of his heated groin lifted from your back for the first time since you had been crushed to the floor. It was such a relief, to be able to move again (even if you weren’t foolish enough to try and get away by that point), that you didn’t even realize the alleviated sigh managing to escape your mouth until it was too late.

You felt Tamaki’s lips curling against your spine, the satisfaction in his gesture crystal clear.

“Does this feel good, bunny?,” he asked you in a pleased little rumble, mistaking your sounds of relief for something else altogether. “Does it feel good when I kiss you like this?” He pointed his question by leaving another sloppy flutter of his lips against the nape of your neck.

But then his presence disappeared from your back altogether, a moment so brief that hopefulness could not even begin to be reborn before it was crushed at your feet. Because before you could savour the retreat,Tamaki was now grasping and lifting your hips with his arms, deft hands sliding the lone piece of underwear still hiding your modesty from his prying eyes.

You briefly wondered why he hadn’t just ripped it apart like he’d done with the rest of the items that got in the way, but the distinct sound of someone sniffing gave you all the answers you needed. Deep, earnest inhales followed by a purr of satisfaction. Goosebumps blossomed across your body from disgust.

But to him, that was just another sign of you being into it. You were just too stubborn to admit it, weren’t you, bunny?

“I’ll make sure to kiss you all over.” Your eyes were closed with such force, your intact hand losing colour from the strength you were using to grip the torn piece of fabric against your mouth. “If… if I’m honest”, and he was back to sounding sheepish, contradictorily embarrassed as if he wasn’t the one carrying out the assault, “Bunny, I’ve been wondering how your moans sound for the longest time, too.”

If you weren’t as determined not to let a single sound slip out, you would’ve gagged. But all thoughts of Tamaki’s words were soon replaced by his actions, cold calloused hands snaking between your legs as the pro-hero’s arms kept a secured grip that made sure you could not wiggle out of his grasp. He was hunching over you again, dark purple hair tickling your thighs, and your exposed entrance twitched as a gust of air was blown directly into it.

You wanted so badly to cry out, to protest again, but you were afraid of ever loosening your grip on the fabric that covered your mouth. So instead you tried to steer your body, not to get away but to move your damaged hand until it was being crushed by your own chest, new waves of pain radiating off of it in order to distract you.

Were you that afraid of liking it, that you’d take your own pain over the pleasure he’d deliver?

“Bunny,” he groaned that nickname again, laying a bed of kisses across your inner thighs, slobbering and disorganized while his hands kneaded your flesh with acute urgency. “Y/N…”, your name was chanted like prayer, the holiest of incantations being whispered into the flourishing goosebumps of your inner legs.

It was hard not to squirm when you physically felt his voice reverberating through your body, when the hands holding you up were so excruciatingly close to your now quivering hole. Even while fear coursed through your veins, what you dreaded the most was the way heat was starting to pool in your stomach.

You tried pressing harder against the limp hand below you, but Tamaki’s arms steadied you from their place around your legs before you had the chance to properly act.

“Stop trying to hurt yourself, please,” and to his credit, he actually sounded anguished himself, although you doubted it was due to the same reasons you were currently suffering. “I want to make you feel good, bunny. Please… please let me.”

He was kissing the skin of your thighs again before you had the opportunity to argue (not that you’d consider willingly opening your mouth again by that point). Your assailant trailed a path of shivers until he was hovering over your mound, tickling you with his quickened breathing as a wanton groan reached your ears.

“So beautiful,“ and his nose was pressing against you, face nuzzling your cunt with such an affection that only helped to make you feel infinitely dirtier, his voice dripping with reverence. “My bunny’s beautiful little pussy.”

You were wriggling again before you could attempt to calm yourself down, the alarms that had never stopped blaring now drowning any other thoughts circling your mind. But you had nowhere to go, nowhere to escape, and before another moment passed your entire body was tensing up again when you felt a wet appendage slowly licking up your folds.

He explored you through the movements of his tongue, guttural sounds of appraisal being smothered as he tasted your plush folds for the very first time. Even without the aid of his arms, still holding you up as they were, it was becoming increasingly obvious that he did not need them in order to thoroughly savour you.

So long he had been deprived of all sustenance, teased by your hugs and touches and left to starve while you went to seek affection elsewhere. Maybe he was undeserving, but could anyone blame him for finally snapping after so long? For finally, for once, daring to be selfish enough to demand.

“Delicious,” his trembling compliment was proclaimed between licks, lips slowly journeying their way to your clit before he was audibly sucking it in, his own whines echoing through your entire body once more and making you bite down harder on the bloodstained cloth. “And… you’re getting wet for me too,“ which was only accentuated by the lascivious sounds he made as he started lapping at your rapidly gathering juices. “Am I making you feel good, bunny?”

Shut up, you wanted to scream, shut up and just be done with it. But it was getting so hard to concentrate, your fingers cramping from the force you were using to keep the piece of your torn up shirt tightly in place. He kept gingerly savouring your unwilling excitement, relentless in the way his tongue continued teasing and prodding, even dipping into your heat as his gluttony for you became an unbearable constant.

When you felt one of his hands descend from your thighs, the sound of a belt being unbuckled, your eyes opened up again in fear. You almost stopped biting down on your shirt in order to voice one last protest, but then his mouth was wrapping itself harder still around your bundle of nerves —shoots of a pleasure you tried to ignore warming their way further up your stomach as the unwanted thrills in your gut built up to a crescendo.

“Fu… fuck, Bunny,” he sounded so needy between the squelching sounds filling the darkened room. “Are you gonna cum for me?”

You shook your head as the pressure kept building up, muscles cramping and your one free leg attempting to kick him out fruitlessly. Your head was filled with the cries you could not voice, heavy with an agony that far exceeded any physical turmoil. You wished the pain was enough to pass out, to mute the heat coiling up further and further, but such was your plight that not even the faintest mercy was granted.

Although even your silent rejection only served as encouragement in Tamaki’s mind. It was the first time you were acknowledging him, the first time you were responding to any of his comments after he had tackled you to the floor. Even with your mouth covered, the tears now dried against your mascara stricken cheeks, it felt to him like the sign he had been waiting for.

It only drove him madder.

You heard clothing being tugged down while he kept the eager rhythm of his tongue on you, pants and boxers being discarded in one go to free a surely painfully aching erection. Not long after that, his breathing became even more ragged against your core, one of his shoulders moving against your thighs rhythmically while his previously free hand stroked himself for some much needed relief.

The sounds he started to make, accompanied by the slow pace he was setting as he tugged at his own cock against your dangling legs, were ones of desperation and debauchery—whines that filled you up right alongside his intruding tongue. It made you curl your toes, close your eyes again as you tried and failed to will the sensations away.

You thought your teeth would snap at any moment too, just from how furiously you were biting down. Yet your cunt kept pulsating against his flushed face, answering to his relentless teasing by coating his mouth in more your juices, strings of saliva mingling with them as you felt the wetness gathering around his chin too.

“You… you don’t need to fight it,“ he was whispering right into you, humming the sounds until they were forcing themselves inside right alongside his tongue. “You can cum, Y/N,” and with the hand he wasn’t touching himself with, he finally freed your other thigh as well, opting instead to trail a path with his extended palm until he was reaching out for your face.

You were so tired, so preoccupied with the unwanted pleasure clouding your vision, that the thought of attempting to escape again didn’t even cross your mind. Both of your legs were now limp, supported only by his shoulders positioned below them, and the sounds filling the air were wet, squelching and downright sinful.

Which was why, when his palm started caressing your cheek, you were too far gone to run from the new coercive intimacy of his touch. His tongue was pulsating in and out of you, and yet your insides felt impossibly warm, impossibly empty.

“Bunny,“ that damned pet name again. It was something you remembered him calling you first after a particularly bad panic attack, sheepishly whispered as you held him and rocked the both of you in a calming motion. Only now it sounded absolutely depraved, filled with a lust that terrified you, and the word sullied as it was now half-moaned while Tamaki jerked himself off to your torment.

Or was it pleasure at that point? You kept wriggling, but he didnt think you wanted to get away anymore.

Some part of you noticed his rough fingers drawing circles again into the covered side of your face, another cruel joke that mimicked the way in which you had always thought appropriate to soothe him.

“Please,” he begged you and kept repeating it, mixing in the pleads with the insistent licks of his tongue, the shaking in his own face warning you of the furious pace his other hand was now setting for himself.

Please, please, please. Bunny, please.

Your orgasm hit you with a force that left you breathless, gasping for air and with a new current of despair trailing down from your dazed eyes, mimicking the arousal surely dripping down his lips.

You had never felt something like what you were experiencing, an orgasm so potent that it transformed your body into such a limp and pliant thing, enticing your mind into a forceful lull as Tamaki dedicated himself to drinking every last drop you unwillingly offered.

To your subsequent shame, the hand tenderly holding you pried the crumpled shirt away from your mouth. He was finally freeing the sounds you so selfishly kept from him, and by that point you were too far gone to think of stopping him, your cries and wails filling up the shadows of the room until they were bursting at the seams.

It felt like forever as you kept cumming and cumming, feeling like you were forcefully plunged from one climax straight into the next. Tamaki refused to separate from your heat, instead opting for continuing to mouth his appreciation right into your tender flesh.

“So gorgeous for me. So good. My sweet little bunny,” he wasn’t even trying to be coherent at that point, rapidly reaching his own peak now that he had you breaking down underneath him, now that he could finally witness your undoing at his hands.

While your orgasm reached its shaking end, however, your cunt clenching against nothing as Tamaki’s face finally left it alone and pulled back, you were again too preoccupied with the aftermath of your own pleasure to sense anything amiss. You failed to acknowledge the pause in his own movements, how his hand had stopped his own ministrations in order to reach out for your glistening folds instead, nervous digits twitching as they gathered your juices between them.

It almost hurt when he trailed your sex, your flesh sensitive still from the force of the after shakes still coursing through your body. A new unfiltered whine left your throat, jaw starting to ache from all the strength you had previously used in your bid to keep those very same sounds securely muted.

“Tamaki, please…” You sobbed, intending on pleading with him to stop, to grant you the mercy of wallowing in your shame all by yourself.

But all he could hear was the intoxicating sound of his name on your lips, your tone heavy from exhaustion and being utterly spent. It was the greatest melody you could’ve provided him with.

“F-fuck,” his exclamation was equal parts devotion and raw need.

After his fingers were retreating, it wasn’t long before you felt him lowering your hips gently. The warm pressure of his cock prodded at your entrance, already coated with your fluids and only getting messier as Tamaki trailed it up and down your slit.

“No, wait. Tamaki, wait,“ your voice was distraught and still feeble, what little struggle that still managed to cling to you coming back with a reckoning as a new kind of panic started setting in.

Of course he wasn’t wearing a condom, and of course your pleas did little to stop him now. A heartfelt sound of protest shook your vocal cords as he slowly breached your cunt, his cock sliding in inch by inch while drawing long, wet sounds out of you.

In reality, all he could hear was the sound of his name on your lips. You could’ve been insulting him with all of your might, Tamaki didn’t think he’d be able to stop himself even if he wanted to.

“Fuck, Bunny,” his hands fluttered between your thighs in hiccuped movements, fingers stretching your nether lips in order to give himself a better view of the place where your bodies joined, the sacrilegious union he had oh so desired for years now. “So,, he kept breaking into you inch by inch, “fucking,“ the length of him feeling eternal as he sheathed himself, “perfect.”

You had barely any time to adjust to being stuffed before apologies were scattering out of his mouth, actions contradicting as his hips rut into you, hands making sure to keep you on display for his gluttonous eyes. It was your new brand of torment— how snug he fitted inside, how full you felt and the way his shaft curved just enough to quickly turn any discomfort you were first experiencing on its head. You wanted to feel pain, but even that was out of your reach too.

You were chasing after a distraction, but why did you need to be running in the first place? You needed only to keep still, lay back and let your best friend take care of you for once.

The pace he set was slow, excruciatingly so as he savoured the way in which your cunt clenched around him, the way your walls spasmed with the memory of the orgasms he gifted you with earlier. He kept hitting that spot every few shallow thrusts too, the patch of skin on your insides that made you grind your teeth while whines still somehow managed to leak out. It was with maddening guilt, then, that your mind realized the extent with which your body truly welcomed him.

You felt dirty, violated by a man you had trusted for years, someone you had considered family beyond reproach. And while he kept drilling into you in that leisure way of his, you couldn’t help but wonder what exactly you had done to get him to obsess over you like that. What exactly you could’ve changed to stop your life from being utterly ruined.

But with all honesty, the answer to that was nothing. Because even without the pressure of your new boyfriend to pull him into motion, Tamaki doubted he would’ve been able to keep himself from you for much longer.

He had loved you for so long and for so many different reasons; Your laughter which was the greatest symphony to his ears, the kindness you had always embraced him with, free of judgement and ulterior motives. Your caring soul, too, and the way in which he just knew you understood.

“Please, please,“ and you didn’t know why you kept begging, your mouth running off on its own accord as your body tried to squirm against your intruder’s, unclear whether it wanted to escape or get even closer. “T-Tamaki.”

But most of all, he thought he loved the way you cried out while he fucked you now, a wrecked mess for his eyes alone.

“Do you think you can come again for me?” he asked you between frayed exhales, still oddly meek as the shallow thrusts into your hole made sweat drip down his skin and bathe you in its shine. “I know you must be tired but… I wanna… wanna hear it properly.” And there was an underlying greed just below his apologetic tone, a craving you wondered just how long had been there waiting to be let out, “Wanna feel it, too.”

It appeared like his own words excited him to a notorious degree, because he was rutting into you with quicker motions now, the sound of skin slapping against skin driving the despair even further into your heart. Your afflicted hand didn’t even throb anymore, your nose barely a faint nuisance either, for all you could think about was the way you contracted around him, the way the coil in your gut was once more beginning to tighten to a feverish degree.

And the palm against your clit too, which had stopped pressing against it in order to extend its fingers and circle them around, prodding and pushing until you were being overwhelmed by him, devoured on the carpeted floor with a face caked in blood and a body sore and resentful yet so damned inviting.

Your cunt was holding him so tight, it felt like you didn’t want to let go, like you needed him there… it made Tamaki, someone who had spent his entire life feeling different degrees of inadequate, think he had finally found a place to belong to.

“Shit, Y/N, you’re… really gonna cum again? For me?” You didn’t want to hear him, didn’t want to feel him, but when he pulled out almost entirely you found your hips shamefully pushing back until his length was being swallowed whole again. “Fuck,” you heard him curse as his hands left your sopping folds in order to grip the meat of your backside, barely contained strength nailing you to the spot as he set a new frantic rhythm, “so… needy for me. So tight and beautiful, does my bunny want it harder now?”

He was hitting your spot in relentless movements, his own hips stuttering as he strived to hold back his own impending end, and the groans coming out of you felt like they belonged to a different person. The tears in your eyes were still free falling, the taste of dried blood still covering your tongue as you continued audibly panting, and the tension in your muscles resembled a taut bowstring about to snap from the pressure.

Of course you didn’t answer, but you didn’t have to when your body spoke for you.

His pace was bruising, his hands kneading your flesh as he angled you just enough to get even deeper inside you. Yet not deep enough.

“I love you so goddamn much,“ one of his palms left your rear so he could grab one of your shoulders, forcing you to arch back just as he demanded. “Let me show you just how much, baby.”

By that point you were so tired, so drained from holding back, that you allowed him to manhandle you until your back was pressed flush against his stomach. His palm snaked their way from your shoulders to your chest, quickly pushing what little of your unhooked bra still clung to your frame so he could fully expose your breasts to his zealous treatment.

Your nipples were hard already, you really were loving this, weren’t you?

In this new position, it somehow felt like he was pushing against places you had never felt anyone reach before. Like, in a way, he was bruising your cervix with every one of his overeager thrusts, testing himself in order to go as far as your body would allow him. So fucking greedy for you.

Tamaki kept massaging your breasts while he fucked you, sensitive nipples being lightly toyed with while he buried his face in your neck from behind for an instant. Because unable to stay still as he was, soon enough his lips had started to kiss a slobbering path of adoration upwards into the shell of one of your ears.

“I know you… fuck, know you don’t love me like that yet,” he sounded feverish while he continued to thrust into you, voice faltering to the weight of his own lust, “but it’s okay. Right now…” He pulled out almost entirely again, only to dive in with all the more resolve before you had the chance to buck into him a second time, “I can love you enough for the both of us.”

And just like that, with the man you had previously considered your best friend whispering delirious nonsense behind you, his breath tickling your nape with each aggravating declaration, was when the overwhelming wave of your new orgasm hit you, shaking your entire body.

So fucking tight and needy for him. With your body clamoring for him like it did, who could blame him for foolishly thinking you felt the same way? Even if you tried refuting it afterwards, the way your walls clenched around him so delectably was all the honesty he needed.

Your body went limp in his hands a second time, for him to hold up and embrace as he saw fit, and you sensed the cadence of his motions grow even frenzier before finally slowing down into a sporadic rythm, his sex twitching inside you in a most telling way.

He was calling out your name in a litany of prayers, biting down on the skin he had gently been nursing before, teeth piercing you and joining the rest of the sensations overwhelming your spoiled body. And that was really all the warning you got before his release was spilled deep inside you, painting your walls in thick ropes of white while the remnants of your powerful orgasm proceeded to milk his cock for all it’s worth.

Through the mess of pleasure and shame clouding your vision, your sobbing became even louder.

“See, Y/N,” Tamaki whispered a few instants later, back to his nervous ways despite grinning timidly while his arms circled around you, “even if you tell me you care about someone else now, I’ll know you’ll never share with them what you shared with me.”

And it was such a ridiculous thing to say, preposterous words to proclaim as he refused to pull out and let any drop of his cum leak out of your bruised hole, as the heated hands on your skin replicated the same old patterns you had taught him inadvertently, the same motions supposed to bring comfort and which in reality only made you feel fouler.

“If you’d like, we can be an even more special type of best friends now,” he added after barely a beat, almost self-conscious when confronted with your somber silence, yet still bashfully content about the whole ordeal.

Best friends, you repeated inwardly while his hands kept stroking you without pause, perhaps truly trying to console you, or perhaps just wanting an excuse not to leave you alone. But you were so tired, so devastated, that it wasn’t like you had the strength to refute him verbally.

In Tamaki’s delusional mind, however, that was as good as agreeing. You two were really meant to be. Even if you refused to be the special kind of best friends he had in mind, he could always become your boyfriend instead.

Not like you were ever going to see your previous one, anyways.

…

Probably the longest piece of writing I’ve posted so far… and the filthiest. If people like it, I might start extending the lenght of my fics! Otherwise I’ll try to keep it on the shorter side for my next portrait/fic convo (a yan!aizawa one hehe).

And special thanks to my dearest pals @reinawritesbnha, @drxwsyni, @snappysnapo, @thermaflute and @coyambition. They helped me proof read, gave me precious feedback on both my writings and my art and were just overall sweethearts hyping me up!! love y’all fr fr 🖤

🥀 Requests/Suggestions OPEN btw 🥀

#bnha fanart #tamaki amakiji #yandere bnha #tamaki x reader #bnha x reader #yandere tamaki #bnha imagines #bnha art #tamaki fanart #tamaki smut #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #anime fanart #mha fanart #yandere bnha x reader #artists on tumblr #just art tingz

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isolaradiale · 2 years

Text

"I think this is more than enough data for my purposes. Is it enough for you, though?"

Part of the scientist attempts to smile, though it comes as more of a grimace.

To that, it seemed he finally relaxed--perhaps a little too much--he wobbled a bit on his feet. Now seated, his one good eye turned to the other.

"Something about that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I'm starting to like this place after all, hm-hm~"

Slender fingers tapped on his cane as he chuckled.

"...We'll have to see. Maybe that won't be necessary for a while."

"--Pleased with our antics, I imagine." Came a cheeky little laugh.

"Well. I'll take care of the ones stuck in Purgatory if you take care of our surface-dwellers."

A gentle roll of her eyes in turn. "Very well. Then, let us begin..."

All except for one opening, a new path to be taken, toward an area of Radial Island that was once blocked only a few days ago...

and that concludes our event, MISTIFIED!

we'd like to thank everyone who participated in it. as such, we have a few things to follow up with this particular event beyond just wrapping it up. and first up... we'd like to announce that we have not only one, but two new branches for you all to interact with! we'd like to introduce you to THE ECHO and SKY-STREWN ISLES respectively. you can now find them over on THE MAP, too, alongside the other branches listed! and as a special note, just like we've done with newly released branches in the past, we're offering a one time PERSONAL HOME TRANSFER to the new branches. what this entails is if you've used a mysterious key or requested a personal home before this event, you'll now be given the option to move your homes to these branches instead.

KEEP IN MIND: you will only be able to move your homes to the two new branches released from this event and nowhere else unless you purchase another mysterious key. this is mostly to make it fair for others across the board so others don't feel locked out or punished for having bought a house prior. for this redemption, you'll have from NOVEMBER 8TH until NOVEMBER 22ND, 11:59PM to submit a housing request as you normally would and let us know it's to make good on this one time transfer!

as for the second announcement, we're also happy to say that those who participated in this event will be receiving a FLAT REWARD as a prize for it! this means that so long as you participated in some way with the event and show us, you'll be able to redeem a small unlock without any other strings or word counts attached! some examples are:

one weapon unlock

one small power unlock/upgrade

500 stars

all you'll need to do is go to THE GALAXY inbox and send in a request with what you'd like and your participation. much like the requests for housing, you'll have between NOVEMBER 8TH until NOVEMBER 22ND, 11:59PM to redeem this if you qualify!

once again, thank you all for your participation, and the stars wish you happy holidays!

#isola event #isola event: mistified

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bbangsoonie · 3 years

Text

find me in your memory

member: sangyeon genre: angst word count: 10,200 synopsis: when you return to korea in hopes of recovering your lost memories, one of your new housemates seems oddly familiar. warning(s): inaccurate depiction of amnesia

Prologue:

You had locked yourself in a bathroom stall to run away from everyone’s obvious trying-not-to-stare glances. Your hand clenched around your phone as you stared at the top trending news article. Your father had officially announced his plans to advance his political career and alongside his name were the names of the rest of your family. Your mother, a renown actress. Your brother, a retired swimmer and a rising musician. And you, a rookie model who already walked in various fashion shows.

You were annoyed that your father chose today of all days to release the news. Today was White Day, meaning that boys were throwing you sweets left and right. You hated the extra attention and hated that you had to maintain elegance through it all. It was already bad enough that tonight was some fancy party your father arranged for the purpose of publicity and networking. You would be hiding under a mask all day and night now.

You sighed at the sound of the bell ringing to notify the students that lunch time was over. You dragged yourself out of the bathroom and braced yourself before you returned to your classroom.

People had already whispered about you in the hallways but your classroom erupted into full blown gossip. You heard guys discussing the news and girls expressing their jealousy.

“I guess the princess might actually become a princess now.” one girl said rather loudly. “Look at her. Pretending not to hear all of us. She must think we’re too lowly to even converse with.”

Her friend’s eyes widened at her bold outburst and tried to shush her.

“What? I’m not saying anything that isn’t true.” the girl freed herself from her friend’s grasp and blatantly stood in front of your desk. “Tell me, Y/n, am I wrong?”

You looked up to meet her eyes with a neutral expression. You wanted nothing more than to grab the opportunity to pick a fight with her. But you knew you would face repercussions with your parents so all you could do was force a small smile.

Before the girl could say something more, your homeroom teacher entered the room. Everyone quickly dispersed and found their seats.

“Y/n? Your father’s secretary is here to pick you up. You’ll be leaving school early today.” he said.

The statement prompted more hushed whispers as your classmates speculated the reason why you were being pulled out of class. Without a word, you grabbed your backpack and left. The secretary led you out of the building and into a black car.

You pulled out your phone and earbuds to accompany you for the ride. Closing your eyes, you rested your head on the window and increased the volume of your music. Your brother had sent you the guide for the song he was working on and asked for your opinion. You had grumpily agreed, slightly irked that he only contacted you for things like this.

You hated Younghoon for leaving you alone in this family. He was your father’s pride and joy when he was a national athlete. Granted, he was miserable his whole life pursuing swimming when all he wanted to do was sing. But still, you never expected him to suddenly retire and switch careers without confronting your parents. He simply packed up and left. Without a warning or explanation, he just moved out. By himself. Without you.

Now, all the burden of maintaining the family’s image was on you. You had been pushed into the modeling industry so your father could have a pretty face to marry off later on. However, with Younghoon leaving the sports scene, your father was furious that your entire family were all entertainers without higher aspirations. It was too late for you to learn a sport so now you were to get accepted into Seoul University’s business school. Your father insisted on having at least one socially respectable child.

Your brother spent the last couple of years cutting contact with the family. He refused to attend events or partake in promotional photoshoots. The only time you could ever see him was when he came to take the annual family portrait. That was the only duty he would now fulfill as the eldest son of the Kim family.

You hated him but you also couldn’t despise him. If your affection for him were to turn sour, you’d truly be alone in this world. Yet you were still upset every time your calls went to his voicemail and he replied with a text hours later to apologize. You knew he was busy making up for lost time but it still hurt that he was able to enjoy his freedom while you remained suffocated.

“Miss, we’ve arrived.” the secretary spoke.

You opened your eyes and saw that the car pulled up in front of a beauty salon. You sighed, realizing you would have to get your hair and makeup done. So you went, sitting in front of a mirror for hours as people hovered around you to make you presentable for the reporters that would welcome you with endless camera flashes. By the time they finished, you were given a white silky dress to wear. It was as if your parents wanted to send you off to get married right away.

Keeping your complaints to yourself, you got dressed and were rushed to the party. Your parents were already inside, meaning you had to face the cameras alone. Reporters shouted questions at you; the topics ranged from your outfit to your father’s political plans to your brother’s absence. Ignoring them all, you put on your capitalistic smile and posed. You then bid them goodbye and entered the venue.

It was packed with politicians and businessmen. You walked around, looking for the protagonist of this event. Your father had organized tonight under the guise of celebrating your mother’s upcoming film but the true celebration was the release of today’s news. He was here to garner support for his political campaign and he sure had a flamboyant way of doing it.

“My daughter!” you heard your mother’s voice call out.

You turned around and saw your mother beckoning you over. You put on another smile as you approached your parents. Your father pulled you in for a light hug and introduced you to the man in front of him.

“Y/n, this is Assemblyman Lee. We’ve grown quite close this past year. Assemblyman Lee, this is the daughter I’ve been bragging to you about. She’s even prettier in person, right?” he let out a hearty laugh.

You respectfully bowed and personally introduced yourself to the assemblyman.

“Yes, she is very beautiful indeed.” Assemblyman Lee agreed, joining his laughter. He then presented the tall male next to him. “This is my son, Juyeon. I believe he is the same age as you, Y/n.”

“He plays basketball and even modeled for Seoul Fashion Week.” your father mentioned. “Perhaps you’ve seen or heard of him before?”

“I think we may have passed by each other once or twice that day.” you smiled. To be honest, it was your first time meeting him.

“Assemblyman Lee and I get along like family and we were talking about becoming an actual family once you graduate college.” your father beamed.

Those words made your stomach drop. You knew you’d never get to choose your own partner but now that it was actually happening, you froze. Reality suddenly hit you like a truck. You were never going to have control over anything in your life. You were nothing but a pawn in your father’s journey to the Blue House.

You looked over at Juyeon who looked just as uncomfortable as you. This was the man who you were probably going to spend the rest of your life with and you had no idea what he was like. For all you knew, he could end up hating your guts. You felt panic taking over and excused yourself for an urgent visit to the bathroom.

Your vision was blurred as you quickly exited the ballroom and desperately searched for a private room. All you could think about was your brother.

Younghoon.

You needed him. His name was the only thing your brain could think of. You needed him to tell you that everything would be okay. That he would come save you. You knew it would be a lie but you needed to hear it anyway.

Once you found an unlocked storage room, your knees buckled and you fell to the floor. With trembling hands, you dialed your brother’s number and waited for him to pick up. You called him five times but only heard the line ring. Fighting back tears, you cursed him in your head.

You spent the next half hour trying to calm yourself down. Squatting down, you rocked back and forth with your hands covering your ears to block out the noise outside. Your hyperventilation was slowing and you weren’t struck by the fear of dying anymore. By the time you settled down, you felt numb.

With a solemn expression, you stepped out of the storage room. Avoiding the crowd, you wandered around until you found a back exit. Before you opened the door, however, you realized how much you’d stand out in your current attire. You called for the secretary and asked for one of your spare school uniforms. You changed into the blouse and skirt but left out the tie and jacket. Not having sneakers to change into, you kept your heels on.

You insisted that he return to the party and not follow you. You promised you’d be home by evening and shooed him away.

Now that you were finally free, you didn’t know where to go. School was already dismissed but the sun had yet to set. Without any plans, you just started walking. As you kept walking, you found yourself in front of your school.

You laughed in disbelief. Apparently this was the only place other than home that you knew. Finding yourself pathetic, you continued to walk up the path to the building.

The soccer team was still on the field practicing. You sat on a bench, watching them run and kick the ball around. You didn’t know a thing about the sport but found it oddly soothing to mindlessly stare.

After a while, you got tired of it and got up. You let your feet decide where to go next and ended up on the rooftop. The sky was now a golden color. You didn’t remember when you last saw such a view.

At that moment, your phone rang. It was Younghoon finally returning your missed calls. You stared at the screen, debating whether to pick up or not. By his second call, you decided to answer.

“Y/n! Is something wrong? Are you okay?” he asked as soon as you clicked “accept”.

You honestly didn’t know how to reply to his question. Looking back, you wondered if you had ever been “okay” in your life. Was this living or was this just enduring?

“I’m so sorry I missed your calls. I was at the recording studio.” he apologized. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” you lied. “I just missed you. A lot.”

You heard him let out a sigh of relief. Then his guilty voice.

“I miss you too.” he paused. “Listen, I’m extremely sorry for leaving you to deal with Father. I just… I couldn’t handle it anymore. I felt like I was gonna go insane. I could put up with everything but his demand to quit music. That was the last straw. It was the only bit of freedom I ever enjoyed and I couldn’t have that taken away from me as well.”

“But what about my freedom?” you wanted to ask.

“I know I’m a terrible brother. And an even worse son.” he admitted.

Not wanting him to feel sorry, you muttered a soft “whatever”.

“Once I finish recording this song, I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to sneak you out for a sibling date.” he said.

This was the seventh time he made this promise. Either he was always too busy or you could never escape the tight schedule set for you. But like the six other times before, you pretended to believe it.

The call ended soon after and you were left alone in silence. The tranquility on the roof contrasted the storm inside your head. You had spent your entire life striving to achieve your parents’ impossible standards. You were never enough. Never smart enough. Never pretty enough. Never social enough.

Everyone at school saw you as little miss perfect. It brought you both unwanted attention and hatred. People saw you as unapproachable and snobby. Some even expressed their disgust at how fake you seemed. At the same time, there were those who wanted to use you and your connections. There was always someone who wanted something from you.

You felt trapped.

The edge of the roof seemed to call and entice you. As if in a trance, you walked over to the wall and climbed on top of it. You sat on the ledge and took in a deep breath. You stared at the sight in front of you. Most of the soccer team had left school grounds by now. You only heard scattered voices here and there. It was probably the remaining students hollering at each other across the field.

The rest of the world seemed so peaceful. It felt like you were the only one unable to escape chaos. You swung your legs, enjoying the evening breeze. You didn’t want to ever leave this spot.

Your phone vibrated, notifying you of a new message.

“You’ll be meeting Juyeon this weekend. I expect it to go better than tonight.” it read.

Your grip on the device tightened. Without giving you a break, another message from your father arrived.

“Also, your exam scores came out. Your ranking dropped to fourth place. We’ll talk at home.”

You wanted to scream. You wanted to pull your hair out and cry. Instead, you stood up and glared at the phone in your hand. Your hand was now trembling because of how tightly you were holding it.

By now, emotions were beyond you. Feeling pity for yourself was nothing but a waste of time. It didn’t fix things and it surely didn’t make you feel any better. You were just tired of it all.

Allowing yourself one last angry outburst, you threw your phone down. You didn’t watch it fall from the roof and hit the ground. It instantly broke on contact. Unbeknownst to you, the fall startled a male student passing by.

“What the heck?” Sangyeon exclaimed out loud. He had stuck around after school to watch Sunwoo’s soccer practice. They were about to head out for dinner when he remembered that he left his wallet in his locker. He had sent his friend ahead first as he ran back inside to grab it.

He took a closer look at what almost hit his head and was puzzled to see a phone. Looking for the lunatic who nearly killed him, he lifted his head to see where it came from. After his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he gasped when he saw you standing on the ledge of the rooftop. Getting a bad feeling, he found himself running up the steps. The whole time, “please don’t die” raced through his head.

By the time he made it up to the roof, he was sweaty and out of breath. He wanted to collapse in exhaustion but his eyes widened as you began to inch towards the edge. His body reacted before his mind and he ran to pull you off.

The sudden grip on your wrist spun you around and you fell in what felt like slow motion. You landed on the boy’s chest that was breathing hard. You could hear his heart pump like crazy and his eyes were still closed in fright.

Realizing what just happened, you quickly got off him and dusted yourself off.

“What was that for?” you asked in a hostile tone.

Finally catching his breath, he opened his eyes and jumped up. His eyes almost bulged when he recognized your face.

“Are you crazy?” he yelled, pretending not to know who you were.

“You’re the crazy one butting into other people’s business.” you frowned.

For someone who was about to jump off a building, you looked eerily calm. Sangyeon searched for any signs of distress in your eyes but could only spot annoyance. Still, his gut told him that something was wrong. The empty look on your face scared him.

“Well while we’re in the middle of crazy anyway, why don’t you tell me what pushed you this far?” he bravely inquired. “Bottling everything inside alone will only make things worse. It’s better to just spill everything to a complete stranger you won’t ever see again.”

It was out of character for him to be so nosy but he strangely felt a strong desire to help you. As for you, you normally would have walked away from this situation minutes ago. Yet you still stood in front of this odd boy who demanded to be your impromptu diary.

He intrigued you. He was knocking at the stone wall you put up years ago. He seemed so bright and innocent. It bothered you.

Despite your irritation, something about his eyes made yours water. The way his eyes softened as he looked at you made you feel vulnerable. It seemed as if he could read you like an open book. It brought a wave of emotions you had suppressed for so long.

He stepped closer and offered you a comforting pat on the shoulder. The second his hand made contact, your tears finally escaped and ran down your face. You hadn’t felt the warmth of another human since you last saw your brother. The sudden consolation broke you. Then, like the domino effect, your sobs turned into bawling as your facade crumbled at last.

Sangyeon was shocked to say the least. He never would have thought the Y/n would be crying in his arms. In fact, he never expected to ever cross paths with you. He had only ever heard of you through other students’ gossip. They painted you out to be cold-hearted but the sight in front of him said otherwise.

Hesitantly, he pulled you in for a hug. Recalling how his mom used to comfort him, he tried to soothe you by slowly patting your back. The two of you stayed like that until your cries eventually faded out. Embarrassment belatedly hit you and awkward silence hung in the air. You felt like you owed him an explanation but you couldn’t even pinpoint the exact reason for your actions.

“Thank you.” you muttered softly while sniffling.

Sangyeon smiled in response and rummaged through his pocket to find something. He pulled out a lollipop and handed it to you.

“Even being sad takes energy. You should recharge your blood sugar.” he said as he placed it in your own pocket when you didn’t move to accept it. “Let it all out from time to time. It’s not healthy to always keep negativity inside you.”

You dwelled on his words for a moment. No one had ever told you that before. Everyone was always telling you to tolerate things. You weren’t allowed to disagree with your parents. You had to accept and deal with Younghoon’s departure without expressing how upset you were. You were expected to quietly receive criticism and never retaliate. You figured it was only a matter of time before the pressure eventually set off the bomb inside you. Like today.

Up until now, you thought the only solution for the explosion would be to just end it all. It never occurred to you that you could begin to disobey everything you were taught.

“Thank you.” you repeated. With that, you got up to leave.

“W-Wait!” he called out, causing you to pause. “Where are you going?”

“To eat dinner. You said it takes energy to be sad, right?” you smiled.

Sangyeon didn’t expect to see you again the next day. Cramming last minute for a test, he opted to skip lunch and study at the library instead. After he settled down, he looked up to see across the table. He had to fight the urge to gape.

Feeling someone’s gaze on you, you lifted your head to see the boy in front of you. Recognizing his face, you quickly shut your book closed and got up to leave. He was left flabbergasted at your blatant avoidance of him.

Meanwhile, you were cursing in your head. You chastised yourself for not realizing that he also went to your school. Stupidly, you hadn’t made the connection the day before on the rooftop. Of course he was only there at that hour because he was a student there. Now you were extremely humiliated. And afraid that rumors would spread.

“Hey, wait up!” he called out as he chased after you, earning him a stern glare from the librarian. You didn’t listen and only quickened your pace.

Unfortunately for you, his long legs easily caught up with you. He gently grabbed your wrist to stop you from running away. You scowled when you realized he wouldn’t just ignore you.

“Why are you pretending that you don’t know me?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“I don’t know who you are,” you deadpanned. Your words rendered him speechless and after a few seconds of silence, you turned around to leave.

“Well, my name is Sangyeon,” he persisted, pointing at his name tag.

He spent the next couple of weeks following you around. At first, you found him annoying. He reminded you of your lowest point in life. But slowly, he wormed his way into your heart and established a place for himself there.

He would greet you each morning with a cheeky smile and a carton of banana milk. To be honest, you didn’t even like banana milk. Yet, you found yourself looking forward to it every day.

Eventually, you two formed an unbreakable bond. He was your only friend and all your free time was spent with him. Every time you felt suffocated by your parents, you reached out to Sangyeon for comfort. You never disclosed anything to him but his presence alone cheered you up. He made you focus on him and forget about everything else. You should’ve known that it was inevitable for you to fall for him.

He was that upperclassman that all the younger female students fawned over. You hated to admit it but you were also among the many who thought he was charming. You felt a pang of jealousy whenever you saw other girls swoon over him as he passed by.

Gradually, your personality began to shift into becoming more lively. You were grateful to have him show you the little things in life. You grew to like yourself and the world a little more.

Present:

You stared at the house in front of you. Twelve years ago, you left this house and town to attend school in Seoul. Seven years ago, you left Korea to move to California. Now, you were back as an adult. It felt strange.

Feeling the winter breeze chill your bones, you shuddered at the cold temperature and hurried inside. You were surprised at how neat the place was; you assumed that someone had been sent to save you from the hassle of cleaning.

Trudging up the stairs, you struggled with your large suitcase. You found your old childhood bedroom and roughly unpacked. Having only less than twelve hours until your new housemates moved in, you felt rushed to get the house ready to meet them. You decided to just wash up and sleep tonight and wake up early in the morning to go grocery shopping.

So you slipped into unconsciousness and spent a relatively quiet night. It wasn’t until morning that you were awoken by a dream. It was the same dream that haunted you for the past seven years. Ever since the accident, the same recurring scene appeared to you in your sleep. To be honest, the exact events were fuzzy but it always left you with the same nostalgic and longing feelings. It bothered you how uneasy it made you feel.

You groaned, noting that your alarm clock hadn’t even rung yet. With a loud sigh, you got up and got dressed. With over a decade between your last visit and the present, you relied on the GPS to navigate your way around the unfamiliar neighborhood.

As you walked around the quiet streets, you took the time to enjoy the scenery. You came back to this town to escape the city life but appreciated that it wasn’t entirely in the middle of nowhere.

Luckily, there was a supermarket nearby. There, you picked out a bunch of ingredients you figured would be used often. You didn’t cook much but wanted to change that.

The trip took longer than expected and you picked up your speed to make it back home before your housemates arrived. You let out a breath of relief when you returned and saw that no one was stuck outside waiting. Humming to a song you didn’t remember the title of, your steps were light as you put away the groceries. When you finished, you took a proper look at the house and were displeased at how bare it was. You made a mental note to buy decorations later to fill your new place with signs of human habitation.

At that moment, the bell rang. Suddenly feeling a bit nervous, you ran to the door. When you opened it, you were greeted by four males who seemed surprised at your appearance.

“Hello! Are you the tenants moving in today?” you asked.

“Yes, I believe we spoke with your… brother? On the phone,” one answered.

“It was probably my father’s secretary that you’ve been in contact with,” you said as you opened the door wider to let them inside. “Please, come in.”

They followed you into the house and dragged their luggage behind them. Once they were all inside, you extended your hand towards them.

“My name is Y/n and I will be the one living here with you all,” you introduced.

“My name is Jacob! I hope we get along well,” the one who first spoke grinned as he shook your hand.

You went down the line, greeting and shaking hands with Changmin and Jaehyun. By the time you got to the last person, however, your hand was left hanging. He stared at you with an expression you couldn’t decipher.

“I’m Sangyeon. Lee Sangyeon,” he finally said, taking your hand.

“Nice to meet you, Sangyeon,” you smiled.

You offered them a tour of the house and showed them their respective rooms. While they unpacked, you offered to order food. It was approaching noon and you still hadn’t eaten breakfast. They declined at first but gave in when you insisted on treating them.

By the time the food was delivered, the five of you gathered in the kitchen. You were pouring water for everyone and Jacob began to take out the bowls.

“Jajangmyun is fitting for today, right?” you commented on the Korean tradition of eating Chinese food on moving days.

After everyone was seated, you gestured for them to dig in and began eating. You let out a sigh of happiness at the taste you had missed in the United States. Korean food there just wasn’t the same as Korean food back at home.

“So, Y/n, how did you end up in this town?” Sangyeon asked. Something about his eyes felt intimate yet you still couldn’t pinpoint the reason why.

“I actually just arrived in Korea last night,” you chuckled. “I’ve been living abroad for a while.”

“Abroad? Really?” Jacob perked. “I used to live overseas as well! Toronto, to be exact.”

“I stayed in California for the most part,” you clarified.

“Oh really? California? Los Angeles?” Changmin asked in English. You giggled at his slight accent, finding it cute.

“Yes, I lived in L.A. for 7 years,” you said in English, laughing when Jaehyun’s eyes widened at your pronunciation.

While the four of you chatted, Sangyeon stayed quiet. He watched as Jaehyun asked you about life in America and Changmin told you about the time he visited New York City. He felt a twinge of jealousy when Jacob conversed with you in English.

“It’s definitely Y/n. It has to be. She looks exactly like her and has the same name. But why is she acting like she doesn’t know me? There’s no way she doesn’t remember me,” Sangyeon thought.

The next morning, you woke up early again due to jet lag. Throwing a robe over your pajamas, you headed downstairs to start making breakfast. You rummaged through the fridge, pondering on what to cook. Lost in your thoughts, you didn’t notice someone else enter the kitchen.

“Good morning,” he said, startling you.

With a slight jump, you turned around to see Sangyeon. Embarrassed, you cleared your throat and exchanged greetings with him. He spotted the gleam of a necklace hidden under your robe and furrowed his brows.

“That’s the necklace I got her. It’s Y/n for sure,” he thought.

Again, you felt his piercing gaze on you. Still unable to understand why he kept staring at you, you awkwardly turned back around. Sangyeon walked towards the kettle to make himself a cup of tea, still conscious of your presence. With that, he went back up to his room, leaving you alone once again.

Eyeing the bag of sliced bread, you decided to just settle for toast. After the simple meal, you went back to your room to get ready. It was the weekend and you planned on shopping for little trinkets to furnish the house with.

When you came back, you found your new cohabitants watching TV in the living room. You politely refused their help with the bags, setting them down on the table. You pulled out a few small photo frames and held them out to show them.

“Aren’t these adorable?” you beamed. “I was thinking of decorating the place with photos. You know, to add some warmth and humanity. Feel free to take a couple and add your own pictures.”

You placed a handful of the frames in front of them, encouraging them to take some. After excusing yourself for a second, you quickly ran up to your room to grab the printed photos on your desk. When you rejoined the group in the living room, you began to insert them into the picture frames.

“Is this from your high school entrance day?” Jaehyun asked, holding a photograph up.

“Yup,” you nodded. “To be honest, though, I don’t really remember much from high school.”

Changmin, finding a photo of you in front of the Hollywood sign, asked if it was taken during your college years.

“Ah, yes that’s when I first began my life in America. I was both anxious and eager to leave Korea behind,” you said, unaware of Sangyeon's wince at your words.

“Oh… Would it be okay for me to ask why?” Jacob asked.

“Of course. It’s all in the past,” you laughed. “I had some bad memories in Seoul and left abruptly at the end of my last year of high school. That was when I moved to L.A. to start anew.”

Sangyeon recalled the day you disappeared. He had texted you, asking to meet at the playground. After finding out about a misunderstanding you had, he wanted to resolve it as soon as possible. He waited there for hours but you never showed. You missed school for a week before your teacher suddenly announced that you would not be returning.

And that was the end of his friendship with you. You left without a warning or farewell. Now, you stood in front of him again. After seven years, he was reunited with you as an adult. He was both excited and confused. When he first saw you at the door, he wanted to blurt your name out and catch up on all the missed time. But when you introduced yourself to him as if it was your first meeting, he found himself doing the same.

At every encounter, you acted as if he was a stranger. At first, he thought you forgot about him and it hurt. But now, he supposed that you just wanted to forget about him. When you mentioned that you had bad memories of Seoul and that you were glad to start fresh in Los Angeles, he realized that he was nothing but a painful past to you.

So he put on a poker face and went along with your little act. For a month, he kept his distance from you and made sure to stay within the strict boundaries of a landlord and a tenant. While his friends grew close to you, he remained reserved.

“Why are you so cold to Y/n?” Changmin once asked him. Sangyeon never answered the question and continued to keep his facade up.

Meanwhile, you were clueless as to why Sangyeon was so standoffish. You had asked his friends, who were a lot more pleasant, if he was normally inhospitable to new people. At their unnatural attempts to change the subject, you figured it was just you that he disliked.

Still, Sangyeon couldn’t hide his innate desire to take care of you in his own ways. Every time your favorite snack ran low in the pantry, he would stack up on it next time he went to the mart. Knowing you hated the cold, he would make sure to keep the house temperature high—even when Jaehyun went to lower it, complaining that he was hot. When you fell asleep on the couch, he would cover you with the blanket you kicked to the floor.

The boy in front of you was extremely close as he reached behind your shoulders to put the necklace on for you. You held your breath and felt your heart race.

“There,” he grinned proudly. “How pretty.”

“Me or the necklace?” you asked, half joking and half serious. He shrugged, prompting you to playfully punch his arm.

“Now you’re forever indebted to me, Y/n. That’s a one of a kind necklace you can’t find anywhere else. Be honored I made it for you,” he declared. You rolled your eyes at his arrogance but still smiled nonetheless.

“Since I gave you this, you can’t ever forget me, okay?” he made you promise.

Your eyes opened, waking you up from your dream. Finding it odd how vivid it was, you frowned and sat up. You wondered if it was a part of your missing memory.

The view outside your window revealed a white wonderland, reminding you that the weather forecast predicted a snowstorm today. You groaned, remembering that today was also the day that you would be alone with Sangyeon. Jacob was on a business trip whereas Changmin and Jaehyun went to their hometowns to visit their parents.

“The snow just has to lock us inside this house today of all days,” you mumbled as you snuggled back into your blanket.

You closed your eyes, wanting to sleep a little more. After half an hour of trying to fall back asleep, you gave up with an exasperated sigh. You changed into a sweatshirt and went downstairs to make yourself some hot chocolate.

To your surprise, Sangyeon was already in the kitchen with a cup of hot chocolate. You both froze, not knowing how to interact without at least one of the other three guys.

“Here, you can have this one. I’ll make myself another one,” he finally spoke, handing you the cup topped with marshmallows.

You muttered a word of thanks as you wrapped your hands around the warm drink. Looking at the window, you saw that the snow was piling up a lot already. In an attempt to break through the walls Sangyeon had built around you, you mustered up the courage to ask if he wanted to watch a movie together. Taken aback, he nodded before he even fully processed your question.

That’s how the two of you ended up on the coach with a randomly chosen film playing on the TV screen. The movie was better than you thought it’d be. The subtle love line brought a comedic relief in such an action-packed plot. You enjoyed it until the main character ended up with amnesia; it made you uncomfortable as it reminded you of your own accident. Noticing that you weren’t focusing on the movie anymore, Sangyeon paused it and asked if you wanted to stop watching.

Not wanting to ruin the mood, you shook your head. He stared at you for a bit before turning it off. Although you were relieved, you felt bad because he seemed to be enjoying the film.

Trying to make up for it, you offered to make lunch. At his reluctance, you insisted since you both had to eat and delivery would take a long time. He followed you into the kitchen, watching as you surfed the internet for recipes.

You managed to keep the conversation flowing as you cooked. You asked about his job and he asked about your experience as a college student in another country. You were happy that he was finally opening up to you. By the end of the meal, you felt comfortable enough to share a little more about yourself.

“To be honest, I was very hesitant about coming back to Korea. When I left seven years ago, I left behind a lot,” you began.

“Yeah, you left me behind,” Sangyeon wanted to say. Instead, he kept his thoughts to himself.

“I mentioned before that I don’t remember much of my high school years. The only memories I have of back then are whatever my parents told me. Which isn’t much. They were always too busy to know what went on in my life,” you stated.

Trying to piece the information together, he carefully asked what you meant by that.

“I got into a car accident seven years ago,” you sheepishly revealed, making his eyes widen. “Apparently I was in a coma for about a week. When I woke up, I was told that I was suffering from amnesia. I was hospitalized for another few weeks to recover and then sent to California to be with my cousin, Eric. There, I went through physical therapy and attended university. I was hoping to leave behind my trauma in Korea.”

“O-Oh, I didn’t know you went through all that,” he stammered, embarrassed.

“I feel like there’s a part of my life that I’m missing and I hate it,” you confessed. “I get these dreams sometimes and I think it might be my missing memories but I’m not too sure.”

The two of you fell into silence. Sangyeon despised himself for not knowing what happened. He had been too busy pitying himself to stop and think from your perspective. He didn’t deserve to have you remember him. He figured it was best that you forgot him. There was no point in disclosing everything now anyway.

After that day, you thought you had gotten closer to Sangyeon. Contrary to your expectations, however, you grew even more distant. At first, you thought you were overthinking. But as the week went on, it became obvious that he was indeed avoiding you.

Eventually, Jacob confronted him about it. He trapped his best friend and demanded an explanation.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sangyeon lied with a straight face. Sighing, Jacob let it go. He knew that he couldn’t force anything out of him.

Despite Sangyeon’s efforts to keep away from you, he still continued to quietly do little things for you. Luckily for him, you didn’t notice. You didn’t think twice about the pot of coffee that was always prepared every morning or your shoes that were neatly put away after you left them scattered at the entrance.

You didn’t know why you felt so disappointed. You didn’t realize that you had grown attached to him as time passed by. Something about him felt familiar and comfortable. Yet, at the same time, he felt like a challenge. He was aloof but occasionally had moments that showed his soft side. He intrigued you.

“Y/n, you can’t keep associating yourself with that boy. Imagine how shocked we were when we heard those rumors about you two dating! You know your father has plans for you and Juyeon,” your mother chided.

“It’s the 21st century! I am not getting into an arranged marriage. Especially not just for the sake of father’s political ambitions,” you yelled.

A slap was delivered to your face. The sound was loud and you felt your cheek throb in pain. Bewildered, you glared at the woman in front of you. Deeming your action as disrespectful, your mother slapped you once again.

“You don’t even deserve to be called a mother,” you spat.

With that, you stormed out of the house. The boy your mother demanded you to stay away from wasn’t even your boyfriend. You had hoped that he would be one day but that hope dissipated when you saw another girl in his arms earlier that day. Tears blinded your vision as you fumbled for your phone. You called Eric, praying that he would pick up despite the time difference. To your relief, he did and his voice caused you to sob.

“Y/n? Y/n, what’s wrong?” Eric asked, concerned.

You barely managed to tell him what was going on in between your cries. He tried to calm you down but it was futile. You weren’t listening. You were too busy running away. Too busy to notice the car that was speeding towards you.

You woke up gasping for air. Your heart was beating fast as you checked your surroundings. Once you realized that you were in your room and not on the streets, you relaxed.

“Was that just a dream? Or a flashback?” you murmured. You brushed it off, blaming your return to Korea for these weird dreams.

Eric was landing in Korea today and you were thrilled. You missed him greatly and couldn’t wait to see him again. You glanced at the clock to check the time. You had to leave soon to greet him at the airport. Quickly getting dressed, you hummed in excitement.

On your way down, you heard the doorbell ring. You cocked your head, wondering if one of the guys had invited a guest. You shouted out that you’d get the door and ran to open it.

“Surprise!” Eric yelled, holding a bouquet of flowers.

It took you a moment to process the scene in front of you. You blinked a few times before you squealed and jumped into his arms. He laughed, dropping the flowers to hold onto you. The noise brought your housemates downstairs with curiosity. You quickly introduced everyone to each other and pulled your cousin inside once they finished exchanging greetings.

“I thought your plane was landing in an hour!” you exclaimed.

“I told you the wrong time so I could come surprise you instead,” he winked.

You didn’t notice Eric staring Sangyeon down but Sangyeon definitely did. He tried to ignore it, assuming that your cousin just wasn’t happy with the fact that you were living with four males.

You spent the rest of the day catching up with Eric and exploring your neighborhood together. You showed him your favorite cafe and feasted on the waffles there. He filled you in on how his parents—your aunt and uncle—were doing. They drilled him to make sure he told you how much they missed you, making you giggle. As proof of his completed mission, he took a selfie with you to send to them.

“I miss them too,” you pouted. “I better video call them soon. It’s hard trying to match the time zone and their work schedule.”

“Or,” he dragged out the word expectantly. “You could just move back to L.A.”

“Eric, you know why I came back. And what it took for me to do so.”

“I know, I know. But I honestly don’t know how I feel about you trying to retrieve your memory. Maybe some things are better left forgotten?”

“For the past seven years, something in the corner of my brain has been irking me. I know I’m forgetting something important. I feel it.”

He sighed and put his hands up as a sign of defeat.

“Just remember that if you don’t find what you’re looking for or if you aren’t happy with what you find, you can always go back to join me in L.A.” he said softly.

It was a hard secret to keep from you for almost a decade. In exchange for calling off your arranged marriage, your parents made him promise to never tell you about what happened the day of the accident. You moving to Los Angeles was the solution your parents came up with to keep you away from that past.

Seeing Sangyeon at your house gave him a bad feeling. He didn’t know what he told you and was scared that it was only a matter of time before your memories returned after seeing him so often.

Before Eric left for Seoul, he pulled Sangyeon aside to give him a warning.

“I don’t know why you’re lingering around my cousin but I know who you are,” Eric glared. “I obviously don’t know the whole story of what happened back when you two were in high school but I don’t quite like you. If you’re simply here for a place to live, keep it that way. Don’t put anything in Y/n’s head. She doesn’t need to remember what you did to her.”

“What I did to her?” Sangyeon repeated, confused. “But I didn’t- wait, are you talking about-”

“You know what I’m talking about,” Eric interrupted. “You led her on and then hugged another girl right in front of her.”

“The girl she saw me with wasn’t my girlfriend. She suddenly came up to me and confessed. That hug was initiated by her and was one sided. I found out about that misunderstanding and was trying to clear it up the day she disappeared.”

“Does it matter anymore after all these years?” Eric sighed. “Listen, you have no idea what Y/n went through back then and what was sacrificed to let her live the way she wanted to.”

“If there’s something you want to tell me, don’t beat around the bush,” Sangyeon frowned. Eric let out an exasperated sigh, conflicted. He wasn’t sure if it was his place to reveal details to him but he felt that it was necessary.

“That day. Y/n’s parents found out about how you two had a thing. There were rumors going around and it reached their ears. I don’t know if Y/n ever told you but they already had a guy in mind for her. Some stupid politics shit. Obviously, she said that was ridiculous but what power does a teenager have over their parents? She was fighting so hard for you but it was all in vain. You broke her heart.”

Sangyeon’s face crumbled at his words. You had never told him about the struggles you had in your home but he should have caught on from the day he first met you.

“That accident took away her memory. For better or for worse. She forgot all about the guy her parents pushed her towards and she forgot about the pain you caused her. And to be quite frank, I want it to stay that way. She came back to Korea to recover her memories but she deserves peace and happiness. She doesn’t need any more dramatic twists in her life. If you still truly care for her, you would agree,” your cousin said before he left.

A figure stood in front of you. You couldn’t see the face but there was a sense of familiarity. It was the same boy from your previous dreams.

“How could you not remember me, Y/n?” he asked.

You wanted to hold his hand and try to recall who he was. You wanted to hug him and tell him that you didn’t intentionally forget him. But your body would not move according to your will.

You awoke to a pounding head and sore throat. Feeling your nose run, you reached out for a tissue. You moaned in pain, realizing you had a bodyache as well. You couldn’t bear to get up and pulled the blanket closer to your body to keep warm. Closing your eyes, you allowed yourself to fall back asleep.

Downstairs, the guys were eating lunch together. Jaehyun looked at his watch and verbally noted that you still hadn’t woken up.

“Do you think we should wake her up to eat?” Changmin asked, to which Jacob shook his head, saying that they should leave you to rest.

“I wonder if she’s sick? I heard her coughing in the middle of the night when I got up to go to the bathroom,” Jaehyun said.

On the outside, Sangyeon pretended not to care. On the inside, however, he was extremely worried. You always got sick at least twice each winter. After quickly finishing his meal, he grabbed his coat and headed out to the pharmacy. He asked for any and every medicine to help with colds and kept the bag in his pocket when he came back.

He stopped in front of your door with his hand hovering mid-knock. He decided against knocking and left the bag of medicines hanging on your handle.

When evening came around, Jacob went up to your room with a bowl of porridge. Seeing the bag still on the door, he knocked and entered with it.

“So you are sick,” he commented when he saw your disheveled image.

“Jacob, you are an angel,” you gasped at the sight of the food.

“Actually, the medicine isn’t from me. I think that might have been Jaehyun. It was left on your door handle,” he said as he set the tray down on your desk.

You thanked him for the porridge and made a mental note to thank Jaehyun later. Too tired to do anything else, you took the medicine and fell into another deep sleep.

The next day, you felt better enough to get out of bed. Wrapping a blanket around your shoulders, you trudged downstairs. You saw Jaehyun in the kitchen pouring himself a cup of coffee and said good morning.

“Oh! I didn’t get the chance to tell you yesterday but thanks for the medicine,” you smiled.

“Huh? What medicine?” he tilted his head in confusion.

“You weren’t the one who left medicine for me outside my door?” you blinked. He shook his head and you assumed that it had been Changmin.

However, when you asked Changmin about it, he was clueless as well. It left you with only one other possibility and your heart skipped a beat at the thought. Wanting to express your gratitude, you went out and bought ingredients to make him some kimbap. You spent the rest of the morning working hard in the kitchen, persevering through multiple mistakes.

You groaned the third time the kimbap popped while you tried to roll it. You considered giving up for a brief moment but shook your head. With a determined sigh, you pulled out another sheet of dried seaweed and began your fourth attempt.

Finally, you managed to decently succeed. You grinned in triumph at your slightly deformed roll. After cleaning up the mess you made, you looked out the window to see Sangyeon reading in the yard with a beanie on and a scarf wrapped around his neck. Hoping to keep him warm, you poured a cup of hot coffee and walked towards him with the food nicely plated.

“Hey Sangyeon,” you said as you held out the plate. “I made you some kimbap for you to munch on as you read.”

“No thanks,” he said coldly. You blinked, not expecting such an answer.

“O-Oh… do you not like kimbap?” you awkwardly laughed. “Here, have some coffee then.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to mind me,” he closed his book and stood up to leave. You frowned at his rudeness, ticked off.

“You could at least take the coffee if you don’t want the food,” you said, making him pause. “Or at the very least politely decline considering the effort I put in.”

“I never asked you to put in any effort towards me.”

You scoffed and put the cup and plate down to fold your arms. His harsh words were so different from his kind actions. It constantly felt like he was trying so hard to push you out and you didn’t understand why.

“Then what’s with the medicine you left for me yesterday?” you confronted him. He froze, not knowing how he got caught. He then noticed that you came outside with no outerwear, making him sigh. Trying to avoid an argument, he silently took his scarf off and put it on you before turning around to leave.

“What the hell, Lee Sangyeon?” you blurted. You placed yourself in front of him to stop him from leaving.

“What is with you? Literally one day you’re taking care of me behind my back and the next you’re avoiding me like the plague. Is this your tsundere concept or what?” you huffed.

You waited for him to say something back but he kept his lips pursed. Exasperated, you ripped the scarf off and stormed back inside.

Sangyeon cursed at himself in his mind. He could’ve handled that a lot better. Sighing, he bent down to pick up the scarf thrown on the ground. At a closer glance, he saw your necklace buried in the fabric. He held it up and stared at the jewelry in his palm. With a conflicted expression, his grip tightened around it, enclosing it in his fist.

You decided that you were over Sangyeon once and for all. You didn’t care how tired he came home looking every night or if was eating properly. You officially gave up on getting closer to him. If he wanted to push you away with his stupid tsundere ways, then that was his problem and not yours.

Grumbling, you climbed into bed to comfort yourself by watching Netflix. You very much rather preferred having your mind occupied with fictional characters than your own issues.

By the time evening rolled around, you grabbed your clothes and headed to the bathroom to shower. Your hands reached up to your neck to take your necklace off but were met with bare skin. Your eyes widened as you looked in the mirror, realizing that the necklace was gone.

You didn’t remember when or where you got it but you always had a feeling that it was important to you. You felt anxious without it.

You rushed to the kitchen to find it. Changmin was staring at you, perplexed, as you crawled across the floor to check every nook and cranny.

“Are you looking for something?” he asked.

“My necklace,” you tensed. “I can’t find it anywhere. Have you seen it here?”

He shook his head as he apologized, saying he hadn’t. Fretting, you checked the living room hoping it was hidden somewhere on the couch. When it still didn’t turn up, you ran outside to check the yard.

At that moment, Jacob and Sangyeon came down and saw Changmin looking out the window. Curious to see what he was watching, they followed his gaze to see you examining the grass.

“What’s Y/n doing?” Jacob asked.

“I think she lost her necklace,” Changmin answered as he took another bite of his apple. “It must be really important to her. She’s been searching for a while now.”

“I hope she finds it soon. It’s cold out at night,” Jacob said with a concerned look on his face.

Sangyeon stiffened, feeling the necklace in his pocket. He brushed it off, thinking you would give up soon. After pouring himself a cup of tea, he returned to his room. The sky rumbled, warning of incoming rain.

“I’m sure she’ll come back in now,” he mumbled.

Half an hour passed as Sangyeon continued reading his book. It was now pouring outside and the raindrops tapped violently against the windows. He reached out for his tea, only to notice be met with an empty cup. He placed the book down and went to the kitchen for a refill.

He was shocked to see you still in the yard, crouched down with a flashlight. Anger bubbled up inside him and he found himself grabbing an umbrella and joining you outside. Holding your wrist, he lifted you up to face him. The rain ceaselessly attacked the umbrella over your heads and his heart broke at the sight of you. You were drenched and your hair stuck to the sides of your face.

“Let go of me. I need to find something,” you freed yourself from his grasp and went back to shifting through the grass.

“It’s late and it’s raining. You can look for it later,” he said as he pulled you back up.

“No, I have to find it now,” you insisted.

“Y/n, you’re sick!” he exploded. “What’s more important than your health right now?”

“My necklace!” you yelled back. “I can’t remember who gave it to me but I know it was a gift. I can’t lose it. I just know that it’s from someone important. It’s the missing memory I came back to Korea to find!”

His chest clenched as your tears blended in with the rain. He never thought that the necklace would mean so much to you. Hesitantly, he pulled it out from his pocket and handed it to you.

“I’m the one who gave it to you, Y/n,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “Seven years ago, I was the one who made this necklace and gave it to you. This isn’t what I meant when I said that you were indebted to me.”

Puzzled, you stared at the chain hanging from your clasp. You were beyond confused. If you had known Sangyeon, why did he never act like it? Then, the pieces started to come together and his behavior started to make sense. Those eyes that seemed to recognize you from day one. The endless supply of the snacks you never expressed your love for in front of the guys. The dreams that you suddenly understood now.

“You knew who I was the entire time… and you didn’t say anything?” your voice cracked. “You knew I was out here looking for the necklace that you had and you still didn’t say anything?”

“I-”

“Forget it,” you cut him off. You shoved the umbrella away from you and slowly walked towards the house.

“Now you’re forever indebted to me, Y/n. That’s a one of a kind necklace you can’t find anywhere else. Be honored I made it for you.”

You winced at the sudden flashback.

“Y/n, you can’t keep associating yourself with that boy.”

You shook your head as if the memories would shake out of your mind.

“You don’t even deserve to be called a mother.”

You stumbled, causing you to flinch. Sangyeon ran to hold onto you and caught you just in time before your knees went weak. You felt your lungs tighten as the world spun around you and his voice became muffled. Then, everything went black.

“We gave her a fever reducer so her temperature should be coming down soon,” the doctor said as he looked through your patient chart. “She can be discharged once she wakes up and finishes the IV treatment. As long as she rests well at home, she’ll be okay.”

Sangyeon profusely thanked the doctor before he felt to continue his rounds. Sitting down next to you, he sighed. This wasn’t what he intended at all. All he ever wanted was for you to be happy. Back then and even now, his priority had always been you. Even if it meant giving up his own desires. Even if it meant giving you up.

It was taking longer than expected for you to awaken. Sangyeon began to worry but the nurses assured him that there was no problem. He restlessly paced around your bed, praying that you were okay.

When you finally came to, it took you a moment to register your surroundings. In what felt like a long sleep, all of your lost memories came flooding back. Still overwhelmed by the sudden anamnesis, you grasped for the only thing that brought you a sense of familiarity and comfort—Sangyeon’s hand.

“Don’t leave me,” you croaked.

“I won’t. I promise I won’t let you go again,” he whispered, holding your hand tighter.

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reimahowaido · 2 years

Text

Alternate story roads for Dread, anyone~?

Alrighty, working on my writings again now that I've managed to get to credits on PLA But to dabble right back onto the writing fandom: let's have some speculative Fun 'what if's for Metroid

This is gonna be LONG (over 3k words long for this whole post). You know me~ So, get yourself a drink and get comfy I guess? I'll try to split it into sections of some sort

The main subreddit (oh boy I should make an account there shouldn't I. .... mmm eh, someday) has apparently called off the need to spoiler stuff, but imma still include that warning here, because boy will I spoil stuff for this.

So, SPOILERS for Metroid Dread ahead!

Ok! So. Alternative things are always fun. I'm basing this on some old bit of 'oh lord oh boy' stuff I scribbled up some months ago. But here's some cleaner takes on it

- For a moment, imagine if Quiet Robe didn't have to die where he did. That he lived past that point, and played a bit bigger of a role overall other than being a fantastic man and giving us enlightening lore bits. Or, well, at least think of him as living through the robot encounter - Samus has good enough reflexes, notices the suspicious Robot Chozo and grabs Quiet Robe so he doesn't get shot - this way we still get to fight the robot, but QR is spared

- A little slight bit less pissed of Samus and a living QR is our result of this. QR would have known that speaking about things would put him on the bad side of Raven Beak pretty automatically, so destroying one of his 'precious soldier replacements' doesn't change his position, since it's already on the negatives

- We love our good boy. Of course we'd like to see him live! And wouldn't it be fun if instead of "ADAM" talking to you through the comms, it'd be Quiet Robe instead? He'd certainly have some insight on stuff. Perhaps he'd even be able to inform Samus about Elun. Of course, you'd still need to go retrieve Plasma Beam to progress - unless QR would have some tech that'd help you with that, meaning you don't need to actually go to Elun (which would be the absolute best case scenario, I'll get to that and the Why This Is The Case a bit later)

~~~ 2 ~~~

- So, throughout the rest of your journey you'd be chatting up with QR. Of course, this is kinda where things have other possibilities. Raven Beak will of course still want QR dead, now more than ever since he's actually actively ruining his plans and getting on his way. No longer a passive onlooker, this would prove very troubling indeed. Both QR & RB are smart, and who knows how long they've spent on ZDR with just the two of them. RB would be able to come up with more plans, ways and methods to try and still get Samus' DNA, to guide her according to His plans. But QR has known of this plan for a good while too, he's helped to put it to motion afterall

- So, it's likely that to RB's irritation, QR could further agitate him by being able to predict and read what RB has and is planning and would be able to guide Samus past anything RB tries to set up - or at least warn her about them up front. Certainly it'd lessen the fun of discovering mysteries and all that, so they'd have to go about it in some ways to still keep things fun for the player if this turn of events was the case in gameplay. One of my personal headcanons is that QR hasn't been allowed to explore the planet on his own. He only has certain paths he's allowed to take and specific areas he can work at = he wouldn't know of every corner and location of things. He'd have heard of stuff from other Mawkin when they were still alive and about, but these tales and stories of other areas like Ghavoran and Cataris are pretty much purely based on what he's heard and been told. And of course he'd tell Samus what he can

- QR really has nothing to hide from Samus - other than maybe her relation to RB if he knows of the DNA donation. Who knows how Samus would react to getting to know that afterall. She might and will still be pissed about what happened on SR388, so she'd want to beat RB up. But she's just a slight bit less pissed because QR is alive. Still very uncool from RB to try and assassinate QR, but at least in this alternate take that attempt failed

~~~ 3 ~~~

- To jump back to some gameplay stuff. They sure did put a lot of emphasis on the E.M.M.I. units in preparation for Dread's release. So it'd be a bit of a shame and a cop-out for them to just be out of order from now on. A twist for sure, that they'd only be a small faction of the game and then not even be relevant after the halfway point. But what's the fun in that?

- Which means we'll have to bring them back somehow, right? What I propose, is the funky fun stuff of 'QR is pretty much in charge of the E.M.M.I. anyway, so who's to say he couldn't be able to control them in other ways than just switching them on and off'. Yeah they're set to hunt down Samus, but we don't see wildlife/other creatures in E.M.M.I. zones until you've blown up the E.M.M.I. = There's a good chance the E.M.M.I. will still annihilate any and all beings that make noise and move about. Which leads me to this: RB would be short on ways to interact with Samus since QR is doing his darnest to prevent it. What does RB have though? He has the robots, and we know he sends several of them after Samus throughout Dread. Those of you who hate fighting them, rejoice, because now there's a fudge ton more of them! Yaaaay! Absolutely amazing. Perhaps there's even more variants of them now since they've just gotten a promotion. Ones that look, act and are built closer to the infected Chozo Soldiers you fight after Elun, hmm?

- Ok ok. So. Now there's More Robot Chozo Soldiers. Brilliant. The increase in activity outside of just Samus ought to be noticeable by QR, and he'll have to have a bit of a chat with Samus. Of course the E.M.M.I. are still not friends of her, but within their zones (if not even outside of them?) QR could reactivate them to deal with the Robots. This now means that while you could get ambushed by a Robot outside of the zones (some are likely weaker than the miniboss variants, just there to be an additional enemy that simply doesn't respawn just like the other critters), you'd not be ambushed by them within the E.M.M.I. zones. E.M.M.I. zones are still dangerous because of, well, the E.M.M.I., but this time they're the more 'safe' zones so to speak. Dunno if there'd be jumpscares with the robots, or semi-scripted encounters, just More - but I'm sure people who get scared easily would just, celebrate jumpscares. Enjoy~

- Also who is to say a Robot Chozo Soldier wouldn't rarely be able to get in the E.M.M.I. zone at the exact same time as Samus does. Maybe once or twice. So have fun running away from both or trying to fight a robot while you're also running away from an E.M.M.I.. There's no guarantee that QR can turn off every single E.M.M.I. just as quickly as he does with the Purple one in Ferenia - aka literally next door to where he himself & the control panels for them are located. There could be a delay, so you'd not get help if an E.M.M.I. catches you (or maybe you get more time to counter than previously, but you still need to hit the timing. Pick whichever option you prefer, aid or no aid)

- Another fun thing with the E.M.M.I. that we need to consider is the fact Samus gets abilities from them. QR probably can't just give them to Samus, he wouldn't have the time to work on her suit along with how ever long it might take to gather things for the abilities - I'd assume resources are scarce. So you'd be faced with the choice of destroying the E.M.M.I. for their abilities, or leave them be so you’d have some place where you couldn’t be randomly ambushed (you can hear when an E.M.M.I. is in the same room). You'd have 'less safety' in a way, meaning you'd face the robots more often and perhaps new stronger types of them too - but you'd have new abilities to deal with them + you can take shortcuts now with these new abilities, so progress is faster and there's more options on where to go now. Amount of exploration on a balance board. Either just find hidden ways to progress in or go a more straightforward way while also gaining more new areas to explore. Dunno if destroying all E.M.M.I. would be required in the end, or if you'd be able to make it without doing that. Adds to replayability potentially

~~~ 4 ~~~

- Now then, back to QR. There's probably one pretty glaring thing you might have thought of by now. He survived an assassination, but where is he now? Still the same room? Is he safe? He might be attacked at any moment so probably not that safe. It'd certainly be something to have QR travel with Samus, but I'd imagine the amazingly fast-paced gameplay would suffer from escort missions. I love QR a lot, but it's pretty much a given that he's not going to be as nimble or agile as Samus. I can't. Imagine old man QR. Just. Doing flips after Samus. His bones. The precious boy is going to break his back, and legs, and every other bone. Nope. Samus would have to carry him I'd say, to get from a safe room to another. Restricts your movement, but at least you aren't waiting on him to catch up

- Still, I'd imagine it'd be more realistic for QR to stay in his room rather than getting outside of it. Obviously there's a pretty clear downside to this. It's very likely he doesn't have a way to defend himself there. He could though, maybe there's some stuff he has done and he can lock the place up? But let's be honest, that robot soldier got in there, they're gonna get in there again. Meaning that QR is likely on a timer and not exactly in a good spot. Who knows at what point in the story he'd just end up dying regardless of having survived the first encounter. Samus can't stay there forever, she needs to get out and she said she'd finish this once and for all afterall. It's a bitter thing, but with a high % the most likely outcome

- Besides, I feel QR has already resigned to his fate. He's got survivor's guilt, he has helped RB do all sorts of things that are likely not exactly that great - like the whole 'Make E.M.M.I. hunt Samus' thing - so high possibility on him being ashamed of what he's done. And giving his life to assist Samus could be a way to pay for his deeds in his mind

- Samus isn't going to be happy about this. She does understand sacrifices to a very personal level though. She's witnessed them several times now, and has even suggested sacrificing herself in Fusion. Who knows how she'd take this. She could prevent this, it could come full circle from her trying to prevent a sacrifice (Ian), to letting it happen - although begrudgingly (Adam), to trying to sacrifice herself and being convinced of an alternate way, to now taking AI Adam's place and convincing that a sacrifice in this case could be avoided. Or she could take Adam's place in the flashback with sacrificing another for the sake of the many (though teeeeeechnically she already supposedly did that with letting Adam go with the 'unfreezable Metroids' but hey). Either way, choices, possibilities, development. All the more fun if both are options for replayability - but a nightmare for those making the game and good lord what would even be canon at this point. The lore has turned into spaghetti. What is this, Zelda? (Don't ask me I don't actually know Zelda lore, I only know there's like multiple timelines or something?)

~~~ 5 ~~~

- Back on track! Remember Elun? Remember our fun jelly gummy parasite friends? Of course you do. You absorb your vitamins through your powersuit you absolute chad. - Now, here's the writing bit that started this all.

{{ Freaking... Imagine if QR wasn't dead yet by the time the X were released. Instead of the "... Goddamn it..." kinda reaction Samus has, do ya think she'd have more of an "... Oh FUCK." kinda reaction? And suddenly the 'sad/creepy' cutscene where the red X takes over QR's corpse becomes a whole lot more terrifying and worse. Would they reach him easily? Would it be just the X? Or would it be the wildlife? Would he be torn to shreds or perhaps he'd have a safe room built in case of an outbreak? Would Samus run right back to try and save him? Might they try and make a vaccine? Would that have been an alternate sinister way of getting Samus to give her Metroid DNA to them willingly? QR obviously would not want it. He'd probably rather perish than give RB what he wants - likely so at least, he's not exactly a fan of the stuff they're doing, but more over QR is worried about Samus and doesn't want to harm her in any way. But just imagine the scenario, RB offering Samus a choice: Dead/Infected QR or her Metroid DNA. And even then there's multiple paths the story could have gone in. Gotta love speculating, right? }}

- Ok so that's probably a lot to take in. Lemme break it up for you. So firstly, if QR has managed to live this far, are we just going to end up loosing him, again, but this time instead of a swift death, it's possession instead. He's gonna lose his mind, his free will. Will he be scared? Try to run? Or would he have been prepared and made his peace with it. The X started it all, it might as well end him and he's fine with that. It goes against him not wanting to hurt Samus, but you can't be perfect. Witness her scrambling to try and save him, and be absolutely broken. Will you make it in time? Will you outrun the ridiculously fast spreading X Parasites? What if you're too late? Do you have to kill him now? Just like you killed that scientist in Fusion? Is the game going to make you fight our precious boy? QR boss fight?

- Or will the room be empty? Previously you could return here to have a more direct chat and exchange with QR whenever, but now the place is just dead and empty - perhaps there's a rampaging creature here, but no QR in sight. You're made to wonder what happened. This would kinda allow the end of the game to play as it does in Dread already

- If he does somehow manage to survive and makes it out without getting infected, and Also avoids death by any other manner and makes it to Samus' ship in one piece and all that.. Pretty much impossible, but this would be the 'happy ending' kinda deal. Realistic? Not really. But if you wanna dream I won't stop you. Boy I can't even stop myself. I Want this, but I know we ain't getting it. Besides, who is to say he'd end up living even in this situation? If Metroid Samus shows up, you bet QR is gonna let/make her absorb him to be able to regain control with the extra Thoha genes. And Boom, more emotional damage for Samus. Yeah maybe QR could steer the ship, take off as Samus is still trying to figure stuff out, but we're really twisting things here to try and get the best possible ending

~~~ 6 ~~~

- And now for that other bit, it being yet another plan RB crafted up. Man's got backup plans a plenty that he can come up with on the spot. If QR's life means nothing and he's just a pawn among the rest, and he sees Samus can be emotionally manipulated (assuming that's possible, she's pretty hardened by now), that means this pawn just promoted to play a more important role on his board. If he can't use force, and the 'awaken your inner Metroid' doesn't work quickly enough to RB's liking, he could threaten Samus & QR with Elun. RB is smart, he's been steering Samus with fake Adam so far, so clearly he's got some mindgame experience to him. QR wouldn’t want to let RB have anything, but Samus would have to weigh an ally’s life on this decision. And that’s kinda cruel. They’d either have to talk it out or rush stuff

- Raven Beak though? Yeah he's absolutely disrespecting all his fallen Mawkin brethren by just undoing the seal - QR will handily point this out to him - but it's about pride and desire now, and you should know better than to doubt the iron will of a man ready to sacrifice his own and a whole separate tribe for a cause. He's got all the pieces he needs, and he's gonna use them. Feeling guilty? Don't know her. He's gonna run his plan through, one way or another

- Main threat here is that while Samus is immune to the X, QR is not. RB is ready to take risks and gamble, but currently he's pretty cozy and safe away from the threat of X. In fact, he could just blow up the whole place right now and leave. Yeah if he'd do that he'd have to scrap the whole Metroid plan - which obviously isn't happening. But Samus and everyone else would lose if she'd die here & she said she'd finish this once and for all - and we gotta assume that that doesn't involve her losing

- All of this is obviously hanging on the fact that they'd be able to make another vaccine in the first place - one that would work and not just go crazy like it should have had it not been for Samus' unique DNA zoo. QR is a Thoha so there's probably a chance it'd work even better? Or not be quite enough. Perhaps they'd need a pure Metroid for the vaccine, but really, they make Metroids out of exploded particles cleaned off suit surfaces, they can pretty much go ham

- And yeah it's going to potentially fall apart if RB needs for someone else to go to Elun and can't actually remotely unseal it in the first place. But even there he does have his robots. If it has to be a scannable person then he oop, but these are just ways of looking into it deeper. Surely if this scenario would be the one to go with he'd have a working method (outside of "I'll go myself and then turn into 'fast as frick boi' as I, the mighty Raven Beak, depart the section faster than the X can". Dude can Shine Spark without much set-up and get fancy with it and Flash Shift, and the ego to believe)

So yeah : ) Those are some thoughts I've been rolling in my head. Hopefully you had a time reading 'em all~ It's a lot, but sometimes you wanna read all you can

Anyway, I'll get back to writing stuff following canon lore, with extra spice but mostly still keeping it to what I could see as 'this is how the story went' kinda take on events (If you wanna write your own 'what if' takes and alternate storylines, boy I'd love to read them <3 Hit me up if you do~)

#Metroid #Metroid Dread #Metroid Dread Spoilers #And Plenty of alternate takes #Quiet Robe #Raven Beak #Yeah he's in here too though it's mostly about the goodest boi Quiet Robe #Text #A lot of it #God I wrote this for like 4 hours #But at least I finally wrote it #It's been in my mind for a whiiiiile #I have a lot of thoughts #Whether those thoughts are good? No-one can really judge. We just tolerate #Am vibin' at 3:30am #Is this a 'save the animals' take? Maybe #Should I put this on Ao3 #Should I?

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