#daily or every other day - but technically in the story it's only been a little over a day since he left the Inn

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 10: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

Yesterday's poll decided that The Adventurer should join the travelers on the larger river boat for a short lunch ...

~

"Before he even fully musters the courage to shout a 'hello', the large group on the boat initiates contact first, gleefully waving at him, whooping and shouting as they near his tiny raft in the water. Apparently, some of them were betting over whether they'd actually find any other travelers out on the river today.. He fumbles over his words a bit, as always, but somehow manages to successfully get himself invited onto their boat for a quick lunch..

After safely securing his raft to the side of the boat with some spare rope, he climbs aboard, stumbling into the excitement of some sort of celebration. A few of them explain that they're traveling for 'kahesallei', an old elven holiday recently re-popularized in some of the larger cities nearby. Whatever it's true meaning and origins used to be, the current significance (at least to those within the city walls) seems to just be mindless feasting, drinking, and gaudy decor. Most of the traveling group are strangers to each other, only brought together by catching a ride on the same tour/party boat, but the mood is light, quite friendly between them, and perhaps a bit drunk.

While the boat itself is relatively plain wood, it's been strewn with gold and orange banners, flags, shimmery tassels, beads, and bushels of dark green ivy braided with fresh herbs and wildflowers. There are flat round tables of food and drink, plenty of cushions to lounge on, and one random guy perched precariously on the edge railing of the boat, gently strumming a lute for background music..

The elderly ship captain hobbles over to The Adventurer, sternly explaining that, no matter what the 'silly' passengers say, he's only allowed to stay for an hour because he didn't pay for a boat ride ticket, and thus really shouldn't even be allowed on board. By the time The Adventurer has mentally processed this information, the captain has already returned to his little steering room, slamming the door shut with a displeased grunt.. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to confront him or question the rules...... But! Hey, at least he has one hour at the party.. How should he spend his time? "

~

Additional Information

the adventurer's current main goal: follow his map to reach the abandoned castle ruins and see the rare animal specialist about the mysterious egg he has

#paventure posting #polls #poll #choose your own adventure #LATE AGAIn I know.. I'm still in my weird unproductive spell. literally I've had the same 5 to do list items on my list #for 2 weeks now. I can't even do five simple things in 2 weeks lol. I did start some new supplements and change my diet since #my doctors are still trying to sort out what health issues are going on or etc. so maybe it's something with that #like accidentally on the new diet I'm not getting enough calories or not getting enough of some vitamin or something so it's made me oddly #brain foggy and just really tired and unable to focus well for the past few weeks or something..? ANYWYA. not really sure what #it is specifically but my functioning in terms of actually focusing on and completing tasks has been a lot worse . thus #chronically behind on things. which I am always chronically behind on things in some sense since I always have like 7000 projects #I'm working on at the same exact time and etc. lol. but like.. even more chronically behind than usual .. ToT #ANYWAY.. I'm suprised that the 'try to get a ride on the boat' option didn't get that many votes actually lol #Like.. treveling down a river in a tiny handmade raft is probably.. not extremely safe or efficient lol #But at least he gets to have lunch there. Just the hour that he's on the boat doing whatever will get him a lot further because the boat #is moving faster than his raft would be. It should still get him out of the river and back on track sooner. Because he still has a long way #to go to get to the abandoned castle. I know it's been a lot of days since I'm not keeping up well with actually doing these #daily or every other day - but technically in the story it's only been a little over a day since he left the Inn #The first day he just walked. the second day he saw there was a barrier in his path. then spent half the day building a boat. and now he'e #*he's where he is now. The trip is roughly 4 days and he's like.. a little over halfway through his second. Not counting any detours or #distractions he might run into. But at least at this pace he should be off the river before it starts to get dark #Thate the main thing. you want to get a good rest on solid ground. ideally. So long as nothing strange happens on the boat #but yeah! day 10.. of little elf man adventure... ALSO he is like early 20s I imagine. so he can drink hbhjbjh #I know the 'very quick simple ms paint style' is kind of chibi-ish so it makes people look young but he's not a boy #don't worry. I didnt want it to seem weird like some 10 year old kid walking into a party of drunk 30 year olds #like a toddler hanging out in a night club or whatever. It's safe and okay for him to be there. just for the record. lol #I mean maybe not SAFE safe. it's still a boat of like.. rowdy party goers who could easily fall over the edge into the water or whatever bu #but like.. safe in the sense that he's not a 6 year old being offered vodka by strangers at a party. etc. #despite his goofy nervous demeanor and chronic baby face syndrome he is indeed an actual adult somehow ghbj

[ystrike1]

Sute Akuyaku Reijou wa Kaibutsu ni Otogibanashi wo Kataru - By Ede Akizawa (9/10)

A good king and a bad king can be the same man. It all depends on which side you take. Are you with him, or are you against him? Will you entertain him, or will you dare to defy him? What is the right answer? Be careful. The wrong one comes at a cost.

Sylph is the villainess. That's what Kanna says. In reality she is a quiet ducal daughter, who is not allowed to indulge in the few hobbies she enjoys. Kanna took advantage of her immense loneliness. Deep down Lady Sylph isn't very ladylike despite her noble roots. Her deepest desire is to be a civil servant who works in a library. She sneaks into one, under a fake name. Just to enjoy stories. Unrealistic fables. Young ladies are supposed to be concerned with power, motherhood and their husband. Sylph is meant for the prince too, so her immature desire to read fairytales makes her....imperfect.

Kanna shared fairy tales with Sylph. Classics she had never read before. Kanna became her best and only friend. The only person that would have fun with her. Everyone else expected her to act as the perfect Ducal daughter. With Kanna she was allowed to enjoy fantasy. Fable, and stories of love and revenge.

Kanna, the daughter of a Baron, spreads lies to ruin Sylph. Sylph was perfect on the outside, but she has always been quiet. She has no real friends. Even her fiance always seemed to know they were not a love match. Sylph was being suffocated by the princess position. By her loveless and political life. Kanna uses this. A rumor spreads. Sylph is lacking off. She is ignoring her duties and bullying other ladies. Sylph cannot defend herself, because she has been sneaking out to read at the library. Way too long. Way too often. Under a different name. Kanna encouraged her to do it. To play fantasy games with her. Kanna used her naive desires against her. Witnesses agree with Kanna. Sylph dissappears for long periods, which is highly inappropriate for a princess. Kanna's wild abuse story explains the disappearances. Kanna kept appearing wounded when Sylph disappeared. What a monster. A demon that hurts others as soon as eyes are off her...

The Prince was, of course, cheating on her already. Kanna's story worked with what the heir of the kingdom wanted. Kanna was the opposite of Sylph. A bubbly, cute girl full of compliments. She was popular too, and Sylph was too cold. No one stood up for Sylph, but Kanna had a hundred friends to stand up for her side of the story.

The royal family throws Sylph into a cursed area, where a monster roams according to legend.

Sylph writes a note, in case she passes out, begging someone merciful to unlock her cage and take her with them. Anywhere.

Anywhere but "home"

She tells the monster, King Faber the 28th, her wish. He is technically not human. He's technically the monster, but he lets his captives live if they entertain him. He knows Sylph isn't lying. Her deepest wish is to be a librarian, which is so trite that it's cute. She doesn't just want to live, like all the rest.

She wants the impossible dream, that she has cried for since she was a girl.

Faber is kind to her. Sylph shares stories with him. He likes to see her happy. He visits her daily for a month. She gets a title. She is The Kings Favorite. He gives her a dreamy life. She becomes a librarian with his blessing, and he visits each and every day. He behaves like a man in love, but Sylph is no longer naive. King Faber is extremely powerful. He is no puppet king or weak prince.

Her life is in his hands.

Strange whispers come into King Faber's isolated nation. They are loud. He, and the citizens, cannot ignore the blaze of lies. Sylph's country is claiming she has been kidnapped. Suddenly, they want her back. Why? Who? The Prince left her side long ago and Sylph had little to no relationship with her parents.

Why would they want her, when they have Princess Kanna now? Only a few months have gone by.

Sylph panics, and she does a terrible thing. She uses her status as The King's Favorite to stay in his nation. She wants to be a librarian, not the daughter of a Duke.

She will have her freedom.

Even if that means letting Faber execute people she used to know.

She knows what she is doing. She knows the kings favor is fleeting. If she makes the wrong choice he could turn on her. Her only choice is honesty. Faber is like that. He can feel lies. Cowardice. Fear. She has to kinda...be villainous to survive by his side.

Faber interrogates everyone who turned against Sylph. He kills all of them, except Kanna. Kanna has lost it all. After she took the princess seat the royal family quickly realized how useless she was. When Faber arrives she is already shut away in the dungeon. He kills everyone else for their stupidity. Their weakness. The Prince claims Kanna cursed him, and he finally noticed there was nothing special about her after her Story ended. Right after the Happy Ending her magic wore off, but Faber doesn't listen. The Prince is stupid and boring. So is the King. He makes them hold severed heads. He dumps blood on the royals. They beg him. They blame Kanna, but they die anyway.

Sylph does not kill Kanna. Killing Kanna will not entertain the king. Faber is angry because Kanna dared to discredit his Favorite. Sylph must now concoct a fitting fairytale punishment for the true villain. By the way she doesn't actually care about Kanna. She just wants to move onto her free live. What Faber is doing is cruel...to Sylph. He doesn't want her to move on yet. He did her a huge favor. He used his power to get rid of her problems, and now she must drag out the pain. The suffering, until Faber believes she has achieved true vengeance.

Sylph decides to punish Kanna with entertainment. She must make up a story every day for an entire year, in a dirty cell. If even one isn't entertaining Faber will end her life.

It's cruel.

All Sylph wants is life as a librarian, but she had to use the great strength of the monster King to get it.

Now she has to pay for his favor.

His love comes with a price.

He behaves like a classic fairytale monster, and those ancient tales are never happy.

#Sute Akuyaku Reijou wa Kaibutsu ni Otogibanashi wo Kataru #yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended

[thevernofficial]

Contacting your Rep 101

Hello my dear people!

I was chatting with one of my friends recently and we were chatting about contacting a representatives office because she didn't know who to call or what to say.

So (for the Americans) here is some advice from me:

(Disclaimer while I work in politics I do not represent the beliefs of the people I work for) (also every office is a little different)

Finding your Rep

Okay, here is the thing. We can only technically take opinions from Residents of our state. So its important that you find YOUR state representatives.

Find some by zip code here:

Generally your specific state will also have a website with state and federal representatives.

2. Call vs Email

So, many places will have email options rather than call. I will let you know at least for my office calls or voicemails are kept track of more often. We have a team of people on the phone lines.

I don't know if this is the case in other offices. But in general (if your comfortable with talking with someone for 2 minutes) calling is better than emailing. On those contact my rep info sites they also have the main phone lines for your representative.

3. What do you say?

I have a bit of a script here for those who have never called or are nervous about talking with an intern on a phone line.

Intern: (THE POLITICIAN) office how can I help you?

You: Hello my name is __________ I am a constituent of (THE POLITICIAN) and a resident of (YOUR STATE). I am calling today about (YOUR OPINION HERE). My phone/email is ______________.

Intern: Thank you for your voice and opinions. I want to assure you (Script that has been given to the interns). Is there anything else I can help you with today?

You: Yes/No. (If yes state more opinions and cycle repeats).

Intern: Have a lovely day then!

I have to say how IMPORTANT it is to say your name. In our office logs we take down all the names to send to our boss to know that there are different people calling in their opinions.

4. How many times?

In general we tend to notice if the same number has popped up more than 3 times in a day. Then we can't log it as a new opinion anymore. But if you call once a day, we record a new log for politicians everyday so you can get your name on the daily list again.

5. Does this even matter?

YES. I cannot stress enough. YES

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!

It's our civic duty to do so. But it also gives staffers of politicians reasons to lean one way or the other (regardless of what you call in about). Every call helps.

We take down the names every day and we listen to all the stories that are sent in. Trust that someone WILL listen to what you have to say and it will be written down and sent to the politicians. That is literally our job.

6. Phone Etiquette

Politics are emotional. These times are emotional. If you need to cry, do it. If you need to cry while on the phone with an Intern, do it. If you need to break away from the script and talk about everyday stories, do it. This is your call. The intern won't judge you for crying on the phone. If you want to shout or express your anger, maybe don't shout at the intern but you can express anger.

But please be nice to the people on the phone. They've had to listen to hundreds or thousands of people in these emotional times. And we're happy to do so. This is why we do this job.

But we're still human. So saying an occasional thank you, might not help your opinion, it does help the person on the other end of the line.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope this helps...for someone at least.

#politics #house of representatives #palestine #israel #advice #social justice

[magpies-gold]

I may have finally unlocked the thing what turns my unhealthy overproductive causes-me-burnout creativity into enjoyable creativity - and it's called working off of vibes.

In the past I've tried just taking breaks from being creative, but that never works. Doing things other than being creative just feels like I've put myself in time out from the thing I actually like doing. Ultimately, I want to be creative. I love making art! I love writing stories! I genuinely get life from being my artistic self like.... all the heckin' time. It's all I genuinely want to do is make stuff. What I don't get life from is making it a grind. Working to rigid schedules, focusing on daily goals and - oh my lord, I despise the push to monetize it. I'm leaning hard away from that these days, and I'm not sure how far I'll ultimately take my aversion to pursuing profit from my creative ventures. It doesn't make me significantly happier to make money off of it (even though sometimes it's necessary, like when disaster strikes and I don't readily have four digits in the bank account to fix whatever's exploded), especially when making money comes with added stress from things like figuring out the taxes on what I've made, and the horrors of the perpetual chase to make more money. The emotional balance trends towards the negative and I'm over it. So I'm attempting a vibes-based approach - doing things when it's good for me to, and in a way that is fun. Some of it's a bit of concerted de-programming: for example, my webcomic is a source of truly bad habits for no good reason. It exists only on my Patreon, and it is exceptionally obscure and always was. There is very little point in wearing myself out trying to pour twenty hours a week into a new page every single week just because one is supposed to stick to a schedule, but over the last decade or so I programmed myself very well to do just that. Getting out of that rut so that I can have a healthy relationship with it again is a fight, but I'm winning. I want to chase the short term happy of getting a new page queued up every Monday, but instead I'm refusing to do so. If the page is done, I queue it up a few days late. And then the next week a few days later than that. Always a different number of days, pushing it out of sync so that I can't fall back into routine and neither can my handful of readers. I did not ever promise them a schedule. A schedule is bad for me. Result? I (mostly) drew three pages this weekend and enjoyed it. They're not done, but I made a heck of a dent and didn't feel gross about it. I'll finish them over the course of the next week or so, in bits and pieces rather than forcing myself to sit still for hours at a time until the page is done. I should be stopping when I'm done. I'm also way happier with the art I'm making. I'm still churning it out quick, but the lack of self-imposed deadlines means that I can have fun with it. I'm doing similar things with my writing. It's nice when I can keep Alpha Base moving forward, but for the last while I've been muddling around in different directions than forward and it's actually getting the creative wheels spinning in my head better than the methodical one-step-in-front-of-the-other approach. If I have a hankering to jump elsewhere in the plot and write a scene, I do. If I need to explore an aspect of a character that technically falls into a prequel (because dang it, I'm starting to develop prequel material) then I go for that. If writing a drabble that might not even land in the book, or any of the book(s), is what I need, then I'm doing that, and it doesn't matter if I'm "ready" to or "there yet" - I'm just doing it. Vibes. It's all worthwhile.  Hell, I spent most of the weekend writing a purely fluff scene (me! writing fluff!) between two of my antagonists and I think that was one of the best ways to spend a weekend. I feel damn good about it and learned a ton about them both. I think I even know where in the book to put it, and I sure didn't when I started writing. Didn't know that would happen! Life's too short to spend turning everything into a dang job.  I just want to play. So to hell with it. We play.

#art #writing #creativity #play is important #VIBES

[oliveroctavius]

What inspires your art? Like, how did you come up with your art style, how happy you are with it and if there are any other artists that inspire you?

Asking a few people as a way to understand and grow as an artist at a crossroads. Have a good day.

This is a fun ask! Not sure how helpful my answers will be to you, but here they are.

I've honestly put little to no thought into "coming up with" an art style. I'd say that what comes out of my brain and hands is maybe only 1/3 calculated stylistic decisions, with the rest being "what is most fun for me" and "what is easiest for me". I draw a lot of faces because I enjoy caricature; I do most of it in scribbly mechanical pencil on scrap paper because that's what I usually have on hand.

My one big starting point is that when I started drawing at age ~12, I was copying characters out of The Adventures of Tintin. I learned just enough from Hergé to get simplified human figures I didn't hate and then went iteratively on from there. Mostly I just drew short humorous fancomics for myself and never colored them.

In high school I considered going into an art career, so I took art classes. At the time I thought they were fun but mostly irrelevant to the stylized character art I drew in my class notes every day... but looking back my comic art drastically improved 2015-17, so maybe I was wrong. I eventually decided I'd go into tech instead and leave dressing as a hobby, which I think was the right choice for me.

The closest I've ever had to a Style was in the music fanart and OC comics I did in college. The imagery mostly came out of my own brain, and I worked out what tools were easiest and most enjoyable: multicolor sharpie pens and India ink with watercolor washes; binary or hard edged brushes on digital work that I could fill in quickly with the bucket tool. I accepted that I wasn't a great draftsman and got scribblier and more manic.

Since then I've gotten back to the world of fancomics where I try to pastiche the original inking style—I've done Jhonen Vasquez, Steve Purcell, John Romita, Jack Cole, Scott Wegener, and C. C. Beck (though that one was way too ambitious and I may never finish). But I'm not doing this because I want to absorb them into my default style, though I certainly learn things from it. I do it for the project itself, because I feel like there's a lot of characterization and world-rules built into the way different art styles depict their worlds. I have great interest in stories which use restricted or contrasting stylization on purpose to convey meaning.

It's also just fun, which is my first priority. But I do think my technical skills have been regressing a bit from lack of use + perhaps from using others' work as a crutch too often. It's a little embarrassing, but it is what it is. I'm sure the trend will reverse if/when I put more time into full pieces and daily practice again.

Oh, and I did make a list of favorite artists back in 2018 which holds up. If I had to extract some advice from this meandering post, it would be to figure out what methods and tools make your artistic workflow easier and consider how you want to make those part of your "style". That's extra true if this is something you're going to be doing for long periods of time like a job.

#my art style looks rather childish to me but I generally don't mind that #it's a method of conveying information. it's a lot slower than words but a lot more information-dense and more precise in some ways #less so in others

[catchingbigfish]

i always insist i'll do weekly posts and never get around to them, but here's a quick highlights reel of what i've been working on:

writing, in general: i've written every day this month! technically this year, even. i set a GYWO goal of 200,000 words this year and my daily minimum is 545, but i've averaged 944 words per day across re-drafting so it goes and an untitled criminal/cop horror WIP i've been brewing.

so it goes: i've revisited the entire concept and it's morphed from its earlier iterations into a multigenerational saga about a family plagued by death and the ways they cope with it. i've written at least a few hundred words every day; it covers four stories about four different women in the same family, and i've written for three of the four at least once this year, mainly the present-day story of the MC that has always been present, but a little bit for two others.

criminal/cop WIP: i'm working on the details for a new horror WIP involving a private investigator who finds herself embroiled in a serial killer's crimes. i've only done actual drafting on it once this year, but i've started my brainstorming process and it's super energizing right now.

other stuff: i've done yoga every day this month too, and i picked back up with The Artist's Way last saturday; i tried doing it last summer and revisited it in fits and spurts but i'm trying to do a more dedicated practice with it, and i've written my morning pages eight days in a row now. i've also gotten really deeply into astrology over the last month or so and have a 148 day streak in duolingo spanish as of yesterday! i've probably spent about as much time on my google spreadsheets for tracking my different habits and developing my own word count tracker that does all these neat little data points like how often i wrote and on what WIPs which is based on the GYWO tracker as i have on all my other habits, but i am such a nerd for spreadsheets. my second class for my MA started last week and i've already had to read the entirety of The Great Gatsby, and i'm working on Quicksand by Nella Larsen as well. turns out i do love literature classes as much as i remembered, so i'm stoked for this semester!

#writing updates #life updates #writeblr #about elle #wip: so it goes

[this-song-thats-only-for-you]

Frightful October: Spellbound: The Dream Keeper

Summary:  Hyungwon was a dream keeper, giving his charges dreams for as long as he could remember. One day things changed when he accidentally put himself in your dreams.

Characters: Chae Hyungwon x Reader (small cameo from Jooheon)

Genre: Magic / Power of Dreams.

A/N: Welcome to the first week of Frightful October 2022 : Spellbound. I hope you enjoy this little story after so long away. You can find @prettywordsyouleft story here.

Word count: 1,976

  Everything in Hyungwon’s life had a purpose, an order. He couldn’t remember what his life was like before he came here, he didn’t seem to mind that either. He knew what his life was meant for. He had trained and been chosen for such an important job; he made sure people on his charge list dreamt whilst they slept.

To anyone outside of this realm it would seem silly. No one kept dreams, the person who dreamt created them all on their own. To a point that was true, but it took a certain type of person to give inspiration, to create the little link between the person and their inner subconscious’ desires and hopes.

That’s what dreams were.

He and many others had been given the task, and so his daily life was much the same. He clocked in at the start of his shift, and he spread the hope to everyone he needed to, making sure they had pleasant dreams, and more importantly, left the person with the desire to create and want more from their life.

He had always felt a sense of fulfilment and purpose, and so he never questioned anything when it came to his work. He spent many moments throughout his day making sure everything was perfect and catered to every charge he held within his list. His co-workers often praised him for his hard work and determination to make sure nothing went astray. Never in his time as a dream keeper had anything gone wrong, until now.

Hyungwon had successfully finished his shift, the last person on his list finally getting the inspiration they needed to leave a bad position in their life. He smiled to himself, knowing how much this specific charge needed it, and he felt good knowing they would be happier soon.

He knew that no one he sent dreams to knew of him, or even knew that people took care of them in such a way. He felt as if he’d seen them all grow up before his eyes, and they technically had, even if Hyungwon didn’t age at the human rate.

He was in his own world of thought when he was suddenly stopped as a hand wrapped around his arm.

“Oh good, you haven’t left yet!”

He turned to see his co-worker Jooheon panting slightly, as if he’d been running to find him.

“I was just about to head home. Is everything okay?”

“There’s been a problem.”

“Care to divulge what kind of problem? And are you going to let go of my arm?” Hyungwon scrunched his brows in confusion and frustration at being held up. He was never one to stray from routine, and this surely did change it.

Jooheon let go instantly, as if he’d been struck by lightning as he straightened his stance and caught his breath before continuing. “You stuffed up.”

“Me? No, I’d- “

“You put yourself in her dreams, Hyungwon! I think that consists of a big stuff up!”

“What?”

Hyungwon’s face fell instantly, a panic running through his veins as he tried to think over all his charges, and all the dreams he had kept recently. Nothing was coming to mind, so surely Jooheon had gotten it wrong. He would never be so careless as to put himself into a charges’ dreams.

That was one of the biggest rules you were not to break.

“You’ve got to be mistaken. I wouldn’t have done that.” He said shaking his head in disbelief.

“You’re the only Hyungwon who works here, and the only one with her, as a charge.” Jooheon replied as he pointed to a picture on his tablet of a woman, one Hyungwon knew very well.

Hyungwon closed his eyes, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as he tried to figure out where exactly he had stuffed this up.

“Does anyone else know?”

Jooheon shook his head furiously “Not yet, but it won’t be long until they do. We need to fix this. You need to fix this.” He continued, pressing into Hyungwon’s chest firmly.

“And how do you suggest I do that?”

Jooheon’s face lit up as a smile spread across his face, making Hyungwon’s stomach drop at the sight.

“I think I’m going to regret asking that question, aren’t I?”

 Thirty minutes later and Hyungwon was cursing Jooheon profusely. How had he let himself be talked into this? It was an insane idea, and yet he knew deep down that there was no other way. If there were, he wouldn’t be standing outside your door, his hand about to knock on the hard wood. He shouldn’t be in the human world. It wasn’t unheard of for a dream keeper to be in this realm, but he guessed it never occurred to them to put themselves in their dreams either.

He sighed deeply, for what felt the hundredth time today as he bravely knocked. He knew he had to meet you, once something was in a person’s subconscious, it didn’t leave until some resolution came to be.

So, the answer had been to put himself in front of you, get him out of your system and then you could both carry on with your lives. He had no idea what he was going to say to you, even though he and Jooheon had come up with a plan before he left.

Suddenly he couldn’t remember a thing, when you opened the door and stood before him.

Did you always look this beautiful?

His eyes washed over you as you stood in your doorway, your own eyes large with what he assumed was shock, and a sense of realisation upon seeing him, but he was unsure why. You seemed to be breathing rapidly as your chest heaved up and down. He shook his head roughly. Everything about you overwhelmed him, and this feeling was new to him. He didn’t know what was happening, and then you spoke.

“Hi.”

It was simple. A single word, and yet hearing your voice in person did something else entirely to him. His body lit up at the sound, as if your voice was a song that only played for him. He swallowed roughly before replying.

“Hi.”

Hyungwon noticed the jolt that went through your own body at hearing his voice, but you seemed to recover better than he had, taking the two steps towards him and closing the gap between you both.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

And then his hand was in yours. He didn’t know whether you grabbed it first or if he simply reached out for you. You gave it a light squeeze, a comforting smile forming on your face as you looked up at him.

“You’ve been waiting for me?”

He didn’t know what else to say. How could you know him? No one in this realm knew he existed, and yet here you were looking up at him as if you’d known him your whole life.

“Ever since I can remember. What took you so long?”

“What? I don’t- “

You looked up at him expectantly, your hands now moving to cup his face as you stretched up onto your tiptoes before murmuring his name against his lips. “Hyungwon.”

“How- “

And then your lips were on his.

They were softer than he ever could have imagined, he held his breath as you continued to press your lips onto his, your body coming closer, as his arms pulled you further into him. He gasped against you, allowing you access with your tongue as he began to see flashes of images inside his mind.

He saw you standing in front of him, turning to look back at him, smiling.

Cuddled together on a couch, watching something on a television.

Him laughing, his eyes crinkled in amusement at something you said.

All these little flashes of a life together, one he never knew could even exist, and yet it all felt so real. Tangible.

Attainable.

Hyungwon opened his eyes, moving from you as he broke the kiss, his breathing rapid now as he looked down at you, as if truly seeing you for the first time.

“What was that?”

“Do you not know?” You edged closer to him, your hand squeezing his gently again. “For a dream keeper, you’re pretty clueless on dreams.” You smirked as a chuckled vibrated through your body.

“How did you know I’m a – “Hyungwon asked in response, but you cut him off before he could continue.

“You’ve been in my dreams for as long as I can remember, and you had no idea.”

“How is that possible? I would have known before today if I’d done that.”

Hyungwon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This day had certainly not gone how he had thought it would. He was never one to make a mistake, and here you were telling him the one mistake he had done, he’d been doing far longer than he knew of. How was that even possible? How did you know of his existence and that he was a dream keeper?

He began to feel lightheaded, his vision blurring slightly as a new wave of panic washed over him. He didn’t understand anything. Everything he knew had been turned upside down.

“Hyungwon. Look at me,” you asked gently, bringing him out of his reverie, “At first, I had no idea who you were. I’d never seen you before, and you appeared in my dreams so often that I couldn’t stop thinking about you. So, when we weren’t together in my dreams, I searched for meanings behind them, and I figured out what you were. You want to know why you never realized?”

“Yes, tell me.” The pleading words left his lips before he had any time to think.

You pulled him towards your door, tugging him down on the step as you sat next to one another, holding his hand the whole time reassuringly. Hyungwon didn’t know why but it made him feel comforted, he calmed himself down in that moment as he looked to you, waiting for the answer.

“Because they were your dreams too.”

“But dream keepers can’t dream,” he simply stated, his mind going through all the things he had learnt and been taught over the years to become what he was. Surely you were wrong.

“Of course, they can. Why do you think you keep dreams alive?”

“I just – “

And then the world stopped.

That missing piece finally clicked into place.

The way he never strayed from routine. How he always did the same thing, day in and day out. How when he left work after every shift, he felt hollow. The only time he felt truly himself was when he helped his charges with their dreams. He yearned for more from his life, and yet he didn’t even realize he could. He thought all those times he gifted inspiration to the others and to you, were for your benefit, but now he finally saw that the extra attention to detail was of his own making.

He dreamed to have someone to call his own. He wanted to be more to someone than just a keeper of dreams.

And so, he had put himself into the position to achieve more.

He put himself in your dreams, to become more, for himself.

And for you.

“Is this real?”

He leaned his forehead against yours as his hands cupped the sides of your face. Your breaths mingled, staying like that for a silent moment, just soaking in the air around you both as he gathered himself, the reality of the situation slowly sinking in. He wasn’t just a dream keeper anymore. He was here with you. As a real person.

“Kiss me and find out.”

He chuckled then, as his eyes crinkled, wasting no time in capturing your lips once again.

Dreams really could come true.

#tstofy; frightful october #frightful october #hyungwon #monsta x #fiction #spellbound #dream keeper #magic #hyungwon fiction #hyungwon scenarios #hyungwon imagines #monsta x fiction #monsta x scenarios #monsta x imagines

[fe-fictions]

Hi so I know you take writing comms and I wanted to try doing that myself. I need some advice though. Do you mind sharing how you outlined your terms and service and set up price points for content? How did you decide to put each price to the amount of content? Thank you so much for your time!!

Hiii! So I'm pretty casual with my pricing, in that I severely undercharge. For example, on average a 10-12 page commission (the longest ones I'll do) should be around $5/100 words.

I only charge $15 for a 10-12 page commission. I base it on what I'd think is cheap enough for ppl to buy every now and then, so when I tell you I'm severely undercharging, I mean it!

10-12 page stories should technically be more in the $75-100 range if I were to base it off of every 100 words.

The only reason I do writing commissions at all is if I need to pay bills, and every little bit helps. (Continued below U V U)

That being said, writing fanfics is a hobby for me, and I don't have as much time to write as I used to, so I really only take commissions when they roll in, which is pretty infrequent (and that's ok!)

In terms of rules, I try to be really lax about them, and they're pretty much the same as they would be for a standard request.

No excessive gore/violence

No sad endings (angst is fine, but I've only ever written happy endings- I let other writers handle the sad angst LOL)

NSFW costs extra, and I don't publish it on the page to keep things clean over here dsfjsdkfjsdkfj

I don't give a turnaround time, because my ability to prioritize writing over my job, art commissions and the day to day schedule has really dropped. The longest it should take is a month at most, but that's only when it's a really long one.

3 page stories should take less than a week, an 5 pagers are typically 1-2 weeks. That said, I really try to get them done as fast as possible, since you're paying for priority.

When it takes longer than that, it's usually due to extenuating circumstances. For example, I had two 12 page stories commissioned, and it took double to triple the usual time because a lot of really sh*t stuff happened between January and March 2023,,, we're talking losing my job in January and trying daily to find a new job for two months, my dear pet cat of 15 years passing away, and food poisoning that knocked me on my ass for days. And that's not counting the fact that I was doing art commissions in between all that just to stay afloat! Now add anxiety and depression into this hellish mix, and it made finishing anything really difficult.

If something like this happens, I don't mind when people check in on the status of their commissions. However, when people start checking in weekly or daily, that really gets under my skin...especially if it's been explained why there's a delay, and offers to refund the commission if they're unhappy with the wait. I want to be accommodating, but I need patience to finish these! Especially when I'm in the pits of hell IRL U V U''''

All that being said, I don't have a concrete set of rules, but I'll be piecing something together for future commissions. Those are just the general terms I tend to operate with. I'm not a professional writer, just a hobbyist. If you want to charge more for your stories than I do, I would recommend it. You should charge what you're worth! The only reason I don't is because it's seriously just a pastime for me, and it's not something I want to pursue as a career. I'd rather that be art than writing, since I just write to indulge lol

I hope this helps a little bit, though!

#not related #answer #commissions #its a tough question to answer honestly #i always played fast and loose with commissions #the real only set rule was just the pricing but #i'll need to be a little more organized for future commissions imo

[streettealee]

Hi, no pressure at all btw, but are you planning to continue your fic titled 'the rain (it rains every day)'? I love that one but, again, no pressure if you're not planning to

Hi there! I'm so glad you love the fic (and thank you for the ask!) It was an idea I had for ages that I finally messed with after some summer research for it, and it holds a special place in my heart as someone with a Greek background getting to explore that culture from a more personal lens (not saying I am the most authentic, as I am an immigrant grandbaby in another country, but I also am not one to water down mythology or modernise it too far, unlike quite a few folks these days). That being said, there is a vague plan to continue, though I would need to immerse myself in all the story and ideas I had again, which can be tricky since I have a habit of fixating on one story and world at a time, only to deviate randomly to quickly blurt out other ideas and then move on. At the moment, I've been focusing on my original works, which I post about over at @laylaraptis.

Anyway, fanfic has become a bit of a standstill at the moment. I had a great spurt around about a month ago now where I started writing to work through a lot of emotions I had from my personal life, and I felt the pressure of the upcoming second semester of university starting up soon. I believe I updated 'soft hearts, electric souls' during my first week of study before I got swept up in my coursework. I'm studying law, so it's a heck of a lot of work. I have to keep a schedule of my daily tasks to ensure I keep up with everything, while also keeping in mind that I need to rest and take care of myself and juggle a social life and other responsibilities. Writing (and even commenting on the works of other fan authors) often feels like more work added on top of that and my time has become, I guess, a bit more precious to me? Additionally, I got tired of a lot of TLH commentary that I kept seeing, as well as TSC in general. I more consume these things than participate in many discussions these days. It gets exhausting, a little depressing, and even somewhat boring. It got to a point where I felt like I would rather spend my time working on something far more detailed (knowledge-wise because it's something I created and therefore I know all aspects of it by technicality, whereas I do not know Cassandra Clare's mind) and within my sphere of control that I've been meaning to do for years, than spend another minute investing all my left over energy while I'm studying into fanfic of someone else's work -- especially because I have my own to work on, you know? (Please note that I do not scorn fanfic -- I love it and still read it, and I will always support other writers choosing to do what they love. Fanfic can sometimes be better than canon, and it has my full respect. My own choice that I prefer working on my novel rather than doing fanfic for the moment is a result of a bunch of factors.)

I've also been very unwell lately (think of health as like a number line, with neutral at 0, positives going up the healthier I am, and negatives clearly being the opposite. I dipped well below the negatives.) Within the span of six days, I completely exhausted my body, had multiple illnesses going on simultaneously, and was struggling just to stay awake and get through each day. I won't go into further detail as it deals with some health topics that some might find distressing, but basically, I'm still on the mend for the next three weeks just to try and reach that neutral 0 again. And from there, I still need to work up the positive side of the number line. Because of this, I've barely had time to even work on my original pieces.

So, that was a long way to say: the future of the fic 'the rain (it rains every day)' is kind of uncertain, and I apologise for that. My main fic, WBITHOM, might end up being definitively discontinued simply because I feel like I put a lot into it and the pay-off hasn't been great. I was writing, not just for myself, but for an audience. My old writing partner was someone I relied greatly upon to gauge reception, and yet I think they inadvertently also lead to me being disappointed in how little folks think about what I write. I like to do a lot of symbolism, for example, and a lot of foreshadowing (I'm always worried it comes off too heavy and obvious), but they very rarely picked up on the purposeful decisions I make in writing, and I felt like I was being too serious about something no one else took seriously, if that makes sense.

But now I get to write for me, in private, with no chapter updates to anxiously wonder if people are going to comment on or read at all, and it's been quite nice. Lonely, at times, but nicer somehow because it feels more self-inflicted. I get to work away and just post snippets and background information and progress updates and just enjoy myself. Plus, I get to explore not just Greek culture, but other Balkan cultures too in my original writing! With characters already made to fit! I'm not working with CC's characters and trying to balance fandom expectations. My characters are my own and I know them far better than I could anyone else's. Granted, I am still in early stages of this current draft, and I expect I'll stray back to the comforts fanfic offers eventually for a break, and 'the rain (it rains every day)' is at the top of the update list since everything else has had its time and this one was always scheduled next. But for now, all my fanfics are on hold until further notice. Any content produced from me will be found on @laylaraptis for the next 140-odd days (I've set a deadline for myself, which you can read more about over on that blog).

Hope this was an okay answer to your question 💀 I am very aware that I ramble a lot.

#tlh #the last hours #fanfic #tlh fanfic #wbithom #wasting beats in this heart of mine #the rain (it rains every day)

[ingek73]

Prince Harry: royals ‘agreed not to sue’ newspapers over phone hacking

Harry says he was conditioned to accept family’s view that they should not dare take on UK newspaper industry

Jim Waterson Media editor

Tue 28 Mar 2023 19.55 BST

Prince Harry has claimed members of the royal family struck a secret deal with newspapers not to sue them over phone hacking because it would “open a can of worms”.

Harry alleged his own family hid information from him about press intrusion and he had been conditioned to accept his family’s view that they should not dare to take on the British newspaper industry.

In documents filed to the high court, he said there was a private arrangement between the royal family, which he calls “the Institution”, and Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN), which publishes the Sun.

Harry claimed: “There was in place an agreement between the Institution and NGN that we would not engage, or even discuss, the possibility of bringing claims against NGN until the litigation against it relating to phone hacking was over.

“The Institution made it clear that we did not need to know anything about phone hacking and it was made clear to me that the royal family did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms.

“The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGN’s phone hacking and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation.”

In addition to claims against NGN and the publisher of the Mirror, Harry is now bringing a claim against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

He alleges the company’s newspapers targeted him through a variety of illegal means including voicemail interception, tapping of landline phones, and inappropriately obtaining credit card records.

Harry said he decided to sue Associated Newspapers because “if the most influential newspaper company can successfully evade justice, then in my opinion the whole country is doomed”.

In the witness statement, Harry added: “I am bringing this claim because I love my country and I remain deeply concerned by the unchecked power, influence and criminality of Associated.

“The evidence I have seen shows that Associated’s journalists are criminals with journalistic powers which should concern every single one of us. The British public deserve to know the full extent of this cover up and I feel it is my duty to expose it.”

He said reports in the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday about his private life had caused him immense grief and paranoia as a young man, citing an article about a little known girlfriend from his Eton days called Laura Gerard-Leigh.

“It led to Laura’s parents being doorstepped which they were understandably not pleased about. This sort of thing caused me to try and keep matters as private as I could to avoid this happening.”

Harry is one of seven individuals bringing cases against the publisher of the Mail, claiming the group’s newspapers regularly broke the law to obtain stories.

Associated Newspapers has described the claims as “preposterous smears” and a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal”.

They said the evidence was based on “unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims, based on no credible evidence.”

Harry was present in court for a second day in central London to hear technical arguments about how certain information had been obtained by his legal team.

Witness statements from other claimants – who include Doreen Lawrence, Elton John, Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost – also set out allegations of illegality at Associated Newspapers and the hurt they had caused. Associated has dismissed all the claims as “preposterous smears”.

Elton John told the court he believed the Mail was “inhumane” and claimed it had dug up his personal medical records, as well as obtaining the birth certificate of his son Zachary – something he said was “abhorrent and outside even the most basic standards of human decency”.

John said: “I have devoted my life to my music but this does not mean deeply personal things which I have to deal with in private are fair game … The fact they did this to our son Zachary when he was a baby, just born, shows just how little integrity and morality exists within this newspaper group.”

Doreen Lawrence’s lawyer Imran Khan KC said his client felt betrayed by the Mail, who had previously campaigned on behalf of her murdered son Stephen. He said Doreen Lawrence had found the Mail’s duplicity to be “breathtaking and beyond comprehension, even after all the inhumanity we have witnessed since the night Stephen was killed”.

Sadie Frost said her ex-husband Jude Law believed she was leaking information to newspapers about her divorce, while she now alleges this was due to illegal interception of information. Liz Hurley said she objected to “Stasi-like surveillance” by the media.

On Tuesday the court heard arguments over whether confidential evidence provided to the Leveson inquiry by Associated Newspapers could now be used by the claimants in the case.

The Mail, which is attempting to have the claims struck out, argued the material – showing payments to private investigators – should not admissible because the data was provided to the public inquiry with a guarantee of confidentiality.

Another witness, the former private investigator Steve Whittamore, said he was paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to provide illegally obtained information to the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday: “It irked me to watch the Leveson inquiry and hear executives and senior figures from the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday deny that their reporters and editors knew what they were asking me to do was unlawful. I know they did.”

He said a number of those journalists who used his services and who knew the information he provided for their stories had been obtained unlawfully “are still in senior positions at Associated’s newspapers”.

Adrian Beltrami KC, representing Associated Newspapers, told the court that another private detective relied on by the claimants had now provided a signed witness statement “denying that he was commissioned or instructed by Associated to carry out any unlawful activity”.

#prince harry #duke of sussex #british royal family #elton john #david furnish #doreen lawrence #liz hurley #jude law #sadie frost #simon hughes #associated press #phone hacking trial #daily fail

[solarsavoy]

WIP Wednesday, 2022 Goals

For this week's WIP Wednesday, I wanted to share what my goals are for the rest of the year in regards to my art and writing. First are the things that I "must" do, then the things I "hope" to do.

Must List:

Keep up with weekly Life in Retail updates on Saturdays. Since it's supposed to be happening now, I can't just stop, right? Lol.

ASD Karushuu. ASD is a collection I've started called "Any Ship Dates" where I write up a date for any ship. This one, however, happens in the Life in Retail universe and should happen on 9/11, at least that's the plan.

Suprise one-shot for 11/9 that also happens in the Life in Retail universe. Don't want to spoil anything with this one though. 😉

Kristmas Karma II Prelude, end of November. Just like with Kristmas Karma I, there will be a prelude, main story, and New Years epilogue. This is also when the AC character starts working at Nagisa's store, Convenience. ^^ Or at least they get the job. I haven't worked out the details yet. Interacts with Life in Retail.

Kristmas Karma II, posted daily just like the first one for 25 days of Christmas! Interacts with Life in Retail.

Technically 2023, but Kristmas Karma II New Years on the first of January. Interacts with Life in Retail.

I also plan on keeping up with Magic Shuu every other Friday and hope to get ahead so when it comes to Kristmas Karma II, I don't die from overworking and stress. 😅 We'll see how it goes. It's all planned out, so it should be easy to get ahead, but the chapters are long and it comes with pictures.

Second Chances, a To Your Eternity one-shot. I feel like my muse just up and abandoned this, but there's no excuse! The picture is nearly as done as the fic and it just needs a little bit more, but I... just... haven't touched it. 🤷‍♀️ But seriously, it's been nearly done for two weeks now, so hopefully I'll finish it soon. Hopefully...

Maybe List:

I would like to finish Gerit. I only have to do the pictures and I'd hate for it to take over a year to post something as small as 20k words that has been finished since June of last year because of just some drawings. >_> But we'll see. If I don't start it up by October, it probably won't get done this year, but I want to. May also post this on Patreon for Patrons so that at least the story is up somewhere, but AO3 will just have to wait for pictures. Sorry.

Krystar First Fragment edit and republish. I'm considering alternative self publishing other than Amazon and I'd like to have it up sooner rather than later, but apparently ISBNs are expensive. 😵 So this may also be made available to Patrons via Patreon. Also hoping to redo the cover, but we'll see.

And that of course brings me to Krystar Second Fragment. I'm in the process of editing, but it's slow going since I like to keep myself busy (can't you tell? Only 9 things on this list already. 😅) I plan on having a few beta readers get at it after that, but then I might not be at the publishing stage until next year. Even so, I hope to get the editing done and it sent to the beta readers by November at the lastest (but we'll see how that works. 🙄)

Finish Assassin Skills Required Bonus Round. The main story is done. I just have to rewrite it with Deshi and Stag's perspective. Why is this so hard? Or rather, it's not hard, my muse just doesn't want to do it anymore and it was its idea. 😣 Whatever... Anyway, would love to knock this and Gerit off my list so all my works are completed on AO3 because I'm OCD like that and hate unfinished things. Anywho.

The 20 day drawing challenge that I'm cheating and doing ahead of time for Assassination Classroom. High chance of it getting done (at the time of me writing this) and I hope to start posting in September, but honestly, if I don't, I probably won't do it this year at all.

Zodiac Killers. It's only 12 chapters. I have them all planned out. It's not that intricate of a story. I can write this easy, yeah? Well... I didn't finish it in July and haven't touched it since but I'm still hoping to write it up so it's off my to-do list. Planning on posting sometime in September or October. If it doesn't start by November, also putting it off until next year then.

And last but not least, Pandora's Box - The Lust for Truth (work 1 out of 7). It's mostly dependent on the art right now, and I hope to get this out, but of everything on the list, this is probably the least likely to happen. 😅 I'll try to work on it at least and since I plan on finishing the entire thing before I start posting it, I really don't care when I get it done, even if it's during Kristmas Karma II. I'll still post it, because it'll be done.

And that's my list. Because I'm a nerd, here's a schedule for your viewing ease on my goals for this year.

Thanks for reading! What are you most looking forward to reading? Let me know with a comment. 😊

Edit: I wrote this up last week and this edit is right before posting this. The 20 day challenge will start October 1st and I'll be posting a celebratory pic for my 1st year on Tumblr the same day, inspired by @o0o0thorn0o0o . Also, I'm considering pushing my whole Krystar project off until I've created more of a fanbase and gained some financial support for it. Speaking of which, Patreon is currently up and running! And I post all my sketches and linework on there. Still making tweaks and stuff on it, but I am posting exclusive stuff already, soon to include chapters of Krystar First Fragment until I'm ready to publish it again. Thanks for reading!

#daily delivery #WIP Wednesday #goals #ao3 fanfic #solarsavoyfics #solarsavoyart #for update purposes

[meggigoering]

📖September 17, 2023

🦈For today, I’ve got another utterly amazing story about a stinky opossum and Pirogovka hospital in Samara. It is clear, as long as I have to coexist with this bastard at the moment, there are a lot of such stories.

What is worth just one episode, when a stinky motivated to finish me off quickly, filled my sofa and all my things and documents with such a dose of mustard gas that it's not that my dogs almost rotted and my kidneys almost fell out in my underpants, it was just children’s party. I’ve got inflated 6 batteries in 5 phones and an iPad, of which 3 phones were baby born of 4 months old and one was a kid one year old. In order to simultaneously inflate and break batteries in 6 phones and devices aged from 4 months to 13 years - for this there must be some onetime external technical reason. Since there were no other external influences in relation to the devices, and only one thing united them - lying in my belongings and on the couch, and all the batteries were swollen like an over-eaten Uzbek pedophile while I was nobly studying the protocols of the Nuremberg process in the library. So the conclusion is simple - the chemistry of the mustard gas that eats everything, including the chemical protection suit, reacted with the contents of lithium batteries, and friendship won - mustard killed the filling of the batteries as a result of which they swelled, but fortunately for me, the reaction did not lead to an explosion. 6 devices that exploded simultaneously in my absence (or presence), one of which was an iPad, and lying on the sofa soaked with mustard gas next to my dogs, in our kitchen where, as it turned out next (I’ve said I have a new story about stinky every day), there was also a gas heater with a hole, and the gas was flowing just into the kitchen, would have led to an "an accident" so beloved by criminals - an explosion of household gas, a fire, and a live barbecue not only from me and my dogs, but also from all our neighbors at the entrance of house 1 of house 16 on Maslennikov Avenue in Samara. I hope that the police officers from the police department of the Oktyabrsky district of the city of Samara will be put a dick in the ass of such a size that it gets to the back of the head. Perhaps this will stimulate the brain a little and it will have a long-forgotten ability to think.

However, there is too much stinky in my daily life, so today I don't want to write about it, and I'll save this absofckybloodyvibrant story for tomorrow. Today I wanna tell you a little bit about his employers.

There was a period in my life when I was a hired employee. Last years in this role, I have worked at AFK Sistema. This amazing institution in every sense has not added to me any advantages in my career, experience or knowledge, but it has been drinking blood for me for many years, including in the literal sense of the word. AFK System is a kontora Nikonora (bogus office) that conducts 100% criminal business, while managing to:

• be listed on LSE (here I always remember the harsh visa requirements and the special pathos of the entrance on the border control of the "United Kingdom")

• have audited reports on US GAAP certified by Deloitte (here I want to laugh from the heart remembering the project to clear the loan portfolio of MTS-Bank and the pilot on Smartlinks in MTS itself)

• lead in all kinds of ratings including transparency, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility (here I want to cry with emotion, remembering my house flooded with shit and mustard gas, switched off electricity and disconnected from all communications during the last 6 years, whilst they continue to issue electricity bills and win in the court the “litigations” in a simplified procedure)

• lead the Employers’ rating (here I just laugh in my voice remembering how Elena Leonidovna Vitchak, Mikhail Valeryevich Shamolin, Ali Mussaevich Uzdenov, under the threat of illegal criminal prosecution against me, forced me to sign a dismissal agreement, withdrawing my earlier application for resignation at my own request).

• lead the Forbes rating (child of general Vlasov was blessed by God and has got as a gift from the sky several billion dollars - brothers Grimm suck).

In short, this garbage with its sparkling practices of conducting criminal activities under the guise of legal business (actually for this AFK Systema was needed in such insane quantities hundreds of useless formal procedures and regulations, including even procedures for compliance with the UK Antibribery Act) taught me one single thing: "to close porucheniya." In AFK Sistema, so that no one can see its essence and the main business itself - a completely criminal office used as an

assets’ consolidator in Russia according to the Ost plan, and through which they took out the cash for the maintenance of the "system" itself - its own replica of the Russia’s public administration model consisting of thousands of acroomed biased officials in the civil service and receiving a bonus from the Systema for loyalty and performance of the tasks necessary to the Systema (actually this is the system that was administered by AFK Systema - it is the reason for this idiotic name, one double of VVP in the form of Yevtushenkov Sr., the head of the Systema), so Systema created a system of "charges” - to pay off the salary to the corruptioners under the coverage, at the same time to create the image of a serious office and formal compliance with the law. Nobody asked, how the dick can play role of head. Probably either out of stupidity or out of politeness.

The work of the System consisted of the following:

• Implementation of hundreds of useless stupid regulations and orders

• Mouse fuss about how best to furnish the "deal" - transferring different assets from pocket to pocket between the System, Alpha, VTB, and Sber, which form one corporate group

• Tough raiding on the selection of someone else's property. The 90s compared to Magnitsky, Chichvarkin's mother, Bobylev, and actually with me it's just a children's matinee: the lethality of real and nominal business owners liked by the Systema was cooler than that of the Roman emperors (62%), and smoothly approached the Russian and Lithuanian princes (100%) from Rurikids and Gediminid.

Administration of the "Systema" is a double of the public administration model of fed civil service employees, on the balance sheet of the Systema. I haven't seen it myself, but knowledgeable people say that out of three people in any room at the police office, one will be "on the balance" of the Systema. Personally, I have seen the signatures with which these systema’s people sign documents: in any police department, a person with any name and title will be signed in the same way, stylized with the letter "Alpha." I have a nice set in my archive: OMVD Istra, Krasnoselskoye, Shchukino, Danilovsky, different policemen, a run of dates of 7 years, and one alfa-signature.

To prevent this shit from being noticeable (the real essence of operations), hundreds of committees, commissions, subcommittees, and other fictitious bodies of collegial irresponsibility functioned in the Systema. 90% of the issues considered by them were concerned the implementation of regulations, and compliance with formal procedures. Behind a cloud of small shit in the form of several thousand tasks such as "issue an order," "approve the regulations" it is difficult to see what is wrong with the office in which orders are issued to issue an order to issue an order to issue an order. In short, after my employment, several hundred “poruchenia" (Rus.: management direction) fell on me from a series of implementation of regulations on regulations and approval of orders on orders, and "confidential instructions" of Petrovich.

The orders were absolutely mind blowing, affecting the healthy brain like their mustard gas damaged the batteries of my devices:

- Talk to me (proshu peregovrit(

- Prepare an answer (otvet)

- What is it? (Chto eto?)

- What is it about? (O chyom eto?)

And so on.

And it was actually about the following. Stupid rabbits sincerely considering the system as a legal transparent honest business, like a good wizard who has nowhere to put money except to give another asshole-startuper, dragged all their shit into the system: poems about pony-caramelka, proposals for the production of rabbit milk, laying a water supply system with drinking water from Baikal to Beijing directly to the WooHaHa plants, and also original design ideas for the production of pickles under the Petrovich brand with the MTS logo on the lid. Since the systema was supposed to imitate politeness and legality, it was impossible to say fck off all the schizophrenists who carried this shit, it was necessary to answer politely. To answer politely means to prepare a reasoned refusal, or to request additional material if there are flashes of reason from the author of the proposals. I, a person with three diplomas at that time, including the University of Oxford (where I was accepted, by the way, exempting me from the entrance exams), and with three American certifications, was engaged in the preparation of answers to this shit. And at the same time, "transfer of poruchenia": there was no uncontrolled shit in the Systema. In any gangster office, all incoming calls are tracked very carefully so as not to miss the Trojan at the entrance. For each letter about milking rabbits into the water supply to Baikonur, an order was issued (such as "pr. peregovorit" or "otvet"), and not to fulfill it meant to get a drag at the general meeting, to personally get a cunt from Petrovich, and also to get a cash fine. But there was one way to avoid shame - to postpone the impossible order to the date when it dissolves itself. Or "take it out of control" justifying why it should not be carried out at all. So in addition to studying the rabbit milk market, the specifics of processing shit into butter, calculating ROE when investing in a pony-caramelka suit for Detsky Mir stores, and finding out why Chuykin, who flew to America at the expense of an office with his seemingly not quite an adult mistress, it was necessary to write letters answering instructions: close and transfer poruchenia.

Of all the orders issued, 99% of them in principle could not be executed, or executed within the specified period and in the manner specified in the text of the order. Obviously, the level of frustration, when it is necessary to deal with what by definition cannot be fulfilled with the creation of any value, is very high. And I found a way to disconnect - to rent myself to brainwashers for a working day, and spend the rest of my time on what I need. Since the internal activities of the Systema were initially unprecedentedly destructive, I spent time outside the office restoring my intellectual and physical resource. From here appeared the study of 5 foreign languages in parallel, a certificate of an instructor in alpine skiing, a driver's license for category A, karate kyokushinkai, Russian billiards, and much more.

What is the actual morality of this fable?

And it is that the phrase "you want to make God laugh, tell us about your plans" works only in relation to AFK Systema. Moreover, this kontora Nikonora manages to send everything around in the literal sense, including its chronic non-performance. You just need to open the window a little to let someone from the Systema inside, who demonstrates friendliness and sincerely waving his tail behind the closed window, and also pushes on childhood memories - and you're fucked. Everyone is bought for childhood memories, as in Bykov's story “Mozharovo.”

In a duel with the system, you need to have the first 2 skills that are existentially critical: autonomy of thinking and critical thinking. Otherwise, on childhood memories, passing through Mozharovo, you can open a window in the car that goes on the train to a bright future. Shana tova, bitches.

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[river-starling]

hi!! i noticed you've been reblogging a bunch of genshin stuff lately, so what do you think about the game? who's your favorite character? i'm just curious hehe

Well! I'm glad you asked! I think I'm nearing a whole year of playing the game, technically. Man, it really went fast. My anniversary is next month. I'm only AR 50 though, out of fear for the harder world levels.

This is actually the game that made me realize a pattern in who I crushed on. Apparently, it's platinum blondes/ white-haired characters who are calm, intelligent, and holds a lot of power that's hidden behind their more passive demeanor. Albedo, Kazuha, and a little bit of Lumine. Klee is on that list too, platonically of course.

Then there's a large list of characters I adore one way or another. I try to find a way to appreciate every character, or at least understand why people would like them.

Now, about the game itself? Beautiful soundtrack and scenery. I'm one of the blessed few who can afford a computer and have the graphics up max, and let me tell you, I've stared up at a singular angle of scenery for the whole day and night cycle just falling in love.

Can you imagine how fresh the fruit is there? How nice watching the trees sway would be? Especially if you're able to hear the soundtrack while experiencing it all? Perfection.

Now, plotwise? I only finished Inazuma's Archon quest and a little bit of the Chasm one with Dainsleif, so I don't know the full story. I've been focusing on other things instead, like finishing up Mondstadt and Liyue until completion. Including the daily commissions achievements that you get from blowing dandelions or playing pirates.

There is an immaculate amount of story, and I keep hearing about more parts I've missed. I've never really been too interested in war stories, though, so most of my interests get attached to smaller things of the lore. Or the functions of how the world would work.

I am so curious about the element reactions and how most of the dendro ones would work in a scientific type of standpoint. Though I am really curious about the whole Abyss plot line and how that all happened, which is a shame because that's the last question that'll likely be answered.

I started playing Star Rail the day it came out for my servers, and I haven't made it very far in that, so I don't know if this will stick. But it's so sad seeing the characters just around and chilling, compared to Genshin, where you hardly find any life or hints of them.

I want the character in Genshin to leave a bigger impact. I want to see flyers around Mondstadt inviting you to Barbara's new performance, where it shows a picture of her doing a typical idol pose.

I want an NPC dialog in Inazuma where some random guy is like "ugh I just met the most obnoxious guy yesterday. He kept asking to do beetle battles with me. I don't even own a beetle!". I want proof that the characters are still alive in the world, and we just keep missing them by a hair.

On that note! I want to get previous event weapons. I HAVE Albedo, I love him! I want to be able to doll him up! Let me give him the weapon that's the best for him, and literally MADE for him!

And let me replay old events, too! Even the ones we already did! Mona's door is Right There and you're doing nothing with it. Do you know how easy it would be to just have her in there? She can Look Into The Past! Just give her some money and pay her bills and she'll let you play an old event! It'd even add more proof that the characters don't just dissappear if there's not an event going on or some Archon quest.

Anyway, case in point. I love the game, but I have some complaints.

#i think i may have a sneaking suspicious on who you are and...if im right #are we both really that see-through? #please genshin let the cast have a life #i miss hearing about all the lovely characters and the adventures they go through #thanks for the prompt of a ramble! #my only genshin friend has left for a while to deal with things so i have WORDS to share #star pulses

[adonis-koo]

wicked • 4

↳ Summary: In a desperate hope to stop war from breaking you are a serviced to wed the most vile man alive, the one who has committed atrocities and war crimes beyond comprehension, he who is responsible for the fall of many nations, the wicked prince who’s heart is made of stone. You are to marry a man who challenges every belief and moral you stand for, all while being faced in a foreign land with nobody but yourself too trust…But are you both truly that different? Or is hate not too far from love?

↳ Pairing: Jungkook/reader feat. Seokjin

↳ Genre: arranged marriage AU, enemies to lovers, it’s kind of a period AU??? Historical but also technically not? prince!AU, eventual smut

Word Count: 10k shes a long one babes

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Note: everyone giving me so much love over this series never fails to make me squeal!!! thank u to everyone who has said such lovely things about wicked! I hope you enjoy this next part!

“Here go on, take this to your family.” 

This was the only time you had to yourself these days, in the early wake of the day when the world was still murky and dark out and clouded sunlight would occasionally shroud. Today however...today was different, there was a warmth from the sunlight that kindled against your skin pleasantly and the sky was so blue, an azure color that crossed the vast sky and massive fluffy white clouds lazily breezed by. 

The little girl shyly took the loaf of bread you had wrapped up as you shooed her along with a little giggle, knowing she had been lingering in hopes that maybe you would ready another story, you had found it tucked deep in the bookshelf that had lined your room, an old folktale book, children’s stories, you had first found it a month ago during your first few weeks of staying in Penumbra and the idea had come to you like lightening. 

In hopes of keeping yourself grounded, you wanted to visit the outer villages of Penumbra, Wheein looked surprised when you asked if that would be okay and she was more than happy to wake early with you and accompany you to the outer districts. You had even asked the kitchen to keep any leftovers in the bakery rather than throw out anything and let it go to waste, as that was what was requested of the kitchen in Eunoia, food never went to waste there. 

It was a daily routine now to take any leftovers from the kitchen and distribute to all the children that would gather outside and play before their daily chores and soon you had gained a rather large crowd when you had begun reading aloud before giving out what you could in even distribution. 

The little girl- no older than four surely only smiled meekly at you, bowing her head silently before she scampered along the dirt path, “Hehe Duri! Chul! Boys enough! There is enough for the both of you!” Wheein kept giggling at the two little boys that kept arguing with each other. Of course, this was Wheein’s village she was from before she had started as a palace maid, so she was very familiar with all of the children. 

It made a small smile grace your lips as she broke the loaf in half, handing one piece to each of them as the excitedly grabbed onto it. 

You enjoyed this, it made life in Penumbra less hellish when you were able to connect to some of it’s humble souls. Contrary to the belief that royals preferred the capitol you could be less then bothered with it, too many people casted judging eyes on you there, too many buildings, too much coal and smoke, it felt somewhat claustrophobic as you had been used to the open pastures and flora that mingled and intertwined against every building and stable in Eunoia, it was an open plain of raw beauty in comparison. 

You had been trying to not compare the two as of late, it was on Wheein’s suggestion that Penumbra had it’s own beauty, even if it was not the same kind as Eunoia, thus you had been trying to change your mindset. But still, you felt peaceful here in the outer districts, and you even had hopes that...maybe one day you would be able to help the people out here start growing their own crops and create their own small version of paradise. 

Not that it was ugly by any means, but it was considerably barren, tree’s were thin and close to dead out here, only few tuffs of grass could be spotted along the caked ground of dirt and mud and it came as no surprise as to why housing was so minimal here. But still...you could...appreciate the minimalist way of life they lived here, the people here were so quiet, hardly ever speaking a word, but no words were needed when you could see a little twinkle of light in their eyes at your regular visitation. 

The last two boys Duri and Chul, who were Wheein’s little cousins ran along as she waved them goodbye, a sweet smile on her face as she shook her head, hugging her arms around herself as she spoke, “They always get so excited when they see you these days m'lady.”

You let out a tiny laugh as you stood up, brushing off your skirt, “Not as much as when they see you. Skol is a very quaint place, I enjoy visiting here. Especially when I get to see so many little faces with smiles….I had a question though…” 

Wheein stood beside you as she folded up the large cloth bag that you both had used to store the bread from the kitchens, Skol, Wheein’s village was always the last place you had stopped before heading back to the castle, “Oh? What is it, Princess?” 

You had a feeling you knew what the answer would be but you wanted to at the very least confirm what you suspected with the outer districts, “Is there...perhaps a form of education here in the outer districts?” 

Wheein tilted her head as she frowned, “Oh...I’m afraid not, Penumbra has gained a vast amount of wealth but so much has been spent on the wars, thus leaving the outer districts still far behind the rest of the kingdom…” She frowned a little as she glanced at the crusted dirt and mud you both had walked over as if...somewhat saddened by the idea. 

You nodded, offering a sympathetic smile as you gave one last look to Skol...You’d love to be able to give more back to the people, but there were a lot of challenges you’d have to overcome in order to do that. The first being finding a financial aid that was willing to sponsor you, and while one might think that wouldn’t be difficult as crowned Princess of Penumbra, unfortunately though the court was still extremely frosty with you. 

This was partially your own doing you supposed, this last month had been filled with routine and little change. You and your husband hadn’t spoken once since the last event you had shared together which ended in an argument that he had taken extreme offense over. And you had much time to think over your own cutting words you had spoken.

After witnessing the humble beginnings and the patient, hard work of the outer districts, you...in some ways could understand Jungkook’s anger at your words...Though you didn’t exactly like to admit it. However, at the time, you hadn’t been referring to the honest people of the outer districts. The stark contrast between the mentality of the outer districts and the inner city couldn’t be compared to one another. 

Not to you at least.

Regardless, you had been trying to be more open minded in at the very least, trying to become acquainted with Penumbra’s people, and it was baby steps after all...You would eventually work up the courage to try and interact more with the people in the inner city and districts but...Just not for now, as they were as frosty with you as the court was- which you had admittedly avoided at all cost. 

Interacting with the court meant possibly interacting with your husband and it was already unbearable as it was having to sit across from him once a week by the king’s request, rather than waste his energy in glaring he just pretended you didn’t exist now. You supposed it was better than the cold glares you used to get back in the beginning of your stay. But still, that was the only time you had ever seen him in the last month, was at dinner with the king once a week and still, a word hadn’t been ushered to one another since that fatal night of the midnight walk otherwise, you both lived very separate lives. 

Which was fine with you of course, it gave you the space to heal from all your ideals of what you had planned for your life before Penumbra, time to mourn your lost love of Seokjin who you still painfully thought of when the nights became too long and your heart in too much pain. 

“I hope one day, to be able to help develop the outer villages.” You finally spoke after a much long silence causing Wheein to snap her head towards you, her pupils wide as if surprised with your words. 

You found it odd, how she always seemed surprised at what you said, as if she wasn’t used to it or hadn’t expected it, “You...want to develop Skol and the other villages…?” She spoke, almost lost in her words as she tilted her head. 

You offered a weak smile, raising a brow as you felt somewhat sheepish at her words, “Well of course...I’d love to start with something feasible like agriculture or maybe a school house...but there’s a lot of things I’d have to take into consideration in order to start the process.” 

Wheein only stared at you for a moment before a dimpled smile graced her face as she excitedly clasped her hands, “The people of Skol would love that…!” She said no more but you could tell by her bubbling energy that she seemed to love the idea and just that alone made you smile as you walked along the path of the city now. 

You paused though at the sight of colorful banners being put up, flags flying high and children running past you all chasing one another with swords as you did a full one eighty, with the sun out it was like an entirely different kingdom, “...Why is it so busy today…?” You asked as you turned to Wheein. 

Wheein smiled excitedly, “The Swordsman tournament is today! Heh, surely you knew that Princess? Or has the routine of daily life already gotten to you?” She raised her brows, perhaps a little endeared at the way you awkwardly looked away from her, suddenly feeling bad that you had forgotten an important event. That was right, the Swordsman tournament had been coming up hadn’t it? 

Wheein had talked a lot about it in the coming weeks as it was clearly a favorite event of hers, you looked around a little curiously as you spoke, “Well..forgive me...even after a month I’m still having trouble remembering all the events that take place here in Penumbra.” Truthfully before you had gotten married you just assumed it was fire and brimstone here, which you felt somewhat ashamed of now as it was clear much like any other kingdom Penumbra still had its own mark of culture and traditions, even if they were unorthodox compared to most. 

Wheein hooked her arm around yours as she smiled, “All is forgiven Princess, it just makes me happy you’re trying your best to remember and integrate. Even if it’s in small steps. The Swordsman tournament is the most anticipated event all year. You experienced the midnight walk- the mourn of our dead nation Seoul. The Swordsman tournament is a celebration of the rise of Penumbra. Swordsmanship is…” 

Wheein paused for a moment as if to gather her words, “It’s considered an art form to us. A show of expression and craft- a sport beyond beauty. Crafting and swordsmanship plays a vast part in our culture, as it was through wielding our blade that gave us the strength to stand once more. Lots of events take place in town, sword swallowing, dagger juggling, dualing of course is a big tradition as well, a crafting contest takes place and children often make wooden swords in effort to keep up with the fast pace of the event.” 

Approaching the castle, you walked over the bridge of water that curved upward slightly, “My pa always took me and my brothers used to come to the capitol every year to watch the events, we’d chase each other with wooden swords everywhere after watching the tournament.” She laughed a little, scratching her cheek as if a little embarrassed. 

You only smiled though, fascinated at hearing her own stories about this day as you tilted your head, endeared at the idea of little Wheein with scratched and dirty cheeks trying to keep up with her brothers, a little wooden sword in hand. 

You had once though Penumbra was nothing but barbaric in the way they wielded weapons but...things seemed so much different when Wheein talked about it, when children played in the streets so effortlessly, it was odd… difficult even, to come to the realization that Penumbra wasn’t the monster the world made them out to be when things of this nature happened so effortlessly. 

You paused, just outside the courtyard gates as you watched all the knights near the barracks sparring, a certain someone currently training, “The swordsman tournament is what it sounds like,” Wheein spoke up as she stood beside you with a tiny smile as she watched your husband continue sparring, not against one but two people, his sword looked as if it was an extension of himself as he ducked under what could have been a fatal blow and those swords didn’t look dull…”It lasts two days all total and anyone is able to sign up for it, it’s what makes it such a big event, it’s also tradition for the Crowned Prince to participate each year.” 

This wasn’t an uncommon sight persay, you just usually didn’t take the time to watch your husband spar, he was out here at the crack of dawn every day training the guardsmen himself, you just never cared to pay much attention until now. 

He was light on his feet, dodging and blocking every blow gracefully, managing to best one opponent in the process of this, “Anyone…?” You cocked your head as you turned to Wheein out of curiosity, it would explain it being a two day event that had to attract a lot of people from everywhere in the Kingdom. 

“Anyone,” Wheein smiled, “Everyone wants to show their pride for our nation, and nothing could show pride more than entering the Ring…”

You hummed in thought as you turned back to the barracks only for you to jolt at the sight of your husband sticking his sword into the ground, his eyes icy as ever as he stared back at you. Was he actually looking at you right now…!? You leered away a little, not liking his stare as you gestured Wheein along her eyes darting between the silent interaction between you both as a smile curved on her lips, “You’ll be attending, right m’lady?” 

Your frown was immediate, not answering for a long moment as you clasped your hands together, “...Well...It’s not that I don’t want to but…” Jungkook’s words had lingered in your mind the last month, but they strictly went against what the King had asked of you, granted the King had given you some leeway in the sense that you’d only have to attend what he wanted you too. But still....”I doubt Jungkook would want to see me there...if his last words spoken to me are anything to go by…” 

A pout formed on Wheein’s lips as she spoke, “That was a month ago Princess…! The Prince…” She sighed, “He’s a complicated one, I think...he would appreciate your effort to genuinely try and participate in one of our holidays.” You said nothing as you looked away from Wheein, severely doubting her words, “And…” She continued on with a weak smile, “I don’t think the Prince will say anything, not with the King around at least. Give it a try Princess,” She spoke encouragingly, “I know you’ll enjoy it…! Even if it’s not what you’re accustomed to!” 

You wrapped your arms around yourself as the guards opened the castle gates to you, finally you relented, “Very well…I’ll attend so long as you keep me company the whole time.” 

Wheein was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement, immediately agreeing as she clapped her hands together. If anything, it was worth saying yes just to see her excitement. 

“The tournament lasts two days, the day before it starts a test is done to see where the opponents skills are and they are matched with someone of a similar skill set, depending on how many people there are will determine how many rounds there are. Each victor of each round will secure their place in the next day’s fight. Once the second day comes the same thing will happen, except this time the victors of both days will go head to head with each other and continue advancing rounds based on the new victor of each round until only one remains.” Wheein was excitedly explaining the tournament to you as you smiled patiently.

You were currently walking to the Ring after having been changed into something comfortable but a little more formal for the occasion, you hadn’t been opposed to attending to begin with. After a month of self reflection you had wanted to, at the very least give Penumbra a fair chance in judgement from you, the only thing that deterred you was your husband but still…You’d need to start somewhere and you wouldn’t back down to him, try as he might. 

“Are there any rules to the game?” You asked as you tilted your head a little, passing by tents of all the more prestigious competitors, some already outside warming up and others still getting dressed as you paused, waiting for Wheein who looked distracted for a brief moment, following her gaze to Taehyung who looked busy prepping with another Seer what looked like potions of some sort. 

“Yes…!” Wheein cleared her throat as she smiled, “Any weapon and shield is allowed in the ring, there is only one way to claim victory and it’s through incapacitating your opponent's weapon or if he gives up. I will warn you though Princess,” Wheein frowned a little, “There are always a few in the batch that are bloodthirsty, anything is permitted in the ring so long as cheating isn’t involved, meaning a few death’s always occur.” 

Your nose wrinkled at her words, deaths…? So killing did happen…? You supposed it was inevitable but...the whole fighting, death and swords came as foreign to you, Eunoia was considered pacifistic in nature, things of this nature never occurred there before. Thus making it a little jarring to imagine for you, “I see…” You hummed out, overlooking all the tents, “If that’s the case then surely there must be a lot of skilled competition, yes?” Wheein nodded as you asked, “Then who won last year…?” 

“Me.” 

You jumped a little at the cold deep voice that spoke behind you, whirling around before you took a sharp two steps back at the sudden sight of your husband in front of you as he pushed open the flap of his tent...this had been his tent!? Out of all the tents...lady luck had abandoned you the day you stepped foot in this nation. 

Jungkook was only half way dressed, a loose white shirt hanging off his broad shoulders and his lower half already dressed in armor as his eyes cut a little at the sight of you though you were sure he had to know you were out here talking, “Are you that daft?” He snorted out, his expression unforgiving, “Or did you forget what I asked last time we spoke?” 

Your jaw clenched and you refused to coil away from him as your lips twitched, “As Penumbra’s Crowned Princess I have just as much of a right to be here as you do.” You could understand in some ways his anger but it had been a month...was he really set on giving you hell over this?

“Penumbra’s Crown Princess?” He mocked, a cool smile on his lips that hardly looked friendly before he sneered out, “You hardly deserve that title at all for an outsider who doesn’t respect nor appreciate our home and it’s culture, you don’t even deserve to witness let alone participate in today’s events. Go home little princess,” He growled quietly as he stepped closer to you, “Nobody wants you here, me least of all.” 

You sucked in a harsh breath of air, trying to let go of his words as you refused to speak anymore to him, refusing to play this game with him as it hadn’t gotten you anywhere before and you more than anything, wanted to be mindful of what you said in front of Wheein. 

Jungkook stared down at you, his gaze icy before he turned around, “Jung, have you seen Taehyun? The boy hasn’t gotten back yet and the trumpets are going to be going off soon.” 

Wheein offered a small curtesy, clearly feeling a little awkward at what she just witnessed as she spoke softly, “I apologize Your Highness, I haven’t seen him yet today, Taehyung might be able to help you though.” 

Jungkook only nodded before making his way over to Taehyung. 

You weren’t paying attention anymore, your body stiff and your arms wrapped around yourself as you felt frustration filter through your entire body as your jaw clenched once more...Why was your vision blurring…? Oh no…! You wouldn’t cry! You absolutely would not cry here, especially where Jungkook was still in sight! 

You sucked a deep breath of air as you began walking through the tents as Wheein called out to you, hurriedly trying to catch up to you, “Princess! Oh Princess!” 

Warm tears were already trickling down your face as you paused, covering your forehead as you sighed, you were trying so hard to accept this way of life, to adapt to a completely foreign land, and it wasn’t that you wanted special treatment. You didn’t expect Jungkook to be nice to you, especially given all the harsh words you both had spoken before. 

But his presence never helped in any way, shape or form, and all it gave you now was feelings of frustration and admittedly a vague sense of alienation. He was right, why should you even bother trying if you would never belong…? Was that why you had deep down not tried with the court? 

“Princess, don’t let the Prince get to you like that…!” Wheein almost whined out, her eyes big and somewhat glassy as she folded her hands together at your pitiful state, unable to stop your lips from trembling as you only shook your head, “He’s only hurt, and our Prince has never been the best at expressing his hurt.” 

Your lips twitched as you scoffed out a laugh, “What does he have to be hurt over?” You looked at Wheein, tears still dripping down your cheeks as you questioned her, “He wasn’t the one that was made to leave his kingdom and all his friends and his family, his culture, his traditions, he hasn’t been embarrassed relentlessly and alienated from his court. So tell me, what does he have to be hurt over?” 

Wheein’s lips trembled a little, hurt for you as she sighed, lowering her gaze a little as she spoke, “I can’t say with certainty, but Taehyun and I talk...It just seems like he’s hurt about your lack of enthusiasm to learn more about Penumbra, he’s hurt because his father disregarded his own love and forced him into marriage, while the Prince looks cold, he’s still human, it’s...it’s a complex situation m’lady.” Wheein tenderly grabbed your hands with a reassuring squeeze as you closed your eyes, warm tears trickling down your cheeks, “I understand your own hurt though, he shouldn’t be so cold when you are trying your best . But don’t let him get to you, you were right, you have just as much right to attend as he. Don’t let him ruin the day for you.” 

You only lowered your gaze, knowing she was right as you took a breath to calm yourself, “I only wish it was easier…” 

“I know m’lady, but you’re doing the best you can, try not to think about it anymore. The tournament will start soon so let's go find seats, shall we?” Wheein offered a small smile that you couldn’t help but weakly mirror as you nodded, wiping away your tears before you allowed Wheein to tug you along, weaving through all the tents, enough time was given to put yourself back together and hopefully no one would notice you hadn’t been crying previously. 

The stalls were packed with people, and those which were not seated had all gathered around the area, some sitting on the ground while others stood in excitement, Wheein however escorted you to the royal sitting area, you hadn’t been thrilled about it but allowed her to guide you there anyways, you could sit far enough away from the rest of the court which only sneered at your presences as you tried to ignore them. 

Gasps and whispers from the crowd had erupted through causing you to straighten a little, looking out over all the faces and curious eyes that laid on your figure as smiles and a bubbling energy had formed, you felt at a loss as you looked towards Wheein for help as she giggled, “Don’t look like that Princess, as lost as you feel you do still carry a strong reputation with everyone regardless of inner or outer district.” But you felt even more at a loss of what to say, causing her to laugh even more as you glanced back over the crowd, children giggling and pointing at you while bouncing excitedly, “You’re Eunoia’s Dryad Matron? The Princess so kind that even animals bow to her? I’ve seen it myself plenty of times.” 

You felt your ears burning as you looked away from Wheein in embarrassment...Dryad Matron…? What silly idea was that? You were flattered of course but, “...I’m not a Dryad Matron…” You mumbled, feeling bashful, a Dryad Matron was the highest earned title a Eunoian could have, it was only announced after the trials of the forest had taken place and when one would become divine with nature. As a young girl you had only dreamed of being presented the opportunity, especially with dryad blood in your veins but...How had word got out that you were something as divine as such? 

“Well to the people you are,” Wheein smiled knowingly as she spoke softly, “They’ve been excited for such a long time for your arrival, the people. I know I was,” She admitted somewhat bashful, “True the inner city might not be impressed by you but all of the outer districts were ecstatic at the news of you marrying the Prince- mine included,” She smiled, “We had all hoped you would live up to your name and perhaps- instill a sense of peace we haven’t felt sense the fall of Seoul. The people understand just as I do, of course, that you’ve needed space but…” Her eyes sparkled a little as she looked over the crowd, “I think they’re excited to see you participate in our most beloved holiday.” 

You were filled with an odd sense of love at so many excited faces because of your appearance, you said no more but you couldn’t help but smile a little at the idea. You peered in curiosity at a man who walked to the center of the Ring before he called out, “Welcome my people!” The cheer was practically a roar of passion which caused you to jolt, not expecting such a loud cry of cheers, “To the annual swordsmen tournament! This is our 75th anniversary!” 

You didn’t think the roar of the crowd could get any louder but it did, it was a thundering war that echoed all across the kingdom, even overwhelming, “As you all know, there are no rules to this tournament lest there be cheating in sight!” He waved his hands animatedly causing all the little children to giggle and bounce around, “Weapons and shields of any sort are allowed, even your fists if you truly fancy it! But be warned death is permitted and it will be the battle of the wills. Let the games begin!” The crowd roared once more as he walked up to his throne at the far end of the Ring before taking a seat. 

The two men first presented both waved their swords out to the crowd before bowing to one another, they looked gruff in presentation but one was far bigger than the other, surely he’d win. His biceps had to be the size of your head! You glanced in curiosity before turning to look at Wheein who had joined the crowd in cheers as she bounced in excitement, you weren’t sure how this was exciting when all you felt was anxious for both men but you were at the very least fascinated.

Both men clashed swords, their throws seemed rather slow and sloppy but the larger man had swung with enough force to surely decapitate given the height he had on the other, you jumped in your seat as the smaller man narrowly dodged the blow, anxiety knotting in your stomach as you clasped your hands together.

Surprisingly the smaller man who you first thought had no chance seemed to take advantage of his size, quickly whirling around his opponent before harshly kicking his back causing him to fall, rolling onto his back only to be met with a sword at the throat. You jolted in your seat feeling anxiety raise in you only to let out a breath when the sword stopped at his throat. The smaller man lifted his sword in victory as they declared him the winner. 

Most matches seemed to go rather quicker than anticipated, for you at least. It wasn’t until one pair came out that things quickly became violent, you were on the edge of your seat the whole time at the way the man grinned viciously as he swung his word, his opponent stood no chance when he stumbled over a rock that seemed to be embedded in the dirt of the ring.

Taking the opportunity he swung as the crowd gasped, you jumped in your seat as your mouth covered your hand. Your stomach twisted in sickness as the head rolling off his shoulders, stumbling a few feet away from his body that collapsed onto the ground as the man grinned while raising his sword. 

Your eyes couldn’t stop from staring at the blood that poured from the man's body as you felt the urge to vomit, this…? This was allowed? You glanced at Wheein briefly before back to the bloody sight ahead that made you wince,surprisingly all you heard were boo’s from the crowd, “It’s considered dishonorable to kill a man in the tournament. It’s expected but that doesn’t make it right.” Wheein spoke softly as she glanced towards you though she didn’t seem nearly as affected as you as you felt, your body stiffening as they dragged the body and head away. But then again, if Wheein had watched as a child...did that mean she had witnessed blood at such a tender young age? You glanced towards all the children in the crowd, some parents covering their eyes while others were left unattended, both glanced back at her as you tried to shake the gory image from your mind. 

The next pair that came out was the last of today's tournament, a proud looking knight who wore black armor and next to him was...Jungkook, he looked solid as if nothing could push him down as he shot the crowd with a charismatic smile that made their cheers sound in roars. He looked like a totally different person. Putting on his helmet he bowed to his opponent before the match began. 

You felt somewhat on edge after witnessing what you just had, but it seemed your worries were futile. Jungkook looked as if he was dancing with grace as he sharply dodged and defended every blow of his aggressive opponent who was thrashing his scimitar at him. 

Metal clashed on metal as they locked grips, you couldn’t see Jungkook’s face but you could almost feel the way his body was resisting with every ounce of strength he had before he shoved the man away, the crowd bursting in cheers as he whirled the sword in his hand. 

Him and his opponent walking in a circle as he lifted his sword back up confidently and just like lightning he was was the aggressor this time, Jungkook was like spitting fire in his swordplay, effortlessly dodging whatever weak blows his opponent attempted to make before he dealt a powerful blow that caused the man to break his stance, Kicking him down you jumped back in your seat a little as Jungkook pressing his foot onto the mans chest, you covered your eyes unable to watch further before you heard a scream from the crowd, peeping through your hand you were in shock to see Jungkook’s sword staying at the mans throat as he pulled off his helmet. 

Sticking his sword into the ground he held out his hand, and then you watched a sight before you which you had never seen before, let alone knew was even capable of your husband, he gave a beautiful single dimpled smile to the man who in turned took off his own helmet, your lips parting in somewhat surprise at the sight of his competitor being Jeong Dae, who was laughing as he patted the boy on the back, “You’ve met Jeong Dae by now, right?” Wheein asked as she noted the curiosity in your eyes at their interaction. You nodded silently as she continued, “Despite being the king’s brother and advisor him and the Prince are very close,” She lowered her voice as she spoke quietly, “It’s said he raised the Prince more then the king did- as he was occupied with the war when the Prince was a child.” 

Jungkook pulled his sword from the ground before bowing his head to the crowd making them go even crazier, some even throwing flowers in his direction before he headed back for his tent. 

Even as a child huh…? You sighed as your body let go of tension you hadn’t even realized you were holding in. Today had been...intense to say the least and you were admittedly glad it was over. You had kept a very simple routine over the last month of your stay in Penumbra and you admittedly hadn’t been used to socializing this much in a long time. 

Getting up from the stands you both exited the ring as Wheein smiled at you, “Well, how was the first day for you Princess?” She looked eager for your answer as you gave her a tired but genuine smile. 

“It was fascinating...and stressful,” You added as she giggled at your words, “But I enjoyed it, I can see why it’s a highly anticipated event for Penumbra.” If the crowd was anything to go by, Wheein was correct in saying it was the biggest celebration in Penumbra. 

“That sounds about right…” Wheein only smiled, happy with your answer and she was possibly the most patient person you had ever met in your life, “Oh…!” She suddenly gasped as if she had a thought, “M’lady…! If you wanted to try and connect with the people more...perhaps you could go to the tavern where all of the participants are staying and congratulate them. I’m sure they’ll love it! Any words of encouragement from the Royal family are always appreciated!” 

You paused your steps at her words...visit...the tavern…? Your mind wanted to immediately dismiss the idea as what kind of Princess ever went to the tavern? The more conscious part of your mind quickly forced that idea to the back of your mind. Wheein was right after all, it would be a good idea to try and take your first steps into being more interactive in the inner city than you had been and while you still weren’t a fan of the idea you knew there wasn’t ever going to be a perfect time to start. 

Wheein had waited patiently as you mulled it over in your mind before you finally sighed, letting your shoulders relax a little, “Well…” You spoke a little hesitantly, it was only for a few minutes after all...just as she said, surely it wouldn’t hurt? “Why not, we won’t stay long.” 

Wheein clapped her hands together, delighted at your answer as she spoke, “Yes, of course m’lady! Oh it’ll be perfect!” 

Wheein walked along the path escorting you to the tavern as you noticed plenty of eyes on you and not in a good way. One of the reasons you had been avoiding the inner city and districts altogether was due to how backwards things felt here. Everyone in Eunoia was so warm and welcomed all travelers with open arms and gentle smiles, no matter how battered and stand-offish foreigners came across. Perhaps because your kingdom was used to many coming and going during the war time but still. 

It was different here, the opposite in fact, you had come into unknown territory and everyone was wary of you now, and you understood, Penumbra didn’t accept immigration from outsiders and kept among themselves and even if they did...given their reputation you doubt many would willingly immigrate to Penumbra regardless.

Still though...feeling so many unwelcoming and wary eyes always had you under a sort of self conscious tension as if you were trespassing in unwelcomed territory. 

Your thoughts were halted at Wheein’s stop, turning to you with a reassuring smile as you looked at the wooden door where sound was muffled before she opened the tavern door, your pupils undoubtedly had to look like saucers at the ruckus inside. 

You had never been inside a tavern before and yet it looked just as much as you imagined it to be, if not maybe a little worse, ale was spilt all over the place and it reeked of body odor from all the men who had fought today, songs were being drunkenly sang, men wrestled on the table and coins were being thrown about, all of this however had slowly began to quiet down as you stepped further into the tavern, gaining more and more eyes. 

You had paused in your tracks, feeling somewhat self conscious once more. You hadn’t said a word and yet the tavern which had been bolstering and loud not seconds ago had become dead silent, all eyes on your figure. You...you hadn’t meant to...You looked at Wheein feeling at a loss of what to say or do, she only smiled encouragingly as she nodded her head to everyone. 

You gave a small nod back before looking around, gaining the courage to offer a small smile to all the drunken men who looked at you as if you were a mythical creature.

“I just wanted to come here,” You spoke softly, pulling the hood of your head, coughing a little in an attempt to speak up, “To congratulate all of the victors of today. While I am not from these lands it has been an honor to watch today's event. I wish you all the best of luck for tomorrow.” You offered a timid smile as you bowed your head, everyone looking somewhat stunned at your words and for a brief moment you were worried you had said something offensive. 

The cheers of everyone burst out like a roar and they animatedly raised their glasses at you before guzzling down beer, liquid splattering against the floor as the music suddenly started back up and the noise continued. 

Drunken men had stumbled over to you left in right as you took a step back in surprise at all the thanks you were getting, “So it’s true! The Dryad Matron is as gentle as the soft wind in the trees and tender as the rabbit in the field,” A man stumbled forward, already looking somewhat drunk as he raised his mug towards you. 

You couldn’t help but laugh a little shyly, feeling immensely embarrassed at all the attention you were getting, you weren’t of the personality that really enjoyed being at the center and right now everyone was practically gushing over you. Somewhat uneasy at all of the attention, you glanced  at Wheein for help as she only giggled before gesturing to you encouragingly to keep up the pace of everyone, “How ‘bout we buy a pint for our lovely princess!” He shouted, causing everyone to cheer as well.

They….they wanted to buy you a drink…? You felt apprehensive but everyone seemed so excited you were here, the long awaited Princess who had yet to meet her new people...certainly it wouldn’t hurt to stay for a few minutes...right?

In hindsight...you had made a horrible decision in choosing to drink that pint.

A few minutes had turned into a few hours quicker than you had even realized and the world which had once been still felt like it was slowly beginning to turn all around you. The only alcohol you had ever indulged in before was wine at dinner but something about having beer in your system caused you to laugh a lot freer, your mind wasn’t clouded by social protocol and you had zero problems letting yourself snort out laughter while chugging down your drink while enjoying the men's lively actions in the tavern as they all dedicated their every game and battle to their Crowned Princess.

“Well what do we have here, the lovely Princess of Eunoia.” 

The sound of the slithering voice which perhaps would have put you on edge sober only had you twisting around to face lethargically, an easy smile tugging on your lips as you waved your drink up to the viscous man.

Oh you remembered this man from today...he was that knight from the Rosewood clan, the one who ruthlessly decapitated his opponent. If you were in your right mind you surely would’ve been wary of him and questioned why he was here in the tavern if he was a knight who could sleep within the walls of the castle. 

But seeing as you weren’t, you only raised your mug to him as you animatedly waved your hand about, “That’s me.” You shrugged a little and gave a cheeky smile as you heard the other men cheer you on before you lifted the mug to your lips, liquid dripping down your chin as you slurped on it messily. 

You never would have dreamed of getting drunk in Eunoia, it would’ve been a scandal for ages and yet...here in Penumbra not a soul even blinked twice at the sight, and briefly in your drunken haze, you were grateful for the fact that while Penumbra may not have been the most welcoming, being free of stiff and strict royal protocol was a relief.

“Oh Princess,” He tsked, a smile curving on his lips as he leaned down, wiping the liquid from your chin as he gave a mocking pout, “My my, aren't you being a little scandalous, drinking around all these men without your husband present?” He asked, his voice sneered a little as he gave you a condescending smile, mug in hand but he looked sober compared to everyone else, “What would your husband think of you surrounded by so many men?” 

You would’ve been insulted had this not been your fourth pint, instead you busting out a loud laugh as if that was the funniest thing you had ever heard of and all the other men in the tavern had joined along with you. Your husband? What your husband would thinking…? Just the thought had you giggling again as you stood up, your legs wobbling a little as you stumbled over to him, pressing a finger to his chest.

“My husband?” You giggled again as you swayed back a little, “My husband doesn’t give a damn what I do. And furthermore- (hic) -I don’t care what he thinks.” You felt proud of yourself as you heard all the men roar in cheer for you, raising your pint again before you lifted it to your mouth but you had lifted it too high causing all of the liquor to spill out and drip down your dress. God you should hang around these people more often they actually enabled and encouraged what the court thought was your bad behavior. 

The knight only looked down at you, suddenly an amused laughing escaped him as he smiled once more, leaning in a little as he spoke, “Is that so, m’lady? Then I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing such a beautiful princess with the rest of us, wouldn’t he…?” 

Wheein groaned as she grabbed her head, not enjoying drinking at all but once you had started you had somehow convinced her down the line to drink with you and that you’d pay for it all, in fact you even suggested paying for the whole taverns drinks much to her frantic dismay. 

But as soon as the alcohol had hit her system she had definitely loosened  up...and felt extremely sick. 

Fortunately, Wheein may have been drunk but she wasn’t nearly intoxicated as, having kept in the back of her mind that she’d need to be able to properly get you home and in bed before she retired herself, she quickly stumbled over at the sight of what was going on, standing in front of you somewhat defensively as you were not in a good state of mind to be having this type of conversation, “We’ll be going now.” 

You immediately whined at her words but Wheein was quickly sobering in the moment as her eyes met the Knight’s, he was from the Rosewood clan and everyone knew they were nothing but trouble and drunk as she may be, Wheein would be damned before she left you alone with a man such as him, she wasn’t having it at your whines as she grabbed your arm, “(hic) Wheein!” Your stomach was beginning to churn as she dragged you out of the tavern. When did it become dark? “Why can’t we stay longer…?” You whined out, hiccuping again, “I…! I made friends!” 

Your brows furrowed and the world looked more blurry than you remembered as Wheein did her best to get you both to the castle, “Princess…! It’s late,” Wheein rubbed her head, trying to ignore the dull throb as she attempted to walk in a straighter line but it was like her body was out of control of it’s limbs, “We need to return to the castle.”

Wheein paused, her eyes squinting at the road as she paused causing you to smash into her with another whine, suddenly feeling your stomach lurch as you grabbed your mouth...You didn’t feel so good…

Wheein was determined though to get you both to the castle in one piece albeit she was a little turned around in her directions a few times. If the guards noticed you both were drunk they didn’t say a word, perhaps seeing this as the most entertainment they’d get for the night as you both bumbled around trying to walk properly. 

You looked like a lost puppy when you stumbled on the stairs, whining out in frustration at how they seemed to go on and on forever, you had been walking up the steps for at least a good hour now! Which in reality had been less the two minutes and you had lost more and more gross motor ability to even climb properly

“God who built this place (hic) so many stairs.” You whimpered out with a cry, attempting to not sway backwards, “Seriously! Who need’s a castle this big anyways Wheein?” You turned to face her and you had accidentally leaned too far forward, smashing into her as she squeaked out, grabbing onto the rail for dear life.

“We need to get you to bed, Your Highness!” Wheein cried out herself as you both fumbled to stand back up right as she grabbed her head, she was beginning to feel dizzy as well but was definitely sober enough to regret you talking her into drinking at all, this was her fault of course...she just wanted you to be more comfortable in the inner city, she hadn’t realized you’d be that easily persuaded into drinking your weight in liquor.

You stomped your foot as you pointed a finger at her, “I…” You paused for a second as if not remembering what you were going to say before determinedly continuing, “I don’t have to go to bed! I could (hic) stay up the whole night if I wanted to! In fact…! I think...I….I want to go back to the tavern!” You struggled to get your words right but you still threw your arms up animatedly, in doing so you also threw your weight too far back and ended up stumbling down the stairs making Wheein yelp in concern for you. 

Your fall had been cut short as you smashed into something that had caught you upright, your jaw still hurt from smacking into it though as tears nearly gathered in your eyes in frustration…You…! You didn’t like this feeling anymore…! 

The said thing which had broke your fall was worst of all, no help in your feelings either, “Get off of me you damn woman!” Jungkook hissed out icily as he nearly shoved you away from him, already in a bad mood as it was and he just wanted to get a hot bath and go to bed. 

Instead however, he had rounded the corner to go upstairs only for your clumsy self to practically fall on him. 

What Jungkook hadn’t expected however was for you to stumble once as if you were…”How dare you…!” You cried out, stomping your foot, your eyes glassy as you gritted your teeth at the sight of your husband, “I’m…! I….! I’m trying my best and you are so mean!” You stumbled back over to him, tears welling in your eyes as you fists weakly curled, his cold, harsh words from this morning returning at full force and they effected even more now than they had then, “I- I….Understand that I’ve been a bitch and that I’ve-!” You waved your hands about, “Said insensitive things and hurt you but…! How was I supposed to know?” 

Your body swayed a little as you stood in front of him, glaring at him as you tried to blink back the fat tears that attempted to roll down you cheeks, “How was I supposed to know the Wicked Prince had heart? That Penumbra was (hic)....Was…” Your lips quivered and your thoughts were beginning to jumble, “You! You can act angry all you want but- if you wanted me…! To understand then why didn’t you offer to help? I….am an girl...girl- angry...but I…” 

Jungkook for the first time in his life, was speechless. His expression was neutral but his lips had parted only slightly which had you been sober you would’ve considered a look of loss….So he was right...You were drunk. Absolutely intoxicated, beer spilt all over your dress and you were now drunkeningly crying about all of your pitiful problems to him. 

This was not how he wanted his evening to go, “Don’t strain yourself.” He finally sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly, it had been a busy day and an evening busier evening after he had finished his match and everyone wanted to celebrate his next advancement in the tournament. 

But Jungkook also had another day to go and he couldn’t afford to sleep in because of this. 

You were already throwing a hissy fit, stomping your feet like a little child and the dam of tears you had been holding practically burst, Jungkook ignored you as he looked towards your maid who was fumbling almost as much as you, babbling something incoherent for you to stop, sighing he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

He had assigned Wheein to you himself personally because he knew the girl was soft hearted and was a hell of a lot more patient of a person then he was himself, but he had hoped she would keep you out of trouble- not help you into it, “Jung,” Jungkook spoke causing the bumbling girl to freeze as she looked up at him, “You’re relinquished of your duties for the rest of the night”

Wheein whimpered a little, her lips parting as Jungkook cut his eyes at her, immediately silencing the girl, “Go to bed.” He spoke with a tone of finality that caused her lips to tremble but she wordlessly curtsey, stumbling a little at the lack of balance before she lowered her head and fumbled along to find her room. 

“You can’t just dismiss my servant!” You cried out, about to throw another tantrum but you were cut off as you yelped, suddenly being scooped up into Jungkook’s arms as you nearly shrieked in anger, “Let me go! I…! (hic) I do not! Need…(hic) help!” You kept shoving at Jungkook but he was practically non-responsive as he began walking up the steps. 

“You're drunk.” He stated plainly, you reeked of alcohol and if it being spilt all over you wasn’t a give away as it was he could’ve seen it easily in the way you were stumbling about like a total idiot. Jungkook wouldn’t lie though he was a little...amused...at the sight of you drunk...his prissy, prudish wife...drunk. His expression however kept stoic because he was still acutely aware that you and your maid both had been drunk, stumbling around most likely in town in the dead of night, without any male escort. 

Jungkook, no matter how much he was taught since a young child, hadn’t necessarily subscribed to the idea that women needed men, in such a way. But he was very well aware that some men would always take advantage of any situation they saw an opportunity in. You included, his jaw clenched a little as he finally looked down at you, your expression sulky and you had given up smacking him though it didn’t do anything to begin with, except slightly tempt him into dropping you on purpose. 

“I (hic) have every right to be!” You replied, squirming in his arms once more, your eyes glaring at him- or at least he assumed you were attempting to, granted it just looked like you were harshly squinting, his muscles dully ached at having to carry you after having such a physically active day but he had survived worse, “Why did you dismiss (hic) my servant! Don’t distract me!” Your brows pinched together as you tried to pull away from him with drunken demand in your voice. 

Jungkook finally paused at the fifth flight of stairs, sighing in annoyance, true you were irritating when you were sober- in fact he would go as far as to say you were the most insufferable, scornful woman he had ever met, but you really weren’t that much better drunk. He glanced down at you, taking in the sight of your pitiful puffy eyes from crying, maybe a little less volatile than you were sober, but you were so emotional….It wasn’t meant to be an inherent insult to you, Jungkook, was just simply born in a court that viewed this type of behavior as a weakness worth weaponizing. 

Perhaps that was another reason he couldn’t stand you, he mused, you were so insufferably naïve, not even aware that this court was sizing you up, day by day and waiting for the right opportunity to sink it’s sharp teeth into you. Jungkook wouldn’t lie in saying he was curious, curious to see how you’d take that with you in all your Eunoian spirit.

He finally looked away from you, looking out the large window that accompanied the wall as he stayed silent. He had met many people in his life as a prince, but he had never met anyone like you before, finally he answered your question, “She was drunk as well. We may fight, and I may not like you,” His eyes met yours, cutting into with that dead look of his as he spoke carefully, “But I don’t want you dead.” His expression slowly melted into a neutral one once more as he began climbing the next set of stairs that spiraled, “You shouldn’t drink by yourself.” 

“I wasn’t drinking by myself!” You cried out, kicking your feet as you squirmed in objection. 

“Your maid doesn’t count.” Jungkook spoke once more, his lips curling a little in displeasure at how wiggly you were being, “And you shouldn’t have made her drink with you. Wheein is a good servant, treat her right or you won’t get one at all.” 

Jungkook knew the reaction this would illicit but he really didn’t care, at first he didn’t want any of his people having to serve the bitch of Eunoia but after a long night of contemplation- and perhaps walking past your room and hearing you cry inside- Jungkook had made the decision of giving you an inkling of a chance, that chance being Wheein. But that didn’t mean he would forgive any mishaps that would find its way to his knowledge. 

Jungkook could just as easily revoke a servant as he could give you one. 

You were immediately agitated at the threat, kicking defiantly in his arms as you let out a growled whine, “There you (hic) go again! Always threatening…! What did I (hic) What did I ever do to you to deserve being (hic)....to...be treated like this!” You snapped out though it couldn’t be compared to your quick witted sober mind, it almost made Jungkook want to laugh at how hard you were struggling to keep up. 

Jungkook only rolled his eyes though, finishing the last flight of stairs much to his relief as he began to walk down the empty corridor, “You only insulted me, my people and my entire heritage and culture in every sentence we’ve spoken to one another. I feel that's more than enough reason to justify what I’ve said to you.” And it was true, Jungkook hadn’t been ecstatic one bit about marriage and he wouldn’t stand here and lie, saying he would have been kind to you regardless of what you had said. 

He’d hate you regardless of how you acted, but you made it so easy to be hated with every ignorant and arrogant word that left your lips, it was easier to feel justified in his anger when you spoke as pious and stiff as you did, especially anything regarding his people and his kingdom. Jungkook felt indifferent when it came to himself, he could care less if you liked him, but more than anything, his people and kingdom should stay away from your tongue. 

“How could I be blamed!?” You scoffed out, bumbling out a nearly incomprehensible sentence as Jungkook opened the door to your room, kicking it closed as you whined, kicking your legs as you repeated, “If you were me marrying the Wicked Prince you wouldn’t have acted any different!” You cried out, Jungkook only scoffed, rolling his eyes, you were just a drunk babbling now in an attempt to defend your ignorant words and it was clear you Eunoians weren’t all the gentle and peaceful as you were cracked up to be. 

He carelessly tossed you on your bed, “You can be blamed, you’re a Eunoian princess,” He cocked his head and looked somewhat cold, “You put your country’s reputation to shame with as ill-mannered and foul mouthed as you are.” 

You fumbled, immediately standing up as you wobbled towards him, attempting to push him, “Manners this! Manners that! (hic) I- I say to hell with manners (hic),” Your attempt however only affected you more then him as you swayed, nearly knocking yourself over had it not been for Jungkook reflexively catching you with exasperation as he sat you back on the bed. 

“I won’t (hic) be seen as a push over! I- I…” You stood up once more, almost knocking into him as Jungkook caught you once more as he sighed exasperatedly, why couldn’t you just sit down and fall asleep…!?

If he had learned anything about you, it was that you were a spiteful, pain in the ass, even drunk. You determinedly stood up, “I may have been an ignorant ass and I may have assumed many things about your kingdom Jeon, and maybe I am to blame for my own bias…!” 

Jungkook for the first time frowned, finding himself now listening to you geniunely, your words for the first time didn’t sound as drunk as you looked, pressing a finger against his chest as you glanced up at him with dilated eyes, “But at least I can admit (hic) when I’m wrong.” 

Jungkook had intended of just letting you slump against the ground and leaving you but he found himself curious at your words, curving a brow as he wordlessly waited for you to continue and by god, as always, you did, you managed another whine as you stomped your foot, “Don’t look at me like that! All- (hic) All smug! I’m trying to right my wrongs (hic), a-and accept Penumbra for my home. You said I…” 

You squinted your brows, your gaze glassy as if you were trying to remember something, “You said that I…! I didn’t appreciate Penumbra enough to respect it but! (hic)” Your body swayed as you glanced up at his figure with a glare, “But you haven’t even tried to show me what Penumbra has to offer…! You haven’t even tried to talk to me since I’ve come here! How am I supposed to know what the hell to respect when I’ve never even heard of half the traditions you have here! I (hic) I can’t (hic)...” 

You whined as you curled your fists, brows furrowing as you hiccuped again in frustration, your eyes once again beginning to blur with tears and unbeknownst to you Jungkook felt a smile tempt to tug on his lips as he watched you struggle, “I (hic) can’t be expected to respect something that has never been (hic) taught to me…! (hic) anything I’ve said, was (hic) said out of ignorance and...and... and I’m…! I’m willing to learn if you’d just give me a chance…” 

You had leaned a little too far backwards, almost falling over had Jungkook not reached out to keep you steady before sighing, sweeping you off your feet again as he noted your eyes were beginning to become tired.

Willing to learn huh….

Jungkook thought about those words for a few moments, briefly wanting to chalk them up to you just being dead drunk and not knowing what you were saying anymore but your eyes...It was always your eyes...they were always genuine in what you said, even now. 

“Well,” Jungkook sighed out, laying you down on the bed before straightening up as he looked down at you, “If you could admit all of this sober….” He paused, perhaps...he had been harsh on you…”Maybe I’d be willing to.” 

Your eyes immediately fell shut, sprawling out while mumbling incoherently. Jungkook only pressed his lips together in thought as he watched your figure, you were almost immediately asleep and he finally shook his head with a sigh, exiting your room he had much to think about tonight. 

That was...certainly interesting. 

#bts #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x reader smut #jungkook imagine #bts fanfic #bts au

[ltleflrt]

Hey Carrie! You talked a little the other day about writers' tendency to start a fic too early in the story, and how you see a lot of first scenes that could have been scrapped to improve the story. My question is if you have some tips to recognize while writing that first scene that you are starting too early in the story?

Hello friend!

That's a really good question, and I'll see if I can give an answer that makes sense. I am not a professional, and I'm not educated or trained in this stuff, it's just something that I recognize from years and years and years of voracious reading. And as with all writing advice, I encourage you to take what I'm going to say with a grain of salt and remember that no writing rule is a hard rule, only a guideline.

Also, my advice is going to be pertaining fanfiction, and specifically to AUs. Obviously a published book has an editor with a razor blade going through a manuscript for you, and the problems that bother me in fanfiction crop up in AUs more than Canonverse.

Oh, and every instance of "you" is general, not specific 😜

So I think the main problem that I see is that people are starting with an Info Dump. An Info Dump is not always a bad thing, sometimes it's completely necessary, but it is NOT where you want to start your story. If it absolutely has to be done, it's better to be somewhere in the middle or near the end. When it's something that your characters need to know.

That's an important bit: Do your characters need to know this?

And related to that: Does your audience need to know this for the story to make sense?

And very important follow up: If the answers to the above questions are yes, does the character/audience need to know this RIGHT NOW?

There's a lot of information about your story that YOU need to know. Heck, my notes files are full of sooooooo much stuff that I know about the characters and plot that never reaches the final product.

So when you're reading your first chapter (I say reading, not writing, because sometimes info dumping for your own benefit is good, and then you fix it before you share the story lol), ask yourself those two questions.

So for example:

In an AU where Dean is a tattoo artist, and it's his POV. The story starts with Dean driving to work, and when he gets there he's going to find out that the empty shop next door has been purchased and is going to be a yoga studio. He meets Castiel out front, up on a ladder trying to hang a hand painted sign, and some teens go running buy and knock into the ladder and Dean has to catch Castiel from falling. (Anyone who wants to adopt this idea is welcome to it btw, I would love to read this lol)

The mistake I often see in a first chapter like this is that as Dean is walking to work, there's a whole Info Dump about why he's a tattoo artist instead of a hunter. He'll be ambling along, thinking about his nice little business, and there's info about how his mom died in a fire, and his dad was a jerk, and Dean didn't go to college because he saved his money for Sammy's college fund, and Dean's only passion was art, and Bobby Singer introduced him to a tattoo shop owner who took Dean under his wing, etc.

Question 1, does your character need to know this?: Why is Dean reflecting on his past? Does Castiel need to know this information in order to build a romance with Dean?

Question 2, does your audience need to know this?: Why does this information matter? If Dean's only reflecting on this because you want to make sure your audience knows where the timeline changed and this became an AU, then you're starting too early in your story. Dean doesn't need to know this, and honestly in a lot of cases the reader doesn't need to know this. This is information that should have been left in your notes file.

Question 3, does the character/audience need to know this NOW?: If this information is pertinent to the plot, like maybe there's some trauma there that Castiel might need to know about to develop their relationship, then you don't want to put it HERE, you want to put it in a conversation with Castiel LATER.

If I was writing this AU, I would just start with Dean sipping his coffee, he's kinda tired because reasons, he looks up to see an unusual commotion, and has to drop his coffee and sprint forward to catch Cas. If he's reflecting on anything in this scene, it's going to be whatever made him tired, or how good/bad the coffee is this morning. Since Cas is a new business owner, they can talk about the origins of Dean's business on their first date, because it'll be a relevant response to Castiel talking about the origins of his yoga studio.

And just in general, if Dean's origin story includes a lot of canon elements, like mom dying in a fire, dad being a deadbeat, Sammy being the adorable overachieving Stanford student.... try to hide that info for as long as you can so that the audience is actually curious about it by the time the info might pop up. It's the wild divergences that are more interesting earlier on.

Okay, and then I want to talk about my giant pet peeve for a starting chapter. It's a specific kind of info dump, that often includes the stuff from above, but then goes a step further.

My nemesis, The Daily Grind.

I haven't asked the authors, so I could be wrong about this, but I feel like most of the time when this type of chapter is included in a story it is because the author wants to show the reader that the character's life is boring and meaningless before the plot's inciting incident. I can absolutely see why that might be considered an important detail about the character, but keep in mind if it's boring and meaningless to the character, it's boring and meaningless to your audience.

You know how I said earlier that writing tips should never be hard and fast rules? Well this is in regards to that Show Don't Tell rule, and it's an example of TOO MUCH showing lol

It is possible to do a daily grind in an interesting way, but only if you include a Shake Up right away. And you have to look at the 3 questions a little bit differently.

So for example:

Castiel POV, and he works in an office. His daily routine is to always get up at the same time every day, he goes for his run, he grooms himself, he has his breakfast, he goes to work and talks to Kelly about how Jack's doing in kindergarten for a few minutes before going into his office. Adler comes in to be a prick, Castiel hates him for it, and then he does his reports, has lunch hiding in a corner of the lunch room so that his co-workers will leave him alone, he does more reporting, leaves an hour after his shift technically ends, goes home to a lonely apartment that maybe includes a pet who is the only being that shows him affection, has an unsatisfying dinner of leftover takeout while watching a mindless reality tv show, then he goes to bed.

Ugh.

BORING.

Which, yeah I get it, the point is that his life is boring. But now the story is too, and I've clicked the back button before I can see how exciting it's capable of getting.

Question 1, does your character need to know this?: No. He knows. Poor thing definitely already knows.

Question 2, does your audience need to know this?: Yes, but...

Question 3, does the character/audience need to know this NOW?: Yes, but new question for ya:

Optional Question 4, why does this need to be separate from your plot's inciting incident? The answer to this 4th question is usually that it doesn't.

Chapter 2 of this type of beginning usually shows the shake up of Castiel's day. My advice is to start with the shakeup, and sprinkle in the details of what you would have put into chapter 1 to show the contrast. It's far more interesting to learn how boring Castiel's day is by starting with the shake up.

So, same scenario:

Castiel's alarm doesn't go off for some reason, OH NO HIS ROUTINE IS SHAKEN UP! You're explaining his routine while also stressing him the fuck out because he has to rush, or skip something that he normally needs to do. Action! Interesting! He gets to work late, and has to miss his conversation with Kelly about Jack because she's telling him that Adler's already in his office being a prick because Castiel isn't there waiting for him like he always is. Oh shit, he's pissing off his asshole boss! Conflict! He's so flustered by the shakeups that he misses something on his report, and he gets a call from that new marketing guy Dean Winchester who asks if they can have a meeting about it when Castiel normally takes his lunch. BAM! MEET CUTE OPPORTUNITY! While Castiel is getting all flustered by how pretty Dean is while they talk about TPS reports, he can reflect on how this is both better and worse than hiding from his co-workers in the corner of the lunch room. The rest of the day after that meeting he's thinking about how weird this day is, he still goes home an hour late, he talks to his pet about his weird day when he gets home, and maybe he still eats leftover takeout, but he's not paying attention to the reality tv show because holy shit he wants to count Dean's freckles.

In this example, you're Telling the audience about Castiel's normal routine instead of Showing them. But since it's during a plot heavy chapter, it works!

Lemme see if I can TL:DR this...

As you're reading, ask yourself who needs to know this information, why do they need to know this information, and why is it important for this information to be included early instead of later?

If the answer to any of those questions boils down to "this is backstory" instead of "this kicks off the plot", then you've started too early.

I hope this helps? I'm always nervous about giving writing advice because so much of the time I have no idea what I'm doing, and I'm just feeling around in the dark. And I definitely do not ever want to hurt an author's feelings, because this hobby is so fucking hard, and we're all fragile. Even authors who welcome con-crit with open arms will have a weak point that they're unaware of that might get poked wrong and cause a crack, ya know?

I hope anyone who gets this far who might see their own works reflected in my examples understands that I have a lot of respect for their ability to put their work out into the world, and I want them to keep doing it. We're here to have fun, okay? Okay. I love y'all 💜

#ltleramblings #writer's angst #also i think some of these problems can be solved with a prologue #but that's something i'm literally exploring in my current WIP #so I have no idea if I'm doing it right #and i might be breaking all of my own rules with it lol

[ladyartemesia]

The Luna

◐ PART VII of THE ALPHA ◐

◐ Series Masterlist ◐

◐ Part I ◐ Part II ◐ Part III ◐ Part IV ◐ Part V ◐ Part VI ◐

Pairing: Alpha Werewolf Jimin x Omega Reader

Rating: Hard Mature 18+ (for this installment)

Warnings: this one is a little darker... implied violence, mentions of blood, ABO sexual dynamics including discussion of scenting, marking, mating, and claiming, sexual innuendo, discussion of violence relating to ritual combat, possessive behavior, injuries and discussion of injuries, discussions or ruts, (non-explicit) kidnapping and drugging, its not as bad as it sounds, but it is definitely a bit darker...

Word Count: 4200

Author’s Note: You have no idea what your support has meant to me. After getting the dreaded Covid it was awhile before I had the energy to work on this. Truly your asks and your messages and comments...they made me so happy. You made me believe that people wouldn’t forget about this story. I am so grateful you were able to wait. As always, my angels @ppersonna @xjoonchildx @untaemedqueen and @underthejoon were the best betas and the best friends anyone could ask for. My thanks to ALL of you for helping me bring this story to life! I don’t know what I would do without your daily encouragement and your daily support. You guys are the heartbeat of this story. 

———◐——— 

Fifteen Years Ago...

———◐——— 

“It can’t be-”

“Run for the elders! Quickly! 

“Red smoke rises from the Luna’s hearth!”

The red smoke was invented by the first wolf known to mate a witch. Legend has it that their bond lent him some of her magic and with it he created a mystical powder that unleashed bloody plumes like knife slashes in the clouds. 

It was a distress call. 

A wolf in danger or in need could throw the powder (usually into their fireplace) and the red smoke would rise - drawing others to their aid. 

No fire was needed and the strange shimmering clouds it produced could even be seen on a moonless night. 

“What happened? Where is the Luna?”

The chief elder was still out of breath, having charged over from his chambers to find Isa in hysterics. 

“She’s gone! Something scared her! It triggered a half-shift!”

His eyes widened in fear and alarm. 

“She’s too young to half-shift. The energy it would take-”

Isa broke into sobs again. 

The girl was only five years old. She and her wolf were too volatile to merge safely. The wolf would be frightened - it would run. 

Eventually the child might regain control, but she would have no way of knowing where she was or how she got there… 

And she would be weak. The effects of the shift were too much for a pup that age. 

The chief elder felt true terror grip his heart. 

“Call for the alphas - immediately!”

Although they were technically one of the oldest bloodlines in the village, Park Clan had only five families to its name - all betas. 

Except for one. 

Park Jimin was the first alpha ever born to the Parks and as such he became the head of his family on the day of his birth - officially the youngest clan leader in history. 

When the call for alphas spread through the village, nine year-old Jimin was roused from his bed to serve on behalf of his people. 

Clan alphas were required to report, regardless of their age. 

“I don’t have to tell any of you what is at stake. Our pack has been entrusted with the Luna’s bloodline. Her safety is our sacred commission.”

The woods were no place for a child. If fluctuating temperatures and possible starvation weren’t bad enough, there were wild bears, packless ferals, rogue witches, snakes, and worst of all-

Unblessed wolves—animals without a human heart. They were by far the most pressing danger to the little girl. 

“Surely young Park can remain at home for this,” Jeon Jinseok pressed. The boy was barely older than his grandson, Jungkook, and he was reluctant to endanger another pup needlessly. 

Some quiet murmurs of assent could be heard around the elder’s chambers, however the chief elder himself shook his head sadly. 

“I understand your concern… but the law is the law. Every clan alpha is sworn to such a task. He took an oath after his first transformation-”

“He was seven-”

“An oath is still an oath.”

All eyes turned to the gentle voice in the corner. The Park alpha looked impossibly small and soft. 

But his gaze burned with determination. 

“It is my right and duty to seek the Luna alongside all of you.” His round little jaw clenched stubbornly. “I’m not afraid.”

The sound of bones and sinew shifting filled the air as one by one the clan alphas fell to their wolf forms and took off into the forest. 

Until only a small silver wolf remained. 

The chief elder sighed. 

The boy would not undergo the Change for another six years. The mental link between his wolf and human forms was not yet complete. It was difficult for information to pass from one to the other. 

“You are the wolf force of Park Jimin.”

After a moment the wolf nodded.

“You were called here because the Luna has gone missing and you must find her if you can. Search the woods until your wolf force can endure no longer and then return. If you find the child, bring her home as soon as possible.”

The young wolf nodded again and then disappeared into the night. 

It was cold. 

The last thing you remembered was a loud noise. It was too close - you panicked-

Then there was heat and pain and running and now this-

Darkness and barren trees looming over you as far as your frightened eyes could see. 

“...Hello?”

Your hands were bleeding. Tears began to slide softly down your cheek as your lips trembled. 

“H-Hello?”

Jimin had never been allowed into the forest alone. A myriad of new shapes and odd smells assaulted his senses as he ran. 

He had only seen you a handful of times. 

Bright silver eyes with a smile that could set even the coldest heart into bloom. 

Now you needed him.

And he was going to save you. 

It was not a question or a matter of chance in his mind. He was meant to find you. It was as if a thread from his chest was bound to a thread from yours and his wolf knew to follow it without question or thought for its significance. 

I’m coming, little Luna. Hold on. 

Your nose was not yet fully developed, but the stench creeping through the air toward you was unmistakable. 

Unblessed. 

A soulless wolf. 

The last time you encountered it was after a hunt. Your father killed one who attacked him and he brought it home for you to scent. 

So you could recognize the smell of danger. 

Gradually two shining eyes emerged from the darkness, yet unlike the wolves of your village, these were dark and fathomless-

Hungry. 

You couldn’t tell much about its age or coloring, it was too thin - too dirty, but the bared teeth and steady progress closer signaled its intent clearly. 

“Please,” you whispered, as it crouched back on its hind legs, preparing to strike. 

Tears blurred your vision as you heard it leap forward. 

But the strike never came. 

Another wolf tackled it to the ground before it could reach you. The two of them tangled viciously in the moonlight; a terrifying mass of snarling and claws. 

The smaller fighter was already bleeding, but he clamped down on his opponent’s throat in the first hit and hung on to it even as the animal snapped and scratched brutally at his skin. 

Jimin could feel his strength beginning to fail him. The pain was excruciating, but he had to endure. If he let go, he was lost- 

You were lost.

So he held. 

And at last the soulless wolf collapsed on top of him. 

For a moment, all was quiet. 

Jimin felt the wounds over his hide begin to tug at the edge of his consciousness. Accelerated healing could only do so much... He was hurt badly. 

Then two small hands began to push at the unblessed corpse. Small huffs and heaves poured from you as you worked to free him from beneath his defeated foe. 

“Don’t be afraid, Silver,” you grunted, “Momma says the healing works best if you can get warm.” 

With one final heave you disposed of the beast as best you could, then moved to wrap your body around your injured champion. 

“I can help,” you whispered, letting the tears fall freely. His soft whimpers were the only reply you received as you snuggled in closer, running your hands gently over the soft fur. 

The young wolf’s eyes were already beginning to lose focus. 

“Please goddess,” you begged into the night. “Please save him.”

Then the two of you drifted into a heavy sleep. 

Jimin opened his eyes again just as the dawn broke. 

He was still in wolf form, but the pain of his injuries had lessened considerably. 

Either that or he was becoming numb. 

His eyes dropped to the figure curled up next to him and his heart stirred. You were so pale… and he could feel your small body shivering violently against his chest.

She will not last much longer...

It took nearly everything he had to stand to his feet and nudge you awake. 

“Will you bring me back, Silver?” you asked weakly. 

Jimin nodded and the two of you stumbled forward into the forest, trusting the vague recollections of his wolf instincts to lead you home. 

Isa was beside herself with worry. Wolves came and went throughout the night-

But there was still no sign of you. 

And the odds of a child surviving the woods alone with no heat and no protection were slim at best. 

Her hands shook as she gathered feed for the horses from the storeroom near the back of the house. She willed herself to complete the task - any task - in an effort to busy her mind and perhaps achieve a moment of respite. 

Her hand closed around the back door handle and she started forward - only to nearly lose her balance over something lying on the porch. 

The bucket of feed dropped from her grasp, sending kernels of grain in all directions. 

Two bodies lay in a heap at her feet, clutching one another desperately. The Luna and her silver wolf were covered in matted blood and dirt. 

But they were alive. 

Isa began to scream, drawing out the other two occupants of the house; her husband Roojin and his younger sister, a beta healer named Ryn. 

“Oh my goddess,” Ryn gasped, “that’s the Park alpha! I heard some of the elders saying that he hadn’t checked in last night!”

“Get them inside. If we don’t act quickly we could lose them.”

Roojin tried to lift you away from the wolf, but the action was enough to rouse you and you immediately began to kick and scream frantically. 

“No! I won’t leave him!” you sobbed, wrapping your body even tighter around the injured pup. “Silver, wake up! Please wake up!”

“Baby you need to let him go! We have to treat him!”

But you were frantic, refusing - violently - to be separated from your rescuer. 

Ryn was eventually forced to grab a syringe from her field kit to sedate you. 

Isa carried your limp body to the fireplace and began to peel off your wet clothes while Ryn and Roojin dealt with Jimin’s injuries in the kitchen. Blood dripped over the tabletop and puddled ominously on the floor while they worked. 

“It looks like he was attacked.” Ryn’s eyes began to water. “What a brave little boy.”

“How the hell did he survive this?”

“I don’t know, but without a healing touch he’ll die.” She ripped her gloves off and rolled up her sleeves. “Stand back.”

Twenty minutes later Isa and Roojin caught the young healer as her legs gave out from under her. She had poured the majority of her energy into restoring the young Park alpha - perhaps more than was strictly safe-

But he would survive and that was all that mattered. 

“I must contact the elders,” Isa murmured as she helped Ryn to a seat near the hearth. “In all the chaos I forgot to tell them that we found her.”

Roojin sighed, letting his eyes drift back to the table. 

“That pup brought her back, but I wonder if they’ll even believe it. I wouldn’t - not if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

“No...” Ryn whispered from the chair. “You can’t tell them about the boy.”

“Why not? He’s the only reason she’s still alive. He deserves to be recognized.”

“You don’t understand,” she shook her head weakly. “His clan is nothing. They have no power - no other alphas. This will make him a target. The alpha pups will challenge him and the stronger clans will see him as a threat to their influence…”

She pulled herself upright and limped over to the table where the young wolf slept. 

“But he's just a child….and small for his age at that. He has no powerful clansmen to protect him from the ramifications of this.” 

Her hands clenched to fists. 

“When his human form returns, he won’t remember saving the Luna. We’ll take him to his mother’s home at nightfall - make it seem like he wandered back. He may garner some respect for surviving the woods, but then they’ll leave him alone… and he can go on living his life in peace.”

Ryn turned to face them both with a determined expression. 

“We owe him that.”

“Where is the silver wolf? Where have you taken him?”

As soon as the sedative wore off you reached for the boy once again, only to find that he was gone. 

“The silver wolf was hurt very badly, sweetheart. Your aunt carried him away to be treated.”

“I have to go with him! He needs me!”

“No, honey - you can’t-”

Isa pulled you into her arms and you collapsed into helpless sobs. The last twenty-four hours had finally caught up with you. 

You were too weak to fight back. 

“Luna… the silver wolf is in danger. Are you willing to keep him safe?”

You nodded fiercely, letting the flow of your tears soak through your mother’s sleeves. 

“Then you must never tell another soul that the silver wolf saved you. No one can know that he was with you in the forest.”

Your eyes narrowed in confusion. 

“But-”

“You will tell everyone that you found the way back alone. Do not mention the silver wolf.”

Isa lifted your chin till your eyes met hers. 

“Promise me, Luna.”

Your heart squeezed painfully in your chest as you thought of your champion. He had spared you from a gruesome fate and you did not even know his name. 

You wanted so desperately to thank him. 

Last night, you were so cold - so afraid - that you hadn’t said it...

Now you never could. 

So instead you would protect him - no matter what it cost. 

“I promise.”

———◐——— 

Today...

———◐———  

“I don’t like him.”

Jimin tilted his head slightly toward his best friend.

“Who?”

Taehyung took a long sip of water then moved his hand to cover his mouth. To an outside observer he would appear to be wiping excess liquid from his lips. 

“The senior envoy from the Iron Claw pack.” He shook his head. “Something about him is off. He’s ill at ease.”

All the major packs of the mountain nations dispatched representatives to greet and solidify their relations with the new Alpha. 

Any pack who failed to send a proper delegation risked a diplomatic incident. 

The first twenty-four hours held great significance when it came to the transfer of power. The official term for the tradition-packed period between the revelation of the Alpha and his ultimate reunion with the Luna was called “The King’s New Moon.”

The new moon was the darkest phase of the lunar cycle and the immediate separation from his mate was meant to be a test of the Alpha’s restraint and bearing. 

Jimin wanted to put his fist through a wall. 

He missed you. 

Fighting Namjoon was nothing compared to the torture of this bureaucratic circus.

As the day progressed he was extremely grateful to have Yoongi and Taehyung at his side. Yoongi agreed to act as interim Praetor while Namjoon recovered and he and Taehyung were quick to fill in any knowledge gaps Jimin had with regards to protocol. 

The first round of ceremonial greetings between packs dragged on more than an hour before the bell struck for a brief recess. In fact, until Taehyung’s rather strange pronouncement, nearly every moment played out with boring predictability.

Though there was one notable surprise. 

Apparently the Iron Claw pack had just undergone a change of leadership and was now under the command of a female alpha named Azira Kai. 

Authority in the Iron Claw pack was traditionally decided through combat, and Azira beat nearly thirty-five challengers to ascend as queen. 

Female alphas were extraordinarily rare. Jimin knew they existed, but Azira was the first one he’d ever heard of. 

Iron Claw’s senior envoy delivered the news himself at the start of the ceremony and personally conveyed the queen’s well wishes. 

Jimin eyed the representative in question speculatively from his corner of the table. At first glance the man seemed much like every other emissary gathered in the crowded hall to fulfil centuries old obligations. But Taehyung had always possessed a strange sense about people. 

His instincts could not be easily dismissed. 

“I will keep that in mind,” he whispered as he sent the young man a courteous nod.

The sun had already begun to set when a messenger from the chief elder’s chambers arrived at your door. At long last the ceremonial requirements were drawing to a close and soon the elder’s council would be sending you instructions.

However...‘soon’ could mean anything from twenty minutes to five hours. 

“You might as well rest while you can,” Jin teased with a salacious wiggle of his brows. “Who knows what strenuous activity you might find yourself involved in when they finally let that boy loose.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to pretend that your cheeks weren’t burning with embarrassment. 

“I will rest, but not for any reason you’re thinking.”

Truth be told, your nerves were a bit… frayed. 

A frustration was building within you and nothing seemed to satisfy it. You weren’t even sure what you were wanting, but you definitely wanted it. 

“Of course not,” your cousin chuckled as you gathered your gloves and wandered back to the bedroom. 

An hour later Jin’s boredom found him snuggled up on the couch near the fireplace reading over an old cookbook from your mother’s pantry.

“Heavens… no wonder Aunt Isa’s kimchi is so dry. This is a disgrace.”

Suddenly the front door began to shake and pound violently. Strange smells carried through the air and his eyes widened. 

Foreign wolves. 

He drew in a deep breath and immediately growled in frustration. 

Foreign alphas.

A small bowl of red powder sat on the mantle above the hearth. Jin just barely managed to toss it into the flames before the door splintered off its hinges. 

“Hello boys,” he drawled, unleashing a massive dose of pheromones while the knives strapped to his forearms slid smoothly to his hands. “What brings you here?”

“I just heard the strangest news,” Min Yoongi narrowed his eyes at the small scrap of paper passed to him by one of the council aides. 

“Oh?”

The next set of guild masters were making their way to Jimin at a snail’s pace. It would be several seconds before he needed to greet them. 

“One of the healers sent word that Namjoon has disappeared from his assigned recovery room.” He shook his head curiously. “Where do you suppose he’s gone?”

Jimin’s eyes widened. 

That mangy mutt. He’s probably bent Yunli over every surface of her brother’s house by now. Goddess above! He couldn’t hold out for six more days? 

“I’m sure I have no idea.”

I should have killed him. This is a disaster. He can barely walk, how does he expect to-

“The Miner’s Guild is honored to serve at the pleasure of the Alpha.”

Jimin nodded regally and forced up a pleasant smile. 

“The honor is entirely mine, Master Lee. I look forward to-”

A loud crash split the solemn hush of the room as a young member of the council guard burst through the heavy wooden doors. 

“Red smoke! Red smoke rises from the Luna’s hearth!”

Jimin felt his heart plummet into his stomach. 

Chaos erupted immediately. 

“Call for the guards!”

“We must notify the healers.”

“The messengers just spoke to her-”

“Is it an attack?”

“ENOUGH!”

The Alpha’s voice cut across the assembly with authoritative resonance. 

Every eye turned to him in expectation. 

But he could only think of you. 

“Jung, lock the building down. Take your clansmen and seal off every entrance.”

Murmurs began to stir through the hall as Hoseok directed his people toward the access points, but he ignored them. 

“Choi. Make for the healers. Have a dozen of them meet us there.”

Jimin was already heading for the door. The deadly length of his claws flashed ominously in the firelight. 

“Kim, Min, Jeon - with me.”

The three alphas in question fell in step behind him without a word. 

The scene at the Luna’s home was nightmarish. 

Jimin ran to your room immediately, but all he found was a broken window and the lingering scent of your fear. 

His wolf howled in anguish as he fell to his knees and screamed in rage. 

At the front of the house four badly beaten bodies lay strewn about the kitchen and living room area. Most of the furniture was destroyed and the scent of carnage soaked the air. 

“Jin!”

The omega stood at the center of the rubble. There was a nasty slash running up his right leg and another grievous wound near his ribs. 

But his arms were wrapped around a massive foriegn wolf with the thin blade of his favorite knife pressed against the intruders throat. 

“What happened here?” Yoongi gasped. “And that smell-” he moved his hand to cover his nose. 

“Pheromones,” Taehyung nearly gagged. 

His eyes fell to the corpses - examining their injuries with a critical gaze. 

“Jin, you dangerous bastard.”

The omega simply smiled and forced the prisoner onto his knees. 

“I don’t understand…” Jungkook shook his head. 

“He flooded them with omega pheromones... These four were unmated.” The Kim alpha let out a cold chuckle. “He triggered their ruts… and they killed each other over him.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened. 

Male omegas really were terrifying.

Taehyung’s eyes narrowed and he considered the scene. 

“None of this makes sense. The scent markers are clearly from the Iron Claw pack. They didn’t even bother to mask…”

Jungkook and Yoongi began to search the bodies for any hint of their motives or identity when Jimin returned from your room. His fury was palpable in the air around him. 

“Why would anyone kidnap a Luna?” he snarled. “The divine bloodline is sacred to all wolves. Who would be so reckless?”

Jin shook his head.

“I don’t know.” His knife twisted into the prisoner’s neck. “But he does.”

Jimin crouched down in front of the foreigner, fighting every urge in his soul to tear the mountains apart for his mate.  

“Where is she?”

The prisoner sneered.

“You may be a powerful Alpha, but you are not of my pack or my blood.  I’ll never tell you anything.”

“Oh,” Jimin’s eyes flashed with golden fire, “I think you will.” 

Heavy. 

That was how you felt. 

Your body was sore (like it had been tossed and carried a long distance) and your mind was out of focus (as if everything around you was moving either too quickly or too slowly - honestly you couldn’t quite tell).

You remembered being drugged; some sort of compound pressed against your nose and mouth.  

Glass from the window shattered onto your face…

Then unfamiliar scents and unfamiliar hands closed in on all sides. 

Too fast for you to react.

Too shocking for anyone to have predicted. 

Nothing like this had ever happened and there was no reason to believe it would. 

To harm a Luna was sacrilege. 

It was simply not done. 

What could drive men to such a course of action? 

You should be afraid; terrified even.  

But you weren’t.

Your eyes fluttered open to take your new surroundings. You could vaguely see the shape of seven or eight wolves - alphas by the smell of them-

And then you smiled. 

It wasn’t your usual impish grin or anything close to soft or inviting. 

It was a cold twist that crept over your lips as you watched your abductors set up their camp. 

After a moment, one of them noticed your strange expression. 

“Looks like the little Luna hit her head on the way here,” he called out to his comrades with an amused snort. “You should have been more careful with her, Mac.”

He shook his head and made his way over to where you were tied up. The young alpha reeked so heavily of sweat and self-importance, you almost gagged. 

“What’s got you so amused, Miss Luna?”

It was more of a taunt than a question, but your smile widened nonetheless. 

“My mate is going to kill you.” 

Shock flickered over his features for just a second before he threw his head back and laughed. 

“We’ll be long gone before your sweet little alpha even knows we’re here.” He gripped your chin between his fingers and you snarled. “We masked our scent as soon as we got you - and there isn’t a wolf alive that could track our crew through the woods.”

“You’re wrong,” you whispered. 

Jimin’s face flashed through your mind - followed immediately by another memory, buried deeply, but never forgotten—

of a frightened little girl and the silver wolf who braved the forest and fought a monster to save her. 

“He’ll come for me - no matter what precautions you’ve taken.” You leaned forward a bit, letting the conviction in your gaze blaze through to the depths of your captor’s soul. “And then - he’ll come for you.” 

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