#dokja needs to have more moments of his party taking care of HIM for once | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ao3feed-geralt-jaskier · 3 years

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by Anonymous

in the second month of the year 20xx, im merely testing the limits of ao3s inaction

Words: 40, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: 전지적 독자 시점 - 싱숑 | Omniscient Reader - Sing-Shong, Marvel Cinematic Universe, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS, 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game), Real Person Fiction, Original Work, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed, Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, Naruto, 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Sherlock (TV), Teen Wolf (TV), Voltron: Legendary Defender, Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Captain America (Movies), One Direction (Band), Star Wars - All Media Types, Doctor Who, Haikyuu!!, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Hetalia: Axis Powers, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime), Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball, Free!, Miraculous Ladybug, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia, One Piece, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Hobbit - All Media Types, Shadowhunters (TV), James Bond (Craig movies), Homestuck, Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Men's Hockey RPF, Glee, Merlin (TV), Once Upon a Time (TV), Hamilton - Miranda, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Final Fantasy, Overwatch (Video Game), Undertale (Video Game), Mass Effect Trilogy, Fire Emblem Series, Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga), Death Note (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk, Han Sooyoung, Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon, lee hyungsung, Lee Jihye, Lee Seolhwa, Jang Hayoung, Kim Namwoon, Biyoo, Bihyung, Uriel, Prisoner of the Golden Headband | Sun Wukong, Secretive Plotter (Omniscient Reader)

Relationships: Kim Dokja/Yoo Joonghyuk, Han Sooyoung/Kim Dokja, Han Sooyoung/Kim Dokja/Yoo Joonghyuk, Han Sooyoung/Yoo Sangah, Han Sooyoung/Jung Heewon, Anna Croft/Han Sooyoung, Kim Dokja/Sung Jin-Woo, Kim Dokja/Yoo Sangah, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Additional Tags: im trying to prove a point, There are three ways to survive in a ruined world., now, I have forgotten a few, but one thing is certain., The fact that you who are reading this now will survive., -Three ways to survive in a ruined world, Prologue – There are three ways to survive in a ruined world., Episode 1 – Starting the Paid Service (1), “I’m Dokja.”, (translater note: Dokja can me only son or reader)., I usually introduced myself to people like this, then the following misunderstanding would occur., Chapter 2: Episode 1 – Starting the Paid Service (2), Dokkaebi., The first time he appeared, someone said so., Chapter 3: Episode 1 - Starting the Paid Service (3), People reacted differently after the dokkaebi disappeared., Some people tried to get out of the train while others called the police., Chapter 4: Episode 1 - Starting the Paid Service (4), Laughter emerged., I had to clear my eyes and look again to see if it was a lie., The file extension was TXT., Then this person…, The gift they sent me was a copy of their novel?, Chapter 5: Episode 1 - Starting the Paid Service (5), People panicked as they saw the insects running around the carriage., Chapter 6: Episode 2 – Protagonist (1), The subway stopped around halfway past Dongho Bridge., Chaptr 7: Episode 2 – Protagonist (2), [Sponsor Selection has ended.], Chapter 8: Episode 2 – Protagonist (3), I stared straight into Lee Hyunsung and Han Myungoh’s eyes and said., “Do you want to die from that guy beyond the iron door, or do you want to try your luck outside the train?, Which one will you choose?”, Episode 2 – Protagonist (4), at this moment, Yoo Sangah shouted., “Dokja-ssi! Behind you!”, Episode 2 – Protagonist (5), It would be quite a ludicrous sight if anyone else saw it., A large adult man was being grabbed by the neck and hanging like a monkey., Episode 3 – Contract (1), My body suddenly became heavy as I felt water entering my lungs., Then I was sucked in somewhere., I wasn’t torn apart because I fell with perfect timing., however, I couldn’t lose consciousness here., Episode 3 – Contract (2), Star Stream system., The star stream broadcasting was designed to relay its contents to the entire universe., Episode 3 – Contract (3), Looking at the situation, I got a sense of what happened., Episode 3 – Contract (4), I didn’t know how much time passed., My breathing was often interrupted, and all my muscles were so stiff, that I could barely move them., Episode 4 – Line of Hypocrisy (1), A meteor shower was pouring down in the starry sky., It was a sight that anyone would admire, but not Yoo Joonghyuk., Episode 4 – Line of Hypocrisy (2), I often thought about it., Episode 4 – Line of Hypocrisy (3), Despite the interference of Cheon Inho, the constellations didn’t ask for a bounty scenario., in other words, it wasn’t the best time to deal with him., Episode 4 – Line of Hypocrisy (4), the next morning, I was almost out of supplies., Jung Heewon stared at the convenience store bags, as if she couldn’t believe it., Episode 5 – Shadow Keeper (1), [T-Then I will let everyone take care of it! Yihihihit!], The dokkaebi said these words and disappeared., Episode 5 – Shadow Keeper (2), The party fought well., It was actually a little bit surprising., in particular, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon, who stepped forward with me were very influential., Episode 5 – Shadow Keeper (3), “Hyung! This…”, Right after Lee Gilyoung discovered the treasure box, I blocked his little mouth., “Shh, wait.”, Episode 5 – Shadow Keeper (4), Maybe we would’ve fought for a long time., [The exclusive skill ‘Bookmark’ can now be activated.], [The number two bookmark has been activated.], [The level of the Bookmark skill is low, shortening the activation time.], [Activation Time: One minute.], Episode 6 – Judgment Time (1), The limited random items box., According to the setting of Ways of Survival, this was a coin item that was sold as a limited edition in a past ‘scenario.’, Episode 6 – Judgment Time (2), Just as I was about to open my mouth, I heard Cheon Inho’s voice., “Oh, Dokja-ssi! You came just in time.”, Episode 6 – Judgment Time (3), The following morning, there were a few changes to Gumho Station., first of all, Han Myungoh had disappeared., Episode 6 – Judgment Time (4), A few minutes later, I once again entered Dongdae Station, and ate a ground rat., It was in order to heal, the skin contaminated by the poisonous fog., Episode 7 – Landlord (1), We followed Lee Jihye and entered Chungmuro., Yoo Sangah saw the shattered screen door of the platform and said., “…It is a chaotic atmosphere.”, Episode 7 – Landlord (2), The 10 Evils., The list and rankings were often changed, according to Yoo Joonghyuk’s regression cycle, but they were the 10 people in charge of being the main villains, in this world of Ways of Survival, Episode 7 – Landlord (3), Yoo Joonghyuk was looking at everyone except for Lee Hyunsung., The three remaining people were standing together, and I couldn’t figure out exactly who Yoo Joonghyuk was looking at, 「…How is this possible? 」, Episode 7 – Landlord (4), After the dokkaebi disappeared ×dozens of casualties appeared on the platform of line 3., Episode 7 – Landlord (5), As I watched the surging wave of monsters, I gave strength to my thighs., The level 15 strength condensed at once, and my feet developed a strong propulsion force., Episode 8 – Emergency Defense (1), 「 Lee Hyunsung was dozing like an officer on duty, 」 - Freeform, Episode 8 – Emergency Defense (2), It was finally the promised time., I gathered on the line 3 platform with the party., Every member was checking their weapons., Lee Hyunsung seemed to have handled it properly., Episode 8 – Emergency Defense (3), I couldn’t kill Gong Pildu because he was useful in future scenarios, but I needed Gong Pildu to leave his land., Episode 8 – Emergency Defense (4), One hour after the battle began, Gong Pildu fought and fought., The number of monsters had barely decreased but it was still great., Gong Pildu was considered to have the strongest defense among the 10 Evils for a reason., Episode 9 – Omniscient Sunfish (1), After a while, we moved towards the entrance, of the ‘hidden dungeon’ on the first underground floor., I walked behind Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung and Jung Heewon while looking at my smartphone., Episode 9 – Omniscient Sunfish (2), The moment the yellow eyes looked at us, a deafening roar echoed in our ears., Episode 9 – Omniscient Sunfish (3), [The constellation Secretive Plotter is curious about your scam.], [The constellations have sponsored you 200 coins.], Episode 9 – Omniscient Sunfish (4), unfortunately, Yoo Joonghyuk wasn’t on the sixth floor., Episode 9 – Omniscient Sunfish (5), The cold sensation numbed my fingers., dammit, I really wanted to beat this guy up., but..., There was something strange., Episode 9 – Omniscient Sunfish (6), “What?”, 「 What are you…? 」, Episode 10 – Future War (1), [Main Scenario #3 – Emergency Defense has ended.], [You have obtained 1, 000 coins as compensation.], Episode 10 – Future War (2), As soon as my hand wrapped around the flag, I felt a strong energy rising in my body., originally, this was something the third turn Yoo Jonghyuk should have but…, it didn’t matter., Episode 10 – Future War (3), …It hadn’t been long since the scenario began and already?, Episode 10 – Future War (4), “Push through to the flag holder!”, Episode 10 – Future War (5), After coming down from the theater, I headed straight to Myeongdong Station with Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah., Dongmyo Station was important but there was something to be done first., Episode 10 – Future War (6), It wasn’t an illusion., The guy’s eyes instantly widened when he heard my name., Episode 10 – Future War (7), the internet - Freeform, it wasn’t possible., Episode 11 – Night of the Prophets (4), “The 9th person to get off.., it is the first time I’ve heard of this attribute.”, Episode 11 – Night of the Prophets (2), “A prophet like us?”

#AO3 works tagged 'Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion'#ao3feed #fanfic #the witche

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izanyas · 5 years

Text

Wait

Dæmon AU ORV? Dæmon AU ORV.

Rating: T Words: 3,700 Warnings: some violence, internalized homophobia, mentions of past child/domestic abuse.

Wait

Kim Dokja does not often reflect on his earlier childhood memories. The past is something better left buried to someone like him, who for all that he has spent years stagnating wants nothing more than to strive forward and forward and never, truly, look back. But the moment his fingers wrap around the piece of jade and he hears it acknowledge him—the moment he stops being an incarnation for good—a memory comes to him from sometime long ago.

He is sitting on the floor of the living-room in his childhood home, a book open over his lap and Kyunguk nestled in his neck. It is that time of dusk when daylight ceases to be sufficient and his tired eyes blink over and over, struggling to make sense of printed words.

His mother comes in and flicks the ceiling light on; she says to him, "You should have him take another shape sometimes."

Noori flies over her head and right under the glowing lamp. His shadow spreads over the room like an omen, until he deigns to sit closer to Dokja than he usually elects to. The crow's yellow eyes glisten like gems and bore into Kyunguk's own unwavering gaze. Kyunguk's thin fur sticks close to the skin of Dokja's neck.

"He's watching me," Kyunguk says for Dokja's ears only.

Kim Dokja strokes his back with the tips of his fingers. He tells his mother, "Kyunguk likes it."

"It's not a flattering image. To you or him."

"And Noori's is?"

Noori is the size of a small dog, with wings so black that no light reflects upon them even when the sun shines bright. Lee Sookyung has received her share of disbelief and distrust for the shape of her dæmon, and Kim Dokja privately thinks that she is not one to interfere or care what his schoolmates say of Kyunguk. Or what his teachers relate to her.

This is an old, old memory. A memory from before. A day with his father outside, a day absent of his dog-dæmon's snarls and biting, of the sick stench of alcohol. Kim Dokja took the opportunity to read in the wider spaces of his home rather than hole himself in his room, and Lee Sookyung stayed in the kitchen for the better part of it. Occasionally, Noori peaked inside with his beady yellow eyes, just to make sure Dokja hadn't moved.

Kim Dokja hates crows.

He feels the flesh of his back tear open as wings as black as night grow out of his shoulder blades. He sees through Kyunguk's eyes the shape and style of them, remembers with a smile the sound of feathers on the wind at night when torn voices and the sound of broken echoed through the house.

He is the seventy-third Demon King. The one his comrades have to vanquish to beat the tenth scenario.

"Are you ready?" he asks Kyunguk, and the dæmon does not answer with words, but with a flick of its long tail over the length of Dokja's neck.

It takes precious time and effort to convince the party to attack him—and, though Kim Dokja is loath to admit it, Han Sooyoung's help, bright as her eyes are around the tail of the scorpion perched into her hair. Yoo Jonghyuk and Miteum stay prone against the wall in the corner of Kim Dokja's eyes. They watch from a distance, bleeding and disoriented while Lee Seolhwa works her magic on them, and it is oddly difficult not to feel the weight of their gaze as he allows his allies to stab and punch and cry at him.

Kyunguk crawls down from Kim Dokja's neck and under his white coat till he is cradled between the open wings at his back, his sharp claws stuck into the fabric of his shirt. They have never torn into Kim Dokja's skin and they never will, he knows; Kyunguk is simply more open than him with his fright.

Kim Dokja listens with one ear to the multiple messages he receives from the constellations. He smiles again when he understands the full meaning of the fate bound to him; when he sees Yoo Jonghyuk rise with his black sword in hand and murder in his eyes, Miteum at his feet showing her dripping fangs.

Perhaps this is the day he'll know how they feel when they bite.

There is no need to come to such measures. The third regression Yoo Jonghyuk is not yet someone who has dealt away with taboos and morality. His sword and will are enough to cut through the defense that Kim Dokja cannot help raising, and steel through the chest and shoulder is no laughing matter of pain. Kyunguk trembles when one of Kim Dokja's wings is cut a hair's breath off of his own back. He crawls back atop Dokja's shoulder right as Dokja falls to his knees, blood in his mouth, Yoo Jonghyuk's voice in his ears.

Already he can feel this body vaporizing as the scenario ban enacts itself.

[Your fate has been realized.]

Kyunguk shivers and shakes against him. The dæmon who has never changed form stays here as he has since they were children, into the crook of Dokja's neck and whimpering into his ear. Kim Dokja wants to lift a hand and touch him. He doesn't have the strength to.

"Kim Dokja," Yoo Jonghyuk calls into his other ear.

He has dropped the black sword in order to hold him. Kim Dokja meets Miteum's eyes over the man's shoulder.

Vomiting blood is surprisingly uncomfortable. The Fourth Wall offsets some of the pain and feeling of it, but Kim Dokja can't avoid the taste in his mouth, the slickness and heat he has no choice but to let drip over Yoo Jonghyuk's shoulder. He laughs weakly and says, "It was a great story, wasn't it?"

Yoo Jonghyuk breathes in something like a gasp.

Kim Dokja has not the strength to stroke Kyunguk's fear away, but there is one thing he can do. Already his legs and wings have crumbled like dust in the wind, and somehow this lightens the burden of fatigue and pain some more, enough for him to be able to move one arm. He slithers it along Yoo Jonghyuk's side and in the direction of Miteum until he can rest his hand on her head.

Yoo Jonghyuk tenses against him. It is a movement of the body and soul, his stillness, so deep that not even his chest moves with the air he takes in. Kim Dokja would blush if he still had the blood to, but as it is he simply focuses on the feeling of warm fur under his hand, on the strength of the wolf's gaze as he speaks to her for the first time.

"Take care of Kyunguk for me."

No dæmon can survive outside the scenario. It is something Kim Dokja knows from reading Ways of Survival, something he has prepared for the moment he realized that the tenth scenario had been updated through the prophecy's influence. He ignores Uriel's cries in his ears and the laughter of nebulæ. He thinks again of the pain Yoo Jonghyuk experienced the first time he separated from Miteum—as he reminds Kyunguk through the voice they both share that this is temporary.

"I don't want to," Kyunguk trembles and cries, "I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to."

His claws dig through the white coat until they touch Dokja's skin. He once more feels as small and cowardly as he was in those days of his youth, when Kim Dokja asked him to change form and he refused, time after time, until it was too late. But he slides down from Dokja's vanishing arm until he touches ground for the first time in years; he meets Kim Dokja's eyes with hurt and betrayal, but he doesn't try to cling again.

He was always the last one to give up between the both of them.

Yoo Jonghyuk has never allowed anyone to touch Miteum before.

A handful of people asked. His mother and father when he was a child, his sister on the day Miteum settled and her fur grew silver and white like a jewel under the light. Lee Seolhwa, the first time they made love.

Kim Dokja does not ask. Kim Dokja has never asked for Yoo Jonghyuk's input on any of his schemes and actions before, and it should come as no surprise that he should be so shameless, and yet Jonghyuk freezes at the first brush of skin on fur. The ache that grows within his chest is nothing like anything he knows, in and out of physical existence.

Kim Dokja lays a hand on Miteum's head, and Yoo Jonghyuk feels it between his ribs, around his heart.

There is nothing left of Kim Dokja's body after the black expense behind him finishes swallowing him up. Only bloodstains on the floor and his rat dæmon, prone and gasping, shuddering with the pain of separation. It is an awful thing to witness and Yoo Jonghyuk can hardly bear to look at it—can feel the others behind him holding their own, cannot stop himself from gripping the fur of Miteum's back—but he has to.

He has to look.

[The tenth scenario has ended. Rewards will be distributed soon.]

Other such messages follow. Yoo Jonghyuk doesn't listen to them. He watches Kyunguk shake and listens to the tiny, terrified squeaks he lets out. He remembers the edge of a broken bridge above Han river, a plain-faced man in a cheap suit calling himself his companion, his frightened rat dæmon gripping his shoulder with its claws.

It seems to take an eternity. Lee Seolhwa comes and nudges him, Lee Hyunsung calls his name with tears on his voice, but Yoo Jonghyuk doesn't move. He cannot move. At last the lone dæmon on the floor stops thrashing and moving and seems to fall asleep.

"Miteum," he says.

She moves, silent and deadly. His hand follows the curve of her spine until her tail flicks from under his fingers. She bends over the still rat and takes it into her mouth, and Yoo Jonghyuk knows that her hold is gentle, that her fangs will put only the softest of pressure against Kyunguk's thin bones.

He rises to his feet and declares, "Let's go."

It's not easy. The children are sobbing, Jung Heewon has gone into something like shock, and Han Sooyoung has bitten her lips open. Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah and himself manage to carry everyone out of the Dark Castle and then out of the Seoul Dome. He breaks the wall of it with his fists. It is barely enough to undo his tension.

The hours that follow do not feel real. Living inside the dome has made them all quick to forget that life goes on outside, that aside from the capitals of the world, billions of people remain who have not suffered the Star Stream. They are assaulted by journalists and do-gooders, offered money and employment, recompense, honor.

Han Sooyoung separates from their group almost immediately. Yoo Sangah guides Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung away with both hands on their shoulders, her cat dæmon walking between her legs with its thick fur raised high.

Miteum presses to his side. She still carries Kyunguk in her mouth.

A house is given to them on the outskirts of the city. The transparent dome is now as black as night and, Yoo Jonghyuk knows, just as impenetrable. There is no use in returning there and searching the ruins for a trace of Kim Dokja. He would not survive outside the scenario even if he tried.

And yet, Kyunguk remains. Weak and shivering and alone, but alive. Which means that Kim Dokja lives on in some form or another.

He and Miteum enter the farthest and most secluded bedroom in the house. Jonghyuk locks the door behind them and watches her gently set the rat atop the soft cover of the bed. Kyunguk's tongue lolls out of his mouth. His breaths are fast and shallow, raising the black fur of his stomach and sides almost too quickly for the naked eye.

"He's not dead," Yoo Jonghyuk says.

Miteum rarely speaks. She says nothing now, but he can feel that she agrees with him as she does on so many things. Jonghyuk advances through the room and sits on the bed, leaving enough distance between himself and Kyunguk that the dæmon will not topple in his direction, even with the mattress dipping. Miteum feels no such need for boundaries; she jumps atop the bed and sits, curled around the rat's trembling form without outright touching him. His fur is wet where her saliva has bathed him.

Yoo Jonghyuk pets her absently, looking at Kim Dokja's dæmon and wondering. Thoughts of his sword piercing the man's body fray at the edges of his mind and threaten to make his hands shake; he fists one into the bedspread and the other into Miteum's back.

"You let him," he starts.

He can't finish. The words pulse inside his mouth like a heartbeat.

Miteum shifts her head so she can look at him. He opens his fingers, drags them through her silver fur.

Between her legs, Kyunguk looks like he's dying.

Yoo Jonghyuk cannot explain the knot in his throat, the impression of a hand through his chest as if something has reached under his skin and pulled open his ribs. "He's going to die," he says.

Miteum bends down and licks down the rat's heaving side. He whimpers, still caught between unconsciousness and obvious suffering. Yoo Jonghyuk pictures himself for a second reaching out as Kim Dokja had earlier and taking Kyunguk in hand. Bringing him the warmth that his human must have. His throat dries.

"The fate," Miteum murmurs.

Her voice is deep and soul-wide. Yoo Jonghyuk remembers himself as a child leaning with his head against her ribs, listening to the echo of it through her soft and warm body. Even before adulthood she preferred the shape of dogs and wolves, of bigger felines sometimes. No one had been surprised by her settling.

[Kim Dokja's fate has been realized.]

That is what the dokkaebi's message said when Yoo Jonghyuk stabbed Kim Dokja through the chest.

"It doesn't make sense," he replies.

Miteum gives another lick to Kyunguk's frail body.

He cannot be the person that Kim Dokja loves most. Kim Dokja has shown no sign of being attracted to anyone but women; he and Yoo Sangah look to be close enough for affection, and if not her then Han Sooyoung, in spite of her own scheming nature—

No, he thinks, looking again at the forlorn dæmon. What does he know, truly, of Kim Dokja? He has seen him from afar with women stuck in the same unfortunate circumstances as he. He has opposed and supported him in battle. He has watched him die and rise again three times, experienced grief and relief three times, refused to examine his own feelings about it.

Kim Dokja called himself his companion the very first time they met. He called himself a prophet. Whatever he saw of Yoo Jonghyuk's future was enough to make come back again and again—to break Yoo Jonghyuk out of the throws of nightmares or of his own hopelessness and encourage him to live.

Jonghyuk knows what people say of those with dæmons of the same gender. Why did he never think of it regarding Kim Dokja and Kyunguk?

"You're asking the wrong question," Miteum growls at him.

She is right.

What he knows is right in front of him, burned into his memory: the prophecy said the incarnation Kim Dokja would be killed by the one he loves most. Yoo Jonghyuk killed Kim Dokja. The prophecy was realized.

"Incarnation Kim Dokja," he says out loud, realizing.

Of course. He rubs a hand over his bloody face and sighs. Of course, Kim Dokja must have realized this a lot sooner than he did, the bastard.

"What did he tell you?" he asks Miteum. "When he… earlier, what did he say?"

Miteum looks away from him almost haughtily. She noses at Kyunguk again.

Kim Dokja is alive. For now. Whether he can survive separating from his dæmon is another story; whether he can come back one day is too remote to even consider. Looking at Kyunguk on the bed, Yoo Jonghyuk would not bet on Kim Dokja's survival, but he has made this mistake before, he realizes.

No one would imagine that the man with the small rat dæmon could be so powerful. Powerful enough to surpass Yoo Jonghyuk. Whether this strength comes from Kyunguk or Kim Dokja or the both of them at once, Jonghyuk can only hazard a guess.

Jonghyuk settles for his first night in a proper bed in months. There is a working shower in the bathroom down the hall and he makes full use of it, Miteum beside him shedding the blood and grime off her slick fur. She has carried Kyunguk with them, put him atop a pile of warm towels outside the stall. Her eyes rarely leave him.

He almost walks into Lee Seolhwa when he exits the room.

Miteum remains docile at his side, her jaws delicately holding Kyunguk. Lee Seolhwa and Dal are both looking at her. The python hisses and moves around her shoulders, as disturbed as she is—as they all are—by the idea of a dæmon, alone.

Seolhwa looks up at him quickly. "I wanted to know if you were all right," she says.

"I'm fine."

Her lips thin. "Jonghyuk," she adds, with that same kindness in her voice that made him fall in love all those years ago. "We all saw what happened."

Yoo Jonghyuk looks down, too. He stares at Kyunguk's tail falling limply out of Miteum's mouth. "I have to prepare for what comes next," he tells her. "You should get some sleep too while you can."

He walks past her in the narrow corridor, intent on nothing more than to rejoining his room and sleeping for as long as he can.

Anger spikes through him before he can take the third step; it comes from Miteum.

Yoo Jonghyuk turns on his heels just in time to see Lee Seolhwa's outstretched hand closing where a second ago the wolf stood. Were it not for the rat she is holding so preciously, Miteum would be baring her fangs, and Yoo Jonghyuk feels the need through his own blood and bones. He clenches his teeth in fury.

"What do you think you're doing?" he snaps.

Lee Seolhwa wears a complicated expression. Dal has circled around her front again as if to make a barrier out of his white body, his red eyes fixed onto him and his tongue scenting the air for violence.

Seolhwa takes her hand back slowly. The smile that stretches her lips is joyless. Resigned. "I was wondering if perhaps things had changed," she says. "But I see I was mistaken. I'm sorry for not asking."

Some of Jonghyuk's anger abates. "Seolhwa," he murmurs, but she shakes her head at him.

"I am indebted to Kim Dokja-ssi," she declares, "though I know he didn't save me for me."

Her words close around him like the bars of a prison cell. Part of him feels, all of a sudden, like the Yoo Jonghyuk of the first day; standing in a bloodied train with bile and blood in his mouth.

"I know he saved me for you," she says. Her pale eyes shine with determination. "And I thank him for it. He must know that you and I were together, that we—"

She swallows, grief twisting over her face and inside Yoo Jonghyuk's entrails. He wishes he didn't know what she is mourning now.

He wishes he could not remember the weight of a child in his hands.

"But this life," she says, blinking quickly under the hallway light. "This life isn't for me, is it."

She moves before he can answer. This time Miteum makes no attempt to avoid her, and she does not try to touch, either; her hand simply rests for a second on Yoo Jonghyuk's shoulder. Dal brushes against his hip as his hold around her tightens.

"Sleep well."

Morning finds them smelling of freedom. They can't help it despite the paranoia that the scenario cultivates, the knowledge that they are never, really, out of danger. Yoo Jonghyuk wakes to the smell of coffee and the sound of conversation filtering in from under his door. He knows that more press and attention awaits on the threshold of this borrowed house. He knows that whatever smiles the others will have put on will pale as the days go and their time of respite grows smaller. He knows the children will bear red eyes from crying.

Miteum slept next to him with Kyunguk nestled against her warm side. She looks at him as he sits up and takes in the state of the rat dæmon; he is shaking still, through the tremors have lessened, and patches of his once-glistening fur have fallen off of him. He hasn't regained consciousness.

But he lives. And so does Kim Dokja.

Yoo Jonghyuk does not expect that he would be able to talk to him even if he was awake. He has never seen Kyunguk speak at all, not even to Kim Dokja. The only reason he knows his name is because Kim Dokja introduced the both of them on that day at the bridge.

"Will he need food?" he asks Miteum.

Dæmons do not eat to survive that he knows of. He isn't sure about a separated dæmon, however. It is hard enough looking at Kyunguk without feeling the need to hurl, Yoo Jonghyuk has no wish to see him vanish under his very nose—to picture Kim Dokja walking alone, wherever he is now, with half of his self missing.

Instead of answering, Miteum leans forward and nuzzles his hand.

Each of his heartbeats is an ache. The pain of it feels warm, feels alive, echoing through his chest and clogging in his throat. Jonghyuk treads his fingers through Miteum's fur to ignore how they shake, and then he pulls them off of her. He rests them on Kyunguk's side. He presses the full of his palm against the rat's soft belly, strokes his throat, runs a thumb over his back.

Miteum's rough tongue wets his hand and flattens the small dæmon's twitching ears.

Under their touch, Kyunguk's breaths ease.

#orv #omniscient reader's viewpoint #dokhyuk #kim dokja #yoo jonghyuk #fic: wait #featured

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pttucker · 6 months

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"Thank you." The words spilled out and Yoo Joonghyuk replied indifferently. "Don't say anything that isn't in your heart. I know you dislike me." "Of course, I dislike you. I hate you. You are the person who took my role." "I don't know what that means." In Lee Sookyung's head, time flowed slowly. She heard that it should move quickly… then why? Was it because it was hard and difficult? "…I've known you from a long time ago. That kid often talked about you. He came to visit his mother in prison and only talked about this." –This time, he challenged the 12 gods of Olympus. The young face of Kim Dokja as he talked happily. Many thoughts had floated on this child's face. Yoo Joonghyuk spoke like he felt Lee Sookyung's heart rate slowing down. "Lee Sookyung. Don't let go of your mind." Lee Sookyung barely maintained her blurring consciousness. She continued to be drowsy on Yoo Joonghyuk's back. "In any case, at least once… I wanted to thank you." "You are saying things that I can't understand."

Okay, so I've been thinking this for a while now but is Joonghyuk perhaps literally unable to comprehend that he's a character in a novel?

Like, at first I just thought it was a secret (obviously it was) and he didn't know and then I thought that maybe, for some reason, he just didn't care because he's so goal-motivated and has crushed down all his own emotions beyond what's needed to save the world, but now I'm really starting to wonder if he literally cannot process it. Like maybe he has his own version of Fourth Wall but it stops him from realizing that he's a character in a novel no matter what people say.

Like, Han Sooyoung literally calls him "protagonist" to his face but it's Han Sooyoung so it's quite possible he brushed it off as that's just how she sees the world as a writer.

But we also have the fact that people were starting to recognize that the world was following TWSA way back before Dokja got lost for three years, heck people were recognizing it both inside and outside the Seoul dome way back when he pretended to be Joonghyuk for the first time. Since then, rumors have been spread all across the internet and there's apparently still functioning news agencies because Dokja's party members are treated like celebrities.

So you'd think by now that it has to be common knowledge right? If nothing else, Sooyoung can't have been the only person to ever say something weird or act weird around the Yoo Joonghyuk. It wouldn't shock me at all if people haven't tried to interview him like they did with Heewon and Jihye.

So does he genuinely have no feelings in regards to finding out he's a fake person? Do none of the other characters not care either? We've had plenty of POV scenes from other characters but thinking about it, the one time that we see the novel openly discussed is between Dokja and his mom, Dokja and Sooyoung, Sooyoung and Sangah...all non-characters...

And now we have Dokja's mom trying to have this serious conversation with Joonghyuk and he's saying he doesn't understand and while you can take that to mean that he doesn't understand how he helped Dokja since he's only recently met him, I'm starting to wonder if it's not more literal - that he literally can't process what she's talking about.

Like, Dokja literally just got done showing the giants the literal scenes of TWSA and Joonghyuk had no reaction whatsoever. Like, maybe in that particular instance he wasn't able to see those scenes, only Dokja and the giants could, but still...

"Where are your parents?" "I was told they died in an accident." "You don't sound sad." "I can't grieve what I can't remember." Lee Sookyung knew. He didn't remember because it wasn't in the original novel. Everything about Yoo Joonghyuk was just a character setting. From the beginning, Yoo Joonghyuk's parents didn't exist. Lee Sookyung hesitated for a moment. "Yes, humans are like this. Do you think I remember all my childhood?" "…Is it memory loss?" "Everyone gets memory loss. Little by little, we will forget our memories and one day, we will forget everything."

And then on the other side we have this. It almost feels like Sookyung is trying to reassure him that it's normal not to remember things that happened when they were children and she specifically goes out of her way to say humans are like this. Like she's trying to tell him that he's still a human and reassure him that this is normal and not from him literally being a made up person.

So maybe he does know and has just been quietly processing it? Or maybe he does have a Fourth Wall, maybe all the characters do, but instead of blocking them from understanding, their versions keep their reactions to the real world muted whereas Dokja's keeps his reactions to TWSA muted? So they're aware but just can't bring themselves to care???

Like, I could see maybe one or two people just genuinely not caring, and maybe one of those people is Joonghyuk just because of how emotionally exhausted he has to be by now (both him AND 1863rd) but you're telling me that Lee Jihye doesn't have some opinions on all of that? Lee Hyunsung hasn't at least asked Dokja what he was like in the novel? Shin Yoosung hasn't asked about what she did in a future without Dokja taking her under his wing?

And then finally we have this:

Yoo Joonghyuk spoke, "Sometimes I remember things. I remember someone watching me." It was the first time Lee Sookyung heard this story and she wondered, "…Who was watching you?" "I don't know either. There was a gaze watching me for a long time. There were times when I often felt the gaze." After Yoo Joonghyuk's words were over, Lee Sookyung didn't talk for a long time. There was a long silence before Lee Sookyung laid her hands on Yoo Joonghyuk's head and spoke in a gentle voice. "Maybe it was your parents." Lee Sookyung stared up at the sky. Numerous constellations were watching them.

I feel like Sookyung is once again trying to make him feel better by saying it was his parents but at the same time Joonghyuk isn't really connecting the whole "Dokja came to talk to me about you every day when he was younger" to "Dokja knows my entire life story including my future" to "someone has been watching me for years." Or, if he is connecting the two, he's unwilling to verbalize it and just seems like he's side-stepping the whole issue?? So either he can't process that he's a character or can but can't really feel it?

Well, if nothing else, I do love it when we get mentions of Joonghyuk feeling like someone was with him during his hardships just the same as Dokja felt that Joonghyuk was there with him during his.

#hopefully I'm not majorly forgetting anything that totally refutes this like I have in the past lol #I'm sorry but a person with a naturally bad memory is trying to read a 5000 page novel while exhausted after work so it happens 😅#also I love that it's once again being brought up that yjh is the one who protected and was there for dokja when he needed someone #also I did notice that Dokja JUST got done saying he wants a story without any deaths and was told that probability wouldn't allow it #and now his mother is dying with sparks of probability all around her...#yjh #Lee Sookyung #kdj crew #orv #orv novel chapter 326-327 #orv spoilers #orv liveblog #omniscient reader's viewpoint #long post

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