#for anyone who saw that post a while back and is interested in an update on my whole bastard landlord/roommate kicking me out situation:

[doubledyke]

it doesn't really make sense in the logic (lol) of the show but part of me loves the idea that edd is being raised by his grandparents.... kids who are raised by grandparents tend to be overly mature and a little uhhhhh off-beat. i feel like it could explain a lot.

#before you ask yes this is me projecting #i know some folks hc his parents as being a bit long in the tooth which i like too #but idk i just think it would explain so many things about edd to learn that he was in fact raised by senior citizens #and shit i still call my grandma 'mom' so to me its not weird at all that he'd call his grandparents 'mother and father' #everything else about them stays the same though #theyre still aloof and neglectful #and i still think the worst of them #anyway i love projecting my trauma onto edd specifically for some reason #he's such an easy target for angst i can't help it #oh and speaking of angst #for anyone who saw that post a while back and is interested in an update on my whole bastard landlord/roommate kicking me out situation: #i found a room and will be moving in 2 weeks 🥴 kill all landlords etc etc but hey at least i'll have my own bathroom #and won't be living with the final boss of millennials/reddit incarnate #unfortunately for you guys though that means i should be able to indulge in my tomfoolery again soon (shit posting and shit drawing) #even though it seems like our tiny fandom has gotten even smaller recently #alright i'll shut up now biiiiii

[bitterie-sweetie]

This is how we fall

Pairing: Mingyu x reader Genre: fluff, light angst, fake dating au WC: 18.5k Warnings: swearing, mentions of blood, alcohol A/N: happy belated mingyu day!! this is an updated ver of my fave fic i posted for another fandom, but i think it fits mingyu the most <3

You should know better than to make a deal with a stranger, but the need for a date to Minghao’s party has you desperate. It can’t be too bad though; all you have to do is show Mingyu what you saw in your reading, and he would be your date for one night. Simple enough, right?

The fates were playing with you.

That much you can be sure of—there is absolutely no way you should be seeing yourself in one of your clients' readings, in the same way that you aren't able to see what lies in your own future. And yet, here you are, getting a glimpse at the same hairstyle, the same smooth skin and face shape that you see in the mirror every day. It isn't entirely clear when your client doesn't look at his lover's face directly, but surely those features are enough to conclude that it's you, right?

"I see myself in your future."

"Is that a terrible pickup line or are you serious?"

You vaguely notice that Mingyu is laughing. It makes you realize that neither option was a good one really; a pickup line would imply you're interested in him, while seeing yourself in his future certainly implies a lot more than that. Perhaps you silently pray to the fates that those words didn't make their way to your boss in the other room.

But as the scene progresses, there are some other details that you notice. The kitchen in the background doesn't look familiar at all, nor do you recognize the light fragrance of oranges surrounding you—not a bad scent, though it isn't one you have lying around at home. What his lover is wearing is different from anything you own too, which could only indicate that you were wrong: they have to be someone else.

"Nah," you shrug, quickly trying to brush off your mistake, "I was just kidding."

That earns you a bemused smile as Mingyu raises an eyebrow, entirely unconvinced. "You sure about that?"

With a nod, you quickly pull your hands back to break out of the visions and internally curse yourself for being stupid enough to think that the lover in the visions was you. Just how delusional are you now? Sure, you've always been a head in the clouds type of person, falling in love with the possibility that everywhere you go, the next person you meet might just be the love of your life. Eye contact with the cute dog walker at the park turns into getting lost in their eyes while walking under the stars, and a brush of hands with the hot barista at the local coffee shop turns into holding hands while reciting wedding vows.

And admittedly, Mingyu is good-looking. But this isn't the same—he's a client, and you're working. It was silly to have thought of the possibility of being in his future in the first place, but even more ridiculous to have said it out loud.

You immediately shake off the thoughts when you catch him staring.

"So?" He leans forward, looking at you like he has some big secret to share. "What did you see?"

"Um, your love life will be just fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." You avoid his gaze, choosing to stare at the small piece of lint on your sleeve instead. "Things will run smoothly with your partner. I could sense your love for them and how committed to them you are. And similarly, how in love with you they are." 

This is the part you've always hated the most about the job. Jeonghan may have thought that hiring a "real psychic" was a good idea, but you think otherwise—surely anyone who knows anything about palm reading would immediately be able to tell that you're a fake. A fraud. You're not here to look over the love lines and life lines on your clients' palms when the visions come to you as naturally as breathing: they let you see a few scenes from the client's future, usually scenes involving a lover from what you've gathered over the years. And while it's no surprise that Jeonghan put you on love readings because of this ability, it's not like you can tell clients about the exact scenes you see.

Hence why you resort to vague summaries of the readings that make you feel like an imposter.

"Really?" Mingyu cocks his head, still watching you carefully. "Anything else?"

There were three scenes that you witnessed: holding hands across the table at what looked like a dimly lit restaurant, with tiny scars on his lover's hands. "There might be some dark times in your life or your partner's, but the two of you will be able to support each other." A kiss in what seemed like an open-air market, with the sweet taste of apples on your lips and the warmth of sunshine against your skin. "They'll bring you warmth." Then there was the final scene where you thought you'd seen yourself—slow dancing in the kitchen at midnight with faint music playing in the background and Mingyu's soft whispers reaching his lover's ears. "And your partner will make you believe in love again."

A fairly normal set of scenes compared to some of the things you've seen from other people, although it's a bit strange that they happen to be scenes where he's not looking directly at his lover.

"Hmm, okay." Mingyu nods slowly and then purses his lips, seemingly deep in thought. Maybe it's the dimness in the room, but it's like you can see the gradual change in his demeanour as his smile falters. "That sounds great and all, but I'm single as hell right now."

It takes all your efforts to not let your shock show. "Well, it can be your future partner."

"Sure, I guess." He shrugs, but the gloomy expression never leaves his face.

You open your mouth to give a retort, to defend yourself or to convince him somehow, but nothing comes out. Plenty of skeptical people have sat in that very seat before, but you've never dealt with someone who reacted like this. It almost seems like a prank or a test that Jeonghan is giving you to gauge how well you can react in these types of situations.

"Things didn't really end well with my ex, so I don't know if I'd want to go through all of that again." He grimaces. "But I'm kind of curious as to know how you came up with that."

"Well, what did you expect?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe something more realistic? Like telling me why my past relationship failed and if I'm destined to have bad luck with them."

Destined to have bad luck with them? Now that's a first. Many clients have argued with you before that any bad readings would never come true, but you're surprised to hear that it's the other way around with Mingyu. Just what has he gone through to make him doubt a good reading? You almost want to convince him, to have this reading be what helps him out of this turmoil that he's going through.

"I can show you, if you want." The words are out of your mouth before you can process them, and it isn't until you see the stupefied expression on his face that you realize just what you said.

"What?"

"I can show you what I saw in the reading," you repeat, figuring it's too late now to back out. Show him? Are you out of your mind? At least the worst that can happen is it'd make you look stupid; there is no way he'd accept—

"Oh. Um, yeah." Mingyu's shock gradually disappears and turns into something else that you can't quite pinpoint, but you might say that it almost looks like hope. "Okay, sure. How would that work?"

"I can show you the locations that I saw and, um, the—" You pause because how are you supposed to word this? "The events that happen in them."

This should be when he says you're joking, that he's not going to fall for some scam. But against all odds, he nods, and a smile gradually appears. "Is this a part of what's included in the reading, or do I have to pay extra?"

You're about to open your mouth and tell him that it's included—to essentially own up to your own mistake of offering in the first place—but something else comes to mind.

There is the party coming up. You've been complaining to Jeonghan all day about your lack of a date for Minghao's party, since receiving the invite and figuring out just who would be there. And while normally you wouldn't care about whether you had a date or not, this would be the first time that you're reconnecting with your old college crowd since graduating and leaving certain people behind.

"It's not included, but you don't have to pay; I'd gladly accept a favour instead. There's this party that I'm going to, and I need a date—not even like a real date. You could just be my fake date and—" You force yourself to stop when he doesn't react and simply blinks at you. "Never mind, forget I ever said anything. I'll just ask Jeonghan to be my date—"

"Y/N, you know I can't go to that thing," Jeonghan voice comes floating in from the other room. "I have a business to run."

Mingyu's face brightens, eyes twinkling in amusement, and you have to resist the urge to sink into the ground. "Okay, so a party? Sure, I can go to this party with you if that's what you want."

You want to stop this thing in its tracks. Your joke of an offer coupled with the mention of the party to a complete strange surely would be a recipe for disaster, and besides, why would he would even care to know what you saw in the reading? Why would he believe you if you do show him the scenes? But you can't bring yourself to say any of that. At the prospect of being handed a solution to your dateless party problem, you decide to bite your tongue and go ahead with it. Showing him a few locations that you saw in your reading would be nothing compared to being alone with certain people from your past.

"Okay, deal. Let's do it."

A few minutes later, he's leaving the shop with a little wave, and a new contact has been saved into your phone.

"You good?" Jeonghan raises an eyebrow, stepping out of the back room as he gives you a look that says he heard everything. His glasses are halfway down his face and hair ruffled like he tugged on the strands in frustration way too many times, which isn't surprising when the shop is on the verge of needing to be shut down. "Were you serious about asking me to be your date?"

"No, you must've heard wrong." You quickly shake your head, plastering on a smile. "And I'm great. Wonderful. Amazing." You're definitely not. "Everything is fine." It definitely isn't.

The only reaction you get is a teasing grin. "Well," Jeonghan pats you on the shoulder, "let me know how it goes. Maybe you really did see yourself in his future."

Great.

It was at this moment you knew you fucked up.

"You look like you just lost your job," Soonyoung says right when you step into the apartment that night.

You shoot him a glare. "Unprovoked?"

He's slouched in yet another strange position on the couch, eyeing you with the concern that should probably be going towards fixing his posture, and his phone screen in hand is flashing with probably some show he's been bingeing despite the TV being only a few feet away.

A typical night at your residence, really.

"Should I leave?" he asks, sitting up straighter.

You kick your shoes off, too worn out to think of a smart retort tonight. Then you slump onto the couch beside him. "Is it that obvious?"

"Uh huh. You want to talk about it?"

With a sigh, you start from the beginning. Mingyu had been friendly when he walked in that evening, all charming smiles and lingering stares. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about him, though you may have thought he was good-looking and may have been a tiny bit glad that he made a last-minute decision to switch from the career reading to the love reading.

You tell Soonyoung about the readings, dragging on the details until he's waving you on impatiently. And then comes the end—the deal you made where you'd show Mingyu what you saw in the reading in exchange for having him be your date to Minghao's party.

"Why the hell would you do that?" Soonyoung narrows his eyes, stare seeming to bore into your skull. "He was hot, wasn't he?"

"Um, well..."

"I knew it." Then he put his hands on your shoulders and shakes you a little. "Y/N," he looks you dead in the eye, "you need to stop being so nice to people you find hot. Well, except for me; I'm an exception."

You scoff. "It's not that. I need a date for this party, okay? You know he's going to be there so there's no way I'm showing up alone."

"Forget the party," he gives a dismissing wave, "how are you going to show him everything? The guy seems like someone who doesn't believe in this kind of stuff."

"Yeah," you mutter, "maybe he knows I'm a fraud and is secretly filming all this for his YouTube channel. Can you imagine the title? Delusional psychic makes up romantic scenes."

If Mingyu really did think you were a fraud, he wouldn't be wrong. After all, you only learned about the different palm lines as a cover for the real abilities you used for these readings. Maybe it isn't such a bad idea to switch over to regular readings now though; if only you'd been blessed with Jeonghan's bullshitting skills instead of this ability that's starting to feel more like a curse.

"No, Y/N. Who does he think he is?" Soonyoung abruptly gets up from the couch, hands balled into fists instead of laughing at your joke like you thought he would. "No one forced him to go to you. And we all know that fortune telling is a big sham; surely he should know to take everything with a grain of salt."

You nod, but then you think back to the reading. "Well, I did think that I could be wrong. The reading was... well, it was weird. I couldn't see his lover's face, like, it either went by really fast or he wasn't looking at them at all."

"Those scenes don't necessarily have to be with the ex he mentioned, right? You have no control over what point of someone's life you see."

Soonyoung is right. You can't control the time frame of someone's life you witness, so it's plausible that the love interest is someone else entirely. Perhaps from a future relationship, or maybe Mingyu and his ex if they get back together one day.

Or maybe the visions are wrong. Just because they haven't been wrong before doesn't mean it can't happen.

"Or," Soonyoung flops back onto the couch excitedly, "do you think it's because he has bad eyesight?" He leans in until his face is mere centimeters away from yours, pretending to examine you through squinted eyes. "Maybe he never sees his lover's face that clearly anyway."

"There's a big difference between having bad eyesight and simply not looking at something, you know."

"Then do you want to use me as practice?" He holds out his hand, placing it on your knee with his palm up. "You can check if futures can change or if eyesight really does affect the readings."

You give him one last skeptical glance before going along with it. Then you press two thumbs at the edges of his palm with your eyes closed and wait for the visions to arrive.

It's been years since you've glanced into his future, but still you immediately recognize the images. There's Soonyoung laughing while on a picnic with Wonwoo in the same sunny field, Wonwoo playing the guitar in your current apartment, and a final close up of the ring on Soonyoung's slender finger. You wonder if he still remembers this last one; you're at the age where all of your friends are getting engaged left and right, and you're half expecting a wedding invitation any day now.

But just before you can pull your hands back and ask him if the first two events have already happened, the vision changes. A new scene takes shape this time and it confuses you at first because the view starts off with an unfamiliar ceiling. Then as Soonyoung glances down, Wonwoo's face comes into view and—

"What the hell?" You immediately jerk back, scrambling to break out of the vision. "Please don't get me to do your reading ever again."

Soonyoung gives you a confused glance. "Why, what did you see? Did it change?"

"Let me just say that I really don't need to see the things that you and Wonwoo do."

"You—you saw what?"

"I heard it too." You bury your face in your hands, trying to wipe the memory away. "The visions really just had to give me first person seats to a show I never wanted to see."

Soonyoung chokes on his spit.

If Mingyu forgot about this agreement entirely once he left the shop, it wouldn't surprise you. You'd just take it as one of those situations where friends tell each other to hang out but never end up making plans, so why would this be any different?

What surprises you is that he does text you a few days later.

So through your text conversation, you tell him all about the first scene you saw—the restaurant with the hand holding across the table. A dinner date, essentially. It's a good thing that this is the easiest scene to reenact; maybe after this he'd decide that he's had enough of this fake fortune telling stunt while still upholding his end of the agreement.

But despite how simple the scene is, the thought of doing this makes you all kinds of nervous. Your stomach twists at the thought of spending a whole night on the receiving end of Mingyu's intense stare, especially when this would be so different from your interactions with him while working that day. At least at work you knew what you were doing. This on the other hand, is completely out of your range of knowledge. Like, what do people talk about during these kinds of events? What if whatever you're eating gets really messy? What if—

"Wait, where are you going today? Soonyoung didn't tell me about this." Wonwoo glances over at his boyfriend in confusion before turning back to you. "And what did you agree to do?"

"Um," you say slowly, glancing between the two perched on the couch. "I made a deal to show a client what I saw in his reading."

"But why?" Wonwoo puts his hand on your knee, leaning over with concern written on his face. "You haven't done anything like this before for your other customers, have you?"

"No way. I probably wouldn't be doing this if he hadn't agreed to be my date for Minghao's party."

Maybe it was weird to have agreed to this—the look on Wonwoo's face said as much. After all, Mingyu is a stranger, and you don't know anything about him other than the flashes of his life you witnessed through the reading. But won't it simply feel like an awkward first date? All you have to do is take him to a restaurant that resembles the one you saw and hold hands across the table. It can't be too challenging when there is no need to do much talking nor get to know each other.

"Oh. Because of..." Wonwoo trails off, giving you a feeble smile. "Right."

"Well, don't mention him," Soonyoung elbows him in the ribs.

Wonwoo waves his boyfriend off. "I'm not sure how you're going to make this client believe you, but your time with him today doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"But babe, you didn't see how upset Y/N was that night after agreeing to this." The dramatic pout on Soonyoung's face has you rolling your eyes. Then he turns to you. "He might be hot, but he could still be an asshole. This guy seems like bad news. What if you get kidnapped? What if you go missing? Who's going to help pay the rent then? And—"

"Don't act like you're not waiting for me to move out so that Wonwoo can move in," you reach over to flick him on the forehead. "Thanks for your concern but I think I'll be just fine."

"At least share your location with us, okay? If you need an emergency phone call to get you out of there, I have my scream perfected."

"Unfortunately, I am very aware of that." You definitely don't want to think about the last time Soonyoung called to pull you out of a group meeting back in college and nearly damaged the hearing of your entire group. "Okay, I'm really going to go now."

"Oh and," a hand wraps around your wrist just as you stand, "don't fall for him."

"Shut up, it's literally one meeting."

One meeting won't be a big deal. It'd be a nice dinner date with some innocent hand holding, and then you probably wouldn't have to see Mingyu again until the party. Nothing can't go wrong when you'd be in public the whole time anyway.

Soonyoung shouts something that sounds like, "At least wear something nicer!" but you're already out the door.

"Oh, you actually came." Mingyu comments, face instantly lighting up when he spots you. "I almost thought you decided to back out."

"Me? Never." You try for a smile, but you know he's referring to your tardiness.

It'd be easy to blame your annoying roommate for holding you up today, but embarrassingly enough, it wasn't because of him. Your shortcut through the park's uneven grounds was the culprit, causing your massive tumble which ultimately led to being much too late for this date. It's times like this when you wish your ability would let you see more useful things than random points in other people's futures.

Upon arriving at the restaurant though, you realize that something else you wish you'd seen is how your choice of restaurant is nothing like what you expected. You picked the place after scavenging through the depths of Google Maps, digging up pictures left and right from various reviews, and the single review of this place was the only one that seemed to match the one in your visions. In the photo, the restaurant was just as dim, and looked like a casual place. But now, in front of you, is a restaurant that looks nothing like the one in the photo.

In front of you is something much fancier—small chandeliers hang above every table and elegant decorations line the walls. There is no doubt that it must've gone through a major upgrade since the local reviewer posted those pictures from five years ago. Now not only was your attempt at finding the restaurant in your visions futile, but this place also makes you wish you chose a different occupation entirely. Preferably one that pays more than the meager amount your readings are worth.

"Well, this is an interesting choice," Mingyu comments, eyeing the walls. "Seems like a nice place."

You debate pulling him right out of there. "Um, actually, it's not—"

"Hi, do you have a reservation?" the hostess asks, looking between the two of you. And before you can even answer, there are two menus in her hands and she's leading you to your table. Great. Perhaps you'd just have to take off one of your rings and fake a proposal for the sake of a free meal if it turns out to be too expensive. You heard that it worked for a friend of a friend once upon a time.

Once seated, you nearly do a double take. There is no dim lighting obscuring Mingyu's handsome face this time, and under the glow of the chandelier, you can finally see his smooth skin, plush lips, and large eyes that seem to twinkle when he glances at you for whatever reason. If you thought he was good looking before, you have to admit that he looks even better today. 

You turn to the menu instead, studying it intensely despite having immediately picked out the cheapest option. Five minutes go by. The waitress comes by to take your orders. Another five minutes. Are first dates always this awkward? It's been years since you've gone out with anyone, but if this were the reality of the dating scene, maybe third-wheeling your friends for the rest of your life wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Mingyu clears his throat. "Should we start with the basics?"

"What?"

"A story to tell people at the party if they ask about us." He swirls his drink around, eyes flickering to yours occasionally. "We need to be on the same page with our answers to make it convincing."

Right, he's going to be your fake boyfriend for the party. You haven't thought that far yet when you've had the scenes to worry about, but he's not wrong. "Oh. Um, okay. So how did we meet? It wouldn't be through mutual friends because most of them would be there. Maybe a dating app?"

"Hmm," he hums, looking over everything on the table as he thinks. "We met at your shop when I got a reading done. Then you showed me how everything happens."

"We're just going with the truth?" You're slightly doubtful of whether this story would be believable, yet the same time you're relieved you wouldn't have to be lying. Soonyoung has always said you were a terrible liar. "I guess that works. So then how did we fall for each other?"

Mingyu presses his lips together and thinks for a while. "Through reenactments of the things you saw in the reading." As if for emphasis, he moves his drink out of the way before putting his hand on the table between the two of you, and then beckons for you to do the same.

"Oh. This is what you mean by reenact it."

Of course you knew this might be what he wanted, and you came here fully prepared to reenact this with him. But because of your fall at the park earlier, now the fresh scrapes on your palms are telling you to stop in your tracks. You shouldn't be touching anything and sure as hell don't want him to see the state of your battered hands.

You opt for a shrug, feigning nonchalance. "Um, yeah it was just hand holding. You know, we don't have to actually—"

"Come on, Y/N." He puts on a pout and the longer he stares at you, the more his eyes somehow start to have the effect of puppy eyes. "Just humour me?"

So you give in, reluctantly. You reach out a hand and rest it on his with your palm up to show him exactly why you don't want to do this.

Mingyu's eyes widen at you before he's holding your hand up to examine it closely. "Oh shit. What happened? Did you fall on your way here? Is that why you were late?"

You nod a little.

"Hey, you should've said something. I'll go ask for some bandages, okay?"

"No, it's fine—" you start, but he only shoots you a smile before leaving his seat.

Looking down, you can see that your palms already appear to be much better than earlier—the red splotches are mainly dry now, and the dirt has been wiped off. Thankfully, Mingyu didn't see the worst of it, but that does little to stop the embarrassment in its tracks. You only hope that the heat at your cheeks fades when he comes back a few minutes later waving a handful of bandages around.

You think that it would end there, but it doesn't. Mingyu insists on putting these bandages on your wounds. His fingers are light where they graze your skin as he carefully places them on your scrapes, and it's such a nice gesture that you're suddenly taken aback. This is supposed to be a quick dinner, and he's supposed to hate you for the bad reading. But now you question if any of that is true when he continues to act so kind and friendly.

"This is not how it's supposed to go." You frown, trying not to stare at his face as he works on the bandages in total concentration. "Not at all."

Because your hands may be in his across the table as you wait for your food to come, but he's only holding them to bandage your wounds. And while this restaurant does seem romantic, it's nowhere near the look of the one in your visions.

Mingyu's eyes fill with amusement when he looks up. "Holding hands across the table as we wait for our food, right? Isn't this close enough?"

"You're bandaging me. This isn't remotely romantic."

"Love isn't always supposed to be romantic, Y/N," he says dramatically, rolling his eyes. "Haven't your readings shown you the small things that people do for each other?"

You wonder just what kind of readings he thinks you do. "Um. I guess."

He does have a point. Maybe this moment, no matter how embarrassing or ridiculous it seems, is better than having to sit through faking or pretending everything. It may force you to be vulnerable, but each gentle brush of Mingyu's fingers and each press of a bandage against your palms hint at a vulnerable side of him too.

You study him, wanting to figure out just what kind of person he is. Why is he being so kind when the two of you are practically strangers? When this meetup should be a quick meal at a casual food place, involving no more physical contact than two seconds of hand holding? Well, perhaps five seconds. But now, it seems like the two of you have gone beyond your original plans of fake pleasantries.

"All done." He lightly presses the last bandage onto your palm, and you're grateful for the arrival of your food as an excuse to pull your hand back.

"So, um," you rack your brain for literally anything to say, "why did you come in for a reading that day?"

"There was a career decision that I was stuck on," Mingyu picks at his food then looks up with a twinkle in his eyes. "I don't believe in this whole fortune telling thing, but I needed some advice on what to do. Figured that maybe while you were telling me to look deep inside myself and to follow my heart or whatever, I'd suddenly get an epiphany about what to do."

"And did you?"

"Yeah."

"Even without the reading? The boss would've done a good job on it." That part is true; you may be the real psychic of the two of you, but you can't deny how good Jeonghan's readings are. Heck, you'd rather choose to believe his words over what you see in your own visions.

A nod. "Just going there gave me what I needed. I decided it would be good to start fresh, to try something new." He pauses to take a sip of water, but then his eyes snap to yours. "Wait, hold on. Did you say he's your boss? You were going to ask your boss to be your date? For the party?"

"Oh, Jeonghan?" You want to laugh at the incredulous expression on his face. "Nah, he's not exactly my boss. We met in college as classmates."

Your previous thoughts about not needing to talk completely disappear as you tell him about how this little psychic shop started. It had been Jeonghan's idea, a backup plan for a backup plan essentially. He'd always joked about starting a business if nothing else worked out after graduation, and the opportunity came around sooner than expected.

"Damn, I wish my boss was chill like that. Mine really makes everyone stay back to finish the projects that he deems urgent when they aren't."

"You mean you're not in school?" You have to wipe the shock from your face. "I would've thought that you were some frat boy in college."

Mingyu stares at you blankly, blinking a couple of times. "You know, I'm not sure if that was a compliment or insult." He frowns. "Well, I guess it's good that my job hasn't aged me too much yet. But frat boy? Really?"

"Hey, maybe that should be our cover instead," you tease. "Frat boy Mingyu who I met at a party in college years ago but only recently reconnected with."

He rolls his eyes at you, suddenly starting to chew so aggressively that you have to laugh at his expression.

The rest of the night goes by similarly, allowing you to forget all your worries about awkward first dates. Mingyu is a good conversationalist and surprisingly funny to, and when he drops his fork and later bumps his head on the chandelier is so endearing that you find yourself smiling every time you look at him.

As the two of you walk back to the shop afterwards, your time together leaves you thinking about how he's not the person you thought he would be. Maybe you should know that already based on the glimpse into his future because the warmth that you'd seen from those scenes alone could've been an indicator.

"There are two more things you saw, right?" Mingyu turns to you, sparkles in his eyes from the reflection of streetlights right outside the shop. "Are you free next weekend too?"

"Wait." You're almost sure you heard wrong. "You—you want to see the rest of them? The scenes I saw?"

"Yeah, of course," he says like it's obvious, seemingly unable to understand the surprise that must be on your face.

This is a possibility that you never considered at all. You don't get why he would want to see you or spend time with you again, or how showing him what you saw in the visions would possibly convince him that they're real. "Oh, um. I didn't think you would be interested."

"Why not? We still need to figure out more of our cover story for this party too." He gives a shrug and then raises a hand up in a wave. "See you next week?"

"Yeah, okay," you manage to say. "Next week."

The rest of the way home is filled with Mingyu's words echoing through your mind.

When you open the door to your apartment, Soonyoung drops his phone mid-scroll, giving you a onceover that makes his eyes as big as saucers. Then he's running over to you.

Right, you completely forgot about your state of being until this reminder.

"What the fuck happened to you? Did the Mingyu guy do all of this?" He stops you in the middle of the hallway, hands on your shoulders to spin you around as he glances over every inch of the mess of blood and dirt on your clothing. You understand what it would look like from the outside—the result of your fall must be fueling his thoughts about Mingyu being a bad guy. Maybe it looks like you bravely jumped out of a moving car and managed to crawl back home.

"No—"

"See? I told you he was bad news," he huffs and then guides you into the kitchen where he sits you down on a chair. "What happened? Did he pull something weird? Should we be calling the police?"

You feel a laugh on the verge of escaping your throat, but you bite it back. Soonyoung's questions are so absurd that you almost want to keep quiet and make him frustrated by his overwhelming curiosity. That'd certainly be one way of annoying him the way he always annoys you.

"No, nothing like that," you say instead, shaking your head. "I tripped and fell while walking through the park." Then you hold up your palms to show him the small bandages where they're peeling at the corners. "He helped bandage me at the restaurant."

Soonyoung nods slowly, but judging by his narrowed eyes, he's entirely unconviced. "Okay, but you look like you got into a fight with him or something. And why would you go through the park?"

"You're the one who made me late, okay? I had to take the shortcut." You go to push him then instantly regret it when the contact makes your palms throb. "Anyway, Mingyu was really nice. Though the, um, reenactment didn't really go as planned."

Then you begin to update him on everything that happened during your date, starting from the restaurant and how it didn't match the visions, to your fall and the bandages. But as you go over all of the moments, you realize there are a few things you intentionally leave out, like the tiny crinkles that appeared at the corners of Mingyu's eyes whenever he smiled. His soft hands that bandaged you so tenderly. Maybe he was right that love is all about the small gestures—even though you initially thought the moment paled in comparison to the one in the reading, the more you replay the day over in your mind, the more you realize that it was indeed romantic in its own way.

"And? Is that it?" Soonyoung gestures wildly. "You won't have to see him until the party, right?"

You can feel the smile on your face fade. "Um, actually. He wants to meet again for the next scene that I saw."

"Don't tell me that's the kiss scene?"

"Yeah... the kiss."

"Well, good luck with that one." Soonyoung's smirk only grows at your reaction. He gives you a pat on the back, but it feels just as insincere as his words. "Try not to fall for him."

As your roommate leaves the room, you can only sigh. This is exactly why you left out those details about this date—Soonyoung would be making fun of you forever. Yes, that has to be the reason. It definitely wasn't because you considered those moments special.

All week, you try to come up with a plan to avoid showing Mingyu the next scene from the visions. You think about making up a more PG-rated scenario since there is no way he would know if what you're showing is real or not, but how can you lie about it when he'll experience the real thing in his future? Besides, Soonyoung tells you the scenarios you come up with are lame.  

So your choices for this scene are really limited—either you would have to share a kiss with him in public or watch as his face contorts with disgust at the thought of having to kiss you. Or perhaps you would be dealing with the awkwardness of dead silence between you once he turns down the kiss. Either way, today is not looking good for you.

On top of that, the location for this scene gives you even more trouble than the first one did. You hadn't exactly gathered much information from it; without being able to use your sense of sight, you only know there was kissing, the smell of the outdoors, and light chatter in the background. A park might seem too public, too open of a space to be doing this, and a forest trail might be too isolated and not sunny enough compared to the sun you'd felt on your skin.

In the end, you decide on the market. A cute date at the market seemed like it could be the perfect balance, and today it bustles with the afternoon crowd of couples on their date and the elderly running their errands. When you look at Mingyu, your hypothesis is confirmed—beside you, he watches the rows of vendor carts and tents with amazement in his eyes.

"You've never been here before?"

Mingyu shakes his head. "Nah. I've been meaning to, but just haven't had the chance to yet." Then he turns to you with a teasing smile. "You chose the perfect spot. It's like you actually read my mind." 

"I can assure you I'm not psychic like that," you mutter, stunned for a second. "Let's take our time exploring and see everything today."

So the two of you slowly walk through each aisle and you watch him marvel at different items from each of the stalls you stop at. It's merely an excuse, though. You're stalling. You still haven't told him about what is supposed to happen in the second scene, and you've been carefully dancing around the topic each time he asked. How are you supposed to blatantly say that the two of you are supposed to kiss? All you can do is hope that the wonders of the market would distract him enough so that he forgets why you're here at all.

"So how long have we known each other?" Mingyu turns to ask as the two of you walk to the next stall. "And what kind of party is it? Don't tell me I unknowingly signed up to go to a wedding with you."

"It's not that much better actually—it's an engagement party."

He stops dead in his tracks. You laugh.

"A year minimum," you continue like he's not giving you a deadpan stare. "Maybe two? We should be pretty serious about... each other."

"Do you think I could watch over the shop for you while you take your boss to be your date?" He pauses, looking at you with hopeful eyes that immediately dim when you shake your head. "What have I gotten myself into?" Then he's walking to the next stall with dramatically loud steps, though you manage to catch the smile he tries to hide.

The rest of your cover story slowly comes together over the course of the date—he asked you out, some of the places you frequent are last week's restaurant and today's market, and you sometimes spend the weekend at his place which is why Soonyoung and Wonwoo haven't met him yet.

After exploring the majority of the stalls a while later, Mingyu finally turns to you.

"Hey, let's head over there." He nods at the field behind the market, shooting you a grin when he takes your hand in his.

You hope he doesn't hear the startled sound that escapes from the back of your throat.

Tucked away behind the row of vendors at the very edge of the market is a field with a few empty picnic tables. And while you aren't sure if this is how the kiss happens in the vision, you get the feeling that maybe he knows. The bit of privacy behind the stalls and the way the noises of the market gradually fade into the background as you approach the table tell you as much—if you were looking for an opportunity to reenact the scene today, it would be here and now.

You climb onto the table, letting your legs dangle off the bench while Mingyu follows suit beside you.

"You haven't said anything about why we're here today." He eyes you up and down with amusement playing on his lips. "Why? Is it something bad?" The teasing tilt in his voice paired with a slight eyebrow raise is enough to have your cheeks quickly burning up.

Then the embarrassment kicks in. You know that there is no avoiding it when the two of you are already at the location of the second scene in your vision, and now it's just a matter of telling him. But no matter how you try to phrase it in his head, what could possibly be a good way of telling your client that you're supposed to kiss him? That's what Mingyu is, right? A client that wanted to see and experience the things in your reading of his future.

"Um. It's... a hug," you say hesitantly, testing the way it sounds in your mouth. Picturing the way his face would fall at the word 'kiss' is enough to scare you into changing your mind at the last second. "A hug is supposed to happen here."

As if he knows you're not telling the truth, Mingyu cocks his head. "Oh yeah? Here of all places?" Maybe it really was a bad idea to lie; you should've believed Soonyoung when he said you can't tell a lie to save your life.

"Yeah." You try to swallow the lump in your throat. "I'm not sure why it's here either."

If he does detect your lie though, he doesn't say anything about it. Instead, his expression morphs into something softer. "Love can be found everywhere, Y/N. Even in a hug at the market if you want it to." Then he gets up and holds his arms open, eyes twinkling with the question of whether you want this.

And do you want this? It might be too soon to be doing this when you barely know each other, but it's also too soon for your heart to be speeding up the way it does, for you to feel a small burst of butterflies in your stomach every time he so much as stares at you for a moment too long, and for this cover story and the reenactments to feel more tangible than the abstract concepts they are meant to be.

But despite all that, you find yourself getting up from the table and carefully stepping into Mingyu's arms. You slowly relax in the warmth of his embrace and let the faint scent of his cologne envelop you, and though it's a tender, loose hug, you can feel the steady beating of his heart and the rises and falls of his every breath.

"Is this how it happens?" he whispers, the rumble of his voice vibrating through his chest.

You can't respond. You don't know how to, nor do you know why he's even the slightest bit willing to act out a scene from a stupid reading that he probably deems a scam anyway. So the obvious answer would be to say yes and call it a day.

The answer is at the tip of your tongue. But as you open your mouth to respond, something stops you from continuing the lie. "No, not quite."

It's the same feeling that tells you to cup his cheek and bring him closer to you, and it makes you lean forward, just until you can see his smooth sun-kissed skin and the small mole at the tip of his nose. And then you're slowly squeezing your eyes shut and bringing your lips to his—kissing him, like how it happens in the reading.

Mingyu's surprise is evident in the way he freezes momentarily, and the rational part of your mind would think that this is it. This is your big mistake and now he's going to back away and—

He kisses you back.

He pulls you even closer and you expect it to feel like the delicate kiss in the reading, but it's completely different in that he kisses you like he wants this. Like he wants you. Those supple lips glide across yours, consuming you, making you feel like you're sinking into the depths of his touch and his body. And all you can do is hang on, grasping weakly at his collar as every essence of your being is filled with want for a person you shouldn't want.

Mingyu breaks the kiss just as you start to think this might be too intense to be done in public.

He catches his breath and then gives you a shy smile, not quite meeting your eyes. "Oh, so that's how it happens?"

Your head is still spinning, but when you look at Mingyu, it's like he's glowing. The way the sun glistens on his skin and lights up his face makes him so beautiful that you almost forget to breathe. If the kiss hadn't felt so real, you might've been thinking that this moment, and Mingyu himself, are straight out of a dream.

You can answer him easily now. "Yeah, it is."

When he takes your hand a moment later, all the thoughts about cover stories and readings and Minghao's party disappear from your mind, leaving only the warmth of him beside you and the memory of his lips on yours.

However, reality hits you very soon. There, by one of the nearby stalls, is someone who looks like Mingyu's lover in the visions. They have the same hairstyle as you, the same smooth skin, and even the same face shape. Without directly glancing at their face, you can assume that you are looking at yourself.

But even though they don't turn your way as the two of you walk by, simply seeing them has your heart sinking. It sinks at the thought that the kiss might be nothing more than a figment of your imagination or of a world where you're both pretending that you really are the lover from the visions. That Mingyu's eagerness to kiss you, to want you, wasn't actually meant for you at all, but rather for someone he hasn't met yet.

And you don't get it. You don't understand why you're disappointed by this when it isn't even real. It shouldn't ever be real. Regardless of whether it was a good kiss, of whether it felt wonderful and realistic and enticing, you should know that it wouldn't mean anything.

Because you're not the lover from the reading.

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise to you at this point, but Mingyu agrees to reenact the third and final scene of the vision. You were sure that he would say no, that he definitely wouldn't appreciate having a stranger barge into his home for this one. So to have him actually agree to it has you thinking that maybe if you tell him you're going skydiving he'd agree to that too.

This time it's not as difficult to tell him what happens in the scene—it's just slow dancing, which should be easy to reenact at least compared to the kiss at the market. All you have to do is rest your hands on his shoulders and then step side to side to the beat of the music. How hard can it be?

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Soonyoung peers at you from the doorway of the bathroom. "You barely managed to escape from this guy during your first meeting, and now you're walking right into his home." He comes closer to where you're checking your outfit in front of the mirror, and says in a loud whisper, "where you'll be alone with him."

Right, that is the part you're trying not to think about.

"You sure you can handle it? After," he gestures in the air, "what happened at the market and all."

Internally, you grumble. Externally, you ignore him.

"I know you're picturing that steamy kiss." He rolls his eyes, which you can all too clearly through the mirror. "But anyway, if you're sure about going to his place tonight, just remember to be safe, yeah? Share your location just in case. Hold your head if you're about to jump out of another moving car."

"Don't you have a boyfriend you should be bothering instead?"

That earns you an enthusiastic nod. "He should be coming soon. So take your time on your date tonight."

You finally get some peace and quiet when you step out, once again leaving your roommate mid-sentence about how you picked another terrible outfit.

You're the first to arrive at the restaurant, though it isn't long before you spot Mingyu coming from a block away—he's late for your date and clearly running to make up for it by the way he dodges other people on the street, nearly knocking them over. He gives a big wave when he sees you.

"Sorry for being so late," he pants as he bends over to catch his breath. "Thank you for waiting."

"Guess that makes us even. Although I hope you didn't trip on your way here."

That puts an instant grin on his face. "Nah, I just had to clean up the apartment a little. Well, actually," he pauses, the grin fading, "a lot. Can't have it be a mess for when you come over tonight."

"Oh, right." You still don't know why he would agree to all this, especially if it takes that much work.

The dinner goes well. It's one of the few moments of peace, considering your first meal together was ruined by the remnants of your nasty fall, and the market date was interrupted by an abrupt awakening. Despite the mishaps, you don't exactly see these events as losses when your memories are brimming with Mingyu's gentle touch when he bandaged your hands, and the warmth of his lips fitting so perfectly with your own.

And tonight? You know that there will be another moment for you to commit to memory forever.

When you arrive at your destination, you finally understand why he was late for your dinner. The place is spotless; unlit candles fill the room, a bottle of wine with empty glasses are on the counter. There are flowers in a beautiful vase on the table. It's like he spent all day running around just to set up for this moment.

"It's presentable, right?" Mingyu cracks a smile, slipping off his shoes and sliding his jacket onto the rack, followed by taking your coat as well. "Not sure how it's supposed to happen, but I figured I should at least try to make it—well, as romantic as possible."

"Wow, you didn't have to do all this," you manage to get out. You're still standing right in your spot as he goes over to light the candles, in shock and confusion over why he would possibly do such a thing.

He turns back to give you a small shrug. "I wanted you to have a good time."

When he finishes lighting the candles, he puts on some music by selecting it on his phone, seemingly having put together a whole playlist for the occasion. And if you didn't know any better, it would be so easy to believe that he simply put together a romantic date night at his place for the two of you. That he did all this because you're someone special to him. That this means something.

Well, if he can pretend for a night then maybe you can too.

You shake the thoughts from your mind and replace them with a smile as a song you don't recognize starts softly in the background. Mingyu heads to the table, beckoning you to follow, and then pours two glasses of wine.

"You know, I'm really glad I went to you that day." He takes a sip of his wine and then swirls it when he puts it down. "For the reading. I'm glad I met you. And um, I should thank you for showing me all of this."

"Shut up," you scoff, rolling your eyes. "Don't lie. You still don't believe in any of this fortune telling stuff, right?"

Mingyu bursts into laughter. "Okay, you're right. I don't. I just wanted to see some acts of love after going through a breakup, to kind of feel like there could still be hope for me. Honestly though, when you offered to show me what happens, I thought you would make up random scenarios just to date me or something." He waves dismissively at the frown on your face. "But it doesn't matter to me. Real or not, I like spending time with you, and... well, maybe you've convinced me."

"I convinced you that the reading was real?"

You're met with a shrug as he takes another sip of his wine, and in that brief silence you ponder about what he's referring to. There is no way he believes in fortune telling, so what else is there to convince him of?

But then something else pops into your mind.

"Can I ask you something?" You take a deep breath, letting out a sharp exhale when Mingyu nods. "What happened with your ex?"

It's clear that he hesitates with the way he swirls his glass, pressing his lips together and avoiding your gaze.

"Never mind. We don't have to—"

"It's okay. It was a long time ago and I'm over it." His eyes meet yours before flickering away. "Actually, I think I knew it was over long before it was really over. But I kept hoping that things could be fixed. I was stupid and kept trying."

"Hey, no, that's not stupid." You reach over and take his hand. "You were willing to put in the effort to save your relationship, and that shows you care."

But he merely shrugs. "Seems like a waste when they were busy cheating on me."

"That's not your fault, and it's not a waste. The love that you show the world is never a waste." There's a flood of emotions running through you, you belatedly realize—you're clutching the glass so tightly in your free hand that you begin to fear it might crack. It's directed at Mingyu's ex, at the thought that someone would hurt him like that when he's done nothing but fight for their relationship.

"It's kind of ironic now that I think about it," he continues. "Right before I found out they were cheating, I went to a psychic and got a reading done on the relationship. Apparently the reading said everything would be fine, and I just stupidly believed it."

"Mingyu... is that why you don't believe in this stuff anymore?"

He nods.

"I wish I didn't either." You swallow the lump in your throat, letting go of the glass. It's not only the mention of his ex that's making you feel this way, but also the lover from the visions. You want to hate them, to curse at them and at your fate for ripping away what could be a beautiful relationship before it's even within your reach.

But it all makes you want to try harder to prove it to Mingyu. That he's worth more than what his ex had made it seem, and that he doesn't need to be closed off to the idea of love because someone in the future is going to walk into his life and show him exactly that.

"Why?" He squeezes your hand lightly. "What makes you say that?"

"It's also because of an ex."

It was Junhui. Or rather, what you saw in his future. Two years after the start of your relationship and four after the start of your friendship, you'd trusted him enough to tell him about this little fortune telling party trick, and he'd trusted you to take a look at his future. Maybe that's where things went wrong.

Looking back, you aren't surprised that you saw someone else in his future. They appeared so happy together, he made her laugh, and she seemed to fit in all the ways you didn't. But there was no point in waiting for fate to inevitably bring them together while pulling the two of you apart, so you ran—you didn't want to stick around to find out what would happen.

"Wow." Mingyu blinks at you, seemingly unable to speak after your story. "Do you know if they ever met or got together? Your ex and the person you saw in his future."

You shake your head. "Haven't heard anything about him since we broke up."

"And he's the one who's going to be at this party?"

"Yeah. He's one of Minghao's close friends."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Mingyu drops his gaze as he gently traces circles into your palm with his thumb. "I see why you don't want to believe in that stuff now. Actually, it's kind of funny how it was this fortune telling thing that screwed both of us over."

"Right? I should get Jeonghan to close the shop and we could open a boba store instead or something." You roll your eyes, chuckling at the thought. "Probably makes better money than this ever will."

"That's not a bad idea." Then he sets his glass down and stands, coming to your side to pull you into a hug. "But Y/N, don't beat yourself up for what happened, okay? You didn't know what you would see, and you have no control over it."

"I guess."

"Besides, I'll be such a good date that you won't even notice him the entire night." Mingyu releases you and steps back, smile turning shy as he holds out a hand. "Shall we?"

"I have to warn you that I'm not great at dancing," you mutter, taking his hand anyway and letting him guide you towards the space in the living room. "Don't hold me accountable for any injuries you might sustain."

When you put your hands on his shoulders, you can feel yourself tense up—your body is awkward, and your arms are too stiff as if not wanting to rest your weight on him. But when you hear a bubble of laughter and see the way Mingyu looks at you so fondly, you feel the same pull as you'd felt at the market. The pull that makes you want to relax and sink into the warmth of his body.

His touch is gentle when he places his hands on your waist, all too carefully and delicately. It makes you wonder if it's even possible that those are the same hands that his ex had willingly let go of, and if those light steps that he takes when swaying to the music are the same footsteps that will walk into the life of the lover in the visions. You wonder if this Mingyu, glancing back at you so tenderly, is the same as the one that will forget about you as soon as this moment is over.

But most of all, you wonder if the you that had originally agreed to do this is the same as the you whose heart beats faster and faster when he meets your gaze now. If the you who only wanted a date, any date for the party, could possibly be the same as the you who now finds yourself wanting to lean into his touch, wanting him to want you.

"You okay?" he murmurs, pulling you out of your thoughts.

"Yeah. Perfect."

Mingyu breaks into a soft smile. "You know, I've always wondered what you keep thinking about. When you get lost in that world in your head, what do you see? What do you dream about?" 

"It's different every time." You try to ignore the way your palms feel all too hot against his shoulders. "But these days... it's you."

You don't tell him that it's also getting to know him, falling for him, and imagining how you should be the one doing all those things with him like in the reading. It's picturing a love that flourishes ever so slowly, one that silently rests between the two of you, growing steadily until a day when it becomes the only thing you notice.

And though you leave all that out, your answer seems to be enough for him.

"Me?"

"Yeah," you say softly. "Whatever happened in the past—I really hope it doesn't keep you from experiencing the kind of relationship you deserve. You're not hard to love, Mingyu." Just a brief moment of hesitation before you admit, "Not at all."

Your words feed the twinkle of hope in his eyes as well as the one that seems to have been blossoming in your own heart for a while now. Maybe you can finally admit it; this would be the last time you see him, so maybe it wouldn't matter what happens tonight.

The thoughts swarming your mind are soon forgotten though. Mingyu pulls back slightly to gaze at you with a bright grin that sends your heart back into the frenzy it never recovered from. And a moment later, when his lips are on yours, the dancing, the music, and the entire scene are long forgotten in the background.

This time you let yourself believe that it's real.

You fall deeper into the world where you're the lover from the visions, a world that contains just the two of you. And this time you aren't afraid to kiss him back like you want him because you do. You pull him close until your bodies are inseparable, and you allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the heat of his mouth and the burns of his touch. You let yourself want, as your back hits the wall and you're trapped between it and the weight of Mingyu's body pressing against you, and you let yourself take, let your hands trace over the defined lines of his muscles, the smoothness of his skin, and the softness of his hair.

You kiss until you're breathless, until your knees are weak and you're sinking once again. Until his little breaths come out in fuller moans, and hands are wandering into dangerous territory.

"Is this how it happens?" Mingyu whispers, gaze dropping as he leans in to press his forehead against yours. "Is this how we fall for each other?"

No, you immediately think, not at all. The apartment is dim with only the small lamps at the sides of the room and the candles lining the table as the only source of light. The music, despite being slow and romantic, feels much too loud for some reason. It feels forced. And the way you manage to step on his toes on all the wrong beats surely can't be the right path to falling in love.

But maybe you're not afraid to admit it anymore.

"Yeah," you say instead, "it is."

Mingyu eyes snap to yours, and what you find in them makes you want to repeat your answer again and again. You're not sure why he would be hoping for this answer or why he would be satisfied if his own creation were to match perfectly with the one that you'd seen. Even more uncertain is why he would choose that particular set of words to say. But none of it matters when his lips are back on yours, writing an answer of their own.

And for one night, you let yourself be Mingyu's lover from the visions.

One thing becomes painfully clear after that—you cannot be seeing Mingyu ever again. Not even for one last party date.

On the surface, you know that your job is done. You showed him all of the moments that are supposed to happen in his future, and you upheld your end of the deal. But the truth is that every time you were with him, it became difficult to remember that you're not the lover from the reading, and every time you talked to him, you found yourself wanting more and more to be that person.

Your plan to avoid him doesn't go as expected though, for he keeps texting you. He sounds normal, continuing to send memes and share posts like he's been doing for the past while. And when he asks you for a movie date the following weekend, he acts as if the past three meetups were exactly that—dates. It's like it never occurred to him that you were there only to show him how everything happens, and not to actually date him. Though now, you're no longer sure if that's true.

So you say you're busy, you limit your texts to once per day, and you don't pick up when he calls. You follow the textbook formula for ghosting for days to the point where Soonyoung hides your buzzing phone under the couch cushion while spewing threats about throwing it out the window, and even Jeonghan's sighing at you tiredly, telling you to call Mingyu back.

You give in eventually. You call him back and schedule a meetup, and now you find yourself sitting at a cafe with him across from you.

"Hey, thanks for agreeing to meet with me. This won't take long." There is no smile on his face this time, and you realize that it might really be the first time seeing him like this—eyes devoid of emotion, face a neutral mask. It reminds you of the first time you met him at the shop, when he was spiraling into a hopeless void, but perhaps even worse.

You nod slightly in acknowledgement, trying to hide the way your heart sinks at his words. They are something you should be relieved to hear, but you know you're still clinging onto the inkling of hope that you can go back to pretending the two of you mean something to each other.

"Have you been doing okay?"

"Just busy," you repeat the same kind of boring answers from your texts. "You?"

"Yeah," Mingyu says slowly, dragging out the word. Then he takes a deep breath. "Are you avoiding me?"

Yes. "I didn't really see any reason we should stay in touch." A partial lie. It barely makes it out of your mouth.

"Are you for real? Y/N, where is this coming from?"

"I did what I said I'd do." The mask on your face was threatening to crack, especially after seeing the flash of pain in his eyes. "I showed you all of the scenes I saw in the reading. What more is there?"

"I—well, yeah." He frowns. "That might be what we initially agreed, but you can't deny that we had something special. There is no way you didn't feel anything when we were together."

You merely shrug and try your best to harden your eyes instead of giving in to the tears that threaten to spill. Because how can you tell him the truth? How can you give him hope just to crush it with the reality of your doomed fate?

"So—so what, all of it was just pretend? The things you said—you lied, didn't you? When you said I'm not hard to love..." He looks away, biting his lip. "I should've known."

"Hey, no. Everything I said was true, but this has nothing to do with that."

"Did you want to do this at all or were you doing it out of pity? Did you hate every moment of it?"

"Mingyu, stop. Okay, you're right. Let's say I did feel something and that I do like you. But does any of it matter? You're forgetting that I'm not the one in your future. You might not believe in this stuff, but my readings have never been wrong before." You can't do it anymore; it's too hard hiding it. Everything comes tumbling out all at once when he looks so broken. "You're going to meet them someday, and you're going to love them. Whoever they are. It just won't be me."

His jaw goes slack, mouth opening but nothing coming out. It's as if he finally realizes the truth that both of you had forgotten along the way.

"Oh and also," you say, clenching your fists at this final difficult lie you have to tell. "You don't have to hold your end of the agreement. I'm not going to the party anymore."

You know that what you said today would definitely change things since people tend to be averse to anything that goes against what they believe to be their fate. So when you get up from the table and leave, you know that Mingyu won't be chasing after you.  

You're right.

Mingyu stops texting you.

It should be a good thing; now you would both return to your normal lives and pretend like this entire thing never happened. But even though you know all this, there is still something weighing you down. It weighs down each step you take, becoming a salient presence that you can't seem to wrap your mind around.

And despite knowing that your relationship with him was only temporary, that you would be no more than a filler until the person in his future arrives, you still look over at your phone in the hopes that maybe the notification would be from Mingyu. You can't help but want him to still want you.

"You're in your head again, you know," Soonyoung jabs you in the arm, dragging you away from the thoughts and back to where you're seated in your living room. "Can't you think more quietly?"

"Can't you shut up for once?"

"See? I told you he was an asshole!" He flicks a piece of popcorn over at you, hitting you perfectly on the head. "I told you that he was all kinds of bad news. Didn't I say you were too nice for your own good? I knew something like this would happen."

"You said," you roll your eyes at him, throwing the piece of popcorn back, "that he might try to kidnap me. And to stop being so nice to hot people—no, I'm not making an exception for you."

"He really said that last part?" Wonwoo asks incredulously.

You nod. Soonyoung shakes his head.

Wonwoo clicks his tongue at his boyfriend and sighs with disbelief. "So about this fate thing. I know you believe you're not the one in Mingyu's future, but do you think a relationship with him is something worth pursuing regardless?"

"Why would it be worth pursuing if I know it'll just end?"

"Well, how do you know that for sure?" Wonwoo puts a hand on your shoulder and pats you comfortingly. He shakes his head a little. "Y/N, maybe you weren't meant to see his partner's face. Look at the rest of us—we don't have your abilities and we all go through it blindly. I started dating Soonyoung because I liked him, and not because I knew that he was the one who would be appearing in my future."

"But—" you start, and then stop. It takes a few replays of his words to let their meaning sink into your head.

"Hey," he continues, "if you think this is something worth going for—and by the way you've been moping around, it sure seems that way—then you should talk to him. See what he thinks."

Maybe Wonwoo is right, and part of you really wants to believe him, but you can't help but think that you should be using the information you have to your advantage. Surely, your ability has to be a blessing at some point, right? Isn't it a good thing to have put an end to your relationship with Mingyu now so that it wouldn't hurt even more later?

"You never know what could happen in the future." It's as if Wonwoo can hear your thoughts. "Maybe the future can change, or maybe the person in the reading really is you. There may be other people who can fit what you saw but that doesn't discount the possibility that it might be you."

"Yeah, yeah. All this talk is nice but that doesn't mean that Mingyu isn't just an asshole who's playing with you," Soonyoung stuffs a handful of popcorn in his boyfriend's mouth and turns to you with a serious look. "You need to think this through, okay? Do you really like him or do you just like the attention he gives you?"

"Y/N can't possibly fall for someone that easily, right?" comes out muffled from where Wonwoo is still trying to chew through the popcorn. He raises a brow at you.

"You'd be surprised." Soonyoung rolls his eyes then turns back to you. "Do you really like him or do you just like kissing him?"

You feel the full force of their scrutiny when Wonwoo also peers closely at you, searching your face for answers. Maybe the heat on your cheeks is enough to provide one.

"Do you really like him, or do you just enjoy fixing broken people?"

"Um—"

"Do you really like him or is he just hot?"

Wonwoo snorts. "By that standard, I'm quite surprised that Y/N never had a crush on you."

"They did—" Soonyoung quickly stops himself, but it's too late. Wonwoo's judging eyes are already on you, making you slowly sink into the couch and hoping you can disappear.

Not going to the party was a lie that you told Mingyu—an excuse so that you would have no reason to ever see him again. However, the problem is that scrapping the agreement hasn't only left you with a broken heart, but it also brought you back to square one: you still do not have a plus one for Minghao's party.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad though, or at least that's what you tell yourself.

From the outside, Minghao's house looks massive. He has fancy lights installed at every corner, lighting up the exterior walls every couple of feet, and giant windows through which you can already see people mingling about. Wonwoo pulls into the driveway slowly and turns back to give you a worried glance just before the three of you step out.

The interior of the house is just as impressive. A chandelier hangs in the front foyer, and symmetric spiral staircases spread off to either side. Minghao stands near the front, a drink in hand, and his shy smile is plastered all over his face as he greets everyone that walks in. He greets you with a hug.

"Congrats on your engagement," you say, taking in his new look while trying not to glance around the room. His hair is a bit longer than what he had back in college, and you don't recall ever seeing him wear anything remotely formal back then.

"Y/N, how long has it been?"

"Considering the last time I saw you was when you were single?" you laugh. "Yeah, it's been a while."

"It's good to see you again," Minghao grins and then goes to peer behind you. "Oh, is your boyfriend here too?"

"Um, he wasn't feeling very well so..." A lame excuse but it's the best you could come up with at the moment. "He couldn't make it."

"That's okay," Minghao's face falls for the briefest second before it lights up again. "Oh, you even brought the Soonyoung? What a rare sight." And then he goes off to wrap Soonyoung and Wonwoo in a big hug before dragging them off into the living room. At least he wouldn't be the one questioning you about your non-existent fake boyfriend tonight, though Minghao isn't who you should be worrying about.

You follow along, sticking to the walls in the hopes you'd be just as invisible as wallpaper. Even without seeing Junhui here, this is what you fear the most—being amongst your college crowd would bring back feelings you haven't touched in years. Feelings that you're not sure you want to ever unpack. But soon it gets a little easier when Minghao pulls you with him to greet everyone around the room, and so you catch up with Vernon and Seungkwan, and then later, you say hi to Chan and Jihoon.

It isn't until you reach the kitchen when you finally spot him. Junhui has his back turned to you, helping with preparations, and beside him, Seokmin greets you silently with a nod as your eyes meet. You smile at him, thankful that he's not alerting everyone of your presence especially when you know just how loud he can be.

Just before you turn to leave and make your escape, you see her. From far away, she's another face in the crowd, though you can feel a spark of familiarity as if you've seen her somewhere before. Perhaps in one of the readings that you've done over the years for clients? You've read somewhere that the brain never forgets faces, after all.

She greets you and then heads over to the kitchen.

"Hey, Junhui, right? It's so nice to finally meet you," she says, holding out a hand. Her voice seems just as familiar as her face, and now you're sure you've seen her before. "I'm Minghao's cousin."

When Junhui takes her hand, she smiles. It's a full smile that reveals her teeth, and her eyes disappear, and—

The drink you're holding falls to the floor.

It all rushes back to you. The reason why she's so familiar is because you've seen her in the scenes of the fateful reading you did years ago. You've seen her on an amusement park ride, with one hand in the air and the other in Junhui's. On a dancefloor at a wedding—that you now assume to be Minghao's—with arms wrapped around him and later, lips against his. And then there was this very moment where their handshake was interrupted by a glass of wine hitting the floor.

This is the moment they would meet. The one that you've been running from all those years ago, the one that would start everything between them.

This is how it happens.

"Are you okay?" She comes rushing to your side without missing a beat, paper towels in her hands. "Be careful of the glass."

You're frozen on the spot, unable to feel bad about dropping the glass and unable to help clean it up. Unable to feel anything except for the one thought that flashes through your mind: you have to get out of there as fast as you can.

Everything is a blur after that. Somehow your feet get moving, slowly at first and then quickly after that, and you hear your name being called a few times as you head to the door, but you don't stop until you're outside and halfway down the steps.

Outside it's quieter and the air is cooler, and it's enough to slow down the thoughts running through your head. You end up sitting on the steps and leaning against the cold metal of the railing in the hopes that it might numb your feelings.

"Y/N? You okay?" a voice mumbles above your ear. It's familiar for a different reason this time, and you look up to see the person you least expected but wanted the most. Mingyu steps out of the house and closes the door behind him, glancing at you with an unreadable expression. You hadn't seen him inside, but he must've arrived sometime after you—too late to be your date, and too early to miss your embarrassing moment.

"Mingyu? Why are you here? I told you I wasn't going to the party."

"I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't exactly a believable lie." He gives a weak smile then sits down beside you on the steps. "I wanted to make sure you'd be okay."

"I really should've stayed home. I knew this would be a bad idea but—" You quickly turn away to get rid of the tear that slips out.

"Hey, Y/N. Talk to me. What's wrong?" Mingyu takes off his jacket and wraps it around you, and then gently moves you until you're leaning against him, buried in the crook of his shoulder. "Was she who you saw in his future?"

"Yeah, but it's—it's not just that. This was the moment that I saw in his reading. This is how they meet."

He tenses slightly. "This was in your reading? That's tough. Y/N, I don't even know what to say. I'm sorry, I should've gotten here earlier to be here with you from the start like we planned."

"It's okay, it's not your fault. But Mingyu, what have I done? I broke up with him thinking that he would leave me for her one day, so I didn't want to find out if and when they would meet." You have to swallow the sob in your throat. "I've always held onto the hope that it would be wrong. But now, I got to witness it anyway, right in front of me."

"Do you regret your decision?"

"No." You shake your head. "Well, I don't know. I'm over him but I just—I hate it so much. I hate feeling like I'm helpless and unable to do anything about fate."

A silence stretches out between the two of you with only the music from the house and the distant rumble of cars filling the night. It hasn't been long since he sat down beside you, but the warmth of his arms around you and the rising and falling of his chest are enough to slowly wipe away the worries from earlier.

"Look, I thought about what you said," Mingyu breaks the silence, pulling away to meet your eyes instead, "and I don't think it changes anything."

You immediately know what he's referring to. "How does it not?"

He takes a deep breath. "You want to know why I don't believe in fortune telling? This is exactly why. I don't like the idea that we are locked into our fates, or that certain things will or won't happen no matter what choices we make."

"What about when you really meet them one day? And inevitably fall for them?"

"I get why you would be afraid of that, Y/N, I really do. But none of that matters. When I say I want to be with you, this is my choice. It doesn't matter who it is that you saw in your reading; I want to choose you and love you on purpose. Not by accident, and not by fate."

You know he's right and Wonwoo was too. This entire time, you've been trying to run away from a fate that you can't escape, and what you saw today only proves that.

But maybe now, it's time to stop running.

"Do you really think that we can change things?"

"We can do anything we want to do." Mingyu nods firmly. Then he takes your hand, squeezing you gently. "But first, let's get out of here?"

"Yeah." You smile for the first time that night and let him lead the way.

A small diner at the corner of the street near your place is what the two of you decide on. When you enter, the first thing you notice is how much it reminds you of the "before" images of that nice restaurant. Half of the diner is dark with the overhead lights flickering once in a while in an attempt to turn on, while the other half is cast in an unpleasant fluorescent light. There are pieces of garbage on the floor that an employee sweeps up as she greets you. In short, the state of it almost makes you want to walk right out.

But instead, you order your food. You sit down at a table towards the darker half of the room as you wait.

Mingyu clears his throat. "You know," he starts, a shy smile on his face, "I can read your palm too."

"What?" That isn't remotely close to anything you might expect him to say. You give him a questioning look as you put your hand on the table, palm up. "Um, sure. Go for it."

He takes your hand and then gently runs his fingers over the lines on your palm, tracing them as he closes his eyes and pretends to envision something the way you do. Soon, your confusion fades into amusement at the effort that he's putting into this. Each of his feather-like touches causes your heart to speed up a little, and you have to try to will your palms not to start sweating because that would not be attractive at all.

"So? What do you see?"

"Shh," he whispers with his eyes firmly shut. "The spirit is still talking."

You use the chance to really glance at him. Not much has changed since the last time you'd seen him, but somehow he looks even better now—perhaps healthier or more radiant, like he's completely healed from the remnants of a broken heart plaguing him before. Maybe even happier. You wonder if what Soonyoung said about you healing broken people is true.

"I saw a lot of things," Mingyu finally says as he opens his eyes, and his lips automatically curl into a smirk when he catches you staring. "First, I saw myself in your future."

"Yeah? What were we doing?"

"We went on a picnic and ended up getting chased by bees," he chuckles. "Then we went to a bookstore but ended up making out between the shelves, but we got kicked out by a tired employee who looked like it wasn't his first time kicking people out for doing that."

You stifle a laugh. "Why does it seem like our dates are always being interrupted?"

"Hmm, there was one where we had some peace, actually. It was when we were skating, and I fell right on my butt. Then you asked if it hurt when I fell for you—well, you tried to say it as a pickup line, but you messed it up." Mingyu pauses for a second, biting his lip like he's almost hesitant. "Instead, you ended up asking me if I've fallen for you."

"And? What did you say?" Your heart speeds up tenfold.

"I said yes, Y/N. I've fallen for you. I think you already knew it by the time I said it, but you just smiled. Then you suddenly fell too, and we laughed about it."

The way he says it with all the confidence in the world tells you that maybe it's okay for you to admit it too, that there's no need to be afraid to confront your feelings like you'd always done before. Now the insecurities that had been plaguing you suddenly fade away, leaving only one thing clear in your head: there would be no more running.

You break into a smile. "Then I said I fell for you too, right?"

"Yeah, you did." It takes a moment for the initial shock on his face to disappear, and when it does, he's smiling so widely that small crinkles appear near his eyes. "And if you want, I can show you how each of these scenes are supposed to happen."

"Okay, sure. Show me."

Mingyu lets out a loud exhale. "That's a relief. For a second I thought you were going to complain about everything the way I did with your reading."

"Hey—see? I'm nicer than you are." You shoot him a glare. "Who even does that?"

"Yeah, I'll admit that wasn't the greatest impression. Maybe we can start over?"

"Well," you pretend to think about it but can't help the smile creeping onto your face. "This is kind of a shitty place for a first date."

"Maybe our first date will be that picnic I saw in my reading then. But without the bees, yeah?"

You nod.

"Oh yeah, have your wounds healed? They didn't leave any scars, did they?" He lifts your hand to examine it carefully before taking your other hand as well, turning both of them over to look for the evidence of your wounds from the fall. Then he simply holds them.

And suddenly, it clicks into place. The small scars you'd seen on the hands in the vision, the dimness of the diner, and the blurred face of the lover. Everything seems to line up so perfectly that it has your head spinning for a moment with deja vu. Had it really been you in the vision?Was the lover not someone with your hairstyle, nor Mingyu's ex, but actually you yourself? And wasn't this moment at the diner—with your hands and the tiny, healing scars on them enveloped by Mingyu's—the first scene in the vision? Maybe this is how it happens. You really hope that this is how it happens.

You don't know whether you should tell him or not, but when you look up and see the small smile dancing on his lips and the sparkle in his eyes, you get the feeling that Mingyu already knows. And whether he's purposely trying to recreate the scene or whether he merely lets it occur, the gesture ignites a sort of warmth in your heart. It fuels the seed of hope that maybe, just maybe, you won't have to say goodbye one day.

It takes a couple of weeks for life to settle down after that. Between working your regular hours at the shop and then coming home to Soonyoung and Wonwoo's invasive questions, you also have to deal with the aftermath of Minghao's party. Which, surprisingly enough, is not as scary as you once might've thought.

Junhui is actually the one who reaches out to you first. He sends a text asking if you're okay after what happened, and you nearly jump at seeing the name flashing across your screen; admittedly, you never did end up deleting his contact info. And with a bit of encouragement from Mingyu, you end up not only texting back but also meeting him for a chat about everything that's happened since college.

He's grown up since you'd last seen him, but otherwise, he's still the same Junhui: quiet, smiley, and laughs easily at the things you say. Most of all, he doesn't resent you for what you did and rather understands. You're not sure if he says this because he's finally met who he's meant to be with, or whether he remembers the scenes at all, but you don't bring it up. You want to save him from going into this new relationship with any expectations, whether that be the failure or the success of it—something you only learned recently. Regardless of what happens, you hope he can be as happy with her as he was in all the scenes of his reading.

The weekend after that, the picnic date that Mingyu jokingly mentioned in his reading finally happens. Well, it's not exactly a picnic date since he switches it up at the last minute and the two of you end up going apple picking instead.

It's a beautiful day—the sun is shining brightly with no clouds to be seen—and it gives you a sense of relief when the past while has been so hectic. Mingyu picks you up at your apartment, and you rush out while ignoring your roommate's terrible advice and continuous questions about what you'd be doing and where you'd be going. Although even after you go downstairs, you're almost sure you can see Soonyoung peering from your seventh-floor balcony; knowing him, he's probably got binoculars out too to watch your every move.

"So what happened to the picnic date that you saw?"

Mingyu shrugs without missing a beat. "The reading changed, and I just went with what I saw."

"Oh, did it?" You give him a questioning look, but he only smiles back at you and doesn't give away any more information.

The drive to the orchard is slow with the busy traffic of the city around you, and you enjoy your time relaxing in your seat and listening to Mingyu talk about his week. He tells you about his new job and moving to new place and says that Seungcheol is a much better manager than his previous. And when he asks about meeting Soonyoung, you're ready to spill all the details about all of your roommate's silly antics—from avoiding baking because he didn't know to use oven mitts when taking things out of the oven, to setting an eight-hour timer every night in place of an alarm. There was also a time when Wonwoo had unknowingly poured salt into Soonyoung's coffee instead of sugar, and being the considerate boyfriend he is, Soonyoung drank it without so much as a grimace.

They are stories that have gotten old to you, yet Mingyu laughs like they're the funniest thing. The way he turns to you at each red light to simply look at you with a smile is enough to have your heart speeding up and your palms sweating. He takes you in like he's committing each moment to memory. Well, at least until the cars behind you start to honk impatiently when the light turns green.

It turns out that Mingyu does that a lot. During your time at the orchard, you could be saying something as you reach up to grab the apples, and he would just be staring at you as he listens intently.

"What?"

A nonchalant shrug. "Just appreciating the view."

"So tell me," you say, glancing at him up and down, "what's supposed to happen here? What did you see?"

"Hmm, we picked two bushels of apples."

"That's it?"

"Yeah," he confirms enthusiastically. "And they got quite heavy to carry."

"Oh."

"Were you expecting something more? Hmm?" A small smirk rests on his lips when he leans in a little closer. He's so close that you have your lips parted and eyes nearly shut, anticipating the feel of his soft lips on yours. But instead, he pulls back with an apple in his hand. "Found a good one right behind your head over there."

You roll your eyes, turning to leave so he doesn't see the embarrassment on your cheeks.

"Hey, I'm kidding. But if you want me to kiss me, you should just say so." He stops you from leaving, and this time he traps you in place with hands on the branches on either side of you. "I'm all yours, Y/N."

Then he finally closes the distance. You expect it to be like the last time, for hands to wander and for lips to consume you, but this time his lips are barely there. It's almost achingly slow the way he kisses you so tenderly, lighter than you thought possible, like a gentle breath against yours with the taste of apples lingering between you. His hands reach up to caress your jaw as if any more pressure would break this fragile moment, and then your senses are overwhelmed by sweetness. The sweetness of apples, the sweetness of Mingyu's lips and the warmth of his mouth, and the sweetness of the sun against your skin and breeze in your hair and voices floating over from a world away.

When you pull apart and open your eyes again, something about this suddenly triggers a memory. You thought the second scene of Mingyu's reading would take place at the market because the faint taste of apples in it reminded you of the cider at the market. But maybe the answer isn't the market at all, and rather an orchard. And maybe it is this particular moment.

Your heart races a little faster at the thought that it really could be it. You really could be Mingyu's lover from the visions.

"Oh, watch out." He steps aside, pulling you with him to avoid a bee flying by.

"Hey—I thought you said no bees?"

That gets you a laugh as Mingyu takes your hand and tugs you along. "Maybe it's good that it interrupted us."

And you simply smile, brushing off your thoughts and letting yourself enjoy the moment.

"I know you said he's hot, but I didn't expect him to actually," Soonyoung gestures, "be hot."

You turn away from the rink to shoot him a glare. "I am offended."

Initially, you thought Mingyu's idea for turning your skating date into a double date would go terribly. How were you supposed to let him meet the two friends who thought he was a creep? Especially Soonyoung—you were sure he'd make some crude comments that might entirely sabotage your budding relationship. But to your surprise, a charming smile and an offer to help lace up their skates is all it took for Mingyu to have them wrapped around his finger.

Pretty privilege, that's exactly what it is.

"Hey! I wasn't sure if you were serious or if you only found him hot because he gave you attention—" The rest of Soonyoung's words get cut off as he goes to dodge your punch. "Anyway, you're treating him well, right? Are you nicer to him than you are to me? Don't hurt him, okay? Don't break his heart."

"I can't believe you," you snort. "Whose side are you on?"

"I'm saying all of this for your sake, Y/N. We can't have you moping around like you did for the past few weeks."

You turn back to the ice and pretend you didn't hear him at all. Should you be laughing or crying in this situation? While you're glad your friends are getting along with Mingyu, it's all too ironic how a pretty face is all it takes for Soonyoung to go back on his words about not being so nice to hot people.

After Mingyu and Wonwoo finish up their laps around the rink, Mingyu comes back to drag you with him this time. You go, albeit reluctantly. The feeling of falling at the park was still too fresh in your mind, and so you skate with one hand in his while the other is grasping at anything to avoid a hard collision with the ice.

"You're not going to fall." Mingyu raises an eyebrow at you, eyes brimming with amusement. "I was only joking about that."

You glance at him warily. "You said that you would."

"Maybe, but only for you."

He smiles, and despite the anxiety that courses through your veins, you find yourself smiling too. Every step you take with Mingyu squeezing your hand reassuringly, you're able to relax like you're basking in the warmth that radiates off of his happiness, and slowly but steadily, the two of you make it safely around the rink without falling.

By the time you stop to take a break, Soonyoung and Wonwoo are nowhere to be seen. You scan the rink, trying to find the familiar faces amongst the larger afternoon crowd now, but your search is unsuccessful. What you find instead, strangely enough, is that people are suddenly gathering around on the opposite side. The rink seems to quiet down with a silence now lingering in the air as if everyone is waiting with bated breath, and in your curiosity, you pull Mingyu over with you to join the crowd.

And that's when you see it: Wonwoo on one knee, Soonyoung covering his mouth in shock, and a ring resting in the box in Wonwoo's hands. The same thin, silver ring that you've familiarized yourself with from seeing it in Soonyoung's future. This must be the exactmoment you saw.  

Soonyoung smiles brightly when he gives his answer that you're a little too far to hear, though you don't doubt it's a good one judging by the looks on their faces. The crowd erupts into applause and then Wonwoo is tackled to the ice by Soonyoung enveloping him, and two of them are lost in their own world, too busy to notice anything or anyone else.

"And this is how they fall for each other," Mingyu murmurs into your ear. "Guess my reading was wrong—it wasn't us. It's them."

Once the crowd dissipates, the two of you wait for the newly engaged couple by the bench. Soonyoung flashes the ring on his finger before heading to the snack bar, and while later, Wonwoo joins you with an endearing grin on his face.

"Wow, congrats!" You pull him into a hug as soon as he steps off the ice. "But why didn't you tell us? We could've helped you prepare for it, or we could've taken pictures or something."

"That was..." He lets out a loud exhale. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I was going to do it over dinner—I had one of those private rooms booked out at the restaurant and all. But the ring fell out of my pocket when I fell on the ice, and well. It landed right in front of him. So," he gives a wry smile, "I didn't really have a choice."

Mingyu pats him on the back reassuringly. "Hey, it's about the simple things. Love doesn't always have to be romantic."

You remember him saying these exact words from your first date at the restaurant but hearing them again now makes you wonder if you had it wrong this entire time. Maybe you've been focusing so much on making your reenactments romantic to match the scenes in the visions that you never realized the scenes are meant to happen anywhere. They're meant to happen in between the normalness of everyday life. They're simple acts of love, just as Mingyu always says.

Later when the four of you are sufficiently warmed up with hot drinks and laughter is in the air, you think you have it figured out. Each of these moments can easily be something that you witness in a reading, but maybe the point isn't to go out searching for them or to run away from them. Maybe it's to make choices that will create a future that you want—on purpose, and not by fate.

"What do you think, Y/N?" Mingyu pulls you out of your thoughts, gently wrapping an arm around your waist.

"What?"

"You can come over tonight," he suggests. "Since Soonyoung will be out all night anyway."

"Wait, are you sure? I don't want to intrude or—"

"Yeah, it's fine. Besides, you haven't seen my new place yet."

Your heart gives a loud thud at the thought of being alone with him again, all too reminded of what happened the last time. But you swallow the nerves away, put on a smile, and agree.

The two of you leave the couple to go to their fancy dinner as fiancés, and afterwards, you find your hand in Mingyu's as you head back to his place.

Right when you step into his apartment, you get the strangest thought that you're relievedto see nothing is set up. There are no fancy candles lining the room this time, no vase of beautiful flowers on the table, and no strings of sparkling lights hanging from above. Mingyu's place looks entirely normal, albeit slightly messier than before since it's clear he hasn't fully unpacked yet.

"Don't judge," he says, quickly going to collect the few pieces of clothing left in the living room while avoiding your gaze. "I just moved in recently."

It's a smaller space than his previous apartment, but much nicer—newer looking and without any cracks at the seams like there were in his previous. As if this were a fresh start for a fully healed heart, one that was ready to love again.

Mingyu cooks a nice dinner and as you try to help out in the kitchen, you start to think that you could really get used to this. Watching him add all the different ingredients and seeing the gears turn in his head, and then when you're seated at the table, feeling the smile lingering on your mouth until the last bite of the first proper meal you've had in a while. You think that maybe this is it.

And a while later, you're settled on the couch to watch a movie though it quickly fades into the background when the warmth of his body is pressed against yours. His lips are soft, mouth sweet from the wine, and all around you is the faint smell of oranges from his bodywash and a hint of citrusy detergent from his clothes clinging to your skin.

It has to be past midnight when the movie comes to an end, with the credits slowly fading out. Mingyu gets up to refill your glass of water and you follow him into the kitchen grab a snack when suddenly a blast of music comes from the other side of the wall. It's noticeably loud at first but is soon turned down into a quiet melody in the background.

Mingyu frowns, pausing to listen to the song. "These walls sure are thin, huh. It's generally been pretty quiet around here until now."

"You could probably Shazam their entire playlist like this," you joke. Or, well, maybe it's not so much of a joke when you feel like looking it up yourself because there is something familiar about the song. You can't quite place it, but it's so familiar that it almost bothers you like an itch you can't scratch.

The corner of his lip twitches. "It's okay, maybe they also have something to celebrate."

You're still thinking about why the song sounds so familiar when Mingyu gently takes your hands and guides them to the back of his neck, and then wraps his arms around your waist to pull you in. And when you look up, everything clicks. The familiar walls and familiar music, the snacks on the counter, the light scent of oranges from the bodywash, and even the clothes that you're wearing—Mingyu's clothes. This is the final scene you saw in your vision. This is how dancing in the kitchen at midnight is supposed to turn out.

"You're not going to step on my toes again, are you?" Mingyu's eyes twinkle with amusement as he slowly starts to move with the music, dragging you with him.

The two of you step and you sway, and it's not quite to the beat of the song. You do end up stepping on him, your knees bump a few times and your foreheads nearly do too. It's every bit as awkward as the first time you did this, and even more so without the blanket of darkness or the pretense of romance.

And yet, you hear the endless bubbles of laughter coming out of your mouth. You see the sparkles in Mingyu's eyes, the bright smiles like he can't contain his happiness. You feel it in the way you dance together at a rhythm that belongs to no one else but the two of you.

You know it when he leans in, breath but a whisper at your ear as he says, "Thank you for making me believe in love again."

Now you don't have to look into his future to know that all the scenes you'd seen were about you. Now you can picture it—Mingyu looking up from your laced hands on the table and seeing your smile, face no longer out of focus. Pulling away from your kiss in the orchard has you seeing your own gaze, surprised but content. And then there is this very moment when you see yourself in Mingyu's eyes and you just know.

This is how you fall in love.

#mingyu fic #mingyu fluff #mingyu scenarios #mingyu imagines #seventeen fic #svt fic #mingyu x reader #seventeen fluff #mingyu x you #svt fluff #svt scenarios #my fic #anyway hbd to kim mingyu i guess #this wasn't supposed to be his bday fic LMAOO #i planned on finishing the jogging fic that i started on his bday last year #aka my first ever svt fic!!! but alas... it isn't done #i do think this fits him the most out of my 3 versions tho #his positivity and strong beliefs about chasing what makes you happy #and choosing a path that you want #and seeking out new experiences to get him out of his sadness #gahh i'm rambling about kim mingyu once again 🫠

[twig-tea]

Only Friends Ep 6 Scene By Scene

This is the episode we've all been waiting for. It's the first episode where everyone is objectively a bit of an asshole; it's the first episode where truths are finally talked about, it's the episode that starts to answer two of my most burning questions (what is Boston's home life like, and where is April?), and interestingly it's the first episode we get without any obvious narrative framing or character perspective.

It was so interesting, as the clear pivot point of the story, that there was no obvious framework this ep, but this entire episode was parallels and callbacks and hypocrisy/relying on viewer knowledge to understand all of the subcurrents. I have so many thoughts that I'm talking about each scene so this post is LONG.

First scene: Top and Mew by the pool. Not enough people are giving Force and Book credit for keeping the awkward tension between these two even though they are having textbook cute moments, because these characters still don't trust one another and this scene establishes that before the rest of the episode blows them up: Mew says he's not sure they'll be together in 3 months, explicitly calling out the fragility of their relationship; and Top gets defensive at Mew insinuating he doesn't need a relationship and doesn't trust that they'll stay together, and straight-up lies that he's stopped doing drugs and having casual sex [though I do wonder how much he believes it's a lie because he's clearly cut back from his usual, and when someone does something all the time changing to doing it rarely does feel like not a big deal in comparison] and asks what else about himself he needs to change for Mew [all, by the way, while Mew is preparing to undergo permanent surgery to his eyes for Top]. We also get this called back later in the ep when Mew tells Ray to quit drugs and Ray says sure, and I have to wonder how many times that exchange has happened and if it's partly why Mew is suspicious of Top's "easy" change. Also interesting that Mew seems to be one of the only people in this friend group who has two parents (his moms) that care about him and who also have a good relationship with each other. Mew's point that he doesn't need fulfillment from a relationship because he gets it from his friends and family is interesting; especially given his friends. [Sidenote: This is basically how I feel about my own life so I am curious how other people read this assertion.] The ephemeral change of sleeping around and doing drugs vs the physical and permanent change of Lasik is really standing out to me this scene as significant.

Second scene: the meeting with the professor. It's interesting that even though they're presenting, they're the ones sitting down. Cheum says they can keep personal and professional lives separate and Ray turns to stare directly at Boston. I love that this is even before anyone else knew that the Boston/Top hookup was at the soft launch party for the hostel. Also noting Cheum's catty comment about even Boston helping; this girl is so much messier than people give her credit for [just saw @lurkingshan 's breakdown of this episode as I continue to update this post and yessssss call her out!!]

Third scene: noodles. This is I think the same place they planned the soft launch party. I'm seeing parallels with everyone pressuring Boston to date Nick to everyone pressuring Mew to sleep with Top in the first ep. Also, interesting that Cheum promises to behave this time [and then definitely doesn't]. We've all (or at least I have) been wondering where April is and now we get some explanation. I do wish they'd established this as more of a pattern for Cheum to complain like this, but I'll take it as setup now. The way Ray and his seething is invisible in this scene has been covered beautifully here [by @poetry-protest-pornography and @respectthepetty ].

Fourth scene: Ton and Nick wakeboarding. The parallels here to Top/Mew are twofold: we get the similar sitting by the water parallel from earlier this episode, in which there is a clear undercurrent of hypocrisy between what the characters are saying and what the audience knows about them (that conversation with/about Gap was so good, with the tension in Nick knowing he still has that audio clip and still hasn't deleted it as Boston berates Gap for the same thing), and then there is the contrasting parallel to when Mew took Top wakeboarding for the first time with the rest of his friend group. In contrast, Ton took Nick here alone, clearly still trying to play this game of not dating Nick but doing things with him that they would do if they were dating, that send extremely mixed signals. This scene again underscores the fragility of the relationship Boston and Nick have and how easily it can be broken.

Fifth scene: The hospital. Sand and his mom, in which we see how used he is to taking care of someone who is a bit of a mess [affectionate], and how he can still only be somewhat honest with his mom about his relationship with Ray (more than we'd expect between a 20something and their mom, but less than we the audience know is the truth--they're just having fun but it's not what he wants). And then the confrontation between Top and Sand. Top characterizes his relationship with Mew as "I get what I want" and I have to wonder how much of that is posturing to annoy Sand and how much of it is honesty. I did also think that maybe he meant it when he said "I hope you get what you want soon" because he wants Ray's attention away from Mew.

Sixth scene [start of part 2]: Sand intentionally drops and stomps on his phone to have an excuse to borrow Nick's so he can steal the sex audio. This is the first time that Sand consciously does something shitty to one of his friends, and I am living for it--let good characters make bad decisions! The parallel here is of course to Boston getting his phone fixed by Nick and having Nick steal his photo and adding one of his own from the beginning of the series; also a small one of Sand using his mom as an excuse to lie to his friend, the way Top used his dad as an excuse to lie to Mew the night he slept with Boston [not a comparison Sand would like, which is why I enjoy it]. I love that we see Nick get worried at the end of this scene because he's a phone tech and of course would know to check what Sand did with his phone.

Seventh scene: Top taking care of Mew after Lasik; this is maybe the least tense scene between Mew and Top, and the fact that Mew can barely see and is drugged for it is on point. I do also like that Top isn't great at caretaking but he is trying. This scene reminds me of Mew taking care of Ray and vice versa, especially the latter when Ray kisses Mew while he's sleeping and how that's contrasted with Top (Mew's boyfriend) only kissing Mew's forehead when he realizes he's asleep. The sketches that Top does are also really interesting, and how they hit Mew later is even more fascinating. The conversation they have in which Mew establishes that this is all happening right after they've had penetrative sex for the first time (so not long after ep 5) and makes clear he's still nervous about his performance and then credits Boston for their relationship, setting everything up for later, is just so good, it underscores the importance Mew has been putting on his virginity and sets the betrayal up to hit harder. I love how Top pushes back on giving Ton credit for their relationship here because it makes him so uncomfortable.

Eighth scene: Sand calls Ray out to play the stolen clip for him. This feels like a parallel to Boston calling Top out to play the video of Mew and Ray kissing. Other folks [ @xceanlynx and @respectthepetty linked here] have pointed out that in this scene Sand is choosing his hatred of Top over his potential relationship with Ray here, which I don't disagree with, but also what occurred to me here because of this parallel is the similarity in that both Sand and Boston seem to be motivated by their jealousy of Mew in these scenes too. I also just can't stop thinking about how wild it is that everyone recognizes Top and Ton by their sex noises alone.

Ninth scene: Boston and Nick with Boston's dad. We finally get some background for Boston and he clarifies he's always been planning to bail on Thailand to go to New York. It's interesting that it's made explicit that if Boston fails he's more likely to go to New York sooner, especially after the warning their teacher gave about the hostel project and how we know it's Boston's drama that is threatening to blow that project up. Boston's conversation with his dad is a contrast with Sand and his mom earlier; while Sand sleeping around was not judged by his mom, she did warn him about his feelings, while Boston's dad seemed to celebrate his callousness. The way Boston continues to ask Nick to not be dramatic while stirring up constant drama in his own friend group, and his insistence that his relationship with Nick is special but not a relationship is really something. Also that this convo takes place in Boston's dark room, which gets called out later as one of his regular hookup locations, and where Nick first got suspicious about Boston and Top, is interesting, especially in the context of permanent physical photos vs digital recordings that you can't necessarily erase vs how gossamer thin their relationship security is, and how tied up in voyeurism all of these things are.

Tenth scene [start of part 3]: Ray confronts Boston at the hostel (blatantly running contrast to "we can keep personal and professional lives separate"). We see Boston nervous here when first being confronted before he decides what approach to take with Ray to keep his mouth shut (not for the first time; we saw him nervous in the showers when he first tried to get Top to have sex). Also, I just have to say, respect to Ray for going to Boston first to confirm it's true before deciding what to do with the clip.

Eleventh scene: the birthday party at Yo's bar. It's poetic that the start and end of the Mew/Top relationship is because of conversations at Yolo. Once again, the spectre of failing school [because of the project] comes up in Mew's birthday wish. Cheum immediately breaks her promise to be "good" and teases Boston about Nick. She also says "everyone is dating someone now", apparently forgetting entirely about Ray. This entire conversation was so passive aggressive and @lurkingshan 's post (linked above) breaks it down really well. I am fascinated by Mew's reaction to Top's gift; I hope we get more insight into that because he seemed legitimately shaken, and it didn't seem to be positive. Also highlighting that once again Boston is credited for their relationship (this time by Cheum), and both Boston and Top seem deeply uncomfortable with it but Top doesn't argue it this time.

Twelfth scene: Ray and Mew in the bathroom. I already mentioned Ray's promise to quit and how it parallels Top "quitting for Mew" at the start of the ep; Mew is expressing care for Ray here but in a way that is distant and frankly a bit callous (to say "you'll be dead by thirty" to a guy who was/is suicidal is not the smartest approach even if it isn't intentionally referencing that). He insists that Ray not drive home but doesn't take his keys or stay with him to make sure he does actually get a ride, which is admittedly a big ask on your own birthday but just indicates the intentional boundaries Mew tries to set with Ray about not caring too much, I think. I don't think this makes him a terrible person, but it makes him not a great friend. This is in contrast to Sand, who stayed with Ray and made sure he would not drive before he even knew him, and followed him at the end of this ep to make sure he would not hurt himself or someone else even after Ray pushed him away.

Cursed thirteenth scene: Ray blows everything up [ shoutout to @liyazaki for this perfect post]. First, the same song is playing as the silent disco, calling back how Top's fate was sealed before Mew and Top had even gotten very far. And then once again, Sand's band is interrupted so that someone can take the mic, just as Top did when he asked out Mew for the first time. Mew calls out Cheum and April for their less than perfect relationship despite what it seems on the surface and more specifically calls out Cheum for being a bit of an asshole actually, mentions that Boston is a gossip about his hookups (which is not actually something we've seen evidence of, and I'm interested in how true it is), tells Nick he's not special, tries to explain to Mew that he (Ray) is not who Boston thinks he is and didn't share the clip with Mew to get him for himself [only knowable on rewatch of course]. Cheum finally admits that she fully knew Ray was in love with Mew this whole time and has just been ignoring it/pretending not to [vindication!!] and accuses Mew of exactly what he was trying to deny. Top finally acts his nastiest self in front of Mew, putting his arm around Mew's shoulder and claiming ownership for the second time this party in Ray's face (first time was when Yo joked that she wanted to go out with Mew now that the glasses were gone). Sand can't get Ray to stop, and Ray tries to shame Sand needing money by implying he should have sex with Ray for money. Ray goes after Boston, and Mew can't get Ray to shut up either so he hits him (even knowing why Ray is acting like this; and that's my favourite part of this entire episode, that Mew has decided he wants his moment to confront Top his way, once again using sex to control his feelings--this time to make him humiliated rather than fall in love--and he's willing to punch his friend to get his moment, and I am obsessed).

Fourteen: Only Sand goes after Ray, once again the only one actively trying to stop him from killing himself or someone else on the road. Sand snaps and yells at Ray to pay attention to him, Ray's "what are we to each other?" comes off as desperate rather than accusing, which I love--the question of what they are to one another has come up so many times and neither is willing to admit they want to be more first. Ray again calls Sand a whore this time explicitly, and drives off. Sand follows Ray. This is a beautiful parallel to the first time Sand took Ray home. Like every other couple scene this episode, the tenuousness of their connection is highlighted and even threatened in this scene, but Sand doubles down.

Fifteen: April and Cheum finally have a scene. They reconcile, but (like all of the couples) it feels tenuous. April asks that Cheum not lie to her just to avoid conflict, and Cheum promises to do that--but I am fully expecting this to not last. Since we know Cheum knew Ray was in love with Mew this whole time, it's confirmed that her lying or just glossing over reality to keep things easy is her personality not just something she does with her girlfriend's films.

Sixteen: the scene that we've all been waiting for. This was such a good fake-out, and it's the start of Mew's unhinged era he promised us all at the start of Top's pursuit of Mew. The way he set the stage, prepared a script, and as best I can figure out, TIMED A REMIX OF THE SEX AUDIO TO HIS SEDUCTION is absolutely sending me. Being more sexually confident, initiating sex and holding Top down, and making sure he could see Top's face when he realized what was happening, whew boy what a set-up. I am thinking about how much of that was him wanting Top to feel tricked and violated the way he felt tricked and violated. I also love Mew jumping to the conclusion that Boston and Top planned this and were laughing at him because that's a) indicative of something Mew would do, clearly; b) totally something people think when they're embarrassed, they assume everyone else knows and is laughing at them; c) not totally wrong because Boston did make fun of Mew's lack of experience to Top (shoutout to the YouTube comments for the reminder).

And that last sentence of the episode deserves its own paragraph because it just so perfectly encapsulates exactly where Mew went wrong in his thinking from the start: "I wasn't good enough for you to love only me"... As though other people's behaviour is controlled by your goodness and earned through your own behaviour. As though love and sex are value judgments. As though the world is fair. As though goodness is an objective judgment that allows you to control the people around you. This thinking is so harmful and so pervasive. It's really a sign of Mew's desperate need to be in control (in this version of events, even Top having sex with Boston is actually Mew's doing, which means in theory Mew could prevent it from happening again if he betters himself). And it confirms what we all suspected Mew's been trying to do this whole time: Manipulate Top into changing into a "better person" [read: monogamous and drug-free] through his own behaviour.

I also noticed that almost every camera shot in this entire episode was close faces and there was a lot of hand-held camera work. Intimacy, instability, lack of clarity, all of these things were coming through the way it was shot.

Ahdhsh tumblr keeps eating parts of this so I'm going to stop. But whew this episode just gave and gave!!

@ranchthoughts @slayerkitty @wen-kexing-apologist @neuroticbookworm @waitmyturtles @lurkingshan @distant-screaming @chickenstrangers @clara-maybe-ontheroad

Tagging the ephemerality squad because if any of you pick up on any of these threads and parallels and tie them into your meta I want to know about it! Tumblr is showing me only like half of what people are posting these days and unfollowing people without my consent so pls tag me

#only friends the series #only friends meta #only friends #ofts meta #ofts #ephemerality squad #bl meta #typed so i can stop thinking it #going to also use my relevant tags #let a main character be hot in glasses for the whole show you cowards!!! #no character should be perfect this is my ultimate agenda

[novafire-is-thinking]

How to say goodbye ‘see you around’ and mean it…

The time has come.

First thing’s first: this isn’t goodbye—just a heads up.

Due to changes I’m making in my personal life, I’m stepping back from the Transformers fandom for a partial hiatus. My ambition makes me restless, and it’s about time I put some of my plans into action.

Yes, a Chinese person becoming a doctor. How original.

Maybe I’ll turn out like Ratchet. Maybe I’ll suffer long enough to become Pharma.

Only time will tell…

In any case, I don’t plan on totally disappearing from the fandom any time soon. Eventually, I won’t be logged in on the app, but I’ll be accessing the site through a browser a few times a week, or when I have free time.

For the foreseeable future, you’ll see me around primarily on the weekends and Wednesdays—collecting posts for the queue, answering old asks, and maybe making a post once in a while.

What to expect:

The queue will publish a few times a day, and most original posts and extra reblogs will be scheduled.

I have 300+ post ideas saved in my notes and screenshots. My goal is to slowly release these into the wild.

I’ll try to keep writing meta, but when and how will depend entirely on how much free time I have, and what little energy I have to spare.

If I ever have extra time, I might open my ask box and play an ask game or two. Maybe…

Asks, tags, and other things:

If you sent an ask in the past, I probably have it saved either in my inbox or my drafts. Yes—even the asks that are almost a year old. I have not forgotten, and I still intend to answer, even if the sender doesn’t remember.

My inbox is closed for now, but I’ve set up a fancy little Google form as a replacement: ✨Nova’s Commlink✨

If at any time, you tagged me in something interesting, I saved it in my drafts. If I’ve deemed it worthy of a response, you will see it eventually.

Feel free to keep tagging me in things. I’ll give posts a ‘like’ to confirm I saw them, and if I really like a post, I’ll queue it for later or drop it in my drafts if I want to give a longer response.

If you tag me and I don’t confirm receipt within a few days, drop me a note in the Google form.

If I said I would do something else for you, I haven’t forgotten. It’s on my list, and I will get back to you about it when I’m able.

WIPs:

Fics for my Constellations of Cybertron AU are on hold. I’ll still plot and plan, but it will be a long time before I publish any of those longer stories.

I hope to keep working on my shorter WIPs. I don’t know how much free time or energy I’ll have in the coming days, but I’ll do my best to get them out eventually.

How to reach me:

Anyone (mutual or otherwise) who has my Discord should message me over there. This extends to those I’m in servers with.

Mutuals who don’t have my Discord and anyone I follow here can still DM me through Tumblr.

Everyone else can contact me using the Google form.

Don’t be afraid of bothering me. It may take me a while to respond, but I welcome it.

Last updated: 2/28/24 - (section updated: intro)

#I was SO tempted to use the “Remember me as I was” panel #but I refrained #be proud of me

[simvanie]

Luxor Amata for Scarlett's love is embarrassing BC

Guess who is back (in an alternate timeline)? I totally forgot about the existence of bachelor challenges when I was playing with Luxor for the lust generation of my legacy, until he was old and already fully committed to his wife. I think doing a bachelor challenge with Luxor would have been really fun, but doing one myself with him now, even in an alternate timeline, wouldn't make sense for me since Luxor has already established his story and lore in my sims universe. So, when I saw @theosconfessions post for Scarlett's Love is Embarrassing BC I got this idea where Luxor can still participate in a BC in some way and let others have fun with him. I thought, what if I make an updated version of Luxor set in an alternate timeline where he hasn't met the love of his life yet and so it's entirely possible that he ends up with Scarlett? So, I gave Luxor a makeover and pitched this idea to Stacey (theosconfessions) and luckily she liked it!

Info about Luxor under the cut:

"Blondes have more fun, right?" That is what Luxor heard some of his co-stars say on the set of the upcoming series where he plays a role in. When he asked what they were talking about, they showed him Scarlett's bachelorette challenge call. Luxor's heart skipped a beat and suddenly it felt like his brain wasn't getting enough oxygen anymore. For a while now, Luxor really wants to find someone to grow old with and thinks that Scarlett might be the one. Luxor has had his fair share of official (and unofficial) relationships in the past and it's safe to say that this heartthrob already has a lot of experience in the dating field. One might attribute his need for love and affection to his childhood, in which his single mother, who tried to keep her head above water as a criminal, was often angry at him and didn't give him much attention until he was a little older. But don't get me wrong, Luxor is 100% capable of being fully committed when he finds the right person. He is charismatic, has a good heart and doesn't actually want to cause anyone heartbreak. Although his noncommittal trait caused him sometimes to suddenly jump from one relationship into the other or have multiple at once (and this 'multiple at once' can also be applied to a couple of in the bedroom activities he has had), he feels that it is finally time to settle down and find someone to build a future with. Luxor is currently a B-lister celebrity with a love for stand-up comedy and playing the guitar. He is romantically more interested in women but open to explore romantically, and has had woohoo experience with both men and women. His PR agency told him that it would be better for his public celebrity image to keep that last one under wraps for now. The life in the spotlight can sometimes be a bit hectic, and Luxor hopes that he can find in Scarlett someone to come home to, cuddle on the couch with, tell his new jokes to, go on dates with, play guitar for, have romantic dinners with, go on advetures with, visit the petting zoo with (he absolutely loves the little goats), make memories with, and to show him if it's true when they say that blondes have more fun (whatever fun for them may mean *wink wink*). And what better place to meet Scarlett than one of Luxor's favorite vacation locations, Tartosa!

Pronouns: He/him

Age: He's already nearing the end of his young adult years, but Luxor never minded an age gap in relationships and hopes Scarlett feels the same about it

Sexuality: Bisexual (currently closeted for the public image, but close friends and family know)

Traits: Noncommittal, outgoing, music lover (Luxor originally had the romantic trait here, but it's changed to music lover to make it more fair regarding the other contestants)

Career: Actor

Hometown: Del Sol Valley

I hope you like him! Can't wait to see how the drama, ✨the spice✨, and everything else unfolds in Scarlett's bachelorette challenge.

#he now looks so much more like what I had always imagined him to look like #I just didn't have the cas skills that I have now to make him look this good when I was playing his generation #love is embarrassing bc #luxor amata #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #the sims #simblr #ts4 bachelorette challenge #ts4 bc #sims 4 bc #7sl extras #vaniepost

[cannibalsforbreakfast]

Cruel Summer - Chapter 1

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: The "Eddie Munson is a speedway racer" high school AU no one asked for, but you're getting it anyways. Enemies to friends to lovers | No-Upsidedown AU | Fast cars, fast times | Reader moved from "the city" to Hawkins

Tags [will be updated as things progress]: swearing, underage drinking, dangerous driving, Jason sucks as usual, mentions of weed, light angst, misunderstandings, reader is afab, not sure if I'll have smut yet or not

A/N: Chapter 1 is already on Ao3 but here's the Tumblr version! New chapters will always be posted on Ao3 first, with a week or so delay to here.

CH1: 3,780w

-- -- --

“Hot summer streets and the pavements are burning, I sit around / Trying to smile, but the air is so heavy and dry”

If anyone had asked, you wouldn’t have said car racing was something you’d be interested in. Watching hunks of metal speeding around in circles always seemed pretty pointless to you. When combined with the auditory chaos of engines and screaming crowds, and nauseating smell of gasoline and burning rubber, it had never been high on your bucket list.

Then again, neither had moving to Hawkins, Indiana. And yet, here you were: stuck in small-town nowhere for (just, you hoped) the summer. But a summer practically felt like forever to you.

And so you were at the speedway car races with your cousin, Robin. Because apparently, she said, it would “be fun” and “social” and “lots of people went.” 

You supposed you should be lucky Robin was pretty chill about hanging out with you. After all, having your city-slicker cousin practically dumped on your doorstep without so much as a “by your leave” by your parents — who had gone off to “rediscover themselves” and hopefully salvage five years of impending divorce — probably wasn’t high on HER bucket list, either. She and her parents had been more than welcoming, sticking you and your five overstuffed suitcases in the spare room on the second floor, just next door to Robin, without hesitation and urging you to make yourself at home.

If you saw Robin and her parents exchange some pointed and pitying glances, well, you’d just try and ignore them. Because they were right. Your parents clearly didn’t care enough about you to take you with them on their wild second-honeymoon or whatever, so they’d abandoned you without looking back, saying they’d pick you up in a couple months before school started up again. They thought. Maybe homeschooling had been implied as a possibility if they happened to return a bit later than assumed from…Panama? Costa Rica? Whatever warm, probably tropical, place they’d gone to. Without their only daughter. 

Honestly, sometimes you just felt the truth of it in your bones when, at the height of their marital Cold War, they’d each called the other some variant of “frigid bitch.” Only the coldest of the cold would up and abandon their offspring like that, without any evident desire to really take responsibility for them ever again. If you just wandered off at the end of the summer, got a job waiting tables in the nearest big city, didn’t bother to send a forwarding address, you didn’t think they’d be too fussed. Depressing.

The frozen atmosphere at home had gone on so long, you’d practically adopted aloofness yourself as a survival mode. What you didn’t feel, couldn’t hurt. Didn’t help you with making any friends once you’d entered high school, but it kept anyone from really bothering you for three years. The summer before your senior year was supposed to be this golden eternity of afternoons at the pool, perfecting your tan, or giggling at the local mall while licking ice creams and debating who-liked-who-liked-who. 

Not wasting away in Hawkins, a town small enough you bet you could count all of the stoplights on one hand. 

You missed the city so much it ached . Missed the dizzying heights of the buildings towering above you, missed the way the very air seemed to thrum with an energy, a beat that got into your pulse and made you feel alive. Missed the hole-in-the-wall restaurants on every street and the used bookstores piled high with more volumes than you could read in a lifetime. Hawkins was…quaint, but inside you worried if you stayed here long enough it would drain the life out of you until you couldn’t make it anywhere else. 

Not that you’d say any of that to Robin, who was babbling cheerfully away at your side as you strolled up to the local speedway just out of town. She was wearing a loose striped men’s shirt with the cuffs rolled up and jeans, despite the lingering heat of the evening. Robin, you’d come to learn, was pretty much always babbling about something or another, a natural condition that tended to get even worse whenever she was flustered or nervous. Given your tendency to listen, rather than speak, you actually balanced each other out rather well. With her, surprisingly, you felt you could be…yourself…that little bit more. Felt a bit of that icy shell melt away. 

You tuned back in to hear her say, “We’re going to meet up with Steve, he’s gotten there early to stake us out a spot. You wouldn’t think it but it can get really crowded and picking the right spot out of the sun and the dust and on the right side of the track is, like, crucial to the enjoyment factor. Steve’s a boy, by the way. He’s not my boyfriend – well, he’s a boy who’s a friend, but we’re not like that, actually he’s more like an annoying brother. But he’s not annoying, I promise!”

You smiled to yourself as Robin rambled on. Truly, you found it more endearing than not. 

“I’m sure he’s nice,” you said, cutting in so Robin could actually take a full breath. She smiled back at you.

“Yeah, he’s great. But don’t tell him I said that, I swear his hair grows an inch every time someone says something nice about him.”

You smiled and promised that, of course, you wouldn’t breathe a word. 

The two of you step up to the bored-looking teenager taking tickets, and you passed over your paper stub, slightly sweaty from being clutched in your hand. Stepping through the entrance gate, you’re immediately assaulted with the smell of deep-fried foods mixed with beer, the raucous laughter of crowds of families and teens here for an evening out. A fine dust permeated the air, making your eyes water. The track, a packed dirt oval that was both bigger and smaller than you imagined, spread out before you, bordered by some haphazardly stacked rectangle bales of hay you assumed were there for the “safety” of the crowd, though they looked anything but. You imagined any car crashing into those at serious speed would take them out easily…as well as the onlookers setting up their camp chairs frighteningly close to the barrier. 

Across the track, a small elevated building rigged with wires and a mounted loudspeaker was clearly where the announcers were situated. Tinny commentary was blaring from the PA system, but it was almost impossible to hear above the general din. 

There were mullets and wife-beaters on display everywhere. As you looked around, you noted that everyone – and you mean everyone – seemed to be dressed in nothing more formal than jeans and a shirt. You hadn’t batted an eye when Robin left the house like that, because that’s what your cousin always wore. And she’d told you to dress casual but…

“Robin,” you asked, “am I overdressed?”

She’d been herding you along the track toward one end, but at your question she glanced over at you and winced, which you supposed was answer enough. 

“Robinnnnn,” you whined. 

“What?” she protested. “I said ‘casual,’ that’s what you came out in, so I figured it was fine!”

Up until you saw the sea of daisy dukes before you, you’d thought what you were wearing was casual. It certainly was back in the city. The simple, white-and-red polkadot dress you were wearing, cinched at the waist with a plain wide belt you’d dug out the bottom of your suitcase, cute frilly sleeves sitting just below your tanned shoulders, wouldn’t have been anything your classmates back home blinked at. You hadn’t even done your makeup, besides a swipe of lip gloss! But you were rapidly getting the sense you’d have to redefine your expectations here in Hawkins. And with the swirls of rust-colored dust almost constantly permeating the air, you could already tell white was a particularly bad choice.

Oh well, you’d just have to make the best of it. And get the dress in the wash sooner rather than later. 

“It’s alright, Robin,” you reassured your cousin, who’d been worrying at her lip while you thought. “It’s just a dress. Plus, it’s not like I’ll be in any of the cars,” you joked.

“Steve’ll probably have a blanket or something you can use anyways,” she said. “He’s a dad like that. Oh look, there he is. Steve! Steeeeve! Ugh, he isn’t listening. OI, DINGUS!”

Robin waved frantically at a boy a bit ahead of you, who’d staked out a pretty prime spot on the hillside around the middle of the straightaway, complete with camping chairs, picnic blanket and cooler of what you desperately hoped was something cold. Now this is what you’d imagined when Robin said “races.” And it was comfortingly far away from the hay barrier.

The boy – Steve – raked his hands through his already artfully disheveled mop of hair and rolled his eyes at Robin. 

“Could you shout any louder?” he grumbled. “Jesus, I think the whole crowd heard you.”

“Oh don’t be such a wuss. Hey, this is my cousin. She’s cool. Cousin, meet Steve. He’s a dweeb.”

“A dweeb with charm, also known as the best kind,” Steve said with a smile, reaching out to shake your hand. “I heard you’re in town for the summer. Welcome to Hawkins – guessing it’s a pretty big change from where you’re from.”

“Um, yeah, wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s better than I thought. Lots of nice people,” you offered him a small smile in return, a bit taken aback by the easy way he folded you into the dynamic. 

“I’ll bet,” he agreed. “First time at a speedway?”

“First time at any kind of races,” you admitted. “I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Not much too it really,” Robin said around a mouthful of beer. Clearly, she’d helped herself to Steve’s stash, but by the way he just shook his head, you got the sense this was basically normal. He silently offered you a bottle, but you shook your head – maybe in a bit. Steve did seem nice, but you weren’t quite ready to be under the influence under someone new just yet. Robin kept talking: “Cars go zoom zoom, and the one that goes zoom zoom the fastest wins. We mostly just come here to support Eddie.”

You cocked your head. “Who’s Eddie?”

“Friend from school. He’s been working extra shifts all summer, which is why you haven’t met him yet. He works down at the local body shop, races on the side. We’ll point his car out when he’s up.”

You nodded, sure he’d be nice too, if Robin’s taste in friends so far was anything to go by. 

The three of you sat, chatting amiably for a few minutes, and you felt yourself relaxing into Robin and Steve’s easy, familiar banter. They traded well-worn jabs back and forth, but there’s no heat behind them. You settled yourself on the blanket between them, tucking your skirt beneath your legs and mostly enjoying the vibe, only chiming in when you had something to say, like when Steve started to say “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was supposedly underrated (he was wrong, and both you and Robin soundly told him so). 

As the sun finally started to go down – days were still long and hot, and all three of you were peevishly slapping at overly familiar mosquitos – the track lights finally flickered into life and it seemed like things were about to start. Robin let out a squeal, wiggling her knees in excitement. 

You were all ready for – you didn’t know, monster trucks or something? – when, to your surprise, the first line of cars that raced onto the track looked more like glorified go karts than anything else. Seeing your confusion, Steve leaned over and murmured, “They do the kiddie stuff first,” and you then saw that the drivers did seem awfully young. Fortunately they were wearing helmets.

The announcer counted down the start, and at the waving of the first green flag they tore around the track, kicking up immense clouds of gasoline-scented dust that settled over everything – your hair, your clothes, you could even see it coating the fine hairs on your arm. Gross. 

And these little kids were vicious. Not crashing directly into each other, but drifting aggressively around the turns and cutting each other off within what looked like inches to spare between bumpers. Everyone was cheering on individual numbers, and you, Steve and Robin got into it by picking your favorite car and rooting for them at the top of your lungs. After a few heats you felt your throat dry up, and gratefully accepted one of the cooling bottles of beer Steve offered. 

Beer with friends on a Friday night. Weirdly, this felt more like how you thought summer was supposed to go than you figured you’d get in Hawkins. Or anywhere. 

As the night wore on, the races of the small and mid-sized cars started to blur into each other, and you started idly wondering when you’d be able to go home. Well. To Robin’s home. 

“And nowwwww, the event you’ve all been waiting forrrrr!” shrilled the announcer.

From the back paddock where all the cars were parked, there came a grunty rumble. A vibration that made its way into your bones, your veins, the thump-thump of your heart. This was the rhythm you’d been missing, filling you up from the inside out. 

And then, the first line of proper-sized cars ripped their way onto the track, to a massive cheer from the crowd. But you weren’t even sure you could call them “cars.” Dinged, dented, and beaten back into shape, these were machines reduced to the essence of speed. Any extra baggage had clearly been ripped out – seats, radio, even the entire bottom half of the trunk was gone. What was left was the engines, the driver’s seat, and anything essential to make them go. 

They ran a few menacing laps around the track, jostling for position on the grid. 

“Look, there’s Eddie!” Robin pointed.

“Which one is he?” you asked.

“The black one, with the red bat on the hood.”

“Eddie’s always had a flair for the dramatic,” Steve clarified. 

Your eyes traced the black car as Eddie maneuvered it into the inside of the track, on the front row – “That’s a good position,” Steve clarified again. Unlike most of the other cars, which had paint jobs in varying states of peeling off, Eddie clearly kept his car freshly painted despite the risk of damage – it gleamed, pitch blank, with just the blood red of the bat leaping out of the design. From what you could see of Eddie, as he was mostly shielded by a helmet, he was also in all black. 

“I’m sensing a theme,” you muttered dryly. 

Like horses jostling for position, the cars – there must have been a dozen or so – revved their engines just behind the starting line. There was an agonizing moment of tension, where everyone stared at the red stoplight holding them in place. 

Then it winked green, the flag was waved, and the race began. 

You watched as Eddie’s car and the one on his right, painted a chipped red-white-and-blue roared to the front like bats of out hell. They gunned it down the straightaway before whipping into a drift around the curve that was so aggressive, their cars yawing onto two wheels so hard, your hands flew to your mouth to swallow a gasp despite yourself, sure they’d tip over or spin out. Magically Eddie’s car righted itself as he came out of the turn and he gunned it down the next straight, neck and neck with the other vehicle. 

The laps went by in what felt to you like seconds, a frenetic dance conducted at speed. With the razor-thin margins the two cars took the turns, you knew that if Eddie lost concentration for a nanosecond, he’d be out of the race. You blinked dust out of your eyes furiously, loath to miss a single second. Next to you, Robin and Steve were yelling – you were pretty sure Robin was just repeating profanities at this point – but you could hardly make yourself breathe normally, let alone cheer. 

There were only a few laps to go and the other car had stolen the lead from Eddie. Though Eddie was keeping the black monstrosity right on his tail, pushing himself right into the rear bumper to try and throw the other driver off. 

They made another sharp drift around a corner and, as they came off the curve, Eddie made his move, pushing the throttle to take his car around the outside of the red-and-white leader. He took the turn, hard, trying to get his nose in front of the other car’s, and this time you did let out a whimper of concern. Your heart thumped in time with the roar of the crowd, and when Eddie made it, slipping in front of his rival to cross the finish line first, you couldn’t help but sigh in relief. 

Steve and Robin were now jumping up and down and hugging each other, and you smiled at their infectious joy. 

The other cars coasted to a stop in the middle of the track while Eddie took his victory lap, waving the checkered flag from out the driver’s window. He must have spotted the two maniacs next to you, because the car rolled to a stop on the track in front of you, and Eddie stepped out from the car. 

You knew he drove like a devil, but you weren’t expecting him to look like a fallen angel. 

A strange shiver ran through you as you watched him pull off his black helmet. Long, dark curls spilled out, framing his sharp, sculpted face. Even with his bangs sweat-soaked and disheveled, he was capital H-O-T. Dark hair, dark eyes, with a plush mouth you knew was made for sin. He was everything your parents would have warned you away from, and everything you – or your body, at least – immediately wanted. 

“Be normal,” you thought to yourself. “This is Robin’s friend .”

Robin and Steve trotted down to the side of the track, and you trailed behind them, a little unsure. It was the last race of the evening, and with the entertainment over, the crowds were starting to melt away. It didn’t escape your notice that while all the other drivers were getting handshakes and back-slaps galore from their fellow racers and even some officials, no one had come over to congratulate the actual winner, Eddie, except for the three of you.

“Edieeeeee, you won!” Robin shrieked at her usual top-volume. “But also, ugh, you smell like fumes, ew no, don’t hug me.” She wiggled away from his playful attempt at a hug, wrinkling your nose. 

“Comes with the territory, Robin, you’re just gonna have to get used to it. You certainly don’t mind when I’m fixing your car for free, again . Hey, Steve, nice of the King to make an appearance.” The two boys traded fist bumps, Steve rolling his eyes at his high school nickname. You broke into a wide smile at their antics. 

Eddie’s eyes met yours, where you lingered behind, and he arched one eyebrow, his previously warm and open expression becoming more guarded, scanning you from the top of your windswept hair to the bottom of your now quite dusty flats. Your smile faded, and you resisted the urge to brush yourself off in the face of his gaze.

“Who’s this?” he asked. “Wasn’t aware we had a third cheerleader on the squad. Does little miss Dots like what she has to see so far?”

You find yourself bristling at his presumptuous tone. “I don’t quite take your meaning,” you respond stiffly. 

Eddie laughed, an open, easy sound you could have loved – except for the sharp edge to his voice. He straddled the hay bale, spreading his hands open. You tried not to look at how his black racing uniform stretched tight over his thighs. Really, you tried. 

“Come on, guys, this is a joke, right? Ha, ha, Eddie’s first race of the season, let’s get a cute little cupcake of a girl to come along, flirt a little, string lil ’ol Eddie along? Give the girl a ride to remember?”

He fixed his molten brown eyes on you. “Did someone put you up to it, Dots? Patrick? Jason? It’s the sort of shit thing Jason would do.”

By this point, both Steve and Robin were exchanging a confused glance that clearly conveyed their shared sense of, “uh, what?” But you knew exactly what. 

Eddie had taken one look at you – at your too-much dress, too-much smile, maybe something else you didn’t even know in your demeanor – and concluded that the only possible explanation for your presence was that you were a…paid escort? Hooker? Someone bribed to come watch his race and flutter your eyelashes at him, spread her legs?

You felt the usual protection of your ice queen reputation from back home freezing off any earlier warmth from your expression. 

“Someone clearly has a high opinion of himself. I’m not going to cream just because you’ve got half skills with half a car. Get over yourself. Robin,” you turn to your cousin, “I’m going back to the house.”

“It’s miles to the house,” Robin protested, nervous gaze flicking between you – fuming – and Eddie – nonchalantly picking at his cuticles, not sparing you another glance. 

“I’ll walk.” It was only a mile or so to Robin’s, and you didn’t want to spend a single second more in his company, friends with your cousin or not. Eddie’d done a spectacular job of reminding you why you usually didn’t do things that were “fun” or “social” or that “lots of people” went to. You didn’t need another asshole man in your life, your father was doing a bang-up job of that by himself. 

“I’d give you a ride, Dots, but as you can see,” Eddie gestured to the literally empty passenger seat in the stock car next to him, “I can’t.”

“Fuck you,” you hissed, whirling around and stomping off before reaching a hand up to swipe angrily at the tears pooling in the corners of your eyes. 

You heard Robin run after you. “She’s my cousin you MORON,” she called back to Eddie. When she caught up to you, you gave her a watery smile in thanks, and she reached over to squeeze your shoulders. 

New item for your summer bucket list: Never, ever see Eddie again.

-- -- --

NEXT TIME: You and Robin go to a party.

#cruel summer #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #fanfic #fanfiction #eddie munson fic #enemies to friends to lovers #speedway au

[thewayofthemandalorian]

afraid to jinx it - oneshot

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x F!Reader

Rating: M

Summary: Marcus Moreno needs to return to work, and to do so needs to hire a nanny to care for his young daughter, Missy. He never anticipated falling in love with you, or that you would feel the same. 

Word count: 5,354

Notes: Marcus Moreno is 1000% a nanny guy and no one can tell me any differently. I’ve made a few changes to canon with this fic: for starters, Marcus is not a widower but is still a single father; secondly, I’ve aged down Missy to be four years old since I don’t think a 13 year old really needs a nanny and Missy seems pretty independent in the movie. 

This fic is cross-posted to my AO3 account under the same name, which can be found linked in my masterlist. Follow @thewayofthemandalorian-writes​ and turn on notifications for fic updates.

Comments/reblogs appreciated.

Warnings: Age gap (unspecified, but reader is in her late 20′s), boss-employee relationship, mutual attraction, swearing perceived power imbalance, kissing, non-explicit sexual content (including female receiving oral), protected sex.

masterlist (main) || masterlist (marcus moreno)

“When can you come back to work?” 

It’s a question that Marcus Moreno has been asked a lot, in ever-increasing volumes. Since Missy was born, he’s been on a leave of absence as leader of the Heroics, graciously allowing Miracle Guy, Steve Boyd, to take his place until Marcus returns. 

Since Missy was two, he’s been working remotely in a consulting role. His mom picks up a lot of the slack when he’s busy. It’s not fair to anyone. He knows his mom has her own life, and while she never complains and is always happy to take care of her granddaughter, Marcus knows that it isn’t a permanent solution. 

It’s Anita’s idea, when Marcus is half-apologizing, half-thanking her for taking care of Missy while he works on his consultation. “Why not hire a babysitter or a nanny? So you can go to work and not have to worry. It is no trouble watching her, mijo, but hiring someone would clear up both of our plates and you can go to work.” Leave it to Anita Baltra Moreno to be altruistic and no-nonsense while also reassuring her son.

So, Marcus and Anita take Missy in her stroller, and put up job listings around the major hotspots for college students or graduates in the hopes that someone will see the listing and be: a) interested and b) qualified enough. Marcus is not worried so much about qualifications or a ton of experience in childcare. Some experience would be ideal but he’s more interested in personality. If the prospective nanny would get along with his daughter. A nanny could have an extensive resume but not click at all with his daughter. He’d rather have someone who fits that balance of being a good enough caretaker and getting along with Missy. 

So, he posts the advertisements, even putting some on job websites, in the hopes that someone, anyone, will apply. 

He gets many applications, but there’s only one that truly meets his eye.

When you saw the listing for a nannying job, you never expected to hear Marcus Moreno of the Heroics’ voice on the phone when he calls to set up an interview after submitting your – in your opinion – meager application. 

He meets you for the interview at a coffee shop, explaining to you that his daughter, Missy, is turning four soon and will be starting half-day kindergarten in the fall, attending Tuesdays, Thursdays and every other Friday in the morning, coming home at lunchtime; your duties would be to arrive at his house in time to see her off to the school bus, pick her up from the bus, give her lunch, and spend the afternoons with her until Marcus gets home, usually at five-thirty. That seems reasonable to you. Plus, Marcus thinks she’s old enough now that he can start scaling up his availability with the Heroics again. Not on a full-time basis, he would go on the days that Missy is at school and his days off would line up with her days off.

“If you don’t mind my asking, where’s her mom?” you ask.

Marcus takes a long sip of his coffee, trying to think of a diplomatic way to explain what happened with his ex-fiancée. “She hasn’t been in the picture since Missy was a year and a half.” He tells you that she left one morning when the house was still asleep, paperwork signing away her maternal rights and her engagement ring on the kitchen island next to the coffee maker. A note saying I didn’t want this life. Marcus tried to find her, but when he did, she explained that she never wanted to be a mother, but she hoped that she would grow into the role of being a mom. The pregnancy had been an accident, a happy one for Marcus, who always wanted to have kids. “We ended things a while ago, it’s just been us and my mom for the past two and a half years.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” you say.

Marcus likes you. You’re kind and have a gentle way about you. You don’t seem to agitate easily. A calm level-headedness is exactly what he’s looking for. “I know that you don’t have the most impressive of applications,” he starts, “but I think you would be a good fit. What are you studying?” 

You tell him that you just finished your degree in accounting. “It’s very tedious, but I’m good with numbers.” 

“So, why nanny for me if you’ve got a degree in accounting?” he asks. 

You shrug. “I like kids and nowhere is hiring at the moment in my field. Gotta pay the bills somehow, right?” you chuckle. 

Marcus smiles, remembering his own college bills. “And your application lists you as being in your late twenties.”

“That’s right. I was the oldest graduate in my program. Most people in the course were fresh out of high school. I took some time off after graduating high school. Also, my mom kept me at home for an extra year before sending me to kindergarten. So, there’s that to it as well.” 

He nods. He’s glad that you’re not in your early twenties; being in your late twenties makes you more mature and level-headed than other applicants, which is good for Missy. He got an application from a nineteen year old and had to let her down gently.

“Before I can officially offer you the job, I’d like Missy to meet you, make sure she’s okay with you first,” explains Marcus. “I do think you’ll be a great fit, though.” 

You offer a demure smile. “Thanks. I hope it works out well.” 

- - - - 

That had been six months ago. After that meeting with Marcus, you’d met Missy, who asked you two questions: if you liked drawing and if you knew how to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Your answers to both those questions was a resounding yes. Missy had just nodded solemnly at her father and went back to colouring her Little Mermaid picture. 

Now you and Missy are as thick as thieves. The four year old is such a sweet little girl. She’s an easy kid, never any fuss or disagreements. At least, not to the extent that you were originally anticipating. She is only four, so she does get some ideas into her head that are a bit difficult to dissuade her from, but for the most part she is a very good listener. 

Marcus likes your easy presence in the house; you’re kind and patient and you are considerate. You have a real way with Missy, an empathy to you that is not easily found in most people. You’re always doing stuff for him. Making sure that dinner is ready when he gets home, something that wasn’t in your contract. He’d told you after a week of your cooking that you didn’t have to. You’d shrugged and said that you like doing it. He can admit that you’re pretty. The attraction had been almost instant, but he’d pushed it away, thinking that he’s just noticing you because of everything that you’re doing for him and Missy. He’s noticing your kindness and how you do things for him as well as for Missy that you don’t have to, but do anyway because you want to. 

It’s inappropriate, having a crush on his employee. It would be crossing a line that is there for a reason. Not to mention he’s ten years older than you. He doesn’t want to pressure you or take advantage of you. He isn’t that kind of person. 

Your friend and roommate Alison is convinced that you have a crush on Marcus. Ever since he insisted on calling him Marcus instead of Mr. Moreno (claiming that “Mr. Moreno makes me sound old”) at that first meeting in the coffee shop in June. You’d noticed his good looks and his soft but commanding when it needed to be nature long before you’d officially met him and started nannying for his kid. He’s a Heroic, a public figure, who is often in the media, trending on Twitter often, especially now that he’s started to work for them again. But seeing him in a tweet or on the news is different from seeing the real him. Who can’t make scrambled eggs for shit and hates wearing contacts because they hurt his eyes and enjoys his coffee with a hint of cream and loves his daughter more than anyone. The media flattens a lot of things. Seeing him in a day-to-day setting is way different to seeing him in the public eye. For example, you would never know that he hates using his telekinetic-magnetic powers when he doesn’t have to. Outside of showing off the first time he met you, he hasn’t used that ability once in the time you’ve known him. You’d been attracted to the public persona of Marcus Moreno – who hasn’t been? – but you like the real Marcus Moreno a lot more.

Marcus wants you to know the real him. Not the put-on version of himself that he uses for Heroics appearances or appearances in the press. 

All that being said, you aren’t going to let your feelings be known. He’s your boss. Hard pass. You don’t want to be fired for harassment. You’re there for Missy’s sake and Missy’s sake only. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t look. You can look, but you can’t touch.

- - - - 

Marcus asks you one morning if you can stay a bit later than usual. He has a date that night. You try not to let your childish disappointment show when you say, “Sure, that’s no problem.”

If he notices your disappointment, he doesn’t say anything. Just like he doesn’t say that the blind date is so he can move on from this ridiculous attraction he has for you. He’d seen you in leggings and a nice top the other day and had to go stand in the cold shower for a lot longer than he was willing to admit. 

So, he prepares himself for the date, allows you to tie his tie, which is horribly, terribly ironic, and tells Missy to behave herself for you. 

The date is perfectly… cromulent. It’s fine. Amanda is a nice enough woman. Pretty, enthusiastic, passionate about what she does. But as he sits across from her at the fancy restaurant that she chose, he thinks that he’d much rather be at home, doing tex-mex or pizza with Missy and you. It’s not that Amanda is complicated, she’s not. She just… doesn’t seem the type that would go for breakfast for dinner or sloppy joes the way that you do. She doesn’t seem to be the type that would dance with his daughter in the kitchen to Taylor Swift, or take her to the zoo or colour with her. She’s missing that warmth that you have. That unassuming loveliness you have and—

Oh, hell. 

Marcus clears his throat. “Amanda? Um, I’m very sorry, but I have to cut tonight short. You’re very nice and it was good to meet you, but I don’t think this is going to work out.” It wouldn’t be fair to finish this date, to stay on this date when he’s thinking about another woman. His mother raised him better than that. 

When he gets home, an empty box of dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets is on the counter, broken down and ready to be recycled. Two dirty plates sit next to the box, not yet put in the dishwasher but everything else is as he left it. He can hear the telltale sounds of The Sea Beast, a recent favourite of Missy’s, coming from the living room. 

When he sees you and Missy curled up together, watching the movie for what seems to be the six hundredth time, his heart nearly bursts at the sight. This isn’t just a fleeting crush he has on you, a brief attraction. He has genuine feelings for you. 

Missy is sleeping, curled up on one side of you like a koala bear. You’re diligently watching the movie even if Missy is asleep. Marcus clears his throat and you look up. “You’re back early.”

Marcus sits down on the couch on the other side of you, careful not to wake Missy. Her breathing changes for a minute, then evens out and deepens, dead to the world. “Yeah. She was nice, but it wasn’t going to work.” He looks around at the room. “I see your night was much more successful.” 

You nod. “Yeah. We read a little bit of her early chapter book, had some dinner, and now, as you can see, we’re watching a movie. Or at least, I am.” You press pause on the remote. 

“I can take her to bed if you like?” Marcus offers, looking at you intently. 

“Sure. Her teeth are already brushed and I gave her a bath after dinner.” 

You’re just doing your job, but Marcus loves how you take care of Missy. Marcus scoops up Missy into his arms. She wakes for just a minute, then falls back to sleep in her dad’s arms. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you to bed,” he murmurs softly to her. 

A few minutes later, Marcus comes out of Missy’s bedroom, shutting the door gently behind him. You’re tidying up in the kitchen. “Don’t worry about that, cariño,” Marcus says, the term of endearment slipping out unintentionally. “I can do that.” He grabs a beer from the fridge, holds it out. “Want one?”

You’re a bit flummoxed. “Uh. I have to drive home so, no. Thank you.” 

“Oh. Right. Water, then? A soda?” 

“Water’s fine.” 

He pours you a glass of water and makes his way into the living room. “How was tonight?” he asks. 

You follow him into the living room. “Yeah, it was good. Missy’s a really good kid.” You don’t have to go home right away, so you sit down next to Marcus, switching off the tv. 

“Thanks again for staying late tonight and getting her ready for bed and everything. For everything you do for m– for us.” 

You smile shyly, trying very hard not to notice the way Marcus is sitting very close to you, so close that his thigh is almost touching yours. “It’s no trouble. I like hanging out with Missy. I like this job.” 

Marcus grins. “I’m glad. She really likes you, too.” There’s a pause. “I have this Heroics thing coming up in a few weeks. Sort of a social event, meeting with the Heroics branch in Houston.” 

You nearly choke on your water. “Houston? That’s, like, three hours away.” 

“I know. I’m not really looking forward to it since it’s so far away, but Priya Granada, my boss, says that since I’m stepping up again, I have to go. It’s a few weeks out. I’ll likely stay at the hotel and come back first thing on Friday morning. Mom’s out of town that week so I can’t have Missy sleep over. So I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind staying the night that night? I know it’s not in your job description, and I’d pay you extra, and—”

“Marcus. I’d be happy to. Just tell me when and I’ll be there,” you say, patting him on the knee. Marcus’s hand itches to cover your hand. He looks at your face for a few lingering seconds, wondering how he got so lucky to find you. 

You don’t stay for much longer, since you have an early start tomorrow. Bidding Marcus a goodnight, you head out to your car and wonder the entire ride home if you misread the signs he was giving you tonight.

- - - - 

Before you know it, the day of the Heroics event has arrived. You show up with an overnight bag slung on your shoulder, Alison’s teasing still ringing in your ears. You officially have it bad for your boss. Since the night of his failed date, you’re sure that Marcus might have an attraction for you, too. Either that or your feelings for him are clouding your judgment on reading things. Usually you’re good at reading other people. Even Marcus. You can tell when he’s in a bad mood or frustrated about something. But since that night of his ill-fated date, he’s been giving different signals than you’re used to. 

You’re not uncomfortable with these new signals. Not by any stretch. You just wish you knew what they meant. You like him. A lot. To the point that when you use your vibrator these days, it’s him that you imagine when you close your eyes. 

Marcus is already dressed for the event. “I wish I didn’t have to go,” he laments as he stuffs things haphazardly into his own overnight bag. 

“The joys of PR,” you say drily, knowing very little about said topic. 

He’s left a list of things that need to be done, Missy’s bedtime routine and what time she usually wakes up. It’s Thursday and tomorrow she has school, so she needs to be up at a certain time to catch the bus. 

“The guest bedroom is being renovated,” he rambles, as if forgetting that you’re aware that he’s in the long process of painting the guest bedroom, “and the couch isn’t really that great for sleeping, so you will have to sleep on an air mattress in Missy’s room.

“I’ll figure it out,” you say. 

He kisses Missy on the forehead and tells her to be good. Then he looks at you, and is it just your imagination or do his eyes flicker to your lips for a second? “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

The entire drive to Houston, Marcus thinks about you and Missy when he’s not mentally bitching about this event that he has to go to. The only good thing about it will be the free, catered food, paid for by the Heroics bosses. He supposes it would be nice to meet some of the counterparts, mingle a little bit. And it’ll be the first night in god knows how long that he has to himself. He loves Missy, more than anything or anyone. But he needs a night where he doesn’t have to worry. Doesn’t have to think about getting her ready for bed or anything like that. He wouldn’t trade that in for anything, but having a night to himself is something that he can admit to looking forward to. He only wishes that he had someone — you — to share that with. 

When he arrives at the hotel, he goes up to the front desk. “May I help you, sir?” asks the front-desk girl. Annie, her name tag says. 

“Marcus Moreno here for the Heroics event.” 

Annie types a few keys on her computer. “Very good, Mr. Moreno. The event is being held in the ballroom. Just through that hallway over there, across from the pool and fitness room. Was there anything else, sir?” 

Marcus frowns. “I thought I was also getting a room?” he asks. 

Annie goes into the room bookings page, searches for the name MORENO. “Did you make a reservation?” she asks. 

“My boss was supposed to.” He resists the urge to squeeze the bridge of his nose, not wanting to irritate his stupid contact lenses. “Is there anything available?”

The front-desk girl gives an apologetic look. “I’m afraid not, sir. Between the Heroics event and the hockey tournament this weekend, everything is booked up. I’m sorry.” 

Marcus sighs. It isn't the girl's fault. He should have double checked when he never got a booking confirmation forwarded to him. Made his own reservation and asked Ms. Granada to reimburse him. He offers her what he hopes to be a genuine smile. “It’s fine.” 

He doesn’t relish the idea of driving home at one in the morning, but what else is he supposed to do? Marcus doesn’t really want to spend time looking for hotels. He knows that he wanted a night to himself but at this point, it’s easier to drive home.

He spends the entire night thinking about you when he’s mingling. Not strictly in a, “I wonder how she’s doing and that everything’s going okay” kind of way either. Most people have brought plus-ones to the event. Marcus is one of the few that doesn’t have a date or a spouse with him. He wants that to be different. He’s stayed away from dating for the most part because of Missy’s age and needing to be there for her. Missy will always be his top priority, but he can admit that he’s lonely in other areas of his life. The only time he’s not lonely is the fleeting moments he spends with you. There’s something there with you, something that could turn into the real thing. He doesn’t know how to broach that subject with you. It’s funny. Marcus Moreno, who charges headfirst into life-threatening things with the Heroics, doesn’t know how to tell you how he feels. 

- - - -

The air mattress leaks. As soon as you lie down on it to test it after Missy’s on the bus going to school, it begins to deflate. Not good. By morning time, you know the air mattress will be fully deflated. You can’t sleep on it. It will kill your back. Just like the couch will. It’s soft on the couch, but not in a supportive way. The Morenos need a new couch, something that Marcus is already aware of. 

You fret the entire day. There’s only one solution besides sucking it up. Which is to sleep in Marcus’s bed. It completely crosses the line. If he ever found out, he would fire you, you know he would. But he wouldn’t have to find out. He’d only be back tomorrow in the afternoon. You could easily have the sheets washed and put back on before he even knew. He wouldn’t have to find out. Plus he sprung it on you kind of last second. 

It’ll be fine. 

You go through the motions of taking care of Missy, feeding her, taking her to the park, reading with her. You give her a bath and get her into her jammies before tucking her into bed. It’s early still, so you watch something on low volume on Netflix until a more reasonable time to go to sleep. Getting into your own pajamas, you get into the bed. The idea of sleeping in your boss’s bed is not something you’ve entertained (okay, that’s a bit of a lie, you have entertained that thought, but under a very different context), so it is very bizarre getting into his bed.

You think you’re going to be too wired to sleep, but the scent of his soap and the laundry detergent embedded into the sheets from countless uses and washes soothes you. It’s a great bed. Way better than sleeping directly on the floor. You’d checked the air mattress again after dinner, still in Missy’s bedroom, and it had completely deflated. There’s a leak in there somewhere. You wonder when the last time it was used had been. 

When you wake, it’s still dark. The house is quiet and still, so you have no idea what woke you up. It takes you a minute to remember where you are. Whose bed you are in. There’s movement at the door. You’re still mostly asleep, your voice groggy when you say, “Missy? Is that you?” 

You blink the blurriness out of your eyes and switch on the lamp. It isn’t Missy. “M–Marcus!” You’re fully awake now, panic and embarrassment coursing through you. “What are you–I’m so sorr–”

The rest of your sentence is cut off when Marcus strides across the room to the bed in two strides, rests his large hands on either side of your neck and kisses you. You gasp, not having expected this at all. It’s not an unwelcome surprise, but you’re pretty sure that you might be dreaming. 

Marcus breaks the kiss, panting heavily. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that. Tell me that I’m not misreading things, that the signals are there.” 

Blinking in confusion, you look at him. “You’re not misreading them. I’ve wanted to do that for a while, too, but…” 

Marcus takes your confusion as rejection. “I get it. I’m your boss, it’s inappropriate.” 

You shake your head. “No, that’s not what I was going to say, Marcus. I was going to say, I thought you didn’t want me the same way… the same way that I want you.” 

He actually scoffs. “Are you kidding me? How could I not want you? You’re… amazing. You’re so kind and caring and warm and you’re so good with Missy. I’ve wanted this, wanted you for a very long time. Almost since I met you.” He can’t help himself, he has to kiss you again. “I stayed away because…” 

You understand immediately “I know, that’s why I stayed away too.” 

“I was going to broach the subject later. But then, seeing you in my bed?” Marcus can’t finish that thought; he hopes his hungry kiss is enough to tell you how he feels about that. 

Still, you feel sheepish. “I should have called or texted before assuming. I’m s—”

“It’s fine, bebita. If I'd known you were waiting for me in my bed I would have come home sooner, sweetheart." 

You’re still not sure if you’re dreaming or not. Your breath catches and before you can steady it, he’s kissing you again. You’re almost in his lap. You can feel that he wants you as much as you want him. After months of pent-up tension and pining, you almost snap like an elastic band. 

“Tell me to stop and I will,” Marcus tells you in between kisses. His mouth has moved to your jaw, working a line down to your neck. Every nerve in your body is on fire and you haven’t even done anything yet. The throbbing between Marcus’s legs that you feel pressed against you, combined with your own want for him tells you that that will change soon enough. 

“I don’t want you to stop. Don’t stop,” you tell him. 

Marcus kisses you as he takes off more and more of your sleeping clothes. “You always take such good care of us – of me. Let me take care of you for once.” 

He takes such good care of you. First with his hands and his mouth, not stopping until he knows you’ve gotten what you need, until you are fully and completely satisfied with what his skilled fingers and his deft tongue have done to you. He doesn’t take long before he’s reaching for a condom, something he’s surprised he has in his night table and isn’t expired: it’s been a while. “If you feel uncomfortable at all, please let me know,” he says as he’s easing himself into you. “Tell me to stop and I will,” he repeats. 

You don’t want him to, and you make it clear that you don’t by kissing him, wrapping your legs around him as he settles inside, pulling him as flush to you as possible as he begins to move. “Y’re so fuckin’ pretty,” he murmurs. You’ve always seen Marcus collected, sure of his words. Seeing him run his mouth, stuttering over words as your hips stutter against his is entirely new and entirely endearing to you, seeing how you have an effect on him in this way. “Take what you need, bebita,” he grunts. “Take it, it’s yours.” 

You do, making sure he takes what he needs as well. He kisses you as you work through your respective highs, holding you close. 

“I still got it,” he smirks. 

“I’d say so,” you reply. “Holy shit. Not that I’m complaining, but that’s not how I expected to be woken up at…” you glance at the clock, “four-thirty a.m. I thought you were only staying there?” 

Marcus grumbles. “Long story.” 

You yawn, drowsy after the impromptu events. “What does this mean for…for us? For my job?” 

He kisses your temple. “Sleep, querida. We can talk in the morning.” 

- - - - 

When you wake next, it’s broad daylight. You’re still naked from the events of earlier this morning. The bedsheets are rumpled beside you. You stretch, enjoying the burn in your thighs and the ache between your legs. You have to get up, get Missy to school—

Missy! 

You’re about to bolt out of bed when you see the note on the bedside table, written in Marcus’s boxy script. Don’t worry about Missy, I’m driving her to school. You looked so peaceful sleeping I didn’t want to wake you. x – MM

Stiffly you make your way to the ensuite bathroom to take a shower. You don’t have your overnight bag with you, it’s still in the living room, so you take one of Marcus’s shirts, a green one that you love on him. 

Under the steam of the hot shower, the night’s events play back in your mind’s eye. Had that really happened? Were it not for the burn in your thighs and the ache between your legs, you’d say that it had been a very vivid dream. It feels impossible. 

You’re coming out of the bathroom, damp and dressed in Marcus’s shirt and your jammie pants. He’s carrying two to-go cups of coffee. “Hey,” he says when he sees you, handing you your coffee and following you to the couch in the living room. “Is that my shirt?” 

“It’s mine now.” You both chuckle and then you turn serious. “About last night…” 

Marcus stops you. “I know it’s inappropriate and unconventional, and I want you to know that it’s never been my intent to take advantage of you. So I understand if you feel at all uncomfortable.”

You have a lot to say; it comes out in a bit of a word vomit, but you can’t stop yourself from talking. “Marcus, I don’t feel like you’ve taken advantage of me at all. I know it’s unconventional but I like you. I liked last night. A lot. I like you a lot. I know there’s a bit of an age gap between us and that there is a perceived power imbalance because you’re my boss, but you’ve never made me feel that way. You’ve never exerted that power over me. If I didn’t want to be with you last night, I would have made it clear and told you. I promise.” 

Though Marcus knows that already, knowing you well enough to know that that’s true, he exhales, relief evident in his features. He’s wearing his glasses again; he’d had to wear his contacts last night. He looks more like himself in his glasses. He bends his head and kisses you. “I’m relieved to hear that. I like you too. A lot. I have for a while. I just didn’t know how to tell you without making it weird. Last night just kind of… set things in motion, I guess? I don’t know. I just think that you’re wonderful and I didn’t want to not tell you.” He pauses. “Speaking of which, why were you in there last night?”

You feel warm and fuzzy at the admission before explaining the snafu with the air mattress. “I don’t know how this is going to work with Missy and my job, but if you want to hire a different nanny, that’s totally fine. I just wasn’t expecting you to come back last night. But I’m glad that you did. Very glad.”

Marcus strokes your knuckles with his thumb. “Me too. And we can figure it out. Speaking of Missy, we should let her know what’s going on. At least in a way that’s kid-friendly.” You agree with that, not wanting to confuse the little girl any more than she needs to be. 

“So does that mean I can take you out on a date soon?” he asks after kissing you again. Now that he can do that, he can’t seem to get enough. 

“I’d love to. But we will have to find a nanny,” you tease with a coy smile, excited at the prospect of whatever comes next with Marcus.

The End

#pedro pascal #marcus moreno x reader #marcus moreno x f!reader #we can be heroes #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal character fanfiction #marcus moreno #marcus moreno fanfiction #my fic #my writing

[caramelstarlight]

Wisdoms Matchmaker

I HAVE TOO MANY IDEAS FOR TIGHNARI AAAAAAA-(Sorry for not posting / work I bc on Two Worlds One Heart. Take the next 2 posts as apologies as I haven’t updated it in 5 days :d ) (everything I made is about Tighnari I swear I’m okay I’m just obsessed.)

Summary: Nahida as a matchmaker. (Based on a post I saw and always loved reading it <3 If it’s too similar idm taking it down if they want me too.) (Only for Tighnari bc obsession)

Fluff. (Like the only one I’ll ever do-) Female Reader (I rarely proofread lmao-)

Nahida was strolling in the city, seeing you and Tighnari hanging out. Curious about what the both of you were thinking, she checked your minds.

(How could I fall for her so easily…?) He wondered, a soft smile and gaze at you. Tail swishing slowly in your presence. Ears tall and high. Hearing all what you had to say.

She checked you, hearing your thoughts of lack of self esteem made her feel worried.

(Tighnari wouldn’t love me…I’m sure of it. Why must I harbor these deep feelings for him if I never stood a chance…) Negative thoughts clouded your mind. Keeping up the facade you had, appearing extroverted and happy at all times.

You talked about one of your many hobbies or passions, drawing. From how expressive art can be too how hard it can be to make it perfection.

Later on throughout the day, Nahida gave him some tips about you, such as other hobbies he never knew or your weakness for ears and tails. Sure he knew your gaze had moved towards his ears and/or tail. But a lot of people did.

“You’re very interested in Miss Y/N. I can tell so you don’t have to hide it from me. Don’t worry! I’ll help you win her over.” (Not like you even have competition… she’s so smitten he’s just dense. Vice versa…) She stated and thought, hovering slightly to give him headpats.

“I thought I was discreet about it…” He said, rethinking if he was or wasn’t. “Tighnari, you were slightly easy to read back there. It’s as if… oh! Here’s a good example. A child recovering candy. You were happy and content with them.” She replied back to the male. Waiting to see what else he would ask.

“You see… she has a weakness for anyone with Ears and/or a tail showing. She also loves kind and loyal ones, so you have a lot going for you.” The archon has exclaimed.

“she does?” He questioned, wanting to double-check what he had heard from the archon. “She does.” She repeated with confidence.

She sent both of you dreams of eachother. Giving both of you extreme comfort and joy. She swore she has never seen happier expressions of people in dreams. Heck, Tighnaris tail was wagging ecstatically. While you hugged your other pillow. Seemingly content.

The next day, she went to Gandharva Ville. Wanting to see if anything blossomed between you two. Silently waiting for you to arrival.

Watching your interaction behind a tree (Yandere simulator courtship be like:) Seeing it went smoothly as she had hoped. Thoughts intruded her mind, clouding it in negativity. She wondered if she could’ve possibly ruined it. But she never did. It only strengthened.

Seeing you together at Pupsa with many of your friends. Observing everyone. Reading yours and his mind after one another. Confirming she had brought you together.

apparently the both of you had announced to your friends you were official earlier that day, which is why the gathering was held.

She’s spy on both of you with cynos help for around a week. Her schedule was cleared up as of that time. Both of them slightly fangirling over you both. They made sure to be extra quiet though. As your boyfriends hearing was of course extended.

After a week of observation. She confirmed the relationship would hold for an eternity. Not worrying about what could happen in the future. Which of course it did.

Both of you remained faithful to one another but she could still see the pain of separation on you. The one who was the more clingy as he was the more calm. (Clingy in private no doubt)

She wondered on how to destroy that pain that aches in both of your minds. Coming up with a plan that made it more bearable.

Why not have eachother get little gifts for one another that you could both take? She told both of you telepathically. Once he returned home to you, he saw you had drew a few pictures of him and you. Noticing your little plushy of him as a fennec fox. He questioned you as of why it was there. You had sewn it for yourself. Giving him a plushy of you in exchange, as a (Favorite animal) / Fennec fox. Matching his perfectly.

You even gave him an a little keychain of a fennec fox face and flowers. While In return he got you accessories and flowers that reminded him of you.

Nahida had successfully matchmaked you and Tighnari. For that relationship would become a blossom for eternity. It has sprouted its roots and is now a bud. Waiting for the moment that initiated the bond for life. (Aka marriage WOOO-)

(Making another Tighnari story soon. Bc I’m bored of waiting for requests on tumblr ❤️)

Bonus: You two would adopt collei AAAA! Making sure to take care of her and supporting the young girl.

#sumeru #genshin tighnari #tighnari #tighnari x reader #tighnari fluff #tighnari x female reader #tighnari x you #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #dendro #Nahida #collei

[exitpursuedbyavulcan]

The Silver Dragon (37/?)

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Original Female Character

Word Count: 2666

Story Summary: Lady Arianwyn Targaryen, the Lady of Runestone, was seeded by her father, the Rogue Prince Daemon Targaryen, in an act of unbridled hatred, and borne of her mother, the late Lady Rhea Royce, as a desperate grasp at revenge.

Ignored by her father, and alone following the death of her mother, she is raised in King’s Landing alongside her cousin, Prince Aemond Targaryen. As they grow, the two find themselves indelibly bonded. But their lives are far from the fairy tales they read, and as tensions in the family rise, they find their paths may diverge.

Will they be pulled apart when the dragons dance?

Chapter Summary: Chaos erupts at the coronation and Princess Rhaenys, mounted on her dragon, Meleys, bursts from beneath the floor of the Dragonpit.

Warnings: none

Series Masterlist

Taglist: @thelittleswanao3 @trap-house-homiecide @50svibes @literishdegree99 @dc-marvel-girl96 @henriettadreaming @multiple-fandoms-girl @gyuxmilk @somemydayy @kittykylax @whore-of-many-hot-men @slavicvvitch @crazymusicgirl104

(Please let me know if your tag isn't working, and I'll do my best to correct it! And if you would like to be added to the list, just shoot me an ask!)

Author's Note: I know this one was a little bit short, but I hope y'all enjoyed it still!

And I forgot to mention this on the last chapter, and although I edited it in later, I'll still mention it again: The first Daemon POV is up! It's posted under the title "Silver Dragon Stories." That unfortunately won't be updated as often as this, but I am trying to keep it in chronological order. Please let me know if there are any POVs y'all are really interested in!

The Beast Beneath the Boards

Arianwyn had never seen anyone move so fast as Aemond did to protect her from the eruption of dust and stone that came from within the Dragonpit itself. He pulled her back with the hand he still held, away from the wave of debris as he turned to wrap his arms around her, tucking her head into his chest as he shielded her with his body.

Even still, the dust made its way through, and she began to cough. Just as she had in the tunnel at Driftmark.

The sound sent Aemond into a panic. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. He pulled away and took her face in his hands. “Aria!” he called, brushing her hair from her brow. “Aria, you have to breathe. Please!”

She took a shaky breath, coughing again as she exhaled. His blood boiled with fury, but before he could react, her eyes grew wide, and she pointed over his shoulder. “Aemond, look!”

Then he turned, and he saw.

The floor of the Dragonpit had been broken from below, scattering great hunks of stone into the helpless crowd. Light streamed through the dust that still hung in the air like a storm, casting a gleaming gold around the shape of the great red beast before them.

Meleys.

The dragon roared, the sound drowning out all the screams – from the onlookers in the stands who could do nothing but watch to the poor, helpless souls trapped in the arena with the ‘Red Queen.’

A gasp came from their left, and a hand wrapped around Arianwyn’s arm.

It was Helaena, leaning in to take shelter behind her brother. Her violet eyes were wide but not with terror. No, the familiar fog that Arianwyn was beginning to find even more terrifying than what was before them had once more taken root.

She opened her mouth to speak some frightening new prophecy. Yes, Arianwyn thought, that’s what they were – prophecies. But a new roar filled the Dragonpit, scattering the dust and sending Helaena’s hands flying to cover her ears.

Aemond’s hand shifted around Arianwyn’s waist as he held her in place while he turned to face the beast before them. “Stay back, my love,” he whispered, his voice somehow cutting through the din as he moved his hand to the hilt of his sword.

They both watched in horror as Meleys swept her tail through the crowd, throwing some men dozens of feet through the air while others fell into the dragon dens below. Those that had thus far evaded the dragon ran anywhere they could – to the walls of the arena, the dozens of alcoves surrounding it, or to the only open door on the eastern wall, the same one they had been forced through not long before.

Arianwyn prayed the dust would never settle, so she would not have to see the bodies that now doubtlessly lay strewn across the sand of this place she loved so dearly.

And though it was hopeless, she prayed that the figure atop the dragon was somehow not its sworn rider.

But there she emerged from the settling sand. Princess Rhaenys.

Arianwyn pressed her forehead into Aemond’s back as she squeezed her eyes shut. Perhaps when she opened them again, she would wake from this nightmare.

She had seen her cousin only the day before. Though their conversation had not been pleasant, by any definition of the word, she thought they had come to an understanding.

“Daemon could not be King.”

Surely Rhaenys agreed. She knew Daemon had killed Rhea. That he had all but killed Laena by denying her the home she so desperately wanted. That he had conspired with that soldier to kill Laenor and free himself to marry Rhaenyra.

It had been Rhaenys who showed Arianwyn the secret passages of the Red Keep. Who begged her to use them, to run as far as she could from her father. And it was she who had been glad when she disobeyed and married Aemond.

Yet Arianwyn could not deny what was before her eyes.

Otto began bellowing for the gold cloaks to open the bronze doors of the Dragonpit, though whether they could hear him over the screams of the fleeing crowd was doubtful.

Meleys took a lumbering step toward the dais. Rhaenys sat proudly astride her dragon, clad in armor the same blood red as Meleys’ scales. With cold eyes, she surveyed all those atop the dais.

The Septons and Septas cowered, clutching their holy relics.

The Hand stood tall. But, for the first time that Arianwyn had ever seen, he had fear in his eyes.

Ser Criston Cole stared in awe as he was pushed toward Helaena. All his training and discipline disappeared as he stared into the face of an enemy he could not fight.

Alicent, the now Dowager Queen. Who did not cower but ran forward to stand in front of her son, shielding him even when she knew it would do nothing to protect him from dragonfire.

Aegon clung to her as if the thought of dying in his mother’s arms was a comfort, not a tragedy.

The new Queen, Helaena, was not afraid. Instead, she smiled slightly, holding out a hand to calm Meleys as if she were a startled horse who simply needed to hear soothing words, and all would be well.

Rhaenys’ look of detached contemplation only wavered when she turned to Aemond and Arianwyn.

His right hand was on his sword, ready to draw, while his left held her pressed against his back. It was nearly the same stance he had taken only a few days prior, when he held her in his arms in that secluded courtyard after Vaemond Velaryon’s murder.

Just as then, Arianwyn held onto him with all her strength, one hand clutching the side of his waist and the other on his atop the hilt of his blade.

She knew if she removed her hand from his, there would be very little to stop him from attacking. He loved her so much that he would face a dragon armed only with his sword to defend her.

“Aemond…” she whispered, wresting his fingers from his blade and lacing them through her own. He instantly squeezed her hand so hard her breath faltered. She didn’t know what to say. Would these be her last words? The last thing she would ever say, and the last thing he would ever hear?

There was nothing to say. They had already said it all. Their souls were as one, and always would be. As she buried her face in his shoulder with a whimper, she prayed that wherever the gods sent them next, they would be together.

She heard the great intake of breath that always preceded dragonfire and braced herself for what would come next.

Nothing.

No fire. No great jaws closing around them. Not even a roar.

Arianwyn looked back up and locked eyes with her cousin.

Rhaenys did not look like a prisoner or a conqueror. And certainly not like a kinslayer. Rather, she looked sadly upon Arianwyn, then Alicent, the look almost an apology.

Then the Queen Who Never Was turned her dragon away and took flight.

The last thing they saw before the doors slammed shut was Meleys tucking in her wings and emerging into the sunlight.

-

“Aria? Aria, please open your eyes,” Aemond begged.

To his great relief, she did. It took a moment for her to adjust to the low light, and he watched every movement of her pupils as she did. At least there, he found nothing of concern.

But he was not yet satisfied. He ran his hands over her hair, clearing it of as much dust and sand as he could, feeling for injuries along the way. Nothing there either.

Carefully, he pulled aside her cloak, examining the bruises on her neck. Though the sight still sparked a murderous rage within him, he was comforted that there were no new wounds.

Arianwyn finally seemed to realize what he was doing and held his hands to prevent him from continuing his examination. “I’m fine, Aemond.”

“You couldn’t breathe.”

“What are… of course, I could.”

“You were coughing.”

“There was dust, my love,” she almost laughed as she smiled at him, running her thumb across the back of his hand to calm him. “It was only dust.”

He sighed and nodded, pulling her into his chest. Of course, it had only been dust. He was panicking needlessly, his mind again betraying him as it brought him back to his worst memories.

Arianwyn was safe. She was safe. She was safe.

“Aemond?” she asked quietly.

“Yes?”

She hesitated, then asked tremblingly, “Is it very bad?”

He did not have to ask what she meant.

Helaena still stood with her hands covering her ears, while everyone else on the dais gathered together before the altar. The Hand, the members of the Small Council, the Dowager Queen, and even the new King himself all argued with raised voices about what to do next. Only Cole had abandoned the debate to direct the guards within the Dragonpit.

The Dragonkeepers were already running about the arena as if possessed. Acolytes hurried to light the lanterns lining the walls while the Elders hurried to the dragon dens below. The few guards – gold cloaks and Targaryen house guards alike – slowly began making their way through the rubble, their torches illuminating the broken bodies of the dead and wounded.

Far worse than the sight of the devastation were the sounds that echoed through the Dragonpit. Shrieks of terror. Screams of pain. Cries of grief. Desperate shouts for the doors to be reopened. Even the dragons below had started to stir, disturbed by the frantic emotions that roiled from within their home.

Aemond turned back to his wife, kissing her still dusty hair. “I don’t think you want to look.”

She seemed to agree, until there came a sound he could not identify. A wordless, bleating wail. Arianwyn’s head shot up, looking out into the arena for its source. She moved as soon as she seemed to see it, leaving Aemond to chase after her.

Thankfully, her Runestone guards also spotted her movement and raced from where they had scattered within the Dragonpit to come to her side.

Aemond was nearly entranced. She was singularly focused on whatever had made that sound, stepping over the wounded and dead without ever looking down. He knew her heart must ache with the desire to help every person she passed, but whatever this sound was, it was somehow more important than even that.

She finally stopped before the arena wall, in one of the few places the Acolytes had not yet lit the lanterns. But each of her guards carried a torch, their flames revealing the source of the pitiful sound.

It was the sheep. The same one she had pointed out to him before the coronation began.

Its white wool was covered with dust and spattered with blood. The short fur on its face was entirely red, the stain growing deeper and darker as it continued to push into the bleeding side of the man who had been protecting it earlier.

It was trying to wake him. But there was no hope.

Oh gods, the poor man. A piece of the shattered floor had embedded itself in his chest with such force that he was thrown against the wall, cracking his skull. Aemond prayed that whichever blow had killed him had done so quickly.

Arianwyn fell at the shepherd’s feet, lurching forward as she vomited at the gruesome sight. “I’m so sorry,” she cried, over and over and over again as she was wracked with sobs.

Aemond could not tell whether she was speaking to the shepherd or the sheep. He knelt beside her, guiding her back into his arms. “We can’t stay here, Aria. It’s not safe.”

She shook her head, pulling away from him. “They didn’t want to be here,” she choked out through her tears. “They were forced to come. And now they’re dead. Now he’s alone.”

Her hand was extended towards the sheep, who backed away further into the wall, the rejection causing another sob to pulse through her.

One of her guards – one of the new ones that Aemond did not know – also knelt between them and the sheep on the sand. He had a long, gaunt face and deep-set brown eyes. Had he not been wearing the bronze armor of Runestone, Aemond would have been reluctant to trust him.

The guard looked pensively at Arianwyn’s face, then the sheep. “It is not a ‘he,’ Princess,” he said, his voice softer than his appearance would suggest. “She is a ewe, a female.”

He leaned toward the creature, which did not cower at his outstretched hand. On the contrary, it seemed to calm at his touch, allowing him to run his hand over her ears until he found a small iron stud. He examined it carefully before turning back to the small crowd around him. But his focus was entirely on the Princess.

“She is from a wool herd,” he explained. “A small one, I expect. I would know its brand otherwise.”

“How do you know?” Aemond asked, curious even as he was grateful that the guard had helped to calm Arianwyn.

He seemed surprised the Prince would address him. Lowborn, then. But if Ser Gerold had assigned him to Arianwyn, he had to be good.

“My father has one of the largest herds in the Vale,” he said. “That is, among those not owned by a noble house. I grew up with sheep. They are fine creatures. I actually–”

“Where is the rest of her herd?” Arianwyn asked, still holding her hand out to the sheep. “I don’t want it to be alone, Conin.”

The guard – Ser Conin of the Sheep, apparently – smiled sadly as he turned back the ewe. “That, I cannot say, Princess. I can try to find them, but if this is their shepherd…” he looked again to the corpse of the man before them.

Aemond said a prayer for the shepherd’s soul. He did not know his name or anything about him other than that he had valiantly protected his sheep from the surging crown. Still, that was enough to admire him.

He finished his prayer and pulled Arianwyn closer. She did not fight him this time.

“Please find them,” she commanded with a whisper. “Find out who he was and if he has any family. Make sure they are compensated for this loss. Generously.”

“Yes, Princess,” Conin said before standing to speak in hushed tones with another Runestone knight.

Arianwyn stood, with Aemond’s hand to keep her steady, and began walking back to the dais. This time, she saw the devastation before them and leaned heavily into him as they made their way through the bodies. He knew if he pulled his arms from around her, she would be unable to stop herself from trying to help each person she saw.

He never let go of her. Not as he led her up the stairs, nor as he embraced Helaena as they passed her by, nor as they took their place within the debate that was still raging. Even when they returned to their carriage – the Kingsguard had insisted the discussion continue in the safety of the Red Keep’s walls – he held onto her, sitting by her side rather than across from her.

Yesterday, she had stayed with him even as his mind carried him far away. He knew he would never be able to do the same for her – she was stronger than he was, she would never be so broken as him. But whenever she did need him, whether it be to dry her tears or hold her when she cried, he would be there.

Even if it meant fighting a dragon, or kneeling in the sand with her while she cried over a bloody sheep.

Next Chapter

#aemond fanfic #aemond targaryen imagine #aemond targaryen fanfic #aemond targaryen #aemond #aemond fluff #aemond imagine #aemond one eye #aemond the kinslayer #aemond x reader #aemond x you #hotd aemond #house of the dragon aemond #prince aemond #prince aemond targaryen #aemond x y/n #aemond x oc #aemond x fem!reader #the silver dragon #house of the dragon imagine #house of the dragon fanfic #house of the dragon #hotd x reader #hotd fanfic #hotd #ewan mitchell

[heich0e]

wait if you said that you're gonna stop the oopsy baby series 'for now' are you implying that you're gonna continue it at some point in the future or....? 🤨

I've gotten way more asks about this than I expected, and I won't reply to them all to spare your dash (since they mainly address the same things) but in the interest of transparency here are the highlights:

1. Are you going to continue the mini megumi series? /post any other parenthood fics?

I honestly don't know. I was going to add more to this reply but I've just been staring at the screen for like 10 minutes.

2. Why?

A couple of reasons, but if I'm being really honest I saw a lot of mutuals (who I sincerely like and respect, present tense) posting about how much they dislike parenthood/pregnancy fics and how sick they make them feel and it just didn't feel good.

I want to be really really clear that I TRULY and wholeheartedly believe that everyone is entitled to like what they like, and dislike what they dislike. But the problem is that when you express those opinions while disparaging the people whose opinion are different from yours, or if you choose to be vocal about your dislike of something when you see someone enjoying it, it can be really hurtful. It made me feel uncomfortable about continuing the series if I knew people felt that way and I was possibly upsetting them.

3. Is it because of the "exclusionary" ask?

No! This all happened before I received (or at least saw) that ask. And while I do completely and totally understand where that anon was coming from, and I support them 100% in sharing that very valid criticism with me, the fic probably wouldn't have changed because of it—though I would have started putting a tag in the updates alerting readers to the fact that Kota is described at multiple points throughout the story as being identical to Megumi in case it was sensitizing/alienating/in any way offensive to them.

The inspiration for the fic was that a child who is virtually identical to him shows up at his doorstep, and the entire series is predicated on that idea. I should have made that much clearer at the outset and I really apologize for my oversight and to anyone who I hurt by being careless in that way. I have since gone back and edited each instalment to feature a warning about this in the header, and hope that people who will feel excluded by this plot point can make whatever decision feels best for them in regards to engaging with the fic!

4. I don't like you.

Me neither.

5. I love parenthood fics and I think you should keep writing them.

I also like parenthood fics, and I think they're fun to write! And this is coming from someone who isn't even sure they ever want to have kids themselves. But sort of nodding back to point 2, I don't want to post any kind of fic that people who i consider friends begin vocally posting about disliking. Especially because I really don't follow that many people, so when every third post on my dash is dunking on the trope I'm actively posting about, it just makes me feel kind of sad and unwelcome.

This is absolutely NOT intended to be an indirect/vague about those moots, and if you're reading this I hope you know that I mean that from the BOTTOM of my heart. They are JUST as entitled to this space as I am, and I am in no way at all trying to impose myself and my opinions onto them. I just don't know how to filter anti-trope content from my user experience without inadvertently also filtering the content I DO want to see, and if I'm being honest I just don't think it's not worth losing mutuals who I really like over.

I'm saying all of this with nothing but love, and I hope that no one is too upset about it. I'm sorry if you were enjoying the series and now aren't sure about its future. I'm sorry if me expressing the way I was hurt makes you feel bad too. I'm really logging off now for a bit, and I hope you all take care of yourselves!! Be good, sending love, talk soon <3

#liv got mail #i apologize if i'm being dramatic! life is already hard and i just don't need to feel this way about a hobby! #kiss kiss kiss kiss #love u big #tw parenthood #tw pregnancy

[manchurian-barnes]

Coffee Shop Blues and Reds Part One (Peter Parker X F! Reader)

Post NWH - Collage Peter!

Busy nights filled with college course work, leads to late nights in a crappy coffee shop, the only perk? Friendly neighbourhood company.

To keep updated heres the Series Masterlist and for my other works, you can find My Masterlist Here!

The longer you stared at the screen the more the words on it started to dance around. Holy fuck. You thought, rubbing your eyes with the palms of your hands harder than you probably should have been until you saw multicoloured stars. You looked at the clock ticking on the wall. Half past midnight. Honestly it was your preferred time to crunch essays out, you knew it was unhealthy, but the habit had formed between the ungodly hours you worked in this shitty diner and the ungodly amount of work your lecturer deemed necessary. Standing up you hobbled to the counter. Ignoring the ding of the door swinging open. "Uhm, can you just give me...enough coffee to stay up for like...the rest of the semester?" You yawned and let out a semi-fake laugh. It was a joke. Kind of. A chuckle behind you shook you out of your half-asleep state. "I felt that." A male voice chirped.

You didn't turn around, god knows you didn't need some weirdo talking to you at this time of night. taking the little paper cup and just sitting back down, staring out the window instead of at your laptop. You could basically feel the eyes on you, turning to look at the guy. He couldn’t of been much older than you, if he was older at all, his face was gentle, he looked kind and his eyes (much like yours) were tired and semi-hollow. He was cute, seemingly harmless, and he sat down at the table behind you. "Start of a shift or the end?" You dared to ask him. "Ha, end of a shift." he moved in his chair, shifting his whole body to look at you, his eyebrow quirked up a bit as he caught site of your laptop. "Are you writing an essay?" He seemed to be in a bit of disbelief, "At this hour?" He followed up quickly. Peter hadn’t really talked to anyone for...a while. He bit his lip and looked at his cup, sipping as he waited for a response. "Yeah, my lecturer is an absolute asshole, who finds it appropriate to throw pretty much everything he possibly can at me." Your voice was soft, cheeky in nature, making him share the grin you gave him.

"Sooooo...do you have a name?" you asked him. That smile, his smile, it was a sight of sore eyes. "P-Peter-" he stammered as he barely finished a sip. He cringed at himself. "I'm Peter, Parker-" His hand shot up, ready for a handshake. Which you gave him, holding his hand tight. Before letting go. "Y/n. Y/l/n." You told him gently. Shifting in your seat as he stood up and then sat down at your table. "Sorry-am I being presumptuous? I just thought, easier to have a conversation when you're not craning your neck." He chuckled a bit. He was awkward, but, he honestly made it work for himself. "So… How was your night?" You gave him another smile; it filled him up with a warmth. "Uh...crazy, crazy night actually." He couldn't tell you the truth but, he had a run in with a guy in a mechanised rhino costume and had been flung from the side of the building. His whole body ached but getting to share a coffee with a pretty girl was sort of taking his mind off all that. "...Crazy huh?" You eyed the camera he had hanging at his side. He flipped into cover-up mode, "Oh this-yeah I’m a photographer, a crime photographer-" "crime photographer, as in, you follow the cops around all night?" You were quick, interested in what he was telling you. His job sounded full of danger, even if he was just taking photos, "No wonder you're so tired." "I don't follow the cops, I uh, actually I follow Spider-Man." He explained, it was easier to be...semi-truthful, it saved on slip ups.

You smiled a bit more at the mention of the masked hero. He'd been around in the city for so long, had a big reputation and you were a fan of his. Your hands cupped your coffee a bit tighter, and you hummed at the warmth. "He's so freaking cool..." You let out quietly. He smiled wider at that, it was always nice to hear someone saying nice things about him...especially when his boss was the biggest spreader of horrible and false information. "He's alright I guess." Peter hid the grin with another sip of coffee, he felt more awake.

"He uh...He saved my mom's life." You told him. His eyes went wide, no matter how hard he tried to deny, NCY was small - at least to the guy who could swing around it in a few hours. "Really?!" He asked you. You shrugged just a bit, "It was a long time ago...she was on that ferry-" "Spider-Man didn't save anyone-" "Are you kidding me? Have you seen the news footage of it all? If he hadn't been there to slow it down, Iron Man couldn't have gotten there in enough time to help!" You argued right back at him, you felt kind of passionate about the webslingers good nature. "Don't tell me you believe all the shit that Jameson guy says-" I-I actually work for-" He started, and he laughed as you groaned. "No Peter! I was just starting to like you!" You raised your hands. Covering up your face. He laughed and placed a hand on his chest, "I'm sorry! Money is money, even if I disagree with his messages." He laughed as he spoke.

"How do I get you to like me again?" he asked gently. Your cheeks flushed into a deep red. "...maybe if you gave your number." You said, biting your lip a little. "So, you can harass me about my employer?" He chuckled again, eyes a lot brighter, a hell of a lot brighter than when you'd first seen them. "Exactly." You whispered. He downed the rest of his cup, and then wrote his number on the side of it, after flattening it. He passed it across the table to you as he stood. "Use it whenever you want to." He told you. Moving to go, with a wave as he passed by you in the window.

He barely got down the street before his phone pinged.

You seriously work for the spider-man basher?

He grinned. This was the start of something.

End Of Part One - Part Two!

If you enjoy the series and are curious to see more of my works you can find them on My Masterlist!

#peter parker imagine #peter parker reader insert #peter parker x reader #peter parker #spiderman imagine #spider-man #spider-man x reader #marvel reader insert #marvel imagines #marvel fanfiction #marvel masterlist #marvel x reader #mcu x reader #mcu imagine #mcu reader insert #peter parker fic #peter parker soft

[chihoshisai]

A Desire to Live

Pairing : Snape x you / genre : angst, fluff, hurt-(no)comfort (depends on the chapter), (dark) comedy

summary : Everyone knows not to defy a Death Eater for murder is all that awaits them. You found yourself treating one in the intimacy of your home. Severus Snape, recently injured. Thankfully he let you live out of gratitude yet ironically, you couldn't help but to cling to someone who brought death and disaster on their path in order to ensure your survival.

A/N : This is only a part of chapter 1 which is around 3.1K words and I felt it was a bit too long to post on tumblr and didn't want to break it down into parts like my other fic. If this sneak peak interests you, you can continue reading here on ao3 !! There are a couple of chapters uploaded already. If you're waiting for a lonely flower amidst a garden update no you did not see this

word count : 1738

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

You had just finished a good reading session. This is what you liked the most about living in the countryside, endless fields, nature and most importantly a well deserved suspension of the usual buzzing sound that came from cities and human interactions. Even if everything was far from you, the peace and quiet from your surroundings made up for it. As you held your book loosely by your side, you saw a figure covered in dark clothing limp in the distance, clutching their lower abdomen. You slowed down, now hesitantly putting one foot before the other. Thanks to Voldemort, the entire wizarding world lived in darkness, fear and chaos now overtaking every citizen. Being wary of anyone outside of family members and close friends was now the norm. The fact that you were adventuring outside was already dangerous. Except that you lived in such a recluse area that it never crossed your mind that danger would come, until you saw that black figure hobble in the direction opposite yours. 

The source of your worries collapsed on the ground. Rather than feeling relieved, you felt panic surge inside you. You rushed over the individual to see a puddle of  blood forming around the body. Long black hair, as dark as the robe he wore, the figure indicated that of a man. You kneeled before him, careful not to soil yourself in the pool of blood. 

“Are you alright?!” You raised your free hand towards him, as he groaned for an answer causing you to stop in your tracks. You could tell by the amount of blood spilling that it was only a matter of time before this man was at death’s door.

 “Damn it.” Forget about the dark times and being wary of strangers, there was a person about to die in front of you and if anything, enough of them had died already. With enough luck, this might just be an Auror and you could be rewarded handsomely if you saved his life. You carefully threw your book a few feets away from you, making a mental note to come back for it later whilst you grabbed the now unconscious man by the arms before disapparating so as to appear in front of your house. 

You struggled to open the door. In fact you struggled as you dragged him all the way to your room. Thankfully your little cottage only had one floor. With difficulty, you took off his robe and his shirt revealing the true nature of his wound and most importantly, the Death Eater mark on his arm. You backed away, an almost inaudible shriek escaping your lips. You stared at the man in pain with horror as you debated what the correct course of action was.   

“Lily…”  

The unexpected wailing brought you back to your senses. Having regained consciousness, you saw the eyes of the man fixated upon you, sweat dripping all over his face while his eyes reflected tenderness, seemingly at the thought of mistaking you for someone else. You remained motionless. Right, these people also have loved ones. And right now it seemed to you that your only chance of survival was to play it off as his while the misunderstanding lasted. 

“I’m glad you’re here.” He panted, and winced in pain, making you feel bad for him. Slightly. 

“I don’t think you should speak.” You could feel your palm getting sweaty by the second. Whatever happened to him, he probably deserved it being a Death Eater and all but still, seeing a man at death’s door in your room didn’t leave you indifferent. 

“I know. I simply wanted to tell you–” He coughed, spitting blood. You twitched at the sight of yet more gore sullying your neatly polished room. 

God no. It sounded like the last words of a man ready to die. “I told you not to speak. I won’t let you die.” You reluctantly said. Your mind had made a decision, but your body refused to cooperate. 

“I see. If it’s not too much trouble then, I’m in your care.” He gave you a smile that seemed to cost him all his energy, before he turned his gaze to the ceiling. 

You stood there for a while. It took a lot of willpower for your body to finally move. You knew you were heading to an early grave, yet you couldn’t find a way out of this. If you left him alone, his death would weigh on your mind for the rest of your life and if he lived well, at least you felt satisfied with the number  of books you had the chance to read.

As you exited the room, you wondered if his wand was in his robe you just took off or hidden somewhere in his pants. You shuddered at the thought. You fetched a bucket of water along with multiple towels, alcohol, bandages and painkillers. You steeled your nerves as you were about to reenter the room, ready to lay hands on one of the most wanted criminals. If anyone were to learn of your forthcoming actions, Azkaban would most likely be the outcome.  

You treated him with caution, thanks to your love for books, you had gathered knowledge on the matter. Yet, your hands remained uncertain and his simple movements were enough to make you whimper in fear. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to take notice of it.  

“Do you remember the day we first met?” 

Nope. 

You clutched the bandages tightly in your hands as you wrapped them around his wound, having helped him into a sitting position with much difficulty. “Yeah.” You made sure not to meet his gaze, and prayed he didn’t ask for the exact circumstances. Dammit, why couldn’t he just stay silent?

“I feel like I’m meeting you again for the first time. Weird isn’t it.” His voice sounded less painful thanks to your medical attention yet was still that of a wounded man. 

You gave a nervous laugh in response. What nonsense was this man saying? You wanted to run out of the room as quickly as possible. So you did.

“Alright, I’m done.” You helped him lay down before adding, “I’m gonna get these cleared out.” You grabbed the bucket and handful of other things you brought along with you. Walked to the door with such speed while saying just as quickly, “do call me if you need anything.” You shutted the door behind you knowing damn well he couldn’t properly call for you in the position he was in. 

“I’m doomed.” The thought of death didn’t scare you, hence why you merely sighed as you made your way to the bathroom, before taking in the full impact of the blood trail this individual had left on your floor whilst you dragged him around. Suddenly death by the hands of a Death Eater seemed like the least of your concern as you quickly grabbed all you needed to disinfect your cottage.      

Evening’s colors started creeping from the windows, soon announcing the dread and fear that nighttime now brought for everyone. This made you remember that one of those instigators of nightmares was now residing in your chamber. You grabbed a couple bandages on the way, thinking his might need a change. As you opened the door to your room, you found him in a sitting position. This will make things easier, you thought. Except that you noticed the gentle gaze he had before was now replaced by a dangerous glare. 

You stood in the doorframe. “Your bandages need to be changed.” You mechanically said. 

“Right.” He said in a manner just audible enough. “Do come over then.”

You carefully walked, taking notice of the wand that rested in his right hand, ready to attack at any given moment. You also noticed that his robe weren’t how you previously left them. So his wand was in his robe all this time. Nonetheless, you cursed yourself for not taking it back with you earlier. You consoled yourself by thinking that anyone gutsy enough who isn’t an Auror trying to defy a Death Eater is delusional. Better listen and execute their request than risk dying. 

You took care of him with steady hands, now more careful than ever not to hurt him. He remained silent, simply doing motions with his thumb on his wand, as a reminder. 

That you were at his mercy.

That you could die at any moment. 

“You’re a bad person aren’t you?” A stupid question to ask really, but the silence was making you suffocate. 

“It depends.” He said.

“On what?” Now you were starting to play with fire and you knew it.

“On you.” He gave you a glance and you instantly understood what he meant. He would let you go if you didn’t cross any line. What a relief. 

“Oh. But do tell me your name then.” You ignored the warning look he gave you. “I’m not going to sell you out or something. If I wanted to do so I would've done it by now rather than save you. I’d just like to know the name of the Death Eater I had the fortune to save.” You introduced yourself first, thinking it would make him more eager to tell his name. 

Yet, he remained silent as you finished treating his wound. He put his clothes back on with difficulty, refusing your help as you stepped away from him. You felt a sense of relief seeing that he was finally about to leave. He crossed the room to reach for the door. “You will speak of this to no one. Understand?” 

You nodded in approval. 

He gave you a last glance, just as he was about to close the door behind him. “The name’s Severus Snape.”  

Your knees gave up and you stumbled on the floor. Severus Snape huh? You certainly would remember him for the rest of your life. You felt your heart pumping in your head, despite the reassurance that your life was now free of danger, while also taking deep breaths so as to calm yourself. You distracted yourself by an intense cleanout of your room, refusing to sleep in the eventuality that he might come back to claim your life. This was the biggest incident to ever happen in your existence after the death of your parents, as you hoped it would be the last anomaly in your little country girl life. 

#harry #harry potter oneshot #hoshi fic #harry potter fanfic #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter fandom #severus #snape #severus x you #severus snape #professor snape #severus snape x reader #ao3 #read on ao3 #ao3 fanfic #ao3 link #ao3 harry #hurt/ #hurt/comfort #hurt/angst #hurt/no #hurt/no comfort

[aikoiya]

Hello, this post idea is something you probably have to take time to think of because of your big supernatural idea and lore stuff for this Danny Phantom AU (also the GIW comes to Amity Park WAY later then canon.)

One day in Amity Park just after Phantom stopped a ghost attack ( again), Danny is at Nasty Burger with his friends and while they are talking about the new DOOMED update they heard screaming as they look out the window and saw a giant glowing wave moving through Amity Park quickly and the people that got touched by the wave either turn into a monster or suddenly uncontrollably have magic, team phantom doesn't even have a moment to plan when the wave suddenly went through Nasty Burger and people got turned, Tucker turned into (any Egyptian monster that you think fit tucker the best) and Sam suddenly have the power when she was controlled by Undergrowth and Danny.... Actually Danny feels like nothing changed for him, while everyone is distracted by their change Danny stealthy go ghost and went to his house and hoping that his family is spared by the wave and his hope is fulfilled in that his family doesn't even change. While Danny is glad that his family is still normal (for a ghost hunters) but he is wondering about WHAT CAUSED THIS WAVE TO HAPPENED.

Meanwhile in the town next to Amity Park (not going to use the town random generator today) deep in the abandoned mansion basement in front of a dead curse god ( I am only using the random generator for name, you could find a god name that specialized in curses) there are 3 teenagers who killed that god.

The teen with a magical sword: At last, if the ritual is right, there is enough anti curse energy to cure my sister from that awful curse and redirect it back to that god.

The teen with a crossbow: Umm Rodney? Do you think what could happen if anyone notices a wave of energy moving fast?

Rodney Torres: Oh don't worry Joshua, the intended duration of the wave is this town and the town around it and people will not remember it if they are not cured of curses or saw a person uncursed in front of their eyes.

The teen with a flying drone named Michael White: But what if there are lots of people who got uncursed at the same time?

Rodney: don't worry, unless the Town next over is filled with unknowingly cursed people, we are fine. (Unfortunately Amity Park is full of cursed people.)

Tldr Amity Park is full of people who have a monster who cursed to be human or a witch who has their magic locked by a curse in their family line and in this au curse are in the bloodline until uncursed by the being who cursed them (or a ritual that requires a dead curses god energy) and I want to know (you don't have to do most of the named characters) what kind of monsters or mages are some of them?

(note. The people who are not cursed when the anti curse wave hits are the Fentons, Dash Baxter because of my belief that jock can never be a real monster just bullies at worst, Valerie Gray, and Vlad Master. Also when Danny went to Clockwork for an answer, all he got is "the god of curses is dead for a ritual to save a person's sister from a deadly curse which also punished the curser for their actions" and a direction for the town that where the curses god died)

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I'm guessing that these are characters made up?

I was a bit lost for a while.

But it's an interesting idea.

For Sam, I was thinking her being a sorceress with powers similar to a mix of what she had as Plant Sam & Raven's sort of shadowy powers from Teen Titans.

Tucker, I see him becoming a werewolf, but rather than the traditional werewolf, I'm thinking he'd have a more jackal-like appearance.

I'm also thinking about Paulina being turned into a Veela from HP. It sort of fits her.

I'm not sure about the others, though. It might take me a bit of time for those.

#danny phantom #dp #supernatural lore

[tomtenadia]

Thicker Than Blood - 24

Here we are with another update. It took me almost a month to decide to post again because the interest in this fic has been so low recently that I had kinda lost motivation.  I almost abandoned it. Anyway... let’s give it another try This chapter is quite heavy.. Rowan and Fenrys make a very, very disturbing discovery (I am putting it bold as a warning.)

THere’s a bit of scientific explanation too about vampires. So, I came up with the idea that vampires are how they are (immortal, strong, healing powers) because they have 6 base pairs ( a regular human has 4: A, T,C and G). Now, this is not something I have invented... I have read some articles about bioengineering and so on :HERE) so I used this idea and played with it.  Things are starting to heat up in Orynth...

MASTERLIST

The first thing Aelin noticed upon waking up was that she was in a car. Such discovery was soon followed by a splitting headache and a metallic taste in her mouth. The partition was up and could not see the driver through the thick black screen. She remembered men coming and arresting her and accusing her of being a junkie. 

The car stopped and a moment later the door flew open and she was dragged out. She was in a yard. The air smelled like nature and she realised that she was deep in the mountains. Two men slapped chains on her wrists and pushed her to walk with little ceremony. 

“Move, the queen doesn’t like to wait.”

Aelin froze. Maeve. No, no she was back at Maeve.

They walked until they stopped in front of a door. One man knocked and a woman’s voice reached them. She was pushed in and found herself in front of Maeve. A snarl left her mouth at the woman.

“Aelin, darling, welcome back.”

“Fuck you.”

“What a foul mouthed young lady.”

“Fuck you, bitch. Happy now?”

“We are going to have some fun.”

The woman called for someone and a guy came into the room and grabbed her “let’s go. I am taking to your new home.”

Aelin tried to resist but the man dragged her harder. She was taken along a corridor and then down a path of stairs and towards a dungeon. Terror spread through er while painful memories came back. The same dungeons, the same house. She tried to rebel but the man dragged her harder.

She was shoved inside a room with white walls and a metal bed with straps.

Inside the room there was a man with dark hair and dark eyes. He seemed familiar.

“Welcome back, Aelin, I have missed my favourite lab experiment.” The stranger nodded to the man holding her and he forced her on the bed and the two tied her down securing a strap on her head too. 

Once the second man left, she was alone again with the one who looked like a doctor.

“You don’t remember me?”

“Should I?”

He ignored her and pulled up the sleeve of her hoodie and exposed her arm.

“My name is Erawan and many years ago your aunt asked me to make you special.”

“You?”

The man sat on the stool at her side and started trafficking with tubes and needles “yes, we needed you, so I played with your DNA.”

“You made me a junkie,” she growled.

The man smiled in satisfaction “oh yes, we wanted to see if it was feasible to transform regular vampires in killers and make them more addicted to blood.”

“Bastard.”

“It was a shame that you never killed anyone, but all the humans you turned, made us proud.”

Aelin saw him prepare a syringe and filled it in with something. 

“Why the golden blood?”

Erawan looked at her with curiosity “oh yes, it was to make really sure you’d reject the synthetic blood completely,” he added with a cruel smile “and I made you sensitive to A+ because we still needed you to drink from humans.”

He flicked the syringe “It was fun playing with you.” Erawan tied and homeostatic elastic around her arm “and while you were with us you gave us so many new vampires. But now it’s time to have more fun.”

Aelin tried to move but she couldn’t. A second later she felt the needle pierce the inside of her arms,  Erawan then attached her to an IV and as soon as the liquid started to enter her bloodstream she felt her entire body on fire.

Erawan adjusted the flow and Aelin screamed in pain.

*

After his meeting with Lorcan, Rowan had gone home. He could not stay at HQ after he had confessed the truth to Lorcan, so he decided to work from his sofa.

On his drive home it was when he felt it first a shock of pure fear running through the bond. It had been so strong that he had to stop the car and calm down. That was Aelin.

He finally reached home and crashed on the sofa. And that’s where, two hours later he still was. The fear was gone, but now there was a constant sense of desperation in his soul. He could not think, or work or exist. She was in pain and he had no idea how to even start finding her.

He was about to try and sleep a bit when someone knocked at the door. Annoyed he stood and went to open and was surprised to see Fen.

“Lorcan told me. I want you to know that if the order comes to hunt her I won’t do it.”

Rowan looked away “that is not something you can fight.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” the young man shouted “I am not sending another person in that hellhole to die like Connall did. They can take my badge for all I care.”

Rowan appreciated the sentiment but could not allow the young man to throw away his career like that.

“But I was here for another reason.”

He turned and stared at the blonde man with interest.

“Remember Ansel? The red-haired woman whom you saw naked in my flat?”

Rowan nodded.

“She did manage to put us on the list for the Vaults tonight.”

He stood in a powerful move “for real?”

“Yeah, she is that amazing.”

Finally, thought Rowan. 

“She is also working with a group of rebels. They are both vampires and humans and they have two projects going on,” he sat on the sofa happily “one, is to take down the deviation centres. She works there and knows the horrors that happens. She has proof that the inmates are being experimented on,” he explained calmly “it’s a lot of medical gibberish but she says that since Hamel came into power the prisoners had gotten worse. Before it was not like that.”

Rowan’s hand fisted in anger. They had to give that proof to Rhoe.

“She is also working on rising riots and hopefully depose Hamel.”

Rowan’s eyes widened in surprise “it might not look like, but there are a lot of humans out there who want a society where we can coexist and do not want a civil war. She is using those humans to raise an army.”

Rowan found the strength to chuckle “your lady friend is quite impressive.”

Fenrys smiled wickedly “she is pretty awesome.” He stood “I will send you the details for tonight.”

He nodded and Fen disappeared. 

Rowan walked to the window and looked away to the forest and sent all his love down the bond to try and sooth Aelin, in the hope she felt him and fought back.

*

Elide was busy working. She had just finished an autopsy for the hospital and was compiling the report when a familiar scent hit her.

“Lor?”

The chief of police waltzed in the room and she noticed his downcast stare. He had been pretty stressed recently 

“Hi El,” The woman stood and went for a gentle kiss.

“What are you doing here?”

The man sat on one of the stools “I assumed you know, it’s everywhere.”

“What?”

“Aelin is a junkie.”

Elide was silent. She had never told him that she had known for a long time and also helped her friend. But he was chief of the paranormal unit. It would have been his job to arrest her and she could not allow that. At her silence Lorcan glared at her.

“You knew.” He roared “you knew and never told me. Am I the only poor bastard who didn’t know?”

“You are the chief. I am not going to tell you that my friend has a problem and arrest her.”

Lorcan’s glare intensified “it’s my job.”

Elide folded her arms at her chest in challenge “sure, throw your best friend’s wife in a cell to rot while tortured and experimented on?”

“You have no proof.”

“Connall autopsy is proof enough. What they did to him was insane. I am not having my best friend go through that.”

They stood in silence for a while.

“Is it true that Aelin was made a junkie? Rowan went on with this crazy theory.”

This time it was Elide who glared at him with a vengeance, then walked to her drawer and took out a folder and slammed in front of him.

Lorcan grabbed it and flipped it through but to him was a bunch of big words “in layman terms?”

Elide sat at his side and took the folder and pointed at a picture “this is her DNA. Humans have four base pairs: Thymine, Adenine, Cytosine and Guanine.”

Lorcan’s gaze looked lost already.

Elide sighed and almost smiled “they are like building blocks. Their order vary from each person but it’s always four.” She grabbed another picture “this is vampire DNA,” she pointed at the picture again “we have six base pairs. They developed throughout evolution and they are what makes us what we are: stronger, immortal, fast healing.”

Lorcan nodded.

“This is Aelin’s DNA,” Elide pointed to a specific spot “her two extra base pair have been altered and made her into a junkie.”

“So Rowan was not lying.”

“No, she had no control. It was forced on her. They messed up with a lot more things but is the important one.”

Lorcan sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“And she has been taken,” a soft whisper “I was here. Some goons arrested her and took her away. They knocked me out.”

Rage surged in him “are you okay?”

“Yes, Rowan found me. I only have a bump.”

“Lor,” Elide took his hand “Rowan needs your support now, not the chief. His friend.”

“If the order comes I will try and stall as much as I can.”

“Thank you.”

He stood and kissed Elide gently “I have to go. Text me when you are going home. I will pick you up.”

“Fussing much?”

A last kiss on her forehead and the chief left.

Elide remained seated and smiled deeply.

*

Rowan parked his car outside Fenrys’ building and waited for his friend to join him. The man arrived ten minutes later all nicely dressed for a night out. Rowan had just worn jeans, a polo shirt and his black leather jacket.

“Is that what you are wearing?”

Rowan stared at his friend with a raised eyebrow “I am not coming to bring a date home.”

“Me neither, but at least I have a sense of fashion.”

Rowan shook his head and started driving. 

They reached the club twenty minutes later and parked. On their way to the door he looked up at the roof and thought about the evenings he spent there with Aelin I will find you.

“Moonbeam and Whitethorn,” he heard Fen say at the security at the entrance. The man scrolled his list and when he found them he grabbed their hands and stamped them.

They climbed down a set of stairs until they reached a door. Fen opened it and that’s when the noise hit them. 

The club was huge and busy, lights of every colour flashed and the music pumped a loud rhythm. Rowan hated clubs. They were obnoxious, the music horrible and the people irritating. But they were working, so he shoved down his annoyance and followed his friend. Both men walked around trying to spot anything suspicious. Fen dragged him to the bar and ordered for two. Rowan leaned back against the counter and while he drank his beer he scanned the locale. Fen at his side was already chatting up a woman. He rolled his eyes and elbowed him “we are working,” he mouthed. Fen looked at him in a way that told he knew what he was doing. Rowan was about to go back to his job, when a dark-haired woman approached him “Hi sexy,” he groaned loudly “Sorry, I am married.”

The woman wrapped herself around his arm “the wife is not here, we can have fun,” Rowan was about to reject her and then had an idea. 

“Do you come here a lot?” He moved closer, pushing his body against hers.

The woman moved even closer and he felt her breasts push hard against him. He sent a silent  apology to Aelin.

“Yes, this is the best place to get spiked blood if you are willing to pay.”

Rowan froze. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He knew it.

His mouth moved to her neck while his arm sneaked around her back “I haven’t had a good drink in a while.”

She licked his neck and he had to restrain his disgust “we have humans high on the best drugs you can imagine. They taste delicious,” she whispered against his ear.

Rowan had to use all his strength not to cause a scene. He was undercover. He had to pass like a vampire looking for a fix.

“Can you show me? I can pay.”

The stranger took his hand “come with me, we can drink together. It will be fun and sexy.”

Rowan locked gaze with Fen and with a nod of his head he told his friend he had a lead. 

Together they climbed another set of stairs and the woman showed an ID to the man guarding the door “he is with me.”

The security guard nodded and let them in after Rowan paid for his access.

Once the door opened Rowan felt sick. Inside there were about twenty beds. On them, naked women and a few guys, hooked up on IVs, some had two some had one. And vampires… vampires were drinking from them and using them as a blood bags.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

The woman took his hand again and moved them to a body that was free and hooked on two IVs “The double ones are better. They give you a better kick.”

She sat down on one side and a moment later she was drinking. Rowan was feeling sick. He hadn’t tasted spiked blood in a lifetime. He choose a place where there was less blood and placed his mouth on one of the many cuts and pretended to drink. He bit his own lip to smear his teeth with blood. The woman on the table smelled the same as all of the other victims. He thought about Lyria. Had she been held like this? Did people feed on her while she lay naked on a cold table? After a few minutes he detached from the woman and walked away ignoring the stranger who brought him in that hell of a place. He ran out on the street and as the fresh air hit him, he vomited on the ground. 

He had to tell Lorcan.

*

Fenrys had noticed him ran away and joined him on the street “what happened?”

Rowan was still leaning against the wall breathing heavily and in shock.

“Rowan?”

He looked at his friend and told him everything. The room, the bodies.

“Fuck.”

“I had to pretend once I was in.”

“Did you drink?.”

Rowan shook his head “I bit my lip to make it look like I drank.”

“This is so fucked up.”

“We need to tell Lorcan.”

The two walked back to Rowan’s car. He was still in shock. He could not remove from his mind the image of that room full of humans being fed on. Then Gav’s words popped in his head: Hamel. That placed belonged to Hamel. He quickly texted Rhoe and agreed to meet later on after his meeting with his boss was over. They had to go public with that.

HQ appeared in front of them and Rowan went to park the car and together they rode the lift to their  floor. Both in silence. And shocked by the discovery.

Rowan burst into Lorcan’s office with little ceremony “we have news.”

“You look like shit.”

Rowan growled hard “Fen and I just made a discovery.”

He confessed everything. 

“You went undercover without my permission?”

“Is that what you are focusing on?” A snarl erupted from Fenrys.

“It was not sanctioned.”

That was when Rowan erupted and slammed his fist hard on the desk “Damn it Lorcan, humans are used as blood bags. Vampires pay. Women and men are lured and jacked up to drugs and exploited until they are useless and discarded like trash. You can’t fucking ignore this.”

“I’ll have Fen and the others work on this,” Rowan growled hard “you are suspended for lying to me.”

Rowan turned and left the office slamming the door so hard the glass rattled. Went to his office, grabbed some of his stuff, then went back to Lorcan and slammed his badge on his desk “Fuck you.”

After Rowan stormed out, Fenrys had a word with his boss “Really? You know what he went through with Lyria, and now Aelin is gone. You really are a fucking bastard. We discovered important proof.”

Lorcan stood “A proof that it was only one man’s word.”

“My female was about to take me there too, but I stopped when I saw Rowan storm out,” he snarled “she told me that vampires love that club only because they can feed.”

“I will discuss this with my superior and try and to open an official investigation.”

Fenrys grumbled something and disappeared.

TAGS:

taglist

@rowaelinismyotp​ @swankii-art-teacher @whimsicallyreading @elentiyawhitethorn @aelin-bitch-queen @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity  @mis-lil-red @thegreyj​ @sailorsassley @leiawritesstories​ @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire​ @sv0430 @heartless--aromantic @autumnbabylon​ @rowanaelinn @backtobl4ck​ @susumaus98  @gracie-rosee​ @mybloodrunsblue @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah @whoever-you-choose-to-love  @theywillnotsingforme @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart @lovely-dove-zee

#rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin au #rowaelin #aelinandrowan #rowaelin fanfic #rowaelin fan fiction #rowan whitethorn #aelin x rowan #aelin galathynius #fenrys moonbeam #rowaelin angst

[yuri-is-online]

Hello, TD theory anon back again haha... I was browsing the tag on twt and I saw someone uploaded a fuzzy picture of the group of chibis from Obscuary!

I'm assuming the one lying down is "Ed" and he does indeed have the same hair color as the Janitor, but not the hairstyle - however I did notice the two had the exact same ahoge so ig it could still be the same person and he changed his style to be undercover or smth, or they're related...? If Ed has a habit of changing his looks and he generally gives the vibe of someone elusive, I can still see Alan not really being familiar with him. But yeah Dante being in a wheelchair still puts a wrench in the whole thing, unless it happened after the clash or smth?

Meanwhile the third character kinda gives exactly the vibe of a werewolf boy while Ed lying down looks like a Vampire (with a drop of blood coming from his mouth) so Obscuary looking to be a really interesting dorm! Unfortunately I can't share images or links as anon but it's posted by someone with the @ une_tokyo so you can check it out if you want!

Link

(No worries babes I got you~ the person seems to be asking if anyone knows the name of not Ed.)

Rip to this brave soldier o7 on of their last tweets was saying they were off to bed since the story hadn't updated. I've been thinking that the dorms are also sort of based off of myths/fairy tales... so if Ed is a vampire, Rui is a reaper, and third guy... well I get where you're coming from with the werewolf vibes. I just don't want to get ahead of myself because this feels like a Dracula themed dorm which would make me unreasonably happy.

Now as for Ed vs the Janitor and the chibis. They do seem to have the same hairstyle to me, the chibi's hair is just much less detailed. Kind of like he's brushed it? Especially if he's in his fancy suit. But I have no real clue at this point. And i agree the wheelchair seems like a more key clue here, that's a big detail to miss... and this might also be just me being. Biased. But Dante also has a very nice pair of glasses and Ed does not >:c so he's much less handsome.

Alan is a bit... dumb. So I don't think it's too far off to assume that he could mistake someone for someone else, especially if it's a weirdo like Ed, but I don't think he would mix him up with Dante. You know who could really clear this up? Tohma. Not that i like Leo but if he decides to start asking him some questions i wont complain. Too much anyway.

#<3 asks #tokyo debunker #tdb #tdb Obscuary #tdb theory anon

[mahi-does-some-art]

For your Servamp Game Show AU, did you ever make a post explaining the plot? I saw the ones regarding the premise and thought they were very interesting. Have an excellent day!

HI HELLO YES I WOULD LOVE TO TALK ABOUT IT!! I'm just gonna go over the premise again because its been a couple of years since I talked about it.

The "Game", which I still have not come up with any clever name for, is this show where contestants are picked from public polls to participate in what is essentially running around Japan for as long as they can without getting caught for money, love and/or jobs. There are two sides to this game: The people who run and evade the advances of the others (Runners) and the people who are chasing them, who can be people looking for date or recruit the people running (Hunters. Someone help me come up with better names please).

Basically, the longer the people running away stays not caught by any individual or corp, the more money they'll get when they either do get caught or the 6 month season of the show concludes and they win. The "Runners" each get a card they can buy hotel rooms in, food, necessities, ect but they can be disqualified for purchasing unnecessary items they intend to keep like luxuries and a specially made device they wear on their person that acts as both a safety tracking device and a means for "capture" by anyone they're running from. The fingerprints of the "Hunters" are put in a database the device recognizes and if a Hunter manages to hold their finger on it for long enough, the Runner is captured and they go back to the show's HQ to collect prize and work out what they want.

They also get issued phones so they can make video updates that the show's production team put up online and eventually string together on TV episodes for the general public to enjoy. Think of it like "The Most Dangerous Game" just no hit-men and it's aired to the world.

Now that that's out of the way, the plot is that the initial entering period of the show's contestant poll, the school quartet thought it'd be funny to enter themselves into the poll for shits and giggles minus Sakuya for Reasons. They don't think any of them would get picked and it was more a "I bet you won't!" dare while having lunch at a cafe they like one day.

And none of them were expecting for Mahiru's profile to get boosted to the top qualifiers because a bunch of people on the internet decided to troll by pushing up some random kid as a joke. Until it wasn't a joke anymore.

They get worried and Mahiru debates completely opting out before having the idea that maybe, if he gets far enough and gets enough money from it, his Uncle wouldn't have to work so much to provide for him and he could take a break and Mahiru could return the favor of being adopted by him. So with the encouragement of two of his friend and against the advice of one, Mahiru participates.

Everything goes well for a while and he ends up being decently loved by the audience but, as we all know, Mahiru's luck in these aus go out of the window and stay out thanks to his stubborness and overwhelming want to help people. He meets Kuro, another runner who he somehow manages to team up with and together Mahiru finds out that this Game is more twisted on the inside than meets any public eye.

I... Haven't really thought about this au for a good while so I have no idea what'll actually happen but I will take any ideas if y'all have any. It's an excuse to get all of the characters running around and also for Mahiru to get way more popular than he ever wanted to be.

#servamp #mahiru shirota #shirota mahiru #kuro servamp #im tired #i cant put that much thought into this post because im working on rendering a drawing and its taking up my soul #rendering bread is a time-consuming activity...