#hes like a homing pigeon following vibes :'))

[dark-night-star-light]

Spirit Animals: Immortal Guardians (Reread pt. 9)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOOKS ONE THROUGH SEVEN IN FIRST SERIES, BOOKS ONE THROUGH THREE, TALES OF THE GREAT BEASTS, AND TALES OF THE FALLEN BEASTS.

Masterpost

Chapter 1

“If only she could turn right around and go home” (1). Interesting first line . . .

“I wish I had a spirit animal, Kaiina thought. Then I’d always have company . . . ” (2). That’s . . . actually a good reason, wow.

“‘How could I have summoned Dinesh?’ Kaiina asked in wonder. ‘And why to me?’” (5). Yeah, is it, like, random . . . or . . . ?

Woah, Zerif speaks the local languages . . . ?

“ . . . but this one was white . . . ” (7). Has Kaiina never heard of a polar bear before? Don’t they teach her about these things???

“The polar bear and the boar had spread out” (8). Okay, so she does know what a polar bear is.

“ . . . saw two more tattoos appear on the man’s chest: an eagle and a ram” (10). Uh . . . when does he take Arax??? That wasn’t in Tales of the Fallen Beasts . . . 

Chapter 2

“But now Myriam was too busy playing host to worry about that - the ibis kept busy greeting each newly arriving bird . . . ” (13). Oh, that’s so cool. 

“ . . . Myriam had spent the day following them around, keeping tabs on which was the most beautiful” (13). That’s so funny. I imagine the peacocks being like, What is this thing following us around?

“She gathered lichen and wedged it into the narrow black crack, wetting the patch with pond water” (14). Isn’t the Evertree in the middle of Nilo??? It’s near a pond???

“ . . . The tree was dying” (15). I genuinely forgot why it’s dying. I know it’s something to do with the Wyrm, but I don’t remember how.

Chapter 3

“In Zhong, she’s perfected a serene smile, warm enough to honor the person’s interest but chilly enough to discourage handshakes and questions” (16). Parallels to Meilin’s very first chapter in Wild Born?

“Lately Jhi had started to take Meilin to task whenever she slipped into rudeness. It was very annoying” (17). See, this is the dynamic the Bile robbed us of in the first arc.

“Essix the Falcon is not a messenger pigeon! Essix eats messenger pigeons for breakfast!” (18). Why didn’t Rollan just send a messenger pigeon? 

 “ . . . and I’m not asking this lightly. But you must come to Greenhaven as soon as you can . . . ” (19). This does not sound like Rollan at all.

Rollan signs his letter “Your Rollan” and then in the immediate next paragraph, Meilin refers to him as her “friend”. 

Abeke has gotten even more muscular! Slay!

“But Meilin knew what her friend would really want her opinion on. ‘I like your new skinnier braids’ . . . ” (20). When has Abeke ever shown interest in hairstyles, though???

“‘Oh no! What have we done?’” (21). This quote is so weird??? I don’t know, it just feels off.

So far, the vibe in general feels weird . . . 

“ . . . Abeke said, looking at Kovo with something almost like sympathy” (23). Why, though??? Why is she sympathetic?

“‘You’re polite as always, Takoda,’ Rollan said to the boy, a complicated expression on his face” (24)). I feel like I remember Rollan being suspicious of Takoda . . . is that what this is???

Kovo drawing the Wyrm symbol on a landscape??? What is the landscape, though??? I don’t remember this . . .

Chapter 4

“‘I came down here to study while we were training’” (29). Literally when??? When did Meilin ever go to the library???

“The tortoise blinked its rheumy eyes at them and yawned” (30). I wonder if Meilin ever thought of the tortoise as being slow, like she did with Jhi.

“‘ . . . the Lost Lands is contained in here’” (33). Stetriol also had a nickname??? Eura’s the only one without a nickname, now . . . 

“At the elbow, where the living tendril ended, the knob of it throbbed and shifted, curling into new visions of the same shape” (38). So it’s in a spiral shape even as it squirms up? That’s odd.

Chapter 5

“ . . . and now he was going to lose the people he loved most in the world because of it” (39). Is he??? Also, awwww, that’s cute (that he thinks of them as the people he lives most in the world). 

“He felt his face twist into a humiliated scowl” (39). Oh my god, he’s becoming Meilin.

“Rollan wouldn’t give up. He threw his arms around his friend. ‘You’ve been disgusting ever since we’ve known you’” (40). It’s so awesome that I can actually see the character growth from the last arc. 

“‘Rollan and Abeke are our best trackers. . . ’” (42). Getting the feeling that I missed something? Rollan can track? 

“Meilin and Rollan were staring at each other with moony longing . . . ” (42). Why do they do this in front of other people???

“With one move, she’d told him she wasn’t scared of his sickness” (42). Personally, I think that moment is far superior to Meilin and Rollan staring at each other.

Chapter 6

“Takoda had spent his life in sandals, and now he was wearing a pair of heavy boots he’d borrowed from Conor” (44). I feel like I remember Takoda living somewhere else before the monastery??? Did he really wear sandals? Or did he go bare foot before that?

“He probably wouldn’t say no if they asked him to be a Greencloak someday” (45). Kovo would, though, lol.

“It was a moment that would forever be seared in Takoda’s memory . . . Takoda couldn’t imagine a spirit animal relationship more different from his own” (46). Funny, because Meilin’s relationship was pretty similar to Takoda’s during the first arc.

“ . . . the Great Beast that had nearly conquered the world - stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the leader of the Greencloaks” (48). Symbolizing the new relationship that the Greencloaks forged with the Great Beasts in general?

“If only he and Kovo knew more than ten symbols, he could explain the danger” (50). He can explain the danger anyway, right? Kovo understands Common.

I forgot whether Kovo recognizes this place or not.

“‘Kovo saved your life’” (53). Okay, so Kovo killed Briggan, who bonded to Conor, who killed Kovo, who then saved his life. Parallels???

“It was like the earth itself had a mouth, open and hungry, waiting for prey to fall in” (54). If they’re in the mountains between Zhong and Eura, how do they get to Nilo, where the Evertree is? Because this is where they fall, right?

I do not remember Kovo and the others fighting over the door??? Huh.

“Calmly, as easily as if it had been made of wet paper, Kovo reached up and plucked off his collar” (59). So ominous.

Chapter 7

“‘. . . and we’ll stop in and say hello to all the shop owners you stole from back in the day’” (60). Okay, I need Rollan to go back to that Valdez guy and push him around a bit. Just a bit.

“ . . . memories of the handsome blond boy resurfaced in unexpected moments” (62). First Shane reference in second arc!

“‘Many of the people of Northern Amaya are nomadic, following the herds throughout the year . . . ’” (63). Rollan doesn’t sound like Rollan at all.

“‘Where to?’ Rollan asked. ‘Anywhere!’ ‘No seriously, where to?’” (64). It feels like they swapped Rollan and Abeke’s personalities? I kind of like it, though. More foil theory fodder.

Rollan caused a stampede??? Wow, I clearly remember close to nothing from this book.

This whole scene is very . . . different??? In a good way, though. There isn’t much Rollan and Abeke friendship in the first arc, so now that they’re alone, it feels strange. But I like it.

Chapter 8

“‘Meilin,’ Conor said in low tones. He placed a tentative hand on her back. ‘I’m as angry as you are . . . ’” (73). Conor and Meilin friendship is all but nonexistent in the first arc, but it feels like they made up for that in the second arc.

“‘King. Worthless,’ Takoda translated” (76). King??? Who’s the king? What king??? Is it Takoda?

“‘I have to tell you that I miss him’” (76). Doesn’t putting your spirit animal in passive make you stronger to some extent? They fought off the “bonding sickness” from the staff at the end of the last arc that way.

“Stop it, Meilin. Terror is your enemy” (79). Giving major first-book-Meilin energy.

Chapter 9

“‘You have more in common with Kovo than you think’” (82). Conor getting mad!

“ . . . the torchlight seemed to have the monster dazzled” (83). The Many’s weakness being light is not something I remember. 

“ . . . a spiral, just like the one on Zerif’s forehead . . . ” (84). I wonder if Conor thought that Zerif would eventually become one of these things.

“The light bomb seemed to affect the ghoulish creatures much more strongly . . . ” (87). I wonder if the Wyrm itself is sensitive to light? Or Zerif?

“Then Takoda gasped, like he’d been punched, and in a flash Kovo became a tattoo on the boy’s neck” (88). Why does it hurt for Takoda to take Kovo into passive state? Did Kovo want it to hurt? Can he do that?

“Although she closed her eyes to slits, they streamed tears, even in the dim light” (88). Oh, so it’s just because the Many are Sadreans, not because they’re Many. 

“‘It’s okay,’ came a voice Conor knew as well as his own” (89). Aw, Conor-Meilin moment(?)!

“‘You’ve come to stop the Wyrm . . . ’” (91). Why does Xanthe think that? Was there a prophecy or something?

Chapter 10

I kind of wonder if the city or tribe you’re from is like a last name in Erdas. They say “Abeke of Okaihee” and “Rollan of Concorba” as someone would say a full name.

“Abeke longed to see her father and sister again” (96). Why??? They are literally so abusive . . . this is just one thing about this series I’ll never accept.

“‘I’ve never seen a horse take such an instant disliking to someone’” (98). Rollan’s horse rivalry saga continues. 

“ . . . The leopard lay down in the earth, head resting on her paws, and started up at him” (98). Wasn’t it mentioned that Uraza didn’t really approve of Tellun in The Evertree? Also, in Tales of the Great Beasts, she never, ever bows down before Tellun. Neither do the other Great Beasts . . . ?

“‘You make him sound so serious.’ Anda laughed. ‘I just think of him as my elk. And I’m his boy’” (99). I still think it was definitely a choice to have a leader of the Great Beasts. I also like Anda’s attitude toward Tellun. Less awed, more of a “oh, yeah, ha ha, that happened” type. 

“‘My elk is silly most of the time; I’m not sure why he’s being so serious today . . . ’ . . . ‘Why didn’t you ever tell me you were that important?’” (99). This line makes no sense. Anda knows that the elk he summoned is Tellun, but didn’t realize he was important? What exactly did Tellun tell him?

“Though she and her family had worked through their differences . . . ” (100). When??? It went straight from Abeke’s father saying he didn’t care about her at all to Abeke and her family “making up” at the end of The Evertree. 

“‘They could gossip in the woman’s tent and sip herbal teas together’” (101). Oh, he’s a sexist. Also, if he believes so much in gender roles, how come Anda told Abeke that the men would have loved to go hunting with her? Wouldn’t they have scorned her just like her father?

“‘ . . . I’m closer to my family now than I ever was before I left Okaihee . . . ’” (102). That’s unfortunate. She’s closer, or she’s just learned to put up with their abuse?

“At the sight of his son’s crying, Anda’s father’s face tightened into a frown” (103). Presenting, the manliest masculine manly man, who can’t handle the sight of a guy crying.

Chapter 11

“ . . . Xanthe looked even more like the strange beings that had attacked them . . . ” (105). Can’t tell if Conor is trying to say Xanthe looks like the monsters, or that the monsters look human. 

“ . . . Meilin allowed Xanthe to help her to her feet” (105). She what???

“ . . . the rising air smelled vaguely like the hot stones his mother had once used to warm his bed . . . ” (107). All I could think about reading this was that one scene from the Shadow and Bone show.

“Conor smiled as he imagined [Meilin’s] outraged expression” (108). Conor and Meilin’s relationship is peaking in this series. Said this before, I think, but there are no good Conor-Meilin moments in the first book. At all (in my humble opinion).

“‘Are you scared of heights, Meilin?’” (111). I don’t remember this at all??? I think she was scared of spiders because of the Drina situation and the Webmother, but heights???

“ . . . it seemed some Sadreans had spirit animals, too” (113). Right, but before the Second Devourer War, they would’ve had bonding sickness, right??? Right??? Because they didn’t have access to the Nectar??? Plot hole???

“‘Our man of mystery,’ Meilin said in amazement as she watched Takoda stride forward and introduce himself to the nearby Sadreans. ‘Shy with us and assertive with everyone else’” (114). Yeah, why’s that??? Just pointing it out doesn’t change the fact that it makes no sense.

“‘I’m not afraid of heights, you dummy’” (115). Oh my god, this is too funny.

“By the time they’d stepped onto the city’s rock floor, Conor and Meilin were breathless with laughter” (115). That’s so cute . . . they’re acting twelve again!

This trap system is really cool, it just needs some archers and it’s good to go.

My guess: the screamers fail somehow, and that’s how they get attacked by the Many (I seriously don’t remember anything about this plotline). 

“‘This shows the founding of Erdas’ . . . ‘ . . . become the civilization known as the Hellans’” (121). Where did the Hellans come from??? How do you “found” a whole world???

“ . . . Briggan and Jhi and Uraza were pictured near one another, friends even way back then” (122). Where’s Essix? Also, it’s funny, because in Tales of the Great Beasts, Uraza insults dogs and glorifies cats. Kind of want to know Great Beast Uraza and Great Beast Briggan’s relationship.

“‘He told the Hellans about the danger of the Wyrm and gave us our task . . . ’” (123). Right, but doesn’t Kovo hate humans?

“ . . . ‘the Evertree’s roots withered, and the Wyrm’s egg dropped . . . new roots began to grow where the old had been . . . much weaker than before . . . the fall cracked the egg, allowing small gray parasites . . . to spill out’” (123). I think it’s so interesting how they managed to make the original series’ climax be the cause of this new problem.

Ooooooookay, I was wrong. The screamers did work. 

“His body broke into shudders, and he couldn't make it stop” (126). Conor had a panic attack?

Chapter 12

“Aynar had mapped them a trail that would lead back to the Tellun’s Pride II . . . ” (132). Wait, so, Tellun literally gets stolen in the time it takes to go back the same way they came? Wow. That’s . . . sad.

“‘Anda is scratching the leader of the Great Beasts’” (133). How come nobody had this reaction with the Four Fallen? I mean some did, but Rollan was all “oh yeah, I summoned a Great Beast”, like he wasn’t in awe or anything???

“‘It’s confusing to me, too. It’s Tellun, but he’s not using his boomy voice’” (134). Again, Essix wanting to follow Tellun is so weird. Like, I just think the idea of a leader of the Great Beasts is a stupid idea in general, but whatever.

How did Rollan not see anything in the north, when an attack came so soon after?

“‘But I think he can communicate freely with any animal he meets’” (138). So, Tellun can: turn a desert into a lush forest in a matter of minutes, communicate with any animal he meets, and invoke awe. Is it just me, or are his powers all over the place?

“‘My father and I only started to understand each other recently, but our love was there all along’” (138). Okay, that’s it. Did they just refer to the relationship between Abeke and her father as “loving”?

“He dreamed of Artica, of balancing on an ice floe with Meilin . . . ” (141). Is this a reference to the fact that Fire and Ice is the first book in the series with major Rollan-Meilin moments?

“He recognized this awful pain. Rollan had felt it once before, under a bloodred sky at the end of the world” (142). Wasn’t that bonding sickness caused by the Staff of Cycles? And the bonding sickness is gone now, right???

Ohhhhh, so the bonding sickness comes from the Evertree being sick, and the Evertree is sick again . . . so . . . there’s bonding sickness again???

Chapter 13

“[Kovo] roared” (147). Why’s he just roaring at the Sadreans??? Is he good?

“Each of the elders came forward and did the same, choosing a different part of Kovo to honor . . . ” (148). I do not remember this ritual . . . at all.

“Immediately Jhi was covered in color . . . She looked delighted by it” (148). The elders: *doing an ancient ritual* Jhi: Play time!

“Xanthe scrutinized the panda’s belly, then she, too, threw her arms around Jhi” (149). But she just met Jhi???

“‘This isn’t precisely what I’d call a feast, not exactly,’ Conor said . . . ” (149). Conor being rude? No way . . .

“ . . . or, more distantly, her mother” (152). Her mother died giving birth to her, though???

Huh, Meilin also had a dream about Rollan and her rotting bond.

Jhi can stop noise???

“They’d gotten the high-speed summoning down to a science . . . ” (155). How high-speed, though?

“ . . . Conor managed a wicked grin” (157). Who is this guy?

Wow, Meilin be using the Many like a surfboard.

“ . . . he took her trembling frame fully in his arms” (165). I can’t get a handle on Takoda despite reading a whole-ass chapter from his perspective.

KOVO IS JEALOUS???

“‘Give her a second!’ Takoda snapped” (165). Honestly, yeah.

“His eyes were a bit too wild. His smile was a bit too stretched” (170). Did the Wyrm change him physically besides the parasite, though?

Chapter 14

“ . . . cruel Gerathon was the one who most often stalked his dreams” (171). Why??? Shouldn’t it be Kovo?

“Gone were the days of allowing Zerif to call the first shot; Abeke gave no warning before letting her arrow fly” (172). Parallels to shooting Zerif in Against the Tide? Also, when had she ever let Zerif call the first shot?

“Anda had started to flee . . . ” (173). So he’s flight out of fight-or-flight.

“‘Tell me, plainsboy, you only just summoned the Great Elk. Have you mastered his dormant state?’” (176). Okay, but Tellun died first, meaning that he was reborn first. So shouldn’t Anda have had enough time??? To learn? In Tales of the Fallen Beasts, Dawson summons Rumfuss into passive, so . . . that means that Anda should’ve also had enough time to learn to summon Tellun. Also, it’s up to the spirit animal, so Tellun can just go into passive if he chooses???

 “ . . . the mysterious figure wore a long, stiff crimson cloak. Even if there hadn’t been a hood hanging low over his head, a curious mask - a single white plate, like one huge scale of a reptile - covered his features. The stranger stride forward fearlessly, the fingers of one leather-gloved hand flexing and unflexing” (179). I love the Redcloaks’ outfit, actually. I love how it manages to cover every part of the body, the body, the face, the hair, and the hands. Also, the masks are supposed to be reminiscent of their spirit animal, right? So how come Shane’s isn’t a crocodile???

“But with one long stride, the red-cloaked stranger was in front of Abeke” (180). Awwwww.

Okay: unpopular opinion (probably . . . ): I don’t like that Anda lost his spirit animal. I think that Shane should’ve showed up earlier to help save Tellun, then disappeared as usual. Anda would’ve joined Rollan and Abeke and it would’ve helped us flesh out Tellun and his powers more. But now, all that’s left are broken relationships.

I get that it was to set up a sense of failure and hopelessness, but instead, the failure could’ve maybe come from letting Anda get so hurt?

Final thoughts and rating:

I really liked the description of Sadre. It was done pretty well. The colors made it seem so foreign, and I like that. The newer Conor-Meilin bond is so good. I don’t remember a single moment in the first series where they had such a moment. I did like Xanthe as a character. Rollan and Abeke’s relationship is amazing in this book as well. Conor getting angry and being rude in some places was something I enjoyed personally, because it shows his development from the last series. Kovo returning, and this time being on the side of the protagonists was an amazing direction to take the story, because it explains how complicated the first arc really was. I really like how mistrustful-but-grudgingly-playing-nice relationship between the group and Kovo was cemented, as well. 

Rollan didn’t really feel like Rollan for parts of the book, and while I get that it’s because he matured, it’s possible to mature a character and still have them be recognizable. I thought Anda losing Tellun was straight up unnecessary. We could’ve finally learned about Tellun’s powers, but instead Tellun gets taken and we don’t. I still don’t understand how the Sadreans had spirit animals without getting the bonding sickness, since they didn’t have access to Nectar. I absolutely despised the way they’ve glorified Abeke’s relationship to her father, and especially after she’d come such a long way to understand that family sometimes wasn’t biological. I also didn’t like that this arc wasn’t even a little foreshadowed in the first arc, though that’s a more minor thing. 

Rating: 9/10

#draeyem rereads spirit animals #immortal guardians #spirit animals series #spirit animals books #sa spoiler #abeke #conor #meilin #rollan #takoda #xanthe #kovo #zerif #anda #tellun

[lambsaw]

Portland Oregon 25th Wedding Anniversary Trip - 12th to 20th September 2023

Our first trip overseas in six years! The reason was to mark our silver wedding anniversary. The destination because our air miles would get us there and back business class.

From research we anticipated Portland as a chill, fun and laid back city. It proved to be all that in spades over the weekend period of our visit. The city was buzzing from early doors onwards and the vibe was really engaging. Our hotel, Woodlark, is in downtown and has a well regarded restaurant and cocktail bar. Our room was spacious, with a big sofa for extra lounging. Hot coffee delivered first thing and a kettle for making tea were appreciated details. The bathroom was filled with delicious toiletries by Sangre di Frutta.

We’d already decided on more chilling, strolling and people watching than activities and it’s well positioned for that. Close to Pioneer Square, to trams and bus routes, to the Livingroom Theatre cinema and Powell’s wonderful book shop. For Steven the cherry on the cake was a cigar shop straight across the road! It made carrying back 200 cigars that much easier for him.

Oregon is a heavily wooded state with mountains and much natural beauty. We didn’t hire a car, so to get a sense of nature we grabbed a light train to Washington Park, a large slice of greenery in the city. A shuttle bus was a nice to see round the park before we jumped off to visit the Japanese Gardens. Beautiful and apparently authentic, they are designed to support your mind in becoming stiller so you can better appreciate what is around you.

A fun snack of a a ‘sno kone’ followed. Living the dream.

We found a nice cinema close to the hotel when we got back, with a bar and food to be delivered to your chair to enjoy whilst watching a film. The film in question was Jules, a beautiful little film about an older man who finds an alien crash landed in his garden. He and two friends help the alien, whom the name Jules.

The cinema was so nice that we also went to see Cassandro (gay wrestler feel good movie) and Fremont (Afghani translator seeks love). All wonderful films. We don’t go to see films often, so this was a massively fun adventure.

Food was also a key point. Our main celebration was the tasting menu at Le Pigeon with excellent wine pairings. Everything was wonderful, food, wine, the setting and service. It was a knockout and pleasurable evening, to remembered for a long time.

We also had a stupendous beef rib at the restaurant in the Woodlark accompanied by a fragrant Oregon Pinot Noir. And a delicious steak dinner with many extras at The Nines hotel. And a surprisingly good burger at a dive called Killer Burger. And sumptuous breakfasts twice at Mother’s Bistro.

We have walked around five miles day, which still in way has justified all that wonderful food.

What we hadn’t learned before we set off on our journey was the Portland has many people living rough. So many have mental health and addiction issues, as you’d expect anywhere. So many seemed like people in their twenties who had just lost their homes and jobs yesterday. Women still wearing summer dresses and sandals, while pulling suitcases or carrying bags. Downtown has many empty buildings so it’s not comfortable to see homeless beside so much potential shelter.

Lots of good things, shopping is tax free, people are laid back and casually dressed, it’s easy to walk about, and there are some lovely neighbourhoods.

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

This is gonna sound weird, but please stay with me here

There was this smurf fan site that also used to host fanfic forums.

There was this one guy who was really popular, as he wrote how he found, adopted and raised these orphaned smurf, eventually opening a day care/forest home for them.

Sounds wholesome on the surface, but the guy was actually writing thinly veiled torture porn.

Like in at least once in his stories a smurth would be stepped one, accidental put in the washing machine, stepped on e.c.t.

But it was so wrapped up in this cutesy story style, so non of the other site members cottoned on to it.

It took out side forces to get some of the members to see, and even then some refused to see it as anything but a heart warming story of overcoming adversity.

TRL gives me the same vibe

Like, unless she's actually delusional, she has to know that what she's doing is wrong.

She torturing these poor birds, but writes it like it's this great thing she's doing.

That this is actually a wholesome story of a disabled woman overcoming adversity to breed her pigeons, with only a few minor hiccups here and there, that couldn't be helped.

And the only way that some of the followers have seen the light is though an outside source.

Yet still some of her followers refuse to see anything wrong with what she's doing .

Weird connections my brain makes

[kyun-toast]

[ATEEZ] as University Students

a/n: I love college AUs but I'm British so I thought I'd chip in w some painfully British uni lad ateez

Hongjoong

Besties w his tutor

Got his life down on lock

One of those ppl that are always on top of their work, have acc done the reading and gets good grades but is still rlly cool and has a social life ygm

But thats only bc he lives in the library

Has a designated seat and there's an unspoken rule amongst the students that that's HIS spot, nobody sits in it

Often seen napping at said library spot

So well dressed. He’s one of those students that always catches your eye around campus or lecture halls

Bc he’s just so well dressed for a uni student running on 0 hours sleep and red bull

Probs studies smth like joint honours music and philosophy

Also Vice President of smth like filmsoc

Friends with the baristas at Starbucks bc he’s just in there for caffeine all the time

We all aspire to be like student hj, just more sleep pls

Seonghwa

Voted most eligible bachelor amongst students

Famous around campus just for being so pretty

He’s one of those ppl you see on like the first day of uni and it’s an instant crush

But you’ll never be able to do anything abt it you just have to admire from the other side of the lecture hall

Actually speaks up in seminars bc he’s done the reading sat next to hongjoong in the library

He looks like he’d play tennis for uni and varsity tickets would sell like crazy bc so many ppl have crushes on that man

He’d bring his lil meal prep packed lunches to uni lol what a little sweetheart

Been pictured in the uni prospectus at least once

Hongjoong makes him go w him to freshers fair for his society to use as bait so he stands there handing out leaflets for a soc he’s not even part of

Yunho

Doesn’t know what’s going on half the time he’s just happy to be there

This is v evident in lectures. Professor could be going on and on in a stats class and he’ll just sit there smiling

His gaming setup takes up most of his room and is also where most of his money goes

Texts u at 4am like hey u wanna get pizza

And you know he’s up at that time bc he’s been gaming all night

Still gets good grades despite the fact that all he does is game?

You ask him how he does it and he’s just like idk?

You are perplexed.

All soft in cute jumpers and hoodies but one day you’ll see him suited up at a formal and wow heart eyes

Super fun at parties too, have u seen that man dance?

You have multiple videos of him twerking

Yeosang

That mysterious boy at the back of class that doesn’t speak a lot but whenever he does its always smth smart af

Types really loud on his macbook

Looks like he doesn’t have any friends

But outside of lectures he’s always w friends that look equally as mysterious and cool

No one on your course knows anything abt him

But you see him at a house party once and he’s just stuffing his face w food having a great time

Feel like his alcohol tolerance is super low

Two shots and he’s out cold

And then you’ll see him again at some niche soc social like basket weaving or smth

Works part time at a cool clothing store like allsaints or cos

Chicken shop connoisseur, knows the best places in town

San

Actually studies rlly hard, i can tell he always gives 110% on whatever he’s set his mind to

Soft student always in oversized hoodies, spinning pens, v enthusiastic and pays attention in lectures

But when hes w wooyoung oh man

The enabler, 110% attitude towards drinking too

Pours drinks w 80% alc 20% mixer

“my mother didn’t raise a quitter”

Type to sprint home from the club bc he doesnt wanna waste money on uber

Will make animal friends otw and bring them home

You wake up and come downstairs the next morning and theres just a pigeon in your living room

On the athletics team which is why he may find it instinctive to run home when he’s drunk

San would like for there to be a greggs on campus

Mingi

ALWAYS napping in lectures, seminars, during lunch, in the library, u name it

Knows the best spots for it tho.

You didn’t know there was a secluded spot w bean bags under the stairs at the back of the library until mingi told you

Never missed 9am lectures but will nap through them instead

Gets freshers flu every year and the cough lasts for months

You hear someone cough in the room over and ur like oh, well there’s Mingi

Gives you the best advice at 4am in the library

Also best cuddles

Studies smth like aerospace engineering but regrets it bc he didn’t know what he was getting himself into

Considers dropping out every exam season but always pulls through w good grades?

Wooyoung

Bnoc thats all i have to say

Has like 4k followers on ig

Always running around campus for no reason

Woo and san together at parties u know its going to be buck fckin wild

Always got ppl swooning over him but he just wants to have fun!

No time for relationships! Only alcohol!

When he studies tho? £3 meal deal and writes 2 sentences kind of guy

Business management OR marketing student I can feel it in my bones

The type to tell u funny stories in a silent library and it takes everything in u to stop laughing

Ppl will look over at you two and youre just holding your breaths on the verge of exploding

Security will kick u out at one point

Tight w the local kebab shop bossman

Jongho

Brings everything in a backpack to uni like a year 7

Need a hole punch? Ask jongho. Painkillers? Jongho. Assortment of multi coloured pens? Jongho

Writes the best notes

They're all colour coordinated in different folders for different modules

All the office ladies dote on him bc he’s so sweet

They all offer him tea and biscuits

Youngest but is the voice of reason in the group

Wy will be like do u wanna get drunk in the library

And jongho is like bro ur deadline is tomorrow are u ok

The type to be filming all the other guys when theyre up to some questionable stuff for the memories

Feel like he’d be on committee for whatever course he’s studying

I get pharmacy vibes from this boy

Got job offers lined up for when he graduates

#i’m not sure why there are random spaces between the bullets someone help me pls #ateez #ateez headcanons #ateez college au #college!ateez #ateez university #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez reactions #ateez fluff #ateez fanfic #ateez fic #ateez fanfiction #ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeonsang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez jongho #ateez oneshot #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #jongho

[veliseraptor]

Hi! Can you give a brief spoilery summary of the Untamed? I just read [the pretties from your posts] died? Oh no. I tried getting information through google but it’s confusing for someone who doesn’t know the characters.

oh lord. there are all kinds of ‘brief summaries of the Untamed’ out there but I’ve always found them vaguely irritating so...I guess that means it’s time for my comeuppance in the form of having to do it myself? I’ll do my best.

I didn’t know how detailed you wanted me to get so I decided to get pretty detailed, since you did ask for spoilery. so this is like. entirely spoilers. spoilers for everything.

also, you can use, if it’s helpful, my brief character overview (‘brief’) which includes some plot information, and could be useful as cross reference also. I’m playing pretty fast and loose with a lot of terminology for the sake of intelligibility, because otherwise this would get even longer and have a lot more links.

also, because you asked me specifically for this, it’s going to have some bias. I tried to keep my interpretive commentary to a relative minimum? but. uh. yeah.

the briefest basic plot overview is (going off The Untamed canon, which you will also see abbreviated as CQL from the pinyin transliteration of the Chinese title (Chen Qing Ling)):

Wei Wuxian, a cultivation (think, loosely, magic) prodigy and creator of his own particular style of cultivation, dies reviled by most of the known world. Sixteen years later he’s raised from the dead by Mo Xuanyu, an outcast and the bastard son of one of the leaders of the main sects of the cultivation world, in order to take revenge on Mo Xuanyu’s enemies (specifically his abusive family and ~an unknown person~).

And here is where we get into the details.

Pretty much immediately upon Wei Wuxian’s resurrection, people start dying at Mo Manor, before Wei Wuxian has even done anything, because of (it turns out) a very angry spirit of a semi-sentient weapon. Wei Wuxian books it out of town after his old best friend/crush Lan Wangji shows up to help the Lan ducklings he’s shepherding (including most notably Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi, the only named characters of that bunch), only to wind up running into him again on the road - and not only him, but his orphaned nephew (shorthand, go with it) Jin Ling (Wei Wuxian was responsible for his parents’ deaths) and Jiang Cheng, his martial brother who (at least according to rumor) killed him sixteen years ago and still bears a hell of a grudge. In order to save Jin Ling, Wei Wuxian summons the “Ghost General” Wen Ning, who was supposed to be destroyed and whose presence confirms his identity to a very pissed off Jiang Cheng. Lan Wangji recognizes Wei Wuxian as well. Wei Wuxian passes out.

followed any of that? no? that’s fine, because now we’re heading into a thirty episode flashback that’ll clarify some things. (but not before you forget a whole bunch of things from the first two episodes.)

I’m going to split this into arcs. I’m also going to put this under a read more, because...yeah, this came out to just a little over 10,500 words. I’m...sorry.

have fun?

Cloud Recesses Summer School Arc

The time card says “sixteen years earlier” but it isn’t sixteen years earlier because that would make no sense, but it’s better to give up on timeline now or you’ll just drive yourself nuts.

This is the part of the show where you meet the main characters, some of whom you saw earlier (notably Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian’s younger sort-of brother), and some of whom you only know from reference (Jiang Yanli, Wei Wuxian’s older sort-of sister) and some of whom are significantly important (Lan Wangji). You also meet Jin Zixuan, the snotty heir to the Jin Sect, who will be important later. Jiang Yanli is clearly into him and he seems to very much not return the feelings.

At this point, there are five main sects that the characters belong to. They are (with the characters you’ve met from them so far: the Jiang Sect (Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Yanli), the Nie Sect (Nie Huaisang, a flighty and sort of feckless fellow), the Jin Sect (Jin Zixuan, his social skills translator Mianmian), the Lan Sect (Lan Wangji, his brother Lan Xichen) as well as the Wen Sect (more on them in a moment). Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian meet and immediately...something. Wei Wuxian wants to make friends, and Lan Wangji seems to emphatically Not.

You also meet Meng Yao, who is Nie Huaisang’s brother Nie Mingjue’s right hand man, and also the bastard son of Jin Guangshan (the leader of Jin Sect). He is also the son of (using the words of literally everyone) a prostitute, which people remind him of at every possible moment, in case he was in danger of forgetting, or something. He and Lan Xichen have kind of a moment. 

Later on, members of the Wen Sect, led by Wen Chao storm in, posturing disrespectfully, and drop off Wen Qing to “learn” (but secretly she has a mission looking for the Yin Iron/Metal). The Wen are ascendant in power and seem to be flexing their muscle looking for trouble. 

Wen Qing comes as a set with her brother Wen Ning - the pair of them are from sort of...a secondary branch of the main Wen family, and she’s being coerced into supporting Wen Ruohan despite being not thrilled about it. Wei Wuxian bonds with Wen Qing’s younger brother Wen Ning, who has a weird situation that makes him vulnerable to possession (this is important later).

At one point Wei Wuxian proposes - in response to a question! He’s just being innovative! - to put it simply, necromancy, which is, to say the least, not a hit. Remember that for later!

Eventually, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian end up falling by accident into some ice caves, where they learn from one of Lan Wangji’s ancestors (Lan Yi, she’s cool) about the Yin Iron, of which she has a piece. It is an spiritually corrupted metal that can’t be destroyed so it was broken into pieces and hidden in different places. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji resolve jointly to find the other pieces.

Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli, and Jiang Cheng (henceforth “the Yunmeng siblings”) are picked up early by Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng’s dad (Jiang Fengmian) because Wei Wuxian causes problems both on purpose and not. Wei Wuxian, however, puts together that Lan Wangji is going off on his own chasing the Yin Iron, and ditches the rest of his family to go help.

Yin Iron Hunt Arc

Wei Wuxian meets up with Lan Wangji, who is not thrilled to see him (at least, apparently). They run into Nie Huaisang, who joins them. They come to a town where everyone seems to have vanished and there is nothing fishy going on in the cave with the statue that looks like a dancing lady at all. Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng leaves home to go track down Wei Wuxian and bring him back.

The statue comes to life, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji fight together to defeat it, and then a bunch of...undead villagers (sort of, they get better) attack them, only to be lured away by Wen Qing playing a flute (this ability will never be brought up again). Jiang Cheng reveals himself as having been hanging out watching this go down. Ultimately, by killing the Stygian Pigeon that belongs to Wen Chao, the villagers are freed and they move on.

After a brief stopover in a village, they hear some rumors about a haunted house and take off to go check it out. When they get there, everyone is dead and Xue Yang is on the roof just kind of vibing. Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan manage to get him pinned down and taken captive. This is important and not just because I said so.

Nie Huaisang, who Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Lan Wangji ditched in town, arrives here with Meng Yao, who proposes bringing Xue Yang to Nie Mingjue for justice purposes (which when I write it like that sounds...um. moving right along), which is where everyone heads next, less Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan who have their own things to do. Wei Wuxian realizes that Xiao Xingchen had the same master as his mother, and gets really excited about it; it’s adorable.

They go to Nie Mingjue, who is talked out of executing Xue Yang because they’re trying to find out where he put the Yin Iron (which they figure he has, because reasons. there are reasons, I just don’t feel like going into it.) Lan Wangji leaves in the night without saying goodbye, and then Wen Chao arrives. He is accompanied by Wen Zhuliu, who is called the Core-Melting Hand for reasons that will be important later. There’s a fight, Xue Yang gets loose, and Nie Mingjue finds Meng Yao in a very compromising position (killing a captain of the guard and among a bunch of other dead bodies). He kicks Meng Yao out of the Nie Sect.

Meanwhile, the Wens attack Cloud Recesses. Lan Xichen’s uncle makes him leave to preserve himself and the most important texts. Everyone retreats to a cave that’s hidden and walled off; Su She (who was introduced briefly earlier) caves to threats to his life and tells the Wens how to get into the Lan’s cave sanctuary. Lan Wangji returns with Lan Yi’s Yin Iron and gives it and himself up to Wen Chao’s older brother Wen Xu to spare everyone else.

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian leave for home (Lotus Pier). We witness family dynamics, which are terrible. The Wens want everyone to send their kids, specifically their heirs, to be reeducated in Wen territory, but they’re not hostages, we swear. No, really.

Reeducation Camp Arc

To reeducation camp with the Wens we go! Where Lan Wangji is not looking so hot, and Wei Wuxian rapidly causes problems on purpose to try to get to talk to him, but mostly just ends up getting himself tossed in a dungeon where he gets attacked by a very bad puppet of a dog. Wen Qing has told Wen Ning not to associate with Wei Wuxian because they’re on thin ice with their boss (Wen Ruohan), but Wen Ning sneaks him some medicine against Wen Qing’s orders anyway.

They go on a hunt, with the non-Wens featuring as bait. Here is where you meet Wen Chao’s main squeeze Wang Lingjiao, who was formerly a servant. Everyone ends up in a cave that contains a creature whose name is unfortunately translated as “Tortoise of Slaughter.” we’ll go with “Xuanwu of Slaughter” instead, it feels better. Wen Chao and his accompanying entourage make a run for it and ditch everyone else in the cave; they manage to sneak out but Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji end up trapped with no way out. They team up and kill the Xuanwu, partially because Wei Wuxian acquires a very cursed sword. Afterward, he is feverish and asks Lan Wangji to sing - enter Wuji! their theme. You see Lan Wangji mouth that it is called “Wangxian” before Wei Wuxian passes out. (Yes, he did name his composition after their ship name. Aww.)

I’ve skated through that very fast but it is important because it’s like...the point where they seriously bond in a major way and it’s all very...like, there was only one bed only they’re trapped in a cave and injured and forced to rely on each other. So not actually really like that.

Wei Wuxian comes around outside of the cave with Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan, who brought help to rescue him and Lan Wangji; Lan Wangji, however, is gone.

Oh Shit Things Went Downhill Fast Arc

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian go back to Lotus Pier, where Wei Wuxian is in big trouble with Jiang Cheng’s mother (Yu Ziyuan, seen later emotionally terrorizing all her children), who already doesn’t like him and accuses him of bringing trouble down on them by defying the Wens. Jiang Cheng’s dad is terrible, Wei Wuxian reaffirms that he and Jiang Cheng will be Together Forever, you, the viewer, know that is absolutely not how that’s going to go.

Word comes that the Wen have attacked one of the smaller sects, and Jiang Cheng’s dad (Jiang Fengmian) goes with Jiang Yanli to talk to Jin Guangshan about how to deal with the Wens.

Then Wang Lingjiao arrives with word that they’re gonna be in big trouble if they don’t punish Wei Wuxian right now. Yu Ziyuan uses her lightning whip to beat the shit out of Wei Wuxian, but Wang Lingjiao wants her to cut off his hand. Then she makes the mistake of saying that they’ll be making Lotus Pier a supervisory office of the Wens, thank you.

Yu Ziyuan reacts...poorly, Wang Lingjiao calls on her backup Wen Zhuliu (and everyone else); seeing the writing on the wall Yu Ziyuan grabs Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, puts them on a boat, and sends them away, bequeathing her sick-ass lightning whip (Zidian) to Jiang Cheng. They run into Jiang Fengmian and Jiang Yanli; Jiang Fengmian adds Jiang Yanli to the boat full of crying children and goes to sail back to Lotus Pier.

Lotus Pier falls, everybody dies, Jiang Cheng goes semi-catatonic and then disappears, having been captured by the Wens after going back for his parents’ bodies. (Which is more important than it probably sounds, from a Western perspective.) Wei Wuxian follows him and finds Wen Ning, who smuggles Jiang Cheng out and takes him, Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Yanli to Wen Qing for safekeeping.

Jiang Cheng wakes up; his golden core (the...thing that lets him do superpowered things, let’s go with that) was destroyed by Wen Zhuliu. Melted, if you will. And it’s not the kind of thing you can just, you know, fix. He descends into absolute despair as Wei Wuxian looks frantically for a way to fix it - and finds one! Though Wen Qing is not happy about it, she still agrees.

at this point we see the return of an old friend! Song Lan, who has a bloody bandage over his eyes, but has eyes that work, despite the fact that he was blinded by Xue Yang who also killed his entire temple. He explains that Xiao Xingchen said that he was taking Song Lan to his master Baoshan Sanren, the immortal who can cure anything, and doesn’t remember anything else.

Wei Wuxian takes Jiang Cheng to Baoshan Sanren to get his core back. Psych! It’s a lie that he totally made up to explain the fact that he’s actually getting his own core transplanted into Jiang Cheng in a highly experimental procedure. Importantly, Wei Wuxian does not tell Jiang Cheng this.

Post-surgery, rather battered Wei Wuxian gets caught by Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao, who torture him and then throw him into a place called the Burial Mounds, which is more or less what it sounds like, is Very Cursed, and from which no one has emerged alive. Then this happens:

(I want you to appreciate how hard I’ve tried to not put any screencaps in here. but I had to do this one. I just had to.)

and you go oh shit and also well that’s sexy.

Jiang Cheng, delighted to have his core back, descends the mountain only to find that Wei Wuxian is...not there.

Cool! That seems fine.

Sunshot Campaign Arc

Timeskip to three months later! The rest of the sects have allied together to take down the Wen Sect (this is what ‘Sunshot Campaign’ refers to, because the symbol of the Wens is a sun). Things aren’t looking good for the Wens, including Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao. Wang Lingjiao hallucinates to the sound of a flute and ends up killing herself. Meanwhile, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng have teamed up to look for Wei Wuxian. On their way, they start finding piles of Wen bodies killed in a mysterious and grotesque manner involving an unfamiliar method of cultivation.

(Side note: around now is where Jiang Cheng frees Wen Qing from where she was imprisoned by the Wens for being a dirty traitor during the war and gives her the comb of pining he bought way back in the Cloud Recesses arc, telling her that he will help her if she asks. This isn’t...exactly important, except I wanted to note it.)

Eventually, they find a house where Wen Chao has holed up with Wen Zhuliu, and watch as it’s revealed that he has gone through some nasty shit, is terrified and traumatized and badly injured. Ominous signs: begin to happen! Flames going out: happen! Shots of someone climbing slowly and menacingly up stairs: happen! 

Yeah, it’s Wei Wuxian. New and improved, darker and meaner and very sexy about it, and with a new sick-ass flute. He starts attacking Wen Chao, and when Wen Zhuliu moves to attack Wei Wuxian Jiang Cheng jumps down and hangs Wen Zhuliu with Zidian. Lan Wangji confronts Wei Wuxian about this darker and meaner version and Wei Wuxian breaks up with him; Lan Wangji leaves Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian to kill Wen Chao because the family that murders together stays together!

(They won’t, but.)

The war goes on, but the tides have turned, and the Wens are losing. Both of Wen Ruohan’s sons are dead. Soup drama happens here, which I don’t need to explain fully but it is clear that Wei Wuxian is extremely emotionally unstable, and also will no longer carry his sword despite everyone telling him he needs to carry his sword. All is not well with the Wei Wuxian! But nobody knows why. Lan Wangji’s repeated “LET ME FIX YOU” overtures are not well received. Lan Wangji also has a nice conversation about how the Lan rules did not prepare him for moral complexity.

Eventually Nie Mingjue proposes going to attack Wen Ruohan on his own while the others move on the Wen stronghold at Nightless City (at this point, they have received a map of Wen defenses from a ~mysterious spy~). Nie Mingjue is captured, and it is revealed that Meng Yao decided that after getting kicked out of Qinghe he could find a better boss somewhere else. Outside, an undead army shows up to kick everyone else’s ass. Things don’t look good for our heroes!

Wei Wuxian brings out his secret weapon the Yin Tiger Seal and...takes over the undead army. This is very troubling to everyone involved, but it does bring Wen Ruohan out to see what the deal is. Wei Wuxian delivers one of the sickest lines in the entire show:

(i’m restraining myself! trust me! i am!)

so yeah, that’s a normal and reassuring thing to say.

And then Meng Yao stabs Wen Ruohan in the back. And that’s it for Wen Ruohan! Our major antagonist is dead! Surely everything will be fine now.

Well We Won the War, Now What Arc

[cracks knuckles] and here’s where the politics starts.

Ready and totally psyched to step into the power vacuum left by the fall of the Wens is Jin Guangshan! Leader of the Jin Sect, least impacted by the war by vitue of joining up late. He recognizes Meng Yao as his son now that he’s, like, someone that is valuable to him politically, and Meng Yao gets a commensurate name change > Jin Guangyao. Pretty much immediately Jin Guangshan starts manuevering to consolidate power - pushing to marry Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan, pushing to get access to Wei Wuxian’s Yin Tiger Seal, subtly undermining everyone else...the works.

Jin Guangshan is the worst, is what I’m saying here.

Meanwhile, Nie Mingjue is very unhappy about the whole “Meng Yao helping the Wens and fucking with him when he’s captured” thing, but then Lan Xichen (remember, Lan Wangji’s older brother) steps in and reveals that Jin Guangyao was a spy delivering information, actually, and also saved his life when he was on the run from the Wens, so don’t hurt him please. Nie Mingjue is still very suspicious, but he backs off. Subsequently, after agreeing to place the Wen (civilian) captives in a holding camp, Jin Guangyao has them killed (impliedly at the order of his father).

We are given cues that Jin Guangyao is bad news. Like, heavy cues. If you are me this makes you love him.

This is also where Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, and Jin Guangyao become sworn brothers, which is a big deal.

Meanwhile, back in Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian is...not doing so hot! He’s drinking heavily, shirking his responsibilities in a way that is making Jiang Cheng particularly very upset with him, generally being weird and traumatized but nobody knows how to deal with that, or him. Then Jin Zixuan arrives to invite everyone to a special hunt being hosted by his father including Jiang Yanli because he, he means his mom, really wants her to be there.

The hunt goes great! By that I mean Jin Zixuan is a spectacular failure at expressing his feelings to Jiang Yanli, Wei Wuxian almost starts a fight with Jin Zixuan, Jin Zixuan’s enormous asshole cousin gets nasty until Jiang Yanli makes him apologize, in a seriously badass moment. The whole thing comes off with Wei Wuxian really not looking good, including his decision to ditch the celebratory banquet. But also Jiang Yanli getting a liiiiittle closer to something she wants (i.e. Jin Zixuan). Jiang Cheng is like “dude what the fuck” at Wei Wuxian and gets zero percent explanation. Meanwhile everyone in the vicinity pokes at his massive insecurities, because the cultivation world’s favorite activity is actually gossip.

Things only get worse at the very bad after party. This is where we meet Su She again, who has gone and founded his own sect! Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji are sort of bitchy about it. But the real issue comes when Zixun peer pressures Lan Xichen into drinking despite the fact that it’s pretty solidly against the rules of the Lan Sect. Lan Xichen does it with a very “fuck you” smile, despite Jin Guangyao’s attempts to forestall the situation.

(I feel like I have not expressed the relationship between Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen? It’s a whole thing. Let’s just say that it’s a fairly popular ship for a reason.)

Lan Wangji, however, is not as diplomatic as his brother.

And then Wei Wuxian arrives! To ruin another party. Because he found Wen Qing wandering around in the streets and turns out that Wen Ning was taken prisoner by Jin Zixun and friends and removed to whereabouts unknown. Wei Wuxian proceeds to give the sexiest countdown ever to annihilating Jin Zixun if he doesn’t tell him where Wen Ning is.

Wen Ning, unfortunately, is in a pile of bodies. Because the Jin have been...well, experimenting on Wen prisoners, basically. Wen Ning is...not dead in this universe because censorship, but everything makes more sense if you just say “he’s basically dead and Wei Wuxian resurrects him to fuck up everyone in the vicinity who was responsible for his death, which is...everyone other than the other Wens. Eventually Wei Wuxian stops him by yelling his second (courtesy) name that no one else has used for him in speech up to this point (Wen Qionglin), because love is stored in the name. Wei Wuxian gathers up the survivors and takes off only to run into Lan Wangji standing in his way.

They have a point of no return moment. Wei Wuxian basically says “let me go or you have to kill me” only it’s better than that because what he actually says is like “if I’m going to be killed I should be killed by you, then I would know it was right” and it’s a whole fucking thing and anyway Lan Wangji steps aside and lets them all go and it is quite literally “I’m not crying, it’s just raining on my face” except he is also crying.

So...fuck.

Burial Mounds Arc

Wei Wuxian takes the Wens to the one place nobody’s probably going to follow them: namely, the Burial Mounds. Home sweet home!

Outside in the main world, rumors are flying about the army Wei Wuxian is building and the sect he’s planning to found and how ambitious he is and how he’s disrespecting Jiang Cheng and actually Jiang Cheng he probably never loved you anyway and is better and stronger and what are you good for, but I’m saying this out of concern and to be helpful (paraphrased from Jin Guangshan).

Accordingly, Jiang Cheng agrees to go and check things out and see what’s going on in Chez Burial Mounds. What is going on is basically a bunch of civilians eking out a very depressing living. There is also a child, a-Yuan, who is adorable. This will also be important later.

(are you keeping track of all this?)

Jiang Cheng also goes to see Wen Ning, who is...recovering from being dead/undead and Wei Wuxian is working on fixing him. Jiang Cheng says he has to die, and Wei Wuxian has to come home, and things are really bad, man, so stop worrying about these losers and avoid the entire cultivation world being really pissed with you, maybe?

Wei Wuxian isn’t going for it, and tells Jiang Cheng to cut him out of Jiang Sect in order to protect Jiang Sect’s reputation. It’s upsetting. They stage a very dramatic duel and Jiang Cheng announces that friendship ended with Wei Wuxian, he has no new friend actually.

This is also where Wen Qing significantly returns the comb of pining that Jiang Cheng gave her way back (remember that?) and is like. so you wouldn’t’ve helped me and Wen Ning actually, would you. And that is the end of Chengqing as a sidebar ship that never really sailed. Well done, you two.

Meanwhile, Jin Zixuan gets his shit together and proposes to Jiang Yanli by way of making her a lotus pond at Jinlintai. So that’s nice!

A bit later Lan Wangji comes to visit! Only it’s totally coincidental, he was just passing through, that’s all. He and Wei Wuxian hang out for a little while, pretending things are sort of normal, but they have to rush back to the Burial Mounds because the Wen Ning is out. They manage to get him under control and awaken him to proper consciousness again, though! Great! Things are looking up. :)

Lan Wangji does not stay for dinner, though. :(

In my notes I have written “meanwhile...political shitshow” and that is basically a summation of what’s up in places that aren’t the Burial Mounds. Specifically, Jin Guangshan, who seems to have deputized Jin Guangyao to do his dirty work generally, is making noises about how something needs to be done about that Wei Wuxian, and what about that Yin Tiger Seal anyway, doesn’t it seem Yin Iron-like, shouldn’t something like that not be in the hands of a random person? Probably it should be in someone else’s hands instead. Someone responsible with no ulterior motives. You know.

Also in here...somewhere, Mianmian tries to stand up for Wei Wuxian being maybe right about some things, gets shouted down, and decides to leave the Jin Sect entirely. Like...just walks out. Several people look at her like ‘you can do that?’, Lan Wangji is jealous, it is a total boss move. Mianmian hasn’t been a major character but this is important enough and cool enough that I had to mention it.

Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng come to Yiling (by the Burial Mounds) for a very secret rendezvous where Wei Wuxian gets to see Jiang Yanli’s beautiful wedding dress and eat some of her famous soup and it is very sweet and nice and Jiang Cheng is like “so do you have a plan for if everyone attacks you” and Wei Wuxian is like “absolutely. I will kill everyone is my plan.”

also possibly Jiang Yanli is already pregnant at this point??? she and Jiang Cheng are certainly exchanging a lot of conspiratorial smiles when she tells Wei Wuxian to give her future son a courtesy name.

She is for sure pregnant later, because there is a baby named Jin Ling who shows up! (Remember that name? No? He was the bratty teenager from episode 2.)  Jin Guangshan does not allow Jin Guangyao to hold the baby, for which he deserves what he gets. For Jin Ling’s 100 day/three month (again! timelines, fuck em) celebration, Jiang Cheng, Jin Zixuan, and Lan Wangji tag team to get Wei Wuxian invited, where he will come and it will be nice and everyone will discuss this Yin Tiger Seal issue like civilized people.

An invitation is sent for Wei Wuxian to come to the celebration! Wonderful! This is in no way going to go horribly wrong.

Oh Shit, Things Went Downhill Fast (Take Two) Arc

It goes horribly wrong.

On the way to Jinlintai to greet his new baby nephew, accompanied by Wen Ning, Wei Wuxian is confronted by - surprise! - Jin Zixun, accusing Wei Wuxian of putting a curse on him. Wei Wuxian denies it, naturally, since he didn’t. Jin Zixun decides the best way to deal with this situation is to kill Wei Wuxian, which will definitely break the curse that Wei Wuxian definitely cast on him.

He attacks, and Wen Ning goes Ghost General on everyone’s ass, and Wei Wuxian brings out his flute. Things are looking pretty hairy when Jin Zixuan shows up to call off the fight, trying to get Wei Wuxian to back down; he does not back down, because that would just mean getting shot full of arrows.

Wen Ning, who seems to have completely lost his mind, fists Jin Zixuan. Through the chest. This does, in fact, kill him.

His dying words are to say that Jiang Yanli is still waiting for Wei Wuxian to show up, just to make everything worse. Wen Ning kills Jin Zixun as well. This is not actually what Wei Wuxian wanted to happen.

Back at the Burial Mounds! In the wake of Jin Zixuan’s death, an ultimatum has been issued to give up the Wen siblings or else. This is pretty clearly (in my opinion) a pretext that doesn’t mean anything, but Wen Qing and Wen Ning have already decided to sacrifice themselves. Maybe they’re hoping it’ll work? Or at least that it’ll give Wei Wuxian some time? Wen Qing knocks Wei Wuxian out so he can’t stop them. The whole thing is really fucking heartbreaking.

Wei Wuxian comes around and goes to Jinlintai, where he sees Jiang Yanli, who is mourning her dead husband who got killed by her baby brother! Cool! She sees Wei Wuxian but he runs before she can say anything, partly because guards have been sicced on him. He is pretty clearly having a mental breakdown, hallucinations and all!

Cut to a gathering of...pretty much everyone important and all their followers at Nightless City, for a combination commemorating the dead/affirming the deaths of Wen Ning and Wen Qing/gearing up to kill Wei Wuxian.

Who spares them the effort of coming to find him by showing up on the roof! He proceeds to sic dark magic on everyone there except, conspicuously, for the Jiang Sect. Lan Wangji arrives to defuse the situation and fails to defuse the situation until Wei Wuxian hears Jiang Yanli calling for him.

Because she’s arrived on an active battlefield! Not her best idea but it’s not like I can actually blame her considering the week she’s having.

Wei Wuxian goes to look for her, as does Jiang Cheng who also heard her, and...suddenly loses control of his dark magic. Cool! One of the...undead? people there wounds Jiang Yanli. Even better! Jiang Cheng pleads with Wei Wuxian to get things under control, which he can’t! They have a moment while a lot of people around them are dying but you know what, they deserve it.

because like literally a second later Jiang Yanli pushes Wei Wuxian out of the way of a sword meant to stab him in the back and instead takes it herself. And dies.

So. Yeah.

Wei Wuxian loses the last threads of his sanity and destroys the Yin Tiger Seal. While everybody is fighting over it, he goes over to the edge of a cliff, and now we’re back here where we started! With Lan Wangji clinging to Wei Wuxian’s hand as he dangles over the edge of a cliff and tells him to let go.

Jiang Cheng arrives to defuse the situation, by which I mean “he tells Wei Wuxian to go die and stabs down.” He only hits rock; Wei Wuxian breaks himself loose of Lan Wangji’s grip and falls. You are left on the image of Lan Wangji’s absolutely devastated face.

nice! great. well, that brings us up to speed for the flashforward to the future, where you have probably completely forgotten what happened in the first two episodes.

For instance: remember how we saw Wen Ning despite the fact that he’s supposed to be ashes? Yeah.

And We’re Back in the Present Now Arc (Good Times in Qinghe Arc)

For some reason this is the part of the show where I remember the least and it all kind of blurs together with the exception of one scene? so I had to go look at Wikipedia episode summaries to make sure I was putting things in the right order.

Back in the present at the Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji discover that the very angry sword spirit last seen killing people at Mo Manor (remember that?) is pointing them in the direction of Qinghe (the Nie Sect territory). They leave to go there and run into Jin Ling, who semi-accidentally terrorizes Wei Wuxian by way of dog. 

By asking around, they also learn that there are rumors of a man-eating fortress in the woods, and that it hasn’t been dealt with because the leader of the Nie Sect is absolutely useless. The leader of the Nie Sect who is now - hey, been a while! - Nie Huaisang, since his older brother disappeared under mysterious circumstances after losing his mind years ago.

The dynamic duo go off to investigate the man-eating fortress, naturally, and what they find is a tomb full of swords and a wall full of skeletons, and also Jin Ling. 

They remove Jin Ling from the wall, Lan Wangji goes chasing a mysterious attacker, and Wei Wuxian takes Jin Ling to safety only to end up running into - oh boy! - Jiang Cheng. 

They have a calm talk about their feelings and address their dysfunction in a reasonable manner. 

Nope! Jiang Cheng corners Wei Wuxian with Jin Ling’s dog, throws a cup of tea at a wall, and yells at Wei Wuxian about how he both didn’t come home right away and also how he should die ten million times (no, like, actually). Fortunately, Jin Ling arrives, lies out his ass about how he saw Wen Ning to get Jiang Cheng to leave, and lets Wei Wuxian go. 

Back to that mysterious figure Lan Wangji went running after! Turns out it was none other than Nie Huaisang, who confesses - reluctantly - that the man-eating fortress belongs to his family and is a safe home for bloodthirsty swords after their owners die, which is a normal thing to get as a family heirloom. This is also where it becomes increasingly clear that (a) the sword spirit is Baxia, Nie Mingjue’s sword, and (b) Nie Mingjue is most likely hella dead, specifically murdered. 

With this new information, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian move on, tracking the directions of the angry sword spirit. They overhear some very depressing story about Song Lan, Xiao Xingchen, and Xue Yang, specifically how things turned out horribly for them (though without details), which drives Lan Wangji to drink.

Lan Wangji cannot hold his liquor, at all. Wei Wuxian takes his unconsciousness as an opportunity to flute Wen Ning to him again, and removes a massive metal needle from his skull, which fixes the whole “unconscious zombie” issue. Unfortunately, Wen Ning remembers nothing about what happened to him between going to Jinlintai with Wen Qing and when he heard Wei Wuxian calling by way of flute.

And now we have Drunkji, who is the most adorable, hilarious thing ever. He gives Wei Wuxian chickens, with utmost sincerity. They are wedding chickens. It is very important that Wei Wuxian have these chickens.

This interlude is not important to the plot but it is hilarious. There is also a not hilarious interlude of Lan Wangji being very sad about how he didn’t help Wei Wuxian before, and also admitting that he likes rabbits. Again: not plot important. It is adorable. 

Wei Wuxian herds Drunkji back to the inn, where a mysterious masked man attempts to steal the pouch holding the angry sword spirit, but is driven off and teleports away. Remember this guy! He’s important.

The next morning, they set off and hit the road for a place called Yi City, which if you’ve spent any time on this blog you know is deeply important in my heart if not, like, in terms of show space.

Yi City Arc Yi City Arc Yi City Arc

yes this is three episodes but this is my summary post so I get to give it its own section if I want to.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji arrive at Yi City, which is empty, and very spooky. They run into the pack of juniors (Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, sassmaster Lan Jingyi and consummate romantic Ouyang Zizhen are the named ones), and shortly thereafter into a whole bunch of undead. They also run into a ghost (???) girl who is blind and has no tongue. They also also run into Xiao Xingchen, severely wounded.

Psych! It’s Xue Yang in disguise and he has an undead Song Lan under his control. what a fun twist this is! and he wants one thing specifically: for Wei Wuxian to help him bring someone back to life. Problem is that their soul is in need of some serious super glue and super glue doesn’t work on souls.

Xue Yang informs Wei Wuxian that his consent is optional and he will be participating in Xue Yang’s necromancy experiment fantasies whether he likes it or not. Lan Wangji objects strenuously to this idea. While Lan Wangji is fighting Xue Yang and Wen Ning is fighting Song Lan (corpse fight! corpse fight!) Wei Wuxian herds the juniors into a safe courtyard where the corpses won’t go, led by the aforementioned ghost girl, who shows them a coffin.

the coffin has Xiao Xingchen in it. The actual real one. There’s a bandage over his eyes, because he doesn’t have any.

Wei Wuxian goes into the ghost girl’s memories in order to find out what happened using a technique called Empathy, and the next chunk of things I’m just going to tell in full chronologically even though there’s a break where you don’t see all of it until an episode later.

The ghost girl, a-Qing, is a con artist who pretends to be blind; she runs into Xiao Xingchen (who is actually blind) when she steals his money, and he just gives it to her after stopping someone else whose money she stole from beating him up. A-Qing decides they’re friends now. They’ve been traveling together for...some amount of time when they stumble on a badly injured man on the side of the road. Xiao Xingchen picks him up and takes him home with him (to an abandoned coffin house in Yi City). You get one guess who he’s rescued and who is totally psyched to discover that his life has been saved by Xiao Xingchen, who doesn’t know who he is, because he’s blind.

So you know, everything is coming up Xue Yang.

What follows is three years of domestic bliss, including hits like “entire villages dying by Xiao Xingchen under sort of suspicious circumstances” and “threatening grocers.” And then who should show up but Song Lan! Looking for Xiao Xingchen and he’s so happy to have finally found him.

Only he notices Xue Yang first.

A fight ensues, in which Xue Yang...sort of talks Song Lan to death by digging into the fact that Xiao Xingchen is blind because he gave his eyes to Song Lan, actually, and Song Lan hurt him so bad when they broke up, and because Xiao Xingchen is blind Xue Yang has been able to trick him into killing living people when he thinks he’s killing undead ones, and oooh do you feel bad now, well, guess what, you’re gonna feel worse when I poison you into becoming undead and cut out your tongue. :D

And even worse when this means that Xiao Xingchen stabs him because, you know, undead monster.

Cool! Things are going great.

Or they would be only a-Qing saw everything, reveals it to Xiao Xingchen, who puts it together and greets XueYang coming back from grocery shopping with a sword (rude). They break up, and by “break up” I mean “Xue Yang reveals his tragic backstory, Xiao Xingchen is not convinced that his tragic backstory means all the murder was justified, Xue Yang decides it’s time to make this all go nuclear.” So tells Xiao Xingchen about how he’s been killing people actually! And guess what, bonus, one of those people was your BFF/life partner/whatever, Song Lan. isn’t that amazing, Xiao Xingchen, isn’t that so cool--

Xiao Xingchen kills himself and this is, it turns out, Not What Xue Yang Wanted. So guess who’s in the pouch Xue Yang was hoping to resurrect? Yeah.

Back in the present, with help from a-Qing directing Lan Wangji, Xue Yang gets...hella stabbed, but not before he kills a-Qing. Song Lan, freed from Xue Yang’s control, kills Xue Yang.

Oh yeah, and then we see Xiao Xingchen tenderly laying pieces of candy on a bed, which is symbolically important, and also Xue Yang dies looking at the last piece of candy Xiao Xingchen gave him, and now I’m going to cry. anyway Yi City Arc, you’re welcome. Where the only person who survives did not, in fact, survive!

Oh, yeah, I guess it’s also important that there’s a headless body buried here and it gets...pretty conclusively identified as Nie Mingjue because the sword spirit (remember that?) takes the shape of his very distinctive large sword (Baxia). Also Xue Yang recreated the Yin Tiger Seal but it gets snatched away by the masked man from earlier. There’s also a bunch of stuff about the Yin Iron plot but you can ignore it, it doesn’t actually really matter that much.

Honestly at that point I was crying too much to pay a whole lot of attention to the whole point of them being in Yi City to begin with. So sue me.

The Plot Thickens, and Secrets Are Revealed Arc

Exeunt Yi City, rendezvous with Lan Xichen to discuss, obliquely, who could be responsible for Nie Mingjue’s death. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji delicately imply that maybe it was Jin Guangyao; Lan Xichen is unconvinced and informs us that there are no curse marks indicating that he’d teleported on Jin Guangyao’s body, he would know, and also they’ve been together every night so he wouldn’t have time to get up to shenanigans anyway.

Hm.

Still, they go ahead together to ruin another party/investigate at Jinlintai, with Wei Wuxian safely in disguise (barely), unfortunately as Mo Xuanyu, who is not exactly welcome in the Jin Sect because he got kicked out of it earlier. Mo Xuanyu is a whole...thing that I’m not really going into here because the show doesn’t really get into it either.

Wei Wuxian ducks out to investigate, and in the form of an animated paper man, to the tune of music we have never heard before in this show and will never hear again (look, it’s just weird to me), goes sneaking into Jin Guangyao’s rooms to do some poking around. His investigations are interrupted when Jin Guangyao’s wife Qin Su, in a state of severe distress, returns, followed shortly by Jin Guangyao. They argue about an unknown revelation in a letter Qin Su received that has resulted in her being disgusted by...something, we don’t know what, and angry with Jin Guangyao. She accuses him of killing their kid.

Eventually he paralyzes her and removes her to a secret room through a mirror, which is a thing everyone has, especially one with a bunch of torture instruments and a body sized table with dried blood on it. Normal!

Remember how the body in Yi City was headless? Yeah, we found the head now.

And it’s time for another Empathy flashback! 

Empathy Flashback feat. Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao’s Bad Relationship Mini Arc

This time with Nie Mingjue (and Jin Guangyao). We see Jin Guangyao very quickly elevated from a servant who is spat upon by the other Nie cultivators to Nie Mingjue’s right hand man, like, literally in two seconds. Flash forward to episode 10 - remember that? - where Jin Guangyao has just been caught in a compromising murder position. Nie Mingjue accuses Jin Guangyao plotting all along and is a conniving little snake who was in league with Xue Yang (which is a thing that does not make sense, actually), and kicks him out.

We next see Nie Mingjue in Nightless City, having been captured and currently being taunted by a very sexy Meng Yao, who kills some other Nie cultivators and threatens to fuck up Nie Mingjue by shattering his sword (which would be catastrophic and is, we are informed, how Nie Mingjue’s dad died). Nie Mingjue is understandably rather displeased by this to the point of probable murder, though Lan Xichen reminds him (as he did in the previous scene) that Meng Yao was acting as a spy and Meng Yao argues that he needed to play his part.

The relationship between the two of them continues to deteriorate as Nie Mingjue becomes more unstable (something that just happens to the Nies by virtue of their cultivation style). That deterioration is being delayed by healing music from Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen teaches Jin Guangyao the healing music. Jin Guangyao seems to be possibly doing something not healing with the healing music.

This all escalates into a confrontation at the top of the stairs of Jinlintai, where Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao argue about class politics and justifiable violence (no, really) until Nie Mingjue explodes and kicks Jin Guangyao down the stairs. 

And then proceeds to, as Jin Guangyao looks on, have a qi deviation, which is...well, let’s just call it both a physical and a mental breakdown. Nie Huaisang arrives to see this happening, and while we saw this before and it looked like Nie Mingjue was threatening Nie Huaisang because he didn’t recognize him, this time it is more apparent that he’s directing it at Jin Guangyao.

Next we see, Nie Mingjue is chained to that body sized table in the secret room. Xue Yang is there, and uses Nie Mingjue’s sword to behead Nie Mingjue. He’s psyched as hell about it. If you’re me this is adorable.

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming Arc

Flashback ends! And we are back in Jinlintai. Wei Wuxian goes to get Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen to storm Jin Guangyao’s bedroom, to which Su She objects, but Jin Guangyao eventually allows. They all file together into the secret room and look around, but there is no longer any severed head where Wei Wuxian left it. Whoops. 

Then Qin Su kills herself, Jiang Cheng arrives to defuse the situation while Jin Guangyao pleads innocent, and Wei Wuxian, by way of drawing his sword that nobody else could draw before now, reveals that he is, in fact, Wei Wuxian. Everyone in this room actually already knew this information except for Jin Ling, who is not thrilled to discover that his cool uncle is the guy who murdered his parents. Nobody else does a very good job of faking surprise.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian make a run for it only to be cornered on the stairs. Extreme romance ensues where Lan Wangji announces his intent to stand by Wei Wuxian forever against the world. 

This is where the “I was like, SCREAMS” meme kicks in.

Anyway, after that love confession (look, they can’t say ‘I love you’ but basically) in front of everyone, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian fight their way out together and are well on the way to freedom when Jin Ling stabs Wei Wuxian. 

Nobody is happy about this, including Jin Ling.

Wei Wuxian is okay overall, though he does faint and have to get swept off to the Cloud Recesses and undressed and redressed in Lan Wangji’s underwear. Don’t worry about it. And now it’s time to talk to Lan Xichen, who is currently feeling very “what the hell is going on, you have no proof and are accusing a person I trust completely of something horrible without any proof.” 

They still don’t have any proof, but Wei Wuxian reveals that in the flashback he heard Jin Guangyao playing the soothing music but different, and it comes out that there is evil Japanese music that can kill people and be used to poison someone slowly over time. It’s literally this post:

Lan Xichen is not entirely convinced but agrees to investigate; Jin Guangyao comes to Cloud Recesses and has an absolutely heartbreaking conversation with Lan Xichen about how is our friendship over, Zewu--jun :( while Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji eavesdrop.

That conversation isn’t plot important either, I just personally find it very upsetting.

The Burial Mounds, Take Two Arc

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji leave the Cloud Recesses, heading toward the Burial Mounds because Jin Guangyao mentioned something being up there. But they end up meeting - surprise! - Mianmian, who is living her best life. This is mostly important because she is literally the only female character who makes it out of this show alive. 

She mentions that there’s been some trouble around the Burial Mounds, so they head in that direction, running into Wen Ning along the way, who has been following them around because he loves Wei Wuxian. The Burial Mounds are indeed full of active undead and they fight their way up to the old farming commune location, which is less empty than expected because there are a bunch of kids tied up in Wei Wuxian’s old lair/cave/house. Like, all of them. Including Jin Ling, who really is having a terrible time lately, and I just feel the need to note that sometimes.

As they free the children and start to leave, everyone else arrives with the plan of killing Wei Wuxian again, because once wasn’t enough and obviously he’s Up To No Good, where else would these corpses be coming from, huh? 

Speaking of corpses. 

A small army of them shows up! All the cultivators who aren’t children lose their powers! Everyone has to retreat back into the lair/cave/house where they’ll be safe! So this is all...going well.

Fortunately, everyone being stuck in one place gives Wei Wuxian the opportunity to get his Hercule Poirot on and walk everyone through a series of deductions to get them to a place of realizing that (a) they were poisoned by evil music, (b) the evil music came from Su She, (c) Su She is working for Jin Guangyao who (d) planned all of this whole ‘everyone is going to the Burial Mounds to get killed’ thing.

Su She panics, inadvertently reveals that he alone still has his powers, and teleports out. Wei Wuxian decides that a reasonable solution to all these problems is to make himself bait for all the undead so everyone else can make a run for it, because Wei Wuxian is kind of like that. 

It’s okay, though, he and Lan Wangji make a spectacular battle couple.

(Oh, yeah. Throughout here it is becoming increasingly clear that Lan Sizhui’s identity is Significant and actually we Might Have Seen Him Before.)

Back to Lotus Pier Arc, or Jin Ling Has a Very Bad Day, Continued Arc

Safely out of the Burial Mounds thanks to Wei Wuxian, everybody goes ahead and invites themselves back to Jiang Cheng’s house. To be fair, it is closest. 

My notes here say “Wen Ning figures out that Lan Sizhui is a-Yuan, Jin Ling has an emotional breakdown” which is a more or less accurate summation of the situation. Honestly, though, I feel so bad for Jin Ling at this point, he’s had an absolute nightmare of a month and then today happened and like. I feel for him.

But Wen Ning reuniting with the last remaining member of his family! Though he doesn’t...actally tell Lan Sizhui this, and Lan Sizhui doesn’t have any memories of his early years. 

Jiang Cheng reluctantly allows Wei Wuxian inside. Wen Ning has to stay on the porch, but Lan Sizhui stays with him to keep him company, because he is a good boy.

This next part...hoo boy. It’s a lot of exposition featuring two ladies who appear to relate their stories about Jin Guangyao, featuring the part where he murdered his father by using a bunch of sex workers (who then were murdered in turn, except for one), also involving necrophilia, and the one where Qin Su was Jin Guangyao’s sister, actually, and he knew it and still married her. Sect Leader Bad Takes says that’s probably why Jin Guangyao killed their kid, because children of incest inevitably have developmental problems? Yeah, sure, buddy.

Anyway, everyone starts shouting for Jin Guangyao’s head, which is very familiar to Wei Wuxian, who leaves in some disgust. While wandering with Lan Wangji, they wind up going to the family shrine (which is, to be clear, a pretty sacred place). Which is where Jiang Cheng finds them! And once again they have a reasonable and emotionally steady conversation.

Nope. Jiang Cheng talks shit trying to provoke a fight that Wei Wuxian won’t have. As he and Lan Wangji attempt to leave, Jiang Cheng pursues because he’s not done yelling dammit, lashing out with Zidian. Wei Wuxian faints, and Wen Ning arrives to stand in between him and Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng, holding Wei Wuxian’s sheathed sword (remember, the one nobody other than Wei Wuxian can draw). Wen Ning proceeds to initiate one of the single best devastating beatdowns of the show without laying a hand on Jiang Cheng, specifically by shoving the sword at Jiang Cheng and telling him to draw it, because hey you can do that now! Wonder why that is? Wouldn’t you like to know what’s going on there, Jiang Wanyin?

Remember way back when Jiang Cheng lost his core and got it back because Wei Wuxian gave him his core? Yeah, this is when he finds out about that. Psych! Your brother loves you and also the only reason you got to be as strong as you are is because he sacrificed himself for you! Which is also the reason why he took up demonic cultivation in the first place! 

Seriously, it’s so good, I love this scene. Probably one of my favorites in the whole show.

Jiang Cheng runs away; Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have a moment on a lake where Lan Wangji indulges Wei Wuxian by eating stolen lotuses with him. It’s sweeter than it sounds when I put it like that.

Guanyin Temple Arc

oh god, how do I. how do I describe Guanyin Temple. partially this is hard because by virtue of censorship about dead bodies, among probably other things, there are huge gaps that make portions of it make no sense so I’m gonna go ahead and...fill in some of those that are intelligible pretty much only with some knowledge of book plot, imo.

Wen Ning, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian go to a place called Yunping because Jin Guangyao bought some land there for some reason. There they find a slightly suspicious temple (Guanyin Temple). They come back at night, leaving Wen Ning to stand guard, and spy on the courtyard, where a bunch of conspicuously armed monks are there, along with Lan Xichen aaaaand...Jin Guangyao. 

Jin Ling arrives! And decides it’s a good idea to climb over the wall. Wei Wuxian blocks someone from shooting him by using the bamboo flute he’s been using this whole time, so he now functionally has no weapon, and also he and Lan Wangji have been exposed, so now the two of them and also Jin Ling are in the courtyard. Lan Xichen admits he was tricked and doesn’t have any of his powers. Jin Guangyao threatens Lan Wangji into sealing his by threatening Wei Wuxian with a wire. It’s sexy.

Everybody goes inside the temple, where several monks are digging up something ??? under the floor. This is never explained and that is because it is supposed to be Jin Guangyao’s mother’s body, and there are very strict rules I understand about what can be done with dead bodies in dramas like this one. Anyway, Jin Guangyao loved his mom very much and built a temple where she was buried where the statue has her face. He is exhuming her so he can take her body with him when he flees the country, which is what he was planning here. Of course, now he has a bunch of unwanted hostages (and one wanted hostage), which was not actually part of the plan.

The next person to join the party is an unconscious Nie Huaisang, brought in by Su She, who basically says “I have no idea what he was doing here but...here he is” and Jin Guangyao is like. Well, guess he’s here now. 

Next to show up is Jiang Cheng! Making an excellent and extremely dramatic entrance. Unfortunately, he still gets injured and taken down as Jin Guangyao starts poking at his very obvious emotional weak spots, including revealing that Jiang Cheng knows about the golden core thing. Wei Wuxian, who did not know that secret came out because he was unconscious at the time, goes “wait, what?” and thus ensues the epic emotional catharsis crying and yelling conversation I was waiting for for 47 episodes. Seriously, it’s really good. They end up in a place where all is not solved but things are...maybe a little better? 

Of course, they’re still hostages. 

Meanwhile, back at the dig site, something gets unearthed that is not Jin Guangyao’s mother’s body but is in fact a coffin with Nie Mingjue’s body, now complete with head, in it. The reveal also drops here that Su She has the marks that indicate he cast the curse on Jin Zixun that Jin Zixun accused Wei Wuxian of casting.

A very ugly argument ensues where everyone is poking at everyone else’s things that they’re sensitive about, until finally Lan Xichen recovers his powers and turns the tables on Jin Guangyao by putting a sword to his neck. 

The next part is basically...explaining how all the bad things that happened were Jin Guangyao’s fault? Or at least that’s the explanation given. I find it personally very frustrating as a narrative choice and sort of unnecessary, but maybe that’s just me. Anyway, Jin Guangyao is pleading for mercy from Lan Xichen, saying he’ll leave and never return, the whole thing is very emotional. 

We also find out that Jin Guangshan kicked Jin Guangyao down the stairs. People really need to stop doing that.

And now Wen Ning arrives! Punting Lan Sizhui in ahead of him. He is possessed by a very angry sword spirit (namely, Baxia). Lan Wangji cuts off Jin Guangyao’s right arm, because Lan Wangji likes doing that, apparently. Baxia-possessed Wen Ning then targets Jin Ling because Jin Ling has Jin Guangyao’s blood on him - only for Wen Ning to stop the blade with his bare hand and save Jin Ling’s life, because Wen Ning is both a badass and very good. 

Jiang Cheng throws Wei Wuxian his old flute, which he apparently has just been keeping under his bed or something for sixteen years, which is a thing that I will always never be over, and Wei Wuxian flutes the very angry sword into the Nie Mingjue-holding coffin.

Which would be fine, only then Nie Huaisang starts yelling about how Su She totally stabbed him, no, really, look, he’s bleeding. Baxia kills Su She. Then Wei Wuxian manages to put the sword back in the coffin, as well as the Yin Tiger Seal, and locks both away.

Whew.

Everybody’s sitting down and recovering a little as Lan Xichen tends Jin Guangyao’s wounds. He turns around to get medicine from Nie Huaisang, who tells him to look out because Jin Guangyao is attacking you!!! 

Lan Xichen runs Jin Guangyao through. 

Oh boy.

Jin Guangyao is a little impressed about Nie Huaisang having been plotting this all along. Because he was. He absolutely was. He’s absolutely been planning this for years. Everybody needs a hobby.

But it’s Lan Xichen who he really addresses here, telling him that he’d never hurt him. The actual line really hurts but I’m trying to not reproduce lines here, except I am going to say that he drags Lan Xichen - still with a sword through him! - deeper into the temple and says “stay and die with me” as the temple starts to collapse. Lan Xichen, who was about to strike and presumably push himself away, lowers his hand, and Jin Guangyao abruptly pushes him away and out of the collapsing building.

Romance!

(No, but seriously, it’s a lot.)

Thus ends Jin Guangyao. 

Outside in the courtyard, everyone’s taking a breather. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian stare longingly at each other across the room and say nothing. Jiang Cheng walks away and we learn that - surprise! - the reason Jiang Cheng was caught by the Wens way back when is because he was keeping the Wens from catching Wei Wuxian instead.

Everybody in this family in just a big circle of self sacrifice. In the words of Wen Qing:

(Who misses Wen Qing? I do!)

Anyway, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian leave with each other, only to be caught on the road by Lan Sizhui and Wen Ning - Lan Sizhui, who has remembered that he was a-Yuan and finally someone tells Wei Wuxian this, and ahhhh, okay, I know what I said about limiting screencaps but I can’t not:

Now that’s what I call a hug!

They part ways again, Lan Sizhui leaving with Wen Ning for some family time and for Wen Ning to find his own way. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian...seem like they’re going in different directions, but then they’re at Cloud Recesses together, playing music, hanging out, vibing. They talk to Nie Huaisang, but don’t directly confront him about his scheming. Mostly just making sure he’s not, you know, gonna do anything else.

Then Wei Wuxian leaves to go on a roadtrip to find himself. People really do not like this, but I personally really do like this, especially because the last shots of the show are Wei Wuxian playing his and Lan Wangji’s theme song (the one that Lan Wangji wrote, remember, from the cave? It’s come up a lot, I just haven’t mentioned it here), and when he finishes Lan Wangji’s voice says “Wei Ying” and he turns around and just like. Smiles. It’s scrunchy and happy and perfect.

Like this:

aaaaaaand scene! fifty episodes later your life has been ruined and you will never be the same.

and the thing is that this is leaving out, like. a lot, and probably is biased because I focus on different things than another person would, &c &c, but at least it might be a starting point for...the entire plot.

and also congratulations if you made it this far, I am impressed. have a screenshot of wei wuxian as a reward, whose mental breakdown does make him look sexy

you’re welcome.

#anonymous #conversating #HOLY SHIT THAT WENT SOMEWHERE #anon if this isn't what you wanted....i'm very sorry send me another ask and i can link you to someone else's summary #but i started going and then i couldn't stop #and now here we are #the sad queer cultivators show #you know what i am going to tag this because it was kind of a lot of work #the untamed #cql #thanks for reading this and making sure it made any kind of sense james #lise does meta #i guess??????

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bakery 1995.

—wordcount: 14.7k+

—genre: angst, fluff, romance, baker!jimin, bakery cafe au, childhood friends-to-lovers au

—pairing: park jimin x f reader ft. bestfriend!jungkook

—rating: pg-15

—warnings: age gap (jimin is 4-5 years older), brief mention of physical assault, memory loss, overprotective parents, some intended grammatical mistakes, swearings, y/n is dragged into jungkook’s shenanigans

—summary: After returning from college for summer break, you got yourself a part time job to keep yourself busy. However, things go way too unexpectedly and you find yourself unraveling your forgotten past.

author’s note: this is for @btswritingcafe promptly yours event !! i tweaked the prompt a bit, so hopefully no one would get confused! happy reading ♡

Prompt: “Person A once had a major childhood crush on Person B. Fast forward to college where Person A is convinced it was nothing but temporary, that is until they return home for summer break to find Person B back after being gone for several years. Turns out, they weren’t such temporary feelings.”

© artaefact/eunoiabliss 2020. All rights reserved. Copying, reposting, translating, and modifying in any platform or by any means is NOT permitted.

It’s nice to know that no matter how judgemental the world can be, pigeons would never judge you. Despite the clear contrast between yourself and the asphalt pathway, they would not hesitate to excrete waste on either of them and can’t even be bothered by the possible consequences.

Staring at the dropping on your jacket sleeve, you exhale loudly while rummaging your pocket for a kleenex.

‘Out of all the places where their shit could have landed on, it had to be MY jacket,’ you grumble to yourself.

Reaching towards the bakery in the area, you hope they still have some cinnamon rolls you have been craving for. You can already imagine yourself humming in delight as the sweetness spreads across your taste buds and—

“You have got to be kidding me.”

The cashier attendee bows apologetically at you. “We’re so sorry, all the cinnamon rolls are sold out for today.”

Today must be the worst day to date in your entire years of existence. How on earth can a bakery run out of cinnamon rolls?

Groaning internally, you trudge out of the, now, third bakery that has sold out their cinnamon rolls.

Bad luck seems to follow you throughout the day. Is it because you went out of the house while your parents were in the middle of nagging you? For the last few days after you came back home for summer break, they have been constantly nagging you and you would kill to have an hour of peace and quiet.

Mindlessly, you whip up your phone and search up on Google while you walk to the nearby bus station, typing in the search bar — is it bad luck if a bird pooped on you?

Biting your lower lip, you press on the first link that appears on the screen.

Bird poop may be a sign of hope in disguise, you read. Snorting in incredulity, you scroll through the webpage.

It can’t be good luck.

You are not the type to believe in superstitions, however, besides getting pooped on, you dropped your phone on the pavement of the sidewalk just before you reached the first bakery, an hour ago. This resulted in the annoying crack of the screen right in the middle of it. Not only that, the sole of your right tennis shoes came off halfway which hindered you from walking properly and made you look like someone who hurt their leg.

Having had enough for today, you decide to go back home. Until a pastel pink store, right across the street, catches your attention with its aesthetic-looking door.

What’s this? A new—

A dramatic gasp escapes your lips after reading the name of the store, earning confused stares from nearby people. But you couldn’t care less.

Maybe Lady Luck does still care about you.

As soon as the pedestrian light turns green, you excitedly run, no, shuffle through the zebra-cross, reaching the newly-opened bakery.

My last hope is here. Please, let there be—

The interior of the bakery exudes a welcoming vibe, with the color of pale pink being the dominant over the whole place. Basically, it's a place where those Instagram models would kill to take their pictures at. However, it’s not the interior itself that your focus locks on. When the smell of freshly baked goods wafts into your nose, your eyes zero themselves on the various types of pastries that line the display counter, covered in glass domes. And there it is.

“Yes!” You squeal, grabbing the bakery tray to fill it as much as you’d like.

When you place the filled tray in the cash register counter, the cashier comments, “Woah, that’s a lot.”

If it is a normal day, you would have waved it off. However, unfortunately for the guy, it isn’t a normal day for you, after the constant annoying incidents that happened to you earlier. The comment snaps the last thread of patience you have for the day and sadly, targets the person in front of you. “I think you should mind your own—”

You take your thoughts back. Lady Luck is not on your side nor is the universe. They must be having fun, playing pranks on you so much today.

Your words cease immediately at his sheepish yet attractive smile.

“I-I’m sorry,” you stammer. “Just having a really bad day and I—”

“No! That’s okay.” The guy grins at you, eyes turning into crescent moons. “I’m the one who should be sorry, I just said the first thing that came up in my mind.”

“Ah...”

“I suck at starting conversations,” he says, sheepishly. “It’s a skill I’m planning to improve.”

Blinking twice, you manage to smile back at him, most probably just a cringed expression. “Well, um, good luck with that.”

As soon as he hands you the paper bag, you dash out of the bakery, not once looking back.

Your cheeks feel hot during the whole trip back home, every time you remember what happened, you would mentally kick yourself.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Eating the warm cinnamon rolls is a blessing and a curse.

You have never tasted such heavenly flavour before, all your worries and exhaustion seem to fade away. This brings you to freeze in the realisation that you’ll want, no, need to go back to that bakery to buy those delicious rolls again. Meaning, you’ll see that cute guy whom you snapped at earlier, again.

His friendly eye-smile burns deep in your mind. But you can’t shrug off the sense of familiarity of his face and his voice…

Have I met him before?

Once you reach home, body aching and tired, you take a quick shower before digging into the rolls. Clicking your tongue, you continue to munch on the rolls in your room while your thoughts pull you in deep.

The sudden knock on your door, however, brings you back to the present. Groaning loudly, you stand up from your padded window seat.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Jungkook.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Your mouth agape at the sudden visit from your best friend. “Didn’t you say you won’t see me at all until break is over?”

“I might have changed my mind. I was very bored at home.” He enters your room, plopping on your beanbag. “So, now I am bored as hell and— Did you buy food without telling me?”

You met him during freshman year and you both hit it off quite quickly, you might add. After constantly pairing up together in projects, college project meetups gradually turned into hangouts.

“Says the one who claims to see my face every day makes him sick.” You roll your eyes at his dramatic ass, you go back to the window seat, crossing your legs. “It wasn’t planned, okay? I just got back home like thirty minutes ago.”

“But still you nearly finished everything without leaving me much!” He bit your last half-finished roll, letting out a noise of approval. “Which bakery did you buy it from?”

“It’s a new one. I never saw it before we went to college.”

“You should bring me there soon.”

“Nu-uh,” you refuse. “You can go yourself. I am not stepping a foot inside that place any longer.”

“What? Why not?”

“I may have embarrassed myself in front of the worker there.” Then you tell him what happened earlier.

Jungkook shakes his head in pity. “My poor Y/N, how do you always embarrass yourself when I’m not around? How would you survive in this world without me?”

Snorting at his words, you lean against the pillows on your back. “You’re the lucky one to have someone like me as his best friend. Anyways, how about that job I’m looking for?”

“Oh!” Jungkook’s eyes lit up. “Right, I was about to tell you! My friend is looking for a part-timer for his cafe.”

“Hmm, that sounds…”

Jungkook answers, “Boring? I know you’re looking for something much more exciting and—”

Narrowing your stare at Jungkook’s obvious judgmental face, you cut him off. “It sounds perfect, actually.”

Sighing, Jungkook whips up his phone. “You better bring me leftovers every time you get off work. I’ll bring you to his cafe tomorrow.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“What? Why?”

“You little shit—” You smack his arm.

“Ow! Stop that, woman! I thought you said—”

“This is a fucking bakery, dumbass!” You hiss at him.

Jungkook gapes at you. “It’s a bakery cafe, what’s the difference?”

“It’s different! I can’t go back in there!” You whine in embarrassment.

“Wait— So this is the bakery where you embarrassed yourself?”

Nodding wordlessly, you exhale before catching Jungkook failing to stifle his laughter. “Shouldn’t be too big of a problem. He’s nice, Y/N.”

“But—”

“And I told him you were coming…” Jungkook scratches the back of his head.

After contemplating for a while, you decided to gather your courage and enter the sweet-smelling bakery with Jungkook.

Too late to go back now. It was either this or staying bored at home for the rest of the summer break, facing your parents’ look of disapproval at your lack of daily activities, or to be more exact productivity.

The cute guy just finished placing cakes inside the glass displays on the counter, then his gaze shifts to where you and Jungkook are standing.

“Jungkook!” The cute guy’s brown hair is slicked back as he takes off his baker’s hat, approaching your best friend.

“It’s been so long, Hyung!” Jungkook greets back with a hug, smiling from ear to ear. “And wow—” His eyes skim through the pastel-themed cafe. “You finally opened your own cafe.”

Watching them interacting is a foreign sight to you. It’s a rare right to see Jungkook, the usually shy one, so friendly and comfortable around the cute guy.

If you’re lucky enough, maybe the cute guy won’t remember you and—

“Ah! Miss Cinnamon Rolls!”

Scratch that. Of course, he still remembers you.

“I didn’t know you were looking for a job.” His eye smile lands on you finally and your throat dries up.

Jungkook fails to hold back his laughter. “Miss Cinnamon Rolls? Just how much did you buy last time?”

After sending a brief glare at your best friend, you introduce yourself to the cute guy, “Y/N.”

As soon as your name slips past your lips, the cute guy freezes momentarily, eyes widening a fraction. “Y/N?”

You nod slowly.

“Uh,” He fumbles. “Jimin. Park Jimin.”

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

“So, this is the kitchen area. We need to get the place ready by 8:30. Can you come by at 6 the latest?”

You nod at his question.

“We have a different menu each day. It will take some time for you to learn everything. But don’t worry I’ll teach everything you need to know.” He shoots you a smile, sending your heart to slightly flutter as you fiddle with your fingers.

Thank goodness Jungkook has left. Or else you’d never hear the end of his teasing or knowing smirk.

“I’m starting with bread and cakes these past few days before I open up the cafe section.”

For the rest of the day, Jimin spends his time letting you know everything about how the bakery runs whenever there are no customers. Even gracing you with two pieces of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls which made your cheeks burn in embarrassment at the memory of your first encounter.

“Go ahead, enjoy it,” Jimin shoots you a knowing grin.

Muttering a quiet ‘okay’, you take the first bite — holding a delighted groan at the sweetness that bursts through your tastebuds.

Propping his chin on his hand, he stares at you in amusement. “You must really like cinnamon rolls, huh?”

“They’re my comfort food,” you admit after swallowing down a piece. “My late grandmother used to make a lot of rolls at home.”

“I see… Well, have you ever baked before, Y/N?”

“The basic stuff like chocolate chip cookies…”

“Oh, that’s great—”

You added quickly, “But I nearly burned down Jungkook’s kitchen, though. He banned me from the kitchen ever since.”

A surprised laugh escapes the man’s lips which you don’t mind hearing more often, especially if you are the one behind it.

“At least the cookies still turned out great. It was a bit on the burnt side but still good… Crispy and crunchy.” You nervously chuckle. “But I swear, I’m not that bad if you provide a clear recipe!”

Still giggling, Jimin leans forward on his seat. “I can teach you everything you need to know. The basic stuff on baking and then there would be clear recipes I can provide you.”

Your eyes lighten up at that. “Yes! I’ll try my best.”

Arriving at the bakery at 6 am sharp, the next day — your official first day at work — Jimin can be seen moving back and forth from the small window opening connecting the kitchen and the bakery itself, already busy in the kitchen.

The smell of his work wafts through the entire bakery, indicating that he has been there for quite some time. Once you enter the kitchen, your mouth waters instinctively at the smell and sight of freshly-baked breads on the counter.

“How can I help?” From observing the finished baked goods, your eyes shift curiously at some ingredients — eggs, chocolate chips, sugar, flour — on the kitchen counter while you tighten the knot of your apron.

“You’re going to bake some chocolate chip cookies.” Jimin places a tray full of another different set of bread near the first one through the window. “So, go ahead, preheat the oven first.”

Following his instruction, you move towards one of the ovens. “Um…”

The corner of his lips quirks up at your obvious confusion before he chimes on how hot the oven should be set on.

With a brief nod, you turn on the oven. “Is this a test to see how far my baking skills go?” When you take a glimpse of the honey-haired man, he returns it with an amused grin of his own.

“Bingo.” Jimin’s smile is boyish and carefree and his eyes become crescent moons.

In other words, it made your heart race. However, you dismiss such unprofessional thoughts quickly before blood rises to your cheeks.

Clearing your throat, you move to the counter and start mixing the necessary ingredients altogether and set the dough on the baking tray. When the oven is preheated, you bring the tray towards it only to realise your mistake too late: not opening the oven first.

“Let me help,” Jimin says softly, opening the oven deftly.

“T-Thanks...” you mumble, concentrating on the task at hand.

Time passes quickly, before you know it, the oven makes a soft ‘ting’ sound. Opening it, the sweet smell wafts through the kitchen.

“I did it!” you say, excitedly placing the hot tray on the marble counter.

“But the final test is how the cookies taste.”

You watch in nervous anticipation as Jimin pops one of the cookies into his mouth. Not a moment later, he lets out a surprised sound.

“This is really good, Y/N. You do have the talent to bake.”

You beam at his words.

“Since that’s all set, I believe we still have other kinds of pastries to prepare for the day. I have all the recipes prepared for you here.” He motions to the notebook on the counter — you flip through it, astonished at all the recipes.

“Are these your own personalised recipes?”

Nodding, Jimin shoots you a grin. “I’ve always loved baking and there are some ways to make things with their own unique taste.”

The rest of the upcoming hour, you and Jimin were busy baking with Jimin instructing and giving you pointers. At some point, you even talked about anything and everything, as if you both have known each other all your life while you both work.

You have to admit, you find it really enjoyable. When the bakery closes, you sit quietly on one of the empty tables near the cashier after Jimin tells you to wait.

Mindlessly flipping through his recipe notebook, your attention soon shifts to Jimin himself with a steaming cup in his hold.

“Here.” He sets the cup in front of you.

You look at him quizzically before he motions for you to try.

“I’m opening the cafe part next week,” Jimin says. “Thought you can be the first to judge my caramel macchiato.”

“That’s a lot of caramel in one drink…” For a few moments, you observe the steaming coffee, froth decorates the top of it with drizzles of caramel in patterns of criss-cross nearly covering most of the foam itself. “Why caramel macchiato, though?”

“I thought you’d—” He clears his throat. “So many people really love caramel macchiato. So, I thought I’d go with this one for you to try first.”

Bringing the cup carefully to your lips, you take a sip of the beverage. The texture of the coffee is so smooth and the slight bitterness spreads through your taste buds and down your throat. Then you taste the caramel, letting out a delighted surprise when you find caramel bits inside the beverage.

Jimin keeps his stare on you, one hand supporting his chin and his eyes unreadable.

“What is it?” You ask, after downing the drink.

He blinks as if he was lost in his own thoughts. “Uh, how is it?”

“It’s very good.”

“Do you like coffee?” He asks.

Nodding, you tell him you loved to steal your mom’s coffee when you were younger. “There used to be a cafe near my place. I used to go there frequently during my high school years.”

Jimin briefly stills at yours words. “Do you... Still go there?”

You shake your head. “It was closed two years ago unfortunately.”

“Hmm, that’s a shame. I would’ve wanted to try the coffee there.”

Chuckling at his words, your mind takes you back to your high school days. “It was really good.”

Humming to yourself, you continue to flip through the pages of Jimin’s recipe notebook. “What’s this?” You stop at one page, pointing at a child’s drawing on his recipe notebook. “Did you draw it when you were younger?”

“It’s a shooting star.” Jimin answers. “And, no. I didn’t.”

“Oh? Sister? Brother?”

“I don’t have a sister and my brother just does not have the artistic skill to draw that,” he laughs. “It was someone from my past. Someone who is precious to me.”

“Oh…” Noticing his faraway gaze on the notebook, you sense it is a sensitive topic. “Why a shooting star though?”

“It represents hopes and wishes, according to her.” His smile turns nostalgic. “I was having a hard time back then. But this girl,” he chuckles as if in disbelief. “— just straight up grabbed my notebook and drew a shooting star on it, saying I should wish on this star since seeing a shooting star is not that common here.”

There’s something sad but warm in Jimin’s tone as he talks about this girl. You can only assume that this girl is not in his life anymore. Or even in this world.

“I see…”

“As ridiculous as it sounds, I actually did it. Very frequently in all honesty. Whenever I’m having a hard time, I’d wish upon that star.”

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

A week passes quickly and just like a normal day, you arrive back home just a quarter past eight. Tugging off your shoes near the doorway, you hear your dad calling from the living room.

“Yes?” Mindlessly, you step into the living room only to meet the stern glare from him.

“Where were you?” Your dad asks. “Do you have any idea what time it is now?”

“It’s around eight...”

“And your curfew?”

Furrowing your brows, you gape, “I thought that was back in high school.”

“That still applies until now. I expect you to come back before seven.” Then he repeats his question, “Where were you?”

“From my new part-time place.” You answer. “I thought I told you about it.”

“If you want a job, you can intern in the company for the summer,” your dad sighs. “There’s no need for part-time jobs.”

You should have known it would last just three days before you are missing your university life, or to be more specific living alone. With the constant nagging from your parents, you crave for silence for a period of time. One thing you have been missing quite badly you have to admit, which is why you took the job in the bakery. Away from the scrutinising stares of your parents.

Here it goes again.

“I don’t think I’m ready to start there, Dad,” you exhale. “I want to do other things while I can.”

The same topic, the same debate you’d try to avoid as much as possible ever since you arrived back home for the summer. That was why you’d try to find something else to do. You always wanted to try a new hobby over the holidays. Now, with the excess amount of time in your hands, you are able to try.

That is why you opt for the part time job Jungkook found — working in the bakery.

“This isn’t going to work if you get home after your curfew, Y/N. You know how dangerous it is if you come home late.”

“I’m an adult now,” you reply, exasperatedly. “I can take care—”

“Things can get unpredictable, Y/N. It’s better that you’re safe than sorry.”

“Dad, when will you stop reminding me of that?” You groan in annoyance. “I don’t even remember how the accident happened.”

“The more reason for you to be cautious!”

Exasperated, you storm up to your room and carelessly throw your bag on the side of your bed. Laying on your back, you stare at the ceiling as your thoughts muddle when you try to think of what happened.

All you remember back then is that you woke up in the hospital, met with the worried gaze of your parents as soon as you got your consciousness back. However, they never tell or fill you in on what happened.

Gradually, your eyelids grow heavier — exhausted from the day and the burst of negative emotions over the argument you had earlier. Thus, you succumb to sleep. However, your mind takes you elsewhere.

Everything is dark.

With your own ragged breathing, you struggle to keep yourself as quiet as possible, biting down a hiss from the sting of your scraped knees. Tears pool in your eyes as you wait, hidden behind one of the playground’s slides and out of sight of any possible passerby.

There are no memories of what happened beforehand. All you know is to stay there and wait.

“Y/N?”

Peeking out of your hiding place, the figure draws closer calling your name in another hushed whisper.

But you knew this voice. So, you whispered back, “Here...” As soon as you get out of your hiding place, a warm embrace envelops your small frame.

“We’re okay, everything’s okay. I’ve lost them. We’re safe now,” he whispers, stroking your head softly while your fists clench on his shirt.

Not a moment later, your tears start to fall and you sob into his shirt. He tightens his hold on you, one hand on the back of your head as he repeatedly whispers, “It’s okay, I’m here.”

“I’m here...” His voice then seems to echo and your surrounding becomes a blur.

When you open your eyes, you realise you’re back in your room yet there are stray tears in your eyes. Sitting up on your bed, you take a few deep breaths to calm yourself.

Was that a memory…?

“Have a good day.” You bid the last customer of the day farewell and once they leave, your cheeks droop into a frown. With a sigh, you walk out of the cashier register place towards the front door, turning the ‘Open’ plate to ‘Close’.

The dream you had last night still felt so vivid that you considered it was a flashback of your memory loss. You wanted to ask your parents about it. However, yesterday’s conflict was still fresh. You were sure they would dismiss it.

After cleaning up the counters of the bakery café and mopping the floors, you trudge into the break room, sitting down on one of its chairs as you wait for Jimin’s return from his “errand”.

Your mind takes you back to the dream where someone was hugging you tight.

Who was it? you wonder. In the back of your mind, somehow you never felt his warmth among your high school friends. The guy who was holding you is just different.

You are so deep in your thoughts that you didn’t realise Jimin entering until he brings something right in front of your face. “What—”

“Hot chocolate,” he answers, softly. “You seem distracted today, I thought this might cheer you up.”

Taking the steaming cup from him, you mutter your thanks before breathing in the sweet smell, blowing softly on the beverage. “That was fast.”

“Hmm?”

“Wait, did you go out to buy this?” You lift the warm cup of hot chocolate.

Jimin lets out an embarrassed chuckle. “I wanted to make you one. Until I realised that the ingredients are finished. So, I had to run out.”

“You didn’t have to, you know…”

“I know. But I wanted to anyway.”

Your eyes look down, can’t help feeling touched by his sweet gesture as you fight back to keep yourself from blushing.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He must have noticed the change of your expression before he says quickly, “Only if you’re comfortable, of course! I just thought talking about what’s on your mind can ease you. At least a bit.”

Blinking your eyes twice, a chuckle escapes your lips. “I guess so.”

“That’s your first smile today.”

You raise a brow at him.

“Your first real smile, I mean. Your cheekbones do not have much tension if you’re genuinely happy whereas if you fake a smile, it seems more like you’re cringing. Like our first encounter.” He chuckles, meaningfully.

“I’m sorry...” you mumble, eyes glancing down at the steaming hot chocolate on your lap.

“That’s fine,” he says easily. “Everyone has their bad days.”

You smile slightly at his words. “Had a fight with my parents last night.”

Jimin stays quiet, still listening to you.

“They are always so protective when it comes to me. Maybe a bit too much at times. I’m a grown adult for fuck’s sake.” Another sigh escapes your lips before taking a sip of the hot chocolate. “My dad especially. He made it sound like a big deal when I came home around eight. I’m just frustrated at this.”

“Have you talked to him about it?”

You nod in response.

“Was there something that made your dad feel that way?”

“I...” You blink. “I guess it’s because that one time I ended up in the hospital?”

“You did?”

You nod. “A few years ago, I had an accident.”

Jimin stiffens at your words. “Oh?”

“But it was nothing. I didn’t even remember what happened in all honesty.”

He stutters, “W-What?”

“I lost my memories. I had no recall of the accident at all.” Eyes training blankly on your front, focusing on nothing as you dive back into your memories. “My parents told me there is nothing to worry about and my memories would come back gradually. They never filled me in on what happened too.”

The corner of his lips soon quirks up slightly, his expression wistful. “Maybe they wouldn’t want you to be traumatised by what happened. It’s already fortunate enough for you to be able to recover from your head injury.”

“Yeah... I guess so,” you mumble.

However, since that incident you can’t deny the feeling of something missing since a chunk of your life has been cut off. No memories of the accident have returned even after years. Recovering from the head injury—

“Wait—” Head snapping to face Jimin. “How did you know I had a head injury?”

Jimin blinks repeatedly, as if your words just sink in. “Ah! I mean isn’t it a head injury? You lost your memories after all.” An awkward laugh escapes his lips. “Usually, people who lost their memories have head injuries, right?”

“Well, yeah...”

“Anyways, finish the hot chocolate and you should head home before your parents—”

Suddenly, a wave of deja vu washes over you. Snapping your gaze from the hot chocolate in your hands, you look at Jimin as your brain starts to grow fuzzy at the familiarity of Jimin’s words.

“Jimin...” you begin.

“Huh?”

“Have we ever met before I started working here?”

“You mean the first time you came into this bakery?”

You shake your head. “No, even before that. Did we know each other?”

A surprised glint appears in his eyes before it dissipates as quick as it appears. “I don’t think so…?”

Oh.

“Maybe we’ve just ran into each other at some point in town. But I don’t think we ever knew each other.”

“I see...” Disappointment floods through you at his words.

Right, you thought to yourself. If he was a close friend he would have recognised you instantly when you came to his bakery.

“Oh, look at the time.” Jimin stands up. “You need to be home before dark, right?”

“It’s not a big deal—”

He shakes his head. “It’s alright. You’ve finished cleaning today. I just need to close up and check the supplies.”

“But—” Your words die in your throat when Jimin pats your head.

“You’ve worked hard today,” he grins at you.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

“I’m home,” you call out to no one in particular before you hear your mother from the kitchen.

Once you reach the kitchen, your mother turns her head to see you. “Help me set the table, dinner’s almost ready.”

Nodding, you follow suit. “Where’s Dad?”

“Your father is still caught in a meeting. He’ll be home late.”

“I see,” you mutter, placing the silverwares on the table.

“How’s work?” your mother asks. “You’re home earlier than usual.”

“It’s great,” you answer. “The boss lets me off early.”

And you continue to talk about your day. From helping Jimin bake cakes and bread early in the morning, serving customers coffee and desserts, cleaning up the whole place, and enjoying the hot chocolate Jimin bought you earlier.

“He sounds like a nice guy,” your mom muses when you both sit at the dinner table.

“He is.” A smile appears on your face, remembering his sweet gesture and warm presence. Then your mind shifts to the conversation you had earlier, and what has been bothering you lately. “Mom?”

“Hmm…?”

“Five years ago, how did I end up in the hospital?”

Your mother noticeably stiffens at your question, ceases digging through her plate of food.

“You and Dad never filled me in. You both kept on saying that my memories will return eventually… Until now actually.” You let out a breath. “I think I’m old enough to know what really happened.”

Letting out a deep breath herself, your mother puts down her fork. “What do you remember?”

“I was at a playground and hiding… Then there’s someone who came to find me.” Met with silence from your mother, you continue, “Was it one of my friends?”

Shaking her head, your mother answers, “It wasn’t any of your high school friends.”

“Then who…?”

“You never mentioned his name. But you’d always talk about him back then.” Your mother sighs. “Go through the attic when you’re having a day off. You’ll find some of your old stuff I hid there. Make sure your father is not home.”

Standing up, you want to go there at once. However, your mother stops you. “Y/N, listen to me. Whatever you find there, if you… If anything hurts or feels just too much, I want you to stop, alright? You’re a grown adult and I trust you’ll prioritise your own health.”

Nodding wordlessly, you finish the remaining food on your plate.

[ when you were fifteen years old: after the incident ]

When the dismissal bell rings, some students instantly scramble from their desks, some stretch lazily on their seats and have conversations with others.

“Hey, Y/N.” One of your classmates calls you, a smile etched on her face. “So glad to have you back.”

“Yeah! This sem has been a pain in the ass. You’ll get through it in a breeze!” Another classmate adds.

You respond with a grateful smile of your own before packing up your things.

It hasn’t been that long since you were released from the hospital. You have persistently insisted your parents to let you go back to school and they finally relented after you promised them that you’ll go straight back home and to not strain yourself after dismissing your parents’ idea of hiring a driver.

Today is your first day back. Your friends greeted you excitedly when you stepped into the classroom. Even those who you recall never talked much with you greeted you with a ‘Hi’.

Walking mindlessly through the streets of your neighbourhood, your legs take you to a cafe as you recognise the familiar scent of coffee.

Tilting your head in confusion, you stare at the cafe building in shades of black and brown.

What exactly are you doing here?

There were no planned meetups with your friends, yet, your body seems to find its way here. Fishing out your phone, you scan through the past messages to double check any planned hangouts.

It’s a Wednesday.

But…

With the curiosity nagging inside you, you search for Beomgyu’s contact.

[ 4:05 PM ] You: beomie, do you know the cafe near my place?

[ 4:05 PM ] Beomgyu: i guess?? Every wednesday you'd always go there for no apparent reason at all. When i wanted to tag along you’d always give me the devil eye :(

[ 4:05 PM ] You: oh… that’s… well, sorry lol. Do u wanna come here?

[ 4:06 PM ] Beomgyu: wait, r u srs ???

[ 4:06 PM ] You: i mean if u’re not busy and i think getting coffee and hanging in the cafe would be good.

[ 4:07 PM ] Beomgyu: i'd never thought this day would come :’) i’ll be there in 10.

Chuckling at your friend’s response, you place your phone back into your pocket. Exhaling, you enter the cafe and make your way towards the cashier register.

“Welcome, what would you like for today?” The person smiles at you.

“Caramel macchiato, please.”

She nods, typing in your order. “That will be four dollars.”

After exchanging your payment with a receipt, you wait at an empty table for two near the window. Something about this familiar place, however, feels off. Like there is something missing that you can’t seem to put your finger on.

Your thoughts are cut off when someone takes the seat across from you. “Why are you so deep in thought?”

Beomgyu stares at you quizzically as you blink in realisation. “Uh…”

He narrows his stare at you suspiciously before shifting his gaze around the cafe. “So, what is it that kept you going here?”

You shake your head in response. “I have no idea either. Honestly, I have this gut feeling to come here when I passed by earlier.”

“Hmm, maybe the coffee?” Beomgyu watches one of the waitresses bringing your orders, placing it on your table.

Sighing, you stare at the steaming cup with caramel drizzles on the foam for a few moments. Then you bring the cup to your lips to take a sip.

“Argh, why is this bitter?” Scrunching your nose, you motion towards the waitress for extra caramel.

“Did… Your taste buds change too? You said the caramel macchiato here is perfect.”

A snort escapes you as you drizzle more caramel into the coffee. “I got hit in the damn head, Beomie. It doesn’t change my taste buds.”

He shrugs. “Well, who knows. I never knew you like caramel that much.”

You freeze momentarily.

“Y/N? You okay?” Beomgyu waves a hand in front of your face.

“Y-yeah, I just…”

“You just…?”

Shaking your head once more, you whisper, “It’s nothing…” But your eyes scan through the busy workers in the cafe.

Deep inside, you had an inkling that the coffee here isn’t your sole reason for coming here.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Turns out you were right.

Once when you came into the cafe on another Wednesday, you sat at your usual place after ordering your usual drink.

“Oh, my dear, you’re finally back,” someone says.

Blinking, your gaze snaps to the elder woman — maybe around her mid fifties — and you give her a small smile before asking, “Do I know you...?”

It was her turn to look confused at your words.

“I’m really sorry for not recognising!” You grow flustered at your words. “I lost my memory in an accident a few months ago...”

“Oh, that’s awful!” The lady — a regular customer, you assume — gasps. “So that’s why you don’t frequent this cafe anymore. The young man looked so heartbroken before he quit his job—”

“Young man?”

“The barista, dear,” the lady replies. “You used to come here and meet him. I had to shush the both of you every time to not disturb the other customers.”

“I... Was he from my school?”

The lady shakes her head. “I don’t think so. He never wore a uniform like yours.”

“Do you know his name?”

The lady shakes her head once more. “His name was Park. Probably that’s his last name. At least that’s what is written on his name tag.”

And you internally groan. There are thousands of people with that last name.

“Do you know where he’s gone?”

“I’m afraid no, my dear. I heard he quit the job suddenly.”

Sighing, you thanked the lady before heading out of the cafe with your shoulders dropping in defeat.

The trapdoor makes a loud creaking sound when you lift it up, indicating that it hasn’t been used for a very long time. Slipping the key back to your back pocket, you step up further on the ladder with the trap door laying on another side as you go through it while the floorboards creak underneath your weight.

It didn’t take you long to locate your old things. Scanning through the boxes, you find one doodled in various flowers and rainbows with your name written on it as well.

With a grunt, you lift up the dusty box, bringing it down to the floor with a thud which causes you to cough at the flying dust. In an attempt to swat the dust away, you wave your hand in front of you. Still coughing uncontrollably with your eyes watering. After your cough ceases, you crouch and open the box. A few notebooks can be found inside along with some old dolls from your childhood.

You vaguely remember the locked diary you liked to write in about your day and its pale pink cover which was covered in sparkling stickers you used to be obsessed with.

Digging further through the books, you finally found it — the possible answer to your lost memories — with a small key dangling on the lock.

Climbing down from the attic, you made your way to your room while fumbling with the lock and key of your old diary. After successfully unlocking it, you take a seat on your padded window sill, flipping through the yellowing pages.

The first page was clearly written by you. Your old handwriting and your name. The first entry you wrote dates back to a decade ago.

Your fingers twitch at how cringe-y most of the entries are. Yet, at the same time you find it endearing how you used to write about your day. The good, the bad, and the normal things — appreciating just to be able to experience and get through them.

The last of your entries date back to months before the incident when you were fifteen. Probably because you decided that you were too old to write diaries any longer.

Recalling how you’d always visit the cafe every Wednesday, you skim through Wednesday entries. However one particular name seems to stand out in those entries.

“Mochi?” You flip from one entry to another. Who the hell is that?

Deciding to get to the bottom of this, you search for the earliest entry that you can find — nine years ago.

I met the hot choco guy again, today. I’m feeling so happy!!! He is so nice. why can’t any of the boys in my school be like him????

Hot... Choco? Furrowing your brows, you skip to the next Wednesday entry.

i am feeling so happy that mama brought me to the cafe last last week!!! she do not let me drink the coffee drink, so Mochi give me hot choco! i think it’s the best BEST drink EVER!!!

“How the hell did hot choco guy turn into Mochi?” you mumble to yourself, flipping through your diary to the next Wednesday entry.

Mochi teached me how to do math!!! It was so fun! But when Teacher Lee teaches me, it’s always boring. How did Mochi make math fun??? I wish he go to my school instead and teach me math :(

You internally cringe at your younger self. Exhaling, you press your temple in disbelief.

This whole diary of your younger self is basically gushing over this hot-choco-turned-Mochi guy as you flip through other pages. However, you stop at a certain entry.

Today… Is a very bad day. But Mochi suddenly makes it better.

Glancing at the date — it was the day your grandmother passed away.

He promises to make me cinnamon rolls whenever i tell him to! Just like Grannie… I’m sorry, Diary. I don’t think i can write more today. I just hope tomorrow will be a better day.

“Mochi…” you mumble repeatedly with furrowing brows and the name seems to trigger your brain to relive some memories.

“I’m calling you Mochi!” You hear your own twelve-year old voice. Yelping, your diary lands on the floor with a small thud.

“No!” Another voice rings in your head — familiar and warm. “That’s a really uncool nickname.”

“But you look like a mochi! And it’s not uncool! I think it’s really cute!”

Blinking, your mind brings you back to reality. Reaching down for your diary, you freeze momentarily before clutching your head. For a moment, your heart stops when your gaze lands on your diary’s open page — a drawing of a familiar shooting star.

Mochi is… Jimin?

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

[ when you were twelve ]

When another sigh escaped his lips, you glanced up from your math workbook — his face can only be described as perturbed. With no hesitance, you quietly pushed the last cookie on your plate to him, earning his glassy stare as it shifted from his notebook that’s lying open on the table.

He blinked a few times before clearing his throat. “Why didn’t you finish that? Do you want to bring it home?”

You shook your head, heat tinging your cheeks. “It’s for you. You look like you need it.”

“It’s caramel cookies.”

Nodding, you mumbled, “You said eating it can comfort people.”

The boy stared at you for a moment longer — recalling the time when you had a bad day and he gave you that, then he chuckled. “I guess I did.”

Pursing your lips, you nodded again. “I can order hot chocolate for you too.”

He reached for the last cookie, finally a small smile you have awaited appearing on his face. “This is enough, Y/N. I really appreciate it. Thanks.”

You beamed at his words, then you extended one hand to take his notebook and draw a shooting star on the page it was opened on.

“We can’t really see shooting stars in here,” you explain, pushing his notebook back to him. “So, whenever you’re having a hard time, wish on this shooting star! It represents hopes and wishes!”

“What that’s—” He stopped himself. Letting out a sigh, he found himself nodding despite how ridiculously endearing the idea was. “Alright. I will.”

The blare of your alarm jolts you awake. Groaning, you grab your phone, turning off the alarm when you realise you have to go to work. You can’t find it in yourself to see Jimin today. Not after finding out that he was, is, part of your missing childhood memories.

Your gaze lands on the diary, laying open on your window sill. As you read more and more of your diary entries, Mochi being Jimin just makes sense. You remember how he went out of his way just to buy you hot chocolate when you were having a bad day — just like in the past.

After all this time, Jimin is actually part of, no, in most of your childhood life.

And he denied it.

Why?

You continuously drift back to that one question. Why did he deny it when you asked him? Don’t people usually love to get reacquainted with their childhood friends?

Sighing, you message Jimin listlessly, telling him you aren’t feeling well before you turn off your phone completely. You don’t think you can handle interacting more with him.

Hours passed, when someone barges in your room. “Y/N!”

Peeking out from your blanket, you glare at your best friend. “What the fuck, Kook?”

“Jimin told me you aren’t feeling well. So, I came to check up on you.”

“Okay, you did. Now, go back home.”

Without responding, he opens the curtain in your room, letting in the piercing sunlight and you let out an annoyed ‘tsk’.

Should have known your best friend isn’t going to let this go easily.

“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been off the whole weekend. You may be able to trick Jimin but you can’t trick me.”

Still burying yourself under your blanket, the bed dips on your friend’s weight as he waits for your response. But you keep your silence, trying your best to even your breathing. You’ve cried enough after all.

“Hmm?” Jungkook stands up. “What’s this? Your diary?”

Abruptly, you fling yourself off the bed and grab your diary from his clutches.

“Go home, Jungkook. I’m not in the mood to deal with this.”

“You know I won’t until you tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m just...” Your shoulders droop in defeat. “Why?”

“Why what?”

You hate crying in front of anyone. But it’s as if a dam broke, your tears do not stop falling while you babble, “Why did he pretend to not know me? Why did he deny? Why—”

Jungkook blinks repeatedly at your sudden change. “W-wait! Why are you crying? I don’t under—”

“Park Jimin!” Your sudden outburst flusters him further. “The guy who you’re friends with and who you recommended for me to work with! That’s who!”

“But—”

“He‘s Mochi.”

Jungkook looks dumbfounded for a moment before your words register inside his head. “M-Mochi?”

Like a petulant child, you climb on your bed once more and hide your diary beneath your pillow. “Leave me alone, Kook.”

With a defeated sigh, Jungkook trudges out of your room, leaving you once again drowning in your thoughts.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Jimin has always loved mornings, especially when he is able to quietly bake on what most people would call ungodly hours. There is something enjoyable about being fully awake during this time when no sounds of passing vehicles can distract him, making him feel at ease.

He had started appreciating the little things in life when you — who once stared up at him with curious eyes, expression lightening up when he made a cup of hot chocolate for you — taught him to.

Chuckling to himself, his mind drifts back to the time you first entered his bakery. Gods, he should have known it was you. But you were so different, he could hardly comprehend how much you had grown.

Gone was your happy-go-lucky self. He was stunned when you suddenly snapped at him. Your younger self would probably respond with a smile and drone on about how much you love cinnamon rolls. For a second, his heart had hoped. Maybe you remembered him after all these years?

Yet that hope dissipated in an instant when you merely apologised and ran out. Moreover, you didn’t return to his bakery after buying the cinnamon rolls, he thought he had screwed things up by attempting to start a conversation with you. Or maybe that person wasn’t really you. Just someone who looks a lot like you. He still had his suspicions after all.

However, his suspicions were gone the moment you introduced yourself, leaving him speechless. Jimin would be lying if he said he didn’t hope — at least for a bit — that you would remember him when he mentioned his name.

That was why the moment you appeared once more to work as a part-timer, he was ecstatic. No words can explain it.

He started to look forward to work every day — coming to his own bakery to see you even when you didn’t remember him, but he would still gladly take whatever he can to be around you.

Once he sets the tray of unbaked cinnamon rolls into the oven, his phone buzzes. As soon as he reads the text, his heart drops a little.

[ 7:08 AM ] You: Sorry, I cant come to work today. Not feeling well.

He types, ‘That’s okay. get well soon, y/n :)’

But it left undelivered. Did your phone die? He wonders.

Jimin can’t help shake the weird feeling bubbling inside. So, he messages Jungkook.

[ 7:15 AM ] Jimin: y/n isn’t feeling well today. do u mind checking up on her ???

But of course, Jungkook didn’t read the message until a few hours later. That boy enjoys gaming all night.

[ 12:03 PM ] Jungkook: what?

[ 12:03 PM ] Jungkook: for real ?? since when does she get sick? that girl has a fucking high immunity. she never even once got a cold during the semester

Jimin furrowed his brows at that.

[ 12:04 PM ] Jimin: still, go check up on her pls. she’s ur friend too

[ 12:04 PM ] Jungkook: yeah, omw

It hasn’t even been an hour later when Jungkook rushes into the bakery — earning surprised and curious glances from the customers who were chattering among themselves. “Hyung—“ he catches his breath as he stands in front of the counter. “I think you need to fix—“ Huff. “—I mean go to Y/N’s house yourself.

Jimin blinks in confusion.

“You... You’re Mochi, aren’t you?”

At the mention of that name, blood drains from Jimin’s face instantly.

She remembers...?

“How did you—”

“What matters is, you need to fix it, hyung. You’re the only one who can. She’s not herself, right now. I've known her for a few years and it takes a lot for her to react like this. So, please, you should talk about it.”

“Okay,” Jimin breathes out. “Do you mind closing the cafe once the customers are all done?”

Jungkook nods. “Yeah, just go to her, hyung. I’ll handle everything here.”

[ when you were fifteen: before the accident ]

“I wish you can teach me math all the time, Mochi,” you giggle, leaning back on the cafe chair. “Everything is easier when you explain it.”

Jimin chuckles at that. “I’m pretty sure you’re the one not paying attention in class.”

Shaking your head rapidly, you deny, “Of course I paid attention! It’s just... I don’t know… It was really boring when my teacher was teaching. He just drones on and on without stopping.”

With an amused hum, Jimin stands up. “I’ll get ready to leave. I’ll walk you home.”

After a few minutes, you head out of the cafe with Jimin behind you. Shivering against the cool night air, you draw closer to the boy. Instinctively, Jimin offers you his open hand which you accepted with no hesitance.

Little did he know, every time he does this, it makes your heart beat a little faster at the way your hand fits well in his. And you savour it.

The build up of feelings has been going on for a while now. Maybe a few months. You’ve developed a crush on him. Like, how can you not? Jimin possesses charming qualities that no one else has. Not to mention how kind and warm of a person he is.

Meetings in the cafe had you wishing they were dates instead. And you had to let him know.

And tell him you did.

He blinks at first, words sinking into him. Mochi, I think I like you. Like, really, really like you.

His cheeks are pink, you weren’t sure if it's from the cold or his embarrassment.

“I’m sorry.”

Of course. What were you expecting? He only sees you as a little sister.

“No, that’s okay,” you reply quickly, but your heart drops. “It’s just… You know, I wanted to tell you know because you’re really cool, Mochi.”

“Y/N… Listen, this is not a good time—” Abruptly, he stops, catching your wrist on his. “I want you to hide in the playground.”

“What?”

“Hide, please. I will explain everything later.”

You want to run away from him. But the pleading look on his face makes you listen.

“There he is!” You hear an unfamiliar shout.

Cursing under his breath, Jimin quickly pushes you under the slide. “Wait here.”

With your own ragged breathing, you struggle to keep yourself as quiet as possible, biting down a hiss from the sting of your scraped knees. Tears pool in your eyes as you wait, hidden behind one of the playground’s slides and out of sight of any possible passerby.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

[ Present time ]

Jimin reaches your house, his heart beating fast against his chest with a box of cinnamon rolls in hand.

You are home alone and Jungkook has left the door unlocked.

Letting himself in, Jimin glances around. Everything still looks the same as back then. He went to your house once to tutor you. And he still can remember that day clearly.

Climbing up the stairs, he reaches your room. With shaking hands, he knocks on the door.

Silence.

A moment or two passes then your door opens. Jimin braces for the anger you’d throw at him.

But nothing comes.

You merely stand there, eyes glassy as they lock on his.

“Y/N...” He mutters, torn between to reach out or not. But you leave the door open as you sit on your bed. Jimin enters your familiar room, still surprised at how it still looks the same. And his eyes fall on a notebook — the notebook you never let him read — on the table.

“Why are you here?” you ask, voice trembling.

“I wanted to check up on you—”

“Why?”

Jimin knows at once what you are asking.

He approaches you sitting on the edge of the bed. He kneels down, peering up with those chocolate eyes of his to meet your downcast stare — like those times when he wants to talk to you and you refuse to look at him.

“Do… Do you still remember me?” Your voice barely comes out as a whisper.

“Y/N…” The lack of surprise in his voice answers it. He still remembers you as you recall the once shocked expression on his face when you first introduce yourself. Now, it all made sense.

“W-Why didn’t you tell me?” A sob escapes your lips. “Do you not want me to remember—”

He shakes his head, denying it quickly. “No! Of course not. I just… I was ecstatic actually when it was you who came to work for me.”

“But why didn’t you tell me?” Voice cracking. “You knew me—”

Clearly in conflict, he sighs, “I don’t want you to remember your traumatic memories… Remembering me might cause you more pain.”

“But it didn’t. Those memories, from what I can remember there’s nothing—”

“That’s what your parents told me, Y/N.”

Eyes widening, you gape at him as tears cascade down your face.

“You were seriously injured back then. The doctor said it will be best for you to let your own memories come to you in their own time. And I had to leave this place... I came by after your operation and... I wanted to say goodbye but I was told it was best to not see you any longer to prevent anymore distress—”

“But you are important to me!” You cut him off. Then turning quieter, “You are important to me…”  You say between sobs.

Covering your eyes with your hand, you whimper when Jimin engulfs you in a hug. “I’m sorry…” He murmurs, caressing your head. “I’m so sorry…”

His heart breaks at your current state, tightening his hold on you, who’s crying into his chest. Years of buried regret and longing resurface. He had envisioned many times on how you would remember him. But he fails to realise how much it can hurt you when your memories return. If only he can turn back time, he will take that chance to save you from the misery of your memory loss.

Yet, all he can do now is to hold you close, begging you for forgiveness and hope that you’d let him stay by your side.

“So, let me get this straight, you—” Jungkook points his straw at you. “—and Jimin hyung were childhood friends—” He pierces the plastic cover of his milk tea. “—and he used to tutor you in a cafe.”

Nodding, you purse your lips and enjoy your own drink.

You had taken a few days off after the reconciliation to collect your thoughts and confront your parents about what had happened. They have come into terms with their protectiveness of you staying out very late. And you have managed to convince them to let you stay out late as long as you let them know.

You were planning to stay in bed all day if it wasn’t for Jungkook who barged into your room like he owns the place, after he claimed that Jimin lets him off from work early — which you doubt honestly, it’s more of Jungkook escaping from work — and decided to drag you to the nearest milk tea shop.

“Is something weird?” you blurt out.

“Did you by any chance, I don’t know...” Jungkook mutters. “Have feelings for each other?”

You nearly choke on your tapioca pearl and rapidly you shake your head. “No! That’s—”

Jungkook narrows his stare at you, sipping his drink as you continue to blabber, “I mean, I knew him since I was like, what? Twelve? He never sees me that way.”

“Maybe he didn’t back then.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean both of you are adults now. Aren’t things different?”

You snort at his words. “He always sees the little girl in me, Jungkook. So, please, don’t make things weird, alright? I can literally see your head gearing.”

Jungkook lets out a sigh. “Alright, if you say so. But how about you?”

Sipping your drink, you lift a brow at him.

“Do you like him?”

“Of course, I do.”

“I meant like, like him.”

“Kookie, what are you? Five?”

He snorts at your response. “Five heads taller than you—” Your glare shuts him up. “Okay, but do you see him as someone special?”

An exasperated sigh escapes your lips. “Why are we discussing this? We’re just friends. Who coincidentally are childhood friends as well.”

“You sure?”

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you sigh once more. “What are you expecting me to say?”

“What do you think of him?”

Almost at once, the words flow easily out of your mouth. “He’s a caring person and he knows how to comfort someone when they’re having a bad day.”

“You mean, he knows how to comfort you when you’re having a bad day yourself,” Jungkook chuckles.

You blink at that.

“Look, I’m not implying anything but he was worried as hell when I told him about you the other day. Even nearly left his bakery without supervision. That’s when yours truly—” He points at himself. “—came in.”

And the question that swims in the back of your mind disappears. “So, it is you, you overgrown rabbit. You told him about me—”

“Well, you can’t blame me. You should be thanking me instead. It’s because of me you both finally reconciled. Admit it, you’re happy — happier, in fact.”

And you can’t deny it. Jungkook has been one of those people who’d look out for you. Yes, even when he can be a pain in the ass sometimes, or just loves to hear the “piping hot” tea of what’s happening in your life.

Sighing in defeat, you murmur, “Even if I do like him...” You shake your head. “No, it shouldn’t even matter in the first place.”

Noticing your shuttering expression, Jungkook thankfully does not press the subject further. Nor does he question why. And you are grateful for him.

“Interesting. So, you do like him.”

Scratch that, your best friend is still a pain in the ass.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Standing in front of the bakery cafe, you released a deep breath.

Through the glass door, Jungkook is helping out at the cashier counter, serving beverages and desserts to dine-in customers. However, Jimin is nowhere in sight.

Releasing a deep breath, the bell of the door rings which signals your entrance. Jungkook notices you at once before he points to the kitchen.

You rush inside — stopping abruptly a few steps away from him — now, regarding the man differently. He was the boy who has been your comfort for so many occasions after all.

Jimin is icing cupcakes, his eyes focusing on his task and you can’t help but smile at the sight.

With your memories — of kindness, warmth, and friendship — now fully returned, you remember how you were always enamoured watching Jimin work. You’d watch him make drinks in the cafe when you had no homework to do. You’d sit at the bar, munching on cookies-of-the-day as your eyes followed Jimin’s movements.

A few moments pass, Jimin’s gaze shifts to you briefly and double-takes. He curses under his breath, cupcake slipping from his grip — icing spilling on the marble counter. “Hey, you’re back—” He quickly grabs a cloth and wipes off the cream before he turns to face you properly, grinning from ear-to-ear. “—you didn’t tell me you’re coming in today.”

He opens his arms and your legs move of its own accord, following your instinct as you close the distance between you and him — wrapping your arms around his waist.

You weren’t surprised at how your younger self used to have a big fat crush on him. He was and always will still be your Mochi. The guy who treated you to your favourite sweets, who knows how you like your caramel macchiato the best, and who never fails to put butterflies in your stomach.

Breathing his sweet scent, you remember the time you’d ask him for hugs whenever you were down and your younger self had even claimed once that his hugs were magical as it was written in your diary. To quote it, “Mochi gives the BEST BEST hugs in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD”.

“Your hugs…” you mumble, eyes closed. “They’re still the best…”

Jimin merely tightens his hold on you. That is until a force — appearing in the form of Jeon Jungkook — shatters the serene atmosphere, bringing you back to reality. “Hyung! Oh—”

Abruptly, you both pull away from each other. Jungkook stands awkwardly, shifting his weight from one leg to another.

“What is it?” Jimin breaks the silence, composed as ever.

“Uh, need more cupcakes. The ones on the display are finished…”

“Right,” Jimin turns to you. “Y/N, can you help me ice the rest of the cupcakes?”

Nodding, you turn to the employee’s room, putting your things in the locker and grabbing an apron.

Hugging Jimin seems so natural that you fail to consider how weird it looks to the people around you. Jungkook’s awkward silence proves that.

Your thoughts are swimming in confusion. And once again those butterflies appear in your stomach. Fanning your heated cheeks with your hands, you take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm your racing heart.

Your childhood crush is gone. You’re just happy to have Mochi back in your life. That’s all. That should be all.

One afternoon, you mindlessly clean up the kitchen. Due to the public holiday, the bakery is closing earlier, and your thoughts have drifted back to the past.

You remember the night of the incident when Jimin walked you home after he had lost those men who chased after him. He stopped you for a moment, breaking the silence. “You okay?” Warm concern lacing his tone.

Jaw clenching, you mumbled. “Just a scratch.” Reluctant to give him any longer response.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn't have shoved you harshly before.” He crouched, inspecting your knees before he peered up to meet your stare.

“It’s fine.”

When you were just a few blocks away from home, Jimin broke the silence. “Listen Y/N—” His footsteps faltered as he reached to touch your shoulder. “—about earlier, I think you shouldn’t have feelings for me, I—”

Abruptly, you pulled your hand away from his, hurt consuming you. “I shouldn’t have feelings for you?”

You wished Jimin had forgotten your spontaneous confession as he nodded, hesitantly.

“Well, I can’t control my feelings. So, just let it be. It’ll be fine.” You glanced at him before walking faster.

The rest of the trip home was tense, full of unanswered questions. Who were those men? Why did they chase after Jimin? Is it really that bad to have feelings for him? Who gave him the right to dictate your feelings?

You felt so childish back then. Recalling the memories makes you cringe at your younger self for overreacting. But you suppose it’s normal for a fifteen year-old girl. And you were able to sense that Jimin wanted to ease the tense atmosphere. But you were too hurt to even give him a chance. You needed time to process what happened that day.

However, one minute Jimin had stopped you again, desperate to appease you. And the next minute, someone ran towards him with a bat in hand. It’s as if time slowed down, you moved before a harsh impact landed on you.

Your mind brings you back to reality, and instinctively you touch the part where your head was struck with your free hand.

“Y/N? Are you done cleaning up?”

Jimin’s voice startles you and you nearly drop the mop’s handle from your grasp.

“Yes,” you manage to say. And somehow you can’t look at him in the eye.

“What’s wrong?” Out of instinct, he cups your face to look at you in the eye. And hell, your heartbeat gradually increases as you can smell the sweet scent of bread from him along with a tinge of his cinnamon scent.

Mind blanking out at the close proximity, the only intelligible response you can say is, uhhh. Your grip on the mop handle tightens as your palm grows clammy.

He’s gorgeous. That’s one thing for sure.

“Hey, why are you blushing?”

Blinking rapidly, you watch his eyes turn into those crescent moons and a giggle escapes his lips as he pulls away, grabbing the mop from your hold.

“I’ll put this back. You nearly snapped it in half, you know.”

“Yeah,” you nod, mind whirling and you blabber the first thing in your mind. “I have a pet fish.”

“Huh?”

Realising how random you sounded, you clear your throat. “I just remember I had to come home early today, since Mr. Goldy is waiting for me.”

“Ooh, that’s—”

But you’ve run for the lockers, quickly changing out of your work attire.

“Thanks for today, Mochi. See you tomorrow!” You say and run out of the bakery without sparing him another glance.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

“What are you exactly doing here?”

Unflinching, you answer your best friend monotonously, “Buying a fish.”

“You don’t have a tank at home.”

“Exactly, that’s why I’m looking for one now.”

“But why?”

“Why not?”

Jungkook lets out a sigh. “You’ve been acting weird all week, Y/N.”

You ignore his words, eyes scanning through the fishes of different colours and kinds.

“Oh! These ones are pretty.” Jungkook comments, earning your attention.

“Excuse me?” You call one of the workers there. “I was wondering if this fish is suitable for beginners.”

The worker nods, smiling. “Yes, these are what we call the Betta fish. Their scales are beautiful and they are also easy to take care of. Would you like to purchase them?”

You respond with a brief ‘yes’.

“Now, all you need is a tank,” Jungkook says.

“We provide delivery services for the tank. I’d recommend buying this one.” The worker points at one of the tanks. “In the meantime, you can purchase the fishbowl for now.”

And with that you have a new pet fish and a brand new fish bowl in hand — specifically Jungkook’s, because you gotta put those muscles into good use — and you head back home. On the way back, Jungkook suddenly clears his throat. “So… What’s up with you?”

“What?”

“Let me summarise what just happened,” he says. “I had the day off today, and suddenly you called me to meet you in a fish store, and you have been acting all weird and somehow out of all the nice shades of blue fishes in the tank, you chose the ugly yellow—”

You kick his shin in retaliation. “It’s not yellow, it’s gold, dumbass. How dare you say that in front of Lady Goldilocks.”

“Oh, wow, now it even has a name.” Jungkook rolls his eyes. “I seriously can’t believe you chose this one out of all the other colours. It reminds me of Jimin hyung—” And he gapes at you. “No way. Is it because he likes this colour?”

You blink in realisation. Jimin does like this colour.

“Okay, ‘fess up. What’s up with you?”

You let out a defeated sigh. “I like him.”

Jungkook looks unamused.

“I mean like, like him. And I need to get over him.”

Jungkook furrows his brows. “Why would Hyung want that?””

“I shouldn’t like him, Kook. He told me once and, I don’t know, I just can’t control my feelings. I don’t want to lose him again and I’m scared that he’ll be gone if he knows—”

“Wait, wait, wait—” Jungkook grasps your shoulder with his free hand. “—I can understand what you’re feeling, Y/N. How about let me prove to you that Jimin won’t be gone even when you have feelings for him?”

“I swear, Jeon Jungkook, if you utter a single word about this conversation—”

“No!” He denies repeatedly. “I won’t. Promise. I can prove it to you another way. Don’t worry.”

“Okay, then. How?”

“I have a plan. To take the title as your number one best friend once and for all—”

“Who says you are even at the top?”

“Aren’t I? You told me once.” Jungkook fishes his phone out of his jacket, taps a few times on his screen before he shows you a video of your drunk self a few months ago after exam week.

“Kookieee, I think you’re my number one best friend! So proud to have someone like you in my life—”

You try to reach for his phone, cheeks burning in embarrassment, as you shoot him the nastiest glare you can muster. However, Jungkook being Jungkook merely cackles at that. Your voice from the video still continues, “—you’re like Mochi—” Your present self tenses at that.

“Who’s Mochi?” Jungkook asked curiously in the video.

“Shhhhh… We don’t speak of that name here, m’kay? Mochi is gone. So you are best friend number one!”

Jungkook stops the video, tucking his phone back to his pocket. “I asked you once who Mochi was when you were sober. But you didn’t remember back then. So I never asked again until you mentioned the name ‘Mochi’ once more a few days ago.”

Gaping, you stop walking as the stunned silence falls over you.

“I think your subconscious had always known about him. And it shows how special he is to you.” When you’re about to deny that, Jungkook shushes you. “Don’t try to deny, Y/N. Even before you knew he was Mochi you already liked him.”

“I hate that you’re starting to look like a rooster. Were you always this cocky?”

Your best friend merely shrugs. “So, here’s the plan. As I was saying, with my ‘number one best friend’ title under threat, we’re going to demote Jimin as your boyfriend! It’s a win-win situation!”

“What? I never even asked for him to be my boyfriend but wait— Don’t you mean promote?”

“Y/N, as much as I love your dumb ass, you tend to be quite demanding with people. Hopefully, he knows how to handle your present self.”

“Jeon Jungkook, please don’t make me regret this.”

A few days after the conversation with Jungkook, the boy gets to work as fast as possible, and by work, it means work to get on Jimin’s nerves instead of actually being helpful in the cafe.

Jungkook has become noticeably clingy, or overall, just more touchy with you. It’s not like it’s anything new in all honesty. Throughout college, the relationship between the both of you is purely platonic. Your other college friends knew this and seeing the both of you cuddle wouldn’t be a strange sight. Jimin, however, isn’t one of your college friends and Jungkook seems to have taken advantage of this. Thus, he begins to work in the bakery almost every day, claiming just to see you.

At first Jimin showed no reaction since Jungkook is a good friend of his. But he has grown visibly irritated lately while Jungkook revels in pressing the older one’s buttons further.

“Jungkook…”

“Hmm?”

“Can you please stop invading my personal space?”

“But it’s not going to work if I don’t— Oof!” You shove him away before going back to your task — placing the cupcakes on the display tray — annoyance building up at Jungkook’s disruptions.

“I’m going to file a restraining order on you at this rate.”

He huffs, moving towards you once more. “Don’t you want to prove that Jimin is going to be pissed if he sees me being affectionate to you?”

You shake your head. “I just want to work in peace.”

“Hmph. You’re no fun.”

“Cuz you’re the one not working.”

“Hey, I’m helping here voluntarily.”

You ignore his words, focusing on your task while Jungkook starts whining for you to give him attention. “Kook, I fucking swear if you don’t get your hands off—”

Jimin’s voice rings “Y/N, are the cupcakes...” He trails as soon as he enters the kitchen, freezing at the sight of Jungkook wrapping his arms around your waist, snuggling his dumb head on the crook of your neck.

“He’s going to rage,” Jungkook whispers, laughing softly.

“Uh, Jungkook can I talk to you?” Jimin asks, eyes noticeably narrowing as his tone tenses.

“Finally,” Jungkook mutters under his breath, before he lets go of you and faces Jimin. “Sure, Hyung.”

You take that cue to leave, bringing the freshly iced cupcakes to the display counter, leaving Jungkook and Jimin alone in the kitchen.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

“What’s been going on with you lately? You come here to work everyday but all I can see is you busy flirting with Y/N.” Jimin throws the younger one an unamused glare.

Jungkook answers easily, “I do my job, Hyung. And so what if I do flirt with Y/N?”

“You can’t,” Jimin blurts out, earning a questioning look from Jungkook. “You just can’t.”

“Why can’t I?”

“Do you like Y/N?”

“Of course, she’s my best friend.”

Jimin shoots Jungkook another unamused look at his answer.

“I’m going to tell her how I feel in three days,” Jungkook continues.

Jimin’s stomach drops at that statement. However, at the same time the urge to let you know how he truly feels increases. But the thought of the impending rejection after hurting you and causing your memory loss makes him think twice.

Maybe Jungkook deserves you more than him — he can protect and support you while Jimin has failed.

With a shaky breath, Jimin mutters, “Take care of her, alright?”

Obviously, his response catches Jungkook off guard. “What?”

“Take good care of Y/N, JK. I’m seriously counting on you.”

“Wait—“ Jungkook looks downright flustered at the unexpected response. “Hyung, wait.”

“What?” Now it’s Jimin’s turn to be confused.

Jungkook clears his throat. “Just give me an honest answer, hyung. No lies.”

A pause.

“Do you like Y/N? As in more than friends?”

Jimin nods without hesitance.

Jungkook mumbles something under his breath that Jimin is sure it sounds like, freaking idiots.

“Go tell her how you feel, Hyung. And tell her as soon as possible.”

“But you—”

“It’s to push you to confess to her. I don’t see Y/N that way.” Jungkook sighs. “Honestly, what would the both of you be without me?”

Jimin stands in the kitchen, speechless, as Jungkook continues to ramble how significant his role is in between your relationship and how you and Jimin owe him so much.

“So, yes, go tell her how you feel, hyung. She’ll listen to whatever you’ll say.”

With a newfound resolve, hope sparks in Jimin’s heart. “I will.”

To say that Jimin is nervous would be an understatement. He had barely slept a wink last night, thinking of all the words and how he would explain why he had left so suddenly and confess his feelings to you. Jungkook has been a supportive friend, even if he does push Jimin’s buttons along the way. However, Jimin knows that it was his own way of showing encouragement.

You are cleaning the rest of the tables of the cafe and Jimin can’t take his eyes off you, staring at you through the small window opening between the kitchen and the counter area.

“Are we done for today, Mochi?” Your voice snaps him out of his daydream.

“Yeah!” Jimin continues to wipe the kitchen counter quickly, replying almost too enthusiastically before he clears his throat. “Do you have plans tonight, Y/N?”

You enter the kitchen and once again Jimin’s heartbeat rises. “Nope. I’m going straight back home after this. Lady Goldilocks is waiting for me.”

Lady Goldilocks. Jimin chuckles at the mention of your fish’s name. He wonders if one day he’s able to see the pet fish for himself. He had asked what happened to Mr Goldy and you had become flustered at that since you didn’t know the fish was female. So, now, you have changed the fish’s name. Yet, somehow Jimin got an inkling that there is more to the story. He had asked Jungkook — to which the boy had valiantly refused to utter a word about it and had babbled, “Huh? Fish? What fish? Is that for dinner?”

Once the both of you finished closing up the bakery cafe, Jimin taps on your shoulder before you had the chance to go back home.

“May I walk you home?”

You blink, processing his words then nodding rapidly. “S-Sure.”

Jimin smiles warmly at you. It’s easy in fact. Just being in your presence always brings happiness into his heart. You had grown into an amazing person and even more attractive.

Something about you had always captivated Jimin since the first time you met him in the cafe where he used to do his part time work. Your curious eyes were always following him as he took the customers’ orders and honestly, it was very endearing.

Comfortable silence falls upon you both, walking through the asphalt pathway and naturally, Jimin opens his palms, extending it towards you.

You stare at that for a moment and clasp his hand with yours. Jimin weaves your fingers together, bringing you closer to him as you continue to walk back home.

“Do you mind if we take a little detour?”

You nod at his words.

Once Jimin reaches the destination, he can sense your eyes glance curiously at the empty hill. He pulls you up onto the top of the hill, sitting down on the grass while he pats the space next to him and you follow suit.

“Look up,” Jimin whispers, and you did.

A quiet gasp escapes your lips at the sight of twinkling stars that scatters across the dark sky.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Jimin voices out. “Someone made me realise how beautiful the stars are…” He falters. “A-And she had never left my mind all those years. One of my deepest regrets is that I wasn’t able to say goodbye when I had to leave.”

You hear his words, yet you stay silent — an encouragement for him to continue to speak what’s on his mind.

“My family was in a difficult financial position back then and my dad had done things I wasn’t proud of…” Jimin’s eyes turn glassy and faraway, even when he sets his gaze up. “And one of them is that he had made a deal with loan sharks without the guarantee of paying them back… And of course, they were angry.”

He pauses, taking a deep breath.

“I once thought that probably I could still stay here back then. Even more so when I met you. But I was wrong. Those men started to chase after me and because of that, you—” He shudders. “—got injured. And that night my parents had made plans to leave without me and my brother knowing.”

He turns to look at you. “I never got to apologise to you for causing that. I should be the one to protect you but… I failed. For that, I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

“Jimin…” You say softly. “It’s not your fault. I was the one who jumped in front of you when the man came after you. It’s my own choice because you are special to me.”

“But I could have—”

You shush him with a pointer finger in front of his lips for a few moments. “You don’t have to be sorry anymore, Mochi. It’s not your fault. And what matters now is to focus on the present and look to the future, right?”

He nods, emotions swimming inside his chocolate eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“I thought—”

“For telling you that you shouldn’t have feelings for me.”

And you lapse into silence. He remembers…?

“I hate that that has hurt you. I shouldn’t have said that. But I was happy but desperate too since my family—”

“Jimin.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“What do you see me as, now?”

He blinks. All the practiced words on how he would tell you his feelings dissipate from his mind as he blankly stares at you. “I… I like you.” His voice grows quieter. “More than friends…”

“And if I said you shouldn’t have feelings for me?”

A flash of hurt crosses his eyes briefly. But he answers, nonetheless, “I would do what you want.”

“So, you reciprocate my feelings now?”

“H-huh?”

“I like you too. More than friends. In fact, I think my feelings have grown for you ever since I found out you’re Mochi.”

It takes a few moments for Jimin to process your words. He gapes, mouth opening and closing.

“You are resembling Lady Goldilocks right now.”

“What?”

Your cheeks flush. “Lady Goldilocks is a Betta fish. She was the golden one in a tank full of her blue siblings. Jungkook tried persuading me to choose the blue ones since they were more attractive to look at. But all I could see is the gold one since it reminded me of you.”

“I like golden colours…” Jimin mumbles in realisation.

“Exactly,” you let out a sheepish laugh, eyes turning to look back up into the sky. Before Jimin can respond, your eyes brighten up. “Look! A shooting star!”

Jimin snaps his gaze up as well.

“Hurry, make a wish!” You then close your eyes, smiling from ear-to-ear. Jimin follows suit, making his own wish.

As soon as you both finish making your wishes, you turn to face him once more.

“Are you still sorry for saying that to me?”

Jimin nods, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Hell, he thinks he would always regret hurting you that time.

“I know how you can make it up to me then.”

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

“W-What?” He splutters.

“Unless you don’t want—“ Yet, your words die on your throat as Jimin moves closer to you, eliminating the distance between you both as he cups your face just like that time in the bakery.

Without another word, he leans down, pressing his lips on yours softly while you place your hands on top of his before he presses further, brows furrowing as he kisses you fervently. For the time being, all that matters is just you and him. He caresses your cheeks and you run your hands down to wrap around his waist until you can feel his heart beating against his chest.

After pulling away — both of you catching your breaths — Jimin presses his forehead against yours, running his thumb over your lips while you were unable to open your eyes for a few moments at the burst of emotions that is coursing through you.

“I’ve imagined this moment so many times,” he admits. “My wish finally came true.” And you smile at that.

“My wish also came true because of you, Mochi...”

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Sitting on one of the tables, your eyes can’t take themselves off Jimin as he serves customers. Today is your day off and you decided to pay him a visit in the bakery.

“You’re drooling.”

Your gaze snaps up to your best friend who sits across you after placing a cinnamon roll on the table for you. Jungkook continues, “I swear I’m going to vomit one of these days if I see you or Jimin hyung throwing each other— what was that called? It’s an old term— Oh! Goo-goo eyes one more time.”

“Shut up, Jeon. I’m not.” You reach for the roll, taking a bite.

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah right, you basically either stare at him like he placed stars in the sky or like you want to tear off his clothes—”

You choke on the roll, quickly reaching for your glass of water before you throw your napkin at his face. Jungkook cackles at that before he resumes his act, sighing. “This is a mistake. I shouldn’t have intervened. I didn’t know you’d be like this. My best friend is so uncool now.”

“Y/N is what?” You perk up at Jimin’s voice.

“Whipped,” Jungkook mutters before he takes his cue to leave. He stands up, passing by Jimin after shooting the older one a teasing glance.

Jimin sits across from you, and he instinctively reaches for your hand on the table. “How was your day?” And you swear you can hear Jungkook making a gagging sound amidst the chatter of the customers.

“Good. I finished my chores at home earlier today. So, I thought I would come visit.”

Minutes pass by quickly as you chatter with Jimin. He had almost forgotten to go back to work until Jungkook reminded him. When it is time to close up the bakery, you watch him wash the remaining mixing bowls while perching on one of the cleaned counters of the kitchen.

“You know, I could use some help,” Jimin teases, drying his hands on his apron.

A smile curls up on the corner of your lips, eyes following his movements — drawing closer to where you are. “Well, I think you got it all handled, Mochi.”

Once he reaches you, he pulls you to wrap your legs around his waist while your arms rest on his shoulders — encircling around his neck. You both stare at each other and he pushes a strand of stray hair away from your face, tucking it behind an ear while his other hand settles on your waist.

“Sometimes, I still can’t believe that you’re really here with me,” You admit. “Just like a sweet dream.”

Jimin shakes his head. “It’s not, Y/N...” He leans to give you a chaste kiss. “... we’ll make up for the lost time we didn’t spend together.”

“Promise?”

He softly smiles at you. “Promise.”

author’s note: this was originally intended to be posted on jimin’s birthday but well i decided to add more stuff in it. thus, i am late alskflsdda so yes, i hope you guys enjoy this fic and feedbacks are always appreciated !! thank you for reading ♡

#btswritingcafe #bangtanarmynet #magicshopnet #bangtanidx #bangtanuniversity #btsghostie #jimin fanfic #jimin fluff #jimin angst #jimin x reader #jimin x you #bts fluff #bts fanfic #bts x reader #jimin scenarios #park jimin #bangtan scenarios #promptlyyourscafe #amourville series

[djmarinizelablog]

Christmas Birthday

If there's something that Levi despises about December, it’s the fact that it’s not summer. He hates it that there's snow blocking the pathway outside their apartment, and hates it even more that he's going to have back pains from shoveling it on his own. His friends are useless when it comes to household chores during the winter.

"Levi, you're getting stressed, and it's almost your birthday." Hange puts a hand on his shoulder while he’s studying and squeezes him with affection. "Maybe you should take a break for a while."

"I can't, Hange," he says as he buries his face in his hands. His textbook is propped wide open in front of him, but everything’s garbled right now in his mind. Nothing’s getting absorbed. He’s been thinking about too many things at the same time, and he knows that’s not a good sign. On top of having to pass his final exams next week, he’s thinking about the professor he hates, his mother waiting for him to come home, and him surviving this gruesome month.

But Hange is insistent. "Come on, just for the weekend. What do you say to a trip to the mountains?" She kisses the top of his head and that’s how he relents. Levi can’t really deny her anything these days. They use Hange’s car for a little weekend getaway trip to the winter cabins just an hour and a half away from their campus. "I mean, I can't turn the winter into summer, but we can always leave some room for imagination." She then winks at him as she drives.

They're both clad in warm clothing, their winter jackets and snow boots thick enough to fight the cold, and Levi can feel his cheeks heating up. Maybe this is what it means to be in love. As he sits in silence on the passenger's seat, Levi watches the scenery drastically change from the residential area to the snowy mountains, the landscape all veiled in white. The sight is a beauty to behold. He turns his head towards Hange and she's smiling at him. This is technically their first date, and truth be told, he's more than excited to be going out with his best friend.

It really isn't summer at all, but they can somehow pretend. He can imagine himself going skiing with Hange, maybe do some cross-country racing with her as they traverse down the snowy slopes. Running past the thick trees blanketed in snow. Shouting words of love from the top of his lungs. He's not even a sappy person. Perhaps this isn’t going to be so bad at all. He knows he can handle this.

However, he’s proved otherwise when they finally arrive at their destination. Instead of a ski lodge, Hange has brought him to a small mountain hill.

"Wait, aren't we going to a ski lodge?" He's confused.

"Who said we're going to one?"

Levi tries to recall their conversation and realizes that Hange has never mentioned what they were about to do. "What was your idea right from the very start?"

"Well... skiing is quite expensive, but uhm, this one isn't." Hange climbs out of her car and pops the trunk. He follows her outside and sees something huge covered with a red blanket. Levi's mouth opens when Hange removes the blanket, revealing a giant plastic sled.

Levi has never been so discombobulated, dumbfounded, and disconcerted all at the same time. "What the fuck? Sledding is for kids."

"Aren't you excited?" She beams at him as she takes out the sled. "I was like 9 the last time I went sledding!"

"Hange, I am not sliding down a hill with a bunch of brats."

"Oh, you won't be alone. I'll be with you." She grins at him and holds her hand out for Levi to grab on.

He huffs in defeat and takes it anyway. They trudge along the top of the steep hill right where the parents are, waiting to push their kids down the smooth snowy ground. Said parents are also eyeing them with judgment—just two college kids, technically grownups in terms of age, dragging a children’s sled right behind them.

"You ready? Go sit." Hange positions the sled right at the brink of the hill.

He'd want to protest and go home, but he also doesn't want to hurt Hange's feelings. Maybe he can pretend not to be an asshole and a killjoy for a day. He sighs and puts one foot inside the sled, slowly, to test it out. He can definitely fit inside, and he has to swallow his pride to admit it. Once his arms and legs are properly tucked in, he looks up at Hange. "This is extremely embarrassing. What now?"

Hange then clambers inside as well, sitting right behind him, her legs on either side of his hips, her arms around his small frame. It feels somehow comforting. She then holds onto the reins. As much as he wants to focus on the view in front of him—the white slope heading down, the pine trees covered in snow beyond them, the bone-dry skies—Levi can't help but notice Hange's breathing against his nape. He likes it when she’s this close to him.

"Ready?" She doesn't wait for her answer and pushes themselves off the edge. Levi yelps from the sudden motion, and finally, they plunge down into the depths of winter wonderland.

It's a blur, it's a whirlwind, all the whiteness of the surroundings passing them by as they speed past the trees lining up the side of the hill. He looks up at the skies and sees the birds soaring through the air, the cold rush hitting their faces.

Perhaps this is what it means to be free. All the stress gone in an instant. The entire ride feels like an adrenaline rush, like a rollercoaster, all the joy and the thrill in his mind. Right behind him is Hange whooping and laughing as if she's having the time of her life.

Levi's still struck with awe when he realizes that there's something sticking out of the snowy ground a few feet away from them. "Is that a rock? Hange, shit, swerve, swerve, swerve!"

Hange does so in time, avoiding the rock that could have toppled them over, or worse, sent them flying through the air. She maneuvers them back into the path and continues speeding down the hill, the powdery snow flying around them as they slide halfway down the path. The children at the bottom are cheering them on, and the next thing he knows, he's laughing as well.

He can feel the ridges of the slope beneath them, their bottoms at the mercy of the bumps of the uneven terrain. It's a magical experience, nevertheless, and Hange's right: they can imagine summer in this dreaded snow if they try hard enough.

However, they both don't notice another rock protruding from the ground and Hange is unable to maneuver them out of the way. The sled jerks from the sudden movement, and out he goes.

It all happens in slow-motion: Levi flying out of the sled just like in the lyrics of Skyline Pigeon (fly!), his limbs all useless as he rockets into the air, his cursing filling everyone's ears. He hits the snowy ground with a thud, face-first, but the humiliation doesn't stop there. Since he's in the middle of the inclined plane, he rolls down unceremoniously for the remainder of the slope like an avalanche, except he's human and this metaphor is just as horrible as his pride—dissipating with every tumble on his sorry ass until he finally reaches the bottom of the hill, right where the kids are watching him, his face covered with snow.

He groans and the kids start snickering. He tilts his head up and he can see Hange climbing out of the sled, completely unscathed for some miraculous reason, her face painted with joy as she comes running up to him.

"What do you think? I'm so glad I was able to borrow this sled from the neighbor!"

Hange helps him up as they pat down the snow that had clung to their pants. She's breathing hard from the exhilaration of their ride, and Levi can see the small tufts of air coming out of her mouth.

Levi clicks his tongue. "This was not what I expected."

She stops dusting off her jacket. "Oh," Hange says, disappointed. "Sorry, I really should have gone with the skiing—"

"No, we should use an air mattress next time," he tells her, holding her hand. "But let's do it again."

--------

My gift for @snudootchaikovsky. I hope you like it! I wanted to play around with the prompt and combine Christmas + summer vibes in one drabble, so here's what I came up with.

(This is technically a teaser for the next chapter of SOS tbh so I will probably dedicate the Chapter 12 to you!)

#LevihanXmasinJuly #levihan #aot #snk #shingeki no kyoujin #attack on titan #levi ackerman #snk levi #hange zoe #hanji zoe #fanfic #fanfiction #mine #djmarinizela

[jjkyaoi]

Tommy names the Pigeon “Bob the Badass Bitch but I call him Harold” and he won’t tell anyone why

Man practices all his stupid lil skills there, like baking, sewing, ice skating (in the winter) he even takes up brewing cuz why not

The nearby village treats him like one of those spooky legends exaggerated to scare kiddos, and he’s seen as like the witch from Hansel and gretel, but really, when curious lil kids comes to check it out, he usually just vibes w them. Sometimes he’ll give them sum cookies or hot cocoa, sometimes he teaches them curse words, and when he’s feeling soft he’ll invite them in n tell them stories about the “fantasy” place called l’manburg, a place of freedom and hope

Tubbo and Ranboo visit at least once every week, and yeah at some point techno and Phil do get a lil suspicious at Ranboo, but they don’t ask any questions. Instead, techno follows them at a close, but safe distance to find out what’s going on. Yknow, like a normal person.

Puffy visits at least once a month for therapy sessions, she also just rly enjoys visiting him. She can see that the calmer environment is already helping him :]

Tommy just collects random trinkets he finds and decorated his hut w them. It ranges from pretty rocks to strange artifacts to a stick he found in Jack Manifolds chest and decided to steal

Techno somewhat visits tommy, but not like the others. The first time he followed Ranboo and found out tommy was just vibin in a swamp, he kinda just booked it. Next time he visited, he was noticed by tommy and they kinda just stared at each other until they left. It continued like this for the next couple “visits” until tommy left a cup of techno’s favorite tea at the door. It’s now a routine whenever techno finds the time to visit. They don’t know if this is exactly healing, since they still won’t talk and still kinda hate each other, but it’s progress

Tommy found a mooshroom cow just hanging around when he was lookin around, so he just brought him back home, and named him Mushroom Henry Jr. Tubbo, Ranboo, Micheal and puffy are the only ppl who know about him, because tommy doesn’t want to risk losing Henry again. (+ Ranboo was the first one he told about mushroom Henry because he remembers how Ranboo was there at Henry’s second death)

Tommy still sometimes visits the smp, just to check in w everything an everyone. He only visits when he’s feeling up to it, and has the energy to potentially experience a random battle or conflict, or just ppl hatin on him. There are still a few ppl he’s on no-speaking terms w, like Sam

i was vibing in the last bit until you hit me with the part with sam. owie. my awesamdad heart,,, it cracks /hj. no but this is super cute!!!!! i really like it a lot :] ur thoughts are always fluffy i adore ‘em

[cecilfaust]

TASK 014: THE LAUNCH, THE CATACOMBS, AND THE BLOODBATH

I throw an apple to you and, if indeed you are willing to love me, then receive it... But if you are otherwise minded, which heaven forbid, take this very apple and see how short-lived all beauty is. — Lives of the Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius

⏯ Of Space and Time by City and Colour

It was a beautiful day. Early, sure, but he was used to that. His parents had probably been up for hours at that point to tend to the fields, just another thing he missed from his district. He should have been there to help. Instead, Harrow settled for the next best thing as he sat enjoying the Tower’s rooftop garden one last time.

Just as he finished his morning tea, the sun peeked out from the skyline and decided that it was time to start the day.

“Hello, sun,” he muttered, quieter than usual.

With that, Harrow stood to leave but not before noticing a withered leaf stem laying on the ground next to a bigger planter. If it were anybody else, the leaf would have stayed on the ground for an Avox to sweep up later on. But Harrow wasn’t just anybody else. Despite going back and forth with himself with that very question, Harrow knew in his heart of hearts that he didn’t want to be lost amongst a graveyard of tributes that nobody would ever remember. Like the stem, he needed his own chance to grow.

Harrow proceeded to fill his mug with soil from the planter, placing the stem right in the middle. Known as propagation to some, the Pitts had a better name for it: re-homing. And so, he left the newly potted plant on the table in Eleventh’s floor for Lyric and Saph. He couldn’t think of a better home for it than that. Just one more thing for the pair to take care of but, if he was any indication of their track record, it would grow to be ten feet tall—if he ever returned to see it.

—

It took a moment for Harrow’s eyes to adjust to the bright light. He noticed the look on the other tributes’ faces first, hungry in wait. The kind smiles he’d seen during the interviews had all vanished as they waited for the canons to sound.

Harrow, on the other hand, was a thousand miles away. His gaze was turned up to the sky as if it were the most interesting thing in the arena. As much as he wanted to admire the marble buildings and temples in front of him, Harrow was far too distracted by the pigeons flying overhead. It might have looked dumb to the people watching back home, but the wheels were slowly but surely turning in Harrow’s head. That if he followed, he would be led back to their nests amongst the trees—somewhere as safe and familiar in a place that was anything but. With nothing else to go off of, Harrow turned his back to the other tributes in hopes of setting off after the birds.

The signal was disarming and loud, but it was the strangled screams that almost made Harrow stop in his tracks. First, Otto. Then, Rosemary, followed by the sound of two canons going off in succession. His breath hitched just then and it took just about everything not to turn back around to see it for himself. Two people who deserved to win were now just names to cross off a list.

Rounding a corner of an alleyway, the tribute stopped to catch his breath. He could hear the sounds of fighting in the distance and his heart kicked into overdrive, his emotions getting the better of him. Equal parts terrified and overwhelmed, Harrow crouched down and wrapped his arms around his knees. Tears poured out of him, but he didn’t try to stop them. The idea of moving forward seemed all too impossible.

He looked back up to the sky again, the pigeon long gone but the sun still shining brightly. Harrow took a moment to get his bearings. It was a beautiful day—he didn’t know how many of those he had left. It seemed a shame to waste it sitting in a puddle of his own tears.

Be it naivety or his stubborn positivity, Harrow picked himself up off the ground and continued down the alley. Let the bad vibes catch up to him another time.

#harrow — ( writing ) #128 #harrow — ( character study ) #ruleandtask #should not have shared my goodreads with helen bc it will now be very apparent that im fully biting a gentleman in moscow lol

[tangledinmdzs]

Juniors reaction to being old men (not poly) and meeting a Pretty old woman (the reader) and they touch hands and become young again? Like everyone else found their soulmates young (like a tattoo or something) but they get to be young again with the reader

hi hi!

hmm, interesting is this like a soulmate au sort of situation? first reading of your prompt, this gave me like ‘Up’ (the movie) vibes so i’m going off of the whim of that aha. 

(as i started to write this, i realized this began to feel a lot more like a reincarnation au sort of thing but eh... aha let me know what you all think!

i hope you enjoy it!)

here’s to your request~

☆♬○♩●♪✧♩　　♩✧♪●♩○♬☆

Lan Sizhui

bingo nights at the local community center are a lot more interesting now that Sizhui has found someone that’s caught his eyes

that someone being you

the little old lady who bakes batches of snickerdoodles and stays for the small bingo rounds for a chance at luck

basically everyone knows about his little crush

his kids give him the ‘looks’ and sly smiles, though he guesses they must approve some what if they’re still driving him to the center

and his friends tease him endlessly whenever they’re sat together at the tables 

(sometimes, he’ll wake up in the middle of the night, pick up his wedding picture of so many years ago by his bedside and look at his wife’s face, 

her smile there, makes him feel as if she would have approved of his heart’s yearning too)

Sizhui can’t really help when his ear naturally hear your tinkling laugh, eyes gravitating to your curled and pinned up hair 

not when there’s something so intently familiar about you

there’s something about you, seeing you that brings so much nostalgia to him, even though you and your family had just moved to his town a year or so ago

he can’t put his finger on it 

and Sizhui is content with just staring at you from afar (because at his age, was it really the ideal time to have feelings as the young ones do?)

because he doesn’t need anything more than that

but then, tonight, when the only unoccupied seat in the bingo room is the one across from yours, his friends all push him towards the opportunity

Sizhui can’t believe that he’d actually be able to get this close to you

you both exchange a smile and a nod to one another right before the games start, and there’s not really room for much conversation when you have to pay attention to what the numbers are

and game night suddenly feels a lot more intense now that he’s sitting so close to you

not just because of the proximity

but sitting in front of you, Sizhui sees that you are quite competitive

even though bingo was basically a pure luck game

he sees the way your eyes flicker to the chips sat between the both of you and your board almost strategically

Sizhui thinks it’s quite funny (cute)

and the rest of the night fades into fast numbers and rolling wheels, until suddenly it happens

at the call of ‘63′ you both reach for the chip pile at the same time, eyes on your boards to check your numbers

and your fingers graze one another

it’s the smallest touch

but it brings feelings to his chest that Sizhui hasn’t felt in a long time

the electric shock of a first kiss, ignites his veins as he looks up at you 

Sizhui feels the thundering of his heart against his chest, the sound of it pounding in his eyes drowning out all other noise in the room so that his eyes could solely focus on you

and for the first time, you are looking at him eye to eye

you seeing him

him seeing you

what you were (are?) to one another

is more than each of you

would ever know

Lan Jingyi

when Jingyi catches your arm on his, it nearly takes the both of you down

you both, elders now, were not at the prime age for strenuous or sudden movements

but Jingyi’s lucky that his youth spent in athletics has given him a bit more residual strength and flexibility,

so he isn’t taken down by your weight though you both still take a pretty shaky stumble before standing still once again

“are you alright?” Jingyi asks you, his hand holding yours that’s clutched to his arm,

“very alright, thanks to you,”

your voices bring your eyes to one another, because the voice that you both speak and hear sound much younger than your old faces are

when Jingyi’s eyes meet yours, he’s surprised

surprised to see the same eyes, glimmering just like they were all those years ago, when he and you had departed

you don’t plan to meet each other like this

you didn’t plan to meet each other ever again if you were honest with yourself

but you’re just a breath away from Jingyi’s face when you look up at him

and his face 

underneath the age spots, 

wrinkles,

and new nicks and tweaks

still looks ever the same

still etched in your heart

“y/n...” Jingyi says your name, and you feel reassured that it had not just been (not only) you who recognized him

you can’t find any other words, 

so you smile,

because in a life time where you didn’t think you were going to meet at all

at the very least,

you managed to catch each other before the end

Jin Ling

Jin Ling has taken to early morning walks in his neighborhood park

because the kids had been nagging him, 

and the grandkids constantly reminded him of how important it was to his health (young as they were; they were literally like, 7)

his wife wasn’t there to do the job that his kids had taken up, and besides even if she was, he hadn’t ever been good at listening to her anyway

a great woman she was, but not the one that was his soulmate, the one single connection that everyone strived to find in this one life

there are not that many that are that lucky, Jin Ling knows

he’s accepted that the odds will always be stacked against his favor

but it still doesn’t make the romance in his heart ache any less

Jin Ling’s morning walk consists of following the same walk way path, the one closest to the street and sitting down at his favorite bench

most days the routine is the same as it always is; perhaps its the earliness of the time that he decides to walk, or the fact that this bench was quite secluded out of the other benches

but there usually wasn’t anyone sitting there

until these past few days

because ever since Monday, he’d been seeing someone sit at his bench

you

the first two days, he’d walk pass you and went straight home, because he wasn’t too keen on sharing a seat with anyone and afraid of small talk

but now it was already the third day

and today, Jin Ling was feeling particularly winded

so he swallows his pride and slows as he gets close to the bench where you are sat at, throwing pieces of bread out to the pigeons that were beginning to surround you

yet another reason why Jin Ling didn’t want to sit with you (he had allergies for peace sake’s)

when Jin Ling sits down, using his cane as his support, he sits at the edge of the bench farthest away from you as he can

he’s also turned the opposite direction, as not to get the flapping feathers of the pigeons in his face

“mister, you might as well be standing with how little you’re on the bench,” a voice behind him quips

Jin Ling’s brows furrow naturally, his kids say that he takes after his uncle (their great uncle) but habits are hard to break and Jin Ling doesn’t feel like this stranger has any right to tell how much or how little he is sitting on a public bench,

when you catch his face, he’s surprised by your small giggle

“you can move in a bit more; don’t worry i don’t bite” you tell him, waving your hand to motion him to slide in

Jin Ling stare at you, eyebrow quirking up

you smile at him, the wrinkles at the edge of your eyes and mouth folding up 

“alright as long as you’re comfortable,” you amend, closing the conversation by turning back to stare at the pigeons surrounding you hands at your side

Jin Ling huffs to himself, wondering how a stranger could gauge his personality better than some of his kids at times

with that thought (and the edge of the bench digging into the bottom of his thigh) Jin Ling slides into the bench

he manages a few scoots in and stops abruptly when he feels his hand land on yours

he’d mistook the distance between you, thinking you were farther

you both turn to each other, an apology on your lips when your eyes shimmer with an image, a recollection

an open field of flowers, Jin Ling sees, behind the smiling face of yours that he just witness, except smoother and rosy cheeks 

you’re staring in muted surprise, as your eyes take in the details of the glimpse of young Jin Ling, brow still furrowed though his face holds a cute pout that you think would still look cute on him even now

you both have met each other, predestined in some youth that was not of this world

but aged in this reality, you are each others now

Ouyang Zizhen

the nursing home is quiet this season, the off season

though ever since he’d been put here it feels more like an off season 

there are not usually many visitors to this place, and even if they do come they don’t stay for long

sometimes Zizhen misses the socialization that his youth had, 

he wouldn’t say that he was popular per say

but he had quite a number of friends, good friends that had kept him company, filled his memories with many things that can still get a chuckle to rise out of him

even now

sat in the rocking chair by the window, Zizhen thinks he should be grateful, at the very least his memory was more intact that those of his same aged peers 

maybe, because his memory is so great, it makes him miss the thrill of befriending someone new all the more

“is the seat besides you taken?” 

when Zizhen turns to the voice, it’s slow, (there’s a crick at the bottom of neck that he doesn’t want to agitate) but also, it’s been a long time since someone other than his nurse had talked to him

“no, it’s all yours,” Zizhen finds himself say, happy that his personable attitude still shines bright even in his age

when Zizhen looks at you, he can tell that you are one of the newer arrivals to this nursing home, you still have the liveliness of the outside world etched into your smile, something Zizhen had lost after his third month without hearing anything from the kids, or seeing the grandkids anymore

“my name is y/n, may i have yours?” you introduce once you finally settle yourself on a small chair next to his, walker placed to the side

Zizhen likes the gentleness of your voice and he smiles as he holds his hand out to you

“Zizhen, the strangers usually call me Ouyang but you can call me Zizhen” he tells you and you let out a breathy laugh, taking his hand in yours 

your skin is soft in his grasp, just as his palm is warm against your fingers

you both lock eyes with each other, 

Zizhen sees familiar in the image of the young girl with flowing hair, bright eyes and bright red lips smiling under a starlight night

you feel the tears bringing in your brown orbs, at the shaggy hair and flannel t-shirt of a tall lanky boy, with a laugh so loud it rings clear in your heart

your images of each other disappear back to the present, when the tear rolls down your cheek

it steals your breath away

perhaps,

you both had met one another before 

#mdzs #mdzs headcanons #mdzs junior quartet #mdzs junior headcanons #mdzs reaction request #mdzs scenario request #mdzs imagine request #mdzs self insert #mdzs reader #mdzs reader insert #mdzs writer #mdzs x y/n #mdzs x reader #mdzs lan sizhui x reader #mdzs lan jingyi x reader #mdzs jin ling x reader #mdzs ouyang zizhen x reader #lan sizhui x reader #mdzs sizhui x reader #mdzs jingyi x reader #lan jingyi x reader #ouyang x reader #ouyang zizhen x reader #jin ling x reader #mdzs fluff #mdzs au #mdzs reincarnation au #mdzs soulmate au #mdzs comfort #the untamed x reader

[recurring-polynya]

Bleach Sword Beasts Arc Recap: Episode 258

I debated whether to recap this episode, because to be honest, it’s pretty meh. I mean, it’s fine. I have no real complaints with it. It’s just kinda... there. However, my completionist attitude toward Renji ephemera won out, so here we go.

The episode opens with Renji and Zabimaru walking out of a senkaimon while some wokka-chikka music plays, so that’s always a strong start. The first thing that happens that a frog hops by and Hebi screams “A FROG!!”

Uhhhh, I guess they are here to chase down a Sword Beast. It’s clear that Renji and Saru are here for Business, and Hebi just wants to fuck around. He begs to be let off the chain, and they agree, which, as you might guess is a mistake.

You know, just typing this made me realize what is wrong keeps this episode from greatness-- it’s that Renji just sort of puts up with Hebi’s antics with a shrug and some tired dad vibes. How much better would this be if he responded, “Oh SHIT, I love a frog! Er, oh, yeah we got a mission.” If I had written this episode, it would just be one big metaphor for Renji’s ADHD, and that’s probably why no one lets me write anime filler episodes.

LOOK AT THIS SWEET FISH HEBI CAUGHT!!

Anyway, the Sword Beast convinces Hebi that Saru and Renji are like, the man with the exact vibes of a drug dealer in a 1980′s anti-drug PSA trying to offer a kid some goofballs. “Don’t you want to be your own man?” he intones, a phrase which Hebi goes on to echo approximately 50 times throughout this episode.

I honestly need to emphasize that Saru and Renji are not the least bit oppressive to Hebi. Snakeboy literally lets the villain get away twice in 5 minutes, and Saru is like, “I gotta put you back on the leash” and the Renji tells her to let him go after he runs away.

Now that he is his own man, the first thing Hebi wants to do is the same thing every shinigami wants to do once let loose in the World of the Living, i.e., eat a bunch of kombini riceballs.

I guess this is supposed to be funny, they’re playing wacky music an’ all, but my mind went immediately to the fact that Renji spent his childhood in food insecurity.

GAAAAAH, I CAN’T STOP MAKING THIS EPISODE INTO A METAPHOR. RENJI HAS SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE FORCING HIMSELF INTO AN EARLY ADULTHOOD, PRIORITIZING TRAINING AND LIVING UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF A CLASS HE ASPIRES TO THAT GIVES HIM NOTHING IN RETURN. THE HALF OF HIS ZANPAKUTOU REPRESENTING MARTIAL STRENGTH, FEROCITY, AND DISCIPLINE IS AN ADULT AND THE HALF REPRESENTING SELF-FULFILLMENT, JOY, AND WONDER IS A CHILD KEPT UNDER LOCK AND CHAIN.

Ahem. I’m fine. I’m good.

Hebi gets rice-ball-blocked by Ichigo’s sisters, chases some pigeons, tries to score some raw meat, and lovingly watches some people eat ice cream, before meeting up with Karin and Yuzu again. Karin realizes that he must be some sort of spirit, since Yuzu can’t see him (she notes that he “dressses funny” but somehow never registers the tail) Anyway, she gives him a rice-ball and he follows her home after Yuzu offers to feed him.

It’s time for a moodily lit interlude with Renji and Saru! Renji is completely chill about half his zanpakutou wandering around the Living World, wrecking things, and asks Saru if she’s worried about him. She admits that she’s more concerned about the idea of him acting like a Sword Beast, and Renji replies “Not very honest with your feelings, eh?” What does this mean??? 

LOOK, CAN YOU IMAGINE THE SORT OF DEEP SHIT THE GOTEI WOULD BE IN IF RENJI STOPPED BEING NICE AND DECIDED TO GO APESHIT? BECAUSE YOU KNOW ALL OF THE OTHER RUKONGAI VICE-CAPTAINS WOULD BE WITH HIM?? BYAKUYA WOULD HAVE TO GO PICK UP HIS OWN BURRITO AT CHIPOTLE!! HE WOULD DIE!!! WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF WE ALL THREW OFF THE CHAINS OF CAPITALISM??

Anyway, Ichigo wanders up and is like, “hey man, you’re missing half your zanpakutou” and Renji’s like “no big I’m sure he’ll show up” and Ichigo’s like “maybe you should get on that.”

Back to the Kurosaki Clinic! Karin tells Hebi he should hide if Ichigo or Isshin come home, and Hebi is like “Oh, you live with other people, that’s so lame, I’m my own man” and Karin is like “You can’t even feed yourself, you moron, emotional bonds are cool, get over yourself.” It is an absolutely brutal takedown, and it works immediately. NGL, I found it immensely satisfying.

Oh good, it’s time for an uncomfortable metaphor about Renji and Saru being Hebi’s parents!! Thanks, I hate it!! IS THIS A METAPHOR ABOUT SELF-CARE? DOES RENJI INTENTIONALLY PROVIDE THE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FOR HIMSELF THAT HE NEVER RECEIVED AS A CHILD?? THIS IS VERY HEALTHY TBH, MAYBE RENJI HAS ACTUALLY BEEN TO THERAPY???

Yuzu gives Hebi Ichigo’s flan. They try to play Nintendo and board games, which proves to be an abject failure, and then end up watching some weird stand-up on tv, which Hebi finds fascinating.  Everyone falls asleep by the time Ichigo gets home, so much for hiding from Ichi-nii.

Time out to talk about the fact that someone in this scene should recognize each other. Ichigo’s sisters have met Renji at least twice in non-canon (Sealed Soul Frenzy and the Bount Arc) and it’s highly possible they met him off-panel sometime during the Advance Team Arc. Even if Karin thinks Hebi is referring to some other Renji, it is inconceivable to me that Hebi doesn’t know who Ichigo is. This entire arc seems to presume that the zanpakutou have absolutely no awareness of what goes on outside of a shinigami’s inner world, but we’ve seen Zangetsu manifest and talk to Ichigo, like during his fight with Zaraki. Ichigo and Renji trained for bankai together. Zabimaru was THERE . It’s just extremely stupid to me thta Hebi wouldn’t recognize him when he shows up a little later on.

Back to the episode. Ichigo flicks Hebi in the forehead and asks “What are you doing in my house?” Ichigo tells Hebi that he’s a substitute soul reaper and Hebi feels betrayed and runs away. He immediately runs into the Sword Beast who is like “How do you like being your own man?” and Hebi is like, “it sucks actually, a cute girl I just met taught me that” and they fight. Karin shows up, gets knocked out, it’s looking pretty bad, when Renji shows up to save him and shoot him an Extremely Dad Look that is just dripping with “I’m sorry you lost the soccer game today but you did your best! Let’s stop for McDonalds on the way home!”

Anyway, Saru then heavily implies that they let Hebi wander around like this because they figured the Sword Beast would try to find him again. Wow. WOW. I also want to emphasize that Hebi fought that Sword Beast for a long time and got knocked around pretty hard, wtf were you doing, Renji and Saru?? And also Ichigo, who chased him directly out of the house and then took forever to catch up??

Anyway, Hebi doesn’t seem to care, he’s just happy to be back with his parents master and other half.

Karin wakes up later and is like “Where’s Zabimaru?” and Ichigo’s all like “I definitely do not know anyone by that name” and I wish filler arcs had any continuity at all, because I would love to see this come back to bite them later.

Renji and Zabimaru stand in the sky and stare wistfully at Ichigo’s house for a while (not weird at all, why do you ask??) and Hebi’s like, “yeah, it never would have worked out”, and Renji and Saru respectfully pretend like he had some kind of chance with Karin in the first place and then they all go back to Soul Society, to much more somber music than the wokka chi-wow-wows they entered on.

This episode could have been so much better, but it also could have been so much worse, so I will just take what I can get.

It also had the extremely precious omake where Renji and Zabimaru are Good Pals! ::sob:: why couldn’t the whole episode have just been THIS???

#sword beasts arc #bleach filler #look renji is remarkably well-adjusted for the shit he has been thru #i feel like he could be the Taking Care of Your Mental Health role model we need #has fifty timers on his phone so he remembers to hydrate and take his ritalin #bullet journals with momo #texts his friends just to tell them he loves them #these tags got a little outta control #i am not recapping all of these #just the good ones #by which i mean the ones i like #none of them are 'good' #i will make a master post eventually i promise

[rixxy8173571m3w1p3]

The Truths Found On Petram Viridios IV (5/5)

A/N: The last chapter to this fic. It's a long one and I gotta say that I've had a lot of fun with this one. After I post this chapter, I'll be sure to post the masterpost for this fic. And of course it'll be available on ao3 soon enough.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

__________

Chapter 5: Adore You

If you had to draw a map to find the way home once you were captivated by the gaze of those trustworthy, soft eyes of his, you would surely run out of ink; pools of blue, unwavering in their affection, drew you in, and you were willing to drown in them. There were facets about them that fascinated you as much as the scales of a butterfly did; they did not shimmer, but they gleamed and sparkled; it's what made you pause and search for a wisp of an acquaintance that very first time you saw him; finding a familiarity that threatened to sweep you away. Why you even found fire in those eyes; it was there in his moments of determination and passion. Oh, how their color shifted with his moods was a type of magic you wanted to spend the rest of your life being mesmerized by. To be sure he wasn't mistaken, he dare not blink; exhibiting the full spectrum of what Billie Eilish described as ocean eyes; he had to be sure. "Y-you do?"

"Yes," you giggled. "I do."

It wouldn't occur to you till later, that he had given you a choice. For instead of the typical proposal question, where it was more asserted, Rick asked in a manner in which there was equal footing; it spoke volumes of the respect he had for you. With shaky hands, he slipped a ring whose stone was as clear and blue as his eyes and cut perfectly like a rose, the band covered in gold vines and silver leaves which weaved together; he made it himself, and if you thought back far enough, you could remember when he was ambiguous about his plans to create a new type of stone. Honestly, you didn't realize it would be for this.

"Gosh," he sniffled. "I-I promised myself that I w-wouldn't cry."

But cry he would; fat, sloppy tears that blinded one's vision. He wiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater, and fought to regain composure, but lost to the new wave which followed. You gently pried his hands away from his face, softening at his tear-stained cheeks. "It's okay, you can cry if you want to. I already know how tender you are."

Goodness, how long had he wanted to do this? For while it had almost been two years in which he had last attempted to, it might've been on his mind for much longer than that; eating away at his clarity; at the self-confidence that was torn down and repaired daily. You were grateful and proud that this man wanted you; that he finally gathered the courage to ask and do as he intended and wanted. You….you had wanted this to happen, but did he know that? Your ocean of inquisitions thought otherwise.

However, it was time to quiet and quell his despondent thoughts. Your fingers dug into the collar of his sweater; the tang of nervous sweat and something so him which wafted off him made you yearn to bring him closer. The puffiness about his eyes didn't discourage you from pressing a kiss at the corner of them and from his throat came a choked sob and you were surrounded by the sounds of his disbelief; this cacophony was breaking your heart. There had to be something you could do to ease him. "Ricardo," you started, "considering the suddenness of the occasion, should we, in like fashion…my dear honey man, would you like to get married today?"

This new tidbit caught him off guard; so much so that he stopped crying; good. Now, he was the one who was unsure of whether this was real life or a simulation. He ran his fingers through his hair, double-checked his equipment, sprayed himself with water, and completed equations that had taken this earth dimension's leading mathematicians decades to understand. What you thought was odd was when he caught a pigeon, scanned its anatomy, and found it was sound; you were going to have to ask him about it later. "Rick, did you hear me?"

"Y-yes," he focused, "but what d-do you mean today? How?"

You figured he would have easily come to a conclusion, but then again, what do spacemen have to do with the price of bread?

"I mean that we don't have to wait if you don't want to." You slid your palm over his tattoo, memorizing with your fingertips where his skin was slightly raised. "We can just go down to the justice of the peace if you'd like."

"And y-you would be my wife today?"

"Yes," you giggled. "I think that's how it works."

"But what about a-a…"

"A wedding ceremony?" you interrupted. "Well, we can have one later. We can plan it however you want, and invite all our friends. There can be so much celebration that we'll be knocked out for a week. Until then, I just want to make you happy, and I believe the sooner the better. Okay? So, if we're going to do this, just tell me now and I'll go get the proper paperwork."

It never ceased to amaze you how easily he flitted through emotions as though it were the weather, and with vigor, he lifted you up and vibrated with joy. "Boy, golly gee…this really - this really razzes my b-berries! This is…wow, I-I can't believe it."

You couldn't believe his word choice either. "Oh, you better believe it, because now you're stuck with me and I have you all to myself. However, you're going to have to put me down now because the office closes at five. There are a few things I need to do before then."

Letting you down, he happily waved goodbye despite the fact that it wouldn't take long to get what you needed for this impromptu occasion. Though, when you entered your house, you took a moment to think about your father. There were things you still didn't understand, like why he never told you about his friendship with Rick, or why you two never really discussed what he'd do if you got married; if he had been here, maybe you two would have talked about which flowers would look best as centerpieces; like whether roses or mums were cheerful enough or if this really was a good idea; if such an age gap was surmountable. Yet, in a way you felt as though you were honoring him; for your father and your mother had been unconventional and had gotten married without all the showy displays then road tripped a bit before settling here; you were simply following tradition.

Maybe, you didn't have to know about the why's and what-ifs, but focusing on what you could do seemed a whole lot easier to do. You kicked off your sneakers and dashed upstairs. You knew where your important documents were, but you thought that choosing a cute outfit would take a little longer. You wanted a certain vibe, one that would make things easier on him and then it came to you; why not revisit an old favorite; one that reminded you of his eyes; always, forever blue.

When you returned, you found him pacing around. He was deep in thought, and it took a moment for him to notice that you had returned. Almost comically, his eyes widened as he took in your appearance, and he started to cry again. "That's th-the dress. From that one time."

"It sure is."

With a twirl, you flaunted the blue chiffon dress, and felt like a dream; his visible adoration was not lost on you. It was a relief that this time you hadn't taken an hour to fuss or worry that you weren't dressed for the part, and you weren't wearing shoes which would kill your feet, but instead rocked some converse. "These shoes are made for walking and that's just what I'll do."

Unlike you, Zeta-7 wanted to fuss and choose something dressier, but you somehow managed to convince him that his blue button-up would be fine, and no tie was necessary; hidden ray guns were allowed just in case this happened to be the day that the Gromflomites attacked; not even Earth-based military scanners would be able to detect them. Though, you did allow him to fix up his hair, because one, you thought he was quite handsome with it combed back, and two, it's what he felt he needed to do to look the part. "How do I-I look?"

"Like the man I'm going to marry. Are you ready handsome?"

With a nod, he grabbed the folder with all the documents he needed. "Y-you bet."

______________

At the courthouse, the entire security staff grouped together and teased you about your keys; you should've known that you'd face trouble once you went through the metal detector; you had a lot of keychains; they were from the days when you and your father would go shopping together. Like Rick, he liked yard sales and thrift stores; sometimes he'd get grab bags and there would be vintage keychains, and he'd give them to you knowing you'd like them. You were told by one of the older guards that it wasn't natural for a grown woman to have a set of keys that weighed five pounds. Zeta-7 began to worry, but you told him you could handle it, and you figured the guards were bored and had nothing else to do. What you didn't tell them was that the main reason your keys were heavy was that you were carrying two sets; yours and your father's old keys; Rick knew, but he respected your wishes to leave it be.

Despite this, you two made your way to the right office; it only took fifteen minutes of going to lobby after lobby, free coffee, and endless rugs in all this indoor nothingness. And nobody knew better than Rick when it came to how much you hated paperwork, but nonetheless, you went through the painstaking process of signing this and that, wondering why they didn't make it easier for people by asking yes or no questions; this better not become someone's confetti. Rick breezed through it all, and you were slightly jealous that he knew what he was doing, but it was due to the fact that citadel paperwork was a lot more frustrating and difficult; he had to go through stacks of it weekly; poor man. While he sat quietly, you were in-between forms that had to be signed in triplicate and heard the gossip coming from the people who were working in the back of the office. What they didn't know was that their ignorance made you more determined; you'd fought your own expectations, that of others, as well as what seemed right to do long enough and no one, not even death itself was going to stop you from doing this; it was the best thing you could ever do for yourself and for him as well. You breathed a sigh of relief when you and Rick finally signed the marriage certificate; finally, it was done, and he watched rapturously as you set down the pen so that he could kiss you without refrain.

If you hadn't known better, you'd say the world shied away; dissolving into a plane of nothingness as he enveloped you with a strength that was deceptive for a man of his years; he had become a little more confident; it might've taken a few years, but all you knew was that it suited him. Being nurtured and cared for, as well as loved in the right sort of environment did wonders on Zeta-7; so much so, that he could hold the world in the palm of his hand and still manage not to damage it. It wasn't shocking that some found this outward display sweet, and you almost had hope for humankind, but then there was a laugh or two from the back; you made a mental note to consider moving off Earth. No one was going to ruin this moment for him, and relishing the moment, you chased his mouth for a second kiss; you know, to prove your point.

And if you hadn't already been proud of him, what made you even prouder was what he said on the way out. "Please stop laughing at m-my wife. Th-that's very rude."

His wife? Yes, you were his wife now. It's strange how you could wake up and wonder what you should have for breakfast and be here where you were now; in a whole new chapter of your life; wondering what will come next. Confusing yes, but not something to be afraid of; you welcomed this happy transition.

Back at the car, you were still recovering from his earlier outburst; the like which was almost out of character. "Did you see the look on her face? I thought it was going to fall off with how far her jaw dropped. Wasn't it a sight?"

Though, he was busy staring at the ring on his own hand which you had picked out when you two made a stop at a consignment shop earlier. It wasn't that complex like yours, but he loved it. "All I could see was - was you."

"You flirt."

You gave his shoulder a playful shove, and in turn, he laughed a full-on belly laugh; this happy noise was music to your ears. "Gosh, I-I mean it. Y-you, look so pretty today." A bit shyly, he commented. "Blue looks very good on you."

"Thank you. So, how should we celebrate? A trip to the moon perhaps? Going across the universe? Maybe a kaiju fight with Matango? Or watching Spiderman 2? Honestly, I'm game for anything."

You had decent shoes on and didn't care what he wanted to do because you were happy if he was happy. And as though it were just another afternoon, he glowed with happiness when he asked. "Mrs. Sanchez, do you - do you want to go get some ice cream?"

Some things will never change and you didn't mind that. "I'd love to. As the author, L.M. Montgomery once said, 'I guess ice cream is one of those things that are beyond imagination.' And, you know, it's so true. I intend to go all out with the toppings today. It's certainly that kind of occasion."

______

He couldn't seem to want to let go of your hand; as though the world would fall away if he didn't and that this would turn out to be a cruel dream. Still, you humored and spoiled him. As intended, you got all the toppings; Rick thought it was a kids dream come true with the amount of candy you had in your waffle bowl. And since you had enough to share, you took the liberty to feed him. He chatted on; offering charming stories from his band days; unlike other Ricks who were in a rock band called Flesh Curtains, his band had been a jazz and bossa nova trio; the band name had been comprised of a numerical equation; if you had named them you would've called them the Zeta Bytes.

Now, Rick wasn't a messy eater, but during one of his more excitable stories, he spilled a bit on the corner of his mouth. Ready with a napkin, you wiped it away, and couldn't help but laugh at how boyish it was. Giving your hand a squeeze, he absentmindedly brushed his thumb on the back of your hand; adoration coloring his voice. “You're t-t-too good to me.”

"There's no such thing. If anything, I gotta spoil you rotten."

You found no hindrance in his mood and this time he didn't think twice about kissing you then and there as he liked while you were still holding the napkin; fear and shame of public displays of affection being one less thing to worry about now. Who cared if your ice cream was melting, because your heart was melting; his mouth tasted of chocolate and promises. A soft chuckle escaped him as he pulled away; his promise whispered against your lips. "I-I promise I'll be good t-t-to you."

Being loved suited him; it really, really did wonders on his countenance and it made you wonder what else he could now do.

_________

By now you were a little tired, but Ricks contagious energy invigorated your spirits; you bet he could've come up with an invention and completed it today if he stayed this hyped up. Instead, he used that energy to make fresh rolls to go with the leftover acorn squash soup; you hadn't been that hungry, but you enjoyed it nonetheless. And when dinner had been eaten, you helped him with the dishes; nothing you hadn't done before, but his spirit was lighter and more at ease; he even bumped your hip with his as a gesture of playfulness. After cleaning up the kitchen, he decided that he'd like to take a shower and refresh himself and in the meantime, you stepped out into the backyard to enjoy the beauty of the night. In this part of town, despite the light pollution, you could see a fair amount of stars.

You had never studied astronomy, but Rick had shown you in diagrams and in textbooks of their names and explained how they were formed; to him, their complexity was like poetry, and it made them beautiful. You couldn't recite it by memory, but you had a feeling that beyond your current comprehension perhaps there was life amongst those heavenly bodies, despite the heat or deadly gases; if you had learned anything about space, it was that worlds were more along the lines of art and beauty than fields of science which were easily explained. Yet, in the air, where there was a sweet perfume, thick, but intoxicating, only where you were currently mattered; you saw that in the leftmost part of the yard there was jasmine which was currently in bloom; its blanket of flowers reminding you of snow. Hadn't you read of this somewhere before? Maybe.

In the grass near your feet, grasshoppers leaped away, and crickets chirped their songs. And you relished the strong breezes and the song of the night which may consume a melancholic heart if it were searching for tragedies instead of sweet dreams. And it had only been a few hours ago when you had thought that all of which transpired might've been a dream. Though, whatever truths that had come to light in the hours after the simulation, you were glad of them.

In the dark, sights and sounds were heightened and mesmerizing, albeit curious in its own right; if it hadn't been for the sound barrier Rick had on his property, you would've heard the obnoxious sound of the next-door neighbor's TV as they watched infomercials. Still, it was a beautiful night. Sitting on the bench which overlooked the whole yard, you thought of what wonderful things you'd like to share with Rick, and then he found you. For his part, he had changed into something more relaxed; into a light blue button-down that was similar to the one he was wearing earlier, but this one was softer, and it was paired with navy pants; it reminded you of blue pants Rick with his attire, but it was cute and suited him. With him, he had brought over a tray of goodies and you two ate cookies and cakes and drank earl grey under the moonlit night.

The pause in conversation gave allowances for observations. For example, you took a good long look at him as he sipped his tea; admiring how casual he appeared tonight. Without his labcoat or sweater, his identity seemed separate from that of his dimension jumping, scientist self; making way for the person deep inside; the friendly neighbor who won your heart without even trying. He noticed eventually that you had been staring at him, and he broke the silence with his inquiry. "What are y-you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about you cutie. You um….you look really good in those blue pants of yours. Thinking of taking up modeling anytime soon?"

"N-no," he answered with an air of obliviousness that you found endearing. "not unless my next work assignment requires it. Gee, why do you ask?"

"Hmm, it's because you wear your clothes well. I always thought you did, but I don't believe I ever mentioned it."

He ruminated on what you said for a few minutes, before setting down his cup. "Did you - did you always find me attractive?"

"No," you confessed. "but you're the only person I've ever really been attracted to. I…..I always liked the fact that our relationship was built on something more substantial. You see, the more I got to know you, the more irresistible I found you. Though," you winked. "those teeth of yours were always too cute to resist."

This truth of yours made him comfortable enough to relinquish one of his own. "C-can I tell you a secret?"

"It's not much of a secret if you tell me dear, but you can tell me anyway."

Wringing his hands together, he confessed solemnly. "That day y-you tripped on the sidewalk nearby my house, I-I almost decided not to cross the road."

Not cross the road? Hmm, it had been an option. In your mind's eye, you could imagine it; the tall, lanky figure of a man debating against his better judgment on what he ought to do; so close but so far; knowing that he was altering the course of his future and putting yours at risk. Poor man, having to wallow over a moral dilemma like that. "Why is that?"

"Gosh, y-you….I didn't want to take advantage of the situation."

It could've been taken that way, but you never thought so. "So what changed your mind?"

"I thought you were going to cry, and I-I didn't… I didn't want you to suffer anymore. I thought t-to myself, that if I got t-t-to know you, then you wouldn't have to be lonely anymore."

When he said this, you nearly couldn't look at him; not because he knew more than he let on, but because who knows what paths you two would've taken if he hadn't shown up that day. Tears bit at the back of your eyes, and your nails bit into your palms. "Dear, love isn't always a cure for heartache," He tensed up at this, but you knew you had to tell him. You weren't upset because you had guessed as much, but being assured of it cemented the fact. "but I'm sure that without you, without your friendship, I might not be here right now. I think I was depressed, and from time to time I still feel that way. I…I have thought of ways to make my troubles end, ways you might not have been proud of, but you've shown me a better way to live. I think…no, I know that by expanding my horizons, I understand now that there's so much to look forward to, and not to take life for granted. Why," you paused, fighting the tears which threatened to fall. "you reminded me that I gotta make the most of this crazy, unpredictable life, and I'm happy that I'll get to do that with you."

He understood and accepted this answer and gave you a look of adoration and pride; the like that you hoped you'd always remember. And when you two were done with tea, you both took a walk about the garden. The sweet perfume of jasmine intermingled with that of the scent of his soap, and combined with the candor of his speech made this place feel like a well of comfort. He followed behind you as you two spoke, and you were conscious of the fact that with his freshly washed hair brushed back, it made him more appealing. His hands were in want of yours as he matched your pace, and you felt slightly mischievous as you'd skip or teased him to catch you; it wasn't long until he gathered you in his arms and laughed, and you asked without much seriousness for him to let you go, but while he loosened his grip, he didn't let go entirely. "Gosh, y-you make me feel so young. It - it feels so good to have you in my arms."

"Oh, really?" you giggled. "That's great to hear."

Pressing a kiss to your temple, he sighed. "It's unfortunate that I'm so old."

"That's okay. I like you as you are. It goes well with your personality."

"Thank you mi corazón. It feels good to hear that. However, can I-I ask you something?"

"Mhm."

"¿Si hubiera s-sido más joven, habría marcado la diferencia?"

"If you had been younger? I don't know. Possibly," you admitted. "I might've been less reluctant about my feelings at the beginning, but I truly don't know. I'd like to think that I'd still would've fallen for you anyway. You're a wonderful man Ricardo, you don't have to doubt that, anyone can see that. It doesn't matter how old you are, but it's who you are."

"Y-you're right." With reluctance, he allowed his arms to drop to his sides, and he wondered. "It um - it's getting late. Should I-I walk you home?"

Was he forgetting that he didn't have to? Maybe not. Perhaps he needed a sign; one that said that any suggestion of further intimacy was alright. "I thought I was home." you answered, "Don't you want me to stay?"

Scratching the back of his neck, he nodded. "Yes, I-I-I-I do."

"Then it's settled. We'll have a big sleepover," you brightened. "and it'll never have to end. I'll borrow a pair of your pj's and hog all the blankets because I'll get cold."

"And in - in the morning," he added warmly, "w-we can have pancakes."

"Yeah, and watch enough interdimensional cable to make us go blind."

"But I-I might have to work tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, then I guess I'll just have to eat all your snacks until you come back. We might have to take a trip to Costco at some point because they sell these mushroom crisps that are to die for."

Standing under the persimmon tree, he stepped forward and gave your shoulder a squeeze. "Y-you can have whatever you want," With a strong arm slipping around your waist, you felt almost shy at the way he smiled protectingly down at you. His warm breath ghosted about your ear, and his voice was above a whisper as he confessed. “because I-I-I finally got you princess and I'm not - I'm not going t-to let you go.”

At the sound of this pet name, you felt a slight warmth rush to your cheeks, but you didn't laugh it off as you had once but agreed with warmth. “You may do as you please, Mr. Sanchez.”

And so he did. Without hesitation, he lifted your chin and brushed your lips with his thumb. His eyes sparkling with humor, promise, and a confidence that was somehow so very appropriate on his face. "I love you. I-I-I always have. From the time I first held your hand, I knew it had to be you. I would've been a fool if I - if I hadn't tried. Even now, it's hard to believe, but it's starting to sink in."

"Me too. It's unbelievable, but it's true and we have the paperwork to prove it."

Leaning down, he pressed a sweet kiss onto your lips. It was so gentle, it was as though you might break if he tried otherwise. Kissing you again, he sighed against your lips. "It's beautiful out t-tonight."

"It is."

Pressing a hand to his cheek, you softened. "But I think I'm ready to call it a night. Why don't we go in?"

Weaving his fingers with yours, he softened. "Okay."

You used to think to yourself and wonder if his house would ever be ready to receive you, but what you now realized was that it had always been ready, and only you had been waiting for it all to catch up; for him to know what he wanted and to be courageous and say; for you to know what you needed, and to accept that being yourself didn't make you any less attractive or unique and that you weren't alone; you had never been alone, for he had always been waiting. His home, why it was always home, but it was always home because he was what grounded you and you were what grounded him. And you felt so married to him then, and everything felt as it should. Nothing had really changed, except for a title, and a promise; for you two were friends as you had always been; him the happy go lucky old man, and you the silly neighbor who met him by accident, but you couldn't deny that you loved him with your entire being and so did he. As promised, he intended to do everything in his power to protect you, even as you two were getting ready for bed. His body seemed to curl around you as to shield you from whatever monsters could be hiding in the dark.

So, when it happened that you rested your head upon his chest and felt the temptation of sleep washing over you, you pressed a light kiss to his cheek and confessed softly. "I can't wait to wake up next to you."

Fin

#doofus rick #doofus rick x reader #rick sanchez x reader #J19ζ7 #j19z7 #rick j19z7 #Rick and morty #Rnm #rnm fanfic #rnm fanfiction #rick and morty fanfiction #rick and morty fanfic #multi chapter #marriage #my fanfiction #my works #my writing #fanfiction #my fanfic

[lihikainanea]

Tiger and Bill getting quarantined together and she is getting restless.

ok ok ok ok ok

but like

FIRST OF ALL.

I just want to say that I hope each and every one of you are alright. If you’re quarantined, I know that it’s hard, and I know that it’s very hard on your mental health. I’m here for you guys if you need it. I suck at replying on time and this whole zombie virus thing has got me quite busy, but my inbox is always open. And I won’t turn off my anon option because I want all of you to feel like you have at least one safe space left, if you need to unleash your sorrows or a rant or both. It’s fucking hard on me too, I mentioned before but I’m an empath to an insane degree and the entire world buzzing with panic, anxiety, sickness and negative energy just has me like...well, it literally has me breaking out in hives. I get stress-induced eczema and my hands are a fucking mess because of it and also because I’m washing them like 800 times a day. Somebody come rub coconut oil on them for me :-(

Approach slowly though. Don’t spook me. I frighten easily and I really am like a puffer fish--except instead of swelling up, if you spook me I just break out in nervous hives and start scratching.

ANYWAY

Look, let’s add some angsty sauce to this: Bill desperately trying to get home to her as the quarantine is taking effect. It’s like he’s in quicksand, he just wants to get home so he can be with her because he knows she’s stressed and anxious about it, but he’s been booked on 4 commercial flights so far and all of them just keep getting cancelled. He’s spending hours on hold with airlines, spending even longer stranded in airports pleading with the desk agents, and every time he looks up at the TV, another border is closed. He hasn’t slept in days. Every time he talks to tiger he’s trying to be soothing, reassuring, but he knows that she can see his worry too.

“It looks bad, bud,” she murmurs on a FaceTime call, and he can see her hand moving beneath the screen.

“Stop scratching,” he sighs, “It is bad, kid. But I’ll get to you, I promise.”

But her face drops, and she looks sad all of a sudden.

“You shouldn’t make a promise like that, Bill,” she mumbles, “You might not be able--”

“Tiger,” he interrupts, “I’ll see you soon. Hang in there. And go get the coconut oil in the cupboard.”

If anything, seeing her worry and her sadness just made him all the more determined. And hell maybe borders are closed now. Maybe commercial flights are cancelled. But the rich--they live on another fucking planet. And maybe this was some big budget film, maybe he was with his bro (awwwww, Northman vibes) and their actor’s union put the pressure on--so the studio paid for a charter to get the two tall boys the fuck out. That, and probably a little sprinklin’ of Granny’s magic. Granny is probably watching tiger from above and scowling at Bill, going boy you better GET HOME to this mess and take care of it. She’s your mess now and you promised.

And it’s probably like, anything less than glamorous. Maybe Bill has legit slept at the airport the past few days, waiting on standby, trying to get out. He probably hasn’t showered in awhile, that glorious scruff covering his face. But he calls tiger to tell her that he got a miracle, and tiger is happy but she doesn’t want to believe it until he’s home and until he walks through that door.

But he does. Hours later, looking like he’s been through hell, he does. But he comes in to a mess--tiger literally stress-ate all of her quarantine snacks so she’s hopped up on gummy bears and cheese sticks. She’s also covered in hives, and he busts through the door to see the poor thing curled up on the couch, scratching her red, swollen hand, a stick of half-eaten licorice in her mouth, surprised as all hell to see him. Bill takes a moment, breathes, just tries to decide what to tackle first.

“Okay,” he says calmly, “Okay....”

Tiger hops up, the licorice falls to the floor, and she takes a running leap at him but he holds his arms up and backs away.

“No, no no,” he says, “I need to wash my hands, first.”

So he steps away, but then he steps back. Gives her a slow once over. She’s literally covered in hives--her face, her hands, her neck. Angry, red patches.

“We're gonna....” he waves his hand dismissively up and down in front of her, “We’re gonna figure this out, kid.”

“Figure what out?” she grumbles.

“Why you look like a spotted fucking leopard now,” he retorts, “Come on, let’s get in the tub.”

“I can’t,” she says, and then she stands there like a pigeon as she lifts one foot, uses it to scratch the back of her calf.

“Why not?”

She shifts her eyes, lifts her hand to scratch at her neck but Bill smacks it away.

“It makes me itchier,” she mumbles. He rolls his eyes.

“Just follow me,” he grumbles. And after he washes his hands a few times, he sits her up on the counter as he runs to fetch some oatmeal. He runs a lukewarm bath and pours some in, and climbs in with her. You can bet that after he just tuts her gently, rubbing some coconut oil all over her to help soothe it as he scolds her gently and lovingly.

“Look at you, kid,” he coos, “God it’s like a game of connect the dots.”

“Bill,” she whines, “I was worried about you, bud.”

He smiles at that, his soft, shy smile, kisses her cheek before he folds her into his arms.

“I know you were, tiger,” he murmurs. And just because I find it such a cute image--coconut oil can kind of clog your pores, so when it comes to the angry little patches of red on her face, maybe Bill grabs the calamine lotion. Dots that on her face instead, so now she’s just this cute, scowling little mess full of bright pink cotton-ball splotches on her face.

The two weeks are probably hard but let’s face it, it’s so much easier together. Tiger literally stress-ate everything in the house so Bill has to put in a huge order of groceries online. They spend lazy mornings in bed, they cook up a storm every day. There’s a lot of sex--god so much sex. And tiger makes it a rule that Bill is not allowed to wear clothes for two straight weeks--only those incredible little tight boxer briefs that just make his legs look so long and his hips look so fucking delicious.

#bill skarsgard drabble #bill skarsgard #BFF!Bill #funny

[royallyprincesslilly]

KinkToberFest Fic Collection #2🔥🔥/🔥🔥🔥

Title: Electrifying {🔥🔥 To 🔥🔥🔥}

Thor x Reader {One-Shot}

Warning: SMUT, NSFW,Electro-Stimulation (E-Stim) & Exhibitionism

Word Count: 3.1K

Note: Next up, we have the our favorite electric God. This is also first so, fingers crossed this captures him. FOLLOW THE RATING UP TOP. I kinda really like this concept this may pop up again sometime in the future.

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been six months since you’d seen him. Six long months. Six months of all work and no play. Six months of overworking yourself so you had no free time to miss him. He said he had to go back to Asgard on a mission. That mission that was supposed to be a week at most but ended up stretching longer than that. What was worse was that it was six months of no contact. That is what drove you crazy; you didn’t know if he was hurt, in trouble, trapped, locked up, nothing. There was no news. Why would there be? He was an Asgardian; it’s not like they had intergalactic and dimensional news that played highlights.

  “Hello, earth to Y/N!”

  You shook your head and looked to your friends who were staring at you. The boom of the music at the club you were at brought you back to where you were.

  “What?”

  “We’ve been calling your name for like a full minute,” Katy rang back.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

  “No, shit. Where were you?” You looked around at your three friends as they studied you waiting for an answer. Finishing your drink, you shrugged.

  “Nowhere, just thinking about something from work,” you lied.

  Melody groaned loudly as she rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. She didn’t believe you and probably saw right through you. Out of her, Katy and Destinee, you and her were the closest. You told her damn near everything, including your relationship with him. Melody changed the subject and brought everyone’s attention to a group of guys across the club at the bar who were watching. After deciding on a plan of action everyone went into motion executing it. Katy and Destinee stood and began dancing with each other to the sultry music playing throughout the club. You and Melody sat closely and whispered as she looked over to them giving them a suggestive look that said, “come hither.”

Like clockwork, the four guys stood and sauntered over. Part of you felt like you were being unfaithful to him. Like you were disrespecting his memory, disrespecting your relationship. You almost laughed out loud. You didn’t even know if you had a relationship. You had two months of bliss, two months of laughter, two months of normalcy away from everything and every one, two months of toe-curling, back-arching love. Or you’d thought it was love. The longer he was away without even a carrier pigeon to you had you second guessing whatever it was you thought you’d felt. Maybe you didn’t mean anything to him.

  “Hi, I’m Parker.” You looked into the hazel eyes of one of the guys who’d just came over and smiled back at him.

  “Hi, Y/N.” Parker smiled and shook your hand before placing a semi-wet kiss to the back of your hand. Cheesy, you thought, but he was cute enough to get away with it.

  For the next thirty minutes or so, you and Parker sat and whispered together. He spit his best game and said all the right things and even was bold enough to place a hand on your knee and at the back of your neck, and even brushing your hair away from your face. He was doing all the right things. You didn’t get a bad vibe at all, but one thing was off. He wasn’t him—Thor.

  Melody could see your lackluster disposition with Parker, and she knew you were not into him. After exchanging an all-knowing glance with you, she nodded.

  You spent another hour at the club, dancing, drinking, and chopping it up with your friends and the guys trying their best to be the ones they went home with tonight. By the time you all said your goodbyes at the front of the club it was nearing two in the morning, and the air smelled sweet and pungent; you could feel a storm brewing. You could always smell when it was going to rain, but this oncoming storm felt different, smelled different.

  You said bye to your friends and got into a cab more than ready to climb into bed. The drive was a relatively quick one because, at two in the morning, the traffic in the city was almost nonexistence. You saw the sky slightly light up behind the dark rolling clouds with the distant flashes of lighting. You couldn’t help but think of him and wish he were there.

  Suddenly a loud clap a thunder boomed. It was loud enough to set off every car alarm around you, but the alarms couldn’t compete with the sound of the thunder or the bright burst of lighting that decorated the sky. The taxi driver swerved to a halt in an effort to avoid cars that were also doing the same thing. Once it was safe, you stepped out the car, and in the distance, you could see a concentrated beam of lighting stream down to the ground. Your eyes widened, and your heart stopped.

  “Thor,” you whispered.

  You quickly handed the driver a twenty and rand down the street. You were only five blocks from home and knew you could make it there quicker on foot than waiting in the backup the thunder and lightning show created. After two blocks, you regretted running in your heels, your feet hurt, and you were beginning to sweat.

  As you rounded the corner onto your street, you ran up to the door of your duplex and quickly made it inside. You looked around and checked each room. You didn’t know what you expected to find or who you expected to find. By the time you made it upstairs to check your office and then bedroom you breathed out and leaned against the wall. He wasn’t here.  Disappointment filled you, and you fought off the tears threatening to spill over.

  After a few minutes, you pulled yourself together and got into the shower. You needed some downtime in the worst way; you could feel the tension in your muscles and shoulders. You began to feel foolish for hoping, foolish for thinking it was him. Once you wrapped yourself in your silk robe you walked back downstairs and nearly fell flat on your ass when you saw him sitting in one of the recliner leather chairs. He was decked out in his God of Thunder garb.

  “Y/N.” the sound of his voice made your knees weak, and you gripped the stair railing and pressed your free hand to your abdomen.

  “Hello.”

  You bit your bottom lip, unable to speak.  When he stood, you followed his movements as he walked around the living room to come to stand before you. He was as tall as every and as brawny as the day you last saw him. He was gorgeous. You licked your lips as his hand reached out and touched your cheek. Just like that you were weak, and you threw yourself onto him pressing your face onto his chest. Thor wrapped his massive arms around your body and just held you. Without even knowing it your tears fell freely; they weren’t sad tears or even angry ones. They were grateful ones, tears that spoke of your relief.

  “I am here, my love.” You looked up into his stormy blue eyes and dropped your forehead to his chest. He smelled so good. Thor touched your cheek again, and you saw the soot on his hand. You looked back to his face and saw the same soot residue.

  “It was a rough ride.”

  “Come, let’s get you in the shower.” You slowly walked back up the steps with Thor’s hand in your leading him up to the bedroom that he hadn’t stepped foot into for six months.

  You walked him across the wooden floors up the steps to the ensuite bathroom. Once inside, you turned to him and began undressing him out of the heavy metal armor. Thor finished taking it off and dropped it to the stone tiles. You helped him peel off the shirt he wore then turned to the vanity to take his things out of the drawer. As you did you felt his hands wrap around your abdomen in an intimate hug. The heat from his body seeped into the thin layer of your robe, and you took a deep breath in and sighed out. He felt good, so damn good. You looked into the mirror, and he was looking right at you. Thor tipped your chin to the side angling your lips so he could reach them then claimed them in a sweet, sensual kiss. The kiss was not a heated one or one of urgency; it was a melancholy one, one that made you feel every ounce of the sadness that was between you. He stepped closer, and you could feel every bit of him pressed against you. Your belly rumbled with hunger, but it wasn’t for food.

  Pulling your lips away, you took a breath and looked down at the vanity sink. “Shower.”

  He nodded again and stepped away from you before he peeled off his pants and kicked them to the side along with his boots. He was soon as nude as the day he was born. You walked to the shower, turned on the water. Thor walked to you and stepped under the dual rainfall showerheads. The water streamed down his body, and you followed the river that dipped and rounded over every muscle and indentation his perfect body had. Your mouth watered and it took everything in you to turn.

  “Stay, please.” His voice was pleading and so damn vulnerable and you didn’t think you had the heart or the strength to deny him. After gulping down the word “yes” you looked back to him over your shoulder.

  “Come find me when you’re done.”

  You then walked out of the bathroom and peeped back at him through the checker paned window that separated your bedroom from the bathroom. You needed a drink.

  ~~~~~~

  Almost half an hour later, you were still sitting on your rooftop staring at the sky sipping your sixth glass of wine. You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t hear Thor approach until he slid behind you and nestled his chin in the crook of your neck. “Mmmm.”

  You smiled and sighed out. “I missed you so much Y/N.”

  “Six months, Thor.”

  “I know I am sorry. I desperately tried to get back to you, but one mission turned out to be more complicated than I could have imagined. I have been all over the realms. I could not come back until the threat had been eradicated. I am sorry.”

  You knew he was telling the truth, and you also knew how much you missed him. Turning to face him you wrapped your arms around him. “I missed you too, so damn much.” He smiled and crushed his lips to yours and took control of a brain searing kiss. You moaned and felt Thor lift you onto his lap. You could feel his growing need underneath the towel he wore.

  Thor’s hands ravaged your body, moving from your face to your shoulders, then your back before they gripped your backside. You moaned again and rocked on his lap. Thor’s groan was the indication your movements were having an impact. You grabbed the back of his head and pressed your lips more forcefully onto his, then dropped your hands to his shoulders and used them as a brace.

  Thor pulled your thighs and dropped you back onto the cushions, then hovered over you. his mouth connected with your neck and kissed your flesh before he sucked your skin. Slowly he trailed kisses down the center of your body before he captured your pert nipples between his teeth. You heard him groan, and with his groan the sky rumbled. Thor suckled at your breasts one at a time, creating such a delicious tension in your belly and between your thighs. You couldn’t wait any longer; it had already been too long.

  His mouth dipped over your belly and to your pelvis before he placed a suctioned kiss to your already needy bud. You gasped, arched your back, and angled your head backward. “Shit!” your thighs instinctively clenched around his head before he firmly pressed them back to the cushion. He moaned and continued exploring your folds. Thor didn’t wait or take his time with bringing you the pleasure you’d been denied for months. Thor moaned and shook his head between your thighs and slurped at your flesh. “Fuck!”

  “Language, my love.”

  You bit your bottom lip and glared down at him. His smile was mischievous, and it made you want him more. Thor held his hand up, and you saw electricity crackling between his fingers. Your eyes widened as you watched him toy with the current. “You trust me, right?” You nodded your head. Thor pointed up, and a bright lightning bolt shot up to the sky before it rippled with several more lighting strikes. The lightning accompanied more loud roars of thunder and soon drizzles began.

 You knew he was powerful, but this was the first time you’d seen him control more than just lighting and the thunder. Using your foot, you pushed his towel off his waist. His length bobbed in the air as if it were saluting you. “God you’re gorgeous,” you complimented.

  “Me? You’re the gorgeous one, my love. Your beautiful face has haunted me every waking moment. Your sweet scent has left me captivated and craving you for months. You are my best dream come to life.” you smiled. Thor pointed his finger to your breast, and a lightning bolt zapped your skin. You gasped, but it didn’t hurt. Thor searched your face for any indication that you were uncomfortable, and when he saw none, he pointed to your breast, and again, a lighting bolt kissed your skin, but this time the surge felt hotter and left a slight sting.

  “Mmm.”

  Thor repeated the action two more times; each surge was more powerful than the last. Each strike had a different effect. By the fourth time you were soaking wet and aching to feel his strength between your thighs. With the last strike his mouth was there to sooth the powerful sting that remained. The rain came down a little harder, and the water drops decorated your skin. As they fell, Thor’s tongue was there to lap up each drop.

  Suddenly you felt the hot and cold trike of lighting on your pearl. “Fuck!” Your shout echoed off your roof as your body convulsed from the sheer force of your unexpected orgasm.

  “You are so beautiful when you come undone, love.” Again, Thor struck between your legs with lighting. Your body seized as you gritted your teeth. He kept the surge on your skin as his lips wrapped around your nipple once more.

  Thor thrust his hips forward and speared his need right into your core. You screeched and the intensity of the surge increased, and again your orgasm took you by surprise. You clenched around him, but Thor did not stop his thrusts.

  “By the galaxy, you feel incredible. I have missed your cavernous depths, missed your delicious nectar that which sustains me.” His hips snapped forward forcing your body to shake with the impact of his bruising thrust. Each time he connected with the bundle of nerves within you with the force of thunder itself he manipulated the lighting to strike your clit rhythmically. Each strike intensified to a level that almost caused pain before it lowered to a bearable surge only to intensify again.

  After almost fifteen minutes, you couldn’t predict what was to come, and each time the anticipation of the next shock made you swell with such anticipation, you could barely breathe. Thor pounded into your heat with the spread and strength of the God he was. Every time his hips collided with yours the sky ripped apart with loud thunder and forceful rain. The rain beat down onto your bodies and made them slick. Without warning you felt your bodies lift off the cushions and hover into the air.

  Shock rang through you as you looked around, seeing that you were getting higher and higher into the air. When you looked back to Thor, his eyes were lighting white.

  “Do you trust me?” Trying to catch your breath and take in everything that was happening, you nodded.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you love me as I love you?” You smiled and nodded again before you kissed him most fervently. You pressed your forehead to his and nodded again.

  “Yes, I love you, Thor.”

  “I love you Y/N, forever and always.” With that, he shot into the air, and the backdrop was the lighting and thunder in the sky as he lifted his hips and plowed into you. Every time he connected, you still felt the electric charge his you, but this time it struck several places at once. His eyes were that of lighting, and you should have been afraid, but you weren’t. You wanted him with everything in you.

  You rocked your body with his hoping to show him just how badly you craved him. Thor’s moans became louder and louder, but they never overpowered the sound of the thunder because it too grew louder and louder. His skin’s heat intensified, and soon, it began to glow just as with the lighting in the sky. Thor snapped his hips into you once, twice and a third time until he dropped his head back and shout into the sky, setting it off with a deafening crescendo of thunder decorated with thousands of lightning bolts. You could feel yourself clenching around him as he ripped your orgasm from you. Your screams competed with his and the thunder, but nothing beat the god of thunder who commanded it.

  The two of you hovered in the sky bodies shaking from the force of the pleasure that was still surging through you. Slowly Thor’s eyes returned to his incredible blue ones. “My love,” he began.

  “My love.” He kissed you, and before you knew it, you were again on the cushion. The thunder in the shy turned into rumbles, and the light show died down. All that remained was the lite drizzle. You scoffed and laughed as you held his wet body to him.

  “That was new.” You could feel Thor’s smile on your temple.

  “Was it? Did you enjoy it?” You pulled back and gazed at him.

  “It was electrifyingly delightful.” You smiled wide, and he returned the smile.

  “I say we definitely try that again, maybe not tonight though. Shield and every other government entity will lose their mind if you do that again.”

  “Silly humans. I am the God of Thunder; I do as I please.” His lips crashed to yours, and with the fire of the kiss, you knew his intentions. It was going to be a stormy night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***If you want to be tagged please SEND AN ASK SO IT WILL BE EASIER FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK OF. Thank you for reading!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TagList:

@bugngiz @dadinhas-heat @azarmanii​ @chaneajoyyy​ @muse-of-mbaku​ @missmohnique​ @bellaamor88​ @frantastique @yourwonderbelle @allhailqueennel @alyxkbrl​  @thelovelyliterary  @queengodiva619 

#KinkToberFest #kinktoberfest series #marvel kinktoberfest #kinktoberfest 2019 #erik killmonger #thor #Steve Rogers #bucky #m'baku #tchalla #heimdall #sam wilson #quentin beck #Marvel Comics #marvel fanfiction #marvel smut #electrifying one shot

[gldensvns]

𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐊 𝟎𝟎𝟗 ; summer plans // @gallaghertasks

a series of ( un? ) fortunate events before berlin

following the end of finals, rafa goes back to his childhood home located right outside of mclean, virginia. when he gets home, the house is empty, as usual, and the only sign of his father living there is a note in his father’s handwriting saying, “on a job, welcome home.” no signature, no ‘i love you,’ no ‘i’ve missed you’ or ‘i’m proud of you this semester.’ ( rafa promptly crumbles it and tosses it into the trash ) 

rafa spends the first week or so relaxing in his home ( rafael manuel delgado-velez is truly incapable of relaxing, so this just means he was working out and cooking the entire time, probably also facetiming the Boys™️ )

also facetimes maia a couple times of week because he tried his best on training with her and it’s mostly just him saying ....fix ur form, you look like a snake. 

he ends up making his way to chicago and knows that harper is there, so he reaches out. it’s awkward at first, but eventually they become friends ( and he knows that she misses vg, so before he leaves, he gives her a couple grand to buy a plane ticket + probably more than enough for going to france, telling her to go see her wife ) 

but also @ rafa you fucking clown, if you do not text / call / facetime / fuckin messenger pigeon vg, i’m GOING TO DROP KICK YOU, that’s it.

following his brief trip to chicago to see harper for a few days, rafa soon packs his bags to go on holiday with scott

instead of texting or calling his father, he gives him the same thing he got when he returned home, “with scott - rafael.” considering that rafa and scott go on yearly summer trips, this isn’t anything new to him ( and the only time he ever goes by rafael is with his father ) 

while he’s away on some beach in thailand with scott, this is the vibe he’s going for. just..sabering the shit out of some champagne bottles ( the Chad Energy, i’m truly Exhausted )

the holiday with scott was very much needed and he’s probably significantly less emo than he was at the beginning of summer break 

just kno that he’s ready for all the beer in berlin <3 

ty for reading this absolute garbage but rafa’s just trying to vibe xx

#* 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐨 / tasks. #* 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐨 / development. #ft. scott #ft. harper #ft. vg #ft. maia #he's such a mfing drama queen #also rafa working out is not a personality trait #i hate u #must b nice 2 have a couple grand to just... #give away like that rafa #garbage #but what is new!

[mistersandmangivemeadream]

I ship you with Charlie Weasley! ((There are no gifs of a casted Charlie so I decided Sam Heughan. I decided))

Intro: I love your description of yourself and so it was easy peasy to imagine you in a scenario where you could very well get yourself out of it, but a little help by a clever man might not be unwarranted.

Had lots of fun cracking jokes in this one.

Enjoy!

It burned.

The overpriced lemon drink made you pucker your lips and left behind a flavour similar to sour candies that had been soaked in your grandmother’s bathroom cleaner. Very specific. You don’t remember ever tasting toilet antiseptic. Have you?

You had envisaged this night going much differently.

Your date is an accountant. And it’s not his fault that he gives all accountants the exact reputation expected of them from infancy. Formal, nice, dull. Smells like a nice department store aftershave his mother bought him. Who lives with him. That’s not weird. He has a 401k. There’s a patch of dry skin to the left of his sweetheart shaped lip.

“....so that’s when I told Graham no it’s because your formula is not for the right function, sum….”

You really were hoping the accent would help. It has not. You don’t know whether to scream or yawn so you smile.

“get it-”

It comes out sharper than you mean to, “I got it. Will you excuse me-need to go use the restroom.”

The water from the club’s bathroom sink is desperately splashed into your face over and over. Still not as mind-numbing as the conversation. It’s the most invigorating thing you’ve felt all night. If you hear one more accountant joke or weird fact about David’s mother you might very well explode. The bathroom door opens as a man goes to the urinal closet to you to take a piss. Why? Like why right there? Creep. The sound of it splashing against the tile is the only sound except for a  dull throb of bass from the dance-floor underfoot. You just want to go home. Everything is buzzing. Annoyance.

“You know if you were any louder out there the whole block would hear ya”

You squint over. “I’m sorry, excuse you?” His accent is nicer than your dates. Do the English travel in packs? Like pigeons? The United States like a honing device or maybe those bug lights that lure you in then ZAP. Dead. With a shake you get off the excess water and go to grab a paper towel. Wary of the stranger with his odd introduction. An earring catches the light as he runs a free hand through red hair. He’s hot. Weird. But hot.

“Sorry, I could hear you...well..you were ‘loud’ like I said and I think you might prefer eating nails than talking to whathisname”. Jiggling back into some seriously tight pants, your gaze goes back up now little scared. You had quite literally thought about eating nails at some point in the conversation. He shouldn’t know that. Lucky guess. You go to walk around the man. The ginger looks over your face quickly and realizes something. He quickly cleans up.

“That sounds weird. Doesn’t it?”

“Yeah just a bit my sweet dude.”

“‘Sweet dude’. That’s a new one.” He laughs and it’s not a serial killer laugh. You think. You're not sure you’ve ever heard a serial killer so you may not be a good judge of character in this regard.

“Nah, legilimens.”

Your fear quickly dissipates  into anger. How dare-

“You’re right that sounds worse doesn’t it?”

“You think?”

“It’s just you were giving off bad vibes when the gent started touching you. That’s the empath shit you don’t need care about- and thought-”

No business of his about how’d you said you weren’t interested in anything like That as politely as possible and he’d still somehow found ways to touch you. You’d handle it.

“That’d you’d save me? I can take care of myself, thanks. You can’t just go barging into people’s head-”

His brow furrows and he protests. “I didn’t barge.”

“Sneak in like a sneaky little snake man.”

The bark of a laugh on the man fills every corner. You don’t like how it sneaks up into your chest and makes you stop thinking about where you’ve tasted toilet antiseptic before. Arms remain crossed as the Englishman stays a healthy distance away. His hands go  up in a contrite manner. Yeah. We will see how sorry he really is….

“Listen. I’m sorry it was invasive and won’t do it again. Just answer me one question. Or not, won’t force you. ‘Do you want a way out with the gent or not?’”

Like a balloon all the air goes out of you.

“Yeah….but..”

A feeble protest. As the ginger puts out an eager hand as he gets within a couple feet of you,

“Then Charlie Weasely at your service. Man with a plan against the wankers of the world. And at least a pint of liquid courage in me.”

You can’t help the lip twitch that’s almost a smile in the right lighting. As Charlie’s voice lowers to match his soften eyes,

“If you’ll have me?”

There is a pause. “Fine. But you are still a weird snakey man.” Taking his hand, you never realized how much you appreciated a man who believes in skincare and hand lotion. Firsts for everything tonight.

“I’ll take it. But I’m a Gryffindor.”The man straight up lets out a “Rawr.” Hands and all. Christ on a bike you are going to have to re-evaluate your standards after this evening for the company you keep. You go to follow him out of the bathroom. No plan except to follow this funky little Weasley into God knows what.

“Quit staring at my ass.” he says.

“Get out of my head.”

“Oh sweetheart, I didn’t need to read your mind to know that one.”

Charlie’s wink makes you grin for the first time that night. Making you believe it may be salvageable after all.

Poor David.

He’s got his mother.

He’ll be alright.

#ship #fandom: harry potter #char: charlie weasley #request #family friendly #harry potter #charlie weasley