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bitsandbobsofwriting · 3 years

Text

Everyone cries (but only because they’re stupid), they go home, and Leon wins a lot of money :)

Merlin’s Angry Magic Reveal, part 5 (final part)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

TW: Lots of death again I suppose (you’ll see what I mean)

The gang watches on in amazement as Merlin calls lightening strike after lightening strike, seemingly unbothered by the chaos around him, and the power he was displaying.

Merlin really wasn’t kidding when he said they should be scared of him. Damn.

They worry for a moment, and Lancelot has to hold Arthur back, as they notice the first of the three enemy sorcerers step into their line of sight. But they calm quickly when they see Merlin look towards her and nod, before going back to the battle at hand. If he trusted her, then they would to.

Elyan points to her and shouts at everyone to keep a tight grip on the horses as they see the ground beginning to shake, the ripples in the mud heading towards them at an alarming pace.

“Brace yourselves!” is shouted by Leon moments before it reaches them, and all of them are thrown to the ground violently.

No one is injured, but they are dazed, and it takes them a few moments to right themselves again. The next time they look out, a frenzied blue fire is ripping into those closest to Merlin, and dissipating into the air around him.

Now with some space, it would appear that Merlin had taken inspiration from his new found friend, and the ground shakes even more violently than before (though this time much more contained, The Gang doesn’t feel even a small tremor where they stand).

Gwen speaks up quietly, but still loud enough that everyone can hear her over the shrieking:

“Gods above... how long has he been able to do that?”

Morgana answers her:

“The Druids don’t fuck around. They did say he would be The Most Powerful Warlock to Ever Walk the Earth, I guess we should’ve seen this coming.”

Everyone nods distractedly, but no one can tear their gaze from the scene in front of them. The ground snaps shut with one last rumble, over half the army having disappeared, and they see the remaining soldiers turn to flee.

Every one of them gasps in shock as vines burst from the ground, and begin to rip the deserters to shreds. None of them thought that Merlin was the type to kill someone who had their back turned, but like he said earlier... he was pissed.

Suddenly the battlefield is near empty, and silent. They’re distracted by the slight tilt of Merlin’s head, and the distant sounds of howling wolves (no doubt summoned to take care of the last few soldiers), so don’t see the frenzied King sneak up on him before it’s too late.

Arthur takes in a sudden breath when he notices and begins sprinting towards Merlin, no one holding him back this time.

The King of Camelot shouts his warning too late as the sword pierces Merlin’s back, and is forced with a shove out through his chest.

The sorcerers in front of him stare on in shock, too far away from Arthur for him to be paying them any attention.

He pulls his sword out as Merlin’s attacker stumbles back, and cuts him down without a thought, without looking away from Merlin for even a second.

He collapses on the floors behind his friend (could he really call him that after last night?) and begins to beg (begging who, he isn’t quite sure. Anyone that would listen, he supposes) :

“ No.... no no no, Come on Merls, don’t do this to me. You promised.”

He has to hold in a pained gasp as he turns Merlin over, and is struck with horror as he realises the exact resemblance to the vision from four days ago.

The blank stare of Merlin’s eyes, the blood from his mouth. All identical.

Arthur is so wrapped up in his shock, that he doesn’t notice The Gang finally catching up, and gathering around him.

Everyone is in shock, painful cries escaping them. Both at the death of their friend, and the sporadic breathing and sobs of Arthur.

Lancelot pushes to the front, and kneels on the other side of Merlin, taking his already cold hand in his own and whispering to himself (to Merlin) :

“Come on.... come on, Merlin. You can do it, you’re immortal remember. Come on.”

After what felt like forever, the forgotten sorcerers push through the crowd. Everyone is too shocked to notice the intrusion.

The girl takes in a deep breath, and whispers:

“Emrys...” before crouching next to Arthur, and tilting her head, as if waiting.

She looks up to her two companions, and they nod at her, seeming to all be agreeing on something. She swallows and looks back towards Merlin’s blank face, reaching towards the hilt of the sword at his spine.

Leon and Elyan jump into action, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back:

“What are you doing?!” and “Don’t touch him!” are shouted simultaneously as they grip her, but she looks back in annoyance before replying sharply:

“I’m trying to help! How do you expect him to wake up with a great big bloody sword through his chest?”

This seems to get Arthur’s attention, and he looks up for the first time, eyes red and cheeks wet as he stares at her in confusion.

Her annoyance fades, and she gives him a soft look as she explains:

“He will be fine, I promise. But he won’t wake up if he’s just immediately going to die again. His body has to heal before his soul returns to it. We need to take it out.”

In Arthur’s state of shock and grief, it takes him a few moments to fully register what was said, but he shakes his head and looks back at her, before saying in a quiet, shaking voice:

“He’ll come back?”

All three of the sorcerers nod slowly understanding his grief, and the girl reaches for the hilt of the sword once again, slowly this time.

“Do it.” from Arthur prompts her to grip the metal, and pull it from Merlin’s body with a sickening squelch.

The whole gang grimaces as it come away slick with blood, and try not to look at the floor as the puddle around him begins to expand even quicker than before.

Everyone stares at Merlin with bated breath, waiting and hoping (well... the gang is hoping. The three helpers don’t seem too worried) for any sort of movement.

After what seemed like hours, Merlin’s eyes blink slowly, and he brings in half a shuddered breath before coughing violently, and rolling off of Arthur’s lap and onto the floor, onto his hands and knees.

The Gang stares in shock as their previously dead friend coughs and splutters, blood flying from his mouth, before he collapses down onto his back, clutching his chest:

“That bloody hurt.”

Gwaine is the first to begin laughing, not necessarily out of humour, but an adrenaline crash mixed with a no-longer-dead friend will do that to you sometimes.

Merlin stares up in confusion as everyone joins in, some hysterical (and probably still in shock), and some just quietly chucking at how stupid they’d been.

Percival is the first to catch his breath and speak:

“Are you telling me... that after all that worrying... we literally just had to pull the thing out of you, and you’d be fine again?”

Merlin shrugs as best he can from his position on the floor (made even harder by the fact that one of his hands was being gripped by Arthur, the other by Lancelot) and replies with a smirk:

“I guess so. I told you I’d be fine!”

Everyone shakes their heads in disbelief, and Lancelot stands, pulling Merlin and Arthur with him. Merlin is quickly engulfed in a tight group hug, the sorcerers having just managed to escape and standing off to the side, staring on in amusement.

Arthur is the last to pull away, and Merlin’s now free arms wrap around him without hesitation as he buries his head in his friend’s (?) neck:

“I told you. Nothing can keep me away from you... at least not for too long. Pull it out a little quicker next time, yeah?”

Arthur laughs quietly and pulls back, pressing his forehead against Merlin’s before quietly replying with a smile:

“Bold of you to assume I will ever allow this to happen again.”

It’s Merlin’s turn to laugh this time, and the both of them ignore the confusion on everyone else’s faces (as far as they were all concerned, that comment came unprompted out of nowhere).

Arthur coughs slightly and pulls back, his face flushed, seeming to remember that they were surrounded by their closest friends.

Merlin rolls his eyes before also stepping back, and giving Arthur a pointed look:

“Don’t look so embarrassed Arthur. I’m pretty sure this lot knew before we did.”

He doesn’t give Arthur time to reply, instead looking around at his friends with an exhausted, but shining smile on his face:

“Time to go home, I think.”

The journey back to Camelot is relaxed, and full of smiles. Arthur spends the whole journey glued to Merlin’s side, and Leon spends the whole journey with a self satisfied smirk on his face (if they get their act together at some point in the next 2 weeks, which Leon has absolute faith they will, then he wins a lot of money).

They had invited the three sorcerers to join them, but they declined, saying they had been missing a long time, and wanted to get home. The Gang provided them with some spare clothes, and helped them catch some of the enemy’s horses, (who had miraculously not run too far during the battle) before sending them on their way with an open invite to visit Camelot any time they would like.

They rush home, but they aren’t nearly as tense and desperate as they were on the way out, so it takes them an extra day to get there, not that any of them minded.

Once Merlin had gained a little of his strength back, he reached out to the Druids who remained in the city as advisors, so that the council could be updated on the state of things.

The people were told that the King and the Inner Council had been successful in their mission, and would be returning home within a few days, victorious.

The meeting they got at the gates to the city was astounding. Banners and flowers and declarations of celebration surrounded them all the way from the city walls, to the castle, and even the Council seemed in a good mood (a rare occurrence).

They were especially happy when Arthur dumped a dented crown, and a slashed and bloody cloak on the table, announcing that the opposition had no heir, and if they moved quickly, the neighbouring Kingdom would be absorbed into Camelot. Arthur, King by Conquest, had almost doubled the size of his kingdom.

He sent out half an army, along with Leon, Elyan, and Lancelot, within the week. They took medical supplies and food, as a show of good faith to the commoners. The first month or so would be spent clearing the kingdom of any supporters of the fallen king, and spreading compassion and help. Once that was complete, Arthur would go there personally, to greet his new people (and probably sign a lot of paperwork, but bleugh).

Merlin and Arthur are sitting back in their comfy chairs by the fire in Arthur’s chambers, when Arthur casually mentions gifting the new land to Merlin, and making him King. Or at least Lord.

Merlin looked at him indignantly, it had only been a few days since they got back, and they were both still exhausted, but he replied with such vigour that you would never have known that he’d died barely a week prior:

“Absolutely not. I don’t think I would make a good King, Arthur. And I don’t want it anyway. I’d be weeks away, and everyone I care about lives here. You can’t get rid of me that easily, especially not after such an emotional confession.” He raise an eyebrow and smirks as Arthur flushes, looking to his lap:

“Shut up.”

The conversation hadn’t been had yet, but neither felt awkward about it, they both knew the truth. After Merlin woke up again, it felt like time had reset, like once more they had all the time in the world. Neither of them are great at talking about their emotions, and both were prepared to wait until the moment seemed right, until they both had the right words.

Merlin laughs at Arthur, before absentmindedly reaching out a hand towards him. Arthur takes it without question, and looks back to Merlin, face serious, but loving:

“I meant it Merlin. I love you, with everything I have. I would give all of it up for you, the crown, Camelot, everything.”

Merlin smiles, blushing, and stands, pulling Arthur to stand with him.

They still grip hands, and stare into the blue of each others eyes as Merlin’s voice echoes in Arthur’s head:

“I love you too. I told you Arthur, this is where I belong, with you.”

Both of them ignore the tears gathering in their eyes as they lean forwards. They meet in the middle, in a slow kiss that has both of their hearts jumping.

Merlin wraps his arms around the King’s waist as Arthur lifts his hands up to rest against his Sorcerer’s chest, pulling at his collar slightly.

They pull away slowly, needing breath, but not willing to part as they once again find themselves resting their foreheads against each other:

“Merls, you'll stay, won’t you?”

Merlin responds without even a second of hesitation, a fond smile on his face:

“Forever.”

Leon gets his money (which Gwaine never stops grumbling about: “If they’d held off for two more weeks, I would’ve won!”) and is very smug about it.

As time passes, Morgana’s terrifying visions start to make more sense.

Gaius and Hunith did in fact cry... three years down the line when Arthur finally requested that the Druids perform one of their binding ceremonies on himself and Merlin, their closest friends and family as the only witnesses.

(There was, of course, a larger, more public celebration of their joining, but the private affair was the important one.)

The silver crown, forged by the Druids behind Merlin’s back (as a sort of... wedding gift, Arthur would say) was used a few days later in Merlin’s official crowning. Made to look like leaves and vines and flowers and berries, truly the most Druidic, magical, nature inspired crown anyone had ever set their eyes upon.

(Arthur thought that Merlin never looked better, more himself, than when he donned the crown. But Arthur would never say that out loud, Merlin was still shy at heart, and he didn’t want to discourage him from wearing it.)

The tombstone, they discovered, was the fallen King’s. He was cruel, and cowardly, but Arthur had honour, and had the crown and cloak washed and buried in his bloodline’s cemetery. Nothing fancy, just a stone and a name and two dates.

(For history’s sake. After learning the truth about magic, Arthur swore that he would never knowingly erase history, not even his own mistakes.)

The empty chambers were obvious in the end. It may have taken three years for them to be officially wed, but their rooms were down the corridor from one another... and Arthur had a nicer bed. It only took a week or so before they were sleeping besides one another every night, and who would argue against it? Arthur was King, and Merlin had once again saved the kingdom, they could bloody well do what they liked.

They never actually figured out specifically when Morgana saw nine of them sat at the table, looking blank. Merlin was so often late to meetings, leaving the rest of them to wait patiently (or not so patiently) for his arrival. It could have been any number of times over the years.

After all their fretting, the anxiety of the war and the worry for her friend had led Morgana down a grim path. Perhaps it was because she was looking for reasons to dissuade Merlin from going?

Whatever the cause, her and Merlin continue to work together to hone their crafts, Gwen supporting her every step of the way.

Now. Morgana and Gwen. They were a little more subtle about their relationship, but they also moved a little quicker, and were quietly bound to one another within a year of the Great Battle of Merlin’s BAMFness. Not that anyone was that surprised, mind you.

Speaking of Merlin’s BAMFness, there were definitely more shows of Merlin’s power once they got home. Despite being Court Sorcerer, Merlin was still affected by the years spent hiding and in fear (something that Arthur never quite forgave himself for), and never used his magic in public much, not if he could help it.

He used it for simple things, or when asked, but never would he allow himself to succumb to his emotions, positive or negative, and always kept tight control. The last thing he wanted to do, was accidently convince someone that magic was dangerous and evil and undo all the work he and Arthur had done.

Nowadays, after months of pestering by the gang (mainly Gwaine and Percival) to “show us something cool! Come on Merlin, you defeated an entire army, we know you can show us something cool!” , he was definitely more comfortable using his magic in every day situations.

Arthur was eternally grateful for that, he had done all he could, and he continued to support Merlin, but he knew that unless that validation came from elsewhere as well, Merlin would never be comfortable in his own skin.

BUT for now they have everything. Merthur is happy, Leon is smug, Morgwen is happy and smug, and the gang stays together, and happy, forever.

All because Merlin got depressed and angry and yelled at Arthur in the middle of the forest one day.

THE END

Actually the end this time. Might be a bit anti climactic, but happy ending are a little anti climactic sometimes, and that’s ok.

I have a bunch of drafts on the go but if you’ve got anything specific you want my take on, go for it ✌️

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natsukitakama · 3 years

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Hey you <3 I just wanted to request a headcanon for the 104th cadets, please : how do they act while playing co-op games (you know, the kind you have to resolve some kind of enigmas, like pressing two buttons at the same time, etc) with their s/o ? Thanks a lot !

Author note : hi there ❤️ thank you for your request hope you’ll enjoy this ♡ Somehow I described them as a gamer ? Hope you’re fine with that, I actually really enjoy this

i do not own those gifs credit to the owner(s)

Warning : rage quit / eren is litteraly me / Modern AU cause the canon-verse suck Lmao / I based this on my own experience

Masterlist

Eren Jaeger - impulsive

How did you not end up dumping him ? The man is DANGEROUS

You think that he is all screaming and yelling like all the FUCKING time ?

Play a game with him

Spoiler : it’s worst

I mean at first he saw this as a challenge and just getting the possibility to do play a game with you ?

He couldn’t say no to that

The thing he just took this way to personally, so he had to finish this with the best score getting the things you had to unlock during a game.

He had to

Doesn’t mean you want to.

The whole idea of co-op game is to play together in order to finish the game

But he didn’t hear that : he wants to do everything by himself

And when he can’t do it he would ask some help.

Don’t expect him to be good with synchro-enigma he can’t he is either too quick or too late.

I’m sorry to say that but he might complain about your game (while he was the one who is losing all the heart because he can’t read an enigma properly)

And you see me coming but if can’t resolve an enigma and if you can’t help him he would just stop and won’t play at this game until he feels like he can do it

Oh and he sucks at game like Overcooked you know those kind of things were you’re supposed to work at the same Time as his partners he is either too slow either too quick (but always pretend he isn’t his fault)

Don’t think I mentioned that but he cursed a lot, he complained a lot (to my fellow frenchie he is like Sardoche in real life I don’t make the rule here)

7/10 because it’s funny to see him being angry at a game

Mikasa - skilful

i wanted to say that if you’re not eren she won’t play with you LMAO

But if she is dating you, she would do it because she wants to please you and spend some good quality time with you (she is not a fan of video game but she can tolerate some RPG)

She tends to be quiet while playing and only speaks when she got an idea about how to solve enigma or difficult game who implies being coordinate.

You didn’t have to anything in such mission she will synchronise her game with you don’t question her. I don’t know how she is doing it but she can no matter if you tend to push way to quickly every button or if you’re a slow one. One look from her and she does it

She is really god any games it piss me off

When you struggle at an enigma that you decided to resolve on your own she will either give you tiny tips or just ask you to just stop right now get some tea and try again later when you’ll be more relax

The only problem with her is she wants to help so much that she might do everything on her own especially if one of your mission imply fighting (like kill a boss together to unlock another level) she would quickly get over it without questioning you and you end up getting so many xp and items while you didn’t ever touch anything

She wants to help you so much poor thing ♡

Also if you’re hurt during a game or if you life are pretty low she would stop everything in order to heal you. Even if it’s very cute from her, it piss you off cause now you have to start again because both of you died together.

9/10 she is the best she cooks cookie prepare some tea for you.

Armin - strategic

i love him I really do

But you can’t play with him

He needs to make a plan on every mission, Like sweetie just relax you need to chill a little bit.

Although he tends to overthink everytime He is very good when your goal is to kill a boss, cause he will do two jobs : healing and helping you to kill him. Give him 5 min and he will give you a whole tactics so you can fight the boss easily and earn even more xp. He won’t be afraid to go and heal you too if you’re in need and would never judge you if you’re struggling (even if he guides you during the game) he understand that the game is pretty difficult.

He is good to with enigma like it’s just sound quite easy for him. All he has to do is read the thing and BANG he got the solution how can you do that ?

He will even explain the whole thing so you could also resolve enigma with him

The problem is he is way too slow, if your level implies being coordinate it would take you forever until being able to finish the game. Especially because he is not comfortable with a joystick like they got way too many button and he is not good with coordination so he ends up being confused with the button

When it came to videotgameswhere all of you have to work in coordination, he is always slow. He really tries but he is always way too slow, but he counterbalances his lack of skills with his minds so after you’ll lose because he couldn’t manage to do something within 30s he’ll find a solution to win

It’s really funny to play a cop-game with him on Fortnite cause he’s like « y/n why would you play at such a game ? What’s the point of killing people ? » and he is the one who is throwing a grenade and shoot at the same time so a lot of people can dies with one shot or planing a trap so a lot of people might die at the same time. He is very dangerous when he wants to just saying.

8/10 because sometimes mind isn’t enough and you need skill to win

Jean - Skill and minds

Do not let him play with Eren

I swear don’t do it otherwise they would spend the whole game yelling at each other « you should come quicker Horse face ! » « Oh yeah ? Who’s the one who though that would be wise to attack the boss without getting heal first uh ? Such an idiot bastard »

It’s not comfortable if you’re playing while being on the phone but it’s so funny to see him getting angry because Eren (as usual) run without thinking about a plan

Like Armin he tends to be very good when it came to resolve enigma or find an enemy’s weakness : all he has to do is to let Eren, Connie and Sasha run at first so he could analyze the boss’ behavior (yeah he totally uses them as guinea pig and he doesn’t regret that especially when he hears Eren getting Angry or Connie complaining it’s so funny)

Unlike Armin he is pretty food with a controller so he can actually being very efficient as long as Mikasa isn’t around

He tends to be close to you EVERYTIME and he would even protect you, heal you everytime you got hurt because you protects Connie, Eren or Armin, it’s cute at first but very annoying then because he only focus on you and isn’t into the game anymore. When he turns like that, someone need to tease him about not being good like Eren and he will scream a little bit (how dare you as if he could even be worst than that suicidal bastard) but then he is on it.

Watch him beating the shit out of the boss

BUT when it came to games like overcooked when you have to share task he is bad. Not because he isn’t skillful but because he wants to be the chief so badly and of course Eren thought he could be the leader while everyone knows he isn’t coordinate enough to do that. So most of the time Armin is the leader in such a game

Just give him a task where he has to be quick and he’ll be fine but don’t let him in the same group as Eren, they would argue about who should to this and you’ll end up losing because they argue.

Also if you’re playing something like a RPG with him he gave you SO MANY things like everytime he drop something this is for you, at this point he doesn’t care about his character (he does but he can’t just not give you something)

You didn’t ask it but I’m just say it, if you play animal crossing with him he would spoil the shit out of you, can’t blame him he just wants to help so badly. He’ll text you about his plan, the stuff he got he would even help you with flowers.

8/10 because he tends to flirt with you or argue with Eren so you’ll lose precious time for the mission

Connie & Sasha - Funny

I put them together because 1) they tends to play everytime together 2) because they play the same way 3) they share one braincell (meaning either you’re dating connie or Sasha you’ll have to play together)

One word : a mess

Always questionnaire why we’re doing this or why we shouldn’t do this, this way

BUT they’re like very synchronized, it’s like seeing someone and his reflection (sometimes you’re even jealous cause you can’t do that)

They tends to be very effective when you need to coordinate something

They’re pretty skilled too

But they can’t make a plan even to save their life

The number of life you’ll lose because them and Eren decided to run into the boss’ lair without asking permission

It should be illegal to run that easily anyway

If Connie is really dumb when It came to enigma

Sasha is very good to notice tiny elements that actually was the key to resolve the problem

She tends to be super good to drop every tiny things that was hide behind a tree too a really hunt (but won’t share her things with you if you’re not giving her puppy eyes I’m sorry)

But Connie is your best allies to fight couple of ennemie at the same time, like you were walking and boom you’re surrounded by NPC and he will come to save you.

Connie is a protector

I mean Sasha is too but she more into prevention, safety than protection but if during a game you might be in danger of course she’ll run after you (ask you extra cookies for that)

Dont expect any of them to be good at enigma or games like overcooked, I mean Sasha might spend her whole call luring about foods while Connie might try to do everything on his own since he is incredible (he says it)

If you’re calling one of them during a game, it’s actually more entertaining than the game, I can’t explain they’re just super funny

If you’re playing in a RPG that might have a huge map you’ll definitely lose them at some point during your game, they don’t have any sense of direction and since they can’t read a map (that’s me don’t bully me I’m trying) well they get lost and will send you a picture of their screen so you could help them

6/10 because they’re trying to their best but since they share one brain cell well it’s always more complicated than it should be

Bonus : Marco Bott - Motivating

My cute sweetheart

He is doing is best everytime you call him for a game

He is so good at overcooked than I’m jealous of him

Kinda good with Enigma but he is really good when game imply strategic (he also loves how focused you are and how he could motivate you with his plan)

He doesn’t play at any games that involve war or anything so don’t ask him about a fortnite game he won’t do it

He really love role-play (not put intended lmao), he is actually a good narrator and is so good at at owning xp : his character might not be the greatest when it came to strength but he is very balanced character

Playing with him it’s actually relaxing, he never raise his voice and seemed to always find a way to relax anyone that might be too into it.

Especially good when It came to help Eren and Jean to just shut up and play the game without yelling : don’t ask me how he does that the man is a genius

If he teams up with Armin during game like Among us you loose any chance to win (I mean if you’re the traitor he would never say it but he noticed so does Armin but won’t say anything about it) the man knows everything, and is able to make you confess it’s really fun to watch but bother you when you’re loosing yourself in your explanation

When it’s just you two playing a game together and somehow you struggle to resolve an enigma or a level, don’t worry your boyfriend Marco he is

The best cheerleader in the whole univers fight me on this

+100 ego boost for Y/N

In the end your resolve that damn enigma

10/10 yeah I’m not impartial but I love him

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sevlgi · 3 years

Text

the florist pt.3

requested: yes... a lot

group: dreamcatcher

pairing: jiu x fem!reader

genre: mostly fluff

contents: hanahaki!au, florist!jiu. read part 1 HERE and part 2 HERE.

warnings: none

synopsis: After being through hell together, confronting the person who sent you down the spiral in the first place is one of the things you and Minji fear the most. But it can’t be that bad, when she’s there to help you through it.

a/n: the long awaited part 3!!! i’m sorry for taking this long lmfao, this is still kinda shitty. there’s a lot less plot here, i just want to end this whole thing on a sweeter note.

word count: 2.1k

“Oy, Y/N! How long is that damn cake going to take?”

You rolled your eyes at the sound of Bora shouting, and resisted the urge to throw a handful of flour at wherever she was hiding. “Shut up, you come cut fondant if you’re so high and mighty.”

“...Okay, take your time.” At her response, you rolled your eyes and turned back to the cake-decorating with a smile, sticky yellow and purple coating your hands. To be honest, the cake was almost done, but you weren’t about to let Bora have her satisfaction.

She appeared and peeked over your shoulder, the flowers clustered in her arms tickling your back. “Damn,” Bora wolf-whistled and dodged the smear of icing you aimed at her. “That’s one hell of a cake. Are you sure we can eat it?” When you reached your hands at her again, slightly more aggressively, she yelped, “It’s a compliment! Stop, stop, the cake just looks too pretty to eat.”

“Nice save,” you scowled. “What do we think of the color scheme, though?”

“Yellow and purple,” Bora observed, pursing her lips. “Carnations and mallow, huh? Bold move for this celebration.”

“Yeah,” you sighed, “carnations and mallow really aren’t the best memory for me. For us. But I thought it would be nice to appreciate all we’ve been through together, with a nice, handmade cake.”

The other girl patted your arm and set her flowers down on a nearby desk. “It’s a nice sentiment, truly. Minji would appreciate it.”

“Would?” another voice piped up from behind you, and you instantly smiled. “You talk about me like I’m not here in the flesh, Bora.”

“You might want to get back to bed,” Bora warned, smiling nonetheless, but Minji wrapped her arms around your waist and tucked her nose into the crook of your neck. “Even if it’s just to stop me from getting nauseated. Handong will have your head, you know.”

Minji shook her head and swayed playfully, “Oh, I know. But I wanted to see all the preparations you guys have made.”

You managed to press a kiss to your girlfriend’s forehead, pressing yet another sugary flower to the surface of the cake. “What do we think? Since you’re being commended for your efforts with the Hanahaki disease, I thought it would be nice for us to pay some homage to everything.”

“It’s very nice,” Minji nodded while she strode over to where the base of the cake sat. “And I especially appreciate that you did my favorite flavor, though I’m not really being commended for anything.”

“You kidding?” Yubin arrived, yet another person crowding in Minji’s kitchen, but you didn’t really mind the approach of the younger woman. “You’re getting a whole news article, and an honorary position at the clinic. I wouldn’t say that’s nothing, especially when you’re still weak from the disease, months later.”

“Hush,” Minji sighed. But it was true; you could see her hands whiten from pressing down onto the kitchen table and holding up her weight, and you remembered how shaky she felt when she had hugged you earlier. “I’m fine, it’s been almost 2 months.”

Yubin shook her head and moved over to pass you the tube of icing you motioned for, then muttered, “And you haven’t talked to Siyeon since then. I wouldn’t say you’re fine.”

Bora nudged the younger at that, not missing the way Minji leaned more on the table. “Yubin, let’s not. But Minji, Y/N, you know that Siyeon’s still coming, right?”

You nodded, “Yeah. It’ll be as fine as she makes it.” Minji didn’t argue, still staring at the grain of the table and you jerked your head towards the door. “Hey, let’s give me some space, yeah? It’s hard to decorate a cake with your noisy asses around.”

Once you and Minij were the only ones in the room, you carefully wrapped your arms around her so as not to touch her clothing with your hands. “Hey. You feeling okay? How did the visit with the clinic go?”

“To be honest? I’m already tired,” she sighed, then leaned her head on your shoulder. “It’s been months, and you guys are still taking care of me. I feel really, really, really bad about it, Y/N, and as much as they try, the clinic can’t help me.”

“Why?” You kissed her cheek yet again, whispering, “It’s kinda my fault that you got the disease, I should be taking care of you. And no one minds, Minji, you always take care of us. It’s rightly earned for us to be waiting on you now, and we all appreciate that you’re letting us help you at all. The clinic sucks, yeah, but you’re going to make it the best.”

Minji pouted and looked up at you. “Are you sure? Because I feel like a burden, and it sucks.”

“You are not a burden,” you insisted, “and you never will be. Now go and sit down, and play some music before our friends arrive. Make yourself useful.”

She smiled at that and slumped into the nearest chair, responding softly, “Got it. Music coming right up, love.”

Siyeon frowned at the streets rolling past outside her window, Gahyeon paying no mind as she hummed something in the driver’s seat. “Are you sure they want me there?”

“For the last time, it’s fine,” Gahyeon sighed. “Yoohyeon unnie said that it would be a good chance for you to make up with Y/N and Minji unnie, remember? I agree, you need to clear things up, or it’s going to be so awkward for the rest of us.”

The blonde reached into the bag at her feet yet again, despite the fact that the desserts inside couldn’t have disappeared. It was just anxiety chewing up her stomach; after all, nearly all her friends hadn’t been able to look at her the same since you and Minji nearly died because of her. Siyeon didn’t know if they could forgive her, even if you did. “I don’t know, Gahyeon-ah. It’s all my fault.”

The younger girl glanced at her and shook her head. “Look, I’m not going to say that you’re blameless or anything. You screwed up with Y/N, and yeah, it sucked--” Siyeon winced -- “but this is your chance to apologize and do what you can.”

Before Siyeon could argue any more, Gahyeon had parked by the curb and yanked her door open. The Love Blossom looked... somewhat similar, though it was far busier than Siyeon had ever remembered it to be; there were news articles taped to the walls and people filing through the open door. Balloons and wreaths decorated the windows, and Siyeon was relieved to see Yoohyeon bounding over to greet them. “Hey, unnie. Glad Gahyeon dragged you over.”

Resisting the urge to pout at the taller girl, Siyeon allowed herself to be pulled towards the shop, desserts in hand. Yoohyeon had her arm on her shoulder and was talking already with a smile. “I’m sure Y/N will be happy to see you, though we’ll have to look for her a bit. I think she’s with Minji, though she rarely isn’t.”

“How... how is Minji?” Siyeon managed to ask. “I saw some of the articles.”

Yoohyeon hesitated to answer, “She... well, she isn’t great. Y/N recovered a lot quicker and easier than she did, so Y/N wasn’t left as weak as Minji, but the both of them are definitely worse off.” At the blonde’s guilty expression, Yoohyeon waved her hands and exclaimed, “Not that it’s any of your fault! No one guilts you, and-- oh, Dongie unnie!”

Handong turned from where she was ringing a customer up, and assumed a polite smile. “Hey, Yoohyeon. Siyeon. Welcome to the party, I guess. I’m assuming you’re looking for the happy couple?”

“That’s right,” Yoohyeon smiled, squeezing the mute Siyeon’s shoulders. “Kitchen, right?”

“Yeah,” Handong answered, eyes straying down to the desserts in Siyeon’s hands. “We’ve got a lot of food already, just ask Y/N where you can set stuff down.”

Siyeon didn’t miss the way that Handong barely squeezed a smile out, or the way that Yubin brushed by without a “hello”. She wished Bora was there, even if it was only because she had been one of the less hostile ones, but the door to Minji’s apartment was already open, and she was faced with Minji pelting you with marshmallows from a stool. “Hello?”

While your smile grew slightly at the sight of Siyeon, Minji’s faded. “Hey,” you smiled, reaching forward for the bag. “What’s all of this?”

“Just some stuff I remember you guys liking,” Siyeon choked out, letting control of it go to you. “I... I’m sorry.”

Minji’s eyes widened as Siyeon sank to the ground, though you stopped her from standing. “Siyeon, what?” you tried to laugh it off, though she wouldn’t stand even with your hands on her shoulders. “Come on, there’s no need...”

“You almost died,” Siyeon bit out, “because I was too selfish to try to help you. And then Minji almost died to help you, and I-- I’m sorry, Y/N, and I’m sorry, Minji. You can’t even walk, and it’s all because of me.”

“What are you talking about?” Minji’s tone was softer than she expected, and though she toppled slightly when she got to her feet, she made her way over to you fast enough. “Siyeon, I can walk. My disease is not your fault, and it isn’t anyone’s. Y/N’s circumstance... well, I can’t speak for her, but you didn’t make me this way, okay?”

Siyeon sighed, head still bowed as she was forced to stand up by the two of you. “Then, Y/N, I’m so sorry. You were my friend, and I just abandoned you because I was scared.”

“You’re okay,” you reassured her softly. “I can’t deny that I did blame you at first, but I’m willing to forgive you. I understand how scary it was, that I was dying and you were the only one who could have helped me, or at least that we knew of. I... I don’t hate you for it, I couldn’t.”

In that moment, there was nothing Siyeon could say that would’ve summed up the way she felt well enough. Looking into your eyes, so genuine and caring, more than she deserved from either of you, there was an all-too-heavy weight lifted off her shoulders. It wasn’t like she truly thought she deserved to be forgiven so easily, but Siyeon couldn’t help but accept, and she managed to say, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Minji smiled, “as long as you really mean it.”

“I do,” Siyeon nodded again. “I’ve never meant anything more.”

You knew Minji had something to say when she still lingered around in the kitchen with you at night, dressed in a floaty shirt with her makeup wiped off, but still watching you cut the remaining cake up. “What?” you asked, raising your eyebrows at her. “You’ve been staring at me for the past hour.”

“How was it so easy for you to forgive Siyeon?” she questioned instantly. “I mean, she was my friend too, but I... it’s so hard to think of how you just let that go in an instant. How, Y/N?”

Pausing to think, you set your knife down. Minji stared at you with large, shimmery eyes from the kitchen counter, and you resisted the urge to coo. “Well, I think that I wouldn’t have really done anything different if I was in her position.”

“But you did,” your girlfriend pointed out, “you saved me. Barely in time, but you did.”

“Well, that’s different.” You frowned, passed her a slice of cake since she didn’t seem to be ready to sleep yet, and mused, “I did love you, and I always will. Siyeon never loved me, so even if she tried, she wouldn’t have been able to save me. You know? Yeah, she could’ve not abandoned me, but in the end, it was only human of her to be scared of being the only person who could save someone else.”

Minji sighed at that, “I mean, if we look at it that way, you are right. I just... she hurt you. And maybe I can’t forgive that yet, Y/N.”

“And that’s fine,” you shrugged, moving around the counter to hug her from behind. “I get that too, but Siyeon’s trying. I think we should too.”

Instead of answering, Minji turned and captured your lips with her own, your hands tightening on her waist slightly in rhythm. “I love you more every day, Y/N,” she breathed out when you parted just enough to breathe. “Maybe almost dying for you was worth it.”

“Never say that again,” you shook your head, but you smiled nonetheless. “But I love you too, Minji, and I’ll never stop.”

#dreamcatcher #dreamcatcher x reader #dreamcatcher scenarios #dreamcatcher jiu #dreamcatcher minji #kim minji #jiu #dreamcatcher imagines #dreamcatcher reactions #jiu x reader #jiu imagines #jiu scenarios #minji x reader #minji scenarios #minji imagines

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smaidjor · 3 years

Text

and i pay for my place by the ring (Chapter 1)

Hey guys! Welcome to another angsty fic by yours truly, provider of flower husbands pain.

Some things you should know before you jump into this:

1. This is a companion fic to my fic "i know they're losing". You can understand it without having read the other one, since it's the same story from two different POVs but I think the overall experience is better with both!

2. The overall title of each fic is from the mitski song I bet on losing dogs. Chapter titles are from the Last Goodbye from the Hobbit films.

3. There is a lot of lord of the rings lore in both fics, and I mean a lot. You may be kinda confused if you've never read tolkien's works. It will all be explained eventually, though!

4. With the fact that it's a companion fic and a lot of people came here from Jimmy's POV in mind- this is a lot heavier of a fic. The content warnings are heavier and the angst is more intense. You have been warned.

(Obligatory disclaimer that this is about characters, not ccs, and do not ship real people, as always!)

Chapter Title: to these memories i will hold

Chapter Wordcount: 4000

Content warnings: suicidal thoughts, self-esteem issues, panic attacks, past death, very frank discussion of death. (In general, if suicide or death are triggering topics for you, this is probably not the fic for you. Stay safe and take care of yourself!)

AO3

Actual fic under the cut:

Scott didn’t expect to survive 3rd life. No one did, he thinks, but especially not him. Clever, clever Scott, who knew his fate too well for his own good. He could have chosen his allies carefully, he knows, could have played on their emotions to make them think he was loyal until the moment he turned on them to win. He knew who the strongest factions and warriors were, the most cunning and intelligent participants in this death game they were forced into. Instead, he chose Jimmy. Sweet, dopey Jimmy, who had the personality of a golden retriever and only a handful of braincells at any given time. Jimmy, who was worth more than all the stars in the sky to him. Who made him feel alive . No, Scott didn’t expect to win. Not when it was Jimmy by his side- when it was Jimmy by his side, winning didn’t matter. All that mattered was Jimmy’s blush when Scott pressed a kiss to his cheek, the way his hair looked like gold in the sunlight and his smile lit up Scott’s whole world.

After Jimmy died, Scott stopped wanting to survive 3rd life. What was the point? The stars can shine on without the sun, but all life on Earth would wither and die. The same happened to Scott’s broken, bitter heart, he found. Jimmy was the first person in years to love him truly, wholly, with no strings attached; it was terrifying how quickly Scott fell for the first person to look at him and not expect him to be anything but what he was. Scott’s world, which used to be mountain peaks and endless blue sky, narrowed to warm brown eyes and a grin like sunshine quicker than he could comprehend. Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, it all came back to him. What was Scott without Jimmy? The unwanted twin, the unloved child, the un-elven elf. Because who cared if he was a good shot with a bow or good at organizing teams or building pretty little houses? He would always be second-born, second-best.

It was fitting, really, that when Scott died, he died alone. Some might find it ironic that the man who knew enough people to fill the roster of a championship held by a god every month died without a single person to witness it save his enemies, but in the end, it was always going to be like this, Scott knew. He hadn’t been there to see Jimmy die, he hadn’t been able to hold him in his final moments and soothe the agony of death. Maybe this was his punishment. He wouldn’t be surprised; the gods of this world did not smile on him and never would. Why should they, when he had failed the only person who had ever found him good enough?

When he woke up in Rivendell, he was almost disappointed. Almost. He considered ditching the rest of the elves, up and leaving to somewhere that didn’t make it feel like the noose of immortality was slowly tightening around his neck. If nothing else, Noxite would let him crash at the MCC server for a bit until he found somewhere to go. And yet, in the end, Scott’s stubborn sense of duty won out. The elves needed a ruler. Xornoth had disappeared to god knows where, and though they had been braver, wiser, better in every way, Scott was the one who had stayed. Who was willing to take up the crown that weighed so heavily on its bearers. So Scott, who no one ever expected to rule, took up the burden of leadership.

Now, he tries and fails to get out of bed and wonders what the point of that even was. He’s fading, and worse than that, he’s fading over a human. His ancestors are probably rolling in their graves. Rivendell will be leaderless within a decade, and this time there are no heirs to take control. Not even a ‘spare’ like Scott used to be. What a mess.

There are footsteps on the stairs. They’re unfamiliar, meaning they could be a threat, but he’s too tired to bother sitting up. If he dies, well- it’s inevitable, really, in the same way watching the mortals he loves dies is.

The person comes around the corner, and Scott realizes with no joy that he won’t be dying today after all. Katherine looks both curious and concerned, but her voice tilts towards the latter when she asks “Scott?” and then, more hesitantly “Lord Smajor?”

He blinks at her, exhausted. “Hi, Katherine.”

“I came to talk to you about some empires stuff, but, I mean, if this is a bad time, I can come back later…?” She sounds so thrown off by his state that Scott almost feels bad.

Whatever it is, it must be important if she’s come all the way here, though, so he gestures her to a chair. “No, no, stay. I can muster the energy for a meeting, just don’t ask me to get up.”

Katherine takes the seat. “I came to talk about the corruption on the server, but- are you okay? Are you sick?”

Nothing about the question is funny in any way, but Scott laughs regardless. “In a way, yes.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take my hand.” He offers it out, knowing the unnatural cold is unsettling no matter if you’re elven or not. Katherine does as he asks, the concern on her face only growing as she grips his icy hand.

“Elves don’t get sick like mortals do,” Scott explains. “Nor do we die of old age. But we get...heartsickness, you might call it. We call it fading in our tongue- the cold hands are a symptom of that. Our souls are fragile, and the grief of the mortal plane can be overwhelming. If an elf is too struck by it, they fade away and die.” The words taste bitter on his tongue, a frank reminder of the slow and painful death that awaits him.

Katherine gasps, and Scott knows he’s alarmed her.

He goes on, though. “It usually happens to old elves, world-weary.” Ironic, it’s ironic that he’s saying that as a young elf explaining his own death. “Those who are tired of existence. But any elf who has experienced enough grief is at risk.”

Her face is nothing short of horrified. “You’re- fading? But doesn’t it usually happen to old elves? Wait, are you old?”

“I’m fifty-five.”

“Is that old?”

He has to laugh. “Fifty is the elven equivalent of eighteen for humans, the age of maturity.” Though he feels so much older than that, both in elven terms and in human.

“Oh.”

There’s a moment of silence, then, “How can you be so calm if you’re dying?”

“I’m tired, Katherine. The world tore me away from the people I loved, and..I’m tired of fighting it.” He’s so, so exhausted. So sick of having to claw and scrape and struggle for the barest scraps of happiness.

“Is there a way to reverse fading- to fix it?” Katherine sounds so hopeful that the question seems almost naive even though she’s far more capable of a ruler than he is. Naive in the affairs of elves, maybe, much as she’s intelligent in so many other ways.

Scott tries not to flinch at the innocent inquiry, thinking about the deaths from fading that he’s watched. “Technically, yes. If an elf recovers enough emotionally, it’s reversible. But whatever caused them to fade the first time can- and often does- cause it again.” And again, and again, until there’s nothing to be done but let them die , he finishes in his head.

Katherine nods, a look of determination overtaking the hope. “We’ll just have to reverse it, then.”

“That’s sweet, Katherine, but I’m dying.”

“No. You’re not going to die. Now come on, you can show me your empire while I fill you in on what’s happening on the rest of the continent.” She sounds so firm that he doesn’t dare disobey, though his exhaustion makes a fair effort at convincing him to. Will this really fix anything? Unlikely. But it’s worth it to try, if only to humor Katherine. At least this way she’ll have the comfort of having tried to save him when he inevitably fades away into nothing

Scott takes her hand, though it brings him little warmth, cold from her trek here. “Alright.” He swallows the bitter grief in his throat before it can seep into his words. “We can try.”

He leads Katherine around Rivendell, taking some pride in the way she oohs over the decor. If there’s one thing he can do right, it’s building. While some elven rulers might see it as below themselves to help build houses for their citizens, Scott finds building soothing. It’s one of the few skills he picked up during his time away that people really appreciate; no one wants to live in a shitty house.

As they walk, she also tells Scott about the demon, Xornoth. “The demon’s already visited a lot of people, I think. Gem and Shubble for sure, and Fwhip and Sausage. That’s not even mentioning the corruption that’s been spreading.”

If Scott said that the name Xornoth didn’t make him flinch, he would be lying to himself. It’s not your sibling , he tells himself. It’s just a coincidence .

It’s through the virtue of years of lying that his voice comes out steady. “There’s corruption in Rivendell too. Likely Xornoth’s work. And given that Jimmy still has Vilya-” his heart doesn’t ache when he says Jimmy’s name, it doesn’t- “well, I haven’t been able to do much.”

“Vilya?” Katherine asks.

“A ring of power. My inheritance from the Noldor.”

“Why does Jimmy have it?”

He doesn’t answer. He won’t- can’t talk about Jimmy, not without remembering how he looked with an arrow through his throat, bright smile gone and face frozen in fear. How does he explain how much Jimmy meant to him? How much he’s now giving up, knowing he’ll have to lose it one way or another?

Katherine drops the topic, seemingly sensing that she’s stumbled on something sensitive. When she has to go home, she leaves with a friendly goodbye and a promise to visit, and Scott believes neither. Who would put the effort into visiting him? He’s not a good friend, he’s not a good king, and god knows he’s not a good husband. In fact, he’s actively avoiding his husband. He may have kept the pufferfish Jimmy gave him, but that doesn’t mean anything. He can’t fall in love with Jimmy again. Loving Jimmy will kill him. (Scott ignores the small voice at the back of his head that whispers that he’s still in love with Jimmy and it’s already killing him just as he always knew it would.)

To his surprise, Katherine does come back next week, and the week after that. He’s ashamed to admit it, but there’s some part of him that’s pathetically grateful when she shows up at his doorstep. It’s a chance to not be alone . Much as he dreads the day when she finally gives up on him, it’s nice that someone cares enough to try and save him from himself.

The third week, Katherine doesn’t show up. Instead, the footsteps on the stairs are familiar in a way that makes Scott’s heart twist painfully.

He takes a deep breath. “Hello, Jimmy.”

“How’d you know it was me?” Jimmy asks. Scott can tell he’s startled by the way his voice goes up, almost frightened.

Scott steels himself, taking a deep breath before rolling over to face his ex-husband. “Do you think I could ever forget the sound of your footsteps?” He forces himself to not get distracted staring at Jimmy, instead going on before Jimmy can open his mouth. “What are you doing here?”

“Katherine asked me to visit, I’m not sure why, but...here I am. Say, why is she visiting every week?” Jimmy’s so curious. So naive, as always.

Scott laughs, bitter. “Katherine thinks she can save me.”

“Save you from what?”

Scott hears the concern in Jimmy’s words, and he can’t bring himself to break the news. It’s not as if it matters. It’s not as if Jimmy would care; he came here because of Katherine. Maybe he cared at the start of Empires, but Scott’s been nothing but rude to him since. There’s no reason for him to care. (He cares. Scott’s lying, like always. Jimmy cares and Scott knows it.)

“Save you from what?” Jimmy asks again, more insistently.

He refuses to say it. He needs Jimmy out, out of his room and out of his life before he does something he’ll regret. “You should go.” To prove his point, he tries to stand, finding himself too dizzy to quite pull it off. Jimmy rushes to catch him, and Scott hates himself just a little for how that still gives him a warm feeling.

“Scott, what is going on?”

He brushes Jimmy off, letting go of his arm and hurrying for the stairs. He can’t let Jimmy work his way into his heart again; Scott won’t be strong enough to let him go this time.

“Scott, seriously! Answer me, are you okay? What’s happening?” Jimmy sounds almost angry, but Scott can hear the distress under it and that’s what breaks him.

“I’m fading, alright?” His voice nearly breaks at the concern on Jimmy’s face when he whirls to face him. “I’m dying, now leave me alone!”

Jimmy sputters, seemingly caught off guard. “You- what- but elves don’t die, right?”

“We do. From poison, from swords-” Scott thinks back to third life- “from arrows through the throat, from grief.” The words come out more raw than he intends, leaving him scrambling to recover his composure. He takes a deep breath in and out, forcing his voice to steady again. “Come on. If you’re not going to leave, I might as well show you around.”

“You can’t just drop something like that on a man, you know!” Jimmy calls after him, although Scott can hear his footsteps following as well.

“You did ask, to be fair.” Scott replies. His voice is calm. He’s fine.

“I guess so, but- but still, dude.”

Scott pushes open the side door, holding it for Jimmy. “Here.”

Jimmy nods and slips through the door. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Scott starts towards the bridges, intending to show Jimmy the enchanting tower and then the door. He doesn’t care about how fast he’s walking, Jimmy can keep up. He’s taller than Scott and probably has better balance at the moment too. Scott’s struggling not to fall, honestly, but his pride won’t let him go slower.

Jimmy breaks the awkward silence with the question Scott least wants to hear. “So, uh..are we going to talk about 3rd life?”

“No,” Scott says firmly.

“Why not? We need to talk about it some time-”

“I said no .” He can’t talk about it.

“It’s literally killing you to not talk about it!”

The words strike right at the raw wound of Jimmy’s death, and Scott freezes. Inhales. Exhales. Tries to keep calm.

“Tell me I’m wrong, Scott!” Jimmy cries. He sounds so upset, Scott’s heart aches. “I dare you, tell me I’m wrong! Tell me you never cared about me, tell me you didn’t bother to bury me, tell me it didn’t hurt even a little when I died! Tell me I was just stupid little Jimmy, a toy for an elf who’d live far beyond my lifespan! Tell me whatever, just tell me the truth! ”

Scott takes a deep breath. “Fine. You want to know what happened after you died?” He can’t think straight through the rage clouding his head, the desperate need to prove that Jimmy’s wrong , that Scott loved him so much it’s killing him. “You want to hear about me screaming until my throat went raw? You want to know that I kissed your face and sobbed and begged you to wake up, over and over until I couldn’t speak at all? You want to live with the knowledge that Grian had to physically pull me away from your body? Is that what you want to hear, Jimmy? ” His voice damn near breaks on his husband’s name, and Scott thanks the gods he stopped believing in a long time ago that it doesn’t.

“No,” Jimmy says. His voice is soft, gentle, almost as if Scott is a wounded animal that needs a delicate touch. “That’s not what I want to hear, not at all. I’d rather you be happy than love me.”

The words punch the air from Scott’s lungs, raw and soft and real. Scott is an excellent liar. Jimmy isn’t. Scott knows that Jimmy is telling the truth. What he doesn’t know is how to handle that level of devotion. He wonders again how Jimmy- sweet, genuine Jimmy who wears his heart on his sleeve and is hopelessly devoted to an elf who can’t be fully his- chose Scott of all people. Scott, who’s as bitter as Jimmy is sweet, who’s sarcastic and snarky and hasn’t been good enough for just about anything in his life. He certainly wasn’t good enough to save Jimmy, Scott thinks bitterly.

He shakes off the thought. “I buried you on the hill above our houses. I planted a poppy over your grave.”

“Oh.”

“Grian came over the next day. I didn’t want to see anyone who wasn’t you, but I let him in because I had to. He helped me do the straps on my armor and asked me if he could do anything else to make things easier. I told him to bury me next to you.”

“Did he?”

Scott almost laughs at the innocent question. “How would I know? Grian was honorable enough, though, loyal to his allies. I like to think he did.”

“He was a good guy,” Jimmy agrees. “A little bit bloodthirsty, I guess, but good. I don’t suppose he survived any better than the rest of us, though maybe being bloodthirsty helped.”

“Maybe.”

“Can I- can I ask you why you hate me so much now?” Jimmy’s tone is uncertain, hesitant and it hurts . “I mean, if you mourned me in third life and all.”

Scott looks away from his earnest gaze, but he can’t stop the truth slipping out. “I don’t hate you.”

“You don’t?” Jimmy asks, seemingly bewildered. “But you burned the pufferfish-”

“I didn’t. I kept it.” Scott doesn’t want to think about this, wants to say it even less. “I never hated you. I don’t think I’m capable of it.”

“Then why do you keep avoiding me?”

“I’ve been kind of busy dying,” Scott says wryly, unable to resist a bit of morbid humor at his own expense.

“Scott! That’s not funny!”

“It was a little funny.”

“No!”

Jimmy sounds genuinely distressed, and Scott drops the wry smile. “Jimmy, I’m an elf. I won’t live far beyond you, but only because I’ll fade without you.” It’s a simple statement. The truth, as much as he can give.

“So your solution is to isolate yourself and fade now?” Jimmy’s outrage is justifiable, but Scott just shrugs.

“It does sound stupid when you put it like that, doesn’t it?” It really does. “But I lost you once, and I don’t think I could bear it again.”

A hand lands on Scott’s arm, and he turns, startled. Jimmy doesn’t give him time to react, throwing his arms around Scott and pulling him close. Scott almost lets out a very undignified squeak at the sudden contact, though he slowly relaxes into Jimmy’s hold.

He should pull away. He shouldn’t give Jimmy false hope like this. But Jimmy is so warm , and Scott is so unbearably cold. Every fiber of his being is screaming that this is what’s right; screw Rivendell and obligations and too-heavy crowns, Jimmy is home to him. He’s warm for the first time in months, and the most heartbreaking part is that it can’t last. He can’t do this again.

He pulls away, ignoring the painful hope on Jimmy’s face. “I’m sorry, Jimmy.” For the first time all conversation, his voice well and truly wobbles. “I can’t. Not again.”

“But-”

Scott shakes his head. “Losing you will destroy me. We dared to love, and now all we can do now is lessen the pain when it all comes crashing down.” The words are like glass in his throat, but he forces them out anyways. They have to be said.

Jimmy’s silent, and it hurts more than if Jimmy had yelled at him.

“Goodbye, Jimmy,” Scott manages, turning away before Jimmy can see the way his face twists in pain. He makes his retreat as quickly as possible, stumbling and nearly taking a tumble just before he reaches the door. Unlike before, there’s no helpful ex-husband there to catch him, to make sure he’s alright and ask a million questions until Scott’s forced to admit that he’s not okay and hasn’t been in a long time.

He fumbles with the latch, hands shaking and vision blurring. Finally, it clicks, and Scott stumbles inside and slams the door shut before sliding to the ground. He won’t cry. He won’t . He doesn’t love Jimmy, he can’t love Jimmy anymore. Jimmy was never meant to be his. They might have carved out a few precious moments, stolen them from the universe and giggled like kids with their hands in the cookie jar as they kissed amongst the flowers, but those brief moments were all they were ever going to be allowed. It was always going to end this way, Scott tells himself. There’s no use crying over a mortal who will be dead in the blink of an eye to an elf. What would his parents say? That this was typical of him, probably. Typical Scott, always wanting what he would never be able to have. Typical, predictable Scott, loving a mortal who shouldn’t be worth anything to him.

He’s crying. There are tears spotting his cyan robes, splashing onto the wood floors he worked so hard on. Scott rubs at his eyes furiously, but that only makes it worse, sobs shuddering through him and leaving him hollow and aching. He’s so cold . The ache in his chest has returned tenfold, stealing away his breath, and he curls further into himself, struggling for air.

He’s going to die. He is going to die , alone on the floor of his house because he fell for someone he couldn’t have. For all that he’s spent every minute since Jimmy’s death in 3rd life wishing for some way out of this cruel world, he’s terrified now that it seems inevitable. He’s scared in a way he hasn’t been in forever, breath coming quick and shallow. He's scared, and he is so, so tired of this ache that haunts him, the chill that he can never get rid of.

“Jimmy,” Scott whispers. There’s no way for the human to hear him, but the name brings him some comfort. “ Jimmy .” He wants his husband. He wants someone to hug him. He doesn’t want to fade away freezing and alone, no one there to hold his hand or reassure him that the pain will be over soon. Internally, he begs for someone, anyone who cares to come looking. To find him, even if they’re too late to save him. Someone. Anyone. Please.

No one comes, and Scott lays on his floor until his breathing steadies out again. His head spins when he forces himself to his feet, and he has to lean against the wall for a few moments. There’s no time for dramatics, he tells himself sternly. He has a kingdom to rule. He cannot afford to break over a mortal he never should have fallen for in the first place. He doesn’t love Jimmy anymore, he can’t .

(He’s lying. But Scott has always been an excellent liar, even when it’s to himself.)

#scott smajor #jimmy solidarity #empires smp #i maintag my fic because i dont fear god or scott smajor #my writing

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silentprincess17 · 3 years

Text

A Proposal Gone Awry

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | AO3

Summary: Link has been touring the breadth and width of Hyrule to clear out the remaining monster camps, and soon enough, he reaches Zora’s Domain. Mipha asks him to wait before he heads back to the castle, which he was intending on doing... but some mischievous children may have other plans.

Part 2:

Mipha thanked Lord Jabu Jabu and Lady Hylia that she had managed to send Link away, as she slowly set about healing all the various Zora Captains that had been injured. Healing was a calming art and she needed to remain in the correct headspace for it. It wasn’t something that could be rushed. And really, seeing that she mostly thought of Link whilst she was healing, well, that helped make the time pass by pleasantly anyway. As he reassured the guards and soothed them with her Grace, she let her thoughts wander, and a smile crossed her face as her thoughts inevitably turned to Link.

He was too pure-hearted and had remained by her side; only after she conjured up some excuse for him to leave and insisted on it, did he actually depart. Perhaps she was reading too much into it but that was a good sign, right? Despite her wishes to stay with him whilst he was at the Domain, she needed time to prepare. She knew this was one of the last occasions he’d come back to here for a while at least and she didn’t want to impose on him – she knew he was busy with all his quests to end the influence the Calamity had over Hyrule and she didn’t want to detract him from that goal.

It was admirable, truly, his dedication to duty. It was part of what made him so appealing to her after all, his steadfastness and perseverance… he would make such a good King of the Zora’s when the time came. And to top it all, he wasn’t just a kind, generous man, but she could freely admit to herself that he was incredibly handsome too. She’d grown to be fond of him when she had first met him, all the way back when he was but a reckless child, spending the summer in the Domain, where she’d healed him every single time he’d had a fall. And seeing him all grown up when he’d escorted the Princess to ask for her father’s permission in naming her a Champion had made her re-evaluate the fondness she had for him then, with the new feelings of affection and love she had now. And those feelings only grew after he helped her protect her home. Oh, to think of how they could rule alongside each other…

Since then, she tried to show him her feelings. She’d attempted to walk with him more often than not when all the Champions went on quests together, such as when she’d accompanied him in the Lost Woods. Though, sadly, they never had much of an opportunity to talk. He was always focussed on what might happen next, or how to protect Princess Zelda, which she understood. She truly felt for the Princess- if it wasn’t the Yiga, then it was corrupt Guardians, and if not those then it was chunks of ceilings… And Link was the Princess’s Appointed Knight after all. Although she’d be lying if she didn’t feel just a twinge of jealousy, because she couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if Link was touching her. Of course, Link was a respectable, honourable man through and through, so all his touches were all for the sake of protection… at least, that was what she told herself, but she’d do anything for him to do the same for her. It wasn’t fair though, Mipha knew that, at least she hadn’t been at risk of severe injury like Princess Zelda had throughout their quest together.

Mipha understood that in the grand scheme of things, her feelings for Link were not an immediate focus. So, she held back and reined them in. But now, after having fought with him multiple times today to remove the last of the monsters, she couldn’t stop the surge of affection that swam through her.

She wanted to give him her White Scale. She wanted to promise to protect him, not just through her Grace, but through her own being too.

So that is why she needed time to prepare. She hadn’t been expecting Link to come today- she’d assumed he’d come at the end of all travels. That way, they could spend some time together, but she guessed he was busy or otherwise forgot. Or maybe the castle had ordered him to come here today, and to be fair, the monsters had mounted a last-minute attack of sorts, so it was a good thing he had helped them out. But that meant she still had a few things to pack, namely she needed to collect the Blue Nightshades. She wanted to lay them on top of her armour as they glowed beautifully in the dark. Plus, the colour scheme would match with the navy shade she’d gone for so that her White Scale stood out all the more. Oh, and she needed to polish all her silver to make sure it was pristine- she couldn’t forget that!

Mipha had just about finished polishing the last segment of her armour in the garrison on top of the mountain, and she was armed with her Blue Nightshades. She’d paid special attention to the new clasp she had recently added after removing her white scale. It was a weak point in her scales, so it needed extra protection. The scale would grow back soon enough, but for now, she would make do.

All she had left to do was collect her Zora Armour and then… give it to Link. Her heart rate spiked, and she almost sat down again, dear Goddesses, she was ridiculously nervous. She prayed to the previous Zora Princess who’d proposed to the Hero of her time that she would have the courage to see it through and… that he would accept. Mipha’s intentions were to propose marriage, yes, but she didn’t want this to happen immediately. She wanted to present her armour to him as a dedication of her love, as proof, of how firm her feelings were. Essentially, she wanted him to know she was serious about this… and she could only hope he’d feel the same.

She climbed down the mountain, choosing to walk instead of use the waterfalls like she normally would. She didn’t want to be dripping wet when she talked to him after all, and she wanted her armour to shine, not glisten. No, she wasn’t just walking because it would take longer and therefore delay her actual confession.

As she reached Mikau Lake, with the bridge connecting to the Domain just up ahead, she spotted water splashing all the way along the waterfall. In and of itself this wouldn’t have been an unusual occurrence, especially considering the recent attacks on the Domain meant that the Zora Guards frequently used the waterfalls for ease of access…

But she would recognise that crop of blonde hair anywhere and she just couldn’t believe what she was seeing. As she scrutinised the scene before her more closely, she recognised Sidon. It still threw her off slightly, imagining how Sidon will look when he would grow to adulthood, but for now she had more pressing concerns. How was Sidon even swimming up the waterfall? He didn’t have the right scales yet. And wait, now she was closer she realised he was actually strapped onto Link’s back. What? Her eyes hadn’t been deceiving her. But how-

She had too many questions, so she connected to the water reserves under the Domain and swam through so that she reached the lake quicker. As she zoomed in, she realised that Link, in fact, had multiple Zora children strapped to him, and they were all squealing as he swam up the waterfall. She could just about make out the glint of silver from his Soldier’s Greaves, which left her even more confused.

HOW?! Mipha wasn’t one to shout, she always remained calm, cool and collected, she was blessed with Grace after all, and it wasn’t graceful to yell, but she just couldn’t comprehend what was going on and she found herself screaming inside.

She reached the bottom of the waterfall, just as Link reached the top, and he pulled out his paraglider, all the children screamed with delight. She could hear Bazz from this distance, “MOMMY!!!”. And the rest of them were laughing at him. She watched, with increasing incredulity as Link leisurely paraglided down, landing with a smile. And she got her first proper look at what, exactly, he was wearing.

Mipha thought she might faint. Or vomit. Or cry.

He was wearing her armour.

All that preparation…

The flowers fell from her suddenly weak fins.

He was actually wearing it. His hair was slicked back to the right, soaking wet from all the swimming, and he looked devastatingly handsome. She couldn’t help but admire how perfectly the armour moulded to his form and how beautiful he looked. He looked like a King. Her King.

Link finally seemed to realise she was there. His face morphed from its previously calm, relaxed and happy demeanour, into an aptly horrified one. All the children stopped squabbling over each other too, as they stared at her.

She stared back, incredulous.

Link couldn’t have known the significance of the armour he was wearing. The children must have set him up for this. They had been begging everyone around the Domain to bring them to the waterfalls, but all the adults had refused, simply because the risk of monsters wasn’t worth it. Of course, Link being Link would not refuse them anything, especially as they were his childhood friends.

A heavy silence descended on them. Mipha just didn’t know what to do. How was she meant to confess now? They’d ruined it. He had the armour already. What could she even say?

He unstrapped Sidon from the right-side of his back, Gaddison from the left, Bazz from his right shoulder and arm, and Rivan from his left. He placed them down gently.

And then he pulled off the armour.

Mipha nearly had a heart attack.

All that water cascaded down his front, and she stopped breathing.

He meekly came up to her and pressed the sodden armour back into her hands, wincing as it squelched. “I’m sorry.” She felt her heart restart. Link had spoken to her! And then he stepped back, and all she wanted to do was move closer, and press his lips to hers. To spread her fins over his muscles. To feel the water dripping down him. To –

She shook her head. “Will someone explain what is going on?” Her voice embarrassingly lilted at the start. Was it her fault though, if she lost some composure in front of such a view?

Rivan and Gaddision shoved Bazz forward. He turned back at them and made an obscene fin gesture. Where had he learnt that?! She would have to discipline him later.

“We’re all sorry Mipha. We wanted to ride the waterfall. And-and we knew Kodah had made a Hylian Zora Armour, but we wouldn’t be able to find it in time before Link had to go and Sidon knew where you kept yours so-so it was easier, and it just happened to fit, so we went with it and Rivan said that you were the sweetest so you wouldn’t mind and Gaddison said we were only going to use it once and then give it back and it was only meant to be borrowed and either way it didn’t matter because your White Scale regrows so that means you can have more than one engagement and-”

She had to stop him, “Bazz. This Armour is precious- we do not just make them for no good reason. And you know that borrowing something without permission is wrong? It becomes stealing then? And what is this about having more than one engagement?”

Link paled. Considerably. She wanted to reassure him it wasn’t his fault. To her surprise he spoke again, in a quiet soothing tenor that she already loved and knew she would spend hours replaying in her own mind, “Mipha, I- I didn’t understand how much the armour meant to you. I-”

He bent his head down, “I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t stop them, it’s my fault. I didn’t see the harm in playing with them for a while, because I thought it was just one of many gifts you’d give and Kodah had one too, so I assumed it was a common thing- like you practice on Hylians because we’re smaller and then craft a full-sized one for the Zora, but it was very insensitive of me. I’m sorry for wearing armour that-that only your husband should.”

Mipha was stunned. That was the most he’d ever spoken to her. Even the children were looking at him in shock. And she felt her heart shatter. He didn’t- he didn’t feel the same way. He thought this was a practice run. He thought the armour made for Hylians didn’t count because they weren’t Zora and Zora would only marry other Zorans. That meant he didn’t think they could ever be together. What was she supposed to say now? She couldn’t help but realise the irony of this situation- she used to dream of Link talking to her, and now that he was, she was the one that didn’t know what to say.

She’d try again later. That was the only solution to this. She wasn’t about to propose and confess in front of all the children. It should be a special occasion and she would make sure that he had no uncertainties about where her feelings lay. She simply smiled, “It’s okay. I’ll see you at the castle next week for the Celebratory Ball, Link?” She saw him nod, and then she turned and left. She couldn’t bear looking at him right now. Not when the evening had turned out so differently to what she envisioned.

No matter. She would have to explain everything properly on the night of the ball. She just couldn’t process everything right now, and she needed some time to mull over what he had said. That, and she needed to do a little investigation into who, exactly, Kodah had made armour for. She had her suspicions and if she was correct, she would have to ascertain if Kodah was actually being serious or not. Lady Hylia knew that girl had her head stuck in the sand under the sea.

Next (Part 3)

#a propsal gone awry #zelink #zelink fanfic #zelink fanfiction #botw #botw fanfic #aoc zelink #hwaoc spoilers #loz aoc #link #mipha #onesided mipha x link #silent writes

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fred-george-fic · 3 years

Text

In the Middle Pt. 2

Cedric x Reader & George x Reader (Eventually)

A/N: This is kind of a large chapter, but if I didn’t include the date, it would’ve been an extremely short chapter. So, I hope you enjoy! (P.S. As always if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment or message me!)

Summary: Back to Hogwarts we go! Plus a first date with a special someone.

Pairing(s): Cedric x Reader & George x Reader (eventually)

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: Slight angst? Snogging?

Masterlist:~Part 1~

Back to Hogwarts

You stand there on platform 9 and ¾ with the Weasley family, Harry and Hermione. Everyone is saying their goodbyes to Arthur and Molly, thanking them for everything they did for you this summer. As you take a step back, you see Cedric and his father out of the corner of your eye. Cedric notices you looking over at him and gives you a slight wave. You return the greeting, tucking your hair behind you hear and return your attention back to the group.

You and Cedric had been sending each other a few letters over break and since you were staying at the Burrow, George and Fred constantly teased you about it. The contents of the letters were typical chatting, mostly just a way to keep it touch after the horrors of the Qudditch World Cup. He originally sent the first letter just to make sure you were okay, but you had continued to send them back and forth.

“Y/N! Let’s go! If we want to get our booth, we have to get on now!” George yells while walking towards the train with Fred. Molly grabs your shoulder before you begin walking towards the train to stop you.

“Please do your best to keep them out of trouble, dear. Who knows what hijinks those two will get into this year” Molly says pulling you into a large hug. “And be safe yourself, you’re more than welcome to stay with us again.”

“Thank you, Molly. I’ll do my best!” You return the hug, give her a slight wave and run onto the train, finding George and Fred in your usual booth.

--------

You sit in the Great Hall, wedged between Fred and George, watching the first years get sorted into their respective houses, cheering whenever one gets picked for Gryffindor. After they get sorted, Professor Dumbledore announces that there will be no Quidditch this year, due to a special event. This causes a lot of yelling in the Great Hall, especially from you and the twins. Dumbledore quickly continues introducing the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mad-Eye Moody, who continuously drinks out of a little flask. As he continues on, he announces the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament which will begin at the end of October on Hallowe’en giving the winner fame and one thousand Galleons. But, that no student under the age of 17 will be allowed to participate.

“That’s rubbish!” George and Fred shout in unison, riling up other students around them. Soon, murmurs and shouts continue throughout the hall. Ever since they won their bet and were never given the money, the twins knew this could be their last resort for opening the shop.

“SILENCE!” Dumbledore shouts, quickly quieting the entire hall. “The rules of the tournament are final. There is no room to discuss them any further.” With that, Dumbledore turned around and took his seat at the table.

As you leave the Great Hall, you hear your name being called from behind. “Cedric?” You asked as you turned around, just in time to see the yellow and black robes rounding the corner.

“Y/N.” He said with a brilliant smile but just continued to look at you

“Yes?” You looked at him, confused on why he was just staring. You waved a hand in front of his face. “Are you alright?”

“Sorry, I just got lost in thought” He shook his head. “How would you feel about going to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?”

“Like a date?” You smile and look up at him.

“Exactly like a date.” He smiles back, looking extremely pleased.

“I would be delighted.” You blush.

“Great, I’ll meet you outside your common room around 12.” He waves goodbye and turns around looking back at you with a smile before returning to the first years to lead them to the Hufflepuff common room. You could hear their murmurs about dating outside the houses and if you were his girlfriend. You hear him say “I’m working on that part” before rounding the corner.

“Did Pretty Boy Diggory just ask you on a date?” You look behind you and notice Fred and George leaning against the wall.

“We’re already becoming second best, Fred.” George says shaking his head.

“Didn’t even notice us coming out of the Great Hall.” Fred exclaims, throwing up his hands and walking towards the common room.

“This is what happens when I don’t have two boys hovering over me.” You laugh and follow behind them.

“If you wanted that then you shouldn’t have sat in our booth during our first year.” Fred teased.

“You really should’ve planned your life better six years ago.” George retorts.

“If I would’ve know you two were this annoying, I just might have.” Your laughing continues as the boys look at you with false hurt in their eyes. “Are you two upset about the tournament?”

“Oh, don’t worry we have a plan.” They both looked back at you with a mischievous grin.

-------

The weekend came quickly, as the castle continuously buzzed with excitement over the Triwizard tournament. You, Hermione and Ginny were all up on Saturday morning. Both of them trying to help you pick out what to wear. You settled on your nicest jumper and a skirt. You thank Ginny and Hermione and make your way down to the common room to eat before Cedric came to pick you up. The moment you reach the end of the stairs and go into the common room, you see both Fred and George relaxing on one of the couches. As you attempt to walk by, they both notice you immediately.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Fred says, getting up from the couch, putting an arm around your shoulder to stop you from leaving.

“I was trying to go get some breakfast.” You say rolling your eyes, weaving out of his arm. “Do you two care to join me?”

“Gladly” George says getting up from the couch and following you out of the common room.

“So, Timber. Did you get all dressed up for Diggory?” Fred teased. You rolled your eyes and blushed slightly, trying to hide it.

“Busted!” Fred laughed and George followed suit.

As you walk into the Great Hall, you immediately feel someone staring at you. As you look over at the Hufflepuff table, you meet Cedric’s eyes. He was in the middle of a conversation and immediately stopped. This caused his friends to look over and notice you as well. Cedric beamed, giving you his brightest smile. You felt your face getting hot and began walking quicker to the Gryffindor table. You sneak one last glance over at Cedric, whose smile has fallen, staring directly at the Weasley twins, as his friend whispered something in his ear. You let out a sigh as you sat down at the table and began to grab a small portion of breakfast.

“Alright, what’s wrong?” George asked, nudging you with his elbow.

“My relationship with Cedric is over before it even began.” You motion with you head towards the Hufflepuff table, where Cedric has continued his conversation, occasionally casting glances at the three of you. “He thinks I fancy one of you or vice versa.”

“That’s mad!” Fred says sharing a glance with George, that you do not seem to notice. “On the bright side, he hasn’t come to cancel your date, so you should have time to clear everything up.”

“I guess you’re right.” You play with your food, occasionally taking a bite as the boys change the subject and chat among themselves.

“What’s wrong with her?” You hear Ron ask as he sits across from you with Harry, Hermione and Ginny. You groan and the twins tell the group what had happened that morning.

“I mean; you do spend an awful lot of time together.” Harry says grabbing a portion of food. “Not that it’s a bad thing or anything! But it can be intimidating.”

“We’re a package deal!” Fred and George say in unison, both putting their arms around you.

“Yes, the host and her two parasites.” You laugh as the twins put their hands over there heart in mock heartbreak.

“Fred, how will we ever recover?” George teased.

“I don’t know George; this may be permanent damage.” Fred replied. Both twins immediately started laughing.

“Well, while you’re trying to recollect your pride, I am going to head back to the common room and wait for my date.” You get up from the table and start making your way to the common room.

As you got out of earshot from the group, Fred immediately turns to George “You’re just going to let this continue? I thought you had a plan?”

“She obviously likes Diggory, I am not going to ruin that by sharing my own feelings.” George states, looking over at Cedric to ensure he can’t hear.

“But Geo-” Hermione starts.

“No.” He quickly says and shrugs “As long as she’s happy, I’m happy.” The others quickly drop the subject, with Fred glaring daggers at his twin knowing that he could make her happy if he’d just put himself out there.

-------

It’s almost twelve o’ clock now and you’re waiting outside the common room by yourself. It took some convincing, but you managed to get it through George and Fred’s heads that if they waited outside the common room with you, it would only make things worse. You hear the clock ring throughout the castle signaling that it is officially twelve. After about ten minutes’ pass by before you begin to worry that Cedric isn’t going to come. You’re about to walk back into the common room, when you hear loud footsteps approaching.

“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Cedric claims as you turn around to face him, noticing him holding a pinkish flower at his side.

“Is that Vervain?” You look at the flower and then back up to Cedric.

“Is that what it’s called?” Cedric looked at the flower and then held it out to you. “I was late because I asked around what your favorite flower was. Hermione and Ginny didn’t know but remembered you picking the pink ones that looked like bells.”

You take the flower and smile down at it. “That’s so kind of you Cedric. These flowers actually have healing properties, specifically for mad dog bites. Let me go put it in my dorm, just a second” You quickly run upstairs, placing the flower on your chest and meet Cedric back outside.

“Ready to go?” Cedric holds out his hand to you.

“Absolutely.” You take his hand and begin walking towards Hogsmeade.

Once you arrive at Hogsmeade, you could see a number of students walking around, going in and out of shops. “I was thinking we could go to Honeydukes first and then head over to the Three Broomsticks for butter beer?” Cedric asked.

“Sounds lovely.” You respond and make your way over to Honeydukes taking in the various colors of the shop.

“What’s your favorite?” Cedric asks, grabbing himself a liquorice wand.

“Personally, I enjoy the glacial snowflakes.” You say grabbing a box off the shelf.

“I excepted some type of chocolate.” Cedric laughed and held out his hand. “Here, I’ll buy them for you.”

“Or, I can buy yours.” You say walking up to the counter with a grin on your face.

“No, I got it this time, maybe you can get the next.” He pays and hands you your box of glacial snowflakes, your fingertips brushing against each other lightly. “Shall we?”

You began your walk towards The Three Broomsticks with Cedric. While walking and having a pleasant conversation. He casual grabs your hand, you try not to focus on the warmth radiating into your cheeks and you continue the conversation. “So, next time? Are you implying that there will for sure be a next time?” You say looking over at him.

“Well, I at least hope there will be.” Cedric smiles at you as you reach The Three Broomsticks. “How about you find us a table and I’ll grab two butterbeers?”

As you enter inn, you notice a few students that you recognize from different classes scattered around. You find a table in the corner and Cedric quickly returns with the drinks. “Thank you.” You say grabbing the drink from him and he slides into the booth besides you.

“You’re welcome.” He smiles and takes a sip of his drink. “I really do have something to ask you.”

“Okay, what do you got?” You had a feeling you knew what this question was going to be about the Twins, but you did your best to keep a smile on your face.

“Do you fancy either of the Weasley twins? I just- see you with them all the time and my friends say they often see you laughing and flirting” He looks down at his drink, visibly embarrassed that he had to ask such a question, but you knew it was bothering him.

“Cedric-” You grab his hand. “They have been my best friends since our first year. You have nothing to worry about. They have been there for me in the darkest moments of my life, especially their family.”

Cedric turns to face you head on. “I’m sorry. I just saw you with them today and I grew concerned. You are just the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen; so I couldn’t imagine what other guys might be thinking.”

You blushed heavily and looked back down at your hands, your fingers interlaced with his. After finishing up the Three Broomsticks, you and Cedric walked back to Hogwarts hand in hand. As you both reach your common room, you turn to face each other. “Thank you. Today has been wonderful.” You say, smiling up at him.

“Y/N, do you remember at the quidditch world cup the conversation we were having before we were interrupted?” Cedric asked, wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you in closer.

You begin blush, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Yes?”

“Well, there was something I was going to do.” He says and starts leaning in closer to you. Just then his lips grazed yours, softly brushing against them sending shivers through your spine. You smiled and took a step away from him. “Goodnight Cedric.” You say with a slight wave and slide into the Gryffindor common room.

Once you enter, you notice Hermione sitting on the couch near the fireplace and plop down next to her. “Someone had a nice time.” She said looking up from her book and raising an eyebrow. You sigh and lightly touch your fingers to your lips.

#harry potter #harry potter imagine #the weasley twins #george weasley x reader #cedric diggory x reader #cedric diggory imagines #george weasley imagines #the goblet of fire #cedric diggory #george weasley

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queenofspades20 · 3 years

Text

Goddesses and their Gods (2/3)

Here is chapter two of my submission for @bonkywobble’s Halfway to 1K challenge.

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Reader; Hephaestus!Bucky x Aphrodite!Reader

Synopsis: Now that Brock is out of the way, it’s time for Y/n to convince Tony to let her marry Bucky.

Word Count: about 2.9k

Warnings: maybe language, fluff, slight angst

CHAPTER 2 – the deal

The day after Natasha and Loki locked Brock up in Tartarus, Y/n made the decision to visit Tony and make her case about marrying who she chose. Y/n felt bringing a gift basket filled with Tony’s favorite things would be a good way to soften him up. Even though he loved his wife, he still saw marriages more as business transactions and should be done for advantages.

Y/n decided to visit Bucky before going to Olympus.

“Bucky?” she called out. She saw his figure near one of the forges he liked to use.

“Over here,” Bucky grunted back. His voice almost drowned out by the roar of the fire he was working with. Y/n made her way over to him and waited for him to be done. She had learned early on in their relationship to not get too close while he was working with fire. Thankfully, gods didn’t scar easily.

After a minute, Bucky set the project he was working on down and turned to Y/n. “Hi, Darling. What brings you down here? I thought you were going to try and talk to Tony today.”

Y/n moved forward into Bucky’s arms. She sighed happily and nuzzled his neck. “Is it too much to want a Bucky fix?”

Bucky wrapped his arms around her and kissed the crown of her head. “No. I’m always happy to see you, you know that. I was just wondering why you’re here instead of Olympus like you had planned.”

“You make me feel more confident. Needed a boost before seeing Tony,” Y/n admitted shyly. She didn’t want Bucky to think her weak, but she didn’t want to lie to him. Y/n kept her face down.

Bucky felt his heart burst. He smiled softly and lifted Y/n’s face to look at him. “I don’t know why you would feel more confident around me, but if it helps, I’m always here for you.”

“You don’t think I’m weak? I know being the Goddess of Love means I’m not exactly a beacon of strength. And I’ve been told before that I’m mostly just good for being seen and not much else.”

“Of course you’re not weak! You are worth so much more than whatever asshole has ever put you down. Love is what makes you strong. The world wouldn’t be worth much if love didn’t exist. You definitely made my life so much better since we started being together.” Bucky looked at Y/n like she hung the moon and stars.

Y/n’s eyes teared up and she gave him a watery smile. “Thank you. See? You are very good for my confidence.”

Bucky chuckled as he leaned in. He brushed his lips against hers. “I love you. And I know, if anyone can convinced Tony to let us marry, it will be you.”

After spending a good while with Bucky, Y/n grabbed the gift basket she made for Tony and made her way to Olympus. As she walked to Tony and Pepper’s residence, she heard whispers from other gods, discussing how Brock hadn’t been seen for a few days. Y/n knew she had to hurry before rumors got back to Tony.

As she walked up to the house, she saw Pepper standing in the front garden, speaking with Thor.

“Thor, I think having Wanda come by to tend to the garden is a lovely idea. Do you think she would do it? I feel hopeless with these flowers and she’s amazing.”

“Of course she would. I would come by more often, but my double duty is taking up more of my time than expected.”

“Oh, Thor. I don’t blame you for not having the time. I’m just happy there’s someone who can help. I love sitting out here in the mornings and enjoying the flowers. I can’t do that if they’re all dead,” Pepper said with a laugh. She was a great many things, but gardener was not one of them.

“Well, Wanda is the Goddess of Spring. She can definitely help. What I did today will take care of the flowers for a few days, so expect Wanda maybe tomorrow or the day after.”

“Perfect. Thank you!”

Thor smiled at the Queen of the Gods. “Always happy to help when I can.” He turned to leave and saw Y/n standing at the front entrance. “Ah, Y/n! Always lovely to see you. I’d love to stay and chat, but there’s an issue in Norway I must tend to. I think someone stole Mjolnir again.”

Y/n smiled. “Lovely to see you, as well, Thor. And no worries. We can catch up later.”

Thor took off in a flash of rainbow light. There was a mark on the street where the bridge had opened up to carry Thor off to Norway.

Y/n made her way through the gate and towards Pepper. “Hi, Pepper. How are you today?”

“Y/n! Always a pleasure. I’m good. My flowers were having a horrible time. I’ll admit I’m not the best gardener, so Thor was kind enough to give me some help.”

“He is wonderful for that. Occasionally I can get him to refresh some bouquets I’ve received if I really want them around longer. I’m hopeless at gardening myself,” Y/n said with a small chuckle.

Pepper saw the basket in Y/n’s hands. “I take it you’re looking for my husband?”

Y/n smiled sheepishly. “Is the basket too much?”

“Not at all. You know he loves gifts. Are you finally going to try and get your relationship with Bucky out in the open?”

“I want to marry him. It started off as just something physical, but it grew to something so much more so quickly. He makes me feel more loved than I ever thought I could be and I’m the Goddess of Love! He’s kind and smart and, when I’m in his arms, I know I’m home.”

Y/n had a dreamy look on her face. Pepper knew that anyone who put that look on Y/n’s face was the one for her. “Tony should be here for lunch in about an hour. You’re welcome to wait and we can start planning the wedding.”

“Pepper, Tony hasn’t said yes yet. Isn’t that jinxing it?”

Pepper waived her hand in dismissal. “Not at all. Between the two of us, we’ll get him to say yes. You deserve to be with the one you love. I know Tony likes to say marriage is about what you can get out of it, but we all know he’s a big softie as well. Besides, as the Goddess of Marriage, I have final say and he wouldn’t dare go against me. It’s all a formality with him.” The two headed into the house to get comfortable in the living room.

“If you’re sure.”

“Of course I am. Now, I’m thinking a summer wedding for you two. Maybe use jewel-toned colors?”

“I do love gemstones, especially the ones I find in Bucky’s mountain,” Y/n said thoughtfully.

Pepper smiled. “I figured. You always have loved shiny things.”

Y/n laughed. “Well, they are pretty.”

The two goddesses were so engrossed in their conversation, they didn’t hear Tony walking up to the house. He heard their talk about the wedding. I wonder if she’s going to come clean about her relationship. It's sad that they think they can trick me, but I do enjoy their games.

He waited a few moments and then opened the doors dramatically. “Hello, lovelies!”

Y/n and Pepper jumped from the unexpected appearance. “Tony, I thought you wouldn’t be here for another hour,” Pepper said, as she rose from her seat. “What brings you early?”

“Just wanted to see my wonderful wife. And I get the surprise of Y/n. What brings you here?”

Y/n jumped up and handed Tony the basket. “I wanted to bring this by and to talk to you about your proclamation.”

“Which proclamation is that?” Tony asked, trying to fluster Y/n.

“You declared that I have to get married.”

“Oh, right. We can’t have the Goddess of Love single any longer. Brock has declared his intentions towards you, you know.” Tony felt a little bad when he saw the panic on Y/n’s face, but knew it wouldn’t last for long. While he was amendable to hers and Bucky’s relationship, he wanted Bucky to start building things for the gods again. He missed using lightning bolts.

“I heard. And I think, he’s just not the right god for me.” Y/n squared her shoulders. Pepper moved to next to Tony.

“And who do you think is the right god?” Tony asked. “Who will be the most advantageous?”

“I think Bucky.” Y/n didn’t see the point of drawing things out. She was serious about Bucky and she knew if she beat around the bush, Tony would be harder to convince.

“He was cast out of Olympus. He’s a fallen god. Why would I welcome him back, let alone let him marry my daughter? Why not a god like Clint, Pietro, or Sam?”

“Because he can be useful to the gods. He is very smart and has created many items that the gods use, including the chains Loki uses to keep prisoners in check in Tartarus,” Y/n reasoned. “I’m sure he can even start creating your thunderbolts again. I know Thor has been lending you some of his power from his Norse side, but that can’t be very fulfilling. And as for the other three, I love them, but more as brothers. Clint loves to try and teach me archery, Pietro has too much energy, and Sam has his sun duties. And I want someone who builds things. I think his powers complement mine.”

“And what makes you think Bucky would be amendable to you volunteering him to work for the gods again?”

Pepper decided to step in. “I think maybe the three of us should visit Bucky and ask him. I’m sure this would make everything quicker.” She had a hunch that her husband knew of Y/n and Bucky’s relationship, but she was maybe 12% sure he knew. She didn’t want to risk their relationship for her hunch.

“Splendid. Let’s go right now.”

“Now?” Y/n panicked. She wasn’t sure if Bucky was ready to see Tony.

“Now.” Tony grabbed Pepper and Y/n’s hands and flashed them to Bucky’s home.

“Bucky?” Y/n called out. “Are you here?”

There was a moment of silence before Bucky popped his head from around a corner. “Um, hi,” he said hesitantly when he saw the trio standing there. Y/n and Pepper looked nervous. Tony had his usual cocky smirk on his face.

“Well, well, well, Hephaestus. You look a little nervous to see us.” Tony strode forward.

“What brings you here, Zeus?” Bucky kept his eyes on Tony, not wanting to give anything away.

“You seem a bit nervous.”

“Well, last time I saw you, you tried to ripped off my arm and threw me from Olympus. Can you blame me?”

Tony waived his hand in dismissal. “Ancient news. I got over you being involved in my mother’s death.”

“Yet, I still was cast out from Olympus.”

Y/n and Pepper watched the two men. Pepper rolled her eyes and decided to put an end to whatever game Tony decided to play.

“Tony, stop.” She looked to Bucky. “Hephaestus, we came here because Y/n has suggested you as a potential husband and Tony here wants to hash out a deal, if one can be made.”

“You can call me Bucky. And what sort of deal?”

Tony looked happy to make some demands. “I want you back to building for the gods, specifically my thunderbolts. You do this and I agree to the marriage.”

“That’s all you want?” Bucky was suspicious. Tony was rarely so generous.

“I need my thunderbolts. I’ve tried but can’t get mine to work like yours. I’ve been using some of Thor’s, but it’s not the same.”

Y/n moved forward. “And if he agrees, we can get married and Bucky is no longer banned from Olympus?” She wanted to be able to show him off on Olympus. While she enjoyed spending time with him in his workshop, she wanted to be able to have free reign to go wherever they wanted.

Tony looked over at Y/n. “Well, that is presumed when you get married.”

“Not necessarily,” Pepper chimed in. “You do like to make things more difficult sometimes.”

Bucky looked over at Y/n. “I’ll build things, but within reason. I’m not going to lose all my time to build. I do want to spend time with Y/n.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Fine. As long as I’m stocked with thunderbolts, I don’t care what your hours are.”

Bucky reached forward with his left hand. “Deal.”

Tony glanced at the metal appendage, gleaming in black and gold. He reached out with his own hand. “Deal. Bygones be bygones and all that. Once married, you’re no longer cast out of Olympus and our deal is in place.”

“Swear it on the Styx.” Bucky wanted to make sure Tony wasn’t going to go back on the deal.

“I swear this deal on the Styx. You and Y/n get married. You come back to Olympus.”

The two gods shook their hands and the deal was done. Y/n moved cautiously towards Bucky. She glanced at Tony, who had an amused look on his face.

“You two can stop pretending you’re not madly in love. Did you really think I didn’t know about you two?” Tony smirked.

Y/n looked shocked. “You knew!?”

“Of course.”

“Then why did you put us through all this?”

“Wanted Bucky to make me thunderbolts again. Figured I could get something out of this. And it was amusing to see the lengths you went to to hide everything.”

Bucky started laughing. He pulled Y/n close to him and hugged her tight. “Of course you knew.”

Pepper moved close to her husband. “You couldn’t let me in on your knowledge?”

Tony looked at Pepper. “Don’t act like you didn’t know either. I know you’ve been helping them.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Well, since everything is out in the open, I say we get out of here and let the newly engaged couple start planning their wedding.”

“Works for me. But, before we go, there is one thing I don’t know. What happened to Brock? He’s been missing for a few days and something tells me you all know something about it.”

Y/n and Bucky looked a little guilty. Y/n spoke up. “Well, when he declared his intentions, we wanted him out of the way so I could convince you to let me marry Bucky instead.”

“So, where is he?”

“Um, Tartarus? Loki is holding him.”

Tony looked thoughtful. “He can’t stay there, but I don’t really want him back. Think I’ll turn him mortal, teach him some humility. I’ll send a message to Loki to talk it out with him.”

Pepper just looked at him. “We’ll sort it out. Let’s go.”

After they left, Bucky and Y/n looked at each.

“I can’t believe we’re engaged!” Y/n exclaimed. She threw her arms around Bucky’s neck and held him close.

“I can’t believe Tony knew. Natasha, Goddess of Strategy, was helping us hide.”

“Well, he is the king of the gods. We probably should have known he’d know,” Y/n said with a shrug. “Either way, who cares? We’re engaged and you are welcome at Olympus. I can’t wait to walk around with you in the open.”

Bucky smiled down at Y/n. “Now we just need to plan our wedding.”

Y/n looked even more excited. “I have so many ideas. We’ll have to plan it quickly. I don’t want to wait.”

“Neither do I, Love. I’d be happy if we eloped.”

“Well, we can’t do that. I know there will be a lot of people who want to be there. Specifically our friends who helped us. It doesn’t have to be big. As much fun as a wedding is, I just want to be married to you.”

Bucky looked at her with wonder. “What did I do to deserve you?”

Y/n smiled up at him. “I think I’m the lucky one. So, now to plan our wedding.”

#BonkysHalfwayTo1k #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #Hephaestus!Bucky #aphrodite!reader #Bucky Barnes #Goddesses and their gods

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out-of-jams · 4 years

Text

Spirited Away || Final || pjm

↠ Spirited Away ↞ Part of my Ghibli Yandere Series!

You knew that you shouldn’t have gotten out of the car. Shouldn’t have followed your parents into the seemingly abandoned theme park. Shouldn’t have let them eat the food.

Because now they were being held hostage. And you were trapped. Stuck in a backwards resort for supernatural spirits, with no way out except to work to free both yourself and your parents. Until you met a mysterious Park Jimin.

Though there was something not quite right about him.

But he was your only hope of escape. You could trust him…right?

Warnings/Genre: Supernatural. Horror. Yandere!Jimin. Haku!Jimin. Spirited Away!au. Dark themes. Kidnapping. Obsessive behavior. Death of minor characters. Manipulation. Mature themes. Depiction of unhealthy relationships. Violence. Explicit language.

Word Count: 9.5k

Part 2 of 2.

A/N: Oof. This gets pretty dark towards the end. Lol so be warned. Also, this is kind of unedited. So I'll more than likely go through it and fix things tomorrow.

All of my works are purely fiction. Everything I write is my intellectual property and therefore belongs to me. ©out-of-jams. Do not copy or repost without permission.

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You hadn’t seen sunlight for what felt like days. Weeks. Months. But had in fact, only been about twenty-four hours. Well, if time passed normally in that place.

The bathhouse had been quiet as you snuck out. Not a soul in sight. So either they were unable to appear in the daylight, or they just chose not to. Whichever, you weren’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially not when you felt the warm breeze brush against your exposed skin. Which was a lot since you’d been given a uniform to wear in order to match with the rest of the bathhouse workers. You weren’t sure what to call it. A yukata?

Whatever it was, walking around without shoes took some getting used to.

As your foot hit the first wooden plank of the bridge crossing over from the bathhouse to the town, you let out a sigh. You’d attempted to stay awake all night, too afraid to fall asleep with the shadow lurking outside your window. But you’d been unsuccessful. Had drifted off to sleep sometime between the moon falling and the sun rising.

And had woken up to a neatly folded note lying next to you on your pillow.

Which had scared the absolute shit out of you. Because it’d been left without disturbing you. Without you even knowing that whoever left it had been there. And when you’d unfolded it with shaking fingers and read the perfectly curved script, you’d all-but bolted out of bed and hurriedly dressed.

Crossing the bridge, you couldn’t help but feel like you were being watched. Like eyes were on you even though there was no one else around. It raised goosebumps onto your flesh and made your legs move that much quicker. Once across the bridge, you couldn’t resist the urge to look back, check over your shoulder to make sure that no one was there.

The path to the bathhouse was empty.

“There you are.”

You whipped around, hair flying into your face and heart leaping into your throat.

Standing directly behind you was a familiar head of honey hued hair. Jimin greeted your startled wide eyes with a grin across his full lips. He was even more stunning to look at in the brightness of the sun. With white, white teeth and eyes turning a light shade of umber. A different pair of silver earrings swung from the lobes of his ears, looking just as delicate as their wearer.

His warm fingers moved to intertwine themselves with yours before you had a chance to respond.

“This way.” And then he was turning to continue down the path, tugging you behind him.

You cleared your throat as you padded along after him. “Are you sure that we’re allowed to do this?”

“As long as you’re with me, you’ll always be safe.” Jimin spared you a glance over his shoulder, but didn’t slow down his fast pace. And at seeing your cautioned look, he winked. “We don’t have much time, don't worry, we won’t get caught. I promise.”

There it was again. Those two words that graced the tip of his tongue in what was starting to be a pattern. And it was a little odd, jarring. To see him spring back into the excitable persona that he’d adopted before you’d met Namjoon so easily. Replacing the intimidating spell that he’d weaved last night in the elevator like it was nothing. Normal.

It made you do a double take at the pretty smile that flashed you a crooked front tooth. Perhaps he had some kind of split personality? Or maybe he was putting up a front? If that were true, however, then which Jimin was the real one?

The path he was taking you down was unfamiliar. Soft grass tickled the bottom of your bare feet as he cut through a garden. There seemed to be a lot of gardens in that place. And flowers with brightly colored petals covered the path, a stark contrast to the monsters that lay in wait just a few meters back. Past the tall hedges, hidden away where you couldn’t see.

“Right through here.” Jimin pulled you close to his side and you followed the finger he pointed into the distance. Between a bending archway made out of one of the hedges. But he didn’t stop, just continued to urge you along until you stood atop a hill overlooking a field.

It stretched on for what seemingly looked like miles. But the thistles of grass weren’t what caught your attention. But the three long, red roofed barns that stood just below the hill. Rows of wheat and slowly sprouting vegetables spread out as far as the eye could see.

With a sharp intake of breath, you came to stand next to Jimin.

“My parents are there?”

He turned those brown eyes on you with a soft smile and a gentle squeeze of your hand. “Yes.”

You hesitated. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.” Jimin tugged you along, feet digging into the grass as he led you down the hill. “But you must never come here without me, understand? It’s too dangerous.”

You gave him your affirmation. Because you didn’t plan on being there very long anyway. Just enough to get your parents and break the hell out.

There were no doors leading inside of the barn, just a wide opened archway that you walked through. And got immediately assaulted by the foul stench of manure and dirt. Such a thick cloud of it that you had to throw an arm across your nose to stifle a cough. Though the smell had nothing on the sight.

Packed wall-to-wall past metal bars were pigs. Dozens of them. Some asleep and others wandering around aimlessly. They weren’t loud, but the occasional grunt of one of the animals spurred the rest into responding like some kind of chaotic harmony.

As the dirt stuck to the bottom of your feet, you couldn’t help but stray closer to the bars with eyes wide. “Which ones are they?”

You tried. You really did. To pick out which pair of pigs were your parents. But it was difficult when they all looked the exact same. And maybe if you were paying attention to your surroundings, had more awareness of the things around you, well. Then perhaps you would have caught the fleeting expression that flickered across Jimin’s face.

“You mean you can’t tell?”

Looking over your shoulder, you bit your lip. He was slowly walking along the opposite side as you with his ring covered fingertips lightly grazing across the rusted metal. Jimin wasn’t looking at you. Too busy eyeing the oblivious pigs as he passed them by. There was something about his tone that threw you off. A lilt to the edge of his gentle voice that made you wonder which side of him you were talking to.

“I..,” You hesitated on responding. Sent another glance at the animals a few feet away, voice quiet. “Should I be able to?”

Jimin paused in his steps and looked you over, hand coming to rest on the rail. Tilted his head. “They don’t remember that they’re human. So it’s your job to figure out which ones they are.”

He turned away to look down at a pair of pigs sniffing at his hand. “If you want to get out of here, that is.”

Eyeing the dozens upon dozens of mindless animals, you swallowed. You’d find you parents. You had to.

A pig grunted. And the rest of them followed.

The breeze was cool against the skin of your cheeks. And the ground was soft beneath your body as you sat, gaze pointed up at the clear blue sky. Jimin’s body heat was warm next to you, eyes closed but still wide awake. He hadn’t wanted to take you back to the bathhouse just yet. Instead, he’d brought you back to the garden that sat atop the hill.

And you were grateful for the few moments of peace.

Even though the man at your side felt...off...sometimes, he’d been nothing but helpful and you were grateful for all of his help. He hadn’t hurt you, unlike the others that inhabited the bathhouse. And you trusted him not to. Maybe you shouldn’t have, since you really didn’t know him, but if he wanted to harm you he would have done so already. Wouldn’t have taken you to see your parents. Wouldn’t have offered to help you escape.

Which brought on the problem of being able to. What if you grabbed the wrong pair of pigs on accident, only to escape that place to find out that they were just that--pigs? What would you do then? Maybe getting out of there wouldn’t be as easy as you’d once thought. Hoped.

The realization hit you hard.

“--ng so hard?”

You blinked. Snapped out of your thoughts and back to reality. Turned to send a questioning look to the man beside you. “What?”

Jimin smiled in amusement, eyes crinkling into little half-moons. His hair was less honey colored in the sun and more of a bright blond with the way it caught the light. A giggle escaped him. One that sounded so innocent and melodic that it pulled a smile from you in return. “I said, what’s got you thinking so hard?”

Pausing, you broke eye contact to follow a puffy white cloud as it drifted lazily overhead. “Just wondering if I’ll ever be able to get my parents out of here.”

While your voice was soft in the breeze, you knew that Jimin heard you. Because he leaned closer to you and palmed your cheek to turn your face to look at him. His warm umber eyes locked with yours, pulled you in and refused to let go. Thumb drew circles against your skin and his breath fanned across your face when he spoke. “You’ll find them, Sen.”

Your eyebrows scrunched in as a wave of confusion washed over you. Sen. He’d called you Sen. But your name wasn’t Sen. Right? It was...something else. Right? The answer sat at the back of your throat somewhere that you couldn’t quite reach. And your mouth parted as you struggled to find it. You almost had it, it was right there at the tip of your tongue. “I--”

And you would have got it if Jimin’s nose brushing against your own hadn’t distracted you.

His hand slid from your cheek to entwine his fingers through your hair. Was so close that his scent washed over you like a wall, bringing with it something familiar. Like the ocean. Waves hitting the shore. Salt in the air.

“Jimin.” You’d meant for it to come out as a question, but it sounded more breathy than anything. Got swept up with the wind.

He hummed in the back of his throat. It was a low sound, deep, as he leaned in closer. As you felt his breath fan across your slightly parted lips. You weren’t sure if he was about to kiss you or not. But you weren’t able to find out. Not when a shrill shriek reverberated through the air like some sort of high pitched alarm.

Jimin pulled back slightly at the interruption. Just enough to clench his jaw in annoyance, eyes flashing.

“What the hell was that?” Your voice came out a lot more winded than you’d intended.

The shriek echoed again except more drawn out that time. Which had Jimin’s head craning to stare towards the path that led to the bathhouse. “I gotta go.”

“Go?” You were confused. And a little overwhelmed if you were being honest. Still dazed from how close he’d come to kissing you.

He must have known it too, from the smirk he sent your way. Though his eyes still crinkled in the corners. “Come on, I’ll walk you back.”

The path leading back towards the bridge seemed shorter than it had been earlier. Jimin walked you all the way back to where the red painted wood first started and came to a stop. He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to your forehead that had your eyes widening in shock. “Try to stay out of trouble.”

You leaned back to stare up into his face. “I will.”

“Good.” The answer seemed to satisfy him as he shot you a wide grin. Gently ran his knuckles down the side of your face before turning to walk back the way you’d came. You didn’t watch him for long, just enough to see his back disappear behind the garden gate.

And as you began your treck back across the bridge you felt it again. Like eyes were on you even though no one was there. You tried to resist looking back, you really did. But the chills that ran down your spine had you throwing a cautious glance over your shoulder. Though what you saw wasn’t some hideous creature chasing after you.

“Oh.” You whispered.

In the sky right above where the garden hid away from prying eyes was a dragon. Glittering black and white scales stood out amongst the light blue backdrop as it spread its wings wide. Twisted through the air like it was partaking in some kind of beautifully choreographed dance. You shouldn’t have been surprised, but you were anyway. Because you were pretty sure that the man you’d just been talking to morphed into a mythical creature.

“So that’s what he is, huh?” Your unanswered question followed you all the way back into the bathhouse.

And the eyes on your back failed to remove themselves.

Four.

Four times you laid eyes on that shadow creature. The one that you’d caught lurking outside of your window last night. If you were being completely honest, you weren’t really sure why you hadn’t told Jimin about it the moment you saw him on the bridge that morning. He had told you to come to him if anything tried to go after you. Then again, that was the thing. Whatever the hell that thing was hadn’t tried anything, just observed you like some kind of zoo animal.

Perhaps it was just curious? Had never seen a human before? You weren’t sure, though you weren’t about to actively go out of your way to find out.

Which led to the second time you came across it.

“I said to fuck off.” The disgruntled bark of the horrific creature manning the task desk in the middle of the worker lobby ran through your ears for the millionth time.

You weren’t sure what, exactly, it was.

The thing had two sets of eyes, each with a different color iris. But none of them were turned in your direction as it flung red painted wooden chips into the awaiting hands of every worker that approached it’s desk. You were pretty sure that it was male since it had a deep voice with a vocal fry that turned all of it’s syllables into half-hearted growls. That, paired with four arms that ended in sharply pointed claws gave it a frightening appearance.

“Look, just give me a bath token and I’ll be out of your hair.” You begged yet again.

You’d been standing there for a ridiculously long period of time trying to get that thing to give you a token so you could finish your job. It was necessary in order to be able to scrub one of the blood encrusted, enormous tubs clean. You’d tried to clean it on your own after being forced down into it by Jin, who’d been assigned to show you the job you’d be assigned. But you were unable to scrape off the stains.

Though ‘show’ was putting it lightly. He’d more or less just shoved you into the messiest, most difficult bath to clean and told you to figure it the hell out. So you’d had to resort to stopping one of the more harmless looking creatures to help you out. Which led you to where you were now, trying to haggle a stupid token from the asshole manning the desk.

“No.” He didn’t even look at you as he dropped another token carelessly into the hands of a half-visible shadow creature.

“But I need one. Come on.” You grabbed onto the side of the desk with both hands. It was tall, so high up that you had to stand on the tips of your toes in order to see over the damned thing.

“Go tell someone who cares.” He rummaged around in the deep bowl set in front of him to pluck out something for another worker. They were all painted red, but each had a different design on them. What that was supposed to mean you hadn’t a clue.

You just needed one.

“But I--”

“Maybe you didn’t hear me with your puny little human ears.” He leaned down until his four eyes were level with your two. They were deep set into his grey skinned face above high cheekbones and heart shaped lips. The sneer on his face brought out a pair of tiny dimples that looked out of place with the rest of him. “Fuck off. Before I make you.”

Spit splattered across your face and you grimaced in disgust before wiping it away with your sleeve. He leaned back to turn his attention to the reptilian-like monster limping up to his podium. You opened your mouth to ask, yet again, for him to just hand over what you needed so you could get out of there.

But the materialization of a shadow behind his shoulder had your jaw clamping closed in surprise. Because there it was again. The same faceless being that you’d seen last night hovering over the thing obliviously handing out tokens. A white mask with holes in it for a pair of eyes and an opened mouth, though all you could see when you looked was darkness. And it was see through, not like the shadow creatures from town, but more like a jellyfish.

At first you just stared at it with wide eyes because you weren’t sure what to do. Weren’t sure what it would do. And no one else seemed to notice it there. Only you. What did it want?

You didn’t have time to ponder the answer to that question because it moved. Subtly, slowly. Outstretched what appeared to be an arm, but lacked a hand. And you watched as something pulled back it’s--skin?--and out emerged a red painted token.

What?

It bounced the token once, twice, three times before tossing it to you. You scrambled to catch it and not let it hit the ground and alert the monster manning the desk. Just as your fingers closed around it and you looked back up to send a questioning look at the faceless mask, you couldn’t.

Because it was gone.

The third time you ran into it was only a few hours later that night.

You were lost. Stuck wandering around in an endless loop in search of a way out. The bathhouse wasn’t easy to navigate, with similar looking halls and dead ends. How anyone was supposed to be able to find their way around it was a mystery.

You’d been assigned to clean yet another stupid bath and now you were attempting to put away the supplies. Because it was getting late into the morning and you didn’t have any other jobs to do. Namjoon hadn’t been lying when he’d told you that the work was rigorous, seemingly never ending. Though you had half a mind to believe that he was the one solely responsible for all of the shit you’d had to do and the monsters you’d had to deal with.

So there you were, mindlessly attempting to find your way out of the abandoned part of the bathhouse you were in when you rounded another corner. And stopped dead in your tracks, the bucked dangling from your fingertips swinging from the momentum.

There it was. Hovering in the middle of the wideset hall like a ghost. White painted mask soundless as it watched you. At least, you thought it was. Since its presence washed over you like a bad omen.

“What do you want?” You held your ground, but prepared yourself to run at any moment. Just because it’d done you a favor earlier didn’t mean that it was harmless. You were in a literal hell of soulless beings, afterall.

It didn’t answer. Didn’t make a sound. And you weren’t all that surprise.

You did, however, feel your muscles tense as it floated closer with its legless body. Hunched over as it towered over you. Adrenaline pumped through your veins and it took all you had to repress the shudder that threatened to overtake your body.

Slowly, slowly, it reached out with a handless arm. Stretched between the small amount of space between you like an offer. Your fingers clenched around the metal bucket in your grasp.

“I don’t understand.” You murmured, eyes trained on the darkness behind the mask's eye holes.

It moved again. Shook it’s appendage in front of your face and caused you to take a step back. Did it...did it want you to touch it? Yeah, no. You’d have to pass on that one. You didn’t want to accidentally offend it and turn it aggressive, but you weren’t about to willingly do whatever it wanted either.

You shook your head. “No thanks.”

It must not have liked that answer because it floated closer, extended it’s shadow arm closer to your face. Like it was going to grab you or touch you. You didn’t know. But you didn’t want to stick around and find out either. Not with the threatening aura that flooded through the air so thick that it made it difficult to breath. To think straight. To step away.

The sound of a door slamming shut somewhere behind you allowed you to snap out of whatever spell that creature had cast on you. And as you came to and saw your hand reaching out of its own volition, you scrambled backwards. Put distance between you and that thing before it could make you do something you didn’t want to do.

And it seemed angry. The air around it crackled with invisible heat. Enough to send you running off in the opposite direction. Down the twisting halls and past barely lit rooms. All while looking over your shoulder every ten seconds in fear of it being right behind you.

The fourth time and final time came when you weren’t prepared for it.

You were beginning to look forward to the daytime. When it was peaceful and all of the inhabitants of the bathhouse were asleep. To the point where you’d force yourself to stay up in order to watch the sunrise above the vast ocean that spread out beyond the building you were trapped in.

Eyes closed against the morning breeze, you let your legs dangle between the wooden bars of the balcony and over the edge of the bathhouse. The sun was almost up, sky in that sweet spot between the moon setting and daybreak. It gave you time to think, to plot a plan to escape from that place. Because you weren’t safe. Would never be safe, despite what Jimin liked to promise you.

Your constant run-ins with the faceless being was proof of that.

Which made you wonder what exactly it was that Jimin did there. Was he just another pawn to Namjoon? Had he also unwillingly gotten himself caught up in the crossfire of servitude? You weren’t sure. He seemed good, unlike some of the truly hideous spirits that you met. Even despite the oddness that surrounded him like a cloud.

Perhaps he was similar to you. Had been trapped there too. The possibility made you--

Your head snapped to the side just in time to see a flash of black and white. To let out a gasp before the giant mouth coming right for you swallowed you whole. And everything went dark.

The scent of freshly mowed grass invaded your senses. Filled your nose as you slowly regained consciousness.

You weren’t sure where you were or if your eyes were even opened. Because everywhere you looked was nothing but black. And you couldn’t breath, couldn’t suck down a breath without liquid filling your lungs. It didn’t hurt, but it did cause panic to well up.

You thrashed, shot your arms through what felt like water but was too thick. Slowed down your movements and halted momentum. Your mouth opened in a silent scream. There was no one around to hear you, to heed your call.

Maybe you were dead.

Finally freed from the place that held you captive.

But you couldn’t be.

Right?

No, you couldn’t be because you still needed to save your parents. To get them out before a fate worse than death befell them. So you tried harder, thrashed harder. Chose one direction and pushed towards it. Kept going until you felt your hand break through.

The warm outside air hit your skin and you kept going. Until your arm was freed, and then your other one, and then your head pushed through.

You didn’t know where you were, could barely see past the sun beaming straight into your eyes. But as you dangled there limply, wherever there was, all you could see was water. Blue, blue water as you passed over it. Moving slowly, yet quickly at the same time.

Where the hell were you?

Whatever energy you’d managed to summon up in your long winded escape left your body. Forced you to hang there dazed. Barely conscious.

Were you just hearing things, or was that the sound of your name being carried over the wind. And was it just you, or did you start to move faster. The ocean below flying past.

And--

There it was again.

Your name. Or at least, what you thought was your name.

You didn’t get the chance to ponder over it. Not before something hit whatever was carrying you and sent the ocean below hurtling straight towards you.

Water washed over you so cold that it sent a shock through your system, brought you closer to alertness. But you still couldn’t move, bogged down by whatever it was that held you within its grasp as you were sent drifting down to the bottom.

Until you weren’t.

You weren’t sure when it’d happened, but your limbs were free. Floating around you. And you opened your eyes in an attempt to figure out what the hell was going on. Your thoughts were murky, brain struggling to focus on what was playing out in front of you. You weren’t sure what to make of the bright flash of blue lighting up the darkness underwater.

Nor the high-pitched screams that hit your ears at such a frequency that you were worried you’d go deaf. When another bright, eye-searing light flare hit your eyes, you slammed them shut. Couldn’t bear to look directly at it.

And you weren’t sure how long you floated there, lungs screaming for air and consciousness wavering in-and-out.

One moment you were submerged, unable to breathe. And the next you were laid out on your side and coughing up water.

“There you go.”

You didn’t have time to process where that voice was coming from before another wave of coughing forced the water from your lungs. Had you bent over the arm hoisting you up as you threw it up. Had a hard time differentiating between where you were and what was going on. You could feel water covering the lower half of your body. It wasn’t deep now, however. Just shallow, but still enough to leave you wet.

“Get it all out.” A hand hit against the spot between your shoulder blades and forced out another round of throwing up. You felt like you were drowning all over again, unable to take a breath as liquid coated the back of your tongue.

You whimpered.

“I got you.” The words were murmured into the shell of your ear reassuringly. And it took an embarrassingly long amount of time for you to connect the dots of who it was.

“Jimin?” Your voice was raspy. Barely there. And scratched your throat raw.

“I’m here.” His hand rubbed at your back.

You had to pause before answering in order to fill your lungs with air.

“What’s going on?” The world blurred around you as Jimin slowly moved to flip you onto your back. You stared up at him, traced a droplet of water as it fell from his soaked hair and down his cheek.

His jaw clenched and brown eyes flashed in anger at your question. Jimin nodded his head towards something in the distance that had you craning your neck to try and see. “It ate you.”

One of his hands had come up to support your neck when you finally saw it. There in the distance. Floating on top of the water.

A white mask.

And a mass of sludge so dark that it coated the water in a layer of blackness spread out beneath it.

You looked down, took in the platform you were spread out on. Train tracks. If you squinted you’d just be able to make out the bathhouse in the distance.

Where the hell were you?

Where had that thing been taking you?

You swallowed hard, voice shaky. “Ate me?”

Jimin turned his gaze back to you and softened his hardened expression at the terror that shone in your eyes. Leaned down to press his forehead to yours. “It’s gone now. No need to be frightened.”

“Did you--” You spared a quick glance back over at the lifeless mask. “Kill it?”

He nodded slowly, breath fanning across your chilled skin.

“Why?”

Jimin pulled back just enough to stare at you in bewilderment. “I told you that I’d protect you, didn’t I?”

When your lips parted in surprise at his words, he smiled. A warm one. One that had you acting before you could fully think it through. Slamming your mouth against his. Maybe it was the adrenaline that was lingering in your system, or perhaps it was something else. You weren’t sure.

What you did know, however, was that Jimin’s lips were soft. Just as much as they looked to be. And you weren’t sure what to do because you’d never kissed anyone before. Had no idea how he’d respond until his other hand came up to caress your cheek. Kissed you back. You weren’t sure if you were doing it correctly, since you had no experience.

And never would you have thought your first kiss would be from an almost-stranger. But he’d just saved your life. And he was beautiful to look at. You’d be lying if you said that you weren’t attracted to him. Hadn’t been overwhelmed by his appearance since you’d first laid eyes on him. Especially not when you felt the tip of his tongue swipe across your bottom lip questioningly. Nor when you parted your mouth slightly and let out a gasp when his tongue met yours.

The sound you made must have ignited something within him, because Jimin’s kiss turned eager, needy almost. He tasted sweet as he snagged your bottom lip between his teeth. Licked the slight sting away as your fingers tangled themselves into the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Kissed him back just as desperately.

Jimin’s mouth caught yours in one last searing kiss before he pulled away. “Let’s get you home, hm?”

“Okay.” You mumbled. Your limbs felt like jelly as he helped you to sit up and you watched as he stood up. Walked a few paces away. “Where are you going?”

Jimin just threw a wink over his shoulder, eyes shining with happiness. “Get on.”

“Get on..?”

Your question went unanswered. Not because he didn’t want to give you a response, but because he changed. Morphed into a dragon right before your very eyes. Maybe if you were more awake you would have been able to take in the finer details. Like how the air around him seemed to simmer with heat. Or how the water beneath him shifted until it was drawing itself towards him. How the droplets of liquid surrounded him like glitter in the rising sun.

A gasp escaped your lips when he turned, now on four legs instead of two. And you met his umber eyes. He wasn’t human anymore, not that he really had been in the first place, but a dragon now. Beautiful. Magical.

You scrambled to your feet, water sloshing beneath you, and made you way over to him. Let your hand run over the black and white scales that felt smooth to the touch. You’d seen him from far away in that form, but not this close up. To the point where you could smell the scent that floated off him in waves.

Jimin exhaled and jerked his head in a silent gesture to get on. You didn’t hesitate to throw your leg over his slim back. Even though he was a dragon, he still held the same slim frame as his human form. And you’d barely adjusted to sitting atop him when he moved. Claws scraping across the train tracks until he’d gained enough momentum for his wings to carry the two of you through the air.

A shriek of excitement tore from your throat as vertigo hit you full force. Without anything to hold onto, you reached up to grab onto the two horns that protruded from his head before you could fall. In order to feel more at ease with flying through the air at such a speed without restraint.

Though you hadn’t been prepared for what would happen when you did. Because the moment your hands wrapped around his horns, you no longer saw the water stretching out before you. You were transported to a scene that was familiar. That resurfaced somewhere deep within your memories.

The beach. No. Not the beach.

The ocean.

Wide and vast, its waves kissed the shore. Enticed your five-year-old self to step closer. To drip your feet into its cold water. To be swept up by a wave taller than you stood. Dragged along, kicking and screaming beneath the surface, until you were so far from the shore that you didn’t know how to get back.

But you weren’t afraid. Not when the water tickled the sides of your cheek or kept you afloat.

Not even when your parent’s panicked voices echoed across the large expanse. Or when they’d swam out to drag you back ashore. Hugged you close and buckled you into the back of the car with promises to never come back.

You weren’t afraid.

So you’d returned. Again and again. Waded through the water like you belonged there. And it’d greeted you each time you came back. Brushed against your skin like it’d missed you.

You were thrown back into the present time so suddenly that you gasped. Squeezed your hands tighter around the ringed horns beneath your palms. The feeling that overcame you was familiar. Intermingled with the scent of the being beneath you. Was that..? Why did you…?

“Jimin.” You breathed, leaning forward to speak into his ear in fear of your voice being lost. “Are you...a spirit of the ocean? Is that what you are?”

You paused and took a deep breath. Met one of his eyes with both of yours. God, you really hoped you didn’t sound as stupid as you thought. “From when I was little?”

He didn’t respond verbally. Not that you thought he could have. Just grumbled deep in his throat in a way that sounded a lot like confirmation. And then he ripped his attention from you to focus on the bathhouse that appeared out of the distance.

You’d be lying if you said that you weren’t still afraid. Weren’t on edge about the fact that you weren’t safe in that bathhouse. Even though Jimin had saved you, that didn’t mean that he’d be around the next time that something went wrong. That you were thrown into danger and your life was at stake.

Even as you lay there in your room, wrapped up in his arms. He’d insisted on following you back and staying with you to keep you safe. And you hadn’t had the will to deny him. Not after what had happened less than an hour ago.

However, ever since you’d kissed him, Jimin started acting differently. More clingy. Like he was afraid that if he let you out of his sight, you’d disappear. So you’d let him accompany you back to your room. And when he insisted on staying, well, you didn’t say no. Had let him tuck your weary body into bed and slide in next to you.

But you couldn’t sleep. Not with the thoughts that whizzed through your head. Because you weren’t safe. And you couldn’t get too comfortable there. Couldn’t leave your parents to suffer through the rest of their days as pigs.

Your fingers dug into Jimin’s back.

“I need to get out of here, Jimin.” You whispered shakily against the warmth of his chest. “You have to get me out of here. Before I die here.”

“You’re safe.” Jimin mumbled sleepily into the top of your head, lips pressed against your forehead. His slender fingers ran through your hair and massaged gently at your scalp. “I won’t let anything take you from me. I promise.”

You stiffened the moment that his words hit the shell of your ear. Tried to hide the expression that flitted across your face from where you pressed into the crevice of his neck. What he said didn’t sit well with you, weighed down your stomach with slowly dawning dread. “What do you mean, you won’t let anything take me from you?”

Jimin hummed and pulled you closer, rested his chin atop your head. “That spirit was trying to take you away from here. Away from me.”

Your heartbeat thudded in your ears. “Take me where, Jimin?”

He must have mistaken the shake in your voice for fear at being kidnapped again because he softened his voice. “Those train tracks? That spirit was taking you to the train. Was trying to take you away from the bathhouse, somewhere beyond my reach. But it’s okay, baby. You don’t need to be afraid, not when you have me.”

Your nails dug deeper into his skin but he didn’t seem to notice. If he was saying what you thought he was saying...then that meant…

“Nothing will take you from me.” Jimin’s statement was punctuated by the soft kiss he placed upon your cheek.

...that the no-face spirit had been trying to help you escape. To get you out of there.

And Jimin killed it.

Suddenly, the protective arms he had around you felt like a vice. Keeping you there. You weren’t safe. Not in that bathhouse. Not with those monsters. Not with Jimin.

How had you been so utterly stupid? To think that you could have trusted him? Had he even wanted to help you escape at all, or had it all been some kind of front, a lie? You didn’t know. But you sure as hell weren’t going to stick around to find out.

So you waited until he fell asleep. Until his breath evened out and his arms around you became slack. You were careful as you slipped away from his warmth and out of bed, bare feet hitting the cold floor silently. The sunlight peeking in through your window was reassuring, helped to settle your nerves just a little at the knowledge that all of the bathhouse inhabitants would be asleep.

You cracked open the door silently and threw a quick glance over your shoulder to make sure that Jimin was still asleep. And then you slipped out into the hall and closed the door behind you.

The lights were off as you crept down the hall, but thankfully the light streaming in through the windows placed periodically throughout the place was enough to see by. Your heart hammered in your chest in fear of being caught. In fear of what would happen if you were.

You maneuvered your way out of the main door and across the bridge without running into a single soul. The second that your bare feet dug into the dirt on the opposite side of the bridge, you too off in a sprint. Through the gated garden and past the hedges that towered over you mockingly.

Luckily, the path was easy to navigate even without your prior knowledge of where you were going. And you took a moment to silently thank Jimin for showing you the way as you hit the top of the hill. Slipped on your way down the steep slope and catapulted your way towards the red roofed barns. You entered the first one you came across, figuring that you’d work your way through that one and then the other two if it proved frivolous.

Only to stop dead in your tracks, feet kicking up dirt as you came to an immediate halt.

It was empty.

The pigs that used to reside behind the rusted, metal enclosed bars were gone. Though the smell of them still lingered in the air. Assaulted your nose and had you throwing a hand over your mouth. Where the hell had they gone?

You turned on your heel, rushing back out of the barn and through the opened doorway of the second one.

Empty.

Without stopping to let the information settle, you whirled around. Ran to the last barn sitting right on the edge. Didn’t stop until you were standing in the middle of it with dirt sticking to your feet and stomach dropping to the floor. Stumbled over to grip onto one of the metal bars in order to hold yourself up.

Because that one was empty too.

All of the pigs were gone. Gonegonegone.

“You’re a little late.”

A scream tore from your throat and you spun around so fast that the world blurred for a moment. Held a hand to your chest in an attempt to slow your rapid heartbeat. It wasn’t Jimin like you’d thought it was. Though you weren’t sure if what stood in front of you was any better. Safer. Less dangerous.

“Dontcha think?” The man--beast--tilted his head to the side, blond hair falling into his dark hooded eyes. He would have been handsome, what with his cupid-bow shaped lips and perfectly symmetrical face. Maybe could have even been a model back in your world. If it weren’t for the fact that he had goat legs instead of regular ones.

Hooves in place of feet.

“Who the hell are you? Do you work here?” You backed up against the metal bars behind you, gripped them until your knuckles turned white.

He simply stared at you. Almost in curiosity, but not quite. “So you’re her, huh?”

You ignored his question just like he ignored yours. “Where are all of the pigs? Who are you?”

A sound left his lips. Deep and dragging. And it took you a moment to realize that he was laughing. “Gone.”

You inhaled shakily. “Gone where?”

He stopped laughing, but still grinned over at you with a box shaped smile. “Didn’t you realize, human?”

“Realize what?” Jaw clenched, you struggled to breathe around the fear that spiked in your throat.

He tilted his head yet again and regarded you with those dark eyes of his. Sparking with something as he took his time answering you. Drew out the dread pooling in your stomach.

“What was served for dinner last night.”

The breath in your lungs froze. Tears sprang to your eyes. Alarm flooded through your veins like white hot wildefire, engulfing everything in its way. He couldn’t...he couldn’t mean.., “No.”

He turned away from you then, broke eye contact to sift through some of the farming tools hanging from the wall behind him. Spoke the words that crushed your world so nonchalantly. “Everyone loves a nice, juicy pig. So delicious.”

No. They...

They couldn’t have...right?

The world stopped. Came crashing to a halt as it dawned on you.

They ate...they ate your parents?

You didn’t even notice the tears falling from your face, nor the sob that tore from your throat. You had to get out of there. You had to get out.

The inside of the barn passed by in a blurred haze and your feet carried you back up the hill without you registering it. You didn’t have time to waste, to stop and grieve. Because you didn’t know how much time you had left before you joined them. Became a feast to the monsters that resided beyond the bridge.

You struggled to breath as you ran, sprinted through the winding town and past the empty shops. The sun beating upon your back spurred you on as you tore through the streets. Kicked up dust behind you. Made it past the food stand where you’d last seen your parents alive and human. Beyond the corner of the last bend in the road.

Ran face first into something so hard that it sent you careening backwards, hitting the dirt so roughly that it swept the air from your lungs. You could do nothing but lay there with your face tilted to the sky and coughs wrenching from your chest, dazed. Attempting to blink the stars out of your vision.

“There you are.”

You squinted as a shadow fell across your face. Stared up at the sweet smile stretched across Jimin’s pink lips. He leaned over you, delicate earrings dangling from his ears and arms folded behind his back. Like he hadn’t just knocked you down into the dirt like you were a bug beneath his feet.

“I was wondering where you’d gone off to.” Umber eyes crinkled in the corners. But he didn’t move to help you up, just watched as you struggled to get to your feet, hands scraping the ground for purchase. “Where were you going?”

“I--” You stammered, heart caught in your throat. You didn’t know how much you could trust him. Didn’t know if he was out to get you too. “I was just…”

Jimin tilted his head to the side in curiosity at your answer. He waited for you to continue with the sentence that struggled to form on your tongue. “You were just…?”

He wasn’t going to let you go without an explanation. You could see it in the way he stood in the middle of the street like a gatekeeper. Could see it in the way that emotion flickered behind his eyes too quickly for you to make out. Could tell from the calm way he didn’t move an inch.

“Jimin.” You could hear the pleading edge to your tone and you swallowed. He’d said he wanted to keep you safe...right? Maybe he’d let you go when he found out what happened. “I have to get out of here. They killed my parents and I’m probably next. I need to leave.”

“Dove.” Jimin cleared the space between you, reached out to palm the sides of your face. Scrunched his brow concern. “I promised that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

As your eyes met his, you felt hope well within your chest. Even as you pushed it down, forced the desperate expression from your face. “So you’ll help me get out of here?”

He smiled softly and swiped a thumb across your quivering bottom lip. “You can’t leave. Because then I wouldn’t be able to protect you.”

Any hope you may have had left you at his words. “What? Jimin, they’re going to kill me!”

“Sen, n--”

“That’s not my name.” You knew it wasn’t. Could feel it with every essence of your being. Because that wasn’t your name. It wasn’t. And you didn’t know why he kept calling you that.

With a click of his tongue, Jimin smoothed a finger over the crease between your eyebrows. “No? Then what is it then, hm?”

You blinked. Parted your lips as you attempted to think back. To remember what it was that you’d been called before you entered that place. And where it’d once been so easily accessible, sat just on the tip of your tongue, now hid somewhere that you couldn’t find. Why couldn’t you remember?

“I--It’s.” Your chest was heaving now as panic overrode your senses. Wide eyes met his amused gaze. “Why can’t I…”

Jimin smiled, tutted at you like you were a child. “Remember? Because your name belongs to me.”

What?

“No.” Shaking your head, you reached up in an attempt to pull his hands from your face. But he didn’t budge, just watched on in growing mirth as if you were a particularly entertaining toy. You knew his words weren’t true. They couldn’t be. Because you remembered that part at least. “Namjoon took it. When I signed the contract. Not you.”

Jimin slid one of his hands down to caress the side of your neck despite the half-moons you were digging into his skin with your nails. “And who do you think is in charge of Namjoon, dove?”

No. No. No. He had to be lying. He had to.

He raised his eyebrows. Tilted his head to the side with that eye-crinkling smile. “I can see that you’re starting to understand.”

“I don’t.” You grunted, digging your nails deeper into the flesh at his wrists. But he didn’t even flinch.

“Then let me spell it out for you. You always have been a little slow on the uptake. But that’s okay.” Jimin twirled a loose strand of your hair around his index finger. “I’m in charge of this place. Therefore, when you signed that contract, you didn’t gift your name to Namjoon. You gave it to me. It’s mine, and so are you.”

You clenched your jaw at his words, glared at the hand that brushed the side of your cheek like you were some kind of long lost lover. “Fine then. Keep my name, I don’t need it.”

Jimin sighed, shook his head like he was exasperated with you.

“Do you know why names are so important, Sen?” He didn’t wait for you to answer before he continued. “Because they’re tied with our identities. Without them, you’ll forget who you are, be trapped here. And you already have, haven’t you? Forgotten.”

Alarm overtook you, flooded through you. Weighed down your breath with fear. As you tried to remember who you’d been before you’d entered that place. All you knew was that you’d had to save your parents. To get both them and yourself out of there. But when you thought back, really tried, you couldn’t recollect anything past your first day there.

Where had you come from?

Why were you there in the first place?

You looked up at the man who stole your identity, your memories. Everything. With quivering lips and tear filled eyes. “Why would you do this?”

“Dove.” His thumbs caught the tears that spilled onto your cheeks, sadness morphing his expression. “Because I love you. And I want to be with you forever. That’s why I brought you here.”

Jimin pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek, warm breath fanning across your skin. “And now we can be together forever, just like we’re meant to be.”

He pulled back to smile down at you. So softly that you almost believed the words that came from his mouth. Weaved their way inside your mind like a worm. And it was in that moment that you began to understand Jimin. With his honey hued hair and umber eyes. Brightly colored. Flashy. Much like a poisonous snake before it struck.

“Aren’t you happy, dove?” He rested his forehead against yours and nudged his nose against your own. “I promised I’d keep you safe and I will.”

Your eyes slammed shut. Tears leaked from your water-logged lashes. Because you were stuck. Trapped. With a monster who stole your identity.

How were you supposed to escape when you didn’t even know why you were there in the first place?

“I love you.” He murmured across your lips.

But.

Who were you?

Tagged: @laishaavxo @poohsaidhi @mykingdomismyheaven @yoongs-jeontae @creepysweet @futuristicpinklemur @hopekookiesandwich @pjmlylyn @parkchimchimmie @xxkitsurikaxx @siphite @knjkitten @mochi-rose @ohmygirlloona @mochimochipie @btsarmysvtcarat @martinandmartin @bitchynightmarepost @haruyai @jupiterspoems @mxrvellouspidey @creepysweet

#bts #bts fic #yandere bts #bangtanarmynet #jimin #jimin fic #yandere jimin #jimin smut #namjoon #seokjin #yoongi #taehyung #jungkook #hoseok

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2manyfandoms2count · 3 years

Text

You can count on me (I will be there for you)

Penultimate chapter, here we go! Discoveries are made, and they’re not for the best. Hope you enjoy!

Special thanks to the lovely @theanxiouscupcake for helping me figure out the ending :)

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Chapter 8

Ladybug helplessly watches Chat sink out of sight, and she knows he won’t find anything good, wherever he’s headed. It’s less of a gut feeling (what honest person has secret mechanisms lying around their house in fiction, not to mention real life?) than an informed guess based on what she’s holding.

She’d hit the jackpot in Nathalie’s room. The envelopes she found weren’t empty, but they didn’t contain blackmail destined to Ladybug; it was clearly targeted at Hawkmoth and Mayura. Given that they’d all been opened with a paper knife, she doubted that Nathalie had been on the sending end.

The Peacock brooch she’d found in her nightstand, along with Duusuu, had done nothing to help Marinette in her quest for an explanation that could disculpate her.

She knows she's found what she needed, but it really feels like a Pyrrhic victory.

“Chat Noir? Is everything alright?” Max’s voice over the comms snaps her out of her thoughts.

There’s a tense silence as they wait for an answer, which she decides to break after a couple of minutes, for her own sanity.

“So, what did you find?” She asks, eyeing Markov. The robot is holding a USB key, which is unusual, since Max generally uses him directly as a memory source when needed. She doesn’t doubt that he also carries a copy of the data they’ve found, meaning that the information must be very important.

“An annotated digital copy of a Miraculous book, very expensive and regular butterfly orders, Hawkmoth redesign costumes, and elaborate plans to defeat you and Chat Noir.” Her friend enumerates. It all checks out. “Oh, and some music videos starring Hawkmoth.”

“What?” She frowns.

“It’s very disturbing.” Max grimaces.

Her next question is barely formulated in her head when Chat Noir’s voice reaches them. “Guys?”

“Chaton!” She refocuses on him immediately. “Are you alright?”

“I’ve found something.” His voice is strained.

“Don’t move, we’re coming.” She runs towards where the platform had been mere minutes ago, looking around frantically for the trigger mechanism.

Max puts a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. “Could you just tell us how to join you?” He asks.

Chat explains the steps in a monotonous voice that worries Max and Ladybug enough that they decide to ride the elevator together. It’s a little cramped, but the quicker they get to him, the better.

The tube quickly opens and they step out into what looks like an attic in a flutter of white butterfly wings.

Chat Noir has his back to them, his suit looking darker than usual in the backlight. He turns around from the truly impressive window he was looking out from when he hears them, a sad smile pulling at his lips.

“This doesn’t really look like a good guy’s den, does it?” He tries to joke.

“It does look a little suspicious,” she concedes.

“Did Adrien ever tell you his Dad was a lepidopterologist?” Max asks, a butterfly landing on his outstretched hand, as if he’s still trying to find a rational explanation for the situation that doesn't involve Gabriel Agreste being Hawkmoth.

“A what?” Chat looks at him, perplexed.

��A lepidopterologist,” his friend repeats. “Someone who studies butterflies.”

“Nope, I don’t think he has a clue.” He shakes his head and clears his throat. “But anyway, what did you guys find? Anything interesting?”

Ladybug hands him the envelopes and the brooch. His eyes fly over the letters’ contents, his expression indescifrable, while Max repeats his own findings.

“Max, what is the probability that Gabriel and Nathalie are just storing stuff for Hawkmoth and Mayura?” Chat asks gently, folding the letters again and giving them back to her. She sticks them in her yoyo for safe-keeping.

“I’d say about 0,0152%.” Max announces after a couple of seconds.

“That’s not very much.” He grimaces.

“Good thing Adrien didn’t come with us.” Ladybug whispers. “It’s… a lot to take in.”

“Sure is.” He sighs.

“Everyone, there seems to be another shaft here.” Markov interrupts them, flashing a red light to indicate his position in one of the dark corners of the room.

They walk towards him and study their surroundings, Max spotting the associated buttons first. Chat figures that it can’t bring them back to the study; it’s too far away from the first one.

“Multiple levels? What kind of evil lair is this?” Ladybug mutters.

“A professional one, that’s for sure.” Max replies. “Should we check it out?”

Ladybug looks at the time on her bug phone. They’re still doing okay, having been particularly efficient with their search. Or just very lucky that Hawkmoth and Mayura are bad at hiding compromising evidence.

She activates her microphone. “Nino, Kagami?”

“Yes, Marinette?” Kagami’s voice is prompt to reply.

“How are things going?”

“Not too bad, I think. Nino’s keeping Gabriel occupied, and I’m keeping an eye on Nathalie. They don’t seem to be in any rush to leave.”

“That’s good to hear.” She sighs in relief.

“How about you guys? Is Chat okay?”

“Right as rain.” Chat Noir chimes in. “We just have one more thing to investigate and we’ll be back.”

“Okay, cool. Keep us posted!” Kagami replies.

“You too.”

There’s a little static as Chat releases his microphone button.

“Right, so that’s sorted. I’ll go first.” Ladybug states more than she volunteers, calling the lift. She suspects Chat Noir would have liked to lead the way, but he’s a little pale for her liking, and Kwami knows what they’ll find on the other end.

“Are you sure?” He looks at her, contrasting emotions flickering in his eyes. On the one hand, he seems to be relieved that she’s taking charge of the exploration, but on the other hand, she knows he must be worried about her going first.

"You guys will be right down, it’s fine.” She smiles and squeezes his arm lightly, before entering the elevator capsule.

She’s surrounded by darkness for the first part of the journey, but the dim lighting of the lift is oddly comforting; she finds herself thinking that it might relieve Chat Noir’s claustrophobia.

The tube then transitions to transparency, and she’s suddenly looking out onto one of the largest and oddest rooms she’s ever seen, if ‘room’ is even the right word for it. The space looks like some kind of underground church, with its metal nave extending above a body of water and leading to a little garden, centred around a large tubular object. The latter is overseen by a large window that reminds her of the one up in the attic, except the panes are blocked off. It isn’t dark, though; a ray of light shines from above, and dim lights are regularly spaced along the sides of the room.

The elevator doors open and Ladybug steps out unsurely, not daring to venture too far. She feels very small as she waits for Chat Noir and Max, and a little uncomfortable, like she just broke into a sacred place. She untenses a little when they join her.

“What is this place?” Chat Noir lets out a low whistle as he takes in the grandeur of the space.

“It looks like some kind of underground crypt.” Max pushes his glasses back up on his nose. “We’re really not far from the Marais, maybe this was a church that sunk at some stage and was built over?”

Ladybug nods. It seems like a decent explanation.

Chat’s gut twists as he takes a couple of steps forward. He has an awful feeling about what lays at the end of the bridge, yet he’s inexplicably drawn to it. Ladybug and Max follow him carefully as he makes his way towards it.

The tube at the end of the way looks a lot like a coffin, they realise, and as they approach it, they must have triggered some motion detector, for its cover recedes, revealing a seemingly sleeping woman.

And not just any woman.

Emilie Agreste.

She’s dressed in a white suit, a slight smile on her lips, and holds a large bouquet of white and red flowers. She looks so peaceful, so beautiful. So like her portraits. Ladybug half expects her to wake up, green eyes twinkling as she welcomes them.

Next to her, Chat Noir’s breath hitches and his hand extends to touch the glass, a tear rolling down his cheek. It shatters as it lands on the coffin.

“You’re here.” He whispers.

Ladybug shares a look with Max, who encourages her to step forward with a nod. She does, lacing her fingers through Chat’s free hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I didn’t realise you were this close.” Her voice is barely above a murmur as another tear hits the coffin. Anything louder would feel disrespectful. Chat just nods in reply.

From this angle, she realises, Emilie looks just like Adrien; same fine features, same kind smile, same blond hair. She can’t help but understand why it must have been hard for Gabriel Agreste to look his son in the eye, at first.

“Um, guys?” Nino’s voice breaks the silence, making them jump. “I think we’ve maxed out the small talk. Kagami’s trying to hold off Nathalie but Gabe is just openly avoiding me now. Can we give them a bit of a breather?”

“Absolutely not.” Chat’s reply is icy as he angrily wipes his tears with the heel of his hand. “We’ll be right back, just need to call the police. Do not let them out of your sight, especially Gabriel. He might have his Miraculous on him.”

“Oh dude, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He takes a shaky breath. Marinette gives his hand another squeeze and takes her yoyo out. She spots Max taking out his phone out of the corner of her eye and turns towards him slightly, blinking gratefully at him. Chat doesn’t seem to be in the right frame of mind to call the police himself. She calls Rena Rouge.

“LB?” Her friend answers immediately.

“Alya? Are you in my room?”

“Yes, need anything?”

“Could you get the Bee Miraculous in my sewing box, please? I’ll send you the code.”

“Sure. Do you want me to go downstairs and give it to Chloé? Or should I stay put?”

“We’re going to need you downstairs, but make sure no one sees you yet. We need all hands on deck for this.” She takes a deep breath. “And make sure Adrien’s safe for me?”

“Will do.”

She hangs up just as Max calls his transformation.

“There’s a unit on its way here, and another heading for the Château. They’re warning the police officers who are already on site, they’re going to start closing off the exits. They said they’d take the evidence from us over there.” Her friend reports.

“Good.” She says, and she sees Chat Noir nod next to her, eyes still aimed at the coffin. “Let’s go, then.”

Pegasus invokes his powers and jumps through the portal. Chat Noir tears his gaze from Emilie and goes to follow him.

Ladybug holds him back before he can step through. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Chaton?”

“I just need to end this once and for all.” He smiles sadly and kisses her forehead tenderly, before taking her hand and helping her through.

He turns around and blows Emilie a last kiss before joining his wife.

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snowdice · 4 years

Text

Little Kestrel (Part 5)[Birds of Different Feathers Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Logan & Patton & Virgil (future Virgil/Patton but not in this story)

Characters:

Main: Logan, Patton, Virgil

Appear: Thomas

Mentioned: Janus

Summary:

It was supposed to be a quick job either way. Either Virgil would assassinate King Thomas of Prijaznia or he’d be caught and get executed. Yet, when Virgil gets the wrong bedroom and gets caught by Prince Logan and his future royal advisor, Patton, the job ends up getting way more complicated for the 14-year-old. He also ends up sleeping in a (actually pretty comfortable) closet for a few weeks…

Notes: Implied/referenced child abuse, assassination attempt, knives, torture mentioned, captivity, teenagers being really dumb

This is a prequel to Kill Dear. I wrote it 100 words at a time on my blog, but this is the edited version. If you want to see how it was crafted, look at the tag proofread stories.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Virgil sat as still as he could in the dark space he’d been put in. He could feel the warning tingle of the binding magic at his wrists telling him not to move too much or else. He was just lucky that they’d chosen to use metal instead of cloth to apply the potion and that he’d been unconscious until it dried. He knew from experience that there was no escaping the pain that type of potion brought until it dried no matter how still you were. Now, at least, if he didn’t try to struggle against his binding it wouldn’t hurt him. It sucked because all he wanted to do was move. He wanted to struggle and pull against the binding at his wrist, but he couldn’t. Even if it wouldn’t put him in crippling amounts of pain, he’d still not be able to get away.

So, instead he just shook. He was such a fuck up. He couldn’t even remember the right room and now he was going to die. No, he was probably going to be tortured and then he was going to die. His breath came quicker and quicker the longer he remained in the closet. He’d tried to murder their king. He’d come into their prince’s bedroom in the middle of the night wielding a knife. There was no way he wasn’t going to be made to suffer for that. It didn’t matter how gently the prince and his… person had treated him so far.

He heard the muffled sounds of people approaching the closet and curled into himself. Oh, god he was going to die. He had been breathing quickly, but now he couldn’t breathe at all. It felt like someone had poured tar into his lungs. The closet door opened, and he flinched, curled into a ball and choking on nothing.

“Hey, hey,” a familiar voice said. Patton, Virgil’s mind offered: the other guy with the prince. When Virgil managed to flick his eyes open, he saw Patton had gotten to his knees in front of him. He dully noted that the boy had reached out and touched his shoulder. “Oh sweetie, I’m sorry. Can you breathe for me?”

What was the point? He wondered, but after a few moments, he managed to suck in a couple of breaths.

When he managed to calm enough to look around, he noticed that instead of there being a bunch of castle guards standing around waiting to drag him off to some dungeon, it was just the prince and Patton again. He blinked up at them in confusion.

“There’s been a change of plans,” the prince explained.

“What?” Virgil asked dumbly. “What do you mean?”

“My father is going to be away for the next three weeks,” the prince said. “Considering you didn’t kill the guards and your only targets seems to be my father and perhaps myself, you are likely not a real danger to anyone if you escape and I’m willing to take the risk with myself. With that in mind, Patton and I have decided not to turn you in yet.”

Well what the hell did that mean? Was that good or bad? On one hand, it meant that he wouldn’t be executed yet, but what exactly did the prince want with him?

As Virgil began to freak out about the possibilities, the prince continued to speak, seemingly more to himself than to Virgil or Patton.

“We will need to figure out how to care for you in the interim. We’ll have to provide you with more food than just snacks as well as find you a place to sleep. At least one of us will have to be with you at all times, and with Father gone, I’ll have to attend to some royal duties. Luckily it isn’t strange for Patton to come into my quarters at will.” He considered Virgil with discerning eyes. “Also, your general health seems to be lacking, so I’ll have to account for preexisting conditions. First thing, first though. I imagine keeping you in those bracelets all the time would be impractical. We’ll need another solution, especially for sleep.”

Virgil did not like the sound of that. He assumed based on what the prince had done so far that he’d enact some sort of magical bondage. From Virgil’s experience, magical bondage ranged from unpleasant to legitimately agonizing.

“Patton, if you will watch him for the time being, I need to go work on a more precise binding potion then the one I’ve been using.”

“Sure,” Patton agreed, but the prince was wondering away before he’d even finished the word. Patton shook his head fondly before turning back to Virgil. “Wanna come out of the closet now?”

He really, really didn’t, but he was pretty sure he didn’t have a choice in the matter. He curled his legs into himself as much as he could and waited to be dragged out into the room, but he wasn’t touched.

“Okay,” Patton said. “That’s fine. It’s a pretty nice closet.” Virgil said nothing but did breathe a sigh of relief about being able to stay. It wasn’t very rational because in actuality he was no safer here than anywhere else in the room, but the closet felt more defensible even if they could drag him out of it whenever they wanted.

Patton seemed content to sit outside the closet and leave him in peace for the moment. A few minutes later Patton made a sound and Virgil looked over to see him yawn. He smiled when he saw Virgil watching. “It was a long night for all of us, I imagine,” he said. “Hmm… actually. Wait there.”

Like he could go anywhere else. He couldn’t get a good enough angle to see what Patton was doing, but he could here him moving around the room and rustling through a few things. He came back into view holding a comical number of pillows and blankets.

“Here,” Patton said. He offered Virgil one of the blankets and then seemed to remember that Virgil could not reach out to take it. “Hmm…” He spread out the blanket next to Virgil. “Do you mind if I touch you?”

“Why are you even asking?” Virgil asked. “You can do whatever you want with me.”

Patton frowned and Virgil scrunched into himself at the expression, but it lightened the next moment. “I know it’s a bit of a bad situation and you are technically a prisoner, but I don’t want to hurt you or make you feel bad,” Patton said.

Virgil didn’t know how to respond to that. There was no way that it wasn’t some sort of trick, but he didn’t dare outright say that he thought that.

“Can I touch you a bit?” Patton asked once again. “Just to help you get onto the blanket.”

“Sure,” Virgil agreed.

The other boy smiled sweetly and grabbed his wrists with gentle fingers. Virgil let his whole body follow Patton’s guidance until he was situated rather comfortably on an unbelievably soft blanket.

“Head,” Patton said, holding up a pillow. Virgil lifted his head slightly and the pillow was shoved underneath it.

Another blanket was settled over him the next. Patton was weird. “There you go!” Patton said. “Now you can take a nap.”

Virgil blinked up at him in confusion. That was… not happening. What exactly about this situation did Patton think was conducive to sleep?

“…Or rest comfortably at least,” Patton said after a moment. He arranged a pillow and blanket for himself and laid on his side, so he was facing Virgil. He yawned slightly again but didn’t close his eyes. They stared at each other for an uncomfortably long moment.

“What are we doing?” Virgil finally asked when he realized Patton was not planning to ever break the awkward silence.

“We’re resting,” Patton said, “and hanging out.”

“Hanging out?” Virgil asked.

“Mmm, yeah,” Patton said popping up onto his elbow to peer at him. “Let’s talk some! We can get to know each other.”

Virgil looked at him suspicious about where this was going. “Talk about what?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

Patton hummed a quiet tune and his fingers tapped against the side of his face as he wiggled a bit back and forth. “Do you like cats?”

“Cats?” Virgil asked. “Uh… sure?”

“I love cats,” Patton divulged. “There are a lot of cats in the castle. Not all of them like people very much, but I like to try to pet them! I even made up a game where I get points for every cat that lets me pet it. The grumpier they are, the more points I get!”

“You… try to pet wild cats?” Virgil asked.

“Uh huh!”

Virgil thought back to the few untamed cats he’d met in his life. “Don’t they… try to murder you.”

“Sometimes,” Patton said with a shrug. He moved his arm suddenly and Virgil startled, but he just rolled down his sleeve so Virgil could see a large, fairly fresh-looking scratch on his arm. “This one’s from Mr. Calico Man. He does not like his ears touched apparently, but he will let me give him chin scratchies!”

This boy was insane.

“I think I’ve pet every single cat in the castle at least once, except for Ghost Kitty.”

“Who is Ghost Kitty?”

“Oh, Ghost Kitty is the prettiest thing in the world,” Patton gushed. “She hangs out in the gardens a lot, but no one can get anywhere near her. She’s completely black and only started showing up around a year ago. I can’t even see her for more than 2 seconds at a time let alone try to pet her, but I will someday and on that day, I’ll get 1,000 points!”

“How many points are they usually?”

“For ones like Mittens and Cleo who I’ve known since they were babies, only 1. For Sandra it’s 5 since she can get a bit tetchy, but usually won’t run away. Lily Flower and Red Hot like to run away but won’t try to scratch me if I do catch them so they’re 10. Ones like Mr. Calico Man are worth 100.”

“So, you are going to try to pet a cat that is 10x more feral than the one that slashed your arm?”

“She’s so pretty!”

“You have no survival instincts whatsoever, do you?” Virgil asked.

Patton smiled wryly at him. “I apparently have a couple,” he said.

Virgil blinked at him and thought back, connecting the dots. Only Patton and the prince knew he was here, and the prince had been in front of him when he’d came into the room… “You were the one to knock me unconscious,” he concluded.

“I’d say sorry, but you were coming in here with the intention of hurting someone I care about,” Patton said with a shrug.

Right. Virgil had almost forgotten amongst his soft tone and gentle countenance that the man laying docilly next to him definitely hated his guts and would probably relish in whatever the prince had planned for him.

Virgil let his fists clench, but otherwise didn’t let onto his distress as Patton softly brought the conversation back to the previous topic and continued to ramble on about the different cats of the castle.

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 6

#sanders sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #character thomas #virgil sanders #adriana writes #little kestrel #birds of different feathers #implied/referenced child abuse #assassination attempt #knives #torture mentioned #captivity

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commanderfloppy · 3 years

Text

Interview: Commander (Vlixxa) Floppy

INTRODUCTION:

1. Can you introduce yourself?:

Well most people will usually know me by my title, The Commander. But my name is Vlixxa Floppy. What? Yes, I know it is weird that I have a surname. No, it was inherited.

2. What is your gender identity, orientation and relationship status?

I’m a woman, she/her pronouns, and it’s been like that for about… 40 years now?

These next questions...pfft, you’d think people were lining up to date me or something..

I like women, though my feelings on others are...unclear? Though I’ve had different partners in the past….. Now? No, I'm single. How long? It’s been a while..

3. Where and when were you born?:

I was born in 1285 AE, in the swamplands near Kessex Hills.

4. What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?:

Nowadays I tend to use my staff a lot, ranged combat is much less tiring. But I used to fight primarily with my rapier. My fighting style? Well I was a little classically trained, but I mostly just learned from experience...and pirates, I learned a bit from them too. Same goes for my magic, I am mostly self-taught. Which is why my skills can be...spotty.. But where I lack the illusionist skills some of my fellow mesmers have, I do think I’ve perfected a bit in the way of chronomancy and clone magic.

5. Lastly, are you happy?:

Saving the difficult question for last huh?.. It’s hard to say whether I specifically am..happy. I’m certainly happier than I’ve been before. But I will say, in the advent of Jormag and Primordious’ death, that knowing the people of Tyria will be safer and happier because of my accomplishments.. That brings me a lot of joy.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS:

1. What's your family like? What is your relationship with them?:

My biological family is all gone at this point, but I will say that I’ve definitely developed a bit of a familial relationship with the other members of Dragon’s Watch. So if you count them I’d say it’s pretty good, especially now that I’ve realized how much we all mean to each other.

2. Have you ever ran away from home?:

I’ve definitely snuck out before, but I never really ran away.. Unless you count me leaving to attend college at Rata Sum. Though, I guess I was running from something that day….and could never go back from it.

3. Would you consider marriage or having children?:

I suppose the answer would be yes, since I’ve already done both those things before. But I don’t think I can really have biological children anymore… Besides, I’ve got enough kids to take care of back in Dragon’s Watch...Maybe don’t say I called them kids...

4. Do you secretly hate one of your friends?:

If I hated someone I wouldn’t call them a friend. But I suppose there are times where I have to deal with someone I dislike amicably for diplomatic reasons..

5. Which friend knows everything about you?:

No one really knows everything about me, It would be a lot to know. But I’ve shared quite a bit with Rytlock, and he has with me too. We both have our differences but we also have a lot in common.. At least when it comes to experiences. Besides, it’s nice to have someone else to talk to who isn’t in their 20s.

ASKED BY FANS:

1. Are you literate? Have you been to school?:

Yes, I am a graduate of the college of Dynamics, and I’m literate in the common languages, as well as Elonian dialect and some script.

2. The eeriest prediction you made that later came true?:

I don’t really predict thing that will happen, though I do once remember saying that commanding would be the death of me and well….

3. What is something you were embarrassingly late to realize?:

It took me a while to realize that my companions and allies actually cared about me as a person.. For some reason I thought that any care or concern was only about my functionality as the Commander...Guess I just needed time to realize I was more than my accomplishments.

4. Do you have mental health or physical issues?:

Oh certainly, I’m just not quite sure which issues I have. But there’d have to be some miracle of the Eternal Alchemy for someone to go through what I have and not come out with some problems...even if my mental state was a mess before becoming Commander..

5. What is your current main goal?:

To finish my work in ridding Tyria of any other dangers’ it faces. Currently I’m trying to track the energy released by Primordious and Jormag after their destruction. I don’t want another situation like that with Kralkatorikk.

CHOICES:

1. Drink or food?:

Both are essential to survival but drink. I can go a while without food, but dehydration is much harder to face. Especially after some moment’s I’ve had in the desert..

2. Cats or dogs?:

Both are...fine? I suppose. Personally I prefer reptiles..

3. Early bird or night owl?:

Night owl, I like sleeping in when I can. Besides, night is much more quiet and suited to research.

4. Optimist or pessimist?:

Again, I try not to think too much about possibilities outside of strategy. But I suppose I am more Optimistic at this point, at least I try to be.

5. Sassy or sarcastic?:

Neither, at least when I am trying to be professional. Though I do enjoy being sarcastic in less formal situations..at least sometimes.

HAVE YOU EVER:

1. Been caught sneaking out:

Yes, many times.

2. Broke a bone:

I’d be more amazed if I haven’t broken a bone. Though, to my surprise, I haven’t broken that many. Perhaps because enemies that like to bludgeon me are slower and easier to dodge.

3. Received flowers:

I’ve certainly received flowers at least a couple times, mostly during celebrations for victories.

I also used to get flowers a lot back when- ...I had someone who liked to give them to me.

4. Ghosted someone:

Ghosted? I’m not sure exactly what that means. oh… no I don’t think? Does not responding to someone count? Yes? Well they hadn’t contacted me for 6 years beforehand so… then it isn’t?

5. Pretended to laugh at a joke you didn't get:

Once or twice, though I will genuinely laugh at my confusion from a joke I don’t understand. Humor seems to evolve quicker than Gorrik’s beetles...

#gw2 #commander floppy #I tried my best on this #not sure if I've really found floppy's voice in terms of writing yet but #ehh whatever #also the joke question made me realize something...#Floppy is a boomer

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julyarchives · 4 years

Text

Wonderfully Wrong || (A→F)

When you thought your boyfriend Jinho forgot your anniversary it really upset you, but later that night you realized how wrong you were

→ Pairing: Jinho x Reader

→ Genre: Angst to Fluff

→ Words: 1.5K

→ A/n: Thank you so much @nose-bandaid for requesting this, we had a lot of fun writing it and we hope you enjoy 💕

“ I’ll pick you up at 7pm. Dress nicely ;)”

You’ve read the text from your boyfriend a thousand times by now, and each time you felt butterflies in your stomach.

Today marks 1 year since you started dating Jinho and you two didn’t exactly make any plans, specially because his group has been preparing for a comeback soon, but since he sent that text you couldn’t help but dream about what kind of surprise he was preparing for you. Would he take you to a fancy restaurant? Was it a party? You shivered in anticipation.

You took your time with your beauty routine, took a long shower with your best scented wash, did a quick facial and took extra care when putting on makeup. Looking at yourself in the mirror, you were feeling pretty confident, with your dress hugging you in all the right curves and killer heels on. Your heart skipped a beat when Jinho texted that he was waiting for you in front of your house.

“Wow” he said as soon as he laid eyes on you, and you just smiled shyly as he pulled you in for a quick kiss “ready?”

You nodded, entering his car.

“So, where are we going?” you asked, trying to not get over excited

“Well, our manager got us in contact with a major music video director, and he’s throwing this party so we can meet him properly.” Jinho smiled sweetly

“Oh” your face fell. Did he forget? “Really? That’s amazing, baby, I’m excited for you!” You couldn’t bring yourself to ask him. You knew how hard he’s been working lately, and maybe sometimes he just didn’t realize what day it is. That didn’t stop the disappointment from taking over you.

“Thank you, baby.” he smiled sweetly “and of course I wanted my girl by my side.”

You forced a fake smile, not trusting yourself with words at the moment. Needless to say, the rest of the ride was awfully silent.

At the party, Jinho was quick to join his group mates and entertain the guests of their party. You, on the other hand, chose a corner to sit quietly and sip on your champagne glass.

Everyone seemed very excited and chatted happily. Jinho stole some glances at you, smiling charmingly and all you could do was smile back and wave, hoping he would not notice the disappointment in your eyes.

"Hey, Y/N!", you heard Shinwon call you and turned, happy to talk to someone.

"Hi there!", he seemed tired but just as happy as the other members, "how are you enjoying the party so far?".

Shinwon shrugged with a chuckle, "It's really nice but I'm too tired for this", you two laughed. "Jinho didn't say he'd bring you".

"Yeah, I figured. He's working too hard, he's forgetting some things sometimes", you laughed, more self deprecating than you intended.

"Don't go too hard on him, Y/N. He's overworking now because of our comeback. Jinho's doing the best he can for us and for you", he smiled sweetly and nodded at the bar where the other members were, "let's get something to drink and so I can give you back to your boyfriend so he quit the puppy eyes".

At Shinwon's laugh you turned, seeing your boyfriend staring at both of you with curiosity and puppy eyes. You couldn't help but laugh, "Alright", you answered Shinwon and took the lead to the bar.

You got your drink and headed over to Jinho's side, his arm quick to sneak around your waist. "Sorry, I got stuck here. Perks of being the oldest", he whispered in your ear.

He lifted your face with a finger on your chin and smiled apologetically. You could only nod and tell him it was fine, even though you were far from fine.

Excusing yourself from the small group of people, you sat back where you were and sighed into your glass. Not only your boyfriend forgot your anniversary but he also couldn't give you any attention.

Few hours passed and the only company you had was from some occasional member that would walk by and ask about you. Feeling completely ignored by Jinho, you decided to head home and call it a night.

As you got up to search for him, you felt someone reaching out for your hand.

"Y/N! I managed to get away from them for a while!", Jinho chuckled, "here, let's enjoy some time together!". he extended a glass of champagne in your direction.

"You do realize it has been almost 2 hours, right?", you were more sad than mad at him, feeling forgotten and even unimportant at this point. "You can enjoy the party without worrying about me, I'm leaving".

Jinho's mouth formed an O shape, shocked at your answer. He placed the glasses at the table next to where you were sitting before. "I'm coming with you. Just let me tell the boys", you opened your mouth to tell him off, you didn't need to wait for him a minute longer, but he was faster, "wait in the car. Please".

You didn't have to wait much and soon enough Jinho was at your side, driving quietly. The feeling of being watched didn't go away for the entire ride but you didn't feel like talking at the moment, so you ignored it.

Jinho parked outside his home, and you looked at him puzzled. As far as you knew, he'd drive you back to your apartment. "I hope you don't mind, I thought we needed some time together tonight".

He awaited your answer silently. You and Jinho were dating for quite a while now and he figured you out almost perfectly, so he knew you were upset. "Of course, let's head inside", you spoke softly, trying to keep what Shinwon said in mind.

The house was all dark, but you could see flickering lights from what looked like candles. You looked back at Jinho, who just nodded, encouraging you to go on and follow it.

“Is there someone in here?” You asked, confused.

“Nope” he giggled. You frowned, instinctively grabbing his hand in yours, no matter how upset you were, the proximity you two had always calmed you down.

Jinho opened the door and led you inside, a path of candles lit up the way to the bedroom. You looked back at him and he only put his hand on your lower back, encouraging you to keep going.

As you got to the room, you heard Jinho clear his throat, nervous. "Y/N…", you moved so he could step in front of the door, facing you. "I know today didn't go as planned. And I know you got upset with the party, I understand".

You opened your mouth but, again, he was faster. "Wait, hear me out", he took your hands in his. "I didn't forget our anniversary. Today just happened to be a really rough day. Everything went wrong but I never meant to upset you, especially today".

"I planned a beautiful evening together but that party was something they came up with today and I couldn't say no. I thought it'd be quicker and that I'd have more time with you but I was wrong. I'm sorry".

Tears started to fall on your face and all your frustration and sadness started to melt away as you looked at Jinho's eyes. "I felt abandoned today, I'm not going to lie to you. But even if you'd forgotten, I'd try to understand, I know things are tougher near a comeback".

Jinho's hands came up to wipe the tears away, his thumb caressing your face softly. "I could never forget something so special". He kissed you gently on the lips, his hands never stopping their movement on your face. "Now, let me show you what I prepared".

The door opened to show you the most beautiful room you've ever seen. It was still just your boyfriend's room but it was lit with candles everywhere, flowers were scattered around the place and the white silk sheets had a basket of fresh fruits and a plate of strawberry chocolate cake, your favorite.

"There's also champagne but I left it in the fridge, in case we got home late. I know you like it very cold", Jinho smiled sweetly at you. You felt tears again but now they were from happiness, all the ther events forgotten.

"It's so beautiful! I love you!", you threw your arms around him, hugging your boyfriend tightly. "I love you", he whispered to you, his arms felt like your safe haven and you started to relax.

Both of you stood like that for a few seconds until you pulled away abruptly, "Oh, no!", you exclaimed. "Y/N? What's wrong?", Jinho scanned your face, worried. "I left in such a hurry that I left my bag at the party! Your gift is in there!".

Jinho laughed, "I'm sure they'll keep it for you". He grabbed your neck and pulled you into a kiss, much more intense than the first one, leaving you breathless. "Come on, let's celebrate!", he pulled you inside the room. You chuckled and followed, giggling at your dream boyfriend, grateful for leaving the party alone.

#Pentagon fluff #Jinho #Pentagon #angst to fluff #jo jinho #pentagon scenario #request #pentagon resquest #nose-bandaid #uninetwork #kpop #kpop scenario #kpop angst #kpop fluff

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darlingdtarot · 3 years

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8/8/2021 - New Moon In Leo Rituals & Horoscopes For All Signs

The New Moon is here again to remind us to let go of ideas that no longer serve us. It's about wiping the slate clean and setting intention on the rest of the month. Are you excited to start a new chapter? Each sign is going to experience new heights of happiness, emotional security, and financial bliss. It might not always be easy, but it will always be worth it. This is a great time to show off your confident side and get into a deeper level of Self-Expression. You are called to feel more confident in your own skin and as the amazing individual you are. There is truly only one you on this entire planet – embrace that! Those that are going through quarantines again, or just find themselves in the house more often, wear those fancy outfits in your closet that has been catching dust! Get it out, dust off your nicest shoes, and get dolled up. You don't need an excuse to feel good about yourself, Darling. Now is a great time to take pictures for social media as well, as the sign's physical attractiveness will be heightened during this Leo New Moon. Follow your passions and hobbies too, as it's important to express your creativity.

Working on manifestations will be amazing during this time as well, so make sure to be utilizing the Law Of Attraction! This could be through Manifestation Journals, Meditations, or Vision Boards. Making a Vision Board by cutting out images and pasting them onto a piece of paper or a literal poster-board will help you manifest easier as it will focus your mind each day on visualizing your goals and desires. You got this!

Rituals that you can do during the Leo New Moon:

Along with the upcoming changing of leaves (depending on where you live), us too are going through a change during this New Moon to leave behind what no longer serves us. Yellow and Red are really important colors during this New Moon, as it symbolizes Confidence, Self-Fulfillment, Expression, Self-Comfort, and Joy. You can wear these colors throughout the month leading up to the Full Moon for added luck.

A Spiritual Bath might be something that would be wonderful to be implemented. You can add flowers, herbs, essential oil, bathing salts, and/or crystals to make the perfect spiritual cleanse. Sunflower scented candles are going to be very important as well – so if you're needing a new smell for the month, this will be a great time to utilize Sunflower Candles for manifestation! There are other scents as well that are just as important over this time.

Scents / Flowers You Can Utilize:

Lemon

Sunflower

Lemongrass

Dandelion

Crystals To Charge During The New Moon in Leo:

Yellow Aventurine

Citrine

Honey Calcite

Golden Hematoid

Amber

Carnelian

Tigers Eye

Leave these on a towel in a windowsill on the night of the New Moon to charge in the energy. The next day, place the crystals near your bath as you take it – or near your bed / in your purse for added optimism and comfort throughout the month. Remember that not all crystals can be put in the water, so make sure to look it up before you dip them in! If your crystal is water-hardy, you can place it directly into the bath as you soak.

For those that have gardens, consider planting wild flowers, sunflowers, gladiolus, etc. (Depending on where you are!)

Horoscopes for Each Sign and Element over the New Moon in Taurus:

Please make sure to check your Sun, Moon, Rising, and Venus Signs as you might resonate more with their energies. :)

EARTH: Ace Of Wands – Earth Signs are going to feel renewed and as if the fires of their passions are finally alight again. You're going to be receiving a lot of messages and ideas during this time, so trust what you come up with as creativity is going to be through the roof. If you have craft supplies that you haven't touched in a while, Earth Signs, get ready to start crafting. The energy this Leo New Moon is bringing in for you will help you to soar and reach greater heights within your hobbies, workplace, and imagination. Others will feel compelled to pick up an instrument that has been laying around catching dust for a while. Express yourself! Some Earth Sign's might start feeling compelled to play the field and date around a little to see what's out there – go for it! Remember to wear protection though if you aren't planning on getting pregnant during this time of reignited passions!

Virgo: The Star – Virgos are going to be feeling more hopeful over this New Moon in Leo. You might have felt a bit downtrodden or as if everything were spoiled, but now it's finally coming back together. It's a relief in so many ways, because after being told for so long that you'd be okay, you're finally starting to see things 'Getting Better'. It was something that took a while, but peace of mind is here to stay for the rest of the year, Virgo. Rest assured on THAT. Clarity will also be coming to those that have asked for a sign recently in regards to a situation you're stuck on. It's as if the Universe is finally handing you the new pair of glasses that you had ordered and had been waiting on. You'll be able to see things crystal clear, and in a way that you might not have before. Can we say Perspective Shift? Virgos, remember to take care of yourself too! Spiritual baths are SO important during this time period! Drinking coconut water and bathing with coconut scented washes will be vital right now as it will cleanse you.

Taurus: 10 Of Wands – You're overworking and overloading yourself with chores and things to do, Taurus. Over this New Moon in Leo you're trying to take on too much. I keep hearing Spirit saying, “You're Biting Off More Than You Can Chew”. As proud as Spirit is that you're wanting to conquer the world and take on as much as you can – They want you to remember that the name of the game right now is to pace yourself and take your time on the tasks in front of you. Rome wasn't built overnight, so stop making yourself go on endlessly like a workhorse. Yes, you're in the homestretch, but that is even more of a reason to take your time with tying up those loose ends. Work Smarter – Not Harder. For other Taurus that are taking on their friend's and family's responsibilities – you're being asked to focus on yourself as opposed to trying to fit in one more task to appease someone else. Instead of taking on those side missions right now, why not follow your main story-line for a bit? There's no harm in saying no every now and again; especially with all that you already do for those around you. For one Taurus in particular, you cook and clean for those around you constantly without praise or recognition. It's almost expected of you to drop your entire life just to do that. Again – it's okay to say no, or just to decide to order take-out for the night.

Capricorn: Queen Of Wands - Capricorn's are being asked during this New Moon period to use your passions wisely. Now is the time to really put your mind to what you want to accomplish as it's going to fall into your lap quicker than you expect. The World really IS your Oyster, Capricorn, Remember that! Some are embarking on brand new business ideas. I'm seeing for some starting a new Bakery, a local Shop in your town, or an online store with products unique to you and your calling. There is something very niche about what you do, Capricorn, and you're excited to corner the market with your ideas. You might be looking into business licenses, copyright, and trademarking. You're deciding what the best way to tackle your dreams would be – and if anyone can do it, Capricorn – it's you! Your business oriented mind will focus brilliantly at the task at hand, so make sure to trust your instincts here. It really is a case of You Knowing What's Best. Trust that you have what it takes to achieve your goals. You're brilliant, you Sea Goat, you.

AIR: 8 Of Pentacles – Wow, Air Signs! You're focusing on getting to work right now, as you know that whatever you're putting your mind to is going to be abundant and successful. You're feeling energized to get to work, which is a welcomed change compared to the last few weeks where you have been feeling tired and drained. So long to energies of exhaustion or frustration – you're headed towards smooth sailing now! And rightfully so, if you ask me! You're ready to put in the work! I keep hearing Spirit saying, “The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Oil”, so you might decide to focus on things that you feel have been put off for way too long. They can no longer be ignored, they have to be taken care of now. For some this might have been projects that you procrastinated on, a cabinet you never fixed, or a leak in a pipe ; now is the time to attend to these things! Putting yourself on your grind is going to be incredibly influential during this time, so make sure not to hold yourself back!

Gemini: Death – Wow, Gemini! Things are changing for you on a molecular level. You might have felt it coming for a long time now, but you're starting to become more open to the idea of endings and change. You're deciding what you want to stay in your life and what you know needs to go. For some that are leaving a situation, perspective, or relationship behind, you're feeling excited to be starting on a new chapter in your life. It's as if you've grown tired of reading that same story over and over again and you're ready to take on another book entirely. You're the main character and now you're really starting to recognize it. Take those risks and go on those adventures, Gemini. I'm hearing, “Life Is Too Short To Not Do What You Love”. Make sure that you're taking that into consideration today as you go forward, Gemini! Only go towards the things that you know feel right to your story-line!

Libra: 2 Of Wands – Libra's are going to be faced with a choice over this New Moon. Do they embark on something different than they've always known? Or do they decide to stay the course and continue down the path that might have not worked out so well in the past? Regardless of what you choose, this is a time of starting over fresh. The New Moon will bring brand new energies your way that will feel brilliant, vibrant, and uplifting. You'll be inspired to go down the route less traveled, but give yourself the space to do so. Be brave, Libra! Some of the best things are worth the risk! For other's, you're deciding to go down a new career or academic path that you know will bring you to your ultimate happiness. Don't put yourself on the back burner and go towards it! Regardless of what others have to say, you know best. (AKA don't listen to your Great Aunt Linda saying, “But you were supposed to be a Lawyer!” If you weren't happy in that field, that's all that's needed to be said.)

Aquarius: Strength – Aquarius, you're really channeling your inner strength right now to go the distance. You might have been applying yourself more recently to your career or the environment around you, which has been making you feel as if you either need everything on a time constraint or you need to take every little thing seriously. Spirit is telling you it's okay to lighten up and let your hair down. For some I'm also hearing, “Comfortable And Functional Can Still Be Fashionable”. Other Aquarians are feeling more comfortable expressing their emotions too as you're letting yourself be more vulnerable during this time. You're feeling affectionate and sentimental, craving more attention and love during this time. You might find yourself craving connection with others – and wanting to meet new people. Those in relationships are going to take their time more to understand their partner's and their own individual feelings, which will lead to more common ground. Now is the time for emotional healing and understanding!

WATER: The Magician – Water Signs you are being asked to trust your natural abilities as they are a gift. You have all the resources that you need in front of you to accomplish your aspirations. For some I am sensing that there was competition in a workplace environment. Spirit is showing me someone starting a candle business, only for another person to then follow suit. It's out of jealousy and spite, and not something you need to concern yourself with. Copycat energy is really strong here. Water Signs are manifesting right now on such a high level, that they can be expected to have a harvest in soon. For some you might be bringing in a romantic partner, new financial growth, or new opportunities. You'll be excited to see things that you wished for coming true. I keep hearing someone saying, “This Is Exactly What I Asked For, But Better!” Things are working out in your favor, Water Signs. Keep putting in intention and give it some time – it will pay off.

Cancer: The Emperor – Cancer's are really harnessing their Divine Masculine energies and feeling determined to take the bull by the horns over the Leo New Moon. Leo ignites your need for self-expression and freedom within your passions at this time. You're not letting anyone hold you back or put you down any longer – you know what you deserve and need. You're really starting to feel in your element, and you're wondering why you didn't realize you could accomplish this sooner. (“There's Nothing Holding Me Back” by Shawn Mendes energy here strong!) With the number 8 being so strong and prevalent within the month and the day, it really emphasizes the fact that there is a lot of forward movement going on. You're tired of playing it small and not going home with a good prize. “Go Big Or Go Home” is what I keep hearing for you, Cancer.

Pisces: The Empress – Pisces, you're going to be embracing your Divine Feminine energies in the most beautiful of ways. You'll be nurturing both yourself and those around you. You're giving yourself room to grow and consider other avenues of creation. Pisces, you might start to notice that your peers and new acquaintances want to open up to you and tell you their entire life stories. Let them – you never know where you might gain a little bit of insight on your own life while helping another. Trust your intuition during this time too, because your spiritual abilities will be heightened during this New Moon. Pisces might notice seeing more shadows, shapes, or spiritual messages. Don't fear; you're protected, loved, and divinely guided. You might feel guided towards getting more plants for your home – go for it! Bring nature in!

Scorpio: Ace Of Pentacles – A prosperous new beginning is yours, Scorpio! This is going to be the stable, firm, and financially free foundation that you always dreamed of. This is something that you have been manifesting for a long time. You might have had blockages in regards to money, but your luck is changing now. For some Scorpio's you'll be receiving a job offer from a friend. This friend could have a short, brown bob haircut, and they're going to be very excited over the idea of working with you. Take this offer seriously as it will provide so much excitement and comfort into your life! Other's will notice that there are going to be an influx of interviews and job offers over all. I am also hearing that while you work at your new job, you will be provided with more chances to travel as well, Scorpio. Go for it! You deserve it for how much work you've put in.

FIRE: The Wheel Of Fortune – A lucky period of time is coming into your life, Fire Signs. Are you ready to embrace this exciting turn of events? It's going to be a wild ride, so buckle in! You're going to notice that your luck is changing for the better. This is going to make you feel inspired to take large leaps of faith into a brand new lifestyle. No more small potatoes, Fire Signs. You're ready for the wheels of fate to finally turn in your favor after a long period of feeling shut out in the cold by the Universe. After a perspective shift, you're understanding how lucky and talented you are – and gaining a new perspective of gratitude for life. I keep hearing as well that Fire Signs are going to have the Mitas Touch, where everything they touch will turn to gold. Now is a brilliant time to focus on academic and financial goals. Why not make a Vision Board of everything that you want to bring in over the next year, Fire Signs?

Leo: Judgment – You're closing up Karmic Cycles and breaking Ancestral Curses, Leo. It isn't always easy to have to do this, but it is something that has to happen in order for you to get to the next level. It's okay to feel frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed during this time. Feel your emotions and express them to those around you as they are your Soul Family, and they genuinely want to help you in any way that they can. Leos are also going to be realizing who is actually in their corner. I am hearing that for a few Leos, you're going to understand that someone you thought was there for you no matter what, never really had your back to begin with. Process the pain, grieve the loss of a friend, and continue forward knowing you are doing your best every day. Some Leo's are understanding and identifying longstanding self-sabotaging energies and are deciding to nip it in the bud. Good for you, Leo!

Sagittarius: The Devil – Sagittarius might be dealing with some mental worries and anxieties. The Universe is wanting you to lighten your mental load and decompress some. It's okay to have some alone time just focusing on your relaxation. You don't need to always be on the go or doing something, Sagittarius. Even in different Mythologies and religions the God's took rest – set aside this idea that you don't deserve some rest and relaxation. Other's might be struggling with addictions, but you're going to find it easier over the next few months to distance yourself from self-sabotaging tendencies or toxic patterns. Good for you, Sagittarius! I'm proud of you for recognizing what in your life isn't fulfilling you anymore – and for wanting better going forward. Some in toxic relationships are being asked to take some time to travel or be away from this person to get a clear head on what it means to be healthier by yourself. (You will feel a LOT lighter without this individual around)

Aries: The Tower – There is a major shake-up in your life emerging, Aries! Don't feel scared or intimidated by this, as it's actually a great thing! This is to realign you with where you actually have to be. Spirit is showing me an image of a dog on a leash, getting wrapped around a tree while running while it's owner is frantically trying to unwrap them and saying “No, This Way, Honey!” The Universe is untangling you from a messy situation, and it's going to be for the better. Whether this be through an unexpected job or opportunity loss, a move, or something that you see as unfortunate; it might just be a new opportunity to start over fresh. Now's your chance to turn a new leaf and go towards a firmer foundation for yourself. Some Aries might realize the connections (both platonic and romantic) aren't the healthiest for you. A friend might decide to betray your trust or kindness. You're being asked to let this rug be pulled out from under your feet, so a newer one can be set in it's place. After all, when one door closes – another one opens.

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