#japanese festival au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

levmada · 2 months

Text

every—lesser known—canon fact about Levi Ackerman.

infamously over the years, there have been countless false rumors about Levi in particular out of the cast. many of them have become popular, even ubiquitous, and it's annoying!

and also disheartening when you find out it's not true....

and hurtful when you realize it was - sometimes - made up by trolls.

so i'm making this post<3

credit to @levisfavoriteacup for the idea!!

*disclaimer: i'm not perfect, so this may not be Everything™️ but I am confident that it's the majority of information available, and that it's trustworthy. :)

First the most populars. There is no evidence across interviews nor other content over the years that:

Levi is ugly, and is considered ugly in AOT.

Nope. See here: (tumblr link), or:

Isayama finished his first sketch of Levi mostly on a whim, but the moment he drew his face, he had a sense it would work well / he knew he had something good. Something told him: "the yaoi fangirls are going to like this one".

As time passed and his popularity grew, Isayama caught onto this and wanted to portray him more attractively (in multiple ways) to the viewer/reader.

But from the beginning, this was something of the goal. He is short because Isayama had in mind what young women/fangirls in Japan consider attractive: a man with a higher-pitch voice; has a small face; and who is "short but strong".

In the world of AOT, he (in a nutshell) is mostly considered plain or awkward, but combined with his reputation and style, he's very charming. "He cleans up nice." Overall, it is positive :) But more importantly, realistic I think.

He's also something of a celebrity. People who advertise their product as being used by him are more successful; when he's seen in a shop, this by itself is considered "advertising" and more people come in. Quote: ""the tea that the hero bought”".

He's definitely not a 2/10 at any rate😇.

—the 24th episode of Naoki Yoshida's Anime Plan, 2013 / Interview with Frau Magazine, 2013 | Hajime Isayama x Hikaru Suruga (2014) | AU Smartpass - Erwin & Levi Close Up Interview Part 1 | Taking shelter from the rain reprise: Levi and Peaure

Levi’s type would be someone who’s "tough, feminine and sensual".

Levi's type "might" be tall people. But context matters, because in multiple translations "don't you think?" and "might be" are thrown around a lot. Isayama isn't known for his clarity. When asked, he practically said the question right back. —fan Q&A from a festival in Betsumaga, Aug.2014

What this quote might have come from is a statement by the author of an article Isayama was likely involved in. I can't say this is 100% canon, but in my opinion it's a little less canon than the Smartpass AUs; if those are sub-canon, then this is sub-sub-canon:

Levi's romantic type is someone who walks three steps behind him, and likes cleaning.

In the past, in Japanese culture, for a wife to walk three steps behind her husband implied highly traditional gender roles. What this is much more likely to mean is that Levi's romantic type is someone who will let him protect them, or will run away and survive even if it costs his life. (And they have to like cleaning.)

—the article is from 2013, and no longer exists. but the link was used as recently as 2021 as a source in this post by a reliable translator. I've found this quote also in varying qualities of translation across Japanese and English forums, so to the best of my knowledge, it's reliable.

Levi's cravat is a piece of his mother's dress + he was wearing her dress when Kenny found him.

This is a popular rumor that Isayama has never confirmed (i think it is true, tho.)

December 25th was chosen by his comrades because he doesn't know his actual birthday.

The guidebook only states that it is his birthday. I can't find any more context on this. —AOT Guidebook; p.256

His character profile:

—AOT Guidebook; p.78–79

His name is Hebrew, and means "attached" or to be "joined".

Isayama came up with Levi's name after watching American documentary "Jesus Camp". (It's about a summer camp-type program where evangelical Christian children are taught extreme beliefs. One of the children was named Levi.) Isayama heard it and thought it sounded cool. —Hajime Isayama x Hikaru Suruga (2014) | 2010 blogpost by Isayama

Levi is in his early 30s (in s3/RtS/volume 19). –Interview, Universal Studios Japan’s SNK THE REAL exhibition, 2016 | confirmation

If Kuchel was still alive, Levi would want to make sure she had an easy life. This means specifically filial piety, a concept exclusive to the East: he would fulfill his duties as a son for her. (tldr he's a mama's boy :3) —Bessatsu Magazine, 2019

Levi would have thin facial hair, but he prefers not to, so he shaves frequently. —January 2020 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 124)

He doesn't like coffee milk or coffee jelly. They're out of the question even.🤐 —July 2018 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 106)

He just gets depressed when he drinks coffee. Maybe he loves tea that much? He stopped calling Hange names like 'shitty glasses' since they became commander because he "seems" to respect their position that much. However, a Smartpass story delves deeper into this (and states as I suspected): [After Hange makes a joke] "Since becoming the commander succeeding Erwin, they’d toned down on their past speech and behaviour that had a touch of tomfoolery; Levi understanding that they were nevertheless trying to maintain the self “that was the case then”, also loses the will to curse at them." + "In the past, Hange had a Hange-type dream, and should have been progressing to that purpose. That lately, was it the weight of the office of commander, or was it due to the reality that is “all the world was our enemy”, their manner had changed considerably." —May 2017 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 92) | Goodnight. Sweet dreams, dear. Act II: Levi

If he and Kenny had fought one-on-one, Levi would've won. —December 2016 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 87)

intermission: all about tea

His favorite "food" is black tea. No actual food.

He doesn't add sugar or milk to his tea because he considers it too expensive—which it is canonically. Despite this, he will share his tea with his comrades (his original squad as far as is seen).

Even though he's Captain, he'd rather drink it straight (the implications of which are he's a hardworking man, like that of a farmer. aka, this makes him seem humble).

If a time of peace ever came, Levi wants to open a black tea shop (he said in a dreamlike way, not so much based in reality).

He also knows a good amount of facts and history about it. He's a tea enthusiast!!

Levi receives pilfered tea in shipments monthly, thanks to Erwin.

—AU Smartpass - Erwin & Levi Close Up Interview Part 2 | Part 1 | Taking shelter from the rain reprise: Levi and Peaure | Bessatsu Magazine, Jan.2014 | September 2016 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 84) | AU Smartpass My First Time Around: Levi Ackerman | The Case of the Corps Tea Party - File No. 09 Levi's Side (3/3) | sugar and milk in tea from the Japanese perspective

Levi, out of his original squad, found Petra cute/sweet in the general sense of the word "kawaii". Like Levi's romantic type however, this was sort of a non-answer to the question (of whether Levi thought she was cute). —2014 interview

After RtS, Levi seems to consider Hange and the 104th his family. —AU Smartpass My First Time Around: Levi Ackerman

He wears a cravat because Isayama based part of his design off Rorschach from the movie 'Watchmen'. He looks "delicate" because of his size and weight, but he's so powerful because [in issues before the reveal of the Ackerman bloodline] of "invisible power" at work. —January 2016 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 76)

The best way to describe the way he thinks is to compare him to the main character from the movie The Hurt Locker (2008). His character was born from Hiei from the manga 'Yuyu Hakusho', and Rorschach from the movie 'Watchmen'. The former was the basis for his appearance (especially his eyes), and the latter was the basis for his personality. Firstly though, Isayama had an image of a small man being the strongest.

—Hajime Isayama x Hikaru Suruga (2014) / Brutus Magazine (2014)

He is something of a protagonist (especially in s3p1). — Animedia, June 2018

His favorite tool (in general...?) is microfiber cloths (for dust I guess. Levi has no need for weapons :3) —July 2015 issue of Bessatsu Magazine

He will usually laugh/smile when he sees convenient cleaning goods (i.e., vacuum cleaners? feather dusters? ((cuz he's a shorty?❤️)) —Bessatsu Magazine, Dec. 2013

He does want to be taller sometimes. He gets eager to clean up after meals rather than cook at all. He can cook, though. —Bessatsu Magazine, Aug.2014 | fan Q&A in Oyama, Oita, Mar.2018

Levi mostly couldn't adapt to the changes that came about after the truth was discovered. Only he wears mostly the same uniform, cape, and blades.

After RtS, Levi personally retrieved Erwin's remains himself, for whom there was a special memorial service. After Eren (inadvertently) called him a "tiny old man" in season 3, Levi didn't care, but when he thought of it by himself later, he was hurt (unclear exactly why). Levi's father, most likely one of Kuchel's customers, is an insignificant man who's short. That's where Levi's height comes from. His face comes from his mother. At the start of season 4, Levi didn't change much compared to the 104th because he's turning into an "old man" who'd rather stick with his flip phone so to speak. He "doesn't break out into cold sweats". AKA he's always calm under pressure. He considers prostitution to be an ordinary job because of his childhood. Levi's vision is very sharp, way above average. He thought Eren's new look beginning season 4 was unclean/dirty (in more ways than one perhaps). —fan Q&A in Oyama, Oita, Mar.2018

He has slight bouts of insomnia. He never snaps/explodes when he's angry. But he does get angry or grumpy a lot, in general. He doesn't sing. It's more likely he would dance. If he was a fan of Momoiro Clover Z (jpop girl group), his favorite would be Momoka. When/if he drinks, he has a high tolerance, but he can get a little drunk :) One thing he highly hates and fears is mold. He is the one who ordered Armin to dress as Historia during the uprising. His blood type is A. Blood types are much like horoscopes in Japanese culture, and Levi's is as such: kichōmen, or well-organized; he likes keeping things neat, but can be stubborn and stressed out easily.

Whether he eats enough or has a good diet? He is "a bit lax". Maybe he forgets to eat sometimes, or has a low appetite. When Levi bathes, he goes for a quick shower then soak in hot water, which takes about ten minutes. Like a bird :')) He on any given night gets about 2-3 hours of sleep. He thought Eren was the best at cleaning (in season 3 / uprising arc). Because of his childhood in the Underground, Levi has a preoccupation/obsession with cleaning (specifically to ward off disease). He also doesn't have any pajamas, mostly keeping day clothes on when he goes to sleep - which is in "his" chair. Levi cuts his own hair using clippers. (Something like:)

He's aware Oluo imitated him, and found it annoying. Levi's horoscope (in general) as a Capricorn: Humanity’s Strongest Soldier - Levi. He possesses warmth in the midst of a dispassionate nature, and he is capable of leadership without verbal expression – both of which are special qualities of a Capricorn. Capricorns tend to hold certain levels of authority, even if they must carry out somewhat unreasonable tactics while in such positions. But when such authority is backed up with actual abilities, a Capricorn can gain Levi’s type of confidence and also be put on a pedestal by those around them. However, Capricorns won’t be dependent on others, much less trust them easily. They don’t hold high expectations and thus never feel a sense of failure. Levi’s faults include the inability to express himself clearly. Even though he wants to encourage his companions, he always speaks in a roundabout way, and without Hanji’s translation it’s nearly impossible to understand Levi’s intended meaning. Even though he is dependable in most situations, when it comes to love/romance, he expresses himself clumsily/awkwardly. —FRaU Magazine, Aug.2014. | fan Q&A in Oyama, Oita, Mar.2018 | Levi: Close-up Report (Part One) | Translator *the horoscope wasn't written by Isayama, but was published alongside canon information, and it's also not factually wrong, so I'm including it.

The dark circles under Levi’s eyes are to convey the “self-destruction” he takes on to reach the “standard” of Humanity’s Strongest. —Interview on the topic of Levi, May 2015

His 'liege'—as Eren is to Mikasa, and Uri is to Kenny—is Erwin. He is afraid of making deep relationships because of the cruel world he lives in; he can't know when someone he cares for will die or how soon. That 'gap' left in Levi's heart by Kenny's death was filled by his squad (the 104th). If Levi hadn't joined the Survey Corps, he would've been a "very irresponsible person". Risky with his life perhaps? As a kid, Levi used to make himself stronger in order to receive praise from Kenny. When he abandoned him, he wondered what his strength was even for. He was able to find peace with Kenny after his death. In CH72, the reason Levi kicked the shit out of Eren and Jean is because of his argument with Erwin earlier.

He knows he's a slave to his own strength, aka the idea of being a hero. He realizes it when Kenny asked what he's a slave to in s3/ch69. —Answers Guidebook, Aug.2016

If he ever changed his appearance, the one thing Levi couldn't be able to give up is his undercut :') He would grow out the top and tie it up :3 —Oyama homecoming event Q&A in 2014 | 2 | 3

Levi knows how to use a gun, but he "places more trust" in knives. —Bessatsu Magazine, 2019

Levi tolerates saunas. But instead of enjoying himself he seems to see it as a test of endurance. (LOL) —Bessatsu Magazine, 2020

Levi has newspaper-level handwriting that he practices often. He's very conscious of it and being connected back to the Underground. —AU Smartpass TEXT: Levi’s Signature

Isayama had considered killing Levi around the time of the thunderspear explosion. (As always) Isayama deliberated with his editors whether or not it'd be meaningful if he died, and they decided it wouldn't be. —Kawakubo interview, 2021

Specially, Levi holds his swords in a reverse grip "his own way" since he wasn't officially trained. —Illustrate Note Magazine, 2017

Levi forcefully bathes Hange by knocking them unconscious. —AU Smartpass - Erwin & Levi Close Up Interview Part 1

Levi is 4 at the time that Kuchel dies. —What the director informed Kamiya Hiroshi of on set

His character song is called "Dark Side of the Moon", found on YouTube here. Translated lyrics here.

how to draw Levi:

—AOT Guidebook; p.229 | +Illustrate Note Magazine, 2017

#please share... this took days of time and effort #levi aot #snk levi #snk levi ackerman #levi ackerman #levi attack on titan #captain levi #rivaille heichou #levi heichou #captain levi ackerman #levi rivaille #rivaille ackerman #aot manga #snk #levi art #levi shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #levi.thoughts

251 notes · View notes

acescavern · 7 months

Text

END TO START - LEE TAEYONG X READER

Navi - M.list

Pairing: Soulmate!Johnny x Soulmate! reader, Taeyong x reader. ( Ft Mark, Jungwoo, Ten, Jaehyun, Taeil, Yuta. Mentions Jaemin once.)

Genre: Heavy angst my guys, soulmates au, neo frat au, university au, fluff, Hanahaki Soulmate trope.

Synopsis: Taeyong had been perfectly happy to sit back and watch you and Johnny be together. However, when he starts to notice certain behaviors that are all too familiar, he finds himself unable to watch you slowly die. Just because Johnny may not love you anymore... doesn't mean Taeyong doesn't love you either.

wc: 4.9k

Warnings: Heavy angst, Blood, Mentions of death, suffering, choking, johnny is unfaithful, it's a Hanahaki au so they basically cough up dead and thorned flowers. It's not a graphic description but there are descriptions of pain too, mentions of weight loss due to being unwell, Unrequited love, hurt, Taeyong's been in love with the reader since before her and Johnny got together, heavy rejection, soulmate rejection ( Just because i have written this does NOT mean that i think any one of the nct members would cheat or act thi way. this is pure FICTION.) Please let me know if i have missed any warnings

Note: Hi! I have a few fics in the works but I'm worried I wont get them done for Halloween. So, I am blessing you with this heart-breaking fic. I wanted to release this fic early as a thank you for all your love on Operation Rizz! Now, this is the same frat universe as all my other NCT fics. they can all be read as stand alone though, so don't worry! Any feedback is once again appreciated. I do not own the concept of Hanahaki.

Likes and reblogs are appreciated

Soulmates were supposed to be someone's everything—the one person who was meant specifically for them. Someone you can lean on and cherish, who would dote and adore you. Someone to dish out as much love to you as you unto them. To stay by your side and grow old together. However, some people are already at that stage when they meet their destined person. There was also the worry of some people not having a soulmate. Legend says that only the blessed are gifted with such.

Gifted? Yes. To many, the Soulmate system is a curse - depending on what type you are assigned to. Tattoos? Easy. Mind reading? Okay a little more difficult. Red string? That practically takes you straight to them. Eternal life? Near impossible! You could spend many years with someone you thought was a soulmate only to see a wrinkle and realize you aren’t made for each other at all. Seeing things in black and white only to suddenly be overwhelmed with color at a music festival and not know who the hell you’d bumped into in that massive crowd that could possibly be your soulmate. Not everyone even had a soulmate, they could be with whoever they wanted without consequences.

But there was one type in particular that nobody wanted. Hanahaki. Named after the fictional Japanese Hanahaki Disease. It comes from the Japanese words Hana - meaning flower and Hakimasu - quite literally meaning, to throw up.

In a soulmate's case, when they first meet each other a seed is awakened. It grows thorned roses - the flowers of love - cradling the person’s heart and twining around inside their lungs. For the most part, other than the occasional flutter and heartburn, it goes unnoticeable. So long as the soulmate reciprocates the feelings of love. But, should one soulmate start to fall out of love? The other will suffer terribly. The flowers will die, the spikey stems squeezing at the organs they were once gently caressing with love. Crushing in their anguish.

Of course, unlike the other soulmate types, there are two ways out of Hanahaki... Let the weight of the unreciprocated love drag on painfully until you die, or convince your health insurance to accept the cost of the operation to remove the offending plants. However, by the time one realizes they are soulmates, it is likely that the bond has already been unreciprocated.

Taeyong knew this. He knew this because it happened to him. He had once been on the receiving end of the agonizing scratch of dead rose stems climbing up his throat in a mess of blood and wilted petals. Taeyong had nearly died. He recognized the signs clearly and that was the reason he was so shocked to see them in who he did.

Johnny’s soulmate.

Taeyong first took notice when you walked through the door of the club. A celebration night to celebrate the frat’s anniversary alongside Taeyong’s new choreographer position in the dance studio he works in. Your face had a slightly paler tone and although you were doing a good job at keeping your breathing even… Taeyong recognized the telltale signs of a wince when you took the air in too harshly.

But when he saw Johnny approach you and press a loving kiss to your forehead, he scolded himself for thinking such things. Taeyong knew something was up though, your smile didn’t meet your eyes and when you congratulated him with a hug, he swore he could feel your body tremble.

He tried not to worry too much throughout the night but when he saw Johnny by the bar, his charming smile dazzled at some sorority girls that had been invited… Taeyong wondered where you’d gone. The disappointment within him only grew when he watched his best friend and frat brother go home with one of them.

So, maybe his suspicions were correct. A few weeks passed and he’d not seen a glimpse of you, Johnny hadn’t even uttered your name. The rapper hadn’t had time to sit him down and ask him about the incident. Until now.

Taeyong dabbed the sweat from his brow with the neckline of his shirt, swiping his water bottle from the floor. He shuffled toward his friend, watching as he grinned at his phone as he typed. He was talking to someone and Taeyong only hoped it was you. That you’d both mended things to stop it getting worse. The thought of it all being a misunderstanding had a relieved smile spreading across his face as he settled on the floor next to Johnny.

“You texting ____? Tell her I said Hey.” Taeyong said, twisting the cap off his drink to take a swig. Taeyong was almost taken aback at the irritated flash that crossed Johnny’s expression at the mention of your name.

If Taeyong wasn’t so observant, he would have missed it. Johnny shook his head, swiftly locking his phone when his leader went to peer over his shoulder. “It’s not. It’s Yuki.”

Taeyong’s eyebrows scrunched, posture freezing for a moment. “The sorority girl you went home with?” He tried to keep his tone level. Memories of the same thing happening to himself reoccur in his mind. “What about ____?” The question hung awkwardly in the air, Johnny staring at Taeyong as if he’d asked something ridiculous.

“What about her?” He shrugged. “Just because I do stupid things, doesn't mean I don’t love her. She’s my soulmate.” He paused, an almost defeated sigh sagging at his shoulders. “The only one I got.”

Taeyong took notice of the slight bitterness in his words. Almost as if he didn’t realize that he did it. “Do you?”

Johnny rubbed at the back of his neck, his mouth opening but no words coming out. Once again, a defeated shrug of his shoulders. “Yeah… yes.” He cleared his throat as his voice broke. “I’m sure we’d of noticed by now if I hadn’t.” Johnny left no room for debate, standing up with a clap of his hands to suggest they continue their lacrosse practice.

You knew. You knew Johnny’s feelings for you were dwindling. You were reminded every time you coughed. Reminded by the way your breath left you in an agonizing squeeze when Johnny would kiss your forehead.

But, even though you knew… it didn’t make you love him any less. You knew what he got up to when your nights weren't spent together. You didn’t do a thing, didn’t bring it up. You almost tried to ignore it. You loved Johnny. You always would. And, as long as you continued to love him, he wouldn’t have the same fate as you. You would never wish this pain on him even if he was the cause.

You wished you’d heeded Mark’s seemingly lighthearted warning at the beginning of your relationship. ‘He’s one of my closest friends but he doesn’t always do the right thing, just… please be careful.’ Mark had said one evening. You hadn’t truly understood why he had said it, nor did you get to question him before Johnny had slid his arm around your middle.

You understood perfectly now. Especially as a sharp tickle wheezed in the back of your throat, your eyes discreetly scanning the new text message from your seat at the very back row of English lit class. ‘Can we rain check date night again? Coach is being a hardass and wants us to stay late.’ For the third week running, the same excuse. Sure, you’d seen Johnny. But Thursday was always date night. Something you’d both stuck to like glue once before.

Pain twisted in your chest, your breath rough. You brought the sleeve of your hoodie to your mouth, attempting a discreet cough. It didn’t do anything for you, the feeling like you’d swallowed razorblades. The world felt like it was spinning for a moment and you had to close your eyes and count to ten to steady it again.

One look at your sleeve had you frowning. The next stage had started. You’d read about this. Discoloured petals. You’d only coughed up one but one was enough for you to be sure. With one last attempt at clearing your throat, you brushed the blackened petal to the ground.

Taeyong shared this class with you. Whilst he didn’t often sit next to you, he was mostly always on the same row. Not many people occupied the back row and so, when he heard the muffled hack come from your direction he had looked over, shoulders tensing as he watched you.

He approached you at the end of class, watching your sluggish movements as you shoved your laptop back into your bag. “____, Are you alright?” He asked softly, noting the sheen of sickly sweat coasting your forehead.

Lips pressed firmly together, you nodded. You were certain if you opened your mouth you'd start coughing and choking again but you didn’t want to be rude. “I’m fine.” Bad idea. “Sorry, Yong, I gotta go-” Taeyong had never heard your voice so scratchy and coarse. He had also never seen you flee so quickly before he could even open his mouth, your notepad falling from your unzipped bag as you vanished before his eyes.

As he knelt down to collect it from the ground, his fingers made contact with a velvety, withered texture.

A blackened rose petal.

The next time Taeyong saw you, you were much worse than he could have imagined. He had only turned up at your apartment because he assumed Johnny had left his phone at your place. He couldn’t really understand the rushed words of ‘Shit! I left my phone at her place, I’m already late!’ When Taeyong offered to go and get it, he naturally thought of your place.

So when you answered the door, he was standing frozen at the sight of you. Your eyes had bags under them that would put JFK airport to shame. Your complexion was grey, lips cracked and dry. Taeyong could definitely see you’d lost some weight too, your knitted sweater nearly slipping off one shoulder. His gaze caught onto the marks along your neck, long red streaks almost looking like you had been clawing at it in your agony. Your winced call of his name kicked his brain into gear.

“Now isn’t a good ti-” His hands flew out to rub and pat your back as your words were interrupted.

Taeyong’s heart broke as he watched you struggle. You couldn’t get your breath, your face turning red from the strenuosity. Taeyong backed you into your apartment, kicking the door closed behind him. He sat you on your couch, disappearing from view for a moment.

You didn’t even take note of what exactly was being thrust under your nose, only that it would catch what your body rejected. One of his hands held the bucket, the other sweeping your hair away from your face. It was all too familiar for him. Except for Taeyong, he had done it alone.

“It’s okay, ____” He hushed, palm flattened over your back to rub comforting circles. “Breath through your nose and count to ten. It helps.”

You did as such, shoulders relaxing as the air finally seeped into your lungs. You wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, sighing at the crimson residue that was becoming all too familiar. You opened your mouth to speak, only to be gently hushed once more.

“It’s okay, it’ll hurt too much if you talk.” He set the bucket down on the side table. “You should get yourself some grapeseed oil. A teaspoon a day should at least prevent the attacks so often.” Taeyong didn’t look at you as he spoke, his hands busying themselves with opening the small drawer to your coffee table in search of tissues.

“You mean this?” You rasped, pulling the small droplet bottle from your pocket, and setting it down on the surface before you. Taeyong’s eyebrows creased.

It was the exact same bottle he was sure he had. Though, catching sight of the label on the bottle he knew it was his bottle. ‘Taeyong’ scribbled messily on the labeled sticker. He looked at you expectantly.

“Johnny gave it to me.” Just uttering his name sent a pang of hurt through you, a wave of emotion rippling from your jaw to the tips of your toes.

Taeyong understood immediately, a deep sigh resonating as he nodded once. “He knows then.” To which you nodded, eyes fixed on your lap.

He had never seen you cry, and he would hate to admit it but your eyes looked pretty when you did. It was as if the glaze of tears enhanced the colors of your iris. “He doesn’t know it’s this bad. He thinks the tickle has just started.”

“____, you’re dying and you’re telling me Johnny hasn’t noticed yet?” To say that Taeyong was in disbelief was an understatement. The new knowledge that Johnny knew now had floored him.

Why? Because Johnny hadn’t once let it show. Taeyong had been around the guy all week and he was still the happy comedic genius he always was. Not a hint of anything bothering him.

“Yong, It’s okay. I..” You drew your knees up to your chest, patting the spot next to you for him. “I’ve come to terms with it.”

“Come to terms with it?!” He spluttered. “____, you are in your twenties! You can’t be okay with dying in your twenties.” His hand raked through his hair, eyes blinking rapidly like he couldn't come to terms with how calm you looked right now.

Taeyong could feel the anger bubbling up in his chest, his gaze hardening as he addressed you once more. “You know he’s been seeing her too, don’t you?”

You were silent, shame eating at your subconscious. “If I ignore it then he won’t have to be like this too.”

Taeyong sprung up to his feet. “Wake up! He’s out there living his life with no regrets and you’re the one to suffer? I can’t…” He shook his head, shoving his clenched fists into his pockets. “I’m sorry, I just-” With one last shake of his head, Taeyong left you there. The slam of your front door announcing his absence.

Johnny remembered the conversation between the two of you very clearly. He was convinced he still loved you a lot. Just not in the way you need. At first, he thought it was doubt, but as time went on he started to notice the dry tickly cough and the abundance of petals scattered in your trash. He was sure it wasn’t harmful yet, certain that he still held the love in his heart for you.

Johnny didn’t love Yuki. She was fun. She was different. She wasn’t you. He could spend time with her without any strings attached. It was freeing, knowing he wasn't destined to be with her no matter what.

He felt guilt at first. He didn’t like lying to you, but it was for his own selfish gain that he did. Johnny had seen Taeyong go through the pain and near death of a soulmate falling out of love, he didn’t want that for himself. Johnny had too much to live for, as arrogant and self-centred as that sounded.

He remembered what you said when he gave you the vial of grapeseed oil, how your shaky hands had placed over his own. How you told him it was okay, it wasn’t his fault. But Johnny couldn’t help but think it was. Johnny tried so hard to make himself love you still. Your words of comfort swirled in his mind and kept him up at night. ‘Nobody can help who they do and don’t love. Feelings change, People don’t’ You’d said to him.

Johnny felt ashamed. Being unfaithful to you whilst you still loved him with every ounce of your soul. Deep down, Johnny knew you only had two options he just hoped you made a decision before it was too late.

Taeyong had been seen by barely anyone all week. It was as if he was attending his classes and then picking up every extra shift or odd job imaginable. The Neos were even more shocked when Mark slapped a flier down on the dining table ping pong table in front of some of the brothers. A for sale flier, advertising their frat leader’s motorcycle. The very same one that he cherished and spent a fortune to modify.

“Do you think he’s in debt?” Jungwoo frowned, setting his beer on the table.

That question alone earned a chortled laugh. “Woo, we’re in university. We’re all in debt.” Yuta clapped him on the back. “But, on a serious note, He’s been acting super weird lately.”

Everyone launched into debate, trying to determine why Taeyong would be selling his pride and joy so suddenly. Conversation ceased when the front door opened and the man in question shuffled into the open-plan living space with an exhausted wave.

“Ty, are you actually selling the bandit?” The question came from Taeil, Neo frat’s oldest member.

Taeyong moved through the living area, taking a seat at one of the beanbags littered around the table. “Already sold it.” He bobbed his head in a nod.

It earned him many concerned looks. “Are you in trouble or something? Are you trying to cover the water bill from when Mark broke the faucet?”

“No, Jae. I’m not in trouble. It’s not for me.” He reassured, his voice dying down quietly. “It’s for ____.”

Everyone stopped. Mark locked his phone, Yuta stopped chipping at his nail polish, and Taeil nearly spat out his beer. Jaehyun and Jungwoo were already staring at him.

“Why?”

Taeyong took a deep breath, anticipating the question.It didn’t take long for him to catch them up to speed. “You haven’t noticed? I can’t watch her die. Even if she’s come to terms with it.”

“She’s not been to class for a few weeks. Professor Choi just straight-up skips over her name now. I’m guessing they know.” Jaehyun hummed.

“Hm, Jaemin said he saw her last week on his midnight ramen run.” Mark recalled, “Said she looked like something out of living dead.”

“Mark,” Taeyong gave him a warning look. The younger just shrugged his shoulders. “I’m going to book the operation for her. She doesn’t know. I just need the deposit. After that, it’s monthly payments. I can scrape enough together for the monthly just fine.” He looked pained. “Whenever I see her, it’s like I’m watching myself go through it again.”

One by one, Jaehyun, Mark, Jungwoo, Yuta, and Taeil offered their help.

The six of them didn’t make it known what their plans were but soon enough, after Taeyong had put what he had already saved with what the others offered, it was enough. He rocked up to the private medical center, cash in an envelope that was tucked neatly within the inside pocket of his jacket.

Taeyong was pleasantly surprised that he was allowed to schedule and pay the deposit on your behalf. Acting on best interest. The receptionist did stress that you needed to fill in the form and sign consent upon arrival but Taeyong was more pleased that he was giving you a chance at life. That there was a possibility that you could carry on.

What he didn’t expect, was your immediate refusal when he brought the leaflet and forms over to your apartment the following morning. The smile dropped from his face as you tried to hide away from him. ‘He could die.’ You’d cried at him. And whilst it had been proven he wouldn't, you were convinced.

“He won’t, ____.” Taeyong begged. “Please, you can’t just accept this.” The bed dipped as he sat on the edge. The many times he had visited you now, you had always been. The last time you got up to open the door, Taeyong honestly worried that you would pass away right there on the doorstep. He took your spare key after that.

Taeyong’s gentle fingers lifted the damp wash cloth from the bowl at your bedside, running the cool material over your brow and cheeks. A light smile twitched at the corner of your lips, the sensation easing your fever, only a little but it was better than before. He knew he wasn’t going to get many more words from you this evening. You’d exhausted yourself already for the evening. Taeyong was just content enough to sit here and care for you.

Honestly, before it was known that you were Johnny’s soulmate, Taeyong had hoped you’d notice him. He had often found himself wishing that it wouldn’t last so he could at least have a shot with you. His hopes were crushed when Johnny had run through the fraternity declaring you were both soulmates. Taeyong had made peace with the idea that maybe he was meant to be alone, satisfied just by seeing you whenever Johnny brought you over to hang out.

He never wished for this, though.

Tenderest of touches brushed your hair away from where it had clung to your forehead. Taeyong clicking on the standing fan in an attempt to offer you some cool relief. “Trust me, ____.” He whispered, voice brittle. “I went through this.” His confession had your right eye cracking open.

“Back in the first year,” Taeyong recalled. “Watching you and Johnny go through this… it’s like a mirror. I nearly died,” He picked up your hand, engulfing it in both of his own. “I refused the operation until it was nearly too late. For the same reason, actually.”

Your fingers twitched in his own, your index finger hooking around his thumb to offer comfort. You have suspected Taeyong had some close experience with this. Especially in the way he always seemed to understand your pain, the sad gazes, and his drive to help you. You had never expected that he would be the one in your position though. The meer thought had tears welling up in your eyes. You seemed to cry a lot around the man these days.

“He didn’t die though. Apparently, he just… coughed up the root.” He lifted your hand, the ghosting feeling of his lips against your knuckles. “I promise you, Johnny won’t die… At least think about it.” To which you nodded in agreement.

Taeyong made you soup, your favorite kind. You weren’t even sure how he knew it was your favorite but he did. He parted from you with a lingering kiss to your hairline. Just like every night. This form of unrequited love seemed to of hurt him more than his last.

He’d left the forms and leaflets on the empty bed space by your feet.

You’d asked Taeyong not to come over for the last four days. As worried as he was, he had to respect your wishes. You didn’t want him to see your sudden decline as you entered the last stage of the rejection. Meaning, that Johnny had almost fallen completely out of love with you now.

You were expecting it, Taeyong too. You and Johnny had broken things off the last time you saw each other. Both of you doing so without even having to clarify the matter. He was free. Almost.

Taeyong had been stressed all week, even his frat brothers had given him a wide berth. Many put it down to the lacrosse game the pending evening. Only a select few really knew that it was because today was the same day Taeyong had scheduled for your surgery.

He hadn’t known it was the same day as the game, Jungwoo uttering the words with caution the day before. Taeyong swore to himself that he thought he booked it for next week. He didn’t even know if you were going to accept it… Any time he brought it up you tended to change the subject.

How Taeyong managed to even pass the ball with steady swings amazed even himself, his hands hadn’t stopped shaking. He had nearly skipped the game in favor of being with you, but he knew he couldn’t. The game had gone smoothly, they were winning by one. In fact, Johnny had to take the penalty shot.

The whole field waited on bated breath, all eyes on Johnny as he just stood there, his expression morphed in such a way that Taeyong exchanged a look with Jaehyun.

“Seo! Take the damn shot already!” The coach didn’t even get through his ending word before Johnny’s form curled over, knees slamming into the ground.

Taeyong rushed over as his friend tore off his helmet and spat his mouthguard to the ground. He would worry about that later. Taeyong slid to his knees beside Johnny, his own helmet crashing to the ground out of his grip.

Johnny had never felt such pain. His airways were burning. The sensation in his chest felt like all the oxygen was being torn from him. The team crowded around him, blocking anyone else's view of the scene. A choked cough left his throat, a shout of agony following after. Petals. Blood. Stems. The flower was unwinding itself, pulling at the roots from within his chest and lungs.

The team managed to maneuver Johnny back to the locker rooms, it took four of them to carry him but soon the male was slumped against the tiles of the showers. Taeyong was beside him once again. “Cough it up Johnny, you’ll do more damage if you don’t.” He tugged Johnny’s arm to sit him forward, his fist thumping down in the center of his back. “Johnny, come on!”

To say Taeyong was relieved when Johnny finally started coughing again was an understatement. “You gotta carry it on, it’ll hurt but I’ve got you.” He pleaded over the sound of his friend’s cries and chokes.

Johnny doesn’t know how long he continuously coughed for. All he knew was the last one to shake through his body finally offered him release, Taeyong tugging him away from the mangled mix of plant and blood only to rip him, Johnny, from his shock-induced state by shoving him under the freezing cold shower stream - kit and all.

A big, clear breath left him.

“What the fuck, John?” Ten peaked his head around the corner, having raced in after the team to check on his best friend.

“Dude, that's your flower.” Mark grimaced, crouched down next to the offending object.

The announcement made Johnny’s spine straighten, and Taeyong hung his head. “What does it mean?” Johnny shakily stood, pressing the button to stop the stream of cold water.

It was fascinating how Johnny already felt better. He felt no pull in his chest, no weakness even after the whole ordeal. He felt new. But if he felt like this… then what had happened to you? The realization of what had happened weighed heavy on his guilt.

He turned to address the sort of traumatized, faces around him but it wasn’t him that spoke up. It was Taeyong. “It means I need to find ____.”

Taeyong had raced past his teammates and into the locker room without any further explanation. His phone cramped between his ear and shoulder as he tugged on his sweats at record speed. “C’mon, Petal. Pick up.” He swore to himself, only removing the device from his ear to throw on a t-shirt from his locker. It was a term of endearment he had taken to calling you of late, though quite often when you were too dazed to notice.

He ignored the looks of confusion from his friends. Well, from those other than Mark and Jaehyun. From the look on Johnny’s face, he was still piecing things together. Taeyong didn’t have time for that, snatching the keys for the beat-up Honda he had gotten recently and sprinting from the room.

Taeyong continued to call you on the way to your apartment. He had just hoped you’d gotten yourself to the appointment. He didn’t want to think about the possibility of losing you like this. He found himself afraid to enter your building, scared of what he may find. His head thumped against the steering wheel, eyes burning with unshed tears. You had to be okay.

His phone buzzed, body jumped when he saw your name flash on the screen. He swiped to answer, bringing it up to his ear with a relieved sigh. “____.” He listened to your breathing for a split second, registering the steady beeps in the background.

“Is he alive?” Your tone was filled with urgency but your voice was clearer than Taeyong had heard in weeks. It had a relieved laugh bubbling from his chest, salty droplets cascading down his cheeks and leaving his tear ducts with the tension in him.

“He’s fine.” He sniffled, rubbing at his face. “ Petal, you’re okay. I tho-” You interrupted him with a soothing call of his name.

“You were right.” He listened to you pause, the sounds of you sipping through a straw present in the receiver. “There are things I do have to live for.” You spoke quietly. “The first one being myself.”

He hummed in agreement, starting up the car again. “Yeah? I’ll be there soon and you can tell me all about the second, Petal.” He was rewarded with a breathy laugh. “What?”

“Petal.” You murmured, Taeyong could hear the slumber lingering back into your tone.

“Get some rest. I’ll be there soon.” He was about to pull the phone away from his ear when you quietly called his name again.

“Yes?” He hummed, clicking the hands-free and setting the phone into the holder on the dash.

“Can I tell you my second reason?”

“What’s that, Petal?” He smiled softly to himself.

“It’s you.”

©Acescavern - I do not give permission for my works to be copied, translated or reposted

228 notes · View notes

perpetualcynicism · 6 days

Text

…𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜: In which Heizou takes you to see Inazuma’s Summer Festival, but that’s not what you’ll remember the outing for. …𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Fluff, pining. …𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: Crowds, I guess? …𝙻𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑: 3,632 words. …𝙰𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: Gender-neutral reader, modern AU, friends-to-lovers, mentions of Japanese street food and festival games. Reblogs and comments are appreciated.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚛.

“This way, hurry!”

Your heels drove into the floor to propel yourself forwards as you forced your way through the crowd. Heizou slipped ahead of you, weaving past the sea of arms and torsos with skill you could envy. Your blood rushed in your ears. The hot pulse thrummed in time with your heartbeat. Somebody knocked their elbow into your ribs. You felt the air being forced out from your lungs.

“Careful!” Heizou said, glancing at you from over his shoulder. You would have called back “I know!”, but you were too winded to speak. “Don’t get lost, now. We’re almost there!”

Another influx of people flooded past, forcing you back into the main body of the crowd. You felt yourself be pushed forwards, right, left, pulled this way and that like a fish floundering against a current. Is it always this busy? you thought, drawing your clothes tighter around yourself.

“Quickly, over here! There’s an opening in the crowd!”

You sighed and picked up the pace, internally lamenting the crumpled, twisted state of your yukata as you did. You’d wanted to wear something nice for tonight. It was, after all, a long-awaited occasion. The fact that Heizou was here had nothing to do with it.

As promised, a gap appeared in the people ahead of you. You squeezed past a final troupe of people, elbowing your way past a tourist group, and made towards the gap at lightning speed.

The situation was this: ever since you’d first come to study in Inazuma, there was one thing you’d wanted to see here—the Teyvat-renowned Summer Festival. When you arrived, you’d missed it just shy of a week. During the second, workload and life got in the way of things (as they had a tendency to do), and by the time the third Summer Festival of your stay rolled around, you had accepted that this dream of yours was unlikely to happen, and with the same mourning feeling of bidding goodbye to an old friend, you let the dream go. After two missed festivals, you reasoned, you could survive one more. There were other, more important things to focus on, anyhow.

That of course was upturned the moment a certain Shikanoin Heizou, by now a close friend of yours whom you’d made shortly after you arrived, asked you off-handedly one day, “Hey, wanna come to the Summer Festival with me?” You had jumped at the chance as any sensible person would. He’d grinned in response.

And that is how you found yourself squished up in a sea of vibrantly-dressed festival goers on a hot summer evening, practically suffocated by the close quarters. It was not, admittedly, the most flattering start to the night.

“We should have taken another way around,” you muttered bitterly, brushing yourself off as you broke free of the crowd, although you didn’t really mean it. You were glad to be here in the first place. Oxygen was a necessary sacrifice you were willing to make.

“You alright?” Heizou asked as you sidled up beside him. It took a moment for you to catch your breath.

“Yeah. Somewhat flattened,” you admitted finally, earning a sympathetic laugh from Heizou, “but it feels good to breathe again.”

He nodded. “That’s a relief. Sorry about that, by the way. I could’ve taken us down a less busy route.”

“It’s okay. It was me who wanted to go through the main entrance, anyway.”

Heizou glanced over at you, briefly pausing. “Oh, your yukata—”

“I know,” you sighed. You brushed down the front of the garment and readjusted the collar which had been twisted sideways in the scuffle. “So much for looking good for the festival, huh?”

Heizou clicked his tongue. “Come on, don’t say that. You look amazing.”

You weren’t completely convinced, but you thanked him anyway. For a moment, you watched the ocean of people flow past, a mesmerising array of bright colours and patterned kimonos. You supposed it was your fault for trying to get in at the busiest time of the evening.

“Do you still want to continue through the stalls?” Heizou asked once the human flood died down a little.

You scoffed light-heartedly. “What kind of a question is that? Of course I do.” Heizou flashed you another smile and reached for your hand. Before he could set off and pull you along through the park hosting the festival, you added, “Maybe in a slightly less crowded area, though.”

“Got it.”

And you were off again. Heizou took the lead in showing you around, since he knew where he was going and you did not. You walked shoulder-to-shoulder through the assorted festival stalls, occasionally jostled about by the colourful crowd, talking and laughing as you went. Well, Heizou did most of the talking, while you admired all the decorations like a wide-eyed child.

“Someone's enjoying themselves,” he commented with a sly grin once he finished recounting a tale about this fraud-warning show he’d tried putting on some time ago.

“Oh, be quiet, you,” you grumbled, batting him lightly on the arm. He bumped your shoulder in return.

“Ooh, hang on.” Heizou stopped in his tracks. He was looking at something behind you.

You turned around to see what had caught his attention. “What is it?” you asked.

“Sparklers,” he replied with a grin, already making for the stall in question. You trailed after him in pursuit.

“Aren’t sparklers dangerous in a space as packed as this?” you queried as you pushed yourselves into the winding queue.

“Well, technically yeah,” he admitted, “But you only live once, right?”

You raised a brow. “Only living once to die to a sparkler sounds like a pretty sorry way to go.”

“Here,” he said, decidedly ignoring your comment and offering you a fizzling sparkler, “have one. My intuition tells me it’s perfectly safe.”

For all your criticism, you thanked him and took it—though you couldn’t resist adding, “If this is where I die, I’m blaming you and your intuition.”

Heizou’s face fell in an expression of mock offence as he took back his change for the sparklers. “When has my intuition ever been wrong?” he asked. You were forced to admit he had a point. Walking back up to you, he continued, “And besides, do you really trust me so little to save you? To whisk you away from danger at a moment’s notice?”

You clicked your tongue. “Afraid so. Against a formidable sparkler,” you waved the aforementioned item in front of his face, and tiny sparks leapt out from it like fireflies, “I’m not sure even the mighty Shikanoin Heizou stands a chance.”

“Careful with that. You could poke someone’s eye out.”

Exasperated with his teasing hypocrisy, you sighed and didn’t reply. You resumed your walk for a few more minutes, taking in the decorated maple trees and the dusk air, sparklers spitting gold, before Heizou stopped again in the middle of the gravel path without warning.

“Let’s go this way,” he said, stepping off the path and into the grass.

“Why?”

His smile and mysterious tone of voice revealed nothing. “Just come.”

“Okay…”

You let Heizou tug you up the hill around which the celebrations were being held. The maple trees thinned the higher you went until you had a full view of the sky overhead. The city’s skyscrapers winked their neon lights at you, rising like glittering columns from the surrounding treeline below. Faintly, you could make out the sounds of traffic in the distance.

A deep indigo was setting into the evening sky and revealed little studded stars as it darkened, marking the transition from dusk to nightfall. Only a faint red flush told you that sunset had yet to end.

People were trickling steadily in from the surrounding paths which lead from the main activities, but it was quieter here than in the middle of the festive throng. Colder, too. You hadn’t taken notice of the cool summer wind when you were being crushed amid moving bodies, but here, in this relative isolation, it became apparent that the night was not as hot as you’d thought it was.

Just as you were going to suggest finding somewhere warmer to stand—behind a tree, maybe, to block the breeze—the last crimson blush faded from the horizon. Heizou put a hand on each of your shoulders and whispered into your ear, “Surprise!”

No sooner had he spoken than the night came alive with colour. Dazzling twisters of pink and blue sprang into the sky, squealing as they burst into shimmering showers of gold over the treeline. Red, sparkling rockets were set off in the shapes of foxes and kitsune masks which exploded among the constellations like they were dancing with the stars themselves.

“Woah,” was all you could get out before your jaw fell open. To your right, Heizou’s mouth tugged into a smile which half matched your own excitement and was half smug.

“That’s what you wanted to see right?”

You nodded, not really paying attention to what he was saying.

“How do you like it?” he prodded.

A redundant question, but you answered it anyway. “It’s… I mean, it’s incredible.”

Heizou chuckled and pressed a kiss to your cheek in an action too quick for you to register. “I’m glad you like it.” He tugged on your hand, leading you further into the stalls. “Come on, let’s go find a better spot to watch it from.”

You let him pull you forwards. The kiss hit seconds later. The moment it clocked you, you felt your face light up like a furnace. Your limbs went stiff, like they were locked at the joints, and you were rendered frozen for a good while, practically being dragged along by Heizou while your feet stumbled uselessly over the ground. Wait, when had your heart started racing? Bemused, you lifted your hand to lightly touch the tingling spot he’d marked, the fireworks a distant afterthought.

You came back to your senses when you reached the hilltop. You and Heizou nudged your way through the crowd, all donned in plastic kitsune masks and holding wooden gohei, until you found an open space and sat down on the grass. Once more your attention was captivated by the fireworks display, and the kiss was a fleeting memory gone in the next burst of colour.

You watched the rest of the fireworks in awed silence. The display went on for a few minutes more, and the glittering colour faded from the sky all too quickly.

“Good show, right?” Heizou’s voice snapped you back to the present moment. He was looking at you intently, like he was studying your expression for a sign of your own opinion. In the olives of his irises, you could faintly make out the glittering reflection of the fireworks’ dying showers. “I heard Naganohara Fireworks played a big hand in it this year. What did you think?”

You floundered for words, struggling to find a way to articulate your answer. Finally, you succeeded in stammering out, “I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life.” You shook your head, disbelieving. To think you’d practically given up on coming—and you wouldn’t have, if not for him. “Thank you for taking me here. Seriously. It’s everything I could have hoped for.”

“No problem,” Heizou replied, his smile contagious. “It’s my pleasure.” He stood up from the grass and stretched widely. You suspected it was for dramatic effect: you’d hardly been sitting long enough to develop a cramp, much less in the arms. He dropped his arms to his side and shot you a grin. “Do you want to go and get some taiyaki?”

You barely had the time to say ‘yes’ before you were pulled to your feet and into a run, ducking and weaving between the crowd, your laughter mingling in the air as you went. The stream of people thickened again as you entered the main length of the path; shoved about backwards and forwards, your hand slipped from his and a row of passersby blocked your vision. When they cleared, Heizou had vanished among the crowd.

You turned from side to side in a futile attempt to locate him. Just as you were reaching into your pocket to call him on your phone, you felt a tap on your shoulder. There he stood, grinning, holding two paper bags containing one taiyaki each. His mouth moved as he said something you couldn’t make out over the crowd’s hubbub, and he held out one of the bags to you. You accepted it with a ‘thank you’ and, chewing on the snack as you went, elbowed your ways into a less crowded space.

“This is really good,” you remarked, taking another bite from the fish’s sorry head. The pastry was crispy on the outside, yet chewy and not too firm, and the red bean filling was still warm. You spoke around your mouthful, “And it’s not too sweet, either.”

“I know, right?” Heizou nodded towards the taiyaki he was holding. “I suspect the secret to these is in the batter: they probably leave out the egg when making it, so the pastry is more crispy.”

You swallowed down a large chunk of the stuff. “That makes sense.”

Once you finished the taiyaki, you moved along through the other stalls, splashing out on festival foods and having a go at games like shateki, during which you made the pleasant discovery of having a very good aim with low-quality guns, and wanage, during which you discovered Heizou was much better at throwing rings than you were. By the time you’d exhausted all the stalls, it was well into the later hours of night. The crowd thinned slowly. You and Heizou made your way back through the emptying park, occasionally glancing at games which still caught your interest.

“I ate way too much,” you groaned, holding what felt like a swollen lump in your stomach. “Nobody should have that much fried food.”

Heizou agreed as he stretched out his arms again beside you. “If I see another piece of kaarage, I think I’m going to throw up.”

“I thought you loved fried food.”

“‘Loved’ being the keyword there,” he lamented. “Past tense.”

“Too much of a good thing, huh?”

“Something like that.”

You walked in silence for a few minutes, watching tourists and locals move throughout the stalls. The initial buzz of energy you felt when arriving here had lessened. It was calmer, now, yet also felt strangely lonely. Your sparkler produced a final, feeble sizzle of light before dying out. You were surprised it had hung on for so long at all. Its death seemed to mark the end of the festive spirit, too. Absentmindedly, you took out your phone and checked the time. 01:24.

“We should probably head back now,” you said, a touch regretfully. Heizou nodded.

“Yeah, I was thinking so, too.”

You passed your weight from foot to foot, hovering there awkwardly. Even though you’d spent a whole evening together, you didn’t want to say goodbye just yet. You searched your mind for some excuse to make.

“You know, I could walk you back,” you offered. “I doubt it’s dangerous because most people are at the festival, but better safe than sorry, right?”

A grin spread across Heizou’s face and brightened his eyes. “Oh? Are you volunteering to be my big, strong bodyguard?”

“Big, strong bodyguard at your service,” you confirmed, folding your arms across your chest, “to keep the damsel from harm.”

Heizou pressed his hand to his forehead in a fake swoon. “Oh, my, I can barely stand. Please, my good knight, save this poor, helpless—ah!” He tipped backwards too far in his swoon and stumbled into a surprised-looking tourist who dropped their gohei at the collision. He apologised and picked himself back up while you wheezed with laughter in the background.

“What the fuck,” you snorted once he rejoined you.

“I couldn’t handle your manliness,” he explained miserably. “I’m sorry.”

You shrugged, as if to say, fair enough. “You know what, I can forgive that. Not many people can.”

“Should we get going, then, my shining-armoured knight?”

“We shall.” Maybe it was the festival food getting to your head, but on a whim, you boldly held out your arm to Heizou. The thing was that you hadn’t been expecting him to actually take it. He hooked his elbow around yours, flashing you a confident grin which made your heart stutter, and bumped your shoulders together. Jitters shot down your arm from the contact.

A teasing slyness crept into Heizou’s voice. “What, is my bodyguard getting nervous? Tsk. How unmanly of you.”

“Oh, be quiet,” you grumbled. “The manliest people get nervous, too.”

He laughed brightly. Your face warmed. You always felt this kind of proud flush when you managed to make him smile.

You made your way to the park’s exit and set down the road, leaving the glowing lights of the Summer Festival behind you. You talked as you walked about whatever took your fancy: recent gossip, the news, workloads, and, when Heizou insisted on ‘protecting’ you from a street cat wandering around the bins by walking bravely in front of you and distracting it with a gohei you’d purchased earlier, the topic of bodyguards again. You raised your eyebrow after Heizou confirmed the cat was gone.

“I thought I was supposed to be the big, strong bodyguard here,” you remarked.

“Even the big, strong bodyguard needs a bodyguard themselves, you know.”

You pointed out, “Wouldn’t that bodyguard need a bodyguard too, though?”

“What a conundrum. I don’t think there are enough of us for infinite bodyguards—oh, speaking of which, I don’t think we’ll need any more bodyguards anyway. Here we are.”

You looked up to see a familiar door standing in front of you. A too familiar door. Your eyebrows furrowed. “Hang on a minute.”

Unknowingly, you must have led the two of you back to your place, not his. You grimaced, feeling guilty for bringing him here when you’d said you would take him back to his place. You yourself usually walked alone, so even though you knew where Heizou lived, you weren’t used to returning there. You’d probably walked this way without thinking. Muscle memory, you supposed.

“I don’t know how we ended up here.” You scratched your neck. “Er, sorry about that. I can still walk you to your place and come back afterwards, if you want.”

He shook his head. “No, there’s no need at all. We both got carried away while talking. I can make my own way back alone.”

You shifted in your place, guilt still gnawing at you with its little, irritating teeth. “Are you sure?”

“Mhm.” Teasingly, he added, “Don’t worry, I won’t get ambushed.”

You grumbled, but begrudgingly let go of your doubt. If he was sure, then he was sure.

“Um,” you began. “Thank you so much for today, by the way. Again. All of it was…” You trailed off, recollecting all the games, food, street performances, fireworks you’d seen that evening. They flooded back to you painted golden, like you were remembering them through the leaping light of a sparkler. “Archons, I can’t put it into words. Everything was amazing.”

He grinned at you, and it was the warmest thing you’d ever seen. “The pleasure was all mine.” He paused, then said, “You know, it’s not often I see you smiling as much as you did tonight.”

“Yeah, well,” you shrugged, “you do have a strange way of doing that to me.”

Instead of continuing the banter with another quip, Heizou stepped closer and opened his arms out in front of you expectantly: an invitation you knew well by now and could never resist. You stepped into his arms and he pressed you into a hug.

You didn’t hug many people, but there was something about Heizou’s hugs which made you feel so grounded and secure for all of his light-hearted demeanour. As you held each other this time, you noticed you could feel his breath on the side of your neck and his hair tickling your shoulder, and you wondered, Were you always this close when you hugged? His arms wrapped around you just a fraction tighter than they should; he kept the embrace for only a moment longer than a good friend would.

Before you could question it fully, he pulled away, still holding your hands. His hands were so warm.

“See you on campus tomorrow?”

“Not if I see you first.”

Heizou chuckled and narrowed his eyes at you. “Game’s on,” he said. You did the two-finger gesture of I’ve got my eye on you towards him. He wriggled his eyebrows in response, making you snort despite yourself.

Becoming serious for a moment, you said, “But… get home safely, alright?”

Heizou nodded and turned away to make his way down the street. “Will do. I’ll text you when I get back.” You waved a final goodbye, and he waved back with a casual call of, “Love you!”

To your surprise, your heart cinched without warning and heat rushed to your face at the words.

You slapped yourself out of it. Why were you reacting like this? This wasn’t anything new. Heizou said ‘I love you’ often, and you never really questioned it: it was a friend thing, surely. Tons of friends said ‘I love you’ to each other—and as an emotionally open person, why shouldn’t Heizou say it to you, his best friend, as his best friend?

Yet as you watched him go, you lifted your hand again to your cheek and wondered at the curious stutter in your chest as you recalled the brief token of something more he’d pressed to your cheek earlier that night. Electrifying and bright and too short-lived, like a sparkler.

#genshin impact x reader #heizou #shikanoin heizou #heizou x reader #this is half proofread and half not #so sorry about that #but it’s been sitting so long in my drafts that i really wanted to get it out

56 notes · View notes

rayadraws · 1 year

Text

Some of the ways we are beyond blessed as SGS (saigenos/genosai) shippers:

- Thousands of fanart

- Thousands of fanfic

- A wide variety of fan comics/doujins

- Cute merch, both official and fanmade

- Bi-yearly fan conventions in Japan. Previously nendoroid fans would meet up and have doll picnics and take pictures of their nendos and make SGS themed foods

- A video of Genos' VA saying (in Genos' voice) "I love you Saitama-sensei!"

- An official drama CD where Saitama and Genos play out their version of Romeo and Juliet

- A series of drawings by Murata with Saitama and Genos in a cinderella AU, with Saitama as the prince and Genos as cinderella

- Murata making comments during his livestreams that he knows about the shipping and subtly joking about it. Murata commenting and RTing from openly shippy SGS accounts

- ONE making a point of saying he has no problem with shipping of his characters

- The English VAs tweeting about how they ship it too, joking about them going on a date etc. Saitama's VA signing a fan's print with "I ship it too"

- The Japanese VAs using body language and phrases with double meanings like "fine, I'll go out with you" during the opm festival. Genos' VA being asked to pose the Figmas and putting Genos in Saitama's arms

#i'm sure as missing stuff so feel free to add #this is NOT in comparison to another ship btw #it's not a competition!!#i have rareships where there's like 4 fics and I made 2 of them lmao #i just love being part of this ship and it makes me so happy to think about how much food we have #saigenos #genosai

292 notes · View notes

animeniacss · 25 days

Text

So Close Yet So Far - Mingyu x Reader - Epilogue

Synopsis: Your college friend, Kim Mingyu, has had a grip on your heart since the first day you met. Over the past few years, as you acquired more friendships and memories, those feelings only grew. However, recently, Mingyu has seemed a bit more distant, at least when it comes to any ideas of romance. It only gets worse when rumors fly that he's off to Japan to receive a marriage proposal! Unsure what to do, you wonder how you can keep Mingyu by your side without jeopardizing your friendship or your growing feelings. You never expected that waking up one drunken morning next to two hot angels would be your ticket into Mingyu's heart.

Genre: Romance, College!AU, Modern Fantasy, Comedy, Angsty

Length: approx. 2.8k words

Epilogue

------One Year Later, Fall-----

"What do you think is wrong now?" You asked.

"How should I know? Don't babies have a different cry for everything?"

"I think so."

"Well, which cry is this? I don't think I've heard this one before." A yawn ripped through Mingyu's throat and chest as he rubbed his eyes. It was another late night, the sounds of a baby screaming echoed through the apartment walls. It was as if someone had shot a bullet in a small room, allowing it to ricochet off each wall and fly to the next constantly. It never ended, and you and Mingyu were constantly trying to avoid being hit. You sighed, sinking onto the couch as you rubbed the little ones' back. Mingyu watched as you paced the room, hoping the little bouncing movements matched with your gentle coos would soothe the baby. No luck.

"I think he's been crying for two days straight." You sighed.

"Tell me about it. I hope he's not getting sick." Mingyu walked over to the fridge, pulled it open, and scanned the contents. "Shit." He groaned.

"What?"

"Out of milk." He stood upright. "I thought I got some more."

"I went through so much while you were at work." You watched as Mingyu walked over pulling both you and the crying baby close. He kissed the baby, and then the top of your head. It didn't soothe the baby, but it did soothe you.

"I'll run to the store." He said. "That 24 hour one should have some milk."

"Okay." You said. Mingyu smiled, tired yet generous.

"Want something for yourself?"

"Surprise me." You murmured. Mingyu nodded. You finally sank onto the couch, listening as Mingyu dragged his feet to the door. You continued to rub your baby's back. You didn't even bother looking behind you as Mingyu closed the door behind him, heading out to the store. The baby's cries continued to ring through your ears. Hoping for luck the second time around, you rose from the couch and started walking. You passed the TV stand, then the bookshelf. You stopped for a minute, bouncing the baby in your arms as you stared down at the snow globe. A flurry of pictures surrounded it on all of the shelves: particularly the ones from Mina in Jeju. The one of you, Joshua, and Jeonghan flashing a peace sign and a grin on the beach was currently in your sights. You smiled at the memory; amazed almost two years had passed since all of that happened. Beside it sat a new set of pictures of you and Mingyu at the Japanese cherry blossom festival. One had Mina with you, the three of you meeting up the first time you both visited Japan after everything happened. It was a beautiful day, the three of you enjoying it as any group of friends would. It was as if the previous year's events had not happened during that trip. You smiled at the memory, both of you a whole year younger and still aware of what a full night's sleep felt like.

When a cough came from the baby in your arms, you kissed the top of his head. "It's okay..." you said softly, continuing your lap around the living room. The baby still was not stopping, the longer he cried the louder it sounded like it was getting. "Hurry up, Mingyu." You begged to yourself as if it would work. He had just left, after all, and the store was a good 10-minute walk away. As your feet stopped pacing, you looked around the dim and empty apartment. A deep feeling bubbled in your stomach, and you felt your eyes water. When you looked down at the little bundle in your arms, even as he cried, you took one large deep breath. The last one you needed, calming yourself before you lost it. Even a few months in, it was such an overwhelming feeling to have a baby. "We're alright." You said out loud, mainly for yourself. That affirmation seemed to start calming the baby down, though barely. "See? We're alright." Smiling, you kissed his forehead and sat back down on the couch. Holding the baby in your arms, you looked down at your hands. Your pointer fingers and thumbs were poking into view from under your son.

"It wouldn't." you chuckled to yourself at the idea that briefly flashed through your mind. "There's no way." As the cry of your son continued to reverberate once again, you figured it was worth a shot. Shifting the baby, you immediately snapped both of your fingers. Other than the sound being drowned out by the crying, the room remained untouched. Unaffected. "Tch. Knew it. I must be going crazy from lack of sleep."

Maybe you were because in that moment, there was a knock on your front door. You looked over, holding the baby close. Who would be knocking in the middle of the night? The sound of the knock only made him cry louder, and you immediately pressed a kiss to his temple, shushing him as much as you could. Standing up, you laid him down in his little bassinet, before making your way towards the door. You kept your movements light, not sure what the cue would be – if there was one – to open the door and trust the person on the other side. As you stepped closer, one final knock came, followed by:

"It's us!" A familiar gentle voice flooded your brain, and you immediately lunged forward, flinging the door open. At the door stood two familiar faces, both dawned in all-white attire much as their brothers had the few times they came for a visit. They looked almost exactly the same as they did the last time you saw them two years prior, and you gasped.

"Oh my -."

"Don't say that," Joshua said quickly, grinning. You looked down at your hands, then back up to him.

"Did it actually work?" she asked. Jeonghan and Joshua glanced at one another, grinning.

"Ahh, you really tried?" Jeonghan said. "You can just call that a coincidence."

"Well, come in." you reached forward, taking their hands as you led them into the apartment. Once they were inside, the door closed behind them, you reached out and pulled them into a hug one at a time. "What the heck are you doing here at this hour?"

"We were in the neighborhood." Jeonghan shrugged.

"At five a.m.?" you smirked. The duo seemed defeated before they could even continue with their little ruse.

"We heard the news." Joshua finally explained simply.

"Yeah." Jeonghan rubbed his ears. "We really heard the news."

"And once we did, we made sure to get everything in order to come visit." When you cocked an eyebrow, Jeonghan decided to add a bit more detail.

"Even after all this time we have to get special permission for a lot of things. Like a probation." He shrugged. "No big deal. Totally worth it."

You laughed a bit hurrying back over to the bassinet. Lifting the little bundle back into your arms, you watched the duo approach.

"You think your ears hurt? This has basically been my music playlist since we brought him home. He's a fussy one." Immediately, you felt a hand press to your back. When you looked over, you saw Joshua standing by your side. When you saw another figure move beside you, you caught sight of Jeonghan standing in front of you and the baby.

"May I?" he asked. You nodded, immediately feeling the warmth spread from Joshua's palm through your spine and through your nerves. A deep, relaxed breath escaped you as Jeonghan pressed his finger to the newborn's forehead. You watched as the baby's cries slowly died down before he simply began whimpering and closing his eyes.

"You can do it too?" you asked. Jeonghan nodded.

"I really made God mad when we got kicked down here." He pointed out. You looked down at your son, kissing his forehead.

"Please form another contract to be my forever nannies." You begged in a soft, yet very desperate whisper. The duo could only smile, which didn't provide you with an answer. Well, it did, but not the answer you wanted.

"What's his name?" Jeonghan changed the subject, brushing some of his little hairs from his face. You sighed.

"So no on the nanny thing?" you asked. Jeonghan shook his head.

"Even if I could, I wouldn't," he said honestly. Sighing, you watched as Joshua leaned down as well, gently taking hold of the baby's foot that stuck out of the blanket, careful to recover it with the gentleness an angel could provide.

"Ah. Well..." you looked at the duo. "Jisoo."

Immediately, Joshua and Jeonghan's eyes shot up to you. Joshua in particular looked shocked at your comment. He looked back down at the baby, then up to you.

"You're kidding." He gasped. He seemed to think you'd admit to the joke, and reveal the real name. However, you shook your head. Joshua took the next few seconds to take a deep breath. "Please put the child down."

You smiled as Jeonghan offered to hold him for a second, careful not to wake him. Once he was out of your arms, Joshua gripped your hands tightly. He pulled you close. "You're kidding." He repeated again.

"Want to see the birth certificate?" you asked, smiling. Joshua was quick to look at the infant once more as Jeonghan gently continued to hold him.

"When do I get a baby named after me?" Jeonghan pouted.

"Please don't encourage Mingyu to have more kids." You sighed. "Not yet. I can't handle it."

"That doesn't answer my question." He pointed out. "I will be asking."

"He's already mentioned it like twice."

"I'll make him ask a third." You groaned, resting your forehead on Joshua's chest. He laughed a bit, patting your shoulders.

Just then, the door opened, and the three of you looked over. Mingyu stepped in, slipping his shoes off. He was holding two bags in both of his hands, letting out another yawn of exhaustion. "I'm ba-." His greeting was interrupted when he saw Joshua and Jeonghan standing beside you, Jeonghan cradling his son. "What the hell are they doing here at five in the morning?"

"I asked the same thing." You said, turning to Mingyu. He set the bags on the table, rubbing his eyes.

"Is he finally asleep?" he asked. You nodded, motioning to Jeonghan.

"I'm a natural." He said simply. Mingyu chuckled. When made it over, offering you another kiss on your head, he shook Joshua's hand and waved to Jeonghan, who nodded his head in response.

"If you're a natural, then-."

"I already asked." You stated quickly. "No dice."

"Damn." Mingyu chuckled. Jeonghan passed you the baby, making sure he was still sound asleep. "Hopefully, we can get some sleep before he wakes up again."

"I forgot what that feels like." You sighed. You watched as Joshua stared down at the baby, eyes sparkling as he watched the little bundle shift and gurgle in his sleep. You couldn't help but smile.

"Please, don't be strangers." You said. "Come over. All the time, even." You said.

"To nanny?" Jeonghan asked.

"Yes." The new parents pleaded in unison. Jisoo gurgled, threatening a whine as he began to stir, and Joshua reached out, putting a hand on his forehead as Mingyu went to the door.

"We should let you guys sleep then," Jeonghan said when he took a second to look at both of your faces.

"Will you guys be around long?" Mingyu asked. "The others said they're stopping by this afternoon. I'm sure they'd love to see you."

"Jihoon will be there, too." You said. The duo shared a look, contemplating the idea for a minute.

"Sure," Joshua said quickly. "I'm sure that'll be alright." As little Jisoo once again threatened to stir, you sighed.

"Let's get him in bed so we can sleep." You said.

Jeonghan, now knowing they had nowhere to be until later in the evening, took a seat on the couch. "Go to sleep." He said. "I mean you invited us to stay for a while. Go to sleep. We'll watch the little guy." You smirked a bit at the comment.

"But-."

"I don't think Joshua is going to stop staring at him anytime soon." Jeonghan pointed to his friend.

"I absolutely will not." He said simply.

"Go on. Rest up. We can handle a little human baby."

"I'm glad someone can." You said, passing him to Joshua. The transfer caused him to whimper once again, but once Joshua got him in his arms, Jisoo immediately silenced and lulled back into sleep. Joshua looked at Jeonghan, his friend laughing a bit at the way his friend's eyes sparkled. The duo watched as you both shuffled into your bedroom, closing the door. Joshua settled onto the couch, holding the baby in his arms. He looked at Jeonghan.

"This is so much better than getting back into heaven."

"The real reward, hm?" Jeonghan asked in amusement. Joshua nodded. "I'll agree with you there."

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶So Close Yet So Far🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

Later in the day, as promised, everyone had gathered to see the little infant in your apartment. Mingyu sat on the floor with Hoshi and Jihoon, watching as the baby rested on his stomach. Hoshi was holding a little tiger toy in his direction, moving it ever so slightly as he encouraged Jisoo to follow it with his eyes.

"Is he even old enough to be able to do that?" Minnie asked.

"He's already a month," Mingyu said. "He should be fine. They say tummy time is good right away." Finally, he scooped the little guy up into his arms, rubbing his back as he nestled into his father's embrace. Hoshi leaned forward, once again trying to get him to look at the tiger toy. When Jihoon leaned forward to help encourage Jisoo, you smiled. "Who is that?" Mingyu asked, pointing to the two individuals huddled close together in hopes of getting Jisoo to look in their direction with eager waves.

You sipped water on the couch, finding a comfortable nostalgia nestled between the two angels, both of them also with a drink in their hand as they watched everyone's attention sit on the baby. When he hiccupped, Mingyu was quick to catch the spit up before it got on his shirt.

"Nice catch." You said, and Mingyu laughed. As everyone continued to chat and interact with the baby, you looked between the two angels sitting on either side of you.

"Are you guys enjoying being back home?" You asked curiously.

"It's nice," Jeonghan said.

"Do you miss it?" You asked curiously. "Being on earth?"

"Mmmm sometimes," Jeonghan said.

"Not enough to stay forever though." Joshua made sure to add, Jeonghan nodding in agreement. He motioned to the duo sitting beside Mingyu on the floor. "He makes it look easy." You looked at Jihoon, who now, instead of waving to the baby, was watching as Hoshi did instead. His hand had gently reached towards Jisoo's as he tried to make a baby tiger paw sign.

"You'll get it one day, little cub." Hoshi nodded.

"Don't call him that," Seungkwan said. Hoshi pouted, looking at Jihoon for the validation Seungkwan had no intention of giving.

"It's cute." He assured Hoshi with a pat on the shoulder.

As the entire room settled into a comfortable togetherness, you allowed yourself time to sit back and just observe. You couldn't remember the last time you had such a nice time watching your friends interact, especially since Jisoo was born. You felt Joshua and Jeonghan loop their arms through yours, looking between them once again. You felt a sense of comfort in the familiar touch, smiling as you nestled close into them. As Mingyu stood up intending to put your son to sleep, he looked over. Immediately an unamused frown formed on his face.

"Even when we're married you're still going to pull this nonsense?" he asked.

Jeonghan nodded. "Absolutely."

"Why do you think we can here in the first place, Kim Mingyu?" Joshua asked a look of disgust on his face that Mingyu would even ask. As you wormed out of their grip, you motioned Mingyu into the nursery.

"Let's go." Closing the door behind you, Mingyu finally set Jisoo into his bassinet, the baby fussing for a minute. He put his hand on the baby's belly, watching as the baby slowly began to soothe himself knowing someone was still nearby. You rested against the side, watching as your son's eyes began to close.

"This might be the best gift you've ever given me." You said, looking up at Mingyu. He immediately returned your glance, smiling though a bit embarrassed.

"Couldn't agree more." He simply said.

Return to K-Pop Masterlist Return to 97/98/99 Masterlist

Next / Previous / Prologue

36 notes · View notes

ceruleancattail · 8 months

Text

Red

Ace x reader Mystic Au

Red stands out.

Even after decades, the red cloth gently wrapping the statue’s neck still fluttered in the wind merrily. It was tattered, a weatherbeaten scarf of sorts. Tied across the neck of a stone fox, it stood there rather gaily.

The fox statue itself stood at attention. Sharp ears pointing towards the heavens, brows creased over its snout. A serious expression, bearing much likeliness to a soldier, ready for battle. Something was gripped in between its teeth. A blade of some sort, a tassel hanging off its handle. The blade itself was curved, curling into itself like a frightened animal.

Well, it’s better to be well-armed than to have no arms. Musing to yourself, you peer at the statue curiously. It stood in the middle of emerald foliage, half-buried in the mountain’s fauna. Its eyes seemed to follow you, as if daring you to approach.

Slowly, you make your way up the depilated stairs, infested with the local green life. Leaves rustle with your approach, as if warning the occupants of the shrine of your arrival.

You stop one step shy of the statue. Taking a knee, you press both of your palms together. A symbol of respect, for the deities who once walked these lands.

After muttering a prayer, you got to work. Sliding your bag off your shoulders, you whipped out a little box. Rice balls obtained from the local store, still wrapped in plastic.

A groan, before Grim popped out from your bag. Paws threading nervously on the ground,forked tail swishing around like a weathercock stuck in between the four winds. He takes a seat on the step next to you, big blue eyes blinking innocently at the food.

Taking the hint, you reach into the box, fully intending to toss your companion one. Yet once you reach for the rice balls, the box is unceremoniously yanked out of your grip. Slender fingers clutch onto the edges, holding the rice balls far out of your reach.

Glancing upwards, you come eye to eye with a pair of scarlet eyes. The same shade as rubies, shimmering against the crude earth. They were narrowed, glaring daggers at both of you. Red eyeliner lined his eyelids, one of each spiralling out into a heart.

Crimson locks of hair flutter as he comes to a squat. Leaning against the statue, the male starts to wolf down the rice balls. Tossing them one by one into his mouth, eating like a man starved.

While he ate, your gaze wandered. He was clad in a traditional Japanese yukata, a pair of wooden geta peeking out from underneath. Casual wear, much more suited for the joyous atmosphere of a bustling festival than this abandoned desolate shrine.

From the very bottom of his yukata, a bushy tail swished. A furry, pointed thing, not too far from the tip of a paintbrush. On his head, two pointed ears stuck out, standing at attention.

The ears of a fox.

“Are you….”

Whipping his head up, the male seemed to frown at you. Heaving a theatrical sigh, he sets aside the box. Crossing a leg over another, he regards you with a disinterested air.

“I’m the guardian of this shrine, Ace Trappola.”

His tail flicked from the left to the right, a nervous twitch, perhaps? Unease at being sought out by the human race.

“Thanks for coming by. Ain’t no one drop by anymore, really.”

He glances at the shrine’s steps, covered in plants of all kinds. It’s apparent that no one has come by, for a very, very long time. You and Grim sit in silence, watching Ace wolf down the contents of the box. He doesn’t even leave a grain behind.

“It’s been awhile since I had offerings.” He explains, ending this melancholy sentence with a sharp laugh, trembling around the edges. Trying to hide the loneliness in his eyes with half-hearted bluster. A flimsy cover, yanked tightly in place for the sake of his pride.

One blink, and the box clattered against the ground, now empty. Ace himself was nowhere to be seen. Pursing your lips, you got up, fists clenched. Wary.Grim hunched his shoulders, hissing at the sudden disappearance.

A cold touch. Fingers trailing softly across your chin, claws just barely grazing your skin. A laugh, filled to the brim with mischief and glee. Whipping around, you come face to face with a ball of embers, flames flickering in and out of existence. A tap on your left shoulder, then your right.

Ace seemed to amuse himself by making you spin round and round, toying with you like a fox and its prey. Batting you around with his paws, gloating all the while. His tail slides across your feet, fur ticklish against your bare skin. As these antics carry on, you find your patience waning. No one enjoys being made the butt of a joke. You weren’t any exception.

Once you feel his hand rest on your arm, you reach out. Fingers closing around his wrist, clutching as tightly as you dared. Sucking in a breath, you yank with all your strength, fully expecting the prankster to emerge before your eyes.

Instead, all you saw was a detached hand, fingers still wagging smugly at your surprised expression. A snort, followed by rambunctious laughter. Ace appears on the top of the statue, entire body trembling from laughter. With a snap of his fingers, the hand disappears in a cloud of smoke. He waves at you with both of his hands, the ghost of a smirk playing on his lips.

Sighing, you shake your head. The gesture of annoyance didn’t carry much weight, especially since a smile was tugging incessantly on your lips. Holding an arm akimbo, you raise an eyebrow at Ace.

“Very funny, Trappola.” He beams back, a sarcastic grin.

“I’m hilarious, I know.”

Leaning onto his palm, Ace regards you with a nonchalant air. He stares at you with what you could only assume was a quizcal gaze. Well, not like you could blame him. A human, taking the time to pay their respects at an otherwise abandoned shrine. What an oddity, in this day and age.

“So, pray tell, Human,” He slips off his seat, getas clicking against the ground, “What is it you seek from me?”

“I'd like to have an alliance with you.”

You spoke, trying your best to inject steel into your words. They came out more like loose leaves in a storm, quavering. Frail.

Another laugh, a horribly patronising sound. It leaves your ears shaking, grating away at the eardrums within. Ace has to clutch at the fox’s back, holding his stomach. Trying to stabilise himself, choking out pearls of laughter all the while.

Crooking a clawed finger under his eye, he wipes a tear from it.

“An alliance? With the likes of you?”

Ace makes a show of looking you up and down, arms crossed. Judging your worth. Furtively, he sneaks a glance at the Shrine. His home for… just how many decades now? He has been standing guard over these grounds for long enough.

Heaving a theatrical sigh, Ace strides towards you, tails swaying with every step he takes.

“You’re rather gutsy, aren't cha? Since you’re already begging, I guess I could lend a hand.”

Ace wiggles his fingers as he says this, reliving his earlier prank. You sigh, a mix of exasperation and relief.

Still shaking from laughter, Ace sticks out his hand. Slowly, you reach out, taking his hand in yours. Palm pressed against palm, your pulse beating into his skin. Cold, like before. The wind of nostalgia and times long gone.

Yet part of you could have sworn that you felt a tiny ember. A small flame burning within that clawed hand of his. The warmth of hope.

In one swift motion, Ace has your hand yanked to his lips. Bowing down, he presses a light kiss into the back of your palm. His lips were soft, the curve of his fangs brushing against your skin ever so slightly. Something warm and wet snakes out, a sly little lick.

Those crimson eyes regard you once more, a boyish glee dancing within all the red.

“Ace Trappola pledges loyalty to you, Master.

Now, let’s have some fun, yeah?”

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst x reader #ace trappola #ace x reader #twst ace #ace trappola x reader #mystic

100 notes · View notes

anisette-blackwirth · 2 years

Text

SAGAU: Meeting Scaramouche [Part 1]

summary: Scaramouche finally visits to see what you're all about and subtly tries to process his feelings about having another creator in the background. He does not succeed. He'll need to try again later.

spoiler warning: references to scaramouche's backstory and inazuma archon quest spoilers. Today's leaks are NOT discussed.

content warning: language. Not exactly a cult AU but close enough. She/her pronouns for reader.

notes: I swear one of these days I'm going back to the start of this AU. I really will, I promise! I just felt like writing this chapter out of order, because I had a sudden urge to start a love letter to Scaramouche's current and potential future characterization. I'm sure you all know why.

Set prior to the Irodori Festival, but post-Inazuma.

[Under the cut!]

Of the three offices you had been gifted in three nations, you had to privately admit to yourself that you often adored the view from Liyue's the most. The building is located on the peak south of Jueyun Karst and east of Nantianmen, offering you a look at the radiant crystal of Azhdaha's tree, the glowing amber of Mount Hulao, and even the distant speck of the Jade Chamber floating near Liyue Harbor. It isn't technically within the adepti's domain, so visitors are still welcome, but the idea is that it's still enough of a hassle to get to so that only those who truly need to visit, would.

Unfortunately, the list of NPCs regular citizens who want to meet their newly announced link to the "real world" is long and many had banded together to do so, hiring bodyguards in groups to make the journey safely. After a relatively long day of seeing visitors and trying to get paperwork done in-between each, you're glad to hear that your guards have locked the front doors of the building for the night. Anyone who arrives after visiting hours will be given lodging and allowed to see you the next morning, if you weren't busy with other things.

You have the balcony doors open both so you can feel the breeze and to stare out them when you needed inspiration, but at the moment you're busy going over your third draft of answers to Mona's interview questions for her article. The woman certainly deserved the income an exclusive interview with you offered, and you felt guilty enough for ignoring her to accept her offer. It wasn't really her fault she'd pity-broken you on your first ever banner.... So you are engrossed in revisions when you hear footsteps land on your balcony.

"Hey, what's up, Xia-" you stop as you look up and notice that it is not the adepti approaching you, but a man in black, purple, and red traditional Japanese Inazuman garb, wearing a stylized kasa with a veil. The bells hanging from his hat chime lightly with each step towards your desk.

Uh oh. Oh no, no no. Ah, shit. Alright, yes, you're a Scaramouche simp, though you've managed to hide that from Aether so far.... but you also think you know his character well enough to know you might be about to die. Especially since he can't understand you yet. Better head this off as soon as possible. Haha. Shit!

You hold up your hands before you in (what you hope is) the universal sign of surrender, then clear your throat. "Xiao? Don't hurt anyone, but can you come here for a moment?"

Xiao appears next to you instantly, spear in hand. You shift one of your outstretched hands to him, begging him not to attack.

"No no! Don't attack. It's fine. I just need you to translate for me. Please tell this man you're not here to attack."

Xiao doesn't put away his weapon or take off his mask, but he does turn to the Harbinger who has now stopped dead in the middle of the room.

"I will translate for Her Grace. She can understand you, but you can't understand her until certain conditions are met," Xiao says.

"And you won't attack," you prompt Xiao.

He pauses, then says grudgingly, "I will not attack unprovoked."

Alright. Close enough.

"What are these conditions?" asks Scaramouche, arms now crossed. You pick up the basket of vials you and Albedo had collaborated on from your desk and hold it out to the Harbinger, looking at Xiao.

"You must drink one vial," Xiao says. You sigh.

"Please tell him that the vials contain elements from my blood - no wait don't say that. Bad idea. Say they contain an, uh, alchemical compound which makes communication possible."

"The vials contain an alchemical compound which makes communication possible," Xiao says faithfully, and you smile at him.

"Surely you won't mind if I confirm that for myself, will you, oh gracious deity?" Scaramouche says as he steps forward and grabs two colored vials from the basket, pocketing both immediately. Xiao bristles, but you shake your head and continue holding the basket out.

"I don't mind!" you say cheerily, hoping to convey by tone alone that it's fine. They're easy to make. "Oh, but we put some flavoring in them for kids, so the red ones are apple flavored, the yellow is berry, and the pink is sunsettia. That might mess with your analysis. Do you want an unflavored one?"

Xiao stares at you as you stare nervously at Scaramouche, who stares at you. …You glance at Xiao.

"....the red are apple flavored. Yellow is berry and pink is sunsettia. Take a clear one."

Scaramouche is now thoroughly and visibly confused by this entire exchange, and you don’t blame him. But he powers through and grabs a clear vial from the basket, pocketing that one too before turning to leave.

"Then I'll be back to test your hospitality later!" he calls with a wave, exiting the situation as gracefully as possible after that mess. Xiao waits until he's gone to speak.

"Were you aware he's a Harbinger, Your Grace?"

"Yeah, I know," you say. "Don't worry. I'll probably be fine. Nothing's been able to kill me yet, remember?"

"Nothing has seriously tried," Xiao points out, and you nod. But you doubt Scaramouche will ever speak to you properly with others present, so you persist in trying to convince Xiao it's fine to leave you alone the next time the Harbinger shows up until it's well past time to sleep.

-------------------

Scaramouche does return, three nights later. He enters your office via the balcony again, just after Noelle leaves your dinner on the desk and excuses herself for the night. That tells you that he's waiting for you to be alone, which is ominous but expected.

"Hello, Harbinger," you greet as you put aside your pasta. "Can you understand me?"

"I can. Delighted to meet you without your guard dog, oh illustrious creator," Scaramouche says with scathing sarcasm, and you wince.

"Before we talk, I feel like I should mention that if you kill me, I'll just come back to life at a nearby Statue of the Seven," you say. It's a lie. But you're gambling on the fact that no one knows how your powers work, and Scaramouche is probably still on the run with the Gnosis so you don't think he gave the vials to Dottore or any of the other Fatui scientists. Probably.

Scaramouche raises his eyebrows. "Do you expect me to try and kill you? I thought everyone loved you," he says, and you wince again.

"I- no, there's nothing forcing people to like me. I don't necessarily expect you to try and kill me, I just…. Thought I'd mention it in case. …You did try to kill Aether once, and corrupt him once. So." You gesture vaguely with your fork, then actually realize you're still holding said fork and put it back in the pasta bowl.

The Balladeer tilts his head to the side, mocking. "So if you know what I can do, and you aren't naive enough to assume everyone loves you, why haven't you called your guard dog this time?"

"I, uh-" You turn over a couple responses in your head, but only one feels right. "I like you and I want to talk to you?"

"Really? I knew you were stupid enough to favor Tartaglia, but now you're saying you're also naïve enough to like me?" Scaramouche glares at you. "I didn't expect you to be so childish. Do you think you can fix us? Make us your good little puppets? I'll tell you right now that you're not going to get Tartaglia to betray the Tsaritsa for you. He's the perfect brainwashed little soldier."

"I don't want him to betray the Tsa- no. Okay. Hang on. Wait." You clap your hands in front of your face like the prayer emotions and take a deep breath. "Do you think I'm a good person, Scaramouche?"

Scaramouche continues to glare. "Obviously. Your little vessels are running all over three nations, doing good deeds for anyone and everyone. You work them to the bone taking commission after commission, finding people's lost cats and playing fetch. It's sickening."

You shake your head. "But do you think I'm a good person? Because I don't. I know you all are sentient, and I'm still...." You trail off and look around you, then gesture at the ornate office you've been gifted. "Here. Taking advantage of this. Playing around. I don't possess anyone without their permission anymore, but…"

Scaramouche steps forward and puts his hands on your desk, leaning over to get right in your face. "If you ever. Possess me. I will destroy every single Statue in Teyvat and then kill you as many times as I need to for it to take. Do you understand?"

You nod, because you do understand why the abandoned puppet would be sensitive about that topic. That one's pretty obvious. "I understand. And I won't. I promise." At least, not without his permission, because you do still hope to main him one day, but!!

"I'm not a good person, Scaramouche," you reiterate, looking at the desk in front of you. "But I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm just selfishly taking advantage of the chance to be with charact- with people I like. I'm a hundred percent taking advantage of the power imbalance, but I don't care enough to stop.

"I like you because… you made your heart yourself." You hear him inhale and see his hands curl into fists in your desk, but you don't look up yet. "You didn't get the one you deserved, and there was no one there to help you. So you figured it out on your own. Sure, you're hateful and cruel and selfish, but… your personality is yours, you know?" You meet his wide, disbelieving eyes, hoping the gentle emotions in your heart make it through. Because he looks like he's about to either murder you or faint, and you'd prefer he do neither.

"I admire you. I don't agree with everything you do, but I admire you because you did it all yourself. You just… you made yourself a person out of pure spite. That's really cool."

He's still silent, so you might as well keep going. If this is the last time he ever comes to see you until you meet him again through the plot, why not? "Besides, you're ridiculously intelligent. You dismantled FOUR entire noble families through lies and deceit. You orchestrated all that before joining the Fatui, too, I think? That's stupidly impressive."

"How many people know that? Scaramouche asks. He tips his head down so his hat covers his eyes and repeats himself. "How many?"

"None, I think…?" you say. "The, uh… the world itself told me. I don't think most people in here actually have access to the artifact descriptions. The community - er, I mostly know because I can put together little hints from all over the place." You think for another moment as he continues to stand silent. "Oh. There are some old scrap papers in Tatarasuna which sort of reference your, uh. Old life there. …if you already know who they're talking about. I don't think anyone would figure out they're talking about you without knowing more."

Scaramouche turns and walks to the couch, then turns again and walks to the wall where he stands for a good minute, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry?" You call out. And you really are: bringing up his old life in Tatarasuna probably reminded him of his dead friend and also Ei and Yae Miko and- ughhhhhhhhh. Dumb. Dumb idiot simp who just wanted to show off her knowledge, dumb-

Scaramouche interrupts your thoughts. "If anyone ever does find out about this - including eavesdropping guard dogs who may be nearby - then I will kill that person and everyone they hold dear slowly and painfully. Are we clear?" The Harbinger turns to face you with a glare you recognize from the Unreconciled Stars event, and wow, you shouldn't find being threatened hot in person. But you do. Help.

"Crystal clear," you say weakly. Scaramouche nods and leaves through the balcony window without another word, clearly well past his limits.

You numbly take a few more bites of pasta before the shock and terror hit you full force. You drop the fork back in the bowl to bury your head in your arms.

You almost died. You were probably seconds away from dying and you can't even pinpoint when. God, that was the stupidest thing you've done in a while. Talking to a Harbinger - talking to Scaramouche alone? Scaramouche, who has more reason to hate gods and deities and being part of someone else's game than most? Who could definitely just have incinerated Aether at the start of said game??

You groan. And also, you probably pissed him off by bringing up his past and now he'll never want to talk to you again. Or let you pull for him when (if) he comes out!! Oh jeez, he's not gonna let you pull for him when (if) he comes out. You're doomed.

Xiao appears next to you again. "Are you alright, Your Grace? Do you want me to go after him?"

"Noooooo, leave him alone," you groan. "It's fine, I'm fine, he just probably hates me now."

"I fail to see how that's a bad thing," Xiao says. You just go back to eating to try and placate the hovering adapti.

—--

The next time you're in Tatarasuna, you notice you can't find the old letters anymore.

#sagau #scaramouche #sagau scaramouche #genshin sagau #cult au #I'm remaining cautiously optimistic #btw

497 notes · View notes

cylikaart · 11 months

Text

BassRock Week 2023

September 3rd - 10th

Day 1 - Ice Cream

Day 2- Sunflower

Day 3 - Serenity

Day 4 - Rain shower

Day 5 - Sunset

Day 6 - Starry Night

Day 7 - Natsu Matsuri (Japanese Summer Festival)

Hello everyone!

It is the time for this year BassRock Week! Here are the prompts for these year the theme will be "Summer" !

Same Rules as the last year!

It can be used for either the Classic or EXE counterparts!

If ya wanna draw them in your AU (Alternate Universe) go for it!

It is okay if ya can't create to all prompts plz do it in your own pace!

Mostly Importent have fun! Don't overdo it!

If you can't make it on time no worries! I will look through the hashtag even after the event!

The Hashtag will be #BassRock2023 if for some reason I can't find your entry tag me or DM me of course!

I hope you all will have fun and will see you in September!

#Bassrock #Forterock #Bassrockweek #bassrockweek2023 #Forterockweek #Forterockweek2023 #Mega man #Bass #Forte #Megaman.EXE #Bass.EXE #Forte.EXE #MMBN #MM #Megaman battle network

63 notes · View notes

deusvervewrites · 6 months

Note

Seiai AU: 1. How does Seiai organise their Sports and Cultural Festivals compared to UA? 2. For that matter, how do they handle work experience and internships compared to UA?

I don't think Seiai would televise their Sports Festival, and the events would likely be more restrained. They would, however, allow people to watch--namely, Pro Heroes and the family of the students. Seiai also sends out footage of training exercises to a number of affiliated Agencies, and the Homeroom Teacher is encouraged to use their own connections on top of those because Seiai simply doesn't get enough attention to get the internships kids need otherwise.

Seiai's Internship Week is also at a different time from UA's, taking place in June.

The Cultural Festival is more in line with a traditional Japanese high school, showing off the classes and clubs.

#asks #seiai academy au

28 notes · View notes

hulijingeddon · 1 year

Text

Announcing Hulijingeddon

Good morning, afternoon, evening, and night!

It is with great pleasure that I am announcing the first ever hulijingeddon event!

For those familiar with @kitsunegeddon and their event, this will be a familiar sight. For those not, it is a celebration of foxes and fox-like spiritual beings in fandom! You make fanworks that have foxes or huli jing in them. They can either already be a fox or huli jing, or they can be made into one through an AU.

As kitsunegeddon is, to my knowledge, for kitsune only - and so for stories taking place in Japan or with Japanese characters - I thought it would be good to make an event for stories that take place in China or with Chinese characters.

This is the first announcement for the event, and the event itself will take place on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is Friday, September 29th this year.

If you're unsure about anything, please feel free to send me asks.

Happy Writing and Drawing!

#hulijingeddon #hulijingeddon 2023 #fandom events #cnovel #danmei #huli jing #foxes

82 notes · View notes

active-mind-15 · 3 months

Text

Accidental Siblings AU Headcanon #8

[Ramblings related to my fic, Accidental Siblings.]

I think as time goes on, and as baby Bokushi has more time to understand and explore his own interests, he'll slowly start building up his own collection of "toys" in his room that he plays with. So, here are some that I think he'd own.

Board games. Canonically Seijuro is a tabletop game nerd as seen from the Drama CD/Replace Plus chapters of the Teiko school festival, so I would think Bokushi is the same. He loves to use his head, and playing board games that require strategy would be his favorite. He takes great pleasure in roping other people into playing board games with him just to see if he can beat them. He spends very long periods of time reading the rules before starting games as well and will not hesitate to inform others when they're violating the rules.

Puzzles. It would be a perfect solo activity he could do in his room. And he doesn't go for the kiddie puzzles you can put together in 10 minutes. He likes getting those big puzzles that have upwards of 500-1000 pieces where the full picture displays a famous painting or something that he can spend time putting together across multiple days. Sometimes he could be in his room for hours sitting on the floor and putting pieces together if no one stops him. Seijuro may join him on occasion, and it becomes one of the ways they bond with each other.

Crossword puzzle books. Not necessarily a toy, but definitely something to help him pass the time. Again, he likes using his head, so crosswords would be right up his alley. I'd bet he likes solving crosswords in multiple different languages, too. One book for Japanese, one book for English, and if he has any other languages he knows (which I have a headcanon that he does), he'd have crossword puzzle books in those languages as well.

Rubik's cube. I don't think I need to explain why he'd own something like this, but I can see him solving one of these. Maybe he owns a few that are varying in grid size. So like a standard 3x3x3 and then he might have 4x4x4, 5x5x5, and so on. He likes to time himself to see how quickly he can solve it, too. If he beats his own records, Seijuro is the first person to be informed.

Playing cards. Again, Seijuro is canonically a tabletop game nerd, so playing cards is included in that. Bokushi would have regular playing cards of course, but I think he'd slowly start to add specialized cards for specific games and maybe even get specialized card sets for foreign games and learn the rules to those.

Legos. This one might be an indulgence for him because he had been fascinated by all the different things you could build with them but never had the time to indulge in a hobby like that when he was still sharing a body with Seijuro. So maybe Seijuro is the one who gets him his first set of Legos because he's seen Bokushi eyeing them in town when they passed by a store once. Bokushi's first set is one of those Lego flower bouquets and he liked building it so much that he periodically gets new elaborate sets to build. This is another one of those things that Seijuro does with him if he's around.

Anyway, these were just some of the ideas I had. If I think of any more toys and the like, I'll add them to this list. Or you can add your own!

#cuz now that bokushi has an actual chance to have a childhood i think hed use the time doing things he never had time to do as a teen #so like having a childhood but at the same time not getting into anything super childish cuz he is only 5 at the physical level #because these activities i listed are things id think hed unironically do as a 16 y/o if he were granted the free time #i tried to strike a balance in terms of the maturity of bokushi's tastes #anyway hope you like the headcanon #kuroko no basket #knb headcanons #knb fanfic #accidental siblings #akashi seijuro #bokushi

13 notes · View notes

kaitou-archive · 8 months

Text

Otomedia Plus + SPRING 2017

(Below is a cleaned up machine translation. Please note that due to the nature of machine translation, the text may not be wholly accurate or may read oddly. Japanese is included after English for reference. The text was lifted from the images using this site, and though there's been care taken to make sure everything is correct, there is a chance of unintentional typos.)

I want to sleep together with you ♡ Spring Bedtime

アナタと一緒に眠りたい♡ SPRING ベッドタイム

Character Bio

Joker (Voice: Ayumu Murase) By making Joker frustrated with Hosshi, we got to see the Joker's funny, impatient faces in Season 3-4. (Director Teramoto)

ジョーカー (声/村瀬歩) 「ジョーカーにホッシーへの苦手意識を持たせたことで、シーズン3.4ではジョーカーの焦った面白い顔が見れました」(寺本監督)

Hachi (Voice: Yumiko Kobayashi) Hachi is now "Hachi the Phantom Thief Apprentice" and is on the same advance notice as Joker, but one day we may be able to call him "Hachi the Phantom Thief". (Director Teramoto) ハチ (声/小林由美子) 「今は“怪盗見習いハチ” でジョーカーと一緒の予告状ですが、いつか “怪盗ハチ” と言える日が来るかもしれませんね」 (寺本監督)

Spade (Voice: Hiro Shimono) In episode 44, Spade's bond with Ai alongside Spade's childhood was depicted, and the gap between episode 43 and 44 is quite drastic (laughs). (Director Teramoto)

スペード (声/下野紘) 「第44話のスペードは、幼少期のスペードとアイの絆が描かれた第43話とのギャップが激しかったです (笑)」 (寺本監督)

Phoenix (Voice: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) In Season 3, the rivalry between Phoenix and Joker was emphasized, but in Season 4, the two became gradually closer.

フェニックス (赤井翼) (声/松岡禎丞) 「シーズン3ではジョーカーとのライバル関係を強調していましたが、シーズン 4ではだんだん仲良くなっていきました」 (寺本監督)

Hosshi (Voice: Atsumi Tanezaki) Hosshi is a divine beast that loves treasures and Hachi's homemade kompeito. In the rocket in episode 52, the way it spins around and squishes in a gravity-free state was also very cute.

ホッシー (声種崎敦美) お宝とハチお手製の金平糖が大好物な神獣。「第52 話のロケットのなかで、無重力状態でくるくると回転したり、むぎゅっと潰れたりしている様子も可愛かったですね」 (寺本監督)

Roko (Voice / Misaki Kuno) Since season 3 he's had few appearances so at the production site Roko’s line in episode 36, "I'm free so it's okay" became a hot topic, "'Roko, are you sulking?' (laughs)" (Director Teramoto)

ロコ (声/ 久野美咲) 「シーズン3からは出番が少なく、制作現場では第 36話のロコの『暇なんでいいですよ』という台詞が、『ロコ、拗ねてる?」と話題になりました(笑)」(寺本監督)

Main

(Top left note) Joker and friends are surrounded by tasty food. The apple pie is for Shadow and Rose, and Hachi's oden is probably for Hyakkimaru (Director Teramoto)

ジョーカーたちの周りにはご馳走がズラリ。「アップルパイはシャドウとローズ用で、ハチのおでんは百鬼丸用かも」 (寺本監督)

Joker and company have finished their adventures in Season 4 so now we're here. It's Japan in Spring, where the cherry blossoms are in full bloom! It seems that everyone is enjoying Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) while feasting on Hachi's cooking. I wonder what kind of festivities they have in store, Director Yukiyo Teramoto!

"March 13th is Spade's birthday and April 13th is President D's birthday, so this could be a celebration for them as well. The apples may have been a gift from D."

I want to keep watching the peaceful atmosphere of the phantom thieves, but they must be waiting for the next treasure!! Until we see Joker and his friends again, 'smile and au revoir'!

シーズン4での冒険を終えたジョーカーご一行が、本日やって来た場所。それは、桜咲く春の日本!　ハチの料理に舌鼓を打ちつつ、みんなでお花見をしているようです。一体どんなお祭り騒ぎになっているんでしょうね、寺本幸代監督! 「3月13日がスペードの誕生日、4月13 日がプレジデントDの誕生日なので、ふたりのお祝いも兼ねているのかもしれませんね。ほかのみんなも続々と集まってきて、りんごはDからの差し入れかも」穏やかな雰囲気の怪盗たちをずっと見ていたいけど、彼らには次なるお宝が待っているハズ!! またジョーカーたちに会える日まで、笑顔でオ・ルボワール!

Spring Blossom Interview with Director Yukiyo Teramoto

春満開インタビュー寺本幸代監督

Please tell us about the secret story behind the production of the final episode.

最終話の制作秘話を教えてください。

Finishing and shooting lasted all night for about three days, and it seems that I could see hallucinations by the end of it (laughs). I am relieved that we were able to broadcast the content that we were able to show. The trick that the passcode to unlock the missile is "HEART" was thought up by Naohiro Fukushima, in charge of screenwriting. I think the highlight was the scene where Joker writes his name on the spaceship and tells Phoenix, "Be sure to come back." I wonder when he wrote the name, but in the shot of the spaceship just before this scene, the name is obscured by light to disguise it. So the name was already written at that point.

最後は仕上げと撮影が3日間くらい徹夜して、幻が見えたそうです(笑)。なんとかお見せできる内容で放送することができて、ほっとしました。ミサイルの解除パスコードが「HEART」というトリックは、脚本の福島(直浩)さんが考えてくれました。ジョーカー的には宇宙船に名前を書いて「必ず返しに来い」とフェニックスに言うシーンが、見せどころだったと思います。いつの間に名前を書いたのかと思いますが、そのシーンに入る直前の宇宙船が映るカットでは名前を誤魔化すために光を入れて見えなくしています。なので、あの時点ではすでに書いてあるんですよ。

What was the most memorable moment for you other than the last episode?

最終話以外で、印象的だったことは?

There is a scene in the end of episode 50 where Spider Ace protects President D from a sniper's bullet and shows him the "DF" ring on his left hand, saying, "I have sworn my allegiance to President D." When the first picture came in, the ring on Spider Ace's middle finger was forgotten, so I asked for the picture to be redone and a ring to be added. Then somehow, I ended up with a picture of Spider Ace with the ring on his ring finger (laughs). The staff around me and I laughed hysterically and rushed to have it fixed.

第50話のラストでスナイパー幻魔の銃弾からプレジデントDをかばったスパイダー・Aが、「オレはプレジデントDに忠誠を誓ったんだ」と左手の《DF》の指輪を見せる場面があります。最初に絵が上がって来たときスパイダーAの中指に指輪を描き忘れていたので、リテイクで指輪を追加してもらったんですよ。そうしたらなぜか、スパイダーAの薬指に指輪がはまった絵が上がって来てしまって(笑)。周りのスタッフたちと大爆笑しつつ、慌てて直していただきました。

By the way, In this issue, we are looking into the sleeping habits of Joker and his friends! Who among them do you think is the best at getting up early?

ちなみに今号では、ジョーカーたちの睡眠事情に迫っております! 彼らのなかで、早起きが得意そうな人物は誰だと思いますか?

Hachi has to prepare food, so I think he wakes up early. It seems that Hyakkimaru is also living a proper life. It seems that Spider Ace, who is in a pumped up state after drinking coffee, will wake up early, but I feel that he will be weak in the morning if he hasn't.

ハチはご飯の支度があるので、早起きだと思います。百鬼丸もきっちり生活していそうですよね。コーヒーを飲んでヒャッハー状態のスパイダ Aも早起きそうですが、コーヒーを飲んでいないヘタレ状態だと朝が弱そうな気がします。

Is there a character you would have liked to explore more?

では、もっと掘り下げて描いてみたかったキャラクターはいらっしゃいますか?

I wanted to depict how Spider Ace came to be loyal to D. I liked Spider Ace and Detective Wolfe in the original story, and I really wanted to have Detective Wolfe appear in episode 35, but there was no room for him, so I gave up on the idea. I am glad that I was able to create an interesting combination with D and Spider Ace, but I also wish I could have drawn those two in the story. With Dai Sato, who is in charge of the series composition, I was also thinking about a story about Dr. Neo's astronaut days. When he was young, he had a moment when he saw a spaceship that was disguised as a comet for a moment due to the influence of a solar flare, and from that moment he came to believe that aliens existed. It was a shame that we couldn't depict it. Neo knew Silver when he was young, and I wanted to depict that with Purple as well.

スパイダーAがDに忠誠を誓ったキッカケを描きたかったです。スパイダー・Aは原作でのウルフ刑事とのコンビが好きだったので、本当は第 35話でウルフ刑事も登場させたかったのですが、入る隙間がなくて諦めました。そのおかげでDとスパイダー・Aという面白いコンビが出来たのでよかったという思いもありますが、あのふたりも描きたかったという気持ちもあります。シリーズ構成の佐藤大さんとは、ドクター・ネオの宇宙飛行士時代のお話も考えていました。若かりしネオが太陽フレアの影響で一瞬だけ彗星の変装が解けた宇宙船を見た瞬間があり、そこから宇宙人はいると信じるようになったという設定だったのですが、これも描けなくてもったいなかったです。ネオは若い頃のシルバーとも顔見知りなので、パプルも交えてその辺りを描きたかったですね。

Finally, please tell us what "Kaitou Joker" means to you, Director Teramoto.

最後に、寺本監督にとって『怪盗ジョーカとは、どんな存在なのかを教えてください。

For me, it is a special work that fulfilled my dream of directing an animated TV series. I myself have loved anime since I was a child, and even now as an adult, there are many works that I still remember as my favorites. There are still many stories I would like to tell from the original work, and if there is an opportunity, I would love to do a sequel. The staff also said that they would like to do a sequel, so I feel that "Kaitou Joker" is a work that is truly loved by everyone.

私にとっては、TVアニメの監督をやりたいという夢が叶った特別な作品です。私自身も小さい頃からアニメが好きで、大人になった今も好きだったと思える作品がたくさんありますが、アニメ『怪盗ジョーカー』を観てくれた子どもたちも大きくなり、いつかジョーカーたちを思い出すことがあるのかなと思うと、すごく感慨深いです。まだ原作でもやりたいお話がたくさんありますし、機会があったら続編もぜひやりたいですね。スタッフも「続編がやりたい」と言ってくださっているので、『怪盗ジョーカー』は本当にみんなに愛されている作品だと感じています。

Spring Blossom Interview 2: The Phantom Thief Roundtable Discussion

春満開インタビュー2 怪盗座談会

Nice to meet you! To start off, what do you dress in at bedtime?

よろしくお願いします! まずは、夜に寝る時の格好を教えてください

Tsubasa: I don't change my clothes.

翼「僕は着替えないよ。」

Joker, Hachi, Spade: Huh!?

ジョーカー・ハチ・スペード「え!!!」

Joker: That's so dirty. Do you even take baths?

ジョーカー「おまえきったねーな。風呂とかどうしてるんだよ?」

Tsubasa: Why should I take a bath if I don't like water? You can use flames to sterilize, so there's no problem. Even the dirt burns off.

翼「水が嫌いなのに、どうしてお風呂に入らなくちゃいけないのさ。炎を使って殺菌できるから問題ないよ。汚れも燃えつきるしね。」

Are you a good sleeper or a bad sleeper? Also, when you ask someone to wake you up in the morning, do you have a vision of how you want them to wake you up?

寝起きはいい方ですか? それとも悪い方ですか? また、誰かに朝起こしてもらうとき、「こうやって起こしてほしい!」という理想はありますか?

Joker: I can wake up on my own, so I wish people would stop pestering me. Also, when I'm ready to get up and someone tells me to hurry it up, I don't want to get up! I wonder why?

ジョーカー「自分で起きられるんだから、放っておいてほしいよなー。あと、もう起きるって思ってる時に限って「早く起きろ」って言われると、起きたくなくなるんだよ! なんでだろうな?」

Spade: It's not good to so lazy. Because of that, everyone had to wait for breakfast.

スペード「キミが怠惰なのがいけないんだろ。そのせいでみんなが朝食を待たされたんだよ。」

I see... So, since the season is Spring, do you phantom thieves have a particular favorite flower?

そうなんですね・・・・・・では、季節は春ということで、怪盗の皆さんは特に好きな「花」はありますか?

Spade: I like roses. Unlike some people, I think roses are elegant flowers.

スペード「ボクはバラが好きかな。誰かさんと違って品のある花だよね。」

Joker: Why are you looking at me?

ジョーカー「なんでこっち見るんだよ。」

Hachi: Certainly, such gorgeous* flowers suit you, Spade-san.

ハチ「確かにスペードさんはそういう華麗な花が似合うっスね。」

Joker：A 'curry' flower!? (Heart eyes)

ジョーカー「カレーな花?!?(目がハート)」

Hachi: Not 'curry'.

ハチ「カレー違いっス。」

*Gorgeous (華麗), pronounced 'karei', which sounds similar to 'カレー' (karee, curry). The joke lost in translation is that Hachi has said a gorgeous flower, and Joker hears 'curry' because the word sounds similar.

Tsubasa: I like the flower called Hanabi that I saw when I went to Japan. It was a beautiful flower burning in the sky.

翼「僕は、日本に行った時に見た花火という花が気に入っているよ。大空に燃える花できれいだったな。」

Joker：Huh......

ジョーカー「え······。」

Hachi: Phoenix-san, that isn't a flower.

ハチ「フェニックスさん、その花じゃないっス」

Spade: You're unexpectedly romantic....

スペード「意外とロマンチストなんだね・・・・・・。」

Spring is all about flowers, but is there anything that attracts you more than flowers?

春といえば「花」ですが、「花」より心惹かれるものはありますか?

Hachi: Cherry blossom viewing is great, isn't it? Let's all go to hanami together!

ハチ「お花見いいっスよね。みんなでお花見行きましょうよ!」

Joker: Oh, nice! Don't forget the curry!

ジョーカー「お、いいね! カレーも忘れんなよ!」

Hachi: Joker-san, you eat too much curry. I'd like a different menu once in a while.

ハチ「ジョーカーさん、カレー食べすぎっス。たまには違うメニューで行くっス。」

Joker: Ehhh......

ジョーカー「えー――。」

Spade: I'll ask D and the others to join us. Hachi, Dark Eye and I would like to request to have meat and apples on the menu.

スペード「Dたちにも声をかけようか。ハチくん、ダークアイと一緒に肉やりんごのメニューも頼むよ。」

Tsubasa: No curry from Hachi this time? In that case, I'll request something extra spicy!

翼「ハチくんのカレーは今回はなしか。だったら、とびっきり辛いものも頼むよ!」

Hachi: Leave it to me!

ハチ「お任せくださいっス!」

It's going to be a fun hanami! Lastly, please give a message to the girls reading this book, who are always excited to read about your great activities.

楽しいお花見になりそうですね!では、最後に。皆さんの活躍にいつも胸を躍らせている、この本を読んでいる女の子たちへメッセージをお願いします。

Hachi: It's a little embarrassing to hear that I'm doing so well~

ハチ「オイラの活躍だなんて、照れるっス~。」

Joker: Is this really that interesting? If this is the end, can I go find a treasure?

ジョーカー「こんなもんがおもしれーのか? これで終わりなら、お宝とりに行っていいか?」

Spade: Yeesh, he's so impatient. I hope you've had fun. Well, I'll be on my way, too. Adios.

スペード「やれやれ、せっかちなヤツだ。楽しんでもらえたかな? それじゃ、ボクも行くことにするよ。アディオス。」

Tsubasa: I hope there's games next time. See you under the Southern Cross!

翼「次はゲームも用意してほしいな。サザンクロスの下でまた会おう!」

Joker: Alright! Let's go, Hachi!!!

ジョーカー「よっし!行くぞ、ハチ!!!」

Hachi: Yes, Joker-san!!

ハチ「はいっス、ジョーカーさん!!」

Joker: See you next time! Welcome to the Shining Night!!

ジョーカー「じゃ、また会おうぜ!輝く夜へようこそー!!」

#kaitou joker #otomedia #otomedia plus #2017 #magazine #machine translation #kaitou archive scans

27 notes · View notes

kthyg · 1 year

Text

ghoul. — (rhapsodies)

[SPECIAL INSTALMENT: (CHRISTMAS) RHAPSODIES]

pairing: ot7 x reader

rating: 13+

genre: tokyo ghoul au, soulmate au, fluff

disclaimer: this story is a work of fiction. descriptions of the BTS members in this story does not reflect nor portray them in real life. everything in this story only fits in imagination and does not apply outside of imagination.

warning: nothing much, just; domestic yoongi, domestic jin, lots of soft kisses, hugging, an emotional and sentimental moment with yoongi and his first love, cannibalism joke (just once from tae). japanese terms of endearment are used in this by jin and tae.

word count:

lexicon & profiles | masterpost | masterlist | navigation

note from winter 💌:

this is my first christmas fic - yeayy!! also this is just my poor excuse to be extra emotional and sentimental idk idk i want to give a nice scene for my ghoul babies bcs ik they wont hv a nice scene for some time in normal ver ha ah ha ah…

this instalment is the softest I've ever written...

its been a long time since I write a story based on a song. the last time was winter flower by younha ft rm, a story about a girl healing from depression but reached a point where she couldn't handle it anymore, suddenly wanting to end everything. it was a open ending story tho :) anddd now rhapsodies joins as the second story that is based on a song.

also, just a friendly reminder that rhapsodies is not sharing the same timeline as the released chapters of ghoul. if possible, its a future story but whatever information (such as relationship, places, etc...) in this instalment is valid for the alt story and main story :D

ok so i don’t really celebrate christmas but i think i kind of know the feeling (not 100% because i would love to celebrate holiday season with snow ;-;) because i have gone through it with my maternal relatives - i joined them during 2019’s christmas! 🫶🏻

I HOPE IT ISNT TOO LATE FOR A CHRISTMAS GIFT 🥹 (be nice w me this is the first time i've ever written a full fluff)

💌 what is winter listening to? : first love by bts (suga) & piano ver by smyang piano, first love by hikaru utada, christmas tree by v, my dearest by amalee (original by supercell).

📝 if you want to know more about this au, you can refer to lexicon & profiles. any other questions you can refer to me !!

dedication: to my first love.

Snow has been falling for days now, piling into a thick layer of what looked like shaved ice on almost everything. It was a special evening today; your squad, the Q squad was preparing to celebrate Christmas. You and Yoongi had invited the others; Taehyung, Jungkook, Hoseok, Namjoon, Jimin – your and Yoongi's soulmates, - Rosé, Mingyu, Minghao and Sunoo.

You sat comfortably and warmly in the company of the fireplace and your members, Jisoo, and Lisa, as the three of you decorated the Christmas tree. The pine tree that stood mightily in front of you was a real deal, all thanks to Namjoon.

When you told him you have always celebrated with the artificial one with your loyal friend, Somi, during your days in the Jeon Quarter, he immediately told you he would buy the real one just for you. He had done the same thing for Jungkook back then because unlike you, Jungkook couldn't even celebrate the festive season during his childhood.

You could've disagreed and told him to get the artificial one, but all your soulmates agreed with Namjoon before you could even voice your opinion and defeatedly accepted his decision. You couldn't stop him from doing things his way – The strong-headed Kim Namjoon.

The crackling fire sound was soothing to your ears. The warmth of the fire was very inviting for you to jump to the couch and wrap yourself with a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate providing extra warmth in your palm.

Curling into a ball, basking in the heavenly warmth on this cold day; you could always do that any other time. As you and your friends decorated the tree in meaningful silence, the doorbell rang, disrupting the silence.

"Can someone go get the door?" Jin yelled out the request from the kitchen.

Jisoo immediately got on her feet as she volunteered with a cheery smile, "On it!" But her smile was quick to fade once she reached the door and opened it as she mumbled in a boring tone. "Oh, it's you…"

Greeting with an equally boring tone, "Save the disappointment for another day, 'lil sis," Taehyung rolled his eyes. "I'm here for my lovers anyways."

"Who's at the door, Soo-ya?" You asked, making your way towards the door. Once you've seen the invited guest, you beamed, "Oh–! Hi, V."

"Hi, hime," he opened his arms as an invitation for you to slot in and you did. He smooched the crown of your head lovingly as the lovely nickname spilt from his lips warmed your cheeks.

"Come in," you broke the hug and ushered him to step in. "Jin's in the kitchen preparing food for tonight, and Yoongi's in his room."

"(Y/N)!" Jin called for you. "Can you help me here?"

"Be there in a second!" You responded and turned back to your soulmate with a welcoming smile, you told him, "Make yourself at home, Tae."

Once you were completely out of their vision, the silence was loud, "Don't get too comfortable," Jisoo narrowed her eyes at her brother.

"Stop being so hostile," he sighed deeply. "It's Christmas, for God's sake."

"Hostility is subjective," she retorted.

"It will be objective today or I'll have your half-human flesh as dinner tonight."

"Obscene!" She gasped out loud as her hand reached out to slap Taehyung's shoulder, offended.

"Jisoo, the Christmas tree isn't going to decorate itself!" Lisa shouted from the living room.

"Of course it won't, Lisa!" She huffed but obliged either way as she turned towards to living room, continuing decorating the Christmas tree.

The kitchen was filled with the heavenly and divine smell of delicious meals being cooked. Jin multitasked his way through the kitchen since the afternoon. Yoongi has been helping him but he retreated to his room after some time now.

"Hey, kareshi," your arms snaked around his waist as you hugged him from the back, chin resting on his shoulder as you asked, "What do you need help with?"

"Hello, kanojo," his thumb brushed across the skin of your hand that was wrapped around his waist lovingly and softly. "Who was that?"

"It's Taehyung," you told him.

"He's early," he mused to himself. He turned around to face you as he rested his arms on your shoulders, lazily slinging them around you. "Can you help me with the chicken?"

"Of course," you smiled.

Jin lowered his face, killing the distance between your face and his as he placed a quick kiss on your lips. It was a short moment of two lips having contacted but the heat still flared up to your cheeks and your stomach filled with butterflies.

"It won't be long; you can check on Yoongi in his room after you're done."

You stifled a giggle with a frown, "I didn't even tell you I was going to check on him."

"Soulmate instinct," he winked at you and stole yet another kiss from you. This time he remained a bit longer. No tongues were involved as it was purely lips-to-lips interaction but were enough to be a very meaningful kiss.

A frown on his temple, fingers cupping his chin as Jungkook pondered. He and Namjoon were on their way to Yoongi's squad apartment but decided to stop by the 5th ward mall because Jungkook decided to buy a present for you. He knew you had told all of them to not buy you anything, but he was never the one to listen, so here he was.

"What should I give (Y/N) for Christmas?" Jungkook asked his companion as they walked into the mall. The mall was decorated with Christmas lights, trees, and all other related decorations. The branded stores also decorated up to the session and released brand new items to fit into the festive session.

"A lingerie?" Namjoon suggested mindlessly.

"What the fuck, hyung." Again, a deep frown found its place on Jungkook's forehead at his soulmate's idea.

"It's a suggestion." He shrugged.

"Well, what do I buy her lingerie for?" The younger cast cursory glances at the stores. Feet had their own mind as Jungkook walked to wherever his feet took him, and Namjoon followed suit.

Having a late realisation, Jungkook's eyes widened, "Are you hinting I should fuck her tonight? At Yoongi's apartment?"

Namjoon gave his soulmate a side glance, "Not a bad idea?" then he shrugged, "I would prefer calling it love making though, since it's Christmas."

Jungkook let silence be the language between them as they continued to stroll around the mall until there was nothing to be explored but as if the brain had relied on the conversation they just shared, their feet stopped in front of a lingerie store.

"Maybe it's not a bad idea after all."

"Told you." And Namjoon walked into the store with Jungkook trailing behind.

"Jimin put that down."

Hoseok's deep voice burst Jimin's little bubble of fantasy as he glared at the younger. "What? Hyung, no," he flashed his soulmate the white fluffy tail butt plug and a pair of white fur cat ears. "This is cute!"

The other only gave him a dirty look, "You're just kinky."

Jimin had heard that almost every time, he was shameless and immune to it. 'Kinky' has probably become a compliment for him now. He would be more than proud if someone called him so.

"You would like it if it's on (Y/N)," you would definitely look cute in this, no doubt.

The tail-like butt plug inserted in your arsehole, leaving your pussy dripping with wetness, and the cute cat ears to match the tail. You'd look so pliant and submissive, and with that costume, it would give an extra hardness, extra adrenaline rush, blood rush down to their cocks–

"Or unless you'd like it on you?"

Flabbergasted, heat rushed to Hoseok's face both from embarrassment (for thinking about you in a public setting and popping a boner) and humiliation (from Jimin's sexual innuendo), "Hah – whatthefuck, shut up Jimin!"

"That's what I thought," he has a smug grin tugging on his lips.

"Thank you for purchasing!"

What.

"Jimin!" No way he actually bought it.

Well, you'd look cute either way.

Yoongi wasn't in his room.

And when that happened, he could only be in one place. You stood in front of the door – the door to the space where he found solace at any time given.

You have been in there with him occasionally. The two of you would sit in silence, content with just the presence of each other as the bright stars in the dark sky became the only source of entertainment most of the time you and him were in the room.

On rare occasions, Yoongi would sit on the brown piano, you next to him and play you a piece that never told you the name of it even when you had asked about it. He would brush the question away with a kiss on your temple and the same word "Untitled".

And right before you, the sound of the 'Untitled' piece was playing. Your hand reached to knock on the door, "Yoongi?"

"Kitten," his voice was mellow as he answered you. "Come in."

Stepping in, you took in your surroundings. It was the same as when you last saw it. There wasn't much to keep a tab on the room except for the brown piano that settled on one side of the corner, the only furniture in this spacious room of nostalgia – as Yoongi would call it. "What are you doing here alone?"

"I'm not alone," he told you. He was sitting on the piano stool as his fingers rested in between the keys. "I'm with my first love." He looked at the piano fondly before he brought his gaze to you with equal, or if could, greater fondness.

"First love?" You asked as you approached him. The room was dark with no source of light except for the sun outside. The sun was slipping, creating a glorious conflagration that blazed fiery colours. They appeared silky, smooth combinations of red, yellow, and blue in the sky that illuminated the room, colouring it like the sky.

"The piano," his hand reached out to take yours in his, guiding you towards the seat next to him. "The first thing I learn to love."

Placing your fingers delicately on the piano keys, you pressed the keys of Yoongi's favourite piece, the one he named 'Untitled'. You didn't play it until the end although you did remember the whole piece just from listening to him playing it. Reaching the last note of the piece, your fingers retreated from the keys. "Do you want to tell me about your first love story?"

Your voice has always been so soft, delicate, and mellow. Who was Yoongi to reject your request? Maybe it was the time you knew the meaning behind the piece you had just played that you learned by heart from him. Chuckling, his fingers started to move around the keys as he silently answered your request.

"From the corner of my memory, in the corner of my childhood house," fingers leisurely hit the keys. "A piano was there."

"Hmm?" Your fingers joined his on the keys, as you played to harmonise with him. "What colour was it?"

"Brown," he breathed out. "A brown piano settled on one side."

He continued, "I remember that moment, where I was barely any taller than the brown piano. I looked up to it, because of my height but also because I was in awe. I yearned for it the moment I had touched it my little fingers."

"It felt nice, I told my mom." His fingers pressed on the last notes before changing to another key. "I was content. Just from looking at it. It felt so nice that I played, however, my fingers wanted and even then, I still didn't know its significance."

"It's nice that you know your first love even as a child."

"What's your first love, kitten?" He asked, fingers still on the keys.

Yours too, on the white jade-like keys, as you answered him, eyes closed. "Us."

You continued, "I didn't understand the concept of first love back then, but my parents could easily be my first love, but I know I love them from the moment I was brought to this world. I didn't learn to love them because by default, I have already loved them. They were my unconditional love."

Your fingers paused mid-air, "First love," resumed, "It can be interpreted in many ways,"

The first time you learn how to truly love,

The first time you love,

The first time you felt truly loved,

The first time you are loved,

The first time experiencing the true definition of love.

"But it will always have the same impact; unforgettable and irreplaceable."

"True," Yoongi agreed softly, the soulful melody still filling the room.

The mellow sound that came from the graceful movements of Yoongi's fingers on the piano continued to become honey to your ears. Your fingers were now placed on your lap as you let your lover play the black and whites on his own.

You turned to look at him, to take in his beautiful side profile. His skin was glowing. His eyes were closed as he focused on letting his digits work their wonders on the eighty-eight.

He looked stunning.

Sometimes, less was more, and you didn't need to elaborate more on Yoongi's majestic presence.

Ethereal.

"First love isn't always sunshine and rainbows," he told you once he finally opened his eyes, his fingers had stopped, leaving the last note he had pressed echoing around the room. "Back then during my elementary school days, I remember, I was finally taller than the piano."

"But dust was piling on top of the white jade-like keys. I neglected it when I yearned for it so much. I still failed to see its significance," his fingers were like a feather as he ghosted his fingertips on the keys.

Melancholy as he continued, "Until a day came that marked the last day of the piano."

"Don't feel sorry for not recognising the significance or recognising it late," you told him.

Your fingers raised in the air and were softly placed on the right keys as you pressed. Fingers had their own mind as they danced on the black and whites, continuing where he had left. "Don't worry even if I leave. You will do well on your own. Though it is an end to our relationship, greet me happily when we meet again, no matter in what form."

Yoongi looked at you with acute nostalgia. One hand of yours left the bar of whites and blacks as you reached for his hand, "Let's give a proper greeting to your first love."

The brown piano that stood mightily in front of you was the exact brand of piano Yoongi had back then. It might not be the original form of his first love, but in whatever form a piano could be, it will still be the first love of Yoongi.

"Let's finish this piece together."

Even though I was gone for a long time,

Without repulsion,

You accepted me.

His fingers picked up where they had left as he confessed, "You may not be my first love, but you and the others will always be my eternal love. The people I loved, love and will love for eternity."

Even when I pushed you away,

Even when I resented meeting you,

You were firmly by my side.

"I wish to love you the way of my first love, I want to love you every day."

So don't ever let go of my hand.

I won't let you go ever again either.

"If there comes a day where we have to end everything the eight of us share, I wish to continue loving you, every day until my days end."

The two of you hit the last keys, and as if feathers, fingers were lifted slowly and smoothly from the keys. The piece came to an end. It came to a meaningful end. An end that filled with so many emotions. Conflicted at first but harmonised in the end.

"I love you, (Y/N)."

"I love you too, with all of me."

The sun slipped completely away from the horizon as the light on the sky was then replaced with clouds of dust of bright, shining stars;

A kiss sealed the vow.

–

The food was almost done by the time you entered the kitchen with Yoongi. Jin was preparing the plates and utensils along with the dishes to be put on the table with the help of his younger sister and Lisa. You and Yoongi joined them to help but Jin shook his head and said that everything was almost done and asked the two of you to accompany Taehyung into the living room.

When your feet strode towards the living room, the doorbell suddenly rang again, making you halt in your steps along with Yoongi as you looked at him, "I think that's the remaining guests," you motioned him to sit with Taehyung as you walked towards the door. "Let me get the door."

Once you twisted the doorknob to open, you were greeted with two figures, both having muscular build and cute faces, carrying almost the same aura had you not known these guys like the back of your hand.

Namjoon was the first to greet you as he pulled you into a hug, "Merry Christmas, princess," he kissed your cheeks before going for your lips. You savoured the feeling of his plush lips on yours.

He pulled back and said, "Apologies for our delay."

Jungkook was quick to lock you into a tight hug and cradle your head in his arms. You returned his hug with equal enthusiasm before replying to Namjoon, "No, don't worry. You guys are not late at all," you broke the hug, much to Jungkook's displeasure as he whined at the loss of warm contact.

"Plus, Jinnie just finished cooking," you added.

The sound of a car's nearing the neighbourhood made Jungkook whip his head towards that direction. Recognising the car and the wild skill of driving (no value for both life and the car; Jimin), he said, "I think that's Jimin and Hoseok."

The three of you watched as Jimin safely and perfectly parallel-parked his car next to Taehyung's. Hoseok got out of the car and appeared to be nagging about something as his mouth danced at a fast pace with a frown etched on his forehead.

Probably nagging at Jimin, again, for his reckless driving.

When Hoseok neared the entrance where you, Namjoon, and Jungkook stood, his eyes shone with bright felicity as he waved enthusiastically in your direction. His lips could practically be seen as a lovely heart shape with perfectly aligned teeth to complement his charming look.

"My lady," He reached for your hand to kiss your knuckles. "Hello, lovely ladybug."

"Hello, Hobi," you gave his cheek a quick peck before he moved on to greet his other soulmates with the same gesture.

"Doll," Jimin was like a wind as one second, he was right behind Hoseok and the next second, he was already in front of you while his arms snaked around your waist, locking them to leave no room for space between you and him. His nose caressed yours before his pillowy lips lowered down to seal a kiss with your lips.

Pulling away at a small distance, breath mingled with his as you wished him, "Merry Christmas, prince charming," and he took your lips on his again. Your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

After some moment, you pulled away – because you knew he wouldn't – to let him greet his other soulmates. Just like Hoseok, Jimin was a fair and equal person as he kissed the others as well. When you thought no one else was coming, a female figure was approaching, and it was a figure you knew so well.

"Rosie, my favourite flower!" You ran towards her with a gleeful smile. Arms opened as an invitation for her to intertwine and exchange body heat with you.

Finally reaching you, she wrapped you with her winter coat, "(Y/N), my favourite person!"

"You walked here?"

She nodded, "The distance between R squad house and Q's is not that far, you know that!"

Giggling, you broke the hug and walked her towards the door where all your soulmates have been watching your interaction with Jimin's younger sister. Once you reached them, Jimin snatched– pulled you to his side – to which Rosie rolled her eyes at her brother's unspoken possessive act.

"Ahem," a voice interrupted.

"Gyu!" A gasp escaped your throat once your eyes landed on the newcomer – or newcomers, plural because he wasn't alone. "I thought you wouldn't come."

Another figure approached your crowd, and you couldn't help but smile once you saw who it was. It has been so long since you've seen them because Gyu's squad was assigned to a mission in China. Minghao reached out to you for a greeting hug as jested on his soulmate, "He? Wouldn't come? He was literally so excited when you sent us the invitation."

"Of course, I would come, lotus," Mingyu rolled his eyes at him and come to join your hug with Minghao. "I'm your life-time partner."

"We are partners," Minghao italicised. He then directed his full attention on you as he nuzzled his face in your neck. "I miss you, dainty lotus." Although the hug didn't last long because you were pulled away by none other than Jimin. Minghao was bewildered at the sudden loss of warmth, but Rosie patted his shoulder with a shake of her head, "Don't mind it."

Another voice entered the scene with sassiness, "Are you guys done yet?"

Sunoo walked to the door of the house. He had arrived shortly after Taehyung and helped Jin in the kitchen. He crossed his arms as he said, "Close the door because it's so freaking cold outside."

"Jeez, Sunoo," Minghao slung his arms around the younger's shoulders. "Cut that sassiness, it's Christmas!"

Rosé jumped on the duo cheerfully, "Right? Chill a bit," she said with a light tone.

"I am chill," he slapped Minghao's chest playfully. "Just close the door and get it you guys. It's freezing outside."

You chuckled before urging them to get warm inside. Jimin was still by your side as all of them walked towards the living room until he saw Taehyung on the couch. All your soulmates that have just newly come immediately greeted him. Jimin hogged him and smothered him with kisses on the face and one deep kiss on the lips. You watched the duo fondly. The eight of you might have shared a deep bond but maybe Jimin and Taehyung shared an even deeper bond with each other, and you admired it.

You saw Yoongi already making his way towards you and with expectant arms, you welcomed him into your embrace as he slotted in perfectly by your side. It brought back old memories where you had always thought Yoongi was a person that hates physical touch, though it was true to an extent because he was only touchy with his soulmates and especially with you but loathed having skin contact even the slightest with other than listed.

"Merry Christmas, guys," Jin walked into the living space as he greeted them one by one including your friends. The apron that he has been stuck with has finally been removed from his body and his clothes have changed. "Let's eat before the food gets cold."

You let yourself be situated in between Namjoon and Hoseok at the dining table and enjoyed the food Jin had cooked with so much love – helped by your members and Sunoo as well – The room was filled with chatter and laughter as the food goes down into everyone's stomach. They went from KCCG matters, as you asked Mingyu and Minghao about their mission in China – you knew they wouldn't have a difficult time in China given that Minghao knew the way around the country – to some random topic to not let an awkward silence fill in the room.

Before Christmas, all of them including you had made an astounding achievement that you would like to consider this Christmas celebration as a celebration not just for the festive season but also for them. Rosé and Tae's squads joined hands in the 2nd Wipe Out Operation conducted by Namjoon, S2 Squad; you, Jimin, Jungkook, Jin and Yoongi, was successful during the Owl Suppression Operation that was led by Hoseok, and the latest; Mingyu and Minghao's mission in China.

It has been a tough, hectic weeks, but everything was successful and everyone was safe as they returned in one piece. You were glad your soulmates were willing to celebrate Christmas along with your friends – especially Mingyu and Minghao. You knew your soulmates would very much want to celebrate this festive season with the company of eight, and that was why you were glad they had agreed to celebrate it together.

Also given that it was the first Christmas you got to celebrate with your soulmates.

The first Christmas where you get to celebrate with your loved ones, your first love.

The first Christmas you get to create lots of memorable memories with your loved ones.

It was the very first true Christmas you celebrated after your parents' death.

145 notes · View notes