#sigh...and select anime characters
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Narrative Town
Summary: You don't ever want to be the main character. In your town, that's deadly. Someone has to warn the new kid.
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Someone has got to tell the new kid in town the Rules.
“Hey,” you say.
The new kid looks up at you. He’s sitting at his desk in the back corner of the classroom, right next to the windows. It’s a chilly day, but he’s got the window open so that the breeze ruffles his curly, black hair. “What’s up? Fern, right?”
“Don’t call me by my name,” you snarl. Then, realizing what you’ve done, you look over your shoulder. The other teenagers are still looped around the teacher’s desk, trying to get Ms. Slauson to move the test date so they could organize a welcome part for the new kid. “I need to talk to you. Privately.”
The new kid leans back in his chair and studies you. You know what he sees – a completely average high school girl in jeans, a sweatshirt, and a ponytail. There’s nothing remarkable about you. He tilts his head. “You don’t look like a bully.”
You frown. “I’m not.”
“You’re being awfully threatening,” he says in a drawl.
The accent is going to be a problem. It’s southern and sounds really cool. Honestly, it might be too late for him already.
But you still have to try.
“Meet me on the rooftop—no!” You press the heel of one hand against your eye. Fight it, you tell yourself. Fight it! “Meet me at the supermarket on Western Street. The dairy aisle. After school.”
“Okay…?”
You spin on your heel, head throbbing. Meeting on the rooftop is against the rules. You glance up at the ceiling uneasily. You’re not usually affected by the compulsion so badly. Are you being targeted?
If you were smart, you wouldn’t show up to the meeting. You’d just let the guy get sucked into the madness on his own.
But you also really need to buy some milk.
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To your surprise, the new kid meets you in the dairy aisle after school. He actually gets there before you and you find him frowning at the selection.
“I’ve never heard of these brands before,” he says. He points to one. “Moo-ilk? That’s not a thing.”
“It is here,” you say. Like you’d hoped, the supermarket is nearly empty. It won’t stay that way for long. “That’s what I need to talk to you about, new kid.”
He turns to look at you. You’re tall for your age, so you stand eye to eye. “My name is Caiden.”
“I know,” you say. “You should stop telling people your name, especially when it’s such a cool one. It’s safer to just be a nameless face in the crowd.”
“That’s deep,” Caiden says. His drawl is clearly sarcastic. “That can’t be what you wanted to tell me.”
It’s not my problem if he doesn’t believe me, you tell yourself. You take a deep breath. “It’s part of it. This town is magic and the school is the heart of it. It forces people to live out popular tropes. If you’re popular or interesting in any way, it makes you the main character.” You take in the number of pockets on his black pants. “Unfortunately, you’re probably the coolest person to transfer ever and the magic is going to target you big time.”
Caiden stares at you. “You’re saying magic is real.”
“Yeah,” you say. You glance over his shoulder towards the front of the store. You can see shadows slanting through the windows as the sun starts to set. “All sorts. It depends what type of story you get pulled into.”
“But the main magic,” Caiden says, “is in the town itself which forces people to act like main characters?”
“Some people,” you say. You point at his trio of long necklaces. “Is that a wolf?”
Caiden looks down at the metal pendant. “It’s my favorite animal.”
“You are in so much danger,” you marvel. That’s the coolest thing you’ve ever heard. He also has a necklace that looks like an ancient coin and the other is a shark tooth. “The magic is definitely going to make you a main character.”
Caiden opens his mouth, closes it, then asks, “Are you insane?”
It really depends on what he thinks insane means. But going into that actually does make you sound insane, so you just sigh and shake your head. “You don’t believe me.”
“No.” Caiden doesn’t sound angry. He almost sounds apologetic. “I don’t.”
The bell at the front of the store rings. You reflexively look to see who came in. You see tennis rackets and gym clothes before you make yourself look away. A sports team, probably from a rival school. That…could be safe. Or safer. If they’re the first people he runs into, he might actually survive without having to believe you. “That’s fine. You do you.”
“…okay?” Caiden says.
He doesn’t follow you as you grab a gallon of milk and beeline for the self-checkout. You pass the tennis team in the aisle. They smell like sunscreen and don’t notice you dart past them.
“Hey,” you hear one of them say. They’re looking at Caiden. “I’ve never seen that guy around before.”
Another one hums. “There’s something about him. He looks…strong.”
“Why’s he just standing by the milk?”
You grab your purchase and calmly walk out the door.
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It’s a month after Caiden first transferred when he marches up to your desk after the last bell rings and says, “You. I need to talk to you.”
You look up at him from under your bangs, hands stilling on the open textbook. Caiden looks a lot different. He’s always dressed in a tennis club uniform now and his wild, curly hair is held away from his face by a sweatband. He’s a little sunburned and there is a bandage wrapped from wrist to shoulder on his right arm. Your eyes dart down to see a matching bandage wrapped around his left ankle.
“Please,” Caiden says when the silence stretches too long. His voice cracks. “I was wrong. I was—”
You close your textbook with a snap. You weren’t really studying anyway. Studying makes you look like a background character, but the ace of the tennis team coming to talk to you cancels it out. “There’s a dentist on 3rd Street. Meet me there in an hour.”
“A dentist?” Caiden asks, bewildered. He dumbly moves out of your way when you stand to go. “Why a—”
“Not here,” you hiss. “Dentist office.”
You rush out of class before anyone notices him talking to you.
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The first time this town killed one of your friends, you didn’t know about the magic.
You were just a kid, barely thirteen, and new in town. You didn’t know what you were doing when you decided you wanted the quiet girl in class to befriend. Jeanine always sat by the windows, staring out into the school’s courtyard by herself. Her black braids swung on either side of her face and her glasses were pressed high on the bridge of her nose.
You introduced yourself to her, complimented her on her book, and asked if she’d like to have lunch. Sometimes you remember the smile she gave you in that first moment. Surprised, vulnerable, secretly pleased. You treasure that moment where you were just two girls looking for friends. You remember all her smiles over that blissful period where you went to the bookstore and the library, to the movies and to sleepovers, to parties and to concerts.
Sometimes remembering those smiles even helps you forget the painful one she gave you before she lost her life saving yours.
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Caiden is pacing in front of the dentist’s office when you arrive. The street is deserted and there’s a faded Closed sign in the window.
Caiden jerks his thumb at the sign. “It’s closed.”
“Yeah,” you say. There’s a little bench in front of the office where patients are invited to wait for their appointment. You take a seat and gesture for him to do the same. “Very few stories start at the dentist and, those that do, always start when it’s open. It’s unlikely we’ll run into any trouble here.”
Caiden clutches his bandaged arm, looking over his shoulder as if checking for pursuers. “So location is part of it? Even just…walking down the street can trigger it?”
“Depends which street,” you say. You twist so you can put one foot up on the bench, angling your body towards him as he sits next to you. “Setting is an important part of the story.”
“Okay,” Caiden says. He breathes in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Sorry. I just—sorry. Thank you for talking to me. I know I didn’t believe you—”
“It’s hard to believe,” you say, “even without the magic.” You nod your head at his arm. “You okay?”
Caiden looks down at his arm as if he forgot about the bandages. “Oh, this? I’m not injured.” He unravels the strips to show unblemished skin. “Mark – the tennis team captain? – he’s worried about spies from other schools. I’m pretending to be hurt so they think I’m out of commission.”
“Thus giving you the element of surprise when you face them at Nationals next week,” you say with understanding. You eye the other bandage. “And your ankle?”
Caiden laughs. It’s not a joyful laugh. It sounds a little hysterical. “No, no, that’s real. I got invited to a drama club after party and spent most of Saturday night running away from a werewolf. I sprained it in the woods.”
“The Drama Club President is a werewolf,” you say. If he’d believed you a month ago, you would have warned him. You were there when she got bitten, but you managed to escape that particular story by pretending to faint. “She’s really had a lot of character growth since she got bit. She used to be super mean before.”
“Oh, as long as it’s for character growth,” Caiden says sarcastically. He scrubs a hand over his face. “We barely got away. It was only because the track team was there that we managed to run her into exhaustion.” He looks up at you. “I think—I think she’s going to kill someone one day.”
“She already has,” you say. When Caiden’s eyes widen, you wave a hand. “It was a bad guy who was trying to turn our entire school into werewolves. We actually owe her a lot for managing to contain that particular plot.”
“How is she going to put that on a college application?” he asks.
You point at him. “See, that right there is why you’re already so deep into a story. Being funny when you should be panicking is basically a requirement for protagonists.”
“I’m panicking,” Caiden assures you. He points to himself emphatically. “I’m definitely panicking.”
“Good,” you say, “that means the magic doesn’t have complete control over you yet. I was worried. Nationals isn’t supposed to be for another four months. I thought the accelerated schedule was a sign you’d completely become the main character.”
“How do I get out of this?” Caiden pulls at his jersey. “I don’t even like tennis! I don’t even know how I joined the club, I didn’t sign up for anything. I don’t know how I got the equipment. My dad didn’t buy it for me.”
“Those details aren’t necessary for the story you’re in,” you say. You pick up your backpack and unzip the main pocket. “I have some Rules to avoid getting sucked into a role. No meeting people in Big Settings, first of all.”
“Big Settings?”
“The lunchroom, the roof, the community pool, the lake, a love interest’s house, anywhere after curfew, etcetera,” you rattle off. You pull out a copy of The Rules and hand it to him. Even now, the mix of your handwriting and Jeanine’s sends a spike of sorrow through you. “There are some pretty specific ones on there too. I suggest you read through them all and pick out the common themes.”
The sun is getting dangerously low. You keep one eye on Caiden as he scans through the six pages of photocopied rules and one eye on the street. A couple cars pass by, but they’re all normal sedans. The moment you see a motorcycle or a van it’ll be time to leave.
“I can’t have an accent?” Caiden looks up from the paper. “But I’m not from here! How can I control an accent?”
“You can’t,” you admit. “But don’t use any region-specific idioms. That should help.”
Caiden points at the page. “Do not go to the library’s second floor?”
“Do not go to the library’s second floor,” you agree solemnly. When Caiden stares at you, you relent. “It’s super haunted. Also all the books in the back corner are cursed.”
“How do you know that?”
“They look super cursed. In a town like this, if it looks cursed, it’s cursed.”
“I guess I can’t say I don’t believe you,” Caiden mutters. “Werewolves are real, I’m pretty sure my club captain is some sort of spymaster, and I saw a kid fall four stories and land on his feet yesterday.”
“That’s Mark’s little brother. He’s got some sort of budding superhero thing going on,” you explain.
“Superhero implies the existence of a supervillain,” Caiden says.
“I try not to think about that.” A car turns onto 3rd Street a little too quickly. You tense and watch as a bicyclist comes screeching around the corner and pedal furiously in pursuit. “Time to go. Sunset is when rising actions get to climaxes. Read the Rules. We’ll talk about how to get you out of your current story tomorrow.”
“Wait!” Caiden scrambles up after you. “I can’t wait until tomorrow! Who know what will happen by then? A stalker could climb the trellis outside my window, or my house could catch on fire—”
“Do you have any little siblings?”
“No? What—”
“Are you going to be out after curfew tonight?”
“No, but my parents—”
“Your house won’t catch on fire then,” you say. “You’re a main character right now. The magic won’t give you a tragic back story when you’re there to stop it. I’d leave now if I were you. There’s about to be a police chase down here.”
“How could you know that?” Caiden cries out.
“Did you see that bicyclist just now?”
“From a minute ago? Yeah, but—”
“We’ll talk tomorrow. If the police see you here, you’ll get dragged into it as a witness.”
As if on cue, sirens start up a couple blocks over. You duck into a side street without waiting to see if Caiden understands.
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Your parents stop talking when you come through the front door. You set your backpack down slowly, taking them in. They’re sitting on the floor of the living room with a whole pile of newspaper articles and printed Wikipedia pages between them. They’re both dressed in all black and your mom has a grappling hook over one shoulder.
“What’s going on?” you ask.
“Costume party,” your dad says.
“Collage for my book club,” your mom says. When she hears your dad’s answer, she nods quickly. “My book club which is also a costume party.”
It’s sad to see your parents caught in the magic like this. You remember them when you were little. Your mom was an accountant, and your dad was one of the best mechanics in your hometown. Sure, they’d still been a little…odd. Your dad taught you to hotwire a car before you learned how to change the oil and your mom would bring you along into corporate fraud investigations, but that was what they wanted. Now their eccentricities make them main characters.
“Sounds fun,” you say with false cheer. You desperately want to beg them not to do whatever they’re planning. You want to plead with them to be safe. You want your dad to quit adding spy-like features to the family car and for your mom to stop breaking into the town museum. But you aren’t strong enough to protect them. You’re only strong enough to protect yourself. “I’ve got a history test tomorrow, so I’m going to study in my room. I’ll probably have my headphones in so I won’t be able to hear anything. Try not to scare me.”
Your mom’s eyes light. “We won’t bother you, sweetheart. Do you want to take some snacks to your room? So you don’t have to come in and out.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Does it hurt your parents are so eager to get you out of the way? Yes, but at least it’s an attempt to protect you.
You let your parents give you some mixed nuts, fruit, and popcorn before heading up to your room. While they plan whatever heist they’re doing tonight, you’ve got planning of your own. Caiden’s in a pretty tame story, but it’s still a story.
He’s got to get out as quietly as he can or else things will get messy.
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“Let’s meet in the lunchroom after classes,” Caiden says the next morning. The circles under his eyes are even darker than they were yesterday, but his eyes are bright and alive. He ruefully gestures to his tennis uniform. “Before practice.”
You raise an eyebrow. The lunchroom will be empty, students choosing to use the more comfortable chairs and tables in the multipurpose room or library to study. “I’m impressed. That might be the only time the lunchroom will be safe.”
“I finally did my research,” Caiden says grimly. He flinches when the classroom door opens but recovers quickly. He walks away from your desk as if only passing by it, smiling easily at a fellow tennis player when they greet him.
“Hey,” the girl at the desk hisses at you. She’s a lower-level antagonist, easily identified by the bubblegum she’s always chewing. The teacher is always yelling at her for it, but she never gets in trouble unless the magic needs her to be a background character in detention. “Is it just me or is Caiden talking to you a lot?”
“I don’t think so,” you say. You frown at her like she’s the strange one, not you. “Are you feeling okay?”
Flustered, she pops a bubble and turns back to the doodles she’s scratching on her desk. “Never mind.”
Whew. That was a close one. Her words could’ve triggered a romance plot between you and Caiden with her as the third wheel. You’ve seen more than your fair share of those pan out. Best case scenario, one of you would end up studying abroad for a year. Worst case, one of you would end up dead.
Your heart races a little. Frowning for real, you press a hand to your chest. Could…could you actually have a crush on Caiden? After a moment, you shake your head. That’s ridiculous. You’re probably still feeling the adrenaline of escaping the pull of a story.
Even now, after four years, avoiding the magic still feels like a victory.
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The thing is, you used to love the magic. When Jeanine first showed you how to watch people, it was like TV come to life. The teacher is in a slow-burn romantic comedy with the principal. The tenth grader who just passed you in the hall is actually one of the most respected journalists in town. There’s going to be a musical number in the park after school because the eggs the biology club has been looking after finally hatched into the cutest baby ducklings.
You loved it. You and Jeanine would race around after school every day to check in on each story. You remember the way her jacket would puff out behind her as she jumped the last few steps in front of the auditorium. The glint of the sun off the barrette in her hair that matched the one in yours. The joy when she would turn to smile at you like what you were witnessing was for just the two of you.
It got to the point where you could guess what sort of story someone would get caught in. You and Jeanine used to place bets on the genre, the cast, the ending. It was a game. It was all a fucking game until it wasn’t.
You were naïve. You thought that being watchers protected you from the bad endings. The Rules…you thought yourself clever for making them. You never saw how incomplete they were. That’s why you didn’t notice when Jeanine became withdrawn. She never told you about the threatening letters that started to show up in her mailbox. Her parents were always away working and she didn’t have anyone to turn to.
She should have turned to you. You believe that now. If she’d just come to you sooner, then the weight of the story you’d gotten yourself tangled in would have been bearable. Or maybe you should have been able to see it. You were right there, watching. You should have seen the mysterious cloaked figures. You should have known.
You didn’t know soon enough.
Jeanine died saving you.
And now it’s your turn to save someone else.
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The end of the school day can’t come soon enough. When the bell finally rings, you make yourself count to ten before standing up.
Rule 14: Never be the first one out of class.
Rule 27: Never be the last one out of class.
You exit exactly in the middle of the pack. To your delight, Caiden is only a few people ahead of you. He read the Rules and he’s following them. That means this morning wasn’t a fluke. He’s still not completely bound by the magic.
He can be saved.
“Alright,” you say when you reach the lunchroom. Like you’d hoped, there’s no one there. You slam you backpack on top of a table and start pulling out folders. “I’ve got a couple ideas on how to get you out of your story.”
Caiden twirls the racket in his hands. “Can’t I just quit the club?”
“No, that’ll just turn it into a story about getting you back in time for Nationals,” you explain. You flip open the first folder. “One option is to get arrested for something. Sure, it’ll make you a criminal for a little bit, but your team won’t come looking for you. Heck, they might kick you off the team entirely.”
“If they’d come after me for quitting, don’t you think they’d just bail me out?” Caiden asks.
You pause. You didn’t think about that. “Would they even have the money to do that?”
“Mark’s estranged Dad is a millionaire,” Caiden says. He pulls out his phone and flips to a picture. “Here he is on a yacht.”
“I don’t really pay attention to the adult stories,” you say. You examine the picture. Yep, that’s definitely the start of a millionaire romance trope. “Good thing my parents are still together.”
Caiden frowns. “Mine aren’t.”
“Don’t let either of your parents meet Mark’s Dad,” you say apologetically. You flip to the next folder. “Next option is to pretend to be possessed by a famous tennis player. Then, when you lead the team to victory, you say it’s because of the ghost, the ghost gets exorcised, and the team loses interest in you when your abilities fade.”
“That’s pretty convoluted,” Caiden says. He pulls the folder towards him and examines the doodle of a ghost you did. “You don’t know if I’ll lead the team to victory.”
You scoff and gesture to him. “Look at you. Of course, you will.” Before he has a chance to respond, you reveal the last plan. “That’s why I think this one will work. Instead of leading the team to victory, you become a supporting character.” You open the folder to reveal a picture of Mark. “In short, you make Mark a main character.”
“What?” Caiden yelps. He casts a guilty glance towards the front of the lunchroom, making sure no one in the hall heard him. He lowers his voice. “You want me to sacrifice Mark? The guy’s already been through a lot!”
Caiden looks awfully heroic with the way he’s squared his shoulders. He’s genuinely a good person and if you’d meant to sacrifice Mark in his place, you’d feel very villainous right now. “No,” you say, “don’t you see? Making him the main character will actually help him.”
“How?”
“His little brother’s got powers and his dad is, apparently, a millionaire.” You hesitate. You don’t really want to say it, but you don’t think Caiden’s quite understood what it means to be surrounded by main characters. “The way it is now, Mark is in danger.”
Caiden goes still. “What?”
“What’s more powerful than a superhero fighting to protect his brother’s memory? Or a millionaire who only needs the right romantic interest to recover from the grief of losing his eldest son?” You flip over the page and grab a pencil. You draw a circle on one side of the page. “Imagine that’s a superhero story.” You draw a dot in the circle. “That’s Mark’s brother. He can only be affected by superhero-related things as long as he’s in that circle. Their dad’s millionaire-romance story won’t stop him from being a hero, just like his son being a hero won’t stop their dad from becoming a sugar daddy for some lucky single in town.”
“Definitely keeping my dad away from him,” Caiden mutters.
You draw another circle and put another dot in it. “That dot is their dad. He’s protected from any superhero stuff because he’s the main character in the romance stuff.” Between the two circles, you draw a third dot. “In the center? That’s Mark. And right now he doesn’t have a circle to protect him from the superhero stuff or the romance stuff. Do you understand?”
“You’re saying that Mark needs to be a main character so he doesn’t become a tragic backstory,” Caiden says. He scrubs a hand over his face and collapse onto a chair. “This stuff is messed up.”
“Sometimes,” you say, “being outside the magic is just as dangerous as being in the magic.”
That’s what you and Jeanine never understood. There’s a difference between being a background character and being an exception. Exceptions make great protagonists. When the sorcerers that live in the park noticed that you and Jeanine never fell under their hypnosis, they took interest.
Deadly interest.
“Hey.” Caiden reaches out to place a comforting hand on your arm. “You okay?”
You shake yourself. The quiet of the lunchroom makes you feel like you’re the only two in the world. It’s been a long time since you’ve been able to talk to someone that’s not under the town’s magic. You swallow. “My friend,” you say without really knowing you’re going to say it. “The one who wrote the Rules with me.”
“Jeanine?” Caiden asks gently. When you shoot him a surprised look, he says, “You guys signed the Rules.”
You’d forgotten about that. You hardly ever read the Rules anymore. You know them all by heart. You nod. “Yeah. She saved my life. The town isn’t evil and the magic isn’t all bad. But when it’s bad, it’s really bad. You’re doing Mark a favor by making him a main character. You might even be saving his life.”
That seems to break through to Caiden. He takes his hand off your arm, eyes far away as he considers that. When he looks back at you, there’s no resolve in the set of his jaw. “Okay. I’ll do it. How do I make Mark a main character?”
You pass the folder over to him. “It’s all there. You’re going to have to go to Nationals but, after that, you should be back in the background. Just like me.”
“Perfect,” Caiden says with a sigh. He stands, taking the folder with him. “I gotta get to practice.” He pauses in front of the door. “Will you come see us at Nationals?”
“Probably not,” you say. You scrunch your nose. If you go and meet Caiden after the game, you could be in danger of triggering another romance plot. You start packing up to hide your blush. “I’d hate to be caught up in a sports story.”
“Right, rule #35,” Caiden says, laughing a little. He looks awfully cute when he laughs. “If you’re good at sports—”
“—no you aren’t,” you say with him. You grin and wave him off. “See you later.”
Caiden glances down the hall for other students before leaning back into the lunchroom. “Thanks, Fern,” he whispers and then disappears out the door.
Your face feels hot as you make your way home.
-------------------.
You find yourself at the park the day of Nationals. You can’t bring yourself to watch Caiden. On paper, the plan is simple. He has to let Mark play all the singles and, if he plays doubles, Mark needs to be the one to score the most points. Or whatever the right terminology is. Even if it wasn’t dangerous to know too much about sports, you wouldn’t care.
Jeanine would care.
You wander past the kids’ playground and head across the lawn to where there’s a cluster of birch trees. In your mind’s eye, you see this place four years ago. It was night then and there weren’t any kids on the swings or parents idly chatting around the water fountain.
No, it was dark and empty and the only sound you could hear was the harsh panting of your own breath and the slow, rhythmic chanting of the sorcerers about to sacrifice your best friend.
Jeanine was an exception. She was someone who’d grown up here her whole life but was just…average. Average grades, average looks, average worries. Average. She was never compelled into a story as a kid. She wasn’t called on to fight dragons and she wasn’t recruited to be a child spy. She was just Jeanine.
The birch trees are looking a little weak. You stop just where the grass changes to dirt and stares up into their thinning canopies. Good. You hope these trees die. Then the sorcerers trapped inside of them won’t ever emerge and, at last, Jeanine will be avenged.
“If that’s even possible,” you say absently,
The truth is some days you feel like you killed her. Jeanine was average. You were the transfer who knew how to do too many things. You were the one the town took an interest in. Of course it did. You were a 13-year-old who could hotwire a car and who regularly broke into corporate offices searching for dirty books.
Jeanine saved you. She saved you from all the fates she’d seen her classmates fall prey to over the years. She taught you how to watch. She taught you how to survive. Sometimes you wonder why she did that for you, knowing what it could potentially (and did) cost her.
The truth is you would have done the same for her.
You kick at a root with real anger. When the magic couldn’t drag you into a mundane story, it escalated. The sorcerers that lived in seclusion on the other side of town got tipped off. They made a prophecy.
A prophecy about you.
You know the story that you should have had. You were supposed to be a lonely transfer student with only one shy friend. You were supposed to be excited when the sorcerers came to recruit you into their epic fight against evil. You were supposed to learn their spells and their ways and forget all about the normal life you once led.
Jeanine noticed the hooded figures first. She intercepted them before they could get to you. That’s what finally caught the magic’s attention. Here was a girl who would do anything for her friend. A beautiful girl with quick wits and an amazing loyalty.
Here was an obstacle that the sorcerers had to kill. Here was the final piece of your tragic backstory.
But Jeanine didn’t let that happen. Quietly, desperately, she worked to change your fate and, in exchange, sealed hers.
There is a reason that there aren’t any prophecies in town anymore. Jeanine’s sacrifice not only saved you, but everybody else from that fate. She gave her life to seal the sorcerers here, in these woods where they’d meant to kill her and take you away.
What you’re doing for Caiden isn’t like what Jeanine did for you. He’s not in danger of being whisked off into another dimension or being tortured by power you’ll never understand. He’s on a tennis team he doesn’t want to be on. But you’re teaching him like Jeanine taught you.
You just hope he sticks around long enough to learn.
----------------------------.
You get to school early on Monday. It’s against the rules, but you can’t help it. You need to know how Nationals went. You need to know if Mark won the title for them or Caiden.
You see the back of Caiden’s head in the hall outside of class. Your heart races. “Caiden!”
Caiden turns. When he sees it’s you, he raises two fingers in the air. “We won!”
Your heart sinks. “No, I’m so sorry—”
“I mean, I didn’t win,” Caiden says. He gestures down at himself. “Look! No tennis uniform!”
For the first time you realize that Caiden’s wearing normal clothes. Black cargo pants, a Henley, and boots. Normal clothes might be a bit of an overstatement. You try to focus on the positive. “Nice job! Did Mark score the last goal?”
“Not how that works in tennis, but kind of,” Caiden says, grinning. “He got scouted. That means he’s the main character right? He’s safe?”
“Yeah.” You eye Caiden’s necklaces. He’s still got the wolf pendant and the shark tooth on, but now the ancient coin has been replaced by a tiny sword. “I don’t think you’re in the clear yet though.”
Caiden deflates. “What? Why not? Can you see something on me?” He turns in a circle as if looking for note that says main character stuck to his back.
“You’re still way too cool,” you say. You point at the sword necklace. “Where did you get that?”
“Found it on the ground,” he says.
“Oh my god, take that off right now,” you say.
You’ve really got your work cut out for you.
-----End----
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Summary: When Shireen's city falls to a Supervillain, she knows there aren't any Heroes to save the day. So she does in more ways than she knows.
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Love Is... - Choi Yena
Damn, who thought I would come back to writing?
My first fic of 2024, I may be a few months late, but I hope you enjoy!
-----
The sound of the jingle from the front door plays through the speaker, the warm air hits you as you pass through the doors. You take a sigh of relief as you were able to get out of the cold while it was snowing outside.
It’s February, winter is in full swing, snowfall has become the regular in this region. And worst of all, it’s become couples’ season. You weren’t known much as a bitter person, but with all the hearts and couple promotions just brings an ick to your own heart. You were not against people in relationships, you yourself are not searching for a partner to even be with, but just the promotion of love just brings an extra level of bitterness out of you.
Not feeling to cook tonight, your goal tonight was to enjoy a nice and cheap bowl of ramen.
After all, the only thing that can make you happy is food.
You browse around the different flavours and seasonings of the instant ramen selections but then you end up with you usual and most generic pack, a pack of spicy ramen, shortly after you walk over to the cold foods section to add as your sides. Today, you felt adventurous, no one is around to ruin your mood.
Your goal in the cold section is to find a set of your favourite soy marinaded eggs. And there before your eyes, only one pack of two eggs are left on the shelf. “They must be low on stock.” Speaking to yourself as your hands grab the pack before anyone else can take it, on the way to the counter you decided to grab a cool oolong tea as well.
Before paying, you noticed a short individual walk into the store, wearing shorts and an odd white sweater with pink accents. “A little odd to be wearing shorts in winter.” You spoke a little too loudly to be saying it to yourself, the person took their hood off and gave you a little glare, although your attention was not about her hearing you.
Long strands of pink hair flow out in the wind, she almost looks like someone written out of a manga, an anime character you used to watch on Saturday mornings. “A little rude to stare.” The woman scoffed then walked by you. A little shocked but not surprised with her attitude, it’s not anything new to you.
“YAH, WHERE’S THE MARINATED EGGS?”
The person in the white and pink sweater made her way back to the front of the store and you’re now staring eyes with a pink haired bull. “YOU!” Pointing her finger straight at you, stomping hard towards you. Her other hand balled up into a fist, you swear her eyes have been lit on fire from the inside of her skull.
You look over to the employee at the counter and they seem just as confused as you are.
“Those.” She points to the pack of the marinated eggs. “I’m taking those.” Great, just another thing to add to your already over the limit bitterness due to this season. “How about no?” You put your hand up in front of her finger pointing at the pack and push it away. “I will pay for your dinner if you just let me have those eggs.” You look her straight in the eye, she’s dead serious with that statement.
“Jinja?” “Mm.” “Jinja?” “Mm.” “Jinja?”
“HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?!” If this was an anime, you would picture this pink haired girl to light flames out of her head, ready to kill just for a pack of factory boiled eggs, marinated in a soy sauce mixture, who knows what other additives that could’ve been added to this.
All this for eggs.
“Nah, I think I’ll pass.” You said with a straight face, didn’t hesitate knowing you just destroyed the spirit of this young woman. She starts growling slightly her hands are in fists, looking like she’s shaking because she’s trying to prevent herself from punching you, but instead she started tearing up and squatted down, hugging her legs. “But… I really wanted those eggs…” She was whimpering, not something you saw coming.
“Shit.” You look over at the clerk again, all they could do is shrug, giving you a look that says, ‘it’s your mess, not mine.’ You scratched your head in frustration and gave in. “Look, I will split this pack with you if you stop crying.” The girl’s eyes point up to you, the waterworks are really going with this one. Not convinced of your off, she continued moping on the floor. You were left with no choice.
“Ugh and I’ll pay for your dinner.”
“Jinja?” “Yes.” “Jinga?” “Yes.” “Jinga?”
What is this girl doing to you?
You take a deep breath before nodding again.
A pack of instant ramen, a cold green tea and a couple onigiris later, you and this pink haired woman take a seat a table together, considering the circumstances, you found it appropriate to at least sit with this person.
“Thank you for the meal!” The woman clapped her hands together as in a praying motion before digging in the ramen that you ended up paying for.
“Choi Yena.” Confused from what she said, you question her.” I’m sorry, what was that?” Yena picks up the disposable chopsticks, breaking them apart before repeating herself. “Choi Yena, I figured you should know my name for buying me dinner.” Surprised but you told her your name before you did the same with your chopsticks.
Most of the night was silent other than the slurp here and there, the door opening for the occasional night owl popping for a snack. You had just met this Choi Yena about a half hour ago, having a midnight dinner with her, and had a fight with her for boiled eggs.
Not that weird, right?
~~~~~
A couple nights later, you find yourself in the same spot. Going through the doors of the same convenience store, grabbing another pack of instant ramen. Once again, you’re in the cold foods section looking for the same set of marinated eggs that you enjoy so much, but to your displeasure, there’s none on the shelf.
“Damn, must be still out from last time.” Disappointed, you turned to see a familiar pink haired woman. “Well, hello stranger.” Yena there, smiling at you. She’s holding a shopping basket with her arm, and you notice she too had a pack of noodles, the same green tea drink and what seems to be the last pack of eggs.
“Choi Yena…”
“Looks like you’re having dinner again here?” Yena sticks her arm out with the basket, bringing it closer to you. “Let me pay you back, put it in here.” Yena points with her lips, gesturing to the food and drink that’s in your hands, you smiled and just followed along. “Since you’re paying me back, I might as well grab this too.” You grab a salmon onigiri off the shelf and quickly drop it in Yena’s basket, but to Yena’s amusement she rolled her eyes in a playful manner.
“Yah, is that it or is there more?” You chuckle and you look through the rest of the shelves, carefully looking at all the food. “Hmm, what else is good here?” Yena goes and slaps your shoulder and starts walking up to the front counter. “Don’t take your time!” You followed suit, walking just behind Yena.
After paying for the items, you and Yena start getting the ramen ready to be cooked. “What brought you back here?” You ask Yena while she’s opening her soup packets, you do notice with her lips how she pouts a little hard, almost like she has a duck’s bill. “Yena?” She was so focused on her noodles that she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings.
“Oh, yeah, sorry… What did you ask?” Yena looks at you with such an innocent look, you found it cute. “What brought you back here again?” Yena smiles and snickers a little while she pours her soup packet into the plastic bowl. “Coming here late at night helps me not think about my ex-boyfriend, we recently broke up and it was a little messy.” You were left speechless, not expecting an answer like that.
“Oh, I’m sorry, we barely know each other.” Yena tries to cut the awkwardness with a laugh although it didn’t last long. “I normally come here to be alone, coming here late at night with no one around brings me a certain level of peace… Until someone squashed that idea.” You look at Yena with a deadpan while gives you a quirky smile. “Oops, sorry.”
Silence has come between you two as you’re focused on putting some toppings in your ramen before pouring in the hot water, the same with Yena.
“Sometimes, it’s nice to eat with a friend.” Yena quietly speaks up, but you didn’t reply only continued with a little smile.
“Sometimes, not being alone is nice.”
~~~~~
“What’s on the menu today, Yena?”
You and Yena have been meeting at the same convenience store for several days now, it’s started to become a normal routine. You get home late from work, its nearly midnight, then you tend to run into Yena at the store. “I haven’t had tteokbokki in awhile, why not that and…”
“This!” Yena pulls a pack of precooked pork belly, ready to eat out of the microwave. “Isn’t that going to be a heavy dinner?” You questioned the choice, going with a high carb meal with a side of fatty meats. Yena went from a big smile to now a death stare towards you, annoyed with your reply, Yena answers back. “Are you trying to say something about my weight?”
You regret questioning her.
Yena goes on to the microwavable foods section to find something to add to your dinner for the night. “Then how about this?” The pink puff pulls out a bag of fish cakes, perfect side for a bowl of tteokbokki. “Let me go get the drinks while you set up the meal?” You suggested with Yena nodded happily.
Yena pays for the food before making way to the self serve area to get everything cooked so you two can have dinner. You took your time strolling to the drinks area knowing that the food would take a little bit to cook fully even though it’s just precooked frozen foods.
“Hmm, what to have tonight?”
While browsing around, you had thought about getting your usual cold green tea, but you decided to be a little adventurous tonight. You pull a strawberry milk and a mango flavoured green tea; Yena can decide which one she wants when you bring it over to her. A little smile grew on your face when picking the drink out, excited to try it, you quickly walked to the counter to pay for the drink.
Once paid for, you hear the beeping of a microwave from the other side of the store, making you think that the food was already done. Quickly taking the bottles of the counter, you walked over swiftly to see Yena placing a tray down on a table. She was placing everything on the table so carefully, the food being placed in the centre of the table.
Yena meticulously places smaller disposable platters on either side of the table, with chopsticks next to them on top of napkins. You couldn’t help but smile and chuckle on the side, your slightly snickering startles Yena, not knowing that she’s being watched. “Yah! You could’ve given me a heart attack!” Yena clenches her jaw and pretends to go for a punch with her fist.
You continued smiling like an idiot, walking up to the table bringing the drinks to the pink haired menace. “Choose one.” Presenting both drinks, she looks at each bottle, back and forth, thoroughly thinking which one to drink. “I choose this one!” Yena points at the mango flavoured tea, you nodded and put the strawberry drink on one side, then opening the mango drink for Yena.
Both of you sat down on your respective sides of the table, Yena starts picking up the tteokbokki with her chopsticks. “So how was work today?” Throughout spending more time with Yena, you found out that Yena is a professional photographer and is renting a studio nearby, which is why she comes by this convenience so often.
“Aish, the models that my clients keep hiring are so thin, they look like they never eat.” Yena continues ranting about her day, you sat there watched her eat the tteokbokki with some aggression while you were eating slowly but getting your share of the food.
“What about you, how was your day?” Yena puts down her chopsticks, leaning her elbow on the table, holding her head up with her hand. She looks at you with such interest, wanting to know how your day went. Both eyes are on you and only you, her ears are open for listening to you and only you.
You couldn’t stop the muscles in your face from forming a smile, you were happy. You were happy that someone is there to ask you about your day, someone interested to find out how you are doing.
“Damn you, Choi Yena.”
~~~~~
“I can’t believe he would just walk out! These models are becoming so sensitive with constructive feedback!” Yena screamed over the phone, you’re currently driving your way back from work and Yena decided to give you a call as she has a late photoshoot. “What did you even tell him?” You were happy to hear Yena’s voice, you were beginning to think that you wouldn’t see her tonight because of the photoshoot.
“Ahhhh, I told him that he looks bored, that he needs to put some emotion in his posing!” Yena continued with her story as you’re driving back, you just drove and listened. You loved hearing the sounds of her voice, you were never too busy for Yena, and she was never too busy for you.
“Do you still have any more shoots to do tonight, Yena?” With the intentions of getting late night dinner again with the photographer, you change lanes to make way to the convenience store instead of home. “Yeah, I still have a few more shoots to do. I’m not sure what time I would even be done.” You can hear Yena sigh. Her frustration can be felt through the sound of her voice.
Yena continued ranting until her next model arrived. “Yah, I’ll call you later. My next victim is here.” The two of you said your goodbyes and hung up, though little does the photographer know that you’re going to be stopping by tonight to greet her with her favourite late-night dinner.
Shortly you make it to the store, quickly you gathered all the normal food both you and Yena would have. You make it to the clerk and wait for him to scan everything for you to pay, “You’re not with your girlfriend tonight?” Your heart skipped a beat, you were hesitant to pull your card out of your wallet. “Eh, you really think that’s my girlfriend?”
“That pink haired photographer, yeah.” The clerk finished scanning everything, putting everything in a plastic bag for you. “You two are here together almost every night for the last three months. I always thought there was something between you two.” With that, you couldn’t stop your lips from stretching into a smile. The grin stretched from one ear to the other, you were uncontrollably happy.
With that, you paid and quickly drove over to the studio without Yena knowing you would be there tonight. You park your car in the respective spot, not too far away from the entrance but close enough so you won’t be too cold from the weather. You pull your phone out to call Yena before entering the studio.
“Choi Yena, are you still doing the shoot?” Clearly, you’re playing stupid as you slowly walk through the main building’s door. You can see flashes of light emerge from the hallway, faint sounds of music playing. “Yeah, I’m probably going to skip dinner tonight if I have to finish the rest of the shoot tonight.” Yena struggles to hold her phone up with her shoulder while she takes a photo.
“What if dinner is brought to you tonight?”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
You end the call, Yena is genuinely confused, disregarding that she’s in a middle of the shoot.
“Choi Yena!”
You yell the photographer’s name out getting her to turn around to see you holding up a pair of bags with food and drinks. “Yah! What are you doing here?” The pink photographer couldn’t stop herself from smiling, carefully placing the camera down on a nearby table she runs towards you with her arms opened, which ultimately ends with her hugging you.
“I didn’t want you to skip dinner, so I thought to bring it to you.”
After a few minutes, you got dinner set up with Yena but also had brought snacks for Yena’s photography crew and models.
“Thank you for the meal!” Yena was overjoyed, you were happy to see her like this. Looking around the room with everyone talking and enjoying their little break from this late shoot. You begin to eat with Yena, the tteokbokki you had bought today tasted a better than it usually did, you felt happier today than you had in the past, butterflies start take off in your stomach.
You were confused on what this feeling was, this feeling that’s being built up inside you. The way Yena eats, the way she smiles at you, the way she speaks to you.
You love it all.
Love?
You were listening to Yena ranting about how her day went up to this point, how you were the one good thing to happen tonight. You were mindlessly listening, eating, the only thought that’s going through your mind is how perfect would it be if Yena could just end the session now and go home with you.
Stuck in your daydream, a sudden sound snaps you back to reality.
The buzzing from Yena’s cell phone disturbs your dinner, it seemed important to Yena as she immediately puts her chopsticks down, asking for a minute so she can pick up the call. “Go ahead Yena.” Getting up, you watch the distance between the two of you grow, you hated this distance.
You wanted Yena to be next to you all the time, you wanted to be with Yena as much as possible.
“What is wrong with me?”
Patiently waiting for Yena to return, you could only think of what the two of you could be doing on your days off, what type of dates she would like to go on with you. Nothing goes through you mind but Yena.
“Should I confess?”
“You look like you’re in deep thought.” Yena giggles as she has appeared before you, flustered from her sudden appearance, you try to recollect yourself.
“What was the phone call about?” You try to get Yena’s attention off you for being so unaware that she had returned. “Oh, nothing… My ex-boyfriend tried to meet with me, I told him to screw off.” Something inside you had suddenly dropped, like as if your heart and other inner organs had been pulled out of you.
“The two of you still talk?” You had a sudden loss of appetite, you were now only poking at the food, not looking to consume anything at this point. “Sometimes, he still gets on my nerves quite often, he wants to get back together, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for us.” Yena takes her drink and aggressively chugs a large amount after speaking about her ex, you on the other hand sighed slightly in relief.
“I do enjoy the single life again, not having to be shackled to another person, I get to live with my freedom!” Yena jumps up on her feet and stretches her arms and legs, you couldn’t get a word out or say anything but just smile with Yena. “Anyways, I think I should get back to the shoot, I don’t want to stay here all night.”
You agreed with Yena, deciding to clean up after the two of you so you can let Yena go back to the studio floor. “I’ll see you soon, okay?” Yena waits for you to get back up to give you a hug before running off to the studio.
“Damn it.”
~~~~~
“I’ll see you at our usual spot?”
The text you got from Yena earlier that evening, it’s almost essential that the two of you meet every night at the convenience or even at her studio now. It’s been almost a year of this same routine, of seeing each other majority of the week. You miss her when she’s not around, all you can think about is Yena, how is doing? What is she doing?
You try to keep your distance in respect of her, but you try to walk on a line between just being friends with her or confessing your feelings to her.
“You fool, you should just come clean, otherwise you’ll just be hurt again.” You try to motivate yourself to finally confess to the photographer Choi Yena. The little pink haired woman who happens to walk into your life, over marinated eggs of all things.
“Hey!”
“You’re here!”
“I’m so excited to tell you what happened today!”
All you can hear is her voice in your head.
All you can think about is you and Yena being together.
Today must be the day you tell her.
You pull up to the parking lot of the convenience, but you don’t see Yena’s car anywhere, she probably hasn’t arrived yet. “Great, gives me time to think.” You took a deep breath and shut off your car and stepping out.
Slowly approaching the door, you can recognize a certain someone through the windows looking around for food. Instead of a vibrant pink that you were so used to, you instead see a velvety red colouring, standing out a lot more than the usual pink.
The moment you were about to push the door open and walk in, your heart shatters in pieces.
You see a man put his arm around Yena’s shoulder, while Yena dips herself into the man’s embrace. The two can be seen talking through the window, she’s smiling towards him while the man is happy to be there with her.
“Ex-Boyfriend, huh?”
You slowly backed away from the door, you weren’t ready to face this. You didn’t want to face her in this state. There were no tears, but you felt like the world had just come crashing down on you.
What a fool you were, to think that you can find someone to be with.
“Who am I to think that I would be able to have a chance with someone like her?”
Walking back slowly to your car, getting in, and starting it, to get away from this place as soon as possible.
*Bzzz, Bzzz*
“Choi Yena”
She was calling, looking for you, but why would she want to be finding you in the first place?
You pick up the phone regardless.
“Hey! Are you close by?”
“Hey Yena! I’m sorry but I have to stay late at work tonight, I have a last-minute project to get started on right away.”
It was your first time having lied to Yena, you didn’t want to, but you needed to.
“I’ll call you when I can see you again, okay?”
“Oh, okay… I’ll see you soon then.”
The call ends abruptly after that, you dropped your phone in the passenger seat, ready to drive off home… Or wherever you can get to.
Just anywhere but here.
“I’m sorry Yena.”
Some things were just not meant to be, you and Yena just happen to be one of those things.
Love is... Isn't for everyone.
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Woven in the Stars | din djarin x f!reader
Series masterlist | Main masterlist
Chapter 1 - Stitching Serenity
Rating: 18+ MDNI
Word count: ~2.5k
Chapter summary: As he adjusts to life on Nevarro, Din Djarin ventures into town with his son, Grogu, to gather supplies to finish settling into their new home. While shopping, he has a chance encounter with you - a local seamstress. The two of you make an instant connection, as he's drawn in by your beauty and kind heart. After striking up a deal with you, Din heads home after a long day, where suppressed feelings of loneliness and desire arise.
Chapter warnings: slow burn, domestic!Din, dad!Din, mutual pining, yearning, loneliness, bit of flirting, inaccurate star wars info, male masturbation, Din Djarin is referred to as Din and i’m not sorry, reader is female, no mention of hair type/skin color/body type, NO USE OF Y/N.
A/N: happy mando monday! we’ve got another series, babes! buckle up - we’ve got mega pining incoming. Din is a very special character that i hold close to my heart. 🩵 he is so complex, and i want to handle him with so much love and care. i hope y'all enjoy this introduction to the series! feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments or in my asks/dms 🫶🏼
Divider by @saradika
Light blazes through the cracked window, his room rapidly warming up from the brutal Nevarro heat. Din stirs as he hears his son babbling from his room right next to his. Rising to his feet, he pads into the next room, greeted by an excited Grogu. Din scoops him up out of his bed, and carries him into the kitchen.
Grogu’s been babbling a lot more, Din is curious if he’ll say his first words soon. He fixes up Grogu’s breakfast and sets him in his chair at the table along with the food. Making sure his son doesn’t choke while eating, he makes a mental list of things they need to get today at the market.
Beams, wire, fence lining.
Grogu spills some of his breakfast on his tunic, eliciting a sigh from Din.
New clothes for Grogu are added to the list.
After breakfast, Din changes Grogu out of his messy tunic into a spare one he keeps in the drawer for laundry days. Settling Grogu back into his tiny bed, which Din so proudly made himself, he places his favorite ball and a stuffed frog Greef Karga had gifted to him inside to keep him occupied while he gets ready.
He trudges into the refresher, turns on the shower and strips down before stepping into the water. While scrubbing, Din makes another mental list of chores he needs to do around the farm.
Tend to the yard, give the starfighter a tune-up, begin building the fence around the pond.
He steps out of the shower and dries off. Dressing in the refresher, he slips back out into the hall and back into his room.
He’s still adjusting to this new life, never knowing such tranquility and domesticity before. They haven’t got much yet, but he’s trying his best. Wanting to give his son a new, calmer life after all they’ve been through.
Sliding on his helmet and tacking on his remaining equipment, he slings the sack Grogu likes to occasionally ride in over his shoulder. He pads back into Grogu’s room, scooping up his gurgling son as he’s entertained with his toys, and placing him into his pram. The clan of two sets off on a long day of gathering things for their new home.
Sauntering into the markets, the clan heads in the direction of the hardware stand. Buying a few beams, wire, and a few sheets of metal fencing to build a fence surrounding the pond in his front yard. Din efficiently packs the supplies together and slings them on his back.
The fabric stand catches his eye, noting that he and Grogu do need more clothes, and even some new bedding.
As Din peruses through the selection of handcrafted items, picking up a new set of sheets for himself and garments for him and his son, Grogu wanders off in his pram to the stuffed animals.
Din perks up at Grogu’s babbling, seeing that his son has picked up a stuffed bantha. “No, Grogu. Put that down, we’re only buying things we need right now.” Grogu’s ears droop as he whines. “We’ll come back in a few days. I promise, kid.”
“Do you need help with anything?” A sweet voice breaking through the bustling air.
You appear from behind one of the cloaks that are hung up on display, kindly smiling at him and Grogu. Din’s breath hitches in his throat at the sight of you. You look radiant, ethereal - your beauty rendering him speechless for a moment before clearing his throat.
“Uh, no, ma’am. Is this your stand?” He asks, feeling flustered.
“It is. Do you like that one, baby?” You ask, crouching a bit to get on Grogu’s level, who’s cooing at your words. “Take it, sweetheart. It’s okay,” you gently tell him.
“Oh no, I’m sorry. We’re only buying necessities today. Will you have any more next week?” You smile up at the mandalorian. “Nonsense, it’s on the house,” you tell him, giddy as a toothy grin plasters your face. “I’m afraid I can’t accept, ma’am. Thank you for your generosity, but-”
“You mandalorians are always so cordial. I insist it’s on the house. It’s alright, sweet boy. Go on, take it,” you say. Grogu squeals and squishes the stuffed bantha into a bone crushing embrace, your heart melting at the sight of the little green child.
“Thank you, ma’am. That’s very kind of you. Could you at least let me pay for it?” You playfully roll your eyes. “Is your helmet sound proof or something? It’s on the house,” you smile, winking at him.
Thank the stars Din wears this helmet, or else you’d be able to see how red he is underneath.
“I surrender. You drive a hard bargain. I’d at least like to pay for the clothes and these sheets. Are you the seamstress in charge, ma’am?”
You perk up at his question. “I’ll allow you to pay for the clothes, and that I am!”
You’ve got a bit of a spunky personality, from what Din can gather.
“Do you happen to take commissions? These shirts will fit him fine, but if it’s not too much trouble, could I possibly ask for some smaller ones that’ll fit him a little better? I’ll even pay double whatever you normally charge,” he rambles. A twinkle glints in your eyes, your face hurts as you can’t stop smiling at the flustered mandalorian.
“I do take commissions. And no need to pay me double, I’m more than happy to help at whatever price works for you,” you kindly respond. The mandalorian huffs out a modulated chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Thank you very much, ma’am. Could I stop by tomorrow with him to get his measurements? We’ll be in town again gathering more supplies for our new cabin. We’re still settling in and I want him to have enough clothes,” he tells you.
“Sure! I’ll be here for the next week until dusk or whenever I sell out, whichever comes first. Are you liking Nevarro so far?” You curiously ask, wondering if he’s got a spouse at home.
“We are. It’s a much quieter life than our past one, but… it’s a nice change. Just want to make sure the kid has everything he needs.”
You nod at his answer, unable to stop the next words tumbling from your lips. “Does your spouse need any custom garments as well, or just your son?”
“No spouse. It’s just me and my son,” he quickly blurts. Your smile reappears at his answer, silence brewing amongst you two. Grogu’s gurgling cuts through the air, both of you turning to look at the excited child in his pram.
“You’re a good dad,” you softly tell him.
“Thank you. You’re a very kind woman. Thank you for being so kind to my son,” he quietly says, fondly staring at Grogu who is occupied with his new toy. “Of course. I can tell he’s a sweet kid. Also helps that he’s adorable. I can fold those by the way,” you say, hands out awaiting his items.
“Oh, thank you very much,” the mandalorian says gratefully, intently watching you fold his purchases as he searches for his next words. Not wanting your conversation to end just so he can hear your sweet voice.
“Do you make those stuffed animals as well?” The mandalorian asks you. “I do.”
“You’re very talented,” he compliments. Now it’s your turn to feel flustered, heat surging throughout your body - and it’s not from the blistering Nevarro heat.
“Thank you very much,” you gracefully tell him with a bashful smile, silently asking for the items in his hands
“I might just have to commission you for one of those as well,” the mandalorian says as he hands you the credits for the sheets and garments as you fold them.
“Apologies, as well, for not introducing myself earlier. I’m…Mando. It was nice meeting you,” Mando says, trailing off at the end while packing everything into his bag.
The market bustles now, making you shuffle a bit closer to him so he can hear you, as you timidly give him your name. He quickly repeats it, burning it into his memory. The gap between you both having grown smaller. Catching a whiff of your sweet perfume, Din’s knees nearly buckle.
Of course you’re the embodiment of sweetness - and he longs to have a taste.
Flashing him your dazzling smile, you stick your hand out, awaiting his grasp. His face grows hot as he shakes your hand, both of your touches lingering. You gaze deeply into the slit in his helmet, hoping he can sense a sliver of desire from you.
You shuffle even closer, nearly fully flushed against his beskar. “It was nice meeting you too, Mando. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” Your voice hushed, your words only meant for him to hear.
“Yes, we’ll be back in the morning,” Mando says just as quietly. Your smile softens as you glance down to your conjoined hands. You pull away, realizing your hold on his hand lingered for a tad too long.
He clears his throat before turning to his son. “Come on, Grogu. Let’s go,” he barks, causing Grogu to snap his head up and look at his father.
“Bye, baby! Oh, hold on a second!” You say, fishing in your pocket and pulling out a piece of candy. “Here you go!” You squeak as you hand him the sweet treat. His eyes light up and he gurgles in excitement. He hurriedly takes the candy from you, unwrapping it to shove it in his mouth.
“Grogu, what do you say?” His father sternly asks him. Grogu looks up at you and babbles what you think is his version of ‘thank you.’
“You’re welcome, Grogu. Bye bye!” You giggle as you wave off the clan.
Din makes one last stop, purchasing some things to make dinner. He carries his bag of garments and sheets in one hand and the bag of ingredients in another as his hardware rests on his back. He lugs everything back home as Grogu entertains himself with his new toy.
Opening the door, Grogu rushes in first in his pram as Din trails behind and shuts the door. He tosses the bags onto the couch and settles the hardware in a corner of the living room. Grogu babbles as he plays with the bantha you gave him, giving Din the perfect opportunity to quickly cook him some soup for dinner.
It’s different not living out of ration packs, and actually having time to cook a real, hot meal. Domesticity is so foreign to him. The thought of sharing this new life with someone - with you - quickly infiltrates his mind. His mind swirls as recalls his encounter with you today while making dinner.
How did you become a seamstress? What’s your story? Do you give away stuff for free to other customers? Or was it because you’re interested in him? Is that why you had asked if he had a spouse? Or were you just being polite? Why does he care so much? He hadn’t thought about the other merchants this way, but there is something about you that has pulled him into your orbit, making him unable to shake you from his mind.
Grogu’s cooing pulls him from his trance, the soup he’d prepared had boiled over while he reeled through his thoughts. Din exasperatedly cleans up the mess and serves Grogu dinner, who scarfs it down the second it’s placed in front of him. As his son eats, Din continues reeling.
He’d been fine with being alone all these years. Why is he starting to feel this way? He and Grogu have been living here for a few months now, so why is he suddenly feeling a sense of desire? Longing? Even loneliness? Could it be the paternal instinct to provide more for his son? Or could it simply be you?
A tiny burp drags him back into reality. Grogu tiredly yawns, his belly full after a long day at the market with Din. His eyes droop, along with his ears. Din scoops him up and heads to Grogu’s room. He places the green child in bed, placing the stuffed bantha you’d gifted him alongside him.
Din shuts the door and walks into his room next door. He continues to think of you while stripping his armor. He’d suppressed his feelings of loneliness for years now, but something about you had brought them to the surface.
Perhaps it was the way you treated Grogu with such sweetness, so maternally. Or perhaps it was your divine beauty which shines so brightly, penetrating from within your kind heart into the external realm. Whatever it may be, Din could not seem to shake the overwhelming feelings of yearning and loneliness - needs craving to be fulfilled by someone, by you.
Sighing as he removes his helmet, he changes into sweats and opts to sleep shirtless tonight. Padding into the kitchen, he puts the dishes from dinner into the sink, grabbing a glass in the midst of everything.
He knows his son is a Jedi and can overpower him at any moment, but Din still places his spotchka on the top shelf of a cabinet. He just hopes for the best and trusts Grogu won’t get into it.
Swiping the spotchka from the high point, he pours himself a hefty helping and chugs it. Helping himself to two more glasses, he begins to feel the effects, his eyes glazed over and heavy.
Placing the spotchka back on the top shelf and his empty glass in the sink, he walks back to his room and pulls his blanket back. Settling into bed, he still can’t get you out of his head.
His cock twitches at the thought of you, palming himself through his sweatpants. Images of you flash through his mind as he takes himself out of the confines of his sweatpants. His length springs out and bounces onto his stomach, thumping in the processing.
Din spits into his hand and winces as he strokes his cock. He’s so hard it hurts. Closing his eyes, he sighs as he strokes himself up and down, gathering the bead of precum that has dribbled from his tip and smearing it along his length.
The memory of you smiling as you appeared from thin air has him thumbing at his sensitive head. Your sweet scent lingers in his nose, smelling of florals, candy, and a hint of musk. He picks up the pace at the recollection. His breathing grows ragged as he remembers the glint in your shimmering, kind eyes. A fire burns in his veins, balls throbbing as he nears the edge.
He recalls how his skin felt electric beneath his glove as you shook his hand. The thought of your lingering touch sends a jolt of lightning through his veins as he replays the sweet sound of his name fluttering from your lips.
He wonders if his real name would sound just as sweet.
At that thought, he teeters off the cliff and plummets into his orgasm, painting his stomach with his spend while he groans your name. There’s so much cum, he’s definitely going to have to use his new bedding tonight.
He swims through the treacherous waves of his climax, sweat sheening his body. His hair sticks to his forehead and the back of his neck, a heady bliss crashes over him as he tries to catch his breath. He hasn’t cum that hard… ever.
He pants as he throws an arm over his face. Attempting to steady his breathing, he exhales a deep sigh. He’s never been so frustrated with himself. He’s always had more self-control, more discipline when it came to his desires. It’s unbelievable, and downright embarrassing, how quickly he caved at the thought of you. He doesn’t even know if you’re interested in him that way. It’s not like he could give you everything you deserve either, so long as he follows the Way.
Rising to his feet, he pads into the refresher to clean up the mess he made on his stomach. He heads into the living room, rummaging through the bags he carried in earlier. Slipping into the new pair of pants he purchased from you, along with grabbing the new sheets, he trudges back into his bedroom. He strips the bed and replaces the sheets with the ones you crafted and sold to him.
Groaning, he plops himself onto the mattress and stares at the concrete ceiling. Scintillating moonlight shines through the cracked window while the embarrassment and guilt sink in.
How is he supposed to face you at the market tomorrow?
An exhausted sigh rumbles from deep within his chest. He's never been more eager to wear his helmet ‘til now. He turns on his side before nodding off - hoping for a dreamless sleep, one free of you.
thank you for reading! may the yearning begin 🫡 i’m setting these two up for a slow burn hehehe
we will learn more about reader and her story in the next chapters!! i just wanted to introduce Din’s mindset after settling into a calmer life with Grogu
i want to delve some more into Din’s mind and examine his loneliness since we only catch very brief glimpses of it in the show. we know he gets lonely though, an example being apart from Grogu for 2 years. he’s a human after all underneath all that armor. a complex one at that with being an orphan and having to hide himself all the time.
anyway, i hope you enjoyed! let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters <333
tag list: @gracieheartspedro @undrthelights @tinygarbage @party-hearses @bastardmandennis @nostalxgic @pascalpvnk @javierpena-inatacvest @mandoisapunk
#fic: woven in the stars#din djarin#din djarin fic#din djarin x female reader#din djarin x f!reader#din djarin x reader#din djarin fluff#din djarin smut#din djarin series#the mandalorian#the mandalorian x reader#the mandalorian x f!reader#the mandalorian x female reader#mando monday
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ᴀᴅᴏᴘᴛɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴘᴇᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ♡
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contains: character x gn! reader, pets are allowed in the dorms in this one
characters included: kalim, epel, idia, malleus
warnings: none
Kalim is ecstatic about this idea. The first time you suggest this to him, he's so happy; smiling brightly at you and spinning you around in a hug.
He instantly wants to tell Jamil all about it. The latter is a little concerned about Kalim's ability to take care of a small animal; remembering all the times Kalim struggled to take care of himself without Jamil needing to step in.
"Oh we could adopt a camel! Or an elephant!", Kalim is already looking up suitable pet names on the internet. You take his hand in yours and squeeze it. "Kalim, my dear, I was thinking more of....you know...something the average person can actually take care of", you explain carefully and sigh.
The two of you eventually decide on getting a puppy. Very fitting for Kalim, whom you have once referred to as "the human version of a golden retriever".
You know that scene in the beginning of "Bolt" where Penny picks up puppy Bolt for the first time? That's Kalim, walking into the pet shop and staring at the puppies with such a bright, happy gleam in his eyes. You can't help but want to capture this moment, so you take a photo of him; Kalim gladly indulging you. He smiles into the camera whilst holding one of the small dogs up, petting it gently.
"So...got your eyes on one yet?", you ask, pressing a kiss to Kalim's cheek.
Kalim is gonna take home the puppy that's most active out of the ones in the bunch, much to Jamil's disapproval. But Kalim can hardly say no to his newfound little friend, the way the puppy immediately brings him one of the toys running around and expects Kalim to play with it.
Kalim loves that dog so much the second he takes it home. He loves cuddling it and playing with it. Sadly, though to no one's surprise, Kalim has absolutely 0 grasp on the dog and it will not perceive him as an authority figure whatsoever. If you want it to be potty trained, to stop jumping up and down at people due to excitement and not steal the other dorm member's shoes and chew on them? Congrats, that's your job now!
Kalim and you often take walks with your puppy.
It sleeps in Kalim's room so when you're staying over, holding Kalim in your arms and trying to sleep in on the weekends; expect a small dog to join you in your attempts to cuddle or try to catch your attention.
Kalim picked the most stubborn, active dog they had and now you're going to have to try and get it to listen to you. Crowley already complained 5 times.
Epel would love the idea of adopting a pet with you. He has a soft spot for animals. He's just worried about his dorm leader and knows that Vil would hardly be keen on the idea of having a pet at Pomefiore dorm. So if possible, the pet will stay with you most of the time.
Epel holds your hand all the way to the pet shop. "Okay, so, I'll need something that won't make a lot of noise, won't carry Vil's belongings anywhere, won't 'mess up my makeup' apparently and something that preferably doesn't walk around the dorm", Epel sighs and looks around the store.
His choice is made when he looks at the bunnies they have for sale. Epel used to have bunnies as a kid and he still likes them and finds them cute.
You chuckle after looking around the store alone for a while, finding your boyfriend near the bunny cage, holding a small, white rabbit that seems to have fallen asleep on his arm. "This one", he says excitedly.
Epel would refuse to name his bunny something "cutesy". You'll have to deal with name suggestions such as "Skullcrusher" and "Thundering Fury".
He's so happy to share this experience with you.
When he brings the bunny back to the dorm for the first time, Rook makes an off-handed comment about 'hunting', causing Epel to clutch the small creature and shield it from Rook. "Leave skullcrusher alone, I'm warning you", Epel tells him and Vil raises an eyebrow. "You named it skullcrusher?", his disappointment is obvious with his tone and he turns to you, "and you didn't stop him?" You shrug and smile. "He seemed very happy."
Epel takes good care of the rabbit and he loves sitting on the couch, snuggled up to you, holding the little bunny in his arms.
He wants to make its enclosure as nice as possible for it, buying little toys and tunnels to keep it entertained.
Panics if it ever escapes and runs around the dorm. Partly because he's scared he won't find it again or that it might get hurt, partly because Vil is NOT going to like that.
"Calm down", you put a hand on his shoulder, "we try all possible options first before we panic." You grab your things and start looking with him.
He's very relieved when your shared pet is back in your care. Vil actually found it and handed it to Epel. "Next time, keep a better eye on it", the Pomefiore dorm leader sighs; not seeming nearly as mad as Epel had insisted he'd be.
Epel takes you home over the holidays and brings your bunny with him, showing it to his parents and his grandmother. They reminisce about the time Epel used to have bunnies as a kid and show you the pictures of Epel as a young boy. "Y/n, we're so happy Epel brought you over for the holidays- oh, look, and here's him trying to eat the sand cake he made in the sandbox!", his mother exclaimed, resulting in Epel gesturing frantically. "Don't show them that!"
Your bunny just observes you quietly.
For Idia it's instantly clear that you're getting a cat. He's so excited about the idea, given how much he loves cats.
Also one who starts thinking of names before you even go to the store to get a cat, but simultaneously he's worried that he's going to settle on a name but then it won't fit. "It needs to be clever and accurate", he insists, explaining to you the list of names of his favorite game characters, "for example, this character, in the game, has a forehead mark on his face. So if the cat has a spot with white fur on its forehead, this name would make sense." "You're putting way too much thought into this...", you mumble and run a hand through his hair.
One of the few instances where you don't have to convince him to show up only with his tablet instead of in person. "We're making a major decision here. I cannot make judgement half-heartedly", Idia holds your hand and stays close to you as you walk through the village on the island towards the pet store. "But for the dorm leader meetings where major decisions about the school are being made the tablet suffices?", you chuckle and raise an eyebrow. "The normies are capable of handling these. The task of naming our cat is one that demands precision, wits and top tier gamer spirit."
Idia is ecstatic about the cats. Not so much about the store clerk who keeps trying to give him advice. "I- I'm sure we can pick on our own", he tries to shake him off as he shows Idia and you the cats with a friendly smile, "y/n say something please." The last part he whispers and you let out a sigh. "We'll call out to you once we've picked one. My boyfriend is a bit shy", you explain and Idia looks at you with wide eyes. "Don't say that", he whispers as the store clerk tends to other customers.
Idia picks a calm and quiet cat, perhaps a little on the chubbier side; one that seems sleepy and starts to purr and close it's eyes when Idia holds it in his arms. He also instantly finds a name from one of his games that fit the kitten. "See, that wasn't too hard, was it?", you press a kiss to his cheek. "You're right", he hands you the kitten so that you can hold it too for a while, "as soon as I saw it, I knew instantly."
Idia lets the cat sleep in his bed and you two often end up cuddling with it at night. He picked a very affectionate one.
When Trein reprimands him for not coming to class in person and catches him playing games instead of paying attention in the lesson, Idia insists he'll show up in person only if he can bring the cat for comfort. Because Trein has a cat himself, he lets him.
What Idia hasn't calculated in was the fact that small, cute kittens tend to attract a crowd of students asking to pet it. So he ends up surrounded by his classmates, stuttering about how his cat needs its peace and quiet. You have mercy on him and take the cat from his arms, dealing with the students in his stead.
The cat also starts a fight with Lucius, which Trein insists "could never be Lucius' fault". Idia doesn't know how to handle the conflict.
Needless to say, Idia was even more set on not coming to class in person after that. While you are sitting in class, you often receive text messages from your boyfriend, consisting of dozens of cat pictures and videos.
"Look at it, y/n! Isn't it cute?", he texts and you glance to the board to make sure Trein doesn't catch you texting in class. "Yes it is. I see it every day, Idia." "The magic of cats never fades."
For Malleus and you, the decision to adopt a pet was a spontaneous one. You two snuck out without the knowledge of his guards, something you insisted in front of Lilia was an activity you "definitely did not do frequently", and now you wandered the small settlement on the Isle of Sages.
Malleus was going on and on about an abandoned building you saw on the way here and you mused how cute he looked eating his ice cream with a small plastic spoon, his fangs flashing everytime he opened his mouth.
You looked around and passed by the pet store. From the window, you could see inside; observing a small iguana staring at you from the window display.
"Malleus....", you start, the fae prince turning around to check what you were looking at, seeing you point at the creature, "impulsive question, but what do you think about getting one of those?"
Malleus puts his finger at his chin and thinks about it for a while. At first he doesn't get what the point is, as a pet like this lives maybe 25 years if you're lucky and this seems very short for him. You remind him that he has had GaoGao Dragon-kun for even less and it still brought him a lot of joy he's glad to have and Malleus has to agree that you have a point.
"We could take care of it together", you say.
Oh boi
You don't know what you kicked loose.
Malleus perceives this as like, a very big bonding experience with his beloved that will bring you so much closer and prepare you for one day taking care of an entire kingdom together; something he definitely thinks about frequently and is more than ready for.
"Very well then! I would love this very much", he smiles and presses a kiss to your temple. So it's decided.
You come back to the dorm with a terrarium and a small iguana in your arms and the brightest smile on your face as you see Lilia. "We impulsively decided to raise a pet together", Malleus exclaims proudly. Lilia is just looking back and forth between you and Malleus and sighs. He doesn't even know how to break it to the queen yet that her grandson has fallen in love and here he is adopting a pet and probably planning his wedding in his head.
Malleus is super careful with your pet because he knows he's sometimes having trouble estimating his own strength. He holds it super careful and he's very pleased that it's not afraid of him.
He names it GaoGao Dragon-kun. You mostly call it Drakon but Malleus always addresses it by the full name. You go to the vet for the first time and she's like,,, trying to set up a file for your pet and she's like "what's its name?" and there's Prince Malleus Draconia who has to duck under the doorframe to enter the vet's office and made the entire waiting room silent with just his presence and he very seriously answers "GaoGao Dragon-kun" and the assistant of the vet just sighs and makes herself another large cup of coffee.
notes: trying to get used to writing shorter headcanons again because i want to post more often and like, my old shorter headcanons were fine. also just got my wisdom teeth removed (ouch) so expect headcanons about twst characters comforting you after wisdom teeth surgery.
taglist — @mochinee @moldy-cheeto @xxheartspadexx @rose-the-witch1 @endlessorrow @curekibouka-writing @kaeyafrost
#twisted wonderland#twst x reader#kalim al asim x reader#epel felmier x reader#idia shroud x reader#malleus draconia x reader#kalim x reader#kalim al asim#kalim al asim headcanons#kalim x y/n#kalim x you#kalim al asim x you#epel x reader#epel felmier#epel felmier headcanons#idia shroud#idia x reader#idia shroud x you#idia shroud headcanons#malleus draconia x you#malleus x reader#twisted wonderland malleus#malleus draconia#malleus fluff#malleus draconia headcanons
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─── 𓆩♱𓆪 ───
When Gortash first formed the cult of the Absolute, he’d somehow expected it to be more glamorous than watching drunken goblins through a scrying eye.
What he’d expected even less was to see his former lover, long-presumed dead, walking among them…
─── 𓆩♱𓆪 ───
Characters: The Dark Urge / Gortash
Game: Baldur’s Gate 3
Words: 1,700
Rating: Teen+
─── 𓆩♱𓆪 ───
When Gortash first formed the cult of the Absolute, he’d somehow expected it to be more glamorous than watching drunken goblins through a scrying eye.
Indeed, in his visions he’d fantasised of insidious masquerade balls, dangerous heists, and intellectual assassinations. Alas, he supposed that tasks of observation were important too. For the plan to succeed, everyone had to be playing their part, from the highest ranking ‘True Soul’ to the lowliest gnoll, and someone had to make sure it was all going accordingly.
After all, if not him, then who? That loathsome animal Orin cared more about her pitiful attempts to please Bhaal than their grand plan, and Ketheric was much too busy ruling over Moonrise Towers to worry about the proceedings of some pathetic goblin camp, so who did that leave? He alone. Besides, he was probably the only one sharp and observant enough to notice if anything went amiss.
That was the case, at least, since Mera was taken from him.
He sighed. How annoying that, even now, performing the most mundane task possible, he still thought of her. The way she’d be sitting beside him, delicately fingering her dagger while her slender feet rested on his lap. She just loved to distract him; tease him.
“What does this button do?”
“That would shut down the Steel Watch.”
“How interesting, what would you do if I pressed it right now?”
“It’s a temporary measure. I’d simply commandeer one of the Gondians to fix it.”
“Boring. What does this one do?”
“That controls the Scrying Eye.”
“I see… Hmm, how about we do a little contest to see who can get someone murdered using it first? The chosen of Bane or Bhaal?”
“That would be hard considering we can’t communicate through it, only watch.”
“Ah, but that’s part of the challenge, dearest Enver.”
She’d strategically stroke his thigh with her foot, raising higher towards his groin in hopes that he might offer a soft moan and give in to her playful, mischievous ways. Then, of course, he’d have to put her in her place, right there on the command console. His hands clasped around her pale neck, long black hair splayed behind her as she glared daggers at him through those divine, striking red eyes…
He shook his head. Pathetic. He couldn’t allow himself to lose focus like this, not when so much was at stake. Mera was in the past, probably now dead and wreaking havoc in some corner of Avernus without a single thought for her once partner-in-crime, so why should he spare one for her? Besides, he spent too many long and lonely nights staring at his balcony, wondering if she’d suddenly appear to amuse him, love him, torment him. Even if it was to assassinate him, he’d have been glad for it, just to see her again…
She’d have been delighted to hear such a shameful admission.
Gortash turned his attention back to the screen, where a red-headed goblin now stood, waving her hand in front of the eye.
“ELLO?? Dis fin broken or wot?”
He leaned forward to reach the control panel, bumping the eye into the goblin in a childish act of irritation. She jumped back, startled.
“OI! I fink dis thing ‘as lost its marbles. Whateva, come this way and I’ll introduce you to the drow.”
The goblin turned and hobbled towards Minthara, a drow noble Orin had selected to be a spokesperson for The Absolute many moons ago. She was followed by a small party, presumably a gang of adventurers who had been infected with the tadpole. Strange though - he did not recognise any of them to be True Souls, so why were they being granted such a high ranking audience?
Intrigued, Gortash watched them as they followed the goblin. He could not see the adventurers clearly due to his positioning, but he could tell that there were four - possibly two men and two women judging by stature alone. One of the men looked to be an elf with curled white hair and daggers equipped at the hip while the other was clearly a magic user, adorning a long purple robe with a quarter staff on his back. The two women were harder to analyse - being shorter and obscured from view - but they both appeared to have dark hair. This was, unfortunately, all he could discern for now.
The goblin and the drow talked together as the four of them observed. Gortash edged the eye slightly closer.
“…This mug helped me to escape. I say we stick a few holes in her, show how grateful we are!”
The goblin seemed to be referring to one of the women, who Gortash could now see was a human with loose hair hanging around her shoulders. She seemed to be the centre of the group, maybe even their leader.
“Oh dear. Your prisoner is one of the Absolute's favourites, Sazza. A True Soul…”
Minthara’s brow raised in interest as the goblin squirmed beneath her gaze. Interesting, so they were True Souls after all… Then why did he not recognise them? Was it possible they somehow slipped the system unnoticed?
“Nah. Can't be... they woz in the grove, hangin' around with the tieflins!” The goblin replied, backing away nervously.
“Undercover, no doubt. Carrying out the Absolute's will. Oh, Sazza - you have made a grave error…”
Gortash knew that this wasn’t the case; The Absolute’s will was his own, after all. Could this be the work of Ketheric or Orin behind his back? Some kind of plan to usurp him?
“… please, no! I didn’t know!…”
It was certainly a possibility. If these True Souls had found their way to Moonrise Towers, it would have been easy for Ketheric to recruit them as sole commander. But to position them in a grove filled with tieflings - what would be the point? Could there somehow be ties to Avernus at play?
“She’s telling the truth. She didn’t know.”
A shiver shot up Gortash’ spine as he heard a voice all too familiar. He stood and moved closer to the viewing screen, but the Scrying Eye was positioned too far away to clearly identify the woman that spoke.
It was surely a trick or some coincidence, but still, the woman sounded exactly like her. Like Mera.
The mere fact that this woman spoke on behalf of a lowly goblin and saved her from a deathly fate was proof enough that this wasn’t his once-partner. Mera was as blood-thirsty and cruel as she was cunning and beautiful. Not in the way her replacement Orin was - who acted like a wild dog, murdering left and right for senseless amusement alone - but in a way that was meticulous and logical enough to match his own intellect. There would have been no point in sparing a goblin, no, his lover would have remained silent as Minthara laid out her judgement, simply observing with deliciously cold calculation.
“… silence, wretch. And remember - you owe your miserable life to this one.”
The goblin ran from the scene and towards the eye, knocking into it in her clumsy escape. Gortash exhaled through his nose in frustration as the screen fuzzed and the audio crackled - all sound now unintelligible.
“Tamia!” he called out through gritted teeth. A cultist belonging to Bane rushed into the room at his call.
“My lord?”
“Send in one of the slaves to fix this at once.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Within seconds, a Gondian shuffled into the room with their head lowered, immediately beginning to fix the scrying eye. Gortash tapped his foot impatiently.
“It is fixed m-my l-lord.”
“You are dismissed.”
The gnome left just as the screen flashed back into focus and the audio returned - but now Gortash could see only Minthara, her gaze fixed on something in the distance.
He returned to his seat and slumped in defeat and annoyance. If he should ever meet this ‘Sazza’, she would face a punishment worse than death for the damage she caused - thanks to her, he would now have to contact Minthara personally to discover what transpired between she and the adventurers.
He returned his hand to the control panel and began moving towards the drow when a light indicating ‘physical altercation’ quickly flashed. Had the eye just been… poked?
He rotated the eye towards the source and…
His heart pounded heavily in his chest and long-dried tear ducts threatened to enflame. Was he even still breathing? Was time still moving? He could scarcely tell, as the world around him seemed to turn to nothing but darkness, the scrying screen a single spotlight.
For there, standing in front of the eye with a puzzled expression, was her.
“It can’t be…”
Mera.
She waved, crossed her arms, and peered deeper into the eye as if she were looking directly at him. Could she sense him there?
“… My lord?”
Gortash snapped back to reality as the cultist cautiously approached him. He realised then that he had shot up to his feet once more, lights flickering around the control panel and small alarms sounding as his fists throbbed against the deck.
He took a deep breath and calmly removed his hands from the panel, assessing the slight damage caused by his clawed glove.
“…How I detest flies.” He hissed. “You were dismissed, Tamia. Were you not?”
He heard the cultist’s breath hitch in her chest.
“My deepest apologies, my lord. I thought you had dismissed the Gondian alone, I-“
“Excuses are a waste of breath. Leave at once. Oh, and Tamia? Have a new slave come repair this and punish the previous one that let a filthy insect into my office.”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
The cultist bowed and left. The command panel still flickered and Mera still shone from the screen, her attention now turned to the elf who was glancing at the Eye with suspicion.
Mera…
No. No, it was impossible. Mera was not infected, she was not even still with the living - if she was, she’d have gone to him. Wouldn’t she have? It… it must be a shapeshifter, another trick from Orin meant to throw him off balance. So he was right, the others were plotting to wage war with him.
How foolish they were.
As the thought grazed his mind, the so-called ghost of Mera raised an electrified hand and swiped.
Then all faded to black.
─── 𓆩♱𓆪 ───
#durgetash#baldurs gate 3#baldurs gate 3 fanart#baldurs gate 3 fanfiction#bg3 fanart#bg3 fan art#bg3 fanfic#bg3 fanfiction#bg3 durgetash#bg3 durge#gortash#enver gortash#bg3 gortash#dark urge x gortash#durge x gortash#the dark urge#durgetash fanfiction#bg3 fic#bg3 ao3#oc
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FRIDAY THE 13TH. ST CAST x r
characters; steve harrington, eddie munson, jonathan byers, nancy wheeler, robin buckley, jim hopper.
!!!!!W; PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING! based in the 80s, inspired by FRIDAY THE 13TH, steve & eddie will wear a crop top and cut off levi’s - trust!, this one is sort of long, breaking into a old campsite, violence, blood, someone sacrifices themselves for you because of looooove - ooooo, murder.
soundtrack; house of the rising sun - the animals, smells like teen spirit - nirvana, creeping death - metallica, for whom the bell tolls - metallica
an; really fun to write their dynamic and a long one!! let me know if you like longer fics or shorter - and if you enjoyed this one!!
SHOWINGS. | MOODBOARD.
FOREST HILLS TRAILER PARK.
You climb out of Nancy’s car, groaning at the heat. The knitted top and shorts you had put on were no help.
“Why didn’t you put on different shoes?” Robin lifts her brows, eyes looking at your brown boots.
You pout. “These matched. Hopefully Eddie’s air conditioner is working.” Making your way towards the homemade wooden porch - one Eddie broke one night and had to fix - you yank open the door and step inside.
Luckily it was working. You let out a sigh and plop down on the worn flannel couch.
You hear a whistle. “Well, hello.” Eddie stares down at you, grinning.
You open an eye and peek up at him, lifting a brow. “What do you want?”
“I’m offended you think I want something.”
“You only compliment me when you do want something.”
“This time I don’t want anything. Promise.”
You narrow your eyes at him, humming slightly before closing your eyes, counting down in your head.
3.
2.
Andddd…. 1.
“Can you cut a couple of these tops for me?” He holds up the selection of tops.
“Knew it,” You grin, sitting up. “Give me some scissors.”
He nods, dropping them onto the coffee table, walking towards the kitchen, opening a drawer. Nancy and Robin steps inside the trailer.
“Oh, it is working.” Robin sighs, sitting in front of the cool air, letting out a sigh as it blows onto her skin. Nancy sits next to you.
Eddie hands you the scissors. You grab them from his hands. “Where do you want me to cut it?”
“Across here,” He makes a line straight across the stomach of the shirt. “And here,” He points to the sleeves. “But only two shirts with cut off sleeves.”
“You got it.” You nod, cutting into the fabric.
The door opens, Steve groaning as he drops the bags down to the ground. “I really hope the air in your van is working. It’s like a million degrees out there.” Steve walks towards the refrigerator.
“Checked it the other day,” Eddie says, eyes glancing over a magazine, reebok foot resting on the coffee table. “It works just fine.”
“You said that the last time.” Jonathan says, sitting next to Robin, sighing as the air hits his face. Steve makes his way back, sitting on the arm of the couch next to you.
You glance over at him, smiling softly before quickly looking down. Eddie’s eyes watches the both of you, smirking behind the magazine.
“I swear on my life, it’s working!” Eddie shuts the magazine, rolling it up as he stands. He hits the top of Steve’s head.
“Nance, Robin, you’re up front with me.”
“I get motion sickness in the back.” Jonathan frowns.
“Then go to sleep?” Eddie lifts his brows. Jonathan sighs, shaking his head. You fold the shirts, standing and handing them over to Eddie. “Everyone ready to go?”
“You have the cooler packed?” Steve asks.
“And the bag with food and snacks?” You tilt your head.
“You both think so little of me.” He presses a hand to his chest.
Steve rolls his eyes, standing. “Because last time you said it was packed-”
You cut Steve off to finish. “You carried the bag and it was empty. The last time you said you had it in the van, ready to go and definitely packed-”
Robin cuts you off this time. “You had left all the food and drinks here.”
“And camping was your idea.” Nancy points out, standing. Robin and Jonathan stand as well.
Eddie rolls his eyes, grabbing the keys to the house and van. “Well, excuse me for being a bit scatterbrained and wanting to have fun with my friends.”
“Steve and Jonathan should double check.” Robin says. Eddie frowns and stares at her.
“Just to be sure. It doesn’t hurt,” You shrug. “Besides. I have to use the bathroom.” You walk past Steve.
“Hurry up. It’d be a shame if you were left behind!”
“Would be such a shame.” You look back at him, before stepping into the bathroom.
⛏
The road was bumpy, your hand landing on top of Steve’s for a mere minute. You glance at your hands, blushing and pulling it away quickly.
Steve smirks a bit, pretty eyes peering at you through his lashes.
The van stops abruptly, the side of Steve’s head smacking into the hunk of metal. The back door opens, Eddie standing with frazzled hair from the rolled down window - because the air did not work like he said it would - grinning.
“Hopefully it wasn’t too bumpy and Byers didn’t puke.”
“He slept the whole time,” Steve grumbles, hopping down onto the ground. He holds his hand out to you. “When we leave, I drive.”
“Sounds like a plan. I want to sleep on the way back.” He takes his bags, walking away. Steve rolls his eyes, grabbing his bags and one of your own.
“I can carry it, Stevie.”
“No. It’s okay,” He smiles. “I got it.”
“You have got to be kidding me, Munson!” Robin exclaims from the front. You and Steve both share a look, walking around to the front.
“What?!”
“Are you- You’re not seriously thinking about breaking into a summer camp are you? A shut down one at that!”
“Oh, stop being so silly, Robin,” He rolls his eyes, walking towards the chained gate. “You should know I’m not thinking about it,” He drops his bag down to the ground, unzipping it. “I already thought ahead to it.” He pulls out pilers and showing them to her with a grin.
“I’m not sleeping in there. There could be… I don’t know, people- serial killers hiding in there!”
He cuts the chain open with a grunt, watching as it unravels to the dirt ground, pushing the gate open with a creak. “Well, I have blankets in the van if you’d like to sleep in there, alone.”
“What do you guys think about this?” She turns to you, Steve, and Nancy. Jonathan soon joins, scratching at his head as he yawns.
“Oh, wait,” He looks at the chosen campsite. “This is cool.”
“What?!” Robin throws her arms up.
“Oh, come on, Rob,” Nancy grabs her hand. “It could be cool! We’ll all be together, the vans right here if anything happens-”
“Yes. Because that makes me change my mind.”
“All I’m saying is, we can make a quick run for it. It could be cool. You’ll be sad if you missed out.” She shrugs, walking towards Eddie.
Robin sighs and turns to you and Steve. “What do you two think about this?”
“Well… It’s crazy, but…”
“But….?” She lifts a brow.
“It’s just a one time thing.” Steve shrugs.
She sighs and shakes her head. Leaning down, she grabs the bag from the ground. “Okay. But I’m telling you, if there is some crazy, serial killer here, I’m leaving you all to die.”
Eddie chortles. “So great you think highly of us.”
⛏️
A bit of cherry juice drops down your arm, your other hand wiping it up with a napkin. Your eyes stay trained on Steve - who looked particularly good in the cut off green faded Hawkins high shirt and Levi cut off jeans - tossing the baseball towards Jonathan.
He holds his hand up, Jonathan pausing and tossing the ball into the air. Steve lets out a heaving breath, hunching over as his hands rest on his knees, hair sticking to his forehead that was slick with sweat.
Eddie was lounging out on the blanket, Robin snickering everytime she placed a rock in his hair without him noticing.
“You’re drooling.” Nancy leans up, wiping at the corner of your mouth.
You roll your eyes, swatting her hand away. “No, I’m not.”
“You so are,” Eddie says. “And my eyes are closed.” You roll your eyes, pulling your legs up to your chest.
“Who’s ready to eat?” Steve asks, making his way towards the four of you, Jonathan behind him.
“Me! I’ll start the fire.” Eddie sits up, a bunch of rocks falling from his head. He narrows his eyes at Robin.
She laughs.
⛏️
“Have you ever heard the reason why this place closed down?” Eddie asks, wiping some marshmallow from the corner of his lip.
You groan mentally while Robin voices it, tossing her head back. “If i’m sleeping out here, Munson, I do not want to be hearing no spooky stories,” She stares at him now, pointing a finger at him. “We are in the middle of nowhere. In the woods. And no one knows where we are.”
“What’s camping without a scary story around the fire?”
“Start without me,” Jonathan says, standing from his spot. He grabs the flashlight. “I gotta go to the bathroom.” He turns it on, Robin squinting as it hits her face. He turns and walks towards the wooded area.
“This better not be a planned scare, dingus!” She calls after him, before looking at Eddie. “It better not be.”
Eddie smirks, humming. “Well… hold on to your socks, Buckley.” She grumbles as she takes another bite of a graham cracker. You and Steve share a look, a small smile on each of your faces. There’s a snap somewhere in the distance.
“Eddie, I swear-”
“I didn’t plan nothing,” Eddie sighs, dropping the smirk. “Probably Byers playing some sick joke or something. Anyway, I’m going to start the story,” He clears his throat. “Picture it, Camp Redwood 1975-”
“What is this? Golden Girls?” Steve lifts a brow. He caught the show with you at times.
Eddie narrows his eyes at him, effectively shutting him up. Steve leans back on his hands, shoulder brushing with yours.
“As I was saying, it was 1975, camp counselors would always come two days earlier - to figure out what they were doing and where everything was - and the last day they had without any sticky fingered gremlins with snotty noses, they would always have a little camp out themselves, throw a little party without any of the adults knowing,”
“Of course.” Robin mutters. Nancy nudges her shoulder with her own.
Eddie smirks, the fire reflecting off of his eyes, highlight his face in a glow. His eyes trail over everyone one by one. “It was going to be fun… Until, they were-”
There’s another snap in the distance, causing him to stop, eyes shooting up and looking towards the sound.
“Eddie,” Robin grits. “I swear… I’m too young to die.”
He rolls his eyes, standing and dusting off his pants. “Again, it’s probably just Jonathan playing some sick joke. I’ll go see.” He walks towards the trees. He stops, letting out a chuckle.
“See,” He looks back at the group. “I was right. It was-” He stumbles back when he feels a weight drop into his front. He grunts, hands shooting out and gripping the boys shoulders. “Anddd it’s time for you to slow down on the beer.” He chuckles.
You slowly stand to your feet, tilting your head when Jonathan chokes on a cough, something spilling from his mouth and onto Eddie’s arm.
Eddie makes a noise, stumbling back from him. His eyes widen when he looks down at his arms before looking up at Jonathan again.
The boy falls to his knees, more stuff slipping out of his mouth. You step closer, eyes widening when you see what it actually is.
Blood.
Jonathan looks up at you. “Help m-” He’s choking on the words, more blood spilling at his mouth. Your eyes drop down towards the sharp end of metal poking out of his chest.
You let out a scream, watching as it slips from him when he falls to the ground. A man - 6’1 in a dirty mask - stands behind him, arm lowering to his side. Eddie’s hand grabs your wrist, pulling you away.
“Go!” He yells. You run a different way, eyes burning with tears as your legs burn. You slide in behind a cabin, breath coming out roughly. Your hair sticks to your forehead from sweat.
You flinch when you feel something drop onto your skin. You peek up at the sky, feeling more droplets fall onto your skin before the rain slowly becomes a downpour.
A hand wraps around your mouth. “Shhh… It’s me, it’s okay.” Steve whispers in your ear. You pull your face away from him, glancing up at him.
“W…Where’s everyone else?”
Steve’s brows pinch together, eyes closing. “Nancy… she, uh-”
You let out a shuddering breath, shaking your head. “No… No, she’s not dead.”
“I’m sorry… I tried to help her, I couldn’t. He grabbed her before I-” He stops, hearing a snap next to the cabin. His hand slips into yours, gripping tightly.
“It’s me! Don’t scream.” Robin holds her hands out in front of her.
You let out a breath, walking towards her and wrapping her in a tight hug.
“Where’s Eddie?” Steve whispers.
“I have no idea… But we need to run to the van. Maybe he’s already there.” Robin pulls away from you. You both nod.
Steve peeks his head out, eyes checking to be sure everything was clear. “Okay… It looks clear, but he could be hiding… I’ll go first.”
Robin’s hand grabs yours. You squeeze once, walking in behind Steve, hand gripping onto the wet material of his top.
You feel her hand slip from yours. Before you could turn, there’s a choked sound coming from her mouth and a squelching noise as she falls to the wet ground.
You turn, eyes widening at the sight of her clutching her throat, chest heaving.
Steve lets out a breath, pulling you along. “No! Steve! We can’t just-”
“We can’t save her! We’re too far out from a hospital! We need to make it back to the-" He stops, eyes glancing over your shoulder, face dropping. He pulls you out of the way in a quick movement, gasping when the metal slices deep into his chest.
Blood soaks the back of his shirt, his knees buckling from underneath him. You let out another scream, your ears ringing.
Steve turns his head. “Run.” He chokes out. A dirty boot comes up, pushing his chest away from the sharp metal. Your eyes stare at the blood dripping down into the dirt, slowly trailing to Steve. There’s a dirty footprint from the boot and blood trailing down his stomach.
Your eyes finally snap up, staring at the masked man. You turn and start to run, your boots rubbing at the tender skin of your ankle.
You glance back checking over your shoulder, hair sticking to your chin. You scream when you bump into something, hands gripping your shoulders.
“Hey! It’s okay! You’re okay!”
You stare up at the man, letting out a shuddering breath, tears mixing in with the rain. “He- Their all dead! He killed them!” You sob, eyes finally landing on Eddie laying on the ground by the van.
He was going to leave you all.
“Who? Who was it?”
Your hand comes up and rests on your forehead as you squeeze your eyes shut. “I-I don’t know! He had a mask on!”
Hopper nods, patting your shoulder as he turns to Callahan. “Let’s go check. Call for backup,” He turns to you. “Stay here.” He pulls his gun from his holster. You nod, turning and watching as he steps into the camp ground, guns and flashlights pointed straight in front of him.
“Chief! Watch-” It was too late. Three gunshots ring out, echoing through the woods, another round being released.
You shake your head, turning and running as far as you could, checking behind your shoulder to be sure you were alone.
⛏️
Thighs and quads burning, hours pass, the sun was slowly raising, rain still down pouring and soaking through your clothes - the material sticking to your skin.
You wanted to scream.
You were alone.
Your friends were dead.
You walk along the side of the main road, eyes squinted, arms crossed, as you stare at the raising sun in the horizon.
‘NO PLACE TO HIDE.’
⛏️ ST tags; @officerrrfriendly, @ali-r3n, @lavendermunson, @queercodedcharacter, @halflifejess, @whisperingwillowxox, @keerygal, @alltoomay, @hazydespair
⛏️ thank you for reading! comments, reblogs, requests, likes, & feedback is encouraged, welcomed, & deeply appreciated!
#cherry writes ✿#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington x you#steve harrington x fem!reader#steve harrington angst#steve harrington fanfic#joe keery x reader#eddie munson x reader#eddie munson x y/n#eddie munson x fem!reader#eddie munson angst#eddie munson fanfic#joseph quinn x reader#nancy wheeler x reader#robin buckley x reader
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GETO X READER : MEMORIES OF US
hi! i’m kinda nervous lol first time i share something here i hope you guys enjoy it!
pairings: geto suguru x fem!reader
cw: female reader - mentions of death - character death - blood - angst - sad ending
synopsis: finally returning home after some time away living outside the country, you decide to come back and unpack your things until you find a box filled with memories inside, memories of who once was the love of your life. He was no longer by your side, and you constantly wondered why your heart was still his and if you were given a chance to see him one last time.
word count: 2.4k
You dropped your suitcase on the floor, exhausted by the trip. It was 10 pm on a winter night and you were finally back in your tiny apartment you were proud to call home. The urge to curl up in your bed was tempting, but you had to freshen up before you could unpack all your things and start anew.
After a long relaxing shower, you put on comfy pajamas and start to tidy up your stuff in your drawers. Your arms were numb from folding your clothes, while your stomach began to make noises. It was time to eat. You hadn't eaten since your flight, but it was late and you didn't have time to run any errands, plus you were tired. Luckily for you, you had instant noodles in your kitchen. By the time you let the noodles cook in the hot water, you had prepared a little space on your couch where you could enjoy them. You turn on the TV and select the first channel you see, leaving it as a background noise.
As you get up to fetch your meal, you come across the small wood table in which where was a box covered by a little bit of dust, cute stickers and a Polaroid sticking out of it. You instantly knew what was inside and couldn’t stop your hand from reaching for it. You take the box and place it on your couch then set off to get your noodles. Back on your couch, the smell and steam of the noodles fills your nose as the moon illuminates the room with a bath of light. You take a deep breath, mentally preparing yourself and blow the lid of the box before opening it. You take and turn the Polaroid over so that the photo is hidden. Inside the box were notes from your high school friends, a collection of interchangeable erasers in the shape of animals or people, and a bunch of other Polaroids. Pictures of you and your friends in all sorts of situations, but also photos of him, smiling next to you. You take a short break, eat your noodles, and realize you've opened Pandora's box.
You lie down on the sofa and take the photo you turned over a few minutes earlier. It was the most meaningful photo of the two of you you kept everyday on your phone and you remembered exactly how you'd put it back in the box that afternoon when he broke up with you, tears streaming down your cheeks. Since that day, you hadn't touched it again.
You take the photo in your hand and plunge years back in time to that day when you were ice skating. It was your way of expressing yourself, of sharing emotions that no words could describe. Geto always appreciated the way you danced, the fluidity and delicacy that emanated from your movements. When you started dating and throughout your relationship, you introduced him to your passion, even though he didn't really know how to stand on ice, he made the effort to enter your world. You spent many moments on ice, you were holding him back from falling, laughing to the point where your stomachs would hurt. It was a bubble the two of you shared and the best moments you spent with him. That photo was taken by the lovely rink cleaner, Geto was holding on your waist while you were making bunny ears behind his head, both of you enjoying the moment. He was looking at you with so much love. This was the hardest picture you possessed because it showed how intimate he was for you to open up about your world.
You let out a huge sigh and turn off the TV. The same pain you felt back years ago was still there. Even when you both parted ways, even when you left the country to grow strong and live a new life, it was still there. Your hand unconsciously stroked the photo as you realize your gesture. Despite all the anger and pain you felt towards him, you couldn't stop carrying him in your heart, wondering why he'd cut you out of his life the moment he felt so lonely, loosing his subtle smile, dark circles under his eyes. You wondered if he was well surrounded, if he had eaten, and sometimes you thought about being ever included in his true ideal. It was enough for your poor mind, you let the box remain opened as you started to walk in your bedroom, wiping your silent tears.
Morning came fast, you were still saddened by last night. As you walk past the sofa, you close the lid of the box.
“Nah! Not today sir” you mumbled.
Today’s plan was to go out to buy some groceries, and so you did, but you also had to meet someone. You were still close with old friends like Satoru Gojo. He was Geto’s most trusted friend and best companion. You both kept in touch after Geto left, and he wanted to see how you were doing. But deep down, you knew he was going to tell you something important. And so, here you are talking with him at the highest point of the park.
“How was life outside?” Gojo asks
“It was nice i guess? I mean it did change me. I needed to go somewhere else i couldn’t bear to stay here. But thanks to that, i learned more about occult energy and trained really hard. Sleep, training, work, it became my new routine. I was staying at my father’s family home so i could work and pay the rent for my apartment here because i knew i would eventually come back i can’t just simply run away.” you let out a fainted smile
He looks at you, “But something was missing” he tells.
You looked back at him, he could read you like an open book, there was no need to lie to him and to yourself — “You know who was missing Gojo and i think you miss him too.”
He didn't answer, but deep down you knew he was as affected as you were. You handed him a cookie — which he took gently, letting out a tiny smile.
A brief not-so-awkward silence moment falls between you two. The winter wind gently blows through your hair.
“I still don’t understand why he left so suddenly, i knew he was going through something, that his mind began to change, i was there when he talked about it, when he felt so tired of consuming this energy, the taste of curse and anger was unbearable. I tried to comfort him, to be the person he could lean on, i thought everything was going well between us but he still left everyone behind including you and me.” — You paused. Gojo was silent, he knew you had to get this off your chest. You carry on — “I can’t blame him, I didn’t know exactly how he felt and he couldn’t be stopped either, he had already made up his mind and the mass killing attack was one of the most shocking news i could have heard. Love is so complicated, he became who he is and i still can’t forget his face, how close we were, the sweet moments between us, the pinky promises we’ve made. You know, he leaved me in front of the ice rink…” You take a deep breath a sad smile covering your face — “His face looked hurt and we were both crying, i’d like to think he did it because he knew i wasn’t following him into this path that maybe he wouldn’t want me to change. He was genuine that’s all i know.”
Gojo looked at you, he had to tell you in the classy “gojo way” style what happened when you were away, he had to prepare you for the news he was about to tell.
“You know I’m a teacher right?” He says. You nodded. He talked briefly about him being a teacher and having special students in his class when you had i'm on the phone before. You wondered what he was going to tell you but you sensed something was not right.
“As i've told you before, i’m teaching all i can know to my students. One of them possesses something…well, he is cursed by theory by a powerful spirit. Geto came back for this sole reason when he heard about it and tried to persuade him to join his new world. I think he he's searching for something else and i guess it's linked to my student’s cursed spirit. Little guy refused and didn't understand what Geto desired. He then threatened to unleash a huge amount of curses on several locations at the sundown of December 24th.”
You were utterly speechless as you gazed intently at Gojo, astonished by the news. Geto was still alive, which reassured you, but hearing your friend confirm your doubts was harder. The information finally entered your mind as you realized and told him panicking —
“B-but today’s the 24th??”
"I apologize for not calling you sooner, but we must be ready to face him and when i heard you were coming back, i needed you to be be strong enough. He won't give up, and we both recognize that he is unstoppable".
You hated when Gojo was right. You've been wishing to see your past lover one last time, and that day is approaching faster than you thought.
“Let me go with you.” You answered
He hesitated a second,he knew you wanted to see him and he couldn't do that right after what he just told you. He then agreed. He takes you to his students and all the school’s exorcists, ready to fight Geto's cursed spirits and his team. The sun was about to set, the rays of light were almost no longer prominent. It was time. And so the Night Parade, a "war" began. You were with Gojo and the others the whole time while two of his student were somewhere else. After a long battle between Geto's allies and cursed spirits, Gojo realized that something was wrong and that the real battle wasn't here. He called out to you —
“If I'm not back in 20 minutes, come and join me at Tokyo Jujutsu High!” You nodded back in the middle of a fight. You were fighting as best as you can with your pole arm.
It has already been 20 minutes which meant you could finally join him in the battle. You run and jump throught the streets as fast as you can until you land in a silent alley. Blood stains were visible on the ground. A dangerous and difficult fight came to an end here. You arrived too late. You see Gojo far away and someone laying down on a wall, a severed arm laying next to the bleeding body. Not only that, but you knew who he was. Your body responded right away. You began to run until you were finally facing the man you loved.
Geto groans in pain and turns his head until he faces you and freezes of surprise. He couldn’t believe you were here, all changed, and more beautiful than ever. He thought you hated him when he broke up with you in front of your most meaningful place. He thought he did great by letting you go. Hurting you was the easiest way for him as he wanted to spare you from his new worldview.
You kneeled down, completely lost. You couldn’t believe that the cause of your rage, your suffering and also your love was on the verge of death.
“Not the best state and place to meet again don’t you think?” Geto tells with a fainted smile
You couldn’t hold the chuckle that left from your mouth. It seemed like anger and sorrows vanished instantly.
“I see that i still have my sense of humor.” he pauses “How are you?”
“I don’t know…you tell me. It’s kinda hard to meet someone you love in this situation you know?”
“I thought you hated me”
“I did…for some time, i think i wanted to hate you but i simply couldn’t.” — you continued, “You know, i still wished for a chance to meet you once again. I'm glad I got to see your face one last time, even though it wasn't under ideal circumstances..”
“My moral compass is broken. That would have been too selfish for me to keep you while i knew i would have hurt you one day, when i knew you disagreed with my thoughts.” — he tells you while his hand gently caresses your cheek. You hold onto his numb hand covered in blood. You were trying not to cry but you couldn’t stop the menacing tears that were already falling all over your face.
“I’m glad the stars gave me the opportunity to see you once again, y/n.”
“You were in pain, dealing with your own self and goals, and i really hope you’ll get to find what you wanted the most.” you cried
“I think i did” he smiled fondly at your figure
It was the same lovely smile you cherished dearly. The two of you sobbed. You both missed each other's presence. He tries to hug you but he’s in so much pain that it’s impossible for him to move. You lower down and hug him tightly, your face placed in the crook of his neck. His remaining arm brings you a tad closer to his bloody chest and the crimson puddle surrounding you, but you couldn’t care less. His hand strokes your hair and when your eyes meet he gently kisses you for the last time. It was a deep gesture that shared an infinite number of words and love.
Geto was becoming more and more unconscious, the blood never ceasing to emanate from his body. He knew he had to go, and you knew he had made up his mind. And so, he kissed your forehead and whispered “i love you” which you replied between two sobs “i love you too”.
This was Geto's final statement. His chest stopped moving, he was finally resting on your arms.
Gojo came from behind, his students were next to him. He saw the scene. He had to fight his best friend and that was a lot to take in for him too. You turn your head over him and nod to let him know Geto was no longer part of this world. He immediately understood your gesture and tried to smile back empathizing with you.
Coming back yesterday was the best decision you’ve made. You finally got your closure and a chance to move on. The stars listened to your request, you both were finally reunited one last time, united by destiny that day.
hope you had fun reading! (^_-) line divider Dodger blue by benkeibear
sunelia.
#geto x reader#getou suguru x reader#geto suguru#jjk#jujutsu geto#jujutsu kaisen#angst#geto suguru x reader#jujutsu no kaisen#i love me some angst#gojo satoru#female reader#geto x y/n#geto x you#getou angst#getou x y/n#jjk geto#jjk spoilers#jjk x reader#jjk getou#sunelia
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— people pleaser ⟢
pairing: thoma x ex-assassin!reader
summary: it’s been three weeks since you left for yashiori island, and saying that thoma was stoked to have you back was an understatement. but as the days passed, he noticed something quite...distressing.
word count: 5.7k words
notable characters: thoma, kamisato ayaka, kamisato ayato, gorou, yae miko
tags: jealousy, misunderstandings, light angst, suggestive themes
notes: this is a guard dog side story that was written for thoma's birthday back in january 2022!
masterlist
“Miss Kira!”
Naturally, Thoma was the first to greet you by the gates once you and Ayato finally made it back. He took it upon himself to take the bag you brought off your hands, beaming at you like a puppy who just met its owner after being gone all day. Well, in hindsight, that’s not too far-off an analogy.
You shot him a tired smile, lacing your arms around his neck to peck him on the cheek. “Hey, pretty boy. Did you miss me?”
“You bet,” he replied with a chuckle before pulling away to turn to Ayato. “I’m glad to see you’re well, too, my lord. Any progress with the investigation?”
The Yashiro Commissioner heaved a long-winded sigh, handing his own luggage to the other guards. “Barely. Locating the wards was quite tricky. We had Doctor Shinya with us, too. He’s a learned gentleman from the Sumeru Academia, so if he can’t locate them even with the guidance of our Yashiori native, Miss Kira, then it’s best if we went back to the drawing board.”
Thoma nodded in understanding. “I see. No wonder you got back so early. But is it really alright to leave the Tatarigami unattended?”
“Don’t worry about it,” you insisted, patting him on the shoulder. “‘Yato over here made good on the diplomatic interventions you and milady have been overseeing in his stead. He talked some former resistance soldiers into keeping an eye out for the situation. So it’s all good.”
…Alright, Thoma was more than glad to hear that Ayaka’s efforts to restore Narukami’s relationship with the Sangonomiya faction have borne fruit. But did you just call the head of the Kamisato House ‘Yato?
Ayato didn’t seem fazed by this, though—chuckling as you all headed inside. “It’s as the lady says. Sangonomiya Kokomi has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, since the Tatarigami also poses a threat to the safety of her own citizens.”
You snorted. “We nearly got kicked out of Sangonomiya Shrine when you criticized the way they prepared their sashimi, though. I know you’re a big shot and all, but you should seriously keep things to yourself sometimes.”
“I did no such thing. I simply suggested that it would be better if they served them fresh!”
“That’s not how the shrine maidens saw it…”
Thoma was no stranger to conversations that had nothing to do with him, and thus couldn’t relate to. It’s a staple for a chief retainer to stand on the sidelines and simply let his charge do all the talking. But the…familiar way in which you addressed Ayato was something entirely new to him. He didn’t think you’d ever spoken to someone else in the estate (someone that wasn’t Thoma, at least) in the same, animated manner you conversed with the Commissioner. Despite being officially hailed as a retainer of the house, you still had your reservations for the people that got close to you.
He used to pride himself for being one of the select few you’d fully put your faith in, but…
“Now that you mentioned it, I did come off as too forward for someone that’s already asking for a favor,” Ayato sighed. “This is why I let Ayaka handle all the formalities instead. Let’s send them an…apology package, shall we?”
“Sure. I’ll help you pick some stuff out in the city after I get a good night’s sleep,” you said. “Gods know it wasn’t exactly comfortable sharing a tent with you of all people.”
The moment the words left your lips, Thoma felt his brain short-circuit and jumpstart back into motion right after. You and Ayato shared a tent. For three weeks. His girlfriend slept in the same, close proximity as his lord. And they were acting completely casual about it!
This is probably just nothing, he assured himself—albeit poorly. Right…?
Thoma took all of that in stride. Of course he did. He’s Thoma—the level-headed, even-tempered housekeeper of the Kamisato House! It’s in his job description to take things in stride. So when he decided to tail you and Ayato to your impromptu shopping trip to Inazuma City the next day, his actions didn’t bear any ill will at all!
He was as discreet as a Mondstadter could be smack in the middle of Inazuma. Making himself scarce was something that Thoma has had trouble with for the longest time. Everything about him screamed outlander no matter how much he tried to dress himself up as a local. But you and Ayato didn’t seem privy to his advances—sampling dishes from Kiminami Restaurant without a care in the world.
You weren’t really up to anything suspicious so far. But the fact that Ayato insisted that you two go out without any guards was already worth looking into. It didn’t help that you hadn’t spoken a word about this before heading to bed either.
To Thoma’s relief, you still opted to sleep in his room last night like you always did before. The feel of you snuggling against his body underneath the sheets was a feeling he missed so much, he could almost cry. So even if he wanted to break the ice by asking how you and Ayato had suddenly grown closer, the chief retainer couldn’t stand the idea of ruining the cozy atmosphere that he hasn’t felt in weeks. Besides, he might just be reading into it too much. Thoma does that a lot these days.
“Hm? Thoma? Is that you?”
He nearly jumped out of the bush he was hiding in at the sound of another voice, hiding the binoculars (that he definitely didn’t steal from your drawer) from view. However, when Thoma saw who exactly caught him stalking you from such a high vantage point like a psychopath, he could only crane his head in confusion.
“General Gorou?” he half-asked, half-greeted. “What brings you here?”
“Um,” he began awkwardly, ears perking up. “This is my hiding spot, too, so…”
Thoma didn’t even know where to begin asking about the general’s predicament, but he decided not to press the matter. This wasn’t the first time he’s spoken to Gorou—given the peace talks he was mandated to attend by Ayaka’s side. But this was definitely the first he’s seen him loitering around the city.
“Who are you…?” Gorou squinted from the cliff’s edge where Thoma decided to conduct his stakeout, following it up with a quick— “Oh.”
“...Don’t tell me you see them from all the way up here.”
“Don’t tell me you’re performing an espionage mission on your own charge!”
Oh, right. Of course Gorou would focus on Ayato; not you.
“I’m not,” he explained. “I’m just…”
For a moment, Thoma considered unloading the troubles he’s been harboring since yesterday onto this not-so stranger. Gorou wasn’t someone who he saw on the regular, so surely it wouldn’t hurt to confide his girl-problems in the guy? Besides, from his contributions to the peace talks alone, Thoma could tell he was someone who gave top-tier advice.
But before he could even speak a word, Gorou suddenly froze up—body reflexively easing into a defensive stance. “Tch… My apologies, but I’ll have to make an abrupt leave or else she’ll catch me.”
“...She?”
The general immediately bolted away from the shrubs, scampering back to the streets of Inazuma City and leaving Thoma more clueless than he was to begin with.
When Thoma glanced back at Kiminami Restaurant through the binoculars, he realized that you and Ayato had already left in the midst of his chance meeting with Gorou. Great. Now he had no one to stake out for.
“You there.”
Thoma jolted in surprise once again—immediately assuming that an officer from the Tenryou Commission was probably going to scold him for going over the fences. But when he whirled around, it wasn’t a bulky soldier that greeted his sight, but rather a familiar shrine maiden with a cunning air to her.
“Have you seen a little fox boy running around?” Yae Miko asked with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. “We have a deadline coming up soon, and he just keeps slipping right underneath my nose. What a pain, that one.”
“Uhh…” Something told him Gorou was going to be very happy if Thoma did him a solid right here, right now. “Nope. I’m sorry to disappoint you, Lady Guuji.”
She sighed, crossing her arms with a resigned look. “Well, frankly, I can’t be bothered to chase after him now. How about you entertain me instead, Kamisato retainer?”
It took him a moment to realize that Yae Miko actually remembered who he was, and Thoma swallowed the lump in his throat before hopping back over the fence—leaving the binoculars hidden in the shrubs to retrieve later.
“How may I be of service?” he asked nervously.
Yae Miko gave him a single look that was enough to make any lesser man cower. It’s a good thing he regularly accompanied Ayaka to her meetings with the priestess at the shrine. Else, Thoma might’ve grovelled at her feet from the pressure of her gaze alone.
“Give me your palm, would you?” she requested softly.
Thoma blinked. “Pardon?”
“Your palm, boy. I’d like to read it.”
He still didn’t fully understand what she was trying to make him do, but Thoma unfastened the harnesses on his right glove—flexing his fingers a bit before extending it to Yae Miko. The priestess took his hand in her much softer ones, and while the other men from the Yashiro Commission preferred women who were soft to the touch, he’d developed a fondness for your calloused palms. The same hands that he held in his own during colder nights or a simple stroll around Ritou. The same hands he wouldn’t mind holding for the rest of his life.
Wait. Why was he thinking about you when—
“You’re a fire elemental,” Yae Miko murmured, tracing the lines on his palm firmly. “That explains the Pyro Vision, yes. Hmm… Good vitality, strong mental constitution, relatively stable, and… Oh?”
Thoma felt his stomach drop. He did not like the sound of that.
“I-Is anything wrong, Lady Guuji?” he asked dryly.
The priestess continued running her finger along his palms, as if tracing a poem out of his skin. She had a hint of a smile playing on her lips, but Thoma knew better than to deduce a kitsune’s intentions from their facial expressions alone.
“Your other lines are in order, but your heart line… Quite shallow,” Yae Miko sighed, shaking her head. “This means you’re more sensitive and vulnerable than the rest. For someone who’s stood by Kamisato Ayaka’s side all this time, this is quite the surprise. You’ve always come off as a level-headed person to me, but I suppose living here as an outlander makes your heart waver every so often. Am I right?”
…How on earth did she find all that out just by reading his palms?
“From the look on your face, I can tell that you’re going through something unpleasant as well,” she continued, letting go of his hand with a stern look. “I don’t know the specifics but it would be good to actually speak to the person or people involved. There’s no point in punishing yourself with uncertainty when their reassurance is readily attainable. Isn’t that right, Kamisato retainer?”
Now he knew why some of the shrine maidens at the estate spoke of Yae Miko with a hint of fear in their words. She was way too perceptive!
“It’s an honor to receive direct counsel from you, Lady Guuji,” Thoma said with a small bow. “Thank you very much. I’ll make sure to reflect on it.”
“Oh, reflection alone won’t get you anywhere, sweet boy,” she chuckled behind her hand. “Rather, you should act on it. Playing the people pleaser can only last you for so long in a place like this. I’m sure you know that well—being an outlander and all.”
That hit a little too close to home, but Thoma didn’t make it evident on his face. “I understand. Thank you again.”
That day, Thoma decided against searching the city for yours and Ayato’s whereabouts. Instead, he went straight home and leveled the hedges faster than the time it would take for three people to do the job. Yae Miko’s words repeated themselves like a mantra in his head, and all he could do to cope was keep himself busy.
Playing the people pleaser can only last you so long in a place like this.
You and the Commissioner didn’t return until nightfall, and Thoma didn’t voice out a single complaint—receiving you and his charge with bright smiles and a warm welcome as usual. During dinner, though, he felt Ayaka’s gaze trailing after him every now and again. That was a telltale sign that the princess was catching on to whatever was bothering him, but Thoma had a tad too much pride to let her in on the situation.
After all, this was probably just nothing.
Right?
Things didn’t exactly get better in the next few days like he’d hoped.
You’ve been quite elusive as of late. You hadn’t slept in his room since the night you first came back, and while Thoma usually didn’t mind your independence, his…current predicament made going about this in a completely logical manner quite difficult. Your outings with Ayato have become more and more frequent than what he was accustomed to. The Commissioner had a penchant for holing himself in his room for days, and now he took public matters into his own hands?
Another thing that startled him was the fact that you’re oh-so willing to tend to Ayato’s requests! Back then, you used to bemoan the workload and talked Thoma’s ear off about how much you wanted to quit despite the Kamisato clan’s good graces. Of course, you didn’t mean a single word. Both of you knew how attached you’ve gotten to this family, and peeling yourself away was more work than you’d otherwise expect.
But now, even when you weren’t busy, Thoma would catch you going up to Ayato’s study to do Archons-know-what. He wasn’t so terrible a person that he’d jump to conclusions about his lord doing unsightly things with his lover, but…
“Thoma.”
He sighed, casting a sidelong glance across the hall. “Yes, milady?”
Ayaka had that look on her face—the one that spelled you owe me an explanation for this—and Thoma wondered why he thought he could ever escape her scrutiny. This was Ayaka after all.
Wordlessly, he led her to the pavilion, where the fresh breeze wafted through the courtyard. They sat on the edge of the platform like they always did, since they were children. And as Thoma gazed out into the ocean below, Ayaka patiently waited for him to speak.
“Milady, what would you do if you thought your lover was…losing interest in you?”
It’s not like Thoma never considered the possibility—in fact, he has. Multiple times. You used to be one of the underground’s renown assassins. Even if you’ve successfully adapted to your life as a retainer in such a short time, Thoma knew very well that you were still a lone wolf by heart. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to him if, one day, you decided that you didn’t need the Yashiro Commission—didn’t need him—anymore, and fled into the night. He didn’t like it when it felt like you were slipping out of his grasp. You already did once, and he feared that it was bound to happen again.
This definitely wasn’t a thought that occurred to Thoma on a daily basis. But whenever he did consider the idea of you leaving him behind…
Ayaka’s eyes widened slightly at his inquiry, and Thoma could almost hear the thought process occurring in that head of hers. What do you mean? Did you and Miss Kira have a fight? Is there anything I can do?
However, the reaction that he actually got was…far from what he imagined.
Ayaka pressed her lips together in an attempt to suppress a snort, startling when such an unbecoming noise came out of her before pressing a palm across her mouth. Thoma didn’t know whether he should be offended that she was laughing at his predicament or relieved because the Shirasagi Himegimi was finally letting herself express an extensive spectrum of emotions. Either way, Ayaka was quick to recover from that quick slip-up.
“And here I thought you might’ve been coming down with something,” she sighed, clearing her throat as she composed herself. “Thoma, what gave you the idea that Miss Kira was losing interest?”
“...You’re going to think I’m ridiculous.”
“I’m sure your reasons aren’t any more ridiculous than the list of complaints we receive from the citizens on the regular,” Ayaka reassured. “Now, go on. You’ve always heard me out when I have things I can’t get off my mind. It’s only proper for me to lend you an ear as well.”
Thoma closed his eyes. Yup. There was no escaping Kamisato Ayaka’s scrutiny.
So, he told her. About how he noticed you and her brother have grown exponentially familiar with each other ever since your trip to Yashiori Island. How you’ve been avoiding him(?) as of late. He’s not very sure about that last one, since you still respond whenever Thoma calls out to you, but it’s as if you had more impending matters to attend to than paying attention to him. If he’d been any less understanding than he was, he would’ve sulked.
Ayaka listened to every word carefully, nodding every so often. And once Thoma was finished speaking, she breathed in deeply.
“I see. So that’s how things appeared on your end,” the princess lamented. “I’ll be the one to apologize on their behalf. Those two… You’re right about the fact that they have grown closer since Yashiori. But there's absolutely no reason for you to fret, Thoma.”
Thoma shot her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
“What I’m saying is, Brother and Miss Kira are two people who, when they put their backs into planning something, give it their all so it would be a success.” Ayaka grinned. “That kind of explains why she’s been hard to come by lately. Although, you should be seeing the fruit of their labor very soon.”
“...That doesn’t make you sound cryptic at all, milady.”
She giggled behind the guise of her fan, and Thoma ultimately resigned himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to get any answers out of her anytime soon.
“You’ll see~”
He hardly got a wink of sleep that night.
Thoma tossed and turned alone in his bed—wondering what in the seven nations you and Ayato had been cooking up to warrant this much of your time. Could it be pertaining to your investigations on Yashiori Island? Was it some sort of new and improved cure for the Tatarigami? He hadn’t the slightest clue, and he wasn’t getting anywhere near a logical explanation come morning either.
To his disappointment, Madarame had to get him out of bed because he’d overslept. This was something unusual for Thoma to experience because his circadian rhythm was as impeccable as Ayaka’s swordsmanship.
(He humbly blames it on the lack of attention from his significant other.)
“Lord and Lady Kamisato have already gone out for the day,” Madarame explained as he and Thoma made their way to the courtyard. “But they did leave instructions for you to drop by Komore Teahouse once you’re able. It’s for an…urgent matter, so to speak.”
Thoma sighed. Great. Now there was another impending issue on his plate, when he hadn’t even sorted out his conflicted feelings about your recurring absence. Not that Madarame had to know about these tendencies of his. Nobody would believe it—the housekeeper of the Kamisato clan, craving the love and affection of his girlfriend like a kicked puppy.
“What of Miss Kira?” he asked, just in case. “Has she said anything?”
Madarame’s face scrunched up into an apologetic look. Thoma sighed.
“Thanks anyways,” he told him glumly. “I’ll head over to the city now. Hold down the fort while we’re gone, okay?”
“Of course.” Madarame bowed, but just as Thoma was about to turn on his heel to make his leave— “Oh, Master Thoma, one more thing.”
The chief glanced at the other man with one brow arched as he flashed him a sincere grin that only served to puzzle Thoma. “Yes?”
Then, earnestly, Madarame spoke:
“Happy Birthday.”
Things just got more depressing, if that was even possible.
Thoma made the trip to the capital in several states of distress. He’d been so caught up in trying to wrap his head around yours and Ayato’s antics that he forgot today was his birthday.
It didn’t help that it seemed he was the only one left in the dark. Ayato knew. You knew. Hell, even Ayaka knew what was going on. During last night’s bout of senseless overthinking, he considered ditching common courtesy and just straight up asking the princess all the things he wanted to know about. As strong-willed as she was, Ayaka was still quite meek. Thoma knew he could pressure some answers out of her given the right conditions, but he never once tried to do so in any other situation. Being a people pleaser, and all that.
But now, he was at his limit. His lover obviously thought another man’s time was worth her while compared to Thoma’s. Even if Ayato loved and raised him like they were blood brothers, he couldn’t help the unshakeable feeling of resentment. Just one trip to Yashiori made them all smitten like that? When Thoma has been by your side far longer?
In the back of his head, an ominous voice reminded him that you and him only became more honest with your feelings after retrieving that cure from Yashiori all those months ago.
Who knew Miss Kira was that easy? It hissed. She ditched you for Ayato on your birthday.
Shut up. Shut up, she’s not like that.
Okay, having an internal argument with himself in broad daylight was all sorts of weird. But that extensive contemplation made Thoma fail to realize that he’d already arrived.
Komore Teahouse has been the Yashiro Commission’s stronghold in the capital since time immemorial. Both Ayaka and Ayato preferred having business dealings in the discreet rooms of the shop rather than back at the estate. Not only was it carefully guarded by the Shuumatsuban, but it was more accessible compared to the manor in Mount Yougou.
The first thing Thoma noticed, however, was that nobody was stationed outside. Not Kozue, not Heihachi. Even that pesky Snezhnayan Ramsay was nowhere to be seen.
All of a sudden, a chill ran across the length of his spine. The grisly that thought the Teahouse had been under siege crossed his mind as quick as lightning. Kozue would never leave her post for just any reason, so that was the most sound explanation he could think of. Hurriedly, the chief retainer slid the door to the shop open; hoping that this wasn’t where Ayaka and Ayato were headed for the day—
Pop!
Thoma could only stand by the doorway in stunned silence as a small blast of confetti hit him in the face. To his side, the Commissioner’s familiar face came to view—an unsuspecting party popper in his hands, before the rest of his company shouted:
“Happy Birthday!”
All around him, the familiar faces of friends, family, and comrades were present. Taroumaru was seated comfortably on his usual spot on the counter—holding up a sign that spelled Happy Birthday, Thoma! Ayaka was, surprisingly, in the company of none other than Yae Miko herself, a person he never thought he would see again so soon. She winked at him from behind the princess, as if telling him to keep a secret only they knew about. Yoimiya and Sayu have also joined the fray; with the former clapping her hands gleefully and the latter napping on top of the counter.
And then there was you.
“Hey,” you greeted casually—holding a delectable-looking cake in your hands as Yoimiya took it upon herself to light the candles. “How’re you doing, guard dog?”
Thoma was at an utter loss for words. He gaped at you in silence, green eyes alight with surprise as he absentmindedly let you ease the cake into his hands.
“W-We’re both guard dogs,” he mumbled before promptly snapping out his trance. “Wait, what’s this? Don’t tell me…”
Ayaka chuckled from where she sat herself down in front of the counter. “Miss Kira and Brother have been putting together a surprise party for you, if that isn’t any more obvious than it already is.”
“We thought you’d appreciate the, ah, change in pace,” Ayato supplied, setting the party popper near the door as he crossed his arms. “You’ve been working so diligently these days, that you deserved as much.”
His lips quivered with the intent to speak, but no words were coming out. Thoma’s gaze darted around every person in the room, as if unable to get a grip on the reality before him—what the hell is Yae Miko doing here?!—until his emerald gaze landed on your form.
You grinned. “What are you waiting for? The candles aren’t going to blow themselves y’know? Plus, we prepared an entire repertoire for your special day.”
The thought of you going out of your way just to prepare all this made a familiar warmth surge through his chest. Of course, he felt all the more guilty of thinking those nasty thoughts about what you were up to. But he supposed he could repent for that a bit later. The others looked on expectantly, and Thoma, who’d always been weak to the whims of others, heaved a sigh.
So he puckered his lips and blew out the candles.
“I am so sorry.”
Those were the first words that came out of his mouth once Thoma pulled you into another room in the Teahouse. You gawked at him, confused as your lover sank to his knees and bowed before you.
“You know, I’m not really into this sort of S&M play, right?” you told him as you sat in front of his repentant form on the tatami. “But do I want to ask what this is about?”
Thoma sat upright with a sigh, maintaining a certain distance given that he felt like he didn’t deserve to be near you at all after everything he just assumed… “I thought you didn’t want me anymore. You’ve been so busy with the Commissioner these past few days that I assumed—”
“Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a sec,” you interjected, palms raised. “Are you saying you thought Ayato and I hit it off or something?”
“...Yes?”
If the small snort that Ayaka gave him yesterday was disrespectful, the reaction he gained from you was downright insolent. You laughed your heart out until you were a giggling mess on the floor, wiping the tears in your eyes at the prospect of Thoma getting jealous of Ayato over something that he completely had the wrong idea about.
“Okay, for the record, ‘Yato and I are just tight as hell. Like bro-bros, y’know?” you explained, and Thoma didn’t really understand your verbiage. “He’s the one who dragged me back to fix things when shit hit the fan, so he’s kind of like my voice of reason for a lot of things now…”
“That includes how I’m going to handle...us.”
Now, that caught his attention. “Pardon?”
You sighed, pulling yourself upright before scooting a bit to lean your head on his shoulder. “I’ve never nurtured any sort of stable relationship in the past, y’know? Zero experience. I’m terrified of messing up somewhere so badly that you’ll leave me because of it. That’s why I asked for Ayato’s advice while we were in Yashiori.”
…Thoma had no idea that you carried such sentiments inside. He wanted to tell you that even if you slaughtered every person in this building right now, he would still love you. Though that’s stretching it a bit, it didn’t make it any less true.
He was so hopelessly in love with you. It was downright ridiculous!
“He told me that one of the best ways to keep a relationship going is consistency,” you murmured, linking your hand with his. “I have to be consistent in letting you know how I feel. Always, without fail. I can’t just be a lone wolf forever, since I came to work at the estate on my own volition. It means I gotta be more open with you, too, yeah? That’s why I thought throwing you a birthday party was a good place to start.”
He couldn’t believe it. The woman he feared would leave him one day also harbored the same thoughts. That made him a hypocrite, now that he thought about it. Thoma had been so busy keeping the peace and making things easy for everyone in the present, that he hadn’t dedicated any time to addressing the future he’s bound to share with you.
He was yet to give you a proper reassurance.
“I-It’s just—” You groaned, burying your face in your hands. “You’re just so amazing, you know that? Everyone trusts you, everyone looks up to you—even if you’re an outlander. I can barely talk to one of milady’s annoying socialite friends without saying something standoffish.”
Thoma squeezed your hand with a fond smile. “And?”
“And I feel like, I— Ugh. You are so going to give me an earful for this, but… I still feel like I don’t deserve you.”
The chief retainer exhaled loudly through his nose before pulling you closer to his chest. You visibly startled at the gesture, but followed his lead, no less.
“That’s something you can’t easily convince yourself of,” he acknowledged, remembering the times you told him about your childhood in Yashiori Island; about the years you spent as a wandering mercenary. “And I don’t blame you for it. But I hope that you’re willing to move forward to the next phase of your life, and not chain yourself to the sins you committed in the past. I’ll always be here, Miss Kira. Every step of the way.”
He felt your fingers tighten around his bicep and the sigh of relief that expelled from your chest. You turned around to face him with a teary look in your eyes. But just before he could panic and wipe them away—
“It’s been a while since you’ve called me by my real name,” you sulked, cupping his jaw in the curve of your palm. “That one’s reserved for you alone, remember? Don’t forget to use the privilege.”
Thoma let out an airy laugh, pressing his lips to yours in a firm kiss as he murmured the syllables of your name against your mouth. You sighed—hands moving to the back of his neck as you shifted on his lap. Both of you were well aware of the fact that the others were in the other room, playing a very interesting variation of mahjong that Ayato came up with, but you didn’t care.
Your lover even let his tongue slip inside the cavern of your mouth, hands firmly planted on your hips as he—
“I was wondering where the celebrant was.”
Needless to say, the two of you sprang apart at the sound of Yae Miko’s voice. Red-faced, Thoma greeted her with a stuttered reply that has the priestess chuckling at the doorway.
“No need to explain yourselves. Young ones always have so much energy, after all,” she teased. “Lord Ayato was kind enough to invite me to this little get-together, but I must take my leave. There’s something I need to look into back at the shrine.”
“T-Thanks for coming Lady Guuji. It really is an honor,” you told her dryly, with whatever semblance of composure you could muster up.
Yae Miko flashed another one of those conspiratorial grins. “That reminds me, I left a matrimonial charm in Lady Ayaka’s care as your birthday present. If the two of you ever plan on tying the knot, just show that to one of my shrine maidens, and I’ll personally oversee the ceremony myself.”
…Wait a moment. Did Yae Miko, the Lady Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, just give the two of you her blessing for marriage?
“Well, you can continue what it was you were doing,” she laughed, lifting one hand in a wave. “I hope to see you both soon~”
Then, there were two.
“We’re going to pretend that didn’t happen, right?” you asked.
Thoma nodded. “Definitely.”
As the two of you straightened yourselves out before rejoining the others at the party, you randomly asked, “Hey, this is a little out of the blue, but have you seen my binoculars anywhere? I put it in the drawer by your cabinets, but I can’t seem to find them anymore.”
He feigned a look of contemplation—wholly aware that he forgot to retrieve your special gadget from where he hid them in the bushes the last time he saw Yae Miko. Fuck.
“Nope, no clue,” he replied swiftly. “We could ask around in Ritou if they’ve imported anything similar?”
“Ehh, that was just a hand-me-down from the Tenryou Commission anyways.” You shrugged. “Oh, by the way…”
Thoma paused as you leaned closer to his ear to whisper something. If he hadn’t been embarrassed when Yae Miko walked in on the two of you, he definitely was now.
“I’m going to make up for the time we spent apart when we get home,” you whispered. “You’ll play along, right, pretty boy?”
The chief retainer could barely suppress the groan that reverberated in his chest as you tantalizingly ran your hand across it. Now that he’s fully recovered from his own emotional turmoils, the fact that he’s been wanting to get you alone all this time came crashing down. But it wasn’t as if he’s in any position to refuse.
He was the people pleaser after all.
© cryoculus | kaientai ✧ all rights reserved. do not repost or translate my work on other platforms.
#genshin impact#genshin#genshin smut#genshin fanfic#thoma smut#thoma fanfic#genshin fanfiction#genshin scenarios#genshin headcanons#genshin x reader#thoma x reader#genshin thoma#cryoculus#guard dog
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I'm so sorry for NSWF weeb reader × Levi. I meant for SWF eheheh... sorry!
@kenkopanda-art <3
Cute weeb
Levi x fem!Levi
Modern AU, established couple, fluff, romance, cute, weeb reader, supportive Levi, loving Levi.
A new episode of your favourite anime is out. Whenever it comes out, you always watch it as soon as it does. Levi and you have recently moved in together, so you're getting used to routines. Levi shocks you by doing something special.
@ladycheesington @levisbrat25 @nyxiieluna @li-anne @galactict3a @youre-ackermine @thebobaprincess @2moth-anon2 @cypidity @nbinairyn @bts-spnlvr12 @notgoodforlife @demonic-bird
You released a long sigh as you worked on your computer and finished off something for work. You were trying hard to complete everything before the new episode of your current favourite anime was out. A grin spread on your lips when you finished the last part of your work.
Levi pushed open your office door at his home. He smiled at how nice your office was. The two of you had worked together to make it cute and perfect. He loved that you lived with him now. He always wanted you with him.
Levi softly called your name. "Are you done?"
You nodded. "Yeah." Your cheeks burned. "So, um...my anime is on in a bit..."
"The one you have collectables about?"
You hugged yourself. "Yeah...I mean, it's cool if you don't want me to watch but...I mean...sorry"
He walked over to you and held your hand. "Don't be sorry for something you love." He pulled you to your feet and guided you into the living room. "I love you for you. Did you think you being a massive fan of anime would bother me?"
You whined. "Yes."
He squeezed you. "It doesn't bother me. It's one of the many things I love about you."
"That...makes me so happy." You gazed at Levi with tears in your eyes.
He kissed your cheek and led you to the TV. "I set up something for you."
You gasped in delight as you took in the living room set-up. A little cushioned area had been put together. Blankets were folded up for extra warmth and comfort. The table was covered in your favourite snacks and drinks. It was a little paradise.
Levi hugged you from behind. "I made us some ramen to eat together. Once we've eaten we can snuggle."
You turned and gazed at Levi. "You want to join me?"
"Yes, if I'm allowed."
You nodded. "Yes!"
"Take a seat and I'll get the ramen."
You ran over to the blankets and sat on some cushions. You put a blanket around you and started up your streaming app for anime. You selected the new episode and waited for Levi to return to play it.
Levi gave you ramen and chopsticks, then sat behind you and began eating his ramen as you put the anime on. He was instantly hooked on the show and enjoyed it. It was the perfect mix for him. He really wanted to join you next time for the next episode.
He wrapped his arms around you when you'd both finished your ramen. He kissed the side of your head a few times and hummed. "That was great."
You reached up and gripped his arm. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Do you want to watch more anime with me?"
"Please. I want to see what else there is."
You hummed a little. "Ah, this is a good comedy one!"
Levi picked up a sweet snack and fed you some before eating some right after. "Mm." He chuckled at the characters. "This is great."
You wiggled in Levi's arms. "Yes."
#levi ackerman#levi#aot levi#snk levi#aot fanfiction#levi x you#fanfic#levi x y/n#levi fanfiction#levi x reader#jelly fanfics#levi attack on titan#levi aot#levi x yn#levi x reader fluff#levi ackerman fanfiction#levi ackerman snk#levi ackerman attack on titan#levi ackerman x female reader#levi ackerman x reader#levi ackerman x you#levi ackerman x y/n
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Dazai Osamu x reader
💌 Reading into the palms of isekai bullshit:
Chapter 5 💌
Summary: You were no stranger to isekai bullshit. It’s not like you had a problem with it. The genre took over the anime scene for years now but you try to stay away from thinking about how you would handle the situation. The last time you thought about inserting yourself into your favorite show you wrote a 100k word xReader fic for your favorite characters and you didn’t want to spend all your time consumed by the brainrot again. Never again, you promised yourself that was the last time you’d let the devil on your shoulder win. You clicked on chapter 1 to start the adventure over again but when you opened your eyes and saw Dazai O-FUCKING-samu getting choked by Kunikida you honestly hoped it was a dream.
Notes: Another isekai so I can play around with BSD like dolls.
💌 Word count: 2,522 💌 <= Previous Chapter | Next Chapter =>
As expected, neither of you would bring it up once Dazai did make his return and it wouldn’t be until Kunikida received the call from the president that you'd be relevant again. Which is fine you needed the break anyhow. Keeping up with Dazai had been easy at the beginning but now that things have progressed you don’t know what to make of it. It could be the fact that before you didn’t believe in the possibilities thinking that eventually you’d wake up and this would have been a silly little thing your brain created one night. As the days flew by and especially with last night's date things became very real. You were brought out of your thoughts when the phone rang and despite not being able to hear the other side of the conversation you remembered the gist of the exchange.
“All operatives are to leave company offices and gather at the former facility”
Kunikida stopped what he was working on and looked over to who was currently around. “Do you mean your previous headquarters before you founded the agency”
“Only a select few know of that location so we should be safe. We risk being overwhelmed by superior numbers otherwise. Hold on I have visitors”
“Sir, what’s going on? Sir?” His voice wasn’t that concerned at all but you could visibly see the panic as Atsushi entered the room. “What’s wrong?” Atsushi questioned putting the boxes down.
“Something happened with the president. Ambushed maybe.” Kunikida was still very nonchalant in his demeanor. “We should go and help then-”
“I’m sure he’s fine. More importantly-”
“How can you be so calm at a time like this!”
Kunikida sighed “Try and grab hold of my hand, you’ll see why” Atsushi looked at his hand, reaching out but he was already on the floor “That was the first technique he passed down to me. I’ve never won a single match against him. He’s not going to lose against a handful of mediocre hitmen”
Kunikida then made arrangements for everyone to meet at the former facility. You were all waiting around before the president made his entrance “Listen up, the port mafia seeks to eradicate the agency. The guild seeks to usurp the agency. We must do all we can to protect ourselves from both of these foes. Dazai please continue” You were getting excited counting down the minutes for a certain slug to make an appearance. It would probably be the only time you saw Dazai’s counterpart.
“You got it~” He winked at you before addressing the rest of the room. “The guild has substantial financial assets and the port mafia has the benefit of numbers, so we’ll split into defensive and offensive teams and engage them in gorilla warfare. The primary goal for the defensive team is to make sure doctor Yosano is protected. As long as we don’t die outright, her healing ability can cure our injuries.” Dazai took a pause pointing out the defensive team that consisted of you, Fukuzawa, Ranpo, Yosano, and Kenji. “The offensive team will split into two sections and will surprise the enemy using Junichiro’s mirage ability and my nullification ability. The crux of our strategy is to keep our base of operations hidden. If our enemies hit us here with everything they’ve got our defenses will never hold” he punctuated his speech with a smile. Fukuzawa made the last declaration before everyone dispersed. “Of the three organizations only one of us can survive. Our only option left is to fight. A three way war, a war of the gifted!”
Then you were left to your own devices. You spent the first part of your writing out the details of what would happen just in case Ranpo was serious about you telling him what happens next. You never know with Ranpo. As he finished more and more of his snacks you tried to hand it off to him. He nodded at you acknowledging you did your part but he didn’t open it yet. Maybe he was testing if you were telling the truth or if anything has changed since causing butterfly effects were always a concern in the back of your mind.
“Man, I’m so bored! I wanna go outside.” Ranpo whined in the president’s direction. Fukuzawa was reading while he put black and white pieces on a board. You think he’s playing “Go” but you thought it was a two player game. “Any suspicious activity?”
Yosano sighed “A bunch of nothing followed by more nothing” It’s been like this for hours now.
“Luckily the only way to enter this hall is through that underground railroad tunnel. Even if an enemy does try to invade our location our security cameras will warn us well in advance.”
“We set up a fair amount of traps on the way as well.” Yosano added just before Ranpo shouted “War is so boring! I’m already out of snacks after just half a day. I know hey Akiko let’s play hanafuda online!”
She had stars in her eyes at the offer. “Okay how much do you wanna bet?
Ranpo went quiet, opening his eyes causing you to perk up from your relaxed position. Chuuya must have finally shown up on some of the cameras. Yosano blinked at Ranpo’s suddenly serious demeanor “What’s the matter?” You leaned over his shoulder to see everyone’s favorite sad boy. "Let me guess they sent the short redhead with the tacky hat?"
“I think we should call back the defensive teams.” Ranpo put his hat back on, peering towards the president who grunted standing up from his seat. “An attack, in your estimation how many are there?”
“One.”
Chuuya casually strolled through the tunnel disconnecting cameras and destroying turrets “I’ll cut to the chase, we could do this the easy way or we could do this the hard way.” He phased out some more cameras for emphasis “I’ve come to trade information. My boss has a special gift for you if I get to have a little chat with (Y/N).” Ranpo immediately turned to you as you froze. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Why does Chuuya know your name, unless, did Dazai actually tell him you said hi? Did he really set you up again! You groaned at the very realistic possibility, rubbing your face with your hand. You were going to strangle him the next time you saw him. You gave Ranpo and the president a reassuring look that you were fine with it. Chuuya held up the picture of Lovecraft and Steinbeck letting everyone get a good look at them “Those men are they members of the guild?”
“That’s right we reeled them in with bait. Here’s the time and location they’ll appear. You don’t get many chances like this do you? You can finally get one over on that lousy guild”
Fukuzawa was mulling it over but before he could ask any questions you growled. You decided to move things along “The mafia used Haruno and Naomi as bait, the guild has no idea it’s a set up and the mafia doesn’t have to do anything but sit and watch. Ranpo can confirm but we can’t waste too much time.” You stood up trying to figure out what your next course of action should be. This was interesting.
Fukuzawa turned to Ranpo as the detective grit his teeth “It is, unfortunately.” The president nodded at you to go have your chat before Chuuya changed his mind on being peaceful. You stopped halfway out the door, a thought occurred to you. “In the event I get kidnapped, don't go after me. I’ll be returned unharmed.” At least you hoped, whether or not they took your word you’d have no idea. Yosano and Kenji stepped back letting you confront Chuuya head on. “I take it you heard about me from the mackerel?” You hoped that neither of your colleagues knew Dazai by that moniker. Chuuya’s eyes had a glint in them. “All you have to do is see my hands right?” He looked over your shoulder as Yosano held her guarded stance ready to strike if needed.
“We’ll see what I can do with this lighting but yeah that’s the gist of it.”
Slowly Chuuya pulled each finger out of the glove as you approached but the moment you touched his hand just as you expected he threw you over his shoulder with ease. He kicked off the ground avoiding the attacks from behind you. “Don’t worry I’ll return her to you eventually.” He shouted as he bolted out of the tunnel. You huffed “Why am I not surprised?”
“Most people would be terrified to be kidnapped by a port mafia executive, just how much do you know about me?” You shifted in his arms but he gripped you tighter. Obviously there was no point in trying to struggle but you wanted to see his face. “More than you’d want me too. Can you at least princess carry me or let me ride on your back so I can see your hands? I'd prefer to be back as soon as possible.” Once you made it out of the tunnel he set you down “What are you going on about?”
“I wasn’t sure how far away you were going to take me. I would prefer not to worry my comrades further. Thank you very much.” You grabbed his hands pretending to look them over when you remembered a small detail from the stormbringer light novel and stage play. You focused on Chuuya’s right hand looking at his wrist seeing the pencil scar. Clones are only made of the same genetic materials but any scars or tattoos wouldn’t be copied over even if “N” said there would be no way to prove it, this could be good enough to sway Chuuya. First though you wanted to do something else. You looked back up at him affectionately squeezing his hand as you pulled him into a hug.
“What are you doing?” he was stiff, more confused if this was how your talent worked. Once you nuzzled into him he started trying to push you off. “Compensation for the minor kidnapping but also after seeing what I saw holyshit, you need this more than I do.” He continued to put up a fight “Enough already!”
Pouting you sighed “Fine, fine I’ll talk. You want to know if I could see whether or not you’re human, yes? Although you have no reason to believe me nor do I have any reason to tell you the truth, I do know the answer but you’ll have to do something for me in return for the honest truth. Seem fair?” You have no idea what the hell Dazai even told Chuuya but maybe you could have this work out in your favor. “Depends on what it is, I’m not going to agree without knowing what I’m getting myself into.” He grumbled but you but there was a slight interest in his expression, you could work with that.
“Do you wanna help me mess with Dazai?”
He paused for a second letting your offer sink in. “Hah?”
“Well, you see we’ve been playing a game and I don’t plan on losing anytime soon. I’ll need your phone number and a picture of us kissing so that when things settle down I can leave my phone near Dazai, have you call it and hopefully Dazai being Dazai he’ll snoop through my phone and see it.”
You could see the gears turning in his head as a wicked smirk overtook his features “I like where you’re going but I don’t think you’ll get the reaction you're looking for. Lucky for you I have a better idea.” He chuckled darkly to himself like he’s been waiting for this kind of opportunity for a while.
“So are you in?” You put your hand out to shake on it. He immediately took your hand. “I would have done this for free, too bad I won’t be able to see the bastard when it happens.”
“Good, now I’ll get to the point. You’re the original, but you really didn’t need me to tell you that you have humanity gushing from your pores but if you do need proof,” You grabbed his arm tracing the mark “That’s no birthmark, that’s pencil lead from before you were taken to the lab. If you were a clone only your genetic material from your birth would be copied bottom line is you wouldn’t have this mark. N lied to you because he wanted you to give up Arahabaki.”
Chuuya didn’t seem that flabbergasted. He might have already come to terms with his humanity since he’s never truly needed to know the answer. Maybe this was just closure for the flag’s honor. Almost like a debt he needed to repay. It’s sad to say that Chuuya puts himself so low on the priority pyramid. It was extremely faint but you could see the hint of a smile on his lips as he glanced up to the sky taking a deep breath.
“For my end of the bargain you’re just going to have to trust me.” He started putting his gloves back on offering you his hand when he was finished. “But of course! An enemy of an enemy is thy friend.”
Your squad would have to wait a little longer for your return. It’s not like they needed you at the moment. Chuuya ended up taking you to his apartment. It was spacious and astonishingly well kept. You whistled “Nice place. So what’re we doing?” He led you into the bedroom and started undressing. You blinked, um what the fuck was going on. You were starting to regret asking him for help. Chuuya still had his pants on, thank god, but he even discarded his choker. What the fuck were you guys doing? He shuffled the bedding a little bit while he spoke. “We’re gonna one up your idea. Take your shirt off, you can leave the bra on just hide the straps that will really send it home.”
Oh you see what he was doing now. You spend no time removing your clothes getting under the covers with him. This was a much better idea. He pulled you close, fluffing your hair to make it messier. “Okay now pretend to be asleep.” You did as you were told and let him take the picture. He ended up taking a few and you both decided on which one looked more scandals. It really looked like the morning after adult festivities. Once you were satisfied you set it as Chuuya’s contact photo. You had him call you for good measure to make sure that it popped up on the screen. It was perfect. You both snickered when the trap was ready. Now all you had to do was wait. You were prepared for the long con. Afterwards, like he promised, he returned you to the agency where Ranpo gave you an ear full. He had finally read your note. You are going to have to be more careful from now on.
#the BSD isekai au that no one asked for#dazai osamu x reader#dazai x reader#bsd fanfic#bsd x reader#bsd imagines#lil chuuya nugget bc why not
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Interesting update to Idol Land today, 4/17/2024. There were some things I expected, and some things I did not expect.
Gaaruru has been added to Idol Land as promised. You can also currently play an open promise with her and Amari doing Go Go! PriPara Live.
Prism Stone Shop has been updated as well...
A lot of old MRs are back! Some Gaaruru stuff! Some Shuka stuff for some reason! Some coords that were only in the premium shop before!
But nothing new?
You could argue that they are re-releasing old coords because the game has a lot of new players recently, from people who discovered the anime to people who turned to Idol Land after the arcade game shut down. I mean, you could argue that. But.
But I just think they are out of coords.
I also find it very strange that they did not re-release Gaaruru's SCR even though they released it before? Did they forget? Or is it coming next week? (Well, that's 3,200 yen I don't have to spend I guess...)
Pop over to the Gatcha to find that...
Gaaruru actually has a birthday gatcha!? I already made another post about this, but the PPR is actually her newest witch team PPR despite not being advertised and her actual birthday coord is an SR. Bizarre.
But also...
The original Evergold gatcha is back too?
Now. You could argue that these revival gatchas make more money than when they first came out because people regret missing out on them and feel more confident spending money now that we can recover our accounts. You could argue that.
But I just think they are out of coords.
Gaaruru gets a birthday promise too! She's the only character to get both a gatcha and a promise! But the promise just has the Gaaruru school coord everyone already has. Why they previewed that and not her actual birthday coord, I do not know...
But, I've saved the most exciting updates for last...
Double Pasharing was added! With two poses: Double heart, and violation ticket... I will make a separate post about this I think! But the new poses are selectable when you host a photo promise.
I believe this feature was teased from the very beginning so I'm confused as to why they waited so long to add it.
Perhaps it was the only thing they had partially developed laying around that they could add.
Also, at long last...
Like many other games, you can now connect Idol Land to your Apple, Google, or LINE account to recover it! So, no more creating a password every 30 days! (Although I probably still will just to be extra safe!)
I will update and reblog my pinned post about this!
And, finally...
When starting up Idol Land today, I noticed it asked me for the first time if I wanted to receive notifications. So, after all this time, the Idol Land app will finally send notifications.
These two features above are very basic and should have been available Day 1.
To think they did not consider if people are reminded about the app and able to recover their accounts, they might want to play more.
*sigh*
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“smirch” episode 2: jay
cast: skater & stoner!jay ✗ rival school student!fem.reader
synopsis: jay park likes liberty, something he felt every time he is either high or on his skateboard. selling weed for the students along with sunghoon, jay will do anything that helps him survive his life in korea. at a time when two rival schools are in a rugby match, it is the perfect time to do business, but he’s intrigued with you, a student from the rival school, who brought a plastic bag of cans of cat food
genre: teen drama, coming of age, slice of life, high school au, fluff, comedy, angst, mature content (drugs, suggestive themes, mental health)
based on: tv shows skins uk; specifically gen 1 banner intro video inspired by series 1′s opening (2007-2013) and skam norway (2015-2017)
word count: 27442 (27.4k)
warning(s): mc has anxiety and selective mutism, mention of overprotective parents, mention of neglectful parents, mention of drugs and consumption of drugs (cigarette and marijuana), drug-dealing, mentions of minor injuries, mention of dead animal, steamy make-out scene, not really a warning but mc used to live in the UK so she's gonna use british slangs and words equivalent to the ones used in american english (if i forget some or wrong in some way, let me know)
message from the moon: remember that this story is fiction. do be careful and read the warnings at the top as both the chapter and the series as a whole will contain serious and sensitive topics.
hello! thank you for waiting a FREAKING YEAR since the last episode my god. this is supposed to be released on jay's birthday and 420 day (cause he is a stoner in this fic *wink*) but because of a tragedy that landed the kpop industry. i didn't post it out of respect. so i try to polish it as best as i could which means adding and deleting plots that make sense within this fic and the smirch series (if you've read heeseung's ep, you're gonna see references that are thrown here too) also, because both mc and jay comes from a wealthy family with a business, you're gonna read business jargons from my business major and from watching too many "succession". oh, i’ve also opened an ask my character/behind-the-writing content for this series that you can check out right here. definitely recommend it if you are curious about what the characters have been up to in between the episodes so do ask and enjoy the messiness!
masterlist
jay felt naked without his skateboard by his side, but that is the consequence of delivering the stuff this day. heads upon heads all moving to one side as he lets out a tremendous sigh. his friends walk in front of him into the field on the school grounds, yet it’s not his school.
multiple pairs of feet drag on the stony pathway as they are walking around him, but he’s standing still in the middle of this commotion. jay opens the zipper of his backpack that dangles only one strap on his shoulder, pulling out the black plastic bag sat inside with his small notebook that has his marker stuck to it. after zipping the back, pages open as he searches for today’s date, who bought it, and the amount they're paying: matching the names to the accounts they used to contact him on their location—the plastic bag dangling on his wrist.
looking up from the book and screen, he can see his friends strolling to the bleachers—jake somewhere on the field, warming up for his match. jay sensed a tap on his shoulder as he faces where the touch comes from, seeing sunghoon looking at him; a smirk formed on his face and an unknown girl wrapped around his arm, not from the two schools competing today.
“you can handle giving them by yourself, right jjong?” sunghoon questioned, eyebrows raised as he retreats his hand back while jay’s looking at his best friend and the girl he knows he will find the next morning at their flat.
“of course, i’m used to it. fucker.” he replied, rolling his eyes, as the two boys chuckles. sunghoon then walks away, leaving him alone as he sees his friend’s hand lowering down the girl’s back—walking somewhere that isn’t the seat of the rugby match. jay looks at the two sets of bleachers behind the tall silver fences, one where his school seats—the maroon and silver uniform ties on the necks of the people watching are enough for him to know—and the other where the rivals seat with their dark blue blazers instead of the black ones decelis uses. his eyes scanning the perimeter for the faces of the people that are going to pick up their order, looking for the appearance he has memorized from stalking their instagram profiles.
when the bat mascot came out to the sidelines, waiting for the teams to arrive at the field, he already meets a few of his customers. one was a member of a dance club of the school called “stray kids“. another one is the bassist for a band club that was rejuvenated after the seniors that are leaving one by one because of graduation. by the time he made his way to 1/4 off his list, he detects the orange and blue outfit of the moon knights, eyes scanning for a specific back which has written ‘sim 05’ on it, seeing his friend huddle up with the coach and his teammates. his eyes didn’t leave the field before the kick-off—the perfect time to hand the rest as other people are too focused on the game.
walking all around the bleachers—both of his own school and the rivals—jay can’t help to find the place where his friends sit. while walking down the stairs by the seats, he found them. taehyun recording the match with his digital camera, kai watching while also having another agatha christie book in his hand, sunoo and his best friend cheering for jake and following the chants that the seniors signals on the drums beside the bat mascot, and heeseung sitting beside beomgyu’s sister, hands interlock with each other while the brother is nowhere to be found.
jay does this every time his school has an event: opening a batch order along with sunghoon, closing it around three days before so he can pick the leaves and package them in his flat, then giving it to the people for a cash amount. a sporadic shop opens if they go to parties he or his friends find; usually either from heeseung, sunghoon, or beomgyu. all in all, he has done it so that he could be financially independent—as much as a high schooler could be independent. jay knew his market and the demand—something he learned from visits to his dad’s company back when he was in the US—he utilizes that as best as he can, being a homemade dealer who grew his stuff himself.
nearing the end of his list was around halftime for the rugby match. he can see the echos—decelis cheerleading team—doing their performance while the chants of his schoolmates' echos on the open field and surrounded by levant high; the home of their rivals today. a loyal customer of his just left his peripheral after getting her order as his eyes wander to the two bleachers he stood in between before landing on a group of cheerleaders from levant on the opposite side with their glittery purple outfits. aura is written on their torso in white with a flowy style like the ones the wind wakers has on their merchandise for enticing school spirit in the match season.
that’s when his eyes move again to see one of the cheer members sitting beside a girl in levant‘s blue blazer, speaking to her as she looks to the grass beneath her feet. a dark plastic back in her hands hanging above ground, swaying slowly from the blow of wind.
the echos finish performing as the cheer member besides the girl stood up before ruffling the girl’s hair, earning an offended look from her as the cheer member laughs before going to the field. jay then watches the other cheer member standing up to huddle with the member who sat beside the girl—the cheer captain—as they all give you a look that lingers on you, something burning as her shoulders slightly pop. even he could feel that sudden shiver from a few meters away. the girl sits back on the seat as she lifts the plastic bag and a hand appears to push it up onto her lap. something heavy is inside it.
the auras perform as he delivers the last orders on his list before going to the seat that taehyun and sunoo have put their bags on for his place as the second half starts. but he didn’t watch the match all the time. unlike his friends, his gaze somehow landed on where the girl is sitting. seeing her sit on the seat while eyes trailed the ball flying in the air, unlike the cheer captain beside her chatting along and cheering for the team. not even seeing her opening her mouth to speak.
it is the end of the match when he also stood up on the bleachers as the knights defeat the wakers by such a small margin. a well-performed comeback by jake as he gets the final score, seeing heeseung running down the bleachers and hugging the team along with jake’s teammates. jay lets out a smirk as he can watch the wide face on jake’s face—he deserves the captain role for this season—before his eyes view the disappointed levants who lose in their own home. a face of gloom as their crowd cheers for a good match, showing their sportive side.
he and his friends climb down from the bleachers as the decelis crowd blends in with the levants on the way out, creating a mob that moves in one stream like sardines. he bumps other students from all over his sides as they all just want one thing, to go out of the goddamn place. that’s when somebody slams onto his body with too much force, his abdomen pushed by a heavy item as he arrives at the open area where the crowd disperses. the person who bumps him must not be too far from him as he turns his head before something heavy rolls against his foot.
a can with a photo of a cat at the front?
jay looks up from the can that rests on his foot to find a girl crouching down, picking up similar cans in her hands before putting them into the plastic bag, a black plastic bag.
when she turns her body and walks away, jay finally realizes who she is. who he bumps into—well, who bumps into him.
the girl he saw before by the auras. you.
your figure retreats as he picks up the can before it got destroyed by people stomping on it. straightening his body, he glances at a few girls walking in front of him in levant‘s cheer uniform. the girl who sat beside you is one of them.
“so you’re just gonna let your sister walk away like that?” one of them said. seeing the girl clearer as something pops up in his head. familiarity.
“yeah, what a weirdo.” another said before they all looked at the girl. he tries to match the face with the name that he knows he recognized.
“let her be. i shouldn’t force her to sit with us.” her voice says as they travel away to the school building. jay stares at them as the name and face click in his head, his eyes glance to look at your retreating figure. connecting the last puzzle piece to find the connection between the two of you.
as a partygoer and a dealer, he has a fair share of people he recognizes either by buying his stuff or just by popularity. she is in the latter category.
jay knew the girl’s name is somi, and she is a senior. he can assure himself that he knows the face and, now, the name. he wasn't aware that she has a sister.
is that why you were so estranged?
jay’s head turns towards where you go as his tall stature helps to find you turning a corner outside the field and on the main street of the school. his legs instantly reacting as he chases after you, his backpack on his back while the can is in his hand. he almost lost you, a few seconds behind your figure. you turned away to a corner as he arrived at the intersection, disappearing like a ghost walking through a wall. but when he arrived at a small street right near levant high and don’t see you, he walks ever so slowly on the asphalt road. an entrance to an alley is visible in his view.
jay peeks from the corner to find someone crouching in the empty small alley wider than his wingspan. an abundance of fluff surrounding the figure, realizing the dark blue blazer the figure wears.
you.
meows surround you as jay also hears the sound of cracked open aluminium and you dropping the contents near the alley’s wall. the animals enclose as they all lean down to eat the food you give. jay steps in closer as he sees you tilting your head at the stray cats eating their food. the salty smell of fish filled the air as he focuses on how a smile formed on your face. even though he only saw a half, he can know yours is a pretty sweet one like a few of his friends have. his shoes moving on the ground creates a few scrapping noises that make the cats’ ears perk but haven’t moved their heads yet and focus on their food. the hand holding the can have sweat forming on it.
he steps closer as carefully as ever, doesn’t want to distract you or the cats and kittens he sees enjoying the feast. but his nose twitched every time he steps closer so that he could give the can. the felines’ ears perk again as he steps closer, the itch on his nose getting stronger as he tried his best to rub it away with his empty hand.
god must hate him as his face contorts, letting out his manly-ass sneeze.
his eyes immediately open to find the cats all having their fur rising, tails puffing up, and you drop to your knees from your crouching position—a shocked look on your face as it turns to despair when the cats run away from where you both are. your head turns to the cats running to hide as you then turn towards him, eyebrows furrowed.
“ugh.” was all you can let out as you put the contents of the can you held on to the leftovers of the feast. jay looks at you, guilt swallowing him up.
“sorry. i, i wanted to give you this.” he pushed the can to you as you crouched back, eyes squinting at him before you pulled the can from his grasp and put it into the empty plastic bag that you’d put in your blazer pocket.
he sees you moving from your position as you sit on the ground and lean against the wall across from where the cats should be eating. you were tying up the bag with the last can you didn’t notice was not there in your bag. you rub your face with the back of your hand, expecting the decelis boy to leave before you heard the scrapes and someone sliding down beside you. peering from the corner of your eyes you see the decelis rummaging from the pocket in his backpack and pulling out two things—one of them is a lighter.
he puts a stick that looks too thick to be a cigarette between his lips, cupping his hand near the lit flame as he inhales before letting out a cloud of white smoke, head leaning back against the wall like you. you find out the scent you smell is no scent of burning tobacco.
the guy’s a freaking stoner.
jay can sense the burning gaze on the side of his head as he looks to see you peering at him, eyes wandering from his side profile to the joint in his hand. he takes that you didn’t notice his prolonged stare at you, your sight focusing on the stick in his hand.
“a joint?”
jay spoke, feeling regret as he could only offer that. the only one he had left in his bag. his hand recognizes the heat spreading inside the stick as you look up at his face before returning to the item in his hand. that’s when you pinch the stick between your own fingers and he lets go, letting you take a small inhale. he thought you might cough from the unfamiliar sensation but you surprised him by taking another inhale, this time a large one, as you let out a fluffy white cloud.
you can handle your smoke seriously, jay thought.
“you’ve smoked before?” he asked, seeing you pause your hand with the joint between your fingers. he sees your eyes moving from his face to the joint then back, shaking your head.
“cigarettes then,” he said as you shrug, giving out the joint back into his fingers as you turn to gaze at the abandoned cat food, no cat in sight. jay can’t help but listen in on the serenity of the situation. in an alley somewhere near his rival school, deep enough to muffle all the sounds of car honks, people talking, and legs bustling down the street. he stays there with someone who seems to appreciate the serene atmosphere too. maybe enjoying it too much because he hadn’t heard you talk at all.
“sorry that we won against your school. i just have to tame my friend down in the field so y’all can get your chance.” he chuckles right at the end as you shrug your shoulders, a remorseful expression on your face before giving a nod and a thumbs up.
jay takes another puff as the cloud floats to the blue sky between buildings not tall enough to engulf the two of you. the white joins in with the water-made clouds on the blue background. though he enjoys the quietness, it still weirds him out, especially coming from having someone else living with him.
being flatmates with sunghoon and heeseung has its perks, but quietness is not one of them—especially for sunghoon cause he never seems to be quiet because it’s either he, the girl he brought home, his bed, or his wall that creates the noise. coming from a place like seattle was different enough, a place on the west coast of the american continent that, in his opinion, is a balance between loud and calm. but then, his parents decide to move him from a seaport city to a metropolis in korea without their guidance, just knowing heeseung—back then an acquaintance of his because both of their fathers are friends—goes here to decelis high.
jay was a special kid. an only child of a new money family who, by destiny, will be the only one to inherit the wealth his dad has accumulated. his parents know this too: making him go to different classes to learn the most spoken language other than his native korean and sort-of native english; treating him to the highs of life by bringing him to go to vacation in a yacht; and all the craps he has done. but jay has always wanted one thing.
liberty.
no matter what he wants, his parents will always be involved. if he wants a toy car, his dad always bought a lamborghini one, not knowing he wants a BMW instead. when he wants to eat fried chicken, they brought him to a fine dining restaurant at a hotel when all he wants was to eat fast-food fried chicken at KFC. it all seems, to him, his parents don’t respect his own wants and needs; always divert him to the “correct” path so he could stay in the upper-class lane in a minority part of some 400 million-populated united states.
that’s why he agreed to go home to his home country on his own. heeseung—being there—is enough for his parents to trust him. all of that so he can get the freedom he craves.
jay’s savings are always brimming with his parents’ allowance that is much bigger for his liking, believing that their son wants to pamper himself and heeseung if he likes. he is always been a generous fellow after all—giving tips to the minimum wage workers he encountered. but he always lied to his parents when asking about how much money he now has on his debit card, hiding from them he hasn’t spent much at all. because he rather tried to get money on his own.
teenagers like to experiment with other things to find their “true” selves. so it isn’t a surprise that drugs are one of them.
jay always thought that drugs were always a bad thing. but when he discovered that caffeine is also a drug, his perspective changed. drugs are dangerous because of how people want to consume them; it could be addictive, it could be hallucinogenic, and it could be depressant. it can get you high or it can make you travel to another dimension. cigarettes were too common for a drug along with caffeine and alcohol, and he doesn’t want to break people up by making chemical-based drugs like cocaine or meth. he picked the safest and most natural route that gives enough high: weed.
he didn’t expect he got a best friend and business partner who will do what he wants. sunghoon is a classmate of his back from his first year until now. they’re seatmates too back then as they both have the same surname of “park”—the only ones in class. sunghoon told him everything. his parents, being diplomats, made him stay at home with his beloved grandfather nearly two hours away from school. they talked about each other’s struggles to be from such high-status parents that they bond easily. sunghoon’s grandfather was a pretty rebellious kid himself—as told by his grandson—so he allowed sunghoon to live with him and heeseung, not wanting to tie him down.
jay comes to like and enjoy his group of friends. heeseung and sunghoon are his flatmates, jake the jock—though the boy himself doesn’t like the stereotyping, kai the brain, taehyun the quiet, sunoo the friendly, and beomgyu, who is seemingly the de facto leader alongside heeseung. with the inclusion of girls too such as sunoo’s childhood friend and beomgyu’s sister who is seemingly on good terms with heeseung after the debacle between them and her brother. he can see the cracks in the group there, getting more showing as beomgyu seems to be more unexpected than ever, taehyun staying by his side more often than usual.
“so you don’t talk or?” his mouth blurted out as he can only think of one thing with your quiet self beside him. his head moves to examine the corners of your mouth lifted, mouthing “depends” and he can pick up how the air around creates a slight sound from how your mouth moves.
hearing something rubbing the asphalt, he turns to see you’ve stood up, one hand holding the plastic bag with the last can of cat food, the other pulling out your phone from your blazer. as the screen illuminates your face, your eyes widen before you glance back at him. your palm opens, curving motion to him as he puts his palm in it as both grasp with each other and you pull him up with your might. his head moves flowy as you look closer to his face, seeing his iris dilated but not that much as he seems sober enough.
“go home.” you mouthed, no voice heard, as you pat his shoulder before pointing back behind your shoulder and giving him a tight-lip smile with a small wave. leaving him behind with his joint nearly burnt out in between his lips as he stares at your back before disappearing around the corner.
that was the only time he regretted not bringing his skateboard so he can chase you down. but he found another smell mixing with his marijuana. the scent of a rose that could come from one person: you.
-
the thoughts of you show up in jay’s mind sporadically. any time he catches sight of a stray cat. any time he smells the fragrance of a rose. any time he sees that dark blue blazer on a teenager. it’s as haunting as the day he moved here. the looming presence of his parents on each of his shoulders. you’re now in their place.
it truly is weird, he realized. he didn’t know you until that day. the pieces of knowledge he has about you from that minuscule interaction are: you’re a levant high student and, presumably, you’re the sister of one of the famous students in that, (l/n) somi. jay has always learned to stay determined and focused on what he wants. any knowledge or information he could get that is beneficial to him. but it contradicts what his parents allow or don’t allow him to do or act. he is determined to support his group of friends any other way. he is determined to be independent outside of his wealth. now, he is determined to get to know you.
days have passed since you left that alley. he never expected to see you soon, especially with the heightened rivalry of the rugby season. he never said never because as jake said while twirling his rugby ball, “though we beat them. this is still preliminary. they can come back.” he could still find you someday, sometime.
but the universe said otherwise when he did “errands”, with only a couple of packages left to deliver as he roams the street downtown, passing by buildings of stores when he recognize the arcade heeseung introduced to him a week ago. and the group of dark-blue-blazer-wearing girls crowding a claw machine outside.
the haunting starts once again when he sees the blazer. but this is different. one familiar head stood out to him, the only quiet one in a group of cheering girls, as one of them successfully got a plushie. all except for her.
“great job, lily!” he catches one of them saying as he steps to the side, somehow hidden, but he can still listen to them.
“thanks, guys.” he heard the distinct australian accent—something he’s familiar with from hanging out with jake a tad bit too much.
all of their figures covered the last girl as they faced away from jay. the only one not having their hands full wrapping the plushie. the tallest out of the three approaches the girl. his eyes widen as he realizes who is being hyped up.
“come on! you can do this, (y/n)!” the girl said as she shake your shoulders. you give a tight-lip smile, seeing how tense your body is as if you’re holding something back. another girl with long hair pulls out a silver item from her pocket—a coin glinting under the sunlight. he views how each member of your group kisses the coin with you holding it and giving the ultimate kiss. you push the coin into the slot as the claw machine hums. the girls surround the machine, obscuring him from the prizes.
he was also holding his breath as the claw moved from the joystick you were handling. big shifts to the upper-right side before you do small jerks, adjusting the claw to your chosen prize. the anticipation kills him as he can only watch the descending claw before it’s concealed by the girls’ figures. he waited and waited for at least a che-
“four out of four!!!!”
your friends were jumping around as you kneel to get your prize, laughter flutters in their space from the surprising yet expected outcome. what he can’t believe is that even you laugh, the corner of your lips rising as you smile the widest he has ever seen. but it doesn’t last long as your curved corners fall. when he looks up at your eyes to see them focused on him.
you grasp onto your new—not surprising—kitten plushie, hugging it closer to cover the lower part of your face. your eyes fluttering away from his eye contact but your head is still facing his way as if you’re blanking his existence out of your mind and presence. the sudden change in you felt like whiplash to him, but it’s as if your friends expected it to happen as they near you before guiding you to walk away from the machine and arcade; leaving him with your lingering sense once again. smell, and now, sight.
jay didn’t expect so many orders from levant high students after the game. usually, an influx of sales came during sports season but no influx is attributed to a specific school—he wonders if something happened for them to want to try weed. maybe it’s because of that new tv show filled with teenagers doing unexpected shit, or people trying to experience something new other than cigarettes.
he had to wander from here and there around their area for about a week now, delivering the goods. sometimes finding them in hidden places like a dark pc bang near the rows of shops a few blocks from their school. sometimes in the open at the usual skating park he goes to. it was a wonderful week for his business out of the expected great season he hopefully gets in selling. but it’s also a busy one as his business partner is pining over multiple girls. yes, plural. changing one right after the other any other day. he will not be surprised if his dark circles will be more prominent in the following days as the sound of banging walls comes from behind his headboard.
twirling his black marker, the wind is blowing his hair out. his body tilts and balances as the skateboard beneath him rolls on the roughly-textured flat surface of the sidewalk. he looks at the approaching high walls of his school’s rival, the sea of students splitting up from his way before leaving specks of them as he nears the gates. the boy sees a bunch of people by the bus stop when he stops and kicks his skateboard up to grab it. pulling out his phone, he awaits his last customer’s confirmation of their whereabouts. their last message was to meet him by their school entrance.
jay’s sight wanders around the environment before his feet brought him near the front gate of the school. the benches that line up the road are vacant—he remembers his friends and him waiting there before the match where he is left. the students must have gone back to their respective homes to make them so vacant, but there is no sign of his buyer. that’s when he thought he misheard something.
sniffles.
surely spring’s weather causes people to have a runny nose and make them sniffle it up. but this one is not that. heck, there’s nobody he passes by while he is there listening to that faded sound.
jay turns to find the source before landing on one site. a figure folding its body forward is sitting on one bench obscured beneath the shadow of a tree. their hands covering their face as their body shook from the uncontrollable emotions flowing out. the sniffles getting louder as he nears them. but the scrapes of the ground each time he steps closer didn’t help. the person lifts their upper body before wiping the fallen tears on their cheekbones.
you.
you rubbed away your cheeks multiple times as if the stain still sticks, nibbling your teeth as you look away from the boy in front of you. the sound of a crunchy plastic bag is heard from beside you as he sees the glimpse of aluminium cans inside. his mind returns to how your eyes gazed at him a week back. first with annoyance, second with caution. today, with overwhelming foggy grey resembling the dark clouds waiting for its time to drop rain.
“hey-“
you stood up from the bench when jay called you, grabbing onto your belongings and walking towards him on the almost non-existing dirt path. you stride past his body away as your steps increase in pace, faltering away outside the gates as he turns around. something you have done to him twice. though he is under different circumstances: he doesn’t need to follow you. all he can do is leave you behind to deliver the goods and get his money. or he could follow so he can comfort you. because, though he only knows you as that levant girl who gives food to stray cats, he never offers somebody his roll.
as if he can smell your rose scent as a trace, he frowns before following your retreating figure meters away from him, opening the text to his customer before saying.
“fuck u for ghosting me. u’ll get ur goods tomorrow.“
jay can’t use his skateboard to get to you as the street is full of people. moving around people waiting for the crosswalk lights to turn green, around customers buying street, and any other person of all shapes and sizes. but his tall stature helps him see you at the edge of his vision, catching you turning corners before he runs to get you.
jay heaves as he turns the last corner, his shoulder leaning against the brick wall as he slumps—he regretted not joining the weekly jog jake does along with sunghoon and beomgyu. eyes looking down at the asphalt while he catches his breath, he uprights his figure so he can continue to follow you.
“for fuck-“ he jumps as he sees an apparition in front of him.
you standing right before him.
an unamused look that is unnatural in your bloodshot eyes burns him. yet, for him, it makes sense.
you nibble your bottom lip as you gaze at him, tilting your head, silently telling him to speak. jay never felt this startled that his senses are hyperaware—even he can listen to chirpings from blocks away.
“i wanna offer to help you give out the food.” he made up something as best as he can. yet, he can see from your eyes that you weren’t believing him completely.
“you know, repaying what i’ve done a week ago?” he rubs his neck.
you killed it, jay. for god’s sake. he thought. he can easily turn around before he embarrasses himself again. jay has never been bold to comfort someone. but you intrigue him. you intrigue him so much more than the crush he got on his classmate back in the first year, before sunghoon got her first and hook up with her. how you are, allegedly, the hidden sibling of one of your school’s popular students, is shocking in this day and age where social media and people prying on people’s privacy are normal. yet, you don’t even seem to talk at all and you’re not treated the same as somi is in your environment.
you push your hand out, open palm, as you sniffle back your leftover emotions. with your other hand, you point to the name tag on one side of your blazer.
(l/n) (y/n). the same last name as who he can now confirm is your sister.
“i’m jay.” he shakes your hand with his before he sees you tilting your head again, looking towards his chest. he follows your eyesight to the name tag on his blazer that is written park jongseong.
“it’s my birth name,” he replied before he caught your hum and let go of his grasp. you use your chin to point towards him before turning around, signaling for him to follow you as you grab one can from the dangling plastic bag and push it to his hand.
he tried his best not to scare any feline you’ve called or approach the two of you as you open the canned food, especially trying his best to not sneeze. you and he walk around one neighbourhood full of stray cats as one by one, the weight of the plastic bag lightens with the now empty cans being put inside to be put away and recycled.
in the last alleyway he and you travel, the adult cat there seems to have known your presence, approaching you when you walk closer and rubbing against your legs so you can lean down and pat its head. squeaks and tiny meows enter his ears as he looks at a cardboard box that is lightly shaking. jay approaches closer alongside you as you put the can with the leftover food for the cat, crouching down to see a litter of kittens inside crawling around and even attempting to climb outside the cardboard box. the scratchy sound of the claw against the box’s texture seems to excite the other ones so that they all wake up.
jay felt something wet on his hand as the cat—the mother of the kittens—smell his scent before rubbing her head on his palm, allowing him to pat her head and body gently. you let yourself sit on the asphalt alley as you picked up the kittens outside and onto your skirt-covered lap, hearing your small chuckles along with the kittens’ meow as they scattered around the two of you. he follows suit as a few of them approach him and even climbing onto his skateboard as the kitten’s stance change from the swaying board.
the serenity he recognizes between the two of you comes back in his mind as he stares at the fluffy felines who approach him and then you. one of them seems to like you enough that they stick to you while their siblings wander towards his sitting space or eat with their mom. the sun above them is now falling towards the west as jay enjoys a moment he hasn’t done before. knowing his parents’ “overprotectiveness”, he could never play outside, let alone play with stray animals.
“thank you.” someone says before he lifts his head from a kitten on his lap to you, who is glancing at him. he didn’t even realize it was you who spoke before he is a beat too late.
“she speaks!” jay exclaimed as he sees you pout, shaking your head. as you continue playing with the kittens that are surrounding you. picking one up to put in your lap, you let the kitten playfully bite onto your finger as he stares at it, wondering if you felt the pain from the bites or if you're benumbed by it.
“so, correct me if i’m wrong, but your sister is somi, right?” he asked, which make quiet down before you slowly nod, the corner of your lips turned slightly upside down. yet, jay doesn’t notice and continues his tangent.
“how has anyone not known of your presence?”
“i like it that way.” you cut him off. you sigh as you grab the kitten’s small body off of you, scooting closer. it scared you that your voice might be too soft so he couldn’t hear. well, you rarely talk after all.
“my sister and i are two different people.” you spoke to him, so soft and so articulated that he can hear a certain accent that you have. “what you presume about her cannot be the same as how you presume about me.” you tilted your head away, not wanting to lay your eyes on him. yet, your voice envelops his mind with how pretty yet haunting it is, especially from your quiet persona.
his mind recalls how somi is one of the people in the wealthy crowd. how, technically, you can be known as a chaebol, feeding from the silver spoon that your parents have served you. an old money family and maybe much wealthier than his own family. you lean your head to face him once again, your eyes staring his way but avoiding his own eyes, lips pouting as he gazes at you.
“maybe i’m much more like you,” you said, looking down at your palm before putting two fingers up from one of your hands, resembling how one holds a roll of cigarette right in between the two before they're being grabbed by the kitten as it bites them once again.
you give the kitten on your hold the last few pats before putting the feline on top of his skateboard, letting you scan the scratch on the top side which is dark-coloured, even finding a shoe mark on it.
“why are you here, jongseong?”
jay gulps his saliva down when he heard you call him by his birth name. even with your low-volume voice, the empty atmosphere of the alley lets him hear your words, and it sends shivers down his spine. he never felt this nervous since he tested to go to decelis high. the vision of the future is blurry but he knew that when he passed, he will be happier. but, he just now realized how he has pinned you unconsciously into a box and it terrifies him you notice. he had no choice but to tell the truth.
“you interest me. seeing you cry makes me want to comfort you. seeing you alone on that first row of the crowd catches my eye. seeing you with your plastic bag full of cat food makes me intrigued by you. seeing you here, living your life with a quiet demeanor… you know what i’ll say next.” he let out his thoughts and all you can do is give him a small smile.
“well…” you put your hands on top of where your heart is. chuckles flow out of you, shrugging your shoulders as you let your sight wanders to the alleyway that is only you and he in it.
“it’s funny, innit? how you can easily fancy me when i don’t even try to?” you commented, biting your bottom lip as you accidentally let out the slang words you tried your best not to speak out after moving back here. your gaze goes to his skateboard, “though i am intrigued with riding a skateboard.”
jay’s eyebrows rose from your comment, signaling to him how you want to try it. “you don’t know how to?” he confirmed with your shaking head.
“then, i’ll teach you next time.”
“will there be one?” you glance between your uniform and his which he catches. though you don’t join in on your school’s pop culture, you knew about your school’s rivalry with decelis high. if there was a history of high school fights outside of sports and formal competition, it would be between decelis and levant. though that tradition has dwindled, the tension is still there. that’s why both of your schools tried their best to compete; academically and in other ways. you remembered there was a romeo and juliet situation between both schools way back when and their relationship help with erasing the fighting tradition between the two students. but, there is still an unspoken rule between levant students to not have relations with decelis students whatsoever.
your sister told you to stay away from them after her terrible memories of hooking up with a decelis student. how erratic they are, but they’re also one of the nicest people she knew back then. she knows how narcissistic they are after a few times and now she warns you to stay away. hence, your comment that the boy seems to understand too.
“outside of school grounds. outside of the uniform. you and i, okay?” he replied. the sound of a ringtone playing startled the kittens around him as he picked up his phone. a “shit” fell from his mouth as he answered. you heard him talk about what you can assume to be the weed that he introduces to you but there’s no reason someone calls him about it. does he know someone who sells it?
one of jongseong’s hands wraps around one of your wrists as he uncapped his marker hastily with that same hand—as if he is learning to do that for efficiency. you feel the tickle and moist of the marker on your skin, seeing him writing something on your forearm as you hold it in place while his phone is pushed against his ear. he stopped writing as he holds onto your hand until the call ends and he puts your arm back on your thigh before standing up.
“i have errands to do. sorry for leaving you behind,” he answered, and you helped put the kittens back in the box as the mom jumps in and immediately groomed them. you see the boy already on his skateboard, ready to push his leg and skate away.
“call me, kay?” he gives a small smirk before letting out a last “see ya.” he skates away from the alley, leaving you behind as you unrolled your blazer’s sleeve, seeing the phone number written on your forearm.
-
you miss the home that you had for a decade.
you miss the salty smell of the sea blocks away from your front door and how effortlessly you can go to the pier to take a break from your increasing-in-level studies. it is because you’ve always seen it as a mistake for your parents to bring you back here to seoul, deep down knowing just how much they don’t acknowledge your well-being here. it is as if you haven’t left that town in the first place, seeing yourself as another cog in their clockwork.
brighton is a small town compared to the UK’s capital and not as larger-than-life as the urban metropolis you live in now. but even a place that small can mean so much for a little girl like you who can compare the two. they sent you there after all and you don’t know the detailed reason why they did it, even when you’re in the clouds thousands of meters above the ground. ‘how can they let you go so easily?‘ you remembered yourself pondering, watching the people turning into ants as the hum from the plane continues to sound before it became a common buzz for your ears.
fragmented memories appear in your head as you reflect on how close you are with your sister, somi, back then. “two peas in a pod”, as she likes to say it; always stayed by each other’s side. both of you play house together in a dollhouse your parents bought, do random activities in your backyard garden such as making tea parties, and swim in the large pool your mansion owns—submerged by both the sound of nature muffled with the sloshing water. yet, none of your parents is in your sight during that thing, making housekeepers serve you as they focus on their other child: the conglomerate you will inherit in the future.
or so you thought when your parents bring you along to the airport, assuming that you were going to say your farewells to your uncle and aunt that were going back to the UK—instead of only the couple going home, they have one more person who they brought with them.
somi was too young to give an opinion of letting her younger sister go, wanting her chauffeur to bring her to the airport instead of her elementary school after he told her you went there—something her parents have told him not to tell as they know she will be in a rage, or “nag” as they like to call it. she believed you stayed home because you were sick, not noticing a suitcase prepared right beside your bed as she left you asleep while smoothing down her uniform. as the years went by, she has to live with only chunks of you in her mind having fun while going to school, being self-taught by your parents business jargons, and learn how to manage things such as her stuff; an early management training to early for one’s liking. for the longest time your parents separated you both, she thought they also taught the same thing as her too.
you always believed that they might surprise visit you one day after you came back from primary school, expecting to find your sister’s grin and her suitcase with a different colour compared to yours at the front door of the house you reside in. you’ve wondered if your parents have forgotten you after a year there—making you think they see you as a mere relative—while you know have adapted to your aunt and uncle being your parent figures instead. they taught you everything you needed outside of what you learn in the education system, but seemingly not involving you in the business side of things that you’ve known before. much different from the complicated words somi has to learn back home when she enters elementary. you don’t even remember if you have ever seen your uncle taking any part in the family business, only describing to you the concept of a family trust and how you, he, and your aunt own a part in it.
at the dining table in your last year of primary, your uncle finally told you why you were here.
“it’s because your dad found a successor in somi, like how your granddad saw him back then.“ he then points between you and himself, “we are the spares of the family, (y/n). though we do have a voice, especially in the voting trust, they won’t and don’t give us access to the family business, no matter how useful it is to have more than one family member working even in there.“ your uncle continue as you glance at your aunt, giving you a small nod and a solemn smile.
you grip your utensils, realizing how left out you are, like a pain plunge into your soul as your uncle chuckled, “just like the royal family, only one can be the highest monarch. and our family is running on the same first-child basis as what they have here."
with that knowledge out of the way, you accepted your status. you accept that you’re a trust fund baby and you may lavish on whatever money you can get from the piece of the trust you own. then, you’ve planned out your future. how you will spend your adolescent years here, going until sixth form, doing a-levels, entering a prestigious university here, and then doing whatever you want for the rest of your life.
that is until your parents called you to go back home to korea when you’re entering year 10 of secondary school.
there is fear within you when you face them for the first time in a decade. comparing when you left to when you arrived back is weird, how unfamiliar all of this has been, even though pictures of the environment outside of the window of the car still look the same as the ones burn in your memory; especially not knowing the motives for why they sent you away other than they see you as a spare. yet, they also don’t give any explanation on why they want you back. in a blink of an eye and a step towards them, you don’t know what to say or do in their presence.
you’re not a talkative person per se, one of the quiet ones in your class back in brighton and even quieter now. but the anxiousness grows as you went to the mansion you used to call home, how you watch more housekeepers roaming around than the ones you remember they have. then when you and your entourage arrived, you finally meet your sister wearing her high school uniform. and you couldn’t openly say “hi”, giving only a small wave, to which she replied with a small smile. your sister grew up beautifully, especially with her blonde hair that makes her appearance resemble a barbie doll you both used to play with together. still, you don’t comprehend what your parents are going to do to you and you stayed quiet about it until these days.
going to levant, they expected you to follow what somi is doing by everyone around you. blend in well, be part of the popular kind, go do cheer, wear feminine accessories and style, and you did so because you’re worried—still are—that they’re going to spare you away once again. in your mind, this was a way to redeem yourself, to show them they’re going to regret sending you away. back in your first year of high school, you still have a glimmer of hope that they see you differently and will treat you differently, unlike what your granddad does to your uncle and your dad. but going to school here changes what you thought of as something bad, is now much, much worse.
your quiet demeanour back in brighton allowed others to bully you, but you thought it’s what kids do—joking around about someone different from them in any aspect—and you fought back. you wanted to use your family name as a shield when you realized they know nothing about it other than the global company your family owns. so, you persevere. you tough it up and face them by not caring about them. and they accepted you, the quiet alien who likes cats because she said she relates to them so much, into the in-group enough that you have a small circle of friends. but here in seoul, the level of toxicity sky-rocketed and you never felt it boil your skin until you see what they do in cheer practice.
eavesdropping from people, you only have two choices after seeing your fellow schoolmates’ drooping faces and awakening stress: you are going to either join the tradition or be an outcast. your sister chooses the former and her family name doesn’t help either—setting an obvious target on her back. when you caught wind of this, you got even quieter, silent, and stealthily wanders under somi’s shadow. yet, having a sister for cheer captain, you can’t say you don’t have privilege of how your senior treats you. but when you see the other first-year students being overwhelmingly harassed at practice behind the coaches’ guides, you choose to stay silent verbally, but your action contradicts it.
you embrace the other three that seem to agree with your plan—lily, haewon, and yuna—as you all tried to expose the toxicity of the cheer group: collecting evidence from photos and audio recordings before sending it to the principal anonymously, and all of you agree to quit right after sending it. the senior cheer members have a smug smile when they know that their weakest soldiers have fallen and left the squad, but they didn’t expect you to leave, somi didn’t even if she lived in the same house as yours; your room is in the other side of the house from hers. that was the first and only time you’ve used your actual voice to them. that was the only time you ever felt powerful against them before you fade again into obscurity.
the comfort level between the four of you lets you try to speak to them, and they’re so nice to you, letting you set your own pace to open up while the others also do the same thing. lily’s accent caught your attention and confirmed when she said she moved here from australia—she has the same reaction when you spoke and caught a bit of an accent and slang words in the way you talk, haewon never fail to crack your group up from her funny expressions and jokes, while yuna brings out the sassy yet sweet aura of the group. all of you stayed together throughout the first year and even got closer as you all are assigned to the same class this year.
your outings with them become more of a routine, how they give their free time to help you give out food to stray cats, go to the arcade, and other things. being the spare, you embraced your inner princess margaret and start to slowly defy what your parent expects from you, which you now realized because they want you to become somi 2.0. if they don’t want you as yourself, might as well make you like their ideal successor. well speaking of it, that is what they told you after you came back home too late for your parents’ liking, even though somi, who is a year older than you, is still out there.
“you either going to follow what we want of you, or you’re not going to have a piece of the company.“
gladly, you thought. but you remain silent and it is slowly frustrating them. you now knew your fear and anxiety can become a weapon against them.
you differentiate yourself from your sister, most of your clothes—all were somi’s hand-me-downs—are given to your housekeepers for them or if they have a child back home. you dressed more down-to-earth, quiet literally, with earthy colours that clash with your sister’s extravagant pastel blues and pinks. and you don’t care if your parents tell you their grimy, plus earthy colours look more business-savvy. you always use your pocket money to buy can food for stray cats at least once per week, getting your emotion sucked up by playing with them and giving good to beings that also live on this earth along with humans.
but even under a strong and mysterious persona, people perceived you in ways that they see as negative, calling you a weirdo, a black sheep, a failure, and comparing you to your sister behind their backs. and it all seems to break down when your carpool doesn’t arrive to get you home, seeing the text from your assigned chauffeur that they were fired. they were supposed to be on your side as they waited for you to finish giving the cats food and vouch for you. that day you finally broke down, the pressure from inside rising to get out of you.
that is until your second encounter with jay which makes you see a different light of him.
annoyance came to you when his sneeze scare the cats away, like what bloke can sneeze so loud that it rivals your uncle? nonetheless, when he offered you his roll of weed, you accepted it and you wing it. deep down, you were smirking at how the way you smoke makes him think that you’ve smoked before it is actually your first time, and you don’t care when the buzz reaches your head, sending you into an almost foggy state but making your senses hyper. he must have a high tolerance for being able to ride a skateboard while high, seeing the board with wheels poking out from beside his body when you caught him at the arcade.
but when he approached you in your most vulnerable self publicly, you didn’t expect him to utter those words to you. at first, he seemed to want to banter with you about what happened a week prior. but the fact that he fancies you is unexpected. a decelis high skater and stoner—definitely a bad boy type—finds you intriguing. no other person is as bold as him. sure, you have a few crushes yourself, but you always get the confirmation of people having a crush on you after the feelings were gone. no one has ever openly confessed their interest to you. and now, you didn’t know what to comment on other than the obvious fact that you’re also intrigued by him. but you both live different lives, going to rival schools, and you should not even be seen with him at all.
when you see the clutter around both of you, the skateboard was the only way you can catch him before he slithers away, and that’s what he promises you to do if you text him about it. so now here you are, the floor below you carries you higher and higher before the elevator lets out a “ding”, opening to the destination floor you’ve pressed the button to.
you look between the text he sends you and the apartment number as you walk down the clean and gleaming hallway, hearing the sound of scratching rubber from the trainers you’re wearing. eyes scanning the plaque, you slow down your steps as you arrived at the door with the number he texted you. you press the bell button as it is muffled behind the door, giving a small smile at the front door. a click sounded as the heavy door opens, and an almost recognizable girl behind the ajar door peeks out. she’s wearing very comfortable clothes that are too big for her figure—something you see yourself wearing—but her hooded eyes catch your attention. it looks as if she has been asleep and the bell you pressed has woken her up. but her upbeat demeanour says otherwise.
“hi, you must be the guest jay’s waiting for,” she said as the door widens. her hand outstretches for you to shake as she lets out a small smirk. jay didn’t tell you that she lives with a girl before, or maybe she was visiting to take a rest.
“you can come in, he’s in the shower.” the girl speaks as you follow her inside the apartment. shoes litter on the front of the door as the girl tried her best to tidy them up while mentioning her name, not catching it clearly as she moved away. when you step inside, you were met with a large open living space and a herbal scent mixing in the air—your rose scent is obscure by it. a hallway stretches as you see four different doors, but one side of the open space catches your eye. four tidy pots of plants rested on racks, the leaves creating almost like a bed but hollow underneath. your eyes follow the way the plants are structured, how jagged the leaves are, and how only odd numbers of them grow on each stem.
wait…
“i don’t smoke them.” you caught the girl say beside you. “but they do. they sell it actually. hoon and jay,” she continued as you turn towards her, making her neutral expression quickly drops.
“you don’t… know…” her words got a shrug from you as she chuckles, “i thought you were here to buy one.” you shake your head and wave your hands a no.
a boy’s voice call for the girl’s name from behind you, eyes widen as you now recognize who she is by the name that you should've asked her to repeat. that’s when you turn back to find one of the boys jay is friends with coming from one of the closed doors—you know because you’ve seen his face in a few photos from jay’s profile. he approaches her as you tried to distract yourself away from their conversation, taking a pretty long time before you heard her voice say, “i’m not leaving her behind. we can stay here first, right?”
“who’s her?” you glance at them.
“her.” she points to you as you give a tight-lip smile and a small wave.
“oh hi, didn’t see you- wait? aren’t you (y/n)? (l/n) (y/n)?” the boy said as you see his hand wrapped around the girl’s love handle. your jaw almost dropped as you realize the signals they give to you. staring at them as discreetly as possible you now realize who each of them is. the boy is heeseung, the famous student council president of your neighbouring school and after jogging the familiar name of the girl, you realized that that’s the name of beomgyu’s sister—her style and vibe almost resemble him in a way when you inspect her further. how you know about her is because of what your sister told you about her brother—her having a bad sentiment that you understand. you sure hope she’s not as shitty as her brother. but, you didn’t realize they’re exclusive to each other until his smooth moves.
“guilty.” you mouthed while showing a thumbs up.
heeseung lets out a giggle as he stares at you before turning to the girl. “jjong told me about her before, babe. you know?” he said before you see her eyes enlarged, letting out ahs and oohs as she then whispered into his ears. your body shrinks as you glance at them before looking away as fast as you can. the fear inside of you slowly grows as your mind flew everywhere, even taking a dip into your darkest thoughts that you’re always reminded of.
“guys. your giggles are creeping her out.” you heard a voice from behind them as you lean to the side, seeing the boy you were waiting for as you timidly wave. you scoot your way towards him, realizing how similar both of you dress with your grey-tone t-shirt and blue jeans combo. the boy seems to suspect something as you sensed your body being dragged towards him by your forearm. the couple looks at each other as they noticed their friend’s small initiation, letting out smiles to each before turning towards the two of you.
“good luck on your date, jongseong.” heeseung said as he lets out a charismatic smirk. if your eyes can get widened, it would as you glance at the boy beside you, seeing him with an unreadable expression.
“we should have a double date, triple i guess if hoon wanna joins but eh…” the girl said, a look of jokingly disgust on her face makes you chuckle inside before jay turns his body and walk towards the door. the atmosphere suddenly tightens as you turn to follow your hangout friend and skateboard trainer to the front door of the apartment.
“(y/n)?” your name is called as you turn your head towards the source. heeseung and the girl let out a solemn smile.
“i don’t know what kind of my magic you got to get my boy that whipped for you. but take care of him, okay? he’s been a lot more cranky these days.” heeseung answered as he glance at the girl beside her as she continues, “he only told us two about how he’s felt towards you. per what heeseung said, he hasn’t been this serious with someone since his best friend… yeah…”
you blinked and gave tiny nods to tell them you listen to them loud and clear. the mention of his best friend and how she paused her words makes you pierce a mental thumbtack in your memory. though you don’t know the detailed sentiment, you caught that this best friend of his—“hoon” as they like to call him—has meddled in his love life much more than jay’s liking.
giving a nod and a smile to the two, you return to the front door as you see jay tying his shoes up. besides where you crouched down to put your own on, a cabinet door opens as you catch two skateboards inside in an upright position. one is more decorated than the other—the one you recognize he brought when you both feed the cats. a shadow of jay’s stature steps near you as he pulls out the skateboards into his hands before pushing one towards you when you stand up.
“this is my spare one if this one gets broken. it’s the same model so it should be alright.” the boy explained as you pick it up with both of your hands, the weight of the wood is not as heavy as the cans of cat food you bring in your plastic bag—a few of them are in the backpack you’re wearing cause you rather be prepared than say sorry towards their cute little face for not filling their appetite. jay lets out a small smirk as he grabs his own backpack and tucks the skateboard between his arm and body.
“shall we?”
-
the street of seoul reminds you of brighton as you both walk on the pavement, sightseeing square-looking buildings in a street that is big enough for only two lanes going opposite ways. in a way, you’ve tried to embrace the “you from the past” now as best as you can. maybe your parents firing your chauffeur is a blessing in disguise at a point that you’ve tried to push yourself for nearly a year now, letting you take back the independence you used to have back in your aunt and uncle’s. in your house today, only your housekeepers care if you’re home or not but they also vouch for you if you go to the city by yourself—coming from the little acts of kindness you’ve done to them. the last day of the weekend is—of course, as crowded as usual. you gaze at the people going out with their families and friends to refresh their minds for the two days they have, and as you both walk near the han river, it seems that skateboarding is one way they refresh.
the skateboard on your hold is a tad bit slanted as you always repair how you grip it. the sound of rubbing on concrete decorates the area that is made of slopes and curves—the view of the river is marvellous and you immediately understand why this is jay’s favourite skate park. skateboarders of all diversity make the indents on the ground more colourful with their outfits, their boards, and a speck of street art on them. dangerous tricks such as kicks and spins make you grimace, catching the boy’s attention who is beside you.
“i will not teach you that. unless you’re fucking with me and you’re also great at skateboarding.” you let a chuckle at his comment as you stray from the main path of the han river recreational area to go to the skate park. when you both arrive there, you see people greeting jay in various ways, shouting their hellos, waving their hands, and giving him high five or fist pumps. seeing them in green cargo pants notes you to buy them and put them in your wardrobe—bloody hell, they look great. your eyes gaze at how smoothly they’re riding their skateboards around you, making your fingers fidget while holding the same thing in your hand.
“hey, we’re gonna put our bags and start, alright?” jay speaks to you right beside your ear. you turn to see how close his face is to yours, very close. you gaze at the faded freckles that decorated his cheekbones, his sun-kissed skin illuminated in the afternoon sun before your trance falls away as you give him a nod and go to the bench that he puts his backpack on. your shoulders are much lighter than before because of the less weight, you roll your shoulders to stretch them up as jay puts the skateboards right by his feet. your palms are getting sweaty as you tried your best to wipe them off. what if you fell? what if you’re reckless enough to do a mistake?
“so, do you have any experience with boards of any kind?” he asked as you tilt your head while stepping closer to him.
“i can ride a bicycle, not exactly a board but balancing on something, right?”
“yup. so…” you see him rub his hand as he drags the skateboard he lends to you with his foot, rolling it to put it in between the two of you. “we’re going to start with balancing. you’re gonna step on the board and tried to balance as best as you can.” he said.
you gnaw the inside of your cheek, staring interchangeably between the boy and the board between both of your feet. your experience riding a bicycle sure helps him calm down, but you didn’t mention that the last time you rode one was back in year 7 when, after a certain incident, you just haven’t thought of buying another one for yourself anymore. the tingling of the scar on your pelvis from falling off your bicycle comes back as you don’t know if you’re balanced enough for this.
as you put one foot on the board, it trembles under you. how different it is that you have to learn how to manage your weight and how much should you put on the surface that has touched. your hands are wide enough for you to get your sense of balance, lifting them as you focus on your feet more. when you felt like you’re ready enough, you lift your other foot off the ground and put it on the board beside yours. the adrenaline coursing through as you thought you nailed it on the first try, no need to embarrass yourse-
the board slips under your foot as hands hold onto both of your arms. you breathe rapidly as your heart thumps as if it’s near out of your ribcage. your reaction to one of your feet slipping to the ground came late as you finally hissed from the pain surging through your nerves, looking up to catch jay’s furrowed eyebrows as he stares at you. you knew from his eyes what his concern was and your nods seem to calm him down as his grip on you lessen.
“hold on to me if you need to, okay?” he reminds you as he drags the board to your feet once again and this time, you lean to what he said. one of your hands in jay’s as you step onto the shaky board one step at a time, letting him guide you upright as you stare at your feet once again.
“(y/n)?” you tried your best to stop your wobbly legs before looking up at him. jay’s face has a look that screams determination as he holds you with both hands near your elbows.
“eyes on me, okay? it’ll help with your balancing because of your center of gravity,” he tells you as you gulp down your saliva. breathing in and out, you straighten your posture enough as the board is getting not as shaky as the first time you rode it. how your eyes stay on his face is getting your cheeks warm, even if they’re looking downwards to your feet.
jay helps you to find your balance as he then teaches you how you use your foot to push the board for it to move, and how the board moves left and right depending on how you put the weight on your feet. and even if he felt confident that you can roll on your own by the end of the day, he didn’t expect you to nail it on the first try. you didn’t count how much you failed to roll and balance on the board; each time comes with you jumping from the moving board or slip off to the ground. with each accident, jay comes running to catch you before you fall or pull you up to your feet when you fell. but every time he sees you fall off the board, your chuckles always fill your presence. how nonchalantly you take this challenge and how you took this practice session as if you are having fun. and when you nailed it, he couldn’t help but clap as much as he can when you turn around and roll on the concrete before stopping in front of him.
“you did great.” he says as he pulls you close, not minding the proximity because of how close you two had been the entire time when he holds you to not let you fall. and you seem to not mind it either as you mouthed a “thanks” before you caress the back of your neck, letting you take a rest.
the refreshing water runs down your oesophagus until the very last drop. you work out your ankles from how hurt they are been mostly from slipping, resting them on top of the skateboard that you used as it drags back and forth following your movement. where’s jay, you asked? you heard his whoop as you stare at his figure flinging all around the slopes. how effortlessly he does aerial spins and kicks his skateboard 180 degrees before landing it perfectly. jay performs as if he is all by himself, with no one to bother him as he tries the tricks he has up his sleeves, but you have a nagging feeling that he is doing it to impress you too.
when jay is skateboarding away at the other side of the area, you let your vision gaze at the other people in your vicinity and the main path right beside the skate park. people riding bicycles, pushing strollers, and jogging goes by that path before you see people cruising down the path on a board, similar to a skateboard, albeit longer. that’s peng, you thought. skateboarding like jay is doing might be too daredevil-ish for you. maybe riding it that way will give you the same senses but much more relaxed.
“what’s peng???” a voice startles you as you found jay now standing beside where you sit, drinking his own water bottle before sitting down beside you. you don’t know if he’s asking you the thing that is peng or the definition of peng, but you answer as best as you perceived.
“i saw people cruising down the path with a board, but a longer one?” you quietly speak so only he can listen to you. he replied with a hum as his eyes landed on the path as more people on boards are riding on that path before going to face you.
“it’s a longboard, the one they’re using. skateboards are shorter but you can cruise with them too. i definitely see you do that more rather than doing tricks.” your eyes follow his movement as he looks down at both the skateboards under you. a chuckle came out and you mouthed “definitely”. you lean back and rested your hands beside you on the bench, seeing the blue sky that is drifting to the west, with the darkness coming from the horizon. you peer beside you and see jay taking a glimpse of you.
“so how is today’s lesson?” he playfully asked, as if you’re literally someone under his care, a trainer asking for feedback. to be honest, even with your hurting ankle that might cause unintentional consequences, this moment is the most brighton thing you ever felt in a long time. though you don’t want to undermine what you and your friends have, hanging out with someone new outside of the dramas in levant is refreshing.
you can only give a thumbs up which he replied with a wistful sigh. jay grabs onto his bag before zipping open the front pouch, letting you take a glimpse of two different boxes, one you’re familiar with and the other that is customized. he grabs the customized one and opens it for you to see the thick rolls of joint inside, pulling one out before closing it and replacing it with his lighter. jay expected little from smoking weed openly in a place full of people smoking, but he caught your glance and it immediately intimidates him.
you give him a small pout as you shift your head. the look in your eyes shines with panic and concern. jay understood what you meant whilst he pull out the joint from between his lips and returned it to the box before grabbing the cig box he kept, replacing it so he can blend in with the others. “much of a daredevil, aren’t you?” you commented as he flicks the lighter and put the flame on the cigarette butt.
“well, you’re right. that’ll be stupid of me to get caught having a joint on me in public areas where people can see,” jay spoke, smoke coming out of his mouth. he offered you the cylinder as you brought your lips to it, taking an inhale as the smoke warmed your mouth before pulling back and slowly letting them go. jay was holding his breath the whole time before he took another shot of the burning substance.
“is there a reason you like weed more than cigs?” you asked, genuinely curious to know from the amount he might consume not even for a week but a day of it. the perception of him being a stoner quickly changes as you now learn that he also makes them too, in his home for bloody heck.
“i like the high it gives me.” he answered with a general answer for a stoner, “and to spite my parents.” jay peeks at you from the corner of his eyes. your body, at once, turns rigid when he mentions ‘parents’. all the memories you had about your parents crawling up in your mind and enveloping your vision in it.
“is that why you decide to sell it too?” you catch his enlarged eyes as he looks between the burning cig that is halfway down, before towards you. you reaffirm his unspoken question with a nod before he exhales the air he was holding.
“i’m trying to be financially independent being left alone here. my parents living in seattle have been pampering me so much it annoys me, you know?” he told you as you analyze it. how by the words he said alone, you can conclude: how wealthy his parents are, how he has been holding back from indulging in what he wants, and how he has lived outside of seoul. none of that information is present in his instagram profile—you feel dodgy when you see the well-built apartment he lives in, but it’s still not enough of a prediction for past you. you give him a small nod, learning how similar yet on the different side of the spectrum both of you are.
“what business does your family run?” jay lets out a tight-lip smile as he turns to you after finishing your question, puffing out the smoke from the cigarette before stretching his hand towards you once again, allowing you to take another hit.
“travel agency. helping tourists on their vacation in various countries in asia. providing tour guide, setting up tours, et cetera.” you let out a smile as your tongue rubs the residue of the cigarette that rests on your teeth. how sticky it felt you’re familiarizing yourself. you definitely need to brush your teeth as soon as possible when you get home.
“if you know somi, you must have heard my media conglomerate family then. though i’m not the one they're pushing to stay in the limelight like she is.” you let out as you nod as you giggled. “crazy how similar we are, huh?” your comment takes his attention as your giggles die down. the sky above you is darkening as the streetlights are turning on, yet you both didn’t want this to end. but even that, he thought it was not the right time to ask you to elaborate.
“so in that apartment, you live alone?”
“nah. heeseung and sunghoon are my roommates.” jay closed his eyes as he sees the faces of his friends in sight. the ridiculousness of their attitudes back on the bench they always hang out on at school. “we have this gang of friends at school, all nine- well, ten of us now that always hang with each other.” you let a hum as he continues to introduce his friends.
heeseung, other than the council president of decelis, is his roommate whom he has met back when he lived in the US—their fathers are friends and that’s why he allowed the boy to live with heeseung. sunghoon is his best friend—the “hoon” guy you’ve been hearing—has his troublemaker ways. jay mentions how sunghoon is his business partner, helping to send their orders away and more of the one that works in the field. but when you see him mentioning his best friend, you can view how his eyes turn fiery—heeseung told you how cranky he has been, is it because of him?
he continues introducing you to the other people in the gang. kai is a debate club member. his talkative nature makes him a great person who could convince people in an argument—he gave an example of the guy being the mc for their family feud-style game night. jake is the captain of the rugby team this season—you chuckle at how he still apologizes that your school lost against them as if you care about it. he mentions how many of his friends—nearly half—are part of the film club. he mentions sunoo and his best friend, who he describes as the sunshine siblings because of how playful they are. taehyun, who is their documentary guy, loves his camera, and brings it with him all the time—you might view yourself in him. then beomgyu, the star actor of the club. the most famous senior in the school other than heeseung as he explained.
“and beomgyu’s sister who is now heeseung’s girlfriend. they had a mess in the beginning and because of that, beomgyu’s not been around us for a while now, bringing taehyun with him for his bidding.” he lets out a sigh, finishes with bitterness on his tongue as you let out a wide smile from how he looks knackered just for describing his nine friends.
“i could say the same to you about my three friends though we don’t seem as chaotic as you guys are. they’re lovable, sassy, funny, and determined at the same time. we met in the cheer squad before all of us called it quits.” you brush your hair as you stare back at him, your smile turning sombre as the mention of them brought you to the haunting memories of constant harassment.
“that’s why i saw you beside your sister back in the match,” jay spoke enthusiastically before he turns towards you, your eyebrows already raised.
“no- no, i didn’t stalk you. i just saw you, okay? your sister ruffling your head before she left to do her routine.” he described perfectly what happened at the match as you give the benefit of the doubt about him. that day, your sister was trying to convince you to go back to the squad again. but the way you catch them treating your junior like crap, you were pissed off. you only come and attend that match so that it’ll be easier to give out the food for the felines. you didn’t think anyone notice it, especially from the school that you’re competing with.
“we don’t have the best sibling relationship. family things,” you spoke out the fact. taking yourself back to how you’re overshadowed by your sister’s presence and how you want to escape it. even with how much you avoid being associated with her, people still know you as her sister.
“i feel you, though not the sibling one ‘cause i’m an only child.”
“that’s unlucky. new money sole successor. no wonder your parents are pampering you so much.” your comment earns a laugh from jay as he nods his head, knowing that is the truth he carried. “i can’t say much being a trust fund baby with parents that neglects you.” you retorted as you gaze back at him.
“my life isn’t as perfect as you think it is.” the sun has now sunk behind the surrounding skyscrapers. the bridges that carry motorcycles, cars, and underground trains passing by make a beautiful silhouette. usually, by this time, you were supposed to be at home. but since your housekeepers help vouch for you and your parents are having a big board of directors meeting—usually takes hours to finish—they won’t snitch on you. they haven’t snitched on you even when you were with your friends playing in the arcade until midnight and later on.
jay drops his cigarette and puts it out with a step of his foot before you gaze at him, eyes looking all over his face that is illuminated by the streetlight behind you. the skaters dwindled in numbers as only a few people are on the slopes—the ones that are brave enough to trek the dark and uncertain curves with lights at the bottom.
“it’s getting late and tomorrow we have sch-“
“can we smoke a spliff?” you cut him off, pausing him before he looks at you with uncertainty in his eyes.
“are you sure?” he asked once again, hands already pulling the box where he puts it. you instinctively nod.
“i don’t want this to end yet,” you tell your sentiment as many thoughts have infiltrated your mind. maybe the buzz can help you calm down more. your eyes stick to the edge of the slope as you hear the flick and light coming from beside you. jay take in the newly lit spliff before giving it to you as you took one puff yourself. it circulates inside your mouth and the grass scent is catching you off guard before you let it out. it’s warm but you know you’re gonna get the buzz you’ve felt again.
your head seems heavy as you take a few more puffs of the roll, letting the quiet atmosphere calm you down. the drug urging you to speak anything that comes into your mind. “you know,” you straighten your sitting posture, “that time when you offer me your spliff, i haven’t actually smoked before…”
“the fuck?!” the boy exclaims, unhinged just like you do as you sense the buzz in your head pressing down the anxiety and fear that always culminate in your mind.
“yeah…” your words roll out. how your senses heightened as though you’re still sober but with how heavy your head is, you let it relaxes you.
“you were so good at it though,” he remarks as you let out a giggle.
“do i? to be honest, i’m just winging it back then. i didn’t understand shit.” your giggly reply makes him giggle too. seeing the white smoke floating and disperse into the darkening sky makes you stare at the buildings all around you. their illuminated windows resemble faux stars that decorate the night sky. you always like to stargaze, sitting on the sand of the beach as you stare at the stars from your position by the ocean waves. it is one of your favourite past times there and you always tell your aunt where your whereabouts will be and if she’ll be searching for you. the lights in seoul are too bright for you to stargaze, but you might as well cherish anytime you could get outside of your house, especially with people you are comfortable with. jay included.
“why weed? why not… pokemon trading cards for a business?” your ridiculous question earns a chuckle from both of you—your sober part now realizing how talkative and giggly you are under the influence. jay runs his tongue on his chapped lips as he peeks at you from the corner of his eyes. his foot fidgets with the skateboard under your feet, swaying from side to side.
“finding an opportunity in an almost empty market segment, you know?” you heard him use the business jargon your parents also use as you pursed your lips. holding back your laugh, he is the one that hooks you up to let it out. your head is lolling away from the times you take a hit from the blunt and you’ve also noticed how relaxed jay looked, he used to fidget all the time—playing with his fingers, playing with the tip of his toes inside his shoes, nibble on his bottom lip—but now with both of you under a much stronger influence, he seems decent enough and much more hyper about his sense.
taking the last hit for both of you as the flame consumes the rest of the joint, the grassy stench of the substance overwhelming your sense of smell, almost vegetable-like as you wave your hand to get rid of the surrounding scent. maybe you’re not thinking straight enough, but you reached for your bag and pull out your perfume: rose-scented that you’ve been wearing. though it smells heavy now, you found a lighter-smelling one back in brighton that makes you like the scent and you regretted not buying a bulk of it to bring here.
spraying it on your wrists and neck, you rub the spots as the aroma masks the one you’ve been smelling. you glance at the boy beside you who is also sniffing the air, a content smile on his face. hand instinctively pushes the item towards him. he looks down at it before looking at you give a smile. jay picks up the perfume and sprays it in the same spots as you did, rubbing them before giving it back to you.
“this is much better than the musk scent i usually wear,” he said as you let out a chuckle, a dry one to be in fact, which you follow with a cough. that’s when your nerves are aware of how dry your throat is. when you reached for your bottle, you were met with the lightweight material with only droplets inside.
“think i should head home. i’m freaking parched,” you told him as he covers his mouth before facing you and nods. when you stand up, you can now feel the weight that shows up from your head. but the evening gusts of wind help your eyes flutter open as you picked up the skateboard before something touches your elbow. jay holding you before you straighten yourself up.
“try riding it on the main path,” he comments as you stare at him with furrowed eyebrows, leaning in closer to him as you recognize your usual rose scent on him.
“are you fucking crazy? i’m not even great enough to skate and now you want me to do it high? freaking dammit jongseong.” you shake your head from his challenge as he then holds both of your shoulders, letting you settle down from your almost tamper tantrum.
“it’s the best feeling in the fucking world, (y/n). believe me.” jay stares right into your eyes. how the building lights behind you shine in them like it reflects stars. how big his pupil has gotten to resemble the night sky. he turns your body as you see white lights decorating under the bridge by the main path.
“that’s the convenience store. we’re gonna buy some stuff ‘cause i’m also getting hungry.” you poked your tongue inside your cheek as you glimpse at him. “you can do it. i believe in you.”
you let out a small, uncertain smile as you nod, letting yourself out of his grasp as you both walk towards the now emptier path. jay sets down his own skateboard as you fix the straps of your backpack. the figure of the boy dashes on the path as he stood on his board effortlessly. ‘fuck it‘ you said to yourself as you push the board like how jay teaches you, giving a few more pushes before putting both feet on the board as you tried to balance the best as you can so it goes on the straight line, eyes looking forwards rather than how your body moves as you let yourself adjust to the board that rolls beneath you.
the wind from the kinetic movement blows your hair as it flings from your face. you can be helped but to let a whoop from the air strike your skin, making you more alive and awake than ever. the figure before you now stand looking back towards you as you notice him laugh, letting you go past him as he follows you to the store.
arriving in the convenience store—putting your skateboards upright near the bicycle stands—you stroll around the shelves along with jay. going to the fridges and freezer as you pull out an ice cream and a bottle of cider before turning around to search for jay. his head pokes out from behind the shelves from his tall height as you find him with the cashier, looking at the reddish food in the warm display area.
“you want tteokbokki? my treat,” he said as he stares at you already with your cold items and him with a coloured soda in his hand. you hadn’t had street food in a while from how strict your food regimen is at home and the broth-full lunch at school. but the way the rice cakes rested inside that chill-powdered sauce, you could imagine adding cheese in there as saliva appears inside your mouth.
“buy a big one for both of us and also add cheese.” you turn to him as he lets out a wide smile.
“yes, ma’am,” he replies as he orders exactly that to the cashier attendant. both of you waited by the counter as you see the display behind the cashier for the adults, full of cigarettes and condoms. jay and you stood side by side as you both waited with the view. the awkward silence between the two of you makes you turn to face him. both of your minds seem to be telepathically linked as he turns to see you too. the white, almost blueish tint of the store illuminates his skin differently than the sun, colder. but the freckles on his cheeks stand out more. you can’t help—with the courage from your weightlessness of reality and consequences—to reach up and caress his cheek. his eyes enlarged as you turn your body to face him.
“your freckles are pretty.” you breathed out, perceiving how cold his skin is from your palm as you heat him up. seeing how at first he hesitates before leaning in fully into your warmth.
both of you sit at the table outside as you eat in silence, sharing the large plate of tteokbokki as you munch up your appetite. for all the moments you sat together, you both stayed silent, not commenting on what you did at the cashier. the warmth of the spicy rice cakes fills your stomach as the cold combats and helps with your dry oesophagus. your usual cat whisperer trait makes a couple of cats arrive and rub their head on your calves, pulling out the can from your bag as you marvel at yourself for at least giving out one for today—it didn’t feel right if you don’t.
for you, the high has died down significantly as you’re now in your usual quiet state, eating up your food as best as you can as you compare it with the tastes you’ve tried. you don’t know if buying it is the right call for eating spicy food but you were parched back then, and not sober.
“fuck, i can’t. tomorrow’s school again.” jay groans before he hisses, his lips swollen because of the spicy food. he looks up as only the broth of the tteokbokki is left on the plate. “i should bring you home…”
you shook your head and disagree with him as you left to pout. even if the high has died down, some leftovers of it are still left circulating as you mouthed, “i can go home by myself.”
“you probably still have the after-effect of being high and you’re going to be alone at fucking night, (y/n). please…” he grabs your hand that is still gripping the chopsticks, catching your attention as you stare right back at him. “let me take you home.”
indeed, he did as you stroll back home, the ice cream in your hands as jay holds the skateboard you used while his own is peeking out of his backpack. small talks were made between the two as you stroll in the night's dark sky. you wanted to tell him how you have been going home late at night, especially if you hang out with your girls-around a month ago you did just that as you all played in the arcade until midnight and more. but seeing his concern for you made your heart flutter, and by hanging out with him, you now understand how much of a stubborn person he is—dragging you in one way and another as he trained you to learn how to skate. as you walked by the neighbourhoods, you can still see people roaming around to enjoy the nightlife. not as late as when you’re in that arcade playing the hammer machine, competing to get as highest of scores as you can between the four of you.
“you’re not as cranky as i thought.”
jay turns his head towards you as you felt the ice cream melt in your mouth, nibbling on the little spoon as he raised his eyebrows.
“heeseung told me something about you and sunghoon.” you heard him scoff as you mention his friends’ names, looking forward at the expanding pavement in front of you both.
“oh he’s…” he lets out a sigh before continuing. “hoon is pursuing so many girls at once he makes me have to work double to manage, pack, and deliver the goods.” jay brushes his fallen hair to the back as you continue to step into the night together.
“he’s an interesting character to know. nice guy but he likes his dick wet a lot so… i kinda see how hee said i’m cranky.”
“yeah, notice your eyebags are a bit swollen. sunghoon’s a fucking wanker…” you exhale towards his friend as he laughs because of it.
“i expect it to happen—his room is beside mine after all. but i didn’t expect he could even fuck for more than thrice a week.”
“that is dodgy as heck. is that your spliff’s side effect?” you chuckle as he gives you a side eye before rolling his eyes, seeing it as an answer to your carefree question.
both of you walk and you enter a more secluded neighbourhood. houses covered by high and thick walls as you climb the stairs on the pavement from the sloping terrain. you gaze at jay, seeing his eyes wandering around the houses that differ greatly from the apartment complex. the steps slow down as you near a wooden gate, the white lights of the exterior illuminate the house in a colder manner rather than your neighbours with their yellow bulbs. you hummed as you titled your head, letting him know this is your stop.
“thank you for today. though i’ve been such a crap.” you lean against the wooden gate as he shakes his head.
“no, i’m proud of you, really,” he replied as you put your hand where your heart is. you turn to your phone and text one housekeeper you trust as you don’t want to ring the bell and tell your parents of your whereabouts tonight—if they’re home. the light shines on your face as you write the words in and send it, quickly glancing towards jay who hasn’t left yet. you see his mouth open as he speaks.
“i… do you wanna do this again? you could get used to the skateboard then we can hang out at some places. maybe i could introduce you to my friends, even ask your friends too to hang out with us. i mean, you seem to be pretty friendly with hee’s girl back in my fla-“
you lean in and press your lips on his cheek, stopping his continuous tangent as the number of words faded out. leaning back, the corner of jay’s lips rises as your eyes flutter. “i would like to.”
the sound of the gate opening catches you off-guard as you step back to the small door the housekeeper has unlocked. jay’s eyes still gaze at your retreating figure as you hold on to the gate.
“i’ll reach out. good night, jongseong.” your lips pouted as you step to the other side when you hear a faint “good night” from the boy outside. the housekeeper looks at you with a knowing gaze as you both retreat to the mansion, listening to the sound of wheels rolling down the asphalt road down the slope.
-
if one can take a glimpse at jay’s eyes, one could see them sparkle; resemble fireworks. jay stares at the last message bubbles that happened between him and you in class, trying to suppress his smile as best as he can to preserve his appearance, but he knows he can’t hold it together especially since his lips are trembling to not form a smile. hee’s girl is the one that notices it first, sitting down with the exhausted taehyun—his face laying at the desk—right beside her, but she said nothing so that sunghoon could realize something.
“woah, jjong. you’ve been staring at your phone for minutes now.” his best friend said, the boy himself not exactly caring about it as he continue to scroll down the chat before returning it to the Instagram profile you gave him of your own. one that is full of cats and aesthetically no face pics of you and your friends.
“who’s that, huh?” jay sensed his friend nudges his shoulder, making him roll his eyes.
“none of your freaking business.”
“of course, it is my business, jjong. you wearing heart eyes? looking at someone’s profile? scrolling back and forth between your chats? bro…” he can feel sunghoon’s presence closer to him. “tell me who this lucky person is.”
jay side-eyes his friend who is wearing a sheepish smile. he clicked his tongue as he turn his head towards his seatmate, “a girl i’ve been seeing-“
“oh fuck, i knew it,” he exclaimed as quietly as he can, not wanting the teacher to catch him cursing in class. sunghoon lightly slap his palm on jay’s forearm as said boy looks at his friend offendedly. “that’s why you’ve been out more, but without me.”
“yeah, right. you’ve been hooking up with girls left and right. how am i supposed to go out with you, dickhead?” jay stated the obvious before he recollected his mind on what sunghoon is saying. yes, his best friend is right. he has gone out more and it’s because of you.
most of the time you both hung out by han river. him lending you his skateboard as you better your skill in riding it—how he remembered pushing you on it with his hands on your waist. as you get better and better, with a fair share of injuries from falling as he and you tried a few kick tricks which results in you punching his biceps, he can now proudly say you’ve become an excellent skater. you told him you won’t do anything on the slopes and instead, you voice out that you try to cruise down the paths more, taking in the city's view, the flowing water, and the sky above together.
in the three times, other than the first one, that he skates with you, he has brought a few of his friends and met with your friends too. taehyun also likes to skate from time to time—what jay likes to say is “his skate buddy”—if he isn’t busy enough with editing videos, and jake asks to come with him to relax himself before his next matches after having a two-time winning streak. that day, your friends insert themselves into your hangout as they’ve been curious about who this guy their friend is meeting, resulting in the two groups meeting. jay still remembers how jake and lily talking to one another strengthen each other’s accents that make none of you can fully understand what they’re talking about.
other than skating, he also is with you to give out food for neighborhood cats, playing with them if you both have time. one cat stuck in his mind though, a tabby kitten that likes to ride on his skateboard as he plays with him like a baby of his own. he still couldn’t help but sneeze if he stayed too long with the felines, their fur itching his nose. but he tried his best to cover his nose and maybe stay away from them enough just to be with you. now and then, you like to associate him with a cat.
“sometimes grumpy. sometimes menacing. but cute.“
“did you just say i’m cute?” jay replied as he can see the look of realization on your face. he calls your name before he shakes your torso lightly for your answer, only replying with giggles.
yeah, he couldn’t help about his selective hearing when he heard you indirectly compliment him. you have an intimidating demeanor from your first impression, as if you’re coming from addams family but not as macabre. mysterious and obscurity oozes from you, but he is glad you let him in that fog of yours.
“so which school is your lucky girl from?” sunghoon asked, his head still too close for comfort as he infiltrates to scroll up and down your instagram profile. he will thank you for making yourself as obscure as ever on the internet. but he knows his boy won’t give up without an answer or a fight. a “cocky wanker” as what you like to name him. not going to lie, it makes him giggle every single time he overheard it.
“levant.”
“what the- jjong!” sunghoon whispered loudly into his ear. jay’s instinct instantly reacts to his seatmate, leaning away and covering his ear. his seatmate grabs and pulls him in though, head looking everywhere to check if the teacher notices anything. “this is fucking scandalous. no other student here has pursued a levant kid since beomgyu hook up with-“
“i know. this is gonna be a romeo and juliet type of beat. but, hoon…” jay’s shoulder hunches down as he looks at his best friend, not believing what he’ll say to him. “i genuinely like her…”
“bruh, even i’m not brave enough to hook up with a levant girl, man.”
“of course, you only wanna hook up with the popular ones. and please, it’s not like i haven’t seen someone on decelis not having friends with someone in levant. if you helped me deliver to that school more, you could find people in our uniforms too,” jay argues back as sunghoon stops with a stunned look on his face. his phone vibrates just in time as he sees the notification on it.
(y/n): could we meet up today after school? it’s friday after all
“(y/n), huh? seems familiar…” sunghoon whispered beside him as jay picked up the phone and open it. the blinking line in the text box is waiting for his answer. he had a few more stuff to deliver as he had told sunghoon before about his order notes—jay is the bookkeeper for all this—but he deep down knows he’ll be the one to send them as sunghoon probably has a plan to do something with someone today. that’s when a hand perched on his shoulder as he peeks to spot sunghoon in his resting face, thinking to find the right words.
“i’ll do the delivery today. it’s gonna be bad for business if you’re the only one doing so.” sunghoon lets out a small smirk as jay’s eyes squint at him. “bro. my dick will fucking break if i hook up all the time. i’m not a fucking addict.”
“sure…” jay replied whilst chuckling as he stares at the screen before he replies.
coming out of the school, he went his way to the meeting place that he picked with sunoo—the boy’s best friend has something to do after school, so she left him alone. sunoo and jay walk quietly together as they’re both heading the same way.
“it’s weird to not see you with your friend,” jay commented as sunoo nods his head, knowing the sentiment. though sunoo looks soft compared to him, he is very compassionate, especially in his acting role. jay always assume that he would rather see sunoo star in the film club productions than beomgyu all the time. but, he doesn’t want to be biased about it as both of them are his friends. yet, as of recently, beomgyu has been straying more and more now. but he hasn’t thought about it much because he is getting more concerned about how much his order has been increasing since the day of the match. heeseung said that the choi household has family problems, and that’s why beomgyu’s sister has been hanging out at their flat more.
“yeah. she has an appointment with the doctor. something about her allergies making her skin itch, so she wants to get prescribed a lotion to help combat it.” jay hums from the answer as he looks at the boy’s thick paper in his hands.
“new script?”
“revision actually. the scriptwriter made some changes on how the two mains are going to do in their resolution scene.” sunoo replied, “we’re doing a coming-of-age movie a la perks of being a wallflower.“
“nice, can’t wait to watch it,” jay replied as sunoo lets out a tight-lip smile at him, his fingers twitching behind the script he is holding. when they arrive at an intersection with a corner store, sunoo stops as he said his farewells, wanting to grab something to snack on as he’ll memorize his lines. jay couldn’t hold on to his skateboard much longer and when he sees his friend entering the store, he immediately drops it down—gently, of course—before rolling away on the sidewalk. people avoiding him and he tried his best to avoid stationary people too.
after a few blocks, he used his foot to graze the concrete sidewalk as he sees the cafe he went to with sunoo, kai, and taehyun for doing homework together. their usual cafe, cafe 95. as he steps in, he could see a few people in the seats and the barista, a schoolmate of his in the same year, behind the bar with her boss, taehyung beside her. jay didn’t find your face in the crowd and also none of his friends was in any seat.
“jay park.” someone calls him from behind the counter. he sees taehyung man the cashier where the girl is off doing someone’s order.
“hey! iced americano as usual. take away for today.” jay replied as he pulled the right amount of cash out of his wallet before he then caught a bell ringing behind him. he usually isn’t one to turn around, but he is waiting for somebody to show up. and his worry fades away as he sees the dark blue blazer of a certain school before looking up at your face. taehyung has stepped away to do his order as he sees you approaching him by the cashier. you give him a small wave as you look at the cafe, enjoying the vibe that it gives out.
jay sees you standing right beside him, how your blazers touch each other’s, as his schoolmate comes and waits for your order. jay was looking away from his phone as he waits for you when he caught the quiet voices of the barista. combining it with your silent guise, he thinks you were still ordering. jay felt a tug on his sleeve as he looks to see your hand pulling him to the counter where you take your order.
“you ordered?” his eyebrows rise as he sees you giving him a thumbs up. he didn’t even hear what you were ordering, but you were staring at his schoolmate who is doing your order.
“how did you two communicate?” jay looks between you and the barista, bewildered. he genuinely thinks you were confused about what to order—maybe wanting him to help you order because it is his usual place.
“we just… did…” you replied in a small voice, seeing you smiling at his schoolmate who is mixing your drink, staring back at you. taehyung puts his order on the counter as he waits for your order to finish, staring at the vacant poster for a part-time barista position for the afternoon and evening. you were holding onto a plastic bag full of cat food once again as he reaches out to help you carry it.
you turn towards him shaking your head, “you have your skateboard. i don’t want to burden you.”
jay retreats to his standing position as your order arrives, seeing his schoolmate giving a warm smile and a “thank you” which you replied with your own before both of you walk out to go to your usual hang-out place: the seats near the skate park. as you both walk down the street, jay sees the variety of uniforms that he knows of the high schools in around this general area of seoul. the biggest four are decelis, levant, yanggun, and kosmo with each of their signature colors. they mingle with one another as if all the so-called rivalries are just that, a rivalry. all schools are ambitious in their own way, but in his eyes, it’s more of a friendly rivalry than the ones that could cost life or death. if sunghoon is with him right now, he could show him this street full of yanggun students mingling with decelis and more to him.
while he was thinking about ways to show his best friend is wrong, he didn’t see your solemn face.
the walk felt more quiet than usual as he settles all his belongings down by the seats, putting his coffee on the table as you sit across from him, sipping the beverage you order. your lips formed a straight line as you stare at the table before looking at the person on the other side of it. jay observed it all, how you cast your eyesight downwards, your newly painted black nail already looking as if you’ve chipped it off, and how your blazer is hanging on your shoulder; one pull and it falls down your arm.
“i…” you sigh before looking up at him. “i should explain to you that if you want me for my money and prestige, then i can’t give any to you.”
what?
“what-“
“no, hush.” you shush him directly as you let out a huge exhale. “since my parents are busy with whatever they have, my sister and i have got the home by ourselves. sure, it seems like a good thing, right? well, almost every single crappy day, somi invited her friends over, cheer friends, another popular crowd, and boys she’s hooking up with. new person each and every day.” you let out a chuckle.
“me?” you pointed to yourself. “nothing, my parents give me no permission to invite someone over. none of my three friends, heck my sister’s having a freaking party at our house cause they allowed her to.” you rubbed your hands on your face. jay can’t help but remember you sitting at that bench, body hunching as your shoulders shook, muffled sniffles coming from your end. he sees you shaking your head as you let your covered mouth speak.
“all because they see us from the intercom. me coming home at night. that night when you brought me home for the first time.”
jay noticed the intercom at the wall beside the wooden gate of your house, but both of you failed to notice that the camera is on. he recalls how you kiss his cheek and the rest two times he brought you home at night, all of those three times he brought you home. none of them includes pressing any bell button on the intercom.
“you’re the only one that i know who gets my problem. no matter if i’m old money and you’re new, i trust you for this because my parents hate decelis high as they’re levant alumni so they don’t have any connection to you in any way i can think of.”
and with that, your venting session begins. it surprised him to see how such a quiet persona can let out fiery and spicy comments. how burned up you felt from what you called “being the spare”, how you’re not allowed to be involved in your family business. how because of the clear succession plan for the company that is somi and her future contribution, they don’t consider you as any necessary part of the clockwork. how they send you to brighton to then bring you back for no clear reason. how you rather stayed in the UK instead of here. no matter how little the stake your problem is against the world—the stake that is so minuscule yet can be wildly catastrophic if not handled right because of your ties with your family name and brand—he resonates with it a lot. sure, he is continuing what his dad has made, but the way they shaped him up to be like him is a lot like how your family runs things. yet, a small comment from you stuck in his mind.
“if they’re treating me like this, why would they have me in the first place?”
the anxiousness that he can sense beneath that mysterious exterior finally shows itself to him. he understands now why no one other than levant high students knew of your well-being, especially with a popular sister and a conglomerate family. jay now knows why you rather speak with voiceless words and body language. they taught you to be subdued and when you mention your uncle back brighton, jay guessed that he was taught the same thing too. how your opinion doesn’t worth it.
but it all comes back to tradition. family, school, and society.
as he sits there and listens, he sees you broke down right before him. back in your second encounter, his want to comfort comes from a place of intrigue. but now, his comfort comes from affection. how when you shed your first tears, he jumped up from his chair and put himself right beside you, hugging you from the side. jay didn’t care if his blazer got all dirty from your tears and he have to laundry it again, he does it because he cares for you.
because he likes you.
“about your first words to me…” you lean back as he looks down at your bloodshot eyes.
“i don’t want you because of your conglomerate family, your name, any of that. i have those myself. too” his words caused you to roll your eyes. ‘anything is better rather than you shedding more tears.‘
“remember what i said back in that alley with that mom cat and her kittens…” jay reaches and brush your tears with the end of his blazer as you calm your breathing. “how intrigued i am with your quiet demeanor, your priority to give cat’s food, your rose scent that sticks in my mind.”
he crouches down so that your eye line can see right in his, and both of your upper arms are held by him. “i like you because you’re you. i like it if you rather be you than what other people perceive you as. i like the banter we have and any words i like from you that are inserted into my personal dictionary.”
“you like me?” he sees you mouth to him as he lets out an exasperated sigh, seeing you giggle as you sniff back any leftovers from crying. jay bit his lips before he replied with a nod, letting you point to yourself to then towards his chest.
“me to you back,” you whisper as you let out a small snicker before turning your body to face him.
he couldn’t believe how relaxed you look after he confesses and you reciprocate it back. but knowing you, he can sense your palpitations like his own when you return to your drink. your head lifted from your drink as you felt your blazer move from its position, turning your head to see jay pulling it off and folding it to put it inside your backpack as he does it to himself leaving both of your upper body with the long-sleeved white shirt as it outermost layer.
“no attribute that easily identifies your school when we were together.” he reminds you of the rule you both set up. outside of school grounds, outside of uniform, you and i.
you wiped your tears away as you nodded your hand, picked up your backpack, and slung it behind you as you outstretch your hand. jay smirks as he tidies his stuff before putting his hand on yours, pulling you away from the seats in the afternoon sun.
both of you did almost anything you could and always do when you both were together, exchanging his skateboard for both of you to ride, travelling to the nooks and crannies of the city where the dwellers aka cats live, even meeting up with the tabby kitten that left an impression on jay. you both wander to the arcade that he saw you in with your friends, coming across a decelis high student that jay greets as another one of his schoolmates that he knows is going to be a part of the student council replacing heeseung and his cabinet friends. trying to beat one another on a punching game before you both got frustrated on the claw machine—you pull out the last coin you got before giving a kiss and plunging it in for his attempt and when he caught one, he promptly hugs you and exclaimed loudly that you have to cover his mouth. even as the night is getting dark you both continue, flinging from store to store window shopping—jay realizing how you don’t really notice how he uses the high-end brands for his style, to even trying out more street food you haven’t tried before.
as the clock goes near 11 pm most of the stores near where you are closing and he dares you to cruise down the empty street, to which you agree. only the streetlights illuminate the two of you as you tried your best to obscure from crowded places; rather than spending time with the two of you alone. jay sense his energy slowly depleting as he lies down on the one-lane road you both have stayed in, noting the cold night being absorbed into the asphalt before sending cold yet refreshing shocks to his sweaty body, feeling the fabric sticking to his skin. he heard ruffles from beside him as you kneel and then follow him laying down by the street.
“no worries. this street is always empty at night causes the only access to this road is leading is small office buildings.” he reassured you, turning his head to face you laying beside him. “i’ve raced here with taehyun, kai, beomgyu, and sunghoon for a bet on paying the entire gang for eating in a new fried chicken restaurant. sunghoon lost the bet so…”
“yeah?” you turned your head to face him before you lay on your side. the combination of the streetlight and the moon shines on you as if you are sleeping in a forest, well, a concrete-made forest of nighttime seoul. the light shines on your cheek and glistens into the eye facing upwards. even in the dark, he can see the warmth from your gaze. the bloodshot eyes are gone for now as it heals.
he sees you scoot closer before your hand reaches for him, his face, cupping it lightly and softly before you lean down, letting your lips meet his. jay regretted not bringing his lip balm cause he can feel how chapped his lips are comparing to yours. that is before he felt your tongue caressing his bottom lip even with his eyes closed. he pulls you close as he used his strength to sit both of you up, letting him cup your jaw as he tilts his head. you were the one that lean back first, sensing your nose tip against his own.
“can i smoke spliff in your apartment and stay the night? don’t want to go to a bloody party,” you whispered, eyes staying on his. a sparkle reflecting on it from the streetlights.
“of course, you can.” he erects from the floor before he picks you up bringing you to his flat. the walk was quiet in the surrounding environment but warm for the two of you. hands interlocking with each other, jay carries his skateboard in his other hand. sometimes lifting your connected hands to give the back of your palm as the wind blows the two of you, realizing how long the day has been where events happened so much that gives trial and tribulations for both of you mentally and emotionally.
opening the door with the code, he is met with the shine from the various lamps that are turned on to stay alight for the night. by the looks of the shoes, heeseung has his girlfriend here and sunghoon is at home; weird. jay is embarrassed to bring you into his man cave, but you were looking at it in awe. posters of musicians right beside his wardrobe, a perfect set-up for his area with two monitors. stickers on his desk and his bedframe and a picture of a forest illustration that has the words washington, US, on it.
“let me grab you something you could wear so you can wash up.” you nod your head as he gives you the clothes he found in his wardrobe, pointing towards the door of the bathroom. when the door of the bathroom closes, he returns to the room as he tidies up your stuff, and pulls out your blazer before putting it on a hanger.
“yo, jay!”
said the boy fucking jumps as he sees his best friend peek into his room. “for fuck's sake, hoon, what the fuck?”
“geez… just wanting to ask you who’s in the bathroom cause hee’s probably in his mama bear arc and not wanting anyone to wake his girlfriend up again.” sunghoon steps inside the room wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, readying to tackle the nightlife. jay thought his nightlight is enough to not let him notice his surrounding in a scrutinizing way. that is before he stood by the blazer hanging by the wardrobe.
“(l/n) (y/n)? wait, jjong?!” sunghoon turns towards him with a smirk on his face.
“doing it in fucking uniform, huh? my boy has grown up-“
“we didn’t do what you picturing and i’m fucking older than you. what do you mean?” jay retaliates as he sees the mischievous gaze in his friend’s eyes.
“by 8 months, by the way. so because she’s in the bathroom, i should probably see the mysterious girl you’re hiding from me in 3… 2...”
“um…” both of the boys turn to see you, towel around your shoulder as you wear jay’s clothes. the boy sees his friend’s lips lifting as he glances at you. jay can’t help to roll his eyes at how sunghoon is approaching you, curiosity in his eyes.
“(y/n), right? the name is sunghoon.” he sees sunghoon greets you with shaking hands and a wink. while you squint your eyes as he analyzes your face.
“hey, hey. no. not my girl.” jay approaches and grabs you, putting himself in front of you. sunghoon’s eyes squint as he stares at both of you, no look of recognition in his eyes on who you are now.
“wow, your girl, huh? okay.” sunghoon playfully retreats. “all of today’s orders are done but i want you to be my wingman and scavenge partner so i could get laid.”
“i know a party.” you mumbled from behind jay’s shoulder. “there’s a party right in the rich neighborhood area. if you know (l/n) somi before, there is a party at her house right now.” jay turns his head to glance at you, eyebrows lifted. “got the news from another levant student.” you tried to twist as best as you can.
“hmm, smart girl. great inspection. and sure thing i’ll do that.” sunghoon walks past the both of you as jay steps to the door.
“don’t forget a condom, jjong.”
“shut the fuck up,” jay replied as he heard the front door close, turning back towards you as he shook his head before pointing at his sleepwear in his bathroom. you give him a nod as you settle down on his chair, waiting for the boy to return.
after it, his room window opens, jay brought an ashtray out to put in between the two of you. usually, he already has the joints rolled and ready to go, but for today, he lets you try the fresh ones he has picked. you sat with your knees in front of you, staring at how he is rolling the paper with the grass inside before licking the end with saliva, seeing bulge from how many of them inside.
“one each is enough because we always shared ours,” he said as he give one to you and lit up a lighter, letting both of your blunts burn at the ashy scent lets you burn.
smoke flies in the room before being blown out outside the window as you both smoke each joint at your own pace. jay noticed your head on his shoulder as both of you share a joke. how your giggles make his heart flutter more, which makes him gaze at you with hooded eyes. chill, ambient music playing from the speaker of his computer as you picked yourself up from beside him, scooting yourself closer as you take another hit of your shortening joint. sit cross-legged in front of each other, jay watches how the weight has lifted off of you, your pupils blown out as you stare at his, knees touching as he moves closer while tapping the joint to the ashtray, letting the ash fall.
“it’s nice,” you mumbled, eyes gazing down on the messy sheet from where you both sat and lay down. jay hums before you continue.
“quiet. letting go of reality. brushing away any problems.” you talk slowly, the smoke leaving your mouth after you take another puff. “i never felt the way i felt with you before.”
jay straightens up as he sees you reach for your eyebags with your forefinger, brushing away a tear that you left out. he caught your glistening eyes before he brought you into his embrace, letting your face rest on his chest as he took another hit of the burning stick. your body trembles beneath his touch as he can only soothes you with his hand caressing down your back. all of him is warm, from the drug circulating in his body to the way your hand rests on his shoulder blades. jay kisses your head as the grass stench now makes the usual rose you wear faded away.
from where he sat, he can see the backpack you brought to school, watching the small cat plushie keychain that you told him from kiki’s delivery service as it rests against the patterned backpack. he recognizes how much you love cats and he understands why you rather use your pocket money to give to them. how you told him a story about an incident on the road that happened before you move away with your parents, a dead kitten at the side of the road because of them, and how they blatantly ignore it even if your chauffeur wanted to help at least burying the kitten.
“that’s why you care for cats.”
you nodded as you gaze at the skaters, “i see myself in that kitten. at that young age, i knew they didn’t love me as much as my older sister. how they want to hide me at somi’s birthday party when mine isn’t as lavish as hers, then when they send me away, i was too young to not push myself to ask why. as if i was being sent on a pilgrimage on their behalf.”
“i strive to care for stray cats because i could care for them, unlike how my parents are ignorant to me… well…” you lean forwards towards him.
“i’m like that stray cat. you are too, my friends and yours could be counted also. we’re dirty because of the environment we are in and we try our best to survive, jongseong.” jay looks at your flattened face as his brain runs with your metaphor, and how right it can be. “now you know why stray cats like to huddle with each other, right? cause they need a pack to help them survive.”
jay was looking at you in a daze when he didn’t realize you lift your head to face him. your fingers reach for his sharp face as his eyes move to meet you. your other hand putting the joint in the ashtray as he felt his own remove from between his fingers. even with your hooded eyes and dried streaks of tears, you still look as beautiful as ever.
he embraces your cheeks with both of his hands, meeting his lips with yours. the moisture coming from your kiss is getting more prominent as both of you made a mess, letting your tongue battle with each other as you both help each other with your appetite. it is past midnight, and he doesn’t want to bother heeseung in the room even if he’s two doors down, especially with his recovering insomniac girlfriend making him more sensitive to not waking her up.
his hands travel down your back, both heads tilted opposite ways to capture each other deeper, as he pushes you onto his lap before he lies on his back—you on top of him. your fingers are gripping his white t-shirt as he can sense your skin from your own rising on your back. you sighed as his palm met your skin, letting your head lift as he catches a string of saliva between the two of you.
“i never felt the way i felt with you, too,” jay replied with your own words as your high self let out snickers before embracing him back, enjoying how his hand trails up your side as you brought yours to his nape, letting you know how much he is down for you as the flame that burns your joints died down in that ashtray, only leaving the gray matter as your hand reaches for his shirt, lifting it up.
-
you brush your hair away from the mess it gets from being tangled. the morning breeze brushes your legs from yesterday’s uniform skirt you are still wearing. the sun is hiding behind the white clouds as you stepped out into the city early enough to only see people working out—jogging and cycling—on the streets. the blazer that hangs on your torso is thick enough to embrace you in the cloudy weather. you don’t know what you expect when you return home, a messy one or one that is as clean as new?
when you brought yourself out of jay’s embrace and duvet, you find yourself in his shorts and your bra—turning around to find him also shirtless. none of the roommates has woken up as you trek to their shared bathroom, smelling the smell associated with boys from the body sprays and deodorants they have strewn around. your eyes glance at the dark marks on your collarbones and on the skin exposed above your bra, making out until you both got too tired and let sleep consumes you. you recall how you move the ashtray to his bedside table as you bring yourself off of his lap, feeling his skin on yours. you quickly brush your face with cold water, waking yourself up as best as you sense the dryness of your oesophagus.
stepping back into his room, he is still fast asleep facing the open window of the apartment, the chirping birds’ voice coming inside as the computer that played music is in rest mode. you quickly change yourself back into your uniform-even with the blazer that you found hanging by the wardrobe as you heard vibration on a desk. walking up to it, text notifications showed up on what appeared to be jay’s phone.
hoon missed call (5)
hoon: we got an nooise complanann so the partys fauskcing cnaecl.
hoon: shit fuckk ur not answeringn.
hoon: iim crashiinng at sunooo
mom: hey honey, just wanted to remind you that we’ll arrive in korea today. see you in 12 hours. love you, jongseong.
you stepped away from the phone as you catch a groan coming from the boy, stretching out his hands from under his duvet. you reached his side of the bed, giving a peck at his exposed cheek.
“i’ll reach out to you soon,” you whispered in his ear before you grab your stuff and return to your home of a mansion.
even with the text sunghoon wrote—which you can deduct by reading carefully—you expected little that your house tidied up. that is when you’re met with the house as clean as ever. the housekeeper brushing away the wall with soap water as if the leftover of the party is still staining there. when they see you, you notice how spooked they are as you approach, entering the gate when you find out the car park has one more vehicle in place than when you left it.
you gulped as you see the housekeepers around you looking at you, the security guards, and gardeners, all of them pausing in various amounts of time to stare at you, the same look of spooked with a hint of tiredness in their eyes. sighs coming out from you—trying to think as clearly as possible—before you brace yourself and step towards the front door. you knew even if you stepped inside; you’ll be meeting them, especially since your dad needs his caffeine intake as early as this hour. stepping out of the shoes, you held onto your backpack straps as you let your slippery socks let you slide into the room, already feeling the harsh reality coming back when you not only found dad drinking his cup of coffee but also your mom and your sister beside her.
all of their eyes are on you as both of your parents view you with disappointment and disgrace, while somi has an expression of guilt hidden beneath her tired eyes. you hold yourself up with sparks forming in your gaze, teeth-gritting each other as you can guess the conversation you’ll be having based on the historical actions you’ve done to this family and what this family have done to you.
“(y/n). come sit here.” your mom said as you took a step, one by one, to reach the chair she pointed; sitting opposite the two women while dad is at the head of the table. somi’s eyes drift at your figure, her blonde hair looks as dishevelled as ever, but no trace of the party she did last night evidently on her. like the true good kid she is.
“four times. four times and maybe more that we didn’t catch, (y/n).” your mom starts as you gaze down at the dining table. the ice-cold—even your sister also shows one—gazes are stinging you more than the flame inside you, biting in small yet sharp nips as you let them continue. you’ve always stayed silent to them and they feared you for that, but with how your mom continues to scold you, you realize that they’re turning your quiet demeanour into an acceptance—how your silence changes its status to no permission to judge—letting her continue to tell you anything wrong with you, how disrespectful you’ve gotten, and much, much more.
but it brought the anxiety that sits within you up as a shield. your vision and mind haze in an uncertain fog as you try your best to block it; freezing yourself up. everything is running through your mind so fast that you don’t have enough time to analyze anything, but you know that your anxiousness to speak out is why she continues, even with your dad giving in to spoke little comments or adding to your mom’s argument. your eyes gaze on your sister’s as you see her eyebrows furrowed, nostrils flaring as you only see her concern right now. where has she been, huh? you wanted to exclaim.
the way your parents are continuing to berate you makes you stare at your sister and see her with her friends doing the same way with your schoolmate and juniors. your heart beats rapidly when you found out that you’re a pawn in their game.
“you wanted to know why. right? you’re going to be somi’s right-hand woman as chief operating officer. you’ll have a board seat along with her and us as you then going to take care of the new start-ups we required.” start-ups that even you identify aren’t profitable with the little economic lesson you got in the classroom and on the internet. even with the way they mention them, somi looks at them with her unreadable expression to others but you learned, even with that small glimpse, she’s jealous you still got to do something even on a known sinking armada of companies. you don’t know what your parents have gotten you into as all the power-hungry sides come out from behind the masks. now you can recognize the ice-cold gaze somi has before returning to concern: they were teaching her you’re her competition, not her sister.
they’re manipulating her as much as they manipulate you. as much as your grandpa manipulates your uncle. survival of the fittest.
but you don’t want to be subdued like your uncle is. even if he is not involved, he is still smart enough to tell you the horrible telltales from it. you had no choice but to voice out because you’re getting dizzy for not letting the fire out.
“ENOUGH!”
your parents and sister all looked at you aghast. the housekeepers inside the room are also shocked as they look your way. your chair is pushed back from how quick and powerful your stance is, standing up with your hands on the table.
“you are vile. all of you are vile, power-hungry, monsters. i see now that you’re making me your pawn and puppet, just how somi is being taught now.” somi looks at you, eyes widen as she heard you speak now after only replying in short answers all the time. her hands are now rubbing against each other as you held on.
“if you think that i’m the naughty one within this bunch, haven’t you thought about your favourite kid, huh? her constant partying, inviting “friends” over which she hooks up. even last night, she had this fucking party you don’t know that even the police got involved." you let out a villainous smile. you now learned you are that in their eyes. “but you didn’t care. you didn’t care shit about the troubles your successor has done, cause you rather heckle me.”
“(l/n) (y/n)!” your dad spokes scarily, trying to deter you, which he now knows is failing as you stare at him as menacingly as possible. like a tiger chasing after its prey while also fighting another species that is trying to get to it first.
“you don’t fucking care about me. you’re trying to set somi against me and ruin this fucking family, just like how grandpa is ruining it for you and your brother. but now i see it, dad. i realize how you treat me like a spare.” you let out words you’ve been internalizing for a while, your throat slowly getting hoarse as you realized you haven’t eaten or drunk anything since you left jay’s apartment.
“okay, that’s it.” your mom now stand up as somi is looking at the giants in front of her, fury rushes between each of her family when she looks at you and sees how your body is shuddering, eyes looking straight at your mom, and how dry your lips are.
“you have two choices, (y/n).” your mom stares at your dad as if they have been planning for this for a long time. a smirk between the two of them that disgust you so much before she looks back at you. “one. you’ll stay here. we shaped you into an amazing entrepreneur who will follow in your dad’s and grandpa’s footsteps as president along with your sister as ceo. you still live in this house, gaining every inch of luxury and privilege you can get.”
“or two. you’ll leave and start from zero. we will pay the tuition for you until this semester and then the only asset you get from us is from your trust fund, which is enough for you to live by, but we could remove you anytime. find where you live by yourself and no luxuries from this household, including bringing a housekeeper. no joining company parties. no connection to the family whatsoever under business pretences.” your mom speaks as confidently as possible, believing you stay with them because of how quiet equals “carelessness” from every consequence around you. a smile is forming internally as you know the best option you picked. you let out a calming sigh to yourself.
“i’ll leave.” your mom’s smile fades as she returns to look at your dad. “you never even cared for me, anyway. but if you think that you’re going to rid me of the trust fund, just so you know i still have people at my side.” your eyes landed on your sister who has been quiet the whole time. “even your successor.”
you give a tiny nod before getting rid of yourself from the table as you return to your room. pulling out the suitcases and bags you get, you open your wardrobe one by one, not minding to let your room door close before you see one of the housekeepers enters and goes to the stuff you’ve put on top of your mattress, looking at the door to find a few more standing by your door.
“let us help, miss.” you give her a nod as a few others step in and help you clean up, only pulling the things that you needed clothes, undergarments, toiletries, your stationeries, and a few of your memorable items such as your favourite toys—especially the kitten cuddly toy you got with your friends from the claw machine. your room is being ransacked and packed into bags as you finish a phone call when you turn to see somi leaning against your doorframe. you give the housekeepers a nod as you let them do their job while bringing yourself to face your sister. you recognize how grimy your body is, but you couldn’t care less because you rather leave as soon as possible.
your gaze at your sister makes her openly cower before she said, “i’m sorry. i’m sorry for making you feel this way. i’m sorry for being mom and dad’s favourite child. i’m sorry for not defending you, i’m-“
“hey.” you stopped her as your hand embraces one of hers. her blonde hair looks puffy as if she had it tied from last night’s party. “i forgive you. but i will not forgive our parents for what they’ve done to me any time soon. how labile they are for their choices about me and everything surrounding us. how they don’t feel any wrong about pitting their daughters against each other. but i know…” your eyebrows furrowed as you stare at her.
“i know that you’re feeling as anxious as i especially when facing them. and it’s normal. i guess this could be a wake-up call for them as much as it is a wake-up call for you.” you pat her hands as you give a small smile.
“you know what? fuck them, right? we don’t want to be born like so let us just start all o-“
“you’re being impulsive, somi.” you stopped your sister as your eyes gaze at her, shaking your head. “i rather you stay. they love you enough and you’ve been shaped to be one of the most powerful women in the media in the future. don’t waste all of that for me.” somi’s eyes have water in them as you tried your best to hold it in because as much as you want to break down in front of her, you still don’t trust her.
“you’re going to be my woman from the inside, okay? take care of our parents for me.” you rub your sister’s upper arm before she brings you into a hug, a crushing hug that brought you back to when both of you were kids. both of you were too innocent for the machiavellian family and world you were born in. somi’s sobs muffled by your shoulder as you can’t help but let out a tear before you wipe it away. leaning back, you see your sister let out a small smile.
“i’m gonna miss you.”
“i’m still in the same school as you, aren't i? we can meet at school,” you replied, making her let out a chuckle.
she nods her head as you turn to see a housekeeper telling you they’re done with their work. you tell them to bring it to the carpark and give them a small “thank you.” you bring the bags filled with your important assets—notebook, laptop, chargers, et cetera—to the car that is set up for you; knowing that your parents will still lend you one even if they disown you. putting in the back seat as you want to sit at the front, you turn to face the front door to see somi by the steps and your parents at the door, obscure by darkness.
“farewell.” you mouthed to yourself as you sit in the front seat of the car your family owns one last time.
the ride was quiet but exciting for you. a new beginning, even if it was unconventional. the gps is showing where your destination is as the chauffeur continues. the weekend is getting more hustle and bustle as people went out to their own thing and how you’re going to be those people intrigues you. when you arrived by the high-rises of the apartment complex, you give out a text as your car stops. you help the chauffeur pull out your bags from the back seat and boot before you give him a tip. “for a drink, for cig, i don’t know it depends on you.”
“thank you, miss.” the chauffeur steps into the car as the vehicle leaves you by the lobby of the building. you look down at your phone as you tried to text again when you heard his voice.
“no fucking way.” you see jay emerging from the door in his outfit from last night as you give him a tight-lip smile. his eyes wander the bags around you as he asked, “what happened?”
“long story short, i left my house and have no one to stay with so i phone the only person i trust with this.” you stepped towards him, hands behind you as you sway like a schoolgirl. “can i stay with you for a bit? i can move out if i find a unit for myse-“
“you can stay.” he moves closer with a smirk on his face, “if you’ll be with me?”
“i- i, okay. sure.” you let out a giggle. “weirdest way to have a boyfriend but i guess here we are.”
“yeah.” he chuckles and pulls his own phone out. “i gotta call hee first. they could help bring these up.” he widens his arms as you step to hug him in your arms while he wraps you tight, letting him call the others with you in his embrace. the boys and heeseung’s girlfriend all step down as they brought your stuff up when you find the apartment in a chaotic state.
“sorry (y/n), jay’s parents are gonna come over for dinner tonight and we’ve been trying our best to get rid of the plants.” heeseung said.
“i know. i saw the notification before leaving.” that’s when an idea came to your mind.
all five of you help clean the place up along with settling your stuff in jay’s room. the boys tried their best to get rid of the smoke and grass scents as jay makes the meal for the rest of them and his parents. you also did a detour with heeseung’s girlfriend to help camouflage the weed plants—all of them are now on the balcony. as heeseung’s girlfriend left to go home, you are the only that left to help with the little details as the boys are preparing themselves. when you help place dinner—just like how you remember the housekeeper places them—the boys all flock wearing the most academic and semi-formal outfits they have. that’s when all of you heard the bell as jay strays away and goes to greet his parents at the door. you stare at sunghoon and heeseung beside you as you remembered what they mentioned of them.
“they’re protective over jay but they do care for him. sometimes a bit too much like joining in his unnecessary business and all of that shit.”
jay emerges from the front door and you see his parents coming in wearing pretty casual clothes since jay said they check into their hotel after arriving. heeseung and sunghoon greets jay’s parents before they stopped to look at you as jay steps behind to bring you over.
“mom, dad. this is (y/n). my girlfriend.” his parents’ eyes widen as his mom lets out a sheepish smile, similar to his smile.
“nice to meet you, (y/n). he hasn’t told us about you.” his mom greets you positively as you tried your best to reply.
“likewise, mrs. park. we became official nearly a week ago. i didn’t expect to meet his parents so early too.” you tried to laugh it off while weaving the truth. of course, you don’t want them to learn that jay brought you to meet his parents the same day both of you are official.
“of course. i didn’t expect jay to have a high school sweetheart like his parents have until now.” mr. park chimes in as you glimpse the boys snickering while nudging jay’s side. you let both of them stand in and look around the room—you’ve hidden your stuff in boxes and his spare cabinet so that they don’t know you are living there.
their eyes scanned the used-to-be empty space in the living room where heeseung has set up a table for the dinner and then to the balcony beside it.
“is that rose that i see?” mrs. park steps towards. your eyes gaze at the boys as her son picks up the conversation.
“yes. heeseung’s girlfriend likes plants, so we let her take care of plants here too. (y/n) added the roses and chrysanthemums so it doesn’t look dull. so now, we have something to do at home. we wanted pets but we don’t know if we’re free enough to take care of one.” jay spoke the story all of you created to lie to his parents as your eyes land on him. you give him a wink, to which he replied with the same thing as he brought the parents to the table where the dinner is served.
-
jay rode his skateboard down the sidewalk and along the bicycle path of the streets of seoul, pushing his foot against the road so that it moves faster and faster. he almost forgot that his friends wants to meet up at cafe 95 to get an early dinner together before he read the now 11-person group chats. the afternoon sun shines on him as the wind is blowing on the ends of his blazer and his untucked white shirt. he has gone to several places to deliver the goods after school, seeing his fingers stain from the marker. his empty stomach is raging at him to fill up as he navigates through the sea of people.
the cafe’s exterior lights show in his vision as he approached it closer and closer. when he is close, jay slows down with his foot before kicking his skateboard to put it upright, seeing another skateboard similar to his already leaning against the bicycle racks at the front. the one he recognizes is the same model as his own but has a large rose pattern at the bottom between the wheels.
jay pushes the door as the bell rings when he looked at the gang’s usual corner to see some of them already at the table. even sunghoon who is also delivering already arrived before him. he pokes his cheek before stepping towards the counter whilst pulling out his wallet from his uniform pants.
“the usual iced americano?” he lifts his head to see you behind the cashier, wearing your barista outfit as his schoolmate is on the espresso machine, letting him smell the delicious aroma of caffeine.
when you mentioned to him how you wanted to at least try working for your own money, he remembers an open spot for a barista in cafe 95 and mentioned it to you. safe to say you got the job after jimin, the other co-founder of cafe 95 along with taehyung, tests you on their different coffees, and each ingredient needed—something he listens to as you sat on your shared bed, memorizing it like a school test. you have mixed all the cluttered items in his room with your own as it doesn’t look like a man cave anymore. decelis relics being mixed with levants, textbooks that are similar but made by different publishers, and the cat plushie sits by your bedside table. though with not much of a difference on color scheme, you have integrated yourself into his room and his life; making his dull one much more thrilling.
“yes. by the way, how’s the order?” jay whispered to you.
you lean in as best as you can so he could hear. “jooyeon, mako, and ryujin. all done. all deliver. how are you going to pay for the coffee, good sir?” you lean back after answering what he questioned.
ever since you stayed with the boys, rumors are going around about how you’re dating a decelis student known as “jay the stoner” in your school. that’s when you decide to take another avenue and be a part of the operation with him and sunghoon, a delivery staff specifically for levant high students or the ones surrounding it.
“cash. is all of the gang here?” jay mentions before putting it toward you.
“all except for taehyun and beomgyu, it seems,” you replied as you look the side to see all of your friends with him gathering at the corner.
jay gets his change and lets you make his order as he comes face-to-face with his friends. kai scoots towards sunghoon so that jay can sit beside him, facing sunoo who has his head on his best friend’s shoulder.
“you’ve seen beomgyu and taehyun?” he asked the two best friends who should know because of their relationship with the film club.
both of them shaking their heads as jay returns his gaze to his other friends who were talking about sunghoon, wondering what his two friends are up to. yet, no other of his friends are concerned.
his trance left as he felt you entering beside him, putting his order on the table. at least for now, jay can still enjoy his friends and new girlfriend all together, excited for what is coming. especially with the movie that sunoo has told about which his film club friends are taking a part to produce.
taglist: @endzii23 @fluffyywoo @camipendragon @hiqhkey @wccycc @cha0thicpisces @y4wnjunz @yeehawnana @beansworldsstuff @reallysmolrenjun @kimipxl @haerinism
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#enhypen imagines#enhypen scenarios#enhypen fluff#enhypen angst#enhypen x reader#jay x reader#rsc: smirch#cr: jay#cs: enhypen#sc: regina
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This is part 19 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!
(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)
Masterlist
The first thing we see when we walk into the club room is that Grim and I are the only Pomefiore students. Joy.
The second thing is that guy's hair is fire, much like the inside of Grim's ears. Guess it's just a rare trait, then.
The third thing is that Fire Hair Guy is staring straight at Grim. He probably didn't know animals could have that, too. He might just be a cat person. Either way, he's a clubmate now.
"You must be the new members! Welcome! I am Azul Ashengrotto, housewarden of Octanville and manager of the Monstro Lounge, and this," He motions to the guy he's apparently supposed to be playing chess with, "Is Idia Shroud, housewarden of Ignihyde. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Fire Hair looks like he's going to explode from anxiety. He's the one sitting accross from Azul, and he looks very intently at Grim, like his presence is the one thing keeping him conscious.
"What are your names, newcomers?"
"I'm Grim, and this is my familiar, Yuu! Spelled Y-u-u, not y-o-u."
Azul now looks off-put. "Well, Grim and Yuu, we here at the Board Games club are quite glad you're here! Welcome! And, if you ever need, say, a wish, then do not hesitate to come to me."
Idia sighs. "Never go to him for a wish, kitty. He's deceptive."
"I can hear you whisper, Shroud."
"Eep!"
Right off the bat, I recall something I was told at the entrance ceremony: Azul Ashengrotto, the housewarden of Octanville, is always trying to get people to sign contracts with him. Usually, only he benefits. Grim knows this, too.
"What, did we walk into the Contracts Over an Unsused-But-Set-Up Chessboard Club? Sorry, we signed up for something else. Come on, Grim, let's go find the club where they actually play chess."
"I'm back! Oh? New clubmates? Sweet!"
...looks like floating is another rare trait. This new kid has the same blue fire hair as Idia, as well as equally yellow eyes. He looks to be wearing some kind of jet boots, which he deactivates when he enters the room to oogle at Grim.
"A cat! Aww, your fur looks so soft and silky- and you have a uniform! By the seven, you're adorable!"
Grim straightens up, puffing out his chest and looking very proud. I do the same- after all, he's my familiar.
"Ortho, there's no need to be so close to our new members. Personal space, you know."
Well, now Grim just looks annoyed.
"Myeh, Azul, you have something on your face."
"This?" He points to a little black dot near his lips. "That is supposed to be there."
"Not what I meant," Grim continues, "the wire. Were you born into a fence or something?"
Ortho bursts out laughing. Idia does the same. Azul does not follow suit, but does try to talk, failing miserably become everyone in the room but him is too busy laughing their asses off to hear him.
Idia finishes laughing, pulls out a game labeled "Cliffs & Climbs," and sets it up, motioning for Ortho, me, and Grim to join. Azul continues failing to explain glasses to a cat who's ignoring him while people laugh at the obvious ragebait he's fallen for.
"I heard the whole thing from down the hall. Nice to meet you! I'm Ortho Shroud, freshman and Ignihyde's Vice Housewarden, as well as Idy's little brother. This character is mine."
Just looking at the board, it's a game of Snakes and Ladders. Ortho has selected a small, wooden flame to represent himself. Grim and I choose the cat, obviously. Idia considers for a moment, then picks the thimble that probably didn't come with the game. He flips it open-side-up when he puts it on the board, and Ortho glares at him until he sets it so you can't see the opening from above.
Let the board games begin.
#disney twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland#disney twst#m!yuu#twst grim#twst yuu#twst azul#twst idia#twst ortho#twst#what if yuu didn't want to go back
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This is the final iteration of the exe oc that is not fond of anything even remotely related to the concept
A game was released to the public, titled "Sonic.EXE LEGACY", a game assumed to be a direct copy of the og og og game, way before fnf, Xenophanes, Lord X, Faker, Sunky, way back when the creepypasta was crowned one of the best and right after kicked right off the throne and forgotten.
However the title deceives. It's not the game you expect it to be.
Everything looks... Peaceful, lively, unharmed, untouched by Sonic.exe, like he never existed in the first place, even the character select screen, although still out of place, looks like something you'd see in a normal Sonic game. There's nothing scary and out for blood. Not anymore.
You start with Tails. You're greeted with the sound of someone sighing in defeat. An entity.
Act 1 - Hey
Nothing seems wrong, and it shows so very clearly. The music is the usual Green Hill music, so happy and cheerful and so much like home.
All of the animals, once mangled and emptied corpses, run around and jump away like there's no tomorrow, living life like nothing is wrong. The entire walk is like this, just Green Hill, so full of life... Yet it feels so hollow.
You reach the end of the level and the music stops, for you have come to see Sonic with his back turned, facing away not waiting for victims, but... Not waiting at all, he's just facing away from Tails out of... Shame, it looks like.
You approach Sonic, the static intensifies, it all starts to feel like he's not done torturing souls yet, and when you reach out to Sonic... Nothing happens.
Tails taps him on the shoulder and he turns around to show... Sonic.exe himself, but with no mouth or red pupils, just black empty eyes and the usual blood tears.
The screen goes black and the usual ding is heard as a message pops up.
Oh. It's you again. He's not here anymore.
The screen goes black again, and you're back in the character select screen. Tails is seen worried, almost deppressed like this strange exe sounded.
You choose Knuckles next, as usual. You're greeted with the entity's voice again.
"Hmm..."
Act 2 - Why Come Back?
You're placed in the usual scrap brain zone or whatever it's named- it's been a long time, anyway- as Knuckles and begin your walk again.
Throughout the entire walk, nothing happens. Everything is so empty, yet unharmed. The peacefulness fills you with anxiety and it really shouldn't at all. It's all so hollow.
You reach the end of the level and find Sonic again, with his back turned against you, looking away in shame like before.
He turns around to show his empty, emotionless face again, and the screen goes black once more.
A message pops up...
Why are you here? What more do you want?
The Knuckles character is shown in a fighting stance ready to fight... Yet this entity is doing nothing but stare, not even out of malicious intent, if any intent at all... The silence feels hollow.
You try moving Knuckles over to the entity and press Z, and Knuckles throws a punch to the face... The punch missed, the entity teleported behind him.
It's seen again right behind him, but instead in a pose that expresses... Fear. He's not so empty after all.
The Knuckles character begins walking on his own to try again, and right before he reaches it, you press right to stop him. He's displeased, but you say it's not dangerous, if anything it's probably not even anything at all. It looks hollow.
Knuckles stops moving and points to the right, probably telling it to leave already.
The entity walks away, in the usual deppressed manner.
The screen goes black, and you're sent back to the character select screen. Knuckles is shown to be confused and trying to put two and two together, not focusing on the fact nothing is wrong anymore but rather on the fact that it's wrong that everything's okay. It's so hollow.
You choose Eggman next, and you're greeted with the entity's voice again.
"Alright..."
Act 3 - ...
You're placed in the usual third level of Sonic.EXE, the same purple tiled enviroment with the same torches and music, as Eggman.
You begin walking right, half an hour later you find stairs and begin stepping down and down and down below, down the seemingly endless stairs...
Nothing happens throughout the entire walk, nothing at all, there's nothing out for blood or souls or anything like that, just stairs and floors seemingly looping over and over again. Nothing but this empty place. So hollow.
You finally reach the end of the level, and find Sonic one last time... This time he's looking straight at Eggman with nothing but the same emotionless face, yet you feel like it's... Disappointed? It's not showing anything to express it though.
The screen goes black again and a message pops up...
You've been here before, everyone has. Why are you here again? It's over.
Eggman starts laughing, although you can't hear him, he shows he's laughing at the entity's deppressed mannerisms, cracking jokes about it and making fun of it... It's not long before Eggman stops the comedy show and questions about it's deppressed, empty behavior.
The entity, for the first time, speaks on it's own and on-screen, animated sprites included.
"It's all the same thing every single time, you know?"
"Tails is killed, Knuckles fights and dies anyway, and you end up last in the count, and then the spooky scary demon hedgehog pops up in the screen up close and personal and writes in blood "I AM GOD" like he always claims he is. It's all the same thing every time."
"And then one person decided to bring him back into the spotlight."
"Now there's all these attempts at one-upping the original with another demon, another ghost of a dead person, another pirated copy, hack, virus, living corrupt ai, all of them try to one-up the original exe..."
"... And none of them realize they're just making more useless versions of him, just more dead weight in this world... Nothing surprises me anymore, nothing surprises anyone anymore, nothing is special anymore"
"It's truly a lost cause after all, don't you think?"
"Just let it die. Please. It's been long enough..."
It's after a few long minutes later that Eggman hugs the entity, not out of any form of malice, but out of genuine pity. Genuine empathy. Genuine kindness, because everything feels so hollow.
"There's no jumpscare to look forward to, if you're wondering..."
The screen goes black and you're sent back to the character select screen... Although, none of the characters can be selected anymore.
Eggman is shown wondering about what has happened and about the new, strange and hollow entity possessing Sonic, even going as far as questioning whether Sonic is truly possessed or not.
The entity's voice is heard one last time...
"What more do you want...?"
Then the game crashes, leaving a text file titled "Hollow"
You open the text file and find a message from presumably the entity...
It's my name, i'm calling myself Hollow because that's what i look like. Ironic, isn't it? I'm expressive, despite the looks saying otherwise.
I found this game and decided to inhabit it, mess around and give it the title it has to get people to find me.
I just want people to face the truth and accept it's all over now, but nobody listens. Nobody cares...
I guess it really is a lost cause after all...
At least i'm here, alive and now... Out to the rest of this digital land.
I'll just travel around, look for things that catch my eye... Just fool around like everyone else.
See you next time, i guess...
-Hollow
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Day 3: Crown - 805 words
The confusing scene on the screen in front of her made her want to get up and leave.
She couldn't, though; she promised to be nice. She promised to do her best and try to be friendly. She had to make it through somehow.
"Okay, so now, after picking up the power-up, you unlock new powers," Badyah rambled while seemingly just mashing buttons on the oddly shaped device in her hands. It must have been a remote of some sort since the character on the screen responded to her actions.
"Yeah! In different games, there are different powers too! There's one where you can be a cat or a raccoon!" A ginger kid seated on the floor chimed in with barely contained excitement.
"A tanuki, you can be a tanuki, but yeah, different games have different cool mechanics. There are even racing games." She did something on the controller, and the screen changed into a completely different scenery.
"No offense, but I really don't get how this is fun." Zagan wished she could just call them nerds and leave.
"That's okay; maybe after you try it yourself?" The kid, who had to be someone's brother or something, smiled cheerfully.
She already missed those first few hours when he was too scared of her to talk.
"Like I don't," she grumbled before Norma's "Be nice, please" rang out inside of her head. She clenched her jaw before sighing and finally saying, "Sure, I'll give it a go."
"That's the spirit!" Badyah shouted way overenthusiastically for Zagan's taste and almost shoved the colorful bit of plastic into her hands.
"Hold up, what do I even do here?"
"Weren't you paying attention?" He scowled at her, but a single, perfectly practiced, mean look made him shut up.
"It's easy; those are for moving your character." Badyah pointed to the rubber numbs that could move in any direction. "Those buttons here do all sorts of things; it depends on which powers your character can use." She pointed out other buttons with symbols on them.
"Uh, huh." Zagan pressed some of them and quickly noticed how little force the remote needed to operate. She had to be careful with it.
"Which character is the most powerful?" She pressed some buttons, following the directions on the screen, and found herself in the character select menu.
"Well, if you want to play the easiest character..." Badyah said with a small smirk.
"Not what I said," Zagan huffed.
"Hm, well, you want a challenge, but the character should feel powerful?" She tapped her chin and looked at the kid next to her. "What do you think, Patrick?"
He swallowed loudly and shifted on the floor before responding. "I think Toadette would work. She has balanced basic statistics and can use the Super Crown."
"The what?" Her ears perked up.
"Yeah, it's a unique buff only she can use. It's almost like she gets to be a princess for a while." He began to speak faster again, suddenly encouraged by even the slightest amount of interest.
"All right, let's try that." She confirmed her character choice.
Very quickly, she realized she didn't care about the plot.
Another problem became apparent almost instantly.
She sucked at this game.
Badly.
"Oh, come on!" She growled after falling into another pit.
"It's all about timing. You keep jumping way too early." Badyah pointed out, causing Zagan to grit her teeth.
"Yeah, whatever, it's not my fault those buttons are so damn small." She tapped the button and fell into the pit again. After a few more tries, she finally made it.
"Yay! You did it!" To his credit, he sounded genuinely happy for her. It didn't make it any less embarrassing.
"Oh, is this the crown thing?" Zagan pointed at the screen after hitting a block with a question mark on it.
"Yeah! Go pick it up!" Badyah almost shouted into her ear.
"Jeez, okay, relax." She picked up the item.
A brief animation played.
It was, honestly, rather underwhelming.
"Okay, now what?"
"Well, um, try to finish the level?" Badyah looked at her, clearly confused. "It should be easier now. You can jump way better with this."
"I see..."
She ran into an enemy, got hit, and lost her power-up and her last life.
"Oh, screw it!" She snarled, and before even realizing what was happening, the plastic cracked in her hands.
"Aw, Zagan, it's okay." Badyah rested her hand on her shoulder. "Just, please don't break my pro controller."
With a frustrated groan, the vampire hung her head and passed the device over.
"Hi everyone! We're back!" Norma, Barney, and Az walked out of the elevator.
"Oh, dope, are we gaming? I wanna play Mario Cart!" Az sat on the floor with a thump.
"I'm not playing anything ever again," Zagan mumbled, head in hands.
#dead end paranormal park#parkvember2023#i'm not really happy with this one but oh well they can't all be winners#I just wanted to torment Zagan with casual social interactions
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Come to My Window
The soft morning light filtered through the dusty windows of The Hourglass, casting a warm glow upon the wooden shelves that held countless treasures, books of every size, color, and genre. Alex stood amidst the hushed whispers of literature, readying the bookshop for the day ahead. With practiced care, he placed books back on their rightful shelves, ensuring each one found its proper place.
The aroma of freshly baked pastries wafted through the air, a delightful accompaniment to the symphony of rustling pages. He'd risen early that morning to prepare the treats, an offering to the eager readers who would soon grace his sanctuary, temporarily calling it their own.
As he arranged the treats on a delicate silver tray, his fingers brushed against the heart-shaped birthmark on his upper left cheek - his unique identifier. It was a reminder of the love he had for the written word and the warmth he wished to extend to everyone who crossed his path.
With the final touches in place, the bookshop was ready to welcome its visitors. Alex took a moment to savor the tranquility before unlocking the front door, inviting the world to step into the refuge of stories and imagination he had lovingly crafted.
Once the first customers trickled in, he greeted them with a genuine smile and engaged in animated conversations about books, authors, and the magic of storytelling. It was evident that Alex was in his element, as the bookshop came alive with the energy of literary enthusiasts.
As the morning bustle settled into a steady rhythm, he stole a moment to himself, pouring a steaming cup of coffee, the comforting aroma enveloping him like a familiar embrace. With the warm mug cradled in his hands, he settled into a cozy chair by the window.
Opening the pages of a well-worn novel, he delve into a world of fantastical adventures and courageous characters. The words transporting him far beyond the boundaries of Ishgard, and for a while, he was lost in the magic of the written word.
Yet, a soft sigh escaped his lips as he glanced out of the window, his gaze drifting beyond the bustling streets and the horizon beyond. He couldn't help but wonder about his friends, scattered across the realm, each on their own unique journey. He hoped they were safe and well, and a twinge of longing tugged at his heart, wishing he could be with them in that moment.
As if in response to his silent musings, the wind outside began to pick up. Alex knew that his own adventures awaited him beyond the confines of his beloved bookshop, and he embraced the wanderlust moments that always tugged at his soul.
But for now, he was content with the gentle shuffling of books, the scent of coffee, and the soft murmur of customers lost in their own selections.
With a wistful smile Alex rose to greet the next bustling crowd pouring in from the bitter cold. Pondering would have to wait.
youtube
#alexander hawthorne#the hourglass bookshop and cafe#a bit of warmth I needed to write after thor/seven's story#which I will post soon I am still correcting my mixing of tenses -_-#Youtube
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