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ampleappleamble · 3 years

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It was a simple platitude, and one he'd heard quite often growing up: "Be ever honest, forthright, and true, and ne'er shall Woedica frown upon you." The rhyme was reductive and childish, but the sentiment was understandable enough– Honesty is a virtue, and one that should serve any good, upright citizen of Aedyr well.

Of course, Aloth knew better.

He'd known better since he was fifteen years old, clutching his face in his hands and choking on his own tears while his mother tried to soothe him, brushing back his smooth, black hair and holding him close, careful to avoid the bruises, all the while imploring him you must never tell a soul of this, Aloth, never, for even I could not help you then. He'd known better after running to the proctor about the incident with the spellwrights gilde and their damned machine, trying to bring it all to light, and instead of finding himself languishing in a dungeon for the atrocity he'd taken part in, he was instructed to continue to meet with them, to keep his mouth shut and his eyes and ears open. No matter the rewards honesty promised, the people in his life always seemed to reinforce the lesson that deception and secrecy were the true keys to success.

Until now. Until her.

Since their very first meeting outside the Black Hound Inn, as far as he could tell– and he considered himself a decent judge of character, most of the time– Axa had not uttered a single lie to anyone she'd spoken with, had not suppressed nor sugarcoated a single truth, no matter how painful. The closest she'd gotten to lying was her reluctance to discuss the chain of events that had lead her to relocate to the Dyrwood, and even that had come out eventually, and entirely of her own volition. In fact, she seemed to not only practice honesty in her words and her deeds, but to relentlessly pursue the truth, to champion it, to draw it out of others like venom from a wound and leave both parties happier for it. Hel, she'd even managed to get him to open up.

How did she make it look so easy?

Practice, I reck'n. Isnae easy fer ye, tellin' sooth, coz yer nae accustomed to it, are ye, lad? Iselmyr's unwanted commentary was almost constant, now, and Aloth could not tell whether it was due to his control over himself deteriorating further, or if she had simply been emboldened by their secret finally being out after all these years. Either way, it was wearing on his nerves, and he worried that it was starting to show. It certainly didn't help that the others were as curious about Iselmyr as he was eager to be rid of her, and only about half of them seemed to possess the decorum to recognize his discomfort and drop it. Even Axa had asked if it were possible for her to speak directly to the horrid little pest, although to her credit she'd only had to be told "no" once, unlike Edér and Kana who seemingly only deigned to speak with him in order to badger him about his "friend," trying to trade jokes with her or learn Hylspeak from her or– Berath take him– flirt with her.

"Jealous," she'd smirked, and Aloth had gone bright red when Edér had laughed in response, only then realizing that she'd made him say it out loud.

Am only out 'n' jawin' wie kith cozza yer wee burd, laddie. If ye've aught t' complain about, tell it t' her. As much as he hated to agree with Iselmyr, he had to admit that she had a point– if he'd been left to his own devices, he might never have told anyone about his Awakening and simply lived his whole life suffering in silence. But since he'd started following Axa, talking with her, fighting alongside her, earning her trust and starting to trust her in return, he'd found that opening up about himself– and Iselmyr– was far easier than he'd ever expected it would be. The clever little woman had had him halfway figured out by the time he finally told her anyway, which had certainly helped speed things along. She had even suggested a method by which he might finally learn more about his condition, although the thought of letting some jackleg animancer strap him to a table (don't think about the spellwrights the experiment don't think about Targun his eyes empty and lifeless and dull don't think about it don't) and peer into his soul made his skin crawl.

But it didn't seem quite so dismaying when he reminded himself that she'd be there with him.

The events of the day thus far had only served to reinforce this notion. She'd broached the topic over breakfast, suggesting that after they finish their business with the Knights, they make the sanitarium their very next stop of the day– "May as well get it over with, right?"– but he had deflected and redirected, stating that he'd hoped to read up on animancy a bit more before making the plunge– "After all, I've waited fifty years, I can wait a few more hours"– while reminding her that she had expressed a desire to parley with the Eyeless Face sometime soon. A little nudge in the right direction was all it had taken for Kana to commandeer the conversation, excitedly gushing about banned books and Waelite secrets, and Aloth had sighed with relief even as he'd winced at the knowing look Sagani had given him. But Axa had not seen fit to press the matter, and so they'd agreed on their plans and headed for Crucible Keep, turning over the research for their new Forge Knights without any issues.

And upon arriving at the Hall of Revealed Mysteries, the distractions had quickly accumulated, as they tended to do. The forgemaster at the Keep had done little to assuage his worries about animancy in general, and every book about animancy he'd half-heartedly attempted to peruse only ended up making him more anxious, so instead he'd spent most of his time leafing through old favorites, comforting himself with the certainties of the classics, repetitively tracing his slender fingers over ancient runes in arcane treatises he'd practically memorized years ago during his training. It was a surefire method of calming himself down, helping him to collect his thoughts– or it would have been if he hadn't been continually interrupted by Iselmyr's whining, Edér's yawning, Kana's incessant attempts to "help" him with his research.

Aloth had just suffered yet another of these intrusions (Kana had jokingly shoved a primer on orlan physiology and anatomy under his nose, opened to a page with some... detailed illustrations) when the messenger from the palace had arrived, summoning Axa to court. He'd have been pleased for such a convenient excuse to continue the deferral of their visit to the sanitarium, but the scene at the Hall of Records had been far from a pleasant one.

"This is she?" Arledr Gathbin had glared down at the little woman, naked contempt on his sneering face. "This little varlet, she's the one who murdered my kin and now clings like a leech to my ancestral land? I'd thought she was just some servant, a wench from the scullery."

"This wench," Axa had snapped back, "claimed that land– a keep abandoned by your noble line for well over a hundred years, I'll remind you– by strength of arms, and with the assistance of the few good men and women standing alongside me." Sagani and Pallegina had blinked in surprise at her words, but raised no objection. "And in any case, I didn't see your name on the door."

Gathbin had reared back as though she'd spat at him. "Never speak to me so brazenly again, cur," he'd hissed, "or you won't have time enough left in your miserable life to regret it."

Chancellor Warrin had been quick to bring the meeting back to order, but the calm had not lasted long. Upon learning that Caed Nua would only be his upon the condition that he pay reparations to Axa for services rendered in recovering it, Gathbin had flown into an even greater rage, going so far as to raise his hand to the Chancellor. And although he had effectively just declared Axa homeless, she had still leapt between the two men to defend the Chancellor, her eyes blazing as she'd roared at Gathbin to stay his hand.

"You dare to issue orders to me, you hairy little wretch!?" He'd whirled on her, his face beet red, and the captain of his personal guard, a sharp-featured elf in gleaming black plate, had grinned eagerly as her hand flew to her pistol. Aloth had been surprised to suddenly feel the spine of his grimoire under his fingertips, his heart racing. And he hadn't been alone: all of Axa's allies had prepared to draw arms as well, Pallegina's blade already halfway out of its scabbard by the time Marshall Forwyn had stepped forward, hand on the hilt of his weapon, calmly but firmly suggesting that Gathbin contain himself.

After Gathbin had stormed off, after the dust had settled and Axa was officially declared thaynu and roadwarden of Caed Nua, she'd still had enough composure to ask the Chancellor to invite his lordship to settle their differences over dinner sometime– in her halls at Caed Nua, of course– before immediately turning to the record keeper who'd seen it all and asking him if she was now "established" enough to access the records from the Saint's War she'd inquired after previously. Edér's eyes had gone wide, his jaw rigid with apprehension as he'd accepted his prize at last, and as he'd flipped anxiously through the casualty listings, Aloth had mused on the little woman's fortitude, her quick wit, the loyalty she inspired in those who followed her.

And that loyalty was not misplaced. Even now as he struggled to gather the resolve to say what he needed to say, he couldn't stop thinking of the lost, haunted expression on Edér's face as he'd found his brother's name, looked up into Axa's eyes, asked her as though she'd known all along: "Why'd he fight for Readceras?" She hadn't hesitated for even a second when he'd beseeched her to go with him to the battlefield where Woden had died, laying her small, fuzzy hand on the blond man's shoulder and assuring him she'd do whatever it took to give him peace of mind.

Be ever forthright, honest, and true–

Maybe it was bearing witness to all that– her ironclad resolve in the face of a daunting foe, her powerful devotion to those who placed their trust in her– that made Aloth face Axa now, standing outside the Ducal Palace, and tell her he was ready to head for the sanitarium. "If you're still amenable, of course," he added quickly. If you'll help me stay strong enough to see it through, he thought.

If ye'll held me haund, kiss me wee arse–

She blinked in surprise, recovered, smiled warmly at him. "Of course," she replied. "We can go there now. As long as you're comfortable with the idea."

"Oh," he sighed, smiling pleasantly, "I'm not, no. But to be frank, I'll almost certainly never be more comfortable with the idea than I am right now, so honestly, it's now or never. I'm... simply choosing now."

"I can get behind that," she nodded, turning to the road before them. "Shall we, then?"

She lead, and he followed, desperately hoping he wasn't making a mistake.

—

#pillars of eternity #poe anthem infinitum #fic wip #kana: just admits to himself he has a crush on axa #aloth: does this instead #next up: super fun times at the fantasy psychiatrist's office!#thanks for reading ♡

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jksmoongf · 6 years

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When You Least Expect it - Jackson Wang Imagine

This was requested by my baby @jaxonah and I can’t say no to her (and she damn well knows it lmao so I made her wait until today)

But firstly, 💖💖💖HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM 💖💖💖 I hope you have a fantastic birthday, even though I know you have a long day at work. I wish I could spend today with you. I just want you to know that I love you so very much and that I’m beyond grateful that you are in my life. You make every day a lot happier and brighter for me. It’s been a little less than two months since we started talking and I don’t want to ever lose you (but I think you know that, I tell you way too often bc I’m a sappy ass bitch). I really hope you like this little extra gift on your special day. Again, love you bby 💞 --------------------------

Pairing: Jackson Wang x Reader

Wordcount: 1788

Genre: fluff (or something like that)

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When You Least Expect It

She was visiting her best friend who left America to study abroad in Seoul. They hadn’t seen each other in over a year so this trip had been long overdue. It was the first time that she had ever left the country, only to fly halfway across the world for two weeks. All she wanted was to spend time with her friend, taste the local food and see as much as possible of Seoul. What she didn’t know was that her life was about to turn upside down.

“Y/n hurry up, we’re late already.” Her best friend yelled, running up the stairs from the subway station. “Ugh, don’t worry it’ll be fine. The commercials are boring anyway.” She replied, hurrying after her, down the street towards the big movie theater in Gangnam. “Knowing you, you want to get snacks, so you better run faster.” The two girls ran as fast as they could, it was late in the evening and winter was approaching quickly this year. The cold air tinted their cheeks in a light pink hue. Luckily not many people were out this late during the week, so her friend went to buy the tickets, while she rushed to get popcorn and drinks for the two of them. It was anything but easy to find their seats in the dark, so she pulled out her phone to find the right seat number. “Would you mind turning that off?” The guy in the row in front of them said, his baseball cap pulled down deep to cover his face. “Sorry.” She mumbled, gesturing to her friend to just sit down right behind him. She took her coat off and draped it over the empty seat next to her. “Told you we’d make it just in time.” The opening credits started playing on the big screen and faint eerie music was filling the room. “Yeah, yeah you’re always right. We all know that.” They both giggled, but as the guy cleared his throat, they stopped. They exchanged looks and rolled their eyes with big smiles on their faces.

The movie had gotten good reviews online; supposedly it was tense and the jump scares were great. “Oh that’s so typical, the killer will be right behind her.” She groaned when the main character opened the closet door. “Did you read about the movie and already spoiled it for yourself again?” Her friend whisper-giggled behind her hand that was covering her mouth to muffle the sound. “Of course I have, old habits die hard. Oh see I was right. He’s outside her window staring holes in the back of her head.” They both laughed, before stuffing popcorn in their mouths.

It had been a long day of dance practice and fittings and all he wanted was peace and quiet, some downtime to himself where he could recharge and switch his brain off. Usually Jackson would ask one of the other members to go see a movie with him, but not tonight. It was already pretty late and they had an early start in the morning, they all valued their sleep but he just needed to get away for bit. There were only a few people with him in the room, a couple a few rows down in the front and two guys in the far back. He was sprawled out in his seat with a bag of popcorn resting on his lap. When the lights turned off again, two girls came waltzing in, giggling and using a phone as a flashlight.

Normally, he wouldn’t care about the phone or the talking, but it was taking away from the atmosphere and as soon as he had scolded them, he felt bad. They were here to have a good time and relax, just like he was. He tried to focus on the movie, but the girls kept talking and laughing, although they were trying to be quieter, he found himself growing more annoyed on the inside as they were talking through all the scary parts and even predicting the jump scares at the right time. He had to admit that they were right, the movie was predictable and most definitely not as good as the critiques online had made it out to be but after shushing them several times, he wasn’t going to let them know that. “Oh god, I swear if she’s going to fall- of course, there she goes aaaaand she’s limping what a coincidence.” The one girl said and he had to suppress a laugh. She wasn’t really invested in the movie but her commentary on all the flaws in the plot made him grow fond of her.

The curiosity inside him grew and he wanted to turn around to look at her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Her laugh sent shivers down his spine, right down to his core and he liked the way her voice sounded. He tried to pay attention to the movie, but as soon as she started whispering to her friend, he just had to listen to her. What was going on with him? Mentally, he was slapping himself trying to regain power of his brain.

Focus, Jackson, focus… he kept telling himself. As the end credits were rolling, he could hear the girls getting up to leave. “That was a waste of money.” One of them said, as they were leaving. He quickly jumped up and turned around. They were almost at the door; he grabbed his jacket and followed them but he wasn’t able to catch up with them. As he entered the foyer they were both standing there. “I’ll have to go to the bathroom real quick.” The other girl nodded and pulled out her phone from her pocket. He could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage, desperately trying to burst out of his chest. Her voice and the tiny glimpse of her personality he had gotten was enough for him. He wanted, -no needed to meet her. And there she was, all by herself. For the first time in forever his legs felt unsteady as he slowly walked up to her. He stood behind her and cleared his throat; a mixture of nervousness and excitement filled his body. Immediately she spun around to look at him with a flustered expression. His heart was now hammering against his chest while a smile spread across her face. She was radiating and he couldn’t quite grasp what was drawing him in. Never had he felt this rush before; the kind that made you feel sick but yet so good.

He could feel his hands starting to shake and it felt like fireworks were going off inside him. “I’m so sorry that we were talking during the movie.” He lightly shook his head and nervously laughed. “No it’s fine, I was a bit of dick. The movie wasn’t good and you made it more enjoyable.” She let out a sigh. “It was a bit shit, wasn’t it?” Her laugh echoed in his head, it was almost like it was fogging up his mind. Why was it so hard for him to think straight? “Oh it definitely was but you made it better.” Her cheeks turned pink as their eyes met. She wasn’t avoiding his gaze but she seemed to feel the same strange form excitement. “I’m Jackson.” He held out his hand, which she not so hesitantly shook. “Y/n.” “That’s a beautiful name.” A shy smile appeared on her lips. “Do you live here?” He needed to know more about her and he was dreading the moment her friend would come back and she’d leave with her. “No, I live in America, I’m just visiting my friend.” The sound that escaped his mouth sounded more disappointed than he had intended it to. Of course, it was just his luck to meet the most stunning girl, only to find out that she didn’t live here. “For how long are you in Seoul?” Her eyes lit up at his question. “I have a little over week left before I have to go back home.” He wanted to ask her out; he wanted to know if she felt the same instant connection. Should he ask her to get coffee, or to get dinner? Maybe getting drinks was more her thing? The options were endless and he knew that they all meant different things to girls. His eyes met hers again and it was the little push he needed to gather up all the courage he could muster. “Are you free tomorrow?” His hands began to sweat again and the very few seconds she took to answer felt like forever. “Yeah, I am.” He let out a deep breath in relief. “I have work stuff to do in the morning, but if you want we can go get coffee in the afternoon and maybe dinner after?” Jackson knew that it was a bold move, but he just had to try. He had never felt this way and he couldn’t quite describe what it was about her that captivated his full attention; it was like she had already stolen his heart. “I would love that.” Quickly he wiped his hands on his jeans before reaching for his phone. “Would you mind giving me your number so I can call or text you?” She nodded, and took his phone. For the split second their hands touched, it felt like goose bumps was creeping all over his body and they both pulled away quickly. She must have felt it too, he was sure of that. Her fingers flew over the screen of his phone and when he looked at her contact info she had saved her name was followed by heart emoji. With a smile, he pressed the little phone symbol and her phone started vibrating in her hand. “I’ll text you in the morning, so we can figure out the time and place.” But before she could answer him her friend appeared next to them. “Y/n, we should get going, I have class in the morning.” Her friend didn’t acknowledge his presence and was just looking at her phone. “Okay.” She turned back to him. “It was nice meeting you.” “You too, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He wanted to go for a handshake but she quickly hugged him and before he could process what had just happened, the two girls were walking away. He simply stood there, in the empty foyer trying to contain his excitement. It didn’t feel real, all his insides were doing cartwheels and he had the biggest smile plastered over his face. How was it possible that a day that started out like any other ordinary day, would turn his whole life around?

#got7 #got7 imagines #got7 senarios #got7 request #got7 fanfic #jackson wang #jackson wang imagines #jackson wang scenarios #jackson wang reactions #kpop scenarios #kpop reactions #kpop imagines #IM SO SORRY IF IT SUCKS SAM #PLEASE FORGIVE ME

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