celestial

Kim Jaejoong, 26 • angel • student at Insolitus Philia Mansion B2; Pidvone Misto disclaimer

[jaejoong-ia]

Into The Light || Jaejoong & Jeongmin

[jaejoong-ia]

jeongmin-ia‌:

The water was cold against his skin, almost punishing him as he scrubbed and scrubbed, not wanting to face the angelic creature behind him right away. not when there was so much to say yet words seemed to escape him at the moment. Nothing seemed to be appropriate at the moment. “I wanted to let you be, you did not seem to be in the mood to see me. Or anyone for that matter, Minwoo complained he had not seen you much either.”Jeongmin informed the angel as he finally couldn’t pretend to wash his hands anymore and instead just turned around after shutting off the water. He shook his hands before grabbing one of the towels near the basin and drying his hands, brown eyes finally resting long enough on the angel to take his appearance in. “I’m fine.” he said, not even lying. Fine was a broad statement though, a lot of people were fine. It did not say much, not really. 

“I have, I used to just have plants though. They like my voice just as much as humans do.” he said as he stared at Jaejoong now, going from avoiding the angels gaze to just staring at him intensely. “Why have you really come here brother? You have never just come to me without a reason, why would you now?” 

Well. Minwoo was a different, far more complicated story that Jaejoong had no intention of sharing at this point in time, but he could see why the younger would bring him up as an argument. “I’ve been away for a while,” he replied instead, giving a light shrug. “In the house Min Jun left me.” It was a second home that Jaejoong intended to keep and nurture, far away from this realm, even though coming back had been painful at first -- he’d never gotten around to actually throwing out any of his former husband’s things and by now he felt glad about it; the regret of parting with so many memories and treasures about the night elf that he could still discover would have outweighed any kind of emotional relief in the past.

A small huff escaped him at Jeongmin’s question, perhaps a show of misplaced amusement, but the angel couldn’t help himself. He knew, that the other was right after all. “No ulterior motives for once, I promise I’m really just asking you to walk and chat with me. I .. had time to think about a lot, in Antiva.” Another shrug. “Sometimes thinking makes people want to change things.”

[minwoo-ia]

Lullaby of the damned { Jaewoo

[jaejoong-ia]

minwoo-ia‌:

A cackle echoed through the room, it was a dark sound but undeniably the demon’s voice that was so familiar to the both of them. Said demon had not flinched at the sight of the gun, really it could have been expected that the former hunter would revert to his basic defense mechanisms when faced with what Minwoo was right now. He let the angel see him for a few moments more in his purest form, or well, purest form of darkness, the form he had acquired through all these years of pain and agony. It had finally counted for something. What doesn’t kill you… 

“Not even if it’s me?” He purred as he looked at the angelic being, his eyes on invisible threads that made him pause and look at how they were connected, entwined to those here and the souls no longer on this plane of existence. 

He let the shadows disappear, the skull faded from his face and while the claws, tail and horns remained Minwoo looked more… Minwoo. One eyebrow raised in question, very much the expression of the lost lover Minwoo carried with every step in his soul. Not the literal soul-capturing; for his lover was far away now out of his grasp, but a different kind of carrying. It was a burden of love and respect that made Minwoo mimic parts of him, he wasn’t even aware of some tendencies. “I came to say hello, you’re not the only one that changed.” He announced, smirk on his chapped lips. He looked smug, of course he did. It was pretty much Minwoo’s default expression. 

“It’s arch demons crawling into your room, by the way.”  

The creature looked like Minwoo -- spoke like him, was him by all accounts and yet he felt nothing like him at all. His presence had never made Jaejoong uncomfortable before; at best, when they first met, the demonic essence had upset him and repulsed him, but never before had it sunk its claws so deep into the former hunter and actually made him want to put distance between them. “Use the door next time,” he managed to get out on a heavy exhale, the dagger scraping over the desk as he set it back down and then turned to walk towards the kitchen; an excuse to get himself a drink and step away from the demon at the same time. The closer he was to him, the more it felt like he choked the light within the angel, still so young and weak in comparison; all without even having to lift a finger -- and that thought scared Jaejoong into wondering what he might be able to do, if he really tried. 

“Congrats on the promotion?” If Minwoo had intended to impress him with his entrance, this response wouldn’t be what he hoped for, but the angel didn’t care. He wasn’t impressed -- if anything, he didn’t like what was happening right now, how he’d been startled awake so unnecessarily and struggled with a very physical sense of growing nausea in his stomach on top of it. Probably just a reaction of darkness clashing with light and outmatching it in almost pathetic amounts for the moment. And Jaejoong did not like to be reminded of that either, for a multitude of reasons. “How did that happen? You got called down to some nefarious office building and were declared to be more evil than before?” More unwanted sarcasm, as he reached for a glass on one of the shelves to pour himself a drink; pointedly keeping the demon in his back.

[jaejoong-ia]

Into The Light || Jaejoong & Jeongmin

[jaejoong-ia]

jeongmin-ia‌:

Nimble hands were working on cutting leaves of a small plant, it was not to punish it for growing but to harvest the parts of the plant that would be used for potions of health. The cupid liked the work and even though dirt got stuck underneath his fingernails he felt clean afterwards because he had done something good. One with nature and all that. He was the last one in there as his fellow students cleaned up and left to go to other classes or to enjoy their free afternoon. Even the teacher bode her goodbye as Jeongmin nodded and finished his task with the small pair of silver scissors. 

Someone was still in the room though, the leaves of the plant buzzed slightly. Jeongmin frowned as he watched the little thing react to another creature in the greenhouse and slowly he turned around on the high chair to see who it was. 

Eyes widened as they recognized the man standing there. “Brother.” it was not really a greeting and really their relationship in the past had been lined with tension and a lot of anger (mostly from Jaejoong, sometimes from Jeongmin). He got up, not to go to the angel but carefully lifting the potted plant and carrying it to it’s brothers and sisters on the other table where they were kept when not used in class. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” Not an accusation really, Jeongmin had left the other alone as well. It was hard enough to adjust to this life as a cupid as it was. Not having to deal with the only family member that he still had, rejecting him again, was only a good thing at the moment. 

Gathering the cut off leaves and putting them in the larger container that would be taken to the infirmary later, his eyes never rested long enough on Jaejoong. The one who got the better end of the stick again. Jeongmin did not want to question Justice’s judgement but to make him a cupid and Jaejoong an angel was cruel in his mind. Even if he had a mission now, to be there for all the broken-hearted. He walked over to the small water basin and started scrubbing his hands clean, back to Jaejoong as he worked on the reddening skin. “Why have you come here brother?”

It seemed stupid, all of a sudden, but Jaejoong dismissed the split second urge to excuse himself and retreat -- he’d faced far worse than the tentative greeting of his brother and couldn’t even blame him for being cautious. Jaejoong hadn’t been kind to him in the past. For a moment he watched as the younger turned to wash his hands, therefore blind to the shrug he gave as a first response. “If you have nothing else to do, I was wondering if you’d like to take a walk,” he offered then, still casual but there was an underlying tone to his voice that implied more; the hope for a positive response as much as the fear of rejection. “We ... haven’t really spoken much in the past months, so I was just wondering how you’re doing. Or you could come say hi to Vae and Sushi, I bet they’re glad to see people other than me for once.” A small smile ghosted over his lips, the mention of his beloved pets always an easy way to soothe him.

Considering how he avoided his gaze, perhaps Jeongmin was still suspicious of his intentions; something that the angel would once again understand if it were the case. While Justice may have saved them both and brought them back together, he did not erase their past memories of each other -- navigating around that was a test they’d have to manage on their own. His eyes drifted over the potted plants surrounding them, thinking back on how Jeongmin had stayed behind to take care of the last one with a -- to him -- surprising amount of care and patience. “You look comfortable in here, have you always been interested in botany?” How bizarre, he thought just as the words left his lips, that he had never even bothered to find out simple things such as this one; that there had been hookups he knew more personal information of than his own half-brother. But perhaps it wasn’t entirely too late to make amends for that.

[jaejoong-ia]

Into The Light || Jaejoong & Jeongmin

While narrowing down his social circle had not always been a choice Jaejoong made willingly, a long mourning period and dedication to training his new powers being the main reasons, he had to admit that it had its benefits. This way, he could ask around for Jeongmin’s whereabouts after classes without having everyone recognize him as the cupid’s brother -- not that he felt ashamed of the connection, but given that they were not the best or easiest of siblings, he preferred to be pointed towards the other without a judging glance following him in his back. Jeongmin, or so he had been told by several people, currently sat through the last five minutes of Botany class and so the angel slowed his steps a little as he approached the greenhouse; taking his time until small flocks of students trickled out of the building ahead to make their way back to the other parts of the academy.

It felt odd, to make an effort like this. To seek out his brother, wait until they’d be alone -- and not to ambush him in any way, but simply to talk. Jaejoong had needed time to get over the way the two had first met, the way Jeongmin then wormed his way into the hunter’s life while the latter did not want him there, thus serving as a reminder of shame and mistakes rather than affection. But then Jeongmin had died in the same way he had, they’d both come back as different people and why should he not at least try to get over old resentments? Maybe Justice would be proud of his attempt, the angel mused half ironically, pushing aside the part of him that craved for even just a sliver of the other’s approval. To be good in his eyes, if not in anyone else’s, but that was another matter.

Making his way towards the door of the greenhouse, he could see a familiar silhouette behind the glass -- whether he was alone or with other people was too hard to make out until Jaejoong actually stepped inside, but at least he hadn’t missed the cupid on his way here. That was a start. For the moment, he simply slipped past the door but lingered there; keeping in the background in a way that would have been way too polite for the siren back in the day, until Jeongmin took notice of him.

@jeongmin-ia

[minwoo-ia]

Lullaby of the damned { Jaewoo

[jaejoong-ia]

minwoo-ia‌:

      J a e j o o n g , i f  y o u  s t a y  h e r e  i ‘ l l  c o r r u p t  y o u — 

How silly it was to assume that corruption was something that could be avoided and truly Minwoo had felt the power last time already. When he had not transformed yet but Jaejoong had; a mere baby angel who had no idea of his powers yet. Now a few weeks later Minwoo was different and he had not informed the angel yet- no he had not seen Jaejoong since his change. He had an urge though, to see the angel, he saw the soul of the other in the corner of his eyes and in his dreams. He had always known they were connected but now it was just so obvious. 

It was in the darkest of the night when the demon simply used a portal to get to Jaejoong’s bedroom. Blood magic came easy to him now and in the depth of the night Jaejoong’s room would start shaking as a deep red circle appeared in his room. Coming from the floor as it seemed to crack the floorboards before the demon crawled out. With the flair for the dramatic and theatrical Minwoo made sure he was clouded in black ‘smoke’ (the souls- obviously) and his gold-lined horns first appeared from the smoke before the golden, red eyes flickered through the dark mist. Half the skull formed on his face as he finally stepped out of the mist and the room stopped shaking. Smirking with sharp teeth as he stood there staring at Jaejoong. He wiggled his pointed claws at the other as his tail swooped from left to right.

“Hi Jaejoong.” He greeted with the portal closing behind him, skin glowing with darkness. “Did you have nice dreams?” 

@jaejoong-ia

He could be an angel for a hundred years and certain instincts would never leave his memory. Jaejoong was quick to wake at the noise in the middle of the night, a low crack and a hum in the air, charged with magic and something that made him nauseous the moment he sensed it -- but adrenaline hummed louder; his hand instinctively reached for the gun, that the hunter within him still placed on the nightstand every evening, while the other went for the gleam of a blade tucked away in a hidden spot right next to it. The smoke made it hard to see, at first. Shadows and silhouettes crawling from a portal, which had opened in the middle of his bedroom; casting a ghastly red light across the walls and the angel’s own figure. It would have looked like something out of a horror fair attraction, had he not brushed with darkspawn often enough to know how real and dangerous they were.  When the vague shape of horns came into view, he frowned; shifting the focus of the gun to follow the movement while his other hand gripped the hilt of the dagger tighter, that he held half covered behind him. 

It seemed to take ages, until the final form of the intruder finally appeared behind the smoke. And when he did, Minwoo would find himself confronted with a barrel pointed between his eyes; the tension in the room palpable, along with something far more ancient. To his credit, Jaejoong’s finger didn’t twitch on the trigger, but it took a long long moment of staring the demon down, face unreadable, before he lowered the gun a little too slowly to be comfortable. And while he placed it back on the bed, the dagger stayed in his hand. 

The creature ... was Minwoo, that much he could sense, but everything else familiar about him felt oddly silent; drowned out by the pressure of darkness coalescing around him and at first, it took all of Jaejoong’s willpower to not throw a wall of light between them just to make it stop. To shield, to block, to defend against something so oppressive. “I don’t appreciate demons crawling into my bedroom unannounced,” he said instead of answering the question, voice quiet but audibly pissed. His gaze flickered over the other again, the horns, the flicking tail -- the shadow of a skull on his face, that brought back memories of another, far more unpleasant being. Another reason why the angel never relaxed, even after recognizing the other

 “What is this, Minwoo?”

[minwoo-ia]

Silver roses | Jaewoo

[jaejoong-ia]

minwoo-ia‌:

“Life gives, or Justice, gives us just the amount we can handle Jaejoong. The amount we need to grow and if we break it is on us, not the universe.” The demon preached to the angel, how ironic. “Justice gives us exactly what we need, I believe that. Even if the thing that we need is sometimes something that we hate.” He paused now, his words and his hands as he stared forward without really seeing anything. His fingers ran through the other’s hair once more as Jaejoong continued speaking. The words that came made the demon avert his eyes from the abyss in which he had been staring and to the angelic being who laid in his lap. “Isn’t it just so.”

If they had been opposites before when Jaejoong had been a hunter, they were even further apart now. With the white wings that Jaejoong carried and the darkness that grew with every passing day within the demon. “Some things will always be the same, I suppose.”

The kiss was allowed, the demon allowed it because how could anyone deny the beauty that laid in his lap. His heart skipped a beat when their lips met and he remained hunched over, he remained close. “I remember Jaejoong, do you think I could forget?” His red eyes gleamed in the darkness as they searched for something in the expression of the other. “Just because you are not a siren anymore, it does not mean you are any less desirable to me than before.” He cupped the other’s cheek as his thumb drew small circles on the skin.

“You want me to become addicted to you again? Jaejoong-ah it never went well in the past… And I don’t think…” He paused as his whole being screamed at him not to speak the words that were about to leave his body “I should corrupt a newborn angel.” Not that he moved away though, his eyes were half playful half serious as he leaned in again and pressed chapped lips against those of the angel once more.

Not less desirable, less loved. Both of these things had been linked together -- close, too close -- ever since Jaejoong first lost a guardian angel, perhaps subconsciously even before that, and to this day he still had to remind himself to untangle that old connection when it threatened to take over his fears. If people wanted him, they loved him to a degree and often enough, the siren had known no better way to ask for it than through the physical. Minwoo, however ... Shouldn’t he be an exception, considering how long and profoundly they’d known each other? But then again Minwoo was a far more complicated case than most, in many ways.

A small snort escaped him at the mention of corruption but the demon did not leave him the chance to reply -- and it was easier to lean into the kiss, allowing the other to dictate how far he wanted to take it, while Jaejoong simply took all that was given to him. Willingly, not under the influence of a siren’s charm. “I don’t think this is enough to corrupt me,” he whispered as they parted, voice a little thick but nonetheless amused and his lips split into a grin. “As talented as you are.”

Was it a clever excuse to avoid talking about them in a future sense? Absolutely. No matter how much he loved the other (or perhaps because of it), the angel had learned to commit those feelings with more caution than in the past. Right now they were two souls who understood each other’s perils and woes, exclusive in sharing this depth of connection, with no small amount of physical attraction thrown into the mix -- but that was all it would stay for the moment, no matter how tempting the thought of a bigger comfort might be. “Besides,” Jaejoong now continued, tracing his thumb across the other’s bottom lip in a gentle sweep, “If it were addiction or corruption, on either part, I wouldn’t be able to say that I should probably go now. It’s not ...” It’s not right, he wanted to say, to kiss you in this place after so little time with the portrait of your dead husband watching us. But what came out, fortunately, was a little more diplomatic if not particularly graceful. “It was stupid of me, I’m sorry.”

Still, the angel smiled rather than to show any sign of regret -- he didn’t regret it, just knew for once when to stop. “But you will call me if you need anything, alright? Or just come over. Promise me,” Jaejoong said while sliding off the other’s lap and getting back up, gaze turned serious when he looked back at Minwoo, although his voice softened. “You’re not alone, even if it feels like that at times.”

[jaejoong-ia]

A Time to Live || Minwoo & Jaejoong

“We’re going out.” A small but nonetheless brilliant smile tugged on the angel’s mouth, fingers hooked into the pockets of black jeans -- combined with the studded leather jacket, dark shirt and matching accessories it looked like Jaejoong had come over with a clear plan in mind. “And I mean out,” he therefore continued, so far not having left Minwoo the chance to say something ever since he opened the door to a house on Dultirim Plaza which, as it occurred to him, Jaejoong had not had the chance to visit yet. Later tonight, maybe. “None of those pompous fancy balls; you own a night club and we’re gonna get stupid drunk and forget that it’s Christmas. Yeah?”

To be fair, Jaejoong had pondered this decision. But in the end, how often did Minwoo attend Insolitus’ events with Jonghyun and how often had Jaejoong been reminded of nights with Min Jun there? On top of not wanting that, for neither of them, it felt like he was going to roll his eyes far enough into his head for them to get stuck if he saw one more person rolling themselves into a blanket of faux-harmony and happiness just because it was Christmas. Not the most angelic behaviour, he was well aware of that. Still, it did not mean that he forgot his manners and thus pulled a small wrapped box out of his jacket; holding it on his palm as he offered it to the demon. Inside would be a new pair of earrings, delicate and golden, adorned with two small diamonds. “Got you something, though.”

@minwoo-ia

[jaejoong-ia]

Wonder || Jieun & Jaejoong

[jaejoong-ia]

leejieun-ia‌:

She did have a few moments, and perhaps at the current moment she wished that she had been busy with something, anything. Instead, with a tense smile she nodded and moved to the mat, gracefully sinking upon it. Hands rested in her lap, fingers gently brushing over the fabric of her cardigan as she looked him over. “You shouldn’t have avoided me..” The words popped out before she could stop them, the truth behind them bare and the hurt raw. She had watched for weeks as he avoided her gaze, turned at the smallest sight of her and did all that he could to absolutely make no contact with her. He was one of the few people left in the academy that she felt close to and seeing that had hurt her to her very core. Sure people grew away from each other, but it usually didn’t happen to suddenly, without warning. 

Realizing the words could have seemed like she was attacking him, she winced, looking away as she shook her head. “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t fair to come onto him that way, he’d had a reason. 

Being this close to him her senses were almost going haywire and it only helped to amp up the tension. She began cracking her knuckles one by one, a terrible habit she always thought was broken until moments like this but for what it was worth, her lips stayed shut giving him the opportunity to speak first and explain. 

“No, you’re right,” he shook his head as soon as the apology left Jieun’s lips. Even if she could forgive him for everything he had become, it would now be a different question if she could also forgive the hurt he’d inflicted upon her, but Jaejoong swallowed the second aspect and forced it into the background for as long as he could. First, he owed her the truth. And truth gave him a voice, which in return shaped a quiet but steady flow of words as they came over his tongue, some catching against the roof of his mouth like barbwire but he fought through the push of resistance nonetheless.

“... I died, at least part of me did, I think. A large part wanted to die ever since Min Jun left, because it shattered the foundation of my life and everything underneath that I’d given up for him was too broken to recover. I started praying in the end, I’m no longer sure to whom or how it began, but all I wanted was for things to stop ... and then Justice came.” A deep sigh forced its way into Jaejoong’s lungs and back past his lips on the exhale. “I think ... we never spoke about it directly, but you know that I did not believe in a God. Even with Youngmin around, even with you around, I always felt disconnected from everything behind that angelic essence, which was perhaps what made me so jealous of it. Whenever I looked at Youngmin, I thought that perhaps one needed to be an angel to grasp why he had such unwavering faith at the time. And yet, Justice opened His arms to me and took me away -- I think I died there, at least for a moment, but ...”

He wasn’t making much sense, the former siren knew and it made him nervous to think that he might be unable to convey to Jieun what had truly happened and how it made him feel. Because who, if not an angel who had fallen and regained her wings to a different purpose, would understand the profound depth of a transformation of this kind? And Jaejoong needed someone to understand, gods, he needed it so badly.

“He gave me wings. He brought me back to this place and gave me wings, and turned me into everything I had longed to be when I no longer wanted it.” There it was, the truth. Although the angel only implied what had happened to him, he left no room for doubts as to what it meant and found himself observing Jieun’s expression almost anxiously to catch the moment when realization would settle in for her. “And how could I look you in the eye, I thought, when I knew what a God had done to you when He took your wings -- it made sense, suddenly, why it feels like such a profound loss. I avoided you, because I was afraid of what you would say when you sensed the change within me and that somehow it would be a betrayal to what connected us while we had both been betrayed by whatever higher power is up there, that I would no longer be worthy to be your friend. That what I felt was too shameful, and what I had become was someone you'd detest.”

And then he did allow the restlessness beneath his skin to spread out, stretching from his back and unfurling into a large pair of wings with brilliant white feathers that curled a little around him as if he needed to shield himself from physical or verbal attacks alike at any second -- they were sturdy enough to withstand even strong forces for a while, that much Jaejoong had already found out. But above all, he needed her to see; needed to lay bare all that he had become and leave it to her to judge him for it, because only then the burden on his shoulders would be lifted one way or another. 

[jaejoong-ia]

Miles To Go || Jaejoong & Justice

[jaejoong-ia]

mysterox‌:

How many had the privilege to meet their God? How many of the creatures that dwelled in all the realms could say they had irrefutable proof of their belief system being true? It was only Just to know this, the Lord of Justice had decided so he appeared before his followers every noe and then, giving them blessings all over the world as he appeared at this churches. His golden wings spreading behind him as his feet would touch the mortal grounds again as they had once done daily. Of course those he had made reborn had special access to him, the young cupid had an advantage there because in many ways Jeongmin had more to gain with meeting with Justice. He was younger and while damaged by everything he had been taken in his sleep, softly and gently, not in a flurry of anger and hatred and the misconception that life, as a fact, was unfair and designed to be torture.

Lord Justice sat on the throne as he waited for his disciple, his dark hazel eyes staring into the distance as golden locks hung over his slim shoulders. He looked the same in many ways as he had the first time he had met Jaejoong, the young face and flawless skin. His blonde hair dancing as he moved and the slender long legs crossed as he waited. He was wearing all white, with golden rings around all his fingers. There was an aureole hanging above his head though, shimmering in the air as it seemed to not be solid but made out of golden particles that listened to his bidding.

As all should.

He sensed them all, his followers, as they prayed for him. He was a good God, he was Just and when their wishes were Just he would grant them. Slay those that had done evil and praise those that had done his work in the realms. His churches grew in strength, more and more people became aware of his almighty power, and that too was,

As it should.

The angel finally made it up and Justice quirked an eyebrow at the man now standing there. Not kneeling, but waiting in silence. “Is this how you greet a God?” He asked, his voice deep but sweet as honey as he spoke, but there was a slight hint of a smile as he tugged on what seemed to be something invisible, however if Jaejoong would look up he would see a shimmer of threads around Lord Justice, going all directions and one, a red one, tugged on the other’s chest. It was a gentle tug, not one designed to get the other to kneel but teasing. There were only a few red ones among the hundreds of other strings, and with a blink they had disappeared again.

The Lord took in the other; he looked well all things considered. “Why have you come here?” he asked curiously “You have asked to see me several times, is prayer not enough? Do you not feel my presence whenever you close your eyes and speak to me?” He asked as he tilted his head slightly. “I’ve only made the two angels you know.”

Why have you come here?

When Jaejoong lifted his gaze, following the thread of a red string connecting him to the other as it tugged on something deeply lodged in his heart, soul, somewhere inbetween, Justice’s presence alone was enough to humble him. Suddenly it seemed foolish to have climbed all the way up here, to ask for help that surely could have been provided elsewhere as well and the angel worried that his Lord would chastise him for wanting more than that. If he could already see into his head and read the thoughts long before he could consider saying them out loud or not -- and yet, as much as Justice’s presence seemed to knock the breath from his lungs, the playful glimmer in his eyes felt so familiar and comforting that it soothed him at the same time. An odd, churning contrast.

“Perhaps I’m just greedy to be your favorite,” he joked, voice raw and cracking around the first syllables as if he had to struggle to find it again, but it grew confident quickly enough. And serious, as he continued; the small smile disappearing from his face as quickly as it had ghosted over it while his eyes lowered their gaze toward the ground in front of the throne. “... I am greedy. Having felt your presence does not soothe the questions I have and they grow persistent enough to keep me awake at night.”

Jaejoong paused for a split second, unsure about whether or not Justice would grant him permission to continue, but then decided to take matters into his own hands -- if only, because he had come so far and, really, what did he have to lose at this point? His God was a merciful one, if shown respect, and that he had not punished Jaejoong for the small insolence of not kneeling proved as much. Only now his legs gave way, letting the angel sink gracefully to the floor with his hands resting on his lap as he looked back up at the ethereal creature on the throne once more; so familiar to the one he had turned to for guidance many many years ago as well -- but while Justice encompassed Youngmin’s essence in every possible way, he was also so much more.

“What purpose do I serve?” That question alone echoed heavily through the hall and the distance between them, as small as it was at this point, but Jaejoong would not have dared to approach further without being prompted. “What did you see, when you took me, that it convinced you to bring me back? You could have let me kill myself, slowly but surely; I would have belonged to you either way.” Jaejoong’s soul had still been sworn to the Nightmother and when Justice took Her place, it automatically meant that it was His to keep after Jaejoong’s death, too. He’d never retracted the vow he made back then, half wishing that someday it might reunite him with Min Jun when the night elf fell in battle; that they could be together in Her embrace if not in this world. Sometimes it still hurt to know that this possibility was out of reach now, too. But then again, sometimes he still woke up missing Min Jun so much that it was hard not to think his heart would be ripped out of his chest right in that very moment.

None of this he said out loud, because none of it changed or influenced the most prominent struggle bothering him, one which the angel hurried to explain before Justice might think he was being ungrateful. “I’m lost as to where my place in this world is. I knew what I was supposed to do as a hunter, even though I got too close to the creatures I was meant to detest, but ...” Another small pause, the angel frowned. “Is it sin to be so deeply connected to a demon? Am I disappointing you by not knowing whether or not I should allow him to be so important? Am I expected to continue purging monsters from the world? But how can I when the definition by which I pick them would include some of my friends, too? You sent me back and I know you did not do so on a whim -- and I asked to see you, not only because your presence gives me comfort more so than in prayers, but because prayers do not seem capable of answering the questions I have. Forgive me, if I have many.”

[minwoo-ia]

Silver roses | Jaewoo

[jaejoong-ia]

minwoo-ia‌:

As Jaejoong shifted Minwoo started playing with his hair, almost out of instinct, immediately and it felt so nice and natural. He listened to Jaejoong as he spoke and shrugged slightly. What did it feel to have magic? What did it feel to have it just out of reach? “It isn’t good when ti comes in one go, jaejoong-ah.” He replied softly “It only comes in one big wave when you are desperate. if it isn’t due to pure need it just keeps growing, even within me it still grows, slowly and steadily as I become older.” He smiled down at the angel laying in his lap and the situation would be terribly funny if it had not been such a soft moment on its own. 

The question that followed made Minwoo’s hand still for a moment. “You don’t know- ah…” His eyes darkened for a bit. “it was when Jonghyun passed, the first time-” He tilted his head slightly, the name left a painful taste in his mouth because the wounds were still fresh even if he denied himself to feel the full pain. “I knew I had to do something and I killed some pactdemons out of pure frustration and… I saw the soul, for the first time, I saw the soul of the creature I had killed and I… knew I could take it. it was some kind of instinct that came up in me when I saw it and I grabbed onto it. I collected the first souls and bound them to me with blood magic. It was all probably a combination of things that happened, their blood on my hands and I was bleeding too and the right… emotions because all I wanted was to grow stronger for revenge.” 

His hands continued playing with the angel’s hair. “The need for revenge was so strong that it took me over- ah well you were there… I lost my mind in that time, but the power… it consumed me, I was thriving on it and it only deepened the insanity that had come over me. I wanted to take revenge on the prince of hell and I needed everything I could get so I researched, read books but the real power was something that I knew instinctively how to use.” He shrugged “Later I considered that I might have read about soul binding when I was much younger and I subconsciously remembered it- who knows? Yet it was such a rush of power that it took over everything.” he smiled “So I rather have it in small bits and pieces now, it is better that way, so I don’t get overwhelmed again.” There was a fire in his eyes “but I’ll get it all, don’t be mistaken, it is not that I don’t want it, it is that I know that it is safer for me and everyone around me to be patient. Power, like many things, is addictive, Jaejoong.” 

“... Life messed us up pretty bad, didn’t it?” The question dropped quietly and not without a self-deprecating note to it, a few moments after Minwoo stopped talking. The demon had been right, there were things Jaejoong did not know about how his powers and struggles both came to be, his words filling the hollowed out spaces in the angel’s imagination and memory of how he had perceived those times. He did not sound regretful about it, however. If there was one thing Jaejoong had learned in the past months, then it was the lesson that guilt never served to elevate a troubled soul, only to drag it further down like dead weight tied to one’s feet. “I keep thinking,” he continued now, eyes fixating on an empty spot above the picture of Minwoo and Jonghyun together, keeping it in his peripheral vision without directly looking at it, “that maybe all of this has a purpose to serve, for us. That all of these things happen, so we can grow -- otherwise, would you have ever felt the anger that made you strong enough to pull a soul out of a living body? Justice granted me the wish to be immortal when it was the last thing I wanted and yet there’s beauty in that irony, too. Perhaps we’d just ... stagnate, if none of that had happened. Or perhaps I’m just making up excuses for the pain, I don’t know.”

He shrugged, half-hearted as to not disturb the demon whose thighs he still rested on; the hand in his hair a soothing caress, which gave Jaejoong more comfort than he felt confident to admit. "Struggle always seems to be linked to growth and powers, in this case.” Which could justify the follow-up thought of whether or not powers were worth it, if they took so much in return, but the angel was not nearly drunk enough to wallow in that kind of misery just yet. Instead he exhaled a long breath through his nose and turned his head, until one half of his face was pressed against Minwoo’s stomach; his body radiating a nice warmth even through the fabric of his shirt. Almost like he tucked himself away against him for comfort, but the moment lasted only for a few heartbeats before the angel tilted the other way again to look up at him properly.

“Yet despite all of it, we don’t go anywhere. Strange, isn’t it?”

And a low blow too, perhaps. He knew about the demon’s feelings for him and to which extent they were reciprocated, that love between them had always been a little more than pure and platonic, even if the pull towards other people had been stronger at the same time. They were volatile together, bound to spiral out of control because they could not keep each other in line the way Min Jun and Jonghyun had done. Still, Jaejoong thought, right now Minwoo was the one capable of reaching deepest into his soul. And at the end of the day, they were both in need of comfort only they could give to each other, especially now, especially given recent events -- and the angel was done abiding by rules he put upon himself his entire life.

He reached up without a word, fingertips brushing a little sloppily over Minwoo’s cheek considering the angle, but he hooked them against the back of his neck nonetheless and used that leverage to pull the demon down toward him, while he lifted his head at the same time. Kissing him still felt familiar. It was nothing more than a chaste lock of lips, offered with pure intentions rather than desire, as much as Jaejoong knew how quickly those tides could turn against him. “This also used to be addictive,” he hummed low in his throat when he pulled away just enough to speak, one corner of his mouth curling into a smile. “A long time ago by now. Remember?”

[jaejoong-ia]

Pumpkin Witch | Jaejoong & Avan (Halloween Event)

Carving pumpkins is a fun event for young and old during Halloween, go see the big Jack o’lantern garden, pick a pumpkin and carve it with friends. Be sure to stick around for a little because all the carved pumpkins will come to live after about ten minutes of sprinkling the enchanted powder on them!

Pumpkin carving was an ... odd thing. Always had been and while Jaejoong could do a lot of things with a knife in his hand, some more responsible or actually useful than others, it had never occurred to him to try this. Well, and then life decided to take him for a spin into the unexpected and perhaps, the angel thought as he eyed the orange monstrosity in front of him, it took a weird near-death-and-rebirth experience to step out of one’s comfort zones sometimes. In the past months he’d spent a lot of time thinking about all the things he would have missed out on, if Justice had not been there in time or if his attempts at self-destruction had been less careful and more efficient. And as that same dry voice in his conscience did not grow tired of reminding him, trying out a new thing could turn out to be quite beneficial.

Only problem being, that the angel had no idea where to begin. While studying the pumpkins in front of him, he twirled the knife in his right hand absentmindedly, motions that could easily take a finger or two if he slipped up, but Jaejoong had been around blades of any kind long enough to not make that mistake -- by now, it was a distracted, subconscious trick. He’d seen some people go for scary, monstrous faces on their pumpkins before, others for simple, more child-like ones. Personally? He just wanted to get something done today, whether or not he’d end up doing it with someone else or by himself. This had been announced as a social event but so far the few people who were here seemed to either be paired off or working with so much determination already, that the angel would feel bad interrupting them. 

Then again, new things. And before he thought about other people, he would have to decide on a pumpkin to carve in the first place. Would a small one be better to start with, or a big one?

@avan-ia

[minwoo-ia]

Silver roses | Jaewoo

[jaejoong-ia]

minwoo-ia:

The bottle of blood went and Minwoo followed it with his cherry-colored eyes. He got wine to replace it though which was only a small assurance. For now it would do and he sighed as he took the glass and silently thanked the angel for it before taking a small sip. “Shouldn’t you be all heavenly and filled with hope and serenity now that you’re an angel?” Minwoo asked, who knew more about being an angel than most demons and knew it wasn’t true- however he would have hoped Jaejoong would have found some peace now that he had transformed into a different kind of creature.

The mention of being alone made his eyes wander down to the floor for a second and did not comment on it. They had both experienced loss, Minwoo did not want to discuss that right now. The brush made his eyes shot back up again as he watched the other in his angelic glory; it was still his Jaejoong but different. His skin seemed different, his eyes had a changed glow to it, even the way his hair reflected the light was different.

One eyebrow tugged up. “All the other admirers? First off, how many do you have and are you implying that I am your admirer?” He smiled as he reached out and tucked some locks of hair behind Jaejoong’s ear. “You look beautiful, you know, I mean you were a siren before but I like you better as an angel I think. It suits you.” He whispered as his eyes lit up in red once more, a warmer color than before. “also, you’re not alone.” He added with a small shrug “You’re here with me now, aren’t you?”

“You’ve always admired me,” the remnants of the siren in him teased, the smile on his lips playful and not unkind. Jaejoong did not care to go into details of whether or not his words rang true and to which extent, and neither did he linger on the bittersweet taste of Minwoo’s following comment. Angel, siren. There were times when nothing mattered more than the question of his existence, but these dreams and wishes of the past fell utterly short in light of what he had lost pursuing them. While returning the smile Jaejoong let out a non-committal hum in lieu of a reply, one hand putting the wine glass back on the table so that he could shift, settle his head on the demon’s lap and let his legs stretch out over the armrest of the couch.

“I would be more serene if I figured out how to deal with the power Justice has given me,” he then continued, on a light rather than a somber note. No matter how much implied truth rang in his words, Jaejoong wasn’t here for a philosophical debate tonight. “It’s like there’s this .. abundance of energy just waiting for me to tap into it, but all I can get right now are little bits and pieces. Is that how it always feels? With magic, I mean?” His eyes strayed from where they had been watching Prince in a corner back up to Minwoo’s face instead. For someone who had only known a small sliver of magic in their blood so far, it was easy to feel overwhelmed by suddenly having so much of it and being able to channel and shape it into more than one specific thing.

“I’m not even sure I’ve discovered everything I can do, in theory. How was that for you when you-- you know. Started to collect the souls of the damned, and all  that?”

[jaejoong-ia]

Miles To Go || Jaejoong & Justice

The stone felt warm beneath his touch, like a hollowed out thing that had been worn down by age and now filled with the light of a presence much more grand than even these walls could fathom. Jaejoong sensed him, somewhere further up the ancient cathedral -- Lord Justice, in every sense his creator now, although to Jaejoong he would always bear another name before all others, one he did not speak out loud in the other’s presence but attached to him in his thoughts near constantly. A fond, bittersweet reminder of days long past. Pebbles and fine debris crunched beneath his feet as the angel tilted a little sideways to enter yet another stone-walled corridor, barely wide enough to let him fit through while his wings were hidden away. He vaguely remembered this place in bits and pieces of the time after his reawakening, remembered getting stuck more than once or twice while his powers were still new and foreign and the twinkle of Justice’s amusement scraping against the back of his mind each time it had happened. Today, he navigated these walls with much more ease.

Jeongmin wasn’t with him any longer, the cupid had only brought him to the doors of the cathedral and not for the first time Jaejoong wondered, if this was another sign of Justice’s particular brand of humor -- forcing the brothers to cooperate and be together, when in a past life all that connected them had been spite and resentment. It was Jeongmin who had brought him the message that a meeting with their Lord had been granted, long after Jaejoong began asking for it out of need for guidance and a constant feeling of being disconnected from something. As if the shell of his former life still scratched at him from time to time, when he found pieces of it he’d left behind and now could not decide how they fit into the different puzzle of his new existence. And in his mind there was no one else who could help him figure it out, except the one who had shaped him to begin with.

The corridor opened up into another staircase, winding its way higher and higher and beckoning Jaejoong to follow -- only after he had lost count of how many stairs it had been, they finally stopped on a platform, which revealed a large room behind its heavy doors. Murals and decorated glass windows adorned nearly every side of it, guiding the angel’s gaze as he stepped further in, but never holding it for long. Justice’s presence seemed nearly overwhelming this close and he found himself drawn to him by forces stronger than anything he’d experienced before; eyes finally landing on the figure awaiting him. For a split second, Jaejoong fought off the impulse to kneel and then felt silly for it immediately after; his new life and reverence for Justice aside, there was still considerable pride within the angel whether he would get chided for it or not. Instead, he showed his respect by remaining silent once he’d stopped in the middle of the room, hands lightly folding behind his back as he stood still -- and waited.

@mysterox

[jaejoong-ia]

jeongmin-ia:

Jeongmin stared at him for a while. “Fine, then what?” he asked and realized that they never tried to bond over anything that wasn’t… sex or lovers or hatred. That was odd. “You like music?” He asked curiously “How about books? France? I love France.” 

Strange, wasn’t it? And they’d used to call each other halfbrothers, more out of spite than anything, before Youngmin decided it would be fun to resurrect them as actual brothers. Also out of spite more than anything, if Jaejoong dared to make an assumption about Lord Justice’s nature. “I do,” he replied now, the tension ebbing out of his voice the more he relaxed into the conversation -- in slow steps, but nevertheless it was progress. “I play a few instruments and sing, just not in public like you.”

That had sounded more accusing than he intended, but hopefully Jeongmin wouldn’t jump on the occasion to pick a fight now that they were actually trying to bond. “Why France, though? Anything special there?” A little smile, teasing and not unlike the ones he shot Minwoo from time to time these days, appeared on his lips. “Or anyone?”

[minwoo-ia]

Silver roses | Jaewoo

[jaejoong-ia]

minwoo-ia:

A small snort- did it feel different? Yeah it did because it was no longer the muddled halfblood-blood that he had grown so fond of but it was something else, there was something pure that he could and could not place. It was familiar yet not- something off, something different, something undeniably unique. Which fit the situation because nothing was the same and it would never be again. He followed the gaze of the other to the photograph and his eyes dimmed for a moment. It was true that there was an absence and that would be there forever. Yet the demon felt the other around him, it was different than before. He felt more at ease even in the heart wrenching pain he was going through. He felt a certain serenity that his love had deserved. 

The demon pushed the thoughts away for now because he was lonely and he needed someone- Jaejoong was lonely too he assumed. “I am always high these days.” He said as he shrugged but got two glasses for them anyway. He did not seem very bothered by admitting this and Jaejoong was probably the only one he would admit this to. 

Not that he would listen to objections, the other might be an angel now but that did not mean that he was some kind of blood police? Right? Gods, he hoped not. “So, how is your day going?”

No, the young angel -- and how ironic this was by all accounts -- was not some kind of blood police; just a concerned friend, who had seen once before what happened to Minwoo if he was left alone for too long with his own grief. Hearing that he was high on fairy blood was, sadly, one of those familiar things from the past. And so he accepted the offered glasses, filled them both and then took the other one in front of Minwoo and brought it with him to the kitchen where he stored the bottle of wine; not getting rid of the intoxicating substance but putting it out of the demon’s reach for now.

Only then he paid attention to the question of how his day had been.

“Long. Dreadful,” Jaejoong replied with a small snort, humored in all the ways he shouldn’t be but could appreciate now, given how recent things had changed. “It’s the second year alone, so I’m getting used to it.” That in itself wasn’t quite true, but they were both broken enough to see through half-hearted lies and be fine with it and so Jaejoong didn’t bother making him believe it any further. Plus, and this was much more important as far as the angel was concerned, Minwoo needed him more tonight. As such he would be here, be whatever the other wanted in order to ease the pain; choosing to sit down close to him after returning from the kitchen, his thigh brushing against the demon’s in a simple touch for now. Anything beyond that would happen on Minwoo’s terms, on his invitation. Or demand.

“But I was glad to hear you wanted to spend some time together.” His voice had softened a bit with his last words, because certain truths, no matter how true they were, still refused to be spoken out loud easily. A wry smile tugged on one corner of his mouth. “And since I got rid of all the other admirers today, I’m going to stay however long you’d like me to.”

[jaejoong-ia]

Wonder || Jieun & Jaejoong

[jaejoong-ia]

leejieun-ia:

Well he did have a point there…drinking wasn’t exactly the best way to cope either and yet she often did it as well. She’d let that quip make its way to the grave in favor of finally talking to him. Arms crossed over her chest before slowly folding at her waist to not seem so tense and terse as she stared at the rigid back before her. The fact that he wouldn’t turn to face her was all she needed to know that he had been avoiding her. She’d spotted him a few times from afar and though she’d try to catch his eye or gain his attention it was never recieved until she had begun to feel awkward. Had she done something wrong? Offended him in some way? It wasn’t like it hadn’t happened with others before but despite raking through her memories she couldn’t think of anything odd happening between them.

Tonight spotting him had been a fluke, she was leaving the practice rooms when the sound of someone boxing had caught her attention. With an apology on her lips she’d set forth to approach him but the words had disappeared as being so close to him bought forth a new discovery.

“Hey.” It was a simple greeting and yet the wod hung heavy between them as she shifted on her feet trying to choke down the sudden onslaught of questions. What was going on? Why did he have this feeling? This wasn’t something you could replicate with spells no matter how hard you tried.

Angelic essense.

Squeezing her hands into fist she ignored the pain of the nails breaking the skin on her palms as she spoke again. “You…look…” Well? Different, Made new in a blinding way he never had been before? “Well.” Well seemed safe enough. “

Her gaze held his, brown eyes unwavering through she wanted to glance away. It was almost a battle of wills and having finally caught him after so long she wasn’t going to give up so easy. "If you wanted a sparring partner you could have called me. I probably move better than a beat up bag of sand." 

Where was the serenity bestowed upon him in a distant realm of light, when Jaejoong needed it the most? He would not even be so worried, mind racing too many miles a minute, if he hadn’t seen friendships break over much less than what had forced its way between them simply because Jaejoong allowed it to fester and take hold. The rustle of wings stirred beneath his skin, still a foreign feeling and yet conveying his inner restlessness as he briefly debated to just let them unfurl and be done with it -- shocking Jieun would be more effective than them just dancing around each other for much longer. And yet, weren’t the feathers of pure white one of his biggest concerns? For the company he kept he had been too pure in all the wrong ways as a half-blood human already, how much more distance would this bring between himself and the people he cared about?

“Yeah.” A quiet, barely there chuckle rushed past his lips, though he bit back the mention of how he’d wanted to call her. Pointless excuses neither of them cared to hear. “I should have, I know.” His eyes strayed down to her hands, taking in the tightly curled fists and white knuckles and he knew, now more than ever, that no amount of smalltalk was going to make either of them relax until they got the most important question out of the way. With his jaw working against the aftertaste of that truth settling into his gut, Jaejoong braced himself; rational thought taking over the emotions going haywire in his brain.

“Do you have a few moments?” He then nodded towards one of the thicker mats on the ground nearby, more suitable for sitting than the hard ground. “I’d like to explain what you’re sensing, we both know that you are. It’s .. part of why I was avoiding you, but--” Again, a nod and with it the almost desperate invitation for Jieun to take him up on the offer and just let him talk, get all of it out in the open before the opportunity to properly explain himself was gone. “Please.”

[minwoo-ia]

Silver roses | Jaewoo

[jaejoong-ia]

The demon was sitting in the dimly lit room as he stared out of the window, red eyes flickering as he sipped from a bottle of fairy blood when there was a knock on the door. Truth be told he had not been sure whether the angel would accept the invitation but he was glad he did. 

“You know I can sense your blood, still.” Minwoo said as he opened the door to reveal him in simple yet classy clothing. A blouse and black pants as he stepped aside for Jaejoong to come in. “How are you?”

@jaejoong-ia

He didn’t know -- or rather, he’d forgotten about it, in a corner of his mind that had gotten lost somewhere between the last days of his human life and reawakening in the brilliance of something greater. They were little things. Things that needed to be rearranged in his mind before they fit a former life and the current one, but Jaejoong wasn’t going to dwell on that when it seemed much easier to accept the other’s comment with a quirk of his mouth as he stepped into the room. “Does it feel different?” He asked back, rather than to dig into the question of how he was. Fine, except not really, could be such a dull answer, especially when Minwoo was the one who had the decidedly more terrible time between them.

His gaze briefly strayed to the picture on the wall again, showing both demons together. Jaejoong did not miss the absence of the other, never would, and yet it still felt strange -- like the space around Minwoo was still half-empty and would be for quite a while. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought something else,” he then lifted the bottle of wine, eyes wandering over to the demon once more as he turned back to him; the other drink on the table not having escaped his attention either, and he knew the demon well enough to take a good guess at its contents. The corners of his mouth twitched again. “Might be a good idea on your part to get drunk first and then high.”