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Language:
English
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Published:
2025-09-27
Updated:
2025-10-16
Words:
21,289
Chapters:
9/?
Comments:
2
Kudos:
15
Bookmarks:
2
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281

A Stage of Illusions and Desires

Summary:

You're hired to take on a mission to retrieve something your sister, Yelan, had lost in a previously failed mission: the family heirloom known as the Fantastic Bracelet. The plan was simple: gather intel, retrieve the bracelet, and then disappear. However, things take an unexpected turn as you try to decipher the thief who is none other than the Regrator himself. Your attempts at uncovering the bracelet's location gradually bring you at war with yourself over desire, and you can't even tell what he's thinking through all this.

... Or in layman's terms, you try to get information out of Pantalone without getting caught, but instead he has you desiring for him secretly and now you're at warfare with yourself. (Trust me, it gets better.)

Chapter 1: Author's Note

Chapter Text

This WIP has been collecting dust for maybe a year or two, but recently I got the inspiration out of nowhere to keep working on it. A lot of things happened ever since I started writing it, so I've both been busy and emotionally... absent? But that's not important. :)

I don't have a written plan on how the story's gonna go, so I'm mostly writing the plot as I go. HOWEVER! I do have a general idea of where I want it to go. And trust me, if you, dear reader, love a good story where the female lead and male lead are both intellectually at war with one another, then this won't disappoint. I'm gonna lay it out right here: I love pain, but only if it hurts good. A lot of whispers of desire will go unsaid and, although they are unsaid, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are hidden. I won't spoil too much, but this is just to give you an idea of what the building romance is going to look like. Just two sapiosexuals having at it.

By the time I post this work, on September 27th 2025, I've already written 2 chapters, each around ~2k-3k words in length respectively. I'm on the 3rd chapter now. Originally I wanted to finish writing at least 80% of the story before posting the first chapter, but impatience got the better of me, and now we're ALL gonna suffer as I don't have any fixed schedule!!! I'll post the first one, and then the second one a few days later (probably). My only fear is that I may or may not change some details as I keep writing. Maybe it's the grammar, typos, or plot-relevant details. I'll have the first two chapters posted since I want to share the work already, and I've read through them many times to make sure they were ready for the public, so they should be good to go. From chapter 3 and onwards, I'll need to be more careful, or mindful? of fixing any issues before posting.

Other things you can expect is, this story will NOT end when your MC's mission ends. There will be much more to it, and the angst goes on. The relationship will not be established that early. As per the tag, it's a slow burn. And, as Irene Adler in BBC Sherlock says, "Brainy is the new sexy," and I fully agree.

This fic has haunted me for the past couple of years. When I say it never left my mind, I mean it. You can probably bet that it won't go away in the future either. So long as I have this passion for Pantalone and MC's dynamic, it will rot my brain till the day I die. I'll try my best to finish this work. Oh and by the way! I know we love the His POV chapters. You can expect those as well. :)

If chapter 2 remains good to go, you can expect it to get released around September 30th 2025. TAGS WILL BE ADDED AS CHAPTERS COME IN. Other notes will be included in their respective chapters.

If I already caught your attention for you to read this far, then I can only pray for your sanity as you go down this spiral.

Welcome to the Stage of Illusions and Desires.