#filipinx!reader

"Do they have meanings?" Curiosity laces Marc's tone. 

Your head slightly tilted to the side, brows furrowing as you wait for him to clarify his question. Did he meant your mask-

"The tats..I mean.." He clears his throat as he shifts in his seat,  "You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable." He quickly adds, raising his palm a little as he reassures you.

Ahhh..of course, what else would it be? It is the most distinctive feature on your face after all.

"It's okay, I'm comfortable to answer that. To you, anyways. You know my side-job, which would make explaining this-" you gesture your tattoos- "a whole lotta easier to talk about." You offer him a smile as you carefully sat up, feeling a little better now. 

Marc was about to reprimand you from doing so, but you dismiss him with a smile, "It's fine, it doesn't take me too long to heal." You cross your legs and face the gwapito*.

"So, uh..in my region's ancient culture- like pre-colonial and all- the tattoo generally used to be accessories for women. For men, however," you glance at the back of your hand, "it signifies their bravery for killing an enemy. The placement and amount tells how many they have killed in their lifetime." You look up at him through your lashes, and his brows are slightly raised as his eyes roam on your exposed tattoos, you can see the gears in his mind turning as he connects the dots.

"Once you've killed a foe, you will be tattooed manually by an assigned and skillful person and it usually starts from the ankle up to your leg." You tug your shoes off and show him the inked skin, thick black inks running straight up your leg, less thick ones beside it and thin ones that are zigzagged in pattern. "I forgot what each line was called but uh..yeah they have names." You continue as you show your other leg. 

Marc studies the black streaks and patterns on your skin, it is old and has healed quite beautifully. You didn't realize that you have stared off at the far distance as memories flash before your eyes. It took you a while but when you felt that small tingle when you feel eyes on you, you came back to the present. You glance at Marc, his worry might not be oozing but you were able to perceive it.

"I'm fine-" You huff, raising your leg and placing your feet on the couch to rest your chin on your knee.

"You're clearly not." 

"I am. I really am. I'm just…reminiscing is all."

"Reminiscing something painful equates to, not fine."

"Yes the memory was painful but it was also satisfying on my part so, I'm fine."

You were remembering your family's faces after they saw the tattoo. Tattoos are a big taboo in present times in your country. They called you cruel names and hurtful words were thrown and the end was you were thrown out of the household. All of these horrible things happened in less than an hour but you were smilling. Because damn did it felt gratifying to be the "disappointment" in the family when you were the pride of your ancestors.

"I'm fine. I assure you." You give him a sincere smile and even reach out for his hand. An offer for comfort, for him or for yourself or for you both, you did not know.

He looked utterly unconvinced but still took your hand, in which you gave a gentle squeeze. Thanking him for how considerate he was before continuing the Visayan ancient culture lesson, awkwardly letting him go since you really didn't want to make him uncomfortable and make him think you were a creep. 

Marc didn't want to let you go too, but he did not say it, afraid of severing the tiny bond you two were making as you spent time together. Maskless and vulnerable. Away from danger and in the comfort of his home. Not facing enemies as you spoke. 

"The face tells the same story, but, face tatts are 'restricted to the bravest and toughest heroes', a direct quote from Yna herself."

"Yna, you mean..?"

"Ynaguinid. Yes."

It was silent. Marc gives you a thoughtful stare as you return it with a neutral one, leaning back to the couch as you let him process the information you just gave him while waiting for his reaction.

"Is it still applied traditionally in your case or does Ynaguinid just.." he waves his fingers in the air, "-magically put it on you after you killed someone?"

You chuckle, "That's what I was thinking when she told me that I have to get tattooed, just like my ancestors- the warriors before me- to show my bravery and truly embrace that I am a descendant of Ynaguinid's warriors. But nooooo.." you laugh out the vowel, "I have to actually get it traditionally which is using a needle that is lodged in stick, dip it to the ink then hit the back of the needle-stick to the imprint the ink to the skin." You scrunch your nose as you feel the feeling of the process at this moment as you talk about it.

Marc can only imagine how it feels as he had never got any tattoos in his life. His brows were scrunched as he tried to picture out the process. 

"It kinda looks like you're nailing a wall but instead of a wall its skin-"

"Okay, okay. I get it. I get it now." He took a deep breath and exhaled, nodding as he crossed his arms. "Did- does it hurt?"

"Like a bitch. The first time I received one," You uncross your legs, raise your right foot and rotate it, showing him the drawing on your ankle, "I cried when the needle first hit my skin, it was my very first tattoo after all, and fuck did it feel like I was getting crucified or somethin." 

You chortle seeing the man's eyes widen a smidge and lean back, "I also got a very high fever after the whole process, which was not done by one sitting, and thought I was going to die at that moment. Although my ancestors and Ynaguinid were by my side the whole time, I did not stop sobbing and was about to run away from Apo Whang-od and never return again." You laughed at the end of your sentence, seeing the ridiculousness now but you were actually terrified for your life when you did get your first tattoo. Your warriorification as Gen-Z-ers would say.

Marc, although chuckled along with you, was worried about hearing the hurtful process and aftermath of the tradition. But seeing as you laughed it off, he just shakes his head with a conceding laugh.

"Overtime, the pain has lessened," gesturing your leg and bicep, "but when I received this snake jaw tattoo?-" you point at your jaw that has the said tattoo. It ran from the bottom of your ears down and met the middle of your chin, resembling the lower jaw of a cobra, "Nah!* I really thought I died then came back to life." You shake your head and look to the side, trying to contain your laughter seeing the raised brows of Marc after hearing your hyperbole, biting both your lips with a lopsided smile.

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*gwapito = handsome

*Nah! = a Cebuano expression that is kinda like a scoff, but it could also be used for other things. In this scenario, it is used like a "You won't believe it!" expression.

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Yeah... i rlly wanted Filipinx!reader to have tatts akjsjsjs Sidapa was a cool idea too, being the God of the Dead and (based on some stories) the god that courted Bulan, one of the God of the Moons, bc..ya know..yeah you get it.. But what i wanted my reader to be kinda didn't align to Sidapa's character....I KNOWWW i could've like..made something up but it didnt really sit right for me so I changed him to Ynaguinid. plus she's a badass too so :)

If you guys have any ideas you want to share or suggestions or just wanna chat, feel free to comment or talk anonymously (if you want to) in my ask box. I rlly need some creative juices

“I told you guys, I can’t watch this stuff. The secondhand embarrassment is too much. We’re going to have to pause the movie every ten minutes, so I can get up,” you huffed, crossing your arms. It was your brilliant idea to hang out and watch a movie. In your defense, you were joking when you showed them the trailer to a Filipino rom-com called “She’s Dating the Gangster.” Finn and Poe, however, insisted on watching the cheesy movie, partly because of genuine interest, but mostly to watch you cringe for two hours.

“However long it takes, we are going to watch this movie!” Poe finally popped the cork on the wine, pouring all three of you equal amounts. He then swirled the glass and sipped it, making a show of smacking his mouth to really get the taste.“Ahh…that’s..disappointing.”

“You chose that wine,” Finn remarked.

“This movie is in Tagalog!” you interrupted. You were ready to pull out all the stops to not watch this movie.

“We know how to read, Y/N” Poe replied. “Ok so can you explain everything again from the top?”

You groaned. “Ok so in Philippines, they have love teams. Think Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato. Nick Jonas and Selena Gomez. Nick Jonas and Miley Cyrus…you get it. Anyway, these love teams make a whole bunch of movies and commercials together because their chemistry sells. Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo have been a love team for years now, and they’re actually dating in real life. Filipinos looooove a good rom-com. The more kilig, the better.”

“Do they always have to be dating to be a love team?” Finn asked.

“I don’t think so, but the most successful ones are dating,” you answered. “In the movie, there’s two couples played by the same actors, but in different times. Modern-day couple is the one going on a crazy adventure. 90’s couple is the one who pretends to be in a relationship but then the girl falls in love for real. Oh noooooo.” You took a significant swig of your wine in preparation for the cringe you were about to feel.

“Damn, babe. We could have been a great love team.” Finn remarked. He put his arm around you, and you snuggled into his side, reveling in the warmth he provided. He tilted your chin and placed a sweet kiss on your lips. “Do you think they’d make a love team name for us?”

“Oh god and have to do these movies?!” You grabbed the blanket and curled it around your hands, ready to act as a shield when the movie gets too kilig. You felt something heavy settle across your lap. You looked down and saw Poe had made himself comfortable by sitting sideways, resting his legs and feet across your lap and Finn’s, respectively. “You’re way too comfortable sometimes, Dameron.”

“That’s because you guys are my number one love team,” Poe toasted his cup to us. Finn burst out laughing at his best friend’s remarks while you rolled your eyes and started the movie.

Approximately an hour into the movie, 7 pauses, and a bottle of wine later, it was safe to say Finn and you were tipsy while Poe was wine-drunk. If it wasn’t apparent from your wine-stained lips, it became really obvious through Poe’s and your live commentary. On the screen, the modern-day couple were dancing in the bed of a moving truck, sharing headphones, having a cute moment, while a romantic song that completely mismatched the tempo of their dance played overhead. The modern-day couple’s truck dancing scene would switch with the 90’s couple’s club dancing scene. The truck from modern day stopped in the middle of the road. The couple was oblivious to the halt in movement, caught up in each other’s eyes. The truck’s driver exits with a shit-eating grin on his face, looking at the couple who were holding each other in the bed of his truck, lost to the world around them. The driver asked, “Ano nangyayari diyan? Okay lang kayo?!” (What’s happening there? Are y’all ok?).

You paused the movie once again. Grabbing the second bottle, you poured more wine into your cup, yelling, “This ninong-looking-ass motherfucker! Agh I can’t take this! It’s cute but so cringe.” You drank a huge gulp, begging your body to let go of the embarrassment that you were feeling.

“They really love each other, don’t they? Their love even inspired a young couple years down the line.” Finn muttered, invested in the movie while you could only scrunch your face in return. Poe remained quiet, still sitting sideways. He was scanning your cups of wine together with the intense concentration that only a wine-drunk man could possess. You were about to play the movie when Poe suddenly got up, moving his legs off your lap and his feet off Finn’s lap, nearly knocking Finn’s drink in the process. Poe got on his knees in front of the coffee table and pushed both your cup and his side-to-side, sloshing the dark burgundy liquid around. He brought his face level to the cups, studying the meniscus, which were at the same level. Meanwhile, Finn and you remained snuggled on the couch, watching Poe as he took your cup and poured more wine into his cup then downed it.

“Poe! Babe did you see that?” You looked up at Finn, who couldn’t hold in his laughter and was clutching his stomach from having previously laughed so hard from Poe’s and your live commentary throughout the movie. “Babe! He took my wine!”

Poe rolled his eyes. He settled sideways against the couch again, placing his legs into your laps and his feet into Finn’s. “Yeah she deserved it,” Poe slurred.

“Finn!” You whined. “He took my wine!”

“Babe, it’s ok! Look.” Finn comforted. He leaned forward and grabbed the bottle of wine, refilling yours generously. You grinned, sipping from your cup. You lifted Finn’s arm, placed it around your shoulder, and burrowed yourself into his side. Finn happily obliged, kissing the temple of your forehead. You grabbed his jaw in return, giving him proper kisses that tasted of wine and cheese.

“You.” Kiss. “Are.” Kiss. “The.” Kiss. “Cutest.” Kiss.

“Awwww you guys!” Poe cooed then gagged. “I think I’m gonna go throw up.”

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A/N: Feel free to message me if you have any comments, requests, or want to be added to a taglist!