#(I don't think her skin colour is mentioned i'm just assuming)

[layaart]

Katrina from Light From Uncommon Stars ✨

[hunnylagoon]

The Killing Moon

PT1: Camp Spirit

Ellie Williams x Reader

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.

Premise: You are a camp counsellor who comes back year after year to be at peace in the one place you love the most. Though there is something different in the air, could it be love or maybe an ancient evil you’ve mistakenly awakened?

Warnings: slight mentions of violence / mentions of monsters and cryptids / raunchy humour / spooky?

The Killing Moon Playlist

PART TWO: The Colour Wars

Week One of Summer Camp

Camp Honey Hills is what you could call 'off the radar'. It sat way up past the hills and forests of Oregon, relatively untouched by the urban nightmare of the city. It stayed peaceful and undisturbed as leaves shed from trees and snow covered every inch of ground, but the camp was alive for one season of the year. Even in the quietness of preparing for the campers to arrive you could still hear counsellors laughing with one another and that's how you could tell the camp was waking up from its ten-month slumber.

"Anyone in the White Tail Deer Cabin, over here!" I held my hand up and waved to the kids piling out of the buses, carrying duffle bags bigger than themselves. The first day of camp was always the most stressful, the only thing to get you through was the idea that it would be over soon and we could get to the fun part of summer.

I already had a handful of girls crowding around me, all of them were either ten or eleven; depending on how you look at it, I either got blessed or cursed that I was assigned to a cabin of older girls. While the younger ones were wild and untamable, the older ones tended to be snarky and standoffish, these girls we’re leaning toward wild.

"Hi," I look up from my clipboard to see a scrawny girl, she has long black hair in two French braids, a summer camp staple. "My thing says that Ellie is my counsellor and I don't know who that is."

"All good," I bend down to her height, "It's that pretty girl over there," I point at Ellie, she's talking to one of the girls in her cabin, and her dark eyebrows are furrowed at what I can only assume to be an absurd question. "You're in the Grizzly Cabin, looks like I'll be seeing a lot of you."

The girl doesn't answer me with words, from the way she's looking at me you'd think I just told her that I sat on her hamster. She gives me one last side glance before she struts off and lugs her duffle bag behind her. "That weird girl said I was in your cabin," I hear ever so faintly in the distance, Ellie bites back a laugh.

I shake off the not-so-subtle cruelty of a pre-teen and go back to yelling for all of the girls in my cabin. So far I had seven of the eight campers I was supposed to have, I was in the lead and if I collected all of the girls in my cabin first, that would be more points towards the camp cup. You should know that I take the camp cup very seriously, it really isn't anything more than a trophy that Tommy and Joel give to a cabin but I haven't lost it in the past five years that I've worked here. 

"Is your name Tamar?" I point at a stubby ginger girl, "You look like your name is Tamar," I was on the hunt for the eighth girl in my cabin so I could win the arrival day points. 

"Uh, no," She said, looking as muddled as scrambled eggs "My name is Marcy."

"Then get out of here, Marcy," I look past her and nod at a girl with skin the colour of ebony wood "Are you Tamar?" This girl looks around to double-check that I'm talking to her before she shakes her head no.

"Who's my counsellor then?" Marcy who stands at a maximum of what looks to be a mighty 4'3 is peering into my soul with her icy blue eyes and I almost shudder, all I could think is that someone needed to get this four-foot-nothing girl some contact lenses.

"Your counsellor and cabin should be on the slip of paper that administration gave you."

"I lost my paper."

"Um," I glance around at the other counsellors, collecting their campers. My eyes settle on Abby, she's wearing a Camp Honey Hills T-shirt. She looks like she's got everything more put together and organized than any other counsellor so I decided to dump this kid on her. "It's that blonde girl with the big muscles, you better hurry because she'll crush you if you aren't there in time."

Marcy looks at Abby and then back to me with wide eyes at my words before she scurries away. As I watch her roll up to Abby's group, I quickly realize that there is no way she is in that cabin. Abby got the oldest group, consisting of fourteen and fifteen-year-olds and I was sure that Marcy, with all of her missing teeth, was no older than nine. I avert my eyes to avoid any wrath.

I spot Jesse who is trying to wrangle up his boys who are already rough housing and throwing each other in the dirt. Somehow he always ends up with the returning campers or the savage ones who would surely put my head on a stick before taking a shower. 

"Is this the White Tail Deer Cabin?" A girl with pale skin and brown hair stares me down, she's tall for her age and lanky.

"Are you Tamar?"

"Yeah," She says it like she's annoyed.

"Perfect," I smile, turning to my group "Alright girls, that's everyone," I turn to look in Tommy's direction "I said that's everyone," I enunciate louder to be sure he can hear me, each of my campers gives one another a snide glance. 

Tommy presses his lips together in a thin line and answers me with a thumbs-up. He already knew I would be the first to get my group together, I always was. He and Joel are the camp directors, they were talking about something before I called their attention.

Marcy points at me and Abby looks in my direction, her eyebrows knit together. Great, now I was being snitched on my nine-year-old. Abby calls out my name but I'm already ushering my girls towards the cabins "Who wants to see the cabin?"

In just moments, I'm long gone and walking the trail to the girl's cabins. Breathing one last moment of peace, the earthy bitterness in the air, droplets of last night's rain slipping off leaves. It made me want to savour every moment in the forest I had before summer ended and I had to go back to stuffy dorms and lectures along with people as boring as the city itself. I've never been able to fathom why anyone would dream of the city, of the drug users and creepy men roaming the streets. Concrete everything and headaches from blue light, every day that I was away at college I dreamed of coming back here, I counted down the days I could turn my phone off and disappear from the world for a while.

The boys may have had a shorter walk to their bunkhouse but the girls definitely got the better view. It also didn't hurt that the circle of cabins was right beside the pasture so we woke up to watch horse grazing, unless you don't like horses, then you can just ignore them I guess.

"Okay, ladies," I open the door to our cabin, a little carving of a doe above the doorframe. "This is our cabin, go ahead and claim your bunks, I don't care who goes where, just don't fight about it and no one set up on my bed."

"How do we know which one is yours?" One of the girls, Leslie, asks. 

"Because it's the only one that's set up," I say, bluntly and I see the realization hit her like it was a math equation that finally clicked in her head "You guys can unpack and I'll go over the cabin constitution in a minute."

As my campers piled into the cabin, ravenously fighting over who got which bed, I saw Ellie walking up with her girls. Our cabins were right next to each other, we shared a little porch that Maria decorates with plants while Ellie and I neglect them until they're wilted and we try to save them so we don't get yelled at. Alternatively, dump the responsibility of nurturing plants on one of your campers, kids love to water stuff and feel important.

Ellie's campers begin to walk up the porch and into the cabin, one of her girls runs up to me "I wanna be in your cabin again," Lana pouts, I had her last year and I can't say that I have a least favourite camper but if I could, it would definitely be Lana. "Ellen is so mean."

"Well, maybe she would be nicer if you said her name right." I look up to see Ellie who mouths a 'Thank you'  "Call her Ellie and maybe you two can be nice to each other."

Lana looks between the two of us before wordlessly walking into the cabin in trail of the other girls. "It's shaping up to be an interesting summer."

"We've survived worse," I cross my arms "Do you remember Tucker? That kid Jesse had who managed to tie a piece of dental floss around a wasp and carry it around with him all day like a balloon."

"He was a little weird but he was chill," Ellie jokes, like every other counsellor, she's wearing the Honey Hills T-Shirt and Demin shorts, her auburn hair pulled back into a half up half down style "How about that girl in Dina's cabin who wrote Reid letters pretending to be Priya?"

I laugh "I can't believe it went on so long."

"I can, Reid's a fucking idiot." She says "He pronounces chutney like chut-uh-ney."

"Oh my god, I hate that so much," I was obviously dragging on this conversation, hunting for reasons to talk to her "And the way he says Ibiza and Cuba and like everything." 

"Do you remember when he joined the women supporting women club in high school?"

"Please don't remind me, that was awful," I chuckle "The worst part is that he ran that shit like the navy."

"Are you coming inside?" Chloe pokes her head out the door.

"I guess so," I answer "Uh, I'll see you at the campfire," I tell Ellie before stepping into my cabin and seeing pure chaos. The four bunkbeds that were pristinely set up just hours ago were now clad in each girl's personal bedding, ranging from Chloe's neat colour scheme of light blue and white to Kim's mismatched quilts, fuzzy pillows, and bright orange sleeping bag. They were still working on getting everything set up, specifically getting the fitted sheets onto the twin-sized waterproof mattress. Some of the girls were even beginning to tape up photos of their friends and family from back home. "Wow, looks great girls."

"Can we go to dinner yet?" Leslie asked, her twin braids hanging over her pink hoodie.

"No, it is three o'clock but we will go over the cabin constitution."  A couple of the girls let out groans of disapproval "First you always listen to me, do as I say not as I do. Respect others and their belongings, please don't hurt anyone or yourself. Maintain personal hygiene and do not go anywhere without telling someone where. Also, we have shower schedules, showers are absolutely mandatory, and no one will talk their way out of it. On Friday's we have tuck shop, and everyone gets a twenty dollar allowance for that, no you do not actually touch the money it's part of the camp package, I take your orders and come back with candy. We have campfires every night, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are mandatory to attend even if you don't eat which I strongly encourage you do."

"Do we have to go if we're sick?" Tamar asked me.

"No."

"But you just said it was mandatory."

"It's mandatory if you aren't sick."

"But you said-

"Stop," I clasp my hands together "I know I'm older than you guys but I promise you can tell me and ask me anything." I smile, looking around "Any other questions?"

"Can we swear?" Valentina asks, she's kicking her feet off her bed on the top bunk. Her skin is the colour of copper and she has a little dusting of freckles over her button nose.

"I don't really care just don't do it around other adults and don't tell them that I told you that."

"What's the wifi?" Morgan was typing something on her phone which was by far more expensive than the model I owned. Dina had Morgan in previous years and I wasn't too thrilled to be in charge of the (as she claimed) disrespectful blonde monster sent from hell to ruin her life.

"We don't have wifi, we hardly have service," I tell her "And you aren't even supposed to have your phone here but you can't do anything on it anyways so it doesn't matter."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Leah chimes in, she's sitting on the ground with Oliver and slowly but surely braiding her friend's hair.

"Not at the moment, no."

"So are you a lesbian?" Olive follows up for her friend.

"Um," I press my lips together, my mind failing me, "I think we're good on questions, who wants a camp tour?" No one says or does anything, they just kind of look around awkwardly "That's too bad, you're getting one."

Everyone gathered around the crackling fire pit on splintered wooden benches. The warm glow of the campfire flickered in the midst of a cool summer night, casting dancing shadows on the faces of worn-out campers who were ready for bed. 

Tommy had given his speech to sike up the kids for the rest of the summer, he made sleeping in the woods sound like a lot of fun. "We're giving you tonight to settle in but I promise that starting tomorrow we are hitting the ground running, activities from morning until dark, this will be a summer to remember," He smiles brightly "I don't wanna babble too long so I'm gonna give the attention to Miles who is going to kick off our campfire by playing the guitar for us."

Miles sat directly across from me in the first row of benches so I could only see him through the orange flames of the fire. "This is an original song I wrote, so far it's untitled but I'm open to ideas," He made himself comfortable with the guitar, readjusting it to sit in his lap properly. 

"What do you wanna bet it's about?" Ellie whispers into my ear from beside me. Since the day cooled into the night, she's thrown on a gray hoodie to keep herself warm. You would be an idiot to ignore how pretty she looks illuminated by nothing more than stray stars in the sky and a campfire.

"I'll put five bucks on sex,"

"Sex?" She raises her eyebrows "I don't think he's stupid enough to sing a song about sex in front of kids, I'm gonna say it's about being a tortured artist."

"It could easily be both," I look down and see Ellie's muddied converse "We break even if he does both." The fire roared before us like our own miniature hell.

Miles clears his throat and lets his curly blonde locks fall over his forehead. Beginning to strum, he made that weird face he makes every time he plays guitar, where he scrunched his eyebrows together "Baby, maybe, I just wanna do you, do you, do you wanna do me? do me underneath the moonlight," He's too lost in his song to see the horror on every counsellor's face "Baby, baby, maybe I will steal you, steal you, just so I can feel you, feel you, maybe that would heal you."

I cover my mouth with my hand to stop me from cackling. The older kids were on the verge of laughing themselves while the younger kids seemed utterly confused. "Holy shit," I mutter so quietly that my words got blown away with the wind.

Ellie didn't try to stop her laughter, just hide it, she buried her head into the crook of my neck so no one could see how red her face was. She was far better off than Dina who was laughing so hard that she was clutching her stomach and nearly falling over, Miles seemed to be oblivious to all of this. In Dina’s defence, it was difficult not to laugh at a song so wildly inappropriate and bad in general.

Miles had far from the best voice, he just sounded like every other white guy who sang Wonderwall at a girl, not to her but at her "Sticky thighs are you wild now or just a memory? I heard your broken cries and looked into your eyes under the moonlight, so do you wanna do me, do me, so I can heal you, heal you, from the inside-

He stops abruptly when Joel takes the guitar away from him "How about Sawyer tells us the camp legend instead."

Those who knew who Sawyer was looked towards him, Miles was trying helplessly to get his guitar back from Joel who was holding it just slightly out of reach. "It's been a while since I've told this so forgive me if-

"No one cares, just tell it," Ashlynn said. She was one of the counsellors who clearly didn't want to be there, which meant all of the campers thought her to be the coolest; in all fairness, she was cool. Ashlynn had bleach blonde shaggy hair, so light that it almost looked white. Her eyeliner was always a little smudged and she was only there to keep the kids alive, she tended to be the first to opt out of group activities and go to bed early.

"Okay well, it starts way back in the sixteen-hundreds, on these very grounds there was a small village," Sawyer put on his best storytelling voice which was just him lowering his voice an octave. "They lived in peace for decades, and throughout all of those decades there was a woman named Abigail who never seemed to age, while all of her friends and family developed wrinkles, their hair turned gray, and their bodies sagged, Abigail still looked nineteen even at her alleged age of sixty-seven." 

The new campers seemed enraptured but returning kids and counsellors seemed bored out of their minds, I even spotted one boy who's been attending this camp longer than I have, mouthing the words of Sawyers tale.

"They accused her of witchcraft and she was shortly exiled far up the hill into what we now call the Honey House. They left her with nothing more than a hunting knife, a canteen of water, the clothes on her back, and a small portion of seeds. The villages burned down her home in town along with everything inside it. If you think that is the end-

"Think again!" Dina cut in, getting up from her spot and squeezing herself beside Sawyer. "With Abigail gone the villagers thought they would be safe but just days after Abigail was exiled, anomalies began to appear-

Sawyer chimed back in "At first they were harmless, pixies, gnomes, jackalopes, nyiads by the rivers and dryads in the trees. The creatures appearing slowly began to appear more and more dangerous and at last, the snatchers arrived-

"Like a muscular and tall emaciated human. The most terrifying creatures to ever be seen, they roamed just outside of the village and lured children in, they slurped the flesh right off of the children's bodies like prey and wore the clothes of their last victim. They have no lips just a bloody gash and when they don't eat, the gash begins to reseal, leaving nothing on their gray faces but large and pale sunken eyes the size of my fist!" Dina clenched her hand into a fist and held it up for everyone to see.

"Their fingers are long and rotted, long curls of claws on each of their ten spindly fingers. The males are devoid of all hair and the females hardly have hair at all, just small plugs of greasy and matted strands. Their teeth are sharper than fangs and are rotten black and yellow, a foul odour escaping each time they open their disgusting gashes of a mouth. Though the snatchers were the most feared among villagers, they were also being terrorized by other creatures, such as pine devils who slithered from the forests at night and attacked families. There was ghouls who would take on the form of the last corpse they devoured and of course, the wampus which was half-man and half-cat, would stalk villagers.”

"Like a furry?" One of the boys from Jesse's cabin peeped.

"No," Sawyer exasperated "Like a scary and intimidating cat-man."

"So does it look more like the Cat in the Hat or like Cats the Musical?"

"It doesn't look like either, it's a terrifying man that is covered in fur and looks like a cat but is also a man."

"So Cats the Musical?"

Dina ignored the comment and continued with the story "After a year the village population had been cut in half and everyone thought it to be the witch, they figured that Abigail had cursed them for exiling her so they lit up their torches at sunset and marched up the hill to the Honey House. Abigail pleaded with them and explained that she hadn't cursed them but during her residency in the village she had warded off each evil spirit and creature with her witchcraft but she no longer could protect the village after they burned her home down and all her supplies inside of it."

After muttering to Jesse to get his cabin in order, Sawyer picked up when Dina left off "The villagers begged for her forgiveness and apologised for their cruel acts in the hope that Abigail would rid them of the monsters, Abigail said she would but in return they grant her return to the village, so the townfolk agree-

"With all her supplies to ward off the creatures gone, Abigail resorts to a blood ritual. She tells the townfolk that they must complete the ritual before sundown. She creates five pentagrams made of sticks and twine. Abigail races around the village to place the pentagrams and avoid the creatures while she does so, the villagers ward the monsters away from her with their torches. At each pentagram, Abigail slices her palm open and squeezes her fist to drip blood onto each one, then she ignites the pentagram with a torch and utters an incantation. She slashes her thighs and calves to get enough blood and in a last-ditch effort, she cuts her wrists open to finalize the ritual," Only the younger kids had been paying any attention to the story, they seemed downright terrified, clinging to one another but trying to play it cool.

"I fail to see how this is any less inappropriate than Miles's song," Cat mutters with one girl huddled into her, her arm slung over the little girl and rubbing her back to soothe her.

"Once she had completed the ritual, Abigail said that no creatures should return to the village. She is bleeding out in the middle of the town square but the town doctor only watches her, and refuses to help so she begs the appointed mayor to bury her beside her mother, he answers by saying 'The graveyard is sacred and we will not let it be tainted by filthy witch blood' in her final breath she plunged for the mayor and drags her bloody palms down his face, cursing him. Once she is no longer breathing her body begins to rapidly age into the appearance of the sixty-eight-year-old woman she was supposed to be. The townsfolk cut Abigail's body into five parts, two legs, two arms, and the torso with the head still attached and buried her on the border of the village."

Everyone sat in silence "Is that the end?" someone asked, though they were in the back row of benches and I couldn't see who it was.

"Yup," I answer "Abigail gets renamed as 'the girl that time forgot' in folklore and she never gets revenge on the townsfolk for betraying her after she laid down her life for them." I had never liked the legend. Young boys thought it was cool and gory and fifteen-year-old girls thought it was poetic and tragic but I hated it to death. Other camps have fun light-hearted legends about playful forest spirits or secret villages of fairies deep in the woods but we got an edgy story about a woman who just wanted to be loved.

"I wish she let the snatchers eat them all," Ellie said the same thing that she says every year, she wasn't wrong, that's how I wished it ended too. 

"Just wait until one eats you," I joke.

"Nah, I'd kick it's ass."

"I'm sure you would but right now you owe be five bucks.”

"No, we didn't pick this legend, it's true," I heard Jesse's voice cutting through the conversations of the crowd.

"Bullshit," Mordecai said, he was one of those kids who thought it was cool and edgy to be an asshole and act older than he was. He despised summer camp but every summer his parents forced him back much to our dismay.

"It's not," Bowie jumped in "The snatchers come back to visit us sometimes." 

"Yeah? I thought Abigail banished them with blood magic."

"The spell is growing weaker with time, it's slowly wearing out and there hasn't been a witch to revive it," Jesse was a good storyteller, he should've been the one to deliver the camp legend. He found a way to enrapture people with his words.

That's when I decided to call it a night for my girls, the longer you stayed at the campfire, the more outlandish stories the guys would tell and I learned my lesson last year that it is very easy to give ten-year-olds nightmares. "Whitetail deer, we're heading out," I stand up.

A few of the girls had groans and complaints while others seemed happy to leave. Ellie looked up at me from where I stood and did the same "Grizzlies, we're leaving too,"

"You're just saying that because you wanna hit it, Williams," Dean said between obviously fake coughs into his fist, causing Ashlynn to bite back a smile and Miles to playfully punch him on the arm. 

"Dean," Tommy gave him a stern look and said nothing else, Dean took the hint and ceased his laughter.

"Headcount," I say looking at the girls in front of me "Chloe, Leslie, Kim, Leah, Tamar, Morgan, Valentina, and Olive." Each of them stands in a close-huddled bundle "Alright, don't go off trail."

The walk back from the campfire was gorgeous during the day and borderline mortifying at night. Since the foliage was so thick you could hardly see the sky if you looked up and at night the little piece of clearing that was the trail was pitch black, we were guided by nothing more than mine and Ellie's flashlights.

The two of us had been trailing behind the girls in silence to keep an eye on everyone until Ellie felt the urge to speak up "Uh, by the way, that thing that Dean said about-

"I don't care."

"You don't?"

"Yeah he's a dick and his cabin looks like a wooden prison cell." 

"It does," She furrows her eyebrows in thought "It’s like he's conditioning his campers for war."

I didn't notice when I did this, it must've been a subconscious thing but I mindlessly reached for Ellie's hand to hold. I used my free hand to keep the flashlight focused on the trail and campers ahead of us. "Sawyer has to walk back to the bunkhouses across the camp with those little monsters."

"Payback for all of the pranks he's pulled with Bowie," Ellie mutters. Sawyer took pride in initiating the prank wars every single summer the same way I strove to win the camp cup. His pranks weren't also lighthearted and fun, he and Bowie organized this prank where Sawyer put a bag over Tyson's head and dragged him to the administration office in the middle of the night and then pretended to shoot Bowie dead in front of him. Tyson quit the next morning and Sawyer got a hefty write-up.

"So are you still talking to Cat?" I ask.

"Nah, that was never gonna work out."

"Because she's too hot for you?” I joke.

"What? No," She whipped her head to look at me "Why? You wanna get with her or something, you have my blessing."

"I'm good, I'm a little preoccupied at the moment."

"Who with?" Her voice dripped with accusation. Ellie's hand clenching just the slightest bit tighter on mine.

"Work? You should know that I don't date at camp, to think that I thought you knew me," I tease her.

"What about that summer with Chandler?"

"That doesn't count," My smile drops and I fight the urge to shiver at the memories. Before I was a counsellor at Honey Hills, I was a camper and I happened to have my first kiss at age thirteen with a boy named Chandler, our braces got stuck together.

"Everyone saw, so it counts," I can't quite make out Ellie's face in the dark but I can hear the smile in her voice "Remember how Joel had to pull out the pliers."

"You need to stop before I sacrifice you to the Honey Hills Snatchers," I look ahead on the trail and I could've sworn my heart stopped "Stop!" I yell and all of the girls look back at me, I drop Ellie's hand "Where is Olive?"

All of the campers look at each other for answers, and then Leah opens her mouth "She saw a rock that was shaped like a heart and when off trail to get it."

"Well I'm not seeing a heart-shaped rock or Olive but it's super safe in these woods so no need to panic." 

"No one's panicking," One of the girls in Ellie's cabin says, she was the same one who called me weird during arrival.

I run one hand down my face in exasperation, using the other to keep the flashlight trained on the girls "Everyone, stay here with Ellie, I'm going to be right back," I look at Leah "How far back did she go off trail?"

She shrugs "How am I supposed to know? I don't have a tape measure."

"Sweet," I answer before marching straight into the pitch-black woods. It was almost scarier to be in the dark with a flashlight instead of no light source, it felt like I had been in a video game or horror movie and I was about to get my throat slashed by a maniac in a mask. 

Every rustle of leaves or snap of twigs made me feel uneasy. I knew the woods were safe like I had told the girls but that didn't stop irrational fear from bringing up stories of cryptids and cuts from murder podcasts. If you ever played that shitty Slenderman game, you'd know exactly what I'm looking at; not Slenderman himself, just an eery forest.

I called out for Olive, my imagination running wild with thoughts of unseen dangers lurking in the shadows. The forest seemed to come alive around me, its inhabitants whispering secrets that only the night could hear.

"Olive?" My voice echoes into the night, I did what I could to ignore whatever fear I was feeling. I had walked through these woods a million times, I knew every pathway better than I knew the city. This forest was like home to me, it didn't feel right to be so on edge.

I couldn't help but jump when something loud snapped beneath my sneaker, instinctively I brought my flashlight down to look at it, moving my foot out of the way. It had been a pentagram made out of sticks, wow really funny, it might've scared me if Ashlynn and Bowie hadn't made dozens of them and laid them around camp last summer to scare the shit out of kids. It had broken in half beneath my weight.

There was a possibility that I was going crazy in the five minutes I was alone in the woods because I thought I heard a rustle but the beam of my flashlight revealed nothing but the dense thicket of trees and the inky blackness beyond.

Something charged behind me, wrapping its skinny arms around my torse and I couldn't help but flinch. "Olive," I turned my head and brought the flashlight to shine down on her "Don't run off in the dark ever again, you scared the shit out of me."

"I'm really sorry, I won't do it again," She said. I tried to pry her off me but she was hanging on like a Koala, eventually, I got her to settle for just holding my hand. "It was stupid."

"Don't beat yourself up too much, you're ginger and that's punishment enough," I was hastily yanking her along so we could get back on the trail and shortly back into the comfort of the cabin "Did you get your rock at least?"

"Yeah," She held her palm out, the rock was an oval with the littlest indent in the middle, but I let her act like it was shaped like a heart. 

"How'd you get so far out?"

"I grabbed the rock and then I saw a cat and I followed it."

Cat? "You must've seen Buckley, he's friendly," I tell her. Buckley was the resident dog at camp, he was probably older than me and wandered around before settling at Tommy and Maria's cabin for the night.

A moment after I dragged the little girl along we broke past the tree line and into the clearing of the trail. I looked around and spotted Ellie and the girls a good 40 yards or so behind. Clutching Olive's tiny hand in mine I walked towards them, flicking my flashlight on and off to catch their attention.

"Finally wrangled her," I let out an almost nervous laugh.

"You said not to go off trail," Tamar wrinkled her nose.

"Yes, Tamar, I know."

I don't know how late into the night it was when I was awoken by every girl in my cabin squabbling with one another. I got up and turned on the flashlight that I kept on my dingy bedside table "What's going on girls?"

"The snatcher is coming to get us!" Leslie cried, and I mean cried. Her face was red and puffy, her eyes were so glassy that they reflected any and all light, hot tears streaming down her round face.

That's when my annoyance turned to concern. Oh god, I was going to kick Sawyer and Dina's asses tomorrow morning and Joel for even suggesting the camp legend even though it made my campers too afraid to sleep year after year. "No, snatchers aren't real, they were made up in the sixteen hundreds to keep kids away from the forest."

"We heard it!" Morgan chimed in.

"Guys it's just the placebo effect, you've convinced yourself that it's real-

I froze when I heard a long scratch down the door and a wet guttural growl. It was low and deep, shaking me to my very core. Whoever was on the other side began to scratch harshly on the door, jiggling the locked door handle. When the handle didn't budge it began to slam itself on the door, each thump louder than the last. It was still groaning and grumbling in a harsh, awful voice.

The girls screamed, Olive and Leah, were hugging each other tightly, clenching their eyes shut. Valentina had a bottom bunk and slipped beneath the bed, covering her eyes with her hands. Leslie (like I had mentioned) was a blubbering mess, crying and hyperventilating too hard to get any words out. It looked like Morgan was trying to call someone on her phone and Tamar had her knees tucked to her chest, hugging herself. Both Kim and Chloe threw their blankets over top of them, pretending to disappear.

The voice sounded again except this time I realized it wasn't just a growl, it was a word "Girrrrllllls." Then it began to scratch the door all over again. When I tell you this voice was the most unsettling thing I've ever heard, I mean it. It was wet and phlegmy whilst being course and grumbly. From the very beginning, I had known it was a prank.

I marched towards the door flicking on the light in the cabin on and dropping my flashlight, before hammering my fists on the door "Fuck off!" I kicked the door, the sound stopped for just a moment before it slammed itself against the door.

Each thud against the sturdy wooden door reverberated through the night like a thunderclap. Whoever was sent to scare us was sure doing a good job. Their breathing was low and heavy almost as loud as the banging of the door itself. "Don't open the door," Leslie heaved out between sobs.

The girls huddled together in terror, their breaths hitching in fear as they strained to discern the source of the horrifying sounds "Girrllllllssss," It grumbled again "GIRRRLLSSSSCOMMOUT," I could see the door moving with the force of whoever was deeply committed to this role. The growling slowly morphed into a screech or maybe it was something more like a hiss.

I was almost at my breaking point, the first day of camp and I already had to deal with these bullshit pranks. I decided to slam my body against the door, matching whoever was on the other side "Go back to your cabin, you piece of shit!" I kept banging my fist and slamming my palms against the door until I heard them scuttle away. 

Reaching for a baseball out of Valentina's open duffle bag, I swung the door open and saw the slender figure of what I assumed to be a teenage boy running to the pasture "Tell Sawyer to eat shit!" I yelled before throwing the ball at the figure, it hit them but it didn't do much, they just stumbled for a split second before disappearing into darkness. 

"What the fuck is that noise?" Dina shouted from her cabin, I could tell I had woken her up from a nice sleep from the way her puffy eyes were squinting in my direction. A few girls poked their heads outside from the doorframe behind Dina.

"What happened?" Now Priya was walking towards my porch. Her long black hair was braided perfectly and she had her silk sleepmask pulled onto her forehead. She still looked put together in a hoodie and bunny pyjama pants.

"Can you guys shut the fuck up?" Ellie opened her door and looked me up and down.

"Be quiet!" Abby shouted from an open window in her cabin. By this point, I was sure everyone in the girl's bunk houses was wide awake and I would be getting a stern talking to by either, Tommy, Joel, or Maria, honestly, I didn't know which was worse. 

Confusion quickly grew on Ellie's face, she lowered her voice "What's going on?"

All eyes were on me for answers but I didn't have any. Despite convincing myself it was a prank, that didn't stop my hands from shaking. "It was one of the boys playing a prank, don't worry about it, he's long gone by now."

"Fucking Sawyer," Dina murmured walking back into her cabin and slamming the door behind her. 

"Are you girls okay in there?" Priya asked, looking at the mortified girls in my cabin, concern etched across her bronze face. "It was a dumb joke, you're all okay now." 

Priya had invited herself into my cabin to offer her solace to the probably traumatized little girls, while she was doing so, I pressed myself flat against the front of the cabin, between mine and Ellie's doors, trying to process how I was going to find a way to make these girls unafraid.

"They do that prank every year and it's almost crazy how it's literally never been funny," I tell Ellie while I stare straight ahead at the pasture they faded away into.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Ellie stands next to me, leaning against the wall "We'll get them back tenfold."

"Those girls are all gonna wanna call their parents and I'm so fucked," I drag my hands down my face. I didn't want to see the look on Joel's face when I tell him about this. There's gonna be sixteen parents who will spam call the camp and verbally harass me over the phone, this wasn't my first rodeo. Sure the prank was shitty but I guarantee no one is leaving this summer with newfound trauma to tell their therapist in a decade. 

"Relax, he's just gonna chew out the boys for pulling this shit again."

I looked at her for a moment, the silence hung between us like birds on a wire before I lunged in for a hug. She was a little taken aback but didn't seem to mind "I just need a hug, don't make it weird."

"Okay, wasn't planning on it," She teased. I took a deep breath in and caught the scent of firewood, petrichor, and axe body spray, an Ellie classic.

“I'm really glad I have you as a friend," I mutter into her shoulder, so quietly that I wasn't even sure she heard me. I let us stay like that for longer than I probably should've before breaking away "Okay, I gotta be a grown-up and deal with this instead of letting Priya do recon."

She nodded pressing her lips together in the same awkward way the socially inept guys from high school did "See you for breakfast?"

"For sure," I smile and walk back into my cabin to see Priya sitting next to Chloe with one soothing hand rubbing her back. "Thanks, Priya, I'll take it from here, you outta get back to your girls."

Priya had this maternal way about her, I wasn't sure what it was but she sure had the ability to nurture. She started at camp last year and I was happy to see her return. She gave her farewells to all of the girls who had only met her minutes ago and were already attached.

"Can I be in her cabin?" Kim asked, she had finally calmed down.

"No, you're in my cabin where we have fun like this every night!" I forced a smile on my face trying to get the girls back into a good mood.

"This isn't fun at all," Tamar, said, bluntly may I add.

"Yeah, this sucks," Morgan added on.

"Guys, listen," I began "I'm super sorry this happened, I need all of you to know that it's just a really bad prank, it happens every year to different cabins. Boy being boys- sorry I shouldn't say that because you guys are young and I know their gender shouldn't excuse their bad behaviour but what I'm trying to say is guys are assholes."

"Yeah, they're assholes!" Olive repeated.

"Maybe don't shout that," I pointed at her "But they are and if you want I will storm down to their cabins right now and yell at them until they cry."

The cabin began to erupt in shouts of no, little girls with wide eyes, frantically shaking their heads. "Please don't leave us alone," Leah pleaded. 

"Okay, I won't, I'll yell at them in the morning. Do you guys want me to leave the lights on?" Everyone answered with a 'yes' to my question.

"Where are you going?" Valentina asked me, peeking out from beneath her thick layers of blankets.

"To my bed?”

"That's too far away from us."

I let out a deep breath "Alright, I'll just bring my sleeping bag onto the floor and I will sleep in the middle, okay?"  Nothing better than sleeping on the hardwood floor in the middle of four bunkbeds and eight ten-year-old girls.

Surrounded by the shallow breathing of girls far too startled to sleep, I decided that tomorrow I would wake up dressed in adventure, straddling a star. Every day that follows I will guide these girls to the moon and back.

A/N: Hi y’all, I’ve been gone a hot minute because of medical issues and whenever I have time to write, I’m too tired to. Anyways, we’re back and better. I know I should probably finish my other series but I’ve had this one drafted for a while and since I’m super sick and basically confined to my house for the next week I’m hoping to get this series done. Thanks for reading!

@readbydayana

[toomuchracket]

bday party girlie and matty at the met gala! and charli and george too!

girls stun while the boys simp and cause mayhem

MAYHEM MENTIONED???? nah fr though i love thinking about this, especially if it's like the first Big event you and matty go to as a couple. i haven't yet moved on from that time matty was working with dior, so in my mind that's who you're both wearing, and god knows you analysed the essay/story they gave as theme inspiration within an inch of its life because "there is no way in HELL i am letting some tiktok twink call my dress off-theme. not a fucking chance" - matty is so fucking entertained by that, all ":D i love you so much" lol, and there's also no way in hell you're letting him turn up in a black suit, so that's that. anyway!! your outfits aren't matching, but they do correspond perfectly together, and actually you assume you'll barely get a wink of sleep the night before the met because you're so fucking excited to see your boyfriend all dressed up and hot, but he tires you out enough (wink wink) that you're both very well-rested. and matty's SO cute while you're getting ready - he's documenting it all on video like "an angel! glowing! most gorgeous woman in existence!", and you're like "baby please stop making me giggle my foundation will crease" (but actually you very much enjoy him just sitting shirtless and wet-haired and looking at you lovingly. you're only human, after all). he actually tears up when he sees you completely ready for the first time, which your MUA gets on video, and you really do feel like the prettiest girl in the world when he sniffles like "christ, you are SO beautiful. i love you. and i'm honoured to do that", bless him. and GOD, matty looks amazing, all curls and slut hoop and clean-shaven face and the colour of his shirt making his skin glow, so you have to take approximately eight million pics of and with him before you can leave. in terms of walking the carpet, you start alone and then go up the stairs and take pics together (matty's adamant he's helping you up the steps in your heels "just so you don't have a jason derulo moment, babe"), and it's testament to how truly happy matty is to be with you that he smiles for almost every pic you take together; there are a couple where you whisper "baby. i think we should be cunty" and it's both of you smizing/giving blue steel lmfao, but most are just big smiles for the camera and tender glances at each other where it is so blisteringly obvious that you're in love. they split up couples at the dinner section of the met, but it's still nice getting to meet people you think are cool at your table (zendaya! she likes your dress! she said she had your first book recommended to her and loved it!), and you sneak off to hang out with your boyfriend in the toilets (iconic, really) or the smoking area. and of course you run into charli and george - literally, the boys aren't looking where they're going and walk into each other and find it absolutely hilarious - and take some (illegal!) pics; once again, george is like "we really are punching above our weight with the girls, aren't we? look how good they look" to matty while you and charli force them to take pics of you together, and matty's literally like "yeah..." in a daze just looking at you lmfao. and if you think he's simping now, well, seeing you in your minidress for the afterparty is SO MUCH WORSE - he's jaw-on-the-floor like "must we go? i can't just keep you all to myself?", and you're like "we have to go, but i do actually plan on clinging to you on and off the dancefloor the whole night", and needless to say he's convinced lol. the events are so much fun, but your favourite bit is getting back to the hotel and ordering room service to eat in bed with the love of your life, before giggling in the shower with him while you wash each other's hair, and then falling asleep curled up safe in his arms. perfect <3

[mcwonaldsemployee]

so I rewatched the gunntech au video by elmushterri and I had an idea for an OC and decided that posting it was a good idea

ik the art isn't that good but I wanted to give an idea of how she looks to go with the oc backstory

ok anyway meet Mariana Joslyn. Her name was originally Annabeth or "Beth", but she ended up changing it. She was one of GunnTech's earlier experiments, because I assume Grayson wouldn't have risked Greg as one of the first experiments (at least earlier/pre-series Grayson). As you can imagine, the earlier experiments didn't go too well. As an example, Mariana/Annabeth was meant to be combined with a chameleon, and while she did get most of the desired traits (camouflage, panoramic view, etc.) she also had these like glitch-attacks where she like, glitches out, and like kinda lost her mind during them??? I also imagine she's able to change her hair colour, skin colour, and eye colour. idk, I just know that they screwed up, dumped her on the side of the road, and told Grayson she'd gotten herself killed in one of her episodes. Her meltdowns became less frequent because she was in a less stressful environment, and during the like 2-month period after getting left on the side of the road she kinda became like a toned down Nori. By that I mean she was still like messing with GunnTech, but not actively breaking out trainees in the dead of night. Like, if she saw one of their vehicles, she'd pop the tire, break a window, etc or something like that. I feel like she'd have called herself Entropy (mainly because I thought it sounded cool and also worked with the chaotic outbursts). Anyway, she eventually realized that she kinda needs to make a living so she just focused on that instead of screwing with GunnTech after that. Timeskip, now she's a broadway star/musician/actor!!!!!!! She's really sweet and generally kind-hearted, but she's not without her flaws. Transitioning from one toxic workspace (gunntech) to another (the acting industry) definitely made her need to adapt. Because of this, despite usually having good intentions, she's not exactly above using and manipulating people. Additionally, she has a fear of being yelled at because of... you guessed it, the scientists at gunntech. As for how she'd play a role in the story... I don't really think she would. I mean, maybe after GunnTech was abolished she'd give the protagonists some money because their parents/guardians are probably in jail now. I guess if she were to be an important character she'd move back to wherever this takes place and start working with Nori to break kids out or something. Even then, I doubt she'd appear in more than a few scenes or mentioned more than a few times. Maybe Greg met her before she got abandoned on the curb, but she probably still wouldn't end up being that important of a character. She's still pretty young by the time the show would take place... probably like around twenty-three? Early twenties? Anyway, I'm over-sharing. Bye-bye now

(i have some other ideas for other earlier experiments, and some headcanons. should I share em?)

[jinnie-ret]

ep.3: the first weddings

ratings: fluff

warnings: mentions of ADHD, alcohol

running time: 2k words

summary: the first two weddings are under way, how will the oldest and youngest grooms of our singles react when they meet their wives for the first time?

SKZ MAFS EPISODE LIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍

We put these two together because they both have such open hearts, yet they seek acceptance. They'd be a great pairing because they can give that to each other. Without even meeting each other there is so much love to be given, I can't wait to see how this one goes.

"Oh wow, Rori... you look stunning," Aurora's best friend Isabelle gasped as she saw the red head do a little spin in her white gown. The dress rested off the shoulder, a daring plunging neckline accompanied by a sheer quality to the dress as it flowed downwards, flowers cascading across the skirt of it.

"Thanks Belle," Aurora hugged her best friend tightly, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, careful not to smudge her light pink lipstick. She went for a glowy natural look, which made her fair skin stand out even more in contrast to her bold hair colour. "Lu, what do you think?" she saw her younger sister, Luna, barely able to hold back her tears.

"I-i..." Luna trailed off, not knowing what to say as she stared at her gorgeous older sister.

"Aw, don't go soft on me now, Lu, you never cry," Aurora held her hands gently.

"I'm just so proud of how far you've come, it's so nice to see you happy again, full of life," Luna spoke sincerely. She had seen what her sister went through and couldn't bare for her to be in that dark place ever again.

"Bless you, come here," Aurora cuddled her, before pulling away, "wait where's Oliver?"

"Your mum's looking after him, don't worry," Isabelle reassured the bride, all of them chattering in the dressing room before guests began to arrive.

C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍

"You got this hyung!" Lucas, Chan's younger brother and best man ruffled his hair. Despite their big age gap, it was the younger than inherited the height genes, so he had no trouble looking down at the groom and teasing him.

"Aish! Stop, stop," Chan giggled, trying to adjust his hair but giving up, as his dad stepped in and did his best to help out.

"We're all so proud of you, Channie, I know we weren't sure of this experiment at first, but you've got to go with your gut, ok? Whoever walks down that aisle-" Chan's dad began speaking, before Chan cut him off, having already had this speech/pep talk a lot of times.

"-deserves all the love I can give. And I deserve the same back. I know, dad, I know," Chan smiled and nodded, looking in the mirror to see one strand of his black hair flying loose but it actually looked quite good, in his opinion.

C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍

Soon, more and more guests pulled up to the venue, your classic church. It was tall in stature, and had beautifully presented stained glass windows not only seen from the outside, but from the inside too from where you sat. People filled the seats on both sides, white flowers lining the edges of the pews. The guests whispered excitedly as they heard the first pair of footsteps confidently walk down the aisle.

From Chan's side of the church, he saw his mother and sister, Hannah, for the first time that day, and they were smiling at him encouragingly. His mum did seem quite emotional too at the same time. As he turned to his bride's family, he gave a friendly wave and a smile.

"Hi, I'm Chan," he grinned, a lot of women sat near the front especially, one lady in particular who he assumed was the mother of his bride returned his actions, warmth and approval in her smile.

Then came the next sets of footsteps.

Arm linked through her father's arm, Aurora, kept a big smile on her face yet took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She was excited, sure, but she needed to make sure it stayed that way. She wouldn't let herself talk her way out of this one.

The Bahng family muttered amongst themselves, Aurora blushing lightly as she heard lots of 'wows' and some gaps too.

Time stopped when the couple's eyes first met. Her ginger hair drew in Chan immediately, her chocolate brown eyes, rich and smooth in colour. Aurora smiled at him brightly as she stood opposite him, nose scrunching up as she did so, half in disbelief at how handsome Chan was and that she was about to marry him. His black hair gelled to one side, one strand elegantly astray. What nearly made her laugh was the way his mouth was hung open slightly, cheeks sucked in by the smallest amount and showing off his dimples.

"Well, hi," Chan laughed breaking the silence. Both families watched on with smiles, happy with who their relative had been paired with.

"Is this real?" Aurora laughed and shook Chan's hands in her own as they both let their nerves slip away.

"I think so-" Chan went to nod back at her, before a small, young boy came running out of the aisle, and tugged on Aurora's dress.

"Mummy! Mummy!"

J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍

Now this pairing will certainly be interesting, I can't wait to see how this dynamic plays out. Dallas has a lot of energy and has been open about her ADHD and needing a calm presence with her, and Jeongin is exactly that. He knows what he wants in a relationship and he wants to do all the cute dating stuff, he wants to experience love again, this could really tick all of Dallas' boxes.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous all of a sudden," Dallas had her leg jolting up and down, her mum gently holding her hands to stop her from wanting to bite her nails.

"Calm down baby, you look great, you are great and your husband will be great too, yeah?" her mum tried to reassure her.

Just then the makeup artist came back to redo some eyeliner after Dallas had been so shaky and fidgety that it had smudged across the side of her face earlier on.

"Come on, baby, deep breaths, yeah? He's gonna love you, that's what marriage is all about. You may not be doing it the conventional way but that love won't chance, he'll be a lucky man," Dallas' mum calmed her down further, holding onto her daughter's shoulders from behind as the makeup artist got to work. Her hands gently traced circles into the lace details at the top.

J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍

"Ahhhh!" Jeongin whined throwing his body weight back into the chair as he realised what he had just done. Having a glass of wine before walking the aisle was his idea, yes, but maybe he shouldn't have drank a glass of red when he has his white shirt on. There was bound to be something going wrong.

"Bro... Aish what are you like? Good thing I brought a spare shirt for you," Jeongin's older brother pulled him out of his seat and shoved the fresh shirt in his arms. "Now, get dressed, better yet, finish that glass before you out the new shirt on, you're so clumsy," he chuckled.

And Jeongin nodded, laughing along too. He slipped his stained shirt off and quickly downed the rest of his glass, pulling a satisfied smile after as he shrugged on his new shirt and buttoned it up quickly.

"You're a lifesaver, hyung," Jeongin sighed in relief, relaxing back into his original chair.

"I know," his older brother smirked.

"Yah!"

J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍

The venue Jeongin and Dallas got married at was stunning. There were fairy lights all lit up under a huge, white gazebo. It was pitched up next to another one which everyone could only assume was for their fine dining later on in the day. There was a clear path up the aisle, and as each person arrived and took their seats, they found a small gift in the mini bouquets prepared by the bride herself, Dallas. What better way to show a piece of who she is from the very start?

Once Jeongin had made it up the aisle, he was stood nervously, unable to make eye contact with Dallas' family and he could only clasp his hands together tightly and stare down at his shiny shoes. Her family didn't mind though, they could tell he was sweet and had kind intentions.

Dallas began to walk up the aisle, doing such a great job on her own until she stumbled a bit, managing to catch her balance but feeling bashful as she covered her cheeks.

"They're perfect for each other," Jeongin's older brother laughed under his breath as he observed that his sister in law was clumsy as well.

The two singles grinned shyly as they made eye contact, and Jeongin grinned widely, eyes starry.

Dallas on the other hand was trying to hold back her words from tumbling out, she had just met him and already had so much to say.

"Oh wow, you're gorgeous," Jeongin however, was the first one to get his words out, making Dallas follow immediately after she made a cute squeaky sound.

"Ah, wow, umm, thank you, you too," she blushed and bounced on her toes excitedly.

C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍 C.A 🤍

It was now time for the vows, and back at the church, it was a tense moment, Aurora going pale as she didn't quite know when she was going to bring up the fact she had a son, and now, that had been done for her. She saw the way Chan's eyes widened and she debates running out of the venue. That was until Chan crouched down.

"Hi little one," he grinned as Aurora's son peeked round the side of her dress and waved shyly at Chan.

"That's Oliver," Aurora said shakily, and Chan could see she was nervous and knew exactly why, squeezing her hands.

"It's ok, it won't change anything, ok?" Chan calmed her down, making Aurora feel relieved as she nodded feeling reassured, and she picked Oliver up, gave him a kiss on the head and sent him off to sit with his grandmother, her mum.

The priest made sure everyone was listening before getting the pair to read out their vows.

"I promise to support you and be by your side in every moment of our future together. I promise to be the support you may need throughout our lives in sickness and in health, through thick and thin. I will give you my all, as long as you give me all of you too, because that's all I could ever ask for," Chan sweetly said his vowels, speaking the traditional words after as he placed a ring on Aurora's finger.

"Before in my life, I've found it hard to trust the right person, but I come here with open arms, hoping you'll be the reason I won't have to worry anymore. I want to be that person for you too. I've already got one boy to take care of, and he's very important to me," Aurora paused gesturing to her son with a wave before continuing, "so I hope you have space in your heart for the two of us, just like we've already made some room for you."

J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍 J.D 🤍

Back in the gazebo, Dallas couldn't help but request to speak first.

"Ok, so, umm, I promise that if you're around me, I'll always try to make you smile. Even though sometimes I may be a lot to handle, I will authentically be myself around you. If you're struggling through hard times, I will be there for you, with my happiness, my care, and hopefully my love," Dallas quickly shoved away the piece of paper she read from back into her dress, and placed a ring onto Jeongin's finger.

"I'll do my very best to be the husband you've always wanted, and I hope that I can make you happy. We've only just met each other, but from here on out, I will take care of you, and stay by your side, and you'll have me fighting in your corner all of the time," Jeongin promised Dallas, before slipping the other ring onto her finger.

C.A 🤍 J.D 🤍 C.A 🤍 J.D 🤍 C.A 🤍 J.D 🤍

You may now kiss the bride.

Aurora and Chan had gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before sharing a sweet kiss, lasting a couple of seconds. Jeongin and Dallas, however, had been more shy despite their excitement, and quickly picked each other on the lips and looked away with smiles on their faces.

These pairs are a match made in heaven. How long will they last together in the experiment?

<-- previous ep watch next ep -->

viewers: @jyu-037 @keen-li @strawberry31 @5starlee @thatonedemigodfromseoul @skz-streamer @kiraisastay @hannahhbahng @kpopmenace143 @sakufilms @kai-lee08 @arloo00 @dunno-wut-to-do @splat00z @cheesemonky @his-angell @turtledove824 @2minstan @royal-shinigami @yangbbokari

[entomolog-t]

Bite Me - Chapter 4

June asks some tough questions, meanwhile Aedes goes through quite the emotional rollercoaster.

Please note for this chapter all of the content warnings are super mild, so unless you really struggle with any of the topics its a very safe read.

Taglist: @smallsday @ratcatcher0325 @not-a-space-alien @bittykimmy13

- - - -

Previous Chapter: Chapter 3

Next Chapter: Chapter 5

Word count: 3010

CW: Mentions of blood, Adult language, Dehumanization, Fearplay

“Well Aedes,” June tries to keep her voice even, but she can feel herself growing frustrated at his dodging of her questions, “What were you doing in my bed?” 

He bristles- for a brief moment his entire body goes rigid. A look of sheer panic crosses his face, and she watches as he clenches and unclenches his fists, fidgeting anxiously. To her dismay, June notices he’s shaking. With his back still firmly pressed against the wall, he slides down to a seated position, burying his head in his hands. June considers asking a second time, but before she can, Aedes speaks, 

"I... I was…" he racks his brain, desperate for something, anything to say. He stares at his blood smeared hands, refusing to look up at her. "...feeding."

What?

The sense of unease that she had initially felt when encountering him returned all at once. 

The snarling.

The smear of blood on his lips- Her blood. 

Her hand slowly and shakily reaches up towards her neck. He… he bit her? She feels the colour drain from her face… feeding… June feels nauseous. Had he- 

“On me?” She says, her voice feeling hollow. He flinches at her words, ears drawing back. He says nothing. Remaining seated with his head in his hands. She sees his body hitch. His first words echo in June’s mind. 

Please don't hurt me

Was this why he’d been so afraid? 

“Like… b-blood… to drink?”  June stammers. For a moment, he continues his silence, the only sound coming from his heavy breathing. 

"...Yes." His voice, worn down by fear, comes forth in a raspy whisper.  "I- I need blood." He avoids her gaze. June feels her mind buck against the absurdity of the word that slips into her mind, yet she says it aloud regardless, 

“Like... a vampire?”

His head slowly raises to look at her, and for a moment he only stares, not understanding the word at first. As some kind of realization slowly sets in, a tiny bit of surprise flashes across his face as he processes the word. Slowly, he nods again. 

"Yes. A vampire. That's... what I am."  The word seems to hang heavy in the air between them, suspended in time. Without warning, the woman breaks the silence- erupting with… laughter?? 

Why was she laughing? What about this was funny to her? 

He scowls. 

June can't help but laugh at the sight of his disdain. His serious expression contrasting the absurdity of this whole situation.

This… this is crazy. 

"W-What? What's so..." Aedes sputters, his sentence trailing off as June's laughing only increases. Between gasping breaths, June attempts to stifle her chuckles.

 "Of all the things you could have told me…" June trails off, unable to contain her giggling, “A vampire??"

Aedes stares at her dumbfounded. His silence seems to sober her from her amusement, finally managing to contain her laughter.

"You- you're really serious?"  

He meets her stare with his own, brow furrowed in a mixture of confusion and what June could only assume was offense. She bit her lip. He certainly looked serious. Even though she’s been the one to say it, part of her had expected him to scoff- to deny it- to offer some sort of explanation… 

"I'm sorry. I just- I didn't think vampires were so…um"  she laughs again, however this time nervously, "small…"

Aedes feels as scowl as it carves its way across his face. It was humiliating. The very thing that was the cause for so much fear to him was just… funny to her. His means of survival… his size… Resentment seemed to brew under his skin. The thought of being so small yet being tied to a being so much like him yet so much more just to survive was a cruel twist of nature. He grit his teeth. 

Seeming to sense his offense, the colossal woman fruitlessly tries to wipe the grin from her face. He sighed. This felt almost degrading… Humiliating as it was, teasing at his expense was a far better alternative than being seen as some sort of leeching pest. Swallowing his pride, he wills himself to join in the levity.

“So what?" He asks, trying to keep his voice light, "Are you laughing at my height or my…. profession?” 

"Both or... Neither? I didn't expect to find a little man today, and I certainly didn't expect him to be a vampire!" She chuckles, shaking her head. Her words have a strange effect on him. Being called a little man feels patronizing. He knows he's small. So does she. There was no need to point it out. But… she'd called him a man- sure, a little man… but still, a man… 

In the midst of his non response, she leans closer. He feels himself tense, but doesn't move. 

"I mean… this is ... pretty fucking wild."

He eyes her carefully as she leans closer, steeling himself at her approach. 

“What are you doing?” He asks, though he can guess.

She's curious he tells himself, almost for his own reassurance. Her gaze feels heavy. Despite her keeping her hands to herself, he feels the weight of her gaze as if he's firmly in her grasp. Her enormity was staggering. Despite what, in theory, was quite the distance between them, her closeness felt invasive- far too intimate at her size. As she leans in, he once again sees his own reflection in her eyes…

He looks… so very small.

Before he can voice his grievances at her closeness, she seems to catch herself; suddenly pulling back, face flushed a deep red. He blinks in disbelief. Had he… had he made her blush?

"I - " for a moment her eyes no longer take him in as a whole and seem to focus directly on his gaze, before quickly looking away, "Sorry."

He feels his breath rush out, tension melting away with a genuine chuckle. There was something at play here, something so familiar yet so foreign in this bizarre setting. The flush on her cheeks, her fleeting gaze…

Fuck it.

“Do you want to take another look?”  The ease in his voice surprises him. 

Her eyes are back on him in a flash; eager and excited. She nods, and her cheeks deepen even more red. 

"Can I -uh.. can I touch you?"

Her question catches him off guard and he hesitates before answering. His instinct is to immediately deny her request, but… He was not expecting the human to ask in the first place. She clearly didn't have to ask- if she wanted to, she could have done so. She wanted his permission. Aedes finds himself wanting to reward this behavior with the goal of reinforcing it. It's simply training a desirable behavior. Nothing more. After a moment, he nods.

“Fine. You may touch me.” 

He watches as her eyes widen slightly, but says nothing. As she reaches he finds himself taken aback by the paradoxical sight of her hands shaking…

Was she that excited? 

Or was she that nervous?

He most certainly was. His heart pounded against his ribs at her approach, begging for him to run. With no small effort, he resisted the urge, rationalizing that a pest, not a man, would run from an incoming hand.

More gently than he would have thought it possible, she took his wrist between her thumb and forefinger, eyes fixated on his hands. He avoided looking at her face. Not only her touch, but her scrutiny made his skin crawl. Instead he found himself staring at her fingers. Her nails almost resembled his own clawed fingers, and he found their glossy pink colour surprisingly pretty, like dew on rose petals. He watched in awe at the sheer difference in size as she placed the pad of her index finger under his palm. She grazed her thumb over the top of his hand, prompting a shiver to run down his spine. He swallowed. His feeding had been cut short, and the remnants of his hunger left her smelling so dangerously good to him. A sweet and creamy scent… almost comforting. 

To his great surprise, he finds his muscles relaxing. 

Well, this was unexpected.

He clears his throat.

"Are you satisfied?"

She smiles, and to his horror, his heart flutters.

"Not quite yet…" she whispers, a playful lilt in the hushed rasp of her voice; teasing, though not like before. This was warmer. Her words seem to linger in the air as her finger tip traces a delicate path up the length of his arm, her touch gentle and deliberate. He… he hadn’t anticipated actually enjoying her touch, or the way it seemed to be awakening sensations he had long forgotten. Never in his adult life has he been touched this tenderly. Her soft caress ignites something within him, as if a current surged beneath the traces of her fingertips. It felt… almost… good.

He casts his gaze upwards, suppressing a flinch at the sheer closeness of her colossal form.  

“And what exactly are you feeling for?” He asks, his smirk down right audible in his tone. 

He watches in awe as her face flushes again. Was - was this actually happening? Despite his fear, those reactions fed into a growing curiosity toward this woman. His mind bucked against the thought. This… is dangerous isn't it? Stupid even…And yet…

He liked it. A lot. 

She cleared her throat, a bashful smile crossing her lips. 

"You're uh-" she gives an awkward chuckle, "pretty sturdy."

There's a momentary pause as his brain registers her words.

He laughs. The sound comes forth full and hearty, surprisingly genuine to his ears.

"What?" He scoffs, "Are you testing my structural integrity?"

Above him, yet oh so close, she stares down at him, face pink as can be. His breath hitches. The sight of teeth softly pressing into the plush flesh of her lip stirs something in his chest, and he feels heat rush to his ears.  

His attention is pulled away from her face as she moves her hand. Her index finger lazily tracing up his arm and onto his chest. He swallows. 

Could she feel his heart race?

Her finger came to rest at the center of his chest. At the pause in movement, he once again cast his gaze upwards to her and was met by a coy smile. 

Without warning, she pushed.

He couldn't help but grunt at the unexpected increase in force. Her touch, moments ago soft and tender, held a newfound firmness as she pressed her finger tip into him. He stood, unmoving, unsure of what was happening. He knew the uncertainty should have been terrifying, and maybe in a way, it was, yet there was an undeniable thrill in not knowing. There was a playfulness to her touch, a teasing curiosity he couldn’t quite tell if it was innocent in nature. Could she tell what her touch was doing for him? 

"What are you doing?"

Her face feigns an innocent expression.

"Oh? I'm just testing your-what was it?" she pauses, pretending to search for the words,"structural integrity." She nearly purrs the words. Her voice smooth and thick, like honey; sweet and silky - like her blood. If he closes his eyes he can nearly taste her on his-

She pushes him again.

He falls back, face hot. Before he can get up her finger finds that familiar spot in the center of his chest. There's no way she can't feel his heart now. Her touch and the beating of his heart is all he can feel. Her finger tip rises up from his chest, tracing his neck and coming to rest under his chin. At his side, he can feel his hands shake as heat fills his face, with even the tips of his ears burning. The air feels too thin, and she all at once feels far to close, and much too far. There's a strange tension between them as he speaks,

“And… what exactly are you doing now?” He struggles to keep his voice even, desperate to maintain control of his reaction if nothing else. 

She leans in, her face consuming the entirety of his field of vision. 

"I want to see your face."

For a brief moment, he swears his heart stops. The intensity of her gaze feels overwhelming- nerve racking. His mind feels as if it's racing and blank simultaneously; The only constant being the woman… the human woman.

"Well" He rasps, his voice far more forced than he would have anticipated, "do you like what you see?" He raises his head, craning his neck to give her a full view of himself. He feels a grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

It's as if his words break an illusion- she tenses, and pulls back. His grin feels much less forced as he watches her reaction, relishing in the power his words seem to garner. Yet a persistent feeling of longing sours the small victory; A longing to be overwhelmed again by her closeness… by her touch. 

She fidgets with her hand as he speaks, and he finds himself imagining her fidgeting with him instead. Wait- he blinks the thoughts away, repulsed by the idea… Enticed by the idea. 

"Well, you're a vampire, right?" He notices, to his dismay, she won't meet his eyes, "but you're so, um, small." Thanks. "... I wanted a closer look at um-  your teeth."

He found himself intrigued by the eb and flow of her emotions; she'd essentially just been fondling him, yet suddenly now she was acting coy? Because of a few choice words? He reveled in how her demeanor shifted with his words, how her eyes darted away from his, how her cheeks dawned near permanent blush. She, a creature of such immensity, hung captive to his charm, his wit- as if his will superseded the physical reality. Without the weight of her hand to stop him, he sits up. 

“I’d be happy to show you my teeth,” getting to his feet he makes a show of brushing himself off, “But first,” he turns his gaze towards her, eyebrows raised and a whisper of a smirk on his lips, “you’ll have to come just a little bit closer.”

He watches with delight as her eyes widen at his words. He was making her nervous. He likes that. Seeing her cheeks flush, he realizes he likes that even more. And when she listens to his request? He finds himself liking that the most. She leans in, closing what little space was between them, but instead of looming over him she lowers herself. Where once she was resting on her elbows, now she lowered herself so her chin rested on her hands, nearly flat on the ground. 

She looked up at him. 

Oh.

Did she have any idea what she was doing to him?

The way her eyes, bright green and innocent, looked up at him through her lashes suggested she definitely knew.

“Can… I see your teeth?” She’s so close he feels her warm breath on his legs as she asks again. He refrains from biting his lip. Instead, he imagines biting hers.

“Closer.” He repeats. There was nothing between them, save air and opportunity, and the scent of the blood still on her neck was quickly taking his breath away. She’d come closer and he’d drop to his knees and show his teeth far more intimately than she’d have anticpated; sinking them into the soft flesh of her lips-

The sound of her voice pulls him from his fantasy,

“Closer, huh?” 

She draws nearer, closing what little gap still remained between them- so close her nose traces up his midsection to his chest. He steps back, and she rises, once again resting on her elbows, albeit this time, directly overtop of him. 

���May I please see your teeth now?”

Looking up at her like this- he can’t deny the obvious intimidation he feels, and it's almost as if he doesn’t want to. Why would he ever deny himself of anything to do with her? The irony isn’t lost on him that what seemed like just moments ago he was so opposed to being seen as something to had- to being possessed, yet now he found himself wishing desperately to be hers. If she wanted to see his teeth, he’d gladly show her. 

“I believe you may.” He says, his tone tauntingly flirtatious. 

He smiles, lips parting to a wide grin. To his own shock, he closes his eyes. Was… was he beginning to trust her? Attraction was one thing. He was a man with needs, and she was a beautiful woman… a very large and imposing woman, but a woman nonetheless- but trust? That was a whole other beast. With his eyes closed, his skin bristles and tingles with each of her breaths washing over him. He feels his heart beating wildly, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He trails his tongue over his teeth and his ears twitch at her gasp.

“You… you really are a vampire…” she whispers, her voice laden with disbelief, “They’re so… sharp...” 

He feels… smug? Confident? He can’t quite place the emotion, but he sure as Hell knows the source. 

“Oh?” he muses, opening his eyes, “Do I scare you?”

She answers with a mischievous grin- a grin that a small part of his brain is screaming to run from. His heart nearly jumps into his throat as she reaches for him, her fingers lacing around his torso. He suppresses a yelp as she lifts him, slowly and carefully, off the ground and towards her face. 

“I think a more appropriate question would be,” she begins, her voice a sultry purr “Do I scare you?”

Yes.

Fear courses through his veins as his mind spits out fragments of thoughts. 

Caught. 

Helpless. 

Vulnerable. 

Intimate. 

He focuses on that last one. The softness of her skin. The wild energy in her gaze. The sweet and heavy scent of her. 

She was terrifying. 

“That depends,” he lies, “Have you planned what you’re going to do to me now that you’ve caught me?”

[worrysomegus]

Do you have any tips or good tutorial links for getting started using the hair tools in Blender? They seem intimidating, but your models look fantastic

sorry I uuuh don't watch tutorials (evil) I just fucked around for years until it suddenly clicked. So here's a few things, not sure if they'll be useful or not

also blenders particle system fur isn't being worked on anymore and is getting glitchier by the update so maybe look into geometry node fur (I haven't) (evil) also everything under the cut is assuming you know absolutely nothing about hair

this is based on blender 3.5 btw

create a particle system, put it to your desired length (short fur is usually longer than you expect) then set the number to 0, then you can use the add tool to get a symmetrical groom

the strands you add are just to guide all the fur, in areas that curve a lot add more to prevent clipping

puff brush is best girl

once you've finished your groom you can create a weight map to control the furs density (you can also make some for clumping and randomness and shit) (I usually don't) (mostly because I'm lazy) then go to children > interpolated and select your weight map in the density zoneland, if your computers beefy and/or you want a better idea of what it will look like you can change the viewport amount of particles to 100 (or whatever)

go render properties > curves and change it to strip (you don't need to do this using cycles) then back into particle properties under hair shape to change the diameter root length from 1 to whatever looks best (uber dependent on what size your model is, I usually go with 0.08)

oh fuck I forgot to mention you gotta do different systems for the head, neck, body, whatever. It makes it easier and is better for lag

roughness is pretty important for making animal-ish fur too, here's my settings I used for making this face fur, my settings for all my particle systems are pretty consistent but it's also pretty dependent on your models size

here;s some other things I forgot and can't be bothered to go back and add

selecting this thing will let you select groups

uuuuuh I think that's it on the groom itself onto shaders

so they're pretty important to making some nice looking fur, you can make it look fine in eevee but cycles will probably always look more realistic (not to imply eevee isn't best girl it's really good at most things)

(eevee)

(cycles)

in cycles you pretty much just need a principled hair bsdf shader with a few settings tweaked (here's mine for the model above) (also make sure the fur material is different to the skin material)

so for both cycles and eevee your best friend ever is the curves info node (hair info in older versions)

all of these can be pretty useful but the most usefulest ones for me are intercept into a colour ramp makes an ombre from the roots to the tip

and random which adds variation to the strand colour

here's a little breakdown of my cycles shader for her

and eevee, they're pretty similar tbh

BUT also for eevee you need to change a few more things to give your hair weight n shit

in render properties enable ambient occlusion and bloom, then in the settings of your lights enable contact shadows

and one more important thing for nice looking hair is lighting, I find it easier in cycles because it reacts more realistically and rim lighting my beloved, but in eevee it's suuper important to making it not look flat, if doing those settings edits didn't do much it's because of your lighting

1 make your background completely black so you can see what you're doing better

2 add ONE area light and position it, pay attention to how the size, distance, and power affect things and make sure you don't make your model look flat

then you can add a rim light (duplicate the area light and reposition) if you want to give your character some extra highlighting, although good fucking luck if you're using eevee it's probably not worth doing

then you can add an hdri (super good webbed site for them) to be the fill light

having it at full strength tends to flatten the model (especially in eevee)

(cringe mode)

(yaaay)

and uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh I think that's it, I don't feel like reading all this back tbh

and please don't follow this like a loser follows the law this is just a guide and you should do whatever you find the most fun/gets the best result

ALSO ALSO don't feel upset if your first few attempts look like dogshit fur is super hard and only insane people make beautiful grooms first try

[akajustmerry]

I'm new to the walking dead and was wondering if you would elaborate on the backlash to richonne you mentioned in the tags of your post?

hiiiiii sure! honestly, it was just racism. I wasn't so deep in the fandom, but I saw the "discourse" through callout posts from the general twd blogs I followed at the time. it's weird to explain, I feel like elrond in LOTR like, "I was there...."

okay so, the walking dead for a very long time was just a show about mostly white people surviving the apocalypse, and was very conservative in a lot of ways because of that. so the audience for the walking dead included a bunch of white people who were very racist and sexist because the show, especially in its early days did not encourage a vision of an inclusive apocalypse. that came a little later though, thankfully.

anyway, a lot of those people hated michonne from the JUMP. if memory serves she was basically the first woman of colour in the show and she was an intelligent, savvy, beautiful dark skinned Black woman. so racist fans hated her just for existing. Michonne was also kinda a mystery for a good long while, which racists also took as a cue to assume she was evil.

Michonne and rick first met a few episodes after rick's white and shitty wife lori (who nobody liked ftr) died. I mention this because about a season later when rick and michonne start getting along (not even romantically just like quite literally start being friends), racist misogynoir weirdos started claiming all kinds of horseshit like michonne was plotting against rick, or rick not liking Black people cos he used to be a cop, ppl even claimed that LORI fucking LORI was actually the love of rick's life lmao. this shit went on for YEARS before rick and michonne even got together.

When they finally did in SEASON 6, 3 whole seasons after they'd met and Lori dying, etc. there were people with saying unironically that their romance didn't make sense, came out of nowhere, wasn't "real" - you know, all the shit racists say when they don't wanna be direct. It wasn't backlash so much as just the usual low hum of racism that exists in any fandom for a thing that's about a white man.

I've always just followed very general blogs or my friends so I steered clear of it mostly. but as a fan of colour, racism in fandom is impossible to avoid and you're so used to it being in media too. I rmr being shocked when rick and michonne did get together not because I didn't want them to but because I was so used to racist TV shows where interracial love stories just didn't really happen and if they did they were so shit. I think that's why I love them so much because they're so lovely despite literally all the odds!!!

[xclowniex]

100% agree with this and thought I would add my experience as a Mizrahi.

I do not look white. Yet people see me and instantly go "jew".

This was the way I first experienced antisemitism as a young child. An older boy at school came up to me, saw me and my nose and went "you're Jewish. I can tell by your disgusting nose." He then proceeded to bully me about my nose for a whole month.

"But Clownie, he pointed to your nose! Not your skin colour!"

None of the white or white passing jews I know have had an at all similar experience. They usually have to mention they are jewish to be seen as Jewish or wear Jewish symbols and/or attire to be seen as Jewish.

And it's not like they have small noses. A lot of them have a more stereotypical nose than I do.

And the nose thing was only one example. Most people pin me as Jewish without mentioning my nose.

The idea that jews are white is a very US centric view in my opinion. In Europe jews historically have not been seen as white. Antisemitism is seen as racism. In Africa, African jews are very obviously not seen as white, same in Asia. America is the only country which views jews as white.

I think there are a few factors to this, one being jews marrying white non jews and getting white appearing jews who often get the popular roles in television due to white being seen as attractive (eg, Andy Samberg). Another factor is watered down white supremacy. The KKK views jews as "imposters to the white race" and it looks like most of that was dropped to leave "jews are white". Then you also have white passing jews wanting to be seen as white to have privileges in America that they wouldn't have if they were not perceived as white.

All of that though is a guess as I live outside of the US.

I think another factor is the middle eastern-fication of celebs that happen in like 2016ish. Jews originated from the middle east so the features present in jews comes from the middle east.

The Kardashians made themselves look very middle eastern back in like 2016. When that happened, I noticed a rise in people assuming I was just "spicy white".

Yes I know some of the Kardashians are Armenian, but not all of them are. Kylie Jenner is not Armenian yet if you look at her plastic surgery back in 2016, she looks middle eastern.

She looks like some jews I know irl in terms of features. If you look at her pre plastic surgery, she looked distinctly white.

Tell me that 2016 Kylie Jenner doesn't look like a beautiful Jewish girl.

Moving on from public perception, Judaism originated in the middle east. The first jews were middle eastern. Those features don't get "bred out" of a whole population easily, despite antisemites trying. Which is again another contribution to jews being perceived as white.

In New Zealand, even if you look white, if you have Māori heritage, you are Māori. It doesn't matter how many white ancestors you have, if you have a Māori ancestor, you are Māori, not Pakeha.

That sentiment is pretty common with indigenous cultures around the globe too. Which is why it's so weird to me that jews are viewed as white.

This was kinda all over the place but I currently have the period from hell so I'm having trouble keeping things streamlined.

Full disclosure: I am an Ashkenazi Jew with pale skin, so I encourage any Mizrahim who see this post to comment their own views if they disagree or want to add something that I may have missed.

“Jews are white!”

I truly marvel sometimes at how many levels of stupidity are displayed in just three words. First off, the statement is wrong on the face of it—biological races don’t exist, even if the social construct of it does.

But secondly, when leftists say this, they’re completely ignorant of the 3000 years of our history which very much says we are in no way shape or form members of the “white” social category. We are white people, despite the word “ghettos” having originated as a term for the impoverished Jewish segregated areas in European cities? Nazis didn’t invent ghettos, by the way, the first mention of them dates to the early 16th century to refer to a Jewish ghetto in an Italian city state.

American Jews suffer the supermajority of religious based hate crimes in the United States, despite making up like 2% of the total population. We are having to put armed guards outside our synagogues. A quarter of hiring managers don’t want to employ Jewish people—and that’s just how many admit to that. Not a century ago, we were literally murdered for not being white enough. And now goy Americans want to come in, glance at Israel, and announce we’re white colonizers?

This whole discussion doesn’t even begin to touch on the rich history of the Mizrahim and Beta Israel and the Bene Israel and the Cochin Jews and the Kaifeng Jews. Left wing antisemites will only mention Ethiopian Jews and Mizrahim to say that they’re discriminated against by the evil White Jews in power. They ascribe no agency to them—they just infantilize Jews of Color to being two dimensional victims of evil Ashkenazi Jews.

But Israel doesn’t fit neatly into this Americanized narrative of white oppressors against brown natives. Do Mizrahim and other Jews with brown skin—who make up the majority of the population—experience racism in Israel? Yes, of course. There was a full civil rights movement in Israel over it—look up the Israeli Black Panthers. But the way their experiences are only trotted out by left wingers to score points against Israel and then hushed away again is obscene. And anyway, even Ashkenazi Jews aren’t white either—Europe has made it clear to us, over and over again, that we are not white.

In short, no, we aren’t white. Not the Jews who pass as white, nor those of us who don’t.

[helloalycia]

The Wrong Lifetime — Ten // Wanda Maximoff

chapter nine | story masterlist | main masterlist | wattpad | chapter eleven

author’s note: okay so this was supposed to be published yesterday but (if anyone cares lol), basically, i finished my last year of uni two days ago and so yesterday was the first official day i had that i didn’t have to do work, so i spent the whole day playing video games 😂 but it’s here now, so i hope you liked it!

Approaching Y/B/N's study, my annoyance returned when I remembered how he acted only an hour before. I didn't bother knocking as I let myself in, seeing him loosening his bow tie and looking out the window.

"What the hell was that?" I snapped instantly.

He sighed, yanking his bow tie off and throwing it to his desk. "What was what?"

I crossed my arms to contain my frustration. "You know what, Y/B/N." He continued to play dumb, so I watched him with a frown. "Why are you so against me getting published? I thought– I thought you'd be proud of me. It's all I've ever wanted."

With a scowl, he looked the other way. "I'm the writer, Y/N, not you."

His words created an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. Jealousy was a disgusting look on him, one I never wanted to see.

"No," I said, uncrossing my arms and staring daggers at him. "You're not the writer. I am. You only got noticed because of me!"

"Shut up!" he shouted, finally meeting my eyes. "You don't get to do this! It's not about you!"

"Yes, it is!" I shouted right back. "For once, it is about me, Y/B/N! Because this is my chance to do something I love."

He rolled his eyes, getting riled up all over again. "And that's another thing. Why the hell are you putting silly ideas into my fiancé's head about making money? Are you trying to make me a fool in front of my in-laws?"

I squeezed my fists together, narrowing my eyes. "They aren't your in-laws."

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

He didn't deserve Wanda. He couldn't. She was too good for him.

"Sorry that your masculinity is so fragile that you can't let your fiancé do something she's passionate about," I said through gritted teeth.

He glowered down at me. "You need to butt out."

I smiled bitterly. "Maybe if you didn't start on Pietro for no reason, I would."

He scoffed. "Please. That man is only trying to get into your pants."

I don't think I'd ever wanted to strangle my brother as much as I did right now. Did he really not believe in me? He couldn't accept that maybe I'd earned this on my own accord? Thankfully, unlike him, I could contain my emotions and managed to swallow down my anger.

"You know that's not the case," I said with a dangerously calm voice. "You should talk about your soon-to-be brother-in-law with some respect."

Y/B/N sighed, moving to sit at his desk. I followed him with my eyes, unable to recognise who he was. I hadn't dubbed him for the insecure type, but I was being proven wrong many times tonight.

"I don't want to do this right now," he said quietly, sinking his head into his hands.

I uncurled my fists, fed up. "It's already been done."

He looked up, but I didn't wait to see his face. Maybe he wasn't the brother I thought he was.

—

"Honest opinion," Wanda said, before revealing herself from behind the curtain. "Nice or ugly?"

"Nice."

She smiled brightly, twirling around in the dress she was trying on, before going back behind the curtain to change into another one. She'd invited me over to hers to hang out, which meant watching her try on a bunch of new dresses and getting excited over each one. I wasn't complaining.

"So, that first book," she picked up from our previous conversation as she changed. She was referring to Y/B/N's first published book. "That was really you?"

"Yep." I pulled my legs up onto the lounge sofa and leaned on my hand, elbow propped on the back of the seat. "I mean, it got edited of course, but the initial manuscript was mine."

"Wow," she commented. "That must have really sucked to hear everybody praise it when it was actually yours."

"It did indeed."

She came out from the curtain wearing a dress that wasn't particularly nice looking. It had a baggy torso and slim legs, making Wanda look very unflattering. And that was saying something – she could pull off anything.

"Nice or ugly?" she asked, hands on her hips.

I squinted, tilting my head and trying to think if I should lie or not. Her blue eyes peered down at me intimidatingly and I knew I couldn't find it in myself to lie to her.

After a moment, I released a breath. "I'm sorry, love, but it's kind of ugly."

She chuckled, giving me a knowing smile. "Good. This was a test. Means you're paying attention."

"Wow. You think I'm just sat here for fun?"

She didn't respond, but an amused smile was on her lips as she headed behind the curtain to change yet again. It was quiet as she was changing, before she spoke up again.

"You know when we first met? And you showed me around your room?"

"How can I forget? You thought I was jealous of my brother," I quipped with a smile.

I could imagine the eye roll she was giving me. "That was before I knew you wrote half his stuff."

Stifling a laugh, I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Okay, go on."

She sighed. "I told you how I fell in love with that first book. How I fell in love with the words. And the person who wrote those words.”

"I remember."

She reappeared from behind the curtain, this time wearing a stunning floral blue sundress. It fell off her shoulders, revealing cream-coloured skin and a well-defined collarbone. I smiled softly, overwhelmed with admiration for the beautiful woman before me.

"I'm glad it was you," she said, and I suddenly remembered we were in the middle of a conversation.

Her eyes sparkled brightly as she smiled my way, and then her words sank in and my heart fluttered with adoration.

"Me, too," I breathed out.

She held my gaze for a second longer before looking down at her dress, pressing her hands over it. "So. What do you think? Nice or ugly?"

I raised my eyebrows with astonishment. "Wanda, you look absolutely beautiful."

Her shoulders relaxed as her eyes flickered to mine. "So, I should keep it?"

I spluttered, "Duh!"

She laughed, before approaching me and sitting beside me. Leaning her head on my shoulder, she pulled her legs onto the sofa and sighed contently. I wrapped an arm around her, resting my cheek on her head.

"I'm glad you'll finally get the recognition you deserve, milaya (darling)," she said, lifting her hand to intertwine it with mine over her shoulder.

With an entertained smile, I held her hand firmly. "Maybe, love. I haven't said yes."

"Oh, you'll say yes."

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, revelling in the warmth her body created as it pressed to mine. We had no concerns that somebody would catch us since nobody was home and the servants knew not to bother us.

"So, what was the book actually about?" she asked, playing with my fingers.

"Huh?"

"The book," she repeated. "I've heard Y/B/N's take on it, but what about yours?"

At the mention of my brother, I rolled my eyes. We still hadn't spoken since our argument and I wasn't exactly in the best place with him right now.

"It doesn't matter," I mumbled into her hair.

She used her elbow to nudge me gently in the stomach before grabbing my other hand and wrapping it around her waist.

"I like hearing you speak," she said softly. "And I love the way your mind works."

My cheeks flushed at the compliment, but I appreciated her words. She always had such an effect on me and I'd come to only care about one opinion nowadays – hers.

"Okay, I guess..." I sighed, subconsciously pressing my fingertips to hers. "The book is about a man who loses his wife to his own ignorance, right?" She hummed in agreement, so I continued. "Y/B/N always talks about how it's about a man failing to appreciate his wife, but that's not how I intended for it to be perceived."

Interest piqued, she sat up straight and turned around to face me, leaning her head on my chest and looking up with curious eyes. I smiled down at her, pressing a kiss to her nose, making her scrunch it up adorably.

"It's supposed to be about the wife discovering that she's her own woman and that she doesn't need her husband to be okay," I continued, holding her gaze. "It was her own self-discovery that pushed them apart, as well her husband's stupidity."

Wanda's lips curved into a gentle smile. "I like that interpretation a lot better than his."

Licking my lips, I breathed out through a smile. "You're biased, dear."

Her eyes flickered to my lips. "Maybe."

I chuckled before closing the gap between us, connecting our lips in a short, sweet kiss. She relaxed against me before smiling as we pulled away.

"Ya lyublyu vas (I love you)," she whispered.

I always loved when she spoke in her native tongue. She sounded so at peace when she did and it warmed my insides.

"I love you, too," I whispered right back.

She grinned, carefree, before turning to lean on my shoulder again. I held her, enjoying the silence that formed between us. Her presence was always enough and I never wanted anything more. But I knew Wanda and I knew that she couldn't stay quiet for too long, so something was definitely up.

"What are you thinking?" I asked quietly, not wanting to startle her in case she was too deep into her thoughts.

She sighed. "It's stupid."

I smiled. "I doubt that."

It went quiet and I assumed she didn't want to share, but then she played with my fingers again as she spoke.

"I was wondering what it would be like if we were able to get married," she murmured. "With the dresses and walking down the aisle and the rings."

I laced my fingers through hers, the thoughts having crossed my mind at times, too. It was nice to think 'what if', but it was also a dangerous game.

"The wedding cake would have to be chocolate," I played along, not wanting her to think she couldn't talk about it.

She snickered, loosening up in my arms. "Of course. And the colour scheme would have to be red."

"Definitely," I agreed, knowing she wouldn't have it any other way, "...it could be somewhere small but comfortable. Surrounded by nature, maybe."

"Yes. With flowers all around us and the sound of birds tweeting in the trees."

A comforting smile crept on my lips as I closed my eyes, imagining it in my mind. What a beautiful day it would be.

"I'd force Pietro to be the ring bearer," she added as an afterthought, and I laughed, chest moving up and down with her on it.

"He'd hate that," I pointed out.

"Exactly," she said with a mischievous hum.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "What about afterwards? Where would you want to live?"

She scrunched her face up before settling with, "Somewhere remote. Away from people. Maybe a nice cottage somewhere."

Nodding in agreement, I said, "We could have a beautiful garden in the back. I'd do my very best to make it perfect for you. And you could paint whatever you wanted there."

A considerate smile tugged at her lips at the thought. "Yes! And we could get a pet. I've always wanted a pet."

"I guess we could... what pet do you want?"

With no hesitation, she said, "Chickens."

I looked down at her, quirking a brow. "Chickens?"

Looking up at me, she stared like it was self-explanatory. "They're cute and they lay eggs. Think about it. Fresh eggs for breakfast every morning."

God, she was so cute. I smiled, squeezing her hand. "Chickens it is, love."

She got excited as she tugged on my hand. "You can finally get a study of your own!"

"And you can get your own studio," I added, making her grin.

"And I'd keep it sparkling clean."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Don't lie, Wanda."

She rolled her eyes, though wore a humoured expression. "Okay, maybe not..."

"You can keep it as messy as you want," I promised her, as if it was actually going to happen and we'd get what we wanted.

The dream was so vivid in my mind that it could have been a memory. Wanda and I living together, peacefully and without hiding... if only we weren't in the wrong lifetime.

"I like to pretend that you gave this to me," she said after an unsettling silence fell upon us, raising her left hand for me to see. She wiggled her ring finger, the silver band and emerald gem glinting in the light. "It makes me feel better."

I swallowed hard and forced a smile, intertwining my fingers in hers and bringing them to my lips to kiss gently.

"Technically I picked it," I reminded her to lighten the mood, but it didn't work.

A sad smile appeared on her face. "Maybe in another lifetime, we could have met in a world that allowed this."

My smile faded into a frown at her words. Like I said, considering the 'what if's' was a dangerous game, and we'd already played too much of it.

"You're going to marry my brother soon," I said quietly, the realisation hitting me. "This– us, will have to stop."

She sat up and turned to face me, eyes looking between mine as she shook her head. "It doesn't have to."

I rested a hand on her cheek and she leaned into it, kissing my palm. I savoured the feeling of her lips against my skin.

"What we're doing isn't fair on either of us," I said reluctantly, afraid to say what we'd avoided for as long as our relationship lasted.

She frowned. "I'd rather have you like this than not at all."

My heart ached because I knew she was being genuine, and the truth is, I felt the same. But that brought me to our next dilemma.

"It's not fair on Y/B/N either."

She tensed her jaw. "The world doesn't want us together, Y/N. They're the ones who forced us to be like this."

"Like what?" I asked with knowing eyes. "Cheaters?"

Her eyes glossed over and it broke me to see her so hurt.

"Is it really cheating if I never wanted to be with him?" she asked with a shaky voice. "If I'm only acting out of duty? If I never loved him?"

Realising I'd saddened her, I moved forward and pulled her in for a hug, running my hand down her hair and to her back. "Sorry... I didn't mean to make you upset."

She sniffled and I felt her tears soaking my shirt. "Don't talk like that... I don't want to lose you."

I swallowed hard, nodding into her shoulder. "I don't want to lose you either, Wanda."

But I knew that deep down, we couldn't hold onto everything we wanted to in life. Deep down, she must have known that, too.

—

"...and this is where we write up the contracts. It's where we'd write up yours if you say yes."

Pietro grinned cheekily as I gave him a knowing look. He was showing me around the publishing house – a proper tour, not just me lurking around on the few visits I'd been here for Y/B/N – with hopes of convincing me to sign a contract with him.

"Pietro, you said you wouldn't be biased," Wanda warned, and I gave her a grateful smile as Pietro chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," he apologised, though he definitely didn't mean it. "I just really think you'd be a great fit here, Y/N. I already have editors willing to work with you based on the few pages they've seen of your work."

I raised my eyebrows, startled. "Wow, seriously?"

He nodded. "Most definitely. As I told you the other night, you're talented. And with my help, you can be successful, too."

A smile fell on my lips uncontrollably. A real editor wanted to work with me. Woah.

"I'm gonna get some coffee," Wanda said, squeezing my shoulder. "I'll get you both some, too." She wagged a finger towards her brother. "Don't pressure her whilst I'm gone."

He raised his hands in defence. "Okay, calm down, sestra (sister). I'll be fair."

She lowered her finger, shot him a final look, then smiled at me before leaving for the café next door. I chuckled at how cute she was and how much she cared before returning my attention to Pietro.

"I won't pressure you," he said to me, perching on the edge of an empty desk. "I just want you to know that you'd be well looked after here. I wouldn't let anyone talk down to you, nor treat you with disrespect because you're a woman. I don't condone that here."

I relaxed at his words, offering him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Pietro. That really means a lot."

He returned the smile before his gaze moved over my shoulder. Smile fading, he cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away. I turned around, curious to what had caught his attention, and then I saw Y/B/N standing in the doorway, looking around for something. His eyes eventually fell on me and he perked up before heading our way.

I hadn't spoken to him since two nights ago after dinner. He'd actively avoided me, too and I wasn't complaining, having still harboured an unexplainable anger for him. What was he doing here?

"Y/N, hey," he said awkwardly, stopping before Pietro and I. His eyes flickered to Pietro before he asked me, "Can I speak with you?"

Instinctively, my jaw clenched and he seemed to notice as he shook his head quickly.

"Not to argue," he clarified. "Just to talk."

His eyes were pleading and I couldn't find it in myself to deny him. He was my brother after all, we couldn't argue forever. Nodding wordlessly, I smiled apologetically to Pietro before following Y/B/N to a quiet side of the room. My eyes ran along the many employees working away at their desks before falling to my brother before me.

"What is it?" I asked, maybe a little too harshly, but there was no going back now.

He frowned, eyes flittering around nervously. "I want to apologise for my behaviour the other night. I shouldn't have acted how I did."

I hugged myself as I shifted my weight between my feet. "Okay."

"You were right," he continued, finally meeting my eyes. "You deserve this. You've always been there for me, helping me with my writing when I needed it. I should have reacted better, but I let my jealousy get the better of me."

My mouth opened, surprised at his apology.

He offered me a sad smile. "The truth is, Y/N, we both know you'll be the more successful of us both. And you'll be so preoccupied with your own writing that you won't be able to help me anymore. And it was selfish of me to think that first, but I did. And I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. I'm your big brother and I should've been better."

Chewing on my lip, I let go of waist and straightened up, nodding slightly. "I– thanks. Thank you. For telling me that."

His shoulders relaxed as he nodded. "Also, you were right about what you said about Wanda. And I'm going to apologise to her first thing."

My expression softened at the mention of the girl who'd only ever been good to us. "She's seriously talented, Y/B/N."

"I know."

I nodded, stepping forward and resting a hand on his shoulder. Looking between his eyes, I only saw regret and I knew he was being genuine with his apology.

"You're forgiven," I told him with a small smile, before pulling him in for a quick hug.

He returned it and I felt relieved to know he was supportive. I didn't see a reason to not accept Pietro's deal now... everybody I cared about was okay with it.

"Wanda is here by the way," I told Y/B/N when we pulled apart. "She's just getting some coffee for us."

He nodded and we returned to Pietro, who gave me a concerned look. I smiled reassuringly and he relaxed before looking to my brother with a smile.

"Hey, Pietro, sorry for what I said last night," Y/B/N was quick to say. "It wasn't cool. I know you're not like that and I shouldn't have even thought it, let alone said it."

Pietro was one of the chillest people I'd met as he offered his hand out to my brother. "No worries, mate. Bygones."

They exchanged a handshake before my brother glanced to me.

"She's really good," he said to Pietro. "You'd be lucky to have her here."

My face heated up as Pietro nodded in agreement. The two of them looked to me with proud smiles and as uncomfortable as I felt with the attention, I was grateful to have their support.

"I know," Pietro said. "All she's got to do is say yes."

"You haven't said yes yet?" my brother asked with disbelief, before slapping me on the arm playfully. "Y/N! This is your chance!"

"And it's a big decision!" I reminded him.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but then I caught sight of Wanda over his shoulder and perked up. She smiled my way but then noticed Y/B/N's presence and proceeded with caution.

"Hey, I got you both a coffee," she said, giving Pietro his and handing me mine, but her eyes were searching mine with worry.

My hand brushed hers as I accepted my coffee and I squeezed it reassuringly. She seemed to believe me as her lips twitched into a small smile before looking to Y/B/N.

"Hey," she said to him quietly, biting her lip.

He glanced to me for encouragement and I gave him a subtle thumbs up. This seemed to help as he wiped his hands on his trousers before looking to Wanda hopefully.

"Hey," he finally spoke. "Please can we talk in private for a moment?"

She nodded, humming in response, and followed him to talk.

"Match made in heaven those two," Pietro said sarcastically, and I tried not to laugh, but damn was it funny.

"Look, I think I've made a decision," I said after a moment, feeling my heart speed up at the realisation of my next words.

"Oh? And what is it? Will you let me publish you?" Pietro asked, quirking a brow and watching me with an excited smile.

Well, there was only the future to look forward to now.

I grinned. "Yes."

[morganaspendragonss]

okay! here we go! here are my insane thoughts and ramblings on the new promo!

cursory mention to owen because is he running his big operation out of a fucking barn or something??????

so this is obviously from the ice rescue, i'd guess that tk hasn't gone under at this point. you can in the background see other figures behind nancy and tommy - presumably these are friends/parents of the kid who fell first?

okay so these pics of mateo are very 👀👀👀 because they're almost certainly from the ice rescue which makes me wonder about what if, when he goes under, tk drifts away from the hole and closer to the shore. which is why they're lighting a blowtorch - to melt some of the ice. admittedly this is a tenuous theory but i can dream.

also presumably from this scene were the shots of nancy doing cpr (screenshots here). i'd bet anything this is on the boy rather than tk but it does beg the question as to what tommy is doing - we've seen that if tommy is on scene and is able to take charge in helping the patient, she will, therefore, she must be occupied with something, or someone else.

okay so this is for sure carlos and originally i thought it was grace he was carrying. but someone in the lone star house server (@iboatedhere i think??) mentioned that when you look at these brightened gifs by @cafeshopau it doesn't really look like her. the hair seems completely wrong, and the location kind of looks similar to where we see carlos when a tree smashes through the window of the volunteer centre (like there's a huge whole in the window behind them, although the angle is a bit too severe for it to be the same really). obviously that doesn't rule out grace, but i'm not so sure anymore

okay, now these. my bet is that the first image is from episode 3 ('push'), meaning grace goes into labour near the end of episode 2 and it just leads straight in.

now, we've assumed that these two shots are connected. but if you look, the couch in the second shot has brown leather arms which doesn't really match with the couch grace is lying on, plus the figure in the second seems to be too propped up for such a low backed couch. further, the pillows are different colours, and while this still could be grace, again, i kind of don't think so. the coats seem to match up, but i have many doubts.

also, maybe i'm just going crazy and you can't really tell on the screenshot, but it kind of looks like the person whose hand is being held is white, or at least has a lighter skin colour than grace does.

an ask to brian mentioned that the jacket the hand holder is wearing has writing that starts with a c, but these don't really look like owen's or tommy's hands. plus, again, maybe i'm going crazy, but it looks more like a hoodie than the jackets they wear.

in short, what i'm trying to say is that i'm hoping it's tk lying on the couch in the second picture with carlos holding his hand. and, yes, i do realise how tenuous this is but i really am desperate for some well-written whump with solid aftercare

cannot for the life of me figure out who is falling here, but based on the build i'd say it's either judd or paul. i'm thinking paul?? but it would be interesting if something bad happened to judd and his baby was being born at the same time 👀

probably not but maybe this is marjan???

anyway. that's what i have. sorry for how long this is asdjakfl. please send me your thoughts too! i'd love to hear them!

[siriusmydeer]

breakup with your girlfriend, i’m bored.

james potter x fem!reader, platonic!remus lupin x reader, james potter x lily evans

summary: james’ journey onto finding love; just not with you.

word count: 1.9k

warnings: unrequited love, angst, swearing, crying, mentions of food, self doubt/insecurity, pining, mentions of murder, mentions of marriage and kids

— 0:00

‘You got me some type of way

Ain't used to feelin' this way

I do not know what to say

“so, mates, i think m’finally getting somewhere with lils!” the tone of excitement thickly lacing the bespectacled boys words. “m’sure of it.” he continued, a bit of confusion in his words but still the same amount of excitement as before.

his brows were furrowed and he picked at the skin of his fingernails trying to relieve himself, further wringing his hands a few times before looking at his friends for their input.

“m’so— m’so happy for you, prongs. really, that’s great.” your voice faltering as you continued to speak, trying to scoundrel up a tone of excitement that would’ve played off well enough. instead all you were feeling stone cold truth of dejection.

But I know I shouldn't think about it

Took one fuckin' look at your face

Now I wanna know how you taste

Usually don't give it away

But you know I'm out here thinkin' 'bout it’

a fake smile plastered your face, trying to push back the tears that wanted to desperately prick at your eyes. you tried to further block them from escaping your waterline as you hear the boy jabber close to every single day about the red head he had been continuously fawning over.

the day went subsequently normal; potions, transfiguration, break period, plan pranks and dinner. but unfortunately for you, you didn’t have the privilege to share a messy dormitory with the four other boys leaving their conversations and discussions open about you and more your feelings.

“d’you think y/n was a bit off today?” peter asked abruptly from the place he sat on the oak wood floor, catching the attention of the three other boys who were seated on their separate twin beds. furthering to retain all memories of you from that day attempting to identify where you might’ve seemed ‘off.’

‘Then I realize she's right there

And I'm at home like, "Damn, this ain't fair"

Break up with your girlfriend

Yeah, yeah, 'cause I'm bored

“maybe a lunch a bit, she looked a little melancholy, i guess.” sirius answered this time, recalling the memory of you speaking in a very disconsolate tone. “y’think it’s anything major, or just stress?” he questioned again, beginning to worry about his close friend.

“dunno, i don’t think so.” the lycanthrope added to the conversation. he recalled james’ new confession about the red headed girl, and your extremely unhappy expressions following; of course noticing a bit at the time when it was occurring but just assuming you had a bad day with evan rosier pestering you for a date.

maybe... maybe she— but they’re best friends? his thoughts were extremely close to scrambled, remus was an observer, he was clever and sharp-witted; but this, he couldn’t figure out.

You could hit it in the mornin'

Yeah, yeah, like it's yours

I know it ain't right

“oi, y/n!” a deep voice called in the distance, putting your light jog to a stop in the middle of the courtyard leaving you to stand in the grass. swiftly turning around you were met with the taller fawn-haired boy, who looked tremendously determined.

“i’ve, uh, ‘ve got to ask you something, and it may seem foolish, but i think i just still ask you.” his voice hurried like his panting breaths from running across the school to find you, asking around the library and your dorm mates.

“yeah, moons, sure, anything.” affirming the boy who looked a bit confused, and worried but you didn’t know if it was for his sake or yours.

he grabbed your wrist in his palm pulling you on the prickly grass over to someone more private like to speak with you. “d’you— d’you like prongs? more than friendly...” the boy sputtered, further acknowledging your blown eyes like someone had just committed murder in-front of you.

But I don't care

Break up with your girlfriend

Yeah, yeah, 'cause I'm bored’

“i— uhm, well, that’s a bit— why d’you think— remus, what the fuck!” your words taking a halt every few seconds with a recurrent sputter trying to figure out where the question had even came from, or how he even knew.

“i saw— i saw the way you acted at lunch the other day. i jus’ wanted to know if it’s true.” he asserted, no present lingering touches of judgement in his tone.

remus knew what it was like to be judged, so whenever you had the urge to jabber out all of your problems he was the boy you had always ran too first. knowingly, or not. but he felt particularly disappointed in himself that you hadn’t trusted him with this potential secret.

‘This shit always happen to me (Yeah)

Why can't we just play for keeps?

Practically on my knees

“yeah— i do.” you admitted with a breath, guilt taking a pang at your heart. and anger taking a swig at your brain; how could you be so fucking stupid.

“remus, but you can’t— you can’t tell him, or anything.” your tone was hushed, and only meant for remus’ ears. feeling a tinge of embarrassment warm onto your cheeks, knowing someone you loved clearly didn’t reciprocate those feelings.

“i swear, i won’t. but m’here for you, i don’t want you feeling like you can’t tell me anything.” his words soft, and his tone genuine. why couldn’t you have fallen for someone like him? but instead, you crush on someone who was in love with someone else.

But I know I shouldn't think about it

You know what you're doin' to me

You're singin' my songs in the streets, yeah, yeah

Actin' all innocent, please

“c’mon, y/n.” he beckoned you to follow him, resting his arm on the curvature of your shoulder feeling his side press against your smaller one and guiding you to transfiguration with him.

why? why did you have to be so damn foolish? because it was her, with her beautiful red locks, her perfect maroon lipstick, her exceedingly amazing grades, her ability to be silly for a moment and loosen up. why couldn’t you be her? why couldn’t you have what she has.

it’s because it’s simple; you weren’t lily evans and you were never going to be.

When I know you out here thinkin' 'bout it

Then you realize she's right there

And you're at home like, "Damn, she can't compare"’

“guys! guys! she said yes!” james announced whilst scuttling across the mahogany floor of the common room. his actions at a halt flopping his body over the scarlet-red couch and a grin on his lips.

“who said what?” sirius muttered, glancing up from the map for a moment before looking back down in ascertainment.

“lily-pad! i asked her on a date and she was like, ‘yeah, fine, potter. but if you’re late i’ll kill you.’ just like that!” he pretended to play out the conversation for a moment, his thrilled movements and inflection almost animated from how happy he felt.

‘Break up with your girlfriend

Yeah, yeah, 'cause I'm bored

You could hit it in the mornin'

Yeah, yeah, like it's yours

I know it ain't right’

remus briefly glanced at you, concern swirling in his hazel irises, meanwhile, your eyes widened for a moment. you plastered yet another fake grin onto your lips, about to congratulate your crush on winning a date with his all time infatuation.

“prongs! oh my merlin, that’s amazing, i’m so happy for you!” putting on the best impression of exhilaration for your best friend, the act only remus could piece together and break apart.

“no way! prongs, mate, i knew you could do it!” sirius spoke, his tone fein for his best friend who had been in a pinning coma for the last few years.

‘But I don't care

Break up with your girlfriend

Yeah, yeah, 'cause I'm bored

With your girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend’

the boys continued to congratulate the boy, remus only giving him a nod and a smile. the marauders paying no mind to it and instead james merrily talking about the red head; his red head.

you weren’t his, and you never would be.

yet another realization struck you, the urge and need to move on present in your nervous system almost begging you to find someone else and to hide away from all the pain that could swallow you whole.

‘With your girlfriend

With your girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend

You could say I'm hatin' if you want to

But I only hate on her 'cause I want you’

you were now sat on the smooth ivory bedding that perfectly hugged your bed, remus’ body right beside yours. except you weren’t comfortable, you wanted to cry a valley of tears that could’ve lasted a life time.

“why is it her? why couldn’t he want me, am i not enough?” you spoke through broken sobs, feeling remus’ agile hands rub up and down the column of your back.

“you’re enough, y/n/n. he’s a bloody git for not seeing that.” remus spoke, sponging a kiss on your hairline. he felt the wet tears graze his shoulder, slightly contracting at the cold feeling but paying no mind to them as he comforted you.

‘Say I'm trippin' if you feel like

But you without me ain't right

You could call me crazy 'cause I want you

And I never even ever fuckin' met you

Say I'm trippin' and it ain't right

But you without me ain't nice’

“m’the bloody git! i fell in love with m’best friend who’s in love with someone else! next thing you know i’m accidentally setting dumbledores beard on fire, and accidentally spawning voldemort for christ’s sake!” your words mumbled and obstruct from the tears that had over come you.

you whipped your face free from tears for a moment, basically scrubbing the black colour of your mascara down your cheeks. “you’re not alone, you know? m’right here.” his tone, yet again, sincere.

you felt undeserving of his coddling, that your messy puppy love was so little compared to his issues. “i can tell your belittling your problems right now, you’re aloud to be upset.” he whispered, trying to assure you all he could, whilst disrupting you from your senile thoughts.

‘Break up with your girlfriend

Yeah, yeah, 'cause I'm bored

You could hit it in the mornin'

Yeah, yeah, like it's yours

I know it ain't right

But I don't care’

“merlin, she’s fantastic.” the brunette finished his third speech of the day on how ‘amazing’ lily is. yeah as if him pining after her wasnt enough, then what the hell was this?

the devil poking at you for cheating on your herbology test in first year, the time you accidentally tripped peter when rushing to potions, maybe it was the time you put belching power in sirius’ drink everyday for a week because he said you had a flat arse?

what the hell did you do to deserve this incessant torture that had been inflicted upon you. we’re you being dramatic? probably. but the boy you were quite literally in love with could not stop talking about how he wanted to ask another female to be with him, companionship, life, marriage, children. he wanted everything with her.

‘Break up with your girlfriend

Yeah, yeah, 'cause I'm bored

With your girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend, baby, girlfriend

With your girlfriend’

but then again it was also extremely simple.

he just simply didn’t want you.

he wanted lily fucking evans.

‘With your girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend

With your girlfriend’

taglist: @fathermarty @kittykylax @terr0rizer @aspiringsloth20 @maddoxsmythologicalmind @amourtentiaa @dear-luna @famdomhideout @hufflepogue

if your username is crossed out that means you gave me the wrong username or your settings for public display tags are off!

[runawayonryo]

like how would SQ characters react if you die in front of them? like after knowing them for a bit???? crying thinking about it

i was thinking about writing something like this- so letsss go!

requested: kinda i guess- <3

warnings: fluff, mention of death, crude humor, angst, death, main character death, you die-, blood and gore, PTSD, trauma, murder

recommended song to listen to whilst reading:

https://youtu.be/R5BkemRXPjs

gonna be sad- so beware!!! <333

-mistakes were made- (Gi-hun)

The whole situation, surreal to you. Not in a positive manner-

Sae byeok, one of the strongest women you ever knew- gone so suddently. All because of a smartass old chldhood friend of gi-hun.

You didn't know here before you entered this hellhole, but she grew on you a bit. You started to enjoy her company. She didn't care much for you, but this didn't matter to you.

Gi-hun on the otherhand, you knew for a while now. Just friends, but seing each other in these games- was an unexpected shock.

The cold bathroom air, gave you storng goosebumps as you carefully washed your tired face at the old-looking sink. The bright colours of the walls there, throwing you off.

You ran as soon as you saw gi-hun hovering over sae's corpse, sangwoo still somewhere near him. You felt likt shit for just- running.

But what were you supposed to do? stay? watch even-?

The cold water on your face, made you shiver as suddently, the door bust open. expecting the guards, but seing sangwoo.

Within a second, your knife was in front of his face. Assuming he was there to kill you aswell. "put it down- i'm not here to hurt you"

he mumbled in a quiet tone. Giving him a doubtfull look, he slowly put his own knife in one of the spare pockets of his bloddy trousers, making you do the same. "why are you here then-?"

your voice was shakey and quiet, in fear of the man before you.

He chuckled as he made his way to one of the sinks, his hands now shaking due to the unexpected cold water on his sensitive skin. "washing off-"

Turning to you, his emotionless expression glaring at you through his dark lashes. "listen here y/n..."

Now he was barely a foot away from you, your bodies slightly touching. You honestly didn't care about your life anymore, you just burst out in tears, before he pulled you in for a hug. your body stiff as his arms were wrapped around you. "I'm sorry-"

You felt his hand move downward, before it completly vanished off your back. Your eyes shut, head resting on his shoulder. "why-?"

"why i feel sorry-? i feel sorry for killing two players-"

"two-?"

Before you could finish that single word, a sharp pain struck trough your back. His other arm now also gone from you. Your eyes sprung open as you stumbled backwards, making sangwoo pull out his the blood-stained knife. Leaning against a wall for dear life, he walked closer. forcing your eyes shut, knowing your inpending doom...

the familiar sting shot through your throat, you felt the stab-wound filled with the blade, before sangwoo removed it. dropping to the ground, a trail of your blood was on the wall.

"player-457-eliminated-

Gi-hun's eyes immediatley shot up as he carefully placed sae's body back on the bloody bed. To this day, he swears he never ran faster in his life. Especially not to a bathroom.

Sangwoo, now dissapeared into a stall as gi-hun entered mere seconds later. With shakey hands he lifted your chin after he got on his knees before you. However, he was a few seconds to late.

You opened your eyes for a split second, befrore they shut once again. Gi-hun's warm hands desperatley trying to slap you awake.

To no avail. "y/n...y/n- don't-"

As his hands removed itself from your chin, your chin fell. Signaling your gi-hun that you were gone. The final thought as your blood stopped coarsing trough your veins, was... why-? why?

Gi-hun squeezed his eyes shut, before letting out a loud shout, more like crying out in agony watching as the guards entered, lifting your body in a coffin with a pink ribbon. Gi-hun laid on the ground, staring at the ceiling like a crazy person, tears pouring from his eyes-

One too many bullets (jun-ho)

It all happened so fast-

One second you were running through bright and colourfull halls with jun-ho, trying to avoid the guards. The next, a burning pain in your chest. Now you're laying in a sideroom, two dead guards beside you.

Jun-ho holding your head up, trying his best to keep you awake, and sane despite the situation being INsane.

"y/n... hold on- please... for me"

His words were stuttered as one of his large warm hands was un your cheek, the other pressing on the bulletwound, trying to manimalize the stong blood that would cause your inevitable demise.

As your teary eyes, met his dark brown caring and soft gaze, your heart melted at his dissapointment as he realized that you woudn't make it. He was a strong man, fierce, a fighter-

but could he handle the strong emotions of loss-?

"j..jun-ho-?"

your words whispered asnd slurred. The grip on your cheek tightening as a tears dripped from him eye, on your chest as his gaze directed towards your gaping wound.

"i-i'm sorry-"

"d-don't y/n... please- this is NOT your fault"

You smiled slightly, as your vision blurred, the sound of his desperate cries and voice fading away as you slowly shut your eyes.

All the pain suddently left your body as an overwhelmingly feeling of relaxation hityou, before everything was gone. Nothingness remained.

Jun-ho shook your body, "y/n...y/n!"

he forced his eyes shut, leaning his head on your shoulder, silently crying into the fabric of your suit. His hand now gone from your wound, he cupped your cheeks with his large bloody hands.

"i'm sorry y/n-"

He didn't have to be sorry, it wasn't his fault he couldn't save you. He did make your final moments noteworthy afterall.

"i hope you're somewhere better-"

Two birds on a wire (sae byeok)

"what are you doing?!"

she practically screamed into your face after you purposley dropped the marble, signaling her to leave you behind for your ultimate end-

"doing what's right-"

"THROW IT AGAIN"

she demanded, tears pouring down her soft cheeks as her gaze wandered to the ground, head leaning against your chest as she let out a few silent cries.

Her grip un your shoulders tightened as you rejected her offer.

"kang sae- I- i can't leave"

"yes you can!"

she cried against your heaving cheast.

"you have a family- i don't"

"so-? you deserve a chance!"

"kang sae byeok- i have no reason to leave- i thought about it"

Her gaze moved up to met your teary eyes.

"you do... this is my entire purpose- i said i'd make sure you win..."

Sae squeezed her eyes shut as the realized that you were the first person ever, that she deeply cared about except for her mother, and brother. This feeling was unfamiliar to her, but she didn't seem to mind. She cared more about you, and what happends to you now-

"please kang sae... let me save you... please-"

She took a step back, removing her hands from your shoulders, quickly placing one on your cheek, cupping it softly.

"i- i won't forget this y/n..."

Her hand quickly removed, as she slowly turned around and began to walk off. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the guards walking towards you. Gun tightly gripped as he pointed it at your head.

"Kang sae-byeok!"

Sae stopped, she couldn't turn around since she was fully aware of what she would witness. She clenched her jaw, regretting letting you go like this.

"go see your mother!"

"and- and i- i'm grateful for everything! thank you!"

The sudden loud sound of a gunshot, and your now deceased body falling to the cold ground, make sae flinch. Tears pouring down her red cheeks. She was consumed by sadness, not really regreting ever meeting you. everyong she truly loved... was gone. Now you too-

gone with red (sangwoo)

You and sangwoo knew each other for a while now-

You first met at a bookstore in the centre of seoul, immediatly falling in love with the seemingly inteligent and respectful man before you.

"green light"

However, you just remained friends, before you confessed your feelings- then... he dissapeared. He was gone. For years. Being reunited in the squidgames, you instanley started chatting. he quickly explained that he was on a buisness trip in america, but somehow... you couldn't really believe him.

"red light"

You saw that sangwoo jumped over the finish line right before the dolls hit you with the dreaded read light shit.

He looked over to you, you were mere feet away from the finish line. Only ten or so more steps, and you're rewarded with your life.

His gaze was filled with concern, as gihun was standing beside him. 10 seconds remained of the timer... "y/n-" he shouted.

You quickly looked at him, a smile on your face. waiting for the doll-

"green light"

You ran, faster than ever.

You were damn sure you'd make it. However, you forgot that the doll sped up it's changes in "lights,, with each round.

"red light"

Three steps away from the line, you streched your arm out, so did sangwoo. As your hands was merely inches away from his shaky hands, darkness consumed you.

You saw nothing, heard, felt nothing.

Watching as you collapsed a few feet away from him, a bullet in your brain, made him cry out in disbalief. So close, yet so far.

[bloededhoine]

world building cause twn doesn't part 8: nonhumans

this is easily the geekiest part of the series. and it's a Very geeky series. because sapkowski's worldbuilding is waaay more extensive than i have the time, ability, or desire to convey, i'm sticking with races both sentient and important

colour code cause i fucking love colour codes - already happened/introduced, probably s2, important background info, stuff that might be in the prequel, extras

series masterpost

dopplers

dopplers, also known as vexlings, shifters, mimics, doubles, imitators, or pavrats, are a nonhuman race that can take on the appearance of nearly anyone they encounter

before mass migrations of humans, dopplers primarily inhabited the forests and plateaus around the city of novigrad, where they would transform into wolves and pack animals to hunt

their abilities are pretty impressive, dopplers can not only mimic appearance but also voice, personality, skills, behaviours, and knowledge. dopplers can even turn parts of their bodies into pieces of clothing or other objects

however, there are some limitations

dopplers can't transform into someone/thing with dramatically more mass than they have, are burned by silver, and can't drop anything they created (if they did it would kind of turn into a fleshy goop)

we've already met a doppler in twn, this sexy sexy man

BUT

it is important to note that this doppler is a huge deviation from sapkowski's lore. dopplers are pretty much always exceptionally kind and gentle. a lot of times they use their abilities to appear threatening (big teeth, sharp claws etc) because they really don't want to hurt anyone.

when dopplers aren't mimicking another form, they aren't exactly pretty. they're bald, short, have beady yellow eyes, and kinda look like they're made from soft clay

here's the hexer doppler

the most notable doppler is dudu biberveldt, who i mentioned as the halfling dainty biberveldt's fake cousin. dudu's actual name is tellico lunngrevink letorte, but dainty decided to help dudu live in novigrad by adopting him as his fake cousin.

dragons

dragons are fucking awesome. you know it, i know it, and zerrikanians know it. witcher dragons are especially awesome

they are the only being, other than cats, that can naturally harness and absorb the force of chaos

there are multiple subtypes, but most dragons fall into one of four: black dragons, green dragons, red dragons, and white dragons.

black dragons are the largest, and primarily live in swamps and wetlands where they bathe in mud. they have extremely hard scales and don't breathe fire, but an acid that causes burns similar to those from mustard gas.

green dragons (right there) are the most prominent yet smallest species of dragon, mainly living in forested areas and breathe highly flammable chlorine gas.

red dragons mainly live in hills and mountain caves and can breathe fire hot enough to melt metal

white dragons are one of the rarest species and live in the far north, and can breathe frost

however, if you watched the witcher netflix as i assume you did, you may remember golden dragons. these dragons are so rare and exceptional that they are not usually included with other species. they breathe steam and fire and can shapeshift into any living being

all dragons communicate through telepathy, although golden dragons can speak when they are in the form of a species that can speak

humans are pretty divided on the topic of dragons, with zerrikanians worshiping them and nordlings hating them.

because they are incredibly intelligent and emotional, witchers (generally) refuse to hunt them

borkh three jackdaws, also known as villentrenmerth, is the only golden dragon we know. there he is right there.

ASSASSINS OF KINGS SPOILERS NEXT TWO BULLET POINTS

the other dragon from twn was a green dragon named myrgtabrakke, borkh's mate. their daughter is named saesenthessis, also known as saskia the dragonslayer (an alias she took to explain her extensive knowledge of dragons) and the virgin of aedirn

because saskia is part golden dragon, she can shapeshift, although is much more limited than her father. she can basically only be a human looking woman with blonde hair or a huge dragon.

cut because this part is getting REALLY long

godlings

ah godlings. i love them so much. they're adorable and precious. they usually look somewhat like a human child, but with blue skin and large amber or green eyes. they don't wear much clothes, their focus is in accessories like jewelry, flowers, or tattoos

that's johnny, a holding in wild hunt.

godlings are incredibly rare, and are easily confused with young goblins. they primarily live in swamps near drowners, but aren't afraid of them.

they're quite mischievous but kind hearted, many have happy go lucky personalities and love just having fun. i adore godlings. i've said it once and i'll say it again.

higher vampires

definitely the most important group on this list, higher vampires are incredibly powerful and intelligent. they can shapeshift within certain limits, generally either looking like a human or a large terrifying bat. they also have some telepathic abilities - they can basically make you fall asleep and forget stuff

scary wooo

higher vampires do not need to drink blood to survive. some don't drink blood at all. when they do, it's like a human drinking alcohol. on full moons, groups of higher vampires go out partying and get white girl wasted

although all higher vampires have the same basic abilities, each individual has one skill they are exceptional in.

most find humans harmless but annoying, like mosquitos. they don't really like interacting with humans, which works out pretty well as higher vampires can blend in very well, even a witcher's medallion can't detect one

higher vampires also have three distinct cultures, the tdet in the far east, the ammurun across the great sea, and the gharasham in the northern realms

they are really really hard (or impossible, depending on canon) to kill. based on the books, you basically need to disintegrate them. based on the games, only higher vampires can kill other higher vampires, but humans can get close

we only meet one in the books, emiel regis rohellec terzieff-godefroy. he goes by regis for short. regis was an "alcoholic" in his youth, and has since abstained from blood or any other substance. he's incredibly old, by the end of twn season 1 he'd be 425 years old. as for regis' "special ability", he's just kind. he's an incredibly gentle and loving person. that's it. i love him.

merpeople

probably one you're already familiar with! merpeople are intelligent humanoids that inhabit the great sea. mermaids are notably gorgeous, having green hair and tails, and their scales are prized alchemy ingredients

sapkowski's mermaids can breathe above water, but the sun burns their skin so they don't stay at the surface for very long.

merpeople are incredibly powerful, they can summon krakens and the sea-dragon like race of vodyanoy respect their authority

they use their own language that's quite similar to hen llinge, but more lyrical sounding.

nymphs

nymphs are a humanoid race primarily based around nature. they have 5 subspecies, dryads (including hamadryads), leimoniad, naiad, nereid, and oread.

dryads, called eerie wives by humans and aen woedbeanna by elves, are the most prevalent, primarily living in the brokilon forest. some have human skin with olive undertones, but others are green. they usually have dark brown or green hair which is usually worn in dreadlocks (breaking my promise of not being overtly and annoyingly political in this series yet again - the dryads, especially in the netflix adaptation, are classic magical n*gress stereotypes. but more on that later.)

this is a lore-accurate one that i LOVE

dryads have incredibly strong connections with nature and magic, although it is really rare for a dryad to be a source. dryads are able to draw energy from trees, but rarely do because they don't want to hurt the trees. support dryads and take the bus.

all dryads are women. all of them. they make babies by basically luring men into the forest and doing the adult hokey pokey. also why dryads aren't really a fan of witchers, who don't make the baby butter (i am so sorry)

however, dryads can also turn a girl of another race into one of their own through the use of magic. the water of brokilon has some mutating quality that makes young girls forget their human past and physically turn into dryads, although it is less effective as the girls are older. the dryads tried to do this to ciri, but given that she's a source, nothing happened. generally, this process is done to girls who wander into brokilon, but some dryads will abduct peasants from outside the forest if they need more dryads.

here's twn dryads... yikes

this is where i think the whole racism thing becomes a bit too obvious. "uncivilized" women who live in the forest and have dreadlocks and abduct young girls from "civilized" areas?? in twn they leaned even further into this, having one of the two black women they cast be a dryad and replacing the usual bows and arrows with spears, a less sophisticated weapon. again, this series is about the lore, not the political implications of it, but it is important to keep in mind

dryads are excellent at archery, shooting anyone who comes within 80 metres of the forest. through their connection with nature, they have highly advanced medicine and use glowing fungi as a source of light.

hamadryads are a specific type of dryad that is incredibly connected with her tree. because of this connection they have exceptionally strong magical and healing capabilities, but will also go insane and die if their tree dies.

like merpeople, dryads use a more melodic dialect of hen llinge

leimoniads are a type of nymph that lived exclusively in meadows, but are practically extinct due to wars with humans

naiads, also called rusalki, are nymphs that live in lakes and rivers, although a few live with the dryads in brokilon. naiads are very similar to dryads, although they tend to have very light skin with very dark hair, webbed hands, and can dry out on land

naiads rarely speak common, live in small groups, and have highly developed telepathic abilities

nereids are nymphs that inhabit the great sea, often living closely with merpeople. they usually have blueish skin with either blue or white hair and have some telepathic abilities, though not to the extent of naiads.

oreads are nymphs of the mountains, which, like leimoniads, are nearly extinct due to human conquests.

succubi/incubi

succubi (female) and incubi (male) are creatures which look like incredibly attractive humans but with horns and goat legs. they seduce humans, first in dreams and then physically, using their prey's energy to sustain themselves, often to the point of the human's exhaustion or death

our man eskel has a soft spot for them...

sylvans

sylvans, another race we already met, are exceptionally rare. like, practically extinct. they live mainly in the woodlands of the northern realms and have goat-like faces with yellow eyes, horns, cloven hooves, and tails

my man torque is quite possibly one of the last sylvans on the continent

they are distantly related to elves, and the two races tend to coexist quite well

generally quite mischievous and merry, highly enjoying pranks and parties. they can use simple spells and are mainly herbivores

sylvans live around 100 years and are highly sought after by dryads for their... ahem... reproductive capabilities

unicorns

yep, we got unicorns! i fucking love unicorns and still kinda think they're real. camels are real and those lumpy fuckers are way weirder than a horse with a spike on its head.

anyways

unicorns are highly advanced beings, they can travel between worlds and use telepathy. they don't really like the "less advanced" races, mostly staying around to observe them. they have distinct societies led by a council of elders and tend to avoid evil

these unicorns are badasses

unicorns strongly despise the use of the force but encourage the power of destiny. in the context of pavetta's betrothal feast, a unicorn would not be happy with pavetta's little source hurricane thing, but would encourage geralt to follow the law of surprise

in of the witcher, unicorns are very important because of their world-hopping capabilities. the aen elle, unfortunately, realized this and began enslaving unicorns to help them plunder other worlds. this turned into a massive conflict between the unicorns and elves.

[attllhak]

Warriors bodydoubling for Artemis? Full story pleae, if you can?

I'm going to assume this is the same anon and answer them at the same time. Also, I don't know if this is in reference to the brief mention of it in A Change In Fate, or if someone ran across a few old asks I sent Tortilla about the fic I'm writing that's just an excuse to put Warriors in drag, but either way yes, you are probably sending these to the right person.

So, my main thought process with Warriors acting as a body double for Artemis was actually that I'd seen someone else with that thought and I thought 'Oh that's cool'. And then I realized that, compared to other Links and Zeldas, they look very, very similar. Plus, Warriors is the kind of guy who'd be willing to wear dresses without any sort of shame.

So, the story is that at some point during the war Artemis in particular ended up being specifically targeted. Probably Cia being jealous, but it also only seemed to be certain troops doing the targeting. So, they could just have Zelda act as Sheik until this died down, but also it's not like Zelda could just disappear again. The enemy forces know Zelda was found, and no one would believe they'd let her disappear again.

Artemis is the one who has the idea, though Warriors was very quickly on board. They were very careful to make sure Sheik and 'Zelda' were never in the same place at the same time, and Warriors spent enough time as himself that no one figured it out. Well, no one other than Impa, who mostly just ended up tired and resigned, since it was working. Artemis is still very proud of herself for this idea.

As for disguise magic, I don't think Artemis uses it. Artemis isn't a particularly well-endowed woman based on her model (most Zeldas aren't), and she didn't change her skin or hair colour as Sheik. At most she put in red contacts, or the magic equivalent. I have a few sports bras that make me look pretty flat-chested, so I imagine she's just using one of those. Even then, Sheik in HW is never referred to with gendered pronouns. Sheik isn't referred to with pronouns at all, actually, as far as I can tell, only described as 'a mysterious youth'. I've taken to using they/them pronouns for this Sheik as a result. It's OoT's Sheik that was actively attempting to be seen as a man, I think Artemis was just going for 'Not Zelda'. Lullaby might use that magic for when she's Sheik, but I don't think Artemis does. (I also am in the 'make Lullaby dark skinned' camp so there's also that.)

For that reason, I don't think Warriors would be using magic to make himself look more like a woman. You'd actually be surprised how much a bit of makeup can make you look different, and considering how much Warriors already looks like Artemis it wouldn't take much to make them look even more identical. Pitch his voice up a bit to sound more feminine, and either pick dresses that sat higher on the chest or do some contouring on his chest, and you don't really need magic to make Warriors the spitting image of Artemis. (And yes, people do sometimes contour their chests. Cosplayers do it sometimes when doing a character with a larger chest than theirs. Also drag queens.) He'd need a wig or some good extensions, but after that it's just outfit choice and makeup.

[nikarmy]

Equilibration ~ Prologue

Masterlist

Pairing: Waterbender! Jungkook x fem!Firebender Reader feat platonic!Bts

Genre: The Last Airbender Au, fluff, angst, kinda slowburn, s2l

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: judgemental stares in public, cursing, slight inner aggressiveness (how do you call that?), self hatred, mentions and descriptions of war,   childhood trauma, flashbacks, reader is insecure af, mentions of killed people and humans screaming out of fear,

The looks from the passengers started to intimidate you.

How should one react to unwanted attention? Stare back, insult them, ask them what's wrong, or put their powers to good use and knock them down? Fuck no. That's not the right thing to do.

But the old lady in the olive robe has been fixating her gaze on you since she entered the train, only stopping her inspection when a young man offered his seat to her 5 minutes ago. Unfortunately, as soon as she made herself comfortable on the metal bench, she restarted her action.

Her face looks remarkably punchable to you right now.

Red was never your favourite colour.

In fact, you despise it, even though it perfectly described you.

Anger, Aggressiveness and Harshness. Perhaps that's why you've been considered as a prodigy and as one of the most gifted trainees back in the fire nation. You are basically the embodiment of the hot flames, symbolizing destruction and war.

You hate it. And now your red attire made you hate the colour even more, as the result was having judging looks on you all the time.

Teachers, parents and elders of the fire nation always tell stories and legends about the benders of their kind, emphasizing their heroic actions, and everyone listens to them attentively.

Although you know these stories by heart, you longed for more, for a view outside of the borders that separate your people from the other elements.

You read folk stories of waterbenders, earthbenders and airbenders, satisfying your curiosity by practically studying their culture.

But the more you learned about the peaceful water tribe, the disciplined people of the earth kingdom and the imaginative

air nomads, the more you felt ashamed about the fire nation, about yourself.

The insecurities grew as your father forced you to join the military as a soon – to – be soldier at the tender age of 8. He wanted to “use your abilities to good use”, so you just went with the flow and trained along with other talented students, destined to end the war in a brutal way and make their parents proud.

Years went by, and not too long ago, marking a week now to be exact, you went on your first “mission” to a city of the earth kingdom, whose name you don't even know, to occupy them and take over their land in a brutal way.

The pictures of killed people and destroyed houses are engraved to your brain, highlighted by the destructive flames surrounding a once peaceful town. You'll never forget the children screaming on top of their lungs and the parents begging for their lives.

The next sleepless nights you sat at your desk and started making plans on how to escape the fire nation, whilst writing a goodbye note to your family and trying to persuade them to not search after you.

And now, days later, you are standing in a train to Ba Sing Se, not even having a clue on what to do next. Your backpack consists of a bottle of water, some sparing clothes (but still not much), your toothbrush and money.

Finally you hear the male voice on the speaker say the awaited words: “Ba Sing Se Central Station”. You leave out a sigh you didn't even know you were holding, glad to be at your destiny and also glad to get out of the stinking train with the rude old lady.

During your targetless walk through the city, you notice a lot of eyes on you, and to be honest, you don't blame them, you hate firebenders too.

So you guess a new start also means a new appearance, right? Luckily you walk past a thrift shop. Its appearance is very pretty, the building is made out of wood and warm tones, the curtains which could be seen behind the big windows were a light shade of green, above the small door you could see golden calligraphy spelling “Kim's Thrift Shop” in all it's pride. It's not modern, but it looks comfortable.

At exactly that moment you choose to enter and change your black and red attire to search for one with a colour that is much less hated, like blue, yellow or green.

Entering the shop you immediately face a young man behind the counter, and you swear you've never seen a more handsome human being before.

He had perfect features, his broad shoulders and his tall figure instantly catching your attention. His raven black hair was voluminous. He could easily pass as a prince.

As much as you drooled over him as a result of his striking lineaments, he looked at you, well, weirdly. That wouldn't surprise you if he looked at you like you were his enemy, just like the other people here, but he stared at you, like you were some kind of god. Like he is genuinely happy that you entered the store. His eyes light up with hope.

“FUCKING FINALLY! NAMJOON LOCK THE DOORS!”

What. The. Hell.

Never in your life have you been so confused. Does he want to kidnap you? Oh fuck he wants to kill you.

The only logical thing to do right now is turning around and leave the shop. And you do just that.

But as soon as you can grab the door knob with your right hand, another one holds it, preventing you from fleeing.

You look who this hand belongs to, and next to you stands a man with blue hair and tan skin. His biceps and height frighten you and you realize that you're in big trouble. He has a tight hold on your forearm and leads you to the backroom of the shop in a quick pace, behind you the black haired cashier.

The backroom looked comfortable, the carpeted floor creating a cozy feeling. But the atmosphere was the complete opposite.

Here you stand, surrounded by five boys. You inspect each other and you realize that two of them are airbenders.

There stands the cashier, then your eyes land on the guy who held your forearm as if his life depended on it, and a third guy who sat on the sofa. His appearance was remarkably charming, full lips, blond hair, round face and soft features, he was quite short compared to the others. All three of them have green clothing on, so you assume that they are earthbenders.

But what really catches your attention are the last two guys. They wear yellow and red robes, both of them having a blue arrow drawn through the middle of their foreheads.

You've never seen an airbender before.

“So umm sorry if we scared you back there” the blue haired guy interrupts your thoughts. “But we are really desperate for someone like you right now”

“Someone like... me?” You curiously ask.

“Yes. The guy there..”

he points to one of the airbenders. The boy has wavy dark hair and as soon the blue guy mentions him he flashes you a cute boxy smile.

“This is Tae. Short for Taehyung. He is someone special. You see, for how long has the last avatar died?”

“70 years ago.” you reply. It's true, Avatar Aang died many years ago, and that at the time the world needed him the most. If he was still here, the war could have been prevented before it even escalated.

“Yeah” he answered “Tae is the next one”.

You gasp lightly and feel your eyes coming out of their sockets from having them wide open in shock.

The avatar is standing right  in front of you.

“And we are searching for different benders who can teach him in all the elements. See, we kind of established a secret alliance against the Fire Lord, to end the war. He already knows that the avatar came back and is searching for Tae like crazy, we had to move out of our hidings four times now because he always managed to find us. Now we have to find teachers quickly, the sooner the better. Tae has to learn to be a great avatar so he can fight against the Lord. We thought we would never find someone from the Fire Nation, but then you came. Are you a firebender?”

“Yes?”

“Perfect, you're exactly who we're looking for. We'll cut you a deal. Since we assume you're not a spy, we ask you to be Taes teacher in mastering the art of firebending. In return, you'll get to live with us and we'll give you food for free. Jin is a great cook. I know this is a lot of information to handle right now, but what do you think?”

You didn't even think twice about it. Even though you don't know these guys, what do you have to loose? It's not like you had plans anyway. And stopping the fire nation seems to be just the right thing for you right now. And finally you can use your skills to good use, not for war.

“I'm in.”

Later you get introduced to all of them. The Avatar, Taehyung, is an airbender, and you swear you've never seen someone who behaves this childish before. But it's not a bad childish, in fact, it makes you feel jubilant. Maybe because his bright ambience makes up for the childhood you never had, the childhood you spent in training and learning that brutality is the way to power, and power is everything.

The guy with the blue hair is Namjoon, an earthbender and Taes teacher in that field. He seems like the leader of the group, always explaining and answering your questions.

The black haired handsome guy is Jin, a nonbender. He felt very excited when you said yes to joining them.

The other airbender is Hobi and also Taes teacher, the first thing you realize about him is his very contagious smile.

The blond dude is Jimin, a nonbender who is from an earth kingdom village.One day he knocked on their door of the shop and wanted to thrift there. But instead of finding clothes, he started talking to Tae who sat behind the counter. The Avatar liked him so much that he insisted on having him join the “Gang”.

The thrift shop actually belongs to Jins aunt, and sometimes, when he's in Ba Sing Se, he has to work here. It's also a good place to hide from the Fire Lord.

“So we need a waterbender too?” you examined.

“Yes” Namjoon was the only one to answer again “We have to travel to one of the tribes to find one. It won't be that hard.”

a/n: Thanks for reading! I would like to apologize if it’s bad, I’m not very content with my writing style, but I am working on it, since it’s my first fic and I have a long way to go:) What do you think?