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kazoosandfannypacks · 1 year ago

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"Open to Interpretation" by kazoosandfannypacks

Chapter 13/16: Rain on Your Parade Pairing: CaptainSwan Rating: General Word Count: (1.8K/24K) Summary: Emma Swan is appalled at works by modern artist Killian Jones- until a handsome stranger convinces her otherwise- and after introducing himself as the artist in question, he invites her out on a date. As their relationship develops, they find that they might not be as different from each other as originally thought. Chapter Summary: Killian introduces Emma to many of his relatives and family friends. They later share a quiet moment together, which is awkwardly interrupted. Tags: au, fluff, captain swan, modern au Author's notes: for my next trick, I will cram the most random assortment of ouat cameos imaginable into this chapter /hj Taglist: @zahara @kmomof4 @jonesfandomfanatic @booksteaandtoomuchtv @jrob64 @tiganasummertree @anmylica @teamhook @undercaffinatednightmare @gingerchangeling @lonelyspectator @caught-in-the-filter @ultraluckycatnd @cs-rylie @pirateprincessofpizza @lfh1226-linda @pawshapedheart [if you'd like to be added to or removed from this list, hmu in my dms or askbox!]

Also on Ao3!

Emma'd slept better that night than she usually did in new places, and when she made her way to the kitchen that morning, she was greeted by a kiss on the cheek and a "good morning, love" from Killian, as well as a pancake breakfast with him and his family. Afterwards they dove into last minute party preparations like decorations and getting the food ready, with his parents insisting Emma was a guest and didn't need to help, and Emma insisting that it was no big deal and she wasn't about to sit around and do nothing, and Brennan mumbling something about how if that's the case then opposites very clearly attract, as Killian had made a living off of doing just that.

Once the rest of the guests started to trickle in, Emma then began to mingle with them, Killian introducing her to many of his relatives, former teachers, and family friends. A lot of them seemed somewhat insufferable in their own way, but there were a few kinder people among them. Most of these ones, Emma made it her goal to remember- she'd always been pretty good with names and faces, so it wasn't too hard.

One of the first guests in attendance was "Granny" Lucas, a kindly widow who lived down the street. She apparently treated the neighborhood kids like her own grandkids, Killian mentioning how she'd let the kids play in her yard with trees to climb and dogs to run around with whenever they wanted. He mentioned as well how she'd bake them cookies and knit them scarves and blankets. To this day, from what Emma heard, Granny's backyard was the center of town for the neighborhood kids.

They spent quite a while talking with Uncle Nemo, who gave Killian more than his fair share of teasing about the "lovely young lady friend" he'd brought with him that day, and though he seemed a bit embarrassed by his remarks, Killian still looked fondly upon his uncle. They talked for a bit about Uncle Nemo's contracting company, Nautilus Home Improvements, and how excited Liam was to soon begin his apprenticeship there. Nemo also seemed very proud of Killian's art career, saying he'd be certain to head down to the Nolan Blanchard to see his art himself at some point.

Killian introduced Emma as well to his step-aunts, Ruel, Bell, and Astrid. Aunt Astrid brought a somewhat familiar face with her, her boyfriend Leroy. Emma quickly recognized him as the lead from the jazz band that'd played at the museum's benefit dinner, and realized that it was the family connection that had landed him that gig.

Perhaps the most memorable person Emma met was Killian's cousin, Rogers. Killian had told Emma in advance that people always said they looked alike, though Rogers was a few older and neither of the two could see the resemblance. However, when Emma met him, she marveled at the powers that be, and how they'd been gracious enough to grant such perfect looks to two fortunate people. Rogers did look a little bit older than Killian, though he attributed the gray streaks in his hair to the stress of being a single parent, but aside from that, they looked so similar it was almost uncanny. Emma was secretly a little glad when he left early to take his daughter to dance class, because his mere presence was, admittedly, a little confusing. Even afterward, Emma almost felt it easier to pretend he was just a weird dream that never happened, as it made things a lot less confusing for herself and everyone involved.

Sometime later, Liam introduced them both to a friend of his, a sweet young lady named Paige. Based on the side-glances and smiles Killian was giving Liam as they talked, Emma could tell that she was more than just a "friend" of Liam's- and if not, he was clearly hoping it'd head in that direction. She seemed impressed to meet a semi-famous artist, and when she mentioned having a great appreciation for the arts, Killian offered to give a personal tour of the museum should she ever come down that way, then not-so-subtly hinted that Liam was heading in that direction sometime soon and they might even consider going together. This, of course, was met by blushing and stuttering on both of the teens' parts, but neither of them seemed entirely upset by this suggestion.

"I don't see why you said this weekend would be unbearable," Emma whispered to Killian when they'd found themselves alone in the kitchen, savoring a moment together before joining the rest of the guests back outside, "it's not so bad so far."

"That's because you're here, Swan," Killian replied, "how could I be miserable with you by my side?"

Emma could feel her cheeks turn red and looked down at her shoes, wondering how Killian always knew exactly what to say to fluster her so much.

"Besides," Killian said, leaning against a kitchen counter, "my father is less critical of me when there's others around. Can't have anyone see how disappointed he is in me, now, can he?" "I'm sure he's not disappointed in you," Emma said, despite having heard quite a few statements otherwise from him in the brief time they'd spent together that morning, "and Liam and your step mom seem alright." "They're great people," Killian whispered, "but I never really knew them as family. I'm just beginning to connect with Liam, and you probably know my step mom about as well as I do by now."

"Then maybe get to know them," Emma suggested.

"It's harder than you'd think, love," Killian said, "the only thing we really share in common is my dad, and some days I wish we didn't."

Emma rubbed his shoulder to comfort him.

"Somedays I almost wonder if it'd be easier if I didn't have a family at all," he said.

"It's not," Emma replied, so quickly she hadn't realized she was saying it until she'd already said it.

"Great going, Emma," she thought, "what a way to comfort him- reminding him his life is so much better than yours and that he should just suck it up and deal with it? Is that what I just did? Maybe he won't notice."

But the look on his face made it evident that he knew her response was borne of personal experience.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to…"

She was interrupted by his arms wrapping around her, cradling her in an unexpected hug.

"Here I am, complaining about my family," he whispered, "and you don't even have- gosh, Swan. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," Emma said, shifting in his arms so she could return his embrace, "just because your pain is different from mine doesn't mean it doesn't still suck."

They looked up at each other, each reading something in each other's eyes, something that transcended words.

"Apology accepted, love," Killian said.

Emma smiled, so lost in him she forgot where she was- and so did he. They started to lean closer to each other, already holding each other tightly and trying very hard to remember why their lips weren't already back together– though they were already moving in that direction.

They were soon reminded why, however, by Killian's dad's voice.

"Killian James Jones!" Brennan said, in a tone equal parts shocked, appalled, and disappointed.

Killian and Emma quickly snapped back to reality, letting go of each other and stepping a few feet away from each other.

"Oh, uh," Killian said, "uh, hey, dad? Can I, uh, help you?"

"I was going to let you know we're about to cut the cake and raise a toast," his dad said, condescension building in his voice, "but I can see you've still found some excuse to let your little brother down and bail on him yet again. Had I known bringing your friend along would be so much of a distraction, I never would've invited her."

"I'm sorry," Emma said, her cheeks red for a different reason than usual, "I was, uh, upset about a family thing, and Killian was comforting me."

"And do you still need to be 'comforted?'" he asked, "or is my son free to rejoin with the rest of his family?"

"I'm good now," Emma said, needing comfort now more than ever, ashamed at embarrassing Killian in front of his father.

"Then feel free to join us, but remember," Brennan said, "Killian can do just fine at disappointing us on his own; he doesn't need some pretty blonde distraction to help him out with that."

"Yes, sir," Emma nodded, wanting to melt into her shoes and disappear.

"I would appreciate if you'd show Emma a little more respect than that," Killian said, interrupting her shame to defend her.

Emma and Brennan both looked at Killian, a little confused, though Brennan's confusion was tinted with disdain, and Emma's was tinted with awe.

"What was that?" Brennan asked.

"I don't mind that you don't respect me," Killian said, "I've gotten over the fact that no matter what I do, I'm always just the family disappointment. I'm okay with that. But I'd at least expect you to treat Emma with a little more dignity than that, seeing as it's not a high standard anyways. You can treat me like dirt all you want, but I draw the line at you treating Emma like that."

The awe on Emma's face didn't fade as she watched him defend her. He'd been shrinking back in front of his father so much that to see Killian stand up to him for her was impressive, remarkable- and attractive.

But the disdain on his dad's face didn't fade either.

"And I'll draw the line at you disrespecting me," Brennan said, "I thought I raised you to respect your parents, and not to be so rude to your host."

"I'd hardly say you raised me at all," Killian said, "seeing as I was raised to care about others."

Before the argument could get any more heated, Fiona walked in.

"Oh, there you guys are," she smiled, unaware of what had just been going on, "everyone's waiting outside."

"It'd be rude to keep them waiting," Brennan said.

As they followed his parents outside, Killian and Emma walked next to each other, though not quite close enough to be touching, not even on accident.

"I'm sorry," Killian whispered.

"Sorry?" Emma asked, "I was about to thank you for defending me."

"I wouldn't've needed to defend you if I hadn't brought you here in the first place," Killian said, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, babe," Emma said, "and I do appreciate you sticking up for me."

"All in a day's work, love," he said.

And despite how things had just gone so sour, Emma couldn't help but think to herself that, if him protecting her like that was all in a day's work, she wanted to spend every day she could by his side.

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missskzbiased · 4 years ago

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Watermelon Sugar

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Oneshot, Drabble, Summer crush! au

Pairing: Hwang Hyunjin x Fem! Reader

Word Count: ~2,9K

Notes: The last fanfic for the Valentine’s request [That you can find here]

If you never saw a schooner, please look for “escuna” in google images, so you can picture it! <3

Warnings: Make out?

Chan || Minho || Changbin || Hyunjin || Han || Felix || Seungmin || Jeongin

Masterlist

Requested: No, that was the beginning of the request idea xD

General Tag List: @channiewoo @aliceu @bythesunnotbythemoon

[If you wish to be tagged to the other Valentine’s requests, please send me an ask <3]

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You gasped, marveled by the bay right in front of your eyes.

You were sure your eyes were shining like twinkling little stars or something, and as much as you really wanted to look like the cool and elegant tourist, you couldn’t help but let your mouth fall agape and look around. The sun cast its light above the sea, allowing pretty sparks on the teal waters to get your attention from time to time, distracting you from the beautiful forest that surrounded you. The view was breathtaking and the way that the forest-green mountains stood up there like a giant barrier ─ kind enough to let an entrance for adventurers such as you ─ made your heart swell inside your chest.

“Want me to take a picture for you, Sweetheart?” Not even the cool breeze that came straight from the sea was enough to cool down your face at the moment. You pursed your lips, coyly rubbing your arm as you glanced at his bright smile. He looked at you with lovely gentle eyes, waiting for a reaction as he extended his hand in your direction (not to hold yours but to ask for your phone), and the lack of response made him tilt his head in confusion “Y/N?” He called carefully.

“Oh! Yeah! Yeah, I mean- Why not?” You snapped away from your thoughts “It’s such a beautiful view” You added, more composed now, handing him your phone. You didn’t miss the small smile on his lips as he nodded in agreement with you, positioning the phone to take a picture as he muttered something under his breath, a blush spreading on his face “What did you just say?” You frowned, bothered by the pose you choose.

“I said you look perfect” He repeated mindlessly “No! I mean-“ He widened his eyes, snapping them at you as he realized what he had just said “You look good in the picture! Not that you don’t look good in real life… I mean-“ He floundered, making you burst into a fit of giggles “Here is your phone…” He sighed embarrassed, fingers brushing on yours as he handed it to you. That was the most romantic thing that happened to you on Valentine’s Day in your whole life. And he wasn’t even your boyfriend!

The truth was that you barely knew him at all.

The attractive stranger was called Hyunjin ─ a simple and pretty name, just like him ─ and apart from being a good photographer, as you could see by the pictures he took from you, he was also part of the crew. Of course, you knew that the kindness and cuteness that he had been showing you was nothing but strictly professional behavior to allure the tourists, and (obviously) you couldn’t help but swallow it hook, line, and sinker. In your defense, he probably worked like this for years and had mastered the perfect gentlemanliness that he was using against you!

When you decided to take your single Valentine’s trip and get rid of all those insane expectations people had on you for being single for too long ─ really, what was the deal with them?! Didn’t they have anything better to worry about?! ─, you didn’t imagine that you would come across someone like him. You wouldn’t even believe you would have the courage to get your feet on a boat like this! But you promised yourself that as a self-discovery trip, you had to be bold and jump right into any new opportunities.

You meant more like a one night stand or something like this.

But navigating through a deep ocean with a cute guy sounded good too!

The moment you spot him on your way to the beach ─ perfect smile, tanned skin, and wet hair sticking to his forehead and cheeks ─, you knew you were screwed. You tried to reason that you weren’t really a good swimmer and hoping in a boat like this wasn’t the best of the ideas even if he had offered you a really good price. Of course, he knew exactly what to say and promised you to be right by your side at all moments… What a flirty little bastard you found as a summer crush.

“I’ll even fight the waters for you!” He had joked as you signed the paper “I’ll be right there to catch you if you fall, though I can assure you it’s very safe! The only thing that you might fall for is me” You laughed along with him, but he was indeed right.

Was there a way to not fall for Hwang Hyunjin?

The very first thing he did was to stick to his promises as you stared at the wobbly boat warily ─ clearly rethinking all of your life choices ─, wondering how the hell you would get inside it if the bloody thing kept swinging like that. Were you supposed to simply jump inside it? What if you just fell to the sea?! That would be the silliest way to die on a trip… Utterly humiliating. How would your family and friends take the news?

DUMB GIRL DROPS DEAD WHILE TRYING TO GET ON A BOAT!

You could even see the disappointment on everyone’s face.

“Here, gimme your hand!” His voice had brought you back from your daydreaming.

The crew was holding the ropes firmly to bring the schooner as closely as possible to the deck, making sure it was safe to get into the boat. Of course, Hyunjin had to drop it and hop inside the schooner as if it was nothing, wiping away his sweat with his forearm and extending his hand to you with a bright smile that made you flustered. You accepted his offer, yelping at his firm grip and the way he could make almost everything seem steady as you connected your eyes to his, stepping inside the rocking ship successfully.

You averted your eyes from him ─ the shyness overcoming your willingness to keep looking at his orbs ─, and the magic suddenly ran off as the boat shook in a different rhythm (or maybe it was all the same and you were just being clumsy), prompting you to pathetically stumble over nothing. If it was a movie, that would be the moment you would crash onto his chest and be wrapped into strong arms as you looked into each other’s eyes and exchanged a flustered smile under his friends’ teasing… Of course, you weren’t in a movie, so you just had the humiliating experience of pretending it didn’t happen as you walked straight away from them.

Being the prince charming wasn’t enough for Hyunjin.

He was also a fierce environmental defender just like you.

Your heart would melt for him, just like those damn glaciers.

It happened almost one hour ago but you could still remember vividly how mad you felt as a random guy tossed an empty chip bag to the sea, completely ignoring the crew on how important the area was for the local fauna. The damn guy literally tossed a plastic bag to some animal choke to death for no reason. You would have said something or done something but before you could even react, Hyunjin jumped out of the boat, diving into the sea and swimming like a torpedo.

The thrash must stay in the thrash! He sneered, shoving the bag into the man’s hands with a scowl as soon as he got back. It was needless o say that it surprised you, yet you felt the admiration growing in your chest. As we were saying… This is not only our home but also of those animals and we’re responsible to keep everything clean and safe for them and for us… We thank you for your collaboration.

Could someone be more perfect?

“We have some fruits for you to eat” Hyunjin said, snapping you away from your thoughts “Do you like watermelon?” He asked, offering a triangular piece for you to take. You gave him a small smile, nodding as you took it from his hands.

“Oh! It’s really sweet!” You arched your brows in surprise “This is really good!” You hummed, eyes sparkling as you took another bite.

“I may have chosen the sweeter one for my favorite traveler” He chuckled, sitting by your side as he ate his own piece “We’re almost arriving at the last stop… I highly recommend you to get into the water this time” He advised, glancing at you “I can help you out if you need to” He offered.

“Unless you carry me in your back, there is no way I’ll survive inside the sea with no ground under my feet” You laughed “The other places I could go to the beach… What will I do in the middle of this bay?” You asked playfully.

“It will be fun! This is the best spot to go! You could go to any other beach” He reasoned “Also, I can wait for you down there to support you in the water! There is no problem” He smiled at you.

Why be so damn cute?

“If you let me die, my family will sue you!” He laughed wholeheartedly at that, nodding.

“Your family can rest peacefully today, you’ll be safe in my arms!” He chuckled, getting up “I have to help the guys out and prepare things for you guys to get in the water… As soon as I can go in, I’ll call you, okay?” You nodded, fighting back a smile as he walked away.

He did just as promised.

As soon as everything was settled down, Hyunjin took your hand in his, guiding you to the ladders. He jumped into the water ─ kinda showing off a little bit ─ waving at you from the water with a huge smile on his face. You took a deep breath, slowly going down the ladder. The closer you got to the deep water, the more you wondered what you were doing with your life.

“That’s okay, I’m right here to catch you” He reassured you, sensing your hesitation. You peeked at him over your shoulder, seeing how he had his arms extended to hold you as soon as you got into the water.

“We’ll die” You cried though you kept going down.

“We’ll be just fine” He chuckled “Trust me, okay?”

As soon as you got into the water, still attached to the ladder as if it could save your whole life, his arms wrapped you up. You yelped as he tugged you off of your safe place, bringing you some feet away from the boat.

“For everything sacred in this world, please let me go back” You hissed, back pressed against his chest and eyes focused on the schooner, wondering why you tried to get into the water in the first place.

“Hey, calm down” He soothed you, squeezing you in a hug and resting his chin on your shoulder “Breathe in” He instructed you, and you complied “Breathe out” He continued, and you did it again.

“Yeah… Yeah, I think that worked” You sighed, a little bit more relieved, “Maybe I could even be alo—“ You interrupted yourself to scream, turning around desperately to wrap his waist with your legs, squirming as you hold him for dear life “Something touched me!” You yelled, trying to check the water to see what had just bickered you.

He didn’t answer you at first.

You glanced at him, noticing the compromising position you put both of us in. He looked down to avoid your chest on his eye level, ears burning in embarrassment as he held you by your sides delicately, unsure of how he should act. You felt your face burning when you noticed how your hands tugged on his hair, body pressed impossibly closer to him.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry” You mumbled, loosening your hold.

“It must have been some fish” He muttered, still refusing to look at you.

“Yeah…” You nodded “You guys said that there are tons of fishes here, right?” You asked awkwardly, and he nodded to confirm it “Cool…” You cleared your throat.

He lifted his head, looking into your eyes as he adjusted his hold to your body, eyes wavering as he tried to focus his gaze on you. The moment was a little bit too intimate. You noticed how your legs were still around his waist, bodies pressed against each other, and breaths mingling, warming up your face. You let your eyes wander to his lips before returning your gaze to meet his.

The moment made your stomach flutter.

“Am I… Am I imagining things or…” He cleared his throat “I’m sorry but are you… Can I…” He floundered with his words, too flustered to say whatever he wanted to say.

“Kiss me?” You questioned, and he snapped his eyes to yours again.

“I mean… I shouldn’t have suggested it at all!” He said startled “I’m so sorry, this is so unprofessional! I didn’t mean to—“ You snorted, cupping his cheeks to make him stop talking.

“I want to” You reassured him, staring at his lips “Can I?” You asked unsurely, checking for any signs of hesitancy in his eyes.

“Please” He chuckled, sliding one hand to cup your face as the other one kept supporting your waist.

He didn’t need to tell you twice.

You slammed your lips against his, hands sliding to entangle his neck and play with his hair as you kissed each other. He hummed, hand going to the back of your head to keep you as close as possible to him. The kiss tasted like watermelon ─ sweet and kinda wet and sloppy ─, and you almost couldn’t remember you were in the middle of the sea, on Valentine’s day, kissing a complete stranger.

A charming and sweet stranger, to be fair.

He rested his forehead on yours as soon as the kiss came to an end, breathing heavily and closing his eyes to enjoy the moment for a while. You smirked; twirling his locks on your finger and making him shiver for a second. He opened his eyes, staring at you in complete bliss.

“Wow” He muttered.

“I agree” you chuckled, kissing his cheek before trailing the path to his jaw “Maybe we should repeat it sometime” You suggested, feeling how he tensed as you whispered against his skin.

“You mean like now?” He giggled “Because I’m more than up to it”

“I meant more like a date after the ride ends?” You said unsurely, shyly checking for his reaction.

“I’m more than up to it as well” He smiled, brushing his nose on yours “Not that we need to do only one of those things…” He said suggestively making you chuckle “I kinda want to take advantage of how sweet your lips taste right now… If you’re up to it” He cleared his throat.

“I’m more than up to it” You grinned, pecking his lips.

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katsukavi · 3 years ago

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I wanted to make this a full fanfiction on my wattpad, but I didn’t want to disappoint everyone with the super slow updates (like my scumlord lol) so.. here’s crap I pulled out of my notes called arise, undead (“pretty obsessed” sung jin-woo x male, zombie reader) I also really like the options I have in tumblr lol. I’m a little embarrassed to add tags because I’m not sure if people will like it and stuff.. But yeah! This is the book cover I made for it here too! :D

Im having too much fun with these new stuff~ (please excuse me. this is my first long post and i love everything here—)

(spoilers)

The plot is that Jin-Woo finds an undead in the woods, tries to arise him and it does work. Now they fight together because the zombie has no memories and is literally immortal (yet dead). Near the end, they discover that MC was murdered and his body was buried in the woods yada yada. Then when Jin-Woo goes back, he has to save him. But, he has to save MC as a 15 year old while MC is a 27 year old..

(I planned that part out and I think it’s a little funny how suddenly a kid approaches you like “You’re going to die if you go somewhere. Come with me, I’m your lover from the future.”

“Ah, it’s a chuunibyou.. Sorry kid, but I need to go to work—“

“No.”

‘Alive or not, MC still looks like a zombie.. Why are you so overworked?!’)

IT WAS SUNG JIN-WOO’S FIRST TIME using his new job skills, so naturally he’d get excited in testing every single little thing about it. He just exited the purple hued portal behind him, feeling like he acquired an interesting new toy to play with. Even though he was tired from the lack of sleep, his joy kept him from passing out.

Either it was that, or the rain pouring over his head. All his excitement flushed into disappointment as his shoes got muddy from the damp forest foor and his clothes getting completely soaked in rainwater. It would be impossible to pass out with the loud thunder rumbling in the background.

He cursed with every step on his path, finding it hard to walk with the slippery and uneven soil, his vision blurry from water and dark skies and his body dragging itself against harsh rain. Unfortunately, he was also already very exhausted.

Out of all the times for a thunderstorm, why did it have to be right after the job change quest?

From behind the trees, he heard a low distorted roar—forcing him to dip his head towards it’s direction. He held a dagger in one hand, trying to make out its shape from behind the trees.

It was in a humanoid shape, making him relax just a little bit. “Is anyone there?” he questioned.

His voice seemed to reach the stranger as they left their hiding spot in the trees’ shade. The person looked to be a man wearing a formal suit, diluted blood marking over his chest and face. Even though he looked human, he didn’t seem to breathe, just limply staring at Jin-Woo with a blank and lifeless expression.

Strangely, the stranger’s (s/c) skin was pale, like blood hasn’t been pumping through his veins. But attacking a person because they looked really sick wasn’t a good thing, it’s like attacking an overworked person because they looked so dead. It was either it was too dark or the view was too blurry.

“Hello?” Jin-Woo called out one time, staying cautious from the stranger. It lunged at Jin-Woo with a raspy growl, nearly scratching his face. Jin-Woo ducked, a small scratch appearing on his face from the speed. It definitely wasn’t human.

Sung Jin-Woo was already fatigued, at a disadvantage with the location as well. He cursed, barely dodging every slash thrown at him. “Igris!” he called out, the shadow materialising from behind him. Igris grabbed the humanoid monster, a splash of mud splattering around as it was thrown.

Sung Jin-Woo stabbed it deep in the chest, not a single drop of blood spilling out as he stepped back to breathe. He put his hands on his knees, staring at the lifeless corpse as he sent Igris back. ‘It seems pretty strong.. Should I extract it?’

He took a deep breath, getting closer to the body as he raised his hand. His posture was elegant, holding a composed expression as droplets of rain streamed down his attractive face, adding to his charm. A deep and soothing voice left his mouth, sending chills to anyone who would hear it.

“Arise.”

Though unfortunately, the Shadow Monarch was greeted with nothing but silence and the sound of ambient rain. That’s odd, if it was a failed extraction then a notification would pop up to let him know or something. Was the system suddenly broken? If that’s the case, he should try again.

“Arise.. arise. ARISE!” he shouted multiple times, but a shadow didn’t get extracted. He furrowed his brows, squatting down to find out the cause of his skill suddenly breaking. “Why isn’t it working..?” he mumbled under his breath, getting closer to the body with a puzzled look on his face.

“Arise. Arise. Arise arise arise. Wake up. Rise and shine. Arise. Awake. Good morning. Arise.”

“I’m not dead yet, dimwit.”

Did the body just.. talk back to him?

“You didn’t hear anything,” Jin-Woo blurted out, getting embarrassed from the montage of Arise and synonyms he was saying to something that was alive. He stabbed the body once again, trying to kill it as he attempted once more. “Arise.”

“You don’t have to try again. I’m not dead,” the man just sat up like it was just his average tuesday, sliding out the blade from his chest, handing it to Jin-Woo and dusting off his clothes. The undead just raised his head towards the sky, watching clouds part as he lifted his palm, no more droplets landing on top of it. “Oh, the rain is clearing up.”

“Excuse me. Didn’t you just try to attack me?”

“Did I? I don’t remember,” the stranger scratched the back of his neck, looking bored as he yawned. “My name is (L/n) (M/n), age 27. And you are?”

“Sung Jin-Woo, 24.”

“Nice meeting you. Now where in the hell am I?”

/////////////////////////////

(L/N) (M/N) HAD A NASTY SCOWL on his face, plopping the sewing kit on Jin-Woo’s bed as he angrily tried to open it with one arm. Unfortunately, someone had cut off his right arm that he spent ages trying to sew back on.

“What next, my leg?” he cursed under his breath as Sung Jin-Woo opened it for him. “Wait a minute,” Jin-Woo said, sticking the end of his arm to his shoulder. “Hold this,” he said, making (M/n) keep his limb in one place as he put the thread in the needle.

“What?” The zombie still looked very angry, knitting his brows together as he held still. “I thought you needed a hand,” Jin-Woo lightly joked, trying to make (M/n)’s mood towards him a little better. The undead male gave him his signature dead stare, tightly holding his severed upper arm before speaking.

“Jin-Woo, I am dead serious here.”

He started to lightly chuckle, noticing that Sung Jin-Woo was almost finished with sewing his arm back on his body. “Hey, you’re pretty good at this.” His remark made Jin-Woo smile as he opened and closed his hand, almost as if it was brand new.

“My clothes kept getting ripped when I was E-Rank. I learned naturally.”

“The next time you rip off my limbs, please fix them too,” (M/n) said, flailing his right hand in the air with satisfaction.

“Well next time. I’m sure I’ll make you mine.”

“I doubt that.”

///////////////////////////// (now it’s just random dialogues i pulled out of my idea dump lol)

“OH HECK! There goes my leg!”

“Oh no... He’s dead! It’s not like I’m happy about it or anything~! ...Arise arise arise arise—“

“IM NOT DEAD!”

“God damn it.. Jin-Woo, could you go fetch my torso, and my arms and my legs and uh.. my head. Yes, thank you.”

“You don’t have a heartbeat and your skin is ice cold. I stabbed you 32 times. How are you still moving?”

“Dunno, ask Jesus.”

“I CAN’T BREATHE! I’M DYING.”

“You don’t breathe, (M/n).”

“Oh yeah, you’re right.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you want me dead or if you want me alive. Which one is it?”

“Either way is fine as long as you’re mine.”

“Gross, necrophiliac.”

“Good night, (M/n).”

“Good night, Jin-Woo..”

“Alright.. arise arise arise arise arise arise arise—“

“Once again, I am not dead.”

“You’re not useless, (M/n). Because when you die, I WILL MAKE YOU MY SHADOW.”

“HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO COMFORT ME?!”

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dumbdemonslayertexts · 3 years ago

Text

random excerpts from black girl time travel kny au

Pairing: rengoku / oc

note: lots of angst mostly. forgive me for this not being y/n format i have to work up the chops to be graceful enough to write that

tagging @dudeandduchess and @adoriable and @tengens-bunny bc they sparked the greatest muse i’ve ever had to write fictions since i was like 14 literally wtf you are my queens???!?!

even with her mind working double overtime to secure her discomfort, the serenity if the rengoku estate could not be diminished. imene tried her hardest to remember any time prior to her time shift where she saw the moon so brilliantly illuminating the earth below it. each blade of grass, every stone in the garden reflected its glow; the whole of her surroundings were accented with such a pure silvery lining, giving a beauty distinctive to the night alone. it was tranquil enough for her to eventually draw a cleansing breath through her lungs, which finally released some of the staleness of doubt and second guessing that had filled her self image lately.

“you are awake still, imene-chan?”

that voice struck her in her chest, shooting sparks of heat and flutters in her stomach. and the fact that she was hearing it meant he was home. safe. and home.

“imene,” she softly insisted, making him smile as though he were being teased.

“imene.” his voice was warmer when he said her name, she would swear to it. and it stirred in her heart almost painfully with the need to hold him forever.

“i couldn’t sleep,” she shrugged off her dilemma, far more preoccupied in the happiness of seeing him, falling into those gorgeously untamed eyes and sweet smile again… “i’m happy to see you!”

“kyojuro.”

when the depth of his rich tone interjected his name, it caught her by surprise. and, true to form, he hadn’t needed her to say a word before reading her thoughts and emotions with complete accuracy.

“wh–?”

he lessened the distance between them, tucking his chin to sustain her eye contact where she sat, “imene… would you say it for me?”

the shadow of pessimism in her brain was shouting. he was easing the lines of formality as a kindness—-it was his vibrant character and nothing more. why was she so dense as to not even understand that? why did a simple name make her world feel brighter, and have her smiling to him, lovestruck?

“kyojuro.”

he smiled. with utter bliss, he smiled at her, exhaling like she’d lifted a weight from him. “ah… i prefer that, i think… don’t you?"

just like that, the playfulness was back in his voice and eyes. though, another element felt as though it had been added unto it. one she was far too daunted to even hope to name. so she changed the subject.

"how’re you feeling..?” she asked, lifting herself to stand, “you’re not hurt anywhere, are you? did you get any sleep or did you come right–”

she’d closed the remaining space between them as she fretted over him. ginger, worrying hands grazed butterfly touches up his chest, and the moment she’d made the mistake of tenderly cupping his face, his grin vanished… along with the delusion of pleasant standing she had dared hoped for with anyone there. it took so very little, but reality struck her like frozen lead.

the subtlest way she could, imene lowered her touch away from him, even as she felt stony ice fill her stomach at his reaction. she could feel how he’d stiffened just before she took her hands away. so then, at that very second with how clear things had become, finality settled into her. still, she wished he would have just lunged his blade through her gut instead; the pain would have been so much less.

“i–” kyojuro tried his best to play off the disgust, to turn the awkwardness in any other emotional direction. the poor thing even had the courtesy to look remorseful—-very convincingly, at that. god, how noble could one man be to still be kind and gentlemanly even now, trying to play off repulsion as he so obviously was? “no, i am not injured, i am feeling well! but i wished to return home as quickly as i could once i’d fulfilled my assignment. so, yes, i made the decision to return directly. i hope you haven’t been up out of worry for me.”

he was even back to beaming a smile by then, close-eyed and cheerful. she could only give half the heart in her attempt to smile back, barely nodding to acknowledge his answer. the bolt of dejection was still scalding in her chest, trying its best to well tears into her eyes.

“what is it?”

he asked after she’d broken eye contact with him for a time. imene had needed the privacy to blink down the urge to cry.

“i’m …ready to go back to oyakata-sama’s estate. but i was kind of worried of how much trouble it would be to ask if he would take me in a second time… i didn’t know if it would be rude to him,” she tried to sound as casual as she possibly could, asking softly, like it were nothing more than a passing thought over an inevitable eventuality instead of a conscious decision of hers. but from the look on kyojuro’s face, she may as well has torn a hole through him.

“has something happened?”

he was so concerned. kyojuro sounded so hurt and concerned that the prickling of tears threatened her lashes again. even with his aversion to her, she could not stand to see someone so sweet and kind be hurt. “no…”

“please, imene, if you were upset by anything that happened while i was away–”

“i wasn’t, kyojuro,” she insisted, pleading.

“are you unhappy?” he asked. and it broke her heart to hear just how willing he was to remedy whatever issue she may have experienced just by the tone of his voice, especially after just returning from a mission, “you don’t have to hesitate to tell me if I have failed to host you well.”

“you haven’t failed anything. i’m not unhappy. but I can–” dread made the words catch in her throat, but it was too late for her to retract anything now, “feel that I’m making everyone uncomfortable."

she waited for him to say something, but the flame hashira only looked at her in pained confusion, stunned and churning his brain to unravel her meaning.

"your father does not want me in your home, kyojuro. i’m a stranger to him—-in fact, I’m pretty sure he can sense that i don’t belong here,” she explained. he was faintly shaking his head, but even with the urge to protest, kyojuro could not deny that truth. “and senjuro–”

“he adores you,” kyojuro desperately interjected. her lips parted to negate it, but he continued before she could. and suddenly, there was a visible glimmering in his sunborn eyes, “he’s told me. many times, everyday we spend together. you…” his face softened from the accosted state she’d frozen it into earlier, and he paused his hurried explanations, “ease him. from our father. even though it is nowhere in your responsibility, you comfort him.”

“him liking me is just going to strain things between the two of them even more,” she shook her head, trying physically to mash the stress out of her temples, “that can’t be worth it, i don’t know how long I’ll even be in this time!”

“you would be surprised at its worth, imene."

her conscience screamed at her to look at him, and she refused for as long as she could… just for knowing how gutting it would be to do. decency prevailed over her to finally grant him enough to at least meet his eyes, though. and the way his soul cried out to her through them left her destroyed.

"i’m so sorry to have made you uncomfortable in my home. you needn’t worry about speaking with oyakata-sama, that is my responsibility, i will take care of it.”

he was resigned and sullen. It was almost impossible to tell with how genuinely he retained a positive outlook despite anything, but imene could see the sadness shining in his fiery stare, even with how radiant his grin was. she could also note how the sure grip of his sword had lessened to self-soothing strokes with his thumb at its hilt. “In the morning, I’ll make the arrangements for you. …I hope you believe me, imene, about senjuro. It’s been some time since he’s had …a loving woman around him. he isn’t likely to remember our mother well. what you’ve given with your presence is precious to him. priceless, I would say.”

he gave her an elegiac curve of his lips, and the water blurring her sight conquered her at last, dripping tears so heavy they fell straight to the ground, without a trace left on her cheeks.

“as for our father… he has been this way for a while. it is him. or, it’s what he has become, not a result of your being here. his callousness falls onto senjuro and myself normally, but I suppose you provided a new outlet for it …” he sighed, “it doesn’t excuse my negligence, but i will speak to him, you have my word.”

when she swept her eyes free of more accumulating tears, she felt kyojuro’s palms encircling her arms. it was a touch she had been desiring from the moment these feelings for him had begun to surface, yet when she felt it, she recoiled as if she were burned.

“imene,” he begged quietly. she still tried to keep her tone even.

“but you, kyojuro.”

confusion seeped into the misery soaking his expression, and his brow curled again to search for some hidden meaning in her words. his hands were away from her, though, the instant she showed discomfort.

“you’re the most uncomfortable around me of the three of you. you’re disgusted when i come close to touching you, you can’t even stand to be near me, in the same room, you’re always double checking to see if i’m up to something down every hall and in every room, and around your brother—-i can’t stay here and make you feel like that in your own home! especially when you’re out saving people and risking your life constantly! why would you even want me here if i make you so ill at ease—why would you want to come home to that kind of feeling after all you do!”

she hated how much heat she could feel under her skin–behind her eyes, in her cheeks and nose, at her ears. even more, she hated the pinched and congested whine her emotive state rendered her voice to, like some indignant child. it was humiliating to say aloud to him—-to verbalize just how awfully her self-regard had been eaten away, and to at last face it herself. now her cheeks and chin lay adorned with sheening wet streaks. she couldn’t hide any of it any longer. stillness followed after. not a word spoken, only the amplification of her breaths rattling and struggling to calm against rengoku’s measured silence.

when she could bear to raise her head again, imene could see him in what looked to be a deep epiphany. a terrible one. like his actions had only know processed into awareness for him, and had left him reflecting in horror.

“imene.”

he lifted his eyes enough for her to come into view, and his own lashes were starry now, blacker with the moisture accumulating at their base, in spite of the soft grin he wore, “i’m afraid i have to correct you. you said i haven’t failed in caring for you well. but i have done exactly that.

"would you come and sit with me,” he propositioned when she said no more. he’d expected nothing less when she could only look away from him with clenched, leaking eyes, so clearly pained that it ripped his heart to shreds. kyojuro was patient to await her answer, and held out his arm for her when she surprisingly accepted. imene had assumed that they would both share the space on the engawa she’d taken before his return. instead, he lead them to a more secluded area of the estate’s garden, on a stone bench that provided ample view of the night time, and allowed an unstifled breeze to cool them both that she greatly appreciated.

“i must apologize.”

“you did already.”

kyojuro glanced over his shoulder, hearing her delicate assurance. it surged through him, littering his skin in goosebumps.

out of consideration of how small their shared seat would be, he had crowded himself at the corner by her side. it allowed them both room for their legs, considering how widely his sat apart, but he could admit there there was a high element of shame that made it more difficult to face her. “yes, and it is not at all adequate for how i’ve hurt you.”

every time he spoke, sounding like he cared, she could do nothing but weep more. somehow, in spite of everything, his sympathy hurt more than anything else. and made her feel horrible for not being acceptable. “you can’t help how you feel, rengoku-s–”

“kyojuro."

his eyes met hers with stone solid conviction that she couldn’t understand. for someone who disliked her so palpably, he was intent on establishing friendly casualness between them that gave her a migraine trying to comprehend. his next words went far enough to bring a knot to her brow. "you’re right, i can’t. but to have acted on those feelings so poorly is shameful."

"acted on them poorly?”

“you were manifested in oyakata-sama’s estate. a refugee he deemed to have been brought here for divine reason. he is our leader in this fight we have undertaken against evil. he is the head of our organization, to be honored and respected.”

“it seemed that way,” her faint voice commented.

“yes. for that reason, and more i can’t explain now. understand, if my master says to me that you are precious, to be cared for, i wouldn’t ever dishonor that, nor you.”

now he’d given her her own shocking epiphany. it was slow to unravel itself with how meticulously he explained, frustratingly peeling away with the more he revealed to her in this less than receptive state that her mortification left her in.

“i wished to fulfill the role of your caretaker as best as i could. but as a hashira, i am frequently called away for extensive periods,” he gradually began to turn himself round, now diagonally beside her rather than perpendicular, “you are out of my direct sight for so long that i force you to tolerate my overcompensating once i return. i want you adjusted well, to not be overwhelmed or confused, or grieved with being alone. i wished to watch over you closely in case you were to need me.”

“oh…”

“and your nearness…” he began again, “imene, you were brought here under my protection. not only for me to oversee your healing wounds, but for your safe keeping all together. you are my charge. but i took this upon myself before knowing you—-i was not prepared for you to be so gentle and loving, and to possess warmth that i have not felt in so many years. you emanate affection–your spirit could even bring out playfulness in tokito-san. and your strength is one i have only seen in one other in my life."

she wanted to cry again, now. and was well on her way, hearing this perfect man speak of her so glowingly. out of nowhere.

"your peculiar beauty was something i was prepared to disregard. i am from a family of uncommon features; i willed myself to overlook the uniqueness of your eyes as many do mine, and to not be stricken with the comeliness of your hair, or with the beauty of your delicate complexion—-one i have never seen, and that i now will never forget. i convinced myself of it only being the allure of one sent from the heavens. i was mistaken, and then overcome."

"you—-” her voice broke, weighted with the sobs fighting to bubble out of her chest, “i don’t understand…”

“you are the most beautiful woman i have ever set eyes on, imene. my dreams could not even create anyone nearly as bewitching. and i swore to ignore it, until you showed yourself equally as beautiful in your soul.”

▷▷ part 2

#kimetsu no yaiba #kny imagines #kny rengoku #kny kyojuro #rengoku kyoujurou #rengoku kyōjurō #kyojuro rengoku #demon slayer #demon slayer rengoku #demon slayer kyojuro #demon slayer kimetsu no yaiba

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thedreadvampy · 4 years ago

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Ok please if you don’t mind saying - who is Stuart semple and what did he do? I’m so confused. Like I recognise the name and I think he might the an artist or something but I have no idea

He is indeed an artist! He’s a English multidisciplinary fine artist best known for his ongoing beef with English sculptor Anish Kapoor over the 2016 exclusive licensing on the process to make Vantablack colour coating, which meant Kapoor was the only artist allowed to use it. Then Stuart Semple made Pinkest Pink pigment and said it was available to everyone but Anish Kapoor, and there was a big blowup which there’s a lot of documentation of - it was very memed.

Since then, Semple has made a bunch more pigments, most of them with the available-to-everyone-but-Anish-Kapoor disclaimer, and the beef periodically flares up, although I will say as time goes on it seems to me to have got increasingly one-sided given that Kapoor has pretty much wandered off.

(I’ve used several of his colours, btw. Pinkest Pink is pretty good. Blackest Black, his attempt to make the blackest possible paint (as opposed to Vantablack which is a nanofibre coating) I was pretty disappointed in, I’ve honestly had better light capture from mid-range art shop paints. His other pigments vary in quality - some I really liked, some I was meh on, but I think Blackest Black is the only one I was actively unimpressed by)

Anyway. Where I come in is much less exciting.

A few months ago I reblogged a post on Tumblr asking about Semple from a discourse tag (my reblog did not tag or @ anyone), and I made a glib comment where I said (very truthfully) that while I thought he was pretty decent at pigments, both his paintings and his online persona came across pretty adolescent to me.

so it turns out Stuart Semple is an inveterate name searcher (hi Stuart if you’re reading this!)

(Side note: I actually should have guessed this from 2019 Twitter when he saw and commented on an untagged thread I wrote about him and Kapoor’s beef (which was because I’d seen an article in which Kapoor, a British-Asian man, said that the racist Prevent strategy was liable to drive young British-Asian men into the arms of terrorist groups by making it clear their country hates them reblogged on Semple’s account with a caption claiming Anish Kapoor was pro-terrorism, which, while tongue-in-cheek, isn’t a neutral statement for a white person to make about an Asian person and was a pretty phenomenally bad-faith reading of Kapoor’s actual words) and in my thread I pretty much said that when the story had broken, I, like everybody else, had found it very funny and been firmly on side with Semple’s bit, but I felt that a) after a couple of years it really wasn’t very relevant any more and it had started to feel less like Fighting The Power and more like bullying the amount of Semple’s web presence was devoted to talking about Anish Kapoor; b) that it was a shame that Anish Kapoor was increasingly only known as The Vantablack Guy given that I really like a lot of his work and c) that continuing to frame a Jewish person of colour as the Face of the Artistic Elite was a bit weird given how overwhelmingly white the high-end art world is. but I digress. Semple responded to that thread, I don’t really remember what he said, it wasn’t an acrimonious response but it was a bit Oh I Didn’t Do Anything To Tag You?)

so anyway he found my reblog and commented saying ehhh I don’t remember, something along the lines of not feeling like I was being very kind and that he was trying his best. also I think he said I had accused him of being racist? which again the actual Tumblr post literally just said I thought his art and persona came across as juvenile and I think in the tags? I mentioned that I thought it was time for him to step off the Kapoor beef.

then he screencapped my post, including my profile picture and username, and posted it on all his socials with a kind of :( people are so mean on Tumblr :( caption and um

idk if you know this about Being A Public Persona With Tens Of Thousands of Followers but. if you post someone’s identity and say ‘I do not like what this person is doing’ it. can get messy fast.

uh I don’t follow Stuart Semple (see the original post I made) but he commented to make sure I knew he’d posted my post on Instagram and “all my followers like your wig :)” which. according to my partner who did go and look at the time, the Instagram comments were largely about how I was an ugly non-passing trans woman aka “man in a wig” which. throw the whole suitcase out. There were a good few days where I got a lot of angry anons, ranging from ‘stop bullying Stuart Semple!!!!!’ to ‘die in a ditch graphically’ to ‘how can you claim to have opinions on art when You Are On Tumblr’ (I have been a freelance illustrator for 7 years and I have a Masters in art and design) to ‘your art sucks and you’re fat and ugly’ and my personal favourite ‘how can u be cis and use she/her pronouns you dumb snowflake’

(within that furore was a whole branch where someone was like ‘sex worker huh bet you’re bad at it’ and I was like ‘yep! that’s why I don’t do it any more! it’s hard work and it involves a lot of self-promotion and customer skills which I don’t like and am not good at!’ and this was a Whole Thing where they kept trying to insult me (much like today’s anon) about my supposed failures as a Slut Who Is Bad At Sex and I kept going like ‘ok but here’s how that just. doesn’t make sense in reference to what sex work actually is so like, ok?’)

and Stuart Semple and I were also having a conversation which, depending on your perspective I would call his attitude either conciliatory or passive-aggressive, there was a lot of ‘me and my followers would never say rude things about you :) keep up the art kiddo :)’ and being charitable I would say he was trying to be nice while being angry, and to avoid escalating (but with the added context I got later about the wig comment, I think that interpretation of his behaviour maybe. has some cracks?) and ultimately he took down the posts, we had a brief conversation about keeping pet reptiles (apparently he has a lizard) and we left it on, if not good terms, at least peaceable ones.

however I still periodically get messages about it from angry Semple stans. and I’m not sure the argument was resolved, in that I still very much think it’s fair to make criticism, including quite harsh criticism (which I’m not sure ‘adolescent’ is), on art which is put out for public display and enjoyment, and that it isn’t a personal attack to post a criticism of someone’s public-facing work and statements on social media unless you actively target it towards them (for example, @ ing them), and Semple still thinks there’s no difference between a random blog with under a thousand followers criticising a public figure’s work and a public figure with 100k followers on most platforms criticising that blog (out of context - he clipped out the post I was reblogging from and my explanatory tags, and looking at my blog you may notice that 90% of my nuance is in the tags) while giving his followers all the information to find said blog.

(also as multiple people have remarked. if you want to say it’s an unfair criticism to call your online presence immature, being a middle-aged artist who as far as I can tell has a net worth over a million who spends your time name searching yourself in order to get mad at untagged mild criticism from strangers on the internet and share it on all your socials for your followers to join you in Being Big Mad is uhhhhhhh. it uh. it’s not like. not super thin-skinned and immature)

(also also I just googled his net worth and unsurprisingly I can’t find a source on it I’d consider reliable, but I did find multiple articles about him getting in trouble for breach of contract and nonpayment for gallery employees, including two accusations of him writing a big defensive blog post then changing it after a few hours to a very short post saying I LOVE YOU so like idk how true that is but it does seem. consistent with the above interactions.)

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justpottytime · 3 years ago

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I posted 809 times in 2021

13 posts created (2%)

796 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 61.2 posts.

I added 29 tags in 2021

#not omo - 8 posts

#xd - 3 posts

#yes! - 3 posts

#omo on ice - 3 posts

#yeeeeeees! - 2 posts

#yep... - 2 posts

#so good!!!! - 2 posts

#awwwwww! - 2 posts

#...interesting... - 2 posts

#what is that accent though?! - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 131 characters

#especially when a character knows it's coming because they know they've been stressed lately and the knowledge only makes it worse!

My Top Posts in 2021

💝 and 💛 for the ask game? (MrsLittleleaks)

💝 - both wetting and just made it have their place, I'm not quite sure which I like better - though I will say, just made it has to be because someone else was helping them make it!

💛 - weirdly enough this is something I so rarely think about! But I think I prefer weak bladders, there's just something cute about it!

Thank you for asking!!!!!

3 notes • Posted 2021-04-16 22:00:18 GMT

💚 (from that ask meme) (weirdolydiaprower)

Oooooh, thank you!

OK, gonna be completely honest - my favourite character to write omo for is definitely my OC, because I'm completely weak for her. Favourite character to read about is a little more varied - my Yuri On Ice obsession refuses to die, so ANY character from that (please give me more omo of the secondary characters, there's so much good victuuri stuff but I need my faves...), and I also have quite a weakness for Miles Edgeworth from Phoenix Wright!

4 notes • Posted 2021-04-29 17:05:59 GMT

Peeing outside for the ask game. (MrsLittleleaks)

Ahhhhhh, I love this one! A classic really, and so much to be done with it! The chill character who doesn't care and will just hose down the nearest tree with no shame, the desperate character who has to be persuaded to resort to such an embarrassing thing by a friend or partner, the painfully shy character who spends so long looking for somewhere completely hidden to go that they almost have an accident anyway - actually, why don't more people write that one? Get on it everyone! XD

ALSO the difficulty difference depending on which body parts said character has - being able to pull yourself out and just let go makes peeing outside a LOT more appealing than for the poor character who has to get their clothes out of the splash zone, find somewhere to squat, and hold themselves in this awkward and unnatural position the whole time... Would be a shame if someone's bladder locked up because their body knew they weren't supposed to pee in such a position (although you can actually work around that by having your character sit with their feet flat on the ground, knees spread apart and up - this is considerably easier than squatting *coughcough speaking from experience*) 😳

Aaaaaaanyway, enough rambling! TLDR: peeing outside is very good and full of fun opportunities!

12 notes • Posted 2021-04-13 19:56:06 GMT

could you have a soft 'show me' in an omo context?

Hmmmm, ok, I think I could manage a few! Although credit to @dont-percncieve-me and the tags they left on another post I reblogged, a lot of these are inspired by their ideas! God, this is such a cute idea...

"Uh-oh, you're leaking? Show me, I'll make sure it isn't noticeable to the others"

"Hang on, show me- no wonder it hurts, your bladder is bulging out..."

"Show me how bad you had to go... Wow, that's quite a stream, I'm impressed!"

"That's it, show me how good it feels to get relief at last..."

And a bonus show me from the desperate person's point of view, because this one has been bouncing around in my head since I saw your ask this morning:

"I really have to go, but there's nowhere to- you have an idea? I... OK, show me. I... I trust you..."

Hope these were what you wanted! Thank you for the ask, this was super fun!!!

16 notes • Posted 2021-12-17 00:05:23 GMT

Random omo prompt that decided to make itself known at work today:

So two characters, A and B - they can be anywhere from total strangers to somewhat friends - are both bladdershy. They both go into the bathroom at the same time, but upon realising the other has the same intention as them, they both go into stalls and figure they'll wait the other one out... But now A can't pee until B has left, and B can't pee until A has left, and neither of them know the other is struggling...

Bonus: C (who is extremely NOT shy) then enters the bathroom, goes into the empty stall between them, and has the loudest, most relieving piss of their life. A and B are SUFFERING...

Bonus bonus: A manages to pee quietly while the sound of C relieving themselves is loud enough to cover any noises they might make... But now B is stuck waiting while they have to listen to both A and C flush, wash their hands, and quite possibly waste time talking if they know each other before they'll leave B in privacy...

48 notes • Posted 2021-08-06 16:03:33 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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entity9silvergen · 4 years ago

Text

We Dance To Fast Music (ATLA Fanfiction)

Summary: Zuko didn’t like to dance. Neither did Mai. But Ty Lee did and they’d do it for her. Fortunately for them, Ty Lee cared about how they felt and wanted to show them just how wonderful music could be. All Zuko and Mai knew were slow dances, the things of ballrooms and romance. Ty Lee only knew the dances of friendship, freedom, and fun.

Fandom: ATLA

Characters: Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, Sokka, Suki, Aang, Katara, Toph

Relationships: Ambiguous relationships, Katara/ Aang, Zuko & Mai & Ty Lee, Gaang & Mai & Ty Lee, Zuko & Mai & Ty Lee & Suki &Sokka

Other Tags: Ambiguous Relationships, AroWriMo, Dancing, Dancing Dragon, Tsungi Horn, Wedding, Platonic Relationships, Music

Warnings: None

Word Count: 8K

Chapter Count: 1 (Oneshot)

Author’s Note: This was written for Aromantic Writing Month 2021 Week 2. The prompt is Freedom & Music. It is not explicitly mentioned if characters are aro in this story. The main focus is on friendships and platonic relationships being valued equally. You can decide which however you want to interpret each character’s romantic and sexual orientations.

It also does not explicitly state if any characters are in relationships (except Aang and Katara) so you can read into it however you want. I played around with Mai/ Zuko, Mai/ Zuko/ Ty Lee, Suki/ Sokka, Mai/ Zuko/ Ty Lee/ Suki/ Sokka, or them all just being platonic friends but none of it stuck. There is emphasis that these relationships are not strictly romantic but you can interpret any of them as qprs or romantic relationships.

Also I’d like to say I know nothing about music or dance so sorry if those bits of the story don’t make sense or if their dances are really ugly.

I own none of the dances in this story. The first one is the Dancing Dragon from the cartoon and the last two are inspired by “the beginning of a new and brighter birth” by aloneintherain on Ao3.

You can also read this fic on Ao3 and FFN.

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Part 1

It all began at Katara and Aang’s wedding.

It was a nice wedding, it really was, and Zuko was happy for his friends but did they really have to invite so many people? Aang and Katara had a lot of friends all over the world but half these people Zuko had never even met. He was pretty sure they were all political officials. He supposed he couldn’t really complain, the Avatar’s marriage was a pretty big event for all four nations, but it was stifling to have so many people in one space, however open.

He supposed the one advantage was that no one could see if he was dancing or not.

The ceremony was lovely and Zuko meant that genuinely. Aang and Katara had danced afterward in a beautiful mix of Water Tribe and Air Nomad styles and now the floor was open to the guests. There was a live band of… Zuko wanted to say they were Air Acolytes but they may have been one of King Kuei’s bands from Ba Sing Se. Or maybe it was both. It was probably both considering they were playing a plethora of tunes from different nations and regions. Everyone seemed pretty pleased by the music selection and had taken to the dance floor with their partners.

Zuko was hiding in the corner with Mai and Ty Lee.

Zuko knew as the Fire Lord he would be expected to dance at some point. Not by Aang and Katara, they’d never do that to him, but there were so many strangers here and there was probably some important person here who would start whispers that the Fire Lord had insulted the Avatar by not dancing at his wedding and they needed to start war preparations again. Zuko didn’t know anything about weddings but he was pretty sure that was a thing. Probably. Maybe. And for peace’s sake, he’d dance. Probably. Maybe.

It was just that he didn’t want to? It wasn’t even entirely because he didn’t know how to. He didn’t really have any problems with dancing. He’d dabbled in some of the cultural restoration efforts that involved dancing directly. It just didn’t seem appealing in the slightest. Earth Kingdom officials and royalty were swaying their partners, Water Tribesmen were spinning each other around, and Air Acolytes were leaning against each other, all in tune to the gentle melody. It was nice but he and Mai just weren’t like that.

“Come on,” Ty Lee complained for the umpteenth time, tugging on their hands. “You have to come dance!”

“We don’t have to do anything,” Mai responded, leaning even further into Zuko as if to prove a point. Zuko didn’t complain.

Ty Lee frowned, her grip on both of them slackening a bit. “What’s wrong with dancing? I mean, I know the Fire Nation never really allowed dancing much but we used to do it all the time at home. And in the circus! It’s fun.”

“This looks like the farthest thing from fun,” Zuko commented and gestured vaguely at the mass of men and women before them. “It’s all so… slow. And romantic.”

“And boring,” Mai added helpfully.

“And boring,” Zuko agreed.

Ty Lee pouted for a moment before a look of excitement flashed across her face. “Wait here. I’ve got an idea.”

She was gone before Zuko could protest. Zuko reached out with his newly freed hand and called after her but she’d already vanished into the crowd of people. He frowned a bit and slumped against the pillar he and Mai were hiding by. He didn’t really want to dance but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to be around Ty Lee. She was a constant presence in his life these days and it felt odd to not have her around, even with Mai there.

“Should we go after her?” Mai asked, plucking an hors d'oeuvres off a passing server’s tray to pop into her mouth. She immediately made a face. “Ew. Vegetables. They’re not even cooked.”

“Air Nomads are vegetarian,” Zuko reminded her softly, though he probably didn’t need to. His brow furrowed a bit as he glanced back at the crowd, worried. Should they look for Ty Lee? She’d told them to wait here so maybe she would be back. How long was too long? She wasn’t in danger or anything but-

Zuko didn’t have the chance to finish his thought. Ty Lee barreled past them with the speed of a cat mongoose and the power of an elephant gorilla. She snatched up both of their hands, catching them both off guard, and dragged them both across the venue toward the dance floor.

Zuko stumbled a bit but found his footing quickly and made a noise of surprise. “Ty Lee!”

“Was this your master plan?” Mai said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, when they came to a stop and Ty Lee freed them of her grip. “To grab us when we weren’t paying attention?”

“No, silly,” Ty Lee giggled. “This was my plan.”

Nothing happened for a moment, prompting Mai and Zuko to look around in confusion. They were just kind of standing in the middle of the crowd, people dancing around them. Slowly, the song came to an end and Zuko opened his mouth to ask Ty Lee what was happening but was distracted by the most strange noise.

It was a tsungi horn, he knew that much after having played for years, but he’d never heard it make a noise like the one the band was drawing out of it. It was… hard. Not soft like most music was. And the horn’s toots were coming out sharp and abruptly, accompanied by the melody of some kind of flute. Combined with drums, some stringed devices, and some other instruments Zuko didn’t recognize, they made the strangest tune Zuko had ever heard.

“What is this?” Zuko asked, looking at Ty Lee. “And what are you doing with you hands?”

“I’m dancing!” Ty Lee said with a beaming smile. She put her hands up in the air and twirled herself around as if to prove a point. “I thought you might like this music more.”

“I don’t know if this is music,” Zuko responded with uncertainty as Ty Lee began wiggling her shoulders, “and I’m not sure if what you’re doing is dancing.”

“Isn’t music usually slower?” Mai said as she watched the people around them become inactive. Some were moving like Ty Lee, seemingly happy with the change, but most of them seemed as confused as Zuko. “Don’t you usually, I don’t know, hold your partner and shuffle around?”

“No, silly,” Ty Lee replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You don’t have to dance with a partner! That’s just the fancy stuff. Most people just dance with their friends.”

“With their friends?”

“For fun!”

“For… fun?”

“I’ll show you,” Ty Lee said cheerfully and took both their hands. She pulled on them, more gently this time, and kept moving her body. Zuko and Mai exchanged a glance, unsure what to do, but shrugged and decided to indulge their friend. Ty Lee was moving fluidly but it didn’t have any structure to it like most dances Zuko knew of. She was just… rolling in tune with the music. It was a few minutes that Zuko realized the rhythm had traveled down her arms to their joined hands and he was mimicking her movements. Ty Lee looked thrilled. “That’s the spirit!”

“This is… not horrible,” Mai said as she allowed her free arm to join in the other half of her body. Without Ty Lee’s influence, her movements were a bit more awkward but it didn’t look totally ridiculous. Ty Lee looked equally excited by her efforts and began shaking her arms around with a bit more energy than she had before.

“I thought you’d like this more,” Ty Lee said, her voice a bit quieter. Zuko’s heart softened a bit when he noticed the nervousness fading off her face. He usually brushed off her exuberance but she really wanted them to have a good time. Affection for his friend welled up inside of him. “I don’t really like slow music myself. I don’t want to slow dance with some random guy. I’d much rather dance with you two.”

“What’s different about this music?” Zuko asked, trying to warm up his body a bit so he looked less like a flailing pig chicken. “How come everyone’s dancing differently now?”

“Fast music is more freeing,” Ty Lee said without a tone of doubt and lifted up both her arms so Zuko and Mai could spin her around. She leaned back dramatically, trusting them not to let her fall. “There aren’t any steps and you don’t have to worry about stepping on anyone’s feet and you don’t have to worry about who you’re with. You can just let the music take over and let your body move.”

Zuko smiled a bit as Ty Lee bounced back up from her dip. He’d never seen three people dance like this with their hands joined but Ty Lee was somehow rocking it despite his and Mai’s hesitation. He’d gladly accept some discomfort for her.

“Looks fun!” a familiar voice said, breaking the awkward jig the three of them shared, and Sokka was suddenly on Zuko’s back. “Can we join?”

“Get off,” Zuko complained good naturedly and shrugged Sokka off him, the other man careful not to accidentally choke the Fire Lord while unhooking his arms from their place around his neck and shoulders. Sokka grinned at him bashfully and Zuko noticed Suki not far behind him. “You two know how to dance?”

“Sure!” Sokka replied. “The Fire Lord’s advisor and guard go to a lot of fancy events, don’t we? We know all kinds of dances!”

“I don’t think what you do counts as dancing,” Suki commented, looking amused. Sokka stuck her tongue out at her and began dancing with a look in his eye telling the world he was ready to prove her wrong.

Sokka’s dance was… different from Ty Lee’s. He moved his whole body, shoulders to hips, in a rippling motion like a wave was going through him. It looked odd. Zuko wondered if it was a Water Tribe thing but judging by the Water Tribe spectators’ stares, it was not.

“You look stupid,” Toph said, pushing past a group of young Earth Kingdom governors who were dancing nearby. By Agni, they were dancing so much better than Sokka. “My feet could see it all the way across the room.”

“We’re outside,” Sokka responded but didn’t let her snipes kill his spirit. In fact, it seemed to only encourage him and his arms joined in. “Come on, guys! Don’t leave me hanging.”

Ty Lee took up his offer in a heartbeat, letting go of Mai and Zuko’s hands, and began dancing in a similar fashion, though she looked far better doing it. Zuko shared a look with Mai and Suki before joining. Mai and Zuko were a bit slow and awkward but Suki didn’t say anything and matched their energy without hesitation.

The music picked up a bit and even Toph joined in, though her movements looked a bit too much like earthbending forms for Zuko to feel safe calling it dancing. The others certainly noticed because Sokka and Ty Lee exchanged a glance and began mimicking water and firebending moves. They were far from accurate, much flashier and they lacked power, but Zuko had to admit the fluidity and spunk they performed them with made them look like real dance moves.

“I now understand why Katara used to be so obsessed with doing this stuff,” Sokka said as he wiggled his arms like a current before swooshing them to one side. Zuko was pretty sure that wasn’t a real waterbending move but Sokka looked too happy for him to care.

Ty Lee gave a few punches before shifting her feet into the footing of a firebender and arching her hands up and spinning around. “I wish I was a firebender. It would be so fun to dance while firebending! Ooh, I wish I had fire like Zuko! Imagine how pretty it would be to dance with rainbow fire swirling around you!”

Zuko opened his mouth to explain that wasn’t how it works but was interrupted by Toph.

“Aang and Katara are coming over,” Toph announced after a bit as the dancers around them parted a bit for the bride and groom.

“Damn right we are,” Aang said good naturedly. He and Katara had changed out of their wedding attire and into something simpler and loose-fitting. “You guys are dancing without us?”

“Maybe!” Ty Lee responded cheekily. “I was just saying how cool it would be to dance with rainbow fire like Zuko’s!”

“Oh that would be cool!” Aang said, eyes lighting up. “Zuko, you should do it!”

“First of all, it’s not rainbow fire. It’s just multicolored.”

“Rainbow,” Sokka said through a cough.

“-And second, I don’t know how to dance, let alone with firebending.”

“What do you mean you don’t know how to dance? We learned the Dancing Dragon together!” Aang exploded without even a pause. He gasped loudly. “We should do the Dancing Dragon together! Katara, can I do the Dancing Dragon with Zuko?”

“You don’t need my permission,” she said with a smile and a step back. “Knock yourself out.”

“Not literally,” Suki piped up, feeling the need to clarify which was probably a good idea in front of someone as knuckleheaded as Aang.

Zuko swallowed nervously and glanced at his friends. Mai shot him a smirk while Ty Lee gushed out her excitement. Sokka just gave him a thumbs up and the next thing Zuko knew, he was standing beside Aang.

They started on one foot, arms spread apart and palms facing the sky. Zuko could feel the sun’s warm rays spark something deep inside him. He took a deep breath and took a step away from Aang.

Both of them shifted into a lunge, pivoting quickly in a circle. With their breathes, ribbons of colorful fire came to life, twisting around their arms with each step. Zuko flet them licking his bare arms as his sleeves rode up with the steps but the fire didn’t burn.

Then came a sharp punch and a wide sweep of the arms. The fire followed the motion and rolled off him like a wave. The heat was oddly comforting on his tight shoulders.

A final thrust of the hand and the two met at the end of the circle, arching sideways to let their fists touch. Colorful fire burst from the contact, briefly engulfing them both before dying down with a few well controlled breaths from either side.

Zuko hadn’t even noticed the spectators until the clapping began.

He jerked upright in a motion unbecoming of a Fire Lord and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. When had all these people gathered around? Had he really gotten that caught up in the dance? It was so easy to lose himself in his firebending.

People from all nations were applauding, even Fire Nation natives. They were a bit slower but the twist of distaste was merely an echo on their faces. They seemed proud. It was oddly validating, though Zuko didn’t want it to be. Maybe this was a good thing.

Aang was suddenly hugging him. “That was awesome! We need to do that more.”

Zuko couldn’t help but smile. “We do. We really do.”

Part 2

“I’m bored.”

“I know.”

“Let’s do something.”

“I’m working.”

“So?”

It was about a month after the wedding and life in the Fire Nation had returned to normal at the palace. Zuko was far less busy than he was when the war initially ended but he and all his friends were still pretty busy. Over the past few years, more and more of his companions had taken jobs with him in Caldera City. Suki and Ty Lee were here because the Kyoshi Warriors now served as guards to the throne, Mai was here because Zuko and Ty Lee were here but her sharp mind for politics quickly landed her a position as advisor, and Sokka had taken the role of Southern Water Tribe Ambassador before deciding he liked it here and took a more permanent position at Zuko’s side.

Zuko liked having his friends around but also that meant he didn’t get nearly as much work done. They were fantastic but they were equally distracting.

At the moment, Mai was leaning against the doorframe of Zuko’s office. To be honest, she kind of reminded Zuko of an outdoor cat-owl, drifting in and out as she pleased. It was a nice change from Ty Lee’s happy polar bear dog personality, Sokka’s badger falcon-like drive when he wanted attention, or Suki’s… speaking of which, where were they? He’d just spent nearly two hours working uninterrupted. Normally one of them would’ve come to bother him by now.

Sighing, Zuko rose from his seat. “Fine. Did you have anything in mind?”

Expectedly, Mai just shrugged.

“Let’s go find the others,” Zuko decided and Mai didn’t protest.

Dramatically, Zuko offered her his arm like a lord would to a court lady. Mai just snorted and flicked him in the side of the head. Zuko laughed and the two began floating down the palace’s halls at a leisurely pace. Both were familiar with it from their childhoods but it had changed a lot since that brief time they returned during the war. With Azula and Ozai gone and new friends in their place, it felt much more like home. Still, sometimes it was nice to walk down these red clad halls and remember the good times, however rare they were.

They found their way to the courtyard. It wasn’t the same one with the fountain Mai and Zuko had fallen into as children nor was it the one that Zuko had spent countless hours feeding turtle ducks. No, this one was marked by memories of sparring. Not with Azula though, with Sokka and his sword, Suki and her fans, and Ty Lee with her acrobatics. And now, apparently, with dancing.

“What are you doing?” Zuko asked as he and Mai came to a halt at the entrance. “Is that one of Aang’s staffs?”

“Yup!” Ty Lee said and swung the staff around to demonstrate, forcing Sokka and Suki to duck to avoid being boxed in the head. “Ooh! Mai! We were just going to come looking for you. We need your knives.”

Mai already had them out. “What for?”

“So you know how it was super fun dancing at Aang and Katara’s wedding?” Sokka asked, toying with his boomerang absently. Zuko suddenly noticed Suki had her fans out too. What were they doing with weapons? And why did they need so many? “We were just talking about it and Ty Lee mentioned she got her hands on some scrolls awhile back with some dances so we decided to look through them and give ‘em a shot.”

“And what do you need me for?”

“I found this dance the Avatar used to do with his teachers,” Ty Lee explained, grabbing Zuko’s interest. “It’s this dance that combines all the elements. It looks really fun so we’re trying it!”

“Wait, then wouldn’t you need me for that?” Zuko asked, confused. “Since, y’know, I’m the Avatar’s firebending teacher?”

Ty Lee giggled. “No, silly. We’ve only got firebenders in the palace. You can’t do a dance with four elements if you just have fire.”

“Which is why we decided to try it with weapons instead,” Suki said, flipping her fans around. She shot Zuko a teasing look. “See, nonbenders can do everything just as well as benders can.”

Zuko matched her look, not missing a beat. “You know I use swords, right?”

“Oh hush.” Ty Lee shuffled him off to the side and rolled out the scroll for Mai to look at. “See, look. Everyone kind of does the same dance but everyone represents their own nation. They bend their own element in their own style but then when the music changes, they switch to another style.”

“So that’s why you have Aang’s staff? We’re going to represent each element with weapons instead?”

“Yup! The only problem is that we don’t have any music.”

“We’ve got that covered,” Sokka said and shot Zuko a look the firebender couldn’t quite catch the meaning of. Zuko stared back and tipped his head slightly, confused, before he noticed Suki pushing something across the courtyard.

“Where did you get that?” he spluttered in surprise. “How did you get that? And who told you about that?!”

“Your uncle,” Suki purred in a teasing tone. She leaned on the instrument casually, careful not to put too much weight on it, and smiled with the same look on her features that Sokka had. Zuko suddenly understood it’s meaning. “Last time we visited him, he said you’re good on the tsungi horn. When we got back, I just had to find one.”

“No, no, no. No.”

“Yes.”

“No…”

“Yes…”

“Come on, Zuko.” Ty Lee looked up at Zuko, hands clasped behind her back, with the most endearing look on her face she could muster. “Please? It’ll be fun!”

Zuko felt himself caving. By Agni, he was so weak. “Fine…”

“Yay!” Ty Lee sprang up and clapped happily while Sokka and Suki whooped and clapped their hands in victory. Zuko found himself smiling. He could stomach some embarrassment to make them happy for a little while.

He tried not to sigh as he settled down on the stool next to the tsungi horn and prepared to play. It had been a long time but the feeling was familiar and the tune came to him easily. Plus, he was a much better firebender than he had back when he’d played for his crew on the ship so he could hold his breaths much longer and steadier. It wasn’t perfect but it passed as music and that was enough for Zuko.

He played a tune his mother had taught him. She’d been a beautiful singer, he remembered. Noren had told her she loved musicals back when the two performed together. Zuko hadn’t particularly liked her musical instruction as a child but now he looked back and wished he’d been a bit more keen to spend those moments with his mother. Music was one of the few connections she had to her time in theatre and those hours spent with Zuko were her way of showing him her old life without revealing the truth.

He should visit her soon. He wouldn’t bring a tsungi horn but maybe he could teach Kiyi some of his mother’s favorite songs, if she didn’t know them already.

Her favorites were always romantics. Ballroom dances for young lovers, songs from dramas telling the tale of two lovers, melodies to play in the background of celebrations- He understood why but none of them felt appropriate for the moment. He wished he knew more songs. Those songs were all he knew so his choices were limited. Still, he played.

Ty Lee, Sokka, Mai, and Suki began dancing. They were slow, getting a feel for the dance. Occasionally, their eyes would flicker back to the scroll. They couldn’t read it from that distance but Zuko could see the heistance on their faces. None of them were dancers, except maybe Ty Lee, but they were warriors so with weapons in hand, they didn’t hesitate for long.

Zuko had long suspected Ty Lee had some Air Nomad heritage with her grey eyes and flighty movements. Right now, holding Aang’s glider, he had no doubt. She was light on her feet, toes barely skimming the ground as she leapt. She didn’t seem terribly familiar with the glider and she treated it more like a bo staff than anything else but she quickly found the opening mechanism and soon the glider was paralleling her airy motions.

Sokka was normally a truly horrible dancer but he always danced with boldness. That didn’t waver with a boomerang in hand but right now, he looked a lot more confident and peaceful than Zuko had ever seen on the dance floor. His movements were fluid, his boomerang spinning out of his hand with an easy flick of his wrist. He turned and caught it with his other hand like he was born to do it.

Suki always fought with sharp, aggressive movements and this dance highlighted that part of her training. Her golden fans gleamed in the sunlight and her heavy steps kicked up dust. Where Sokka’s arms were loose, hers were tense as she jutted her fan out in a way that would slice an enemy’s throat clean open. Zuko thought she never looked more beautiful.

Mai had even less time to prepare than the others but she looked just as stunning. Her knives flipped through her fingers with lightning speed as she shifted into new stances, punching her arms out as if driving her knives into an imaginary foe. Her feet moved with the steadiness and skill of a firebender, never losing her balance, as she weaved around the others in perfect harmony.

It was kind of hard to watch them all while he was so focused on his song. They danced in a circle, mostly not bumping into each other. Zuko guessed the Avatar would normally be in the middle but they looked perfect with just the four of them representing the Avatar cycle. Their brows were furrowed in concentration but they looked like they were having fun and Zuko suddenly realized how inappropriate this song was for something like this.

What was it that Ty Lee had said at Katara and Aang’s wedding? By Agni, that felt like a long time ago. Fast music was freeing. Slow music was romantic but fast music was supposed to be fun. Something you could dance to with your friends.

The Fire Nation had never been a country of creatives, not now and not in Zuko’s youth. They were always traditional and taught their young to stick to those traditions flawlessly. But now, in this moment watching his friends float together in such a wondrous way, Zuko felt the overwhelming urge to deviate from tradition and make the song his own.

The spark of creativity pushed him to take shorter breaths. The tune came out louder and the notes were faster. His feet moved, adding the soft sound of his boots hitting the earth in rhythm with the song. It drifted away from a slow romance to something livelier and more spirited.

His friends seemed confused by the change in music but didn’t let it stop them. They shifted their stances, somewhat surprising their musician. Ty Lee had said earlier that the benders in the dance would change their style. Zuko wasn’t really sure what she meant by that but he was glad he hadn’t messed up their dance by changing his manner of playing.

Ty Lee became less bouncy and more flowy. She stopped skipping around and kept her feet on the ground. She snapped the glider open and began twisting it overhead, letting it ride the air like a boat on the ocean’s waves. Her muscles seem more relaxed and she let the music guide her.

Sokka’s movements became more rooted. He stopped throwing his boomerang, instead wielding it more like an axe. He stomped, like Suki had before though he wasn’t as aggressive as her. He was passionate, like a Water Tribe warrior, rather than fierce like a Kyoshi Warrior.

Suki’s dancing gained more of an edge. Swipes and stomps were replaced by kicks and punches. Equally powerful blows, just different. She closed her fans, wielding them more like blades before snapping them open to arch widely over her head, and lashed out with sweeping kicks.

It was strange seeing Mai move like Ty Lee but it suited her. She shifted onto one foot, balancing carefully, and she waved her knives. They still looked just as deadly as she jutted them out but the motions leading up to them were a lot more relaxed and less conformed.

Smiles had appeared on their faces, making that flitter of nervousness in Zuko’s chest melt away. He hadn’t even noticed it was there until it was gone. Knowing that he was doing something right, Zuko put more of himself into the tune.

Ty Lee’s feet fit the ground, hard and flat. She let her arms spread far apart, muscles rippling in a way Zuko rarely saw. The glider, for the first time, looked like a true weapon. It closed and began moving erratically with each step its wielder took, like it was ready to box someone’s nose in.

Sokka seemed to swell up like a flame as he became more explosive. He wielded his boomerang like an extension of himself, flipping it quickly between his hands. His feet slid across the surface of the ground, leaving slick prints in the sandy earth, while he swung his arms with the power and grace of a komodo flamingo.

Suki became more nimble and she waved her fans the way a court lady might to cool herself rather than like a sharp edged weapon. For the first time in the whole dance, she leapt and let her feet leave the floor. It was almost like she was skipping on chunks of earth, which she had done before with how much Toph liked flinging things around with her earthbending. Mai began flipping her knives again but this time it flowed through the air alongside her movements rather than sliced. She toed the ground seamlessly, steady in her motions, and seemed to drift alongside the others like a piece of wood in the sea.

If they were benders, this probably would’ve been harder for them. They were dancing in the styles of their opposite elements: Ty Lee like an Earth Kingdom native, Sokka like a Fire Nation man, Suki like an Air Nomad, and Mai like a Water Tribe warrior. Inexperienced and a bit unsure of themselves, they were still a bit awkward but no more than they were in the previous element of the cycle. It was still balanced and even in a way that benders could never hope to achieve. Something could be learned from this but Zuko didn’t dwell on it. It was time to change the music again.

Zuko tried to focus on the harmony he saw before him. His beloved friends, the four people he loved more than anyone or anything in this world, were representing the four elements as one. Truly, it was beautiful and brought warm feelings to his chest. He didn’t have the skill to wander from his roots and lessons too much but he took a few liberties and tried playing in a more foreign style, mixing in notes he knew traditionally came from other nations’ songs.

Ty Lee took to a Fire Nation style easily, swinging the glider like glades and crouching into elegant yet deadly poses. It looked kind of odd to see someone normally so sweet poised in such a manner but it suited her well. Her grip on the staff changed and she let the wings flare at the peak of each jab.

Sokka’s leaps weren’t nearly as graceful as the others with his heavier, stockier build. He let his boomerang fly far with each jump and landed neatly each time, never failing to catch his beloved weapon.

Suki waved her fans, open this time, in a way mimicking the current. She spread her arms wide, fan in each hand, and walked backwards, synced with the rhythm. She never tripped, trusting the flow of the others to guide her.

The heels of Mai’s shoes left deep imprints in the ground with each step she took. The aggression of this new gait suited her. She was always cunning and she really seemed to be owning it right now. She fisted her knives, thrusting her hands down in unison with her feet, and showed off the power in her body that she rarely had the chance to display.

Zuko slowed down a bit, the tsungi horn’s noise becoming softer and quieter. It wasn’t slow or sluggish but it was still steady and strong. His friends changed their style for the final time. Ty Lee once again became light and airy, Sokka became fluid and flowy, Suki became bold and aggressive, and Mai became sharp and ruthless. They’d returned to normal but they’d proven normal wasn’t all they are.

The song ended and Zuko lifted his mouth from the instrument to take a gasp of air, letting glorious oxygen fill his lungs. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to go for that long, even with the lung capacity of a firebender, but it was worth it to see the dance come to an end and his friends break their formation to cheer and hug each other.

“How’d we do?” Sokka asked, turning to Zuko. He padded over to him and sat on the ground in front of him. Zuko suddenly noticed how out of breath he was and that his sweat had plastered his clothes to his skin. Who knew dancing could be so tiresome? Not Zuko. “I know I slipped up a few times there but I feel really good about it!”

“You guys did well,” Zuko said, matching the other man’s smile, and he meant it. Yeah, none of them were dancers. Their dancing wasn’t elegant and it wasn’t smooth and they looked lost sometimes but in Zuko’s eyes, they were perfect. “You adapted that dance so well. It’s hard imagining what the original was supposed to look like.”

“I think the scroll said it was supposed to represent balance,” Ty Lee said, looking around for the discarded scroll. Suki found it first and picked it up for her. Ty Lee blinked gratefully and took it from her. “I bet it looks really pretty with all the fire and the water and the earth and the air and everything all mixed together!”

“It looked, um, pretty with the weapons,” Zuko told her, stumbling over his words a bit. He wasn’t used to complimenting people but sitting here with so much affection in his heart, he couldn’t bear to hold back. They deserved to know. “Maybe even better. I know the nations are usually remembered for their bending but I think it’s important to remember nonbenders are just as important. It really shows you guys understand the different countries if you can change the way you use your weapons.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Sokka said boastfully. He shuffled on the ground a bit so he was leaning against Zuko’s knees. Zuko let his hands rest in Sokka’s hair. “Man, wait until Aang sees this! Who needs the Avatar when you’ve got us!”

Suki and Ty Lee laughed while Mai smirked. She looked a bit thoughtful. “Maybe it would be beneficial for the four nations to see a dance like this. With bending. Maybe we should revisit the Fire Nation Dance Restoration Movement.”

“Really?” Zuko exclaimed, jostling Sokka slightly as his back straightened. “You of all people are interested in dance?”

Mai shrugged. “You think it’s a bad idea?”

“No. I’m just surprised. I thought you didn’t like dancing.”

“I don’t,” Mai responded and sat down beside Sokka. “I just think… The dance is really beautiful. And I think it would be a lot more beautiful of the people who were actually meant to do it used it for its intended purpose.”

“And if those people weren’t a bunch of amateurs,” Suki added, getting down to her level so she could knock shoulders with her. She reached out with one arm and knocked Zuko’s stool out from under him, making him fall with a yelp. “You better get on that, Fire Lord!”

Ty Lee caught him before he could hit the ground. “Don’t bully him into making him do stuff for him!”

“Yeah. Don’t bully me!”

“Being nice is a much better way to get him to do what you want.”

“Hey!” Zuko complained but didn’t protest when Ty Lee plopped him down next to Sokka and threw herself onto their laps.

“It’s true,” Sokka said, shifting so his knees didn’t dig into Ty Lee’s back. She’d done this before, they were all used to it and even welcomed it at this point. Maybe she was the most catlike of the group. Mai never did anything like this. “You let all four of us get away with everything.”

“Better not let your enemies know your weakness!” Suki cracked, playing with Ty Lee’s hair absently.

“Yeah, well, if any of my enemies find out my weakness, they have to get through you guys before using it on me.”

“Touché.”

“Do you think the other nations were like this once?” Ty Lee asked, reaching up to poke Mai in the cheek. She didn’t look amused but the quirk of her lips betrayed her. “Like us, I mean. Right now.”

“Maybe,” Mai responded. “I hope so. This is nice.”

“It is,” Zuko agreed. He looked around at his friends, all curled up together, and knew he’d savor this moment forever. “It really is.”

Part 3

When Zuko had played the tsungi horn and watched Mai, Ty Lee, Sokka, and Suki dance, he’d thought they’d looked beautiful.

How could he not? He loved them and he’d always think they were beautiful regardless of how practiced their dancing was or how much they slipped up. But what had stood out to him was how they’d mastered the Avatar’s Cycle dance. Even as nonbenders, they’d captured it’s true essence. The dance was about balance and taking another nation’s style and making it your own and they’d executed it brilliantly.

But as much as Zuko respected their spontaneity and adaptations, it really didn’t compare to the real deal.

They had to still change a few things of course. Aang’s airbending teacher wasn’t present and Aang didn’t really want the dance to focus on the role of the Avatar which meant it was just the four of them dancing in a ring like their nonbending friends had.

Ty Lee and Sokka had looked so excited when they proposed the festival to Zuko and Aang. That was months ago and finally it was all coming together. Mai, Ty Lee, Sokka, and Suki had put so much time into organizing this event and Zuko, Aang, Katara, and Toph had spent so much time perfecting this dance. Now it was time for the nations to see the fruits of their labor.

The festival was held in one of the former Fire Nation colonies on the Earth Kingdom mainland. It was a neutral ground that welcomed visitors from all three countries. Zuko had been nervous people weren’t going to want to travel all this way but right now, looking out at the crowd gathered around the stage, he wondered how he ever could’ve believed such a thing.

Aang stepped out of the shadows first, addressing the audience in his usual, endearing way. He joked a bit, got a few laughs, before sobering up and properly addressing them. “As you guys know, we’ve been trying really hard to restore some of the dances the Fire Nation had in my time but today I’d like to share another dance. One not claimed by any nation. It’s called the Avatar’s Cycle and I’ll need my teachers for that.”

That was their cue to move. Toph didn’t hesitate and stepped up to join Aang in a heartbeat. Zuko and Katara lingered a moment longer, exchanging a glance of mutual reassurance, and followed her to their places.

The music began and they began to move.

Zuko started with firebending forms. They were adapted a bit to seem more rhythmic and visually appealing but they still worked. Flames sprung to life around him, just as he sensed the others’ elements join them, as he took a big step and let himself be swept into the cycle.

A long time ago, rage was the fuel for his fire. Now it was passion. Love, respect, and understanding. That was what the dragons had taught him and what he’d carried with him all these years. Every day he felt the sun rise, anytime he felt a candle light flicker, anytime he saw the spark of life in someone he cared about, every breath he took- These things were his universal truths.

These truths made his fire bloom with beautiful colors as he lashed out in fierce punches and kicks. That couldn’t be helped, firebenders were quick to fight by nature. The breath was what was important though. With steady exhales, Zuko’s flames spiraled and twisted around him, occasionally mingling with Toph’s earth and Aang’s air on either side of him, as he danced. The burning was intense but not hostile. It found tranquility alongside the other elements. Zuko hoped the spectators would understand how meaningful the colors of his flames and its unity with the rest of the cycle was.

The Fire Nation was so angry and that anger was paralleled in their flames. Zuko was once like them, maybe angrier, but now it just seemed so distant. Joy filled his punches and the sweeps of his leg, not rage. The music guided his steps, not hate. His fire was still as strong as any of theirs, maybe stronger.

The music shifted and so did the four benders. Fire became air, air became water, water became earth, earth became fire- Though not literally. Zuko was still bending fire but he was firebending like an airbender.

He tried to think of freedom. He focused on the music and tried to let his mind go blank. It was hard for someone with roots so deep in the Fire Nation to forget tradition and conformity and let go but the music helped. It was fast and upbeat, easy to move to.

Zuko’s fire became a little less controlled as his feet began to touch the ground less. The fire moved alongside him rather than because of him and he let it come a little bit closer to his body than he usually did. He knew he wasn’t going to burn himself so he let the fire do as it pleased.

He took deeper breaths. He could feel his inner flame grow and shrink with each one. The tendrils of fire matched his breaths, swelling and deflating like it was alive as well. It probably was. Fire was just an extension of himself, after all. A part of him not limited to a physical form.

The next element in the cycle didn’t come easily to any of the benders, except Aang but that wasn’t surprising. Fire was supposed to be sharp, heated, and brilliant. Water was rounded, mysterious, and relaxed. But both elements had a hunger and wildness to them that couldn’t be satiated and those similarities were easy to draw on.

Zuko’s movements became more fluid as he mimicked waterbending forms. His fire wobbled a bit but not nearly as much as Katara’s water or Toph’s earth. Uncle’s lessons in learning from the other elements had done Zuko well. He tried to recall the steps in redirecting lightning, taking control of the chi flowing directly through his body. His fire began moving in the same pattern. Instead of surrounding his hands, it trickled like a stream downward before he pulled it back to trickle down again.

Water was one of Zuko’s favorite elements. Not in his youth, of course, but he’d grown to appreciate it over the years. It was steady like earth but also adaptable like air yet it still had some of fire’s spirit. Waterbenders could heal but they could also turn water into jagged, frozen weapons. The diversity and variety was astounding. It’s potential to help or hurt and the delicate balance of its nature made it beautiful in Zuko’s eyes.

He tried to think of change. How he’d changed. Once young and innocent, then young and angry, now aging and filled with adoration for his friends and for his people. The fire followed his hands, flowing like his chi inside of him, and rippled like the surface of the sea.

This was the hardest part of the dance and all four dancers had to slow a bit. The cycle continued but the buzz of concentration surrounded them as they used forms their element was not built for. Then came the next element and ease washed over them once again.

Zuko had to admit he understood why Toph loved throwing rocks around so much. It was fun to stomp and roar and throw weight around. Zuko’s fire seemed to think so too. It seemed to flake off him, embers sparking each time his foot hit the ground and spraying from his hands with each thrust.

Earth was supportive and grounding. Zuko tried to think of the people who had inspired those kinds of feelings for him. His uncle, the Gaang, his friends, his advisors, his mother... Just the thought of them made him feel full. His fire filled out a bit more and, still spitting embers, followed his heavy steps without fault.

They reformed to their initial styles of bending as the song began winding down. The fire sprang back to life a bit more as Zuko’s movements became familiar and seemed to burn a bit brighter. Everyone else seemed happy to regain full control of their elements and they stepped through the last motions of the dance.

The four benders struck a final pose, each breathing hard, and the crowd exploded into applause.

Zuko, Katara, and Toph stepped back to let Aang address the nations. Beforehand, Aang had asked if Zuko wanted to say anything as the Fire Lord but Zuko was happy to leave the speeches to the Avatar.

“This dance once symbolized the unity between the four nations and the friendship we share,” Aang explained once the clapping died down. “I think that’s important more now than ever which is why my friends and I wanted to share this dance with you. The war is over but there are still barriers between us. In my time, music and dance went beyond borders and I hope today’s festival can teach all of you what I’ve always known deep in my heart.”

The crowd cheered again and Aang turned to his friends with a look like a weight had been taken off his back. Katara embraced him. “You guys did great!”

“Can’t compare to the masters’ though,” Sokka called from where he was sitting in the back with Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee. He slung his arms over his shoulders and shot Aang a cheeky grin. “Nonbender gaang rules!”

Aang laughed. “Do you guys want to get out there and show some nonbenders your moves?”

He immediately blanched. “No way.”

Ty Lee giggled at his reaction. “How about you four? You guys going to get out there and teach some people how to dance?”

“Nuh-uh. I’m sitting down and taking a nap,” Aang declared. “Scoot over.”

Suki and Sokka laughed as Aang tried to push them down on the bench. Katara sighed and shook her head while Toph joined in, pushing Ty Lee and Mai on the other side. Zuko couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe we should find a better place to rest than the stage? I think we planned on some of the bands playing from up here.”

“Ugh, fine,” Toph said, giving up much to Mai’s appreciation. “Lead the way, Fire Lord.”

“Gladly,” Zuko responded with a chuckle and dragged the others off the background of stage, despite their whines and groans. It’d been a good day for the nations and hopefully it’d get even better but for now, he just wanted to spend the afternoon relaxing with his friends.

========

Author’s Note: I know the nonbenders should have performed as well but I didn’t want to be repetitive. Hope you enjoyed.

More AroWriMo stories by me here.

#arowrimo #aromantic writing month #aromantic #fanfiction #atla #avatar the last airbender #aang #katara #kataang #zuko #sokka #suki #ty lee #mai atla #toph #dancing #music #platonic relationships #ambiguous relationship

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forever-your-soldat · 5 years ago

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If You See Her

At the end of the day, we don’t know the person unless they show us who’s beneath the mask.

Chapter 1: Natasha Romanoff always believed that love was for children, so she stuck with just having fun. With her friends being a bit disappointed by her type of living, they couldn’t really do anything except for the occasional scolding. Can she keep her game going for long?

As I said before, I’ll be making this a series if it’s good, or if I feel like it, who knows? Also, I won’t be just putting characters in at the same time so don’t expect all three of the girls to be in this chapter automatically.

Criticism and suggestions are welcome. Also, tell me if you want me to tag you for future parts.

Picture is not mine.

Not her room.

Random bed.

Another stranger.

It was like that most days she thought as she finally got dressed and exited the blonde’s apartment. She was nice, pretty too, but she was just too goddamn talkative that Natasha found it irritating. She grimaced at the thought.

I hope she doesn’t call.

Even if she did though, Nat knew how to deal with that. Ignoring her toys was something that was almost second nature for her. But if they were persistent, she was good with pretending she didn’t know them.

Checking her phone for the time, Natasha sighed before she hailed a cab and headed back to her apartment. Clint had texted her, reminding her that they had a meeting with Tony and the others in the evening, which she’d forgotten when she came into the club last night.

When she arrived, the redhead fished out her keys and quietly entered. She knew that Wanda hated it whenever she came home after her one night stands. Because unlike Natasha, Wanda is a hopeless romantic. They were opposites, but that was how their friendship worked.

So when Natasha stepped into the apartment and the smell of coffee wafted into her nose, she knew what was to come. “You really have to stop that.” With a sigh accompanied by an eye roll, Nat left her shoes at the shoe rack and headed for the fridge while Wanda was making breakfast.

“Why don’t you go out with me next time and we find you someone?” The redhead quipped, making the brunette scoff while flipping a pancake. “I’d rather not have an STD, thank you very much.” The younger girl retorted before she started to put the pancakes to two plates.

See, the pair were best friends, both growing up and meeting each other in Russia. Natasha had also met Pietro, Wanda’s twin brother though they looked nothing like each other when Wanda had brown hair and green eyes while Pietro was blonde with blue eyes. When they moved to New York, however, he had gone and wanted a place of his own, a couple months after the three were living together. I need some guys around me, not just girls. Wanda would shake her head whenever she remembered.

He trusted Wanda to be fine, also she had Natasha with her, so it was all good for him.

“Hey, I’m healthy. And it’s not like I go out every night.” Natasha defended as she filled herself a glass of juice just as Wanda finished fixing the plates and placed them on the table. Natasha gave her a quick thanks before she started eating. “I’m just saying that I’m worried. The others, are too. What if the next time, the person you stay with was actually a psychopath?” Wanda frowned at the thought of her best friend getting hurt.

Natasha snorted. “You guys know that I can take care of myself, right?” She pointed out. “That’s not that point, Nat.” Wanda groaned as she rubbed her temples before the older woman relented. “Fine. I’ll be careful.”

“Thank you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Over here!” Wanda smiled brightly as she tugged Natasha to where the rest of their friends were waiting. When they were close enough, Wanda was quick to latch on to her brother, nearly squeezing him to death.

“Okay, okay! I missed you, too, so please don’t kill me!” Pietro patted her back and she let him go, laughing as she did. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a while since I saw you.” She apologized before turning to greet the rest.

Natasha ruffled the boy’s hair before she hugged Clint. “So, who were you with last night?” He asked and Natasha shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t remember. Carly? Anna? I don’t keep track.” Bucky rolled his eyes at the response. “Jesus, you’re worse than Tony.”

“Hey! I’ve changed!” The billionaire exclaimed.

“Shut it, Stark.” The redhead flipped him off. “She hasn’t texted or called you?” Bruce asked, none of them were really surprised with her spending the night with a random girl. “She texted a few times, asking me where I was, when we could meet, but eh.”

“That bad?” Steve raised his brows. “Not really bad, but she wouldn’t shut up.” Wanda piped up from next to her brother. “Her words, not mine.” She added when everyone looked at her. “Well, anyway, tonight isn’t about my sex life. Where’s the birthday girl?” Natasha shifted the topic as she turned to Tony.

“She went to call Rhodey and Sam since they’re almost here, and she has a friend tagging along.” Tony answered with a light wave of his hand. “Friend? This is the first I’ve heard of it.” Vision mumbled as he cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, what friend?” Clint added.

Tony realized his mistake and silently cursed before shaking his head. “She’s, uh, Pepper’s friend in middle school. Pepper ran into her yesterday when we were at the park and, yeah. They talked then being the great boyfriend that I am, thought why not let her come along. Pepper was over the moon, I swear.” He explained before checking his watch.

“Is she hot?” Pietro grinned making Wanda smack his arm. “What? Nat was thinking that too!” He defended while pointing at the redhead who held an amused expression. “I don’t ask. I wait and see.” She smirked while Tony shook his head. “Guys, come on. This is Pepper’s friend. Do not scare her off.”

PIetro and Natasha shared a look, making both Wanda and Clint shake their heads. “Who said anything about scaring her?”

“You are insufferable.” Steve sighed before he saw Sam and Rhodey coming closer. “Hey, sorry, we’re late.” Rhodey apologized as he dusted himself off. “What was the hold up?” Vision questioned as he shook his hand. “I bumped into this girl and stuff happened. Pepper was there though and told us to go ahead while she helped her.” Sam said while rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

After a few more minutes, Pepper finally arrived, talking with a girl none of them knew. She had h/l h/c and bright e/c eyes. She was wearing a light blue sweater, skinny jeans that was a bit ripped and a pair of Vans. Comfortable but presentable.

Natasha felt her grin growing as she eyed the girl. Clint nudged her from the side when he noticed and shook his head. “You heard Tony.” He warned her. “What? I’m not doing anything.”

Yet.

“Oh! It’s you. Look, I’m really sorry for earlier.” Sam quickly said and the girl smiled while waving a hand. “Oh, no, it’s okay. I mean, I planned on getting ripped jeans anyway.” She joked.

The girl then turned and her eyes found Tony. “Hey Mr. Stark.” She waved as he chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I told you, call me Tony. Any friend of Pepper’s is a friend of mine. Unless you’re trying to smuggle drugs or you’re a terrorist.” The girl grinned lightly before she pretended to think. “Oh, then I should really get going. Pep, it was nice seeing you again.”

Pepper rolled her eyes at the two before she smiled at the girl. “You guys have met for one day and you’re already acting like you’ve known each other your whole lives.”

A light cough and someone clearing their throat caught the three’s attention and they all turned to the group. “Oh! Right.” Pepper grabbed the girl’s hand. “Guys, this is Y/n.”

There was a chorus of ‘hey’s and ‘hello’s as the girl waved politely. “It’s nice to meet you. So far, I only know names since that’s all these two have told me so it’d be nice to finally be able to put faces on them.” She told them before Tony called for their attention so hey can head into the restaurant.

“She is hot.” Pietro mumbled and Wanda hit the back of his head while Natasha couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.

She is.

~~~~~~~~~~~

After finally getting to know who was who, Y/n was very quick to make conversations with basically any of them. She was seated between Pepper and Vision and was currently talking to the latter about some food Vision hasn’t tried yet.

“It’s actually really nice, and it isn’t that complicated to make. So when you get lazy with what to cook, you can make that instead.” Y/n explained and the man nodded his head. “I’ll keep note of that. Thank you.” He smiled politely before Pietro spoke up.

“So Y/n, Pepper says you two were friends, but how come we’ve only met now?” He asked curiously and Y/n tilted her head. “Well, I just back three days ago.” She replied with a small shrug.

“Y/n has been traveling pretty much everywhere. She has her own youtube channel.” Pepper chimed in. The others seemed surprised by the revelation and the girl in question blushed as she hit the other’s arm. “You said you wouldn’t bring that up anymore!” She whined and the older girl merely laughed. “I don’t see what’s wrong with it. It’s been really successful and people love you.” She defended while Y/n huffed.

Natasha smiled at that. She wasn’t speaking as much as she usually did. She was observing the girl from across the table, noting every gesture, every movement.

Wanda was the only one to notice aside from Clint and they were both aware on what was running through her head.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you kinda do look familiar, doll.” Bucky added in on the conversation. “I was thinking that, too. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.” Steve agreed.

Bruce snorted and Tony smirked widely. “Smooth. And here I thought you guys weren’t into the whole poly relationship. But I get it, sometimes you need a woman’s affection too.”

“Tony!” Pepper scolded him while both Steve and Bucky’s faces flushed in embarrassment and the others burst into laughter, minus Wanda, Natasha, Vision, and Y/n.

Wanda gave Tony a very displeased look. “You are unbelievable, Stark.” Y/n looked around in confusion, as did Vision and Wanda internally cooed. They both look like lost puppies.

“We don’t need another. We’re fine with just the two of us.” Bucky huffed out as he took Steve’s hand and Tony raised his hands in defense. “I was just asking.” Steve grimaced, his face still red as he shook his head.

“Steve and Bucky are together?” Y/n asked curiously as she looked at the two and they both stiffened a bit while the others went quiet as they all stared at her. “Um, yes. Is there a problem with that?” Rhodey shot back and the girl looked at him before she shook her head, realizing how rude she might have sounded.

“Oh! No, no! It’s not what you’re thinking. I was just surprised.” She laughed lightly. “I didn’t think I’d be meeting other people who are also open with their sexuality.” She told them with a kind smile directed to the couple.

“Wait a minute. You mean-”

Y/n cut Pepper off with a shake of her head. “There’s a bunch I have to tell you. But I’ll save that for another time.” She added before looking back to the couple. “And for your question, I’m not sure if you’ve seen me online or anywhere else since I’ve had a few projects here and there.”

Steve furrowed his brows. “Are you a model or something?” Y/n chuckled and waved her head. “Not really. I’m-” But she paused as her phone started to ring. “Hold that thought. I need to answer this, be right back.”

As soon as she was out of sight, all eyes turned to Pepper. “You’ve got an interesting friend there.” Sam commented with a playful grin. “Interesting is one word for it.” Clint mused. “Aside from youtube, what does she do for a living?” Natasha questioned and Pepper couldn’t help but eye her carefully.

“Well, from what I’ve dug up.” Pepper looked incredulously at her boyfriend. “You did research on my friend?” She asked him in disbelief. “It’s called protection.” He chimed and Pepper sighed in exasperation. “Anyway, her channel is a travel blog of some sorts and she’s an actress.”

Now that piqued Natasha’s interest. This might be even more fun than she’d thought.

So when Y/n finally came back, she apologized as she sat back down. “Ah- what I was saying earlier, I’m in some plays so maybe you’ve seen me in something.” She said to Steve, who smiled and nodded his head.

Thankfully, the dinner went on without problems. The group had grown very comfortable around Y/n as they talked about anything and everything. When it was time to go, they were all outside, ready to head home.

“How are you getting home?” Wanda asked when she adjusted her scarf around her neck and Y/n smiled. “I’m not really that close here, but I have to go somewhere before heading home, actually.” She answered as shoved her hands in her pockets.

“Work?” The shorter woman guessed and Y/n nodded her head. “I have to check in with the director since there’s a project coming up. He wanted me there as soon as possible.” She explained. “You should head on home. It’s getting pretty late and your friend seems to be getting impatient.” Y/n joked when she nodded to Nat’s direction and Wanda smiled, laughing lightly before she agreed.

“Okay. Hopefully, I get to see you on stage.” Y/n smiled at that. “I’ll see if I can pull a few strings.” She told her before hailing a cab. She gave Wanda a hug before she got in.

“It was really nice meeting you.”

And she was gone with a small wave from the window. “You too.” She breathed out before shaking her head and running after Natasha as she called for her to hurry up.

Unknown to her, Natasha was watching the whole exchange and she knew she was in for something new.

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duskdragon39 · 4 years ago

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dust can’t settle: Commentary

I thought you were done with credits and notes and commentaries, I hear you say. You had an entire chapter dedicated to credits and notes. Why do you have more notes?

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, @stellarfoam and I wrote a thing for @pod-together, got a whole ton of talented people to help us read it, and created the first ao3 relationship for the tag “Original Fear Entity Avatar Characters & Original Fear Entity Avatar Characters (The Magnus Archives)” except the tag was too long so the “the” got dropped. You can find that here. If, however, you have already read/listened to/somehow otherwise experienced our oc/self-insert-heavy original statement fic, welcome! I assume you’re here because you wanted to listen to me ramble on for yet another thousand words. If you’re not looking for that, well, here it is.

Under the cut, anyways

The World of DCS:

This is, very technically, the Magnus Archives fanfic.

I say technically, because nowhere in this does canon appear. It appears in the inspiration and base worldbuilding, but other than that... yeah no.

So this started when Kai and I looked at the worldbuilding TMA has for the U.S. and went “yeah there’s got to be more than one institute.” Thus the San Francisco Institute for the Unusual and Paranormal was born, along with its satellite offices in Denver and Chicago. Those same satellite offices also serve The Usher Foundation in DC. The branch offices collect statement, both written and recorded, and other research on the paranormal. Every five years, SFIUP sends along a couple of archival assistants to go and transfer those files to long-term storage in San Francisco or DC. The relationship between the branch offices and SFIUP can be best summed up as follows:

Chicago & Denver: Bigger archives are always bossing us around :( San Fran & DC: Alright but can you like, actually store your statements Chicago & Denver: No.... San Fran & DC: Okay, so...? Chicago & Denver: DON’T TELL US WHAT TO DO

Also, we said screw you to Smirke’s 14. There’s every chance that by defining and putting boundaries on the 14 he actually helped shape them into those roles, and we figured that different places would have different mergers and interpretations of those 14. Most of our statements merge or ignore the defined fears- Something There is Dark/Hunt/Eye, Hung is Vast/Buried, Beauty is Eye/Vast, Shasta Lake is just a weirdly big fish, Dragon’s Cauldron might be Hunt? It’s more just a “alright but wouldn’t it be COOL if...”

We also have another giant document about how the fears might manifest in different parts of America.

Because there is never an end to the worldbuilding.

The Car:

Some random facts about the car for your enjoyment: - It woke up because something something knowledge = power and Lee and Dusk (LD) kept reading it statements - So now the equation knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass applies, which is to say that the trunk is a transdimensional space that LD primarily use for storage of random things. - Also a flesh monster. - It’s just back there. - It tried to kill them at one point while crossing through Minnesota. They shoved it in the trunk. It just sort of. Remains there. For awhile. - The car did not approve. - In case your wondering, the car is more or less a traveling archive, and LD are its archivists. - However LD did not sign up for this, and so their road trip culminates eventually with them killing the car. It is a long and terrible battle, and the two of them nearly die. - I have, somewhere on this computer, right now, a recording of the Car’s lovely voice actor Lynx doing a variety of absolutely terrible voices, including petulant teenager and valley girl.

Statements:

We have two pages worth of statement ideas still that we’ll get around to writing someday. If we stop adding to them. Here’s the stories behind some of the ones that made it into the fic, and some other general things I wanted to talk about.

Chapter 1: Archivist’s Note, San Francisco, Shasta Lake:

The recording classification system does not have much thought put into it, but follows the following format

[Media type];[Supernatural Classification].[Year].[Month]:[Employee(s) responsible for the case]

So in the case of [S;F15.2015.06-09:LD)], it’s: Statement(s);Multiple fears.2015.June-September:Lee & Dusk

Is this a perfect system? Hell no. Did this get as deep into archive classification systems as I wanted to go for a 15k fic? Yes.

The Shasta Lake statement pulled heavily from several sources, including the Shasta Lake fishing website, Wikipedia, and an actual news story about a couple of guys who saved a sturgeon from choking on a catfish. It’s kinda an amazing story, especially since the fish was actually about 8 feet long.

Things I don’t want to run into, thank you.

Chapter 4: Empty City, Gas

Empty city was, as mentioned in the fic, inspired by a statement @laurenbrightwing gave to us. And yes, LD absolutely have gone and explored graveyards and abandoned buildings for the Aesthetic of it.

Gas, however, came from The Car, an absolutely beautiful TAU fic by Feneris. Don’t ask what it runs on. You don’t want to know. Chapter 6: Greenway

Fic-Dusk used to work for the Denver Branch Office before going to San Fran. The branch office never forgave them for their treachery.

Chapter 7: Hung

Eastman Chemical Company is an actual company stationed in Tennessee, and this statement was very heavily modeled after Mag 124: Left Hanging, except with more buried vibes.

Needs more buried should be a motto.

Chapter 9: The Dragon’s Cauldron

Guess who went down a research hole? It me.

Research notes for this statement can be found here.

Sources: Debunking the Myth, Fear of Yellowstone (U.S. National Park Service) Native Americans and Yellowstone National Park: Hot Springs, Legends and Sacred Places Explore the Fort Yellowstone Historic District (U.S. National Park Service) Whittesly Yellowstone Myths.pdf Timeline of Human History in Yellowstone - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) Legend of the Sheepeater Indian Tribe in Yellowstone - My Yellowstone Park The History of our Local Tribe: The Sheep Eater Indians - Bitterroot Ranch Dragons in Yellowstone - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Chapter 10: Something There, Archivist’s Note 2

RIGHT. This is a fun chain of events that have taken about three years to mature into this story.

Something There started off with a nightmare about something stalking me through my house. I was thoroughly creeped out, and then promptly forgot about it for the next day until I went to walk through my house at night and thought I heard something moving behind me.

About a year later, my composition teacher told us to write a speech. I think the prompt was truth?

So I went off about the thing supposedly living in my house, how no one would believe me if I told them, and implying that I absolutely was lying about the entire thing. My teacher loved it, and I got the highest grade I’d gotten that year for that assignment. (“They lauded me for that, did you know?”)

If that sort of vaguely existential crisis sounds like something you’d have fun reading, the full speech can be found here.

A bit later, I read the same speech for an open mic. One of my friends there yelled out that she believed me- something that did make it into the final version. (“One of my friends told me she believed me, once. I… I just shrugged and told her that there wasn’t actually anything there.”)

It eventually made its way into this project via me trying to figure out what the hell to use for a more spooky statement and stumbling across the speech sitting in my google drive.

I managed to scare myself to the point of not being able to go upstairs in the dark for about a week with the updated version.

I wrote it.

This seems counterintuitive.

Does this make this a self insert story? No. Statement giver here does not in any way respond like I would have in this situation, and they’ve since drifted even farther into full OC territory.

The “they can’t hurt you if you’re watching/if you see them comes from the lovely tma time travel fic “Strangers in the Dark” by Mayarene Rose.

MouseK also gave us the closing line for the fic! It wraps it up so nicely, and I’ve already squeed about this in the fic itself, but they deserve more because the line’s amazing and I love it. Conclusion:

Thanks to everyone who gave us statements, inspired us, and helped us with the project. It’s been an excellent time, and there have already been discussions of either statements collected on this journey or short stories set in the same universe being written.

Thanks for reading!

- Dusk

#podtogether 2020 #the magnus archives #statement fic #twisting roads #duskwrites #too many thoughts head full

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theskyeandsea · 5 years ago

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Don’t Be A-fae-raid of the Fae (but the cultists are terrifying) || Mina & Skylar

Tagging: @drowningisinevitable

Location: Dark Score Lake 😬

Notes: Two gals chilling at the lake, five feet apart because they’re respectful of personal space. And also cos of cultists

Picking her way through the thick reeds that lined Dark Score Lake, Skylar glanced over her shoulder, her hand clinging to the strap of her backpack. With the sun back on her side, it meant that she had the option of going out to the lake in the late evening like this. It was still bright enough for her to see, but people didn’t seem to want to be around the lake when the sun set. Her backpack thumped against the small of her back, reminding her of what she was carrying. Her pelt and the waterproof box she’d bought for her hearing aids were tucked safely away. All she really wanted to do was try and find a nice easy spot to slip into the lake-- somewhere she could just roll into? Not now of course, she didn’t want to turn now. But, she didn’t want to leave her pelt alone in her apartment right now. As she walked towards the lake, she looked out across the surface of the water. “What the fu..” Skylar’s voice trailed off as she stared at the strange depression in the lake, the perfectly circular hole in the water. She’d heard that some weird stuff had happened out here, but what the hell was that?

Still mostly scaly, Mina had been sitting on the lake shore staring at the hole in the lake for about thirty minutes, trying to decipher what it was. She’d noticed it a few times, and she’d been tempted to check it out, but something was keeping her away. An old fear in her bones that knew this thing to be strange and wrong, more so than she herself was. It was a large lake’ the hole was also a large hole. It couldn’t be seen from every angler of the lake, but you could still tell it was there. She needed to get closer to it to see how deep it went, and she would. Eventually. She had told Morgan that something was wrong with the lake, and it made sense when the older woman had mentioned the squid monster. Perhaps the hole in the lake and the squid were related? She’d need to look into this, get more hands on with it. That was what she was going to do. She was going to do it. She really was. She’d almost syked herself up to ease back in the water when she heard someone’s voice. Her head whipped over to see someone walking towards her, in her scale-covered glory. Mina needed to find a new lake.

As Skylar stared at the lake, she didn’t notice where she was walking until she was almost on top of the-- staring in confusion, Skylar blinked once. Then twice. Sitting by the lake was some kind of… scaly mermaid girl? She wasn’t quite sure what or who she was looking at, but she got the distinct impression that she was a person? The way that she was staring out at the lake gave Skylar that idea. That and the fact she hadn’t tried to murder her or something. Because most of the awful supernatural creatures she’d run into had kinda kicked off all their interactions with a friendly attempt at biting, strangling, drowning, or slicing her. “Um… I-- Are--” Her words came out more as disjointed sounds than actual words and she forced herself to pause. “Hi. Are you… okay?” She asked cautiously, hoping that by keeping her voice low and calm that this girl wouldn’t try and attack her or something.

Scrambling to stand and then move away on shaky legs, Mina did her best to try and make most of her scales and other oddities go away, but there was always a patch or two, especially on her arms, that lingered, and the webbing on her hands remained even if the claws receded. As they stood there and stared at each other, Mina couldn’t tell which of them was more startled by the other. Mina was more concerned about getting caught, her secrets once more glaringly obvious to a stranger on the lake shore. She hoped this one didn’t try to stab her, at least. “I’m fine. I mean-- I was just-- there’s a hole in the lake and-- What are you-- It’s dangerous out here, you know.” She tugged a bit at the t-shirt she was wearing. “There’s a hole in the lake,” she reiterated, as if once wasn’t enough, as if it wasn’t glaringly obvious. She felt a bit sick. This girl wasn’t Fae, which meant she was probably human, and now she’d seen Mina, and how was she going to explain this? There was no explaining this. Once more, as if it wasn’t clear enough, “I was looking at the hole in the lake.”

The longer Skylar looked at the girl, the more and more human she began to look-- until, suddenly, there was just a strange looking girl with a few patches of shining scales on her arms and thin membrane between her fingers. What the heck just happened..? But, when she spoke up, Skylar forced herself to listen closely. “I-- yes, I saw the hole. I was just, um, trying to figure out what was going on with it too. I didn’t, I didn’t think it was dangerous, though. The lake. Not the hole.” She mumbled, her hand drifting to clutch the strap of her backpack tighter. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but… are you like… some kind of mermaid?” She asked, confused and very much wondering what she’d just stumbled upon.

“There are all kinds of dangerous things in the lake,” Mina said. She watched the girl in front of her closely, once more backing up a bit as the girl clutched at her backpack. Who brought a backpack to a lake? Dumb question. Mina frequently brought hers with her to do homework or target practice. She was pondering that when the mermaid question through her off. “Mermaid? Do I-- No they’re-- I am not a mermaid,” Mina said emphatically. “Mermaid are-- No. Definitely not a mermaid. They’re incredibly monstrous. Nothing like the movies.” Though, if this girl was human, she’d have no idea what a mermaid really was. Nor what Mina actualy was. She couldn’t lie about it; not if she didn’t want to actually get sick. Maybe she could just avoid the question. She was going to avoid the question. “You need to be careful around here. Not just from the, ah, hole. Someone mentioned a large squid creature roaming around. Very dangerous.”

“Really? It’s just a lake though.” Skylar said, tilting her head. From all the books she’d read and movies she’d seen, the only scary thing about lakes were the people who lived around them. The thought made her swallow uneasily as she shifted away from the strange scaley girl. Maybe there was some truth to the movies. Blinking in wide eyed confusion, Skylar held onto her backpack even tighter. “They’re real? Oh… Okay, um, good to know. Thank you.” She said with a nod. But, if this strange woman wasn’t a mermaid then what exactly was she? Growing up on steady diet of nothing but science fiction and realistic fiction, devoid of all things fantastical, had really come back to bite her since moving to White Crest. “A squid creature? How’s there a squid in the lake? But… I guess if it’s a monster, magic doesn’t really care if they’re salt water creatures or not.” She mumbled.

“It’s a lake in this town, which makes it not normal, immediately,” Mina said quietly. “It’s got all sorts of things in it that are dangerous.” Including her, which didn’t seem to put the other girl at ease at all. She quickly added, “Not me, though. I’m not-- I mean, I won’t hurt you. Promise.” And she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t hurt this human girl. Mina smiled, glad that her teeth were no longer razor sharp, and hoped it might soothe the other girl. “Mermaids are real, yes, but they’re not like the movies. Very dangerous. Fish with women’s torsos on top to lure food. People.” She looked at her hands, her body. “I’m, ah, not that.” She would say what she was, if she didn’t hate it so much, didn’t want to have to immediately give herself up. Not that it mattered. She’d already managed to reveal that she wasn’t even human without saying a single word. It was easier to focus on something other than herself, though. “Yes, squid. I’m… not sure, actually. It certainly should be a saltwater creature. You’re right. But, ah, nonetheless, it is here, and not where it belongs.”

Though her words weren’t super reassuring, it helped when the girl backtracked to clarify that she wasn’t going to hurt her. Skylar didn’t super believe her, but she really didn’t have anything other than her word to go off. And, well… the fact that she was willingly telling her about what mermaids actually looked like, that had to mean something, right? “Oh, okay. Um… do you mind if I ask what you are? You totally don’t need to answer that, though. I’m just-- I’ve never seen anyone who looks like you before.” She said, kicking herself a little. She wouldn’t have liked it if some random stranger just asked her what she was out of the blue. Why had she even… stupid. “Sorry, sorry. Just, erm, forget I asked.” She apologized. Looking out at the lake, she grimaced. “Do you think the squid and the weird hole in the lake are related?” She asked, concerned.

Mina felt the smile on her face drop a bit. Not out of anger, but out of a bit of fear at the question. “It’s-- You can, of course, ask. You don’t have to apologize!” She didn’t want to answer. That much she was sure of. But she should. “I’m a Nix,” she said. Then, figuring that this girl didn’t know much about the supernatural, she explained, “A, ah, freshwater nymph. A Fae. Faerie, though that word is wrong.” She didn’t really care about the word choice, though she knew many did. Or maybe she cared a bit. Some innate part of her that hated it and hated being called a mermaid, of all things. “The hole and the squid appeared around the same time, I believe, though I’m not too sure. I’m not here every day. Just most days. So I think, yes, I think they showed up at the same time.” Not that she really knew. Looking at the girl, she wondered what she was doing there. So she asked. “What are you doing around here, anyway? Even if it’s not dangerous… this is a pretty secluded spot.”

“No, no, I didn’t mean to pry.” Skylar waved her hands apologetically. But, before she could stop the girl from telling her, she was already explaining what she was. A Nix? A Fae? There were water Fae? She thought that Fae were like… the pixies that she’d seen in the Archive, or like… Tinkerbell or something. But the woman in front of her had been covered in scales, her fingernails sharp, before she’d realized that Skylar had been coming up on her. “Oh. I didn’t know that, um, people like you were a thing. I mean-- I knew about the Fae. But, not about water Fae?” She said, hoping that she didn’t sound too out of her depth. As she explained the connection between the squid and the strange hole, Skylar couldn’t help but wonder how much time she spent out here. Did she live in the lake..? But, rather than ask more questions, she was forced to think about how she’d respond. She didn’t know this girl at all, she really couldn’t just… lay her secret out bare like this. Which meant she had to lie. “Um… I, um,” She grappled for words, trying to figure out a reasonable excuse, “I was looking for a nice picnic spot! For a date. Mhm.” She hummed. That seemed realistic, right?

“It’s, ah, fine, really.” Or, Mina would say that it was until it became true. This girl really must be human; she seemed to know absolutely nothing of the supernatural. At the very least, she wasn’t a hunter. Her cluelessness seemed too genuine. Mina allowed herself to relax, just a bit, and she decided to slowly head over to where she’d left her stuff, like her backpack and the rest of her clothes. “There are all kinds of Fae,” she said, a bit wryly. “Fae are quite populous.” Unfortunately. She threw a sweater on top of her tank top, attempting to hide her arms and allowing the sleeves to cover her hands a bit. Anything to appear more human, less intimidating. She… felt that the girl was lying, possibly, but Mina couldn’t tell. She might just be nervous. Mina knew the feeling. “A nice picnic spot?” She paused, trying to think about the various spots she’d been to around the lake. “This is a nice spot. Usually few people stumble around. And sometimes the kelpies play around here. But be careful with them.” Kelpies made her think of Felix, made her feel an awful sense of dread. “It’s be lovely for a date, though. The sunset’s are very nice.”

Still taken aback by how open and honest this girl was being, Skylar did her best to try and hide how confused she was. But, it kind of made sense-- she’d already seen too much to be fooled into thinking that this girl was any sort of human. That much was clear. As she began to talk about the different kinds of Fae people, Skylar tilted her head. “Are they-- erm, are you really? I didn’t know about that.” She said with an apologetic smile. “I don’t really know much about all of this stuff. I just kinda found out about it a little bit ago.” She found herself saying, not really sure why she was telling the truth. As the girl seemed to think about what she’d said, Skylar couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved. Her backpack hung a little heavier on her back, the weight of her seal skin all the more apparent. “Kelpies? What are those?” She asked, confused. “But, thank you, I really appreciate the advice.”

The girl was confused. Mina could tell. She was relieved, almost, to meet someone who was so new to all of this but still no about what she was. It was nice to not have that immediate judgement or interest, except for the fact that Mina was just a strange, scaly girl hanging out near a lake. For a brief moment, she was even pleased to not be included as a Fae, but she couldn’t escape it, she supposed, especially since she’d applied the term to herself in the first place. “There’s more than you might think. Some humanoid, some not.” She knew what she was supposed to be hunting. Mina smiled at the girl. “It’s okay. All of this can be overwhelming when you first find out about it, I’m sure. I’m Mina, by the way.” She sat down on the ground, cross-legged and back straight. An illusion of being relaxed. “Kelpies are Fae that usually take the shapes of horses. Water Fae. They like tricking people into riding them and then drowning them.” She waved a hand, shooing the girl’s words away. “Don’t worry about it. You should be informed of these things, especially living here. For such a dangerous town, so many people live without knowing about the harm they’re in.”

“Ah. Okay, that makes sense, I think.” Skylar said with a nod, hoping that she sounded like she was just easily accepting this information. She really hadn’t even thought that the Fae could look like normal people. But, that made sense. Like… she wasn’t human and she looked moreorless normal. So it only made sense that the Fae could disguise themselves. “It’s um, a lot. But I think I’m getting better at meeting people. Oh--” Raising an awkward hand, the surface just a little slick with slime, Skylar smiled, “I’m Skylar. Nice to meet you. Do you… live here?” She asked, gesturing to the lake around them. As she explained what Kelpies were, Skylar’s eyes widened in shock. Not that she would ever get on a random horse’s back, much less one that comes out of the water, but the idea of it all was startling. “Ahhh. Thank you, I really appreciate it. The more you know, right?” She said, making the sign for rainbow as a little joke to ease some of her nerves. This was fine. She was having a chat with a water fairy-- Fae-- and it was fine.

“It’s alright if it doesn’t,” Mina assured the girl. “I know it’s a lot. It’s a lot for me, sometimes, and I grew up knowing about these things.” She couldn’t very well say that she was a hunter, not really. It was unlikely that the girl would know what she meant, and then it’d just seem strange. Wrong. Especially since this girl seemed so… okay, with what Mina was. At least, she didn’t turn and run screaming about one of the monsters in the lake. “Well, you’ve done well meeting… me, so I’m sure you’ve done alright with others.” She wondered, worried really, how many other supernaturals this girl had met. Had they hurt her? She seemed alright. “It’s really nice to meet you, Skylar. I live…” she grinned, “in a house, not far from here. But I need to be near the lake, at times.” Most of the time, actually, which made the squid situation all the more worrisome. It was always hard for her to change water sources, even after years of doing it. Her grin widened as she watched Skylar make a rainbow. She knew that meme. “Exactly! And it keeps you safe.”

Mina’s words were the first time that Skylar had heard that phrase in a long time-- that it was okay if things didn’t make sense to her. Just that helped to ease some of the tension that had been coiling in the pit of her stomach. It was okay for her not be okay with things. Or to know all of them. Or to understand it. “Thanks. That helps a lot. It, um, it really is a lot. And I only found out about all of this a couple months ago.” She admitted, though to her, it felt like a lifetime. How had January only been three months ago? “Mhm, I’ve met a couple other people who are different. But, I mean… as long as you’re not trying to attack me or anything, I try to give people a chance.” Skylar said with a slight shrug before realizing how that sounded. “Not that people have attacked me! The only things to attack me have been like… vampires and ghouls and lobsters.” She added, further pressing the idea that vampires might actually be people from her mind. Listening as the woman spoke to her about living in a house, Skylar felt her cheeks redden. Of course she wouldn’t just live in a lake. Who would do that? “That makes sense. And yeah, it really does. And that’s what kinda matters most to me right now. Keeping myself and the people I care about safe from… some of the darker stuff.”

“It’s no problem,” Mina said. She couldn’t imagine how overwhelming learning about these things must be. It was her whole life, years and years of knowing and learning, and it was still rather difficult at times, but she didn’t know any different. She knew Skylar must be struggling. “Well, I won’t hurt you. I made a promise, after all, and Fae promises are binding and not to be made lightly.” Even if she had promised not to hurt this girl rather quickly, Mina wasn’t particularly worried about Skylar, though she was worried about the creatures that she’d come across. “Ghouls and vampires are very nasty business; they like hurting people. And I assume you’re referring to the beach lobsters, yes? I don’t go to the beach, much.” Or at all, really. Mina knew she couldn’t drown, but she had nightmares full of choking on saltwater. She hated to think about it. She looked at Skylar, cocked her head a bit. “You know, I’m pretty knowledgeable about all of this. The supernatural and protecting yourself from it. If you ever need help with it, you’re welcome to ask me.”

Tilting her head, Skylar stared at the girl with wide eyes. A Fae promise was binding? What did that mean? Was it a bad thing that she’d promised not to hurt her? “What do you mean by that, about Fae promises? Do you have to keep them? Or…” Her voice trailed off, though she wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by the silence that hung between them. Shaking her head, as though the motion would push the thought from her mind, she focused on what Mina was saying about the beach. “Mhm, those ones. I don’t really like the beach either. Not after a couple bad run ins with things.” She said off-handedly, though the reality was quite different. She knew that it was stupid, that she shouldn’t be scared of the ocean, that she should be fine with it. But every time she looked out at the crashing waves and the churning of the sea, she couldn’t help but shiver in fear. Skylar looked at Mina, more than a little surprised by the offer. “Are you sure..? I’d, I’d honestly really appreciate that.” Just being able to hear more from someone who was on the other side of things, someone who felt happy in their own skin, maybe it would help her with her own issues.

Mina nodded her head a bit. “I do have to keep them, all Fae have to keep promises that they make, unless they get released from them or find a way to break it. The same is reversed. If you make a Fae a promise, you have to keep it, so be careful using that word around here. I wouldn’t hurt you anyway, but it’s a nice bit of insurance to have, yes?” She tried to think of a few more thing about Fae, just to make sure Skylar was a bit prepared. “Also, don’t ‘give’ anyone your name. They might actually take your name. If someone ask to have your name, tell them that they can call you Skylar.” She made a noise of agreement as Skylar mentioned not liking the beach, glad to meet another person in this town not endlessly fascinated by the ocean. “Giant lobsters are another reason not to go, even if they are gone.” Which was sad because Mina actually loved lobster and seafood. Just… not the water. But she smiled widely at the thought of being able to help someone navigate the supernatural; it wasn’t hunting, but maybe that was a good thing; at least, this way, Mina knew she was being useful. “I’m very sure, yes! I can give you my contact information if you’d like. But I’d truly like to help you with this.” Please let me help you, she didn’t say, but the thought was there. Please let me do something that I know will be helpful.

The idea of a Fae being bound to a promise like that was… terrifying. And being forced into one herself? Skylar couldn’t help but swallow at the thought. She didn’t want to be stuck in any kind of magical deal, one that she would be forced not to break. And just the idea of someone taking her name… Wait. Wait, was that what had happened with Winston? She remembered how they had been out of it, how they were adamant about their name not being Winston. And then something about Regan… How Regan-- did that mean? Frowning, she started to ask a question, but was interrupted when there was a rustling in the thick bullrushes that grew at the edge of the lake. She turned her attention to the sound and stared, horror struck, as two people in dark robes stepped out from among the reeds. Their eyes were stitched shut with thick black string and they pointed at the two women mutely with chapped, weathered hands. “Mina-- Mina, I think we should go. I think we should go right now.” She said.

Mina was on her feet as soon as she heard people approaching, dread pooling in her stomach. She reached in her bag for a knife, the blade cool and titanium, designed not to hurt her. She put herself between Skylar and these people on instinct; she’d always put more stock in her training when it was about protecting others, so those were the lessons that took root. There was a terribly feeling, as she looked at these people, that made Mina realize that hurting them wasn’t going to be an option. Despite their eyes and the garbled, awful sounds coming out of their mouths, they seemed human. She dropped her knife almost as quickly as she’d picked it up. Turning to Skylar, she said, “Start running. I’ll make sure they don’t follow, okay.” Maybe she could get them in the water. As long as they followed her and didn’t hurt Skylar, she would be fine. Especially if she got them in the water. They were getting closer. She gave Skylar a nod and jutted her chin in the direction that she herself usually came. “There’s a trail that way, and a house not too far down it. I live there. It’s also quite close to the road.”

When Mina drew a thin blade, Skylar’s eyes widened in momentary panic-- why was she pulling a knife? She wasn’t working with these creepy people, was she? But, the knife fell almost immediately back into the bag it came from as Mina seemed to take in the situation. It was moments like this when Skylar almost wished that she was… better at this. That she could do something besides just run. But would could she even do? Even if she was a fully fledged selkie, what could she possibly do? Besides jump into her skin and swim away. A lot of help that would do in a lake with a giant hole in it. “Sounds good-- just, just don’t do anything too dangerous.” She said, not wanting her new acquaintance to get caught up in whatever freaky magical garbage these people were doing. Were they necromancers or something? She could only think people who raised the dead would look… that awful. Were necromancers even a thing? She didn’t have time to think any more, though, as the hooded figures raised their voices. The unnatural speech was louder this time and it sounded evil. Running down the trail, she looked back behind her, hoping that Mina was following. And that they weren’t being pursued.

“Dangerous?” Mina said breezily but with just a touch of fear, completely avoiding the statement. “Why would do anything dangerous?” Questions weren’t viable answers, and it meant she didn’t have to worry about lying. Instead, she turned to the robed people coming toward her. She held up her hands, placatingly. She wasn’t going to hurt them, not when they could still just be people. Insanely creepy people, but people nonetheless. “We’re just leaving.” She picked up her bag. “Leaving, see? Leaving.” Mina was going to have to find a new spot to come to the lake. Assuming she could find another easy spot to break into. What a mess. The robed figures had slowed there approach, though they still chanted ominously, and Mina kept an eye on them as she backed up towards the trail. Then, when there was enough distance between her and them, she turned and ran after Skylar. If they pursued, then human or not, she’d do what she had to in order to keep both herself and Skylar alive.

A little confused by the non-answers, Skylar realized that probably had to do with the fact she was a Fae-- the whole… promise thing? Had she made some sort of promise not to do anything dangerous? But, as curious and as confused as she was about it, she didn’t really want to stick around to ask about it. As she continued to run, she looked behind her and was able to see that Mina was right behind her. But, so were the hooded figures. Even though they were leaving, the figures were still coming after them, hands outstretched and-- A gasp of horror escaped her lips as she realized they had eyes in their palms. “Nonononono..!” Skylar said, her pace quickening as she ran down the trail. She couldn’t tell if they were still speaking in that awful chanting, but she didn’t want to stick around to find out.

Looking behind her, Mina breathed out, “Was zur hölle?” German swears coming more readily than English ones as she looked back and saw the eyes on these people’s hands. She rummaged through her bag, pulling out pens and pencils and erasers and throwing them at the figures viciously, though with little effect. She needed to find a way to block their path in order to keep them from following, but their chanting was distracting. “Keep-- Just-- Moving! Keep moving,” she shouted at Skylar. She needed to get them to stop chasing. Maybe if she just-- Bracing herself, Mina came to a full stop. Obviously, the figures weren’t expecting it as first one then the other rammed into her. The three of them landed in a heap, and Mina screamed as one of the eyed hands landed next to her face. She dragged herself up and started running again, ignoring the bruises and blood.

Running along the dirt trail, Skylar could feel her heart hammering in her chest, her lungs burning as she tried to keep her breathing calm. Why was it only when she was being chased by terrible, awful demon creatures that she thought about doing more physical fitness things? Already, she could feel her legs starting to hurt from the effort of sprinting away but she tried to push the thought away. Mina’s words came from behind her, and she couldn’t quite parse the words out. Looking back, her feet faltered for a moment when she watched the woman fall to the ground in a heap with the two figures. And the scream-- she heard the scream loud and clear. She moved to run back towards Mina and help her to her feet, but before she could, the woman was already up and running. “The house-- you said there was a house?” She asked, hoping that if they got inside, the figures would leave them alone.

“Yes,” Mina panted. “House. That way.” Half stumbling, half running, she directed them in the direction of her little house off the trail. As soon as the trail ended the woods broke free, and there was the house, and, not too far from the driveway, the road. Still unsure about whether or not they were being followed but not trusting them not to be, she fumbled for her keys in her bag, hand shaking, before she finally dug them out and pushed open the door. As she and Skylar got inside, she slammed the door shut and leaned against it heavily, though the cultist were no longer in sight. Maybe they stayed near the lake. That wasn’t a comforting thought. Turning to Skylar, breathing heavily, Mina managed to say, “Ah, you’re the first person I’ve had over.”

Following after Mina, Skylar soon saw the small house that she’d spoken of. And not a moment too soon-- once she was inside, she practically fell to the floor, panting heavily. A mixture of slime and sweat coated her brow and she did her best to wipe it away with the back of her hand. As she did, she felt the strap of her backpack slide down her shoulder and her blood froze. Her skin. Her pelt. It was in her bag, it was still in her bag, she tried to reassure herself. But, the urge to open the bag and check, just to be sure was practically overwhelming. Looking up at Mina, she blinked in surprise. “I-- oh. Congratulations! Um, I wish it was under better circumstances?” She said with what she hoped was a sympathetic smile. But, the anxiety of not knowing for sure that her skin was alright weighed heavily on her. “Are they... are they gone?” She asked, as she rose unsteadily to her feet, still exhausted from the run.

Through the window, Mina couldn’t see any sort of trace of the two hooded figures. Either they were still lying in a pile where she and Skylar had left them, or they had fled back towards the lake. At least they weren’t near her house. “They’re gone,” she said quietly. “I believe they’re gone.” Relaxing against the door, Mina allowed herself to bonelessly slide down it, hitting the floor with a gentle thump. “Um, right, yes. Better circumstances would have been lovely!” Tilting her head back to the wall, she laughed a little breathlessly. “Though, being chased by-- by-- well, I don’t know what by, doesn’t happen too often.” Why was it that she was having more problems with the humans in this town than the supernatural. At least, she had assumed those were humans. With their hands… Now she wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t all too sure about anything. She was sure that she was going to have to start finding easier, safer ways to the lake. She couldn’t keep running from those people, not every single day. Eventually, they were going to catch her, and what happened then? She hated to think about it. She looked at Skylar. “I don’t know about you, but this is far too much excitement for me.”

When the other woman said that they were gone, Skylar felt all remaining adrenaline fade away, leaving her bone tired. She fell back down to the ground, but pulled her backpack off and hugged it to her chest. The soft bulk of her folded up skin pressed against her and she let out a sigh. She was safe. All of her was safe. “I’ve been chased by a lot of awful things, but those really take the cake.” Skylar said with a shake of her head. “Same, honestly. I don’t think I’ll be coming back to the lake anytime soon.” She said. But, where else was she going to go? Either way… she’d worry about that later. For now, she was just glad to be out of the woods from those awful creature/people/things. And, on the bright side, she’d made a new fairy--Fae -- friend.

#p: dbaotf #p: wilhelmina fitzroy #potw #wickedswriting

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yikeslads · 5 years ago

Text

Dark! Stalker! Loki x Reader ~ Whispers in the Dark :Part 1

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hello beautiful people! I meant to do this all in one release, but wow its turning out to be much longer than I thought, so I decided to break it up! Anyway, I should be finishing it soon and I hope you guys enjoy it!

also @person-born-winchester here’s your tag!

Warnings: None yet

Italics is the past

Bold are song lyrics

I will be the one that's gonna hold you

I will be the one that you run to

My love is

A burning, consuming fire

You had dedicated a lot of your time to building the statue for Loki’s remembrance. But some things just weren’t adding up. It seemed that Odin was wanting to spend a lot more time with you lately. You told yourself not to be rude. After all, he did just lose his wife and his son. You couldn’t blame your king.

Strolls in the garden, dinners together, the occasional calm horseback ride, whenever you weren’t spending time on the Loki commemoration you were spending time with the AllFather. It was… exhausting. Yes, of course you were honored to serve your king, but you missed having more alone time just wandering around or getting into random conversations with strangers in the palace that you ran into.

Meandering through the gardens with the AllFather, the pair of you stopped where you always concluded for the day. At the large crimson rose bush. And it ended today just like every other day. Odin handing you a crimson rose and dismissing you with a kiss on the back of your hand. Curtseying for your king, you respectfully left the AllFather’s side as usual. But you were going to make today different, for once. Instead of heading into the townt to make sure everything was coming along, you headed back towards the castle. Today, you were going to take a day off.

You were tittering with happiness as you made it to your room, drawing yourself with rose petals. Lighting candles that were strewn about the bath, you undressed yourself excited for the relaxing soak. You were half way through undressing when you realized with a groan that you had left your book in the library. Sighing you hurriedly threw your clothes back on and headed down the corridor to the library.

You had always loved going to the library. It was a place of both exploration and relaxation for you, a little place that you could escape into your own world. It’s where you and the raven haired prince had spent countless hours together. It was a bittersweet feeling to go to the library now. It reminded you of your loss, but you had hoped that Loki would be happy with the contributions you had made for him to be honored and remembered.

You finally made it to your favorite section of the library when you looked up and saw… Odin? reading in the same chair Loki always read. He glanced up when you immediately dropped into a curtsey.

“My apologies, AllFather,” you said quickly, dismissing yourself as fast you could but still snagging your book on the way out, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. You still wanted most of the day to yourself. But as you walked back to your chamber you couldn’t help but think of how odd that meeting was. It was so unlike Odin to be prowling around the libraries, especially in the middle of the day. Especially in Loki’s old nook. You shook your head and brushed it off.

Maybe Odin just missed Loki more than he let on.

Deciding not to read to much into it you ready yourself for your relaxing bathtime once more.

The day had flown by so quickly, but as the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. You found yourself lazily dressing yourself in a deep green gown, simple as you liked, but elegant enough to be fit for dinner.

Entering the dining hall, you saw Odin at the head of the table, awaiting your arrival. A soft smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he saw you enter the room.

“Ah there you are, love. You look lovely,” he beckoned you, but you paused, almost as if a haze around you was beginning to lift.

Loki used to call you love.

“Little dove?” The AllFather called once more. Shaking your head slightly, you shook it off and proceeded to take a set next to him at the table.

“My apologies, my king. I was just being a little absent minded,” you excused, to which Odin nodded.

“Are you feeling well, little dove?” He asked, as servants came to dish up some food for the pair of you.

Nodding slightly, you gave him a shy smile. “I am sure it was nothing, AllFather,” you essured, glancing around the room for a second. It was a beautiful night out in Asgard. You could see the stars twinkling between the large columns, torch light illuminating the room giving the room a soft glow.

You thanked the servant as she placed your plate in front of you, before all of the servants were dismissed, leaving the pair of you alone as usual.

“If I may, AllFather, why do you always dismiss the servants?” You asked him gently. You had always allowed the servants to stay in the dining hall while you ate when you were back in your courts. Sometimes you ate with them, whenever your parents were busy.

“Force of habit, little dove,” Odin said with a light shrug, brushing past the subject.

That’s odd. Odin didn;t dismiss the servants before Freya and Loki had died.

“I see. We just didn’t dismiss the servants in my court is all,” you said absent mindedly, but quickly regretted what you had said. “Not that Im complaining! I am very very happy here in Asgard, and I am so thankful that you have offered me refuge here for so long!” You corrected, not wanting to seem ungrateful

A chuckle resounded from Odin’s chest as he gently patted your hand in a comforting manner. “Easy there, little one. You have said nothing wrong,” he eased, a smile dancing across your face at his comforting.

“After all, taking you in was the best thing Odin ever did,” he said, reassuringly but your blood ran cold at his words.

Odin? Why was he referring to himself in the third person? Unless…

It all came crashing down around you in that moment.

On your last birthday you went on a star light walk in the garden where you admired the rose bushes and told him the crimson ones were your favorite.

And everyday, Odin always gave you a crimson rose after your garden walk.

Being in the library.

Sitting in Loki’s chair.

Calling you love.

Using Odin’s name.

You knew Loki was good at trickery, but you would have never assumed he would take it this far. But if this person in front of you isn’t Odin, then where is he?

You'll never be alone

When darkness comes, I'll light the night with stars

Hear the whispers in the dark

Beginning to withdraw your hand from under Odin’s you were quickly halted by “Odin” you grabbed your hand, as if he had realized his mistake.

“A-AllFather, I think I am feeling ill. I should return to my chamber,” you tried, wanting nothing more in this moment to flee.

“Let me walk you to your room then, little dove,” he pressed and you knew you wouldn’t get your way without causing a scene in the dining hall which wouldn’t play out well for you. You needed to talk with him privately.

Nodding slightly, you stood up as he released your hand. All the color had drained from your face and you had broken into a cold sweat.

The walk back to your chambers was the most tense walk in your life. Neither of you spoke.

What felt like hours later, you finally arrived at your chambers and stepped in, the man soon following, closing the door behind him.

It was silent for a few more moments, and you were the first to speak up.

“Loki, show yourself,” you demanded, eyes locked onto his face though your lower lip quivered.

He opened his mouth to argue, but knew there was little he could say to persuade you from the truth. Sighing, a golden glow came about him as the face of Odin melted away to reveal the Raven Haired Prince.

A surge of overwhelming emotion came over you and you placed your hands on his chest and shoved him as hard as you could, which did little to the god.

“How could you?! I mourned you for months! I still mourn you! What about Thor? He misses you dearly and he fled because of it!” You hissed at him, careful not to shout too loud and draw unwanted ears to your chamber.

Against your will, tears began to pool in your eyes and you bit your bottom lip to keep from crying. “How could you do this to us? To me?” You whispered, hurt seeping into every syllable of your words.

The man in front of you paused, for the first time in his life at a loss for words. Taking a few moments to gather himself, he spoke up.

“Love, you have to trust me on this. There is a lot going on that you wouldn’t understand,” he tried, taking a step towards you, only for you to jerk back.

“Don’t call me that!” You snapped, putting your hands in front of you protectively. “And don’t come near me either. You have deeply and utterly betrayed all of us,” you spat, even though there were tears streaming down your face.

Silence encompassed the pair of you, as Loki waited with baited breath to see what you would do next.

“Where is Odin?” You whispered, voice shaking with intense emotion. After a few more seconds of silence, you asked again, this time louder.

“Loki, what the hell did you do with Odin?” demanding an answer, you were dismayed to see Loki take a deep breath, readying himself for the answer.

“Let’s just say I don’t have to worry about him interferring anymore,” he said with confidence to your upmost horror.

“Oh Loki, what the hell have you done?!” You cried, using your sleeve to wipe your tears away, as you glared at him. Taking a few more moments to compose yourself, you took a deep breath before speaking again.

“Get out of my chambers, now,” you demanded, pointing at the door, but keeping your eyes down, locked on the floor.

“Love…” Loki began to plead, but you refused to hear his words.

“Get out of my chambers now before I scream and everyone comes running to this room to see what’s wrong,” you threatened, which Loki sighed at.

“Alright. I shall leave you be, but this isn’t over,” he reminded before transforming into a servant woman and leaving your chambers without suspicion.

You openly wept as soon as you knew he would be far enough away where he wouldn’t hear you. How could he do this to you? He watched you mourn for months and did nothing. And on top of that, he must have done something terrible to your king. Where is Odin?

You didn’t know, but you definetley didn’t want to stick around to find out. Quickly, you began packing. Grabbing a large satchel, you placed everything of value that you could sell for a high price in there along with all of your coins and a change of clothes. That should be all you needed for now.

Before you left your chambers for good, you snatched the crimson roses you had in your vase from the last few days of walks and tossed them into the fire, watching them burn for a few moments.

Quickly leaving the palace, you made your way to the stable and chose a trusted horse. Mounting, you rode as fast as you could out of the castle grounds and towards the capital city, never looking back.

You'll never be alone

When darkness comes, I'll light the night with stars

Hear the whispers in the dark

So here you were, in a tiny shack on the outskirts of the capital, hiding in your closet underneath bedding like you did every night. Evey night you feared he would come for you. After all, he had found you in the past before.

When you lived at an Inn in the capital, mysteriously crimson roses would appear on your bed stand. When you lived in a manor as a servant for a lord for a couple weeks, your favorite book from the palace library miraculously showed up on your pillow in the servants quarters.

He was toying with you. He was sending a message. That he could come and get you whenever he wanted. That he was watching you, no matter where you went to hide.

You had moved six times now within the past four months because of the “gifts” and just overall paranoia. You had sold everything of value, and you had little options left.

Suddenly, you heard a knock at the front door.

You'll never be alone

When darkness comes, you know I'm never far

Hear the whispers in the dark

Pulling yourself into the tightest ball possible underneath the spare bedding in the closet, you waited with baited breath praying that whoever it was would go away. But you were not so lucky. A few moments later you heard the door lock click open and you instantly knew that somebody used a charm to unlock your door.

You heard sure footsteps exploring your most humble abode, looking for something. Or someone. The footsteps halted in what sounded like the middle of the hallway before a voice called out to you.

“I know you’re scared, love,” the voice called and tears instantly welled up in your eyes.

Loki.

“Come out and come home with me. I can explain everything,” he called out to you, as you did everything you could inside of yourself to not panic.

He took a few steps more down the hall, towards your bedroom.

“Love, I need you to come with me. I need you by my side as I rule Asgard. You were made for me and you know that,” his voice drew nearer to your room.

A few more moments passed and you could hear his footsteps stop just inside of your bedroom.

“I’ll make you a deal with you because I know you are frightened. If you come out on your own, I won’t have to punish you. But if you make me come and get you, which you know I will, well my mercy can only be extended so far. I’ll give you to the count of five to reveal yourself and come with my peacefully,” he bargained, and you did not doubt his words. You knew he would find you and drag you out if he had to. You would be a fool to put it past him.

“One,” he began, his voice stern, leaving no room for argument.

Your heart leapt into your throat, as you fought to keep the tears in your eyes. This couldn’t be happening.

“Two,” he continued causing your breath to hitch. Gods you were so terrified, and you definetely did not want to find out what the punishment was if you disobeyed.

“Three,” he took a step towards your hiding spot and you knew he knew exactly where you were.

“W-Wait,” you called softly from under the sheets. “I-I’ll come out.” You sat up on your knees from where you were crouching, the bedding falling off around you in a pool as you rose to your feet. Meekly, you made timid steps toward the trickster, eyes locked onto his shoes as you approached him.

Tilting your chin up with his hand, your teary eyes met his deep green ones, and you felt a whole new overwhelming wave of emotion.

“Now what am I going to do with you love?” Loki whispered, as he brushed a piece of your hair out of your face.

#loki #loki x reader #xreader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #coyambition #songfic #dark fic #stalking #stalker x reader #stalker loki

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walkerismychoice · 6 years ago

Text

I Can Love You Better

Book: ROD

Pairing: Logan X MC, Colt X MC

Rating: A bit NSFW/Mature/18+

Note: This story is all contained within Chapter 11 of ROD. Most of the dialogue comes directly from the book except for the parts I added in the beginning from Colt’s POV, a bit of Colt’s diamond scene in the car, and the end conversation with Riya. Speaking of the diamond scene, be warned that I added in some details that were left to the imagination and it gets a bit NSFW in this part. Also a shout-out to @bizzyschoices, as her YouTube video helped me immensely in transcribing the dialog.

Word Count: 3820

Tag List: @zaffrenotes @tmarie82 @boneandfur @lizeboredom @debramcg1106 @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @give-me-ernest-sinclaire @plutostudie-s @akrenich @rhymesmenagerie @confessionsofabrokegirl @alegria1580 @i-miss-trr @going-down-downtown @choicesarehard @choiceslife @teenytinymagician @a-whore-of-rome @frugalchoicer @mfackenthal

Colt watches stunned as Gabi storms out through the garage door. He didn't think before blurting out Logan's secret in front of the whole crew, but he was desperate to hang onto her and to not let his own secret out. He'd finally felt like she might actually like him as much as he'd come to like her, to want him more than she wanted Logan. No matter what she would think of Colt's plan for the brotherhood, it couldn't compare in his mind to how low Logan had stooped to get her to fall for him, so he had to risk it all and tell her. Colt should have told Gabi the second he found out, or found a better way than this, but what's done is done.

"Gabi, wait!" Colt calls out even though she probably can't hear him." He makes a move to run after her, but he's held back by a strong arm.

"Let her go, son." Teppei Kaneko nods in the direction of the door where Logan is already headed. "This is between Logan and Gabi right now."

"Fuck that!" Colt picks up a wrench among the tools scattered on the floor and chucks it at the nearest wall. A chunk of cement falls out as the wrench hits it and drops to the floor with a clatter.

"Enough!" Kaneko shouts. "Letting your temper get the best of you and getting too emotionally invested is what got you into this situation in the first place. You won't be helping yourself right now by running after her."

Colt glowers at his father. This whole situation is really his father’s fault, but Teppei is right. Colt will just look like even more of an asshole if he tries to interrupt them now. He huffs and stomps over to the couch, sinking down with his head in his hands. He doesn't want to hear what anyone has to say right now.

~~~~~

Logan races out of the shop to catch up to Gabi already halfway down the block. "Gabi, Wait! Let me explain-"

"And why should I believe a word of your 'explanation'? You've done nothing but lie to me since day one," Gabi hisses, the typical warmth and sparkle in her eyes replaced by an icy glare.

"I didn't know you back then. I didn't care about you. You were just a random stranger, someone the crew could use." As the words come out, Logan realizes he's not making it sound any better.

"I was nobody to you," her voice softens and the sadness and disappointment evident on her face are almost worse than her stone cold anger.

"You were. But once I actually got to know you..." Fuck he's bad at this. "At some point it all stopped being pretend."

"I wish I could believe you..." Gabi trails off.

Logan runs a hand through his hair. "Let me be honest for once. Whether you believe me of not...whether you forgive me or not...please let me explain." She crosses her arms and waits, so Logan continues. "Okay, let's go somewhere more private."

Gabi's eyes narrow. "I'm not going anywhere with you, Logan. You're telling me right here."

Logan sighs. "...Alright, what do you want to know?"

"I said everything, that means everything."

Logan inhales deeply and proceeds to tell Gabi how Kaneko paid some people off and got information on Gabi's dad. How Kaneko came up with the plan to have Logan get to know Gabi's and get her on their side, but how it was Logan's idea to call the cops on the house party to gain her trust faster by helping her escape.

Gabi's face falls again after taking in his words. "Did you feel anything that night?"

"Of course I did Gabi, how could I not have?" If only he could make her understand even though it was his job to win her over, all the feelings were real - are still real. It didn’t feel like a work to hang out with such a smart and pretty girl. He didn’t plan to kiss her that night, but he hadn’t been able to help himself.

She rolls her eyes. "Was it guilt?"

“No...not guilt. When I was with you I forgot about everything. About the crew, about your dad...I was just happy." Happier than he can ever remember in his life if he’s honest.

"I'm so stupid, how could this have turned out any different. You're a criminal!” Hearing this word from her lips cuts Logan deep, even though it is the truth. “I should have known someone like you could never care about someone like me. It was only ever about my father."

“That’s not true--”

“All those time you were asking me about my dad...You were pumping me for information?”

“I was asking for your help to stay out of prison--”

“You still can’t be honest with me, huh?” Gabi scoffs.

“Okay, yes, I was trying to keep us one step ahead of your dad. But the moment you told me your dad’s partner knew, I told you to go home. I was trying to protect you. I knew you shouldn’t be here.”

“You were right. I should have left. But you still should have come clean to me then, instead of just ignoring me or yelling at me.”

“I know. But I was afraid of--”

“Of what?” She snaps.

“Of this! Of what’s happening right now!” Logan takes a step closer, but she takes another step back. He wants to take her in his arms, to show her that however this started, it is now the most real thing he’s ever had, and as much as it killed him to try and make her leave that first time, he thought she’d listen and he’d spare her the pain and humiliation of finding everything out. He really had thought she wouldn’t come back, but when she did, he hadn’t known what to do. “This has been killing me forever. I kept trying to find a way to tell you.”

“This is what you wanted to get off your chest? Right before the stadium job?” He can see her wheels turning as she puts the pieces together.

“Yes, Gabi, please.” Logan pleads. “Yes things started out as a lie. But the crew? You’re one of us now. Even Kaneko believes it. They care about you. Toby, Ximena...hell, even Mona. I care about you and I’m...I’m sorry.”

“How do you expect me to believe that?”

“I can barely believe it myself. I can barely believe that some girl I just met takes over my every waking thought. I can’t believe that, every time I look at you, I feel like the luckiest bastard on the planet.” He hesitates, but he has to tell her because it might be the only chance he gets. “I can’t believe I love someone.”

He notices a flash of something in her that gives him hope, but then it’s gone all too soon. “Don’t say that, Logan. Please don’t say that now just to get me to change my mind--”

“I’m saying it now because I think this is the last time I’m ever gonna see you. And if I don’t say it, I’ll regret it the rest of my life. So, I’m not trying to stop you from leaving. I’m just asking you to believe me when I say I never wanted to hurt you.”

“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t want to hurt me, Logan. What matters is that you didn’t care.”

“You’re right, I didn’t.” He’d learned throughout his life to see other people as a means to an end. He’d found out way too young that loving and trusting only ever left him hurt and disappointed, and as much as Kaneko did for him, he only ever reinforced that. He told Logan not to get attached, and he could have left everyone else there in heartbeat, until he met Gabi. “But I do now.”

“Too little, too late. Anything else to say for yourself?” Logan stares at her for a long beat. He’s left it all out on the table, and she still doesn’t believe him, or he’s done too much damage for her to ever be able to trust him again. “Well?” She demands a response.

“I keep thinking there’s gotta be something I can say to take it all back, the right combination of words...But there’s not, is there?” She’s the only person he’s ever truly loved, and possibly loved him back, and he’s fucked it all up.

“No, there’s not.” And with that, Gabi turns and walks away.

Logan watches her go, hoping she’ll realize she’s not ready to let him go and come back. He sees her look back as she rounds the corner but she keeps on going. Logan wonders if she can see the tears forming in his eyes from that distance away and if it makes her feel anything at all. He waits until she’s completely out of site to break down. He hunches over with his hands on his thighs, barely able to breathe, tears falling like raindrops on the pavement.

~~~~~

Logan walks back in through garage door with his head down goes straight up to his loft without saying a word. Colt still hasn’t moved from his spot on the couch, but now that Logan is back, he’s not waiting around any longer. He gets in Gabi’s car and peels out of the garage. He has no idea where she went, but he takes his best guess, and sure enough he catches her heading towards the the bus stop. He honks to get her attention and she turns around, startled.

“Gabi, Get in the car.”

“Leave me alone,” she growls back at him.

“Come on. Let me drive you somewhere. It’s your car.” Maybe he can appeal to her practical side because nobody really wants to take the bus.

“Not anymore. I don’t want anything from you people.”

He honestly hadn’t expected her to be this mad at him. He was the only one who had the guts to tell her the truth. “Hey, we didn’t all lie to you like Logan.

“Yeah, because you care so much about me, humiliating me in front of everyone,” Gabi seethes.

That wasn’t his intention, but he can see her point. “If you’re gonna yell at me, at least do it up close from the comfort of the car. Besides...you’ll definitely regret letting your pride win next time you’re riding a bus to school.”

Gabi rolls her eyes but stops and gets in anyway.

~~~~~

Gabi can’t believe Colt thought he could just show up like a white knight and rescue her. He’s hardly apologetic, thinking he’s done her some great service by telling her about Logan. He finally seems to get how angry she is after she lays into him for not having a home to go to.

“Look, you have every right to be pissed at me. That’s definitely not how I wanted to tell you. But I hated knowing how that asshole was using you.

“How long have you known?”

“Dad didn’t tell me until after the Grapevine job. He didn’t tell me about anything at all until he had no other choice but to trust me. What was I supposed to do, knowing Logan was using you, knowing I wasn’t supposed to say anything? It was eating me up inside, and I just...snapped. I’ve seen the way you look at him. I knew the longer we waited, the more it would hurt you.”

That’s really what this is about, isn’t it? He knew she was torn between the two of him, so he threw it in her face when he was afraid he’d lose his advantage. “But you’ve seen the way I look at you too, haven’t you? Why couldn’t you of all people be honest with me?”

“It never seemed like the right time.” They pull up to Riya’s house and he looks at her sincerely. “You deserve so much more than Logan, Gabi.”

“And who can give me that, you?” She challenges.

“Hell yeah I can. The rest of the crew, they’re not like us. They’re just scraping by. But the two of us?” He brushes a strand of hair from her face and she feels the first bit of her resolve start to crumble. “We put our brains together, you and me could run this whole town.

Colt leans in closer and she stops him. “Colt...”

“All I’m saying is...You belong with someone who knows how much you’re capable of.”

Gabi meets his intense gaze, and she remembers why she fell for Colt so hard in the first place. He gets her and values her for what she’s worth. It’s dumb and she knows it, but she’s vulnerable and emotional and she just can’t help herself, leaning over the center console she captures Colt’s lips with her own.

Colt pulls away stunned but then a smile creeps back on his face. Like she’s lit a fire inside him, he responds, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her onto his lap. He parts her lips and kisses her deeply, and she lets a moan escape. “Colt...” His hands roam up and down her back leaving her skin alight with fiery trails wherever he’s touched.

“Is that a ‘yes’?

She feels dizzy, intoxicated by the sight, the scent, the feel of him. “To your whole ‘rule the world together scheme?”

Colt smirks. “That’s the one.”

Her world’s been turned upside down and she doesn’t know what she wants, except being with him in this moment. “The only promise I can make you about the future is that I’m gonna want a lot more of this.” Gabi gestures between them. She swings her leg over so she’s straddling him now, their hips pressed together.

Colt’s grin widens as he pulls her even closer. “Then I’ll just have to ask you again later.”

“As long as you keep kissing me in the meantime,” Gabi replies and Colt doesn’t wait for any further invitation. He kisses the curve of her neck, swirling his tongue around and sucking just hard enough, sending a rush of blood to her core.

“Like this?” Colt grins cockily, knowing exactly what he’s doing to her.

“Yes...” Gabi purrs. She closes her eyes and tosses her head back getting lost in the feeling. He kisses up to her ear, down her jaw, and back to her lips, his mouth leaving a path of electrical current in its wake. He swallows her moan with another fiery kiss, her hands tugging at his hair. “Colt...”

Colts hands wander to the hem of her sweatshirt. He plays with the fabric and strokes the sliver of bare skin there, tentatively, like he’s trying to gauge her reaction. Gabi tilts back slightly and grab’s Colt’s hand, surprising him. “What’re you...?”

She guides his hand under her shirt, relishing the feel of his calloused fingers against her soft skin. “Just touch me.”

Colt smirks again before descending to the dip in her collarbone and Gabi lolls her head to the side to grant his mouth better access. “Don’t have to tell me twice.” His hands creep up further and further until he’s tracing the curve of her breasts over her thin lace bra. She gasps as his thumbs graze her nipples, stiff peaks forming underneath.

Their lips crash together again, Colt’s unhooks her bra, and slips his hands underneath, thumbs tracing circles over her sensitive buds sending heat and wetness pooling between her legs. She grinds down onto him, and Colt groans. Even between their layers of clothing, she can feel how hard he is and she needs more. She rhythmically rolls her hips, rubbing her clit in just the right way to keep the pleasurable tingle building and building in intensity. Just as she feels she’s about to burst he pulls her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, sending her over the edge. She bites down on his shoulder to muffle her whimper as waves of pleasure course through her body.

Colt stills and waits for her to look back up at him. “Did you just....?” Gabi nods, embarrassed. She’s only ever done that on her own, and she thinks maybe her inexperience is showing, like she shouldn’t have been able come just from that. “Hey, look at me.” He lifts up her chin. “You are so sexy, Gabi. I wish I could feel how wet you are right now.”

His words give her a resurgence of confidence. She stares at him intently as gets up on her knees, leaving enough space for her to guide his hand up the leg of her cut-off shorts. He doesn’t wait for a verbal invitation this time, pushing her panties to the side and gliding a finger through her folds. “Fuck, Gabi...” Colt moans. He dips a finger inside her. “I wish I could be inside you right now. If we weren’t on a public street in broad daylight right now....” He pumps his finger in and out a few times before withdrawing it, and if that feels this good, she can only imagine what the real thing feels like.

Colt kisses her again and when they come up for air, Gabi pulls back. “...Colt?”

“Mmm?” He mumbles as he distracts her with teasing kisses along her jawline.

“Where do we go from here?”

Her question finally causes him to stop and look her in the eye. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think I can go back to the garage any time soon. Not after what Logan did, what your dad did...” She stares out the window, trying to find the right way to say it. “And I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to be visiting me, for a little while, at least.” As desperately as she wants him now, she needs time and space to get her head sorted out, and that’s definitely not possible when she’s anywhere near him.

Colt softly and soothingly runs a hand up and down her back. “So let’s keep driving. We can go anywhere.Just say the word and I’ll start the engine.”

“Colt...I can’t just leave my entire life behind. I’ve still got my family.” She hopes, at least. “I can’t just leave my dad completely. It would break his heart...and mine. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. I just hate the idea of going back without you.”

“Well, maybe next time you’ll come talk to me privately before getting in a big fight and blabbing my business to the entire crew.” She’s half joking, but she’s still not completely over it.

“...Fair point. Can we kiss and make up? He smiles cheekily.

“I thought that’s what we were doing?”

“No, you were talking, I was trying to--”

Gabi doesn’t let him finish, cutting him off with a kiss and melting into his embrace as he pulls her close. Leaning back Gabi’s eyes search Colt’s face and his gaze never falters. “...Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For seeing my worth.”

Colt reaches up to cup her cheek. “You shouldn’t thank me for that, it’s the very least I can do.

Gabi smiles and leans into his touch, wishing she could freeze time for a while and stay here safe and happy with Colt, but she knows she can’t. She leans down to kiss him again before they reluctantly get out of the car.

Colt tosses Gabi the keys. “Take the car, will ya? Toby’d never forgive me if I didn’t make you keep it.”

“How will you get back?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Gabi nods and colt shoves his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “See you around, Colt. Maybe” Colt nods with a somber expression on his face. She stays and watches him go until he’s out of view and then heads to Riya’s door to grovel for her forgiveness.

~~~~~

Gabi knows Riya won’t be thrilled to see her, but their reunion is rough to say the least. Riya isn’t happy with the idea of Gabi staying, but she agrees and leaves Gabi to get some rest while she goes to school. Things aren’t much better when Riya gets back, but Riya agrees to hear her out, and vents her own frustrations about Gabi moving on and not being there for her. They still have a long road to get back to where the were, if that’t even possible, but Gabi feels like she has her friend back. She talks Riya into an old fashioned sleepover with scary movies, snacks, and all.

It’s not long before Riya presses Gabi on what happened to make her leave the garage. She takes a deep breath and lets everything out. Tells her how Kaneko and Logan had targeted her, but that Logan claims his feeling are real. How Colt sat on the information until he could use it at his convenience, but that he’d do just about anything for her.

Riya’s eyes go wide. “Woah. That’s a lot to take in. But how do you feel?”

Gabi sighs. “I still don’t know. I thought Logan was my first love. I felt so deeply for him but he destroyed my trust. When he said he loved me, there was a moment I wanted to jump in his arms but-”

“Wait, he said he loves you? Oh my god, Gabi!”

“I wanted to believe him. I think I do, but I just can’t deal with that right now. If it were just him it would be hard enough, but I started to care about Colt just as much. When I’m with him, I forget about everyone and everything, and it’s just us. He was ready to drop everything for me and go wherever I wanted, and part of me almost considered it. But what would I be getting into? Colt thinks he wants this life as an organized crime boss, but is that really me? When I’m in it, it’s exhilarating and feels like I’m part of something big, but when I step away for a minute, like right now, I wonder what the hell I’m doing. I told Colt it would be best to have some time apart given all the circumstances, and I know Logan won’t come looking for me. This school year is almost over, and I can’t blow it now. Maybe if I focus on my studies, patching things up with my dad, and keeping my distance for a while, I’ll be able to see things more objectively.

“Wow, Gabi. I don’t even know what to say.” Riya leans in to give her a hug. “I’m here for you, but please don’t shut me out again.”

“Deal.” Gabi squeezes Riya back. “Now lets get back to watching movies, stuffing our faces, and forgetting that boys exist.

#playchoices fanfic #ROD #colt x mc #logan x mc #colt kaneko #rod logan #n*fw

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icewindandboringhorror · 5 years ago

Photo

Another set of responding to asks lol.. As usual I have them numbered and will also write out the ask in the text, especially since the screencaps are all blurry and taken at various times/compiled together badly and probably hard to read ghghhggh..... answers under the read more ~

-------------------------

1. "Hi I don't mean to bother you at all, but I was wondering where you get your rocking horse shoes? (I think thats what they're called) I've been looking everywhere and I can't seem to find any :(( "

I don’t entirely remember, since I got them like 6 or 7 years ago.. I think maybe at some point that place ‘bodyline’ or something had some cheap ones? But I don’t see them on the site anymore, they were like $50 or $60. Now when I google it I can only find these insane like $600 ones from vivian westwood or whoever, or ones that are platform shoes but not necessarily the same type. Maybe you could find some on aliexpress or ebay or something? Usually you have to use weirdly specific search terms and look for a while, but you can often find stuff like that on those sites. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!!!

2. "I've been sick for over a month and my doctor tested me - everything came back fine. After some discussion it appears that my ptsd symptoms came back and the stress on my body is making me fatigued, sick and dizzy. I don't want to say that this could be similar to you situation, but if you have a therapist or someone to talk to about any stresses/your sickness, it might help relieve the pressure a bit. Good luck, I'm so sorry you feel so unwell"

Thank you for sharing! Yeah, I think stress definitely plays a part in why I feel sick so often. Currently I’m not still having the same problem I was having a few months ago when you sent this, so that’s good at least!!

3. “Hi! Do you plan to ever have more sculptures for sale? Or would you do commissions? I haven't seen any in a while but wanted to buy one! :-O”

I have plenty that I want to sell, I guess it’s just hard for me to get set up. Since so much of the reason I procrastinate selling stuff is because I hate the stress of deciding on a price, I’ve thought for a while now that maybe I can just auction them (so I just set a base price, but people bid whatever they feel is fair and I don’t have to decide myself). But I’m just not sure of a good way to do that.. Ebay has auctions, but I don’t want random strangers buying them, I’d rather stick to just the pool of people who follow my art blog and are already familiar with my sculptures or etc. I could do them on here ?? (like, ‘reply to this post to bid, bids close 8am EST, whoever said the highest number sends the money through paypal and then I send the sculpture’ sort of thing???) But I’m not sure if it’s legal to sell stuff through tumblr, or if there could be any other problems with doing it so ‘unofficially’ like that.. I don’t know, I have a vague idea, I’m just having trouble deciding the best way to set up something! I do want to sell some soon though, if I live through the pandemic and anything ever goes back to normal, of course (I wouldn’t want to be having to leave the house to ship stuff in the mail right now).

As for commissions, I have actually done sculpture commissions for friends a few times, so I feel confident-ish that I’d be able to do something like that, but I also wouldn’t want to get overwhelmed since it takes a lot of work. Custom sculptures may also be more expensive, and again.. I always feel guilty and strange about pricing. I’ve thought about doing very limited sculpture commissions though (like, maybe just one at a time, first come first serve or something..?). If it seems like there’s actual interest in that sort of thing, I could definitely consider doing it in the future!

4. " *picks up that smol blue kid and throws them across the room* "

ghgh .. the smallness is an advantage... they could just skitter back down your arm like a tiny squirrel the second you tried to pick them up.. Ythrili survival strategy is to be too small to catch in the first place

(also forgive every sketch in this post, my screen that you can draw on broke, so I’m either drawing stuff in ms paint with a mouse, or drawing stuff on paper and coloring it in firealpaca also with a mouse ghghh.. not going to look Good)

5. "it sounds like you feel pressure to only post good content on the internet, and so you end up psyching yourself out of posting at all. Am I on the right track? "

Not necessarily, like I mentioned in the tags I think it’s more just that everything is complicated by my brain. I can’t just do something effortlessly. Whether it’s for an audience or not, I get caught up on every little detail and adding so much complexity to everything that all tasks take me longer than they take other people lol. I think I just tend to take everything very seriously??

Like for example, I’m often accused of ‘turning things into a discussion’ when someone was just intending to make an off-handed remark, because if someone is bringing up a topic to discuss, I end up engaging with it 100% and putting full effort into it, and it’s hard for me to be ‘’casual’’ about pretty much anything (so if someone was like ‘My day yesterday was a bit weird’ I wouldn’t be able to just respond ‘aw man, that sucks’, I would just be like ‘Weird how? what happened? what made it weird? Are you okay now? Are things still weird? Have you found a solution?’ etc. etc.). I was also bad at essays/open answer questions in school (despite usually being great at the class otherwise), because no matter how hard I tried to filter my speech and cut things out, I was always far too long-winded and would get almost too engaged with the topic and lose the clear cut thought organization and focus that you’re supposed to have I guess. Even like, playing video games or something that’s supposed to be relaxing, I can’t just ‘jump into them’ and do whatever, usually any game I play (large ones at least, small 25 minute point and click adventure games don’t count of course), I have 7 - 10 pages of notes, do hours of research, look up most of the main spoilers, plan out and organize exactly how I’m going to play it and this and that, etc. lol...

So, that personality trait carries over into posting things online as well, I can’t just type something out quickly and hit ‘post’ without a second thought. Social media is hard for me because you’re supposed to use it casually, but I spend a long time re-reading drafted posts, thinking about them, etc. etc., and end up never actually getting around to posting anything. It’s not that I’m perfectionist about it and want it to be ‘good’ or appear a certain way, it’s just that my mind becomes preoccupied with things I guess. I’m a natural information gatherer, part of my natural way of processing things is to learn everything possible before acting, and I want to make sure I’ve fully thought about everything always, and know as much as I can (so I wouldn’t want to publicly say something without giving it a lot of consideration first, or post a picture without really thinking about if I want to post it, what my reasons behind posting it are (like if I’m posting something just for a validation of a certain aspect of myself VS. genuinely because I like it, etc.), if a few months from now I’ll still like that I posted it, etc. lol.. even with like silly cat photos or something, I have to analyze it and be like ‘hmm.. will I still stand by this picture in 4 months? why am I posting it publicly vs, just keeping it privately to myself on my computer? what’s important about it?’ etc. etc. ghgjhgjh.. like.. shut up lol.)

ANYWAY, yeah, I don’t know if it’s about wanting online content to be “good”, as much as it’s just like... I take everything way too seriously and am detail-oriented, contemplative, and analytical to a fault, which means it just takes me 10x longer to do basic ‘’simple’’ things that it would for other people. Though I can still be quite quick-thinking and decisive (I don’t often waver back and forth between things too long), it’s usually because I have years of thinking about the same exact things behind me, so I already am very clear on my opinions on stuff, to a point. But when it’s new things I’m less familiar with (like playing a new game, or posting regularly online), I’m still in a phase where I guess I have to give it a lot of thought. I just process things in a different way than other people I guess? Or have some inherent inability to be brief/concise/careless? If you’ve ever read any of my worldbuilding posts (where I usually start off wanting to explain one thing but then have to derail into 400 other misc. details and explanations and it ends up being a novel), then maybe it’s more evident what I mean, where it’s just like... my natural manner of speaking is Too Much.. I guess? Even this answer is winding and rambly, and I feel like other people could have answered this ask in only a few sentences lol..

If any of that makes sense? I don’t know how to describe how I am lol.. I just know it's hard to me to use social media in this ~~casual effortless~~ way most people seem to, since my brain is just inherently incapable of anything ‘’casual’’ or ‘’effortless’’ lol.. T u T ;;

6. " Hi! I hope this isn't weird to say, I'm designing a race for my DND campaign and some of the aesthetics are a little bit inspired by some of your costumes and makeup designs. You're awesome and your art is awesome so thanks : ) "

Thanks so much, I appreciate it! It’s always cool to hear I can inspire people~

(I usually don’t include many compliments in these ask compilation posts, but I always try to include a few, just to let people know that even if I don’t respond to all of them I do see them, and appreciate it!)

7. ???

I ended up cropping out this ask and not answering because some of the content was questionable (the reason WHY/how they wanted to make the character) in a way that I didn’t feel like getting into a long thing about, but part of it was relevant to making OCs in my world, so I will just make a quick comment:

I do state that this is a closed world, so I don’t want anyone making OCs of my species or etc. at least not at this point. Once my game is finished (if ever lol), or I write a few books or something, then I feel it would be understandable if people like, made up a background story for their player character and thus maybe could have some form of OC in my world and etc.. So I may be more relaxed on this in the future as I create content that people naturally would want to engage with , but for now, I’m still a very tiny creator with a closed world and it just doesn’t feel the same as like.. making an oc based on some thing in a big TV series or something. My worldbuliding and etc. is still very personal to me. Unless we’re directly collaborating on things (like mentioned here (link) a bit), or you’re a personal friend of mine who’s gotten involved in the world with my own guidance (meaning I could tell you lore things you’d need to know to make it accurate, etc.), then I don’t feel it’s appropriate for strangers to do at this point.

Especially since I don’t even have enough world info out for people to be able to reference (most species have half-complete guides, I’ve only ever talked about like, one continent, etc.). There are so many necessary details which I have only in my head and have never typed out, so again, idk, it’d just be weird. I’m not okay with it until I have a lot more lore published, and maybe a few actual works out there that people can reference/stories/games/basis for OCs to exist in the first place. If that makes sense?

8. "Hey, is it ok to use your outfit posts as inspiration for a dnd character? I love them so much, you have such a unique way of combining crazy patterns and fabrics into something that gives off a good vibe”

Yes, that would be fine! Thank you for asking, and I appreciate the compliments~ Hopefully I can get back to posting that sort of thing more often lol.. I’ve gotten WAY off my routine and haven’t done many outfits lately.. aaa

9. "hi Luca! i just wanted to say i really love all of your costumes and fashions and dress ups, its all so cool and pretty and interesting. i actually wanna dress up for fun for myself, and now that i know about the bins i think i'll try to convince my mom to take me to similar places for cheap clothing pieces, since my mom is worried about how much all this costume stuff costs. anyway, please keep posting your cool and beautiful stuff! "

Thank you so much! I wish you luck with your costumes! Yeah, I think there’s a common idea in a lot of fashion communities (like with makeup, costumes, etc.) that you have to always have high quality things to look nice, and even if sometimes you can do more with a little extra money, really you can make anything look good with what you have if you just combine it right. As I’ve always been quite low income, being into fashion and stuff has be discouraging at times, that I couldn’t afford certain materials or items, but you just have to find a niche where what you’re able to do works. For example, a lot of even ‘cheap’ lolita style clothings are too expensive for me (like $30 - $50 for a dress??? then the more pricey ones can be over $100???) lol.. BUT, then stuff like mori kei, cult party kei, fantasy costumes, etc. you can do with nearly any fabric you can find, and it’s still just as fun and creative. Most of the outfits I take pictures of probably cost me no more than $1 - $10 for every single item combined. Obviously it depends on location - I have better access now that I live near a place like the bins, which I understand there may not be similar resources in small towns or etc. But even with generic thrift stores (which may not be as cheap as the bins), you can still find pretty good alternatives to all the money it costs to buy things brand new. There’s still some stuff I legit just can’t do because I don’t have access to the materials, but for the most part I can manage everything I’d like with $3 eye-shadows and 15 cent tattered curtain fabrics lol. You can still do really cool stuff on a pretty nonexistent budget!

10. “do you have any tips on growing your hair long? is it expensive to up keep? i wanna grow mine out but it grows so slow!”

Well, I know nothing about hair and am not a hair stylist or etc. so I really don’t have any tips lol?? And I think hair maintenance depends a lot on the type of hair you have, not everyone’s is the same. I assume we must have similar hair (my natural hair is thick kind of coarse very dark brown/black hair, which is a bit wavy in some parts but mostly straight, but most of my hair currently (aside from the overgrown roots at the top) is altered because of damage from bleaching and etc., it’s more brittle. so that’s what I’ll be referencing) if you’re asking me this instead of someone else, but just know that whatever I say may not apply to you.

Anyway, I really don’t do anything to my hair to make it grow or etc., it’s just that I’ve gone a long time without cutting it lol. I used to cut it all the time or change styles, and now I’ve kind of just left it for 5 or 6 years or so. Because of my mental illness I have trouble maintaining personal care and etc., so I do sometimes go a week or more without washing it, even though I’m trying to work that into my schedule more (luckily I don’t have stinky head, I’ve heard some people’s scalp oils and stuff can smell weird if left for too long, I have the privilege of being able to like.. skip on hygiene a lot without it severely impacting my ability to do things or etc. since it’s usually not obvious if I haven’t bathed in a week or two).

My cat also EATS HUMAN HAIR for some reason, so I have to keep it up all the time, so that when I shed it doesn’t actually just fall loose onto the ground lol. Literally all I do to my hair is just keep it in two braids at all times and wash it with normal shampoo and conditioner occasionally, when I can. I really only think it’s gotten long because I’ve been leaving it alone and not messing with it, not really because of anything I’ve done (like I don’t use fancy products on it or etc.) And because of that, no, it’s not really expensive! It absolutely WOULD be if I were like..a normal functioning person and I regularly bleached it and dyed it and put products on it and styled it and used shampoo and conditioner every 1-3 days on it and etc. lol.. But I guess because I don’t do anything to it to maintain it, I’m not spending money on hairspray or dye or shampoo or etc. I used to bleach it a lot and straighten it and use hairspray and stuff on it, and it seems healthier (at least on the new top parts) now that I’m just ... ignoring it basically lol. But I don’t really know what to do to make it grow faster! I’m bad at self-care, and even if I do costumes and stuff, I really am not into beauty and hair and nails and makeup and stuff, so I’m probably the wrong person to ask hghjhb.. My upkeep routine is just... eat and sleep. wash face with water daily.. do extra stuff if you can manage to despite your functioning issues, etc. I’m definitely not a Beauty Advice person, I barely brush my hair even once a week lol

11. "Maybe you should reduce the number of races if it's too overwhelming? A world can still be immersive with only a few races in it."

(sidenote - Not to be nitpicky, but I make a specific point that the groups of fantasy creatures I create are species, not ‘’races’’, even though it is a commonly used term in fantasy worldbuilding, I think it’s inaccurate/weird )

I know I don’t have to make so many different groups, but, I guess I just really want it to be a broad setting. Part of the point in creating Nanyevimi (aside from worldbuilding just being extremely fun and a hobby greatly suited to someone with my personality traits lol) is to have an established world that I can do anything within, a framework already built where it'd be super easy to just drop a character anywhere on the map and already have an idea of what their culture, background, experiences, etc. would be based on pre-existing details about that portion of the world, etc. But I also want it to be broad, and varied, where every area kind of has it’s own dynamics going on there, so if you’re in a different place, you get a different kind of story. (like in an elven alliance city, you’d be better suited to tell an adventure story centering around complicated local politics, or city life, or etc.. whereas out in some isolated mountains in the south, it’d be more suited for a mystery story about stumbling across ancient ruins, or running into a mysterious traveler, etc.)

Which I guess doesn’t matter much, since I'm better at setting, world design, character design, planning, and details than I am at plot, so I probably won’t actually ever do anything with it (god forbid I tried to write a book or something with my utter inability to be concise/brief in any imaginable way). I can craft settings/characters/history/world-details all day endlessly, never losing inspiration or etc, but my weak point is actually telling stories within those settings and formulating a solid plan, organizing plot structures long term and etc.. Setting up everything for something to happen/creating a place where many interesting premises could occur is fine, but then actually thinking of how those things should OCCUR, or how the set up should play out, is where I get kind of lost. I guess the ideal at some point would be to have people working with me, helping when writing stories in my world/outlining games/etc, to add more cohesion/structure and reign in the unfocused stream of ideas, but that’s very unlikely since I don’t have any close friends that are good at organizing or plotting either, etc. BUT anyway, even if I can’t ever manage to do anything with it, the whole “having a setting I can use for anything I want if anything ever comes up, which is already established and thus makes it much easier to formulate ideas because all the background work is already done for myself” thing is at least a nice goal.. in concept...theoretically lol..

And, it’s not really too overwhelming, I think the overwhelming part is actually just formatting and producing those ideas in a consumable form. It’s not hard for me to keep track of 20 different groups and make backgrounds and every imaginable detail for them, but it IS hard to actually take all that information that exists in my head, type it out as a worldbuilding post, format and organize it, draw pictures to go with it, etc. If I could just post long stream of consciousness style 300,000 word long posts with no paragraph breaks, 4000 typos, barely any punctuation, etc., then I’d have A LOT more world-building info publicly available (since that’s what all the initial documents on my computer look like lol), but that’s just so inaccessible it’d be pointless to have public in the first place. The hard part isn’t really coming up with or managing the information, it’s just... organizing it all, and finding a way to share it.

12. "oh PLEASE tell me what boing peach beverage the elf looks like"

a quick sketch of them.. mysterious peach (and other produce) salesman

13. "fun question: what are ur fashion pet-peeves?"

Well, basically none because I hate when people are rigid over Fashion Rules or etc. Like, people who take pictures of others in public because they “look weird” , or who constantly trash on what people are allowed to wear, what patterns can be mixed with others, etc. etc. I get that some stuff can look kind of bad sometimes, and it’s not that I think nobody is allowed to criticize fashion trends or etc. (especially if they’re legitimately problematic, like of course someone wearing a homophobic t-shirt or doing blackface should be criticized), but I mean just like... that sort of trivial bitter criticism that doesn’t do anything but make people feel bad about the way they look or make them afraid to dress in ways they feel comfortable. Like taking a picture of someone and posting it online to make fun of them because they wore socks with sandals, or bullying 14 year olds who just started doing makeup and haven’t totally gotten their look sorted out yet, etc. etc. (ESPECIALLY since this can often intersect with classism, racism, etc. if you really examine what people mock as 'ugly' or 'unacceptable' styles, it's often stuff like men wearing dresses/makeup, women not shaving, clothing associated with poverty (like wearing “”cheap”” clothes), physical traits commonly associated with poc, making fun of people who look a certain way likely due to mental illness (like fidgeting, dirty mismatched clothing, carrying stuffed animals or comfort items in public etc.), etc. etc.

I find costumes and makeup and outfits to be a very cool and fun way to express myself. So when people are complete freaks about it and set out to just relentlessly make others feel bad for no good reason, it’s like... obnoxious... How can you take something with so much potential and limit it and close others off and turn it into this rigid hateful thing, when it should be something that everyone is able to be passionate about and appreciate?? Outside appearance isn't everything, but it's a tool of expression for so many people and can relate to who they are as a person, people should never feel uncomfortable to be who they are or look how they look just because some dumbass rich person writing for a style magazine has the gall to declare some random thing to be 'Unfashionable' despite not having a genuinely creative bone in their body, or some bigot thinks that certain things are ‘ugly’ or ‘unprofessional’ due to their own mental associations, etc.

But anyway, I guess if I had to choose a few things that I just think look kind of odd to me personally/are generally off-putting...

--- the overdrawing lips thing when you can see the persons actual lip-line and it almost looks like they have two mouths or something? (if not done intentionally for costume makeup). It can look a little strange to me sometimes, like an optical illusion where you see multiple mouth lines at once?? idk like this?

--- freckles that are just round circles and really heavy and don’t look realistic (though again, I also realize this could just be the person’s first time drawing them on or something and I’m not mocking for lack of skill, etc. I just mean that it’s a little strange to look at, not actually BAD though) (and it can also be intentional, like for a cartoony costume look) ---- People adopting cutesy/childlike fashion and clothing and sexualizing it or using it as part of their sex/kink stuff.. I just feel like anything associated with children should not be sexualized..? If the first thing someone thinks when seeing children's school uniforms or frilly little girl’s doll dresses or whatever is that it could be a Hot Thing then hhh... like why is your brain making those connections lol.. People can dress how they want for whatever reasons they want, but that’s always personally creeped me out a little. Similar to our culture’s obsession with looking young being ‘hot’ (like a grown man wanting someone who’s a legal adult but still “looks 16″ or etc.), where it’s like.. okay, I guess yeah outwardly you can make that choice, and maybe aren’t directly causing harm, but.. the underlying tones of it and etc. still make it very unsettling to witness lol... ---- anything appropriated obviously, as well as fetishization or bastardization of cultures, like t-shirts with Japanese writing on them Just For Aesthetic, or taking certain culturally or religiously significant symbols or etc. and adopting them as ‘just a silly fashion’ thing when you’re actually being disrespectful, etc. ---- those shorts or whatever that go up extremely high on the hipbones always look a little weird to me lol, like they give a person funny proportions,

(you may have to right click open image in new window and zoom to see the text, but it’s like.. the blank space makes it look kind of weird to me? Like there’s too much where there’s just nothing going on? idk. That’s just my personal preference though, obviously I tend to lean towards busy designs lol)

That’s all I can think of though, like I said, I’m really not picky or judgy about fashion since I think people should be able to do whatever they want for the most part. I’m not like a “omg stripes should NEVER be worn with plaid!!” type person or something lol.

14. "Hey Luca! I love when you post about your world. Do you have a favorite species you've made up so far? Also, I hope you're holding up well during the crisis!"

AAaa thanks! I’m okay mostly. It’s distressing since because of my particular mental illness I already have constant paranoia and obsessions about health, so of course hearing about so much illness can be really triggering constantly and I’m preoccupied in never-ending anxiety spirals about mortality and etc. etc. etc. , but situationally, I’m just very thankful that nobody in my household has gotten sick yet and I desperately wish that will continue to be the case. *** *** ***

(ignore the *** *** *** , this is a text version of a physical compulsion (a hand movement) that I have to do when I mention certain topics lol.. the little man in my brain that controls my obsessive compulsive disorder says I must do certain things after saying or thinking certain things,, You Know How It Is )

And I really love worldbuilding questions, so thank you so much!!!!! Hghgh maybe it seems weird to favor any over the others, but of course I really like the Avirre'thel. Conceptually, I think their origin story and connection to ancient elves and their abilities and etc. put them in a really unique position in the broader world (some of the only truly immortal people to exist, the only people who can still decipher ancient elven texts in a way that makes sense, etc. etc.). Since Nanyevimi (my world) is really just a setting being built so that in the future I can set things within it (games, short stories, etc.), I think I'm drawn to the aspects of it that have the most potential to make interesting characters, and there are definitely a lot of pre-established dynamics with the Avirre'thel/in Navyete (their home country) as a whole that would make it an good place to set certain things, or a good group for a main character to be from, etc.

I do really like the Jhevona as a species overall too, even if I haven't developed them as much, they also kind of stand out as having some fairly unique features that put them in an interesting position in the world (being one of the most magically capable groups that exists but that also having downsides (health issues and infertility from magic exposure, etc.), how the necessity to keep control over their magic influences their culture, being some of the only natural shape-shifters, etc.). Within that, I REALLY love the Thastanri (a subspecies of Jhevona), like their connection to dreams, the Imkasyn, being one of the last few peoples in contact with real dragons, etc. etc. There are a lot of complex things going on in their area, so there’d be a lot of potential to tell a variety of stories or have interesting characters from that group.

AND, though it's supposed to be Unknown in the world so I won't talk about it just in case I ever write a book one day or something and need to preserve at least a FEW mysteries that I don't just outright explain in worldbuilding posts, Jhevona do have the most interesting origins of any species in my opinion. There are some things from before the timeline break sort of thing (where all recorded history was seemingly wiped and everyone had a big memory loss about 50,000 yrs ago) that people aren't aware of anymore... but Jhevona used to have a cool backstory and quite interesting function in society prior to that. There are some remnants in the genetics of the species and how their magic works (at least for certain groups) that kind of hint at how ancient Jhevona used to look and what they used to do, even though in the modern day things are very different.

15. "Top 10 songs you've been listening to lately?"

I don’t have a top 10 since I listen to everything for different reasons, and don’t have as deep a relationship with music the way some people do (like I don’t really have a favorite band or group I have a connection with that’s “gotten me through hard times”, or music I cry to/any songs that are specifically personally emotionally meaningful to me, etc., etc.), but here’s a quick playlist of a few favorite-ish things I’ve had in my head a lot recently -

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPmQ4SZdFFHNkgKo7nAiEMgVvLcycX5Qc

the last song on the list specifically I’ve been replaying a lot for some reason, I guess since it’s good background music as there’s no words. Particularly the part that starts around like 38 seconds in, something about that melody reminds me of something distant, in a dreamlike way. The past few days I mostly alternate between that song, Outstanding, and And The Beat Goes On lol

16. " Do you ever sell sculptures? I really like that little fawn!"

Yeah, I hope to eventually! Like I mentioned in question number three, if I can set up some sort of way to do auctions or etc, then maybe I can sell that one!

17 & 18 : '"aaa yay!! i missed your outfits!!!" / "can I just say love ur outfits! They're so cool and inspire me to draw my ocs with new outfits > o < and I love your cat too, please give him a big ol pat!"

Thank you!!!! more compliments posted just to show I appreciate them lol, even if I don’t publicly respond to every one~ And, the Boyes appreciate the pats.. here is them.. big babbeys...

#it bothers me still that I didn't take all the screenshots the same way and there's different colors of nu #mbers and etc. lol.... but some of those are from 4 months ago or more and I had already deleted the original ask #from my inbox so I can't go rescreencap it to match the others..#this is the issue inherent in taking so long to answer things that I just respond in large batches lol #replies #okay also I know it's been months but... one of you has to like this post or at least show you read/interacted with my #response somehow because I cannot spend like 4-5 hours typing stuff for others if nobody will read it ghghg #( i know i make it take longer by being rambly and etc. but.. still...)#I'm sorry they sat in my inbox a long time and etc. but... also..... my pwecious time and effort #i hope at least one of the people I'm responding to sees that i did indeed reply to them lol

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