#Soiled Doves and Other Adventurers | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

skyloftian-nutcase · 2 years ago

Note

Smth fluffy with Four and... how about Hyrule, for the writing prompts? Maybe they go exploring together or smth.

(@tempestraccoon @artisticgamer @luckybyrdrobyn)

This developed into a whole freaking fic, so here you :)

(AO3 link)

With a new world to explore, the team had split to cover more ground and get a better understanding of where they were. Four and Hyrule had paired up and were spending some amicable time chatting and wandering the forest before it slanted downward into a gorge, rock replacing soil, mossy stone replacing trees, and a mist overtook them quickly. When they reached the open maw of an enormous cave, Hyrule immediately pulled out a candle, lighting it with a flick of magic.

Four stared at the cave hesitantly, glancing back at the mist that encased them. The world around them was lost in hazy white. "We should inform the others before we go too far."

Hyrule shot a cheeky grin over his shoulder. "What's the matter? You scared of a dungeon?"

Four pursed his lips, mildly annoyed. He wasn't scared, thank you very much. He just wanted to be sure everyone was informed. Communication was important in--

"Hey!" he shouted as Hyrule wandered ahead, heedless of his statement. "Ugh, fine, wait for me!"

The fog seeped into the cave alongside the teenagers, reflecting Hyrule's candlelight. It danced and swirled, creating false movement that made both of them jump, though it was clear Four had a bit more apprehension to him than Hyrule did. When the traveler giggled at Four jumping once more, reaching for his blade as the fog teased him again with its motions, the smithy grumbled and marched forward blindly, smacking face first into a stone wall.

"You okay?" Hyrule asked.

Four rubbed his nose and felt the cool, damp stone. "Yeah, but we're either walking in circles or this cave isn't actually a dungeon."

Hyrule squinted, moving his candle forward a little bit. As he glanced around the space, Four noticed cracks in the walls, water dribbling lazily along the paths they created. Then he smiled.

"Wait!" he pushed Hyrule away from the wall and pulled out a bomb. "I have an idea."

He lit and tossed the bomb quickly, and both heroes grabbed their shields to protect themselves from the blast after taking a few steps away. The explosion rocked the cave and shoved the fog out of the space, giving them a clear path ahead through the jagged hole Four had created. The water dripped more heavily now, and the two walked ahead side by side. A pressure difference between the cave's entrance and the dungeon proper blew out Hyrule's candle, and their faces were lit with the glow of multicolored crystals, radiating the space in an enchanting splendor. The pair smiled as one and rushed ahead, original mission forgotten.

The entrance to the dungeon was enormous, with high stone ceilings and stalactites and stalagmites creating pillars that served as canvases for the reflective light emitting from the pools of water in the area. A waterfall was at the far side, spraying the area with mist.

"It's a water temple!" Four breathed with wonder.

"What are we waiting for?" Hyrule exclaimed with a laugh, grabbing Four's wrist. "Let's go!"

"Wait we need to find the next door--"

"I see it, it's behind the waterfall!"

Hyrule reached into his adventure pouch and pulled out an entire raft, tossing it onto the water and hopping aboard before dragging Four. The pair attempted to steer the little raft with their hands, but the current of the waterfall was too strong, so Four slipped his flippers on and dove into the water to push the raft while Hyrule cheered him on and assisted as best he could.

As soon as they'd cleared the waterfall, the current stopped pushing against them and instead pulled so harshly Four nearly lost grip of the raft entirely. Hyrule hastily dragged him aboard as the entrance behind the waterfall quickly turned into a water slide, leaving both boys yelling as they slid with a speed Four didn't even want to fathom.

The tunnel swiveled back and forth, pushing the raft nearly onto the walls entirely as they splashed back and forth, making their way to the bottom. Eventually it ended in yet another waterfall, sending the boys flying off Hyrule's raft and straight into the frigid depths.

Four's flippers allowed for him to move briskly, grabbing Hyrule and dragging him to the surface just in time to see a snakelike water monster with teeth the length of Four's hands speeding towards them. Four yelped, pulling Hyrule with him as he desperately searched for the raft. Instead, he found a singular small island made of stone and made a beeline for it as the monster attracted more similar looking friends, all snapping at his heels.

The boys crashed onto the island, one of Four's flippers caught the eel's teeth. The smithy let out a yell, and Hyrule dug his blade into the eel's forehead, making it release his friend. The pair panted for air as the remainder of the beasts swirled the island just out of reach.

"Now what?" Hyrule muttered as Four examined his thankfully undamaged flipper. The room was eerily lit, bathed in red light from crystals in the walls and the earth below. It stained the water a murky burgundy color and outlined the silhouettes of countless amphibious beasts.

"These dungeons usually have themes," Four surmised, rising and looking around. "The entrance had lots of colors, for instance. This room is only red. Maybe there's something from that?"

"Fire!" Hyrule said with a clap of his hands.

"Traveler, we don't always have to set things on fire," Four deadpanned. Honestly, the freckled teenager was worse than Wild sometimes.

"No, look!" Hyrule pointed up. Four followed his finger and traced around the large area, spotting four stalactites with single candle chandeliers hanging from each. The candles were unlit.

Four's smile matched Hyrule's. "Okay, fire it is!"

Hyrule focused, his eyes glowing mildly in the darkness as he thrust his sword towards one of the chandeliers, sending a fireball towards it. It hit the stalactite just above, and the traveler huffed a little.

"It's so dark," he grumbled. "Let me try again."

Four watched him hesitantly. "Traveler, doesn't that spell take a lot of energy?"

"It's only four candles," Hyrule said dismissively.

"Yeah, which means you have to cast it four times, assuming you hit it the first time," Four noted. "We should go back and--"

Four stopped mid sentence with the grim realization that they couldn't go back. He couldn't swim against that current while pulling Hyrule along.

Great. He shouldn't have gone along with this... but he had to admit his curiosity was piqued at this point. He just wished he'd been a bit more prepared for it.

"What if we make our own fire arrows?" Four suggested. He grabbed five arrows from his quiver and placed them on the ground. "Use your spell to light the tips and then we can fire them at the candles."

Hyrule brightened at that. "Okay!"

With a brief moment of concentration, he swung his sword once more as it sent a blaze of energy outward.

Four realized his mistake just before the spell made contact with the arrows. Hyrule quickly recognized the issue immediately afterward.

The arrows were a sad little pile of ash with a black spot burnt into the stone.

"We need less fire."

"Yeah."

The pair was silent as they pondered the dilemma, and Hyrule snapped his fingers. "What about the candle? We can light the arrows with the flame from the wick."

Four smiled in delight. "That just might work!"

With that, Hyrule pulled out his candle and lit it carefully. Four crouched down to light the tip of an arrow, which slowly warmed before flames licked at the wood around the stony point. Four aimed hastily, the flames moving quickly up the shaft, and let the arrow loose.

Just a hair too short.

Biting his lip, he tried again, and this time the arrow flew true. Both heroes jumped and laughed with glee. Hyrule aimed next, his arrow managing to hit the candle while Four lit the opposite one.

Four's chest bubbled with excitement as they worked together. He was used to working as a group, but it was literally with himself. This was filling a void he didn't even realize he'd had.

He supposed he didn't realize how lonely being his own companion could be. He'd had Ezlo on his first journey, at least. But here he didn't just have a companion, he had an equal, a fellow Hero of Courage.

He was suddenly grateful they'd stumbled onto this place.

With the final candle lit, the room shuddered, and the water around them drained down to the stone at the bottom. The volatile fish flailed helplessly, and Four and Hyrule eagerly jumped down and eliminated them with their swords. Hyrule retrieved his raft, stuffing it back into his pouch, and the pair looked around for clues.

The entranceway to the next room became apparent when they turned to look back at their little stone island. The base of it held an open doorway, with stairs leading downward.

Hyrule raised his candle while Four grabbed his lantern, and the pair walked down a spiraling staircase together. The red glow of the previous room faded, leaving them with their respective lights to guide the way.

"I missed this," Hyrule commented. "Adventuring isn't all about just fighting monsters, you know? It's about discovering things and figuring out puzzles!"

Four had to laugh at that. "My adventures were usually kicked off by something, rather than looking for puzzles to solve. But I have to admit, they are fun."

As is the company.

"I wonder when we'll find the compass and map," Four thought aloud.

Hyrule waved a dismissive hand and trilled his lips. "We'll figure it out, don't worry."

Four shot him a flat look, but any response from him was interrupted as they entered a new room.

This new room was smaller than the previous, but had a taller ceiling. The crystals here glowed bright blue, and there were holes in the ground where water would spout out with enough pressure to create a geyser that nearly reached the stalactites. When Four traced up the geyser's path, he saw handles hanging from the stalactites just above them. The room had multiple platforms, most of which were far out of Four and Hyrule's reach, and the floor was littered with what looked like lily pads and little glowing stones of different shapes. They almost looked like kinstones!

"Well... water's the theme for this room, I guess," Hyrule surmised, staring at the geysers. "But I wonder what the end goal is?"

"I don't see an exit," Four commented as he glanced around the room. "I mean, there are platforms, but..."

He trailed off as his eyes hit something that looked eerily familiar. It was a symbol in the opposite wall, carved in and glowing bright blue. It consisted of two parallel lines pointing straight downward before angling together to join at a point.

The point had a key hole in it.

"We're looking for a key," Four breathed, his mind buzzing with all the ideas that were floating through it. What was that symbol? Why was it familiar? How were they going to find a key when there were no treasure chests in the room? Did they miss something in the previous room?

"Maybe one of the levers reveals a chest?" Hyrule suggested, staring at the geysers.

"Let's see," Four offered, walking towards one of the geysers. He placed his shield over the hole when the water settled and waited. When the pressure built up and the geyser returned, it shot him into the air with a yelp. He did his best to maintain his balance, excited and terrified all at the same time, and was satisfied when he felt even on his feet. Reaching up, he stretched his fingers to grasp the lever...

Only to realize he was too short to reach it, even with the help of the water geyser.

Hyrule laughed. "Need a hand?"

Four's very sour response was cut off when the geyser settled, sending him falling to the ground. Hyrule ran over to try and catch him and only succeeded in serving as a cushion as Four landed directly on him. Both teenagers groaned, slowly disentangling themselves from each other just in time to roll out of the way as the geyser returned.

When the water subsided, Hyrule pulled out his own shield to emulate Four's previous action. The smithy simply huffed, crossing his arms and watching as Hyrule was blasted into the air. The traveler reach and managed to curl his fingers around the handle, and when the geyser disappeared, Hyrule maintained his hold, preventing him from falling rapidly and also yanking the lever downward.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then all the holes in the floor gurgled, water slowly rising out of them. It started to flood the room, and Four looked around wildly for a place to climb. There were still those elevated platforms--

Oh, wait, the lily pads were rising too! Those gems on them had to be useful for something.

Of course, the real concern was whether the water was going to continue rising and they'd have to flee into the stairwell so they wouldn't drown.

Four began to worry when the water reached up to his chest, and he called for Hyrule to let go so they could get out of there, and then the bubbling from the holes suddenly stopped.

"Each lever is for a different water level," Hyrule explained from where he hung, pointing to the platforms. "Look! You can push the lily pads to the first platform!"

With a relieved sigh, Four slowly waddled through the water before giving up and just swimming. Putting his flippers on made the venture much faster, and he started tracking down lily pads. But it soon became apparent that they weren't just floating pads, but had stalks attached that would only stretch so far.

Some of the pads wouldn't reach the platform. And the platform had lily pads as well, with some gems matching the ones on their level.

"Okay," Four parsed out. "This platform has a purple and a red stone, and they're cut a certain way. The main level has purple, red, orange, green, and pink."

Hyrule finally let go of the lever, tucking in his legs to land smoothly in the water. Immediately, the water began to recede.

"Wait!" Four shouted, but it was too late. The room dried out, and the geysers returned.

Hyrule and Four both sighed. This might take a while to figure out.

Or it might take multiple people to pull levers.

Four shook his head. He'd cross that bridge if need be, but he'd rather not. Not if there was another solution. Most dungeons were designed to be solvable alone.

Well. Mostly. Sort of.

The pair spent the next five minutes figuring out which lever did what and how they could use it to their advantage. There were three in total, one on the left, one in the center, and one on the right. The one on the left brought the lowest level of water, center brought highest, and right bright medium. The geysers didn't come when any lever was activated, and it would only stay that way while Hyrule was actively hanging off it.

It was a good thing there was two of them. Four would have definitely had to split to solve this room. Hyrule would have had to figure something else out entirely.

The real issue was trying to match the stones with whatever platform was closest based on the stalk length. It quickly became apparent that not only did they need to match the color, but also the shape - certain stones fit together. The red created a handle, the purple a stalk, the pink and orange were the biting edge of the key, and the green slid overtop the blade end of the purple stalk. At least, that's what Four had managed to figure out. He was fairly good at matching stones together, after all.

Hyrule worked on which water level to choose while Four ascertained how to fit the pieces together. Together, the pair managed to finally get the key assembled, and Hyrule finally fell into the water as Four swam to the last destination. The water drained out of the room, and all that was left was to go to the symbol.

Hyrule flexed his fingers, rubbing his hands against his tunic as Four shivered a little from being completely soaked. "That took a bit of work, but it was fun! I'm glad you were here, that would have taken forever to solve by myself."

"You figured out the water levels," Four pointed out with a smile. He wasn't going to admit that he was grateful for other reasons, but he did feel compelled to remind the traveler that he was just as good at these puzzles as Four.

Hyrule shrugged sheepishly. "Let's figure out what this leads to. Do you think it's a boss key? Maybe this is a mini-dungeon."

Four had to admit, he was starting to hope it was. They didn't have food provisions, and it felt like it had been hours since he'd last eaten. Still, he was willing to continue on this adventure with his friend.

The pair walked to the wall, and Four slowly inserted the key into the symbol, gently pushing it along so it slid into place.

The wall shuddered and split right down the center of the symbol, pulling it apart and revealing the next room. As Hyrule and Four entered, the wall slammed shut behind them, making both jump a little before they tensed with anticipation.

This had to be a boss room.

The area consisted of multiple stone islands that shifted, rising and falling above the water level. The only island that remained stagnant was against the opposite wall, and it was entirely taken up by an enormous purple clam shell that was closed. A single, solitary lever hung from a stalactite in the center of the room.

"So is the boss in the water, or in the shell?" Four whispered.

"Guess there's only one way to find out," Hyrule noted, stepping ahead.

Four sighed and followed, examining the surroundings to see what they could use to their advantage. The clam shell opened slowly, making both heroes freeze, and Four felt his heart stop for a moment.

Was that Sky?

Someone who looked just like Sky was lying motionless in the clam. Had the boss monster gotten hold of their friend?

"Sky!" Four called out, rushing ahead and skipping over multiple islands as Hyrule yelled after him.

"Smithy, wait! We don't know if--"

Hyrule's words were drowned out in the echoing chamber as Four called out again to get their brother's attention. How had Sky gotten down here? Had he solved all the puzzles only to get defeated at this point? What was that beast doing to him?

Where was his companion? Sky had gone off with Warriors! Where was the captain?!

Four finally reached the stone that had the clam and then he felt his stomach lurch in realization.

Sky's legs, which were hidden from a distance, weren't legs at all.

They were a white tail.

"What in the name of--" Four choked back the rest of his exclamation when Sky's eyes snapped open to reveal nothing but blood red staring at him, and he let out a hiss with sharp teeth.

"Four, get away from it, that's not Sky!!" Hyrule shouted. "It's a shapeshifting beast, get out of there!"

Four leapt off the platform and gasped as the island he landed on slid into the water. The beast pulled itself out of the clam shell with unnerving speed before dragging itself into the water. Four felt his heart jolt knowing he was in the monster's element and had little chance in fighting it while in the water. At leas the could swim a little faster with--

His world lurched as the beast grabbed him by the leg, its claws digging into him as he let out a scream of pain. Then it lurched again when its squealed and released him and he was yanked out by his tunic. Hyrule was on his raft, bow in hand as the beast pulled an arrow out of its arm. At least it now held very little resemblance to Sky aside from its hair and facial structure. The fangs, claws, red eyes, and fin left very little doubt that it was not, in fact, their friend.

But what if it was Sky?! What if something had changed him, had made him into a beast?! If Twilight could use shadow magic to turn into a wolf, what could stop something else from turning one of their brothers into a monster?

Hyrule fired off another arrow, which the beast swatted easily with its tail before tearing after them at a speed that made Four want to scream. An island erupted up beneath them, beaching the raft and saving them temporarily as the beast backed off and circled the land. When it tried to breach the surface and pull itself ashore, Hyrule loosed another arrow, making the beast hiss and retreat.

"Smithy, you have to snap out of it!" Hyrule yelled. "It isn't Sky!"

The ground shuddered, indicating that the island was about to disappear. Four took a breath, focusing, and pulled out a bomb, nodding at Hyrule, who followed suit. The pair drew the beast out so it surfaced and threw bombs just as the island vanished beneath them. The blast pushed the raft away a good distance while also throwing the beast back with a shriek.

"The only way we can fight that thing is by drawing it to land," Hyrule said, looking around for the other islands.

"The land doesn't stick around long enough to do that!" Four argued. Then he glanced upward. "Wait--we need to figure out what that lever does, but there's no geyser or way to get to it!"

"Leave that to me," Hyrule said with firm resolve, eyes narrowed in determination. "We just need to steer it that way. I'll cover you, but you'll have to push the raft."

The two looked at each other a moment, a silent question passing between them. Four nodded. He could handle it. Slipping into the water, he started to steer the raft with as much haste as he could muster, slipping his power bracelets on to help him. Between the two items they moved almost as quickly as the beast.

Almost.

The creature started to gain on them just as they reached the center of the room. Hyrule crouched down, arrow nocked and ready, but Four called out to say they were approaching. There was no way they were going to be able to linger in the center, so whatever trick Hyrule had up his sleeve he had to pull it while they were moving.

The traveler glanced upward, calcualting the distance, and put his bow and arrow away. He took a deep breath and leapt, magic pushing outward as he flew high into the air, grabbing hold of the lever just as the beast snagged Four's leg once more. Four yelled and kicked, trying to pull himself onto the raft when the water started swirling, pulling both him and the beast in a whirlpool that had begun to form. Four grew both dizzy and nauseous, adrenaline making him try to keep track of where the monster was, to the point that he lost sight of his own surroundings until he slammed into one of the islands that had risen up.

Groaning, he held onto the island for dear life, shoving a hand into his pouch to find his grip ring so he could try to scale the slippery stone. The beast screamed as it tore by him continuously, trying to reach him with each successive pass. Four eventually started to climb, coughing out water and choking out, "Don't let go!"

"Are you okay?!" he could barely hear Hyrule, but the words were clear enough in his ringing mind.

Gasping for air, Four managed to drag himself to the top of the island only for it to sink, plunging him into the whirlpool once more, though this time, the water had seemed to have gotten shallower.

Ah. Because there was a giant endless pit in the center of the room now.

Swimming frantically, he and the beast both barely managed to escape falling into the hole, leaving them floundering on the stony ground that was revealed. outlines of islands that had been rising and sinking were apparent now, and Four scrambled for one, tripping over his flippers as the tailed beast tried to drag itself towards him.

Well, at least they had managed to beach the creature.

Groaning, Four finally made it to the island as it rose, holding his leg that had now been injured twice. Blood was oozing out of multiple cuts, some deep enough to make his stomach mildly queasy. He pulled off the flippers no longer needing them, and looked up at Hyrule, who was watching him worriedly.

"I'm fine!" he called. "Just don't let go! This is the only way we're going to be able to fight it!"

Hyrule nodded, his eyes still worried, but his face was set in stone.

Four readied himself, drawing his sword and shield as the island fell, taking him with it. The beast was awaiting him, pushing its torso into the air with its tail as it snarled and reached out for him with its claws. He deflected a blow with his shield, reaching in to attack it before getting smacked away by its tail, which was surprisingly limber despite its thickness.

And goddesses above, it hurt.

With the wind knocked out of him, Four took too long to recover as the beast half dragged, half slithered its way to him. He yelped and pulled out a bomb, but he was cornered and would either blow himself up in the process or run right into the beast's clutches.

This was getting out of hand. He needed Hyrule's help.

Well. What he needed was an extra fighter.

He was outmaneuvered and he knew it. He could either shrink down to try and be harder to reach (and probably get squished in the process) or...

Gritting his teeth, he squeezed the handle of his sword tightly, feeling the magic activate. His mind screamed, his body felt suddenly too tight and too loose, his sternum felt like it was being ripped in half twice over. Rage at the monster, worry over whether it truly was a shapeshifter or not, logic telling him to focus on the moment, and a desire to protect Hyrule and get them out of here split into pieces, becoming overwhelming voices driving him insane until they separated entirely. The beast quadrupled in appearance, magic sealed the tears in his very being, and the four colors stood in the original hero's stead, glaring at the beast with equal measure.

Blue growled, swinging his his blade at the beast's arm as Red flinched a little, looking away from its face. Vio watched the monster move as Green charged ahead as well, aiming for its other arm.

The beast flinched back, overwhelmed and caught off guard. Blue let out a laugh. "Yeah, take that you asshole!"

"Does it even have one...?" Vio wondered quietly before shaking his head. "We need to corner it."

"We're absolutely sure it isn't Sky, right?" Red asked in spite of edging a head, blade at the ready.

"Trust the Traveler!" Green said as he circled around to get behind the monster.

Red nodded and glanced up worriedly at said Hero to find Hyrule staring at them with wide eyes. A different worry crossed Red's face and then he shook his head.

"Let's go!" Blue shouted as he charged once more since Green and Vio flanked the beast. Its tail whipped around to knock Vio back only for Green to leap on top of it and stab into it. The beast shrieked, distrated and aiming its claws for Green just as Red bashed its arm away with his shield while Blue cut into its skin, only to find that its flesh was much thicker than expected. The beast flailed even more, screeching, knocking Green off and flinging Vio across to a rock island just as it rose, knocking him out cold. Red called out to his companion, but Green waved him off.

"Not now!" he said. "We need to kill it before it can hurt anybody else!"

"Pin it in place!" Hyrule called from where he was. "Bring it beneath where I am and pin it in place!"

The three immediately knew what the traveler had in mind and nodded with smiles. Blue led it first, cutting and tucking himself to roll and avoid a counterattack. The beast's tail whirled, stopping by Green's shield, even though it did make the hero stumble. The three slowly started to corral the beast towards the center of the room, careful to dodge islands as they moved. Eventually, Green looked up and smirked.

"We got him!" he said to the other two. "Now keep it here!"

Red thrust his sword forward to make the beast hiss and recoil a little, only for Blue to yell and land a cut on its back. It pivoted in place, trying to keep the three at bay, and Green called, "Now!"

Hyrule let go, pulling out his sword. He tucked his legs above his blade, and just as Blue drove the beast away just a hair, Hyrule's blade sank into its spine with a clean slice, the sound of steel cutting to bone whirling around the room as the water had before.

The world stilled for a moment and then the beast collapsed. Hyrule rolled off, pulling out his blade in a swift motion.

"HELL YEAH!" Blue yelled, bumping elbows with the traveler. "That was a great move, Traveler!"

Red smiled encouragingly before rushing off towards Vio. Hyrule stared at the four, baffled, and then ran after Red just as the other two Colors did. Water was already pooling, filling the room back up as the beast disintegrated into dust. Red quickly pulled Vio off the ground so he wouldn't drown.

"Okay, but how--?" Hyrule asked, pointing at all of them. "What?"

Green sighed as Blue helped Red prop Vio against the wall. "The Four Sword is able to, well, split us into four people. It's... uncomfortable magic, but it has its uses."

"Wait, so are you, like four people or are you..." Hyrule stopped mid question, shaking his head. "You know what, never mind. Let me take a look at him."

Pulling out his raft, he motioned for eveyrone to get aboard just as the water started reaching their knees, and then he knelt by Vio. Letting his hands glow, he hovered them over Vio's head, and the purple clad hero started to groan and move a little.

"Did we win...?" he slurred.

Blue smiled. "Yeah."

Vio's gaze shifted to Hyrule, and he stiffened a little. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi," Hyrule greeted with a smile beforelooking at all of them. "So... wait... if one of you is injured, does that mean you all are? Because the rest of you..."

"We'll have a headache when we rejoin," Green explained. "But it looks like you cleared up the worst of it, anyway."

"Thanks, Traveler," Red said, face beaming. "You're always so willing to help, we really appreciate you."

Hyrule flushed, a little embarrassed and not sure how to take the compliment, and Green took that as a cue.

"Come on," he prompted, reaching for his sword. The others nodded, mirroring him, and before Hyrule could blink the four were one once more.

Four groaned, a little woozy, and Hyrule immediately helped him sit on the raft.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Four nodded, swallowing bile. His thoughts were going to be a disaster for the next day or so, but he'd live. He felt too big and too small, too whole and too broken. He hated splitting.

Movement distracted him, and he blinked the blurriness away in the distance to see the clam shell that held the beast moving aside. Pointing it out, he let Hyrule steer the raft towards the island as they saw an exit glowing in the wall.

"No prize?" Hyrule huffed.

"Wait, I think I see a chest!" Four said, just as eager as Hyrule to find something after all that headache.

The chest was white in color, intricate carvings embroidering its surface, and the pair squeezed together to open it, eyes wide with eager curiosity.

There was a manuscript made of violet crystal, notes carved into its shimmering surface.

"A melody?" Hyrule reached into his adventure pouch and pulled out a flute, glancing at the tablet for a moment before hesitantly playing notes. He stumbled over a few as Four listened, and then the smithy pulled out an ocarina and tried it as well.

"I wonder what it does?" Four asked as Hyrule continued practicing. He looked around to see if the exit was visible before realizing the bright light was just coming from a hole far, far above them. How were they going to get up there?

Sighing, he glanced back and nearly jumped out of his skin as he screamed. Hyrule immediately stopped playing and whirled, only to be met with the same sight.

The beast was back. But now it looked like Hyrule, and its reddish eyes were a soft pink, its face calm and placid, its posture demure and curious.

Four added shapeshifters to his list of most disturbing things I've encountered. As if his mind wasn't spinning enough.

"The melody pacifies it!" Hyrule realized. "Smithy, this is our ticket out of here!"

Comprehension dawned on Four, and he hesitantly reached forward. The world spun dizzyingly as his brain panicked over only having one arm reach forward and not four, and he shook his head to rid himself of the feeling. Hyrule steadied him, watching him worriedly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked softly as the beast cocked its head to the side curiosity, Four's own face staring back at him.

"Yeah," Four answered shakily. "It's... not something I usually like doing. Splitting, I mean. It's... a lot."

"No kidding," Hyrule acknowledged. "Is that why you haven't told anyone?"

"Champion knows," Four remarked.

Their conversation was interrupted as the shapeshifter moved a little, growing tense. Hyrule put his flute to his lips and played again, and the beast settled.

"Can you take us to the surface?" Four asked the creature.

Hyrule's beastly mirror image smiled and wiggled to face the entrance back to the boss room. It dragged itself gently to the water and slid in before looking back at them.

"Do you think you have to play the entire time?" Four whispered through the corner of his mouth as he gave a hesitant thumbs up to the beast.

"Maybe one more time for good measure," Hyrule threw back with a nervous laugh.

After ensuring the sea creature was indeed pacified, the pair gingerly slipped into the water. The beast wrapped an arm around each of them and swam swiftly, tearing downward into the gaping maw that sucked the water out before. Four and Hyrule glanced at each other through the water, holding their breath and trying not to panic, but then light started to shine as they zipped through the hole. A kaleidoscope of colors danced before them as they passed walls littered with glittering crystals of varying hues, and they quickly breached the surface.

They were back at the main entrance room, the waterfall crashing behind them.

"Thank you," Four said. The beast hummed and sank back into the water.

"All that just to learn how to charm a sea monster," Hyrule said softly. Then he sighed and smiled. "At least it was an adventure!"

Four huffed out a laugh. Yes, he supposed it was. But there was still one question that lingered in his mind, and no doubt was in Hyrule's as well as the pair exited the cave entirely.

"Smithy! Traveler!"

The pair jumped and looked ahead to see that the mist had cleared, revealing Sky and Warriors heading their way.

"Oh, did you find the cave too?" Warriors questioned as he approached them, sharp eyes scanning for injuries. He lingered on Four, probably immediately noticing the blood stains on his leg and head.

"Yeah!" Hyrule nodded, though his excitement wasn't quite as bright as it had been when they'd entered. "Wait, did you guys find it too?"

"Alongside a vile creature, yes," Warriors remarked. Then he clapped Sky on the back. "Sky managed to land the killing blow."

The realization snapped into place with resounding clarity.

"It takes the form of whatever defeats it," Four gasped.

Sky tipped his head to the side. "Huh?"

"It's a shapeshifter," Hyrule explained with a wave. "Did you guys find the melody?"

"Yeah!" Sky immediately answered. "The sea people love it!"

"The--who??"

"There's a whole community of them up the river," Warriors said, motioning with his head and smirking. "You should've seen Vet's face. Come on, we'll show you. Smithy... are you able to make it that far?"

Four let out a laugh, relieved that everything was finally making sense. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You two lead on."

Sky lingered a moment longer, clearly also noticing Four's injury, but when the sword smith gave him a reassuring smile, the skyborn knight nodded and walked alongside the captain. Hyrule and Four stood in place for a moment before glancing at each other.

"Thanks for the help in there," Four said softly.

Hyrule smiled brightly. "We're all heroes, Link. You were amazing."

Four laughed. "Well, come on, if we stand still any longer Sky's gonna start fretting."

The brothers walked ahead, their next adventure awaiting them.

#that isn't at all how fire arrows work but whatever #I had to improvise #I made a fire puzzle and didn't havea way to solve it without draining Hyrule of his energy #because using his fire spell to a light a tiny candle a distance away is the equivalent of using a bazooka to knock a can over LOL #Four is Smol #Hyrule is amused #Four is not #since everyone loves Four splitting into the Colors I figured I'd throw it in there #honestly he seems like he'd rather keep it as a last resort #then he again he also used it as a JUMP SCARE for Wild jfklgjklsjfk so whatevs could go either way XD #Hyrule has shapeshifter enemies so he'd recognize one if he saw one #I don't know if Four does... I guess Shadow shapeshifts...?? idk I go by the games not the manga #did I happen to mention that listening to the molduga battle medley is GREAT for writing action sequences #it made it really fun haha #hope y'all enjoy because wow this was a challenge #a fun challenge! :)#linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu four #lu hyrule #poor Legend I had to mention him at least a little if I was gonna throw merpeople into the mix LOL #did I mention that I haven't proofread this #because I haven't proofread this #raccoon I hope this is ok for your prompt too #there was a treasure at the end after all #writing #writing prompt #you ask skye answers #lovely frostedshadow #lovely tempestraccoon

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another-corpo-rat · 7 months ago

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WiP Whenever

tagged by @streetkid-named-desire tyy darling <3 you have no idea how much im resisting tagging you back to keep you in this hell of round-robin tagging (with no pressure!) @theviridianbunny, @pozerjacket, @noxbunni, @jax-acer

I have several things going in rotation rn - gonna share lil snippets of each cos they're not likely to see the light of day anytime soon.

i. untitled River/V potentially gonna be used for a kiss prompt sitting in my ask box, but idk if its going that way so it might become its own thing

He’s nervous. It’s an odd thing to see; even throughout the hunt for Randy V would never have pinned the word to him. Determined and restless, yes, but nervous? No. It’s too flimsy for a man like River Ward and yet—

He’s nervous. Doing an excellent job of hiding it right enough, with his soft laughs and gentle smiles as she sits with Monique on her knee, listening to his niece recount her day of thrilling adventure in their trailer park. But there’s an odd look to his eye, a cycle to his thoughts; that first glint always hopeful before its shortly taken over by uncertainty that makes that easy smile waver

ii. Snake and Dove; Victoria & Michiko Victoria reconsidering all she knows on the young heir

Naïve and foolish, Victoria had decided mere moments within their official introduction decades ago; when the youngest Arasaka was still soft and warm with nary a shard of chrome on her body, looking at her with what she read as pity—

It had vanished promptly at what was admittedly too sharp of a voice. A delicate jaw worked and then clamped tight against any comments about the cybernetic arms she adorned now. A tight nod, a brief word.

She had never been within the girl’s space again after that, and couldn’t bring herself to mourn the loss of opportunity. There had been more important things at the time, too many missions to keep on top of, too many threats, terrorists, a nuke – she had left Night City’s radiated soil where the princess stayed.

iii. Peg Smasher gets pegged. That's it, that's the summary god this has been a wip for so long

It’s a shame the Dragoon doesn’t have the…specifications for this endeavour. She’d much prefer that sight, but still the naked planes of his wide back and the pull of synthetic muscle under faux-flesh is worth admiring.

Victoria hums as she plants a steadying hand on his ass, her thumb working in idle circles against the tender skin. The thin, shallow scrapes left by her claws blooming healthy pink where it rises in imitation of flesh. Her other ventures across the muscled planes, ghosting along scars added in a lab – heaven forbid he seemed untouched by the world’s violence, even in a body not intended to meet it. It’s his newest one, but like all the others its marred; burns, bullets, and lacerations adorn the skin. Another lie upon the innate deception of a gemini.

She knows them well, their placement and patterns familiar and horribly uninteresting for it. She should applaud him, for making something about himself so dourly boring, but her attention is elsewhere. She eyes the tension to his shoulder blades, the too-deep and unnecessary breaths he tries to quiet through the teeth of a vice-locked jaw. His fingers flex, knuckles whitening as she moves a hand between reddened cheeks.

A pause. He audibly catches a breath and holds it, his shoulders rising with the motion – how terribly human – and releases it when her hand returns to his rump instead.

iv. Tend A self-indulgent warhammer wip but im inflicting it upon thee

He tries not to think of that little boy often. The gangly gaunt frame of skin and bone, the itch of mite-ridden rags that hung poorly on a body that grew too large too quick, an ever present ache in his neck and limbs as he tucked himself to fit a world content to ignore him. The boy may share his name but he is a stranger in all but memory, so long buried and yet…

Dirae’s thumb brushes across the fine hair of his brow, her own furrowed as she watches the layers of skin knit together. There won’t be a trace of the injury in a minute. She knows that but still the veneer of fascination is thin as concern glimmers in her eyes, in the twist of painted lips, and he knows the boy in those tunnels would’ve clung to her. Desperate and clever enough to know she had what he wanted, needed, even if he could not put a word to it precisely.

And he is too merciful to deny the boy her affections. Too selfish to say ‘enough’ as her eyes seek his and her hands, soft and unmarred, cradle his face, fingers curling against the line of his jaw. Even with him seated and leaning down to meet her she still has to rock up onto the balls of her feet to close the space between them. Her body presses tight to his, warm and sweet-scented, more enticing than the steaming bath drawn in the other room.

“Horus—”

“I’m alright, heart.” Her eyes flick to the cut, already healed judging from the familiar itch. He strokes a hand up the curve of her waist and lets his lips pull into an easy smile. “In truth the blow to my pride is much worse. Slower to heal, you see.”

#tag game #wip wednesday #wip #my writing

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medeas-chariot · 1 year ago

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9 people I would like to get to know better

I had to do a new post because the other was getting long 😅 Thank you for the tag @alwaysanagelneveragod 💖 @x-a-black-winged-dove-x 💜

— — — — —

last song? - m.o.n.e.y. by the 1975

favourite colour? - teal green and black

last movie/tv show? - just finished the last season of Bob's Burgers

currently watching? - the chilling adventures of sabrina

sweet/spicy/savoury? - sweet <3

relationship status? - single

current obsession? - crocheting infinity scarfs

last thing i googled? - acrylic textile paint

Tagging without pressure @xthe1975 @sofaritsalrightsposts @soil-just-needs-water-to-be @heavenfalls @drybranmuffin @loathsome-gargoyle <3

#tag game

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i-will-cry-you-a-river · 2 years ago

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⚠️ Warnings: selfcest, blow job, rimming, food kink (?)

He was so sweet, so delicious, Morty couldn't get enough of him. It was an addiction; an obsession, but Morty felt no guilt about it. He went through so many things with Rick, he still had trauma from many of their adventures, so who could blame him for taking something he wanted, and enjoying himself for once?

He knocked the other's knees apart so that he was leaning against the door. His eyes travel up the brunette's body from the cute little toes, the dip of his wide hips, the little pouch on his stomach, to the size of his shoulders, and all Morty could feel was want.

Sinking down on his knees, he sat back on his heels, and licked his lips, tasting the delicious maple syrup that all started this obsession.

"S-s-so-o s-sweet," he stuttered, before his lips press to the brown skin just above the other Morty's pants. He curled a hand around Maple Syrup Morteh's wide hip, and gripped, hard. The other version of himself jerked, his cock throbbing in response, and Morty could feel himself salivating.

All Mortys were so sensitive, so tuned to pleasure, so Morty wasn't surprised that Morteh was already hard and aching just from a few small points of contact and the visuals.

Morteh's head arched backwards, exposing the long, long, long line of his neck. His eyes slip closed with pleasure as Morty pressed an open lipped kiss on his clothed dick.

Not patient enough to drag the foreplay on, Morty quickly undressed his partner, and hungrily dove in.

The taste of maple syrup burst on his tongue as he swallowed Morteh's cock, the sweet substance already leaking from his dick. Morty could admit he could get addicted to the taste; the slightly salty taste of skin mixed with the sugary liquid felt like an apology from the multiverse for the stuff he had to go through.

"O-o-oh, M-M-Mo-or-ty," Morteh whined in a high-pitched voice. The familiarity of the voice just added to the smug, pleasure-filled feeling in his stomach. Of course, only a Morty would know what buttons one needs to push on a Morty to bring inconceivable pleasure. He had years, after all, to explore all the little things that could make him lose his mind.

Bobbing his head, he chased the stray drops of maple syrup that ran down the length of Morteh's cock, while holding the other Morty's trembling legs.

An idea popped into Morty's head. If Maple Syrup Morteh's mouth tasted like maple... If his precum tasted like the syrup... Hiding his satisfied smirk, he quickly turned the other one around. Morteh must have gotten the idea; he immediately spread his tights, giving space for Morty's head.

The human boy parted his other self's cheeks, and ever-so-slowly began to lick and probe and dip at his hole, slicking and loosening the muscles, chasing the syrupy sweetness of his body. Morteh was a quivering mess of pure need when Morty finally pressed his tongue inside him, fucking him hard, drinking up all the liquid that gushed out of Morteh's hole.

The alternate self squeezed around him, wiggled and trashed, chasing his own release. The air was filled with the smell of sex, musk and syrupy sweetness; a heady scent that drove Morty crazy.

Morty could feel the other one was close. Gripping his hips, he turned him around again; he wanted Morteh's release in his mouth, deep in his throat, filling his stomach. He only had to close his lips around the cock, Morteh cried out and came, fulfilling Morty's naughty dreams. It was almost an afterthought that Morty came, soiling his pants with sticky cum.

Neither of them moved for several long moments, Morty dazedly savoring the sweet substance, while Morteh tried to catch his breath.

Finally coming to his senses, Morty glanced up from under his eyelashes, looking deep into the hooded eyes of Morteh, and smirked. "A-an-another r-rou-nd?" Morty asked cheekily.

#uhh so... I'll just go and dig myself a hole okay? okay.#rick and morty #mortycest #morty smith #maple syrup morty #pocket mortys #lemon

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r-chaics · 6 months ago

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contumaciously, aang couldn’t find reprieve unless he was tasked with a bathroom in need of shining, a sink full of dishes, or clothing that needed to be pressed, folded, or hung in a closet. he was the paradigm and prototype of a character who had to smooth over tucked-in bed sheets following the abrupt greeting song of a couple of mourning doves. to say he found a sense of purpose in aiding his sister with these tasks was an understatement. aang, if he could, would tackle her chores for her in a defiant act of service and love, and he’d do it before she ever had to ask. never mind pride, pretense, or any other abashedly human restraint—he was the older brother, and he was to take care of both of his sisters whenever possible.

these acts of kindness and support were how he displayed his love for others—how he communicated that he was there for them. he chided back, shaking a playful head at his little sister. “no need to fuss, little miss. i’ve got this. you just relax, and tell me about the many adventures of my marvelous millie.” he loved busying his hands with work—it kept the many consternations at bay, and boy, were there many. “after this, you’ll let me treat you to a snack. you could come over, and we could have a sibling retreat. i’m sure taka would love to entertain company, and setting the table for more than two means i get to use my—our other set of china.”

to his sister’s next pair of inquiries, he bobbed along, continuing to separate clothing into piles of whites, darks, and spot cleanings. her attire would be pristine and untarnished by any indication of soil once he was finished. there was no stain he couldn’t overcome; he was the true adversary to blots and blemishes. the smile upon his face reached the apples of his cheeks and spread wide at the mention of takaharu—the figure whom aang exalted as his one true soulmate. an ever-dynamic and lively languish of a lovelorn rustle quaked in his lungs. “my haru”—his nickname for taka—“is doing so well, despite the news of her mother. i was loathe to admit that my studies were important enough to prevent me from taking the trip with him, but it worked out the way it did for reasons, i believe. i was able to refocus.”

studies could be better, truthfully—in that aang is incessantly trying to rush his courses. the poor student feels as if the finish line keeps moving backward by miles. he keeps up with his work but continues to overachieve as the ruans were taught to do. “i think it was good for them to see her given her condition.”

( the flying dutchman laundromat, june 2, afternoon ) @r-chaics

"You know you don't have to go through all this trouble for me. You spend all week cleaning, I doubt you want to spend your Sunday helping me do laundry," Mingxia chided her older brother playfully, but her inflection was light-hearted (even despite the new bags under her eyes, the recent lack of sleep making the vet tech appear a touch wearier than usual). As much as Millie was doing her best to prove her independence in Anchorage, that she didn't need their parents managing her life just to get by, there were undeniable gaps in her knowledge as she learned to take care of herself over the last couple of months—particularly when it came to cooking and laundry. Considering the fact that her brother was much more skilled in those arenas than she was, you'd think she would've called him up long before her laundry had piled up to such cartoonish heights. But the brunette had too much pride to outright ask for Aang's help, to admit that she couldn't do all this alone just yet.

She hadn't even told him about the recent nightmares that had been keeping her from getting a good night's sleep, the suffocating feeling they induced that lingered into her waking hours.

Nestled atop a nearby counter, feet swinging underneath her as she watched her brother's fuzzy form move about the piles of clothes, Millie's expression fell for a moment. They were an academic bunch, her family. How could she possibly explain to him that she had a bad feeling about her nightmares, that a part of her feared they were an omen? Her dreams were the reason she'd chosen Alaska in the first place, the reason she'd found Mei after all these years. How could she explain that when there was no rationale? "So... how's everything at Taka's? You're not spreading yourself too thin with school, are you?"

#INT : AANG ꒱#moonrivcr : WITH AANG.#godddd this was such a treat to reply to i love them sm jennn!!!

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oneoftheprettynerds · 4 years ago

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Belle Of The Ball: Dark! King! Steve Rogers x Reader

A/N: So this my first ever proper dark fic and I’m so nervous. I finished it but my mind thinks it’s garbage. so I’m gonna post this now when I’m feeling a random spurt of courage and am confident in my work. So here’s my masterpiece, cookies.

This is for Dark!MCU Festive Fic swap hosted by @darkficsyouneveraskedfor and @darkmcuficswap

My giftee is @hermesmaximoff Hope you enjoy it love!

Thanking @firefly-graphics for the dividers: both personalised and general.

There is also an amateur somewhat okay shitty poster I decided to make which is included at the end.

WARNING: THIS IS A DARK FIC CONTAINING DUBIOUS CONSENT BORDERING NON-CON AND EXPLICIT SMUT. YOUR MEDIA CONSUMPTION IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. LOSS OF VIRGINITY, ABUSE OF AUTHORITY, BREEDING KINK ALSO PRESENT.

Summary: Invited to the Royal ball by the benevolent monarch, you could barely control your excitement to visit the Capital. While you were busy admiring his prosperous reign, King Steve was quite occupied getting enamoured by you. As you try to fulfil the King’s demands, secrets find their way out.

CHARACTERS + GENRE: DARK!STEVE ROGERS X READER, SUPERNATURAL STEVE ROGERS X READER (read to find out what), ROYAL AU, HALLOWEEN THEME (I tried for the request, hope you do like it)

King Steve Rogers invites the princes and the princesses of all Kingdoms, near and afar,

To celebrate his several years of reign.

He requests thy kind and noble presence

At the joyous regale

of his auspicious ball

On the thirty first of October,

after sundown, in His Majesty’s finest castle.

Challenging thy with the unique theme of

A Halloween Masquerade Ball,

The King expects exceptional indulgence from all.

The Most Grandiose Halloween Celebration is being organised with the spookiest of events within.

Come here if you dare.

“We have been invited to a royal party! My day couldn’t have been better!” Your elder sister exclaimed, jumping quite unladylike in your chambers, as you went through the details of the venue. You chuckled at her antics, knowing rather well that she would be scolded if someone else was present.

“Emma, Mother has to approve first. As Lady Ava always says, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

“As if mother would really decline an invite from the King, dear sister.” She rolled her eyes at you, not letting her enthusiasm die as you pondered over her words.

Your sister had a point though, the King summoning your presence was not to be taken lightly. The invitation came up handwritten in a scroll with the King’s wax seal atop it. It was placed elegantly beside a golden mask in a rectangular black box, that bore the Majesty’s sigil on the front.

The theme of the ball wasn’t that peculiar if you reflected over it, the renowned monarch was also recognised for his distinct interest in eerie, unearthly beings. He was known for adventuring into haunted lands, mysterious manors and sinister soils, meeting up with people rumoured to be sorcerers and occultists.

Of course, the reason for his encounters was sometimes rumoured to be because of his familial distress, how he couldn’t find a mate to procreate with and conceive his own heir no matter what. Three females, who were pregnant with a progeny of his blood, none his wife though, had died during the first two or tercet months, reason unspecified why.

Coming to You, you and your sister weren’t actual princesses, rather the daughters of one of the esteemed Ministers in the King’s cabinet. The benevolent King, however referred to the daughters of the town, more exactly, the Kingdom, as noblewomen. He held high reverence for the females and was the sole creditor to the improved condition of the women in this era. No matter how troubled his own life was, the King was the most merciful royal to be crowned to date, his people prospering under him.

Your sister nodded eagerly to your mother, drinking in her words like the fine tea you all had in the afternoons, while you just smiled at her advice.

When you both met your mother for dinner, you were surprised to find her already informed about the invitation. Her conformity to the celebration astonished you even more, but Emma’s zeal was starting to rub off on you too by the end of the meal.

Your mother continued, “Your father mentioned The Majesty is looking for a wife, quite possibly. He has been insistent in trying to get a successor the correct way this time, by courting the lady who piques his interest. Even though this might be a rumour, or some gossip spun by the ladies of the Cabinet, you both should try your best to be graceful and presentable. Among the hundreds of guests, he’d be having over, on the off-chance, if Gods allow, that either of you manages to entice him, it will only promise you the most pleasant of all forthcomings. It would also do me and your father some good, if you managed to find some other suitable bachelor, from a nice background to engage with.”

Your sister had always been one with the more overactive imagination out of you two, while you had been the more serene and poised one. When she’d be out playing with the children in your town, you’d be talking to the younger toddlers, drawing with chalks on the side. For every kid she splashed with water in the nearby sapphire river, you made tots flower crowns. These were the values you both grew up with, and these will be the values you’d die with.

After days of shopping velvet fabrics and silk textiles, and bothering your seamster to make sophisticated and stylish dresses, you both neared your day of departure. After some instructions to you both to represent your father and town well, your mother bid you adieu. It was nerve wracking to not have your mother by your side, for an event as big as this was, but since you both had passed more than twenty name days, you were expected to be proper, independent ladies.

With a heavy heart and some self, positive affirmations, you and your sister embarked on the voyage, which was filled with her chitchat.

You only hoped that the gala was as exciting as your family made it out to be. That it was just a King trying to celebrate his sovereign with some western festival integrated together. That the event would not be as unnerving and creepy as the last line of his invitation made it out to be.

For some unknown cause, it did not sit well with you. Your apprehensive intuition made you wary of the invitation for some reason, but you let your sibling’s zest take you over. What benefit would fretting get you?

The ball was far more pompous than anything you’d have imagined in your little head. All the ideas that Emma had come up with during your journey, to anticipate the extent of extravagance for the ball, were all exceeded with tenfold finesse. You had travelled to faraway, distant lands with your parents, but the King’s mansion, with all the festivity happening, was truly a sight to behold.

Entering The Capital had been the highlight of your excursion, you were sure earlier, but well you were proved wrong. Your father greeted you both when you had arrived, eager to see his angels after almost six moons, and had ensured you both got the best of the accommodations in the well-built, enormous fort. He introduced you to several of his comrades as well as their brooding, young lads and then, left you both to rest for the main event next eve. With two maids at your every beck and call, courtesy of your father, your time went smoothly and now you found yourself at the said Halloween themed celebration, staring around in awe of every little detail that had been so meticulously handled to make the event as dazzling as it was.

The servants were dressed rather ridiculously as cats, wearing some bizarre structure resembling cat ears, horribly short black dresses barely past their thighs and some whiskers draw using either coal or makeup, you weren’t sure. It was a poor attempt to make them appear feline. However, the food was as immaculate as everything else, entirely themed like only blood red wine, candied apples, chicken pumpkins, cheesecake brain, mummy muffins, some appetizer with bell peppers as jack-o-lanterns; these were the few that met your sights.

The hall was so grand, almost the size of three jousting arenas and playing fields combined with pillars having detailed architecture supporting the place. The walls were covered in scarlet, golden and black velvet drapes, the royal colours, and beautiful masquerade masks were pinned atop them, along the walls. Almost hundred round, white clothed tables filled the ballroom, with gold plated candlesticks and utensils upon them. The entire place had entertainers progressing around, the essence of it being magicians, clowns, contortionists, palm and tarot card readers.

In the centre of the hall, was an empty space, reserved for the soon to be ensuing dancing. An orchestra on the side had beautiful instruments, playing soft melodies for now, reserving the upscale beats for later.

You had only read a few books on Halloween to be prepared but nothing could have geared you up for this. Your small-town self was gaping at everything with a childlike wonder while somehow your sister was quite composed and calm, somehow your roles had been reversed.

Emma was wearing a blue gown, having several layers of nets and cloth, each a different shade of azure. She tried to dress as the mythical creature called mermaid, with crystal heels and a beaded neckline. Her masquerade mask had scales like fish, made using shining sequins. She looked so gorgeous, truly managing to look captivating.

You on the other hand were dressed like an angel, which you were against, finding it too mainstream and typical and wanted to dress like an enchantress with violet and jade colours, which your mother immediately negated. On demand of your sister, she let you wear a fluffy white ball gown, and had you made wings with dove feathers, an apparatus which was astonishingly light to wear. Using her art and craft skills, Emma made you a headband with two wires attached to a metal ring, shaped like an angel’s halo. The loop at top made of some special metal that glowed golden in the dark, making it look like a real, floating halo. Your mask had a fur lining on it, and silver sparkles were sprinkled all over you, with pretty makeup on your face, courtesy of your sibling.

The change in music brought you out of your reverie, as trumpets and harps began to hum, signifying the arrival of the King on the grand staircase. He had a crimson red velvet cape descending his broad shoulders, his tuxedo underneath could hide neither his long legs nor his bulging, protruding biceps. His black, shining shoes cost more than your entire apparel, you were certain.

As your gaze ascended his masculine form, you were mesmerised furthermore with his high cheekbones, full lips tainted cherry pink, a Grecian slanting nose, sleek eyebrows, luscious blonde hair, a thick beard and the best of all yet, cerulean blue eyes, the prettiest you’d ever seen in the entirety of your small life. The ladies beside you, Emma included, had the same reaction whether they had witnessed his Highness before or not. Every female’s gaze seemed to flicker between his azure eyes and the Golden crown resting atop his blonde locks, flooded with rubies and emeralds and gemstones you weren’t sure your books had.

For a moment you felt his eyes land on you, which surprised you even more so, that you questioned yourself about it, but his cheeky grin and wink confirmed it, make you shiver involuntarily as heat spread through your face while a titillating stir ran through you, a first for you. His impeccably white teeth were clearly visible now, showing two elongated canines, which finally gave you a sense of his attire, paired with his blush lips, A Vampire.

He spoke a few words, eyes unsteadily wavering, observing different members of the gathering. He let the dances commence, partnering with his most suitable match at the festivity, the daughter of the wealthiest lord. After the first song was over, other couples joined alongside him while you stood at the side, observing everything. Only mere moments ago had your sister been courted by a young man, the two of them shooting each other coy glances since they had entered.

A tap on your shoulder had you puzzled, you turned around focus landing on warm, brown eyes. You recalled him to be Lord Stark’s son, Peter, having met him yesterday at dawn. His familiar brown eyes gave you sense of comfort, which you liked, not being alongside Emma now.

“Shall we?” He asked, his cheeks ruby like yours were, as he extended the palm of his hand towards you. You giggled, smiling like a little babe who got extra cookies for dessert, and accepted his hand. Sauntering to the dancing arena, you only prayed to The Heavens above that Lady Ava taught you enough to embarrass neither yourself nor your guild.

Tracing his steps and following his lead, you did manage to dance without falling, which was a surprise seeing how spread out your wings were. You and him made easy conversation, about your hometowns and interests. You saw your Father proudly looking at you and Emma, dancing with lads, you guessed, he approved of.

As the song ended and the orchestra played a transitioning tune between the melodies, a cough sounded beside you as you and Peter stopped. Your eyes widened as you nervously curtsied beside Peter, A ‘Your Majesty” falling from both your lips.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I share a dance with the most stunning dame here?”

Peter politely stepped back, letting go of your waist, as The King’s wide stature more than filled his place. Your heart was beating rather loudly, blood pumping to your ears as you tried to make sense of what was happening. In your peripheral vision you could see the prying eyes of others looking at you both, ready to criticize you for one wrong move. Your father watched intently, a slight warning in his eyes to not mess this opportunity up while your sister comfortingly smiled at you. You tried to even your breaths and make sense of what he was saying, to not just stand and gape like a fool in court.

As the harmony played out, he swayed you around, lifting you up and twirling you around. Compliments spewed out from his lips, making you crimson like freshly ripened apples. You couldn’t keep up with your expression of gratitude through your words as he admired your eyes, your elegance and your ensemble which just couldn’t make him shift his eyes from you.

After two songs had played out, he left as suddenly as he had come, with a promise to meet you later. You watched him dance with other maidens, who approached him when you were dancing together, entertaining every approaching lady like an excellent host.

You made your way to the side, hoping to get some liquor, or at least some fluid in your veins and not faint right there this moment. Emma came up beside you while you were having wine, and rubbed your back in a parental way. Her eyes communicated her understanding of how overwhelmed you felt at the instant. Her date and Peter soon came and kept you both company for the rest of the night. As duos danced and people got intoxicated, you had to call it a night on behalf of your sister, her incessant giggling make you worried for her inebriated self.

You slipped her out before your father caught her and gave her a stern talking to and tucked her in her bed keeping a glass of water and some fresh fruits for her on the bedside wooden bench. You concluded retiring for the night yourself but only after assuring your father of your whereabouts and well beings. Before returning to the hall, you took off your wings and the halo, also opting to leave the mask behind as the fur tickled your skin. Your makeup hadn’t ruined in the heat of the hall, it was a miracle. You made your way to the Hall, hoping to find your father, assumingly drunk with all his entourage.

Two hallways before the decorated ballroom were you pinned to the wall, one hand of your attacker covering your parted lips while the other held your face delicately, with a lover’s touch. A split second was all it took for you to be immobilised by this man and another by your wavering form to recognise the cobalt blue eyes and blonde curls. When The King was certain you wouldn’t scream, his hand left your mouth slid upwards, mirroring his other hand, with thumbs in front of your ears and palms resting on your cheeks.

“Your Majesty?” You mumbled back, your voice somehow even lower, afraid for yourself and even more so terrified to offend him.

“Say, would you come for a while to my chambers, the view of the creek from my balcony is splendid.”

His choice of words gave you an option, but his eyes, almost hypnotically told you there was only one correct answer.

“You are the one, I can feel it.” He whispered lowly but your heightened senses gladly picked it up.

You meekly nodded, your inner self surprised at your body moving of its accord alongside him, as your mind started voiding of thoughts like reporting to your father, checking up on Emma. You felt like you were trapped in someone else’s form and fought with an invisible force to take over the reins of your own body.

You did not fail to notice the lack of guards outside the King’s chamber and how every entrance managed to open itself. The King wasn’t lying about the picturesque scene though, as you stood in the balcony, hair getting ruffled by the strong breeze that seemingly came from nowhere.

Your body stiffened as King Steve came uncharacteristically close to you and slid his hands around your middle, his nose nestled in your locks, inhaling deeply.

His lips descended your neck, laying feathery kisses on his path as you stood there, unable to even move your hands or turn around. This out of body sensation was broken when you felt intense pain on piercing of your skin where your head met your torso. You suddenly gained all wits and enough strength to flail your limbs around but all your might wasn’t enough to even stir the man from his task. Your throat couldn’t gather enough energy to scream, though you doubted anyone would come. You started getting light headed and only then did he stop, carrying you in his arms to his widespread four poster bed, mattress as soft as sponge and sheets as silky as butter. Too weak to fight him off, you harvested all your energy in staying conscious as your gaze danced around, trying to make sense of every object present but not awake enough to notice too many details. The wine you drank did not make it any better.

As you laid on the stranger’s bed, you felt his body sit beside you, holding your neck; leaning down, his lips meeting yours for the first time. You did not reciprocate, neither did you have the strength nor the will, while his tongue slipped inside your mouth, roaming around like a traveller in foreign land.

As the kiss drew on, you felt some energy sidle inside you, enough for your mind to function again but not ample enough to fight off the brawny thief who robbed you of your first kiss. King Steve broke off the kiss and connected your foreheads together, his indigo eyes turning black in want, leaving you a frightening and gasping mess.

He backed away, sitting more straighter now as his hand drew back from around your neck and slid along your stomach, nearing the most intimate part of your body, even though there were still layers of cloth present. His hands did not stop there, however, and made their way downwards only stopping at the hem of your gown and slipping inside.

You shrieked out suddenly, becoming aware of his intentions quite late and grasped his wrist that rested now on your knee.

“Your Majesty, I……I can’t-”

“Do you wish to refuse your King?”

You looked down, caught in the dilemma of wanting your safety and offending him once again. Your virtue had to be preserved till marriage, your mother had taught you, but on the other hand, the King’s words were the law.

“Answer Me.” The King’s cold voice broke through your thoughts, not a shout but still scarier than a yell.“

Your Majesty, I’ve never engaged in s-” You started tearing up, lower lip wobbling and body shaking at the thought of the future. You did not see this ending beneficial in any scenario. If you lost your virtue, you would never get wed but if you refused the King and he felt insulted, your family and your connections would be in the ruins, he held that much power over you.

Cradling your face with his other hand, he began again, “You think I’m not already aware, pretty one?” The man who was reprimanding you only few moments ago upon not answering him, had a smile on his face this time: not assuring or comforting, but malicious and sinister to its very core. “I could smell your untainted scent from my room, before even descending the stairs.”

“Your e-eyes..” You gaped again as colours morphed in his eyes, red now swirling around in the pools of darkness, his words lost on you as you felt your fear rising due to the inhumane action.

“For an intellectual, bibliophilic girl, you sure are oblivious, sweetheart.” He scoffed, looking unimpressed at you, “Come on, prove to me you aren’t heedless like the rest, draw the conclusion." His eyes held yours, again altering into hues of different colours, seemingly mocking you now.

You don’t know how the thought jumped into your head, maybe because the two holes on your neck stung suddenly or because the automatically opening doors entered your mind, the contemplation that his fangs appeared so realistic and authentic the more you stared at them paired with the blood on his collar, not just the fresh red stain of your plasma but also the burgundy stain present there, giving his lips the cherry red shade you admired hours ago on his arrival at the event.

“This is not a co-costume, no-” You inhaled a quick breath, “you are a vampire.” Your face paled in realisation while he smirked proudly, tapping your knee in a weird, twisted form of appreciation.

“Tremendous, my dear. But only half, you see. My mother was one, yes, but my father, he gave me an even better ability, he was an Incubus.” You shuddered as the words sunk in, your only worry being staying alive now, when your life was in the hands of this sex demon, having the greatest of powers and strength. Your mind did not spend any time mulling over the existence of supernatural beings, only dwelling on possible escapes now.

“That is why even your untouched body couldn’t help but react to my form and it is also the very reason, that I can read what goes on in your mind, all your memories, your hobbies, every book you’ve read, your precious sister, Emma isn’t it? So please, do not even think about fleeing if you don’t want your family to suffer.”

The threat loomed in the air, nasty sobs wracking your body as his thumb came to wipe the tears off. His hands started undoing the lace on the front of your bodice as you sniffled. Managing to quieten down just a bit, you begged, “Please don’t do this, I’ll have nowhere to go if my family found about me partaking in this unholy deed before marriage.” You had little hope about him seeing reason but there was optimism nonetheless.

“Darling, do not fuss that I’ll leave you unhinged and deserted after finding pleasure in your body, you are to be mine now. Essentially, you already are.” His lips claimed yours again as the front of your dress slackened, bundling around your waist.

You pulled back, surprised at his promise, “You mean that?” He nodded, coming to kiss you again. You turned so that his lips met your neck, tongue licking the salt residue of tears there. “In what sense?”

“In every sense you could think of and more. I’ll give you everything, make you my queen, would you like that?” He mumbled in your neck, tongue now soothing the two punctured cavities residing there.

You could feel yourself crossing your legs involuntarily, trying to caress the abrupt yearning in your intimate part, your underclothes dousing with wetness somehow. Steve smirked in your neck, sitting upright and playing his trump card.

“I’ll marry you and we’ll rule together with the plenty of successors you’ll give me. Won’t that make your parents proud? Isn’t that what your parents taught you? Catch the King’s eye?” You meekly nodded, his charisma of an Incubus winning you over. “I’ll make your father The King’s Hand and send your mother the finest of jewels and gems, satins and silks.” He looked over at your submissive form, looking at him with the innocence of a toddler, swayed by his promises.

“I’ll let your sister have a grand wedding with the man she dears. All you have to do is surrender yourself to me and be my Queen, rule alongside me. So I ask, will you?” You cut him off, your lips pressing against his as you tried to mimic his earlier movements. He held your waist, surprised but pleasantly so, crushing the layers of the rolled top half of your dress underneath his hands. You had very little idea about what bedding someone meant but you had this primal urge to not have any skin of yours covered or untouched by him.

Steve shed his cape and threw every cloth on his torso away, almost as eager as you to get skin to skin contact. Your hands tangled in his hair as he lifted you up and sat you in his broad lap, not before sliding your dress all the way down. As he broke the kiss and took in your body, parts of you hidden under the smallclothes, he let out a growl that frightened yet excited you with another shiver down your spine.

He made quick work of his bottoms, his cock standing and reaching his muscled chest almost and you gaped. Your sister, Emma had informed you of men’s parts being far much smaller than what you had just witnessed. His member stood erect and proud, glistening as he pumped it with his fist. His eyes drank in your surprise and trepidation, getting amused and turned on even more.

You still laid stretched across the bed, legs straight ahead of you while your torso rested on your elbows, eyes wary of his every next movement. He eyed your scantily clad body, gaze filled with lust and nothing more and climbed between your legs, one hand coming down on your waist while the other grabbed the back of your head and pulled you into a possessive kiss, robbing you of your breath. Your mind was slowly registering the reality of it all, this was going to happen no matter what. You were going to sin by engaging in fornication. But is it really wrong if your benevolent king demands that of you?

His hand sliding from your face to your bosom distracted you from your chain of thoughts. He slid the cups of your garment revealing your nipples and took one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it while his other pinched the abandoned one. You didn’t know if you should be more surprised at his actions or the rush of the feelings that ran through you.

He slowly released your nipple and trailed soft kisses down your stomach to your most intimate part yet, kissing it through the cloth there. His delicate touch was abruptly contrasted with him grabbing the fabric, tearing it into two and revealing you bare.

You closed your legs out of instinct but his heavily muscled hand took them apart in a single push. He eyed you with a warning, to not obstruct him anyhow anymore.

“Let me taste that sweet nectar of yours, sweetheart. I really want to find out if it is as addictive as my senses picked it up, as sweet as the aura that surrounds you.”

And with that he dove into your pussy, his tongue roaming your wet cavern. Neither did you understand what he spoke of nor had you sister told you about the activity happening right now. But all you could do was focus on the astonishingly pleasant shivers running through you as you had an out of the body, more accurately an out of the world experience. You had no sense of the time that passed and how long you laid there clutching the silk sheets letting out mewls. But out of nowhere, something in you snapped and all your energy left you.

As your blurry vision cleared and your eyes found his face, he licked his still glistening lips, his beard moist and wet but erotically so. He dove right into kiss again and you tasted your own sweet nectar for the first time ever. His hand roamed your body, grabbing your curves and caressing your soft flesh.

One of his hands made its way down furthermore and spread your fluids along your folds, and then lined up himself along your hole. With a sudden push, you felt yourself being full like never before, and a sudden pain hit you as your face visibly flinched. Steve swallowed your grunts of pain with his kisses and started rubbing your bud above your linked bodies.

The shudder that ran through you once again made you incapable of thinking, the ache slowly subsiding behind the pleasure you felt. When your moans filled the air, Steve kissed your collarbones and sucked leaving bruises there, and started thrusting again. As his movements became faster and consistent, and his callused hands rubbed you and pinched your intimate flesh, you ascended to another world. Each action of his introduced you to a new star in the wide galaxy. The same unknown descended upon you again as something snapped in your abdomen and you experienced pure bliss.

“Going to make you the mother of my children, you will carry my seed and bring the Kingdom several heirs. This time I’ll succeed, you will be mine, my Queen in every sense.” His words made you clench around him and that was all it took for him to achieve ecstasy as well.

Your head lolled and your eyes met his sweating frame lying across the silk sheets as a sinister grin adorned his face again, “I need to fuck a successor into you tonight, you ready?”

#dark!steve rogers #dark!steve x reader #king!steve rogers x reader #king!steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #steve x reader #darkmcufestiveficswap #darkmcuficswap #marvel imagine #dark mcu #darkmculibrary #dark!steve rogers x reader #chris evans #steve rogers #royal au #halloween au #masquerade ball #darkmcufestiveswap #ray writes

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fatehbaz · 3 years ago

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hi maybe you’ve written about this before but i’m working for someone who is part of the ecological landscape alliance and we’ve been having big talks about the concept of “invasive” species vs “native” plants and how the concept is rooted in xenophobia, and also talking about how maybe invasive plants aren’t that bad?? this goes against everything i’ve ever heard anyone talk about invasive species but i really don’t know all that much about it. sounds silly maybe coming from a farmer but i really don’t have a super firm ecological understanding, most of my plant knowledge is agricultural based and im really curious to learn more and was hoping you could point me in the right direction?

Yes, I definitely run into this disk horse all the time. Especially the “maybe invasive plants aren’t that bad” discussion. It seems the native/alien stuff is most often mentioned in disk horse about the Anthropocene. Basically, you’ll sometimes see statements like: “Is anything really natural in the Anthropocene?” I have also seen, and spent a lot of time contemplating, how belief in the categories of “natural” and “alien/invasive” in discussion of ecology might be rooted in or at least inadvertently support racism/xenophobia.

But I am still wary of the “native vs alien” and “no creature or landscape is really natural, not any more” disk horse, at least as explored by some white/settler-colonial academics, for exactly the same reasons: because it might be rooted in or support racism/xenophobia. Because the proposal that “nothing is native, nothing is invasive” itself can actually engage in a sort of “settler absolution” that obscures how there really is a contrast between imperial and Indigenous peoples, and the “nothing is natural, nothing is invasive” proposal could excuse the colonial/imperial introduction and expansion of monoculture by accepting the spread of industry/agriculture/non-native species as an inevitability. And these concepts can actually work to generalize conditions of ecological degradation and apocalypse, as if to say that “all humans now live in such a damaged world, we’re all victims” (even though many non-white, especially Indigenous, people actually bear most of the violence and burden of living in “post-apocalyptic” ecologies.)

But actually, I don’t think I can be too helpful here.

I still have a lot of contemplating to do, about how categories of natural/invasive in ecology might support the violence of categorizing people as natural/invasive. Don’t really know where I stand yet, y’know? So I don’t want to be too quick to come to a conclusion. I don’t even really want to offer opinions here. That said, I am very sensitive to language, and the language that I use. So I do appreciate that there is an effort to interrogate the negative consequences of describing things with words like “alien”. Also, the categorizing of lifeforms is and always has been a mess.

I don’t have many reading recommendations. The “native vs alien” and “nothing is really native, actually” proposals are concepts that I brush up against but don’t read too deeply into, even though this disk horse has been popular-ish in dark ecology and academic ecology/environmental studies circles for at least 10 years or more by now.

I guess, for my thoughts on native vs alien, what counts as “natural”, invasive species, and how the disk horse can excuse settler-colonial/imperial racism, I would point to this post I made about Pablo Escobar’s feral hippopotamuses in Colombia.

One introduction to the concept, which I think is an enjoyable read (though I don’t necessarily agree with all of his implications), is this essay by Hugo Reinert about the category of “natural” and the “purity” of a species: “Requiem for a Junk-Bird: Violence, Purity and the Wild.” Cultural Studies Review. 2019.

Anna Boswell’s very famous article about stoats and non-native species in Aotearoa kind of dances around this same issue of naturalness: “Settler Sanctuaries and the Stoat-Free State.” Animal Studies Journal. 2017.

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Generally, I agree with the implication that there is no “remote” or untouched corner of the planet where ecology has escaped human influence.

On that aspect, here’s a post I made about “planetary urbanization”.

But the native/alien disk horse can be extended to problematique degrees, with proposals that sometimes remind me of sci-fi goofiness, like fans of dark ecology or weird fiction or Mieville/Van der Meer got a little too excited about “the boundary between human and other-than-human has become so blurred that there may as well no longer be distinctions between native species and invasive species”, like they got a little too drunk on theory and just decided that “everything is in flux!”. Criticisms, then, of the “nothing is native” disk horse include how this oversimiplifies ecology and might enable/excuse settler-colonial invasion.

A lot of the “invasive plants are good, actually!” disk horse I’ve seen shows up in Australian literature written by settler scholars, which might be pretty telling.

Basically, it seems some scholars will take Alfred Crosby’s “neo-Europe” and “ecological imperialism” concepts, and then say something like “look, the damage is done, so much of Earth’s soils/landscapes are altered by introduced plants that we may as well accept it as the new baseline/normal ecology, and work from there.” As if to point at how North America has been entirely overrun by non-native earthworms and then to say “well, the worms are going to inevitably destroy hardwoods forests, soils of the Great Lakes region, the boreal-temperate transition zone, and maple trees which supply place-based maple syrup foodsheds, so we may as well accept that we live in a damaged world.”

I don’t know if I’m entirely satisfied with this.

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Other related concepts brought up in the same discussion of “nothing is really native” might include “invasion biology” and “assisted migration.” I see these concepts brought up in academic writing from the University of California system, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and “environmental humanities” generally. Basically, these writers/scholars will point to the past ten thousand-ish years of the Holocene, and how humans have had such profound influence on global ecology that “introduction of non-native species” and “mass-scale anthropogenic climate/ecological change” are not just recent developments since Industrial Revolution or Indus/Yellow/Mesopotamian statecraft, but even older. For example, I’ve talked a lot about how, in the Late Pleistocene or early Holocene, the Asiatic steppes and parts of the Great Plains could have apparently been more like intermittent woodlands before humans engaged in deliberate fire-setting to better target megafauna herds, meaning that the human role in creation of vast “naturally-occurring” grassland regions may be underestimated. This dove-tails with the better-established fact that the forests of Central America and eastern North America in the early Holocene were/are actually more like cultivated food forests managed by Indigenous people.

The argument, then, may also point to yams, sweet potato, and coconut as examples of creatures with what now appear to be “old” and “established” widespread transoceanic distribution ranges which actually may have been introduced via assisted migration by humans.

The argument, basically, says: Well, let’s say hypothetically that humans didn’t play a role in spreading sweet potato or coconut. By chance, if ocean currents “naturally” introduced these species, if these plants “naturally” colonized whatever lands they were swept off towards, doesn’t this mean they could essentially be “natural” to anywhere they might arrive and successfully establish themselves? Therefore, does it really matter if humans helped them get there?

This seems to be related to the “no plants are actually invasive” proposal. As if to say: “If English pasture grasses have successfully reproduced themselves in Patagonia, Aotearoa, South Africa, the Canadian prairies, etc., what does it mean that their migration was assisted by humans?”

But this is where I have reservations: It wasn’t just any humans that “assisted the migration” of monoculture grasses from Europe to the prairies of Turtle Island. It was specific humans, with deliberate intent, upholding specific institutions, protecting their own well-being at the expense of other humans and lifeforms, enacting specific violence against specific victims.

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Another aspect of this which I see mentioned often is how early human/Polynesian settlement in Oceania and the South Pacific is an example of how mass anthropogenic ecological change doesn’t always involve statecraft, mass mono/agriculture, and imperialism. Aside from the famous decline of creatures like the moa, Polynesian islands were also home to relict species of large land turtles and ancient terrestrial/semi-arboreal crocodiles until human arrival in recent millennia. Writers will also point to human settlement in the Caribbean, where human arrival coincided with extinction of remnant populations of endemic Pleistocene ground sloths. (This also happened on Mediterranean islands, which hosted endemic species of hippopotamus and goats until recent millennia.)

Again, though, this is where white/settler-colonial academics advocating “nothing is natural” can kind of obscure settler-colonial violence, by pointing to history of anthropogenic environmental change and saying “see, all humans provoke extinction.”

Thus, you’ll see these scholars invoke Anna Tsing or Donna Harraway, referencing the “arts of living on a damaged planet” or “living in post-capitalist ruins.” Essentially, advocates of “nothing is native, any more” might say “we all live in a post-apocalyptic world now, so we should get used to it.”

This, coming from white/settler-colonial academics, sometimes rubs me the wrong way, as if it’s sort of like wish-fulfillment, or “an adventure” for comfortable white academics to engage in low-stakes thought experiments about extinction, naturalness, and apocalypse from which they’re actually largely insulated, at least compared to the poor, non-white, non-academic people who cope with the worst of environmental racism and ecological collapse.

This, again coming from white/settler-colonial academics, is also of course more than a little grating, since it kind of co-opts or culturally appropriates the “Indigenous/Native people actually live in a post-apocalyptic world” concept proposed by Indigenous scholars. It kind of takes from Indigenous/non-white people, and then generalizes the apocalypse as something that all humans now live with in seemingly equal measure, obscuring the fact that many people are actually forced to cope and/or live with more-serious-of-an-apocalypse than others.

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At the end of the day: Sure, kudzu or English pasture grasses or coconuts or European earthworms or domesticated cattle might be generalist species which can successfully inhabit landscapes across the planet. So whether humans introduce them via agriculture, or whether they "naturally" expand by some accident or by drifting across ocean currents, they might exist in this strange ontological space between "native" and "alien" which confounds human conceptions of what "belongs"? And this is worth considering! This is good to think about! But there are still, and always have been, those "small" landscapes, those isolated pockets, those relicts and remnants in shaded stream corridors, where small populations of endemic species teeter on the verge, with highly-specialized adaptations to highly-specific microhabitats. You're not going to "assist the migration" of or "accidentally introduce" a cave-obligate salamander from a limestone cavern or a temperate rainforest-dwelling land-slug to a desert biome.

But, again, I still think it is good to stop and ask ourselves whether categories of “natural” and “alien/invasive” in ecology make sense, are outdated, or if they reinforce racism/xenophobia. And, again, I haven’t read enough -- I haven’t grappled with these questions enough -- to have an opinion which I’m comfortable sharing, so I don’t want to discourage this disk horse too much.

Anyway, hope some of this is interesting. Sorry. Again, I don’t really have any good recommendations.

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soileddovesandotheradventurers · 10 days ago

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Bianca is a 25-year-old software writer and escort from Toronto, Ontario. She was born in Hamilton, Ontario and lived in Dublin, Ireland for many years. She likes cash, properly compiled HTML and four star or higher hotels. She dislikes claims of latex allergies.

#Soiled Doves and other Adventurers #Escorting

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burnedbyshoto · 5 years ago

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eternal love

— A simple love story between a tattoo artist and a flower shop owner. —

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pairing: todoroki shouto x reader

warnings: fluff, cursing

word count: 10,505

a/n: so, ngl... this was something that blew up in my mind at 2 am a few nights ago and after fighting others on whether I should write it, I finally did it!!! I super loved writing this, and I hope you guys will enjoy reading it!!!! a lil fluff for the soul, have fun :D also uh, this works for @bnhabookclub‘s event so huzzah!

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Spring was a season of renewal. The world is going back to what it once was in its beautiful glory. Baby pinks and soft greens illuminated as far as the eyes could see, the morning mist unable to freeze because of the warmth in the ground.

The gentle echoing sounds of animals, insects, and more returning to regular activity, the cold winters finally defeated. Butterflies danced in the air, birds sang in the trees, and love was in the air.

What would be perfect with love?

Flowers.

“Good morning, y/l/n-san,” an elder greeted you.

Your cheeks were already burning with exhaustion, it was only eight in the morning, and you were tired. You wiped the back of your hand to your sweating forehead, your fatigue ignored while you smiled in greeting. “Good morning!”

She stared up at you with kind eyes, her hands holding onto her cane while she cocked her head to the side, “You seem to be quite exhausted this morning.”

There wasn’t much you could say or reply with because it was true.

“Well, we finally have a whole bunch of flowers back, and with White Day approaching us, I’m trying to make sure we’re on track!” you explain, trying to fix the multiple buckets of assorted flowers that you would have outside of your store.

You were a flower shop owner.

Your entire life, you had lived a life where you had grown up working alongside your parents. This was a family business, and with your parents eldering years and you finally back from schooling, they had decided to take an impromptu trip to see the world, leaving you behind to take care of the store. It wasn’t something you minded; after all, they had allowed you to seek all of your own adventures in your life despite only being owners of a flower shop, but it was a lot of work for just yourself.

You couldn’t hire anyone to work at the store, after all, while you had never grown up to live in a moment of discomfort, it was because your parents and yourself busted your backs for this store was why it survived. But now it was just you.

Winter had been fine, the flowers never had to leave the store, but this was spring.

Renewal, return, and romance suffocated the airs of Japan, and your slow winter business was already becoming a quick and demanding spring one.

Brushing your soiled hands onto the relatively clean apron you wore, you sighed at the sight of the elder looking past you. ‘Was she that old that she spaced out in public?’ you couldn’t help but think while staring at her.

“Who’s moving into that shop there?” the elder spoke up, and you hummed, turning around to follow her extended finger.

The shop next to your family’s flower shop had been vacant for years, the last time you remember anyone being there was in middle school. Now in your early twenties, you didn’t even realize that anyone was moving in. There were a lot of men too! How you had so apparently been ignorant to their massive hustle to move things in shocked you. Damn, maybe you were past the point of exhaustion at this point…

“I… I don’t know,” you admitted, your eyes growing when you realized just how neater the store looked. They had obviously been working on repairing the store for some time now, the store was painted in a clean and crisp color, the brick walls scrubbed and glittering like new. It was pretty aesthetic.

“Y/l/n-san! Please help me, it’s my wife’s promotion day, and the flowers I ordered online never arrived!” a voice screamed from a distance away, and your attention turned towards a man who was sobbing while scampering his way over.

And even with your want to just stare at the army of men moving in machines you’ve never seen in your life, you exhaled softly, turning to face the scared customer.

“Of course, follow me!”

You bid your farewells to the elder and hurried inside, ready to create an arrangement of flowers that the customer would enjoy.

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Your exhaustion of the day never seemed to end, the spring day had brought a plethora of customers to your storefront. Many couples, new and old, are surfacing to pick out fresh bouquets together. Their happiness is charming, personalities warming and smiles ever so sweet. They always asked about how you were doing, how your parents were doing — after all, this was a tight community, and they asked about the new business next door.

You couldn’t respond to that last question, your face always burning up in your embarrassment of not knowing. There was no reason for you to not know, after all, it wasn’t as if you were ever doing anything that wasn’t running the store. There was no one to rely on but yourself at this point, but still, exhaustion didn’t mean you could miss the purchase and remodeling of the store right next door to you!

Soon it was nine at night, the now empty wooden carts that were once outdoors dragged back indoors of your store. You took count of your sales today, grinning to see that you had managed to sell everything you had put out today except for a few leftover peonies. You moved back towards the door, ready to turn the Open sign to the Closed side. But you paused when you saw three men walking out of the neighboring shop.

Your eyes focused on the three of them talking comfortably. You had no idea what they were saying, but still, you concentrate on them, curiosity getting the best of you. They talked for a while while you continued to peer through the glass on the door, the conversation must have been lively considering that one of the men was laughing so frequently you almost wished you could hear what they were saying. But alas, eventually, they embraced, and two of the three men entered the large truck that had been parked in the alleyway practically all day and left.

Frowning, you saw that the man was still standing out there. He was unmoving, looking at who knows what with his hands stuffed into his pockets. The night was dark, and the lights on the street did little to help you create what he looked like in your mind. But with a passing car, the soft light illuminating the man with the gentle headlights, you got a clear image of him.

Well, it would have been clear had your guts scrambled into a knot at the sight of his own eyes piercing into yours.

He had noticed you.

With a loud cry, you dove to the floor, your hands pressed against the cool wood while you thought about your next plan of action. Would he come and confront you? Stalking people like this wasn’t cool in the slightest, and if he wanted to walk over and ask you about it, you wouldn’t be able to lie in the slightest. You knew that about yourself. Or maybe it was just you freaking out? There was a solid chance that this was just you freaking out, right?

Your palms sweat while you pushed off the floor, your body trembling as if you were the starring role of some American horror movie. Sucking in your air, and with a hammering heart, you peeked through the glass. No one was out there.

Sighing in relief, you were grateful to believe that it was either your imagination that he stared at you, or he just didn’t care. But still, even with the exhaustion weighing heavy in your bones, you knew you owed him a greeting. Your mother would have your head when she returned if you didn’t. Plus, it helped that the pink peonies still sat in the bucket, their petals still strong and firm, beautiful and lively.

With a nod, you walked over to them. Grabbing the peonies, you organized the delicate flowers into a full and lush looking bouquet. You hoped that he liked flowers, and wouldn’t mind the kind you gave him, primarily because you couldn’t provide him with anything else. Nevertheless, you wrapped the flowers in a tan paper and walked out, ready to give your greetings to a newcomer.

The store felt a world away while you walked towards it, and upon stepping in front of the store, it stole your breath away.

It was a tattoo shop.

Tattoos in Japan were no longer being associated with the Yakuza, years of trying to get everyone to accept this western practice by the younger generations had finally succeeded. Tattoo shops were blooming in numbers across the country, and it seemed that your area was no different.

The outside had large windows, and without even entering the shop, you found it to be quite classy indoors. This wasn’t at all what you were expecting from a tattoo shop! You had always assumed that it was black, something similar to the gates of hell feeling. But with the sign not claiming it was closed, and the store hours showing that it was open until eleven at night, you pushed past the doors. You were glad to see that your pink peonies would make a generous splash of color in the darker colored storefront.

“Hello?” you called out, your voice ever so softly echoing against the unoccupied room. “Is anyone here?”

Cringing at what you said, you groaned. If there was no one here, would that make you a criminal? Oh god, please don’t let that be true! But if there was no one here, why would he leave with the lights on and the door unlocked?! How stupid—

“Can I help you?”

Oh fuck, you’re screwed, was all you could think at first when you turned towards the black curtained hallway.

The man who stood there was tall, his shoulders wide, and legs firm. His arms — which were covered shoulders to wrists in tattoos, his right side containing only black inked tattoos, and his left in the most colorful ink you’d ever seen — were defined with muscle, stretching the fabric of his dark grey t-shirt.

A line of piercings down the cartilage of his ears, identical on both sides of his head. His hair, however, was something you’ve never seen before. Half white, half red, with an undercut and detailed shavings at his temples, it was currently held back with a thin black headband that exposed his eyes to you. He was heterochromatic, you could tell immediately by the piercing blue and dark grey eye color he held. But there was nothing to disguise your reaction when you saw the tattoo — scar? — that covered his eye like an overlarge eyepatch.

There was no smile on his face, just a quirked eyebrow and his lips set in an unamused frown.

“Is that a tattoo?!” you asked your jaw to the floor. Your fingers touched the place where the red skin on his face would be on your own.

“No,” he responded after a beat, his eyes were unbelievably annoyed. Obviously, not at all amused by your intrusion and rude words. “It’s a burn, but again, can I help you, or are you just going to stand there and stare. Not that you look the type to get tattoos, though.”

“I do have piercings, though,” you couldn’t help but defend yourself, your skin feeling like it was burning under his gaze. “But okay, yes. I mean, no! No, you can’t help me because I’m not here for your services.”

His gaze on you only seemed to intensify, a fire and ice storm erupting in his eyes while you wanted to punch yourself in the throat. Good god, be normal.

“I’m your neighbor! Well, I guess I can give you my name. Y/l/n y/n at your service,” you try, your hands thrusting out the peonies in your grasp. His gaze didn’t drop to the flowers, not even a twitch of an eye, which only coursed anxiety through your blood. “I’m the owner slash, not the owner of the flower shop! I hadn’t noticed you ever moving in except today, so I felt super bad! Um, so I just wanted to stop by and say, well, welcome! And uh, well… I just felt bad! These are peonies.”

“I know what flowers those are,” he responds, but his gaze remains unfazed.

What the hell was his problem, you thought, the hairs on the back of your neck rising as if you were being confronted by a deadly predator and not some stupid hot tattoo artist with a bad attitude.

“Oh, cool! Most people think they’re roses for whatever reason,” you laugh, looking at the flowers, your shoulder shrugging.

“I also know they’re the only flowers you had leftover from your sales today,” he spoke again, and your face twisted when you returned to his gaze again.

“Excuse me?”

“I was outside when you were pulling all your carts inside, and they were the only ones who weren’t sold today,” he shrugs, his arms crossing before his chest. The muscles on his arms only seem to expand at this, the ink dancing across his skin, forming new images in your mind while you feel like punching him in the jaw. “Is that what you feel about your new neighbor? I’m deserving of day-old flowers that you were unable to sell?”

“Of course not!” you exclaim, the frustration in your blood climbing while you held his stare. “I mean, are they new and super fresh flowers, no! But they haven’t even wilted yet because I know how to take care of my crap! I just finished the winter season where flower sales are always less than favored, so sorry I couldn’t toss you a thousand yen bouquet!”

There was a silence that floated across the room, his eyes staring into yours, and you could do nothing but stare back at him. Your shoulders rag with your uncontrolled angry breathing, what a fucking asshole he was! Who did he think he was?!

“Well, I guess I’m sorry to hear that you’re broke,” he sighs, finally taking strides over towards you. There’s a part of you that yells to leave the store immediately, and an even larger part of you that screams to step at him too, throw him off his trail! But in your indecisiveness, he stands before you, taking the flowers from your hands. “Todoroki Shouto.”

“That is so obviously not my name,” you roll your eyes, your arms folding across your chest.

There’s a small huff of air from the man, his eyes looking at you full of judgment and the smallest bits of amusement.

“Oh!” you gasp, your hands covering your mouth.

“I’m Todoroki Shouto,” he tries, his eyebrow lifting again, his lip trying perking into a smirk. “But, thanks for confirming we don’t have the same name.”

If there was a god, he would shoot you from this world at this very moment; your fists shoved into the pockets of your apron.

“Okay,” you agree, your lips pursing in your horrible, horrible attempt at masking your hurt pride. “Well, I am utterly exhausted, so I am going to leave now. Have fun with your dumb tattoo shop, Todoroki-san, I am… going to sleep.”

You turned on your heel, ready to run from this shop like the devil was hot on your heels.

“Well, see you around—” he responded, your hands pressing onto the door to leave— “Y/l/n.”

The ringing of your blood in your ears heavily outweighed his voice because you didn’t even stare at him as you continued to walk down the pathway to reenter your shop. Maybe it was a good thing you didn’t look back because had you, you would’ve seen Shouto’s fingers caressing the pink petals of the flower, and his lips moved to say one thing.

“Welcome.”

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆ One ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

It had been a week since you had seen Shouto. The new tattoo shop seemed positively overwhelmed by new customers, countless amount of young people filing into their appointment times, and the few days he had free hours. It, fortunately, did bring you new crowds of customers. Friends and couples alike bringing in the warm spring air into your shop while they bought flowers in commemoration of their new tattoos.

There was no stopping this, it seemed.

“Thank you for your service, please come again,” you called out after the giggling and slightly tipsy group of girls who happened to be your last customers of the day.

Today has been a good day.

You weren’t at all exhausted, in fact, you felt relatively light on your feet still despite it being 8:56 p.m. Since it was so late at night, and with the knowledge of there hardly ever being last-second customers you started cleaning up for the night. But as you grabbed the broom, the familiar bell of the entrance of the shop rang in your ears.

Sighing, you dropped the broom and turned towards the counter, “Welcome!”

The figure at the door shocked you, it was Shouto. He stood there with his fingers hooked in the loops of his black jeans, and the white v-neck did nothing to conceal anything about his tattoos or his dumb muscles.

“Hey!” you smiled, the smile on your face as fake as the festive flowers sitting on the counter — the ironies of working at a flower shop.

“I’m looking for recommendations,” Shouto admitted, his strides stopping him before you. “It’s one of my friends' birthdays coming soon, in a few weeks. He doesn’t like getting presents, but he likes flowers. I was hoping you could help me out here.”

Your jaw drops, words failing you seeing the way that his hair falls so elegantly between his eyes. His eyes are concentrated on the pre-arranged flower arrangements demonstrated on the table as samples and you cough.

“Uh, yes, do you know any of his favorite flowers?”

“No, he’s not really that open about his interests,” Shouto admits, his shoulders shrugging,

“When do you need the arrangement?”

“His birthday is April 20,” Shouto says, a sigh on his lips while he looks up at you. “I’m not sure if there was a time requirement to request things, especially given that you work here alone.”

“I do not work here alone!” you cry, your blood sparking in a fury. “I mean, yes, right now I do, but it’s not always like this! I’m just being a good child and letting my parents have the travels of their lifetime!”

Shouto hums, his face unconvinced, but he seems a bit perplexed, “Did I do something that first night to you?”

That takes you entirely off guard, “Excuse me?”

“Well, after the first night we officially met, you have avoided me very well.”

“I-I’m very busy with this store!”

“I walked out of the store to pick up supplies while you were speaking with your own customer. I saw you run into the door, trying to make your way back indoors.”

“You saw that?!”

“A lot of my friends say I can come off coldly at first, and I know that it’s true, and I’m trying to work on it. I, myself, was exhausted that day too because we put the entire shop together in a single day, so I let myself slip up,” Shouto admits, and you can feel your face beating in time with your embarrassed pulse. Why was this so hard? “I haven’t had the time to come over since opening, so I’m trying now.”

“So the birthday thing is a fake way to get me to talk?” you asked, your lips twitching in your losing battle to keep from smirking.

“Yes and no,” he smiles softly. It almost takes you by surprise, the smile seemed too gentle, too sweet to be on the face of someone who looked like they’d murder you in an alleyway. “I’m not that incompetent to know that I have a few weeks to give until I really need to get those plans under wraps.”

There’s a laugh that bubbles in your throat, and you sigh, unbelieving of what he was doing.

“You’re kind of weird,” you tease, untying your apron for it was now long past the store's open hours. “But since you’re not a customer, I will be asking you to leave at once.”

“But—!”

“No exceptions! I can’t be seen playing favorites, the elders will gossip,” you firmly state, moving from behind the counter to shoo him from your store.

“I want to buy a flower then,” Shouto insists, pulling out a leatherbound wallet.

Your eyes narrow, lucky bitch.

“What flower would you like?” you ask. Your customer service smile painted on your face.

“Do you happen to have any ajisai’s?” Shouto asks, and you think.

You did have some!

Nodding, you pointed your finger towards the pack where small bouquets of ajisai’s sat. Shouto nodded, walking over and grabbing one and making it back.

“That’ll be seven hundred yen,” you say the moment he arrives back.

“The sign said six hundred,” Shouto points out.

“You have me seven minutes over closing time, it’s my gratuity tip,” you tease, grinning when he places seven hundred yen down. You focus back on the cash register, inputting the last sale into it and fixing up the computer before returning your attention back to Shouto, who was staring at the flowers in his hands.

“Here,” he says, thrusting the flowers into your hands and walking away before you could yell at him.

The pink-tipped flowers sat in your hands, ajisai — or hydrangeas — were small and delicate flowers, but they were stunning in your eyes. Rolling your eyes, you put the flowers next to the fake festive ones and went to clean up, the small smile on your own face irreplaceable as you cleaned up.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆ Two ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

In the following weeks, you and Shouto had begun a strange friendship of sorts. Your breaks during your lunch and dinner times were accompanied by Shouto, who was always over at the time. The tattoo shop was doing exceptionally well, and because of that, he even had other artists there with him, and just gained an official piercer. They were a great crew, all bright and caring people who often had you laughing on the rare occasions you visited his shop. But Shouto always had his time slot blocked out during your breaks, and he would come over with snacks and opinions for the two of you to discuss.

He was definitely an odd person. He was very open about a lot of things, almost too honest. In weeks, you knew more about him than some of your own childhood friends, and you had been involved with most of their stories! Todoroki Shouto was someone to admire though, he was brilliant, a person who never failed to make you smile with his often idiotic tendencies.

He was smart but dumber than a rock.

But as the two of you grew comfortable, there was one thing itching at the back of your mind, the one question you always had when you saw people with tattoos.

“What do your tattoos mean?” you couldn’t help but ask, your eyes shining while looking at his arm that was poised high to deliver the cold soba noodles into his awaiting mouth. “I mean, I know there’s a lot, but one side is colorful and bold, and the other is simple and beautiful.”

Shouto finished the noodles on his chopsticks, his lips soaked with the oils on the noodles. “Do you want to know about a particular one?” he asked, resting the chopsticks down and extending his arms for you to see.

You leaned forward on the stool you were sitting on, observing the lines that created the art on his skin. You were fascinated by both sleeves, and he had incredible artwork on both sides of his arms. There was also some hidden motif behind each side, fire versus ice… But which one to ask about first?

“Can you just tell me why you have two sleeves that are starkly different?” you asked with a curious glint of your eyes. “I mean black ink on one side versus only color? Is there a reason, or was it just something that happened by accident?”

“Oh, there’s a reason for it,” Shouto adjusted on his chair, clearing his throat while he extended his arms. “You can tell just by looking at me, but my left side is what I’ve always associated with my dad: the red hair, blue eyes. My right side is something that I connect with my mom: the white hair, grey eyes. Colored tattoos are always more painful, they tell a very exact story. There isn’t any room for argument because it is seen in one way and one way only. You can deceive, and you can hide, but the truth is there. When I got my first tattoo, I still hated my dad with everything I had, and I wanted to cover every part of my body that I could that would erase him from me. Which is my left side. And like colored tattoos, he was painful, exact, and unchanging. My right side is black ink only because things become confusing, discerning, unknown—” his fingers trace the curving lines on his right arm— “you don’t know where it starts, where it ends, but it’s ever present. It’s comforting because it can change with how you need it to change. You can have other fills in its blanks, to piece together its story, but it has distinct intentions. It’s strong and adaptable.”

You take in his words, unable to think of anything but absorb his words. There’s a soft understanding to his tattoos. Once done in defiant, spoke stories of not only who he was, but who he is today.

“Okay, so I know I’m just a super lame florist, but what do you think about me getting a tattoo?” you asked, your teeth biting into your lower lip with your confusion and hope. “I mean, I’ve never really wanted one before, but that was because of social stigma and all, but seeing yours and your friends all the time… I’m curious.”

Shouto’s brows raise; he doesn’t say anything; however, studying your face.

“What are you thinking about in particular?” he asked his eyebrow scrunching, his head tilting to the side. “Anything at all?”

You blew a raspberry, your hands pressing to your lap, your shoulders falling to your ears.

“I like symbolic things a lot,” you admit with a shrug. “I don’t think I could ever get a sleeve tattoo, so I want it to make sense and have meaning to me. Like… I don’t know a sakura blossom, but maybe not that? I don’t know!”

Shouto laughs softly, the sound pleasant on your ears while you thrash your legs like a child.

“Well, I think I can help you at the very least draw you something,” he suggests, a hand offered out in a deal. “I am a tattoo artist, after all.”

“I’m not sure if I can trust you,” you playfully scoff, your arms folding across your chest while you shake your head. “I might doze off under the needle and wake up to a walking penis on my back!”

“A penis?” Shouto repeated, an award-winning smile gracing his face while you huff, your laughter failing at being masked.

“It’s what happened in middle school to people caught sleeping! Didn’t it happen to you?”

“Not at all.”

“Right, you rich kid middle schools were a breeding ground for far worse. What type of prepubescent hazing did your school do?”

“What makes you think there was hazing?”

“How could there not be!”

The doorbell chimes in the distance and the lively debate is over when you check the time, it was time to reopen it seems.

“I’ll figure out what you did back as a pubescent child,” you promise, watching as Shouto rises with you, his own alarm going off. “But would you really draw me a tattoo?”

Shouto nods, following you out to the entrance of the shop, “I will if you ask me to.”

Uncertainty sits in your stomach, you weren’t sure if it was something that you wanted right now, it had, after all, come up as a moment of trying to create conversation more than being an honest truth. But if it was something that Shouto drew for you, maybe you would.

“I’ll let you know if I want it,” you promise, your eyes closing with your warm smile.

Shouto hums in agreement, his head nodding once. He seems to hesitate for a bit and ultimately walks over to where there was a gathering of flowers and picks out a single himawari. Your eyes narrow in silent teasing when he walks it over to the counter, his hands already reaching for his wallet.

You accept the change, giving him back what you owed him, and was once again shocked to see him resting the flower in your hands.

“For you,” he smiled, his shoulders shrugging.

“You’re so weird,” you wrinkle your nose, still accepting the flower from his fingers with a bright smile. “Thank you for the beautiful himawari.”

“Mm, you’re welcome,” Shouto nodded, slipping on the beanie he had removed upon entering the warm flower shop. “See ya later, y/l/n?”

You nod, waving as he left to which he graciously flipped the sign for you to read that you were once again open. “Bye, Todoroki-san!”

Himawari flowers, otherwise known as sunflowers, always filled you with warmth and love. A flower that is known to be a personal sun on this earth without ever once providing a shred of warmth. There was no denying that it was beautiful, but you shook your head, leaving it on the table in the hallway that leads to your home above the shop. You’d dry and press it once the day was over.

Yes, you decided, that’s how it was going to go.

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“I always forget the wedding season is a thing! Stop looking at me like that, and please help me!”

Most people would never expect to see a community staple member who ran the flower shop to be on their hands and knees, holding onto the ankles of one of the most intimidating and newest members of the community while they begged for help. Well, to be honest, no one could even consider what you were doing to be begging. It was a full-on psycho messy bitch cry for help.

“I said I was going to help you already, what else do you possibly need from me?” Shouto groaned, his vans clad foot trying to wiggle you loose from his ankle. “...don’t tell me.”

“Well, you know what I’m asking then!” you whine, your eyes welling with tears at Shouto’s straight face.

Your face had an array of dried petals on your face, dirt caking the undersides of your fingernails, grass, and leaves in your hair, and desperation reeking from your face.

“My parents still aren’t back! My friends are all busy living their own lives too far away to help me properly, and you’re the only person I trust! You’re a tattoo artist, you have to have a delicate hand, right? Please help me and let me use your crew too, I promise I’ll pay!”

Shouto groans, managing to kick you free from his foot, and pulling you up to your feet so that the noisy people watching would hopefully leave. “If you want the others to help you out, you need to ask them. I’m not going to force them to do anything.”

Your eyes blow wide, excitement simmering in your cells while your hands grip onto his biceps for support, and his own hands rested on your hips.

“Really?! You’ll let me do that?!”

Shouto breathed heavily out of his nose, took a second to recompose himself before letting that small smile appear on his face. The grateful squeal that left your lips was something that shocked him, Shouto won’t lie, but it was the hug you threw around his neck that had him stumbling. He watched in a frozen trance as you stormed into his shop, arms waving animatedly above your head while you explained your need for help to his employees. He didn’t follow you in though, choosing to instead watch you from outside the shop because it was his break right now, and he wasn’t going to be spending it inside the shop.

You returned with a smug smirk on your face, dirt-smudged on your cheek while you nodded your head in victory.

“Well, it looks like I have a team,” you say with a mock casualty. “I am, what the cool kids call, persuasive.”

A weird feeling floods to the tips of Shouto’s fingers at your words was this… annoyance? There was no reason for him to be annoyed that his friends would be coming over to help you. You needed the help. So what if you wouldn’t be talking to him and only him.

“Persuasive, or annoying?” Shouto tries you, and the way you focused on him in your flustered state was enough for a small chuckle to escape his lips. Before you could respond in defense to your persuasive tongue, he was already en route towards your shop. “You wasted five minutes of my break, please don’t waste the other ten.”

He wasn’t sure what made him grin more, the loud cry of “you’re an asshole, Todoroki-san,” the childish stomping coming from behind him, or the cheerful laughter that soaked your tongue at your own silly antics. But still, the grin became a soft smile when he turned to face you, the shop door in his hand while he held it for you.

“After you.”

“Damn right, after me.”

“You guys are actually very good at this,” you marvel, peering over Shouto’s shoulder, watching as he and his coworkers assembled the vase of statement flowers.

Todoroki Shouto, Kaminari Denki, Shinsou Hitoshi, Midoriya Izuku, and Bakugou Katsuki.

Five equally large men, decked out in tattoos and piercings, with a punk look to them sat pinched together on tables meant to hold more than five men dainty arranging soft pinks and white-colored flowers with your princess pop music blaring in the background. It was very different to how they were in their shop, but it amused you to see them like this.

They were a group of childhood friends who apparently all had the same dream and worked together to make this tattoo shop. Shouto, being the most wealthy of them, had been the name signed on all the papers, explaining the reasons why he was the one you had first met those many nights ago.

But with five different weddings coming up at the moment, you were more stressed about getting these things done and fast. The good thing, however, was that it seemed most of them were striving perfectionists.

Shouto, Bakugou, Midoriya, and Shinsou were all on top of it, having only needing you to explain the arrangements once for them to get it. Kaminari took two tries, but he was also very, very social, and took his time. They were a bizarre dynamic, but it was something you enjoyed.

“Damn right we are, this shit is so fucking easy,” Bakugou responded back, shoving yet another completed arrangement your way. “And why are you just fucking staring at us? Why aren’t you helping?”

You hummed, grabbing the completed vase, and placing it with the others from this particular wedding. “Because I already met my quota, and I can’t pull out the other arrangement until you guys are done.”

“Oh, there’s another one?” Midoriya asked, handing you a completed vase.

“Well, if you guys don’t mind!” you feel your face heating while they were finishing up their final vases, Bakugou snatching some of Kaminari since he had more leftover. “I just didn’t expect you guys to haul these so quickly! And well, there’s just one left I have to do!”

“We are amazing,” Kaminari says, twirling a stem of baby’s-breath in his fingers. “I can see why you were so eager to sign us to your shop. “I make perfect commentary, Shinsou has that calming effect, Deku is sweet and kind, Shouto is obviously the closest to you, and Bakugou.”

You blinked, as did everyone else, staring at the blond who wove the baby’s-breath into the arrangement with a soft touch. Wasn’t he going to finish that sentence?

“And I what?” Bakugou growls, his ears tinging red with his annoyance.

“Hm?” Kaminari perks his eyebrows, his gaze lazily resting on the ash blond. “Oh, no, that was it!”

There was a loud screech of the chair against the floor, and Midoriya was holding back Bakugou while Kaminari screeched, hiding behind Shinsou.

“Here you go,” Shouto sighed, handing you the prior arrangement for this wedding batch.

“Thank you,” you smile gratefully, the sounds of the raging war between Bakugou and Kaminari fading into background noise while you hold Shouto’s gaze. “For all of this too, you guys are keeping me from a countless amount of all-nighters.”

“Well, as long as they don’t wreck your shop, then I guess the payment will be okay,” Shouto sighed, not bothering to even look at how Midoriya was losing ground on keeping Bakugou back.

“As long as there isn’t any blood or teeth on the floor, I’ll give it to ya,” you grin, gesturing with your head for him to follow you.

While you and Shouto had gone to get the final wedding arrangements, Shinsou had managed to get Bakugou to calm down and sit. This arrangement was simple, and there were only twelve of them you needed to make, and before you knew it, everyone was leaving, waving as they went. Only Shouto stayed behind, helping you put away the chairs and the tables, while also setting the flowers into the freezer until they would be collected.

It was almost midnight by the time the two of you had cleaned up the shop, and Shouto leaned against the counter while you sprawled onto the floor, exhausted.

“I think,” you mumble, exhaustion fluttering through you. “I think Imma just, sleep here.”

“I’m not going to let you do that,” Shouto sighs, walking over to you. “You’re bordering disgusting right now, and you need to shower before sleeping.”

“I’m not trying to impress anyone right now,” you point your finger at him definitely. “I think I can become one with the ground right now.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Shouto decided, pulling you up to your feet. Something that made you groan and press your forehead to his chest when you got you up. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll walk you to your stairs.”

Snorting, you shake your head, pushing him away, “No, it’s okay, I was just being annoying. Besides, I need to lock up down here once you leave.”

Shouto frowns, but he doesn’t move to argue with that, because it was true.

“I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!” you insist, smiling sweetly up at the man who was wearing one of your bandanas.

“Okay,” Shouto finally agreed, moving towards the door.

When you got to the door, ready to see him out, Shouto paused.

He turned to you, his head tilting, and your lips parted to question him, but before any words could fall from your tongue, he raised his hand.

In his hand, he rested a pink arusutoromeria. It was most definitely a leftover from one of the arrangements statement flowers, but it sat daintily in his hand. Under the moonlight, it was almost ethereal in his hold, and you felt a small warmth build in your cheeks.

“That’s called stealing from my clients, ya know,” you tease, the exhaustion in you dying the moment you took the flower from his hand. “I’m going to have to take this out of your paycheck.”

“Don’t pay me,” Shouto insisted softly, his lips peeking into a half-smile. “I would’ve helped, even if you hadn’t asked.”

“That’s ridiculous, I wouldn’t have let you,” you shove his arm, but he went unmoved. His two-colored eyes shining in mirth while continuing to stare at you.

“I know,” he whispers, his gaze holding yours. “Goodnight, y/l/n.”

“Goodnight, Todoroki-san.”

Shouto licked his lips, his face wincing just the smallest bit before shaking his head, “I think you can drop the formality, we’re passed that.”

You didn’t have time to react, only whispering his last name while he exited your shop into the nighttime. But you looked down at the arusutoromeria, otherwise known as the Alstroemeria Peruvian lily. The peachy and pink waxy petals smooth under your fingertip, but it made your heart warm.

Shouto really did pick the most beautiful flowers.

But why was it always for you?

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆ Four ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

“The shop isn’t open today, Todoroki-chan!”

Shouto turned around to see two elders watching him while he had failed to open your shop’s doors.

“Oh, thank you,” he thanked them, bowing in greetings. “Do you know why? Y/l/n didn’t mention anything yesterday?”

“We do, actually! The park hosts the summertime festival, and they’re in charge of the floral arrangements you see going on there! Y/l/n might be there right now!”

Shouto nodded, the banners that had been advertising for the said festival had been up for the past two weeks.

“Thank you,” he said, leaving the two elders to themselves before returning to his own shop.

Today was a busy day, and since he wasn’t going to have time to spend his break with you, he decided he’d just move on to his latest client. Ignoring the questionative and gossiping look of Kaminari, he called on the girl who was here for her last touch up.

He’d go and see you when you returned.

It was three in the morning when you were finally back at your shop. Festivals were indeed something of exhaustion. You spent six hours putting up flowers all over people's booths and stalls in order for things to look beautiful. Then when the festival began at three in the afternoon, you’d be in your own booth handing out single roses, lilies, and tulips to lovers, friends, and family who wanted to cheer others up.

Flower sales have always confused you. Flowers, after all, were almost pointless since most of them were bought without the roots and soil. You were gifting something that was on the verge of death that wouldn’t last longer than twenty-one days if you were lucky. But you couldn’t complain, on the other hand. The people’s faces that exploded with affection and love after receiving the flowers made it worth knowing that these dying presents had meaning to them.

But festivals by yourself were hell.

Restocking the flowers, handling the money, trying to give out the flowers all by yourself had proven to be a handful. This was at the least a two-person job, and with your parents still not returning anytime soon, it was hard. You couldn’t ask anyone to help you because everyone you knew who would accept your money to work had to work until late today too.

But you had survived, as you had been for the past few months. So when you tiredly stabbed your key into the air, trying your best to get it into the lock, a sudden noise scared you.

Turning towards the sound, your tired eyes widened upon seeing Shouto walking out with a young woman next to him. She was tall, grand, and even with your tired, dried out, and blurry eyes, you could tell she was beautiful. You saw the way that politely and effortlessly giggled, her dark eyes warm and sweet while she talked to Shouto.

And Shouto, how you had entirely missed him today. But he was obviously enraptured by this woman, his facial features looking kind and sweet while they talked.

A weird feeling tightened in your stomach, what the hell was that? You blinked multiple times, your head muggy and far too foggy for your liking. This wasn’t your business, you thought, finally succeeding in opening your shop door. But with a strong pull of the wagon you had, you watched in horror as the top bins clattered to the floor.

You hauled the wagon in, desperate to get out there and get the remaining fallen items off the floor. You thought having eaten only breakfast today would have rendered you unable to be as stupidly strong as you were at that moment. But as you went to pick up the boxes, you saw Shouto approaching you, his hands shoved into his pockets.

“Oh, hey, Todoroki!” you laugh, trying to lift the boxes, but you were failing at it. “I didn’t see you all day, how are you?”

Shouto shrugged, his lower lips jutting out slightly too.

“Good, I didn’t realize you were working for the festival, all day at that,” he admitted while moving to help you. “How’d it go.”

“Well,” you think about it, watching your friend take the boxes from your hands and holding them with ease despite your own fumbling. “I, um… it was hard.”

Shouto listened to you while you explained how you handled your booth on your own. How this was one of the busiest festivals your city hosted and how you hadn’t had time to relax since the festival began at three. He listened to you without making any input of his own, the occasional chuckle from hearing about entitled customers, or customers who thought buying a red rose for someone they were going to break up with was a bad idea.

Cleaning up with Shouto with you was relaxing and welcoming, his presence was always one you received, and after a long day, it was sweet and soft.

But while in his explanation as to who the lady — Yaoyorozu Momo, as he named her — was doing at his shop so late, your stomach wailed in hunger. Your face burned in embarrassment, your appetite finally remaking its appearance.

Shouto chuckled, finding glee in your horror before nodding towards the hallway that leads to the staircase of your home. He had been up there a handful of times now, and he smirked, “I’ll make you something since we didn’t eat together today.”

“How can I trust you’re a good chef,” you ask, despite already making your way to the upper level of the shop, ready to stay up even longer with Shouto.

The next hour is spent with the two of you eating and talking. The conversation between the two of you is light and flowing smoothly. You’re on the couch with him, a blanket on your laps while you rest your head against his shoulder.

“Tell me about your tattoos,” you mumble, your exhausted body feeling warm and safe against his right side.

“Which one?” he asked, shifting his left arm towards you so that way you could continue resting on him.

“Any,” you sigh, your fingers brushing against his wrist. “They’re all beautiful.”

So he does.

Shouto tells you about the special ones first. The fire on his left wrist, the ice on the right. They were his first tattoos, something he had associated with himself since he could remember, but a symbol of how they were both significant parts, equal in their fury, but gentle, beautiful, and healing when needed. He had dizzying patterns on his right side, something he had always acquitted to being his more assertive side. The designs were distinctive and almost dizzying to look at, but each pattern he had drawn, each twist and turn meaning something. The black ink was daunting, powerful, and reserved. He even admitted to letting his friends color in the spaces where you could still see his pale flesh, it was something that he enjoyed because even being as old as he was, the childlike entertainment never left when someone did it.

His left side was stunning though, every color in the rainbow melting and mixing on his skin. This side was artistic, bold, a creation of vibrant dreams, and they warmed you up while he explained every secret behind them. He was scary on this side if you couldn’t find the outlines of each clashing drawing, but up close, with your breath gently warming his skin while you peered at his skin, you realized just how gentle it really was. It wasn’t scary or overwhelming. It was quiet, warm, and a soft gesture to who he used to be, and who he was now.

The two of you were close friends, nothing could ever say otherwise, but as the two of you lay on the couch together, you positioned between his legs, your head laying on his chest. Sleep was a mere kiss away when you snuggled into his chest, your finger pressing against the t-shirt he wore.

“I think I’m ready… for you to draw me up a tattoo… do you think you can surprise me, though? I have no ideas…” you mumbled into his chest.

“Of course,” Shouto responded back, and before you could blink, the world turned dark, sleep consuming you in a gentle embrace.

You weren’t sure if you imagined the feel of his soft lips on your forehead, but when you woke up the next morning, you were alone. The blanket was tucked around you, pillows resting under your head, and a flower sat on the coffee table before you.

A kaneshon.

A carnation.

Your cheeks warmed at the sight of it, knowing immediately that it was left behind by Shouto. Grabbing the flower within your fingers, you pressed the sweet-smelling flower to your nose. If he continued doing this, there was no stopping the way you felt towards him.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆ Five ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

Two weeks later.

“So, what do you think of this?”

You were sitting in Shouto’s private room where he had his tattoo appointments, you were by the wall, sitting on a stool by a desk where he was showing off his tattoo design for you. It was stunning; honestly, it had everything in the world that you could be asking for.

Simple, elegant, and sophisticated.

It fit your personality, hopes, and dreams.

It was perfect.

“Wow,” you barely managed to breathe, your fingers touching the sketch he had presented to you. Was feeling it okay? You hoped so.

“Do you… do you like it?” Shouto asked, his eyes trying to read your face, but failed to see how you reacted because he was behind you.

“This is amazing, Todoroki,” you shake your head, pulling back to stare at your friend with a great smile. “I mean, I know I said I wanted you to draw me one, but I wasn’t expecting you to make it so… personalized to me.”

“...you’re special to me,” Shouto admitted, his body both relaxing and tensing under your gaze. “I had to make this special for you.”

“Well, you sure did!” you agree with a laugh, your cheeks warm with your grin. “But how much will this be?”

“4,000 yen,” Shouto answered with a straight face.

You laughed in his face, remembering that all their starting prices were much more than that, “Come on, don’t be ridiculous. How much?”

“I wasn’t lying,” Shouto confirms, his gaze unwavering. “I like you a lot, and you mean a lot to me, so I’m giving you a discount.”

Your jaw drops, you’re unable to speak, words failing you with every breath. “A discount, not a free tattoo.”

“It’s not free, I’m still making you pay.”

“Yeah, and even I know that price is absurd!”

The two of you argue for some time, the money you throw down on his desk is immediately slammed back into your wallet. You feel close to victory; that is, until Shouto threatens to make your tattoo actually free. To that, your lips twist, a defeated look in your eyes while you huff.

“Fine,” you spat, turning around ready to leave the shop, given that your break was nearing its end.

“Y/n,” he calls out suddenly, and the way that your name sounds on his lips makes you shiver. He had started to call you by your given name as of late, and to hear his warm and deep voice say your name made you wonder why you two hadn’t done this earlier. After all, the two of you were too close.

“Shouto?”

He looks ready to speak, his tongue wetting his lips while he stares at you, unsure what to say to what to do.

“What did you think of the kaneshon?”

Two weeks later and he had finally spoken about the flower he had left behind.

“It was beautiful, I loved it,” you smiled in return, but you didn’t miss the way that his eyes seemed to cloud at those words. Obviously, those weren’t the words he wanted to hear, but what was it that he wanted? “Another flower to add to my collection.”

Shouto’s lips quirk into a smile, and you watch while he reaches behind his bench and pulls out a tsubaki. You’re silent as he walks it over to you, pressing the gentle stem into your hand.

“For you,” he whispers, and you can feel your heart hammering in your ears at how close he is. The dim lights of his room, the smell of ink, bleach, and, most importantly, Shouto sending your blood into a craze.

Kiss him, your brain told you, but you were frozen, too busy counting the number of eyelashes he had.

“You didn’t buy this from me, what are you doing helping my competition?” were the words that came to your mouth instead of the confession you so wanted to give.

“No,” Shouto laughs softly, and he adjusts his position almost to give you dizzying fantasies of him kissing you. “I’m growing them, actually.”

“Oh, so you’re my competition,” you tease, and Shouto sighs, his eyes rolling and nods.

“Yeah, the tattoo shop was a decoy to us becoming the best flower shop in all of Japan.”

“Sounds like I should be worried.”

“Oh, you should.”

There was no denying the fact that the distance between your bartering lips was disappearing, but the shrill beep of your alarm destroyed the space between the two of you as you stepped away. You had an appointment to get to after all.

“Um, dinner?” you ask, stumbling to the door. “Sounds good?”

Shouto nods, his lips in a small smile, “See you then.”

With the camellia clenched tightly into your hands, your blood boiling in your destroyed passions, and the sounds of the others saying goodbye while you left, you felt weird when entering your flower shop, one thought running repetitively in your mind.

You had feelings for Shouto.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆ Six ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

You twirled the akaichurippu in your fingers.

It had been two months since you worked out you had feelings for Shouto, one week since he had given you this flower, six days since he started avoiding you, and two days since your parents had finally returned home.

With the three of you now running the shop, you were able to relax a whole bunch more. Your parents had returned on a honeymoon mode, their gazes wistful and in love, finding it almost hard to readjust to the life they had left behind for a year. It had been a year since you had met Todoroki Shouto, and you were baffling in love with him. But you had done something obviously because he was avoiding you like the plague.

He hadn’t been over in six days, and they had been such lonely days without him. Of course, once your parents had come home, it had been grossly lively with their romantic sighs and glees, but it didn’t do much to qualm the Shouto sized hole in you.

Stupid Shouto, stupid feelings, stupid everything.

Tossing the flower onto the counter, you sat up from your slumped state, watching as your dad swung your mom in a circle. Stupid parents with their stupid love, you bitterly added while puffing out your cheeks.

“Wow, what’s that look for!” your dad caught on immediately, staring at your unamused form. He trailed his gaze down to the red akaichurippu, otherwise known as the red tulip, while your mother stood up herself.

There was a shocked gasp coming from them both, and you watched as your parents approached the counter like excited children, the flower being picked up by your mother.

“Who gave you this?!” your mother asked, her eyes sparkling in glee, and your dad seemed conflicted in the same delight, and distinctive stern dad look.

“Shouto,” you sighed, your eyes rolling.

“The one that’s ignoring you?”

“The very same!”

“That’s strange,” your dad’s eyebrows furrowed, his head tilting. “He’s just next door, and he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon… why is he ignoring you after giving you the eternal love flower?”

You froze.

“I’m sorry, what?!”

“The red akaichurippu flower is the symbol of eternal love,” your mom explained as if it was basic knowledge. “They’re much more romantic than a boring red rose, in my opinion. You’re also a florist y/n, why don’t you know these meanings or intentions?”

“Oh my god,” you said in horror, and you stood up, racing upstairs to grab the flowers you had dried and pressed. The flowers he had given you throughout this year.

Your parents were shocked when you slammed down the book with flowers, your fingers shaking excessively.

“What do these mean,” you demand, your fingers shaking while you point at the different flowers.

“Ajisai: apologies and gratitude.”

“Himawari: adoration, loyalty, and longevity.”

“Arusutoromeria: devotion, loyalty, ‘I like you,’ friendship.”

“Pink kaneshon: affection.”

“Tsubaki: humility, discretion, and perfect love.”

Red akaichurippu: eternal love.

“I have to go!” you yelled, racing out of the store, the ringing bell and following shouts of your parents doing nothing as you ran into the tattoo shop.

“Shinsou!” you called at the purple-haired man who was staffing the front desk, obviously having no scheduled appointments today. “Is Shouto—?”

“No, he’s taking his break right now,” Shinsou smirked, his eyes full of amusement, which spoke to his knowledge of what was going on. “You can go in.”

You smiled and went down the hallways of the tattoo shop that you knew intimately. You could hear the buzzing of the tattoo guns going off in Bakugou and Midoriya’s rooms, the light chatter that came with passing Kaminari’s room until you made it to Shouto’s room.

It was quiet inside, and as you opened the door to step inside, the flower in your hand feeling heavier than lead when you saw Shouto sitting at his desk, eating cold soba slowly.

“Shouto?” you called, and Shouto didn’t move, obviously ignoring you.

“Come on, don’t ignore me,” you plead, moving towards the bench only to have him turn towards you, his eyes blank, cold, angry, and burning through you when he faced you. So maybe he wasn’t ignoring you? “Okay, uh, thank you for looking at me, but I need to explain something to you!”

“Make it quick, my break’s done in two minutes.”

A cold sweat erupts in your body, and you thrust the red tulip out.

“Eternal love,” you say quickly, your body shivering at that statement, and Shouto looks at you, then at the flower, then back at you.

“Yeah, I knew that already, idiot.”

Your jaw drops, and the smallest bits of annoyance pricks at you. You often forgot what it was like to be under his calculating words and not being at his side, laughing at the victims of his words.

“Okay, well, I didn’t,” you continue on, your fists dropping at your side, annoyance, fear, happiness, and love flooding through your body. “I’m a florist, I know that. I have lived my life as the child of florists, and I have taken on their trade, but one thing I never knew about was flower meanings.”

“What?”

You shake your head, your gaze dropping to the flower in your embarrassment, “I’ve never known any flower meaning outside of funeral flowers, the red rose, and spider lilies, but that’s because of the culture behind it, not necessarily because of the language of flowers. And I was mad at you today, so I had this flower out, and my parents who do know about flower language told me what this meant, and every other flower you’ve bought for me… I didn’t realize you were confessing to me using flowers… I didn’t ever expect a tattoo artist to know the meanings! Had you been a florist yourself, then maybe I would have thought to look up the meanings behind the flowers, but I just assumed it was you picking flowers out because they were pretty.”

“Flower tattoos are popular,” Shouto breathes, his eyes swimming with flashing emotions while he rises to his feet. “It’s sort of my job to know the difference. I mean… you brought over peonies that first night, and they’re a flower you use to welcome other people, so I figured you knew.”

“No,” you laugh breathlessly. “I only picked those out because they were the only flowers I had leftover from that day… I guess you would make an amazing florist after all,” you chuckle, your heart hammering in your whole being while he stepped closer to you. “I’m a blunt person, straightforward confessions are the only way to deal with me.”

“Most blunt confessions have always ended with rejection from me,” Shouto states, his fingers grabbing onto your waist. “That tends to scare people off.”

“Try it with me,” you whisper, your fingers resting on his broad shoulders, the shiver under your skin electrifying as you knew what was happening.

“I’m in love with you, y/l/n y/n,” Shouto grinned, and you didn’t give yourself a chance at responding because you slammed your lips against his.

It was a passionate kiss, one that had your back arched into him, the flower falling from your fingers and onto the floor. Heads tilted with your dancing lips, and fuck was every gentle caress of his lips, sending your mind in a whirl.

More and more, your lips slanted against each other, and there was no say as to what was going to happen next. You pulled away, a galaxy in both your eyes and a desire, a promise for more when he would meet your lips again.

“Shouto, your three o’clock is here!”

The two of you froze, and you laughed, your lips meeting his that sought after yours for the kiss was too short.

“We’ll talk later.”

#todoroki x reader #todoroki shouto x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #todoroki shoto x reader

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boymeetsweevil · 3 years ago

Text

SS7 - KTH, FANTASY!AU, 3623w

The sun was high in the sky when Taehyung met her for the first time. He was feeling the effects of the heat under his cloak and took some time to squat under the shade of a large, drooping tree.

Losing his chaperone was starting to seem like a bad decision as he rubbed at his growling stomach. He wasn’t certain that he could remember the last time he was hungry for this long. Normally, in the palace, he would have eaten at least a snack by now while the kitchen staff prepared lunch for him and his mother. But with only the palace towers visible against the northern mountains, he knew he wouldn’t get back until at least dinner time. Maybe longer.

He dozed off to fight the hunger pangs briefly only to be woken by the sound rustling. The stories about ferocious wolves he sometimes read from his chaperone's library came flooding back to him. He still wasn’t old enough or far enough in training to carry a sword like the knights at the palace did, so there was no way to defend himself against an attack. Did wolves even like the taste of princes, he wondered with watery eyes.

The rustling grew louder and he began to cry in earnest. He didn’t know much about wolves, but he did know that at some point his chaperone tried to teach him about the wildlife in the kingdom’s terrain. If only he’d listened instead of doodling on the margins of his parchment. Taehyung dropped his head to whisper a silent prayer to the gods like he sometimes heard the maids do over his bed when he got chills in the winter.

If he made it out of this, he promised to study harder, stay with his chaperone, and stop playing tricks on the palace seamstress.

A twig snapped and he screamed a high and childish sound. Then from the bushes emerged not a wolf, but another child.

Instantly he could tell the child was clearly not from any of the allying kingdoms. There was no gold woven into her cloak or lacework on the bodice of her gown, nor were there any pearls or smaller jewels sewn into the hem of her skirts. Instead the girl before him stood with a dirty face and a thin, greying frock with a dusty looking apron tied to her front. It reminded him of something some of the servant girls in the palace might wear. And then he thought of home and how far he was from it.

And then he started to cry again.

“You’ve got some funny clothes,” the girl mumbled almost to herself as she approached. “What you cryin' for?”

Taehyung couldn’t do much else but give a wet cough and keep crying in response.

“M’hungryyy,” he managed between heaving sobs.

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?”

The girl reached out and grabbed at Taehyung’s arm, quickly at first and then softer a second time to marvel at the smooth silk of his sleeve. He would have balked at the sudden intrusion, but the crying made his throat sore and he was still whimpering too much to say anything.

He let the other child pull him down some invisible path, ducking under low hanging branches and pushing through high weeds until they reached a small clearing with a gently babbling brook running through it.

“Water!”

Taehyung chucked himself to the ground and pulled off his leather gloves to cup the cool water in his hands. The girl watched off to the side as he drank until he was no longer feeling like he was being baked alive in his velvet trousers. When he stood, she stared at the dirt clinging to the knees of his pants.

“Wait here,” she said before turning on her heel and disappearing further into the surrounding shrubbery.

Taehyung almost panicked but she returned not a few minutes later with her apron gathered awkwardly in her two hands.

“Why are you holding it like that?”

“I’ve got you something.” The smile she gave him was so large it made her eyes small. She was missing a front tooth, just like him. She must have 7 birthdays as well.

Taehyung found himself trying to peek into the makeshift basket of her apron.

“No peeking! Sit first, then I’ll show you.”

Taehyung bristled. “You can’t tell me what to do! I’m the prin—”

“Are you hungry or not?”

With that, he pursed his lips and mulled over his options before settling back down on the ground. Once he was seated, the girl sat down as well. As soon as she was low enough, Taehyung could see exactly what she was hiding. In her apron lay dozens of wild strawberries, each one glistening like a large ruby in the afternoon sun. He realized then that the material of her apron was darkened with what must be water from the brook that she used to wash the berries first.

“These are my favorite,” he looked back up at her in shock. “How did you know,” he asked sincerely.

“I dunno. I just knew they were there. Sometimes I eat them when I’m out here and we've no bread in the house.”

“What? Why wouldn’t you have any bread?” Taehyung chuckles at the ridiculous thought and scoops up a handful of berries. “Just ask the cook to bake you some.”

“What cook? You mean my Ma?”

“Why on earth would your mother make the bread?”

“Well, who else is gonna make it? She says I’m too young yet to put the loaf the fire by myself.”

Taehyung couldn’t find fault with the girl’s logic when she put it that way, though he also couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea of his own mother in the kitchen. The few times she’d tried to go in, the cooks promptly chased her out. He’d have to ask when he got home.

“Oh!" He chirped, cheeks slightly grubby with berries. "Do you know how to get back to the palace?”

“The palace,” the girl asked while chewing on a strawberry of her own. “I don’t think so. I’ve never been there, I thought only adults went to the palace.”

“I live there.”

“No, you don’t! Only the king and his family live at the palace.”

“The king is my father, so of course I live there.”

The girl was silent again. She stared for a long time at Taehyung’s clean, neat brown hair, his un-tattered clothes, his delicate beaded shoes. She still wasn't sure he was telling the truth until she saw his hands.

“Woah! You really are from the palace!”

She reached out for the hand nearest to her but he yanked it back fearfully.

“Just let me see your hand. I want to see something.”

“No!”

Taehyung gulped and brough his hand to his chest. He knew he wasn’t supposed to take his gloves off outside of the palace, but he was so excited to see fresh water and food that he took them off and forgot to put them back on. The girl stood up and let the remaining berries fall to the ground, leaving small blood-red stains on her apron. If he didn’t fend her off, he’d have to deal with the burning and the splotches again.

“I just want to see really quick. I won’t do anything bad.”

“If you touch me, my skin will get sick,” he parroted the dialogue he heard from the town herbalist told him, nearly 3 suns ago.

“Really?”

He was about to explain more but the girl ambushed him by tackling him to the ground. The air in his lungs was knocked out and he could only lay there at first to get his bearings back. With the sleeve of his silk shirt rucked up, the girl grabbed his bare wrist delicately and peered at his hand. The skin of his palm was free of calluses or scars, smooth and soft. His nails were clean with no soot or soil wedged underneath. Just like her Ma had told her. He truly was a prince.

Taehyung yanked his wrist back and clutched it once more, waiting for the pain to start. But as the seconds passed, his skin remained free of the prickly fire that would raise underneath when his mother used to stroke his cheek or the herbalist would check his pulse.

“What are you,” he breathed with wide eyes up her.

“What?”

“I mean, why doesn’t my skin burn?”

“Does it really burn? I thought you were just pretending,” she blinked in surprise.

Taehyung was about to grab at the girl himself this time, but a call rang through the forest.

“Your Majesty! Taehyung, your grace! Are you here?”

The voice of his chaperone, Namjoon, should have been a welcome sound. But now that he was no longer tired, overheated, or hungry, Taehyung didn’t really feel like going home as badly as he had. In fact, he wanted to spend more time with his new friend. Happiness bubbled inside him at the thought. He could finally have a friend to play with now that he was cured. He could finally get rid of his stuffy gloves and hooded cloaks and go on adventures with someone.

“Who’s Taehyung?”

“Me! I’m Taehyung.” He puffed out his chest proudly. “I’m the first in line to the throne. So I’ll be king one day.”

“Oh. Alright.”

Taehyung pointed a chubby finger in the direction of the sound. “That’s my chaperone, Namjoon. Come on, I’ll let you meet him. He’s nice and he knows everything.”

He grabbed at the girl’s hand first this time. He marveled at the simple warmth he felt, a sensation he hadn’t felt for years without a fiery blaze accompanying it soon after. He smiled down at his fingers intertwined with hers.

“Namjoon, I’m here!”

“Don’t move,” Namjoon's disembodied voice called.

The sound of twigs snapping and flora brushing continued for a few more minutes before a young man of 21 came stumbling through. He nearly fell over a distended tree root while making his way over, but as soon as he righted himself he came charging at Taehyung. Realizing that he had sent his chaperone into a rage, Taehyung ran to hide behind his new friend, still clutching her hand.

“I’ve been looking for you for hours, Kim Taehyung. Do you hear me? Hours!”

“I’m sorry!”

“And now I see that you’ve managed to drag some poor child into your mischief as well.” Namjoon peered down his nose at the two children in front of him when he saw Taehyung’s bare hand nestled in the little girl’s hand.

“What are you doing—where are your gloves?”

Namjoon turned to search the forest floor for the handcrafted leather gloves that always traveled with the prince when he left his chambers or received company. He spotted the deep red garments strewn about nearby and dove for them.

“Put these back on,” he hissed before reaching out and yanking the young prince over to his side. Taehyung whined a little but let Namjoon mandhandle him away from his friend.

“How long have you been touching? Do you feel fit to ride on my horse?”

“Namjoon—”

“I’m afraid we’re too far from the palace to prevent the sickness this time, your majesty. You may faint on the ride back.”

“No, you don’t understand—”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you need to keep your gloves if you’re going to be free of the sickness?”

Namjoon looked into Taehyung’s face openly, clearly dreading seeing the little prince in pain.

“But I’m cured, Namjoon! We touched hands before—a long time ago—and I didn’t feel a thing. Look!”

Taehyung held out his arm and showed the smooth, clear skin there. Namjoon looked angry still but turned to the little girl.

“Is this true?”

She averted her eyes and curtsied like her mother had shown her to do in front of important people. Judging by this chaperone Namjoon’s clothing, he might be a prince as well.

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“Oh, I’m not—”

“Huh?” Taehyung looked up at his guardian before letting a giggle spill from between his lips. “He’s not royal, he’s just my chaperone.”

“What’s a chaperone?”

“It’s the person that follows you around when you leave the grounds or when you have to visit another palace’s prince or princess. Don’t you have one?”

Namjoon shushed Taehyung before the small girl could answer. Of course she didn’t have a chaperone, but Taehyung wouldn't have known that.

“Taehyung, your Majesty, we really must be going back to the palace. I fear that the queen may worry herself ill if we do not return soon.”

“And what of my friend?”

Namjoon didn’t have the heart to tell Taehyung that there was no way he could bring a common child back to the palace to play. Nor did he have the heart to explain why in front of the common child herself.

“There...is no room on my horse this time. Perhaps you’ll meet again when you finally make your debut in the village.”

Taehyung’s eyes grew wide at what was supposed to be Namjoon’s reassuring statement. He’d heard from his advisors enough times that he wouldn’t be debuting in the town until his 18th birthday, nearly Namjoon’s age. That would be ages from now, he knew. Which meant that he’d have to endure playing alone and wearing itchy layers and gloves and cloaks for another 11 birthdays.

“But—but I don’t want to leave her,” Taehyung sniffled as Namjoon hefted him up onto his hip. Namjoon ignored the beginning of the tears in favor of looking back down at the girl in front of him.

“Do you know how to get home from here, child?”

“Yes...sir.”

“Good.” He reached for a small animal skin pouch tied to his opposite hip and untied its leather drawstrings. The pouched jingled when he passed it to her and weighed heavy in her hands. “Hide this in your apron and don’t take it out until you get inside your home. Understood?”

The small girl chanced a look at Taehyung, whose lip was quivering with the silent dribble of frustrated tears, before nodding.

Namjoon turned and began making his way back to the horse he had tied nearby. Taehyung whipped his head around and dug his little hands into the hood of Namjoon’s deep blue cloak.

“I don’t want to leave, Namjoon.” Taehyung’s voice was watery but rang loud through the trees. “I want to stay with my friend. I’m going to stay with my friend!”

It was an empty promise, but the young girl still locked eyes with him and even gave a little wave as she watched the prince and his chaperone disappear into the tree line.

3 weeks later you woke from your slumber to the grey-blue of early morning. Judging by the sky’s hue, you were certain you should be allowed at least a few more hours of sleep. But, at your mother’s request, you rose from your bed.

You wanted to complain about it not being fair, but you were too sleepy to think up a good complaint. So you let your mother drag a wet rag along your face and hands, and silently marveled when she put you in your good dress. You watched with sleepy eyes as she pocketed the small bag of gold coins you brought home nearly a month ago.

“Where we goin', Ma?” You asked after leaving the baker’s with a warm chunk of fresh bread in one hand and a hunk of cheese your mother bought in the other.

“To the palace,” she replied with furrowed brows. Almost like she couldn't believe it herself.

“Why?”

“The King has asked for all the families with daughters to pay him a visit.”

The King was a mysterious entity to you. You knew that you were supposed to be grateful to him, according to your mother. But you also knew that every year your mother would become frantic and take on as many jobs as she could to pay taxes to that same King. Without a father to help earn money for the household, you were convinced your mother worked harder than anyone in the town. Your hand found a nearby pleat in her long skirt when you were done eating and you walked a bit closer to her.

When you reached the castle, there was a long line. There hadn’t been many people in town earlier in the morning when you left home but you understood why then. Every family with a daughter was lined up before the palace doors. You didn’t even realize there were so many people in the kingdom.

Your mother stood in line while you stepped to the side to get a better view of all the daughters being escorted. Some girls you recognized as girls you played with on days when you finished your chores early. Other girls you’d never seen before. You weren’t sure what you were all there for, but you knew it must have been serious.

Despite the winding line ahead of you, it still wasn't noon when there were only a few families left between you and the palace entrance. Whatever the King wanted you there for, it was quick. Families that were ahead of you entered in, ushered by stern looking guards, and left almost as quickly as they came. Some parents left looking deeply relieved but others looked disgruntled at having to spend so much of the day in line only to be dismissed by the King so quickly.

Your mother stroked your hair gently as you neared the palace gates. It was something she did to calm herself down. Knowing that much, your heartbeat jumped into your throat when the guards finally ushered you in.

The palace’s high stone walls seemed to swallow you up as the daylight left and only torches lit the way down a long passage. The first hall you entered was much brighter than the hallway thanks to the windows lining the walls that looked onto the mountains. Two families ahead of you stood before a group of palace staff and a man in a large, ornate chair. The King, you realized. To his right, in a smaller chair, sat a young boy. He looked familiar and as you moved up in line, you recalled the prince you ran into weeks before. The hand you had bunched in your mother’s skirts tightened when you realized he was telling the truth and you had tackled a real prince.

“Come forward and let his Majesty see the girl,” called one of the guards.

Your mother bowed deeply before the King before pulling you forward and pushing you into a similar bow. The two of you stepped forward with your heads lowered. The same guard stepped forward then and laid a heavy hand between your shoulder blades to bring your closer to the King.

“Father’s name?” The King addressed you, eyes bored and looking through you. You turned back to your mother with nervous eyes.

“Her father fell ill when she was only a few moons old, your Majesty,” your mother called.

“They reside in the Western quadrant, your Majesty. Near the grain fields.” Another guard off to the side read off a long scroll. “The woman does sartorial tasks for coin.”

“I see.” The King then turned to his son beside him. “Taehyung, my boy. Is this she?”

The boy hopped off his perch and approached the place where you stood. Your mother had drawn your cloak's hood up to protect you from the early morning chill, but you kept it up because it felt safer while entering the palace. Taehyung didn’t make any move to pull the hood back, but crouched low enough to peer at you with a discerning look pinching his small features. As soon as he saw you, his eyes lit up.

“It’s you! It’s really you!”

“Thank the gods,” the King sighed. “Send the rest back, then. Let us finish this.”

At once the guards not holding you and your mother in place moved from their posts to guide the two families behind you back through the hallway. There was a low murmur running through the adults of the retreating families and some of the lingering court members.

“Do you know how to read?” Taehyung turned to you suddenly as the palace staff began milling around busily.

“N-no. Ma says it costs too much to attend the school for girls in the South.”

“That’s okay. You can come to my lessons with me.”

He reached out a gloved hand and tried to pull you away, but a guard leaned down to let him know that the King still had some words to exchange with you and your mother. You tried to stay quiet while the adults discussed something about you and your mother becoming part of the palace staff and moving into a house behind the palace. At some point your mother cried a little bit, but it didn’t seem like the times when she cried because you had to skip supper multiple days in a row.

Eventually Taehyung managed to get the guards to let you go outside. In a secluded part of the palace gardens he threw off his stuffy extra layers and gloves and took you by the hand with a gigantic grin. You quickly forgot about the heavy mood that radiated off your mother from earlier and made you match her quick breathing. Taehyung scooped up a tiny frog from a pond he led you to and deposited the creature into your hands, palms brushing and bell-like giggles leaving him.

And so it began.

A/N: I really want to continue this, but idk if i will/how so this is being put in the SS collection until further notice.

#networkbangtan #btscreatorscorner #bts scenarios #taehyung fanfic #95line.net #kimtaehyung.net #bts imagines #bts fanfic #bangtan scenarios #bangtan fanfic #bangtan imagines #taehyung scenarios #taehyung imagine

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godess-ofthe-underworld · 4 years ago

Text

Love Finds A Way

(sequel to “See You Again) (A Harry Hook x reader story)

Part 9

"I… I…"

"You what?"

Harry stepped closer, the movement making Hadley look up from the hook. Their eyes met, Hadley could see the emotions swimming through his ocean blue eyes.

She let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I love you…"

Part 9

Harry's crystal blue eyes widened,enhanced by the thick line of eyeliner around them, his shoulders slumped, his jaw slacked a little.

Hadley saw the other vks close to the pipe and had to act fast.

"I'm sorry"

Harry snapped out of it just as Hadley dropped the hook over the railing and into the water.

Harry rushed past her not saying anything as she ran past to join the others.

A few tears prickled in her eyes as she fought more pirates.

Hadley helped Ruby fight off two pirates as Jay and Lonnie ran through the pipe.

They backed closer to it.

Hadley watched as Harry fought Ben, dripping wet. There was a rage in his eyes that Hadley never saw before. She snapped out of her staring when Evie pulled her back.

"Carlos! Smoke bomb!"

Carlos tossed the smoke bomb to Evie and she held it up.

Purple smoke billowed out from the broken bomb, covering them to escape.

"Ben go!"

Evie, Ruby and Ben went through the pipe.

Hadley and Mal made it over the bridge, stopping at the opening.

Together they kicked the bridge off the docks and into the waters below.

Mal smirked at Uma and turned away going through the tunnel.

Hadley lingered a few moments longer looking at Harry.

He was looking straight back, his blue eyes sad. He almost looked like he wanted to say something.

"i'm sorry"

Hadley turned and ran through the tunnel, throwing her sword in the trunk of the limo and climbing in.

When she settled in her seat a silent tear slipped down her cheek.

The way back was silent, no one said anything aside from Dude saying things he shouldn't.

When they got back all Hadley wanted to do was sit in her room and cry.

Ruby ran off to the dorms as soon as her feet hit Auradon soil.

Evie pulled her and Mal away walking towards the dorms.

"We need to talk"

Hadley nodded, another tear dripping down her cheek.

"No." Carlos stepped forward making the girls turn around.

"No?"

“You guys are always going off in a huddle, whispering your girl-talk or whatever. And Jay and I are tired of it.”

Jay looked at Carlos wide eyes before holding his hands up.

“I'm not.” He shrugged.

“We're your family, too.” Carlos continued “We've been through a lot. Together. I'm not stopping that now. Okay?” Mal and Hadley shook their heads.

Carlos looked at the other four standing around him.

“Everyone, sit.” Carlos sat down cross-legged in the grass with Dude in his lap.

They looked around at each other before sitting down.

The five sat in a circle in silence for a few seconds before Carlos spoke again looking over at Jay.

“I don't know how to start girl-talk.”

Jay shrugged “what up?”

Evie chuckled and Mal spoke up.

“Um… Well…” she paused looking for the right words, “ I'm a mess. I'm such a mess.” Mal laughed nervously and Evie placed a hand on her shoulder and Hadley reached out for her hand squeezing it reassuringly “I mean, six months ago, I was, you know, stealing candy from babies, and know, everyone wants me to be this Lady of the Court and I have no idea how to keep up the act”

“Then don't” Carlos shrugged.

“See? This was dumb.” Jay sighed starting to get up.

Evie held out her hand stopping him from leaving the grass.

“Maybe not,” she readjusted to hold Mals other hand and face the others.

“we are always going to be the kids from the Isle. I tried to forget it, I really tried. But those are our roots. And we all did what we had to do to survive, but it made us who we are. And we are never going to be like anyone else here. And that's okay.”

“And we can't fake it” Carlos added.

“Yeah, I mean, especially without my spell book.” Mal sighed.

“Well of Ben doesn't love the real you, then he's not the one. The same goes with Harry, Hadley. If Harry can't see the way you feel for him and what you gave up, then he doesn't deserve you” Carlos gave a small smile.

Hadley laughed nervously and another year slid down her cheek.

“See that's the thing, Harry does know how I feel, at least he does now now anyway.” Hadley looked down.

“What do you mean?” Jay furrowed his eyebrows.

“I, um.., I told him that I loved him.” Hadley let out a sharp breath.

The others gasped.

“What did he say?” Evie looked wide eyes at her.

“He didn't say anything.” Hadley gave a sheepishly sad smile “ I said it right before I dropped his hook in the water, he dove in right after,” Hadley paused before starting again.

“He thought I forgot about him, he thought I abandoned him there. And I know you guys don't necessarily like him because he's on Umas crew and everything, but he does have a heart. And to see the look on his face when he confronted me outside of the Ursals’, I broke my heart. Knowing that I was the sole purpose of it. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if he hated me now, I mean, I did tell him I was coming back for him. And now I won't even get to know what his answer would be.” Hadley wiped away the tears that had fallen.

“Well, if he's dumb enough to not love you back then, you don't deserve him.” Jay nodded.

Hadley smiled sadly.

There was silence for a few minutes before Evie spoke.

“ Hadley and I are going to go make some changes to your dress. And if you're up for it, only if you're up for it, it'll be waiting for you, okay?” Mal nodded slightly and Evie pulled her into a hug mounting 'thank you’re to Carlos who nodded.

Jay, Evie, Hadley and Carlos stood up and began walking away.

When Hadley and Evie reached Evie's dorm, Hadley flopped on her bed.

“E, what am I going to do?” Evie leaned against the post at the foot of her bed.

Evie gave her a small smile.

She sat down on the bed as Hadley sat up and pulled the girl into a side hug.

“What does your heart say?”

“That right now, I'm hoping for a miracle” Hadley sighed.

(Evie)

They don't always happen when you ask And its easy to give in to your fears But when you're blinded by your pain Can't see the way, get through the rain A small but still, resilient voice Says hope is very near, oh (Oh) There can be miracles (Miracles) When you believe (Boy, when you believe, yeah) (Though hope is frail) Though hope is frail (Its hard) Its hard to kill (Hard to kill, oh, yeah) Who knows what miracles You can achieve (You can achieve, oh) When you believe somehow you will (Somehow, somehow, somehow) Somehow you will (I know, I know, know) You will when you believe (When you)

(A/n: for those of you who read 'see you again' will know where this song came from :))

Hadley turned and hugged Evie tight.

“What would I do without you?” She smiled.

“Not sure. But now, we have a dress to fix.” Evie stood up pulling Hadley with her. After getting changed from their Isle clothes, Evie gladly let Hadley borrow some clothes, together they pulled out Mal's yellow and blue dress, attaching it to the mannequin. Evie cut and Hadley sewed.

Just over an hour later, there was a frantic knock on the door.

“Come in” Hadley said through the pins in her teeth.

The door burst open and in walked a tear streaked Ruby.

Hadley stood up and removed the pins from her mouth seeing her friend in such a state.

“Ruby? What's wrong?” Hadey and Evie both rushed over to console the blonde girl.

“I think I'm in love.” Ruby didn't look up from the floor.

“Well that's great!” Evie squealed.

“Ruby?” Hadley already had an idea on who it was.

“With who?”

Ruby looked up at them.

“I think I'm in love with Gil.”

Hadley and Evie looked at each other.

Oh boy..

“Okay, you need to talk and we need to work, let's go” Hadley shut the door and pulled Ruby over to the dresses.

Hadey and Evie resumed their work both listening to her

“Spill.”

“I don't know, I just, I felt something when we ran into him the first time on the Isle.”

Hadley urged her for more details

“After I was captured by Umas crew, Gil never left my side. He also didn't let any of the other crew members get close to me. We got to talking, found out we have a similar interest in adventures and discovering new places. He's really sweet." Ruby had a far off look in her eyes.

"Gil always was. Granted he can be a bit thick headed but, nonetheless, he is a great guy. Harry's told me that." Hadley hadn't looked away from the lace she was sewing.

"I understand completely" she reached out and placed her hand on Ruby's knee.

"I just wish there was some way to bring him over, you know?"Ruby sighed.

"Oh believe me, nobody knows about wanting to bring someone over more than Hadley and I" Evie said walking around the front of the dress.

"There are many people on that island that don't deserve to be there."

Hadley finished stitching, stepping back with Evie and looking the dress up and down.

"Its even more perfect than before." Hadley high fived Evie admiring their handywork.

Hadley walked over to Ruby and pulled her up holding onto her hands.

"We will find a way to get Gil off the Isle. Even if I have to go back there and drag him out myself." Hadley smiled.

Ruby gave a slight chuckle and pulled Hadley and Evie into a hug.

"Now, its almost time for cotillion." Hadley walked over to the rack of dresses and pulled off a large dress bag labeled 'Ruby'. She held the bag out.

"Go back to your dorm and get some rest, ill be over in a bit to help you get ready i gotta help deliver dresses and help Evie get ready." She leaned in as Ruby took the bag,and whispered "and to be honest, Evie is the only one who can get me into my dress." Ruby laughed as she nodded her head and walked out the door.

I gotta say this part tor me up writing... anyways.. If you liked this part and would like part 10 please like and comment. As always you can read the illustrated version over on my Wattpad (@phelpsphan). If you would like to be added to the tag list please message me. <3<3<3

Summary: You would think that six months in Auradon would do any villain kid good. Well, not Hadley. After the events of the Coronation, Hadley's mood took a downward spiral; and for one reason, guilt. She'd broken a promise and left her best friend on the Isle of the Lost. How will she handle seeing him again when certain circumstances bring her back to the Isle? Will she finally tell him what she really feels?

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in Descendants. Hadley and the plot between her and Harry are mine.

Tag list: @unded-bride

#harry hook imagine #harry hook x reader #harry hook #daughter of hades

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avian-writes · 3 years ago

Text

Raft Novelization (working title)

Me and my sisters play the game Raft and I came up with a backstory for us and decided to write about our adventures. Names have been changed of course. Please give feedback if you feel so inclined!

The two sisters trudged up the Northwestern mountain of Balboa Island, eyes and ears peeled for any sign of more bears and goats. Lani was determined to bring a goat back to the ship come hell or more high water, even if she had to hold it for days herself.

They reached the ranger station and both resisted the urge to curl in themselves from the creepiness. The scarecrows, more so scarepeople she remarked, stared at them as they trespassed the station and began scrounging around for notes and blueprints.

As Bea read the tale of Henry’s depleting sanity on the island, her walkie talkie buzzed on her belt. She unclipped it and held it in between them. “What did you say, brother dearest?”

“We do need a machete for relay 6. I’m heading back to the ship to rest up from that bear attack.”

“Why don’t you find somewhere to bunker down until you feel better?” Lani asked, picking up a tiny pile of berries and placing it in her bag.

“How much patience do you think I have? I- oh for fecks sake the bear’s back.”

“Oh so you’re close to the ship!” Lani said simply. “Just go around the bear and run!” It sounded that easy, right?

Eren didn’t sound as sure. “Not that hill, another hill up.”

Bea took it back as she started a staring contest with one of Henry’s friends. “Go around into the water, the bear won’t follow you.”

“There’s no water near me. There’s one path and the bear is waiting for me. It’s guarding its cave, it won’t move if I’m nearby.”

Lani leaned over Bea’s shoulder and held down the talk button herself. “If you make it around him, you can make it to the ship. Just keep running.”

“If I die, I’m blaming you.”

Lani shrugged, despite the fact that he couldn’t see her. “Alright.”

There was scuffling on the other end and the two listened intently while flipping through the notes found. As Lani questioned the empty tool nests, they heard their brother’s slightly panicked voice again.

“Wait the bear’s asleep, I can make it- no no! I woke the bear! I woke the-”

There was a thunk and static, then silence. Lani and Bea turned to each other, dumbfounded.

Bea tutted. “So! Which one of us is going to get him?”

“…I’ll wait here.”

It took longer than Bea cared for to make her way back down the mountain without having to scale it like a goat. It was safer, but much longer when swimming around an entire mountain. A thought she shared with Lani to her sister’s amusement and bewilderment.

She met the fork in the island and spotted a cave nestled into the rock. She swam over with tired legs with intent to investigate. “Ooo a cave! Appears to be empty but perhaps has something interesting,” she spoke into her talkie now clipped to her shirt collar.

“Bea.”

She kept swimming up to the cave’s mouth. “I shall take you two here later, but I may as well take down the location while I can. It’s in a very odd place, I wonder if this was occupied at one point.”

“Bea.”

She perked up. “Yes?”

“Eren is incapacitated.”

“Right! Sorry, I got distracted.” She huffed out a laugh and clipped the talkie back to her belt. Bea dove back into the water and continued back around the island.

Once she made it nearby, she emerged and climbed the grassy rocks until she saw the relay station 6 sign. Relieved to finally have found it, she went on until she could see the wild berry basket.

She crept closer, knees bent in anticipation, slowly and quietly. Kneeling behind the basket, she could see her brother’s unconscious body lying meters from the Mama Bear’s cave. With no Mama Bear in sight.

Bea came out of hiding and darted on light feet around the basket and towards Eren. Leaves shuddered from nonexistent wind and the trees waved down to her demise from above the cave as she bounded across the path.

Reaching past the cave, she suddenly stopped and looked around her. Tranquility gazed back at her and she sighed in relief.

“Oh this is much easier than I thought it’d be.” Just as she took another step, a loud growl broke through her fortune and shattered her ear drum. She yelled and didn’t bother looking for the bear as she picked up her brother in her arms and made a run towards the ship.

Bea made it as far as the top of the hill before something large pounded into her back. She went sprawling to the ground, dropping Eren and his nearly lifeless body rolled onto the stones.

Her chin slammed into the ground while her knee collided directly onto the rock and pain shot through her leg up to her skull like a lightning strike to a tower. She screamed and tried to push back up by her wrists scratching into the dirt.

The bear lunged for Bea, grabbing hold of her ankle and digging his claws in. She yelped too quietly for someone getting attacked by a wild animal and kicked backwards at the bear’s face. Her heel caught on his nose and it staggered to the side, roaring.

She took the brief moment to pick her brother back up and skidded down the hill. Dirt and pebbles flew at their faces and searing pain was rippling through her, but she blinked through the soil and leaned back, planting the soles of her shoes against the rock. She pushed with her knees and leapt from the hill onto the beach.

Bea threw Eren across her shoulder and swam for the ship, grappling the nets and pulling herself up. If she turned back, she would see hazy hints of blood floating along in the waves below them. Exactly 27 steps later, she threw him into his bed and collapsed next to the cookers, blood seeping from her shin.

~~~~~

Sunset. The island was slowly falling victim to the night. Balboa was temporarily home to the creatures of the night that mingled with the camping bears and frightened goats. The air was chilly with the dwindling sunlight and Lani shivered in the dusty and barren cabin.

Shadows crawled across the cabin walls, bathing the room in further darkness. She scooted back as it crept along the floor towards her. She planted herself under the one light source that was quickly dimming that cast a creepy glow around her.

Outside, the triplets stood poorly on guard, making her more scared than if she were completely alone. But she could see the stars coming out around them, so close she almost felt she could reach right outside the window and pick them off the sky like apples.

But she couldn’t. She could only wait in the ranger station for her sister to return to her after hopefully surviving saving their brother. Wait and hope and fear. Fear moving any further into the dark and fear looking anywhere else in the cabin, lest she see something she hadn’t in the daytime.

Not taking her eyes off the door, she blindly patted the floor beside her for her bag and rummaged inside it for her walkie talking.

Down the mountain, on the ship, Bea sat in the smelting deck gathering more supplies to compensate their losses. Eren still laid in bed, his walkie talkie beside his pillow. She tossed more wood into the fire with haste just as her own talkie crinkled.

“You are my sunshine…my only sunshine.”

She stopped cold momentarily then picked up the pace putting together a new spear.

“You make me happy…when skies are gray.”

Eren blinked his eyes open and slowly reached for his talkie, dragging it across wood and wool next to his head.

“You’ll never know…how much I love you.”

The sun dropped below the horizon and the shadows merged into the cabin walls, flooring, ceiling, everywhere. They were camouflaged, waiting to strike the second Lani blinked. She set her gaze on the front door and gripped her walkie talking with burning fingers.

“Please don’t take…my sunshine away.”

#writeblr #raft #original writing #writeblr wip #pirates #novelization #working title #ships

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queen-scribbles · 4 years ago

Text

Element of Risk

So, as per usual, the muses way ran away with the in the water/no reason kiss prompt @risualto sent me. Have some Tekei with a side of Xoti poking the bear.

---------

Everything about the tower--from its crumbling, half-submerged state to the utter lack of other buildings nearby--screamed that it was the sort of place that lured adventurers in and never let them out. Had she been alone, it was the sort of place Kei would give a wide berth, hands very likely on her weapons the whole time.

But she wasn’t alone; and Tekēhu and Xoti’s curiosity overwhelmed her caution. So, eyes warily flicking toward the shadows, Kei followed the two of them through the vine-draped archway--a tight fit for her and Tekēhu both--and into the ruined tower.

“Eww...” Xoti muttered as her hand slipped off the algae-coated walls.

Tekēhu chuckled, echoes rippling into the surrounding darkness. “At least it’s not as bad as the Old City.”

“True,” Xoti said, still shaking the slime off her hand, “but it’s still gross.”

Kei bit her lip to keep from pointing out Xoti had been the one who first suggested “poking around” in here. “Just be careful,” she said instead. “If it’s slippery in addition to old, I don’t want either of you getting hurt.”

“Yes, Ma,” Xoti teased before summoning a spell to give them more light than the weak sun filtering in through holes in the roof provided.

Tekēhu reached for Kei’s hand as it groped by habit for where her sword usually hung. “Relax, my lioness. It isn’t often I have to remind you to have fun...”

Kei smiled at the playful teasing in his tone. “I will. Soon as I’m sure it’s safe...”

He squeezed her hand. “The element of risk is part of what makes it fun, I say.”

She snorted a soft laugh and squeezed his hand back as she nodded in concession of the point. “True enough. And today is supposed to be about having fun.” She kept hold of his hand as the two of them moved forward to follow Xoti. “Though I am curious why there’s algae so high up. Isn’t that usually in water?”

“Maybe this place floods with the tide?” Xoti suggested. She’d reached the juncture of both an ascending and descending staircase, and was pointing down the latter. A good ten feet down the shiny, algae-slicked stone lapped placid ocean water. A faint burbling along the tower wall showed where it had found its way in.

Kei’s gaze instinctively went up the other stairs, noting the line roughly ten feet up where the algae thinned out and the wall went dry. “Well, if that’s the case and memory serves, we have about an hour before the tide starts coming in. So I hope we can fit all the exploring you two want in that hour. I, for one, don’t fancy being stuck in here.”

“Not even with my wonderful company?” Tekēhu gasped, unsuccessfully battling a smirk. “Ekera, beloved, you wound me deeply.”

“Maybe if it was just you,” Kei muttered under her breath, which made him laugh.

“I heard that,” Xoti sing-songed cheerily as she skipped up the stairs. “I’ll try not to take offense.”

“Thank you kindly,” Kei chuckled as she eyed the ascending stairs with a bit more caution than her friend. Unlike the flight leading down, this one was mixed wood and stone, the former moldering and saggy. It didn’t look like it would hold much more weight than the cheerful priestess now standing at the top, even above the demarcation line. She and Tekēhu made their way up slowly, one at a time, testing each step as they went. A few sagged further under Tekēhu’s weight, and one under her own, but they made it up without incident.

Xoti was already poking around in one of the rooms when they joined her. “No point wastin’ time, right? Not that there’s anything really to see...”

She was right; any interesting finds had been claimed by previous explorers. This held true for all the rooms--the only worthwhile thing they found was the view out the uppermost windows. They could see almost the whole island, including the beach where the rest of the crew was relaxing.

And the ocean, waves rolling in past where the Defiant had anchored to break against the shoreline. Including the tower.

“That would be the first warning the tide’s coming in,” Kei said dryly as the floor trembled faintly with the arrival of a good-sized wave. A few small bits of masonry rained down as if to preemptively underscore her next words. “And this place isn’t exactly sturdy.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Xoti nodded, pushing away from the window sill. The wood gave under her hands. “This place ain’t worth gettin’ stuck in.”

The three of them headed back down, carefully on the sagging steps. One still splintered under Kei’s weight, making her stumble as she rushed the rest of the way to the ground. The water had risen, maybe five feet below floor level now. Higher than she’d thought it’d be.

“It’s a smaller space,” Tekēhu explained when Kei’s brow furrowed. “Thus the water in here is higher than the tide outside.”

There was a more definite tremble and fresh rush of water below. Followed by the grinding rumble of stone on stone from nearby.

Xoti’s eyes widened. “What’s fallin’?”

“With my luck?” Kei snorted, already moving toward where they’d entered. “I’ll give you three guesses.”

Her own guess was correct--one of the decorative pillars in the first rooms had begun to topple. It angled across the way out, temporarily caught against the next column in line, but that was already beginning to waver under the weight.

“Xoti, go. Now,” Kei said, urgency sharpening the words.

Xoti complied, darting forward to duck through the gap, now barely big enough for her to pass comfortably. She spun on one heel, carving a divot in the sandy soil. “What about you two?”

Kei glanced at the teetering columns and took a step back, pulling Tekēhu with her. “We’ll figure something out.”

The words were barely out of her mouth when the load-bearing pillar gave out. It slid sideways and toppled in toward the room, rather than against the next column in line. With no support, the initial pillar dropped completely in front of the arch, leaving only a small half-moon gap at the top even Vela wouldn’t fit through. Kei and Tekēhu scuttled back practically to the stairs to avoid the collapsing stone

“We’re fine!” Kei hollered soon as the air cleared. “Just have to find a new way out!”

“I have an idea on that front,” Tekēhu said, coughing into the back of his hand as fresh dust curled around them.

“No jokes about us being trapped alone together first?” Kei teased, dusting off her shirt and trousers.

“Ekera, a crumbling ruin such as this is no place to entertain one so special as you,” he returned with a grin and a wink.

“Well, then, thrill me.” Kei looked at him with brows arched. “How do we get out?”

“The same way the water is getting in.” He gestured toward the stairs down, now completely underwater, a shallow trickle starting to seep across the floor.

“Smart as well as handsome,” she chuckled. “But how do we know know the hole is large enough for us to fit through?”

Tekēhu leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “I shall go and see for myself,” he murmured before starting toward the stairs.

“Right, because you’ve never almost drowned doing something like that before,” Kei snarked, grabbing for his arm.

She missed, but he stopped anyway and turned to face her, resting his hands gently in her arms. “This is not Hasongo, Kei. It is a hole though a wall at the edge of the ocean, not a flooded hallway full of debris. Quite different, I say.”

She sighed and nodded raising one hand to rest against his cheek. “I know. I’m still going to worry about the risk to my handsome fish. It’s just who I am.”

“Ah, but remember, the risk is part of the fun,” Tekēhu chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I will be right back, my lioness.”

This time she let him go. She still worried her lower lip between her teeth from the moment he started down the steps, through the time he vanished under the water, until his head breached the surface again.

“Ekera, it is large enough we could swim through side by side,” he called over, shaking water from his hair. “We simply need to time it with the waves. Come.”

He gestured for Kei to join him, but it wasn’t as if she had much choice. The water had risen enough to cover her boots. It was this or retreat higher and be stuck until the tide went back out. Kei waded toward the steps, misjudged where the top one was, and nearly fell in. She caught herself and continued down until the water came to her waist before pushing off to swim for where Tekēhu waited.

He grinned when she reached him, took her hand, and guided it to grasp the back of his belt. “Hold tight, my lioness.”

Several smart remarks she could make floated through Kei’s mind, but she let them pass and merely nodded as she tightened her grip.

“When the next wave comes, deep breath and under we go,” Tekēhu instructed, wiping salt water from his face with the back of one hand. “We are both good swimmers, Kei. This won’t be difficult. Trust me.”

“Oh, I do,” she promised.

A wave came in before he could reply, but she saw his eyes light up as they each took a deep breath and dove beneath the surface. Her eyes instinctively squeezed closed and she understood why he’d had her hold his belt. She kicked her feet to keep close so she wasn’t creating drag, felt one heel glance off the upper edge of stone as they passed through the hole, and then they were heading up, angled to the side to get past the tower.

Kei let go of his belt and swam for the surface, water streaming off her as she broke through. Tekēhu wasn’t far behind, already grinning as he popped up next to her.

“There, you see?” he chuckled. “Not hard at all.”

“My hero,” Kei laughed affectionately as they headed in toward the beach. Her boots dragged through the water, and if they weren’t among her favorites she would probably kick them off and let them be lost. Fortunately, however, it wasn’t far to water shallow enough they could stand, waves lapping around their shoulders. “Well, that was an adventure,” she said glibly, flipping narrow braids back from her face.

Tekēhu laughed. “That it was. Thank you for your willingness to indulge curiosity.”

Kei smiled, moving close into his space. “You’re most welcome.”

He tucked her braids behind her ear and left his hand cupped to her jaw. “I’ll have to think of a way to show my gratitude, I say.”

She raised her hand to run her thumb over his lower lip. “I think getting us out of there balanced the scales pretty well.”

“Still...” he let the word trail off meaningfully, and she rolled her eyes as she kissed him.

A wave broke over their heads and shoved them under the surface. They came up sputtering and shaking off water.

“That’s right, Ngati doesn’t think I’m good enough for you,” Kei joked, blinking rapidly to clear droplets from her eyelashes.

“Then I will simply have to convince Her otherwise,” Tekēhu returned, and kissed her deeply again. This time there was no oceanic interference.

“You took your sweet time!” Xoti’s voice drifted out from the beach, and whether she meant kissing or finding a way out, Kei and Tekēhu both ignored her.

Aside from the (fairly impressive) wave Tekēhu pushed toward her, at least.

They broke the kiss to share a grin at Xoti’s dismayed yelp before both leaned back in for more, so fervently they almost toppled into the waves again.

Kei laughed as they regained their balance. “We should head in,” she said reluctantly, stealing one last salty kiss.

“As you say, Captain,” Tekēhu winked, and let his hand linger a moment longer before they parted and began wading in toward where a very drenched Xoti was waiting for them.

“Tekēhu, that wasn’t very nice,” she pouted, shaking off like a dog.

He chuckled. “Ekera, have you learned your lesson about teasing a Watershaper when he is surrounded by water, friend Xoti?”

“Yeah, alright,” she chuckled ruefully, squeezing water from her hair. “Glad you got out fine.”

“Me, too,” Kei said with a wry grin as she balanced against Tekēhu’s shoulder to pull off her boots and socks. “Maybe we be a little more careful where we explore in the future? Even if risk adds to the fun?”

“Good plan,” Xoti nodded. “As is dryin’ off. We should get back to the others first, though. Before they think the jungle ate us or somethin’ and Serafen takes over.”

Kei laughed. “Also a good plan.”

With that endorsement, Xoti started briskly down the beach. Kei and Tekēhu followed at a more leisurely pace, close enough to the water an occasional wave lapped over their feet. Kei spared one last glance back at the tower and shook her head as she turned away. Some things aren’t worth the risk.

Tekēhu reached for her hand,weaving his fingers between hers, and she smiled. But others definitely are.

#queens fic #kiss prompts #watcher wednesday #kei ghan #tekehu #tekei #pillars of eternity

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