#Sometimes I get something started and can go ham and complicate it but sometimes I just keep it simple for the sake of not losing my mind | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

666writingcafe · 1 year ago

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The Adventure Begins

Levi's overacting. Again. The only reason it wasn't obvious during the school play was because Simeon kept him reined in. Levi gets excited quite easily, and it causes him to get lost in whatever role he's playing.

I'll have to ask Simeon, but I don't think he intended the Lord of Shadow to act so...dramatically? badly? I don't know how to describe it, really. It just isn't very good.

Unlike MC. I'm not sure why I like their acting better, especially since they're currently matching Levi's energy. Maybe it's because they're intentionally hamming it up. They did mumble an apology to me before they started talking to him, after all, so they must know that Levi's acting isn't the best.

Satan's isn't much better, either. He's not as over-the-top as Levi, but I don't find him convincing as the "villain" of this story. If anything, he'd make a good anti-hero, but Solomon probably didn't want to make things too complicated.

Solomon's not a very good author.

However, I'm choosing to keep all this to myself, because the point of all this is to help MC get their first star. Lucifer, on the other hand, is having a hard time suspending his disbelief. So, I understand why MC told him to shut up. I just hope they're prepared to get their ass handed to them once Lucifer's back to normal size, because while he has a soft spot for MC, he doesn't like being silenced. Messes with his pride.

Speaking of which...the stars.

They represent the seven virtues, which are direct opposites of our sins. For me, that virtue is temperance. Solomon probably knows this, but he may not realize the full extent of my relationship with temperance.

Once upon a time, I was able to control myself and my urges. Until I wasn't. For my brothers, their sin was triggered by specific events; that wasn't the case for me. It just...happened. And I didn't realize it until it was too late.

Now, it's what most people know me for. They think I'm a meathead that only thinks about food. Even my brothers.

Which isn't fair.

Why are they allowed to have complex personalities, but not me? Why can they participate in mentally stimulating activities, while I'm cast off to the side and dismissed as too dumb to understand any of it? It's never made sense to me.

I think that's part of why I like MC so much. They're the first person in a really, really long time that sees me beyond my sin. They actually listen to what I have to say and seem to value my opinion, even if it's not related to food or sports.

Yet somehow, deep inside, I don't fully trust them. I think it's coming from my subconscious. Somewhere in there lives a hurt angel that feels like everyone he cares about will die and leave him behind. And in a way, it's true.

Lilith may have been the only person in our little family that actually lost their life, but my brothers barely resemble what they were in the Celestial Realm. It's weird. They wear the same faces, but they're completely different people. Sometimes, I feel like they're complete strangers, or perhaps taken over by aliens.

Oddly, the one person I can rely on to stay the same is Satan. Then again, he didn't have his own form until we arrived in the Devildom, so this version of him is all I've ever known.

"Beel?"

Shit.

I missed a lot, didn't I?

"Are you okay? You seem out of it."

"I could say the same to you." Why is that the first thing that comes out of my mouth? I sound like a jerk.

MC merely sighs as they sit next to me on the...bed? I take a proper look at my surroundings and realize that we're in a hotel room of some kind. Lucifer appears to be sleeping on the nightstand, using tissues as both pillow and blanket.

"Wanna go first, or shall I?" Interesting question. They don't seem upset at me.

"Your call." MC rests their head on my shoulder.

"Simeon needs my help making an important decision." Their tone indicates something serious.

"With what?" MC sighs again.

"His future." Huh? Why would an angel need a human's help with that? I know that the two of them are fairly close, but still.

"But that's neither here nor there," they quickly add, sighing. "It's not like I can do anything about it now." They glance up at me. "What's on your mind?"

"My past."

"As an angel?" I nod.

"Back then, the only thing that mattered to people was that I was strong. I wanted to be useful, so I decided to become a soldier and fight for the Celestial Realm. Problem was, I had trouble controlling my powers."

"Like I did before receiving the Ring?"

"You know, I hadn't really thought about it until you said it, but yeah. I suppose we have that in common. In your case, everyone had your back, which is good, because I wouldn't have wanted you to go through that experience the way I did." MC sits up and properly looks at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I would destroy something--even though most of the time it was a complete accident--Raphael would make some sort of sarcastic remark about it. I think he started calling me the Hulk at one point, but it was meant as an insult." I pause.

"At least he had the decency to do it to my face. Lots of angels would talk shit about me behind my back. They thought I was too stupid to pick up on it, but I knew. They acted overly sweet towards me whenever I would walk in the room. Condescending, even. It was like I was a dumb kid to them." MC places a hand on my thigh and pats it.

"Sounds depressing," they remark.

"It was. Oddly enough, the one person in authority that didn't treat me that way was Lucifer. I initially thought he was too busy with his duties to really care about much else, but then one day he approached me and started talking to me. We had a legitimate conversation."

"About?"

"He told me to keep in mind that being a Celestial Realm soldier wasn't about attacking--"

"--but protecting." We must have woken Lucifer up. "You had the power to protect everyone--to keep them safe--and that you shouldn't feel bad because you were special. If you learned to control your powers, I'd recommend you to the cherubim and have you serve as a Celestial Realm gatekeeper. You did, and so I kept my promise." Lucifer beckons MC to pick him up and bring him closer to me.

"MC and I may be connected by the Ring of Light, but the two of you have a strong connection as well," he continues. "You're both motivated by the need to protect the ones you love, even if it means sacrificing yourself in the process. Drawing on that similarity is going to be the key to pass Solomon's test."

"Are you saying Solomon knew we had that in common?" MC asks incredulously.

"No. I did. I simply passed the knowledge along to him."

"How long--"

"The rooftop."

"Of Dogi Magi?" I'm glad MC understands what he's referring to, because I'm completely lost. Must have been something I wasn't involved with.

"You knew that Belphie would hurt you if you went against his order to reject me, but you did it anyway."

"I didn't want to lie to you."

"Because that would have meant hurting his feelings." Asmo may have used his powers to pick up on Lucifer's crush on MC early on, but I knew pretty much from the moment they set eyes on each other. Granted, he was more attracted to their soul initially, but who could blame him? It was bright and shiny, even back then. If we weren't under orders to not eat them, then they wouldn't have made it out of the assembly hall alive. Even Diavolo was struggling to contain himself.

Anyway, the point is MC cared enough about Lucifer in that moment to feel the need to protect him.

Just like I felt the need to protect Lucifer after I became a cherub.

MC's going to get their star.

#obey me shall we date #obey me mc #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub #obey me lucifer #basically what i'm doing with beel is depicting him as someone constantly in his head #and not in the 'i wonder what i'll eat next' kind of way #but instead having him silently observe what's happening around him and mentally commentate on it #sometimes it involves going on little rambles as certain things remind him of other things #but i'm trying to showcase someone who's able to pick up on people's personalities and feeling #simply by watching them interact with the world around them #i think he's emotionally intelligent #that doesn't always transfer to academia #but it is an important type of intelligence #because it helps guide interactions with real people in real situations #also #headcanon that lucifer was the last one to realize/accept that he had a crush on mc #asmo and beel may have picked up on it first #but eventually the others caught on #even the other exchange students #and diavolo #cue relentless teasing from diavolo to lucifer #diavolo: you have feelings for mc #lucifer: no i don't #diavolo: yes you do #and they'd go back and forth about it #diavolo just wanted his friend/occasional lover to be happy #and he thought mc was good for lucifer #so he rooted for them to get together #and was happy when they did

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motorclit · 2 months ago

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I highly suggest whoever is reading this to get into shortwave radio listening. There are plenty of reasons for this, such as if your radio is portable (is rechargeable or takes batteries), then when the power/internet goes out, you won't be completely in the dark regarding news or the weather (I'll get to weather radios in a minute).

Make sure you get one with an adjustable antenna, too.

There are PLENTY of tutorials on YouTube and several books that can help you get started. As far as books are concerned, I *highly* recommend Shortwave: Radio Listening for Beginners by Anita Louise McCormick. I finished it not too long ago from the library, and it covers a very brief crash course in the history of radio including who invented it, how radio waves work, etc.

I will say that if you look for YouTube tutorials, you will run into a LOT of videos talking about "HAM radio," and that's basically for people who really want to set up their own little radio station and transmit instead of listen. You *will* need to apply for an FCC license for that, so if you wanna get into that, there is no shortage of resources of people on YouTube talking about everything you wanna know about that.

I strongly urge (actually, I'm begging whoever is reading this) to get yourself a weather radio. Weather radios are, as the weather YouTuber Ryan Hall puts it, "Like a smoke detector but for tornadoes." These radios are designed only for the weather, but if you have an emergency, from tornadoes to flash flooding, even wildfires, there is an alert system that will go off. The one I have is a simple Midland brand one that so far worked like a charm. While I havent had any nights of it waking me up due to dangerous weather, it did alert us to a tornado warning when the derecho hit the other week. That was while we had no power or internet, and because my muž and I live on my parents' farm, we have almost no cellphone signal. My mom and I got the cats to the basement before the worst of it hit us.

The weather radio I got is the $40.00 one from Ryan Hall's shop site. If you want to get that or the other model, his site keeps getting sold out on them and can sometimes be hard to keep in stock. You can program them to go off for only certain alert systems, or if you want, you can keep them on in case you think shit is so whacky that you wouldn't rule out the possibility of a hurricane or an iceberg in Nevada or something (yes, they have alerts for EVERYTHING on this little radio, they are not fucking around).

The instructions that come with your weather radio will help you figure out which regional radio station you should pick for your state and county by directing you to a website that helps you figure that out. The weather radio also comes with a wall plug, but be sure to have batteries in it (and plenty of spare batteries reserved if you're without power for many days) for when you lose power. I periodically unplug mine so I can plug in some lights, but that's for a few hours each evening. My radio lasted for 3 days on batteries alone during the power outage, and the only thing I had to reset on the radio when I gave it fresh batteries was the clock. All of my settings were saved.

Because of the current regime here in America, radio might be a lifeline regarding news, as radiowaves don't give a shit about international boundaries. Canada understands most Americans don't want the bullshit going on right now, so it wouldn't surprise me if there will be a radio station or two that might broadcast American news for any American who has a radio because the internet is a hot steaming pile of rotting garbage right now. Basically be ready for a potential Radio Free America helping us out from Canada long before the regime decides to make buying radios complicated or impossible.

You don't *need* a super-fancy radio, and be careful of dropshippers when you go to make a purchase for a regular shortwave radio. I'm getting mine in the mail today, which is a C. Crane Skywave model. I had to get it slightly used because brand new they can be pricy. (I got mine used from eBay.) The Skywave 2 (the newer model) is advertised as being able to also listen to Air Traffic Controllers, which could be important for many people's safety these days since planes are dropping from the fucking sky. The reason I had to buy a new radio is because the only non-vehicle-based radio we have is a shitty modern boombox that is already malfunctioning to some degree and doesn't have an external antenna at all. We used the sketchy radio signal listening to a station airing 80s and 90s music to fall asleep to since there was no power to power the large fan and we need background noise or else we can't sleep. (And now I've reawakened the heavenly feeling of falling asleep to the radio faintly playing in the middle of the night.)

I am begging younger generations to learn some analog tech, as you don't need internet for it, you don't need a subscription, you don't have to worry about it spying on you, etc. And fellow Millennials, re-learn what you can. Re-embrace the old tech. Teach younger gens and don't be dicks about it.

Let's make radios cool again!

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simmingwormly · 3 months ago

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Wormville: The Next Round of Builds

...or, "it is MY mental health crisis and I get to choose my method of procrastination!"

As I'm slowly but surely working on posting worm (and also trying to work on putting my real life together, or, better yet, stop it from falling apart), I sometimes take a breather and go ham on my virtual dollhouse with bulldozers. This time, three old buildings got a reno and one popped out from the void.

The Entity's Grove

A small, misty forest (it IS misty in the neighborhood view, but I haven't figured out how to keep the mist when I load in) that hides a small grotto with a-

Actually, nevermind. There's nothing to see in the grotto. A really fucked up weird creep would've probably put a sacrificial altar there, but I'm a normal, well-adjusted Simmer with a normal, well-adjusted custom neighborhood. Anyway, something to trouble Nico in the future.

Wormville's school (rebuild)

This is the original look of the school:

And this is the new one. I decided to focus on whimsy, given that it is meant to be a space for the young. I don't have the mod that allows you to run an active school, and I don't plan on getting it (since my game is complicated enough by now), but I do send teenagers and kids with their teenage siblings here to work on skills and, of course, socialize. It's furnished way more with actual children in mind than teenagers (who are going to be the main audience for this building), but I don't think it bugs me that much. The Wormville teens do mostly live in a neverending shitstorm of drama, schemes, plague outbreaks and arsons, so I think some color and whimsy will only do them good.

Temple of the Entity

The previous design of the Temple was majestic and bulky, but most of the majesty and bulk were the decorative pyramid steps from Bon Voyage. I've decided to rebuild, since I was no longer fully satisfied with the look, especially of the interior, and we've, after all, switched priests. I thought it could be fun if the personality and values of the current high priest always impacted the way the Temple looked, so I might be rebuilding it each generation. Fun fact! This one, Avery's version, is actually not the original Temple I built when starting the save! That one is long forgotten (no screenshots...), and the only thing I remember about it was that it was fairly ugly and looked very clumsy. (sorry, Archibald)

Nico's version is much smaller, looks lighter and much, much airier, reflecting the current priest's open-minded and laid-back nature. It's still made mostly out of the same materials, but natural-looking stone and wood are way more prominent to fit Nico's push for embracing the wild and mythical.

I wouldn't say I'm 100% satisfied with the way it turned out, but I had a lot of fun and I hope it will serve its purpose. That reminds me of the actual functional parts! Unfortunately, I can't give you a comparision of the old interior, since I didn't take many screenshots there (for a good reason, may I add), so I can only hope you'll find the new one pretty enough on its own.

New temple interior

This is the main chappel. I originally wanted to cover all the grassy areas in folliage, but I got worried about restricting the movement of the Sims inside way too much. The room si relatively small and many of the pieces are diagonal, which alone is enough to make me doubt the game's pathfinding will play nice.

This is the (small) mauzoleum! (Wormville will also receive a big one in the Arcane Lake area) I'm low-key really proud of this part, because we all know how basements are in TS2, and I'm glad I've managed to add one without spilling too much blood. As for the dead who rest here, those are worms that died and got resurrected, leaving a soulless grave behind waiting for them to return one day. (at the moment, that's Regina and Lester) There are also townies and NPCs who got a bit too close to the everpresent chaos. I'm also surprised it's only so few of them, but then again, Wormville has much fewer townies than a normal hood to begin with. (only social group peeps, garden club and NPCs, with downtownies, vacation locals, turists and dormies also present in the save, but keeping out of the main neighborhood)

And last but not least, there is a secondary prayer spot in an open area upstairs. There is also an altar, although any interactions with it will unfortunately have to take place in the theatre of mind.

You might've also noticed that the temple is full of cat statues - that's because a cat is one of the Entity's symbols. That's why there is also more of them than dogs in the households around the community, taking care of them is a religious practice for worms. (also, dogs have to be walked, and I find checking the dog's bladder motive constantly to be a huge annoyance in the Sims, and I keep forgetting about it)

The Devir Residence

Not to be mistaken for the Home of the Priest (the main estate of clan Devir), this is a house that stood abandoned for most of a generation. It was build by Audrey and Avery Devir and it's the birthplace of Cyrus Anora, however the Devirs moved into the Home of the Priest after the Grim Reaper made Archibald and Amanda Devir vacate it. Nowdays, the Devir family has moved back in, but the branches switched - it's Felicia Devir, descended from Archibald, with her wife Hannah, and their young daughter Naomi.

This is the house pre-remodel.

And this is after! I've slimmed it down a little to make the roofing work better, varied the texture a bit, and added a terrace for Felicia's telescope over a parking spot for an eventual car. The funny thing is that right after I finished the remodelling, I've realized that it's very probable this household will fuse with another in the 11th rotation, so I'll have to remodel it again to make more space. See you in the next worm architecture article-

#the sims 2 #simbrl #ts2 #the sims #simblr #wormville #custom neighborhood #ts2 build #wormbuildings

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kangaracha · 1 year ago

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head above water | chapter 1

also written by @keepswingin

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pairing chan x reader, jeongin x reader

genre love triangle, coming of age, angst, sickfic, friends with benefits, college au

summary Homework, a small business, overbearing parents, a boyfriend that isn't a boyfriend. And then there's whatever is going on with her best friend, who seems to want something...more than a friendship, if he ever gets around to asking her about it- life is complicated, and far too busy for Y/N to be bothered with being stressed, or sick, or whatever it is that's making it hard to eat and sleep and focus on her work-

status ongoing

taglist OPEN

masterlist | next

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You're slumped across Chan's lap when Minho finally comes through the door, one arm full of groceries, the other holding his duffel bag from dance practice. He's not at all surprised to see you as he kicks the door shut with a foot, though he does roll his eyes and make a big show of tossing off his shoes before sauntering over to the kitchen and slinging his bags on the closest empty counter.

"Of course all of you heathens are here," he grouses as he starts pulling things out of one of the shopping bags and stacking the various items beside it. "Do any of you ever leave the house?"

"Depends on the weather," Changbin chimes from beside you, flipping lazily through television channels.

"The weather's fine," Minho mutters, making a face as he shoves things over to make more room for what he's currently unloading. You watch in amusement as the current victim seems to be Chan's laptop and discarded charger. "My wallet isn't, on the other hand." He catches your eye as he turns, tugging the fridge open. "What are you doing here?" he asks, as if you're not welcome, even though you've slept over more often than you should and the key to his apartment sits on your keychain like an unattainable trophy.

A trophy you deserved, anyway - you're more than sure your key is Changbin's replacement key. He had lost it sometime ago, and Minho hadn't bothered to make him a new one. You watch as Minho tosses something from the open fridge with Changbin's writing on the top of it.

"Sorry," you say, the word clumsily as it tumbles from your mouth. You're not usually like this, but you feel embarrassed for some reason, being so close to Chan, leaning on him like he's nothing more than a pillow. Minho wouldn't judge, not ever, but there is something in his gaze that makes you doubt, your stomach twisting. "I wasn't feeling good after class, and my apartment is farther than yours."

Minho hums at your answer, seemingly satisfied. The tightness in your chest doesn't loosen.

You wish it would, after a day like today.

Instead, you exhale, and move to sit up, stretching your arms above your head. You tilt your head to either side to crack your neck, and feel Chan shift in return, cold fingers attempting to slip around your wrist. You pull away before he can keep you there, and avoid the glance of concern he gives you as you stand up.

His care is too much, sometimes. He keeps you grounded in ways you've never been able to understand and yet sometimes you worry that he'll look at you too closely and unravel every secret you've never told. It's easy to nearly fall asleep pressed against him. It's always been hard to escape his gaze.

You make your way over to the kitchen just as Minho throws something else away. You barely catch the hastily scribbled label on that one, but you're pretty sure it was Chan's handwriting.

"Do you need help?"

Minho doesn't give a direct answer, moving something over inside the fridge to make room, but he doesn't have to. He was easy to read once you knew him.

You start handing him things one at a time - a package of fresh chicken, sliced cheese and shredded ham for Han's sandwiches. You can't help but glance over your shoulder at the thought of the third body in the room; Han's slumped in the armchair on the other side of the television, eyes closed and forehead hidden behind the hood of his sweatshirt, though you can't tell if he's asleep or not. He might've been snoring earlier, but you had nearly fallen asleep yourself, lost in thought about far too many things and conformable against Chan -

"Are you hungry?"

Minho sounds tired. You shrug, not wanting him to go out of his way. Your stomach's been feeling weird all day anyway, so you aren't sure if you want to test your luck just yet. "I don't know, I've been feeling off all day."

"Are you sick?" he asks, finally closing the fridge with a loud thump.

"Unnecessary!" Chan calls loudly as he tries to reach over and grab the remote from Changbin. "Go back!"

Thankfully, you're saved from answering by Chan's stunned tone as Minho and you turn towards the living room to see what's going on.

"Get your own TV," Changin grumbles in return, opting to skip the overly dramatic movie he lands on next. "I told you I'm not watching that dumb show."

"It's not even your TV," Minho interjects sourly. "Stop fighting over my stuff."

"I helped pay for half of it!" Changbin argues easily, turning his head to shoot Minho a scathing look. "It was my idea to upgrade anyway, not yours!"

You grimace at the increase in noise, your head beginning to throb. Another headache, you realize with a soft sigh. God, what was with you today?

"Someone wake up Hannie," Minho interrupts, reaching for a pot. "I need help with dinner."

And that, for some reason, is what stops Chan and Changbin's bickering. "It's only four," Changbin immediately complains, slumping against the back of the couch and finally allowing Chan access to the remote. "I had a late lunch, what, are you trying to make sure I starve later?"

"I don't care," Minho throws back as he flicks on a burner. "I'm hungry now."

You decide to walk back into the living room, gently giving Han a squeeze to his knee as you pass, startling him awake. He blinks owlishly in your direction as you collapse back on the cushion in between Chan and Changbin, your head falling on Chan's shoulder.

Minho calls Han to the kitchen once he sees that he's awake, and with a gentle tone he would never use with anyone else. You smile when you notice, tucking closer to Chan.

Han is sluggish in getting to his feet and making his way over, but then you watch as he trudges to Minho's side and reaches for a knife, only for the older to slap his hand away and push him over to the boiling pot instead.

Changbin resorts to his phone on your left, scrolling endlessly on what you hope isn't Twitter, shooting bitter glances at the television every now and again while you sit pressed against someone who you trust more than life as he chuckles softly at a cheesy joke on the television.

It's so easy to want to fall back into the fun parts of a relationship, but it's the hard parts that keep you from giving in. Things with Chan were always somewhere in the middle, and it's that thought that keeps you from being the one to start things back up again, especially with college, and juggling what remains of your business on top of dealing with your mother's incessance that you're taking too long with the degree you never should have gotten in the first place -

"Hey," Chan whispers, leaning close to your ear. "You okay?"

His arm is slung around your shoulders, fingers brushing the exposed skin of your arm. You didn't even notice him move, but you're grateful for his presence all the same. It's only easy for you to break his mannerisms down the way that you do because you've known him since high school, and the two of you have been on and off since his first year of college.

Chan wasn't much older than you, but the truth was that you never intended to go to college, until your parents insisted, even though you've been making a good amount of money through art commissions in a supportive community. But, of course, to them that didn't mean much, so here you were, battling through your last year of college for an art degree just to spite them some more.

"I'm okay," you whisper back, reaching over and tugging playfully at his arm. "Thanks for being the world's greatest pillow." His chest rumbles with a soft chuckle. Your stomach flips in that way that makes it hard to tell what exactly you feel.

"I'm just glad you're feeling better," he replies easily, tugging you closer. "I'm sorry that you felt bad at all, I know all it does is make the day feel even longer than it usually does."

"It wasn't all bad," you supply, idly watching the characters onscreen poke and prod at each other until one can't take anymore. "Jeongin helped me out during class, and Felix walked me over."

Chan hums and the both of you lapse into a comfortable silence. Not that you could even really call it silence with the force known as Minho and Han in the kitchen, but it's close enough. He's the one to break it a few minutes later, fingers drumming softly against your skin.

"Jeongin is..." he pauses, thinking. "The one in your math class, right?"

"No, that's Seungmin, the one Minho threatened to boil alive."

That makes him laugh, and Changbin grumble from the noise, shifting away. "Oh right, I remember that." He stifles another bout of laughter, and you can't help but turn and look at him, your own lips tugging into a smile at the sight. He glances at you and can't contain himself, and then you both collapse into laughter that rings through the living room.

"Jeongin is the one she spends the most time with," Changbin interrupts from behind his phone, eyeing Chan carefully. "He's in nearly all her classes."

"Oh right, right," Chan says as soon as the two of you are able to contain your laughter, nodding his head as you settle back against him again. "He was sweet."

"Felix was the sweetheart," Changbin corrects, finally putting his phone down. "Hyunjin was artsy," he continues, unbidden as he sits up, "and Jeongin was...something else."

"Something else?" you question, turning to Changbin. "What does that mean?"

Changbin looks back at you like he knows something you don't, which doesn't make any sense, considering he was usually the last to know about a lot of things. Your key to Minho's apartment, for example. How could it be something he lost when you knew for a fact that it was Chan who had stolen it and snuck it on your keychain. But the way he looks at you now isn't something you're used to, and as the seconds tick by, you're not quite sure if you want to know what exactly he's talking about or not.

"I thought the day went well," you pivot, turning back to Chan. "None of you ended up hating each other, and that's all I needed to know."

"Jeongin was nice," Chan tacks on, though his eyes flit between you and the television like he's unsure where exactly he should look. You ignore him in favor of glaring at Changbin, just because you can. Changbin withers under your gaze and takes it as his cue to stand up and barrel into the kitchen, inserting himself between Han and the knife he's somehow gotten ahold of in the meantime.

"Weirdo," you mumble after he's out of earshot.

Chan hums softly in agreement.

Your headache starts to fade after a while, but the out of place feeling in your chest lingers, and though whatever Minho's cooking smells amazing, your stomach just cannot seem to handle the smell. You exhale and sit up, deciding to leave before you become anymore of a burden, not that Minho ever has time to say such a thing when moving out of college landed him with three party crashers at all times to distract him from your presence.

Chan, Changbin and Han had graduated together, eager to get their start in music producing or sound engineering, but the future never worked out how you thought it would, and now Changbin was working nights as bouncer at a club, Chan was pinballing between odd jobs, and Han was torn between going back to college for a 'better degree' or moving back in with his parents.

You had talked him out of the latter, thankfully, but you knew it was hard for him, with the anxiety that curled so easily around his insides the same as your own did.

It was luck that Minho had just so happened to graduate with a degree that allowed him to get paid enough to live on, and that he also just so happened to be Han's roommate during college. Chan and Changbin had followed Minho around like ducklings as soon as Han introduced them, and the rest was history. Or couch surfing. Or a friendship that would last a lifetime.

"I should get going," you tell Chan as you stand, casting a glance towards the kitchen. You left your things by the door so you really have no reason to go that way, but you figure that the least you could do was thank Minho for not kicking you out or threatening to boil you alongside the chicken.

"Will you be okay getting home?" Chan asks, muting the television. "I can walk you."

"I'll be fine," you drone with a poorly hidden smile, heading over to the kitchen. "I'm gonna go, Minho," you say, Changbin scooting himself to the other side of the kitchen island to avoid your path. "Thank you for having me."

Minho scoffs, shaking his head but not bothering to turn towards you as he swats Han away again. "You're always welcome here," he replies, tone dry. "Stop acting like I won't let you in."

"Maybe one of these times you won't," you chime, making your way over to the door and slipping on your shoes. "For all I know, I could be using up all my free visits."

"Aish," he tsks, and you catch his gaze over the curve in the wall, the playful tug of the corner of his lips. "Get out then," he tells you, and you can't help but laugh as you sling your bag over your shoulder and open the door.

taglist

@kokinu09 @rainfallingfromthesky @rylea08 @jenniferlr @enzos-shit @sxnset-angel @amyyscorner @puppysmileseungmin @thatonedemigodfromseoul

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agumonger · 2 years ago

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1, 7, 14, 18, 26, 37, 55 and 76 (this one specifically about rh) for that fanfic ask post

1 Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

Multi-chaptered. It's very rare for me to do one-shots, but I wanna look more into them because they're a lot simpler to make. I just really like the progression in multi-chaptered fics. 1000noches is kind of both, as its has "chapters" but it's an extremely short and simple story.

7 How do you choose which POV to write from?

It depends on the scene, which character needs to be developed more, and which character does most of the action or undergoes the biggest development.

For example, picture a scene where Alice tells Bob a secret she's been hiding. If you want to focus the scene on Alice opening up, you write from her POV. If you want to focus on Bob's reaction and how he feels about the secret, you write from his POV. I also recommend Alice's POV if the reader already knows about that secret, in which case we'll probably find Alice more relatable since we know the same information as she does. If we don't know the secret either, we're more likely to feel like Bob.

As another example, if a character has to "learn a lesson" in a scene, and we are meant to experience that lesson too, we should be on the POV of the character who goes through that lesson.

Or at least that's how I feel. I also personally avoid writing from the villain's POV for *too long* unless they're meant to be sympathetic - I often handle their scenes from their henchmen's POV. If they're "irredeemably evil", too much immersion into their POV might make them feel like they need positive development - or is this just a me thing? Oh, unless the villain is comedic and cartoony like Bowser. Then go ham.

14 how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?how do you write emotional scenes?

Oh, ho ho. Yeah? Yeah. Yeah I do. I kind of try to imagine how I would feel, then code it through the character's own personality and background. And sometimes I've noticed my eyes getting wet. But I've recently become the kind of person who cries at movies sometimes. I think at times I almost cried during the fucking Mario movie. When Mario and Luigi reunite. Them feels...

And... yeah. I get sort of inspired by my own experience but I morph everything so it doesn't become the story of my own life. I try to not to indirectly reference real people or real events I've gone through. A good example is Bruno's silent panic attack in chapter 4 due to his bad grades. It was inspired by one time I realized I had to repeat a whole year and cried my heart out at the high school bathroom. Writing that scene felt incredibly cathartic, and it weirdly helped me find some closure after some complicated years.

Something I've noticed about emotional scenes is that they usually need buildup. In order for us to care about a character, we need to through a journey with them, get to know them. Emotional resolutions become more poignant when there's some story building up to it. In book 1 it's gradually hinted at that Briana is not yet okay, and though I feel I should tweak some of the buildup, when it all breaks down in chapter 9, it breaks hard because it's been bubbling up for six or seven chapters. Maintaining a certain degree of relatability, without hammering the point home over and over again, is key, or else we won't connect with the emotion and the scene will either feel hollow or cheesy.

18 Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

Honestly... before. I'm such an avid pre-planner with my stories, that I usually have a draft of the whole plot, a title, a theme and a bunch of characters before I even start actually writing.

I don't really know how I come up with them. I usually try to think "is there a theme running through the story?", "what kind of feel do I want it to have?", "can I sum it up in two or three words?"

I usually try to make my titles: memorable, concise, descriptive, distinct, searchable (!) and honest.

Oddly enough, my only regret with Someday as a title is... how common it is as a word. When I search "yume nikki someday", sometimes I get lots of "oh I'd love to play Yume Nikki someday but i don't have the time right now" and stuff. Since thing happened infamously with Digimon Adventure's 2020 adaptation, called... Digimon Adventure:. Yes, with a colon. And you don't pronounce it. You're supposed to just say "Digimon Adventure" out loud. The colon also doesn't show up in some places, such as a hashtags, so when you search the adaptation online, you find the original from 1999. Terrible choice.

By "honest" I mean, make sure the title actually has something to do with the story or theme. SO many books have the word "devil" in the title to make them more intriguing and marketable but they're just random thrillers or something. For me, two to three words is the key, even better if they can be hashtag'd. Make it relevant to the story or themes, make it pronounceable!!! A lot of people keep calling Digimon Extend "Digimon Extended" for some reason. Really, keep it simple, people don't have good memory. (?)

26 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

1000noches (La noche de las mil noches), for real. I wrote it in a month, one chapter per day (each chapter was about a page long), then I illustrated it, one drawing per day, I posted once a day, I ATE Shinanne's Digimon 02 meta at a breakneck pace and literally changed my entire perception of Daisuke while I wrote it. It was made in a frenzy and it's my most successful fanfic yet. But then again, it's short, simple, and it features popular characters.

37 How do you choose where to end a chapter?

Well, I usually try to center each chapter around a theme. My biggest two examples are Extend and Regulus Harbor. In most of their chapters, the theme is either a confrontation or a lore revelation, or an introduction, or characters coming to terms with something. I like it when you can call a chapter "the one where X happens" in just one sentence.

But I don't think I'm that great at deciding what should go in each chapter... I often just add scenes in order until I reach 15-20 pages because it's the chapter length I like, but this is very arbitrary. Sometimes I have to move scenes to the next chapter because of this... often these haphazard chapters are the ones without a main confrontation going on.

In Digimon, setting up a chapter flow is easy. You introduce some concepts, have a bad guy of the week show up, fight, advance the plot in some way, then point towards the next step.

In Regulus Harbor, I've noticed I usually do it roughly by going through one day chronologically. Which means that chapters often begin with Itsuki or Danny (more or less diurnal charas), and end with Lydia, Fermi, Gakkoros or Jokesta (nocturnal charas). I also like to have an introductory scene and an outro/cliffhanger scene that shows where the plot is headed next.

55 Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

I absolutely adored writing Goupemon and Blightmon, the villains, back in Digimon Extend. And also Sketchmon, the comic relief. In Regulus Harbor, I love writing Gakkoros and Jokesta, the main uh... antagonistic force? And also comic relief kind of. But I also love writing Danny because he means a lot to me, he's one of my oldest OCs. And of course, my boy Itsuki. I think Jokesta is my fave to write. That has been amplified by my readers' reactions to my comedy scenes... apparently I'm good at writing random comedic characters!? Says a lot, huh. I wonder how I learned that. (Please watch Nichijou.) Usually my favorite characters to write are my audience's favorite characters. Can you guys tell I'm having a great time or...?

76 Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of [Fanfic Name]?

I know this one's for RH but I'll do it for Extend too. I had this mini-arc at the beginning of season 3 where Monmon and her three uh... former family members...? would be sent to different universes along with the protagonists. I don't remember why I wanted to do it. I also cancelled a lot of stuff season 2 was supposed to have - more Armor evolutions, more time for Iván to shine in his "evil self" (?) but halfway through I realized it was getting stale so I cut all filler and went straight to the endgame before Goupemon's return. Oh and also Goupemon was going to be semi-redeemed - Pandemmon was going to be the final boss. There was also going to be a meeting with the 02 cast full of mistranslation moments.

As for Regulus Harbor, it was originally going to have 14 Reached, and Lydia didn't exist until very late in "production". Before I came up with Fermi, she was supposed to have an unrequited crush on Danny, which is why she acts so weird around him in chapter 1, and why Fermi isn't there yet. I retconned this as Lydia just being really giddy about finding a new Reached with potential and not having to rely only on the children.

Regulus Harbor actually has... tons of scrapped ideas behind, mostly leftovers from when it was a... Spyro fanfic idea? Mixed with an AU with a small Digimon cameo? The original idea was a fangame-type story based on Spyro: A Hero's Tail with 14 player characters with different elemental powers. The 14+2 element symbols are here. You may recognize these symbols as they were used for a map in my game, 311. This was [REDACTED] believe I came up with it so long ago. The scrapped elemental powers are Rock (merged into Earth), Space, Qi (merged into Life), and Crystal (will appear not as an element but something else :3).

The AU thing had a cameo from Devimon... who absorbed the power of all Dark Gems in the world (this is a Spyro concept, there were 40 in the game + 150 in my story +10 more in the AU) AND this was the original idea for Gakkoros!!! YEAH. He would eventually become something like "the incarnation of darkness itself", called Darkuro back then. Again, YEAH. It was 2007... Also, a character based on Ophanimon, called Lishiro (later Ilendora) would try to purify him, and I kept changing Darkuro's redeemability. Deciding on a final veredict took me years, and so far I'm really happy with the result.

Ishmael was going to be a human, powerless incarnation of Gakkoros, trying to get his power back. RH was going to take place in New York in real life, only with humans, all of them coming from different places in the world. The cursed mirror idea is actually very old, from ~2010 probably.

Itsuki's inclusion in the story was extremely late, not decided until 2018-2019. An old OC named Nano, the oldest character of ALL of them, created around 2005, was going to be there instead. Nano's personality was divided into Panuk and Itsuki. Interestingly, you can see a door representing him in Someday's Meta-Nexus. All of the Meta-Nexus doors represent OCs from different stories in different universes, most of which I didn't write at all. Panuk's door is actually repurposed from Víctor's, from Digimon Extend. I've actually been thinking of replacing one of the doors with a new one for Víctor or Joaquín, since it was for a Homestuck OC... and I'm so over that phase :')

There are more unused ideas but I still have them around my head just in case I do use them.

Also, if you've read a11 of this, uh, yeah! Thanks! And you're welcome. ???

#long post #ask agu

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killerandhealerqueen · 2 years ago

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Had the busiest month of my life...Whew....but I'm back!

Hi Sass! Hope you're doing well.

Question: I know you write fic as a hobby and have been writing since forever, so I wanted to know, was there ever a time where you were demotivated to write a fic? Not like stopping a WIP and eventually going back to it but something like the story wasn't clicking so badly you dropped it?

Also, what would you tell someone who wants to start writing fic? Some advice?

Hi!! I hope you're doing well too!

Have I ever been demotivated to write a fic...yeah, a few times. Sometimes I get this really cool idea and I'm like "oh this'll be great!" but then the more I work on it I'm like...no, this isn't reading how I want it to read and then I'll try and fix it and somehow it makes it worse and I'm just like...fuck this. I do have like an entire folder on my laptop of just prompts that I never got around to answering and some fics that will probably never see the light of day, just because of how complicated they'll be to either rework/rewrite or just because I don't like them. And normally I like my work, so the idea/writing has to be just so bad that I don't even want to touch it anymore.

As for someone who wants to start writing fic...first pick a fandom that you want to write for. That's always a good start and then pick your favorite pairing. Could be your otp, could be a crack ship, could be whatever. If you have an idea in mind that you think this pairing/characters would look good in, try outlining first. Like, bulletpoint your fic (which is what I do). Just write your entire fic in bulletpoints, scenes and dialogue and all of that, and then you can go back and actually flesh out the fic. It makes things easier than just flying by the seat of your pants (unless you're just so moved by the idea that you're working on that your fingers just start moving by themselves, which has happened to me a few times).

Remember, this fic is for you first. Think of yourself as the reader and be like "what kind of fic would I like to read?" and then write that. Fill it up with everything that you like (if it works for the story you're trying to tell) and just go fucking ham. Because at the end of the day, you gotta like your writing first. Other people may not like it (or they might) but we're not caring about what other people think (though validation and comments are nice). What matters is that we enjoy what we're working on and that we're happy with it.

Does that kind of answer your question? I hope it does!

#sass answers #qm edition

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greensaplinggrace · 4 years ago

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honestly THANK YOU for saying all that abt baghra bc i thought i was going crazy from not liking her??? bc i haven't read the books and only summaries of them on wiki and like. i dunno why ppl like her actually even in the show bc this guy, her son, is like "i wanna make the world better for us grisha" and she's just like "no." even tho he sees that she's MAKING HERSELF SICK from suppressing her powers! she's literally like in bed coughing in the flashback yet seem much healthier at the little palace. also like after everything, after her disapproval, after the fold, after centuries of waiting for the sun summoner.. he never abandons her. he makes sure she's cares for. he doesn't harm her. and i have to wonder if baghra has ever thanks him for that, for just not leaving her alone. like i dunno how im suppose ro believe aleks is a heartless villain when he still cares for his abusive mom like this. like has baghra even told her she loved him (honestly she reminds me of a classic emotionally unavailable asian parent but maybe that's just me). also im wondering if baghra ever told aleks that he had an aunt.. bc like.. now that u bring up her isolating him it's like hmmmm...

not at me being like alina... why do u trust the bitter old woman who literally beats u with a stick and verbally abuses u every chance she gets.. just bc she showed a bad painting... like.. pls use two braincells to see that who u figured out as his mother... is also using his protection..

like baghra could've upped and left with alina. but no. she stayed bc she knew she was safe under aleks's protection.

alsoim just impressed that after his first friend tried to drown him and harvest his bones... he didn't go into hiding???? he still wanted to make a safe heaven for grisha!!! HE STILL WANTED TO PROTECT GRISHA EVEN AFTER HIS GRISHA FRIEND TRIED TO KILL HIM FOR HIS FUCKEN BONES. like... this is the guy im suppose to believe is the villain???

honestly i feel like part of the reason why LB's plotlines seem so bad and disconnected (and sometimes outright racist but that's another rant) and why darkles is disproportionately more violent and villainous in the later books is bc she didn't expect the darkling to be so popular and wanted to stick with her guns of making him the villain. but also wanted the money from aleks's popularity. but like you can't have ur cake and eat it too.

Well thank you for sending this ask! It's very sweet and very passionate. I'm glad you liked my post! I didn't put as much thought into it as some of my others lol. I kind of just talked. But it was nice to be able to finally talk about some of the problems I have with both her character and the fandom/author's perception of her.

HERE is the post this is referring to, in case anyone's wondering.

👀👀 You've hit the nail on the head for so many things, here!

Baghra is extremely emotionally unavailable, basically to the point of neglect. She's also verbally and physically abusive, traits which I doubt were only reserved for her students and not her son. Baghra claims she would do anything to protect him, but I've known a lot of parents who have that mindset and yet still harm their children because they think it's "good for them".

Aleksander stays at Baghra's side for years, and even when they're opposing each other she's never too far away from him. Idk if you've read the books but he does eventually hurt her. And as much as I don't like Baghra, I think his actions were horrid. But I'm also honestly kind of surprised it took him so long lmao.

Yeah I mean, in terms of isolation, let's not forget that she never wanted to introduce him to his father, either. Baghra's sense of eternity clouds a lot of her judgments on relationships, which means she views most people as dust and therefore teaches her son to as well. The problem with that is that he's a growing child, and he needs those social and emotional attachments for healthy development.

I would bet quite a bit of money that Baghra has either never told him she loves him or she has told him so few times it's practically forgettable.

And everything becomes more complicated because so many of Baghra's actions are understandable because of her life and her history, but the impacts they have on the people around her, especially Aleksander, are permanently damaging. And the fact that that's never gone over in critical depth in the books or how it's glossed over in fandom is just very disconcerting. Like, acknowledging Baghra's failings doesn't mean we're excusing Aleksander's actions, it just means we're holding Baghra liable for her own. Which the fandom should be doing, considering she's the epitome of an abusive parental figure.

And Alina trusting Baghra over Aleksander is even more confusing! Especially in the show!! This is the woman who beat her and abused her and tortured her friends when they tiny little children (and who probably still does so now that they're adults). This is the woman who mocks you and harasses you and insults you on a regular basis. Why does Baghra revealing she's Aleksander's mother make Alina change her mind?! Like fuck, I'd just feel bad for Aleksander. No wonder he kept it a secret, I would too! And that painting is enough evidence?! Really?! A random painting shown to you by this abusive mentor that's been making your life hell. That's what you're going to betray your new lover over?

The friends trying to harvest his bones thing is a good point, too. I think Aleksander, especially show Aleksander, is incredibly idealistic. I think he cares too much for others - those he's deemed worth his care (a sentiment given to him by Baghra). Despite everything she's tried to teach him about hiding and abandoning others and never caring and never doing anything to help or reach out or connect with people, Aleksander still continues to do so. It's likely because he never got it from Baghra growing up, and so is desperate for those emotional needs to be fulfilled elsewhere.

His turning point, when Baghra tells him it was understandable that those kids tried to kill him because the world is such a hard place for them - that's crucial. And the reason it's possible as a motivating factor is because of that idealism and that desire to help and that desire to be everything his mother isn't. Baghra tells him this trauma he just experienced was because of the oppression of his people, and instead of following her lead and accepting that, going into hiding and abandoning everybody to their misery, he goes I can do something about that. I can make it so this never happens again. Which is usually how trauma like that combines with one's core personality traits at a young age, especially when there's none of the essential support systems in place to aid in recovery (ie, the role Baghra should have been filling but wasn't, because she decided to exacerbate the problem instead).

And yeah, one of my biggest problems with the ham-fisted "beating you over the head with a sledgehammer of evil deeds" look-how-bad-this-character-is! portrayal of the Darkling in the later books comes from the impression I get that Bardugo doesn't trust her readers. She's so desperate to have us hate this character and think him an irredeemable villain, not trusting any of her readers to engage critically with a morally gray character, that it feels quite a bit like condescending fucking bullshit. Which ew, I know how to engage with literature, thanks.

She really does seem to look down on a large part of her fandom, and imo, the infantilization of the female characters in her books seems to carry over to her impression of most of her female readers as well. Which is why the Darkling's character arc gets fucking destroyed. But he's still a good cash grab, of course, so she'll shake his dead corpse in front of the fandom for money every time she wants something from it.

Also! Another reason I think her plotlines feel disconnected (I'm sorry Bardugo I respect you as a person, but shit-) is because the writing in SaB is just bad. I mean, nevermind the absolutely nauseating implications of the way she portrays the Grisha as a persecuted group who's situation is never actually fully addressed as it should be, considering Grisha rights is what her main villain is fighting for (imo for a series called the Grishaverse, LB seems to be pretty anti Grisha), but her characters and story alone are just wrong for each other. They don't fit together.

And the ending is one of the main pieces of evidence in that regard! You can’t say the ending where Alina isn’t Grisha anymore is her “going back to where she started” when she’s always been Grisha. She just didn’t know she was Grisha because she denied that part of herself that she was born with.

Alina is reluctant to move forward or change, she struggles with adapting, and she’s very set on the things she’s grown attached to throughout her life. She also has some latent prejudices against the Grisha, and so denies the possibility of being Grisha for those reasons as well.

Alina’s lack of powers in the beginning of her life because she willfully doesn’t learn about them to avoid change versus her lack of powers at the end of the book when she’s accepted them and then they’re stripped away from her by outer forces are two entirely separate circumstances. You can’t make a parallel about lost powers and lack of Grisha status bringing her back to the start when she was always Grisha and she always had powers and she simply refused to come to terms with it because of personal reasons.

The first situation is an internal conflict that indicates a story about growth and a journey of self acceptance. Denying herself the opportunity to learn about her heritage and to find acceptance with a group of people like her because she’s tied to the past and because of the way she was raised is the setup for a narrative that tackles unlearning prejudice and learning how to connect with a part of her identity that was denied her and learning how to grow independent and self assured. It’s the setup for a different story entirely. The second situation is an external conflict that centers around the ‘corrupting influence of power’... for some reason.

In a world where Grisha do not have social, political, or economic power and they are hunted, centering your heroine’s journey of self acceptance and growth around an external conflict about... the corrupting influence of power (in a group of people that don’t actually have any power?!) just doesn’t work. It is literally impossible to connect the two stories Bardugo is trying to push in Shadow and Bone without seriously damaging the main character’s developmental arc.

The only way a narrative like this would work, claiming that she has gone back to where she started, is either a) if the Grisha weren’t actually a persecuted group and instead were apart of the upper class, or b) if the one bad connection between the two instances is acknowledged - that Alina denied a part of herself crucial to self acceptance and growing up, and that losing her powers at the end has also denied her. It is a tragedy, not a happy ending.

Alina suffered because she didn’t use her powers. She grew sick. It was bad for her. This was not a resistance to 'the corruption of power and the burden of greed', it was her suffering because she couldn’t fully accept herself.

Framing the ending as a return to the beginning can’t be done if you don’t address how bad the beginning was for your main character. You brought her back to a bad point in her life. You regressed her. This should be a low point in her arc. It should be a problem that’s solved so she can finish developing organically or it should be something that is acknowledged as a tragedy in it’s own right, for the future the world (the writing) denied her.

This is a ramble and it makes no sense and I’m really sorry, but my point is that Bardugo put the wrong characters in the wrong story. The character arc required for organic development doesn’t match the story and intended message at all. The narrative doesn’t fit the cast. She's got two clashing stories attempting to work in tandem and she ends up with both conflicting messages that fans still can’t comprehend in her writing and an ending that doesn’t suit her main character to such an impossible degree that it’s almost laughable.

So yeah, there's a few reasons why I think the story and the plot feels so bad and disconnected. I hope you don't mind me making this answer so long! 😅 I was not expecting to write this much.

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nighttimepixels · 4 years ago

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TALK TO US ABOUT MASS EFFECT I HAVE BEEN AN INSANE MASS EFFECT/SHAKARIAN TRASH PERSON SINCE 20-FUCKING-11 AND LEMME TELL YOU THOSE FEELINGS HAVENOT TARNISHED A SINGLE FRACTION IN THOSE TEN YEARS OH MY GOOOOOOODDDSSSS!!!!!!!

I DEMAND A PLAY-BY-PLAY UP TO THE MINUTE OF YOUR REACTIONS TO EVERYTHING!!!!

you are so valid and I totally see why everyone I've ever mentioned it to loves the hell out of it

aksdjlsdfj I meannnn if you want to hear my rambling about it then hell yeah

Okay, gonna put this below the cut to save everyone else XD also- since I'm not leaving this Mass Effect obsession anytime soon, if you're not interested in seeing occasional posts about it, please feel free to block the tag "night plays ME"~

(mild spoilers ahead??)

((also for real I mean it when I say this is rambling as hell lol, apologies and no stress if absolute no one reads all this))

OKAY SO Mass Effect 1-

Stars help me, I was honestly hooked right from the start?? Like even in Legendary Edition (the combined trilogy just re-released in one "can play it on one system + minor improvements", for anyone who doesn't know) where it's smoothed out, of course it's obvious that ME1 is a decade old... but the foundation for these relationships are all there and gods I love them already.

Like - Kaiden right off the top is a delightful good fightin lad, what the hell. I've heard that he's viewed as 'bland' by a good portion of the fan community but I dunno, he's a delight and even more complex by the time 2 rolls around and you encounter him on Horizon, it was honestly Ashley I was way more meh about - mostly because before you can learn about her family history/etc, she comes off as hella xenophobic and I was immediately offended for my growing space family that she didn't like/trust all the aliens around, pfff.

(she gets redeemed a bit through further actions/evolving thoughts, but I thought in retrospect it was a bummer that they didn't flip the order there, give her a chance to be liked before the complicating factor of being so rude about aliens >:c that then she could grow from... ah well. Apparently she has a good arc but uh, let's just say I chose Kaiden at the "key junction" in the latter part of the game so I won't be seeing anymore of Ashley uh... anytime soon, haha.)

Garrus??? Is??????? The ABSOLUTE best???????????

I liked him from the start, I'm always a bit of a sucker for a rogue-detective "the system won't bring this bastard to justice, so I've got to" type and all their moral shadiness XD But he just gets better, honestly, and where I'm at in ME2 (right before the Reaper IFF mission, as of typing this, with everyone's loyalty!) I am only digging myself deeper into this hole-

-*wheezing* okay anyways -

Wrex is AMAZING I love fightin' middle-aged krogan bastard, gods. Liara is great too, I'm a sucker for a wlw relationship (playing fem!Shepard, so) - buuuut I'll admit she's a bit more one-note in ME1. Last week while I was still on ME1 I remember hearing (while trying to dodge spoilers) that her arc is really good, though. I think they leaned a little hard on the 'innocent but sexy' sterteotype on her (so despite the yikes aspect of a few of the things I've learned in ME2, lol, I actually really like the complexity that's been added to her character.)

Saved Liara first, so by the time I got to Noveria and had the standoff with Benezia there was the chance to have emotions over Liara having to face her TwT and of course, I made the questionable but quality decision to free Queen Rachni heheh. no ragrets

More than a blow-by-blow of my choices though I totally wanna take the chance to say that even in the mild jankiness of ME1 (goddammit, the Mako.... please..... please just go up this impossible cliff I just want to resource hunt-) the way that the lore, both obvious/key to main plot and the lesser/filler/background/world-building kinds... I just love it. It incorporates it well, you can go ham in the codex learning more, or just dive into the basics - it's clearly a complex galaxy (and they do an even better job in 2 of fleshing it out further), and it never really felt overwhelming. It was pretty natural figuring it all out-!

Plus the interesting implications of resource hunting amongst the sapient races, and the little side missions you better bet I did every one of- there's so much rich depth in the story if you do 'em!! (And that lead with that Keeper side mission...? Looking back, damn, clever foreshadowing-!!!)

And oh my gods, Ilios??? hell yeah. I loved that mission so much, especially having Garrus & Kaiden with me when talking to the hologram/computer, and more than anything, that last sprint in the Mako trying to get to the jump before it closed-???

yeet the boi-

Also mannn I love a good setpiece, and having to go up the side of the elevator, space-side?? such a cool setup!!

Plus it felt good having been Paragon enough (as simple as the good v bad vibe system is, I don't hate it, lol) to avoid one of the Saren fights, ngl. And the er, "second fight" with Sovereign-Saren.... hell yeah

... I'll admit I had to double check my choice re whether to save the Council. I did in the end, but I swear, sometimes the way they phrase things I'm like ".... okay but Garrus is right, defeating Sovereign is more important than these few leaders??????" woops. Listen, priorities, is all I'm saying..... (￣ヮ￣|||)ゞ

'Course later they emphasize (in ME2) that there were 10,000 people on that same ship and I was like well I wouldn't have second guessed if I'd known that, I mean c'mon-

Also I did indeed romance Liara in this one, so I got that scene ;Dc But,,,, I also knew by the end that I was totally gonna romance Garrus in 2 since he's an option then finally,,,,, lemme tell you the guilt as I waffled over whether to romance Liara bc of it. hahaha.

Aaaaand Mass Effect 2-

So I'm only up to right before the Reaper IFF Mission, so I don't know the ending, etc etc lol. That said, I've just finished every side mission I've found with the exception of the Shadowbroker Quest and the Arrival Quest (I've heard the latter basically leads into ME3, and the former is best either right before the Omega 4 jump or in postgame).

So from the start - fuck yeah fuck yeah what a high adrenaline start Shepard noooooo but also yes save Joker aH-

The motion comic too hot damn nice job

I loved this setup, seriously - especially forcing Shep into this situation, having to work with/for Cerberus, and the compelling reasoning given behind "why" they do what they do (I especially found it a good point that the Salarians have the Task Force, the Asaris the Commandos, the Turians the- etc... like, true, when you put it like that, having a similar group advancing human interests/solving human interstellar problems is pretty reasonable...). That said, I love too that it really isn't shied away from how Cerberus is nonetheless fucked up - or its at least done fucked up stuff.

Listen, I still think some messed up stuff is gonna be revealed in 2's endgame......... after that Horizon mission and the Collector's ship???? TIM I SEE YOU YOU SHADY MF-

aaanyways lol...

I'm so so glad on a gameplay level they nixed the Mako style exploration. A few Hammerhead missions are fine and a lot more focused than the slippery ass navigation in that glorified ATV, pfff. The probes are a neat way of getting after similar resources - and more importantly, having good levels and some good hubs (the Zakera Wards, Omega, Ilium, etc) is way way more fun than having a more 'sprawling' space that is.... a lot of empty nonsense, lol.

Then there's the fact that we get Joker right off the bat and you can interact with him so much - and him and EDI??? Get out gods I love them. Kasumi is so right when she says they sound like a bickering old married couple lol. I have a terrible feeling that some shit is gonna happen with EDI..... but I don't think she's evil as-is, at least.

Side-eying the hell out of those "access forbidden" parts of her that she doesn't even know.... and the fact that her AI core has a locked door access................... something's gonna happen gdi LEAVE OUR ADOPTED AI ALONE.

(Also Joker pls stop fracturing your thumb on the mute button)

Also please save me there are so many hot aliens in this game,,,,, the xeno/monsterfuckers really comin' through strong in the sequels............... doin' the lord's work........................................

In general, I love how many levels ME stepped up in two with complexity and interwoven narratives!! Like, to the point it'd be almost a drag to replay ME1, even though it was fun going through it (if occasionally a bit tedious with the cookie cutter rando planet science/mine facilities, lol). Like, just from how fun and interesting ME2 is, mostly! more of all the pre-introduced races, plus new ones, plus more filling in of intragalactic politics, and more interesting implications of all these space-faring races mixing....

Also gods WREX and his planet holy shit,,,,, fuckin' hell yeah my man get their shit together and also adopt Grunt yes good-

And Mordin??? My singing semi-evil scientist best friend forced to confront his choices more than he thought he ever would have???? With some of the best ongoing general report chatter of all the companions??

(when I tell you I choked on my coffee when I talked to him after confirming romance choice w/ Garrus and that 'pamphlet' and 'anaphalactic shot if ingesting-' kajsldkfjsldfjk)

Like, fuck, the fact that they actually dive into the mixed morality and horrors of the genophage, and you can confront Mordin on it, for good reason, yet he still stands his ground, until finally some bits of his loyalty mission seem to... affect him, and I'm guessing might set up things for 3 with him? Unsure, but either way, damn, the fact that they start to dig into it...

And Taliiiii my beloved forbidden alien wife TwT her loyalty mission was SO GOOD. I love how varied they all are?? Getting to defend her and discover what she'd unwittingly been a part of-!!

Zaeed is a bastard but tbh I love that he is and that he's unapologetic in him - and Kasumi omg, best thief. A heist?? Gods, yes- I love our couch lounge chats XD

Samara is..... illegally.......... she's an illegally powerful and beautiful and eloquent MILF...........................

(.... listen I'm sapphic as hell and I'm kicking my own ass for picking her up last aksjdlfksjdfl - but her loyalty mission, damn. And seeing how there's this interesting cultural subset, and the struggle with the Asari in that they unquestioningly accept/respect justicars, but also know that the impact outside their culture is a diplomacy nightmare waiting to happen-)

,.,,,,,T,,, Thane,,,,,

I am weak for morally implicated murder dads okay?? And that voice??? His mannerisms?????? How you first see him, and that prayer after assassinating her...???????? And his history/his people's history with the hanar, gods I love how messy it is, it feels so much more real!

Also Jack is a mess and I love her (and want to get her some therapy, omg), and her and Miranda nearly duking it out after you've done both their loyalty missions??? so good and makes a lot of sense-! Honestly I would love more interactions between teammates on the ship, but there's already so much the devs had to balance I can't blame 'em for minimizing, heh. But suffice to say I also love Miranda and Jacob, even if I'm softest for my alien crew XD Hell yeah Jacob, we'll get loud and spill drinks on the citadel indeed TwT

.... I could write a whole essay on how much I love Garrus oTL Perhaps because he and Tali are the throughlines from 1 on your 2 crew, I have some of the strongest feelings about them... but genuinely, he was one of my favorite companions in the first game, and how you find him as Archangel in two? Getting to help him fight his way out after he's gone nearly 48 hours straight fighting off three gangs alone, jfc. His vengeance quest and what can happen there.... That line? fuck me, that line -

It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Grey? I don't know what to do with gray...

How DARE you come for my heart like this, devs holy shit

(also, some other choice faves so far from the series from him include We can disobey suicidal orders?? and This wasn't in my training manual... [in 1, if you have him with you @ th Thorian fight] and his whole.... pop the heat sink - in his romance ;Dc)

asdasdfksadjfkl like I said I can write an essay on him PFFF suffice to say I'm very looking forward to his romance scene and where things go in 3

But yeah gods I'm just gonna keep rambling if I'm not careful lol. Gods I don't even know what to talk about it's all so good and while I can understand people roasting the obviousness of Paragon V Renegade (v neutral) choices/alignments, I think they do a pretty damn good job in 2 of pushing it further - to the point that there were some times that I accidentally got renegade points and I wasn't that mad, haha. There's so much fun in the interactions that I just have a good time anyways~

I have so many thoughts about TIM (The Illusive Man) and Cerberus.... theories evolving galore............... and like, what the hell!! Omega 4 going to the center of the galaxy is such a cool twist, goddamn - though my heart still breaks at losing Kaiden (his line if you haven't romanced him?? about feeling like he lost a limb when he lost you??? holy shit.... but I also can't blame him for not trusting Cerberus to the point of it affecting his ability to trust Shepard... like fuck Shep go after himmmm) I'm really excited to see where that goes since he comes back in 3, and what the fuck happens with Cerberus bc while I love the fact that obviously there are a lot of people in it for the right reasons, doing good work, there are those that are doing the opposite, and I have a very bad feeling about where TIM will end up landing....

All that said though I need to do the Reaper IFF mission (where I'm lightly spoiled as to getting That Boy, but not how/what happens to make it so - just that it's apparently wise to have all your side missions done before getting him...) and the actual Omega 4 jump. So we'll see what happens and what I think about it from there heheh!

.... major kudos and genuine props if you made it here to the end, I am so sorry for not editing on condensing all this, and appreciate you so much ;w;

#night answers #night plays ME #(yes that's a purposeful pun lol)#((i sure have played myself by starting this series its so good aksdjflskjfd))

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beileil · 3 years ago

Note

Can I ask about the fic entitled "DiscipleSquad," and then also ask you to tell me about a second title (but it's up to you/author's choice as to which one). Hope you're having a great day!

Thank you! You absolutely may! 💜

So, #DiscipleSquad (title will definitely be changed, it's just that it was like 3am when the idea popped in my head and I haven't been able to think of anything clever) is part of a collection of standalone crackfics that I'm currently calling "One Punch Ham". So for my author's choice, I'll pick a second one from that collection.

#DiscipleSquad (name change pending)

It's a short story under the (crack) premise 'hey, what would happen if Saitama and Atomic Samurai had to switch disciples for a week?' Worth noting that Charanko and Bang were originally going to be involved in the switch-a-roo, but I scrapped it because nobody likes Charanko it made the master/disciple combinations too complicated.

So, due to [insert instigating event here, probably Genos and Iaian getting in an argument], Saitama winds up being sensei-for-a-week for Iaian, Okamaitachi, and Bushidrill. He's pretty overwhelmed by it, because let's be real, just Genos is too much for him sometimes, how is he supposed to handle three disciples? He can't even remember their names. Initially they're all skeptical of one another. The disciples are wondering what's so special about this B-class hero (fic takes place pre-MA arc) that Demon Cyborg worships him. And Saitama is at a loss of what to teach them, because every time he's interacted with a sword in his life all he's done is break it. So for the first half of the week he's giving them general life advice and teaching them how to be frugal/coupon/get the best sales. And they finally just start (mis)interpreting his "lessons" like "Oh, of course! Saitama-sensei is trying to teach us that in order to have discipline on the battlefield, one must also show discipline in their personal life!" and he's like, "Uh, sure, let's go with that." Anyway, Saitama ends up taking them to spar in the canyon that he and Genos did. And they're like, ok, a team-up of 3 high-ranking A-class heroes against a single B-class doesn't seem fair. Initially they hold back, but quickly realize that Saitama is much more agile than he looks and start taking him seriously. They never manage to land a hit on him (Kama manages to get him with her air blade...but he doesn't even budge from a direct hit). But Saitama admits their sword fighting looks pretty cool. Afterward, they go out for udon, but only Bushidrill will take him up on the spicy udon challenge. (And thus is the only one of the three who gets to brag that he defeated Saitama-sensei in something.)

Meanwhile! Genos has moved into the dojo with Atomic Samurai, which AS finds extremely weird but he's willing to put up with it because Genos offers to make his meals and what the hell, his own ungrateful disciples never cook for him? Their training is a little more traditional, and Genos finds himself missing Saitama's more...off-beat lessons. Oh well. At least Atomic Samurai is just as dumb as Saitama and gives the same caliber of advice.

Here's a snippet!

“Just go faster.” Atomic Samurai stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Genos stared at him for a few seconds, then his eyes widened in understanding. He pulled out a notebook and furiously scribbled down the wisdom. “Of course!” he replied, astonished he hadn’t thought of it himself. The samurai raised his eyebrows in surprise. Huh. Usually his disciples just gave him dubious looks when he gave generic advice like that. He couldn’t believe this kid was actually taking it to heart. (Either that or Demon Cyborg's sarcasm was truly next level, but Atomic Samurai decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.)

The Bald Truth

For my second pick, I'm going with another one in the One Punch Ham collection. It's the only one that I'm even close to finishing. I don't want to spoil too much, so all I'm going to say is that it's an AU where everything is the same except Saitama has long, flowing hair. There's the teensiest bit of Saigenos, but only if you want there to be. Here's a chunk of the story toward the beginning:

“Alright, hair.” He grabbed the razor and gave the mirror a maniacal grin. “Prepare to meet your maker.” It was back by the time he finished breakfast. It only got worse the more he tried to tame it. Soon, his hair reached his shoulders. He chopped it off in frustration. The next day, it had grown back to his waist. He took to trimming his hair short each morning before his daily training. He tried to at least get his run in before it grew back, but by the end of the ten kilometers, it would inevitably be whipping him in the face. As he did his push-ups, sit-ups, and squats in the park, children would point at his head, shouting to their mothers that they could actually see his hair growing. The mothers would shush their little ones, telling them it was rude to stare, but not before stealing a glimpse for themselves, astonished when they realized it was true. By the time Saitama returned to his apartment, his hair would be pooled around his feet. He eventually gave up cutting it, opting to braid and tie it instead. It didn’t stop passers-by from gawking, but at least he didn’t trip over it anymore. After a year of training, his power reached its peak. Enemies no longer presented even an inkling of a challenge. A single punch ended every fight. Over time, Saitama became bored. Dull to most emotions, really. The one silver lining was that his hair's growth had finally seemed to taper off. It still regenerated if he tried to cut it, but it stopped once its length reached approximately twice his height. He could deal with that, he supposed. Even when his bratty disciple stared at his head. “Sensei?” Genos’ inquiry broke him out of his reverie. Speak of the devil. Or should I say Demon? Saitama mused, recalling the much cooler hero name that had just been bestowed upon Genos. The younger man peered over his shoulder at the letter and glowered when his eyes scanned his sensei’s title. Caped Long Hair, the letter stated in bold font. “What a juvenile decision. I shall file a formal complaint with the Hero Association at once,” Genos stated, with a fire figuratively in his eyes and literally in his palm. “Dude, no. It’s fine.” Saitama sighed. He folded up the letter and handed it to his disciple, who was all too eager to incinerate the offending document.

Thank you for the ask!!

#fanfic ask game #wip ask game #fanfiction #one punch man

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sadsilktrader · 4 years ago

Text

Secret Admirer

I apologize for my extreme tardiness for posting to the Geraskier Holiday Exchange. This was written for @gotfanfiction

A modern Geraskier AU in which Jaskier is receiving gifts from an admirer.

...

"I'm telling you Yen, the man doesn't even know I exist. It can't be him," Jaskier paced the living room of his small apartment, small watering can in hand, completely forgotten. His plants looked on forlornly.

"Hm," she replied, he could hear the scritch-scratch of the emery board while she only half-listened to his prattling. "All I'm saying is that he was there at the pub the night you played and he lives in your building and he can hear you when you practice and those have all been the nights you've got gifts from your secret admirer."

"Half the building goes to that pub, it could be anyone! Plus, he doesn't even know I exist. " He flopped dramatically onto the couch, spilling water on himself. "Anyway, I'll let you go do whatever important business you have to do. You'll be here before my show on Saturday with Triss, right?"

"We'll be there. We just have to drop Ciri off at her dad's first. Now promise me you'll at least talk to him next time you see him."

"Maybe." He grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Fine, fine! I promise!"

"You better. I'm tired of listening to you wistfully sigh every time we speak."

"You're the worst."

"I love you too Jaskier, bye."

The phone clicked.

He'd met Yen online, a friend of a friend of a friend. They played DnD together, starting off as catty enemies and somehow developing into the deep friendship they had now. She was a good person, just a little rough around the edges. Well, very rough around the edges.

She'd settled down a lot over the last few years when motherhood had fallen into her lap though. He wasn’t certain about all the details, they were close but she was a private person. She shared custody of her adopted daughter, Ciri, with her ex. He'd never had the pleasure of meeting the man but he'd heard enough about him to form his own opinions. Heart in the right place but not exactly open about his feelings.

Sounded a lot like his own mysterious love. He sighed again, there was no way it was his gorgeous and stoic upstairs neighbor. The man was gorgeous and kind and lovely. He was tall and pale with silky white hair. Not to mention outrageously muscular. Jaskier had seen him in their apartment's gym working out on more than one occasion. It had taken every ounce of his self-control to keep himself from openly ogling him. He'd seen him feeding the feral cat that lived in the parking lot. Helping their elderly neighbors with their groceries. Playing with his daughter on the weekends. The man was too good to be true. Which was why he was absolutely positive he couldn't be the one leaving the gifts at his door.

The mystery man was perfect but he, Julian Alfred Pancratz, college drop out, jobless, barely squeezing by with the money he made by doing odd jobs in the apartment complex and occasionally performing at the neighborhood pub, was an absolute mess. There was no way someone like the man would give him more than a passing glance.

He sat up quickly leaving the forgotten, spilled watering can to the side to search for his notebook and pen. At least all the angst and longing seemed to also be a fantastic inspiration.

...

He chewed his lip, the leather-bound notebook balanced on his knee. He strummed a few chords on his guitar before setting it back carefully down to scribble something down.

The sun was fully set now and his balcony light had flicked on giving the small area an ethereal glow. He loved the process of writing and creating outside where he could feel the world around him. There was something about feeling the gentle breeze against him, the sun and moon shining down on him, and the fluttering hummingbirds that visited his feeder that just felt right.

He stretched and yawned and was contemplating packing up for the night when he heard it. A barely-there, soft knock at his door. Eyes gone wide he all but threw his things down and ran to the door to open it. No one. As always. There was however a small box tied in a ribbon and a note attached.

A voice so sweet deserves something sweet in return. -love, your admirer

He undid the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was an assortment of homemade chocolates. He popped one in his mouth and let it slowly melt over his tongue. Dark chocolate, caramel, sea salt. He couldn't help the sappy smile that plastered itself on his face and would stay there the rest of the night.

It had been a little over a month since the gifts started arriving. Most of the time they were baked goods or sweets of some kind but occasionally it was something different. A clutch of flowers, a silver bracelet with music notes engraved, once there was even a picture of a particularly beautiful sunrise left for him. He treasured them all.

He was a hopeless romantic down to the core of his being. He had never met his admirer but he was sure it would be love at first sight.

…

He was bone tired. He'd spent the day hauling furniture away to the thrift store and painting the walls of one of his elderly neighbors who was soon moving to a rest home. For all the work he was paid thirty dollars and a batch of very good snickerdoodle cookies. He knew it was all the woman could afford to give him and he was grateful for that. Not exactly enough to pay the rent but enough to buy a few groceries at least.

He stood in the deli section, weighing out the pros and cons of value pack meats when he saw him. The man, his white hair hanging loose around his shoulders, dark jeans, and a leather jacket. His breath hitched and his mouth went dry.

Gods how can anyone look that attractive just going to the grocery store.

The man looked up, catching him staring. His eyes the color of amber and honey. He felt like a deer in the headlights caught in his gaze. A few faint scars visible on his face and neck. He couldn't help but wonder if there were more on the rest of the man's body and felt a blush rise to his cheeks.

"It's leaking." The man said.

"What?"

"The honey ham your holding, it's leaking."

He stared at the gorgeous being before him for a moment longer before it clicked.

"Oh fuck," he dropped the squishy package on the ground, ham juices splashing on the both of them.

"Oh, gods I'm so sorry," he wasn't sure his face could get any redder.

"It's okay, really. I've had much worse things spilled on me before. You looked pretty lost in thought."

An employee glared at him with a mop and trash can. He smiled awkwardly, wishing he could just disappear.

"You're the musician, right? I live in the apartment above yours. I can hear you playing from my living room." The way the man said it had him wondering if that was a good thing or not.

"I'm Julian, well Jaskier to my friends and fans." He mustered up the courage he usually reserved for the stage and gave the man his best smile.

"Geralt. I'd shake your hand but," He nodded to his arms full of groceries. "You know when you go into the store thinking you only need one thing?"

"Well, you're in luck," he gestured to his cart, "I just so happen to have the best cart in the store. Not a squeaky wheel in sight."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! The life of a musician leads to a very sparse diet. More than enough room for both of us. Plus we're headed to the same place."

Geralt had an amused smirk on his face that made Jaskier's heart skip a beat. Conversation between them came easy. Geralt was the quieter of the two but his dry wit and cheesy jokes had him laughing harder than he had in ages. Handsome and funny.

They made their way back to the apartment complex walking slower than was necessary, he noticed.

"So you have a daughter? I'm not stalking you or anything, I just noticed her around the complex sometimes."

"Ciri," he replied. "My ex and I share custody, its-" he sighed, running his hand through his hair, "it's a bit of a complicated situation actually. But they’re moving closer soon and that should help.”

The elevator stopped at his floor and he stepped off.

“So, I’ll be seeing you.” he mentally berated himself for not being able to come up with something more clever. The door was closing between them and he suddenly shot his hound out, stopping the door.

“Actually, and please forgive me if this is too forward, maybe I could give you my number and we could grab a coffee sometime? Or do our grocery shopping together again?”

Geralt chuckled before reaching into his pocket, tapping at the screen a few times, and passed it over. He added his number with the name Jaskier followed by a heart and music note emoji. The moment the elevator door closed he was dancing, groceries in hand, for his forwardness paying off for once.

…

It was colder tonight but he still played outside until his fingers were near numbing. His cheeks were flushed red from the cold. After his run-in with the man, he felt like he was walking on clouds. The world was at peace and he was the luckiest man in the world. He’d almost forgotten about his secret admirer completely until the same soft knock came from outside the door. Today was different though. Today he was brave and he had left a note for his admirer to find.

I beg of you to reveal yourself to me. I will be performing at the Royal Oak this Saturday. Please, wear this token so I may recognize you amongst the other patrons. Love, Jaskier

He strained his ears and purposely walked slowly to the door, giving his admirer time to leave the gift and find his note. He swore he heard mumbling of words. He closed his eyes and counted to ten before opening the door.

His note was gone and in place of it a container he opened to reveal a miniature-sized three-layered cake elaborately decorated with chocolate-covered strawberries. It was, as always, delicious to the point of sin.

He felt a twinge of guilt. He didn’t want to string along his admirer, especially if things with Geralt turned out well. But he was getting ahead of himself. They had spoken once and here he was already planning their life together.

…

The next few days passed quickly. His wish of getting more work around the complex had come true but he was, unfortunately, unable to do any more practice for his upcoming performance. Every day he came back to his apartment with every intention of playing only to wake up from an unintentional five-hour nap on his couch.

To make matters worse, he hadn’t received a single text from Geralt, and since his sleep schedule was completely messed up he hadn’t caught a single glimpse of him since their last accidental meeting. He thought of swinging by his place to invite him to his show but decided against it. Maybe he needed some space? Maybe he had come off as too clingy? The doubts and second-guesses were mounting.

He arrived at the pub early to set up and get some practicing in before going on stage. Geralt wouldn’t be there but at least, he hoped, his soon-not-to-be secret admirer would be. Inside the note, he’d left a silver brooch of a songbird in flight. It was small but something he would instantly recognize. The glimmer of it from the stage lights would catch his attention. At least that’s what he was hoping. He felt more nervous about this performance than he had in a long while.

“You okay there Jaskier?” The voice came from behind him and he turned to see Triss, her curls down, beautifully framing her face.

“Oh thank the Gods,” he hugged her tight.

“Where’s your better half?” he asked looking around the growing pub’s crowd.

“Outside on the phone. It’s her ex, they don’t argue often but when they do,” she made a face. “Something about him needing her to watch their daughter.”

“Doesn’t he only see her on weekends? What an asshole.”

“Right?”

He felt more at ease with a friendly face by his side and felt even better when Yennifer joined them. He was smarter than to ask her about the phone call and instead chatted about everything and anything to get his mind off his nerves. Time went by more quickly now and soon it was time for him to play.

The second he stepped on stage his demeanor changed. Gone was any trace of nerves and doubt. The stage was his solace, the place he could bare his soul to the masses, or in this case to the forty-odd people crammed into the pub.

It was halfway through his third song when he remembered to keep an eye out for his admirer. He scanned the crowd hoping for the familiar glint to catch his eye but there was nothing. He chewed his lip.

The third song blended into his fourth and fifth. Still nothing. He took a break to grab a drink. He made small talk with Yennifer who raised a delicate brow at him.

"Alright, spill it. What's got you so distracted?"

He finished his drink and let his smile fall into a grimace.

"I left a note. For my admirer. I asked them to come tonight. I left them something to wear so I would recognize them and-"

"And they did show?" She finished for him.

"Nope. Wait how did you know?"

"First off you're terrible at hiding your emotions, and second I was fucking right and you owe me.”

“What?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “I guess I’m partially to blame, I should have realized it earlier.”

“I- what?” he asked again.

“Jaskier. Darling. Sweetheart. I was right.” she said the words slowly as one would do to a small dog.

“Right about what?”

“Your admirer. It’s your neighbor. You never told me but let me guess. Pale, white hair, roguishly handsome, looks like he could snap you in half like a twig?”

“How do you?” He was feeling a little faint now like he was at the edge of realizing something terrible.

“Your neighbor, your admirer, and my ex are all the same person.”

His eyes went wide. It all made sense. All the clues were there but he had just been too dense to put them all together. He’d seen pictures of Yenifer’s daughter but he’d never spent more than a passing glance at Geralt's visiting daughter.

“Oh fuck.” he sat down, suddenly unsure of his legs beneath him.

“He called me right before I came in going on about needing to go out for a few hours and if it was alright with me if he left Ciri alone.” she chuckled. “I told him to not be an asshole and spend time with his daughter.”

Jaskier’s head perked up. Geralt had wanted to come. He hadn’t blown him off.

“I have to go. Fuck, I can’t leave in the middle of a set though.”

Yennifer waved him off, “I’ll sort things off here, you go to him.”

He kissed the top of her head and gave her a quick, tight hug. “You would tell me if this bothered you right? I mean, he’s your ex and all.”

“I think you two would do a very good job at evening each other out, now go!” She smacked him on the shoulder and off he went.

…

He ran home, or at least halfway home before running out of breath and proceeded to briskly walk the rest of the way. He was still trying to decide what to say when he found himself outside the door, sweating profusely and looking an absolute mess. He knocked on the door before he talked himself out of it.

“One minute!” A voice from beyond the door answered followed by the sound of an oven door closing and the chain sliding from the door’s lock.

The door opened. He looked beautiful, even like this, wearing an apron covered in flour cocoa powder. Especially like this maybe.

“I’m friends with Yennifer and she said it was you but I didn’t believe her and I didn’t realize that your daughter Ciri was also her daughter Cirilla which in retrospect should have clued me in but-” he took a deep breath in. Geralt looked nervous and his rambling wasn’t happening. He started over.

“You’re my secret admirer?”

The man blushed. “I am. Is that okay?”

“Very, very okay.” He smiled.

“Would you like to come in? I was just baking. For you.” his blush deepened and Jaskier heart felt like it would burst with affection.

“I’d like that very much.”

#geraskier holiday exchange #geraskier #geraskier fic #geraskier fanfic #geraskier fanfiction #this is so laaaate #modern au geraskier #secret admirer fic #sometimes I write

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wulfies-kpop-fanfics · 4 years ago

Text

One Photo → Mark Lee [6]

↳ Pairing: Mark Lee/Reader

↳ AU: Soulmate!AU - The first touch of two soulmates permanently scars their bodies.

↳ Warning: Suggestive

↳ Word count: 4,349

↳ Chapters: Prelude | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | You Are Here! | 7 | 8 | 9

⁙ Summary: For an end of the year photography project, you’re tasked with taking a photograph for your favourite group, NCT127, and coincidentally, discover your soulmate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FRIDAY - 6 - Part 2

As the two of you travel down the hallway making quiet conversation, Mark stops in his tracks. You're completely focused on him, not sure what he's looking at. The hallway goes silent, save for heavy breathing and the sound of kissing.

Peeking out from behind Mark's back, you peer around the bend of the hallway to join your soulmate's gaze, landing on none other than Rhiannon and Donghyuck, the latter pushing her up against the wall.

"You hypocrite!" Mark quickly covers your mouth with his hand, but it's already too late- both of them are startled enough to quickly separate and begin smoothing out their clothes.

Once Rhiannon realizes that it's you and Mark that caught her, she grabs Donghyuck's hand. She looks completely serious, her face flushed red. "Where, need it now. Our turn."

With your mouth still covered, you look up at Mark. He's still nearly stunned, exchanging looks with Donghyuck, who is equally frozen in place and watching all of this unfold. "Uh," Mark starts sheepishly, glancing between the couple standing before you. "End of the hall, second last room,"

Donghyuck nods and says something in Korean, and from context you assume he's done the same as Mark - prepared a room. He tugs on her hand gently, quickly leading her past the two of you - the slightly awkward moment passing as soon as Rhiannon and Donghyuck are out of sight.

Mark removes his hand from your mouth, and you glance back for a moment. "Well," you say, swallowing thickly. "I guess I know how she feels now."

Mark smiles, barely keeping back a laugh. "Seems like it. Let’s go back to the stage before we find out if those rooms are soundproof or not."

It was relieving to know that once you two arrived back in the arena, none of the guys even so much as made a whisper about what you and Mark so obviously left to do. Everyone was now sitting on the stage around what looked like a picnic blanket that had a spread of snacks over top of it. They all waved to greet you and Johnny helped you up on the stage when you approached. “Help yourself,” Jaehyun said, popping a piece of melon in his mouth. “We just gotta wait for Donghyuck and Rhiannon to come back and then we can do a small dance practice.”

You and Mark happily approach the others and take your seats among them. You sigh in contentment as you chew on a piece of pineapple, finally chipping away at your post-sex appetite.

"So," Johnny begins as you're about to eat your second piece of pineapple, "we couldn't get much out of Mark, but we were all wondering why you and Rhiannon were living by yourselves off-campus in the city."

You freeze for a moment, chewing and swallowing cautiously. Mark grabs your hand and looks at you sympathetically.

"It's a little complicated," you answer, "but we chose to move out when we were accepted to college. I lived with her family for a while after my parents were arrested, but I feel like I made their home life a lot worse. I would have left earlier, but my inheritances and my government grants didn't arrive immediately."

Jaehyun looked at you, eyebrows furrowed. "What happened to your parents?"

You licked your lips and sighed. "Your general gang slash drug dealer gig. They both got hefty prison time for child neglect, drug possession and trafficking on top of harbouring fugitives."

Everyone was silent, save for the muted sounds of eating. "That all sounds horrible," Johnny said. "I never would have guessed you came from that life."

"Sometimes I can't believe I went through any of that either," you agree, "after I left home my life got a lot better. I have Rhiannon to thank for it all. Because of her, I'm here now." You smile as best you can, picking up a mini ham and cheese sandwich triangle you spotted on the platter.

"What are we all talking about?" Rhiannon called as she and Donghyuck entered through one of the side archways into the arena. You and Mark helped them up onto the stage where they took their places and also began picking at the food.

"Collecting my life story," you say, watching the others nod. "I was saying that I lived with you and your family for a while until we moved out."

"Mm, yeah. Rough few years," she commented, picking up her own sandwich triangle. "I'm so glad we moved out."

"Why?" Jungwoo asked, causing you to turn your attention to him.

Rhiannon licked her lips. "It was pretty easy going for the five of us while my mom was still around. (Y/N) and I were working to help my dad out and my mom ran a daycare. When the two of us were graduating from high school, my mom passed away from breast cancer."

You looked down at the floor of the stage, acutely aware of the sullen silence as she paused. "Then life got bad. Mine and my sister's mental health plummeted and everyone was always arguing, especially my dad and my sister. Once (Y/N) and I were both accepted to study in the city, we moved out with her inheritance as fast as we could."

"I'm sorry," Taeyong added. "It's better now, right?"

"As good as it can be," you smile somberly, peeking up a little bit as Mark held your hand. "I miss our mom more and more every day, but we know she's watching over us, cheering us on. If we give up on what we've been working so hard for, she'd definitely beat our asses. Once we graduate, we will be able to build the best lives for ourselves as we can."

"Now that we have all of you, it feels like we fell out of a nightmare and ended up in a dream," Rhiannon said, chewing on another piece of food. "Now all I need to do is get (Y/N) to stop eating stuff with ketchup and I will reach nirvana."

You rolled your eyes and smiled at her. "Ketchup isn't that bad," you protest, nearly breaking out into full out laughter as Mark also makes a disgusted face toward you.

"You like ketchup?" He asked, jokingly frowning.

"Not as much as her sister," you point at Rhiannon, "Lindsay will eat ketchup with mac and cheese!"

"Oh God, that's disgusting!" Mark stuck his tongue out and nearly gagged.

"We know!" Both you and Rhiannon exclaimed in unison.

Things quieted down again as everyone finished the snacks that were laid out, and you all helped clean up once the tray of snacks was polished off. Yuta ended up being the one voted to go backstage with the dishes, but Johnny, Taeyong and Doyoung eventually offered to go and help. Jungwoo, Jaehyun and Taeil also left, you assumed to maybe go to the bathroom, leaving you, Rhiannon, Mark and Donghyuck to occupy the stage.

Once the crowd had diminished, Rhiannon turned her attention to Mark, mischief written all over her face. You already know what's about to come out of her mouth, so you stand up and make your way onto the other side of the stage to hide behind a curtain.

"(Y/N)? Why are you hiding?" Mark seems curious, standing up to walk over to you, but stops in his tracks when Rhiannon begins to speak.

"So, Mark, you guys were up there for a while."

"Y-yeah…" his response was drawn out, not exactly sure where the conversation was going. You inwardly groaned.

"Did you like (Y/N)'s boobs? Pretty big, right? Also super pretty,"

"Noona!" Donghyuck chimed in, also standing up and reaching for her arm. "That's bad!"

Mark goes beet red, looking your way sheepishly. He starts stuttering as if he's shutting down. You take a deep breath, you probably should do something.

"Y-yeah, they were pretty great, um-" he starts, then it looks like something clicks in his head. "H-how would you know what they look like?"

Rhiannon grinned at him, her eyes shifting to the backstage entrance as Yuta and the others were all clamouring back in, "I've seen her naked tons of times. Best breasts on the market if you ask me."

"This needs context! This really needs context!" Johnny shouted as soon as everyone else stopped in their tracks.

At this point, Mark is so red that you think he might actually turn into a tomato. He's completely frozen and speechless, mouth hanging open in shock. Taking in a deep breath you emerge from the curtain you take Mark's hand and squeeze it gently.

"How about we address how quickly you came back from the VIP rooms?" You question, sticking your other hand on your hip.

"Well, y'know," she starts, looking over at the small crowd of boys staring in disbelief.

"Noona-" Donghyuck tries to stop her, but she whispers something in his ear which in turn seems to stop his protest.

"I'm all for taking dick up my cooch but I figured a nice thigh fuck would be better to start out with. Keep them wanting more, right? Oh, he's not small, either." She winked.

"Noonaaaaaa," Donghyuck whines, following that up with something else in Korean you couldn't understand. Everyone in the room was completely silent, frozen in disbelief of what had just entered their ears.

"Well, I think you got your context, John," Jaehyun was the first to utter any words.

It definitely took a while for you to process what just happened. You knew what Rhiannon was like and you expected a small comment from her, but you were completely floored. You opened your mouth to say something, but no words came.

"Well, let's not just stand here, we have an hour before the stylists want us," Taeyong clapped his hands politely, and that seemed to get everyone else in gear. The awkwardness still took a while to fade, so you and Rhiannon decided to sit off to the side while the boys clamoured into their positions to practice dancing.

Once the melody of Cherry Bomb entered your ears, your heart began to thud in your chest. It was one of your favourite songs by them, and the dance was also easily one of your favourites, just behind BOSS. You sat just by the edge of the curtain, clapping along and waving whenever Mark glanced in your direction, tapping your feet against the floor. Rhiannon was outright jamming next to you, making you laugh and grin at her as you shook your head.

When Simon Says started, you stood and (pathetically) tried to imitate the dance as you stood in your spot. Mark looked over at you for a split second as he faced you to change positions in the dance and he flashed a quick thumbs up with a smile.

The next thing you notice though is Rhiannon, who also decided to stand up to start dancing. "Hey (Y/N), watch this," she bends her arms to a ninety-degree angle and then begins to swivel her hips like she's playing with a hula hoop.

You can barely contain your laughter as you watch her dance and don't even notice that the music stopped, everyone turned toward her to catch her in the act.

Yuta is holding his phone, presumably the one controlling the Bluetooth speakers that are hidden somewhere on the stage, trying not to laugh. "Neither of you know how to dance, do you?"

"Hell no," you're wiping away a tear, watching Rhiannon' silly grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I hope Red Velvet has an opening cause I'm about to take the world by storm," she is hardly able to finish her joke before she also bursts out laughing, doubling over and holding her stomach.

"C'mere," Mark held out a hand to you, "let's all have some fun before we have to go."

With a smile you approach your soulmate, pressing your scarred palms to his. A newer song you don't think you've heard yet starts playing over the speakers, Yuta smiling warmly in your direction. Rhiannon joins Donhgyuck and the boys slowly begin to teach you an easy dance, laughing and having fun.

Time flew by and eventually they had to go backstage to get changed and have makeup done by the stylists. You and Rhiannon stuck around backstage for a bit, but eventually, you decided to go find your seats. You left your backpack in the stylist room with Mark, hoping you would remember it after the show.

"Wait!" Mark caused you to stop in your tracks on the way out, turning towards him and meeting his eyes. "I have something for you." He stands up from the makeup chair he was perched in and dug around in a cardboard box in the corner of the room. He eventually comes up with an NCT127 light stick box.

"You really didn't have to, I could have gone out to the merchandise line," you said sheepishly as Mark handed it to you with a grin.

"It's a gift," he retorted with a smile. "I wouldn't want you to be in that line long enough for you to miss any of the performances."

"Thank you, Mark, I'll wave it higher than everyone else." You looked over at the stylist. "Can I kiss him, please?"

She nodded. "We haven't done lips yet. Go ahead."

Excitedly you lean forward to peck Mark on the lips. "I love you, see you soon,"

"I love you too, (Y/N)," Mark held your hand for a few seconds before he had to let you leave the room and return to his chair.

Once you had taken your seat and prepared your light stick, the lights began to fade. Other fans were being let into the venue, and soon enough the concert would start. Rhiannon looked over at you with a grin, holding up a pair of earplugs.

"Check your light stick box," she said. "If we learned anything from seeing BTS last year is that we need these, Donghyuck packed some for me. Maybe Mark did for yours."

Peering into your box, you noticed at the bottom that there was a pair of earplugs sitting there and a note in Mark's writing.

In case you forgot. Love, Mark

You smiled at the note fondly, placing it back in the box, closing it tightly. You slipped it underneath your chair, sitting down and watching the lights dim. You just finished putting the lightstick strap around your wrists, putting the earplugs in your pocket.

Your phone buzzed as fans began to take their seats, and smiled when you read a text from Mark.

Mark: I hope you're ready for the show tonight

You: I've been preparing myself since I bought the tickets

Mark: I wanted to ask you something before my phone gets confiscated

You: What do you need?

Rhiannon perched her chin on your shoulder and read the texts. "Ooh," she sang. "Does he sext you?"

"No!" You quickly dispute. "I'm not sure what he's gonna ask."

Mark: I spoke to my manager and the guys, since I leave for Vancouver tomorrow, I wanted to know if I could spend the night at your place

You: you would really be allowed to do that?

Mark: they made a special exception, I just wanted to know if you would be comfortable with it

You: of course I would be, you are more than welcome to stay with me

"Ooooh! I hope they made that exception for Hyuckie!" Rhiannon exclaims, taking her head off your shoulder and reaching into her pocket for her phone.

Mark: that makes me really happy, meet me in the VIP room after the show, I will bring your backpack

You: okay, I love you, don't overdo it

Mark: I can handle anything life throws at me, dont worry :) love you too

It felt like as soon as you put your phone down, the concert started. Any concert you've ever been to has always managed to be the fastest few hours of your life. This one was no exception - you could feel your heart pound and your chest vibrate with the beat, eyes glued to the stage before you.

You always had problems remembering everything that took place during any show. You knew every song and you sang until your throat went raw, danced with your lightstick until your arm was sore and rolled your eyes with a smile whenever Rhiannon screamed too loudly, too close to your ear. During the concert, you forgot about life outside. You forget about your problems, your exams, graduation, everything.

Something you would never forget, though, was every time Mark looked at you. No matter how deep in concentration he was, every time he was on stage and close to you, he would smile. His face would be glistening with sweat, his chest would heave in deep breaths during a transition, but no matter what, he always managed to grin in your direction.

Being so close to the stage and just being at any concert always gave you a special type of high, that filled your heart with music and happiness that you sometimes felt you couldn't experience. At the end, when the boys left the stage and the lights came back on, you sat down to finish soaking it all in.

"Agh, I'm all sweaty," was the first thing Rhiannon said since everything was all over, and you couldn't help but laugh a little.

"I wonder why," you muse sarcastically, looking up at her from your seat with a smile.

She looked down at you and stuck her tongue out. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" She asked.

Your eyes widened. "Yeah. Is Donghyuck going to meet you backstage?"

She nodded. "Mhm, I'll meet up with you two later. See you in a bit."

You gave Rhiannon a quick hug before grabbing your lightstick box and attempting to move with the crowd exiting the arena. Some of the fans that catch a glimpse of you stare as you pass by- most likely noticed that you had a backstage pass lanyard around your neck. You try to avoid eye contact with them as best you can, slipping into the staircase that leads up to the VIP rooms.

You reached the end of the hallway, gripping the doorknob and pushing it open. The curtain was still covering the window that looked over the arena, and the small coffee table was still pushed up against it, next to the bar stools. You slipped off your shoes and sat on the couch, making yourself comfortable. It would probably be a little while before Marked joined you, so you set down your lightstick box and curled up in the corner of the cushions.

The ringing in your ears slowly faded away as your mind wandered, drifting off into a light snooze. You feel comfortable and warm, the scent of Mark still was barely noticeable in the air around you. You smiled to yourself when you thought of what Mark reminded you of- a strong campfire with fresh s'mores and the sweet summer air that lingered just outside the radius of the fire's warmth.

There was a soft clicking sound that followed the doorknob being turned. You barely perk up when Mark enters the room, clad in his Superhuman t-shirt and black jeans. It seems all of the sweat from his performances has been wiped away, but his face is still flushed. He slips your backpack off his back and gently sets it by the door.

"Hey, sleepy," he whispers, approaching you and kneeling before you. He gently takes your hands, kissing the knuckles. "Did you have fun?"

You smile sleepily at him. "Yeah, I had a lot of fun. You don't look tired,"

Mark continued to smile at you. "Looks can be deceiving," he says. "I just have to put some things away and then we can go."

You perk up a bit as he stands, grabbing the blanket to put inside his own backpack. "Shouldn't we wait until everyone is gone?"

Mark shrugs. "We have to go back down to see the others, that should give us some extra time so that we don't get in a streetcar where we will be swarmed."

You nod, yawning. "Okay, I trust you."

Mark sat down beside you once he zipped up his backpack, giving you a tired smile. He looked down at his arms, idly running a finger against the scar of his arm. "I guess we will be seeing a lot of news about this soon."

You join his gaze and frown a little. "Do you think it will be bad?" You ask, chewing on your lip.

"No, I don't think so. At least I hope. I like to think our fandom is mature enough," Mark takes your hand for a moment and squeezes it. "Shall we go?"

You nod and unfurl yourself to stand up. You both put on your backpacks, you put on your shoes and then head out the door together. You return backstage to meet with everyone, feeling a little surreal that you can personally compliment them on their performances. When you hug each member one last time, you barely catch yourself indulging in their scents, all unique and sweet in their own way. Rhiannon is watching you with a knowing smirk as you do, and as you hug Jungwoo you manage to stick your tongue out at her.

It felt strange but good to go home that night with Mark. It was warm and a little lonely outside compared to how it was inside the venue during the event, but it was a nice change after being inside with a few thousand screaming people. The streetcar ride and the walk back were pleasant, making idle conversation about the concert as Rhiannon and Donghyuck walked along with you.

Once you arrive home, everyone stumbles tiredly inside. You bring Mark's backpack into your room, and all of you play rock-paper-scissors to determine who gets to use the bathroom in order. Rhiannon, Donghyuck and Mark all destroyed you in the game, so you hang back in the kitchen to make some sleepy time tea while you waited.

You nearly fell asleep standing in the kitchen and waiting for your kettle to finish heating up the water. Just as you're finishing preparing everyone's tea, Mark emerges from the bathroom clad in soft pyjamas and sporting freshly dried hair.

"Is that for me?" He asked, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

You nod at him. "If you could bring the other mugs to Rhiannon and Donghyuck too, Rhi's is the purple mug and the blue one is Donghyuck's. I'm going to go freshen up."

Mark nods at you with a smile. Briefly holding your hand as you make your way into the bathroom. You shower quickly, not bothering to pamper yourself. Once you get out, you dry your hair thoroughly with a towel, sighing at the feeling of massaging your scalp.

Once you exit the bathroom, clad in your own pyjamas, you see that Mark is still in the kitchen, clutching his mug of tea.

"Feel better?" He asks, taking a quick sip.

"Mm," you answer, "I'm just about ready to pass out,"

"I made you a mug of tea if you want it. Half-full." Mark smiles when you gently return his earlier cheek kiss.

You reach forward and grab the warm Dragon Ball Z mug to take a few quick mouthfuls of perfect tea. "Thank you," you say, "I had a really great day today."

"Me too," Mark grins sleepily, "but I'm ready to sleep."

"You and me both." You place your mug in the sink. Mark follows suit, gently taking your hand as you lead him to your room. When you pass the living room you notice it's empty, so you assume Rhiannon and Donghyuck have already both gone to sleep.

Once you open the door to your room, you feel so much more relaxed and comfortable. You beckon Mark in, sheepishly smiling as you begin to relocate your mountain of stuffed animals. There's not much light since you hadn't turned any on, but a streak of moonlight is seeping in through your curtains, enough that some things in your room are clear to see.

"Your room is very cosy," he compliments, taking a seat on the edge of your bed and running his hand along the fabric.

"I spend a lot of time here, so I like to make it as comfortable as possible,"

Mark nods with a small smile. "Oh, I almost forgot."

"Forgot what?" You watch him curiously as he stands and moves to his backpack, unzipping it and rummaging for a few seconds before pulling out the fuzzy polar bear plush.

"This belongs to you," he says, tucking it under the covers before taking his seat again. "We should keep him comfy."

You grin at him, "thank you for not thinking I'm weird for asking about it,"

He shakes his head, "anything to help while I'm gone," he comments, trailing off as he continues to observe the contents of your room, and you blush once you realize Mark has spotted some photo cards stuck onto the edge of the shelf above your computer desk.

"I see you have everyone here," he comments with a smile. "Including…"

"Day6," you answer sheepishly, inviting yourself under the covers. "Come cuddle?"

Mark chuckles lightly and complies. He pulls back his side of the covers and slides in, immediately moving to drape an arm over your side. He blinks slowly, smiling warmly as his eyes search your face.

You bring a hand up to lightly run your hand through his hair, massaging his scalp gently. He closes his eyes and hums with contentment.

"I love you," he whispers, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"I love you, too." You manage to drift off easily that night, content to sleep in Mark's arms.

#mark lee #mark lee x reader #mark x reader #nct #nct127 #nctu #nct scenarios #nct imagines #reader insert #fanfiction #kpop fanfictions #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines

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soukokuwu · 5 years ago

Text

DAZAI OSAMU

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈 𝐌𝐄𝐓 𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍

》 angst, unfortunately (dazai x reader)

》 trigger warnings! suicide themes, death

》 word count: 2.3k

》 notes: you saw him for the exact opposite of what he was. he did you a favour, but everything has a price. and now he has come to collect.

》 a story where Dazai is an angel

The ring of the shopkeeper’s bell. The smooth wood of the door. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee. The taste of baked ham. The sun illuminating the alley right outside the cafe.

There he appeared again. After ten years.

He looked just as you remembered. He didn’t age. Bandage over his right eye. Black hair a mess, covering one half of his face. Deep brown eyes as alluring as ever, piercing into your very soul. Black tailored suit, black tie, white dress shirt, same as the last time.

Although, there was one thing different about him.

Black feathered wings that used to be almost miniscule compared to his person— no, could you even call him that? Body. The wings that used to be diminutive compared to his body were now thicker and wider, standing even taller than his frame.

You were painfully aware that only you could see his beauty. Everyone else walked past him without regard. You strolled over to the figure, aware that he saw himself far from what you made him out to be in your head. That wouldn’t deter you from believing that of him though.

Your guardian angel.

»»-------------¤-------------««

Scribbling.

Sound of pen against paper had been all you could hear.

The pen had been discarded and you felt a pat on your head. You had looked up into his eyes. Empty. Vacant. Hopeless.

He had grabbed your hand and led the way. Something had been weird about the route he took that day. That had not been the usual way the two of you took to your school.

A left instead of a right. A bookshop instead of a cafe. The hustle and bustle of people instead of the usual seclusion. Yet you never questioned him. He had been the adult after all. Maybe there was a special event today that you had forgotten about. Yes, that could be why he hadn’t taken you straight to school.

The two of you had finally reached the train station. It had only been on rare occasions that you would step foot there, given that your family hardly ever went out. Even at twelve years old you could tell that your parents were struggling financially. In spite of that, though, you were all happy together. As long as you had each other, your mom would always say.

It had been a windy day. The sky turned a darker shade of grey. It had not been too crowded for a weekday morning in the subway station, so you could see the sky clearly even though you had been a short little child back then.

An announcement played, saying the train would be delayed and it would take a while longer. You looked around, trying to find the display screen that estimated the next train’s arrival.

However, something moved past you and caught your eye. A single black feather fell in front of your face and you eyed it until it touched the ground. You gripped your father’s hand tighter out of fear, but it barely registered in your father’s head. He was much too preoccupied with his own thoughts. Scared as you had been, curiosity got the better of you and you looked around for the source. It could not have been a crow, so where could the feather have come from?

Just as you were looking, you spotted him there, near the front of the platform, facing your direction. A general disinterested look, blank chocolate eyes looking straight ahead at absolutely nothing, dark brown hair and small black wings floating in the breeze. Even all those years ago, he looked breathtaking to you. Something that was supposed to instill fear intrigued you instead. He spoke of something in a soft murmur, in a voice low enough you couldn’t make out what it was.

A pair of watchful eyes followed him as he walked toward you, looking around at everyone on the platform. As the creature passed by you, he stopped in his tracks. His body stiffened and he slowly turned to look at you, who had been blinking up at him skeptically.

“This human is creeping me out,” he had murmured to himself, gulping and then bending his knees to get leveled with you. His eyes had then seemed alive for that split second, filled with intrigue. “It’s as if she can see me.”

“But I can,” you said, almost causing him to stumble over.

The creature blinked in succession as he tried to register what you had just said.

“You can... see me?”

You nodded, attention completely focused on the peculiar being in front of you. He had ominous black wings, but you didn’t feel scared of him at all. You then proceeded to question him about why it was that nobody else could see him. But everything he had shared with you about the different dimensions and how it worked were too complicated for you to remember. Being the inquisitive child you were, you kept interacting with the being. Banter and jokes were all you remembered sharing with him that day.

“You’re funny,” you had told him, laughing at the stupid joke he shared.

The creature had laughed too, before his expression shifted slowly into that of hesitance. You had asked what was wrong, but he shook his head, claiming it had been nothing. He was seemingly looking at something past you, but he hogged your attention by asking if you wanted to see a magic trick. Excited, you had given him all your focus, and by the time you clapped for him and noticed the absence of your father’s hand, you realised you were someplace else.

It was a peaceful place. The both of you were situated in a meadow, surrounded by a sea of colourful flowers. The skies there were a dark grey too. The only sound you could hear was that of the wind blowing. You were alone there with him, your father nowhere in sight. Despite having been teleported to a foreign dimension with someone you barely knew, all you had been thinking of was how much you wanted to explore this place.

“I can’t see the station anymore,” you had casually remarked.

“Sometimes it’s better to see what isn’t there instead of what is,” the creature had replied, an ache in his tone you didn’t miss.

Before you could ask him what he meant, warm droplets of rain started falling onto your face. The creature used his wings to shelter you from the rain, letting himself get drenched. His wings were too small to cover the both of you at the time. Feeling bad, you had asked if he could take you to his home so that you both would get shelter. The flash of melancholy that took over his face you could not have missed.

“Not now, you have to get back home,” he murmured gently, patting you on the head. You nodded in resigned compliance, catching a glimpse of the words imprinted on his wings.

Osamu Dazai.

The world around you began to shimmer and flow together, the colours of the flowers mixing together in circles. It was all making you sick, and so you chose to close your eyes. Everything was spinning. But as you felt a few raindrops fall onto your face, it stopped.

When you opened your eyes next, you found your mother sat next to you on your bed, crying over your body, hugging you when she realised you had come to.

The creature was nowhere in sight.

And neither was your father.

»»-------------¤-------------««

No one told you what really happened that day until a few years ago, when your mother was on her deathbed. Initially, she had just claimed that your father had to move to another city and wouldn’t come back. You were twelve but you weren’t that stupid. You didn’t believe her, but you thought better than to press her about it.

However as she was dying, she told you the real story of how your father disappeared. She recounted to you his suicide note, word for word. He had had enough of his life. Apparently the happiness you saw in your family as a kid was all a facade. Your father was far from a joyful man. He was beyond depressed, with a shit job and a shittier financial situation. His wife had lost interest in him as a man and his only solace had been you. Which was why he wanted to bring you with him. To die with him.

His plan that day was to jump in front of a moving train with you. But that creature had saved you at the last minute. According to witness accounts, they saw you let go of your father’s hand just as he was about to jump off the platform before you fainted on the spot. There was a small boy who swore he saw a man with brown hair and black wings who pried you away from your father, but of course the authorities didn’t take him seriously.

»»-------------¤-------------««

The city looked so much better from way up high. It had been a while since you were here. The wind blowing reminded you of that day when you were teleported to another dimension. You shifted your gaze from the scenery to the figure beside you. He had followed you here all the way from the cafe. He looked even more mesmerising now with a soft smile plastered on his face.

“Dazai?” You called out hesitantly.

The being nodded in acknowledgement. However, you found you couldn’t quite find the right words to say now that he was here, in the flesh.

“Ask me.”

His statement stunned you. It was a gentle kind of prodding, indicating he understood the situation. You were almost a hundred percent sure by now of his answer, and as much as you would like to confirm it, you decided against it.

“You’re my guardian angel, Dazai.”

It was not what he really was, but it was true all the same. He had saved you as a child even though he had absolutely no reason to. Osamu Dazai saved you even though he had been, and was still, the embodiment of death.

“I’m the angel of death,” he uttered, completely monotone. Dazai looked puzzled now, his lips pressed into a firm line. He shifted his gaze and looked out at the view of the city from his spot on the skyscraper. The streets surrounding this building were somewhat secluded, save for two or three pedestrians walking below. You caught a look of understanding that seemed to wash over him, as though a sudden realisation of your intentions, and why he even appeared before you in the first place.

You thought back to all those years ago, when you tried to convince people you weren’t crazy. In hindsight, telling people about a heavenly creature that saved you from death’s grip wasn’t the brightest idea. It had resulted in years of bullying, several counts of physical abuse and a consequent depression that you wished would go away.

Where you would normally be shut in at home, today you were out and about. You had taken work leave. All your colleagues were stunned into silence yesterday when you offered everyone cupcakes. They should; you usually didn’t even respond much even when spoken to. But the day before, everyone found you pleasant to be around, and you could see the looks of relief on all of their faces. They all spoke of not being able to wait to see you the next day.

Everyone who thought they knew you took it as a sign of you getting better. But no. To you it was a sign of clarity. You felt more upbeat today than any other day. It was because you knew exactly what waited for you at the end of the day: oblivion.

Before you knew it, you were standing at the edge of the building. Your legs trembled slightly when you realised just how high up you were. The fear was taken over by confusion when you felt warmth envelop your right hand.

Dazai’s fingers were intertwined with yours and he offered you the most comforting smile you’d seen in a long while. You were completely perplexed by the words he uttered next.

“I’ve always wanted to commit a double suicide with a beautiful lady when I was human.”

You had expected that he was the angel of death, but you never thought he had been human before. How it worked you would never find out, but there was something you wanted to know.

“Aren’t angels like you immortal?”

“My death was set in stone the moment I saved you from myself.”

Dazai did not need to explicitly tell you, but you deciphered it anyway. It was a simple message: your death would spell his. That’s all there was to it. A curse of some sort, because he had failed his duties all those years back. He forcefully saved a soul bound to death by his own hands. This was his punishment. But he did not look the least bit unhappy.

If anything, he radiated pure bliss. It was a bittersweet moment. The person you had dreamt of countless times in your life, the one you had fantasised finding again and again— he finally appeared but it was on an ominous condition. It only meant one thing: you would not change your mind today.

Your legs stopped trembling. Your heart started pounding faster in your chest. The warmth of the noon sun was getting uncomfortable. Yet you found the warmth of his hand relaxing.

Without warning, you felt your hand being yanked toward him, your body covered in his warm embrace. This time, his wings were big enough to shield both you and him from the outside world. You could see nothing but his face. You were pressed against his chest, foreheads touching and eyes glued to each other’s. You felt any fear you had dissipate into the void.

“Will you meet me in another life?”

You couldn’t help but ask. It was something you were wishing for, no matter how impossible it may seem: to get to know Osamu Dazai as a person. You hoped to find him in that other life, if it was possible at all. You wanted to get to know him, to understand his soul, preferably as equals.

Dazai’s unbandaged eye was clouded with a certain bewilderment before it reverted back to a gentle kindness, one you had seen many years before.

“I promise.”

Deep down you knew it was bullshit. You could sense his uncertainty. But as you both plunged to your death, the words were the only comfort you found, aside from the tenderness of his hug.

You opened your eyes to look into his once more, and then everything went black.

A scream.

And then nothing.

tags: @yokelish

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd dazai #bsd scenarios #bsd oneshot #bsd x reader #bungo stray dogs #bsd osamu dazai #bsd dazai x reader #bsd osamu dazai x reader #dazai x reader #osamu dazai x reader #bsd angst #rachwrote #bsd imagine #bsd imagines

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icharchivist · 4 years ago

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I hope you don't mind but can i ask what you suggest the order of doing things is??

Like... what order should I do the Primarch weapons, Eternal recruitment and Evoker recruitment in?

heyo!

I don't mind at all but i just hope i'll be clear enough ^^"

i huh, got a little long

EDIT: OK editted what i needed to edit about character class’s weapons off you go!

The Seraphic are your first priority outside of building a grid. Easy. Those will give you a major boost in your grids and you will always keep them in your grids, so get them as soon as you can and focus on them. You will get level-gated eventually since to go further into grinding you'll need to have access to raid only unlockable after lvl 101, so take it one step at a time, but they are your main priority. (note that the story for the Light and Dark Seraphic will spoil wmtsb pt2 and 3 a bit)

Eternal recruitment is tedious but i would recommend, especially as a beginner, to maybe think about doing Threo and/or Tien (Three Tigger Axe and Ten Wolf Gun respectively) as early as you can. They're godsends for beginners, Thero with her plain damage which will basically kill any enemies in front of her making her easier for farming (especially Slim blasting), and Tien with her formidable Bounty that will allow you for more loots per fight. Both are really good early investment. It's okay to take your time with them (i personally only have 3 - Threo, Tien and Seox), especially since it gets more complicated if you take the uncapping into account.

(also note that you should keep as many of the dupes for the Revenant weapons as you can aside from the one you will need to uncap to get the Eternal. uncapping to 5* isn’t a concern to have right now but know that this process involves using 40 Revenant Weapons on top of the one you forged. It’s good to have a stash dedicated to keeping them and leave them aside until you’re ready)

Evokers.... *looks at the state of my Evokers grinding* ahah what is that ahahahahaha....

Okay so Evokers are especially tedious so it's a complicated one. I think the early steps from unlocking their respective summons should be easy and their summons bring a major boost, so it may be good to try to work onto it a little. That said the Evokers take a lot of mats and later on mats from Impossible raids, so it will take a lot of time to unlock them. BUT you should also account for the Arcarum tickets. Since you cannot keep more than 90 tickets, it means that you may be more limited in your ability to farm Arcarum-only mats. And boy will you want to farm those well because they're really hard to get and takes a lot of diligence to get. The thing i've been told is to focus on them one at the time, or do them by pair: for exemple when grinding for The Sun you will be also doing some Hanged Man's raids and get Hanged Man's loot, so you can do both The Sun and The Hanged Man at once.

Not to mention that Arcarum can drop weapons you'd else get in the Omega raids, such as lumi swords and such, which is a good investment. However you would need to have a grid that can stand on its own because you don't have access to friends' summons in there, not to mention the restriction you may find in there (ex: quests that you can only do with R characters)

Out of those three grinds, the Evokers are the most tedious ones to get and it's okay to take your time. It's good to not neglect the Arcarum (i say as i ignore my own advice), but it shouldn't be your utmost priority.

If i may, what is accessible early and that you should focus on is getting the Atma sword and the Bahamut dagger from the What makes the sky blue sidestories.

wmtsb, being anniversary events, gave out a lot of BIG rewards that are game changing. Mostly, the possibility to pick a Bahamut Weapons from wmtsb1 and an Atma weapon from wmtsb3.

Bahamut weapons give a boost on attack or health but only to characters from specific races. Dagger gives a boost in attack to human and Erune, which are the majority of characters in the game, so the best investment you can make. Note that to push the dagger to its full power you will have to forge it further in the shop. Then it will be a must have in your grids (it's also often recommanded to +99 mark on it if you can)

Atma weapons give a major boost on attack depending on the character's weapon specificity. So for exemple the Atma sword will give a boost in attack for any characters who are shown to wield a sword on their profile. Sword is the most common weapon in the game, thus it is recommanded to take an Atma Sword as a beginner and slap it in any grids in which you mostly use sword characters for (and this is where it will start to be interesting to make sure to build teams by weapon's proefficiency, ie, in this case, making sure to mostly have sword characters as your offence) As for Bahamut the Atma will ask for more forging in the shop, i don't remember if there's any nor the specific for when it's an Atma, but there is an option to turn the Atma into an Ultima but only with HL raids, so don't worry too much about that.

Also i'm checking but it should be from Zooey's normal raid, if you can access to The Grand Order raid (normal) you should try to peak into it until you can unlock at least the Cosmo Sword from the shop. Cosmo weapons that you will find in Zooey's raid will basically multiply weapons of the same proefficiency 's HP and Attack that are in your grid. Basically: if your grid is mostly swords, slapping a Cosmo Sword in your grid will tremendously multiply your power. Cosmo Sword are a must have for light especially, since the ideal Light Grid includes 1) The Lumi swords, 2) the Xeno Sunblade, 3) later on HL, the Sword Opus.

I have heard that it is not wise to invest in other Cosmo weapons because of the fact grids rarely benefit for it, but Light (and Fire once you unlock the Impo raids) benefit a lot from the Cosmo Sword. You won't be able to 4* it until you can unlock HL tho.

BUT only focus on Cosmic sword if you have the grid to back it up (again: a full Lumi sword set up for exemple in light)

Another thing since i mentioned it: Keep an eye out for the Xeno events.

The other must-have in a grid is the Xeno weapons, which are only available when Xeno events are up. Xeno tends to run every few months before Unit and Fight and they are limited events with limited drops that are essential to forge a Xeno weapon. Xeno influence your grid tremendously and can be accessed at early levels. Wind Xeno should get a rerun soonish since the next Unit and Fight is around the corner, so keep an eye out for it.

(Opus is HL concern so it's not something to worry about just now but that will be another must have once you unlock Lucilius's HL raid)

EDIT: Another thing you should focus on as you get close to level 101 is to forge one of the weapon linked to a character class from Special: Rank II.

You will need to have forged any of the weapons from Rank II to later being able to unlock any class from Rank IV. Rank IV is unlockable after lvl 101, and after doing one mission per class, but it is necessary to first unlock them to forge that weapon

or so i was told at least DLKFJD With recommandation to focus either on Glorybringer, Doctor, Kengo or Rising Force, due to their specific kitset that are super useful.

So my advice is:

1) focus on your grid by getting multiple weapons of the omega series (Respectively: Colo Cane, Levi Dagger, Yggy Sword, Tiamat Gun, Lumi Swords, Celeste Claw. Note that your Lumi Swords will still be in your grid on HL so this is the thing you must invest the most on. It's often not recommanded to uncap the starting weapons's 5* since you'll replace them the moment you get into HL bosses, but Lumi swords are where you can go ham)

2) at the same time as your grids, work on your Seraphic. Go as far as you can to unlock your Seraphic

3) Do wmtsb as soon as possible: it takes reaching chapter 44 of the main story, but it will give you 2 super important must have weapons: The Atma Sword and the Bahamut Dagger. And it's easy to get them, no tedious grinding, except for forging the Bahamut weapon further but it is something you can do on low level

4) Focus on Xeno anytime a Xeno event is up

5) For the Eternals, take them one by one, do not rush, and if you want to work on them, focus either on Threo or Tien first

6) you can think about the Cosmic Sword if you feel like it though it's not a priority

7) The Evokers take a lot, lot, lot of time and grind that is in HL only, so don't rush through it, but it is wise to not let your tickets reach its cap so you can grind efficiently.

I hope it's not too confusing, if there's anything that needs clarification don't hesitate to ask. I know gbf can be a little complicated and sometimes i can get so focused on HL content that i miss out some better ways to explain LL content

Hope it helps out!

Take care!

#ichareply #ichafantalks gbf #anonymous #ichablogging gbfgp

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