#also!! anyone else who wants to do this feel free :)
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tickly-trashcan · 2 days ago
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Hear Me Out Cake Event!!
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This is the wildest idea for an event I've had but... HEAR ME OUT!!!
In this event, we'll be putting our own tickly twist on the hear me out cake trend!! For our hear me out cake, we'll put the characters we'd like to see get tickled on the cake!! >:) I'll explain more below the cut, but I'd also like to extend an invitation for other creators to jump on this event if they'd like!! :D The event will be starting next week on January 12, so keep an eye out for that!
Here's a quick summary of the event, but I will also explain more hehehe~ There are three stages to this event! The first stage is the Hear Me Out!! stage, where you'll pick out a character you'd like to put onto the cake! The second stage is where all of the characters on the cake are announced, which I'm calling the Big Slice or Little Slice stage! The final stage is called Serving the Cake, and it is where the cake is sliced and all the characters on the cake are given a slice of cake (in the form of tickles! >:D)
Hear Me Out!! Stage:
The first stage of the event! This will run from Jan. 12 through Jan. 18 and will be everyone's opportunity to submit a character for the cake! To submit a character, just send me an ask with the character you'd like to submit for the cake! Please specify the fandom as well :) If you'd like to go above and beyond, then feel free to explain why you want to put this character on the cake!! I'll be posting the asks as they come in before posting the final list of characters, so this is where we can all get silly and talk about the characters we love!
One note for this event: I'm really hoping the community gets together for this event, so if there's a character from a fandom that's not on my personal fandom list, still send them in!! I'll be writing for characters that I know about, but if there's a character that you love, you should send them in! If I don't know them, maybe someone else will end up picking them!
Big Slice or Little Slice Stage:
The second stage of the event! This stage will start on Jan. 20 when the full list of characters is posted! During this stage, any creator can pick out however many characters they'd like to write for and start creating whatever they'd like for them!! Art, fics, whatever you'd like to make! There's no limit on who you can write for or draw in this event but also don't feel pressure to create something for every character on the list!
Another note: The dates after the Hear Me Out!! stage are all pretty iffy just so y'all know! Ideally I'll have the list up on Jan. 20 but it could be later, and also the time frame for the Slicing the Cake stage is super flexible for creators! Don't feel pressure to stick within that time (I will for sure be posting outside of the time given haha)
Serving the Cake Stage:
The final (and most fun!) stage of the event! This stage will start on Feb. 3, two weeks after the full list of characters is shared! This is when anyone can start posting their slices of character cake onto Tumblr to share! You are also more than welcome to post before this time, it's just a rough time frame hehe~ If you're participating in this event, please use the tag #cakes and tickles so that everyone can follow along with the event! It's a terrible tag but it'll work haha! There's no technical time limit on the event, but I was thinking the posting period could be from Feb. 3 through Mar. 3 just for a fun little "month" of cake! But like I said before there is absolutely no pressure to do it within that time frame, just make sure to have fun if you decide to participate!! I'll try and reblog as many tickly creations as I can, so make sure to use the tag above hehehe :D
And that's pretty much it!! This is a crazy event and I'm really hoping that other people participate (if not that is all good there is NO pressure I just thought this would be a fun little community thing haha)! I'm looking forward to the best hear me out cake EVER!!!
If you have any questions about this event prior to it beginning, please don't hesitate to send me a message or an ask! I think I explained everything but there could easily be something that I missed! Thank you guys and look forward to this! :D
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subeddieweek · 3 days ago
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Welcome to Sub Eddie Week 2025!
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You will find all event information under the "read more" cut.
There are no official sign-ups for this event. Our interest form can be found here, but it is not required. This event is open for everyone who would like to participate and there's no deadline for deciding to join.
Prompts:
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You'll notice that we only have one list of prompts this year instead of two! This is because there is so much overlap and some can be used in both sexual and non-sexual context.
We got a few questions last year asking if prompts on one side can be used for the other, and we decided that one list with many options will help ease any confusion.
Another note about prompts: some are vague for a reason! This is so you can make them work for anything you can think of. For example 'wet' can be used for watersports, cum play, spit, sweat, or anything else you can come up with that involves wetness. Another example would be 'heat' which can mean anything from omegaverse to just being too hot on a summer day.
We want everyone to use their imagination and not feel limited by any of these prompts.
Rules:
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The first two rules are in place to keep this event safe. Mods do not feel comfortable moderating an event with sexual underage content, and we do not feel comfortable exposing anyone to untagged works. Please be mindful of your friends in this fandom and tag accordingly.
Posting guidelines:
Post using #SubEddieWeek, #Sub Eddie Week, or @SubEddieWeek on Twitter or Tumblr, and post AO3 fics to the SubEddieWeek Collection.
If you are posting on AO3, please include the “Sub Eddie Munson” tag so the tag can grow.
No minimum word count.
Late submissions allowed.
This is not a secret event, so feel free to post about your wips for this event and tag us so we can rt!
Also feel free to use this event to finish any wips you’ve already started, so we can cheer you on! Continuations and sequels are also allowed!
More information can be found in our FAQ. If you have any questions, please check here to see if we have already answered it. If we haven't, or if you're unsure about something, please ask! You can DM us or send an ask.
FAQ
AO3 Collection
Disclaimer: We will keep this event as open as possible and we would like to include everyone who participates. However, mods will have final say in all retweets, reblogs, and the AO3 collection for the event. Please try to follow our guidelines, and you will be included if you do. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask on tumblr or DM on twitter.
Lastly, huge thank you to everyone who has expressed interest this year, and everyone who participated in last year’s event. You all make this possible! Without the writers and artists, this would not be happening, so we hope everyone who wants to participate gets to.
Please tag us in all your WIPs for this event so we can cheer everyone on.
Happy 2025, let’s have some fun this year.
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noxturnalmoth · 3 days ago
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What Could Have Been
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Silco, the Eye of Zaun, the Industrialist, was first and foremost a son of Zaun who wanted his motherland free. After an altercation in which his adopted daughter shot him in a fit of rage, he is left dying while the world goes on without him. His life's work and ideals soon trampled to nothing as his memory fades from the world. But what if he was saved?
Chapter 5: Children of Zaun
That night was strange. It had been nearly a decade since you shared a living space with someone yes, yet you adapted, but with Silco in your bed you felt restless. Not that his presence was making you uncomfortable, you just have never been so close to someone during this vulnerable moment, and if you had to choose you'd rather your partner be Silco than anyone else. And although you two had entered a rhythm, the boundary of sharing a sleeping space was never crossed, which made everything feel all the more intimate and domestic after the heart to heart the both of you shared that evening. Yet this was the best choice, you had left Silco your bed for months so he could heal and have a private space, then he gave if back to you so you could rest from your hectic life and dealt with the pain of couch rest until now, you two definitely deserved good rest without compromises.
You also feared that you'd be a bad bed partner due to your nightmares, thrashing, sweating and mumbling in your dreams before waking up with a scream. So, with you back turned to him you faced the wall, eyes wide open as you try to make sure he can rest, breath muted, your fidgeting body calmed.
"Rest."
"I can't."
Silco shifts, turning towards you before his hand takes the blanket covering you both and tucked it beneath your chin.
"Is this about your nightmares?"
So he knew, you nod. Just like you knew about his, bated breaths welcoming you from your nightly rebellion that led you up the stairs only to find him thrashing in your bed, not knowing what to do other than to softly lend him words of support as he slept before going to crash on the couch yourself. It happened many times, yet you didn't find it in yourself to ask, yet now that you knew the reason behind his nightmares you found the courage.
"You haven't been sleeping either, have you?"
"Not used to the proximity."
"Me neither.." You yawn out, exhausted but unable to sleep. "But I don't know what to do."
And you turn towards him, your eyes finding his in the dark and you huff out a small laugh, a sigh of his own heard harmonizing with you.
"Something I used to do when Jinx couldn't fall asleep was to brush her hair with my fingers."
"That's adorable."
"And it was all that could calm her down along with staying near me, sleeping on the couch in my office or in my bed if I went to sleep."
"That's even more adorable." He smacks your cheek gently to chastise you. "So what...I'll do yours and you do mine?"
"I'm going on the couch."
"No!" You shuffle as he does, catching his wrists in your hands and he huffs. "I can't let my favourite senior citizen hurt his back, who will help me at the shop if you're not here?"
His hand suddenly rests heavily on your hair and ruffles it, making you kick and smack at him weakly to "fight back".
"I'll be the last senior citizen you know if you keep that up, birdie."
"Birdie? I'm just a weak little fuckass bird?"
He chuckles. "Yes. I could've put it more elegantly, but your words have more impact I fear." And you laugh along, settling in a more comfortable position again, as does he with his hand still on your head.
Yours slowly reached up to his. Hand raking through the softer, wavier and longer strands, much more healthy than they had been when he first came in and with a bit more silver swirling in the ink black hair. His hand begins to move in similar patterns, scratching at your scalp softly, your eye drooping at the comfort of the warmth and motion, heart fluttering warmly at the ministrations.
"Shit, it might just work."
"Once more, goes to prove you're still just a kid." His voice teases, lowly and slowly as if your touch got him sleepy too, yet as you yawn and he chuckles, you can't help but feel like he's holding out better than you.
"Bite me gramps." Another yawn forces itself out of your mouth, eyes unable to open even if you wanted them to. And it wasn't long before you fell into deep sleep, your hand in his hair stilling, and when you awake due to a nightmare so does he from your movement. His hand back to caressing your hair, an arm around you to bring you to his chest, his warmth and movement making the paintful visions and sounds ebb away as it plunges you back into sleep. Yet as you wake up the next morning snuggling up to Silco, you realize he hasn't taken your hand away from his hair, and your arms from around him, his in the same place as they were when you first woke up.
"Who knew you were a cuddler?"
"Shit, my bad Silco." You take yourself away and shuffle back a bit in bed, refusing to leave its comfort yet creating a bit of distance between you and your friend.
Friend.
He is your friend. Him, Silco. Last night's memories are enough to have you purse your lips in order to hide a small smile. The soft voices talking of darkness in the silent evening, Piltover's lights overseeing you two from afar. The cold water freezing you from your legs to your head as you walk in the river and dip yourself, your proximity to Silco providing a bit of warmth to counter the bite of the Pilt. The soft laughs and banter shared on the way back, as if that baptism has truly shed your friend of his past like a snake stuck in his own skin finally freeing itself. In a way, you felt like a changed woman aswell, a lot of the doubts you felt around Silco now gone, replaced by the velvety smooth feeling of something new within your heart, the empty space left behind by the world now filled with one single thing.
Friendship.
Warm and beautiful like the soft crackling of flames. You hoped he felt the same, but with how his lips pursed similar to yours and his eye crinkled on its side, you knew he did. Albeit that domestic moment and the soft yet unfamiliar feeling of a blossoming friendship made last day worth it, after the strike team visited Zaun you knew things would only get worse.
And indeed, they did.
Within the span of two weeks enforcer outposts had been put in each level of Zaun, forcing people to identify themselves in order to pass through. Walls were put up to separate zones and neighborhoods, and small enforcer stations were around the corners of each important sector. Enforcers were ruthless and violent, now aided with Noxian soldiers around each corner, their cruelty knowing no limit. Their policies, or rather Piltover's policies, were thoroughly carved into Zaun and people quickly grew restless.
Your already limited freedom had been all but destroyed.
Clients had said Caitlyn Kiramman was at the head of all of this, Mel Medarda nowhere to be seen yet her mother Ambessa stoking the flames of war. Appearing everywhere a conflict was and somehow always making the best of it. It was not that surprising as she was Noxian, yet something foul felt at play here, it reeked of opportunism and schemes.
Speaking of schemes, more people came in with information, desperate to have someone do something about the growing injustice and civil unrest, and you were but one woman. And after a couple of months, you found yourself preparing to go for yet another restless night.
"Let me join you."
You turn around, coat in hand as you're about to leave to wreak some havok on some of the navy collared wardens that invaded your home. Your head tilts and eyebrows furrow at him in question.
"You've been leaving earlier and coming back later, working then fighting. I help you plan but you're all alone in those missions otherwise, so let me help."
"You want to fight?"
"Yes. When have I stopped fighting? The combat was just a different one, and now my friend needs me and I can't let her run herself into the ground." He puts his own coat on, sauntering towards you before unlocking the door, a hand splayed on the small of your back to make you move forward, the warmth sipping through your clothes and into your skin and making your stomach flutter. "Let's go, we've got some mayhem to cause, birdie."
You scoff, yet a smile grew on your face at his words. "Sure thing, fossil."
You two slipped in the streets, one with the shadows and silent like an owl's flight.
"What do you plan on doing then?"
"Explode barrels all around the entire zone to make enforcers leave their posts. Pillage their stations of important files, break their weapons, and leave them with a little gift." You reach into your bag for a grenade. "We'd link that to a trip wire. I took a page from your daughter's proverbial book and made a color bomb."
His eye widens and his lips purse as he swallows, his hands cradling and tracing the object.
"Why?"
"Well she's pretty good at pissing people off, and she's also your daughter. I guess I wanted to kinda remind you of her, pay homage."
His lips twitch for a millisecond and the corner of his eye softens.
"It stains indefinitely." You say maliciously, your voice dropping to a conspiratory whisper as you get closer to him. "And it's a stink bomb."
His chest jumps as he silences a laugh, the cold ocean of his teal iris warmed by mirth.
"Unwashable?"
"Oh they'll need to burn their uniforms and order new ones to get rid of the color and stench. Picked blood red, for symbolism."
He nods, smirking at you from his shoulder and you two separate, lighting bins on fire and shooting guns in dark alleyways to call forth the attention of enforcers, slipping past them. On your path you find yourself surrounded by a handful of Noxian soldiers, their armors thick red riddled with cracks, their stance strong yet too rigid against a Zaunite fighter such as yourself. Silco climbs up a gutter to get access to a roof as you get ready, stance low before you lunge at them like a feral animal, flipping and bouncing between them and the walls, delivering kicks and punches as you make them exhaust themselves. Their thick armors slowing them, and yet they have grazed you a few times with their blades, bruises blooming where they grabbed and hit you, they were indeed fearless and strong. With a few well placed kicks and punches you find yourself disarming one of them, the huge knuckle knifes knocked out of their hands, and you smirk while picking them up as you've found yourself turning the wheel in your favor. The weapons were hefty and could slice through bone, the blades half your height, and their power sensed from only wielding them. But as the enemy approached you had to stop admiring the craftsmanship and get back into position, the blades creating sparks as you ran at your adversaries. Each hit and slash given now had their strength multiplied, the heft of the knives and knuckles giving you extra speed on downward attacks aswell as more weight behind each attack, the blades helping with defence and offence as the knuckles were of aid to break their own weapons, disarm and deliver punches that rattled the big suits of armor. After a while, and although you were battered and bruised, you smiled and motionned to Silco that the way was clean, the man's eye widened as he raked his hand in his hair. Groaning as he realized his hair was not short anymore and redid the half bun he made to keep his short bob away, the same strands escaping the updo to lay on his left side in some sort of half bangs.
"Not used to the long hair anymore?"
"It has been close to a decade since I last had it this long." His arms cross in front of his chest.
"And why did you let it grow? Change of style?" He shrugged nonchalantly before kicking at one of the dead bodies laying on the ground.
"I suppose. A reminder of my youth perhaps?" He crouches, picking a weapon and huffing at the weight muttering about how unpractical it was before looking over his shoulder. "Are you complaining?" You furrow your eyebrows, mouth moving to open before he gets back up, sauntering towards you with a smirk. "Because I remember you saying that I'd look 'hot' with my hair long."
You groan, pushing at his shoulder before placing your newfound weapons in your belts on each side of your hips. "Prick."
"Keep on telling yourself that, my dove."
You started to walk away, stomach fluttering and face warm as you hurried the both of you to the station. You both arrive there, ridding yourselves of the couple of enforcers left in the station before beginning your heist.
"What are we looking for?" Silco was looking through a file cabinet while you were reading reports and notebooks at the sargent's desk.
"Plans for attacks, next orders, interesting observations, blackmail fuel...anything that feels right." And with that he nods and silence overtakes you two, the only sounds being drawers pulled open and close and pages turned. Books, files, schematics and such stuffed in your bad before you detonate a shrapnel grenade in the armory, the tripwire stain grenade set from the inside before you escaped through the window.
Sitting on a roof far away, panting softly, you hear the huge explosion, blood red smoke escaping the station while people around gather in shock and horror. Soon enough the screams of terror were replaced by disgusted wretching from the enforcers, not used to the smell of condensed sump water, chemicals and rotten food. A smell that wasn't all too uncommon here in Zaun. And as you begin snickering you lay on your back, looking at the metal sky now dyed red with smoke, its tendrils reaching high as if to touch Piltover.
"Wanna do more?" You ask, voice uneven and eyes trailing to a smiling Silco, teeth visible and eye scrunched in amusement and something much softer that made your heart pinch just a little.
"You don't even have to ask, my friend."
And so your night and many others were spent sabotaging stations. Your ministrations moving to outposts soon enough. The same gut wrenching acrid, rot smells and blood red staining the map at different spots, metal fences and stations looking like they were doused in blood. And metaphorically they were as you stained more of the town red, you were dying enforcers with the color of your people's blood, the trenchers that have been persecuted and ruined by the elite under their gilded rule. The gold too pure to rot yet beneath the surface it was festering like a wound that would never close, a wound that they'd inflict over Zaun so that it feels the weight of Piltover's power, so that it takes the blame for its sister's corruption. And as months passed, your influence grew, both you and Silco working in perfect tandem to not only provide for your fellow Zaunite, but also to attack the enemy. Using the information head in the street or from clients and neighbors aswell as the stolen files, you two become sharper, more vicious, yet keep the same vigilence and accuracy in all of your excursions. The ever growing civil unrest fueling your fire as you hear more and more people praising your work, the rebellion that you had feared would take over Silco again was bringing you two closer and making you work better than ever. He imparted his wisdom, his knowledge of all about Zaun to you while you made weapons and other trinkets that would help in missions and fought off the Noxians getting in your way, the both of you sharing brain and brawn equally to tire the Piltovan forces, exhaust them mentally, make them unstable and messy.
Your paths and planning were always randomized so that the enforcers would never catch onto you, and as time passed you would see more red smoke than your own each nights, the smell as horrid as your own bombs. So sometimes you wouldn't even work in sabotaging enforcers again, you'd watch the Sump and Entresol burst in red smoke from the rooftop of your appartment building, a tumbler of whiskey in hand as you read and annotate the files you stole. During the day you'd hear whispers about the Children of Zaun coming back when the Undercity needed them the most, the name making Silco freeze yet after looking at him and observing a nostalgic and profoundly sad look in his eye, he smiled. His eye shut as he shook his head, the small huff of a laugh leaving his nose. And after a month or two of observing, you even followed those people, tailing them unbenknownst to them and watching them work. You two would be taking note of every different rebel working as a copycat, how they moved, how much time they took and their paths until you delivered all of them a note at each and every one of their domiciles.
You have been helping us fight the good fight against Piltover's elitist law.
Under this cruel dictature you've fought alongside us.
Rejoice, for your work has us admirative at your loyalty just like ours made you admirative at our rebellion.
Let us keep fighting the good fight, Children of Zaun, together.
We hope you turn to look at the Old Hungry tonight, and that you'll feel pride at how hard we've been fighting for our independance.
By that time six months had passed since the Kiramman rule was instored in the Sister cities. Jinx posters were everywhere, people admiring her and painting her as a hero both figuratively and literally, her fans even calling themselves Jinxers, creating a sense of community while Piltover tried to enforce the opposite. Just like yours called themselves by the name of the oldest and strongest rebellion movement of Zaun. It was strange, hearing excited whispers at your work, the rebellion you helped begin. Years of working towards this couldn't have prepared you less as the warm feeling within your chest at how proud you were of seeing your people gain the courage to fight back, to ally themselves to each other against the common enemy.
That night, the rooftops arbored about two dozen of people, watching Silco and you's latest heist at the Old Hungry, one of Zaun's iconic landmarks, the clocktower bursting in red, foul smelling smoke while slips of paper rained from the sky. The tower had been taken over by enforcers at the beginning of their occupation yet you had to divert their attention, tire them to make sure you could pull the operation off. And as elated screams flooded the streets and rooftops, you looked down, the Children of Zaun looking up at you with teary eyes. They were teens and young adults, not tired enough from Piltover's tortured, and pissed enough to wake up from the cycle plunging their people further in the dark day by day. They were smiling proudly, eyes misty and wet, their left fists held to their temple and the right one over their hearts.
The Zaunite salute.
The one that enforcers prohibited any Zaunite to do for decades upon decades, the one that the old Children of Zaun used as a salute. And they were doing it, to Silco and you. With your own heart beating like a Noxian drum, lungs expanding and deplating quickly and eyes stinging with unshed tears you turned to look at Silco. He had taken his eyepatch away, shaky breaths leaving his lips as he looked at the sight before him, then he too turned towards you with his good eye widened and misty, lips pulled in the softest of smiles, his now long hair in a ponytail and the strands of hair framing his face floating in the breeze. Your heart beat faster at the sight, he looked positively breathtaking. The years of pain suddenly erased from his face and leaving nothing but youthful hope and soft joy.
"They..They see us as heroes Silco."
"They do."
And a smile slices your face, the biggest smile you've produced in years or maybe ever in your life. Teeth exposed, tears falling down your face as your left fist knocks against your temple, right hand over your heart.
"Remember where you're from! Rejoice in your origins! Fight for your freedom! And look back in pride at your hard work!"
Silco, whom you've never heard raise his voice, was in position too, his voice carrying a heaviness he's been dealing with for decades. Alleviating now that his people are awake, now that he isn't lost anymore within his own darkness, now that the world is moving. Because no matter how dreary it can get, Silco someway, somehow never lets go of his love for his people and his hope for a better future. It has motivated him all his life, and now that his mind and heart were clear, the flame has been tended and stoked back into a roaring blaze. And his roar of hope made your heart flutter in the similar way that has been happening more and more often around him. Melting at his passion, at his patience, at everything that he was.
The Children came by the shop, giving you all the files they got, talking to you and ordering whatever it was they needed. Since making groups after dark was risked, they'd trickle in slowly to the shop, pass informations to you two aswell as each other. And as time passed, the crew grew, more and more people joined under you and Silco's kind, protective wing, leading them to a rebellion that would chip away at the enemy's will, their sanity, their health and their patience. The town was painted in beautiful shades, blue from the Jinxers, painting walls and posters; while the Children of Zaun dyed outposts and stations red and the Firelights left their green symbols to guide whoever needed refuge to their hidden haven. The three creating an harmony in the midst of the chaos they cause, Jinxers visiting you with blueprints for machines and tools they'd need as much as your own team. Firelights coming to you for help in bettering the lives of those taken under their wing with different tools and contraptions. Understanding Silco was the one that raised and created the one the Jinxers followed, and following him and you by proxy while their own leader was gone as the Sumpers followed you, still bitter and angry about Silco's old occupation yet growing more used to him and friendlier as time went. The fear they felt at seeing Silco subsiding into quiet admiration, seeing him now for who he is, understanding who he was before, and appreciating who he was even before that.
The forefather of Zaunite rebellion.
Ten months had passed by now, enforcers tired and losing their grip on Zaun while Piltover sent more of them down, trying to keep their steel like dictatorship to crush and bind you yet failing miserably to contain the growing rebellion bubbling beneath the skin of the Undercity. Noxian guard dogs imposing more and more violence yet you fought them still, their blood staining your hands for the sake of the safety of your own people.
For the past months you had been going back and forth between work and your movement, Silco always by your side. Yet on your days off you'd wander on your own, going to Samira's to see if she could help you with creating an antidote, an antibiotic, whatever it was that could heal Silco's eye. The grey flesh gained territory, albeit slowly, and he needed more dosages of shimmer, going from one to two or three a day. Your stock was depleting at a fast pace, maybe you had enough for four more months but you would have to work fast.
So you provided Samira with Pilt river samples, samples from Sump moss, even a handkerchief you had used to clean up Silco's face wounds covered in a bit of pus and some dead skin. No matter what you gave, a piece of the puzzle was always missing.
"We still haven't tried everything."
"Samira, you have the toxins that eat at his skin, a sample of his skin itself, pure shimmer...I don't know what I can give you to help."
"The moss you gave me had an agent in it, it seemed to stabilize the shimmer solution and help in eating away at the bacteria. Unfortunately as resilient as moss is, the lack of water retension makes only a small bit of sap, which is what is needed to accomplish the biggest of the serum." She shows you through her microscope as she drops a bit of her trial serum onto some bacretia cultivated from the handkerchief, and it actually did work. Not much but it did. The bacteria went into a sort of shock, freezing in place as if they all suddenly fell asleep, then some of them would dissolve. Not all of them, but at least a quarter of the bacteria died from this trial alone.
You sigh, a hand raking through your hair. "Nothing grows in Zaun because of the poor soil and chemical waste." She nods, patting your hand. "I did get something more than information from my heists though."
Your mumble resonates in the room as your hand fishes through your pocket, finding a glowing blue marble.
"A hex crystal?"
"Yeah, they usually don't give those to basic enforcers, but a girl from the ex strike team visited, she had two on her and was stupid enough to leave one behind." You hand the marble to the woman next to you, her tan skin licked by the cold light.
"And...you want me to..use it?"
"If possible, see if shimmer, if the cultivated bacteria, the chemicals or the sap react to it."
"I'm no mage, you know?" She says placing the crystal above the light beneath the microscope, the white shine now blue, before looking into the eyepiece.
"I know Samira, but maybe a little bit of magic can go a long way. We need to try, Silco's good at hiding it but I know he's not getting any better and I worry for him. I just want him to be alright."
She nods and you get up from your chair, leaving the crystal in her capable hands as you go back home. You knew Silco was in much more pain and discomfort than he showed and it saddened you. He had payed the price for his actions, even before he made them, his whole life was spent in pain, and you were going to remedy that in whatever way you could. Yet you needed to find a plant that grew in the Sump for more of the sap that Samira needed and that was something you'd link more to a myth, nothing could grow in Zaun, even less a plant of that sort. And you sigh in frustration as you get back home, Silco sat at the alcove with a book and a cup and turned his head at your presence in the room, nodding his greeting to you.
"Rough day?"
"I'm just kinda stumped on something personal, it's frustrating me to no end because that matter is very important to me."
"And do you know what you'd need to solve that problem?"
You sat in front of him in the cushions, legs framing his as you leaned back in the alcove. "I have theories of one thing I could need, yet it seems to be more of a myth than anything. But what use is it if I can even have it yet not know what the recipe is."
"Is it so important to you that you leave for it everytime we have a day off?"
You nod slowly, pursing your lips into a smile as your eyes find his.
"Then I'm sure you'll find what it is you need. You're a stubborn woman, you won't back down until you get what you want." He nudges you and you sigh, a genuine small smile replacing your pused one. Your stomach bursting with butterflies at his soft encouragement, not rare anymore yet still as impactful each time it leaves his scarred lips.
"I guess. Thanks Silco."
"Don't get used to it." He smacks your hand as you go to take a sip from his coffee, handing it back to him afterwards, a cigarette quickly trapped between your lips as a flame licked the tobacco to ignite it. "I heard of a meeting at Vander's statue."
At his low drawl you open your eyes to stare at him curiously, your head tilting slightly.
"I heard Sevika would conduct it."
You nod to show you were listening. "And do you wish to go?" You blew your steam to the side.
He took a minute to think. "I suppose I do. In the hopes of seeing my daughter again although it seems she's disappeared from the face of Runeterra." His hand passes through his hair.
"Well I know she's definitely not dead, she wouldn't go out so easily against anything in this world. Enforcers, Noxians, magic...no matter what it is."
"I know."
"She's like you in that regard. But even if she isn't here, what will you do?"
"Appologize to Sevika."
"For what?"
He hums pensively, his eyes filled with swirling and clashing emotions, his thoughts looping and multiplying in his head before he simply smiles.
"Everything." Is all that he utters, his eyes conveying the weight of his words.
"When is it?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
You clasp your hands on his shoulders, grabbing and squeezing comfortingly, his face tilting to the side so his scarred cheek touches your hand.
"Then we'll go." Your own smile grows on your face before you go shower, a meal prepared soon enough after you were done. The both of you falling into your routine, a year of sleeping in the same bed now and a year and a half of living together having led to much comfort in each other's presence. Your hands still found one another's head as you fell asleep, caressing your scalps into a much needed slumber.
The next morning you visit Samira again, Silco eyeing you suspiciously as you do yet letting you go without a word.
"Did the crystal do anything?" The woman slaving away at her desk startles, groaning as she turns to you, your own expression sheepish in apology to her surprise.
"Seems like the serum is boosted. But there's once again something missing..."
You sigh, leaning your hip against her desk, hands braced behind you as your eyes cloud in thought. "Anything hextech has some sort of...runes around the gem. As if to direct the energy purposefully towards any tast the hextech tool is supposed to do."
Humming pensively you trace on a bit of paper the runes you've seen around enforcer weapons, around certain tools carried by construction workers or even on the underground entrance to the hexgates. "Each of those have a purpose, to harm, to transport, to strengthen....If I can find someone proficient in runes we could possibly try something."
"I don't think I could do much for that, I manipulate biological matter, and that's of the order of magic and engeneering."
"You formulate the serum, I'll focus on the crystal. I may not be a mage but I have enough experience as a blacksmith to make something for this."
She nods, a hand rubbing on her forehead. "It could be dangerous you know?"
"And I'm willing to take the risk." You say, pocketing the crystal now that you know of its effects on the serum.
"It's crazy what you do for that man you know. Saving him and taking him in is one thing, letting him in your life and your shop for him to have something new is another, but you're inviting him into your revolution and using dangerous materials to save him..." She turns to you, her dark hair shadowing her face and making her grave expression all the more impactful. "I know you work yourself to the bone for everyone. But this is nearly madness."
"You know me, don't know when to stop."
"And you won't, especially not for him."
"He knows everything Samira." The glowing marble is back in your hand, thrumming with untapped power as you turn it to observe its smooth surface. "He's my only friend. The one person who saw past everything, and he's letting me in too. I see the bigger picture about him and he deserves more time. To repent and to finally live a life he loves, without the corruption of his own trauma."
"That's not all, now is it?"
And you were loath to admit it but it was true. It had been a year and a half of Silco's presence in your life and all had changed for the best. It was as if he was the key and you were the lock, he tried to force himself into locks unfit for his shape and broke them and himself as a consequence, you had been lockpicked again and again and pillaged only to decide to lock yourself away forever. You had provided him with a lock worth opening, letting him unravel after chipping away at himself for a world that would not budge and he had provided you with the gentle unlocking of your potential and all of what you had hidden for so long. What had started as wanting to save a fellow Zaunite, progressed to a silent need for companionship, then an unspoken friendship, but after the baptism even if he had called you his friend your heart had swayed into a different form of affection. The longing for companionship having been fulfilled you hoped to be content, and to a certain point you were. Yet there was still an emptiness, parts of your cracked heart not yet reached by his care, and you doubt they'd ever be. You hated that feeling. That longing for something more you believed you would not be granted. How dared you expect more from a man that already gave you so much more of himself than he allowed others? It made you feel unworthy of his friendship, the craving for something more, like you were given an inch but took a mile. Yet even as you pushed those feelings they kept on growing, every little action, every little word, fuelling your hidden affections and bringing them back into the spotlight.
It could be a simple playful nudge that you exchange, your gaze finding his in a clash of cold tides and searing metal, a soft smile or a teasing smirk. It could be his voice rolling like impending storms as he calls out to you, the gravelly quality it takes when he's tired, the silky soft tone he uses when you two open up or the velvety smoothness that drowns you in his seductive drawl when he jokes. Or maybe his laugh, that could be a soft huff, an almost indignant scoff, a low chuckle or a thundery cackle, rare like a flower growing in Zaun and just as beautiful. Maybe it was how he never seemed to fully hide how he felt around you, his façade slipping enough to show his comfort, his body relaxed, the permanent furrow of his eyebrows gone, the crows feet framing his eyes softened, his jaw loosened, and his eyes oh so expressive everytime he looks at you. Emotions that were familiar yet that took so long to decypher, still hard to fully comprehend even after so long. He seemed to seek out your presence, long gone were the days where he kept all the distance he could between you both, his body now always close by. Following you to the alcove or the couch, sitting at the table while you cooked, touching the small of your back when he opened the door to let you go first, a hand on your shoulder as he looks at whatever you're doing from behind you. It could be his growing humor, banter leaving you feel warm and joyful as he comes more and more out of his shell, the soft and open hearted moments also multiplying, bodies huddled together in the alcove with whiskey and cigarettes as you talk about anything and everything. Dreams, aspirations, hope....they all seemed so far away before him, then he came around and everything changed. You knew he believed himself to be a jinx, trying again and again yet always failing, always making things worse.
Yet he saved you from loneliness and his presence brought comfort and support you were never granted before. Fuelling your zeal, healing your heart.
Your heart clenches at the thought of your shared nights, the bed was where the both of you slept, soft breaths mingling as sleep overtook you, your chest warmed by his, one of your hands in each other's hair. In your dreams, when they seldom overtook your nightmares, you'd see you two embracing one another so tightly, words whispered in the other's skin, clothes discarded for closeness. In those dreams you felt fulfilled and complete, as if his care was all you needed for your life to click into place, for the final puzzle piece to be placed. And when nightmares woke you and he would drag you in his arms, you knew it was right. That his affection was all you craved, all you needed, to finally be fully yourself, yet as comfortable as you were in his arms in the mornings you always woke up alone. Well not exactly alone, yet not as cared for as in your sleep. And those nights happened more and more often, as if to tease you and mock you for falling deeper, making you realize just how fucked you were. Nightmares triggering from the stress at liking someone who wouldn't like you back, someone you couldn't have, yet Silco was ever so patient and caring towards you, maybe more so as time passed. Yet the embarrasment always melted as you came downstairs to the sight of him cooking, teasing you about how you clung to him in your sleep with one leg surrounding his hips and your arms clinging to him for dear life. All shame leaving for the day up until you wake up the next morning alone in bed yet again.
You sigh. "It doesn't matter."
"It does if you bleed yourself dry for him."
"But I am not. He helps me with everything, I have so much more energy now Samira, and more time for myself even if most of it is spent with him."
"You like it that way don't you?"
You nod, lower lip pinched between your teeth as you let out a long exhale through your nose. "He won't feel the same anyways, so I take what I can get."
"Are you sure about that? Silco is not rumored to be the most gentle, open guy, he's grown a lot with you." She rolls away from her desk, getting up to stand next to you. "Maybe he's in the same situation. But I doubt he'll reveal it anytime soon."
"He's probably just grateful, it's been over a decade since he's had a true friend, so he's probably just happy about it. Like I said, I'll take what I can get, I'm his friend first and foremost, no need to change something that doesn't need changing."
She looks at you knowingly, her eyebrows lifted and her lips in a soft pursed smile.
You put the crystal back in your pocket and leave Samira with a wave of your hand as you open the door, walking back home and sharing a quick lunch with Silco before you both make your way to Vander's statue. A large crowd already surrounded it and a short haired woman, who you guessed was Sevika, was on the statue's pedestal and as she spoke with her soft yet comandeering voice everybody listened. Jinxers, Children of Zaun, Firelights, factionless Zaunites and ex Baron lackeys, all joined in this important space for an important reason.
The need for unity against adversity.
"It's no secret we got history. Blood spilt on all sides. But we grew up on the same streets, ate the same scraps. Like it or not, we're in this mess together."
You nod along, eyebrows furrowed as your eyes stared at her, her words ringing true and showing her attachment to her people and how she respected the Zaunite code. Other people reacting in similar ways as more trenchers gathered in the square, the space getting scarce but the spirits getting stronger.
"Enforcers raiding our homes, Noxians down our throats, innocents getting carted off to Stillwater. We gotta choose right now whether we're going to throw the towel or make a stand together!"
Her voice gains in strength as she paces, looking to all of the faces in the crowd, eyes widening at the man next to you, Silco's hand suddenly holding yours in a tight yet gentle and warm grip while her bionic hand clenches. You squeezed in reassurance, wordlessly showing your support to your friend as his thumb caressed the back of your hand, eyes meeting Sevika's with a strong solemn nod, eyes conveying your allegience to her cause and she nods back before her eyes trail away.
"Not as Firelights, or Jinxers, or washed up goons." She takes a shaky breath. "Or even Children of Zaun." Her voice sounds gentler, reminiscent of a past long gone. "But as Zaunites!" She smiles to the crowd.
Yet people yell about wanting to see Jinx and you roll your eyes. No matter if their leader wasn't there, Jinxers had to realize that this was about more than symbols, that this was the place we'd create a united Zaun to fight back against your wardens. And all noise stops as a child climbs up onto Vander's memorial, lighting a blue flare and posing like one of the many paintings of Jinx you had observed on the walls of the Undercity. People slowly raised their hands, no matter who they are, taking off their masks and speaking in agreement, your own arm going upwards, the hand interlocked with Silco's raising in a joint cheer. You felt your friend's gaze on you and turned to him, cheeks softly burning as you smiled, his eyelashes fluttering as his mouth softly opens and closes as if to say something yet being uncapable of it.
That's when enforcers struck, what was a secret meeting suddenly thwarted by violence as citizens were beaten. You pulled your knuckle blades from beneath your long coat, a holster now holding them to your belts, and slipped in the crowd to attack, Silco preparing two daggers and doing the same. Yet as many as you beat more came around, it was an ambush.
"Stop fighting and run!"
Your voice screeches, continuing your unrelenting attacks towards the enforcers to permit as many Zaunites to escape as you could. Noxian forces soon arriving to the Piltovans' help and you sneered as you got low, blades planted in the ground as you prepared to lunge before you were dragged away by a familiar hand.
"It's not worth it, we have to leave."
The low gravelly voice of your friend was breathed directly into your ear, the closeness, feeling and sound disarming you before you turned to him. His eye was shadowed by a feeling of familiarity, a pain that had occured in the past, and at his haunted look you nod. Your weapons back in their sheaths as you hold his hand and run as fast and as far as you can, climbing gutters and avoiding the enemy through the roofs. Something felt wrong though, like someone following you.
"Silco." You call out.
"I know."
"The Sump." He nods at you, you both rushing between rooftops, getting down in the winding alleyways until you arrive at one of the entry points, suddenly stopping and taking your blades out, pointing them towards the one following you.
It was Sevika.
"Who are you?"
"A friend of Silco's." She scoffs.
"He doesn't do friends."
"He didn't do friends Sevika." Her eyes narrow and you sheathe your weapons back. "But you're not here to talk to me, you two need time, take it. I'll be here." You walk away, clasping your hands on Silco's shoulders for support and he grasps your hands gently, squeezing them and releasing a deep sigh. "You got this Sil."
His head snaps up and he looks at you in the eyes, his own widened until it softens. This time it's different than the usual ones, a look that has been coming more and more since that night you met up with the Children of Zaun at the Old Hungry, sparce yet growing more present. Before missions, after, during lunch at work, when no clients are around and you're working the hot metal in your hands, when you talk in the alcove at night while sharing cigarettes and a glass of whiskey, when you go sleep...
And that look made you crumble more the more you saw it. Falling deeper into a feeling that you were too scared to name under the idea that knowing about it will make it all the more concrete to you, cemented into your very being, carved into the rough metal of your soul.
So you step back, setting yourself on a dumpster not too far away. Silco's eye following you before he sighs, his hands clenching as he steels his resolve and takes off his eyepatch, slowly turning towards Sevika.
"You died."
"And yet I am no ghost Sevika."
"Yeah, unfortunately." She scoffs and that's when you notice her arm, or lack thereof, broken during the fight she was left without her mechanical aid. Your mind already making calculations for a small gift to your friend's former friend. She was rallying Zaun, loyal to her people even during such a time. No, especially during such a time. And her words earlier filled you with respect, no matter what would transpire between Silco and her, she'd get a new arm.
"I wish to apologize Sevika, if you'd let me."
"Hah! You? Apologize?" She barks out a laugh. "That's grand Silco. Real grand" She takes a few steps forward before looking at you. "What did you do to him, girlie? Silco isn't someone who appologizes or hides."
"We didn't hide Sevika, Chross came to us and we took care of him, shut him up in exchange for not divulging his..dealings." Silco takes a step forward. "If I was hiding I wouldn't lead a revolution and I would not be working out in the open either."
"Then why didn't you come back?" The woman's voice was angry, but a crack in it proved that there was more than just that.
"Because I had done enough damage, trying to fix it would risk me falling back in my ways or making everything worse. I had to...take a different approach."
"So the Children they're.."
"They're our faction, hers aswell as mine." He motions to you, a small smile softening his face. "She saved me, just because I was a Zaunite, she gave so much time and energy for me even when I was highly undeserving of it. She reminded me of what I was fighting for in the first place, the reason I kept going. Sevika I was blinded by pain, my dream stemmed from my love towards our people yet it was corrupted by loss, by fear, by anger, and I lost sight of what trully mattered in this fight. I lost sight of my love."
He sighs, putting a hand on Sevika's metal shoulder.
"You joined me because I got things done, and I know you saw me lose myself and tried to get me back. The only reason you stayed was because I was genuinely making things change, yet were they for the best? All I did was divide our people, drug them to create a weapon strong enough to give me power and money to take Piltover down, all the respect they gave me mainly stemmed from fear and rarely from admiration."
Sevika sighs and nods, agreeing to Silco's words.
"My friend here, she showed me the errors in my ways, not only by being honest and loyal when I had nothing, but also by giving me a place besides her and see the world for what it truly is again. Not a swirl of black ink in milky white, showcasing billions of shades of grey. No, she brought color back, showed me the beauty I believed had died so long ago. And she made me realize just how cruel I had been. Not only to my people and my men, but to Jinx and you aswell. The only two people that stayed besides me even when I all I did was hurt you."
"So you grew a conscience?"
"Yes, and a heart aswell." Sevika's face sours, it's acrid and bitter like the Sump, full of so many emotions. Anger, hurt and disbelief amonst them.
"I hurt you Sevika, I used you and you let yourself be treated like this because of our shared dreams, because of your morals. Yet in the end, you were the one who ran everything weren't you? You enforced authority, inspired respect, you checked every operation, acted as personal security while I was rotting away at my desk. My mind circling the drain, battered by corrupted politics, self-hatred, fear, anger, spite and hopelessness. But you never lost hope, and you stayed despite the behavior I was punishing you with. Gradually becoming worse to you, to Jinx and to myself."
"So you admit she was a mistake? Taking her in wasn't your responsibility, you fucked everything."
Sevika straightens, the look in her eyes softening and her lips pursing.
"While I know that taking her in was what made my downfall all the more painful, I will not allow you to call her a mistake." He rumbles, his shoulders tight. "She was the one element keeping me human even after i lost it all. And she was Felicia's daughter, I was not going to let her get caught by enforcers, or leave her without anything or anyone. I prefer suffering the price of my daughter's actions than risk my old friend's legacy dying without fighting for it."
"But I shouldn't have let her get involved in the enterprise. I shouldn't have made her into a monster, and I should have seeked help for her. She hurt many of our people, she hurt you, and her actions caused this war to happen. Maybe it was necessary, yet maybe a better solution could have been found had I been a better father. Unfortunately I was the best father I could be to her while being the unhealed, pathetic man that I was."
"We both know you were anything but pathetic Silco."
"I don't mean weak, Sevika. I was drowning in my own darkness and I pulled her with me, the rare instances of clarity I had were because she swimmed to the surface and let me take a lungful of air before my weight dragged her down again. And as she grew, my darkness exacerbated hers, and she drowned in her own, pulling me along aswell. I was pathetic because I could not recognize my faults as a father, as a leader, as a revolutionary and as a man. And for all of that, for all of the hurt I caused you, Jinx and our people, I appologize."
Sevika freezes, her hand clenching and unclenching rapidly as if debating whether to punch Silco or hold him, eyelashes fluttering and eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm sorry Sevika. You've always picked up my messes, always tried your hardest to make everything better, and I could never see how lucky I was to have you by my side. If anything, I was by yours the whole time, yet never was I there for you like you deserved."
And with that Silco steps back and takes a knee, saluting Sevika like a true Child of Zaun while her mouth opens and closes rapidly, her fingers twitching and her lungs taking quick, deep breaths.
"And you expect me to forgive and forget?"
"No." Was the simple and gentle answer he gave.
"No?"
"You are free to hate me, even beat me where I stand if it makes you feel any better. But you shouldn't forgive me if you cannot find it in yourself to do so, and you should never forget how I was either. I was a real piece of work Sevika, and you were the one that dealt with my every whims, I want you to realize how strong you are for that."
She drops down, her flesh arm gripping Silco's neck, his eyes fearful yet determined, his face soft, warmed by a smile.
"I should have never done that to you, old friend." He embraces her softly, the woman dropping her hand to wrap it behind your friend, hand punching at him before it grips the leather jacket. Her back jumped as Silco held her, she was crying.
"Fuck you Silco." You chuckle at her muffled words and her head comes up, arm unwrapping to wipe at her melted makeup and aid her at getting back up on her feet. "How'd you do that kid?"
"A lot of patience. Gotta need it to deal with him." She approached you, eyes wet yet a small smile growing on her face. "I also make him work, he's under me so if he does something unsatisfactory I deck his pay."
You both chuckle and she extends her hand to you, you grab it and shake it, introducing yourself as she does the same.
"That's all?"
"I also make pretty good food?" She snorts and releases your hand. "What? No Zaunite would turn down a good homemade meal."
"You look strong." Her words resonate as her eyes take you in, trailing up an down your form.
"Blacksmith." Your head tilts to her mechanical shoulder and you smile. "I'll make you something."
"You don't have to."
"I want to." Silco chuckles from behind her.
"That means the decision is final Sevika. Her stubbornness is one of the many reasons she chipped away at who I was before. And although I have a long way to go, I wouldn't have made it this far and won't make it much further without her."
You huff out a laugh. "You'd be good on your own Sil, stop buttering me up."
"I'm not. I'd lose myself without you, at the very least I'd risk it. You keep me straight, you transmute me like the philosopher's stone changes the crudest of elements into gold."
You bite your lip trying to distract yourself from the growing blush making your face burn as it you were feverish and your stomach and heart churn and flutter. Sevika grins, her eyes widening mischeviously while her chest bounces with a laugh.
"Now when did you learn to become a poet Silco?" She teases, her eyes trained on you.
"I've had a lot of time to read and reflect on my feelings."
Her eyebrows raise in incredulity as she huffs out a chuckle.
"Right." She drawls teasingly. "All of your feelings?"
"What are you implying?"
"Me?" She turns around. "Nothing."
You slip from the dumpster and breathe deeply, stepping from behind her to find Silco now standing up with his hands in his coat pocket.
"Something big is coming, will you two lend your strength to Zaun when it happens?"
"You don't need to ask Sevika, we're all Zaunites, it's our fight and we'll give it all we've got." She grins at your words, an arm wrapping around you.
"Good, you're valuable to our people. I heard of you, the blacksmith who worked day and night to provide masks for us during the strike team attacks. The ever so reliable woman of the Sumps that people praise day in and day out to provide all that her people need." And all of a sudden she cackles. "That means you-" She points to Silco. "Are the assistant? Oh I never thought I'd see the day."
"And he still takes care of boring papers. As a punishment." You giggle alongside her and look over to Silco who looked at you with that same warm look, nearly warm enough to make you melt into a puddle at this very moment if it wasn't for Sevika's hold on you.
"You let me do this because you hate these boring papers and I'm good at them. Don't lie, I make your work easier my dove." His voice teases, velvety and drawled as he looks at you, his hands placing his eyepatch back on his face and redoing his hair. Locks of ink black fluttering until right below his shoulders before being placed back in their low bun, the half bangs still adorning the left side of his face. His hair having grown much longer in the year he'd spent by your side.
The tease had shivers racking through your body.
"That's what you're supposed to do as an assistant, you pissant." You retort, trying to take the attention away from the words he'd just uttered. Yet Sevika's hand gripped your shoulder tighter and you saw her smirk from the peripheral, she had felt everything and you know she wouldn't let you live it down when you next met.
"I'll leave you two, I have to find Jinx, Isha's been taken."
"Isha?"
"Jinx?"
Came out two replies at once and the woman nods.
"Jinx is well, she found Isha around a year ago and raised her, took care of her. She's the kid that was on Vander's statue." You hum in understanding and Sevika takes her arm away from your shoulders and into her pocket. "Kid's very important to baby blue, helped her with her psychosis, she got better because of the little one."
Silco takes a deep breath and approaches you two. "Then thank that child for me, and cherish the both of them."
"I have been. Jinx was all that was left of you, and to her I was all that was left aswell. She's...grown on me, that crazy little thing."
You smile at Silco and Sevika, lips softly pulled up as you cross your arm.
"Thank you for that. Caring for her."
"I know how much she means to you, she'd done a lot of efforts towards me too you know. She's the one who built me that arm after the previous one was ruined. So what started out as a debt just became..."
"Genuine care." Your friend's voice finishes Sevika's sentence, the woman nodding gently at the words, agreeing to them. Her eyes found Silco's and whatever she found in that cold teal had her smiling, her eyes drifting to you for a millisecond as Silco's do aswell. Still swirling and glittering with that underscribable look.
"Yeah. Genuine care. Same thing I felt for you after you saved me from life as an infirm." Sevika says, cutting the eye contact before raising her eyebrows at the man.
"The ledgers have been flipped, I owe you greatly now."
"No. You saved my life and fueled me, no matter how much of a prick you were, there was a lot of good in you. Even if your actions were beyond reprehensible. The debts have all been repaid."
"Then you two are equals." You butt in, taking Sevika's hand and Silco's right one, trapping them between your own in a handshake. "No one ows anybody a debt anymore, you now see eye to eye and have the same goal. That's all there is to it." You turn to the woman next to you. "You're always welcome to visit us anytime if you're in need of anything or just wish to swing by, a friend of Silco's is also my friend and like hell would I turn a Zaunite away."
She smiles and frees her hand, showing it to you and you take it, a smile of your own reciprocating hers. Before she drops her hand, steps taking her away, a goodbye hastily thrown over her shoulder as she leaves, you and Silco also walking back home. Your routine was similar to always yet as you rake your hands through one another's hair that night you get closer, holding him.
"I'm proud of how far you've come, Sil."
"I wouldn't have been able to do it all without you."
You shiver and snuggle deeper in his hold, his warmth seeping through your clothes as you try to ignore how much faster your heart is beating.
"Yet if you weren't good deep down, it would have never happened. I'm proud of you, so I hope you're proud of yourself aswell."
"By your side I always am, my dove."
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fandom-go-round · 2 days ago
Note
Hello! If you're still taking requests, I'd really appreciate it if you could please write some headcanons about Emmrich, Lucanis, Neve and Bellara dating a Rook who has pretty significant burn scars, particularly on their back, stomach, legs, arms, hands or feet. The scars are healed now, but they still consider them unsightly so they try to cover up as much as possible. I'd love to see your take on their reaction to Rook's scars being revealed to them for the first time.
Burn scars also come with a lot of complications like having to keep them out of sunlight, they often get pretty itchy and since skin regulates body temperature you can get cold super easily if you have significant burns. So if you want to include any of those factors feel free!
As someone who legit cannot be trusted around hot liquids and has scars from 2nd degree burns, I'd appreciate it, but if you don't want to write something like this I understand. Thank you, and I hope your day is going well!
Thank you so much for a Dragon Age request! I had a lot of fun with it!
Warnings: Burns, Talk of Burns, Previous Injuries, Implied Low Self Esteem, Implied Body Issues
Emmrich Volkarin:
As someone who usually wears layers when out and about, Emmrich doesn’t notice right away you’re covered almost always. He thinks of it as a personal style, at least until you’re exposed to the cold. It only takes one instance of fighting a desire demon and your hands to shake so bad you can’t hold your weapon for him to wonder. He won’t ask you of course, especially when Harding asks if you’re alright and you deflect.
The first time he sees your burns himself, Emmrich has a lot of thoughts. He can tell that you’re uncomfortable, not meeting his eyes as you continue to make dinner. It’s the first time he’s seen you in short sleeves and without gloves; you had thought you were alone at the Lighthouse. He wonders where you got the wounds and how but instead, he apologizes for starling you and asks if he can help. You agree to let him help and it takes almost a full hour for the tension to leave your shoulders. Emmrich is happy to wait as long as possible for you to trust him.
The longer the two of you are together, the more you open up about your scars. Emmrich is willing to listen to anything you say and go at your own pace. He’ll go out of his way to buy you embroidered gloves that you adore and has no issues steering the others away from the topic. He’ll hesitate to touch your scars because he doesn’t want to hurt you but once you assure he can touch, he loves kissing your everywhere. Scars are a part of you but they don’t define you.
Lucanis Dellamorte:
He’s one of the first companions to notice, mostly because he has some burns himself. Not as wide spread as yours but Crow training wasn’t kind to him and he sees the way you favor warm over cold and how your legs get itchy after being in Rivani. Lucanis makes sure to cook warm meals and uses ingredients that help with itchiness. He’s a silent supporter from the beginning.
The extent of your scars makes hm angry. He has no way of knowing (at first) where your scars come from and assumes them to be a battle gone wrong. Spite often speaks of hunting the people down who hurt you and he’s inclined to agree. If he finds out the burns are because of an accident he’s going to hover more. If you’re this accident prone he’ll be your silent shadow so you don’t get hurt again. Tell him off if he hovers too much; Lucanis will find something else to help with.
He has no issues touching your scars but will make sure you’re alright with it first. He never wants to make you uncomfortable and watches for your verbal and nonverbal ques. Lucanis will do whatever he can to help you feel better; putting on ointment, buying you new clothing, whatever you’d like. He won’t let anyone talk down to you. He’s protective on a good day and if someone tries to say anything about your scars? His knife is already at their throat.
Bellara Lutare:
Bellara doesn’t realize you have burn scars until you take your coat off, wet from being slammed into the lake. It took her and Davrin combined to pull you out and you’re swearing up a storm as you strip. Davrin just teases you about losing your footing before going to find firewood. Bellara doesn’t catch herself staring until you turn away and she busies getting the camping set out.
She doesn’t bring the scars up until the two of you are alone, checking in. Mostly she wants to make sure you’re not in pain and if you are, she can make burn cream. Someone in her clan had burns like yours that bothered them. You’re surprised by her practical offer and kiss her cheek, thankful for her support. You take her up on the offer, especially when you end up on the coast. The hot air makes you super itchy.
It becomes a habit for her to help you put the burn cream on your back since it’s hard for you to reach. It’s a soft moment inside the normal day to day chaos. Bellara loves that you trust her enough to let her do this and gets to touch you. Her face is red by the end and you tease her but its worth all the teasing to see the soft look in your eyes. Once of these days she’s going to get her nerve to kiss you, she promises!
Neve Gallus:
Neve figured you were using clothing to cover up something. Most people don’t wear as many layers as you and it a toss up between scars or you really are that much trouble. The truth is, as always, a little bit of both. You naturally run cold but it’s more than that. The first time she sees your scars, she’ll admit she wasn’t expecting them. She knows that jobs can go wrong, she just wishes you were luckier.
She won’t talk about the scars unless you bring them up. She understands how it feels for others to judge you based on old wounds; she’s almost punched people because of her leg. Neve does go out of her way to get you warm drinks to hold and buys you long pants as yours get ruined. The detective side of her wants to know how you got the scars but she does her damnedest to keep those thoughts to herself.
Neve can’t help but kiss the scars when she can, almost without thinking. Clothes on or off, she’ll kiss the palm of your hand or rub your shoulder. Let her know if the touching is too much and she’ll back off. She accepts every part of you, scared or not. She likes the flustered look on your face, it isn’t often she throws you off. Neve can and will use it to her advantage.
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nsharks · 3 days ago
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honestly i have to agree on a few things, all your panels in every single chapter i've never seen an image of a black woman or a woman of color, obviously the face in question doesn't appear but it's always a white aesthetic woman with a black and white filter over it.
And secondly, putting your preferences of being a white woman and imposing that on your readers (who I imagine, some of them aren't all white) is VERY strange, to say the least, I'm sorry to say it, but it's very weird indeed.
I wouldn't follow a writer who thinks like that, but whatever, Americans are like that, it's your choice
I very purposely don't show a face and make it black and white so you literally cannot tell the race of the person lmao. it could be anyone.
look if you think it is strange that I, a white person, imagine the main character of my story more akin to myself, then just don't read. I really don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable but I also have done nothing to make it seem that Twix HAS to look a certain way, and purposely have written her as "you" so that all people can insert themselves.
I am not sure what else I can do here, but please feel free to not follow or read it, or even write your own story.
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vikkirosko · 1 day ago
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Hello, I wanted to know how Asmodeus, Stolas, Sir Pentious and Fizz would court the person they like.
Headcanons Courtship
🐍Sir Pentious x Reader 🎩
Sir Perntios tried to appear confident, but when it came to you, all his confidence crumbled. His feelings for you were obvious to everyone except, it would seem, you, or you just hid the fact that you knew everything perfectly well so as not to embarrass him even more. But he didn't want to just sit around and hope for a miracle. He wanted to show you his feelings, but he couldn't do it so easily. To do this, he had to prepare a lot, and first of all, prepare mentally himself, so as not to end up in an awkward situation through his own fault
Even though he had been dead for a long time, he remained a gentleman, which meant he had to act gallantly. One of his first steps in trying to show you his feelings was flowers. Sir Pentious came to you with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, muttering in embarrassment. You smiled softly and asked if these flowers were for you. He could only nod, after which you took the bouquet and thanked him for such a nice gift. He hurried away, feeling agitated, and only when he was alone with himself did he give free rein to his emotions and joy. He was genuinely glad that you accepted his little gift, and when he remembered how you smiled at him, he just couldn't calm his heart, which was beating furiously in his chest
Every time he was around, he tried to be gallant towards you. He held the door for you, even if your hands were free and you didn't need his help, he pulled up a chair for you when you sat down at the table, he helped you carry weights, even if it wasn't really hard for you and you could handle yourself. You were sure that he was doing it out of politeness, but everyone else who saw it understood perfectly well that the reason for this was not only politeness, but also his feelings for you. Sir Pentious tried his best to show you his feelings as best he could, even though you didn't perceive his actions as some kind of romantic gestures. But despite that, he wasn't going to despair
Your smile continued to be an incentive for him to continue courting for you. He wanted to give you another gift, so he was making a little surprise. He was sure of his skills as an inventor, and he decided to use them to show you his feelings. Sir Pentious used to make tools with which he tried to seize power, but for you he wanted to make something more elegant, more suitable for you, something that could please you. He spent a lot of time at work and dreamed of seeing your affectionate smile again. For the sake of you, your smile and the opportunity to show you his feelings, he was ready to create any number of new inventions, regardless of whether they were intended for attacks or just cute trinkets that you might like
🦉 Stolas x Reader 🎩
From the very day Stolas realized his feelings for you, he wanted you to understand that he was sincere when it came to you. He tried to surround you with attention and show the love that he didn't have a chance to show to anyone else, but Stolas also understood that if he was too intrusive or assertive, you could on the contrary, pull away, start avoiding him. That's why he tried to stick to the golden mean in his courtship of you, trying to find ways to please you and show his feelings, taking his time and trying not to do anything that could alienate you from him
He often invited you to restaurants. He chose places that you would like, where the menu had dishes that you would like to try or that you would just like, and at the same time these were places where the chance that something unexpected would happen was less. He was gallant, took you by the arm when you let him, he smiled gently at you and tried to make you smile too. When the weather was good, he would take you for walks, trying to find places where you wouldn't have a lot of prying eyes on you. The last thing Stolas wanted to do was put you in an awkward position because of the excessive attention of others, so he chose quiet, but at the same time picturesque places so that both of you could enjoy a walk
Stolas wasn't sure if giving you expensive gifts was a good idea. When he thought about it, he felt like he was buying your affection, and he wanted your relationship to be built on sincerity and nothing else. That's why he decided to refrain from expensive gifts at this stage of your relationship and preferred something more appropriate. He gave you flowers, he gave you books that he knew you might like. Gifts weren't the main way he showed his feelings for you, but they were signs of the attention he wanted to show you, and Stolas hoped you could figure out what he meant when he did it all
Many times Stolas worried that he would do something wrong. He was worried that he might offend you or push you away in some way. He was afraid that you would find him too intrusive or that he would deprive you of a choice. But that wasn't the case. He genuinely loved you, and if you turned him down because you didn't feel the same way about him, then he could try to understand and accept, hoping that you could at least remain friends. But until you refused him, he tried to make you understand how sincere he was in showing his sympathy towards you. It was probably one of the most sincere things in his life
🐓 Asmodeus x Reader 💕
Asmodeus was not someone who could be imagined romantically courting. He was the epitome of lust, and it imposed certain restrictions on him. That's why when he fell in love with you, he had some trouble openly expressing his feelings to you. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. He intended to approach this more creatively so that his reputation would not be damaged, and at the same time so that you would not think that he treats you lightly and that his feelings for you are only lust or a fleeting infatuation. He was more than serious about you and wanted to show you that despite all the obstacles
He often invited you to his restaurant. There he could not worry that someone would see you, because for him there was always a balcony free, from which you could perfectly see the whole hall, but no one would be able to see you in the semi-darkness. He always approached your dinners together with great attention, and the waiters who served your table knew perfectly well that they shouldn't chat too much if they didn't want to provoke his anger. Ozzie was courteous to you and chose the days when you would like the show that took place in his restaurant. It might not have been the most suitable place for a romantic pastime, but you liked going to his restaurant, and so far you liked everything, he was more than satisfied. After your dinners together, he always gave you a ride home so he wouldn't worry about whether you got home safely or if something happened on the way
When he was too busy with work and you couldn't meet in person, he always sent you gifts that could make you happy. Your favorite flowers, your favorite snacks, tickets to events you wanted to attend but couldn't get tickets. He always found something to please you with, and when you asked him with a soft smile if he could keep you company, he was only happy to agree, even if he knew that after that he would have to seriously sit down to work and documents that he had postponed for the sake of your time together. He never told you that he was putting things off for you, not wanting you to feel guilty. He wanted you to feel happy around him and not worry about problems. If the events you attended together included dancing, then Asmodeus was happy to spin you around, admiring your smile and the way your eyes shone with happiness
Every time you spent time together, Ozzie noticed that the blush on your cheeks began to appear more and more often, and this gave him hope that his feelings would be mutual. He was in no hurry to confess, knowing full well that such things were not worth rushing into. He wanted to be sure that he would find the right moment, and until that moment came, he continued his courtship, opening his heart and soul to you more and more
🎪 Fizzarolli x Reader 💟
From the first day you met Fizzarolli, he shone with confidence and determination. He was used to being like this in front of others, although next to you this confidence became sincere. But it got harder when he realized he was in love with you. He still tried to be smiling and confident, but he started to get nervous around you, his laughter could get nervous and you worried about him. Fizz convinced you every time that everything was fine and you didn't have to worry about it. He didn't want to tell you so early that he was in love with you, especially since you obviously saw him as just a friend. That's why he decided to try to romantically court you so that you could see in him not only a friend but also a possible object of your romantic sympathy
Every time you were sad, Fizz tried to make you laugh or support you. If you were too sick to laugh, he would hug you, showing you that he was there for you and that he was ready to help you in any way he could, and all you had to do was ask him. He would never refuse to help you. When he stayed at your apartment overnight, he often got up before you to make you breakfast. You woke up to the noise and saw the chaos he caused in your kitchen, but you didn't get angry and sometimes even ate what he cooked when the dish he cooked was at least more or less edible. Fizzarolli smiled contentedly, glad that he was able to please you, and then together you put your kitchen in order, eliminating traces of his cooking as much as possible
You couldn't go out very often, because he was famous. Fizzarolli didn't want your outings to be ruined by persistent fans or mercenaries who decided to kidnap him, so you preferred a quieter pastime. You were always happy to have his company in your apartment. He brought you something you might like. It could be your favorite snacks, self-care products that you could make together if you wanted to, several times he brought you a pair of sweaters that made you smile sincerely and a barely noticeable blush on your cheeks, which became stronger when Fizz put on one of the sweaters after you put on the other. Looking at your reaction, he was genuinely glad that he was able to please you, and your blush caused a similar blush on his cheeks and a flutter in his chest
Fizz became more and more convinced that he had to finally admit to you how he felt about you. He saw how you started to get embarrassed and worried around him, and he wanted to believe that it was because you fell in love with him. He didn't want it to turn out to be just an illusion that his mind had created in an attempt to pass off as wishful thinking. But he could only find out the truth by confessing to you and hearing your answer. He simply had no other way
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jnnul · 2 days ago
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the right side of wrong (part 3)
TAGS ▸ uhhh an accidental kiss, some fighting/sparring, sunghoon boxes bc i said so, stalking but you don't know that yet
PLAYLIST ▸ yosemite - travis scott, back - jey, stay - ari abdul, element - pop smoke, dirty laundry - blackbear
WORD COUNT ▸ 4.8k
AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ so i've been sitting on this chapter for quite some time (motivation to finally post has come from @dojunie for updating the masterpiece misdial) and i originally wanted to include a lot more plot in this chapter but i figured that it would better to get it out than ruminate about the plot too much more. quick note: feedback, comments, etc. GREATLY encourage writers! if you felt any sort of way (in a good or bad way!) about this fic, pls leave feedback!
TAGLIST ▸ @hybeboyenthusisast
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[march 19, 20XX, 12:19 P.M.] [copenhagen, denmark]
“teekl!” klarion exclaims, taking in his surroundings with a sneer. “i wanted to teleport to where y/n is! why’d you bring me to copenhagen?”
teekl meows, as if to rebuke klarion’s displeasure of being dropped in copenhagen - a place with beautiful scenery and fresh air, mind you - compared to the exact location of where y/n was, which was something that teekl was not only incapable of doing at the current energy levels that he was at, but also something that was difficult for klarion himself to do.
“if only i had her exact energy signature…,” klarion mutters under his breath, trying to hone in on y/n’s energy signature. he feels a quick zap against his skull, almost as if he’s made a breakthrough before it vanishes and klarion sighs.
“might as well take a cat nap, before i recharge and find that stupid runaway,” klarion says and teekl meows in almost malicious agreement. neither of them realize that they aren’t the only ones looking for her as felix faust slinks back into the shadows, the two of them never leaving his sight.
[march 19, 20XX, 12:27 A.M.] [mount justice, happy harbor, rhode island]
“let me get this straight and please, feel free to stop me at any point you think that this is batshit insane: you landed in ace chemical factory, and in your panic, you screamed at supersonic levels and everything around you shattered. after that, you didn’t want to be put in jail or whatever you thought was going to happen so you ran and wandered aimlessly around gotham before you ended up at the bank and met artemis. oh, and how could i forget, you didn’t know you could do that?” sunghoon recaps in an almost satirical voice, rubbing the outside of his ear, having just recovered his sense of hearing. y/n nods, somewhat sheepishly, having been pacified when yuna shin, the magician from the justice league, had been called in to fix the necklace using a spell. yujin sighs, rubbing her forehead as the two of them start to piece together what had happened that night.
“still doesn’t explain how icicle sr. managed to get from the yacht bridge to the bank in that time frame,” yujin says and y/n raises her hand hesitatingly.
“i don’t know if this is relevant but there was some guy wearing a huge parka in the middle of march that was riding down a huge…bobsled with ice that kinda appeared wherever he moved? i wasn’t sure if that was normal in this dimension so i didn’t say anything but they’re both icy,” she says, fidgeting with her hands. 
“did you see anyone else with him?” sunghoon asks, and y/n wracks her brain, trying to think if she saw anyone else that night.
“some really pale lady with spiky blue hair?”
yujin and sunghoon exchange a look before yujin groans, pulling out her phone to call belrev and let the maximum security prison wasn’t nearly as high security as they thought it was. 
“those three are all money hungry people who ally with each other every time they want to pull off a serious heist since they all use ice as their method of attack. they were probably all working together to pull off the yacht bridge incident,” sunghoon explains as a lightbulb goes off in his head. “that’s why we only saw shattered glass and nothing else. the ice probably melted by the time that we got there.”
“well that explains that. what that doesn’t explain is the canary cry. no one else in the justice league - or the injustice league, for that matter - has the canary cry. at least not since that impersonator was put into prison but even she couldn’t use the canary cry well enough to make stone break,” yujin says once she gets off the phone.
“right…” sunghoon turns to y/n, who’s fidgeting with the necklace in her hand. “do you mind if i look at that for a second?”
y/n stares at the necklace for a moment before handing it over somewhat reluctantly.
the necklace itself seems rather plain. it’s a gold necklace, with a single pearl dangling off of it but other than that, it had no identifiers to suggest why this necklace was so important to y/n.
“it was my mother’s,” she says softly and sunghoon hears yujin have to contain her gasp where she was standing. “it’s the only thing i have from her and the only thing that my father hasn’t tried to take from me when it comes to memories of my mom.”
that would explain the sentimental attachment.
sunghoon eyes the pearl, which seems to be dazzling in the light, even though there was very little in y/n’s room, as though it were exuding light, rather than reflecting it. well. unless pearls operated differently in y/n’s dimension (which, at this point, sunghoon couldn’t even say definitively that they didn’t), there was something about this necklace…
“you don’t know who exactly your mother is, right?” yujin asks and y/n nods, hands twitching as she watches sunghoon fidget with the necklace before he drops it back onto the nightstand. she snatches it up quickly, putting it back around her neck, seeming much more calm now that the necklace was on her.
“no. all i know is that my father and my mother went to the same high school and that i was born when they were both still in school, which is probably why i ended up with my dad instead of my mom,” y/n says, thumbing at the pearl. yujin exchanges a look with sunghoon, and this time, sunghoon is the one to leave the room, pressing buttons on a flip phone to call someone.
“look, i don’t want to give you any false hope or even give you any information that you don’t need right now,” yujin starts, taking a deep breath. y/n doesn’t say anything, just watching yujin as the taller girl gets up to start pacing around the room that suddenly feels surprisingly cramped.
“but with the cry and everything that she’s told us about how she discovered her powers and everything…we have good reason to believe that your mother is black canary.”
y/n’s breath comes out as a staccato as it catches in her throat.
“…and we don’t know if she knows you exist."
[march 19, 20XX, 1:02 A.M.] [mount justice, happy harbor, rhode island]
“what did the bat say?” yujin asks a disheveled looking sunghoon. the tall man just shakes his head, sitting down next to her on y/n’s bed, the owner of said bed watching him from the other side of the room on her beanbag chair.
“he can’t confirm or deny anything right now because black canary’s not in the u.s. right now. she’s out of the country on some top secret mission and cannot be called back under any circumstances,” sunghoon sighs and yujin’s eyebrows furrow.
“it took you half an hour to find out that we can’t get in touch with black canary?” 
“there were…other things. just alpha clearance level things,” sunghoon says and yujin immediately leans back. y/n’s eyes bounce back and forth between sunghoon and yujin before clearing her throat nervously.
“uh, what does alpha clearance mean?”
“it’s just our classification system to ensure that the information from the team and the justice league is kept safe,” sunghoon explains. “each person has a certain clearance level they request or are approved for. more than anything, it’s so that people in the league or on the team don’t bite off more than what they can chew.”
“for example, superboy has the lowest clearance level - level eight. we trust him with our lives and know that he’s the first person to run headfirst into danger if he felt that was right,” yujin starts and y/n nods slowly, following where yujin was going with her logic.
“but if someone who was that quick to action were to be given higher clearance knowledge, then it would be hard to reestablish which missions are his priority and which aren’t, since he would probably feel they were all important,” y/n continues.
“and while they are all important, some require more planning than brute force. it’s hard to explain that to someone when they’re already extremely emotionally invested in a mission,” sunghoon finishes.
“it’s really more about how emotionally detached someone can get from the mission to ensure that actions are being put in place for the greater good,” y/n summarizes and yujin and sunghoon both shrug.
“that’s one way of thinking about it. it’s like a chain of command, honestly. if something were to happen to me, there needs to be someone who would be next in the chain of command so that the team doesn’t get split into five different directions because five different people think that the team should operate differently,” sunghoon says and y/n nods, leaning backwards into the plushiness of the beanbag chair.
“is it alright that you’re telling me all of this though? i asked because i was curious - but i’m curious about a lot of things. things that are probably less confidential than the inner workings of how an espionage and covert operations team works,” y/n asks, and although her words would set sunghoon on high alert coming from anyone else, he feels strangely understanding when it comes from her.
which had implications that he wasn’t ready to think about just yet.
“well, if you want the truth, there’s two aspects to it: a) it’s in our best interest to be as honest with you as possible so that you can be as honest as possible with us to help us with stopping the light. and b) i’ve been having private conversations with various members of the team about you joining the team - if that’s what you want - and everyone’s on board with the idea,” yujin says, watching y/n’s reaction to this (what she thinks is, at least) bombshell of information. “that’s actually part of what sunghoon and i wanted to talk to you about before the whole canary cry situation.”
“join the team?” y/n repeats slowly, her posture growing more timid as she sinks even further backwards into the chair. sunghoon refrains from reaching forward to comfort her, for fear that he might scare her even more.
“it’s not an obligation and we’d definitely understand if that’s not something that you want. but we figured that we’d present the option to you whenever you’re ready. i think that you’d be a great addition to the team,” sunghoon says gently, his eyes never leaving y/n’s.
“you do? but i don’t have any combat experience; i’d just drag you all down and put you in danger,” y/n murmurs softly, and yujin catches the faint blush on her cheeks as her eyes dart to the floor for a moment’s reprieve from sunghoon’s gaze. cute.
“we all started from somewhere, y/n,” sunghoon reminds her.
“yeah. boy wonder’s the only one out of all of us who came out of the womb fighting,” yujin snorts, punching sunghoon in the shoulder. “and besides, i saw you hold your own in front of icicle and his stupid gang. anyone who can blast that frosty old snowball into a sedan is someone i want on my team.”
y/n smiles softly, her thumb rubbing over her knuckles as she’s lost in thought, weighing her options in front of her almost plainly on her face. sunghoon taps yujin’s knee slightly and the two of them get up from where they were perched on her bed and begin to make their way to the door to leave y/n to her thoughts.
“can i - could i, maybe, watch you guys train tomorrow? soojin said that you guys are training altogether tomorrow and maybe that’ll help me make a decision?” y/n asks and sunghoon’s nodding his head before he even fully processes the question.
“whatever you need, y/n. just be sure to bring an ice pack in case you decide to join the fight,” yujin says with a wink as she walks away. sunghoon rolls his eyes before shaking his head when he see’s y/n’s eyes widened with worry.
“she’s joking. you absolutely don’t need to spar with us to watch, y/n,” sunghoon says softly and he sees some of the tension in her shoulders visibly melt.
“thanks, sunghoon,” she murmurs back, getting up to close the door as sunghoon retreats as well, a small smile on his face.
sunghoon. he liked the way that his name sounded on her lips.
[march 19, 20XX, 9:52 A.M.] [mount justice, happy harbor, rhode island]
y/n winces as superboy crashes to the floor with a resounding thud. jay huffs as he lays on his back for just a moment, the mat sounding out a depressing ‘SUPERBOY - LOSS’ as he stares up at the ceiling.
“i’m getting really tired of getting beat up by people half my size,” jay groans as he accepts yujin’s hand as she hoists him up back onto his feet. 
“to be fair, yujin is pretty much your height,” jake points out, hand deep into a family size bag of chips. he was already well past his first defeat at the hands of his girlfriend and had wisely decided to spend the rest of training with some form of food shoved into his mouth.
“i don’t think that’s gonna make him feel better, kid. and he’s pretty tall,” soojin says but jay just shrugs.
“eh, i’ve only got two or three inches on her but if there’s anything i’ve learned from training with artemis and black canary, it’s that you should never judge a book by its cover. especially a girl. those are books you could read your entire life and never understand,” jay snorts, and soojin and yujin exchange an exasperated look when jake hollers out an ‘amen brother!’.
“i don’t know. i don’t think girls are really all that hard to understand,” sunghoon announces his presence, unwrapping the bandages on his knuckles as he joined the team in the sparring room. he was a boxing aficionado as of late and had taken to doing some boxing training in solitude before training with the rest of the team.
he’d tried to hook soojin and jake on it but soojin had incinerated the boxing gloves and jake had accidentally phased right though the sandbag. needless to say, boxing became more of a sport of solitude after that.
“of course our resident player says that; that’s how he gets all the girls to fall for him,” jake teases and sunghoon just rolls his eyes.
“i’m not a player.”
“says the man who hasn’t dated a woman for longer than three months at a time.” yujin crosses her arms over her chest as though she was daring sunghoon to challenge her statement.
“that doesn’t mean i’m a player.”
“can you count the number of women you’ve dated on all of your appendages?”
“does my tongue count?”
“gross.”
y/n’s eyes dart back and forth between yujin and sunghoon, and sunghoon is almost taken aback to the night before, with artemis and him going back and forth with their usual banter. ah. while the other members of the team knew to just ignore the two of them (or watch, if they wanted some entertainment for the day), y/n probably thought they were genuinely fighting. 
it wasn’t as though she had many friends to banter with and the ‘friends’ that she did have weren’t exactly the bantering type. sunghoon shudders as he tries to imagine vandal savage engaging in harmless banter.
“did you hurt yourself?” y/n says softly, nodding at sunghoon’s bandages that were balled up in his fist. he looks down, eyebrows furrowed before realization strikes him.
“oh no, these aren’t bandages because i’m hurt; these are wraps that boxers wear to keep their fists protected when they’re boxing,” sunghoon says and even jake (who’s usually the most oblivious one of them all) can sense the shift in sunghoon’s tone when addressing y/n. where sunghoon was prone to having a rather stoic first impression, he was soft and gentle when speaking to y/n.
my bet’s that they’re gonna kiss in the next three weeks,jake says through the mind link.
i’m going for four, jay contests. sunghoon tries not to make the indignant feeling bubbling in his chest too obvious on his face.
i wouldn’t put it past sunghoon, but i’m giving the girl two months. i don’t think she really understands how romance works, yujin points out.
she’s watched the notebook. she knows what romance is, soojin disagrees.
“are you guys having a conversation without me in your minds?” y/n asks, glancing between them, and the team belatedly realizes that the room had been silent for too long to be appropriate. especially not with sunghoon looking at the rest of them as though he wanted to throw something sharp and pointy at them.
y/n crosses her arms over her chest and for the first time, sunghoon saw sheer disappointment on her face. the look made his chest tight and for some reason, he really didn’t want to see that look on her face directed towards him ever again. ever. “i really can’t tell if that’s really cool or…really, really rude.”
“sorry, it was something really stupid,” yujin says, trying appease y/n. her expression doesn’t give any leeway, and soojin makes her way over to y/n to nudge her slightly.
“really, it was super stupid. but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t rude. sorry y/n. we’ve grown rusty with welcoming new people when all of us are together since we haven’t had a new member since…well, since yujin,” she explains and y/n finally uncrosses her arms and sighs.
“it’s fine - i mean, i get that you guys have a super important history together and i would never do anything to try and intrude on that,” y/n concedes. 
“look, i’m really sorry,” sunghoon says and y/n’s shoulders melt in the slightest when he does - something that doesn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the group.
“it’s okay. now - uh, who do i shoot with a fireball first?”
“i thought you were just watching?”
“what can i say? i’m all fired up.”
“you and i are going to get along just fine.”
“shut up, kid.”
[march 19, 20XX, 10:21 A.M.] [mount justice, happy harbor, rhode island]
“break - break! jesus christ, what have they been feeding you in that other dimension?” jake wheezes, pressing a hand to his chest as he tries to catch his breath. y/n blinks innocently from where she’s standing on the other side of the mat, looking rather unfazed by the whole experience.
“uh, human food, i’m pretty sure. no ovens or refrigerators, remember?” y/n points out and jake blinks, now on the other side of the room, mid-bite as he was scarfing down a 7,000 calorie protein bar made specially for him.
“it was a rhetoric question,” he says in between bites and y/n nods as though she were taking mental note. 
“right. uh - so who am i sparring next?” she says, awkwardly holding her hands out in the same position as she had done so before - effective, if jake’s wheezing is to say anything, but clearly off in practicality and skill.
“how about you spar with me?” sunghoon offers, casting his boxing gloves on the bench. he’d taken a break to watch y/n and see how she would adapt to a sudden situation where she could only rely on instinct rather than her underdeveloped pyretic skills, only to realize just how far behind she was in technical skill.
but if there was anything that her match with jake had indicated, what she lacked in technical skill, she made up for in sheer ability, with her ability to nearly predict what her opponent was going to do - even if said opponent was operating at superhuman speeds.
sunghoon figures that it’s a trauma response developed to sort of predict the behaviors of those around her in such an unpredictable environment. she also had a tendency to rely on her feet instead of her hands, which was a good thing when facing an opponent such as kid flash, who relies on his speed and arm skills and disadvantageous for pretty much everyone else.
“be careful, newbie. sunghoon’s undefeated against all of us except for yujin,” jay warns from where he’s also taking a break next to jake, soojin not far from him.
“i only beat him that one time he broke his leg,” yujin points out, but she’s quickly shushed by jake, who says something along the lines of, “don’t lose your street cred in front of your girlfriend.”
yujin, of course, lobs a sweaty towel at him shortly thereafter, but it was the thought that counted.
“should i be nervous?” y/n asks, and sunghoon shakes his head before stepping into the ring.
“don’t worry - i’m not trying to beat you or anything; i just want to correct a few small mistakes i’ve been seeing,” sunghoon explains gently, watching y/n’s worried expression melt off her face, although her limbs were still stiff with anticipation.
sunghoon steps one foot forward, to which y/n lunges backwards, wary and apprehensive of every move sunghoon made. “i’ m not going to hurt you, y/n.”
y/n nods, but it’s clear that she’s scared witless and sunghoon crosses his hands over each other to form a ‘t’ to indicate a time-out, casually walking forward towards y/n in hopes of making her feel more at ease.
but no sooner does he get within a foot of her does she lunge forward rather brashly, causing sunghoon to stumble backwards and toppling downwards - just barely saving himself by flipping over so that he was in a pushup position.
“get him while he’s down!” he hears yujin cry.
“i can’t believe a noob is about to beat sunghoon!” jake exclaims. 
“oh my god, i can’t watch,” soojin says, her fingers crossed in front of her face with enough space that it was clear her eyes were 100% still watching.
“i might have never been taught how to fight - ” y/n begins, sweeping at sunghoon’s arms so that he would fall. he just barely avoids it by rolling forward, crouched on the balls of his feet as he watches y/n carefully. “ - but i did learn a thing or two about how to stay unsuspicious.”
“i’ll give you that,” sunghoon concedes after standing up, dipping into a gentleman’s bow, twirling out of the way when y/n tries to take the moment to push sunghoon down. “but it’s not enough to take me down.”
“i don’t doubt it,” y/n admits, awkwardly holding her arms out in what it she deemed to be a ‘threatening offense’ as she carefully circled the fight space, mirroring sunghoon’s movements.
“you don’t seem very bogged down by the truth,” he remarks and a catty smile flashes across y/n’s lips before disappearing just as soon as it had appeared.
“you don’t seem to be very discontent in my inability to take you down,” y/n throws back lightly.
“how long are they going to keep doing that?” jay whispers to soojin, who still has her fingers spread across her face, her face strangely tinted pink rather than her usual pale pallor.
“keep flirting or keep fighting?” yujin snorts from the other side of jay, ducking out of reach when soojin leans over to push yujin.
“they’ll hear you!” soojin shushes and jake rolls his eyes with a goodnatured shake of the head.
“the only person who has super hearing is jay and he’s sitting right next to you. i doubt they’re going to be able to hear us from forty feet away,” jake points out and soojin harrumphs, crossing her arms over her chest.
“we don’t know if y/n has super hearing,” soojin reminds the group and the three of them simultaneously face forward to see if y/n was listening to their conversation. either she was an incredible actress or she genuinely couldn’t hear anything because by the time they refocus on the scene in front of them, sunghoon’s warding off another well timed kick and the succeeding side swipe.
but what he doesn’t account for is y/n’s ability to turn around nearly as fast as sunghoon to try and land a punch. and while sunghoon does manage to swat away y/n’s fist, she’s unable to recover as quickly as sunghoon as she loses her balance trying to beat sunghoon. and sunghoon, in his panic to try and shield y/n’s fall, manages to topple downwards with her.
down, down, down until suddenly, every inch of y/n’s body is pressed against his own. from her toes to her - to her lips, pressed against sunghoon’s and although y/n’s powers are pyrokinetics, sunghoon feels as though his entire body has been doused in cold water as he realizes that technically, he is kissing y/n. or honestly, she’s kissing him but somehow the logistics of the situation are lost on sunghoon when he looks into her eyes, wide-eyed and confused. 
have y/n’s eyes always been so…so bright? 
it’s only when jay coughs obnoxiously loudly that he remembers his audience, and it seems that this is an adequate reminder for y/n as well, who rolls off of him rather unceremoniously.
the room is silent, almost painfully so as sunghoon and y/n seemingly process what just happened. 
ardor - win. sunghoon - loss. the mat rings out unhelpfully and y/n looks as though she’s rebooting as she rises to her feet.
“is there any way to correct the system? i - i don’t think i actually won. not with conventional tactics anyway,” she splutters as sunghoon also composes himself enough to get off the floor.
“a win is a win!” jake calls out, wincing when sunghoon shoots him a withering look. this seems to kickstart the rest of the team back to life as jay offers y/n a water bottle and soojin flashes an award-winning smile at her.
“not bad for your first day on the training mat,” yujin says, casually throwing an arm around y/n’s shoulders.
jake, seemingly haven shaken off sunghoon’s nonverbal warning rather quickly, turns to the still somewhat confused man with a shit-eating grin. “you lost. you know what that means, right?”
this catches jay’s attention as well as he appears at the scene of the crime with an equally frightening smirk. “i vaguely recall someone saying that if someone beat him - ”
“ - he’d be their personal servant for a month?” yujin finishes and soojin giggles, quickly trying to hide her grin when sunghoon’s glare transfers from the terrible threes and lands on her instead.
“oh, oh no - i’m so sorry!” y/n exclaims, her face twisted into an expression somewhere in between guilt, shame, confusion, and anxiety. “please don’t regard this as a loss; the…accident from before was completely my fault and that wasn’t an official sparring match so - so that shouldn’t count as a win and you shouldn’t be held to those conditions.”
yujin watches as sunghoon turns to her, his gaze growing soft but somewhat guarded as he shakes his head with a good-natured smile. 
“you won. there is no changing the system. and besides, in the field, one must be prepared for sorts of conditions and trials; it was my own fault that i lost so i must uphold the conditions i proposed,” sunghoon says but the words don’t seem to appease y/n’s mind at all.
soojin seems to notice as she steers y/n towards the exit of the training room.
“y/n, trust me. when it comes to wins from sunghoon, you take them where you can get them,” she says and y/n just nods, which is as much of a concession of her victory as soojin figures she’s gonna get. 
yujin’s left in the training room with sunghoon by the time jake and jay gather their belongings also start to file out the training room (but not before jake smirks at sunghoon, indicating that they were gonna talk later).
“stop thinking so much,” yujin says, arms folded across her chest. sunghoon rolls his eyes before heading over to the bench to pick up his bandages and boxing gear.
“i’m not thinking,” sunghoon says and yujin snorts.
“normally, i’d love to agree with that statement but you’re overthinking and every single one of us can tell. including y/n.” yujin nods to y/n’s receding figure before turning back to sunghoon with an unimpressed look. “it was an accident.”
“i know,” sunghoon says, a little too quickly. “i mean, i know.”
yujin fixes him with a probing look before giving up, shrugging as she also starts to head out of the training room. 
but it seems the surprises for the day are still abundant as y/n bursts into the room, looking more alarmed than yujin’s ever seen her before.
“don’t ask me how i know this but klarion’s back in town,” y/n trembles, eyes full of panic.
“and i think he knows where i am.”
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peachjagiya · 23 hours ago
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I'm a taekooker as in I love their relationship but I feel like JK is probably straight..? At least the way he portrays himself. The reason I'm saying is because when he does covers he often changes the pronouns. Which is so unnecessary. And his solo music era was heavily straight coded, and I know it's not his own lyrics etc but still. I feel like his previous like comments etc, about having a crush on Namjoon, saying "I almost fell for a man" to Hoseok etc are because he as an idol hasn't been free to talk about women. And I know he could be bisexual I'm just saying the way he presents himself is deliberately very heterosexual. And I know that could be pandering to fans but that doesn't really make sense because he's doing it in such a shameless way as if he doesn't care about what people will think. Because like I mentioned, previously it hasn't been allowed for him to be open this way. I know you will probably disagree with me but don't you think it's the fair thing to respect the way Jungkook is choosing to present himself? If he deliberetly makes the choice to change the pronoun from him to her or boy to girl, shouldn't we as fans respect that until he says otherwise? I know you may think I am heteronormative but it is also true that most people are heterosexual and a lot of the things he does are a little too much and unnecessary if he really wasn't just straight and wanted to be perceived that way. I know he is closeted if he's not straight but who else in BTS is doing all this?
I was watching the vminkook live and noticed at one point he stares at Jimin in the similar way he looks at Taehyung, just shorter, but my point is that I think he gives Taehyung a lot of extra attention during that live is because he's wondering what he's going to do, he is a bit unsure what he is doing and stuff. But the way he looks at him is kind of how he looks at Jimin too. That live is kind of like awkward to me because it's clear they've grown up in ways that make lives like that less easy and natural than when they were younger. It's a lot more forced. I mean like the poporo comment, what was that.. do you actually think that wasn't fanservice because if they were actually dating, I think they would prefer to kiss in private and not through games on live. I am not claiming to know anything, about JK's sexuality or Taekook's relationship because I know all we get is just a glimpse into their lives but based on what we see this is how this is how they are perceived. I'm not coming into your inbox to debunk anything because I am a taekooker too and I don't see the point in trying to change anyone's mind because it doesn't matter, but I just want an open discussion what do you think about all this? I know there are probably ways and arguments around it (and I understand if you don't feel like responding but since you are a TK discussion blog I'm sending you this) like Korea being homophobic etc. I want to believe in taekook but sometimes I think it's just hyperfocusing on them that makes a case for them combined with fanservice...
Let me start with this: I don't think you actually are a Taekooker.
Actually let me end it there too.
👍
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mythicmanuscripts · 1 day ago
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I want to overstimulate aegon !
You and me both anon!! You and me both.
I've definitely written about overstimulating Aegon before because I don't think it's possible to write NSFW Aegon without it. Thinking about how obvious it is that Aegon would love that made me think about how most of the castle would be at least a little aware that you dom Aegon and that without you doing that he turns into a little terror no one can handle.
So that's what you'll find below the cut! I hope that's alright with you anon. If you or anyone else wants a more in-depth response about overstim then feel free to request it again and just made sure to add some form of detail about it so that I'm not just rewriting my overstimulating thoughts again. Enjoy!
Before you came along Aegon was definitely known for being willing to fuck and get fucked by just about anyone. He could have single handedly kept king's Landing's brothels open.
Aegon liked you from the moment he met you. Even though it was an arranged marriage and done for political power, he would still much rather have married you than any of the other possible spouses he could have chosen from. You were the only one who seemed to have a sense of humour, the only one who could joke with him and clearly wasnt afraid of him. He loved that from your very first conversation with him.
Once you're married, you and him both know your duties. You and him are to produce a few heirs, enough that there will definitely be someone to take over the iron throne even with a few deaths and then after that you could both sleep with whoever you wanted and you hardly had to even see each other after that.
You were prepared to do that, but you had promised yourself that you would not take it laying down (literally). You refused to allow it to be 10 minutes of boring fucking where you just wait til he's finished and then he leaves. Absolutely not. You were going to get some enjoyment out of this.
Aegon also expects for it to be like that, until you walk into your new shared chambers and push him up against the wall. And well... he is most certainly not complaining. You expect some resistance from him but nothing even close to that happens. You take control and he just becomes to pliant?
You have absolutely no idea where the man you had heard so many bad things about was. You had heard so much about his selfishness and desire and how rough he would make it, but you see absolutely none of that. From the moment you had him against the wall he was yours to play with.
You swear he was made for this purpose. There's no other explanation for it. He begs so quickly and so easily, wanting so badly to be good for you.
So of course you have your fun, and you very quickly discover how pretty he looks when he cries after his third orgasm. Poor little thing can't even get his legs to stop shaking.
And when you finished and you got into bed to let him cuddle into you? Well now you're it for him. He got completely wrecked AND he also got cuddles? Yeah no one else will ever be accepted again.
The entire castle is in shock for the next few weeks because Aegon doesn't leave for a brothel once? In fact he sent letters to three brothels informing them that he would no longer need his weekly booked room.
Things start to make a little more sense when they start to see you two together more often. Aegon looks at you like you hung the moon and all the stars. He's always holding your hand, always looking for you, always making sure there's space beside him for you.
It's very clear that you have a grounding effect on him, but what people don't know is how much of that effect comes from you absolutely wrecking him at least once a week.
You always know you've got to make time for that soon when he starts to get even whinier than usual (yes, it's actually possible) and he may genuinely cry if you have to go somewhere alone. Even when he is with you he's alls squirmy and unsettled, constantly moving around and snapping at anyone else who tries to get his attention.
You sort that out by getting an evening free of obligations and taking control the moment you're alone with him. Aegon needs to be pushed to his limits, needs to cum so many times he can barely even think never mind string a sentence together.
(You always start by letting him get you off, because you've learnt the hard way that if he realises at the end of a scene that you havent cum he will go straight into subdrop and feel like a failure.)
After that his favourite is when you sit next to him and drape his leg over your thigh to get full access. He whines and cries against your shoulder, mumbling broken pleas and cumming all over your hand every time you tell him to. He always cleans it up though!!! He'll lick your hand hand clean and then if you don't move your arm quick enough he will take your fingers into your mouth and then you're in trouble because if you pull away without giving him something else to suck on then he will just start crying. Poor thing is too fucked out you must help him!!
You spend the entire night and most of the next morning in bed with him after that. When he does emerge he's always in a much, much better mood and actually does all the things he's supposed to do.
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certifiedsexed · 3 days ago
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Something about how you go "afab and female genitalia tell me nothing" feels oddly pretentious to me?? Is this intentional?? I know that both of these terms can also refer to non-vulva/vagina intersex genitals but still, I think you could word it in a more helpful way. Not to be rude or anything!! Sorry if it came off that way. I don't mean any offense to anyone with this ask (I'm on anon because I'm a pussy-ass bitch who fears I'll get blocked if I breathe wrong when sending an ask)
Anon continued: "Realised I should probably elaborate on what I meant by "helpful" - maybe just going "I presume you're referring to a vulva" instead of two paragraphs. I don't know it just makes me feel stupid. (I didn't send the original ask but I still felt stupid by assuming female genitals meant the typical female genitals. <--that wording is awful sorry.
Again I mean no harm I just have autism and can't word things in nice ways sometimes) (I'm so sorry I'm a fucking mess aaaaaahhh feel free to ignore both of my stupid asks)"
Well, I can tell you first off that I'm not trying to sound or be pretentious. I explain that "AFAB" and "female genitalia" tell me nothing because I want to be communicating as clearly as possible and I don't want to just assume something and not tell someone that's what I'm doing or why.
If I said "I presume you're referring to a vulva" without explaining how I came to that conclusion or why I need to assume in the first place, it just sounds like I'm saying "female genitalia" and "AFAB" are what led me to that conclusion in the first place.
Which they didn't.
I was going to write the post with less specific language first since Anon never specified [especially since female genitalia includes penises and a few questions would've needed slightly more in-depth answers for that] until I reread and processed the question about labias and tampons.
I'm not trying to make people feel stupid and I'm sorry it came off that way.
I try to explain as much as possible when answering asks and I guess sometimes that comes off as if I'm showing off or something but that's genuinely not what I'm trying to do.
My intent was also not trying to shame people if they made assumptions based on "female genitalia" and "AFAB".
I just don't want to make assumptions and fuck up my answers, so I try not to do that. But if I do make an assumption, I also want people to know where and why so that it doesn't become a mess of miscommunication.
I'm sorry that makes you feel bad and I really wish I could help but the alternative you suggested doesn't really work from a clear communication standpoint and I'm not sure what else I could say?
I understand you don't mean this badly, btw!
I appreciate it, I just don't think there's anything I can do. If it helps, I've been told I come off as a weird ass fucker my entire life, so you're not alone there. \o/
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thollandsgirl2013 · 2 days ago
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Hello I was wondering if you are comfortable with writing zendaya into a tom holland fic like one where Tom is dating zendaya and the reader is his best friend and one day when y/n gets ready to go on a date tom gets jealous even though he's with Z and he realizes that he's loved reader all along and breaks things off with Z (no hate towards Z in anyway btw)
Hi! I wasn't really feeling comfortable with Tom and Zendaya but I also liked the concept of your request so I changed the characters, hope you don't mind and still like it.
✼  ҉  ✼  ҉  ✼  ҉  ✼  ҉  ✼  ҉ ✼  ҉ ✼ 
𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭
Parings → Roommate! Peter Parker x Reader
Warnings → angst, fluff
Summary → Peter realizes he's in love with his best friend, when you went on a date with Brad.
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You stood in front of the mirror, dabbing a brush across your eyelid, blending out a warm shade of eyeshadow. Tonight felt different, almost foreign. It wasn’t that you hadn’t imagined going on dates before—far from it—but you’d never thought it’d actually happen, especially not with someone like Brad Davis. You adjusted the strap of your dress, stealing a glance at Peter in the mirror.
He was sprawled on your bed, arms crossed, and his brows furrowed in that boyish way he did when he was sulking.
“Do you really have to go?” He whined, dragging the words out like a five-year-old.
“Yes, Peter. I do,” you replied with an exaggerated sigh, running a hand through your hair.
“But it’s movie night! You can’t just ditch movie night, Y/n. That’s, like, breaking the bestie code,” he declared, sitting up now, eyes wide as though he was genuinely appalled.
You rolled your eyes, trying to suppress a laugh. “Peter, just ask MJ if she’s free and call her over for a movie night. It’s been a while since you two went on a date anyway.”
He grimaced at the suggestion. “That’s not the point!” He shot back. “I like MJ, but she always picks these horror movies or murder documentaries, I don't like those!”
“Then compromise or watch two movies. Problem solved.”
Peter groaned, throwing himself back onto your bed like the world had ended. “It’s not just about the movie, Y/n. It’s Brad Davis. You really want to go out with him? That guy literally had a war with me over MJ back in high school. He was Flash’s lackey, for crying out loud!”
You turned to him fully now, crossing your arms. “Peter, he’s changed. He’s not the same guy from high school. Besides, if he still liked MJ, he wouldn’t have asked me out.”
Peter shot up, his expression defensive. “How would you know that? What if he’s just trying to worm his way into our group or—worse—steal MJ from me?”
“If MJ likes you enough, then you shouldn’t have to worry,” you replied flatly, going back to your makeup.
“That’s not the point!”
“Then what is the point, Peter?”
He stumbled over his words for a second, looking frustrated. “He’s not your type, Y/n. You two are complete opposites.”
You raised a brow, spinning back to face him. “You and MJ are opposites too, and you’re together. Why is it different for me?”
“That’s not the same thing!”
“Oh? And how exactly is it not the same?”
Peter opened his mouth but immediately closed it, his jaw tightening as he looked away. “He’s just not right for you, okay? You shouldn’t go out with someone like him.”
“And how do you know that?”
“I just do!” He snapped. “Because I’m your best friend, and I know you better than anyone else.”
His sudden outburst caught you off guard, and your voice dropped, softer now. “Why are you mad, Peter? You never let me talk to any boys. You always say they’re bad or some shit. If I don’t get out there, how am I supposed to know who’s bad and who’s not?”
Peter flinched slightly at your words, but his expression hardened again. “Do whatever you want,” he muttered under his breath before storming out of your room, slamming his bedroom door behind him.
You stood there, staring at the closed door opposite of your bedroom, feeling a sting in your chest. His behaviour hurt, more than you wanted to admit, but you shook it off, focusing on the task at hand.
Taking a deep breath, you gave yourself one last look in the mirror. You looked good—better than you had in a while. But that didn’t stop Peter’s words from replaying in your head as you grabbed your purse and stepped out of the apartment.
---------------
The date was fine. Brad was polite enough, though his stories about his workouts and teammates dragged on longer than you cared for. You tried to stay engaged, but your mind kept wandering. Peter’s voice echoed in your head, his words about Brad pulling at your thoughts.
“You know,” Brad said as you neared your building, “Coach is always on my case, but I think it’s because he knows I’m the only one who can handle the pressure.”
“Right,” you muttered, forcing a smile.
Brad didn’t seem to notice your distraction. “Anyway, I had a good time tonight. You are nice company.”
“Uh, thanks,” you replied, already reaching for your keys.
“See you around, Y/n.”
“Goodnight, Brad,” you gave him a soft smile.
To your relief, he leaned in and kissed your cheek instead of trying for anything more. You offered him another small smile before heading inside. It was late, nearing midnight, and your heels clicked softly on the floor as you climbed the stairs to the shared apartment.
When you entered, you noticed the faint glow of the TV in the living room. Kicking off your heels at the door, you walked in to find Peter on the couch, staring at the screen but clearly not watching it.
“Hey,” you said softly, setting your purse down on the counter.
Peter immediately stood up and, without warning, pulled you into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around you with a desperation you hadn’t felt before.
“You okay, Pete?” You asked, confused by the sudden embrace.
He pulled back slightly but kept his hands on your shoulders. His face was serious, and his voice cracked as he said, “I broke up with MJ.”
You blinked, taking a step back. “You did what?!”
“I broke up with MJ,” he repeated, his voice quieter this time.
Your eyes widened in disbelief. “Peter, tell me this is a joke. You’re joking, right?”
He shook his head, his curls bouncing slightly. “No. I’m serious.”
“Oh my god,” you muttered, running a hand through your hair. “Why? Why would you do that?!”
Peter hesitated, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard. “Because I realized something.”
“What?”
“That I love you, Y/n/n,” he said, his voice breaking at the edges. “Not just as my best friend—I’m in love with you.”
You froze, his words hanging heavy in the air. “Wait, wait, wait. Back it up,” you said, shaking your head in disbelief. “You can’t just say something like that, Peter. You like MJ. She’s your girlfriend! You can’t just suddenly fall for me.”
“I didn’t,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes glistened with unshed tears as he looked at you. “I fell for you a long time ago, but I was a coward. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. I thought it’d be easier to move on. But it wasn’t.”
“Peter...”
“What I did—it’s the right thing,” he continued, his voice growing steadier. “Because the relationship wasn’t fair to her. Or to me. I couldn’t keep pretending when my heart has always been with you.”
You stared at him, your mind spinning. His words felt like a dream, something you’d imagined countless times but never thought would actually happen.
“Please, Y/n,” he said, his voice cracking again. “Tell me I haven’t lost you. Please.”
For a moment, you didn’t say anything. You simply stared at him, trying to process everything. Then, without thinking, you leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
Peter froze, his hands instinctively gripping your arms to steady himself. When you pulled back, his eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open in shock.
“Did that answer your question?” You asked, your cheeks warm.
He blinked, his stunned expression quickly melting into one of hope and nervous excitement. “I—I, um—c-can you do it again?” He stammered, his cheeks turning red. “I think I need to understand better.”
You let out a breathy laugh, shaking your head before leaning in to kiss him again, this time slower, savoring the moment. His lips moved against yours tentatively at first, but then he relaxed, pulling you closer as if he was afraid to let go.
When you finally pulled away, his forehead rested against yours, his breath warm against your skin. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he murmured.
“Maybe not as long as I have,” you teased, a smile tugging at your lips.
Peter chuckled softly, his hands gently cupping your face now. “So... does this mean you’ll stay for movie night?”
You rolled your eyes, laughing as you playfully swatted his chest. “Only if I get to pick the movie this time.”
“Deal,” he said with a grin, leaning in to steal another quick kiss.
‎∗ ࣪ ˖༺ 𓆩☆𓆪 ༻˖ ࣪ ∗
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morrigan-sims · 1 day ago
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Top 24 Screenshots of 2024
I was tagged by @loony-moonsims Thank you!! (Sorry for being so late. I was on vacation and didn't have access to my laptop with all my screenshots.) I'm not going to tag anyone else to do this because it's way too late and I don't know who has or hasn't done it. But if you want to, feel free to say I tagged you!!! It is a lot of fun to do! I already did one favorite post from each month in my 2024 "Year In Review" post, but that was strictly one per month and didn't give me a chance to talk about it. So expect a lot of rambling under the cut.
tw for blood in several images and for spider imagery in Oct/Nov.
January
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Starting on January 1st, I fell head-over-heels in love with Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous -- now my favorite game of all time -- and with Areelu Vorlesh. I tried my hand at recreating characters from images, which I'd never done before, and it actually turned out pretty well. (And started a mini obsession.) My first version of Areelu was not my most accurate, but I do have a deep soft spot for it, for many reasons. And while Reda isn't perfect either, I do love how she turned out as a sim.
February
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The month of goth/dark fantasy people, I guess. The Lady of Ravens was very fun to design, and I discovered that that pose looks perfect with the crow/raven accessory I have.
March
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In March I got bored of sweet, cutesy flower sims, and decided it was about time someone played into the horror of being both a person and a plant. And thus this sim, who someone described as "sleeping beauty if she took control of the roses and became a villain" was born. She has thorny vines growing under and over her skin, and that rose has burst from her eye. I wanted her to have little thorns poking out from under her skin, but no such cc existed, unfortunately.
Also in March, I played the first of Rook's two Horrible, Very Bad, No-Good weekends. This render (lovingly dubbed "Mirror Punch" in my folders) was meant to represent the scene that the party saw upon rushing to see what the giant crash they all heard from the lower floor of the inn was about. Rook had just woken up from being asleep for over 12 hours after passing out from exhaustion and stress, only to be told that the "chihuahua" the party had rescued the day before just so happened to be the very same man who had sold Rook to Captain Wolf 3 years ago. Oh, and this was after dying once and then having a very emotionally tense conversation with his mentor once he woke up. Because my boy is an idiot who doesn't know how to handle emotional surprises, he decided to try and punch a mirror, because repeatedly killing an imaginary version of said chihuahua/man wasn't working.
I'm still incredibly proud of this render. Editing the mirror to be cracked took me over two hours, let alone drawing in all the blood.
April
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In April I was deep in my pirate obsession, in part brought about by obsessively watching Black Sails for the first time. I made the first draft of my ship infirmary (now the canon appearance of the Tide Breaker's infirmary), and also made this sim, who despite my best attempts to NOT relate everything to Rook ended up becoming the canon appearance (in my head at least) for Kholl, the Tide Breaker's surgeon, and Jay's mentor.
May
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May was a great month for renders. Actually this one specific week was great for renders, since these both got posted in less than a week. The Nine of Swords is still one of my favorite renders I've ever made. I just love the way the composition works, with the chains framing it, and the swords (all copies of Wolf's rapier from my edit of her as Justice) hanging over Rook's head. Of course, I can only take partial credit, since I was inspired by Sara Kipin's version of the card.
Morana's Death card was also a lot of fun to make. It was my first attempt at putting trees into blender (a pain in the ass, but worth it) and with using photo background (easier, and also worth it). I really enjoyed how the final product turned out, and it's just such a good representation of her. She's named after a Slavic goddess of death and winter, and she's a necromancer from a frozen place, so it works well. I also really like the added touch of the red coming from the skull's eye, which was suggested by someone I was on call with while making the render.
June
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June was ALSO all about the dnd characters. Aside from spending way too much time furnishing Lockwood Manor and making its awful owner, making Val as a sim, and giving Zenara a zillion new outfits, I also made these two edits.
The Judgement card was my first big in-game edit in a very, very long time. It was an interesting challenge to get it to turn out how I wanted it to. While the editing for this one was very simple, getting everything else as I wanted it was difficult. There was a lot of TOOL involved, and gshade and Relight saved my ass when it came to getting the nighttime scene to look right. This card is a recreation of a moment from Avra's backstory, where she awoke in her own grave. On digging her way out, she found a raven messenger waiting for her. The Judgement card is just too fucking perfect for her, and it was a lot of fun to create my own version of it.
Aspen's Fool Card was an idea that had been floating in my mind for MONTHS before I finally got around to making it. I could not possibly be happier with how it turned out. This was my first experiment with sizing up sims in blender, and it worked perfectly!!! A giant version of Fin (the jester-like god of death and Aspen's warlock patron) looming over Aspen dancing on strings was exactly what I had in mind. It was also my first experiment with bringing in 3D meshes that weren't already made for the sims, which was interesting.
July
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July was all about the Liars. I played through (most of) Rook's SECOND Horrible, Very Bad, No-Good Weekend, which kicked off with the traumatic reveal that Rook's beloved mentor, Sigmar, was actually a corpse being puppeted by the BBEG, Dr. Purity. And not only that, but the party wizard, Maka, had known since day 1. Given Rook's name, and the fact that the special moves Sigmar had been teaching him were all named after chess pieces, it was just too damn perfect to turn Rook into a chess piece for this render. To this day, it's one of my favorite renders I've ever made. Not only does it LOOK amazing, but the layers upon layers of symbolism and little details hidden in it, most of which mean nothing to anyone other than me and the DM of Rook's game. This was my 2nd experiment with giant sims in blender, and also with outside models, as well as my first horizontal/landscape render. Making the pose for this one was a TON of fun, and I got to play around with some editing methods I hadn't used in a LONG time.
Speaking of Dr. Purity, his Temperance card was my most detailed blender set to date!! The many objects were a lot of fun to import and set up. And the editing was SO much fun. Drawing all the shadows on his clothes was a ton of fun, as was fixing the clipping in his hair and figuring out how to make it look like there was liquid in the flask was also fun. This is maybe my least popular render, but I am proud of it and I do love it. We finally got a face reveal of the BBEG, of course I had to do something with that!!! (I definitely didn't only start caring this much about him after finding out he was Sigmar's true identity. Nope, not at all.)
August
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In August, I was back in a furnishing mood, this time working on the pirate ships. (I was simultaneously working on making maps for all three of them for our VTT.) I really love how this shot of Zara's cabin turned out. And this coming weekend Rook gets to step into this room again, this time as Captain in his own right! I can't fucking wait.
The Weeping Angels gif was SO much fun to make. It wasn't my first time making a gif, but it was the first in a long time, and also by far the most complicated one I'd ever made. It ended up being well over 30 frames long, and I love the final result!!! (After I made it, I watched it so many times I started to get a headache, lmao.)
September
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September Rook was still having a Bad Time, and I got obsessed with Carrion.
I love how the editing (although simple) turned out on this render of Rook. The accents on the chains, the veins I drew under his skin, it all looks great. My poor boy, he does NOT deserve this, lmao. Sorry buddy. This render is (somewhat understandably) one of my least popular, but I still love it a lot.
Theodore's render is also super simple, but looks really good to me. Once again, drawing in details on the armor/clothes was a fun experiment, and so was adding more definition and age to Theodore's face. This was also only my 2nd time sculpting clothing in blender (the first being the Nine of Swords) with his cape, and it looks quite nice.
October
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In October, I was hard-core fixating on Zara's upcoming introduction, so she (FINALLY) got her own tarot card. I can't believe it took me as long as it did to realize the World was her card. Anyways, I like how this one turned out. The symbolism with the items and their placement was a lot of fun to add in, and the colors turned out great.
The other shot I really really loved was this preview picture for my spider legs accessory edit. Using TOOL to get the sim in position was a pain, but it turned out SO worth it. This sim in general was super fun to make and looks badass as hell, but her in this pose with the throne is even better.
November
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In November I took a break from editing and rendering to get back in P:WotR mode, so I did some neat little recreations of character portraits from the game. I was on my evil run this time, and these two were my two new discovery favorites. I was quite happy with how well I was able to recreate these just with what I had in my game.
December
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In December I was back on my rendering bullshit, this time with Carrion. I'd had this idea for MONTHS, since one of the other players in his campaign gave it to me, honestly the scenes were basically done. I barely had to do anything to them, and the editing was super basic. (Hilariously someone left tags saying they loved the editing, and my only thought was "thank you, but I basically didn't do anything". Which I guess is a compliment to my blender skills if it makes them look well-edited.)
I especially loved pulling the reversal of the werewolf, where the full moon is monstrous and the new moon is safe. Also just creating Carrion's monster form in general was a lot of fun to do. I made several pieces of cc just for Carrion (his normal armor, his monster arm spikes), and did some whacky things to get him to look how I wanted. (There's actually two copies of monster Carrion standing there. One of them is just the tips of his toes the other is the rest of his body, sans toes. I did this so I could give him the split feet, which are actually illithid feet from BG3, converted by Shandir.)
I also just straight up painted + clone-stamped in a portion of his arm in the monster image, because it was clipping with his leg. I'm proud to say I don't think you can tell. And adding small lights for his eyes in that form was also a very fun little touch. (Honestly, the lighting in general was an adventure in this one. I hated it at the time, but looking back it was an interesting challenge.) I also learned what HDRIs are and how to use them, so that was a fun learning experience for me!
Final Thoughts
I made SO much progress in rendering this year, and I'm very proud of myself. I would love to whittle down my unfinished renders / not started render concepts to zero in 2025, but knowing me that's never going to happen. (ADHD, baby!!!) But I had a TON of fun this year and I'm so happy with all the things I made, be they in CAS, in build mode, or in blender.
And I'm glad you all were along for the ride!!! Whether you've been following me for years, or you just followed me last week, I'm glad you're here. While I'd make these things for myself, it's a thousand times more fun to share them with others, and knowing other people like my work just makes me more motivated to make it.
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fortunatelyannoyingcrown · 2 days ago
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R*pesand/Feyrat Stans roast time!!!
We all know Rapesand and Feyfoo's Stans are some of the most stupid people in the acotar fandom, lacking basic common sense and hypocrisy that can't be rivalled, but I have to make a special mention of this dumbass in particular, I found on reddit....
(I'm feeling especially mean today, and this is going to be a hypocrisy exposé so bear with me, when I give it to users like this one and others who exist to give a poor name to fans online and make me facepalm so hard)
You can clearly tell from responses like these that Feyrat Stans have the common sense and brain capacity of a fucking furniture, but just for dumbasses like Koalafied Captain, let me break down a couple of things:
a)Tamlin, as the high lord of an entire kingdom has the goddamn right to stop any civilian in his kingdom, who poses a threat to his soldiers, fighting his battle for him.Your bitch of a fave, Feyre, was doing exactly that, threatening to run into a fucking military operation, where she can't protect herself and also would be a bloody danger to everyone else.The fact that the bitch thought, she could just easily disobey the orders of a lord and endanger the lives of everyone else because she was whining about wanting to go out is quite possibly the most selfish thing anyone can ever do.It was trauma induced, but it was fucking selfish and Feyre, being unable to think about anyone else other than herself was peak selfishness full fucking stop.
And Tamlin only locked her up, after she repeatedly refused to heed his no, several times because, yes sweetie, it was dangerous AF for her to be involved in a military operation without any training of her powers.Even before that, Tamlin was perfectly okay with Feyre going out and doing whatever TF she wanted, all he needed was for her to take an escort with her, because guess what?SC was haunted by Amarantha's monsters, and it was bloody fucking dangerous for Feyre to be out on her own, especially as an untrained Fae.This basic concession being impossible for Feyre to accept, shows how immature, inconsiderate and frankly, stupid she is.And that is, along with the fact that, the bitch is unable to respect boundaries, as clear from how she can't accept a no, no matter what.Fuck her, a million times, just for that🖕🏾
And yes, Feyre stans, let's get back to your favorite master saviour, the one y'all claimed "freed Feyre"(Even though he r*ped her to make that happen).The only reason why R*pesand was able to "free her", was because he was literally keeping her in a fucking hidden city that no one knows about, and also, it was not being haunted therefore making it a safe place for Feyre to be.Lol,.that's not even on him, Velaris has been hidden for centuries, because of the work, his ancestors did, R*pesand as the high lord does fuck all for his court.He doesnt work, therefore having time to be all up in Feyre's business lol
So yeah, Feyre was trapped in Velaris, which is slightly bigger than Tamlin's mansion.Congrats Feyre, you officially moved from one place, you claimed was such a "prison" into a bigger one.🥴.
Let's not get into the whole abusive AF situation that was the pregnancy.
As for, the abuse "apologies" that we give that you keep whining about, babes, you need to look at your own responses.Whining about Tamlin losing control, when your fave did it twice, injuring the LoA, R*pesand does it constantly, with Nesta and everyone else, even going so far as to threaten to kill her, Feyfoo, being a disgusting murderous, genocidal c*nt, just like Amarantha, sexually abusing Lucien and destroying Tamlin's life out of spite, and guess what's even funnier?She did the exact same things to Nesta that she was crying about Tamlin doing to her, two books prior.Lol, what a sorry little hypocrite.
And guys, it is especially funny,.to read all of Koalafied Captain's responses, justifying Rhysand's abuse:
a)"Oh but, he was behaving like a Fae, whose mate was pregnant"- Oh so that justifies his abuse of Feyre and Nesta?
b)"Oh Rhys was so tortured and sexually abused wah wah"- well well well, look at how the abuse apologist is abuse apologizing right now🤣🤣🤣
Can everyone in the NC, do something, a magic ritual maybe, to grow a few brain cells in their High lady's head?Her critical thinking levels are not even zero, they are in the negatives at this point, and that doesn't bode well for the citizens of that court.
Because bitch, how are you going to claim, you were abused in a previous relationship, and move onto an even worse abuser.Feyre's such a stupid buffoon, I tell you🤣🤣🤣
As for the stans like the one in the ss, how much else, are you going to do and how much more are you going to embarass yourself, because you are so busy dickriding, a rapist like Rhysand.Do me a favour, and please fuck all the way off, and keep Tamlin's,name out of your bloody mouths
So yeah,to all the Feyre stans, who excuse that bitch's crimes against humanity.Spare me all the BS.Y'all don't have a leg to stand on here, not when your faves have committed much worse crimes, and have behaved even worse than Tamlin has ever done.Guess what bitches?Feyre was abusive towards Tamlin, Nesta and Lucien.
So, yeah cry me a river about us Tamlin Stans being "abuse apologists", lol when people like you exist, who are genocide/abuser/rape apologists to the fucking extreme.Also, I wish Tamlin had slapped the shit out of Feyre, atleast then the abuser tag on him would have been deserved, and I could happily watch bitches like you, whine about it for ages🖕🏾🖕🏾🖕🏾...
Spare me all of the fake righteous indignation about us "excusing abuse" when you sit there and excuse, every single one of R*pesand's abuse of Feyre, SA, medical abuse, physical abuse(he literally checks every single box lol, what a POS, SJM just kill him already), and Feyfoo's own abusive and controlling behaviour towards other people.I know I'm(and people like me are ) on the right side, when I am not defending war criminals, rapists and manipulative liars. Y'all should worry about yourself
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electrozeistyking · 5 months ago
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Hi, I really like making little personalized references for characters I like when I get into things! I do this to figure out how I wanna draw them, and is a recent-ish development that I haven’t done a lot, but I really like character design and thinking about them! So I made some for Siffrin. How fun!
DO NOTE THAT THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR LATER PARTS OF THE GAME. I did obviously tag it as such for the sake of others and it will be further down, but I figured I’d still warn you just in case. <:3
Now, without further ado, here’s “reference one!”
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I’m personally gonna be using this in conjunction with Siffrin’s actual reference sheet (which I refer to as “notes” in mine!!) to make sure he look his best! I also wanted to make sure they’re “in line with canon,” yet still in my style and in a way I can be proud of.
Which isn’t that hard, since I’m usually always proud of my own work. I just like my own stuff. <:3
Due to the brim of his hat allegedly being bean-shaped (teehee), I thought it’d be fun if I carried that over to his torso/body. It’s not noticeable with a cloak in the way, nor when Siffrin’s standing straight up. Basically, the bean shape would only be revealed in certain poses.
(Coming up with that also made me say “Whoops! All beans!” out loud about Siffrin, btw.)
Additionally, I like giving characters is their own set of fangs. One character I draw has a gap between them and the rest of their teeth, one has prominent ones to make them more cat like on purpose — and for Siffrin, I decided to give them rounded ones.
I usually make fangs razor sharp, because I really like big ol chompers like that, so them being round is definitely a very unique thing for Siffrin to have. Well, at least at first.
I’m also a really big fan of certain design elements sticking around after something wild happens to characters… which brings us to “reference two.”
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Well, if you’re not gonna be able to find any good references for this version of Siffrin, you might as well make your own, right??
The major thing I wanted to do with this Siffrin was to have him still feel like himself, but also give him somewhat of a unique design in comparison — by playing up elements I noticed during this scene.
Making this Siffrin feel as giant as they are was important to me. I went ahead and made their hat, face, hair and cloak longer. Made their shoulders broader, had them hunch over so they’d practically loom over everyone. Trying to appear smaller while still being an obstacle. Wanting everyone to stay here. Wanting their family.
I noticed that a lot of Siffrin’s hair seemed a lot more angular here, so I felt it crucial to use those shapes, but going a couple steps further and using them for his face as well… primarily his mouth and chin, of course. Which meant replacing those rounded fangs I gave him with a full set of sharper ones.
(I also wanted them to look like they’re too big for Siffrin’s mouth, so two of them — well, four? — will always peek out/fall past their lower lip. It’s like their teeth are not a comfortable fit whatsoever and it makes talking feel weird, but they manage.)
(They stick around after Siffrin “reverts back” or whatever we’re calling it. He never gets his round fangs back, but at least the ones he has now serve as a reminder that he got to the end. Might take some getting used to, though.)
(I also tried making their brows look a bit more angular? Can’t tell if they really come across that way.)
ANYWAY, I THINK I SHOULD STOP HAHAHA. I could go on and on all day, but I got other things to do and I think I’ve already explained enough! Just know that I get a kick out of putting love and care into character thoughts and designs. <:3
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rxttenfish · 3 months ago
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merfolk in general are just. horrible horrible polyglots. their brains are already hardwired for language and quick language acquisition that remains active all their lives, further helped by retaining a high neural plasticity for their long lives, and especially enjoy complex language and language-based play and problem solving. but they also tend to have a lot of their society arranged where there's often multiple different languages at play within the same area, and only really stops being so once you get into especially small villages that have below the merfolk norm for outside contact. every merfolk alive today knows at least two languages, but most of them know far more than that, especially because one of those two will be the common-technical language. its been standardized and wide-scale implemented across the merkingdom after their dominance, to help bridge the gap between these different languages, basically as a successful version of esperanto. but its a trade language, and is mostly used for information you might want to reach as many people as possible, such as laws or business dealings or public announcements or the like. most merfolk don't view it as and don't treat it as a language proper, and its not what they prefer to converse in if they have another choice, usually finding it pretty limiting and restrictive, which is why its called common-technical.
miranda, being a royal who is regularly in contact with many different people around the merkingdom and regularly expected to be fully able to converse with them to do her job, knows just. so many languages. i might be changing exactly how many soon, but last time i counted it was in the low teens. like its just a perfect storm of her brain being wired for swift language acquisition and having a job that requires it and a position that means shes constantly around people from all around the merkingdom. not to mention having to know english too, which isn't just not her first language, it's not even her fourth language.
meanwhile, aaravi knows english and a little bit of hindi, less because of her mother and moreso because of her nana... its not that her mother never used it with her, but she was. less focused on using it or teaching aaravi, let's say. nana mishra uses it a lot more and is more interested in teaching aaravi when she asks her, especially in the intermittent period after her mom died and nana mishra was able to come back into her life to help aaravi pick up the pieces (though not after aaravi kind of. got left on her own. for an unfortunate amount of time). its just also fallen by the wayside with aaravi's whole Everything Else and kind of having a hard time accepting her nana's help and kind of being terrified of her (of no fault of her nana's, aaravi's just. she's just really traumatized after Everything, alright. having someone try to offer her help afterwards, especially when aaravi's scared of getting singled out as half human and half monster, is just. it's not something she can bring herself to trust.)
#all the care guide says is 'biomass'#miravi.txt#aaravi doesn't trust people doesn't like people doesn't want to be around people#there's a reason she and miranda mutually trusted each other more in immediately having an antagonistic relationship#and its because she just can NOT trust any freely offered help#it HAS to come with a stipulation or a catch#and it was easier if she felt like miranda was presenting the catch upfront#like say what you will about miranda#but she IS someone who screams ''you CANNOT trust me'' on first brush#and exactly in the way you expect: the merkingdom#its not very hidden at all its just not clear which WAY itll fuck someone up#which is ironically also why miri gets frustrated if she feels like someone trusts her too immediately#because like#its right there#can you not figure it out. do you not realize shes got other stuff attached to her. that you shouldnt fall for the bait immediately.#can you not see the hook she'll catch you on. can you not even see her for that much that she is.#this isnt against her role as a royal its a part of it too tbh#the image she presents is very much intentionally both alluring and threatening#awe and fear you know#the royal family wants to be beautiful and great and impressive and far more than you will ever be#and they want you to know if you step a toe out of line they will destroy you utterly and parade your corpse through the streets#its not a paradox its very intentional to keep people on a leash#its just the landfolk who seem to forget that her position as princess is also an implicit threat#which is all distinct from when she wants to be silly and carefree and just maybe. free from that need to always behave properly.#which ironically aaravi also seems to hit far more accurately than anyone else#because she doesnt just want to discard the latter. she wants to discard the former too.#which is why aaravi often teases her at the same time and pokes and prods her#its a playful vulnerability you know. if shes not being threatening shes not being too impressive to touch either.#she wants to roll on the ground and for you to call her so pretty and a silly princess and to get lightly wrestled#you know. its two different things.
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bluebird8683 · 16 days ago
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RR is dead, Tim is not
Tim Drake stood on the rooftop of an abandoned high-rise, the wind pulling at his cape like it was trying to hold him back, as though Gotham itself were begging him to reconsider. He would miss this—the only home he had ever known. The city stretched out beneath him, its ceaseless hum a bittersweet symphony, a reminder of all the people who probably wouldn’t miss him, not really. And yet, the wind seemed almost alive, whispering doubts, pleading with him to stay, even as he remained steadfast in his decision.
They’d mourn Red Robin, perhaps. Maybe even Tim Drake, for a fleeting moment. (Tam is the only one he truly feels bad about leaving behind, but she has a life outside of him, friends who care about her. She'll be ok.) But eventually, they’d move on, the way Gotham always did. Would the family even notice his absence?  A part of him whispered they might be better off without him. That they’d be happier, lighter, without the weight of someone they never seemed to truly see. 
He’d made sure of it.
Tim looked down at the blood pooling on the cracked concrete, dark and glistening under the cold moonlight. The crimson trail spidered out across the rooftop, a macabre work of art he had painted with his own blood, painstakingly collected over weeks to ensure authenticity. Almost hiding the faint scent of ozone in the air from the rainstorm earlier today, the scent of iron, or blood, hung heavy in the air. The scene in front of him is a gruesome sight- one he purposely staged to be that way, but horrid all the same. The manikin he painstakingly ensured looked exactly like him (down to not having a spleen and that paper-cut he got earlier today in the office) was one that he had grown and made explicitly for this. It never breathed in life, but he had made sure all the muscles showed all the wear and tear his muscles likely had.
He arranged it to be crumpled near the roof entrance of the building, its fingers splayed unnaturally, some twisted and broken as though his attacker had tried to torture something out of him that he refused to give. One shoulder was visibly dislocated, the other broken in such a way that his bone was sticking out of his skin. The left leg bent as if he had somehow gained a second knee. The neck bore the telltale bruising of strangulation, the skin mottled with dark purples, a haunting testament to his fabricated final moments. (Though there is bruising elsewhere on the body, the ones on his neck were the darkest.)  
The area around the manikin was a tableau of chaos: broken bits of his bo staff scattered like splinters of a shattered life, and tears in the suit—carefully slashed to match the grotesque injuries—added the final touch of authenticity along with the extra blood he had collected from himself in advance pooling and being poured from specific spots. He doubted anyone would be able to tell that he was still alive after seeing this. No one but him would ever see this as what it was, a staged exit. They might call it a tragedy (if they're feeling generous) or a lost fight. They would call it the curtain call of his life, but all it truly was is the end of Act I.
The stage was perfect. (Thinking of this all as a play had made him feel better about it, thinking of the clone as a manikin as he removed the spleen and injured it, as he put together the murder scene...) 
Tim’s gaze swept over the rooftop one last time, cataloging every detail. The smear and drops of blood around the roof, the broken bits of his bo staff lying near the body covered in wounds, the com he placed in its ear. The entire scene screamed tragedy—a hero ambushed, overpowered, and left lifeless on a cold rooftop, the final act of violence etched around his neck in a black bruise.
It had to be convincing. It had to be enough to fool Bruce, Dick, Damian, and even Barbara. Tim could imagine the triumphant sneer on Damien's face, the satisfaction of no longer sharing the Robin title in any form. And Jason… Jason might raise a beer, toasting the end of the “replacement.” The thought hurt. (Thoughts of how they viewed him always did- it's why he tries not to let his mind wander... not that he can really do that- but that's part of the reason that he's doing this.) He’d run through every possibility, refining his plan with several contingencies he can switch to at a moment's notice. That was what he did. That was who he was. (Something that Bruce trained into him.)
His fingers trembled as he adjusted the position of the manikin’s arm one last time. Not from fear or regret—those emotions had burned out weeks ago. This was the final piece of a puzzle he’d been building for months. (He left a nice little case for the detective family to follow, if they decide to investigate his demise. All the leads would turn cold though, of course.) He should feel relief, maybe even triumph, but all he felt was a bone-deep exhaustion.
“This is it,” he muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible over the gusts of wind.
He stepped back, letting the scene burn into his memory. For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine what would happen next. The news would break—Red Robin, dead in the line of duty. (He knew his body would be discovered in the morning- the owner of the building liked to come up for a smoke every morning before going to work.)
The family might grieve, or maybe they wouldn’t. Tim wasn’t sure anymore. Would they even miss him, or would they be better off without him?  Maybe they’d even be happier. Bruce would brood, sure, throwing himself into the case until he found just enough to close it. Damian, though, might sneer, claiming he saw it coming. Dick… Dick might actually cry. But eventually, they’d move on. They always did. After all, it had been months since any of them had really talked. How could they miss someone they never cared to know?   
But eventually, they’d move on. They’d forget. It's not like it'll change much.
Tim swallowed hard, forcing the lump in his throat back down where it belonged. This wasn’t about them. This was about him. A chance to finally breathe without the crushing weight of their expectations, their demands, their indifference. All this without even a courtesy "thanks." He’d spent so long loving them, sacrificing his sleep, his time, his social life for them, and all it had earned him was emptiness. Exploitation masquerading as family.
He's had enough.
He turned away from the body, moving to the edge of the rooftop. His new gear was already packed, hidden in a secure location outside Gotham. His offshore accounts were loaded, his new identity (and several back-ups) painstakingly crafted. Every system he’d set up—from the programs helping Gotham’s homeless to the automated responses at WE—would run smoothly without him. He’d made sure of it. Everything major will be fine without him. They’ll be fine without him.
Tim took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill his lungs. His heart pounded in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins. This was it. The last goodbye.
He turned on the device that would hide his heartbeat from anyone with advanced hearing, stepped off the ledge and disappeared into the shadows, leaving behind all he had ever known, the fractured remnants of his life, and the only city he had ever called home. 
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