#also they put the hands front and center in the marketing lol

[gossamerorigins]

IT'S COMING FOLKS!!!

[carcarcraziiv2]

The Woman with the Pink Hair (P. 1, 2, 3)

Hello my friends! I bring to you The Woman with the Pink Hair! This is a Vi x Fem! Reader fanfiction.

I will post this gradually, maybe once or twice a week until it is fully out! (If you are impatient, you can view it on my Wattpad-> @DatBishCar)

Please note that this is the first piece I wrote after a HEFTY (I mean years long) hiatus from writing.

P.S. Lowkey I KNOW there's a bunch of shit I could fix in here to make it better due to my practice over the past year or so, but I just... I'm so lazy rn LOL. Anyhoooooo....

ALSO- here are the TW for you lovelies! (This is for the WHOLE SERIES)-

Violence, mental illness, oral sex, dominant tendencies, torture, kidnapping, plotting?... lowkey there's probably more but you should get the gist here, AS ALWAYS ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK ILY<3

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PART ONE: INTRODUCTIONS-

Staring at the wall. You often found yourself staring at the wall while you were bored, zoning out thinking about things. How lonely your life had gotten, while at the same time it is better than it has been in a while. You had your freedoms to go do what you wanted - walk, paint, draw, listen to music. As you did those things you constantly seeked inspiration from the little bits and pieces that showed themselves to you in every crack and crevice. 

    You enjoyed finding the positives in things that didn't always seem positive. Hell, you were living in an old shack you rented from a grungy man who you weren't sure even actually owned the place. He did, however, have the keys.

    Deciding you needed some fresh air, as fresh as it can be in the undercity, you gather yourself to head out for a stroll through the dark streets and into the markets and shops. You enjoyed people watching, perhaps you would run into someone interesting. You grabbed your jacket, a purple and black lots of pockets kind of deal, and your beanie and put them on. Your medium length hair was in a bun on the lower part of your head, and you had pieces of hair flowing down in front of your face on either side. You liked the wispy look of it.

    You quickly found yourself in the center of the town after a few turns and blocks that you had memorized by heart. The place was always semi crowded. People doing grungy things, illegal things - but in your eyes, you saw beauty. You saw people smiling, laughing with their friends. Even as there were people who looked at you with an evil glint in their eye as you walked past, you were not afraid. You knew this place like the back of your hand, you grew up here after all. 

    After reaching one of your favorite places to eat, you walked to the counter and ordered some soup. Honestly, there was no telling what ingredients were in it but you trusted the chef as they always made delicious things. A few minutes pass, and you grabbed your brown, watery looking stew and headed over to a table nearby. There was no one sitting there, and the furniture was mostly clean unlike some of the surrounding options which were covered in trash, dirt and spilled food. As you sat, you looked over to the large red headed woman who cooked and served the food.

    "Thank you!"

    "You're welcome, honey," she replied with a warm smile. She was kind of like family to you, since you didn't really have any of your own. In fact, a lot of the shopkeepers and people who constanted the area were as such. You rarely saw people you didn't know or hadn't at least met once. 

    The soup was warm, salty, and amazing as usual. You finished every last bite and took the common decency to return the silverware and bowl to the counter, rather than having them come grab it from the table. You liked helping them out whenever you could, as they would do the same for you. Turning around, you looked about. Still seeking inspiration, you were torn as to whether or not to just go home. You did have to work in the morning but were unsure as to how much you actually cared about getting rest beforehand. Scanning your surroundings from right to left, you looked at all the people, until you saw someone unfamiliar leaning against a wall, hood down, with bits of pink hair peeking out from beneath it. 

   You were intrigued.

   Gazing at the person standing there, your creative curiosity and interest peaked. You wanted to know what they looked like, and luckily right as the thought crossed your mind someone approached the woman, and she took her hood down.

   She looked tired, worn, beaten and bruised. Your heart hurt thinking about anyone going through the things that would result in looking such a way. Behind all of that surface area, you saw beautiful features, however, and felt your heart race a little bit as the woman scanned the area while chatting. You were nervous she would catch you staring, so you pretended to look down quickly.

   The woman was becoming more agitated speaking with the person in front of her, and suddenly pushed them away. She started walking quickly away from you.

    Oh no... you thought. You did not want to lose this person, as creepy as that sounds. You decided to follow them only for a few minutes. Sometimes strangers led you to streets and places you would have never gone to yourself. You weren't only following her to be creepy. 

   You jumped up and started walking in the same direction as the woman. She was fast, so you had to speed walk a little bit. You took a few turns and short stops, all at places you had been before and studied before. Although you were interested in her, you decided that you would turn around and head home. 

    Right before you turned heel, the woman turned down a narrow dark alleyway. Ok... you thought. Now what is she doing? You waited a few moments before turning, too. You didn't want her to see you and recognize you. She looked like she might get a little angry about that. 

    Very quickly, you realized you had made a mistake. Three large men appeared from the shadows in front of the woman. And she stopped, looked up to the sky, and sighed loudly. You took the opportunity to hide behind a stack of boxes that were next to a dumpster on the left side of the alleyway. You peeked out from behind them and watched the confrontation ensue.

    "What do you need, boys?" The woman said, stepping over to lean on the wall next to her, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

    "We saw a pretty girl like you, and decided we needed to have you. What'ya say, sweets?" One man said. His voice was gravely, low, and you swore you could smell him from where you were. The other two men were sneering behind him, adjusting their waste bands. 

    The woman laughed. And she laughed loudly. Your eyes widened at the sound, it was like a sweet music, even in this scenario.

   "You don't know what you're about to do, dirtbag," the woman said while laughing. The man's expression quickly changed to one of anger, and he started approaching her. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you," She warned. The man laughed slightly and kept approaching, to which the woman responded-

    "Idiot".

 ---- Vi's POV ----

    Vi sneered at the man coming at her. She had a rush of adrenaline from the argument she had with the junky at the markets earlier already and needed to get rid of the urges she had to punch something. She decided these guys would do the trick.

    As the man approached, Vi took the cigarette out of her mouth and flicked it at him. He jerked back. Really? Afraid to get burned? That should be the least of your worries. As he jerked back, she grabbed him by the front of his coat and head butted him, wasting no time while he was in shock to bring her right fist up and slam it into his face.

    "By the way, the name is Vi."

    The other two men started to approach her, and she gave them a look that said "really?". They came to her from opposite sides, and she easily grabbed both of their backs, took a step backward and slammed their heads into each other. The men both collapsed to the ground rubbing their heads and yelling at one another. 

    The first man was starting to get up off the ground, but this time he looked afraid. Vi gave him a look that made him tremble and told him "Get the fuck out of here. You and these two dumbasses. I don't want to see you causing trouble to anyone again. Got it?" They hesitated, "I said get the FUCK out of here!" She yelled this time. The men got up and ran away like little children. Pathetic. 

    Vi turned around and saw someone staring at her from behind a dumpster. It was that girl from the market, the one that caught her eye. She had noticed her following her but didn't think she still was at this point. Vi grew angry, her adrenaline still running high through her veins.

 ---- Your POV ---- 

    As the fight finished up, you were holey prepared to turn tail and book it out of here. You decided you were following someone really dangerous and became scared. That is right about the moment when the woman turned around and looked right at you, rage in her eyes.

    You stumbled backwards, turning and trying to run away. "Fuck" you muttered as you slipped immediately after trying to start running. You looked backward for a brief moment as you stood, and realized she was right behind you. The woman shoved you roughly into the wall behind you. Her hand on your neck.

    "WHO are you? WHY are you following me? WHO are you working for?" The woman yelled in your face. Although you were afraid, short of breath and absolutely dreading what was to come you were enamored by her beauty. "Hello?!" She broke you out of your trance, "I asked you a question!"

    "N- n- no one! I'm not working for anyone" you stammered, your voice weak from the vice like grip she had on your neck.

    "Liar," she said calmly, her grip tightening ever so slightly on your neck. You felt pressure in your cheeks and above your eyes, and you became truly afraid that you may die. 

   "I- I'm no- not lying," you struggled to say. "I just tho- thought you looked go- good so I followed you to get inspi- inspiration for my art."

    Her grip loosened ever so slightly. You sensed she could tell you were afraid. Maybe she could tell you were not lying, but you were unsure. You really couldn't trust strangers down here. She shoved her finger in your face, and bit her teeth together. Through this, she said -

    "Don't fucking follow me again. That is creepy as hell." She released you and you fell to the ground, rubbing your neck. 

    "I- I won't!" you promised, looking up. But realization quickly hit that she was already gone, as you saw her walking the rest of the alleyway past where she beat those men, with her hood up and hands in her pockets.

    You took the opportunity, got up, and ran your ass all the way home. You heart was beating very quickly, and you were still terrified. Hyper aware of everything around you. The wind making the tendrils of your hair fly next to your face as you ran.

 Finally, you got home and got inside, collapsing on the ground from exhaustion.

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PART TWO: Ubiquity

  The next few weeks, you continued on with your life. Going on walks, working, eating, and drawing. Drawing someone who you could not get out of your head. The woman with the pink hair. After your encounter, you swore you saw her everywhere. Places you had never seen her before. 

    One day, she was at the market getting food from your favorite place. She looked like she liked the woman who had previously given you your soup. She was smiling, and you noticed her put down a gracious tip onto the counter before collecting her food. You stayed very far back before cowering and going back home. 

    Another day, she came into your work. You didn't think she was looking for anything in particular, she was just browsing, probably bored. You watched from the back-room door as she fumbled with some of the little figurines you had placed out and watched her put them back down as if they were so fragile, she might break them by breathing on them.

    On this particular day, you headed to work. You were tired and worn out from the last weeks' worth of work already but still had today before you finally got a day off. You worked in a small nick-nack shop that a lot of people who created gadgets frequented. You decided to stop and grab some coffee at the warn down coffee stand out front of the shop you worked. The stand was musty, creaky, and downright shouldn't even exist anymore. But what are you to do when you are so limited to recourses as you are down here?

    "Hi, can I have a coffee, something sweet?" You smiled at the barista. They did not smile back.

    "2 dollars." They stated. They were tall, skinny and looked as if they were addicted to... something. You handed them the money and they gave you your coffee, immediately turning away to attend to the next customer. You started taking a sip, it was bitter, and you let out a hiss. Slowly turning to your left, you jumped and let out a little yelp.

    It was the woman. She was standing beside you against the wall, staring at you as if she was pondering something. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she took a drag off her cigarette. 

    "You still following me?" She smirked. Your eyes widened and you felt your heart beating a thousand beats per minute. She was wearing the same getup. A red jacket that looked warn. Her tired look was no longer, but she did look wary and had a few scratches, including one on her lips.

   Her beautiful pink lips. 

   "Hey, my eyes are up here," she snorted. You gasped.

   "Oh, shit. Sorry... No, I am not following you. Trust me I don't want to get strangled again." You said way too quickly. A few people glanced over at the two of you, and you lowered your head. You could feel your cheeks becoming red.

   "Then why are you everywhere I go? I have seen you at least 3 places besides the first time we encountered one another. Who are you?"

    "Well like I said, I am not following you," you stated. You felt a little frustrated that it wasn't getting through her head. "And I don't appreciate you accusing me of such!"

   She laughed. That same beautiful laugh she had right before she beat the shit out of three huge men.

    "It wouldn't be the first time, weirdo. Now, I am not going to hurt you again. Trust me. I was in a fit of rage and... yeah. Just can you trust me on that?" She looked genuine. You felt yourself loosen up a bit. "What is your name? I'm Vi," she reached her hand out towards you.

    "I'm (y/n). And I guess I can," you stated hesitantly. You reached your hand out and grasped hers. It was calloused and hard against your soft one.

    "So, you're really an artist?" She asked, sitting down on a bench across the walkway. You followed, and sat next to her, looking at your wristwatch. You had about 30 minutes until you had to go in to work behind the coffee shop.

    "Um... yes. It's a hobby," you said shyly. You brushed a loose piece of hair back behind your ear and looked over at her. "And you're a street fighter?" You said raising your eyebrow.

   She laughed again. You couldn't help but smile too.

   "Well, technically, I guess you could call it that. I really only fight when I have to, or if I am in the mood to do so. I am the kind of person who just goes with the flow, I guess. I have no real goal right now...". You noticed that she was becoming saddened, but not enough to fully show it through her tough face. She stretched her legs out and laid back against the back of the bench and looked up at the sky. You noticed a few features you hadn't previously. She had a tattoo on her cheek that read VI and a gear tattoo on the side of her neck. She had scars, a lot of them. You wondered where she got them but put the pieces together and assumed they were probably from fights.

    "Do you fight a lot?" You blurted out, unsure if the question would offend, anger or sadden her. She looked at you dead in the eyes with her sky-blue ones, serious as can be.

    "Yes."

    She was so mysterious. You wondered about her life, her story. You wanted to know more about her but there was still and underlying fear and feeling of uneasiness around her simply because of how the two of you first interacted. You rubbed your neck as you remembered the happening. 

    "I am sorry for what I did to you before. It was out of line. I shouldn't have assumed you were some person who was hired to go after me." Vi reached up and put her hand on your shoulder for a split second. You felt yourself get warm all over and blushed.

    "Um, I guess it's okay?" You shrugged. You weren't actually okay with it, but you didn't want it to be the reason why you two wouldn't talk again. You wanted to talk to her again, so you gathered yourself and in a brief confidence asked, "Do you want to hangout sometime? Like we can get coffee or food or something?"

    She looked taken aback, and you immediately began trying to remedy the situation. You were embarrassed. "I- I'm sorry it's okay if you don't want to I totally under-"

    "(y/n), Its okay. I would like that." She stopped you and stated. You smiled coyly and looked down at your coffee, then back up at her.

    "Okay, cool. Meet me here tomorrow, same time?" You got up. "I have to go to work, actually. Like right there. I am a few minutes late..." You couldn't believe that 35 minutes had already passed by and knew the boss man was not going to be happy that you were late. You said your goodbyes and headed into the shop. 

    You were right, the man was not happy.

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PART THREE: Awkward Encounters

 You and Vi had plans to meet the next day. On one hand you were giddy with excitement. On the other, you were nervous. Very nervous. You weren't entirely sure you could trust the temperament of this woman. As you laid in bed, you had thoughts of what the day ahead would look like. What kind of interest did Vi have with you? You were certain you had interest in her, but you didn't know what kind of interest it was. You imagined the two of you in different scenarios, such as friendship, or as lovers. Friendship seemed amazing, but lovers felt even better. You smiled at yourself and rolled over. Either way, you decided you were going to have a good time.

--THE NEXT DAY--

    Waking up energized, you decided since it was your day off, you would try to do as much as possible. If Vi was up to it, perhaps she could tag along. You got up in the morning from your bed and comfortable plaid duvet to go shower. In the shower, you washed your hair as well as wash and shaved your body. The water was warm as it caressed your figure. You imagined it was Vi.

    What am I thinking? You contemplated. You two had only just met and it was a strange encounter to say the least. You shook your head in dismay, blushing at the thoughts you were dismissing. You hopped out of the shower and grabbed one of the towels right outside the curtain. You always laid the towel on the toilet seat so it would be easier to get to. Stepping out of the shower, you stood in front of the mirror above the sink. You were a tidy person, but today it was a little bit messy in there.

    Taking a small hand towel, you swiped the glass on the mirror so you could see your reflection. Although you looked tired, you still felt energetic. You were too giddy to feel tired. You decided today you were going to put on a little bit of makeup, just mascara and eyeshadow. Walking out of your bathroom and back into your room, the towel draped across your midriff, you looked in the closet to pick out an outfit. 

   Deciding on black jeans, a baggy brown knit sweater, and your warn old brown boots you tossed them on. The sweater was warm, which was perfect for this time of year in the Undercity. You got everything on, tossed on a few rings on your fingers, and headed to the door. beside the door was a coat rack, which you grabbed your oversized black leather jacket off of and threw on. You smiled as you walked outside and took a deep breath of air.

    Your heart was racing, but this time it was from excitement. Never had you thought you would be so brave as to ask someone you had just met (who admittedly had almost killed you) to hangout. You rolled your eyes at yourself and dismissed the thoughts from coming back. You refused to let that ruin your day or come back up ever again. 

    You made your way down the street and your usual route to the coffee shop in front of your work. As you approached, you had hoped Vi would be there early, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was 5 minutes before your set meeting time, but you were not worried. You ordered yourself and Vi a coffee at the stand and sat at the bench you both had your first meaningful conversation at. Taking a sip, you looked around and took in the area, hoping to remember every last detail that you may not have already memorized. 

    You looked down at your watch and realized time had already passed. 10 minutes, actually. You were getting worried that she wouldn't show up. After another 5 minutes, you decided to get up and walk into the shop you were employed at. The shop keep looked confused why you were there, but you said-

    "Don't worry, I am just visiting. I rarely get to come in here as a customer."

    "Oh, okay." he smiled slightly. He seemed to be in a better mood, but then you bumped into a shelf beside you. You jerked yourself to the right to correct it and ensure nothing fell off. "Just don't break anything," he sighed, rolling his eyes. He was a big man, not fat but muscular. He seemed like he could handle himself in a bar fight if he had to.

    "I promise I will not break anything," you laughed slightly. You turned your back to the man and back towards the window out front, and you saw her.

    She was beautiful, sitting there on the bench on the same side she had last. Her fingers were tapping the back of it and she was looking around nervously. You decided to set down the figurine you had in your hand and rushed outside. You were relieved she actually came.

    "Vi!" you smiled, rushing over to her. She smiled back and began to stand, when you felt someone run into you, knocking you to the ground. You were shaken, and looked up towards the direction the person was going. "S-Sorry!" you hollered to the person, but they kept going.

    "Watch it, Asshole!" Vi yelled in their direction, coming over to you to help you get up. Luckily, you had already gotten rid of the coffees as they had gotten cold. You stood and brushed yourself off, thanking the world silently for the ground not being wet today. Sighing, you turned to Vi and embraced her in a hug.

   "I am so glad you made it," you smiled, releasing her. She had not returned the embrace, but you were okay with that. Not everyone is a hugger and she appeared shocked.

    "Oh, uh yeah. Sorry about that. I had some things I had to take care of," she muttered, appearing to blush and took her hand through her hair. As she did this, you couldn't help but watch the muscles in her arm flex, as she was only wearing a t-shirt. She cleared her throat, and your eyes darted back over to her face. 

    "So, um, are you hungry?" you quickly changed the subject. She nodded, and you started walking. She followed.

    The two of you walked side by side for quite some ways and decided amongst yourselves to go to one of Vi's favorite places. You had never been there before, but you had walked by it many times. You were in awe at the fact that you had not ever seen Vi before. You walked inside the establishment with her. It was large and smelled of drink. You noticed a decrepit old bar towards the back, and wooden tables all around. There were a few people in there, but not many. Vi walked to the back and sat at the bar. Sighing, as she looked around.

    "You know," she started, "My dad used to own this place. He died trying to protect my family." A pained expression crossed her face. You frowned.

    "Oh, I am so sorry..." you weren't the best at comforting people and looked down at your hands. Luckily, Vi decided she wanted to change the subject and called the bartender over, ordering you both a drink. You didn't normally drink, but today you were willing to allow it. After all, you did decide you wanted to have fun.

    After a few rounds, you both and really let loose a lot. You were laughing with each other and had gotten to know more about each other's lives and interests. 

    "...And then!" Vi laughed as she was finishing her story, "He fell on his ass into the puddle, right beside us!" You grimaced and laughed with her. She had just told you about a fight she had gotten into. It seemed to be a lot of the talking points she had, but you didn't mind. Actually, it impressed you how confident she was in herself. 

    In your tipsy state, you leaned forward, putting your hand on her thigh to keep your balance. She looked down at your hand, and back up at you.

    "I am sorry for following you," you slurred. "I thought you were so beautiful... I wanted to see what you were about..." blushing, you turned away, but your hand still laid on her thigh. You felt a warmth over your hand and looked back over. Vi had placed hers there, on top of yours. Butterflies fluttered throughout your stomach.

    "(Y/N), it's okay. Really." The two of you had gotten closer, without even realizing it. "To be honest, I saw you at the market before I even started walking. You were looking down at your hands, but I could tell you were pretty. I almost came over to you, but I chickened out."

    Your eyes widened, and you blushed profusely. You leaned towards her slightly. You weren't even sure she was interested in women, but you didn't care. You were really really hoping she was. Suddenly, Vi removed her hand from on top of yours, and lightly placed it on the back of your neck. She looked you in the eyes, and you tilted your head ever so slightly looking back into hers. She leaned in, pulling you closer gently, and pressed her lips against yours. You leaned into the kiss and melted. Her lips felt like heaven against yours. They were soft, supple, and warm. 

   As she pulled away, you felt your hand absent-mindedly reach up and caress your mouth. You were blushing even harder than before and looked at her. She was smiling a huge face splitting smile. She looked proud.

    "Wow," she stated.

    "Wow," you repeated back. 

    "Bet ya weren't expecting that, were you?"

    "No, but I liked it. Did... did you?" you asked nervously.

    "I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to." She giggled. You smiled and turned back towards the bar, twirling your finger around the straw in the glass. You wanted another, and so did she. You knew because soon there were two new drinks in front of you both. 

    You looked over at Vi. She was just finishing a sip of her drink and looked over at you as she set it down. 

     "Do you want to come to my house tomorrow and see some of my art? I already saw you fight, so I figured it would be fair if I showed you some of the things I have done," you asked sheepishly. She smiled, but this time it was sly. Like someone looking at something they wanted to eat, to devour. 

    "Absolutely."

    The two of you finished your drinks. The day was nearly over, and you hadn't done any of the things that you had planned. You were okay with it. In fact, you wouldn't trade how this day went for anything. Before leaving the establishment, Vi offered to walk you home. You had a feeling she wanted to keep you safe, and you appreciated it even though were not afraid. This also made it easier for her to find your home the next day, so she could come look at your art.

    You continued talking to one another as you walked back to your house. She had her hands in her pockets, and you had yours in your own. The streets were dark and there were hardly any people out, as most of the shops had closed. 

    Approaching the old shack of a house you called home, Vi let out a whistle and turned to you.

    "Quite the place you got here, huh?" She grinned, teasing you.

    "Hey, its home to me alright? Can only do so much down here." You reached up and lightly smacked her arm. Before you could lower your hand, she grabbed your wrist and pulled you close to her. So close, both of you were touching bodies. Vi was taller than you, and looked down at you slightly, as you looked up at her. She smiled and planted another kiss on you. This one more passionate, inviting. You could feel her warmth enveloping you as her arms held you. 

    Releasing from the kiss, you tried to stammer out a goodbye, but Vi had already started walking away. 

     "See you tomorrow, sweet stuff!" She said, waving as she walked backwards. She had a huge grin on her face.

    "O-Okay! See you tomorrow!" You smiled back. You turned around and got inside, shut the door and leaned against it. You did a little happy dance in your spot. 

    Wow... you thought. That was amazing. 

PLEASE LIKE AND COMMENT IF YOU ENJOY :D Drop a follow if you wanna stay updated on these! There are TEN more parts in the series! Oml...... lol <3 I hope you enjoyed so far!

[craetor]

Aw man, op, it was going so well and then in the last paragraph you accused L of having an identity built mostly by other peoples' spiteful assumptions about him... The fun thing about L is that, and you're correct in my opinion about most everything else, L *is* under the pressure of being a good mentor to the kids and keeping Wammy's afloat, but he has free will throughout it all. Watari is L's mouth piece, not the other way around (feel free to differ or whatever but L being on a very, very long leash to sniff around has objectively always been the most lucrative and successful way for Watari and L's work. L got into the stock market all on his own, dicks around as a detective with his own will to succeed front and center so nobody seems to be monitoring him. Watari also appears to know that just letting L be is best. I like to think he's even weary to give L his space, hence supplying him with nothing but sweets, knowing it's what L wants, so it's best to just comply while he works (how it goes in private is another thing lol)). What I'm getting at is that, yes, L is hyper productive, but he's not a "tool". Perhaps a "machine" if you're open to the grotesque, but his dark circles and imperfect personality debunk that readily. L is far from helpless, him and Watari argue, too, and they can, because they know they need eachother and wouldn't seperate for the world. Well, the real cause is that they're family ("What's wrong, Ryuzaki?" & the holding hands part during The Bells).

L clearly has self-confidence because of who he is to the world and what he made of himself. He has an empathetic moral code as well and very meticulously upholds this in ways that can almost seem forced considering his otherwise slue of harsh methods.

Pride, though, doesn't negate the fact that he's emotionally troubled or stressed about the orphans (as are both apparent by the sole fact the Monster scene exists). Indeed he is very receptive to other people's observations of him, since he only perceives himself as a piece on a gameboard most times and it's rare for people to hold a mirror up to him; remind him that he might be L, the person ("I'm...a pervert?"). Nevertheless he can be a moody, self-righteous individual whose only redeeming quality in the work place is his very basic respect for those under him (consistently addressing them with "san" or in Misora's case even "sama", caring about their health (but rarely arguing with overworking) & accepting privacy concerns of those he trusts). Despite seeming to be frocking through the job oftentimes, his awareness, especially while putting together the Kira task force, shows he is indeed aware of his influence and power and him boasting about his job during Yotsuba arc doesn't make him seem particularly pained either.

You're so right about L not convicting Light by choice etcetera, I just... He's not *that* pathetic, but probably just pessimistic right then, knowing at that point that he will have to let Kira go free. I'm also not denying that the things he says might be things somebody has accused him of before, just that they're not things L lets himself be defined by. It is a very sad moment though. Seeing him crumble under the existential guilt of losing and reflecting on himself..

Alright. I'm done being picky now. Fandom has an issue with portraying L either as a cold, edgy dickwad (as you've said, OP) or like an exclusively stressed, traumatized tragedy, who's only being mistreated behind closed doors and used as a cashcow (not entirely true either in my informed opinion) and you kinda got the full front of it.

I'm a little sorry, since your post has pretty solid points apart from the section going deeper into why he's self-loathing.

PS: Love did kill L, just not the desperation for it. L let Light win for nothing more than realizing he couldn't do it and literally kneeling at Light's feet, finally able to express his reverence

I genuinely feel like L’s monster speech is more or less just self-loathing rather than an objective observation of himself. I feel like once a piece of media leaves the artist’s mind, however a viewer interprets it, especially when the text itself suggests it more than anything, should be considered entirely valid. This is one of those situations.

The whole “L is a cold, stoic monster” thing just never really felt true, even though Obha insists on it. I’m not sure what his motivation for this might be, probably to make death note seem edgier than it is, colder and more morally gray, but tbh it loses depth under that lens.

I always interpreted L as so hypersensitive and lonely that he doesn’t know how to actually process it or communicate it appropriately, probably because of what I believe (and many others) is a case of autistic alexithymia. I think it made his death matter and it struck so much harder. It had more thematic implications on his and light’s relationship (lawlight aside Lmfao, even just the surface level friendship)

I think after years of having people run it into the ground that you will never be normal, that you are dysfunctional in your relationships, and that you’re a selfish liar would ultimately fuck up your perception of yourself. I think that’s L’s problem. He was always just a tool to other people— wealth for Watari and a mentor for the kids. He never got the chance to prove himself capable of human emotion so at this point he just believes what people have to say about him. I think his death is actually a rebuttal to this idea. That’s why the monster speech is post-death. It’s supposed to show you how L viewed himself vs how he really was. How his sensitivity and desperation for friendship and love killed him. I can talk about why I think L not convicting Light was a choice if you guys want, but yeah, that’s my take on the matter. Obha aside.

[sammystardust]

woman in a dream . joshua m. kiszka

a/n: finally getting this one out!! this one is based on their song "always there", which i <33 so much, so of course, i had to write some josh fluff to it hehe. my requests are always open so if you like my writing and would like something, shoot me one! again, thank you so much if youre reading this!

pairing: josh kiszka x f!reader

wc & summary: {3.1k} in which a mysterious woman haunts josh's dreams & he finds her where he leasts expects it

warnings: none! just some sickeningly cute fluff :)

quick disclaimer: just a reminder that all my work is fiction and are in no way a reflection of the band nor their management! this is all just story-telling from my imagination lol

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They began every so often, maybe occurring once or twice a week. 

Then they spawned closer together, happening nearly every day. These dreams Josh was having were so real and lifelike, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on them. They were taking a hold on his life, seeping into his mind during rehearsals and when he was out and about. He was constantly thinking about these mind-twisting dreams. They all centered around a woman, one whose face was muddled. He couldn’t exactly see or make out any distinct features of her face or figure, but he knew one thing for sure: the way she made him feel in every dream.

Josh was a hopeless romantic at heart. He adored watching all the romantic-comedies littered among Netflix and all other streaming services, whilst cuddled up to himself on the tour bus. He admired the relationships those closest to him were in, wishing he could spend his days in the arms and laughter of another being. Alas, being the front-man to a famous rock band, Josh was almost required to keep this identity of a livin’ through the fast life bachelor. Not that his feelings were regarded in this choice, but with the rest of the band off the market, the band’s PR team thought it would be a good move for the front-man to be unattainable, but right in reach for their female audience. 

So, with this dream of this mysterious woman floating around his mind at all times of the day, he became quite attached to this person. There was no way to know if this woman was anywhere near him, also completely ignoring the fact that she may not even exist. The woman in the dream made his heart feel full, complete. He wanted her to be able to scout her out in the crowd at concerts to dedicate his loving thanks to.  She brought an intoxicating happiness that made Josh excited to lay his head on his pillow after putting his all into an exhausting performance.

Josh knew absolutely nothing about this insentient being, but he was fully consumed by her and everybody around him noticed his changes in attitude. He was in a more blissful mood at all times, which came back to bite him at times as he was more susceptible to being caught lost in thought during times everybody else needed his attention… 

“Josh!” Jake huffed in annoyance once again at his twin’s obliviousness. The band was at the recording studio, hoping new song ideas would ignite in their jam out session. Slouched over on a meditation pillow with his guitar resting on his knees, Jake’s hands were up in the air towards his brother, signaling sort of a “what the fuck” gesture. The present trio’s eyes on their lead singer as he finally snapped out of whatever trance he was locked into. “You missed your count in again!”

“He’s probably thinking about that fantastical, wondrous, fictitious lover of his!” Sam sighed out, putting emphasis on the words he would say were “big words his older brothers make up”. He lay the back of his hand on his forehead, tilting his head back, effectively mocking Josh. His small performance would earn a chuckle from Danny, a smirk from Jake, and a poker face from the now seemingly awake Josh.

“Look, you guys just don’t understand.” Josh attempted to fight back but was met with equally confused looks. He sighed and fell onto the couch that his younger brother sat on. Sam gave him a shrug and a pat on the back, as Josh hung his head low. They didn’t understand what was going on through his head, truly, but they did collectively grow a slight impatience for the eldest as his daydreams were getting the better of him.

“Maybe we don’t! But, it’s really getting into our time as a band, Josh. We’ve been having to remind you of simple things throughout this sesh, ” Jake butt in, finally putting his guitar back home on its stand. He ran his hand through his hair and stared up at the clock on the wall. Trying to immediately find a middle ground, he continued. “Look, it’s already 7 PM, how about you grab us some dinner to clear your mind and we’ll reset okay?”

“There’s actually this really great Chinese food place right down the street. Susie’s, I think. Maybe you can pick us up something from there?” Danny suggested, quickly earning some nods from the other brothers. Taking that as a signal to get himself up and out the door, Josh stood up and made his way out of the studio.

“Just take a look at the menu and shoot me a text of what you guys want,” Josh shouted over his shoulder before walking out of the room. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his brown bomber jacket, he began his trek to this restaurant that he hoped really was just down the street. To his surprise (or maybe not), Danny was right (which he was 99% of the time). Josh stood in front of the restaurant, which was clearly a hole-in-the-wall. His eyes glanced up to the simple white block letters that spelled out “Susie’s” before making his way inside.

A tiny bell tinkled following his entrance with a sweet and savory aroma instantly overcoming his senses. For everything that lacked on the exterior, the inside made up for it. Mahogany floors stretched throughout the quaint building and elegant watercolor paintings flooded the walls. Despite being low-lit within, he could make out the litter of people on the seemingly endless array of round tables that were squished together maybe just a bit too close to one another. A faint instrumental played among everybody, almost drowned out by all the chatter, but Josh could hear the music loud and clear. 

“Hi, welcome! How can I help you?” A voice emerged from the crowd and suddenly, Josh’s heart picked up ten-fold. He could recognize that sweet voice from anywhere and surely, it couldn’t have been his mind playing tricks on him. Feeling a paralysis on his body come out of nowhere, thoughts raced through his head. This cannot be real. Is she real? You idiot, you need to answer her or else she’ll think you’re out of your mind. “Hey, are you okay?”

Four more words was all it took for Josh to finally turn towards the counter to his left. And there she was. There was never a clear idea of what she looked like at all but seeing her now was exactly how she was supposed to look. It was her, the woman in his dream. She sat on a high cushion stool cozily, swaying side to side on it. Her eyebrows furrowed in genuine concern as Josh’s eyes lovingly took in her appearance. A worn-out black cap was situated atop her head, loose strands of her hair poking out the front and sides. An oversized Zeppelin tee hung on her shoulders, and right on top of where her heart was stuck a rectangular sticker with a name and doodles scrawled on it. (Y/N)  

“Y’know, some people say I sound like Robert Plant,” Josh blabbered out, pointing a finger towards her shirt. Oh, you are definitely an idiot now. That’s what you say? He thought as he immediately shut himself up as the response elicited an awkward giggle from the girl. She gave a smile to him that made his heart pound out of his chest and knees weak. He took his hand up to his curls, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. Feelings of warmth enveloped his heart while the embarrassment caught up on his cheeks.

“That’s actually really impressive,” She smiled, giving her shirt a quick tug. Josh walked closer to the counter, feeling like he was wading through water as the situation felt surreal to him. She was here all along, down the street. He still couldn’t entirely believe it. 

“I’m sorry, I am doing alright! I didn’t mean to ignore you, if anything, my attention was on you!” Josh stammered, now some pink appearing swiftly on her cheeks at his indirect compliment. His eyes were slightly wider than usual and his hands were talking alongside him. He knew he was nervous, from his faster than usual talking and heart beating harder and louder than it ever has before. “I’m sorry, you are just really beautiful and (Y/N)? That is a gorgeous name, the sweetest name I have ever heard, hands down. God, I am so sorry. I will shut up now.”

Josh was internally hitting himself as he couldn’t have made a bigger fool out of himself in front of the lady. He was smoother than this, he knew how to keep his cool, but around her, he found himself to be a total mess. To his surprise, she let out a laugh so pleasing to his ears that he felt he could write so many melodies around it. 

“Well, thank you. I think you just hit me with the most compliments per second,” (Y/N) nodded, giving an impressed look with the tint of pink even darker on her face. She swept a fallen strand of hair and tucked it back into her cap as Josh felt more buzzes within his pocket. “As much as I appreciate them, I don’t think my boss would enjoy me talking too much, so, what was it that I could help you with?”

“Ah, yes, I need to make a to-go order!” Josh exclaimed, remembering the reason why he was at the restaurant in the first place. (Y/N) nodded, a shy smile permanently residing on her face since this mysterious man walked in. She grabbed a notepad and a pen before looking back up into Josh’s eyes, noticing that they never left her face.

“Can I get a name for the order?”

“Josh.”

“A sweet name for such a sweet person,” She murmured under her breath, as she nervously looked back down towards the piece of paper to scribble it down. Josh perked up at her statement, a toothy grin appearing on his face as his heart fluttered even more. “What can I get for you, Josh?”

“Umm, here let me check,” He dug his phone out of his pocket, almost dropping it due to the nervous rush throughout his body from his name coming out of those pretty lips of hers. He almost lost himself again before he tapped his phone on, only to be greeted by a flurry of texts from all the boys, mainly his twin. Where are you? Sam’s getting antsy, needs food ASAP. Disregarding Jake’s questions, he scrolled up to where all their orders were and flipped the phone for her to be able to read off of it. She promptly jotted down their desired choices and turned her attention back up to the man in front of her. “Surprise me! I haven’t even looked at the menu if I’m being completely honest…”

“You’re all good! Lemme just,” Nodding in response, she wrote down another line of items, before ripping it clean from the pad and holding it up. “It’ll probably be like fifteen to twenty minutes tops. You can make yourself comfortable and I’ll bring it to you once it's all ready.”

Before Josh could say anything else, (Y/N) spun off the stool and disappeared into the patterned curtains that hung behind her, letting himself get a quick gaze of her back profile. Plopping himself down onto the chairs by the entrance, he felt a fond lightheadedness encompass himself. He was almost fully convinced that he was dreaming, pinching his arm multiple times to provide evidence, but no, this was real. For the past month, he was blessed with these dreams and now with her finally making an appearance in his life, Josh felt the feeling that every hopeless romantic hoped to feel. He was absolutely and utterly smitten. The woman of and in his dreams had sat before him and the feelings he was oh-so familiar with flushed his body: except this time he was awake to experience them.

“So, Robert Plant, huh? I would love to hear your impression sometime,” (Y/N) spoke, leaning against the counter, face resting on the palm of her hand. Josh snapped out of his thoughts to see the beautiful being once again, tilting his head up to look at her. Her hopeful face radiated a light that awoke a flame in his body.

“Yea, haha, I can also play a pretty mean tambourine, if that piques your fancy” Josh beamed towards her, enjoying the full attention she gave him. He also very much enjoyed the laughter he was able to elicit out of her. “I’m actually in a band with my brothers and a childhood friend of ours! You should check us out sometime!”

“Y’know, I might just have to.” (Y/N) smirked, relishing in the fact that meeting this interesting, odd man was the best part of her day so far, maybe even week. She couldn’t help but feel an attachment to him despite never meeting him before; his face only vaguely similar. Maybe he had ordered from Susie’s before or maybe he stood behind her in line at the grocery store before. There was no telling why she felt that way but all she knew was that in the moment, she wanted to become closer to him. Staring at his face and the way his curls bounced with every word he spoke, she was captivated with anything and everything he had to say. 

Ding! The sound of a tap of a bell immediately pulled both Josh and (Y/N) out of their trances with one another. As quickly as she went back into the kitchen, she was back out holding a bag, bulging with delicious Chinese food. Josh took the bag from her and thanked her once again.

“I was able to sneak in some extra pot stickers, on the house,” (Y/N) winked, twirling a piece of hair between her fingers. “I also left you something else, written on top of your box of food, Josh.”

It’s almost as if Josh really couldn’t contain his excitement as he flashed her a genuine grin. Giving her a slight wave, he gave his final goodbye before leaving. “I’ll see you later, (Y/N).”

With one last smile and wave towards him, Josh made his way out with the food, hearing the bell tinkle once again. He pulled out his phone with his free hand and shot off a text to their band’s group chat. She’s real! Of course, his text was only met with a bunch of question marks and a snarky where’s my food from his younger brother. Shaking his head, he continued his short trek back to the boys in the recording studio. 

Once he was back, he set the bag down in front of the boys, each promptly reaching for their box, leaving Josh’s at the very bottom. Removing it from the plastic bag, he saw the familiar scrawl written atop the brown box and couldn’t help but smirk and show off to the boys that she was indeed a real person, only to be met with the same laughter as before. It was alright now though because she was in his life and that’s what mattered to him the most.

can’t wait to hear your sick tambourine solo. xxx-xxx-xxxx <3 (y/n)

.

Josh’s chest heaved up and down as the closing notes to the song came to an end. From the stage, it seemed like endless waves of people, every single one giving their all to the band’s performance. The lights shone one him and he loved it all, taking in the moment to seal in his memory forever. As the song fizzled out, the roar of the crowd immediately took over, no silence to be found when  moving on to the next song. Josh gave a hearty laugh, to which he could see her in the corner of his eye. Just the sight of her still caught his breath and could bring out the biggest of smiles to etch out on his lips. 

She sat in one of the higher seated areas, right above the stage. Her hair was messy from joining the rest of the fans in rocking out to their music, having the time of her life during the concert. She gave a matching smile back to Josh, his heart taking flight in that moment. 

“Can’t you guys just feel all the love in here! I know I definitely can!” Josh yelled out into the microphone, with various positive responses all intertwined together from the crowd. He reached an arm out towards her direction, fingers curled in a way that was almost asking her to take his hand. “Especially more so today, because about a year ago, my heart was blessed with the most beautiful, spectacular presence.”

Her lips pursed together, trying to hold back any tears. The past year of her and Josh together was a love she hoped every person in the world could experience. Not long after Josh left Susie’s with a bag full of food, (Y/N) received a text from an unknown number, quickly revealing itself to be the impressionable curly-haired man. Texting all the time instantly turned to calling which turned to meeting up as much as they could, which included as many silly tambourine solos dedicated to her whenever she wanted. He eventually did confess his dreams and how he knew in the moment that she was the one in them. All she could ever say was that he was genuinely crazy but so glad those dreams oddly brought him to her.

Falling for each other was probably the easiest thing both of them had ever done, maybe only staying in love with one another could top it. As much as the band’s PR team was against their front-man being taken, everybody could see that the pair were smitten and couldn’t be taken apart. Not only that but the fans adored her, despite their relationship being a bit more private with some posts about each other every now and again. After leaving Susie’s, (Y/N) became accustomed to the touring life pretty quickly, assimilating easily with the help of her partner and their welcoming band, as well as their respective partners. She was always there for Josh, supporting his work in every way possible and vice versa. 

“To thank her for the light she has brought into my life, our next song is for her,” Josh spoke gently, still staring up at her in the crowd. The fans immediately went crazy, some pointing up towards her and others “aww-ing” at his sweet endearments for her. (Y/N) smiled back, mouthing an “I love you” with a tear or two hanging on her cheek. A countdown played, followed by her favorite sound in the world.

You’ve been waiting for your lover…

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[punk-pins]

the my chem jacket is (for the immediate future) complete! lots of details & info under the cut!

the base is a thrifted levi’s denim jacket! it originally had a company logo machine embroidered on one sleeve and the “people & communities” on the other. I carefully removed the logo with a seam ripper and but decided to keep the other part :)

the back patch is my first ever my chem shirt! you can see the original design by googling mcr blimp shirt lol. basically all the paint had cracked & chipped off and it was developing little holes in the front, so I cut the design out and repurposed it as a back patch. I used heat n bond to glue down the center, and then hand stitched the edges down all the way around.

every single patch is sewn down all around the edges! I used black thread for an invisible look on the patches with more complicated designs, white for the back patch, and red for the rest. I used DMC embroidery floss for it’s strength, color, and customizable thickness. I used three strands for all the smaller patches, and two strands for the back patch.

all of the pockets are fully functional! for the front pocket with the pro rev black parade logo over it, I put my hand inside the pocket and carefully sewed the patch to the outside layer only.

I also did all the studs myself! I used a sewing awl to poke holes through the denim, and then used needle nose pliers to bend the prongs inward. they’re from studs and spikes.

the crucifix hanging over the demo lover’s kiss was my grandmother’s <3

the bandana is from the trenton punk rock flea market which is also a great place to find handmade & unique pins & patches!! the rocky horror picture show pins are from the friday nite specials cast in red bank, nj. if you haven’t guessed yet, I am from jersey and absolutely suffer from new jersey pride disorder 😔✊🏻

other fun pins & patches include the bat from trash & vaudeville in nyc, the pansy guitar enamel pin I got from ultralifepins on etsy, and the super cool danger days era zonerunner patch from vampcore which I HIGHLY recommend for emo band & horror patches!!

this was a super fun project to work on!! I tried rly hard to balance the colors, shapes, and concentration evenly over the jacket and I think it came out rly well :) I’m excited to work on more jackets in the future!!

[brittlecakes92]

Kabal x reader

I couldn’t think of a good title for this so.. you know!! Just a little background, I know a lot of this is just going to seem randomly thrown together in terms of plot.. but does Smut really need a plot? Well, kinda. Just enjoy the ride! Lol It is a long one folks!! Thank you for reading, it means a lot! The hum of the fluorescent lights filled the silence in the small room you and Kabal were seated in. You could understand why Kabal of all people would be in an interrogation room of the special forces, but you, that went beyond you. Kabal did his best to keep you out of getting mixed up with his work detail. You looked over at the man in question a scowl on your face, for more then one reason. Tapping your foot out of impatience, and honestly not wanting be close to him right now your heart couldn't help but thump faster when he looked up jos eyes connecting with yours. He was leaning forward, his elbows resting across his knees. He let out a sigh before he spoke, annoyance written all over his face, annoyance and exhaustion. The on going fight between you both was taking its toll on him.  "Are you still mad at me, it's been a week." His voice came out calm, a little hoarse. You raised your eyebrows at him, you parted your lips before glaring at him.  "She sent you three nudes, that you so happened to open and not tell her  to stop. So yes, I would like to think I am still mad at you."  Who is the mysterious girl in question you ask? None other then Seerena. You knew Kabal pined after her for a while, but you thought all that stopped when you two got together. She did nothing but use him, lead him on, and put him in very bad and very dangerous situations. Kabal let out an irritated sigh before straightening up in his seat. "It's not like that at all, I-" He was interrupted from trying to explain himself for the umpteenth time by the rusted screech of metal indicating that someone was entering the room. Both of you turned your attention to the entrance when you heard the scrap of the metal door slide across the concrete floor. A blonde woman, that Kabal immediately rolled his eyes and scoffed at entered the room, followed by two operatives, armed with  riffles and keeping their eyes trained on a smug looking Kabal. Sonya walked to the table that sat in the center of the room, slapping a manila folder down on it before scooting back the chair and taking a seat. Kabal raised his brow at the blonde in question, his face stony.   "Yeah, I'm not to thrilled with this either Kabal." She spoke, giving the same amount of disdained that was given to her.  "Why are we here then? I have much better things to do then waste my time with you trying to get hot juicy gossip from me." He shot back, crossing his arms out of annoyance. Sonya opened up the folder before sliding it across the table, resting her elbows on the cold metal before lacing her fingers together, resting her chin on them.  Kabal reached out for a photo, giving a sarcastic laugh at the imagine of the man. He knew very well who was in the picture. It was Simons, a competitor to the black dragon. Throwing down the picture he gave an annoyed sigh.  "It would seem we have found somebody worse than the black dragon- Sonya stated sarcastically- Seems he is trying to place his mark on the market, and doing whatever he can to out do you goons." She stated, smirking at the annoyed look that claimed Kabals face. "What does that have to do with us?" He asked curtly. Kabal was not in the mood to give out any free information, he didn’t want you involved and he didn't want to get involved in something that had nothing to do with him. "I can't believe the words that are about to come out of my mouth, we need your help Kabal. Yours and Y/n." Kabals mood turned dangerous at the mention of your name. You had nothing to do with any of this, and he didn't want you dragged into anything unnecessary, his quick movement causing the operatives to aim their guns at him. Sonya raised a hand, commanding the to stand down.  You raised a brow at Kabal before turning your confused face to Sonya. Your gaze turned to the men that finally put down their guns and you let out a breath you were holding. You knew Kabal could hold his own, but you didn’t have to see it. "We need both of your help to infiltrate a gathering and collect intel." She started. Kabal scoffed before rolling his eyes.  "Why would we do that, exactly?" He and Blade weren't exactly on good terms, enemies would be a better way to describe their relationship. "Well, for starters you wouldn't draw too much attention going into a ratty party like this. And two, y/n isn't involved in any of this, which is a very good thing for us. She can get inside without too much suspicion."  "You've lost your fucking mind. Like hell I would let her do that!" Kabals voice raising and the chair scooted back harshly against the concrete floor. You looked between the both of them before speaking up.  "What's the plan exactly?" Both of them turned their attention to you this time, Kabal looked lost at your question, his face falling as he squinted at you and opened his mouth to ask if you’ve lost your mind.  "You can't be serious. This guy is bad news, this isn’t something you need to volunteer yourself for." He started and you rolled your eyes at him before turning your attention to Sonya.  "It seems our new friend like to make trades, this one specifically is in the human trafficking trade. We need you to go into the party, We have someone planned to escort you in as your date that can get all the intel that we need, and Kabal will accompany you and act as your bodyguard. We can't exactly enter, so we will be ready and waiting with back up from a safe distance."  She took a breath moving the file closer to your hand. Opening it you began to scan through the information and the pictures. "This is him?" You asked sliding the picture across the table towards her. She nodded her head, raising a brow in the process. Kabal was seething with anger at this point. Being ignored by you, then getting yourself involved in something reckless. He did it, but he could also protect himself. You on the other hand, the thought alone made him mad to even think about if something happened. You took a minuet before giving an answer, chewing on the inside of your cheek. "I'll do it." Kabal clenched his fists in anger, turning to you when everyone left the room. "Have you lost it? I know your upset with me right now, but this goes beyond the point of getting back at me" He left his seat, walking over to where you sat, hovering over you at this point. "You lost the right to have any say after your little texting fiasco." You reminded him before standing up and moving to push past him. Reaching out he grabbed a hold of your arm, holding you in place. "I told you it was nothing. She sent me the messages. I would never entertain the thought. When are you going to stop holding this over my head" He started his voice sounding hurt that you wouldn't let this go.  "Well, you should have told her the first time she sent you a message, instead of having me feel like I am not enough." Kabals eyes widened in shock, his heart hurt hearing that, Jerking your arm out of his hold you pushed past him before walking out of the door .Kabal wasn't an idiot, he knew he fucked up, He didn’t want you to ever feel the way you were. The tension between you two had grown so thick you could cut it with a knife, and he had to relieve it before anything happened. Later that night.. You finished fixing your hair when Sonya  entered the room you were occupying to get ready. "I wanted to thank you for doing this. I know we are asking a lot, especially for the person we are asking you to help out with.  We know if  something gets bad Kabal would get you out no matter what." Sonya stated you turned to look at her before giving a small smile.  Sonya raised a brow at you before leaning back against the wall.  "If it helps."  She wasn't stupid, and could tell something was bothering you/ "What did he do?" She asked, moving to sit in the empty chair across from you, arms crossed. You let out a sigh before telling her about the Seerena incident. The nudes, and the fight that happened between the both of you. "Kabal may be stupid -Sonya started before raising her brows and giving a disbelieved look- but when it comes to you he is protective and knows he has a good woman, I don't see him doing anything to jeopardize what he has with you" She shook her head before standing up  and heading to the door.  "I can't believe I just took up for him of all people." She mumbled before leaving the room. Shaking your head you took a deep breath thinking she had a point, but it still hurt. Maybe it was time to let it go and talk to him. Taking a breath, you put in your earrings before standing up and giving yourself a once over. You needed to talk to him before everything started.  Kabal straightened out his tie and cleared his throat, watching as Sonya and was talking to a man that he assumed was the person that was going to escort you. He was tall, black hair, piercing blue eyes. He was good looking, and it made the agitation he felt even worse. He glared at him, his arms crossed over his chest. Paying little mind to the conversation at hand, Kabal kept his eyes on the hallway, waiting for you to come out. The man approached him. "So, you are the bodyguard for tonight?" Kabal raised a brow and looked to the right to stare at him from the corner of his eyes. "My priority is my girl that you are escorting. You are nothing more to me then that. If anything goes sour, your ass is grass." Kabal wasn't in the mood to hold a conversation with the man and he turned his eyes back to the hall. The man that would be escorting you stood straight, his hands in front of him. the left hand resting on his right wrist as he waited.   when he heard the man let out a low whistle, he slowly turned his head towards him, thoughts of his murder on his mind. Kabal turned back to see you, his breath catching in his throat as he saw you standing in the entrance way. He slowly uncrossed his arms as he took in your form. You wore a black velvet halter top dress, with a slit that ran down to your sternum. Your hair was put up into a sleek bun, your bangs swept to the left of your forehead, falling above your eyebrow. The way Kabals heart began to race, and the hungry look in his eyes when he made contact with yours, was all you needed to feel the same emotions he felt in the instance. Taking a breath you walked into the room towards Kabal, but stopped short when the man had stepped in front of you. Taking your hand into his, he brought it up towards his face, pressing his lips to the back of it in a gentle kiss. "I didn't realize they picked such a breath taking woman for me to accompany." Kabal wanted to take his hook sword to the man and make quick work of him. His blood boiling with him ogling you like that. You were his, and he wasn’t  afraid to let that man know.  "Hands off, pretty boy." He warned grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.  "Play nicely." You commented, placing a hand on Kabals forearm, making him release the man. When he let him go, you moved to stand between them running your hand up his chest, before interlocking your arms with the mans. "I'm sorry about that." Straightening out his suit he cut his eyes at Kabal, before placing his hand on the small of your back and leading you away to where Sonya and the rest of the special forces waited. Kabal gave you an incredulous look, were you trying to get under his skin. He wanted to show you what happens when you tease him, he wanted to pound that lesson into you and make sure you wouldn't forget it any time soon. The though alone sending blood to his cock that started to strain against his pants. Sonya began to explain the mission and what everyone was supposed to be doing. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up when you felt Kabals eyes on you. Looking out the corner of your eyes you could see him, looking a you like a hungry animal who had been starved. The look along causing your breath to hitch in your throat. The feelings that started to blossom in your stomach, the tingle of your vulva making your rub your thighs together to get some relief from the throb that started. Kabal knew that look all too well, he knew you body like that back of his hand, he knew the effect he had on you, one look getting you frustrated. It had been a long week of nothing but pent up frustration for the both of you, and Kabal was ready to cut it down. He thought about all the ways he wanted to make you scream, to hear you pant and beg for him. He ran his tongue on the inside of his cheek before trying his best to listen to what Sonya was saying. More pressing matters took his mind over the mission at hand. He adjusted the white collar of his shirt before clearing his throat and shifting, he was starting to get impatient.  Kabal glanced over and watched as the man started to lower his hand closer to your ass. The audacity made Kabal want to cut his hands clean off before anyone knew what happened. Ready to teach the guy a lesson on not to touch what is his. He wanted to take you right here and now to prove his point. His agitation turned into antsyness as he waited for Sonya to finish giving the briefing. You and your escort had a vehicle parked out front waiting to take you to your destination. Kabal was to ride up front to keep an eye on the ride there. You could feel anxiety sit on your stomach, this was about to happen. You didn't have time to think before you were being whisked to the vehicle. You peered behind you to see Kabal watching you before he fell into step behind you. The chill of the night hit you, and out of instinct your brought your arms closer to your body, shrinking into yourself to get some heat. You heard the click of your door opening, and sliding into the seat, you pushed up with your hands to adjust and get into a more comfortable position. When you heard your door close, confusion crossed your features when you heard the other door close as well. Turning your head you didn't have time to process what was happening when you felt warm lips quickly claim yours, a hand caressed your cheek, holding you in place. You pushed against the man, when he let up relief flooded your face when you realized it was Kabal. Before any words could be spoken your balled the collar of his shirt into your fists and you pulled him towards you once more, your lips claiming his. Kabal towers over you, caging you with his body. You could feel his left hand start to trail from the curve of your breast all the way down to your thigh. Your hand reaching up to rest on his cheek and you both refused to break the connection from each other. You moaned into the kiss, conveying all the hunger you had for him. Kabal Squeezed your thigh before pulling it straight out, resting it across his lap, causing you to lay down to get in a more comfortable position. Kabal broke the kiss first, both of you panting for breath as his eyes bore into your with a hunger you had grown to love. You tilted your head up, trying to bring your lips back together, your mouth falling open when you felt him move his hand to the inner part of your thigh, the sensation alone making you wetter then you already were. You could feel his finger tip ghost between your slit, a low groan leaving his lips. "No panties baby girl?" The husky tone in his voice caused chills to explode up your arms. Grabbing the calf of your left leg he brought it up until your knee bent, never breaking eye contact with you. you felt as his fingers rolled over your clit, removing your hand from his cheek you quickly covered your mouth, your other hand trying to find purchase on the closed window frame. Your stomach already tightening up and the sensation that set your blood on fire. Kabal was having none of it, he wanted to hear you sing your praises to him. Moving his finger to your opening he inserted his middle and ring finger into you, curling his fingers up wards with each thrust in. 'Fuck' It came out in a wanton voice, your fingers on the door clenching, desperate to hold on to anything, the moans leaving your mouth causing Kabal to become even more transfixed on you. He wanted more. Kabal not able to get over the needy look on your face, Sensual and desperate for him, it made him work his fingers faster. Your body writhes below him and he never brakes eye contact with you as he worked you over with his fingers, you could feel his erection push against the curve of your ass, wiggling it on him for good measure. You closed your eyes and threw your head back, your heart racing so quick you thought it was going to burst. You were so close, your whole body tingling with the need for release. The sensation becoming so intense you reached down you grabbed the wrist of the fingers inside of you, trying to find anything to hold onto for the release that was coming closer and closer to wracking your body. You moved to sit up and Kabal pushed you back down, removing your hand from his. He shook his head, his free hand moving up to rest around your neck, giving a slight squeeze, he leaned down until your noses brushed together. "Not a good idea princess, you are going to ride this out." You nodded your head and your breath started to become more labored, Kabal ghosted his lips over yours and you tried to lean up to connect them. Your hand moving up and down his chest before trailing lower. You wanted him to feel good too, desperate to reach his throbbing cock. When you finally found the delicious prize you were looking for, you began to rub it, getting a breathy moan out of Kabal, he took a deep shuttering breath, before moving the hand from your neck to your breast, taking it out he squeezed it before running his tongue around the bud. His teeth clenched around it, he started to lick it in quick strokes, before sucking on your nipple, pulling his head back, you heard it 'pop' when he removed it from his mouth. "Cum for me, I need you come for Daddy." You nodded your head, and Kabals name left your mouth as a mantra. Your toes curled, your leg staying open only from Kabal holding it, Cupping Kabals cheek you brought his lips to your, holding the sides of his face with both of your hands, taking deep breaths to calm your heart. Sucking your bottom lip between your teeth, you pushed Kabal back so his shoulders were touching the seat. He watched you with a raised brow as you worked your leg out from behind him, and moved in the cramped area to straddle him. Grabbing the flaps of his dress coat you pulled him forward until you nose brushed against his. "It's Daddies  turn for release now." Pushing up on your knees you reached down and made quick work of his button, sliding your hands into the now opened space, your fingers made room to wrap around the warm, smooth flesh of his cock. You twisted your hand carefully, watching as the small movement alone made Kabal throw his head back, resting it against the back seat and his started up, dazed before closing his eyes and taking a shaky breath. You tugged at his pants trying to get them down, Kabal realizing your struggle for the moment sat up, quickly reaching down to help you pull them to the top of his knees. Moving the slit of your dress to the side, you guided his erect cock to your entrance, lowering down, you stopped when his head pushed past your lips, kissing your entrance. Bracing your hands on his shoulder you drew Kabals attention to you. "Who's is it Kabal?" Your voice taking a serious tone as your eyes, lidded with lust, bore into his. He knew what you were playing at, and if this is what put it to an end, and the way for you believed him, he was going to do anything, if that meant worshiping your body, praising you, and telling you what you both already knew, he would do it.  "All yours.." His voice was husky. He closed his eyes and breathed deep through his nose as you took him in more. "Whos pussy drives you wild?" You slowly gyrated your hips, Kabals head flinging back before he could composed himself and lifted it back up to face you. "Yours.. only yours baby girl." His hands moved down to grip your hips, his thumbs causing a tickling sensation on them as he moved them up and down to keep himself focused. You sunk lower, his girth stretching you out deliciously, the sensation causing your lips to fall open as your rolled your head back. You brought your eyes back to him. His eyes were pleading with you, he needed to move, to be bottomed out inside of you. He couldn't handle this, he needed to be deep into you. "Could Seerena ever do this for you?" Kabal moved his hands down to cup your ass, his forearms on the small of your back pulling you closer towards him. He shook his head no. "Never.." Before he could say anything else, you caught his lips in a hungry kiss as you took him completely. Catching your breath you began to bounce in his lap. Leaning forward Kabal nipped at your collar bone, his tongue trailing in between the valley of your breasts. Your hands moved to the back of Kabals head, your fingers lightly grasping onto him as you rode him. Kabal watched you as you took charge, his chest tightened with pride, you were a goddess that chose him. You were more than enough for him. He helped pull you down, timing your motions so he could met it with his thrusts. “Kabal” His name came out in a whiny moan. His brow furrowed before he wrapped an arm around the small of your back. Reaching back, you cupped and began to roll Kabals balls. Your plan was to drive him wild, to remind him of what he has. Kabal was so close, his balls were starting to tingle. Leaning forward, he places sloppy kisses on your neck as his release began coming faster and faster.  "I'm about to cum.." He started, moving to lift you up. You placed your hands on his wrists, stopping him and drawing his hazel eyes to look at you. "I want you to finish in me." The words alone made him lose it. Kabal leaned forward and rested his head on your chest as he let out a few breathy moans, trying to calm himself down, his cock twitched with each squirt of his load filling you up. You rode him slowly, clenching him with your walls, helping milk him for everything he had. Leaning forward you rested your forehead on Kabals, eyes closed as you started to slow your breathing, exhaustion starting to lay claim to you. Sitting up, you cupped Kabals cheeks before you kissed him, much gentler this time, he kissed you back, not wanting to break the moment. Kabal moved the pad of his thumb back and forth over your cheek bone. You cupped his before leaning forward, wrapping your arms around his neck.  "You know the texts meant nothing to me. You, you are the real fucking deal to me. I would never fuck that up." You knew he was telling the truth, and you had to admit your anger got the best of you. "I know.. I'm sorry, I should have just listened to you when you were telling me to begin with." Kabal brushed your hair out of your eyes before he lifted you up, careful to not make a mess of your dress. Rolling his eyes he let out a loud sigh before tucking himself back away. He turned his head to look at you a lop sided grin on his face. You sat sideways facing him, your left leg resting on your right, your head resting on the seat before you raised your brow, waiting for him to voice what was on his mind. "I hope that warm up didn't tire you out, because I'm keeping you up all night after this mission." Rolling your eyes, you sat up, resting on your knees as you leaned over him, his right hand coming up to rest loosely on your ass. You gave him a quick kiss, a smirk on your lips before you pulled back.  "Please do."  @apocalypticwafflekitten

[bitegore]

I can't say I think you should just go out and try tequila but for me personally, I'm a flavors freak, so I've been trying as many alcohols as I can get my cheap hands on for the last few years because I like when flavors are overpowering and alcohol is good for that. I think if I were going to try and be more specific... let me go get a small glass of tequila to sip so i can properly describe it

Tequila is primarily sour and sweet, and it's a harder liquour so it has a burn to it that immediately hits you. The sweetness is slightly cloying to me - it's not quite a nice sweetness, it tastes like something has gone off in it, which is because it's alcohol. That's difficult to describe without just calling it alcoholic, I'm afraid. It's a sort of off-grain taste. The closest analogue I can come up with is a mildew or wet dirt flavor, but very mild, and not terribly offensive in terms of flavor profile. This shows up mostly in the aftertaste. It's not a chemical flavor, though, it's a very earthy sort of taste. The alcohol itself is usually a dark amber and if i were to describe the flavor as a color it's a similar one, an orangey-yellowy dark color like clay. It lingers in your mouth for a long time, and it burns on the way down in a "stingy" sort of way, the same kind of feeling as disinfecting a cut.

The addition of salt and lime offsets the aftertaste of cloying sweetness first, making it taste "cleaner" - the lime's sweetness gets mixed in with the sweetness of the tequila, but citrus sourness is part of its aftertaste as well, and it's much stronger than the cloying taste of the alcohol. The salt serves to bring out more notes of complexity in the actual taste of the alcohol and to help overpower the aftertaste.

The way I was taught to do tequila shots is actually not the way I wrote it up there, where I was envisioning the alcohol being mixed directly with the lime juice and the rock salt being encrusted on the rim (this is because I think Drag Strip would struggle with the idea of being a multi-step process). The way I was taught was to put salt on your hand, cut a lime wedge, and pour the alcohol - then take the shot, lick your palm and bite the lime wedge. That way totally cuts off the aftertaste of the tequila. I'll admit I'm not a huge fan of that, because I think if I'm going to drink something I may as well enjoy the entirety of how it tastes, though, lol.

ETA: that out of the way let me respond to the rest of your post lol

wildrider's actively intimidates me. if someone set that in front of me i think i'd try to slide to the side so its not in front of me anymore

That's kind of the point. He's not for everyone. He's not for almost anyone. Bro is not just an acquired taste, he's a taste you really shouldn't be acquiring in the first place. But to me I think he'd taste good if I could get over the. Um. Experience of trying to get a taste lol

and if you want Motormaster, the real Ferrero-Rocher truffles only come in milk chocolate, but I was working off this recipe anyway to find out what was in a regular Ferrero-Rocher truffle to be able to explain how to make it bitter and more complicated regardless - and all you'd have to do is take a bit of espresso powder and mix it into the nutella when making the center of the truffle and you have what I'm talking about. It's not the easiest thing in the world but it's a much easier recipe than it might seem.

I will admit. I had already assumed you meant super duper dark chocolate for Dead End - I keep forgetting that I am still a flavor freak and most people mean milk chocolate and raspberry instead of being like me and meaning "as high cocoa content as physically possible and also some raspberry to counterbalance it". I still think Dead End would be a bit bitterer than all that; he spends a lot of time being difficult to interact with on purpose, and I think that he'd sort of exclude a lot of the dessert market on purpose if he were. well. a dessert lol. But I also forgot that people don't like dark chocolate. So that could definitely work. I just think he has to be, like, a dessert for people who want to feel superior about their dessert flavors as well as just a dessert that tastes good. (Not to say that I'm a pretentious dessert fan for liking salmiakki and pomegranate, but I know there's a kind of person out there who is. Because I keep running into them while looking for desserts. The american salmiakki eater market is miserable to encounter, they're all like "oohhh no one ELSE likes this because i'm SOOO COOL and my palate is MORE REFINED than theirs" and it's so annoying but it suits DE LMAO)

points at breakdown. Fruit. but more seriously I really think he has that same sort of freshness to him that most other desserts don't. I could see him being a mild mint of some sort too now that I think about it.

This is genuinely a really fun thought experiment, trying to balance personality quirks and behaviors in terms of "what flavor could this be converted to" is challenging but oddly rewarding. i want to do this for more characters now

dead end - raspberry chocolate truffle

drag strip - banana split sundae

breakdown - blueberry pie

wildrider - root beer float with a maraschino cherry on top

motormaster - a wild blackberry bush. not the berries, the whole bush

Hold up. Is this what they would look like as a dessert (pretty accurate), what they would taste like as a dessert (i see how you got to some of these but disagree on a few fronts), what dessert they most want to be (question with a lot of moving parts) or what dessert you personally associate with them? Like what does this mean. Give me your sorting criteria before I respond lol

[sukifans]

Get that bread! I really miss working but I also enjoy not being on my feet all the time lol Can I ask for #10 and #16 with Sokka and a f!reader? A hello/good-bye kiss that is given without thinking - where neither person thinks twice about it. One person pouting, only to have it removed by a kiss from the other person. -🍓

DAY OFF // sokka

WC: 1.8k

WARNINGS: none

A/N: these two prompts were so cute together i love it!! thank u for the request bb. i keep writing about people being cold and i think i’m just trying to manifest some fall weather instead of the 85° days that i’m getting where i live

⇦ 𝘔𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

You shivered against the chilly morning air and, still mostly asleep, reached around to find the warm body that usually occupied the bed with you. When your hand found only blankets and pillows you peeked one eye open to discover you were alone. You frowned and sat up, squinting against the early morning sunlight that streamed through the window. With a huff you threw your socked feet over the side of the bed to step into your slippers and wrapped yourself in the warmest fur from your bed before venturing out into the main room of your home. You found Sokka sitting by the hearth in the center of the room, chin in his palm as he considered the scroll in front of him. He looked up when he heard you enter and a soft smile spread across his face when he saw you bundled up and eyes barely open.

“Morning,” he called to you, patting the spot next to him on the mat. You made a sleepy noise of acknowledgement as you shuffled over and plopped down next to him with a yawn. “What’re you doing up so early?”

“‘S cold in bed without you,” you mumbled, snuggling up against his side. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around you, pulling you in tight against him. Though it was still frigid, you already felt warmer in his embrace. You unthinkingly accepted the quick peck he gave you like every other morning. “Why are you awake?”

“Dad asked me to look over these plans for the new village square before the council meeting today.”

You groaned and buried your face into his neck. “I thought you said they could handle it? You promised no work for a few days so we can just lay in bed and eat and do nothing.”

“I know, but I can’t help being the most competent person around here. They need me... desperately. I mean, look at this!” He gestured forcefully at the plans. “Not even Aang’s spirity stuff could hold this building up. And the market placement just doesn’t make any sense.”

“You’re cute when you’re smart.” You pressed a kiss to his jaw and leaned against his shoulder.

“I’m always smart.”

“You’re always cute,” you giggled at the look he shot down at you.

“I think I’ve been a bad influence on you. That almost gave me oogies.”

“Almost?”

He cupped your face in his hands and nudged your nose with his. “Yeah, if you weren’t so darn cute yourself.”

You rolled your eyes and slid your hands over his, smiling. “Ew. Gross, Sokka.”

“I can’t help it, you bring it out of me.”

“Still not as gross as Aang and Katara, though.”

Sokka pulled a face and tossed his head back. “Blegh, don’t make me think about that. I was having such a nice time just looking at your pretty face.”

“Stop it,” you huffed, “you’re making me blush.”

“I know, it’s cute.” His fond, teasing grin only made your cheeks flush warmer.

“Come back to bed,” you sighed, turning your head to kiss his palm. “The village square can wait, surely.”

His regretful expression did not leave you hopeful. “The meeting is today.”

“You have to go?” He nodded and your lips turned down into a frown. “Ugh. No fair, I called dibs on you today.”

His rumbling chuckle filled your chest with a glowing warmth. “Unfortunately, the council doesn’t respect the sovereignty of dibs.”

You clicked your tongue distastefully. “Well, I don’t respect the sovereignty of the council.”

“Just don’t let them hear you say that,” he said before leaning in to give you a sweet kiss to wipe away your pout. You hummed happily against his mouth, shifting your body as close as you could and reaching into his hair to pull it free from the wolf tail he wore. His warm breath tickled across your face when you pulled away just enough to catch your breath.

“What do you have against my wolf tail?” he asked, kissing you quickly again.

“You’re so pretty with your hair down,” you murmured, “‘s not my fault.”

“Can’t argue with that logic,” he laughed. He watched you curiously as you stood again, taking his hands and tugging him up with you. You walked backwards in the direction of your bedroom, sporting a sly smirk when he put up no resistance.

“C’mon, pretty boy. Those blankets and pillows are calling our names.” He simply chuckled and shook his head but still happily followed your lead to collapse back in bed. You pulled one of the fur blankets over the both of you, thrilled to have his warm weight on top of you in bed once again.

“I can’t believe you seduced me back here,” he grumbled against your shoulder as your arms snaked around his waist.

“You know you can’t resist me,” you said, kissing his temple.

“Mhm.” He propped himself up on his elbows to look down at you. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll go to this meeting, get it over with as quick as possible. Then I’ll come home, lock the door, barricade the windows, and we won’t leave this bed for a whole day. How does that sound, princess?”

You hummed thoughtfully, tapping your chin as you considered this. “Make it two days and you’re golden.”

“Even better.” He captured your lips in a bruising kiss, tilting your chin up. You raised one hand into his hair to twirl the loose strands between your fingers. “You might give me a run for my money as far as being the smartest person here.”

“You can keep the title. Wouldn’t want to bruise your ego.” You pulled him back down to your mouth insistently. He indulged you for a few moments, gently brushing his thumb along your cheekbone while his hand pressed against your jaw.

“I really”—he kissed you again—“need to look”—and again—“at those plans.”

“I’m not stopping you.”

“You’re very distracting.”

“That’s my job.”

“Well, I have to go do my job.” He gave you one last lingering kiss before pushing himself back up to stand next to the bed. You groaned unhappily, wrapping yourself tightly in the blankets. He ruffled your hair affectionately and walked back out into the main room. After moping in the warm softness of your bed for a few minutes longer, you resigned yourself to dressing in your coziest furs in that signature blue of the water tribes. The women of the tribe had been kind enough to fashion you a wardrobe that would keep you comfortable in the arctic weather as soon as they heard you’d be coming with Sokka for his most recent return trip to the developing faction.

You followed his path out of the bedroom and went about preparing a pot of tea to hang over the fire. Sokka had become absorbed in marking up the plans with corrections and only briefly glanced up to shoot you a warm smile when you sat next to him with a cup and a book in hand. The two of you sat in a comfortable silence, leaning against one another, both completely content to simply exist in the vicinity of the other.

Eventually, maybe after an hour or so, Sokka set his brush down, stretched, and turned to pull your back against his chest in a squeezing hug around your middle, setting his chin on your shoulder. You didn’t look up from your book but still leaned back into his hold, squirming a little as he peppered kisses on the little skin of your neck and face that your clothes left exposed.

“Meeting’s soon,” he sighed quietly, lips barely brushing your ear as he spoke. “I should get going.”

You tilted your head back to gaze up at him pleadingly. “Promise it’ll be quick?”

“I can’t promise anything”—he pecked your lips—“but I’ll try my best.”

“Mmm, fine.” You turned your attention back to your book. “Go be your impressive and intelligent and nitpicky self.” He puffed up at your praise until you mentioned “nitpicky,” at which point he scoffed and pinched your cheek.

“I have to be nitpicky, they’re putting up buildings.”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. I think it’s endearing,” you said absently, turning the page as you read. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“You’re distracting me again.”

“Don’t blame me.” He licked his finger and stuck it in your ear, making you recoil with a shout of disgust. You slapped his chest with your book. “Ugh, Sokka! You are such a child; I rescind my previous praises. Get out.”

He laughed deviously as he stood and made his way to the door where his outerwear hung on the wall. You huffed in irritation and repositioned yourself to get comfortable again, shooting him a glare that he returned with a cheeky grin while he shrugged into his thick parka.

“Aw, c’mon, princess! Don’t be mad at me when I’m about to leave. I could die out there and the last thing you would’ve said to me would be, ‘get out.’”

You rolled your eyes. “If the Fire Nation couldn’t kill your goofy ass I doubt anything will get you during a council meeting.”

“You don’t know that,” he postured as he stepped into his boots. “A rabid polar bear dog could burst into the building and eat us all.”

“Run faster than those geriatrics on the council and you’ll be fine.” You couldn’t help but smile a little bit at his bark of laughter.

“Your lack of concern stings,” he said, pressing his hand to his heart.

“I’m sure it does.” He walked back over to you and lifted you to your feet. His hands slid down your sides and settled on your waist.

“I’m sorry,” he pouted dramatically. “Please forgive me?” You tried your best to look bothered, but he knew you couldn’t resist that groveling look and those wide, clear blue eyes.

“You’re annoying, but I guess you’re forgiven.”

“So merciful, my dearest, darling (Y/N).” He took your hand that wasn’t holding your book and raised it to his lips, kissing your knuckles tenderly. Even though he was teasing, the gesture still flustered you.

“Oh, cut it out.” You swatted at him, hoping he didn’t notice the pink in your cheeks (he did).

“I’ll be back soon—“ he pulled you in closer so you were chest to chest “—don’t miss me too much.”

“No promises,” you said before wrapping your arms around his neck and rising on your toes to kiss him sweetly. “Don’t get eaten by a polar bear dog.”

“No promises,” he echoed with a laugh, slotting his mouth over yours once more. After stalling with kisses for a bit longer, he finally stepped away and opened the door, letting in a blast of freezing air. You wrapped your arms around yourself and shivered.

“Love you,” you called after him.

“Love you, too.” He sent you a wave and a warm smile before stepping out and shutting the door behind him.

With a resolute sigh you opened your book and settled down again, pouring a fresh cup of tea to hold in your icy fingers. The fire didn’t warm you nearly as much as Sokka’s presence did, but it would have to do for now.

ATLA TAGS: @hotgirlazula @octophopi @simpinforsukka @protect-remus @akiris @sunflowerazula

ZUKO/SOKKA TAGS: @fiantomartell @avatarayeaye @hypercakeiii

[bookcoversalt]

why is the cover for our violent ends so much... worse... than the cover for the previous book (these violent delights)

Well, to start with, an upright, flat rectangle isn’t the most visually dynamic or interesting shape in the world to anchor your design to, lol. It also commits the sins of:

A substantially more garish bevel on the text (bevel = metallic-ey dimensional effect). Also a drop shadow now? Why????? Why drop shadow???? The sort of pale, colder gold tone of the text also matches nothing in the illustration in terms of color, whereas the silver text on TVD was echoed in the silver of the sword metal. It provides a nice subtle little bit of cohesion on TVD that we’re missing on OVE. .

A much weaker silhouette + overall visual language to the main illustrated lockup. The sword shape is clear on TVD, but the other elements are also thoughtfully placed to gave the impression of organic randomness, which nicely contrasts the rigidity of the sword without impeding readability. The colors and values of each item (dragon, sword, flowers) work together but are also individually appropriate and appealing. The edges create a clear and compelling shape that contrasts cleanly against the black background-- and that clean contrast is itself a contrast to the more dense and layered parts of the illustration. Inception but for contrast! If you squint at OVE, on the other hand, it’s not immediately clear what you’re seeing, other than fire-- the flowers look like they’re made of mud, the lighter (?) at that suggested scale is kind of a visually ambiguous and blocky-looking item to put front and center, and the whole thing forms a distinct oval shape that undermines any sense of the organic we probably should be getting from the foliage and fire that might provide interest. The dragon’s body is also wrapped weirdly-- it looks very tight to the lighter, but its body curvature is more rounded than the lighter would be. It’s a small thing, but our brains do clock it as “off”. The flame coming from the upper left becoming the dragon’s body is a nice idea, but it isn’t reading nearly well enough to carry the awkwardness of everything around it. .

A misguided background color change. Nearly identical, in fact, to the one executed by BLOOD & HONEY, with its red background compared to its predecessor SERPENT AND DOVE’S black one, which I talked about at length. But we actually have kind of the inverse problem: going from black to red for B&H introduced a new contrast that threw rendering flaws into relief and made the cover far more bright and “busy”, while here the red is far less contrasted with its illustration than the black was, putting murky midtones against murky midtones and washing out our aforementioned good contrast of TVD’s illustration/ text lockup against its black background. And like, the thought process behind changing the background color is obvious and sensible-- how do you replicate a design as closely as possible for marketing/ visibility reasons but make it distinct enough not to be confused with the original? You leave the layout the same but change the color in a big bold way! And red is a very logical place to go from gold/silver/white/black. But changing a major component of your design, in theory, requires recalibration of other aspects in turn to make the whole cover as functional as the original. I would actually have liked to see this with a white background (and a whole different lockup, but--). It would have restored our ~ contrast and the duality/ stark opposites of black/white seems appropriate for the Romeo and Juliet thing. To its credit, I appreciate the presence of the pattern on the background, and it has a Subtle Gradient which we usually love, but goddam, it just looks really bad against that art. There is so much cowardice in the dark murky colors on this thing. .

Fire effects.......... not good

Our man Billelis did the TVD cover, and without googling I am........ pretty sure he did not do OVE. Look at the beautiful, crisp, glowing gold reflection of the dragon on the sword from TVD, the kind of realer-than-real-life metallic rendering that I think of as Bill’s signature: 

Vs..... whatever’s happening here:

The execution is simply Not As Good on a technical level, duller and more ambiguous re: the illusion of objects interacting in physical space. Idk, maybe we couldn’t afford Bil for the sequel. Good, honestly. Bleed em dry, Bil.

And YES, that is the cruel prince font. 🥴

[pjsblogs-dc]

I hate this

Damian Wayne X Reader

Summary

Damian hates art show, but love you.

Warning

Death by embarrassment or fluff

Hard to say

~~~ Damian always hated art shows and charity parties that when with them. He would do everything in his power to skip or leave the party early. He hated the people, the clothes, and the popups attuite that came with the art shows but then he met you.

You were a young and naïve artist that just moved to Gotham, and just started working at an art center. He bumped into you as he was trying to sneak out, but quickly forget about it when he met your eyes and you quickly stumped out an apology. 

You had the most beautiful eyes and an amazing smile.

The two of you just kept talking for the rest of the night about anything and everything. But the event was soon ending and for once Damian was disappointed that he had to leave.

“When will I see you again?” He asked as the two of you walked towards the parking lot. He didn’t want to stop talking to you, so he lied saying his car was in the parking lot just like you.

“Well,” you said pausing to think “the next art show is in a few weeks. I can text you the details.”

“Sounds great!” he said with a smile.

As you drove away he couldn’t believe that for once in his life he was excited to go the some stupid charity party. He couldn’t stop smiling even after he got into the limo that Alfred was driving.

“Your a little late, sir“ the butler said with a cocked eyebrow.

The younger Wayne was about to say something when he saw the time. He told Alfred he was going to sneak out at 11 pm, but it was 2 am. Not only was he three hours late but he also missed his patrol shift.

“I got a little tied up.“ Damian said defensibly.

“That is want Master Dick said all the time when hung out with members of the opposite sex at charity events.“ Alfred said as he drove away from the art show.

Damian wanted to say something back but thought better of it. He knew he was going to get an earful from the team when he got back home and didn’t want it to start now. Pulling out his phone to see if you had texted him information of the next show, he also looked at the roster of events the boys had to go to.

Long ago to save a head ache, Bruce came up with an assignment system for who has to go to what events, it was to keep the peace in the house and work around patrols schedules, but truth be told it was a tool that the boys where threatened with if they didn’t get along. 

No one in the Wayne house like going to Charity events for the same reasons Damian didn’t like going but that was going to change.

~~~

No one at the Wayne house really noticed at first, that Damian was trying to get more charity events. Or that the shows were most with or hosted by Peterson Art Charity. None of them wanted to go so they were happy to listen to his poor excuse and give him the event. It wasn’t until Bruce called them all in did they see what was going on.

“What the hell you guys?“ Bruce said to the three Wayne boys, “Why is Damian going to all the events? I thought we had a deal.”

“We did,“ Dick said.

“Yea but Damian said something about need that day blah,blah, lame excuse.” Jason said dismissably, “All I know is that is instead of dealing with stuck up brats, I got to patrol and I beat up some bad guys.”

“Lol same,“ Tim said with a smile, ”I tried to give him all my days but he only want somedays. Hell he even offer to double up and do the later patrol shift so that I didn’t say anything.“

“He did the same thing for me to,“ Dick said.

“Is the little Demon ditching them and blaming it on us?“ Jason said “Because if that the case-“

“No, he isn’t.“ Bruce said, signing, “I just wanted to know why all I see in the social column is Damian and his alleged girlfriend, and not any of you and your alleged girlfriends.“

“You check the social column?“ Tim said with confusion, “Why would you do that to yourself?”

“To see what the hell you guys did this week to piss off the press.“

“I know what we can do!“ Dick said.

“I alright don’t like this,“ Bruce said putting is head in his hands.

~~~~

Damian hated ever minute of the social part he had to do before he saw you. Smile and nodded to the racist old lady opinion on the world. Pretend to listen to some old guy talk about the stock market. Dance with the girls that only wanted his money. But when he saw you the world stopped, and it didn’t matter that he had a stupid suit or painful shoes, what matter was the time you to spent together.

He didn’t what you dragged into the fire storm that is the social gossip world because the two of you where seen outside of the charity events. And if someone snapped a picture of them together he always placed and anonymous phone call the next day saying he saw Damian kissing some high society girl which broke the news for the next week or two.

You didn’t seem to mind. You were so focused on your art that you couldn’t really met expect for at events. Plus you really didn’t watch or read the news so you didn’t know that the guy you where hanging out with was a Wayne. You were just happy to see him at all your shows or events, and always like the fact you had someone to talk to that wasn’t someone from work or a snooty art person saying that your art was bad.

The two of you had just saw each other when the door to the event swung out, showing something Damian hated more than a stupid art show.

A stupid art show with his family.

All of his brothers and sisters was here dress to the nines in gowns and suit, but his father stole the show with Selina Kyle on his arm and in a kickass suit. Everyone is the room was taken aback by their sudden appears and marveled at how good they look, but Damian almost shit himself.

He didn’t need to be super close to his father to see the look in his eyes.

It was his Batman eyes, meaning he was on a mission, and Damian didn’t need to think super hard why he or his family was here.

“I can’t believe the Waynes are here,“ a small voice said causing Damian to almost lose it.

That voice was you.

You looked amazing and he almost got lost in you smile, but he mental smacked himself. He need a plan and quick otherwise he was going to get embarrassed in front of you and he didn’t want that.

“Did you do all you socially thingys for work?“ you asked.

“Yep,“ Damian said turning his back to his family. Hoping the wouldn’t see him.

“Come on then!“ you said with a smile, and grabbed his hand causing him to blush. “I have something to show you.“

Damian forgot about his family and let you drag him away from the main hallway and into a small side room. He knew where he was going before you even took him there.

All the famous artist where in the main hall and all the lesser know was in side rooms. He was getting taken to a side room with your art. You were talking ecstatically about your art.

Apparently some anonymous person had bought all your art before the show even started. Damian smiled to himself, proud that he had caused you such glee.

“But that doesn’t matter“ you kept rambling on as the two of you stop in front of a piece of art. “What do you think?“

It was a beautiful piece of a man and a woman under a lamp light in the middle of a city. The two of them where holding hands and kissing, and Damian was at a lost for words.

“I don’t know what to say,“ he whispered.

“How about thank you?“ you said shyly.

Damian turned to you in confusion. You were blushing and not looking at him.

“What do you mean?“

“Well . . .I. . .umm.. ..aaa made it for you.“ you quickly whispered still not looking at him.

Damian reach out and lightly turned you face towards him.

“Say that again, my love.“

Now you were a bright shade of red and still not meeting his eyes but you said it again, but this time a little louder.

“I made it for you.“

“You didn’t have to.“ Damian said matching your voice level.

“Well you always say you want a piece but whenever I have a show all the art is sold before you ever get one, so I told the studio that all of them but this one is for sale because it saw going to go to you.“ You spoke so fast and all at once. Damian that it was cute when you got all fluster but he knew that if he didn’t stop you would have keep rambling until you ran out of breath. Damian politely cut you cut by putting one finger on your lips.

“It beautiful and I love it Y/N, but I have a confession to make.“

“You do?“ you said looking up at his with your mesmerizing (eye color) eyes. Damian got lost for a second but tried to quickly recovered.

“I. . .umm.. .aa. . .“

“What is it?“ you looked worried but before Damian could say something, someone else chimed in.

“Yea, Damian,“ a voice said “What is it?“

Never had Damian been filled with more rage then at that second.

The two of you looked up to see Dick, Jason, and Tim lending in on the door way. They had a smug ass look at Damian wanted to punch right off their face.

“Get the hell out of here“ Damian said through gritted teeth, shooting dagger at his brothers.

“Well that would be rude!“ Dick said as he and his brother walked over toward you. “We haven’t even introduced our selves.“

Dick forced himself between the two of you to “shake your hand” but Damian knew it was to piss him off.

“I’m Dick, Damian’s older brother, other there is his other brother Jason,“

Jason waved.

“and his other other brother Tim.“

“Pleasure.“ Tim said taking you hand and kissing it.

You give Damian a weird look.

“You’re related to the Wayne Men.“

“Oh he didn’t tell you that.“ Jason said with a smile as he wrapped his arm around Damian’s neck. “That doesn’t sound like our little Damian.”

“Not at all!“ Tim said with crooked smile.

Damian wanted to kill them all but Dick opened his mouth.

“Well I know something that our little Damian would do!“ Dick said with a smile “He would have told you that he keeps buying all of your art and hanging it in his apartment.“

“When did you go to my apartment!“ Damian snapped.

“On the way over!“ Tim said in a manner of fact voice, and he turned back to you, “And may I say what beautiful pieces they are. I wish Damian would let the world see them.“

“I am going to kill the three of you.“ Damian growled.

“Now, now, Damian!“ Jason said “Didn’t I teach you better than to plan a murder out loud.“

Damian was so beyond done with his brothers bullshit and was about to cruse them out when he saw you straighten up and someone clear their voice.

“Evening, sons“ Bruce said, causing the older boys to jump apart. 

Bruce was by himself with a glass of champagne. On the outside he looked like to cool, laid back playboy the media saw but Damian could tell by way he was standing that he was in a mood.

“Hi, Bruce,“ they all said, expect Damian.

“Father.” he said curtly.

“Damian,” Bruce said looking at his son with a cocked eyebrow. “You know we were all going to this party tonight, right? You didn’t need to drive yourself down here tonight, we were waiting for you at your apartment for an hour.”

No, he didn’t know that, but he knew that Bruce was lying about that last part. They had search his apartment not doubt and figured out where he was and decided to make a scene.

“I’m so sorry, Father,“ Damian said matching his fathers gaze. “I didn’t know.“

Bruce signed and looked at his older sons. They were trying their hardest not to do anything draw attention, but they were doing a bad job. They were shooting knowing looks and giggling.

“Got out of here and stop annoying you brother.“ Bruce said putting his face in his hand. The three of them ran out laughing like school boys, leaving Bruce with and annoyed looked.

He turned towards you and took your hand.

“I don’t believe we have been properly introduced. My name is Bruce Wayne, I’m Damian’s father.“ Bruce said and kissed you hand.

You just stood and started at him, speechless. It took a minute before you spoke, and when you did Damian wanted to die.

“I see,“ you said in a high breathless voice, causing Bruce to raise an eyebrow.

There was another awkward pause before you realized you were supposed to say your name, but instead you rambled.

“Oh, yes... umm... I’m so sorry, I was thinking. It just kind of happened all at once. I am still trying to understand what exactly is-”

Damian moved quietly next to you and grabbed your hand, and spoke for you.

“Y/N,” Damian said in a confident voice meant to tell his father to back down and to help calm you down. “They are a pretty amazing artist, and the person I love.“

Bruce looked at you and then to his son and gave a soft smile.

“Well, it is nice to have finally have met you, Y/N,“ Bruce said “I hope to see you at the manor sometime soon.“

[austarus]

Mermay Headcanon: The Mermaid (You) and The Pirate Gentleman (HR Wells)

**A/N: The picture/edit/gif does not belong to me.

*My little and late contribution to MerMay month. @crazythoughtsandlove​ and I were talking about mermaid and pirate ideas lol. I tried, I really tried to do something. Honestly, this is probably shit and I can’t say anything other than I’m sorry I tried to make it funny and slow-burn-y and cute and I don’t know what happened. Anyway, this was the little Easter Egg that I had dropped in my HR x Reader fic Hidden Among The Fairy Lights. Obviously this is in headcanon form rather than a full fic because I’m too mentally exhausted from everything in my life. Anyway, enjoy? Remember to reblog and comment to support content creators.

Word Count: 2568

The fates seemed to have decided to toy with me today, HR thought as he ran through the streets of the Brazeeno Market Place

He dodged left and right, ducking past people and through alleys

The Pirate (Gentleman) as he likes to add on was on the run from a couple of ruffians who he maybe sorta accidentally provoked and got into a skirmish with

HR did it for a rock

Yes, you read that correctly. A rOcK.

But not just any rock, it was a cinnabar-fluorite-infused stone that was essential to his journey

His twin brother, Harry, who’s also a pirate, needed HR to fetch it while he retrieved the map for the Kjarni Flower

Both men were skilled in swordsmanship as well as improvising on hand in a fight

Harry: Go in, get it, and leave. Here’s the coins. Don’t start anything and don’t get distracted

HR: I’ll be in and out before you know it. I won’t start anything, scout’s honor

Harry: You’re not a scout

HR: Doesn’t mean I can’t use the saying

Harry: Yes, it does, you idiot

The crew just sheepishly looked at their two captains that argued like children

Anyway, back to HR who’s been cornered on the creaky and old harbor with vacant ships while you, the reader, were reading the background on him and Harry prior to this chase scene

HR held his ground, sword out and the stone safely tucked away in his pocket

A smirk on his face as he tried to play it cool, but inwardly he was panicked since there were no ships around at all

Reggie (Ruffian #1): End of the line, scum

Remy (Ruffian #2): Hand over the stone, moron

Roma (Ruffian #3): And pray to the gods that your spirit passes on to the other side safely

Now that’s a little harsh, isn’t it?

They took a step forward and HR took a step back, his foot slightly slipping back from the wet boards of the pier

Before any of them do anything, a wet yet firm hand had latched onto HR’s ankle, pulling the pirate off with great force

The dark-haired man kicked and tried to keep his eyes open as the undersea force dragged him away from the surface

HR’s eyes widened when he saw you under the salty sea, a mermaid with gleaming skin and seashells threaded in her hair

He saw the concern flood over your face, the gentleness within your dazzling eyes that he’d never heard of

Stories of mythical ravenous monsters under the sea that eat people of the land in a bloodthirsty rage

But the spectacle in front of him seemed anything but that

Still HR remained cautious, a hand over his pocketed knife as he eyed your colored tail

You put a hand to your lips, taking his hand gingerly instead of his ankle to bring him up to the surface

HR coughed out water and cursed at the saltiness of the sea, gathering his bearings before turning to you

You watched him with curious eyes as he shook his hair from the water before running his hands through his wet hair

Secretly you had always been intrigued by the land dwellers and their peculiar way of life

Even if the merpeople believed any interaction with humans to be forbidden by execution

You had overheard the exchange with the other humans and weighed in your thoughts before intervening at the most convenient moment

HR: Y-you’re beautiful- I mean a mermaid

He watched your cheeks darken at his words

You: *whispers bashfully* N-no’s really said that to me before. I’m not that pretty

HR: But you’re utterly breath-taking *shakes head and is astonished, blinking a few times* Wait, you can talk?

You: *cocks a confused eyebrow* of course I can, why wouldn’t I? I’m not some sort of animal that lives in the ocean

HR: I-I don’t know, the stories-

You: Stories?

HR explained to you the legends and stories, which you helped clarify the essence of the Merpeople

In return, HR did the same as he spoke of the human world and his adventures as a pirate

He oddly found himself confiding in you about the Kjarni Flower and its mystical powers to creating an elixir

You expressed the Merpeople’s legends regarding it, which provided to be beneficial to HR

The Pirate noticed your sparkling eyes in the midday sunlight, intrigued by every word you spoke

It particularly struck his heart when you expressed that your interest in the land-dwellers world

HR: Why are you telling me this? I’m a pirate, I could hurt you when you least expect it

You: I don’t know, I feel like I could trust you not to harm me

I don’t think I can to such a kind spirit, HR thought

Silence had filled the serene atmosphere between the two of you, waves rocking you and HR back and forth

HR noticed that the two of you weren’t so different, unlike the legends of the Pirate’s Guild

Everything down to your navel was regularly human. No webbed hands or fins for ears. The only exception was the gills on your neck and your majestic tail

The two of you remained there, floating in the sea before HR began to cough

You: I should get you back to land, you need to go back to your people

HR: Wait, before you do. My name is HR. HR Wells, the Pirate Gentleman

You: Gentleman, huh? Well, my name is (Y/N), Mermaid of Uquilnoah

You brought him back to shore behind some rocks, to which HR spotted his ship and his brother on deck with his back turned to him

The sun had fallen, expressing the evening time before night took its shift

You: I guess this is goodbye

HR: Why do you want to come to the human side? It’s corrupt and foul.

You looked down before gazing off to the laughter and lights and people on shore

You: I-I want to swim and walk. I want to go on adventures and explore what the sea cannot give me. I want to share experiences with others, a part of their stories and lives

HR: Come with me then. My troublesome hard hat of a brother and I go on adventures every day. We’d be more than honored to have you.

You: I-I’d like that, but how? I don’t have legs

HR pursed his lips in thought as he glanced back to his brother’s ship

HR: Stay here, I’ll be back. Here *hands you his knife* keep this until I get back

You took his knife, watching him swim to shore as your cheeks dusted pink at his words

No man or merman had ever expressed such interest in your or your thoughts

It was always someone else, some other beauty that held the center stage

You ended up being more of a background person

A hand ran over the faint scars over your body, trying to push away the hurt you had attained from others over the years

I just wanted to matter. I’ve always wanted my existence to mean something. Maybe in the human world, I can find that in my journeys away from Uquilnoah

HR hurried onto the shore and hurried onto his ship with his wet clothes chilling him as the wind blew

Harry shot his brother an incredulous look as HR ran onto the deck out of breath and speaking rapidly like a mad man

The twin dark-haired man stared at his brother before getting his attention

Harry: So, let me get this straight. You got the stone, ran into trouble, met a mermaid- who surprisingly didn’t bite your head off and now she’s waiting by the alcove shores for you because you promised her to be back?

HR: *catches his breath and smiles innocently* Yes :D

Harry: *facepalms* Are you fucking stupid or are you fucking stupid? That mermaid’s probably baiting you to sink this entire ship. We need to go. Now.

HR: She’s not lying to me!

Harry: How do you know that?!

HR: Because she told me about the Merpeople and their legends of the Kjarni Flower. She told me how she yearns for an adventure like never before, with people like us

Harry purses his lips and sighs roughly, rubbing his face harshly with calloused hands

HR: Don’t you see, Harr, she’s willing to come with us. Hell, she can even help us if we encounter something along the way.

Harry: Fine, but how are you going to get her to walk?

HR: Easy. Caitlin should have a potion or magic object.

Caitlin/Frost was the crews brilliant Ice-Witchdoctor, terrifying in batter but had sufficient magical abilities when it came to healing

Barry was the First Mate when both HR and Harry were off deck, quick on his feet for solo stealth missions

Cisco was the Quartermaster, distributing items such as a variety of guns/weapons, ammunition as well as coming up with the plans with the rest of the crew

Jesse was the pilot, manning where the ship sails because Harry doesn’t want his daughter doing anything dangerous, but she’s a badass gunner when it comes down to it.

Iris and Wally are the main Gunners for the group, their marksmanship impeccable through the harsh training they received from their father, Joe

Cecile and Joe typically fill in any role that needs to be filled depending on the situation that this crew runs into

Anyway, Caitlin manages to whip something up in which she’s enchants a necklace with the power to give you your legs and the ability to remain on land for long periods of time

However-yes, there’s a however, duh- there is a time limit

Every midnight strike, you fatigue and must recharge in the ocean overnight in order to not die from water deprivation

HR grinned widely head back to the covered alcove and waving you to come as close as possible

Explaining everything to you, the Pirate Gentleman handed you the enchanted necklace that held a single Golden Star Sapphire gemstone

Right as you pulled it on your tail transformed into legs in a blink of an eye, but… you were naked

HR had immediately turned around right when that happened, his cheeks flaring up as well as yours

You facepalmed before covering yourself, stuttering out that you’d need some clothes

HR went silent shedding his jacket off as well of his linen shirt and handed them to you with his eyes averted

You: Okay, I’ve put them on

HR moved around in time to see you stumble on your legs, leaning forward to catch you

The Wells twin couldn’t help himself as his eyes ran over your figure in his arms, his heart thumping louder than ever in his chest

HR: Come on, the crew’s waiting to meet you

You and HR returned to the ship, nervously giggling at each other while you got used to walking.

You: How did you learn to swim?

HR: By struggling. And a lot. You make it look so easy

You: Well you make walking look so easy

HR: Think about it this way, doll, now you’re ambidextrous for land and sea

You met the crew and got along with them nicely, with the exception of HR’s prickly brother

HR told you not to worry about him with a cheeky wink

You were mesmerized by the sights and sounds and colors of the world above the sea

HR guided you every step of the way

The fates pulling your heartstrings even closer together

Harry later secretly gave you his blessings and told you to watch out for his dorky brother who can’t seem to stop having heart eyes for you whenever you’re on the deck

Jesse was actually the first one to approach you, asking so many questions about the sea

She became your best friend from then on as you entertained her with stories of life under the ocean

Jesse and the other see what’s happening as HR beats around the bush with you, but obviously doing it in the name of friendship and Pirate-Mermaid truce

And they groan at the lingering gazes and soft exchanges between you and HR

Many times, Cisco has groaned “The thirst is real”

And many times, Iris and Barry have had to dial Cisco back to let you and HR to read the atmosphere

One night while hanging out with HR in his room

He was showing you how to read a map and use the items on board to read the stars

You ended up coughing

And coughing

And coughing

And coughing and gasping for air

Before HR realized that its time for you to hibernate in the water for the night

So, what did HR do?

Like the dork that he is, he picked you up and hurried to the main deck before throwing you off the ship

Yes, you read that right

The man panicked, ok? What should he have done, thrown a jar of water on you? That still wouldn’t help the problem

HR leaned over the wooden railing of the docked ship, watching aurora-like light emanate from the sea

Before you popped up from the water, breathing nicely and looking all refreshed

The puppy boy apologized to you so many times for losing track of time

But you waved it off

That night, HR stayed up with you as he lowered himself on a spare rowboat to be at the same level with you on the ocean water

You: HR you need to go to bed

HR: No I *yawns* don’t.

You: Uh huh *smirks*

HR: I like your company so I’m staying

You: I like your company too, but Harry’s gonna roast your ass if you’re not fully awake tomorrow morning

HR: Screw him, he can do it without me

You: You’re an idiot

HR: You wound me

That following morning, Harry did roast his ass when he found his brother sleeping outside in a boat on deck when the two of you finally bid each other goodnight

Frequently nightly swims with each other

Gentle laughs under the shining moonlight as the sea creatures rest

Getting so close to kissing one another

But pulling away because you both are just friends

After all, mermaids and humans can’t really be together because of the barrier of survival styles

Bottom line, because I’m running out of things to say and its 2 AM, you and HR slowly fell in love with one another as you journeyed with him to find the mystical Kjarni Flower

Unraveling its secrets with the crew you’ve grown so close to

Calling them family

Perils falling into every step of the way, elongating the pining the burned between the two of you who come from two different worlds

You had charmed your way into his heart and he in yours

The Pirate Gentleman taught his lovely Mermaid self-defense as well as the simple things in life to enjoy

You encouraged his secret talent for writing, something he hid from everyone

It’s no surprise that HR ended using his part of the elixir from the Kjarni flower to enable you to be on land without a time restraint

To be by his side all night as the days went on

Especially when there was a child on the way

But neither of you know that right now 😉

[grapenamjams]

Summer Festival

Genre: Fluff of course XD 

Characters: Muriel from the arcana and my apprentice Eliza

A/N:  And this concludes my Arcana writing spurt that I had last month XD .  if you have read my past posts thank you so much and if this is the first post you read of mine thank you! it means so much to me and i hope my story/ stories help you escape for a little while, :) I hope you all have a nice day/night 

a little bit about my MC

Her name is Eliza (she/her. Female.) She is 5′2 has brown wavy hair, brown eyes (with specks of green) she also has adorable freckles across her nose. lastly she has a artic fox, named Nell as a familiar who is enchanted to keep cold during the summer and whenever Nell walks she leaves behind snow prints on the ground (think of what Olaf from frozen has lol) 

The shop was packed as it always was during the summer festival. travelers from all regions coming to celebrate the end of summer in vesuvia made for new eager clients to purchase ingredients, potions and of course getting their readings done. This year Asra let Eliza be in charge of the readings, while he took care of the shop. Asra had said that she was ready to handle the Arcana on her own but as what felt like her 100th customer leave through the curtains. she was beginning to feel the toll of using the cards for so long, she could even feel Nell beginning to tire as the fox laid down underneath her seat. however the cards themselves seemed to be mocking her as they Pulsed with energy at being used so much.

She sighed closing her eyes for a second until she heard footsteps approach, she sat up quickly ready to attend another client But familiar fluffy white curls poked through the curtain, Asra entered the space giving her a warm smile “how are you holding up?” Eliza slouches back into her seat and lets out a breath “I don’t know how you did it all these years, I’m so tired I fear I might fall asleep on the next customer” she looks at Asra and he lets out a soft laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, the cards love attention and can take a toll on the reader, but you are doing well containing them, I’m proud” Eliza can’t help but blush at his compliment. “Thanks” she gives him a small smile as she shuffles the cards in front of her.

“Lets call it a night on the readings hm? Why don’t you go out and enjoy the festival?” Eliza looks at him “and leave you to run the shop by yourself when it’s like this?” Asra shrugs his shoulders “you know I don’t mind, besides you take care of the shop the most through out the year. So let me have tonight as a way to make up for the missed hours.” Eliza thinks for a moment “but still I feel bad leaving you while I go out to the festival. I’ll just go later when we close up shop for the speech” Asra frowns “but the best parts of the festival will be over by then” he looks to the side to where the back room is, then to her quickly. “I insist, go enjoy. Don’t worry about me” living with Asra for years has made Eliza know every facial expression he has and the one he is trying to hide right now tells her he knows something. She raises an eyebrow at him “are you sure? I-“ he cuts her off waving one hand “yup I’m sure! Go right ahead.” He turns around to leave “Before you go however check the back door there’s a package out there for you” before she can protest any further Asra leaves a confused Eliza behind, his voice rings out through the shop as he announces that there will be no more readings for tonight.

After Asra’s adamant requests for her to go she had no choice but to or she felt that he would literally push her out the door. Grabbing her bag she bounded down the steps waving good bye to Asra who was at the counter, he looks at her and smiles. She opens the back door and the enjoyable warmth of the night greets her, sounds of the festival already reaching her ears, although she is happy to go see it Eliza cant help but feel sad, like something is missing. Going alone isn’t the same as having someone else there to enjoy the festivities with. 

Eliza looks down and to the sides of the door steps trying to find the package Asra mentioned but finds nothing. Giving up, she turns to go back inside but stops when she hears something rustle amongst the shrubs at the edge of the forest. Eliza takes a step back cautiously, but then suddenly a huge smile breaks across her face when she sees a large green eyed man come from the trees.

 When his eyes land on hers he gives a small smile “hello Eliza.” And just like that all feelings of tiredness and loneliness that were inside her vanished as she runs towards Muriel giving him a hug around his waist. “Muriel!” The big man Stiffens at her sudden reaction but just as quickly relaxes. he takes a step back steading himself from her crashing into him, he lets out a small “oof” and chuckles at her small frame hugging is large one.

 “What are you doing here?” Eliza asks stepping back a little to look up at him but still holding him. He’s wearing his hair half up with a green ribbon, his usual cloak and his green scarf she got for him. He places a hand on her head moving it down, she leans Into his touch. “Today is the summer festival right?” Eliza eyes widen “yeah it is!” She sees Muriel Avert his eyes “I thought it was something you would like to go to...and” his cheeks grow slightly pink “I want to go see it with you” he looks back at her seeing her face practically glowing from happiness making his ears go red “that is...if you want to go with me...” 

Eliza’s stomach fills with butterflies at Muriel asking her to go with him. she had been so busy with organizing the shop for this day that she had forgotten to tell him about it. Usually Eliza and Asra go to the Closing speech only, staying at the shop the whole night, that’s why it was weird for him to ask her to go out and enjoy the night but know she obviously knows why. Eliza giggles she grabs his hand that was on her head and kisses his knuckle before she places her hand into his.

 “I would love to go with you, thank you for asking me” Muriel sticks his bottom lip out and mumbles “who else would I have asked?” Eliza hums and bumps into his side teasingly “I dunno maybe Asra?” He frowns shaking his head “I want to go with you” he states plainly making Eliza laugh “well then, let’s get going!” She tugs at his arm, before looking back to the doorway to see Faust sitting on top of Nell seeing them off “have fun!” The both say and Eliza smiles.

 they round the shop to get to the street but before they do, under a string of colorful lights that are hanged above them, connecting from the shop to other next door, Muriel stops. Eliza looks up at him “something wrong?” She asks moving in front of him to see his face, slightly worrying that he had changed his mind. 

his eyes are lowered but he’s blushing. “No. I made you something” he lets go of her hand and reaches inside his cloak, his hand comes out holding a flower crown made with different forest flowers all around. their natural colors vibrant. On one side there is a piece of green tulle tied onto it. “I remembered that wearing one is common at the festival... so I made you one” Eliza reaches out and delicately holds it in her hands, admiring it. “Muriel... I.. this is Beautiful thank you!” She goes on her toes and kisses his cheek when she goes back down she holds the shimmery green tulle “I love it! Where did you get this fabric?” Muriel has a small smile on his face happy that she loves it so much. “A few days ago at the market. Traded some protective charms for it”

 Eliza’s heart swells ”Muriel.” He shrugs “it was okay” her cheeks hurt from smiling so much and their night only had just begun. She puts the crown on her head and does a spin “sooo how do I look?” She asks Muriel eyes widen and he reddens even more. She looks at him tilting her head slightly smiling at him. he averts his eyes “pretty.” He says and Eliza’s face warms as her whole body flutters at his compliment. Muriel looks to her taking her in again. He grabs her hand in his and presses his lips to her cheek. “Very pretty” he says trying to hide his face as he leads a flustered Eliza down the street.

They walk towards the city’s market place where the main attractions were. However music played through out all of Vesuvia, kids ran around them laughing one little girl pointed out Eliza’s crown calling it pretty making Muriel blush when Eliza told the little girl he had made it for her. Conversations amongst friends and new acquaintances filled around them as they made there way through.

  When they neared the center the sound of music increased and the aroma of spices, desserts and cooking meats passed underneath their noses as vendors called out trying to get customers to try their new specials. Eliza’s mouth began to water at all the food in front of her, she looked at Muriel and found him staring at a meat stand where they were cooking smoked eel, his favorite. Of course Muriel wouldn’t voice that he wanted some. “Are you hungry?” She asks, Muriel’s eyes leave the stand to focus on her “um. Are you?” Eliza smiles “with all this food? How can I not ?” He laughs softly “then let’s go eat.” she leads him to the meat stand “couldn’t have said it better myself!”

She gets Muriel his eel skewers and she gets her own beef ones. Muriel bites Into his food and his mouth waters with the flavor, he takes small bites enjoying it fully. He looks to Eliza who’s close to finishing her first. He chuckles softly. It might be weird but Muriel likes watching her eat, in fact he likes watching her do anything because that means she is there with him. But when she eats something good she closes her eyes and hums, moving her body side to side clearly enjoying her food. 

Before he meet her before she showed him at the masquerade that food can be something that holds flavor and it can be enjoyed and appreciated. He had looked at food as something his body needed to survive to last another day it didn’t matter if it tasted good or not. But now with Eliza he enjoyed eating, he still became amazed at how many different combinations there are, he liked tasting different flavors. And that they did, after finishing their skewers they went onto different stands tasting a variety of dishes.

* * * 

After participating in some games like archery and cards Muriel and Eliza With their desserts in hand found a table, near the dance square . They ate their desserts together while watching the festivities go on in full swing around them.

 People eating near  stands, others bargaining for the best price at shops and kids running around with sticks that sparkle. Eliza feeds some of her dessert to Muriel which he excepts but quickly lets out a low grumble “too sweet” he states making Eliza laugh knowing he wouldn’t really like it. “You really like sweet stuff” she hums as she takes another bite of her pastry “mmhmm pure sweet goodness is the best” Eliza swallows. Muriel picks up his own pastry out for her to take a bite, Eliza takes a small one and she scrunches her face “and you really like sour stuff” she swallows but taking another bite of her own to cover the taste. 

Muriel let’s out a chuckle “sour goodness is the best” he repeats her words. Eliza grins feeling playful, from the sugar in her. “sweet” she challenges, he pouts “sour” she leans towards him “sweet” Eliza repeats before she kisses him on the lips. She feels the tangy sourness on his lips and he feels the sugary powder on hers and he can’t help but to like the taste of the Flavor more this way. She pulls away from him seeing the tint of pink on his cheeks that matches her own, his eyes are lidded looking down at her lips like he wants more, “sweet” he whispers, making Eliza smirk “I win” his eyes come to focus looking at her. He averts his eyes and frowns “you cheated” the brown haired girl laughs taking in his adorable pout. She loops her arm through his “awww” she leans into him resting her chin on his shoulder “alright both flavors are good in their own way, how about that?” She looks up at muriel, eyes looking out away from her, but she can see a smile “hm, agreed” he mumbles. Eliza grins and kisses his shoulder before resting her head on it.

They stay in this position for a few minutes until Eliza hears the first chord of a new song and knows exactly what is going to happen next. The band starts playing a slow beat letting people who want to join the dance come take a place in the middle of the dance square.

 Eliza heads pokes up seeing men, women and children being lead to the center by the music. Then little by little the tempo picks up, Eliza’s heart quickens excited to see the dance that is was going to take place. She didn’t know that she was sitting all the way up leaning towards the music until she heard Muriel. “You should go dance” she jumps a little not expecting him to say that “w-what? Oh. No. I’m fine, I like watching” she says but she feels her body telling her to go join the forming crowd. “And you like to dance too. Go ahead.” She turns back to him looking at his smile on his face. 

She would ask him to come with but she knows that group dances arnt his thing. “A-are you sure? I don’t want to leave you alone” Muriel gives her hand a squeeze “Don’t worry about me.” She sees him press his lips into a line and shifts his gaze down “I want you to enjoy yourself too, not just be stuck with me” Eliza shifts back in her seat. “I am enjoying myself” she smiles at him “ I like being stuck with you” Muriel lets out a huff and gives her a playful glare. Making Eliza laugh “alright alright I’ll go just for you okay?” She stands up and kisses his cheek before going, Leaving behind a happy blushing Muriel. 

Out of all the many things he liked seeing her do, dancing was one of his favorites. He would catch her humming and dancing around the hut and sometimes she would bring a music box so they both could dance together. He smiles at the memory as he watches her leave to join the crowd, the music picking up starting the dance. He wishes he could join her, he really did. he would love to be able to do everything with her, experience everything that she wanted to do. but he wasn’t there yet, maybe one day he will get there. but he knows for certain that with her light guiding him and being patient with him he knows he could do it.

But for tonight Muriel spots her in the crowd two lines had formed and both moved side to side hopping to the beat. then both lines go towards each other and when they meet, one person holds out their hand and spins the other around then they continue on through changing spots, once they get to the other side they clap and do the whole steps again just changing the person who spins in the middle. The tempo quickens gradually and becomes a dance of who can last to the end of the song. He sees her laugh as she feels the shift in rhythm trying to not trip and a determined look on her face to last the whole song. Occasionally she looks over at him and smiles making his body warm up, even when she’s enjoying herself she looks after him. He loved seeing the way her face lights up, and her skirt flowing around her. she always danced like no one was watching, just enjoying the moment.

 Eliza takes in a big breath and laughs with the rest of the participants that lasted till the end of the song alongside her. hugs were given out and cheers were heard from the others that had stepped out. She catches her breath and looks at Muriel still sitting at the table looking at her with a wide smile, her heart flutters at knowing that he saw her dance. 

She puts her hands to her cheeks knowing how red she must look and can’t help but feel a bit embarrassed but that feeling dosnt last long as another song starts and she’s pulled into another group dance, this one at a medium tempo. Two small circles are created as they skip to the beat going right all around then left, then they all go to the middle clapping twice before going back out again. She feels the music course through her and gets lost in it loving the feeling. The tone of the violin making her movements flow and the beats of the drums making her steps firm against the ground. By the end of the song they had made a big circle trading partners. 

Eliza compliments the little girl she ended up with and goes to the barrel of water that they put out for the dancers at the corner of the raised stage, serving herself. When she throws away the cup a song danced usually by couples starts to play. She looks to the square,  men are taking their partners to dance, she even spots some fathers taking their young daughters making her smile. Eliza makes her way around the crowd towards Muriel whose on the other side, but suddenly feels a sweaty hand clamp over her wrist making her turn around to face the person who’s grabbing her.

 It was a man not much older than her but by his grin and the way he wavered a bit she knew that he was down a few salty bitters. “What is a pretty girl like yourself doing alone during this dance?” The man slurs Eliza tries not to scoff at him as she moves her arm away but he tightness his grip “that’s none of your concern, now please let me go” she steps back but he quickly wraps an arm around her waist pulling her towards him and spinning them around “oh come on sweetheart, a cute thing like you shouldn’t be alone tonight” he grins looking her up and down. Eliza tries to step away pushing at his shoulder but he dosnt budge “you’re mistaken I’m not alone. Let me go” the mans eyebrows shoot up “oh?” He looks around behind her searching, his gaze going back to hers “I don’t see them, maybe they left you for another, what a shame.” The man snickers leaning in closer.

“He didn’t.” A deep serious voice is heard. Eliza’s head looks up to see Muriel towering behind the man with a threatening glare. The man rolls his eyes “then you shouldn’t have left her, sorry finders keepers” the man turns his head still having a grin on his face but it quickly falls as his eyes meet Muriel’s chest, his eyes climb, craning his neck up until he is looking at Muriel death glare. She could hear the man gulp, “she told you she wasn’t alone didn’t she?”

 The man just nodes still looking at Muriel with shock and fear “then let her go.” The mans eyes go wide and he quickly lets go of Eliza, hands up in surrender stammering “S-So sorry. T-this was just a m-misunderstanding! YES! A misunderstanding that’s all Y-You know how it is with a few salty bitters right?” He laughs nervously as he gulps again. Muriel’s glare stays unmoving he steps forward and the man yelps stepping back “leave.” Muriel almost growls out. 

The man  frantically steps back almost tripping “right! Leaving now, right now” and with that he scrambles away from them. Eliza looks at the direction the man left relived that he was finally gone. “Are you alright?” She hears Muriel’s soft voice in front of her ask, making her look up at him, his face expressing worry, his gaze quickly softening as he takes her in his hands grabbing her wrist the man had held looking for any marks, then bringing his hands to cup her face. 

“Did he hurt you?” His gaze starting to harden but she quickly places her own hands on his giving him a smile “I’m fine. he didn’t hurt me” Muriel sighs, relief washing over him. he presses his lips to her forehead “good” she sees his face fall lightly “I’m sorry. I wasn’t with you, if I was this wouldn’t have ha-.” Eliza cuts him off by placing a finger to his lips “I won’t let you say those words” she takes his hands away from her face and holds them “you’re here with me now aren't you?” She smiles up at him “you’re always with me Muriel, always” his green eyes soften, gratefulness filling inside them.

 “Come on let’s go sit down” she says starting to walk towards their table but Muriel doesn't budge. She looks back at him in question, “you like this song.” He states Eliza looks around to the couples dancing. “Yeah, it’s nice” she smiles fondly and starts walking again. “I don’t want the song to be ruined for you” he mumbles. Eliza turns towards him surprised, her body warming up at his words. 

“what do you mean? The song isn’t ruined” Muriel pauses for a second and looks around, they were standing on the the outside of the dance square, most of the people still in the center. Eliza is about to ask him what is wrong when he pulls away his hand from hers, she looks down confused at this action. Eliza hears him take in a deep breath her eyes moving back to his seeing a dust of pink on his cheeks also making an appearance going down his neck.

 He straightens up and puts a hand out towards Eliza and as if he practiced countless times before “can I have this dance?” Eliza’s mind stops working for a second as she looks up at the man before her who just asked her to dance so she would have happy memories, to the man that would only dance with her inside of his own hut, to the man who would do anything to make her smile. 

Eliza’s whole body feels weightless as she takes his rough hand, “you can” she states. Muriel’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise as if he wasn’t expecting her to say yes to him making Eliza let out a small laugh. He becomes red, his hands gently find their places on her body, he bites his lip and looks down to their feet nervous to start leading. Eliza can’t stop her heart from swelling at how adorable he looks, she hears the music and counts for him like she usually does when they dance together.

 “And a one, two. three. And a one.” She feels Muriel step forward and she follows him, she still counts until she knows he feels the music and lets him lead her. She is smiling up at him encouraging him, he looks down at her with a embarrassed smile. Eliza rests her head on his chest and lets the gentle music flow through them.

In that moment Muriel would do anything to make time stop. The feeling of the music mixed with her in his arms giving him full trust to lead her made his whole body warm. She had said that he was always with her but she was just the same, she was always with him. 

she was in his every thought, in every word he said, the feeling of her on his skin was constant, she was what made his heart beat even so frantically like it was now. Her entire self had already made an impact inside him that even if he tried to forget her something would always appear to make him remember. he was and forever will  be surrounded by her. 

For an instant the world around them faded away, they weren’t dancing at the festival anymore they just were, they were just there in that moment in each other’s presence. It wasn’t until the music stopped that pulled both lovers back to reality. Muriel still kept Eliza close as they both looked onto the stage. A person goes on to the side, announcing “presenting the countess Nadia giving the closing speech!” A cheer breaks out as Nadia climbs taking center stage.

 Eliza claps along with the others, smiling up at her friend. Nadia inclines her head to the announcer in thanks and looks out to the crowd “thank you everyone, this years summer festival was a successful one because of all of you and Your hard work. As the people of Vesuvia know and those who have traveled far to come here, This festival is meant to say farewell to the summer season. Farewell to long days and short nights, to hot mornings  which we had a few of, didn’t we?” The crowd laughs and murmurs in agreement remembering the heat wave that passed. 

“But with that we also say farewell to cold desserts, to time at the beach in the warm sand and time to visit friends and family. But although we say farewell to all of these things and many more that come with summer we welcome the new experiences that come our way. Farewells are not always meant to be wrapped in a sense of sadness, some farewells are just endings to certain parts of our lives. where one thing ends something new always begins, I look forward to sharing those new experiences with you all. So for this festival, for this summer let’s close it with a happy ending shall we?” The crowd cheers once again and those cheers turn to gasps and aws as various colors light up the night sky.

 Muriel looks up to the sky taking in the sight of the fireworks , hearing the music start up again. He hears Eliza’s aw’s at the blasts of light over the buildings, she looks up at him, a content expression on her face. He takes her hand and spins her in front of him taking her all in, Eliza laughs and when she stops she rests her hands on his chest. Muriel searches her face, eyes roaming the face he has come to memorize. The colors above bloom across her features highlighting the pink on her cheeks and making her freckles shine like the constellations that were above them. 

She was breathtakingly beautiful to him in every way and in that moment he knew he never wanted to be parted from her ever again, he couldn’t see a life without her. All the endings he would have in his life he wanted to experience them with her at his side. 

Muriel leans his forehead against her own, “here’s to happy endings, Eliza” he says Her eyes flicker with emotion “to happy endings” she repeats and Before he can let his mind stop him Muriel picks her up in his arms and spins them both a laugh coming out of him, he looks up to see her laughing to. She looks down onto him and brings her hands to cup his cheeks. They both gaze into each other’s eyes sharing emotions that they only understand. The two lovers both tilt their heads towards each other and when their lips met it feels like a blast of colorful light shines against the night sky.

[pomegranates-and-blood]

for the wip tag, could i request a few ἐλπίς crumbs?💕

Hi love! Of course!

ἐλπίς, as I am, guessing you know, is the AU for Nostalgia where instead of returning to Greece, the Reader goes to Kattegat with Sieghild, around the time Ragnar is to return, so 4b.

Unlike Nostalgia, it won’t follow the structure of a myth (so far, but I don’t have much planned for it yet, just a few scattered scenes here and there, that I hope to form around a structure soon lol), but hey, if any of you guys have one or more Greek (or Norse!) myths you’d like for Hope to go into, I would love to hear them, please!

Anyhow, under the cut a little snippet of a scene in Elpís/Hope.

Welp, the snippet is 1.5k words, but hey, you can’t expect any different from me

“You are upset.” Ivar states, not even a question. Your foolish heart thinks you hear concern for a moment.

You trace the last edges of green in the plant’s leaves mournfully, “It was one of the last things I had from the Roads. I brought a few seeds I bought in Crete, but…of course, they couldn’t survive here.”

“You should have known that,” He tells you, harshly. You don’t know if you truly expected any different. “It was stupid to think they would survive.”

“Tell me, girl, what happens to flowers come winter?” The queen’s touch should be soft but it isn’t, even when it is gentle, as she caresses the side of your face. She doesn’t await an answer before she tells you, “They wither and die. No matter how beautiful, no matter how poisonous, soft things don’t survive lands like these.”

“I still had to try.” You tell them both.

“Why?”

“Everything here is so…” You lick your lips, trying to think of a word, trying to find the way to tell this foreigner in his foreign tongue about how you feel about his foreign land. Maybe all of it being so foreign just means you are the outsider here. Eventually, you settle for one word, “Cold. I wanted to have something alive, and…and vibrant, to remember the world we left behind.”

“What was so special about it, hm?”

You frown, “What?”

Ivar meets your gaze, unflinching, but gives away his anger in the stubborn gritting of his teeth, in the squared shoulders.

“You have everything you could want here. You…you want for nothing, you are close to the sons of Ragnar, and…” His words fade away at whatever it is he sees in your expression, and Ivar’s pale eyes narrow, “Do you regret coming here, is that it?” He asks, and you shake your head in response. Ivar huffs, “Then what are you saying? Because you talk a lot but you don’t say anything.”

You meet your eyes with what you are sure is a wounded expression, but you remind yourself to not give him the satisfaction quickly enough, and you lift your chin.

Sharply, you gesture with your arm towards the way he came from, and bite out, “Well, if me talking so much bothers you, leave me alone!”

He only rolls his eyes, doesn’t even move.

“That is not what I meant, and you know that.”

“Then what did you mean, Ivar? Because you also say a lot of things and I never know what you’re saying!”

“Why do you care what I say, huh?” He taunts, not willing to give an inch, “You don’t even want to be here, so why do you care!?”

“I never said-…” You take a breath, closing your eyes. You refuse to give in, you refuse to let him affect you so easily.

The door slams behind you as you leave, and your body withers under Kattegat’s cold when in your anger you forget to grab a cloak, but by will -and pride- alone you keep your back to the home, and continue walking the cold streets.

____

You do manage to ignore the subtle stares from the queen that seem to try and pry some truth from your silence. You do not, however, manage to ignore your mother and her brash nature that demands to know why you are angry, or why Ivar and you don’t’ spend as much time together anymore.

Instead of saying anything about the argument you had with the youngest prince, she takes you to the market, buys some seeds and saplings of plants native to these lands, and helps you plant them and place them in every nook and cranny you can find in your home. And, oddly enough, the small action leaves you a bit more comfortable, a bit warmer. It shouldn’t surprise you, really, that Sieghild knows you better than you know yourself.

It is by the third day since you stormed off that you meet with Ivar again. The door to your home opens and when you lift your gaze from the fire you sit in front of expecting your mother, instead you find Ivar, avoiding your gaze even as he crawls towards the center of the room where you are at.

He doesn’t say anything, and if you didn’t know better you’d think he was sulking. Still, he moves closer to the fire, only to stop when he is almost by the low seat you are in, as if hesitating on whether he should do as he usually does and sit next to you.

Ivar meets your eyes, a question even if he is too proud to ever voice it, and with a deep breath you look back ahead, an answer of your own. He braces his hands on the cushioned seat, letting out a small sound of exertion as he lifts himself onto the seat next to you.

You keep your eyes on the flickering flames, wondering why even as you sit so close to the fire you feel cold everywhere except the side that is pressed against him as you both sit in silence.

He lets out a sigh that sounds frustrated, you don’t know if at himself or you, but you don’t have time to ponder on it. Ivar interrupts your thoughts by reaching down and fetching something from his pocket.

He stretches a hand between you roughly, opening it to reveal a blue and golden trinket in the palm of his hand.

“What is this?”

“You like flowers,” He shrugs one shoulder, but he seems so carefully stiff it seems jarring, “These won’t die, at least.”

It is a bracelet, you realize with a strange warmth blossoming in your chest, a small bracelet made of small metal flowers encrusted with a few blue jewels.

“Oh.”

You don’t know what to say, or what to do. You surely cannot accept it.

Finally, he lifts his head to meet your gaze, and when your eyes meet his search for something you aren’t sure he finds. He always seems to be searching for the answers to questions he hasn’t yet asked.

“D-Do you like it?” He asks, more unsure that you would have ever expected to hear from him. Your breath leaves you sharply, and all you can do is nod dumbly.

“I do, of course I-…” You press your lips together to keep yourself from babbling, and after a breath insist, more calmly, “You could just say sorry, you don’t have to get me things.”

His brow furrows immediately, and he shakes his head, stubborn and proud.

“I am not apologizing,” Your incredulity must shine through in your expression, because Ivar rolls his eyes, a groan of annoyance leaving his lips, “Just accept this thing, woman.”

In a moment that feels more daunting than it should be, with your heart beating faster than it should be, instead of taking the bracelet you extend a hand.

It will never cease to amaze you how there’s so many small ways to disarm Ivar, and it seems this is one of those times. He clears his throat, and reaches to put the delicate flower bracelet around your wrist, securing it with quick fingers.

And so you remain, shoulder to shoulder as you quietly examine the gift you still don’t believe you should accept.

“Did you steal this?”

He stares at you for a moment.

“Yes. I ran away with it,” He mocks, head tilted to the side. Still, he betrays the smallest of smiles at the way you roll your eyes at him. “Surprised everyone enough to get away with it, you should have been there.”

He still hasn’t told you how he got it, and you’re almost afraid to hear he spent gold on it, so you don’t insist, lowering your gaze to the trinket in your hands and tracing the metal flowers with the tips of your fingers, as softly as if they were real petals.

They are cold to the touch, and the craftmanship is foreign, but they are still familiar, and they fill your chest with warmth, though you suspect that has nothing to do with the bracelet itself.

Biting down the stupid urge to keep your cards close to your chest, you clear your throat. Still, you don’t look at him as you mutter,

“Thank you, Ivar.”

When you feel brave enough to lift your eyes to him, you find him looking at you with a softness you hadn’t seen before in him, at least not so openly offered. The reason why you haven’t is clear in the way his gaze falls from yours almost immediately, a flickering smile on his lips.

When you take notice of the flustered curve of his smile, of the faint shade of red you can see on the top of his cheekbones; your heart skips a beat in your chest.

Since that day, or maybe since before then but you were too proud to admit it, this world doesn’t seem as cold anymore, and with him you don’t feel so much like an outsider.

____ ____ ____

Thank you, hope you liked it!

Two things:

“Then what are you saying? Because you talk a lot but you don’t say anything.” of Hope!Ivar vs. Which you do (talk). A lot. He has a feeling you think you talk and share a lot less than you actually do.But you give a lot away. of Nostalgia!Ivar. That’s it, that’s the reason this scene exists.

“You like flowers.”

Thank you for reading!

[thecassadilla]

The Perfect Moment

Word Count: 1,866/AO3

Pairing: New Dream/Rapunzel x Eugene

Summary: Eugene tries to find the perfect moment to propose to Rapunzel. 

Author’s Note: Hi everyone! This is my contribution for Day 5 of New Dream Appreciation Week - Proposal! I’d just like to reiterate that I, idiotically, have not watched seasons 2 and 3 of Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure (well, I watched one random episode at 3 in the morning, but that’s a different story for a different day). While I know there were multiple proposals and rings from both Eugene and Rapunzel, I actually haven’t seen any of them, unfortunately. So, in true “me” fashion, this is a Modern!AU that I pulled out of thin air. Seriously, I don’t know how I managed to come up with this - I’ve never been proposed to, and all of my friends have gotten engaged in Disney World. Definitely not my area of expertise lol. I hope you enjoy it!

If you asked him directly, Eugene would’ve denied being a planner. He lived his life on the edge, doing things on a whim. Spontaneity. Until he met Rapunzel - then he subconsciously became a planner. Although outwardly, he tried to play it cool and pretend like he was too focused on living in the moment to care about the future, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It only became evident to him when he purchased an engagement ring for Rapunzel and carried it around for months, unsure of when and how to propose to her. 

Like the night they went to dinner and she looked so beautiful. He wanted to pull the ring out of his pocket and propose right there, but then there was a fire in the kitchen and they all evacuated, so they ended up getting fast food and calling it a night. So, he scrapped his plans and decided it would be best to wait for a better opportunity.

There was the weekend they went to New York City where he thought about proposing a thousand times. Like inside the Museum of Modern Art; the vibes weren’t right, though, and that plan quickly went out the window. He thought about doing it at the ice skating rink at Bryant Park, but then someone injured themselves while skating and he knew he would’ve felt guilty for taking away the attention from someone who’d just been hurt. He very seriously thought about doing it in front of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center, and just as he was about to pull out the ring and get down on one knee, a couple less than ten feet away from them got engaged. Forget Times Square, that place was filled with couples getting engaged. And then just like that, the weekend was gone and so was the opportunity to propose in New York.

He thought about doing it on New Years Eve, surrounded by their friends and family at a party, and instead, he found himself in a fog.

“Hey,” Rapunzel said, shaking his arm slightly.

He shook his head in an attempt to come out of his trance. “Huh?”

“Are you alright?” She asked, a glimmer of concern in her eyes.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I was deep in thought.”

“Okay,” she smiled. “Just checking.”

And thus, another opportunity fizzled before his eyes. He was immensely grateful that Rapunzel appeared to be none the wiser to his plans, failed or otherwise. The thought was on his mind constantly, but he had a long list of everything that it had to be: perfect, for starters. Unique. Unforgettable. Extraordinary. And daily life just wasn’t like that; it was ordinary and mundane. They went to work and ran their errands, and that was that. 

He was certain that he was going to do it on Valentine’s Day. He had the entire evening planned out; they were going to go to see a show at the theatre, and then to a fancy restaurant and he was going to do it - no more inhibitions. Until he got stuck late at work.

“Hello?”

“Hey, sunshine,” he said into the phone, trying his best to keep his voice from cracking. 

“Hi, baby!” She exclaimed. “Sorry, I’ve got my hands full and I couldn’t see who was calling. But I’m so excited for tonight.”

“Yeah, about that…” he started, but trailed off.

“Oh no, what’s wrong?”

“I’m stuck working late,” he sighed. “I’m really sorry, I know you were looking forward to tonight.”

“Oh,” she said, the slightest hint of disappointment in her voice for a split second. “Well we can always reschedule! It’s just a day, after all.”

She was ever the optimist, wasn’t she? If only he felt the same way. He wasn’t bitter, but it was yet another wrench in his plans. And this one wasn’t for lack of trying, or because someone else stole the moment, either. It was just sheer bad luck. 

So he sat on it for a long, long time. There were no more special days, no more special trips. Time was passing quickly, and it was starting to bother him more and more, and eventually it became noticeable. 

“Is everything okay, Eugene?” She asked while they were sitting at the dinner table one night.

He looked up. “Of course.”

“You’re lying.”

His eyes widened. “What?”

“Something isn’t right,” she said, placing her hand on top of his. “You haven’t been yourself lately. Is something bothering you?”

“No, everything’s fine,” he lied. “Things have just been rough at work. You know how it is.”

“Okay,” she nodded, her eyes sympathetic. “You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

He didn’t answer. And he hated himself for that. He hated himself for lying to her, and he hated himself for not doing it right then and there. But the most perfect woman in the world was sitting right in front of him, and she deserved nothing less than perfection. 

He decided that he’d have to work harder to disguise his feelings. And more time passed. He thought about doing it when they went to the park at sunset, but they were being eaten alive by mosquitoes and had to leave before he could even think about doing anything. He thought about doing it the night they sat outside and stargazed, until their neighbors came outside and ruined the moment. He contemplated doing it on her birthday, but that plan fell to pieces when he realized that she should have her birthday to herself; getting engaged should be a separate day to celebrate. He thought about doing it when they were laying in bed one night; she was reading a book and just as he was about to clear his throat, she leaned in to kiss him goodnight and turned off her lamp. And the moment had escaped yet again.

And that brought them to mid-July. He’d been carrying around the ring for eight months, letting it sit in its box instead of on her finger, where it belonged. The beach, the pier, the mountain they hiked, and the drive down the coast became other missed opportunities along the way.

When he woke up that morning, he wasn’t surprised to see that she was already gone. It wasn’t unusual for her to get up early on a Saturday to run her errands. He laid in bed for a while, brooding and muttering to himself before he got up and decided to go on a long drive to clear his head. It didn’t help, of course. He wasn’t only wasting time, but also gas. He felt totally incompetent; the ring was burning a hole in his pocket and he felt like he wasn’t being honest with Rapunzel. 

He returned home in the early afternoon, feeling no better than he did before he left. He took a deep breath as he pushed his key into the lock, unsure what he would do if Rapunzel noticed his sullen expression - it was more a matter of when than if, at this point, though.

The living room was covered in a large tarp, an easel and blank canvas in the center of the room. The coffee table was pushed into the kitchen and a bouquet of sunflowers wrapped in brown paper were resting on the counter. Every blind and curtain was open, so the entire room was illuminated with natural light.

“Hey!” Rapunzel called, emerging from the hallway with a stool in her hands. “I wasn’t sure when you were coming back, so I turned the living room into a studio. I hope you don’t mind.”

He was immediately taken aback by her appearance. She was wearing denim overall shorts, with a white floral off-the-shoulder top underneath. She had a light blue headband in her hair, a small knot sitting perfectly in the center. She placed the stool next to the easel and put her hands on her hips. She looked so happy, and completely at ease with the world.

“No,” he shook his head, dumbfounded. “I don’t mind at all.”

“I figured you wouldn’t,” she giggled. “Oh, and guess what!”

“What?”

“I went to the market today and they said the sunflowers bloomed two weeks early! Isn’t that just incredible?” She gushed. 

“Yeah, that is something,” he said, his voice low.

“The only thing is, I can’t remember where I put the vase. I’d like to get them in some water, but I don’t know where it is,” she said, bringing her fingers up to her face. 

He tried to think but his brain wasn’t working.

“Ooh!” She exclaimed suddenly, clapping her hands together. “I remember what I did with it!”

She raced down the hallway, and he heard the closet door open. A minute later she was back with the vase in his hand, and he realized that he never moved from the entryway to their apartment. He was standing there, shoes on and keys in hand, frozen. 

“I found it! I was keeping all of my sewing stuff in it temporarily,” she explained, bringing the empty vase into the kitchen. She navigated around the coffee table that was taking up most of the room, and he heard the tap turn on, followed by the sound of paper being torn away. A few seconds passed and she came out, holding the vase full of sunflowers in her hands. She was smiling brightly when she said “See! Look at how nice that looks.”

She went back into the living room and placed the vase on the stool. And then he decided it was now or never.

“Marry me,” he said, his voice practically a whisper. 

“What was that?” She asked, her back facing him.

He dropped his keys on the floor, startling her, and then charged in her direction. She turned to face him and he repeated himself.

“Marry me,” he said, breathlessly.

Several looks crossed her face - confusion, shock, delight. “I-uh, w-what?” She stuttered.

And so he pulled the ring box out of his pocket, got down on one knee, and opened it. Both of her hands flew up to cover her mouth and her eyes widened as she watched his every move.

“Rapunzel, you’re my best friend. I love everything about you - your kindness, your ability to see the world in a positive light, your creativity and your sassiness. You inspire me to be a better man each and every day. I love going on adventures with you and I want all of our adventures to be together. I know you're the only one I want to share the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” She nodded, tears pooling in her eyes and offered him her shaky left hand.

He slid the ring onto her finger and stood up, and immediately she was in his arms. 

“I can’t believe this,” she blubbered, when she finally pulled away. “How long have you been planning this?” 

“A long time,” he admitted, sheepishly. “I’ve had the ring for about eight months, and I kept trying to find the perfect moment, but it wasn’t easy.”

“Nothing could be more perfect than this,” she promised, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.

[sufferingsoup]

Listen I’ve been fucking ~obsessed~ with @thenerdyalchemist ‘s pirate AU (I’m sure nobody could tell bc I definitely don’t reblog eVrY dAmN pOsT of it nope not me never😂😂) and I just needed to write this scene. I’ve had it in my head since I read all the HCs for this AU and I needed to put it on paper lol. I’m not great at writing whatsoever, I’m v out of practice and def didn’t edit this, but I wrote it and it exists so I might as well post it right? Lmao. Anyway here it is hope u enjoy 😩 (Also sorry in advance abt the wack ass formatting lmao. I never make posts on tumblr and I highkey wrote this in a note on my phone and then pasted it in here lol)

Runaan grinned as he practically hung over the side of his ship, watching the familiar dock inch closer and closer. It felt like years since he had been back to this town, /his/ town. He was finally in the home stretch, and his crew couldn’t dock the ship fast enough for him. Before, he could stay out at sea forever. If it weren’t for the need to restock supplies every once in a while, he probably would. The open ocean was his home town, his crew was his family, his ship was his home, he didn’t need anything else before. But now? Now he had a reason to /want/ to go back to land.

/Him./

It had been an absolutely agonizing few months. When he had first set sail, he figured it would be like every other quest. Of course he would miss Ethari dearly, but they would both be busy with their respective work, and they could write to each other in the mean time. But this time was different. The moment he left his heart had sunk, leaving a gaping hole in his chest that widened further as he watched Ethari sit on the dock and wave until he could no longer see him. The first thing he did was write a letter to him. Even though he had only just left, he felt like a huge piece of him was missing without him there by his side. He found that he could not enjoy himself as much as he normally would.

The salty smell of the sea and the rhythmic pounding of the waves that used to calm him no matter how upset he was now served only to fill his thoughts with memories of midnight walks along the beach. The sand between his toes and rough, yet gentle fingers interlacing with his own, shoulders knocking against each other every so often. Looking into those bright amber eyes reflecting the moonlight back at him, putting all of his emotions clearly on display for Runaan to see.

The beating heat of the sun that would warm him through to his bones after a stormy night now reminded him of the forge, his mind replaying all the soft, intimate conversations they had while Ethari tinkered away on whatever his current project was. That thick accent of his, and his deep voice that could command the attention of an entire town if he wanted to, clashing oh-so-beautifully with his gentle laugh and sweet words.

The sea shanties the crew would sing in celebration of a successful mission, the dancing that accompanied them, the merriment he once found endearing and joyous and hilarious now dragged Ethari’s ethereal voice through his mind, reminding him of the many dances they shared during the festivals Ethari would drag him to when he visited. The brightest, purest of grins gracing that magnificent face as they held each other close, moving together to the beat and singing along with the familiar lyrics.

Everywhere he looked he only saw Ethari. All the sounds he heard, the scents he smelled, the touches he felt, the flavors he tasted, everything came back to him. /Oh, Ethari would love these jewels, he would make the prettiest necklace out of them!/ ... /The fire smells just like his workshop tonight, I wonder what he’s working on right now/ ... /Ethari so adores the sound of the seagulls calling out over the beach, I’ll have to tell him how many have followed us!/ All of his thoughts were consumed by /him/. It was driving him mad not being able to see him, hear him, touch him for himself.

But today was the day. /Finally/ he would be able to hold him again, and this time he would not let him go.

Ethari hummed softly as he carefully shined thin wires around the glittering stone. He wanted to make a unique little ring as a returning gift for Runaan. The shiny silver wires braided together and held a small, elegant opal in the center. Runaan’s last letter had informed him that he was almost back again, he was expecting him any day now. He had made sure to clear his schedule for a few days so he could welcome him back properly. He had so many things to tell him and show him, and Runaan always brought him lots of sparkly things when he returned from his quests.

He has been terribly lonely while Runaan was away. He was always a bit uneasy when he left, always worrying for his safety and missing his presence. Working on his projects was much more fun when his heart was safe and sound right next him to tell him stories and laugh at his awful jokes. But this time was much harder.

He was gone for a long time, and even though they wrote each other frequently, nothing could quite fill the hole in his heart. He decided he hated sleeping alone ever since Runaan had begun to stay with him when he would return. Every morning he would awaken to find himself disappointed at the empty silence that met him. Runaan would always be up bright and early, practicing his sword-fighting in the living room or getting chores done for him before the sun even had the chance to peak over the horizon. He would have tea and breakfast ready for him every morning, and Ethari was convinced that there was no better sight than a messy, early-morning Runaan bustling away in the kitchen with his hair down.

No, he didn’t like having breakfast without Runaan at all. Just like he hated walking the market without their arms linked together, Runaan haggling over everything Ethari tried to buy. Just like he hated wandering the beaches alone, without his hard-ass, pirate-king lover to playfully kick sand at and push into the water. Just like he hated coming across a new merchant with fun new foods and goods he had never seen before without Runaan to explain what they were and eagerly buy the lot for him. Life was utterly dull without Runaan by his side.

But soon he would be back. Soon he would be back in his arms.

Runaan pulled his hair out of its messy bun as they approached the dock, allowing it to flow in the breeze as freely and lightly as he felt. The moment the ship was close enough to the dock, he leaped over the side and climbed down.

“Make sure she’s tied down good, lads! I’ll be back in a bit to help with the unloading!” He called to his crew as he ran towards the street.

His heart fluttered as he felt the little ring hidden in his coin purse bounce against his leg. Today was the day. He sped through the market on the familiar route he had taken hundreds of times before. People jumped out of his way as they saw the tattoos on his face, gazing after him questioningly. It wasn’t very usual to see the dreaded pirate king running through town like a giddy schoolgirl. He didn’t care, though. He was on a mission of utmost importance. His body was leading him to his heart as fast as it could carry him. Before he knew it, he could see the familiar old door with the splintering old sign dangling above it, swaying in the light breeze. His grin widened as he picked up his pace for the final few strides. He skidded to a halt in front of the workshop door and kicked it in.

“Ethari!” He shouted, ready to combust from the pure excitement and the slight nerves zipping around throughout his body. The tinker gasped in surprise from his position at his worktable, whipping around to see the most beautiful man he had ever laid eyes on grinning in the wide-open doorway. He gasped again and slapped a hand over his mouth as hot tears began to sting at the corners of his eyes.

“Runaan!” He replied, getting up from his stool and running toward his lover, “I didn’t know you’d be back so-“

He stopped hard in his tracks a few paces away from him when Runaan suddenly dropped to one knee, staring up into his eyes with the softest look he had ever seen on his hard features. Ethari watched silently with wide eyes as Runaan dug in his coin purse and retrieved a shiny golden band adorned with tiny, glittering aventurine crystals around the middle, holding it up to him.

“Marry me, Ethari.” He breathed. The tears were flowing freely down Ethari’s cheeks now.

“Are you sure?” He asked, voice small and quivering. Runaan nodded hastily, grabbing Ethari’s hands tightly.

“I don’t want to be without you for another second, my darling heart. I want to travel the world with you by my side. I want to show you all the amazing things I get to see. I want you to sing to me while we lay together in our hammock and let the waves rock us to sleep. I want to make you tea every morning for the rest of my life, just so I can see that beautiful, sleepy, lopsided grin of yours first thing every day. You are all I need in this life. Please, my love, my /heart/, be my forever.”

Ethari fell to his knees in front of him, sobbing into his hands. Runaan pulled him into a tight embrace, tangling a hand into his messy hair as Ethari buried his face in the crook of his neck. They stayed that way for a moment, Ethari crying onto his shoulder as Runaan comforted him gently. When Ethari had calmed down enough to think, Runaan chuckled softly.

“Is that a yes?” He teased.

Ethari pulled back, cupping Runaan’s face in his hands and staring deeply into his eyes.

“What else could it possibly be, my shade?” He sniffed before crashing their lips together desperately.

After a moment of passionate kissing, Runaan pulled back and took Ethari’s hand gently in his own, sliding the sparkling ring onto his finger. Ethari lifted his hand to admire it. The gems were the color of Runaan’s eyes, and they sparkled beautifully no matter which way the light hit them. Suddenly, he remember the little ring he had dropped on his table when his door had been busted in. He gasped and ran over to grab it. Runaan followed him curiously, trying to peek over his shoulder before Ethari turned and held it up to him.

“It was just supposed to be a ‘welcome back’ gift, but it seems it might be a bit more than that now.” He giggled as Runaan stared at it in awe.

“It’s beautiful...” he said as Ethari took his hand and gently placed it on his finger. He turned his hand over and over again, taking in every bit of the artistry and craftsmanship that went into the tiny piece of jewelry before grinning up at his newly betrothed. He fell into Ethari’s strong arms and kissed him again - more gently this time - before resting their foreheads together.

“So,” Ethari started with a mischievous grin, “does this mean I finally get to watch you swab the poop-deck now? I was never on the ship long enough to see it.” He teased. Runaan groaned, but he couldn’t mask the laugh that bubbled up from his belly.

“No,” he sassed back, “it means /I/ get to watch /you/ do it. The /king/ never does hard manual labor.” He grinned, pinching Ethari’s sides. Ethari snorted and grabbed his hands, wrapping his arms around him again and pinning them behind his back firmly. He smirked at him and brushed his nose lightly against Runaan’s.

“We’ll see about that later tonight now won’t we, my /king/.”

[justformyself2]

Notting Hill.

A/N: Wow, who also need a good story to be pumped for the apocalypse? raise your hand please!

Not really sure if you guys know about this story, but June 27,2020 is the date, look it up lol. You know what else we could be doing before going to hell once for all for lusting so much over John Krasinski? 

Sign this Petitions and donate if possible:

Justice for Elijah McClain

Elijah McClain donation

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BLACK LIVES MATTER NOW AND ALWAYS.

Well, now that i said what i said, let me finish by telling you, this is an important story for me. The past months have been extremely rough and i struggled like never before to fight for something i love to do not be consumed by dark thoughts, regardless of the past, i’m proud to be posting this right now, no matter how long it took for me and how minimal it may seem, goddamn i feel happy to create and write, and for you guys, in whatever you need to do, dream of doing, don’t let dark thoughts guide you into staying stuck, shine, do what you love, we all have the capacity.

This is my participation on my friend’s @lullabieswrappedinlies​​ rom-com writing challenge (go check her out, she is so damn creative and amazing)

This story is based on the movie Notting Hill and will be added on my masterlist. or tell me you want to be tagged if you want to keep up.

BEFORE YOU JUMP IN BE ADVISED

. Pairing: Reader x John Krasinski.

. It contains strong language.

. Click here for soundtrack of movie if you are in your feelings today

                                                   JOHN’S POV

“John, we will be ready in five.”

“Ok.”

I press the phone once again against my ear, listening to her heavy sigh. It is easy to mold her face into my brain with dexterity. The bushy eyebrows, casting a shadow under piercing blue eyes, seeking to grab my soul, she succeeding to combine it all with a condescending smile on her lips. Condescension which I have to kiss it off.

“Well, if you want to go, then go.”

Deep down, she was still trying, and I can’t take that for granted.

“I don’t want to go. I need to go, an enormous difference. It’s work.”

I aim to be the diplomatic debater, the mediator, and the opponent. She is better than me at being the third party, perfecting the act of passive-aggressiveness in chosen phrases, fuming through her nose on the other side of the line. An act I wish to interpret as a genuine breathed laugh with no second intentions; my five minutes seemed to multiply.

“Call you later?”

I say.

“Yes.”

She answers

“Love you.”

She hanged up.

                                                            --------

                                                      Y/N POV

“This book is so weird and sexist, holy shit.”

You put the phone down, and Nova throws another eighties romance book into the cardboard box with its copies.

“Language.” You sing at her in a scolding tone. 

“Sorry.” She sings back. “But you know I’m right. They are always pairing a young girl with some fifty years old, control freak who prey on them with their big, strong, tan hands.”

You giggle, and she looks satisfied.

Regardless of the narrative that anyone could quickly review, it was ‘in’ right now, as Agnes said, and what her bookclub wanted. “Un plaisir coupable.” she completed; the thin red lines that were her lips stretched in a laugh, causing her blue contacts to squint. 

Soon enough, the scavenging for the material began, and you found the yellow pages, delivered with weird smells, phone numbers, and addresses written on the inside of the covers, but still readable.

“They paid and are coming to pick them up tomorrow. It’s the only thing I care about right now. Also, don’t let her catch you saying that you hear me? I will help finish this then we can close before your mom shows up and kill me when she finds out you are here.”

You move from behind the counter, seeing the digital hour hit past ten pm on the laptop.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, she already knows.”

The unconcerned Nova grabs a box, and you grab another following her quick steps, twisting to the right almost at the end of the hall, entering a room that was once a decent private office before it became nonfunctional. 

The reserved bookshelf for Agnes club waited empty, a last-minute metal book rack next to the bay window. To create an illusion of a comfortable place for a book club, orange curvy chairs, which Alexis begged to be thrown out, along with the red Arabic carpet left behind with the chairs by the old owner. Every time you enter the space taking a deep, immediate, frustrated breath, Alexis wins a point.

You place the box down, looking at your niece.

“Kyle?”

You ask, and Nova hums softly, doing the stocking job.

 Kyle, more than a name it was first a banned topic usually discussed between a limited couple of sentences. His name was a warning, along with his unrequested presence at random, unannounced times. It became harder since Nova wasn’t at a manageable age anymore. It was tough at fifteen, and as the time passes by, sweetness gains the bitterness, and innocence, gone.

“Well, you know you will always have a second bed, Donkey misses you.”

You gain a laugh while she finishes her box.

“Oh God, can’t believe you still keep him there.”

You shrug impulsively, paying attention to your own hands, arranging the books and their horizontal titles on a pile.

“It was your favorite toy, why would I throw it away?”

“You know why.”

 A pause and a deep breath came from her, triggering the thought, long forgotten about, that people still expected you to be mourning over material remains.

“It’s okay to throw away with the rest of the others, it’s been a long time.”

Her auburn hair was now being tied in a bun. Your fifteen-year-old niece, holding a peaceful outside appearance, didn’t mind sounding more mature than you wanted to admit.

 “Good... then we can donate, not throw it away.”

“Even better.”

She agrees quickly, stomping on the empty cardboard box.

Nova turns out the lights as you awaited for her, leaning against the glass door on the entrance, blowing hot humid air into your cold fingers and watching over nothing other than a middle-aged man with a red beanie walking a Greyhound on the other side of the empty street. 

Notting Hill wasn’t known for its nightlife. It was almost a deserted city by eight and in the light of day, Portobelo Rode fruit market brings it to life. On weekdays, stalls and its hay baskets, packed with succulent fruits and greens, filled the streets along with shouted invites, half prices and sweet-soured smells invading each corner; on weekends the baskets shape-shifted to antiques of all kinds, genuine or handmaid, the crowd and the stalls multiplied in the small village. 

In-between buyers and sellers of what you could harvest or find in your gramma’s basement there was your store, a bookstore, one corner away from your home, squeezed in the middle of Linda’s cafe and a self-employed yoga instructor that recently rented Mr. Walsh’s house, a retired Navy who moved to Greenwich with his daughter-in-law three weeks ago; his red door house now held a big white plaque with ‘Sivananda Yoga’ written in cursive gold letters, phone number and social media included under the picture of a woman in the lotus posture.

“A yoga studio, nice!” Says Nova, coming closer to the four steps leading up to the red door.

You close the store and covers her shoulders with your arm when the icy wind started building up.

“We could try it someday, your mom-.”

“Hates trying new things.” She completed. “Don’t even bother.”

 “That is where you are the wrong baby. It may seem like this now, but I wish you could have seen your mom in her prior days. Wow... She was glorious.”

The feeling of wandering eyes aiming at your face became stronger as you carried her along the street under your embrace.

“Before my dad, I guess.”

A tiny part of your soul lighten up, recognizing itself in your niece’s words, but there was no place to fuel her fiery tone.                                                                                           

“To be honest, I don’t know, but people change Nova, everyone eventually, even the ones we thought we had figured out, including ourselves.”

“Whatever, I don’t want him back in the house again if she puts him back, I’m moving with you.”

The decisiveness in her voice sent bad vibrations along your back. 

Unusual memory mechanism. Alexis visited your mind, vivid as if you could see her across the street you were crossing, she waiting and shivering at your front door because you forgot the spare key in the store again. 

After the scolding she would show a rose-colored box from Fincher’s cafe under her arm, comporting the most amazing banoffee pie, your favorite pie from your favorite place. 

Fincher’s cafe, that was once located two blocks away from where you two lived was closed when the old owner went bankrupt and reopened in Queensway street, she would drive there every weekend to bring that rose-colored box under her arm and wait for you on the couch, once the spare key was in the fake birdhouse, with the TV turned on and the plates placed on the center table next to the wine.

“See, I don’t think that will happen.”

“How could you know? Didn’t you just said people change?”

“And love changes people, your mother has more for you than you could ever imagine and without measuring efforts. She wouldn’t make any decision that would hurt you, trust me.”

Nova quickly disengage from the conversation, staying on mute abruptly, leaving a temporary gap for thoughts of doubt to occupy. Your heart is worried, but a grown-up, worried heart shouldn’t be shown while trying to pass a sense of security. That included waiting for Nova to fall sleep before calling Alexis.

You climb the four steps and opens the blue door, face to face with smiling Rudolph from last Christmas, hanging by a thread along with Santa, waiting to be taken down as the feeling in the pit of your stomach.

“I ate at home so if you don’t mind I will go to bed now.”

Unreeling the red knitted scarf, the tenth big piece Alexis attempted to make at her knitting fase, Nova doesn’t look behind once. You watch her back as she went upstairs to the guest room, her special fort at five, and now her hideaway at fifteen, with fewer toys and Donkey, an old stuffed toy still sitting in the shelf waiting for no one in a room cleaned every week.

You dismiss the purple scarf from around your shoulders, the third big piece on your sister’s collection, not as good as the tenth, but it warmed you inside to observe her trying to hide a proud smile in seeing what she made wrapped around Nova and you.

A stupidly cold breeze hits the back of your neck before you turned around to close the door, the phone rings along with squealing tires of a black car on the other side of the street.

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