#answering for prologue: Project Fairytale

[whatevermywpis]

Your protolage (sorry idk how to spell 😭) is 🔛🔝

It’s prologue but thank u~

[lair-of-platonic-yanderes]

Lost bet. Prologue

Platonic! Yandere! Mythological Creatures AU! BSD Characters x Child! GN! Reader x Platonic! Yandere! Mythological Creatures AU! Genshin Impact Characters

Description: Your village was located near really weird place, "Cemetery of Shrines", huge chunk of forest territory, littered with few dozen of old abandoned shrines.

A welcoming place for a test of courage. And paying a debt.

You lost a bet and have to spend seven nights in an abandoned shrine. You must be alone, but you are allowed to go prepared. You also can choose the shrine you must stay in.

It's just an old building. There is no way something is hiding here.

Warning and tags: OOC. AU. Platonic Yanderes. One Shot series. Forced adoption. Chosen creatures are loosely based on real myths, their behavior can be different from the one depicted in myth.

A/N: Inspired by games "Wick" and "Five nights at Candy's 2". Names of Reader's friends are taken from "Wick" Characters.

All coincidences with real people are accidental, and do not serve the purpose of offending anyone.

This series might be more or less always running on this blog. The one-shots will be put into "seasons". Each season will include 5 fics (5 shrines/youkais/creatures).

Same creatures can appear in different seasons, but characters will be different.

I will prefer choosing characters for myself, but, if you have a proposal or an interesting idea for a youkai, you can send it, and I will consider adding it to a next season.

In a future, I might use the same characters in different seasons as different youkais or beasts. We will see.

__________

"[Y/N], are you sure, that you will be okay?" your Grandma sounded concern. Of course, her grandchild and their friends were working on a hard and important school project. It was so hard, that they have to stay overnight for a whole week in Caleb's, one of their friend, house. You put a blanket in your backpack, trying not to look at her. You mumbled.

"I will be okay, Granny. I promise."

Old lady wasn't convinced, but dropped the subject.

"I will prepare a lunchbox for you. It is the least I can do, so Caleb's mom won't worry about feeding you."

She left your room without another word.

You felt bad for lying to her. She raised you, while your father was busy working in the city. She doesn't deserve to be lied to.

But, you can't tell her the truth. You can't tell her, that for a week you will stay at some abandoned shrine, because you lost a stupid bet. And, if you don't follow the conditions, the bullying with became even more unbearable.

You finish packing your little backpack (blanket, favorite plush toy and flashlight) and went to kitchen. You will take something to eat. And then, you will wait for a few more hours before going to Caleb's house.

And then to "Cemetery of Shrines".

You always wondered why there were so many shrines around the village. Teachers in school didn't know the answer, and your grandma can only tell you fairytales about youkais and mythological creatures.

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Caleb's house was chosen for a reason.

First, the house was the closest to the Cemetery of Shrines.

Second, his parents, currently weren't home, and his older brother can't be bothered to count all kids in the house or look after them.

And he wasn't bothered, that a bunch of kids decided to go for a walk.

Caleb and his friends were flocking around you, while you were slowly going to the border of the forest. Of the "Cemetery of Shrines" border.

When you reach your destination, Caleb took a stack of small papers. Bad drawn maps were scribbled on them.

"So, what shire you chose, [Y/N]?" Caleb gave you an ugly grin.

You ignored him and his friends snickering and point at...

________

Season I (coming soon)

________

Shrine with a fox statue (Platonic! Yandere! Kitsune! Chuuya Nakahara x GN! Child! Reader)

Shrine with wooden birds on top of torii (Platonic! Yandere! Tengu! Dazai Osamu x GN! Child! Reader)

One of the four shrines with stone tablet with constellation on it. The Eastern one. (Platonic! Yandere! Seiryū! Akutagawa Ryunosuke x GN! Child! Reader)

Shrine with almost faded rooster's painting on one of the walls (Platonic! Yandere! Basan! Ranpo Edogawa x GN! Child! Reader)

Shrine, where you can often spot a lot of raccoons (Platonic! Yandere! Tanuki! Edgar Allan Poe x GN! Child! Reader)

__________

[erysium]

If you don't mind me asking, how long is it between the prologue and chapter 6 of Kochab? I've seen people arguing how long the time frame is for Kochab, and frankly, I'm confused, haha. 😅

also, do you have any tips for aspiring comic artists? I've seen a few asks about it before, but I was just wondering if you had tips on drawing/writing about characters/rooms/settings.

thank you and have a good night! good luck on the print version of Kochab, I really hope it goes well!

I don't think it's too important a detail (I like the idea of it being fairytale/fairy land-time !) but I was thinking at least 1-2 weeks pass.

that's a hard one to answer! I think something that helped me was doing concept art and sketches to figure out what character moments/moods/settings/events I really wanted to include in the comic. The moments that are the most fun to write/draw are the ones that I have a really exciting vision for/vivid mood, and want to figure out by getting onto paper.

I also usually start chapter thumbnails by doodling what I'm most excited about in the chapter/any cool visual metaphors I really want to use/the most important character moments, and having that as a mini-moodboard to keep me focused on what's important is helpful. :)

Even more general, I think having a big folder full of favourite art/inspirations for a particular project is the biggest help whenever I'm feeling stuck in writing or design.

thank you!! i really hope it goes well too. good night! 🌜✨

[phoenixtakaramono]

So, as you know, TNotG will have 135 chapters spanning 6 arcs + the return to Billy’s OG world in the prologue (because, it has to be seven, y’get the reference?). Think of it as 6 Butchlander AUs that tie together in a bigger overarching narrative. I do have some logic regarding the order of these arcs (aka why it’s these worlds and why it has to be in this specific order of arcs). Mostly the reason is because I love reading certain genres in my free time so writing a QT presents this writer the opportunity to try out a couple of them, to experiment. Also with The Boys being an unfinished TV series as of 2023 with S4 projected to air in maybe 2024, my logic was: I have to make it a series of AUs, otherwise I’ll feel discouraged after seeing what’ll probably be canonized in S4, S5–? Basically I’m thinking of ways to keep my motivation alive to keep writing this 135ch QT. By then, I will have enough time to have seen the direction the TV has gone in for S4 and maybe S5, so I can make a decision then of how to “fix it” for the penultimate arc.

The reason why we’re starting off in the medieval fantasy genre first for Task World 1 for The Name of the Game:

The smart answer: it’s the genre I’m known for in my AO3 portfolio (pseudohistorical romance, really, if we truly condense everything I’ve written down)—so why not start off strong with what I know? I can confidently riff off the Western medieval fantasy tropes that we see in Game of Thrones, Dragon Age: Inquisition, the Witcher, etc to make a subtly fun and meta deconstruction of the tropes we’d expect from Western fairytales and fantasies. I want to satirize the whole knight in shining armor coming to save the kidnapped princess from the evil dragon trope—and I can make it fit Homelander and Billy.

And a bit of a truth potion: the small lizard hindbrain part of me wants to see the knight version of Homelander getting stuffed on Billy’s two dragon d*cks 🫣 and growing obsessed with his mount *snicker* to the point of overthrowing the kingdom he once loyally served in a dramatic twist of irony.

The reason why I decided to make arc 2 a dystopian horror/ survival game:

The smart answer: The previous genre is medieval fantasy—so I wanted something from the left field to take Billy by surprise. The Task World difficulty level is suppose to ramp up, so Arc 1 is the easiest for Billy because he gets to LARP as a motherf*cking dragon and Arc 2 is also easy because Billy excels at high intense stressful situations i.e. survival horror death matches. So it’s still difficult—but I get to throw him into a new environment with very familiar faces but the circumstances are now different (a different alternate reality) so it’s a different challenge awaiting him. I can show off Billy’s badassness and smarts in a different situation—and have the John of this new universe react to him.

Truth potion: Infinite Flow/ Unlimited Flow is one of my favorite C-novel genres. The Earth is Online is one of my all-time favorites, as well as I Became a God in a Horror Game, Kaleidoscope of Death, Global Examination, Supernatural Movie Actor App, Thriller Trainee, Welcome to the Nightmare Live, etc. I eat these easily 100+ to 300+ chaptered novels for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We’re combining what I love with dystopian horror because I wanna playfully poke fun of the popular Western (YA usually) dystopian survival horror tropes (think Cabin in the Woods, Hunger Games, V for Vendetta, Animal Farm, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Saw, Squid Game) and combine that by making it a death game. There’s so much crazy sh*t we can play with—and it’d still be relatively in character for The Boys characters. I’m mostly looking forward to male model John being one of the unlucky participants either a rookie or one of the fellow popular death game streamers whom undercover MI6 Billy teams up with to solve the puzzles and the narrative twist that’ll be in this arc.

*Note: by the way, this fic does not exist yet on AO3. Wait till August (hopefully!) for the prologue’s premier!

[starlight-torment]

QSMP AU - Project A6-DOMINATION - Prologue

Katran’s P.O.V.

It started as a day like any other, he wakes up, eat breakfast, start on doing some experiments, his examiners asks about how he’s feeling, does some exercise, eat lunch, does some more experiments, goes back to his room, study a lot on the small shelf with books on his room, takes a bath, eat dinner and sleeps. Repeat.

It’s a mundane thing. He knows it. And he pretty much got used to this situation, although, deep down in his heart, he doesn’t agree with it, but doesn’t show it in his face. He doesn’t let his emotions be known, that’s what they want, after all.

Although… there’s a part of his day that makes him feel at little bit better. When he gets out of his room, sometimes he sees a wavy blonde haired guy with cyan tips with light green eyes, beige skin, wolf tail and ears and a curly black haired guy with black eyes, beige skin and clipped black wings interacting each other. He doesn’t understand a single thing they say, but he likes to just watch them, their joy and happiness being freely shown to one another, a thing he hasn’t been able to show.

He likes to observe especially the blonde guy, his smile and laugh captivated him the first time he saw it, wanting to know why he laughed and how he can do it. But the more times he observed him, the more he felt something for the blonde, something he can’t explain what it is.

Whatever. He shouldn’t be thinking these things now, otherwise, THEY might discover it and reprimand him. He looked to the roof, already in bed, preparing to sleep.

Sometimes, he has strange dreams he can’t explain what they are or where they come from. Sometimes he dreams of playing with a girl, she looked to be older than him, and at the end of the dream, he could only see everything burning, like a movie roll being burned.

His eyes are getting heavy, and the last thing he hears before falling asleep is the sound of something really heavy falling and people screaming.

Kauan’s P.O.V.

It was another amazing day for him, he got up, ate breakfast, made some experiments, answered questions of the staff, went to the library of the facility, ate lunch, made some more experiments, painted a picture, talked with staff, ate dinner, went back to his room, took a bath and is now laying on bed.

The staff taking care of him is amazing, they are so kind to him and are always happy to see him, and he’s the same to them… although he doesn’t like the evil man who comes once in a while to check on him. He’s the only one who treats him badly for being too emotional and not wanting to do test he judges being too dangerous. He doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong, every other staff treats him like a friend, at least a friend he sees in the books he reads in library.

One person he considers being a friend is Zach. He learned his name, although with a bit of difficulty, their languages being similar but also different. Zach is a man with black hair, black eyes and clipped black wings, he asked Zach one time why his wings are clipped, but the black haired man said he didn’t know why. He finds it odd, after all, aren’t birds supposed to fly? He would find it enchanting to see a bird, there isn’t any pets on the facility, except if you count the guard dog.

Kauan always likes to read the library books, but he does it hidden, he doesn’t think that the staff knows he’s reading the books from the library, but if they know, he thinks they ignore it. It’s not that it’s anything inapropriate for him, but he thinks they wouldn’t approve having thoughts like these, after all, they strive for conformation, and he thinks they wouldn’t approve if Kauan’s ideas were against their ideals.

Reading these books is one of the favorite parts of his day. He reads about fairytales, horror books, mythology stories, sci-fi, everything you can think of! Even didatic books! But his favorites are romance and slice-of-life books. He likes to imagine how life would be outside of the facility he’s in, and how nice would be to have someone else at his side.

...There was one day he was talking to Zach and he noticed someone walking by past him, he saw a man with red eyes and yellow pupils, straight white hair like the snow in the graphic novel books, black triangle-shaped animal ears that are on each side of his head instead of being above his head, pale skin and black marks that covers his skin from one eye to another and a small black mark on his nose, besides the two white and black tails behind him.

When he first saw him, his heart fluttered for a second, and he kept staring where the white haired man went. He was almost pretty sure he was looking at him too. Zach made fun of him because he was blushing and he had to hold so much back to not punch him. Since that day, he couldn’t stop thinking about that man and how he would like to see him again and perhaps talk a bit with him. He didn’t even know there were other people in the facility besides him, Zach and the staff.

The day he met Zach was a bit strange. He never told the people taking care of him about that, because it was implied he couldn’t talk to anyone else besides them and the staff working there.

He was going to his usual place on the library and he bumped into Zach who was speeding through the corridor. Turns out he was late for his experiments, and if he didn’t hurry up, they would punish him. He didn’t even know they punish you if you get late to the experiments. And since he was already late for it, Zach said it didn’t matter anymore and spent some time with Kauan until he went to eat lunch. Since that they, they met at the library after they did their experiments and talked for a few minutes before they went their separate ways.

Kauan is grateful for Zach. Really. He thinks he would’ve gone insane if he didn’t have an actual friend like him, even though he’s a little bit chaotic for a place like this. The staff are his friends too, but Zach is a person who he can share his secrets without having the fear of being reprimanded by the staff or getting hurt by the evil man.

He’s reading a book about nature, and his eyes are getting heavy while he’s reading it. The last thing he hears before sleeping with the book laying on his chest is something really heavy falling and screams.

Zach’s P.O.V.

His day already started going wrong. He woke up late, didn’t ate enough food on breakfast, his examiners only scolded him during his experiments, someone stole his lunch, his afternoon experiments were shit – everything in his body was hurting, the craft room was closed, dinner tasted horrible, his shower was too hot when he went back to his room and couldn’t fix it and his bed broke. Just perfect, although the staff said they were going to replace his bed the next morning.

Although one thing made his day not be so horrible, and it’s his meeting with Kauan, the blonde wavy haired guy with cyan tips, green eyes and wolf ears and tail. Kauan has his right eye blinded, but that doesn’t stop him from being the most agile person he has ever seen and a man with good eye for details in his paintings too.

Kauan is a person so easy to tease. One time he caught Kauan blushing at a guy with white hair, black triangle-shaped animal ears on the side of his head, red eyes with yellow pupils, two tails and marks on his face passing by and he teased him about that so much that the blonde looked like he wanted to punch him so much but couldn’t in fear of being reprimanded by staff.

His fascination with the blonde never stops, and he appreciates that. It makes his life more tolerable with how the staff treats him. Kauan’s imagination about what’s like on the world outside of the facility never ceases to amaze him, although he half understand the things he say, and leaves him thinking about that too sometimes.

He started questioning things they have been as soon as he met Kauan. He never knew there was someone else like him on the facility as well. And there were other things he was questioning too, like why can’t they leave; if he met Kauan here, there are others like them too; why they are doing experiments to them; and most importantly: why his wings are clipped.

He never thought about that before Kauan asked that. It’s just that, once you begin living with it, you don’t question it and get used to it before someone pointing out what’s wrong about the situation.

After that, he began dreaming he was a kid, with his wing not clipped, and he was flying through the bright blue sky and the clouds that Kauan tells in his stories on the books he reads. Although, he always lived at the facility, even when he was a kid, that’s why he doesn’t understand he’s dreaming that.

Anyways, tomorrow is another day without mistakes, and hopefully the evil guy won’t appear to punish him for his behavior of the past few days. He closes his eyes and the last thing he hears before falling asleep is of something really heavy falling, a faint roar in the distance and screams.

Zammy’s P.O.V.

His day started like most, he woke up, ate breakfast, did some experiments, went to the library to read sci-fi and other things, ate lunch, did more experiments, slept for the rest of the afternoon, ate dinner, went back to his room, took a bath and wrote some puns he thought about while reading the books on the library.

You could say it looked like a normal day, nothing wrong with that, but he knows whats going on. The staff thinks he doesn’t because he pretends to be dumb and not knowing anything, but he knows there are more people being tested at this facility and there’s someone keeping them there. Not letting them leave and see the outside world. Everyday he eavesdropped on the staff conversations and learned about some interesting stuff that could may or not help him escape from there.

There is this guy, WA02, the people with him called him that, he wears a blue helmet and a blue vest and he has really white skin, like paper, and paws, he writes all the reports the staff gives him. Sometimes they talk in a language he can’t understand, so some of the information he gets is pretty useless if he can’t undestand, but he tries his best to understand. Today they informed they would be doing more intense tests on a girl called Lua.

The name sounds familiar to him, it feels like he heard it in some unknown past. He thinks it would make sense he would have probably heard it before, after all, he’s been dreaming these past few months of a boy called Jason. The name sounded familiar to him too, but in a different way, like it was one of the most important things he couldn’t ever forget of.

He can only hope they don’t hurt too much this girl, because they have also done these intense tests on him too, and it hurt so much.

He looked at a mirror on the other side of his bed, he saw his messy slightly wavy dark cyan hair with orange tips and bear ears and his lazy orange eyes. He had eye bags under his eyes. Most days he stays up until late, but today it felt like he was supposed to sleep earlier than usual.

Welp, a bear like him needs his rest. He closed his eyes and the last thing he hears before falling asleep was something really heavy falling, a roar in the distance, people screaming and distant gunshot sounds.

Violety’s P.O.V.

It started like any other bullcrap day. She woke up, ate breakfast, did some experiments, gave feedback to her examiners, went to the music room, ate lunch, did some more experiments, trained a sport with the staff’s permission, went back to her room, took a bath and started humming a song to sleep.

It was so frustrating, her best-friend Lua told her they were going to do some intense experimentations on her during the night and there was nothing she could do to stop it from happening. Violety had one of these tests before and she couldn’t move properly the day after because of the tests. And it was because she broke one of the rules that bear told her.

Lua wasn’t by all means a saint, but she didn’t deserve one of these tests either. Lua was a girl with curly purple hair, cat ears, black eyes, olive skin, a moon with stars mark on her cheek, covered by a band-aid, and a demon tail. The girl revealed to her that she also has black wings, but doesn’t show them because it’s difficult to summon them.

Violety met her on her way to the music room. Initially, Lua was a shy girl, and she was hidden inside the music room because she didn’t wanted the staff to find her. She told Violety that she was their favorite do to experiments on, and that she was tired of having to do them every single day. Violety stayed with her as long as she needed before going to get lunch.

That day was when they were about 7 years old. Now they are both 17, Lua having her birthday earlier than her, and to this day they have meetings on the music room. Violety even taught Lua how to play guitar, and she met Lua’s true self; a mischievous little half demon half cat who has quite some choice words and is someone really understanding, calm and quite the magic dreamer. She can’t understand Lua in the language she talks, but they created their own language to try to understand what the other is saying.

Violety can only hope she will see her friend well on the next day. As she falls asleep, while her humming is slowly stopping, the last thing she hears before falling asleep was of something breaking in the distance, something really heavy falling, a roar, people screaming, gunshot sounds and fast footsteps on the distance.

Clara Victory's P.O.V.

Her day was perfect. She woke up, ate breakfast, did some experiments, gave detailed answers about how she’s feeling to the staff, went to the sewing room and made some scarfs to give to staff as a gift, ate lunch, did some more experiments, went back to her room, studied the rules that were given to her, ate dinner, took a bath and is tucked comfortably in bed.

It was a perfect day like any else. No need to complain about anything, there was no reason for her wanting to leave this facility, her life was perfect, after all.

Although… if she wanted to complain about something, it would be about her white clipped wings. She would like if they stopped plucking her feathers from her wing, it hurts so much and she can’t cry or complain about it, about the blood that drips from the place the feathers were plucked, the agonizing pain it came with it and the shame that came with it that she couldn’t get away from it or stop it from happening. Otherwise, they would punish her hard, and then she wouldn’t be following the rules that were given to her. After all, she needs to be conformed with it.

She pushed away these thoughts. She shouldn’t be thinking about things like that, after all, everything in there was perfect, you just need to put a smile on your face and do everything they want that your day will be perfect.

She looked at the mirror besides her bed. Her straight blonde hair with white tips was falling down behind her, her light blue eyes stared back at her, she saw her cat ears on her head, her clipped wings tucked gently behind her and subtly her tail hidden on her side. Her skin was a bit more paler than usual, perhaps because of the blood loss, but that was necessary to have a perfect life.

She closed her eyes and started falling asleep pretty quickly. The last thing she hears before falling asleep was something loudly breaking, something really heavy falling, a loud roar, people screaming, gunshot sounds, and people running past her door.

Lua's P.O.V.

Her day started like usual. She woke up, ate breakfast, did some experiments, went to the music room, ate lunch, had the afternoon to do what she wanted, so she went to the library and studied about mythology, magic and rituals, went back to her room, did some light exercises, ate dinner and was called to do some unique night experiments, something she never did before.

She had a bad feeling from it since the start. When she told Violety, her best-friend, that they were planning to do some intense experimentations on her that night, she could see her friend’s beige skin lose its color.

Violety is a pretty girl, she has straight cyan hair with brown tips, has blue eyes and a wolf tail and wolf ears. She met Violety while hiding on the music room from the staff. She was the first nice person she met on life, and it meant so much for her.

Lua never went a day without bandages on her arms or legs, not even in her oldest memories from when she was 6 years old. She wasn’t dumb as the staff told her she was or naive, although she used to be when she was younger.

She knows something is going on behind the scenes, but doesn’t know what, and she can’t even eavesdrop on their conversations because they feel she’s there. It’s unfair, really. Perhaps it’s because of her partially demon self? She doesn’t know.

She was guided to her experiment room and began to do her tests.

It. Hurt. Like. Hell.

Now she understood why Violety looked so pale and shocked when she told her that. It was way more painful than the usual tests they do to her, it feels like they are trying to extract her soul from her body, to make her wish she wasn’t even thought to exist by someone.

All she could do was to scream, cry, and persevere through this situation.

She was beginning to hallucinate through her pain. She was seeing a boy younger than her standing in front of her, reaching out to her in tears, while he couldn’t do nothing to help her. She feels like she knows this kid from some place, but she can’t remember where.

Then, the boy disappears and a voice begins to roam her mind. It wasn’t her voice, or from anyone else in the room. It was a voice from a man she feels like she heard it before. It told her to get revenge for what they were doing to her, to get her freedom, to make them pay, to kill them.

Kill them. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them.

The last thing she remembers before losing consciousness was she broke the chains keeping her from leaving, knocked down a big machine besides her and felt herself changing, physically and in personality, and a big roar that she made.

[frxstguardian]

which one is that omgcp character that you have a love/hate relationship with? do him for the ask thing

Jack Zimmermann my archnemesis... Thank you for waving a red flag in front of the bull. I'm gonna enjoy writing this essay.

What I love about them: He doesn't give up and commits himself 110% percent. His perseverance and work ethic are admirable.

What I hate about them: 1) The way most of his character development occurs off-screen and he never talks about his own feelings and experiences in his own words, so we’re left to piece together the puzzle of who he is from what others say. We’re never privy to his inner monologue and he remains an unreadable enigma. 2) He's not selfish, but he's so self-centered. It’s all about how he can win and he can succeed. In combination with his lack of emotional intelligence, this tunnel vision causes him to be inconsiderate and rude to others, and his position of power allows him to avoid accountability. That’s actually fascinating and compelling, but Year 1 clearly set up his character arc to be about becoming a team player, yet it was ever fully realized. 3) How he was backdoor-ed as the real protagonist of the webcomic during Year 3 when Bitty is supposed to be the main character. I should've realized when the prologue “The Hockey Prince” was all about him and Bitty only shows up at the end of it, but I was dazzled and distracted by the main character literally being me except white.

Favorite Moment/Quote: “Parse - III” is my favorite episode because of Jack and Parse’s blow out argument. What’s said... What’s NOT said... So much to unpack about Jack, and I could analyze it forever. 

What I would like to see more focus on: How he’s a little fucked up. Let’s see him make bad decisions yet rise above them with help from his friends.

What I would like to see less focus on: I simply don’t find it cute that he’s emotionally dense and lacks domestic skills. The way he outsources labor to Bitty in a mirror of heteronormative ideals... let’s examine that...

Favorite pairing with: Jack/Parse. I love Bitty and if you asked me to answer these prompts for Bitty, my favorite pairing would be Jack/Bitty. But the emotional rollercoaster of fixing Jack and Parse's broken relationship is a far more interesting story to me than Jack and Bitty's fairytale romance.

Favorite friendship: Jack & Shitty. Classic introvert/extrovert dynamic without the emotional baggage of Jack & Parse. Their friendship is wholesome and real. (And yet I still project my resentment towards Jack onto Shitty too. Thinking about how he’s insecure about his friendship with Jack and is offended that Jack isn’t sure if he’ll pick him to be his best man at his wedding.)

NOTP: None. Jack is very shippable.

Favorite headcanon: Idc that Ngozi said Bitty is his first love. Jack did love Parse and is lying to himself how much it meant to him because he can’t bear to look back on that period of his life and is determined to move on. How can you be friends with benefits with your best friend in high school and not have romantic feelings for him? Make it make sense.

Character Ask Meme

[suwya]

Till the Stars Had Run Away - Chapter 2

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Summary:  Killian Jones was a voyager. Actually, he was many things, or at least he had been - a lieutenant, a brother, a loving boyfriend - until everything had turned upside down and his life had hit an all time low. So, he gave up. Aboard his spaceship he abandoned Arcadia, his planet, navigating the stars and other solar systems in search of... well, he still didn't know what he was searching for, but his rule was "never remain in the same place longer than necessary."

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Rating: M

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Prologue; Chapter 1,

AO3

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A/N: Thank you @thisonesatellite​ for being the best beta I could ever ask for. And thank to all of you who are reading this.

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Chapter 2.

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There are no strangers here;

Only friends you haven’t yet met.

(W. B. Yeats)

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In the past three weeks, Killian had had no news of Henry or his mother. He knew he should concentrate on something else: whatever was happening in their lives was none of his business. But he hadn't been able to let go of the memory of their last encounter. What if the lad was right and Emma was in danger? She didn't look like the successful Princess of a remote planet anymore, and maybe her life wasn't any fairytale. But what could he do? And above all, was it really his problem?

Tonight was a fillglow night. Killian was waiting for Robin and Roland to join him and watch the match together on his big projecting screen. He and Robin had been long fans of this sport, and Roland took the same passion from them. 

Killian had already prepared some bowls of multicolored pop grains. The only kind of grains that could grow on this desert planet, and they didn’t need to be rehydrated to be eaten. Luckily Roland loved them, especially the cones and star-shaped ones. The boy and his father were supposed to bring the drinks, which consisted mainly of berry juices. It was the most similar to a family routine they had, every fortnight a match was broadcast and Killian enjoyed the time together with his buddies.

Fillglow was a very popular sport in many galaxies, there was even a Multiverse Championship. Roland would have given anything to get tickets for the FMC finale, he had never watched a match live, none of them had. Tonight’s match was a local one, not pivotal, but it didn't matter, it was a good excuse for Killian to spend some time with his adopted family. 

But the thoughts of the late events had distracted him, and he didn’t realize what time was. The projector was already on and the match was about to start. A knock on the door startled him. He hurried up to open with a big grin, “you're late, mates!” Two puzzled pairs of eyes were staring at him, but they weren't Roland’s nor Robin’s.

“This is a terrible idea.” Emma sighed while Henry enthusiastically exclaimed, “Killian, you're home, great!”

Killian was a bit taken aback by the unexpected visit and he didn't know how to react. Before he could say anything Emma went on, “I'm so sorry, we shouldn't have come.” 

She was already turning away when Killian stopped her with a gentle touch on her arm. “Well, now that you're here, why don't you come in?” 

Emma reluctantly entered the house followed by her delighted son, but when Killian was about to close the door, a shoe between it and the frame stopped him. “It’s bad form to close the door on someone’s face, mate!” Robin appeared in Killian’s sight, mocking his friend imitating his way of speech. “I didn't know you were having guests.” The surprise on Robin’s face was apparent as soon as he spied the other people inside Killian’s living room.

“Uh…” Killian was a bit lost for words and he lifted a hand to scratch a spot behind his right ear, a habit he had when feeling uncomfortable. “Robin, this is Emma Swan; Emma, meet my best friend Robin of Locksley.” 

Roland ran inside the house. “Hi!” he exclaimed with a big dimpled grin.

“...and this is Robin’s lad, Roland,” Killian added.

“Nice to meet you. I'm Henry, Killian’s son.” Henry extended a hand to shake with the other boy.

Killian sighed and shook slightly his head towards a baffled Robin, who was staring at him with wide-open eyes. He hoped that his friend wouldn’t ask. “Why don't we all get comfortable?” He suggested and then turned to his guests, “we were about to watch the fillglow match. We would be happy if you join us.”

Robin took a seat at one end of the couch, Killian was in the middle and Emma took the other end, leaving as much distance between them as possible. She was wearing a beige blouse with metallic colored sleeves, and a loose keen-short matching skirt, with long light brown leather boots. At first glance, it might seem like a casual choice of clothing, but the ensemble was in harmony. Killian would take a peek at her from time to time while she wasn't looking, and it struck him how beautiful she was.

Roland and Henry sat together on the double footstool in the middle of the room, with a big pop grains bowl in the middle. “What's your favorite fillglow team?” Roland asked.

“I'm not really into it,” was Henry’s answer.

Roland was surprised. “You do know the rules, don’t you?”

“I’ve never been a big fan of sports in general.”

Killian decided to help the boy and started explaining, “Well, it’s quite simple. Two teams, six players each. The goal is to score into the other team’s round target until it lights up.”

“What’s difficult is that they play in no gravitational environment. So they are a bit limited in their movements. Plus their suits are heavier than they seem.” Robin added.

“You have to block opponents using a laser stick, but you can’t hit the adversary wherever you like - you’re allowed to hit only certain spots of the other’s suit.” Killian went on, “when you touch someone with your stick on one of those spots, this person gets paralyzed for a few seconds. The more difficult the place you hit, the more time your opponent stays immobile. The belly usually gives you the most time stuck.”

“But if you touch someone where you’re not allowed to, you get stuck for six seconds,” Robin added. 

“If you get to touch the other team’s target with your stick, it will start glowing, but you are not allowed to score again before other players touch it,” said Killian. “You need 27 scores to make the target glow completely, or better said, to fillglow it. And that’s when the match ends.”  

“You may think it’s easy, but it’s not,” Roland said excitedly. “You know, I went to a fillglow stadium once with daddy and uncle Kil. I could enter the field, but with the heavy suit it took me almost 20 minutes to reach the other team’s target, and I was alone, with no opponents to block me. It’s strange because you’re floating in the air, so you can’t walk. It’s almost like swimming, but more difficult.”

.

.

~·~·~·~

.

.

After the fourteenth point of the opposite team, the commercials started and Killian took a handful of pop grains from the main bowl near the kids.

“Why are you always wearing a glove on your left hand?” Henry asked.

“Uncle Kil has got a bionic hand,” Roland explained.

“Can I see it?” Asked Henry with curiosity.

“Henry!” Emma scolded, but Killian dismissed it with a wave of his right hand. “It's alright,” he said and removed the glove to reveal a transparent synthetic hand full of cables inside.

“Cool!” Henry exclaimed. “Did you make it?”

“No, lad. I bought it.”

“But he changed it way better,” Roland added.

Killian chuckled, “I just improved it to achieve some more movement.”

  “Now it's almost the same as a real hand.” Roland was clearly proud of his uncle’s job with the prosthesis.

  Henry put his hand on it. “Do you feel it?”

“I'm sorry, I can't,” was Killian’s gentle answer, and when Henry retracted his hand a bit disappointed, he went on, “but I can do this.” He took a big star-shaped pop grain and showed it to Henry with his bionic hand, then he closed it into a fist and turned it upside down; when he opened it again the grain had disappeared. 

“Wow!” The kid was impressed. “Would you teach me to do it?”

Killian put the glove on the hand again. “Maybe, someday.”

When the boy asked, “why do you keep it covered?” his mother coughed to draw his attention and stared at him with a reproaching look. But Henry didn’t relent. “Mom, don't you think it's impressive?” He asked enthusiastically.

Killian smiled at Emma, trying to relieve her clear embarrassment. “Indeed it is, yes,” she sheepishly smiled back at him.

Henry asked, “How did you lose your hand?” Emma sighed but before she could scold her son again for making so many private questions, Killian said, "Well that, lad, is a story for another night." 

“Killian is right.” Robin stepped in. “It's time to go to bed, Roland.”

“Oh no!” The little kid complained. “The match is not over yet.”

“And you know perfectly well that it can go on for ages because it doesn’t have a time limit,” his father reasoned.

Roland looked up at him with big pleading eyes. “Can I at least show Henry my room before going to sleep?”

Robin sighed but gave in. “Ok. But don't be long.”

.

.

~·~·~·~

.

.

Emma looked concerned when the boys disappeared out the front door. “No need to worry,” Killian said. “Robin lives just next door.”

“How did you two come to know each other?” Robin asked while the three of them were moving to sit at the table, and Killian was handing them some cups filled with a liquid a bit stronger than berry juice.

“Uh… we met many years ago.” 

Killian exchanged a questioning glance with Emma. He didn’t know how much of their story she was willing to share. But apparently, the silent communication didn’t go unnoticed to Robin, who, clearly remembering where he had already heard her name, asked Killian, “Is she the Emma?” But then he immediately turned towards the woman, “I beg your pardon.” He said apologetically. “I’m not used to being in front of a Princess.”

“Please, don’t call me that, especially not in front of my son. He doesn’t know the whole story.”

Robin nodded. “I had that impression. And I’m confident he is not actually Killian’s son, right?”

Killian half-smiled at his friend in assent, then he turned to Emma, “Henry seems to be a clever lad. How long do you think you can hide his past?”

Emma sighed. “I hate keeping things from him, but it’s safer this way.”

“Is he right?” Killian insisted. “Is there truly someone that could represent a danger for both of you?”

She didn’t reply, she lowered her stare and fixed it into a specific spot on the table. “Not an immediate danger, no. But maybe in the future... yes. That man that Henry thinks I’m afraid of, he’s my contact; maybe not the sweetest person in the galaxy, but he’s reliable. He told me there will be raids soon in my neighborhood. That’s why we came here tonight. I hoped you could give us some advice. You’re a trader, aren't you? You should know a lot of people, maybe, influential people.”

“Does anybody know you are here?” Killian inquired.

“I didn’t choose my job by coincidence. If I'm good at finding hidden people, it means I know exactly what to do when I don’t want to be found.”

“Who’s after you?” Killian went straight to the point.

Emma seemed to ponder the question for a few seconds, then said, “not me, Henry.” After a small pause, she went on, “the King and Queen of New-Tolemac are still in need of an heir.” 

“Do you think your parents will harm the boy?” He asked inquisitively. 

“They are not my parents.” Killian and Robin shared a surprised look, but Emma kept her gaze fixed in her cup; she didn't seem inclined in giving more details, and Killian knew it was neither the time nor the place to pry. But then she added in a whisper “...I can’t lose Henry. He’s all I have.”

Killian studied the woman in front of him, there was no trace of the pompous arrogance he saw in her when they first met. She was now a mother, a tough one, fighting her demons for his son’s sake. 

“I have to go away for a few weeks, I have a commercial trade to make for a client. Why don’t you and your boy come with me? I’m not going very far, and maybe you can consider it as a holiday. What do you say?” He suggested. 

“Henry would love it, he’s never been on a spaceship.” She smiled to herself, her gaze lost in thought, then she lifted her eyes to find Killian’s “Thank you,” she said serious, “but I can't answer right now. I'll think about it.”

“Ok, guys, while I enjoy the company, I have to put Roland to sleep.” Robin stood up and took his cup to the little sink in the corner.

“Yeah, sure, I’ve already taken up so much of your time.” Emma stood up as well and started moving towards the door.

“Stay. Just for the night... or more.” Killian was stammering, but at Emma’s bewildered look, he scratched behind his ear for the second time that night, a bright red colored his cheeks “...I… I didn’t mean…” 

“What my friend is so awkwardly trying to say,” Robin explained, “is that it’s already late, and it could be dangerous for you and your son to go back to your place by yourselves, especially if those rumors of raids are true. If you want, Henry could sleep with Roland, you could stay in my room and I will crash on Killian’s couch. You won't hear any complaints from us.” 

.

.

~·~·~·~

.

.

The Jolly Roger wasn't the biggest spaceship in the multiverse, but it was big enough to host a small crew and a little cargo.

In the middle of the main entrance, there was a round table with four chairs, everything well secured to the floor. A lot of lockers filled up the walls and a counter opposite the gate served as a kitchen, with a microwave, a little fridge, and a sink.

A big electric sliding door on the right, usually open, led to the main cabin. A semi-oval room mainly occupied by the control dashboard full of buttons, LEDs, and levers, two comfortable leather armchairs in front of it, and walls as well rich of small lockers when not occupied by the big curved window.

On the other side of the entrance, opposite the control cabin, there were a couple of automatic doors. One of them led to the passengers’ cabins, each one with bunk beds, a small desk, and more lockers on the walls. The other door led to a hallway and a little but all equipped restroom. 

In the hallway, a metal spiral staircase led to the under part of the ship, which consisted mostly of the engine room and a storage room with its own gate used for loading the cargo.

Killian was sitting in front of the control dashboard, checking the air pressure inside the cabin, and verifying that all the levels were stable. 

The last four days had been different, with Emma and Henry at Robin’s house, the routine had been turned a bit upside down. They had decided that going back to their house wasn’t safe. Henry had been occupied with school and homework most of the time and he had spent the rest of it with Roland; the two of them had connected quite well, despite the age gap. 

Emma had been concentrated on her job, and although Killian would have liked to give her a hand whenever he could, she hadn’t even let him help her when she brought some of hers and Henry’s belongings from home to her new lodging. 

Dinners together had been sometimes awkward, and Killian had had the feeling that she was trying to avoid him. That’s why he had been surprised when she abruptly accepted to go with him on his next trip.

And now he was sitting in his spaceship cabin waiting for her and her son to come. Everything was ready for takeoff and the engine was already roaring. A red LED on the dashboard started to blink and a cold metallic voice was heard through the cabin. 

I detect intruders on this ship.

Killian smiled. “They are not intruders. They are guests, so be gentle.”

Emma entered the cabin carrying a small suitcase. “Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.” She said looking around, but when she didn’t find what she was looking for, she added “Uh… I thought I heard voices. To whom were you talking?”

Killian stood up from his seat “Where are my manners? Emma Swan, let me introduce you to the Jolly Roger.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “The Jolly Roger. Seriously?”

“What can I say? I have a soft spot for pirates.” He smiled.

The metallic voice spoke: It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Swan. 

“Your ship speaks!” Emma was astonished.

“Indeed she does. She's a marvel.” He explained with a big grin.

A sound like a soft metallic cough could be heard, and Killian couldn't help giggling.

“Well... then, nice to meet you, too.” She said to the air, and then looking at Killian again: “Where can I put our bags?”

“Right. I'll show you your cabin and the rest of this place.” He said, and then with an overdramatic bow and a wink added: “Consider yourself at home.”

Emma rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a smile.

Another soft cough could be heard.

“Are you sure your ship is fine?” She asked, perplexed. “It sounds a bit congested.”

“Don't worry about her, she can be a bit of an arse with strangers. But give her some time and she will grow fond of you.” At those words, the red LED suddenly stopped blinking and went off. Killian shook his head and chuckled.

As soon as he was sure that Emma and Henry were well settled in their cabin, Killian came back to the controls and took off. When the ship was out of Althea-Seals’ atmosphere he sighed in relief because everything had gone as planned, but he knew that he couldn’t relax until he’d reached a certain distance.

The red LED started blinking again. Would you do me the favor and stop referring to me as a female?

“You're a spaceship,” Killian answered the voice.

Exactly my point. And you and I both know I'm not only that.

[capesandshapes]

The Last Resort: Chapter 1 (Adrienette)

Summary:

After an akuma attack goes wrong, Adrien finally learns Ladybug's secret identity and finds himself falling even deeper in love with his friend. He thinks he's finally gotten lucky when she declares to him that she's currently in the business of falling love with anyone but her previous crush... until that crush turns out to be him.

Now Adrien has to somehow convince the girl of his dreams to fall back in love with him, while keeping his own identity a secret from her. Well, if there was one thing his father taught him, it was how to multitask.

This Chapter:  Inconvenient Trunks and Really Convenient Dialogue Adrien visits Marinette to see whether or not she's decided to learn Chat's identity. In the process, he learns about fairytale plotlines and how inconvenient being shoved in a trunk really is. 

(There was a prologue as well)

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

I need to talk to you. Alya’s message came too late as Adrien was already standing outside of the Dupain Cheng bakery, having headed straight to it after school let out rather than the waiting car of his bodyguard. He’d end up regretting both decisions later on and he knew it, but that didn’t seem to matter too much to him at the moment.

He’d promised Marinette the weekend to think things over, figure out if she wanted to know Chat Noir’s identity at the moment, and really process what she’d done on Friday. That weekend was over, and he’d come to collect his answer right on time (though she would likely argue that he hadn’t considering that he’d been waiting for her at the school gates).

He let his hand run through his hair, trailing down his neck as he stared at the bakery, the building suddenly much more intimidating than it had been a little less than three days ago. A small part of him wished that he hadn’t insisted on dressing so ordinary today, wearing the same thing he always did to put her at ease. It felt like he should have done more, like when she inevitably said that she wanted to know who he was he should be wearing a suit or something more fantastic than a t-shirt.

But that was the romantic in him. That side of him was all too predominant lately, looking at the few photos he owned of him with Marinette and trying to put a finger on how he felt about the girl now. She’s ladybug, she’s the one, the thought made his cheeks warmer, far warmer than the idea of Lila or Chloe being the masked superheroine. Maybe it did matter who she was under the mask, just a little.

A flash of dark pigtails disappearing behind the shop door brought him back to the moment, and he knew it was time. “Ready to let the cat out of the bag?” Adrien asked, speaking down into the pocket of his shirt with a grin.

“Ugh,” the voice of his kwami replied, Plagg floating lazily out of his pocket with an unamused expression. “Do me a favor, Romeo, drop the transformation before you go in for the big kiss. Cats don’t like getting wet,” Plagg stuck out his tongue, “especially not from your sweaty palms.”

“Ha ha,” Adrien replied dryly, shooting an amused look to his kwami, “Who said anything about kissing? I mean, it’s Marinette, maybe she doesn’t want to kiss someone who…”

“Has model good looks and is the most famous guy in all of Paris?” Plagg asked.

“...Is me,” Adrien stated plainly after finding the right words. “Someone who is me, her friend. Ladybug already said she had a crush on someone, and I’m pretty sure that Marinette would have let me know by now if it was me.” A small groan exited him as he thought things over more, his hand returning to rubbing the back of his neck, “You know, maybe now that she sees that the homeschooled weirdo she’s friends with and the guy running around in a cat costume are the same person, she might not want to hang around me as much.”

Plagg’s eyes softened, the small cat drifting closer to his wielder, “C’mon kid, who wouldn’t want to be around you?” He reached a tiny paw to pat the boy’s shoulder, “You’re interesting, you’ve got spunk. Easy on the eyes, smells like camembert all the time, and you’re smart? Kid, you’re the whole package.”

Adrien snorted at his Kwami, “thanks, Plagg.”

**********************************************************

“I don’t want to know who you are,” Marinette loudly announced as he opened the trapdoor leading to her room, and Adrien found himself missing a few steps on her stairs in response. Thank god he was Chat, otherwise he would have fell.

“W-what?” His hands gripped the handrail and his fingers dug into the railing. Out of all the responses Adrien had imagined, Ladybug stating that she didn’t want to know who he was without the slightest hesitation was not one of them.

“I don’t want to know who you are,” Marinette replied, sounding as if to her it really was that simple. The small black-haired young woman gave him only a sparing glance before continuing her project at hand, her hand diving in and out of the fabric as she slowly embroidered a piece of cloth.

She was obviously trying to seem nonchalant, but he caught a glimpse of pink dusted on the tops of her cheeks as she inspected her embroidery. It didn’t take much for him to realize what her project really was, another way to keep her eyes off of him. She was still embarrassed.

Oh, this was good.

“So you don’t want to know at all,” he tried, leaning over the back of her desk chair far too close to the young woman. “Not at all curious about who I could be?”

“No,” she replied, holding her embroidery a little bit closer to her face.

“Not even a little bit?”

“It’s an all or nothing question,” she retorted.

Well, she had him there. Still, there were other tactics. “I could be anyone, anyone at all,” He teased. “I could be Ivan, or Nathaniel, or… Chloe Bourgeois.”

Marinette snorted, putting down her embroidery to properly roll her eyes at him so he could see it. Pushing back from the desk and nearly crushing Chat’s foot in the process, she spun her chair around and began to poke holes in his suggestions. “Ivan is head over heels for Mylene, so I doubt he’d be flirting with me as much as you do. It’d be strange for Nathaniel to crash his own date, or even think of a plan that would result in it ending as badly as it did. And Chloe… is not only responsible for half of the akumas that have attacked Paris but is also a woman.”

“Okay,” he replied with a joyous grin, “so then I’m Nino.”

“Who not only has a girlfriend, but would also be dead to me if he were running around flirting with Ladybug?” Her face grew more unimpressed, “not to mention, Carapace.”

“Okay, so then I could be someone super famous, I could be Jagged Stone,” Adrien wiggled his eyebrows at Marinette, placing his hands on either side of her desk chair as he leaned in closer.

“You’re Jagged Stone?” Marinette replied with a laugh, and it struck Adrien just how different her laugh sounded out of costume. Maybe it was because she felt less like she had to play a character like this.

“‘Ello, Marinette,” Adrien imitated, his British accent so bad that it could have been a jailable offense, “you design an absolutely smashin’ album cover.”

It was evident that she tried to fight the smile, but it came in too quick to battle. “You really liked it, Kitty?” She asked.

“You’re really talented, my lady,” he admitted.

“Thank you,” she beamed.

It was easy to get lost in that look, far too easy. He took it in far too long, his cheeks burning when he finally realized what he was doing. He cleared his throat and continued his game, “You don’t know, I could even be Adrien Agreste.”

The color drained from her cheeks almost instantaneously. She stood up suddenly and would have toppled over instantly if Adrien’s hands didn’t quickly reach for her shoulders. She looked panicked, like an animal trapped in the headlights of a car with nowhere to go. Her eyes darted away from him and down to the ground, and Adrien’s stomach sank.

“Hey… Are you okay?” His throat constricted, “I-i didn’t mean to upset you or anything, I swear.”

“No, I um…” She trailed off, her eyes finally raising and finding purchase on somewhere other than him. He found himself turning his head over his shoulder to look as well, his heart dropping as he took in what she did.

They were gone. Every single photo of Adrien was taken down, replaced by pictures of her with Luka, Nino, Kim, Rose; Anyone but Adrien. The only image that his face peered out of was their class photo, and even that felt trumped by the absolutely immense photo of her with Alya. It was like he’d suddenly disappeared, consumed by everything else.

“My lady?” His voice couldn’t help but crack; what was going on?

“I’m sorry,” she said, “something happened, and I just… Of course I want to know you are! Just not right now, not for a while.” She looked back to him, liquid pooling at the bottom of bluebell eyes as she admitted, “I’m not ready yet.”

He gritted his teeth, “what happened--” He began, but found himself interrupted almost immediately.

“Marinette, Alya’s here!” Mrs. Cheng yelled from downstairs, her voice followed by the quick footsteps that no doubt belonged to one Alya Cesaire.

Marinette and Adrien’s eyes widened simultaneously, horror playing across their faces as they realized how completely and utterly doomed they were. Adrien tried to think of a plausible excuse for Chat Noir being in Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s room but came up emptyhanded. Thankfully, Ladybug’s problem-solving skills seemed to be a power not created solely by her costume.

Marinette threw open the large trunk nearest her Chaise almost immediately, grabbing Adrien by the hand and practically shoving him on top of the many blankets that lined the bottom of the trunk. “Stay here!” She furiously whispered as the sound of a hatch opening hit the air.

Adrien blinked as the trunk slammed shut, a small keyhole in it becoming his only source of light. A thump sounded above him and what he could only assume to be the pink of Marinette’s pants covered the hole. He swallowed to himself, hard.

“Marinette!” Alya’s voice called, and Adrien could only begin to imagine what the other girl’s face looked like as she tried to play it cool. “Big news, girl, big! Like you’re going to need to sit down for this one,” Alya’s grin was audible.

Adrien could practically hear his own heartbeat.

“Big enough that couldn’t send a text to me before you came here?” Marinette asked, her leg shifting against the trunk just enough that Adrien could finally see out of the keyhole.

Alya’s legs came into view, walking ever closer to Marinette as she spoke. “Big enough that it could change the very universe as we know it,” Alya replied in an ominous yet playful tone. But then, something seemed to click in her. All too suddenly, Alya stopped, never quite reaching her final destination. Adrien tried to shift his viewpoint in the keyhole to look at her, but Marinette seemed to have almost psychic abilities as her hand shifted to cover the hole once more.

“Oh,” Alya’s voice sounded, almost mingling with the echo of a groan that Adrien had unknowingly released. “You were serious about that.”

“I mean, I said…”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d do…”

He could hear Marinette’s exhale, picture her small frown; something was wrong, something was very wrong. He wanted nothing more than to hold her, but he couldn’t really do anything more than sit in the trunk, waiting for this all to be over. He shouldn’t have come, he shouldn’t have done any of this. He should have tried to find another way with Ladybug, another solution that didn’t put her life and his sanity in jeopardy. 

“I mean... I haven’t, not entirely.”

A thump sounded above Adrien’s head, accented by the clapping of Alya’s hands. The trunk creaked as he imagined she leaned closer, likely taking Marinette’s hands or wrapping her arms around her. “Good, because you are going to freak when you hear what I have to tell you!” Another creak, possibly Alya putting her head on Marinette’s shoulder? He didn’t know. “It’s just a theory, but it’s a theory with evidence!”

“About Ladybug and Chat Noir?” Marinette laughed.

“No!” Alya replied, “About Loverboy and the Pastry Princess.”

Loverboy…? Adrien stiffened as Marinette snorted, becoming a little too concerned with who exactly Marinette’s lover boy could be. “You’re reading into things too much,” Marinette replied.

Please be reading into things too much, Adrien thought.

“Did you see the way he looked at you today?” Alya breathed, by the sound of her voice, she was wishing for romance. “Or how he just lit up when he saw you this morning? Even Nino thinks something’s up!” She shifted, her hand grabbing Marinette’s and thankfully bringing light back into Adrien’s new humble abode. “Maybe you gave up too soon.”

“And maybe I should start facing reality,” Marinette sighed, finally standing up from the trunk. “Alya, I appreciate what you’re doing, I really do. You’re my best friend and I couldn’t ask for a better one. I’m lucky to have a friend who wants me to be happy so badly.” She paced the room, her full body finally coming into view for Adrien. “But I can’t keep doing this.”

“Doing what?” Alya asked, exasperated.

“Getting my head in the clouds,” Marinette replied, allowing herself to fall into her desk chair. “I mean it’s all nice in theory, it’s the fairytale that everyone wants to hear, but that’s not the way that the world works. It’s better to just accept that and open myself up to something else, falling in love with someone else.”

"Marinette,” Alya voiced at nearly the same time as Adrien, the girl finally standing up from the trunk as well. “C’mon girl, you don’t really think like that.”

“Alya,” Marinette sighed. And there it was, a look of utter defeat, one which he rarely saw his lad wear. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was tired, so tired. “Let’s face the facts, the prince doesn’t exactly end up with the baker's daughter in any of those fairytales.” She smiled, but it wasn’t one of her real ones. This was a half-smile, the ones that never reached her eyes. “Guys like Adrien Agreste don’t fall in love with girls like me,” she admitted.

And all Adrien could do in response was think one simple thing; Yes, they do.

[rorynne]

Time Lost Chapter 12

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Reader

Summary: An accident during a mission sends you back in time to the second world war. There you enlist the help of Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, and Bucky Barnes to find the object that can send her back.

Warnings: None that I can think of.

Word count: 1.8k

Masterlist

Prologue Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11

You groaned in frustration and threw your pencil across the room. You were the last one left in the London headquarters yet again, insisting on staying late to figure out these damn ciphers. Weeks had gone by with absolutely no progress on any of them. Weeks of you obsessing over the documents Bucky had found, and nothing to show for it. It was driving you insane. Peggy had proposed sending the documents to Bletchley Park but was quickly vetoed by Phillips leaving you stuck trying to brute force the cipher yourself.

The sound of the radio was probably the only thing keeping you sane tonight, providing just enough distraction to keep you going. Thank god for small miracles. You sighed, leaning back in your seat as you listened to the music place. Time wasn’t a luxury you really had to waste, leaving you with late nights and very little sleep. Though sometimes, it seemed wasting time was all you could really do.

Almost absent-mindedly, you opened a drawer where a pile of letters sat neatly stacked and pulled to top letter out. You looked over it closely, as if the answer to all of your troubles were somehow locked away behind the messy scrawl. He really was persistent, wasn’t he? A ghost of a smile formed on your lips. All of the letters, each one somehow more special to you than the last, and not once had you sent him a reply. You took a deep breath and picked up a new pencil, twirling it in your fingers as you hunted for blank paper.

It wasn’t the first time you had tried to write a response. At least thirty crumpled papers filled the waste bin near your feet. Every attempt prior had failed to properly reach the standards of what you wanted to express. No matter how you tried, you just couldn’t seem to get the words out the way you wanted. Not like how Bucky always managed to word things so perfectly at least. Maybe it was a symptom of growing up in a time that letters were a rarity, but damn it if you weren’t going to try to make it as perfect as you could. Especially if it gave you a much-needed break from your current project.

Lost in the prospect of writing your letter, you didn’t hear the sound of the elevator opening. “Peggy told me you’d be down here.” A voice called down to you, making you jump. You looked up to see Bucky smiling down at you, staggering slightly, drunk, as he walked down the stairs.

You chuckled at his state, the men had been celebrating Bucky finally getting the all-clear to go back into the field after his injury. No doubt they all drank a little more than they normally would have. You hid the half-written letter under other loose papers as he approached. “Someone’s got to get some work done while you all drink and have fun.” You joked, sitting back in your seat. “Why are you here and not drinking with the boys?”

Bucky sat down in the chair nearest to you, a playful smile on his face. “From the sounds of what Peggy’s sayin’, you ain’t gettin’ much done either.” He teased, the alcohol making his accent slightly more pronounced. “And I figured you could use a little company.” He shrugged, looking over the mess that was your desk. “It’s really givin’ ya a hard time, huh?”

You sighed at his assessment, frustrated by how right he was, “It could be going better.” You admitted, sitting up and picking up one of the pages. “We don’t have much time as it is, and here I am getting nowhere.”

“You’re pushin’ yourself too hard doll.” He said seriously enough you could have forgotten he was drunk. “You’re one of the smartest people I know, but you aren’t going to get anywhere if you tear yourself apart in the process.” He took the paper from your hand and tucked it into a manilla folder. “Give yourself a break.” You made a sound of protest as Bucky began sorting papers into folders but he ignored you, only stopping when something caught his eye. “What’s this?” He asked, holding up the letter you had been writing.

Your heart skipped as you lunged for the paper, only for him to move it out of your reach, grinning like a mischievous little boy. “Damn it, Barnes, give it back!” You ordered, face burning hot as you grabbed at it.

“But it has my name on it.” He teased as he looked over the page, reading what you had written. “Why write me a letter if you don’t want me to read it?”

“Just because your name is on it doesn’t mean I was ready to send it.” You argued face flushed bright pink as you finally snatched it from his hand.

His boyish grin only widened, “And what’s got you writing letters all of a sudden?”

“I-” You started, searching for words to explain yourself. “Y-you always write letters to me.” You managed to stutter out, smoothing over the crinkles in the paper in an attempt to distract yourself from how stupid you currently felt. “I felt bad that I never wrote one back.”

Bucky’s smile fell slightly, and he looked at you seriously, “You don’t have to reply to anything I write you doll. Seeing your face when your name is called is enough for me.” Your heart drummed painfully in your chest at his words, but before you could say anything Bucky jumped to his feet as a song began to play on the radio. “Come on sugar.” He said, grabbing your hand and pulling you to your feet.

Your eyes widened at the sudden movement, and even more so at how close the two of you now were. You looked up to see his mischievous smirk had returned, no doubt at the prospect of doing something he knew he likely shouldn’t. “Bucky,” you giggled, “What the hell are you doing?”

“You owe me a dance.” He said pulling you close enough that you could smell the whiskey on his breath. “And I like this song. Seemed like as good a time as any to cash in on that rain check.” Your heart pounded as his arm wrapped around your waist, his hand resting on the small of your back.

“I still don’t know how.” You said softly, though to call it a protest would have been wrong. As much as you knew you shouldn’t, you did want to dance with him. You wanted to be as close to him as possible, for as long as your sense would allow.

“I’ll teach you.” He reassured, slowly guiding you through the first steps. Shaky first steps gave way to graceful second ones as he started to match the easy tempo of the song. Not that you particularly noticed. You were far too entranced by the steel-blue eyes looking down at you to truly notice much of anything. You felt like a princess as you danced in his arms as if you had landed yourself in a fairytale instead of the second world war. “You’re a natural.”

“What?” You blinked dreamily as you tried to make sense of what he had just said.

“At dancing.” He said. “You’re a natural.”

Your eyes flicked down to his lips as he spoke, a dull ache pulsing in your heart. “I’m barely doing anything. You’re the one who should be complimented.”

“There’s two of us dancin’ here doll.” He whispered, lowering his head slightly closer to yours. “I couldn’t do it without you, it’s a team effort.”

Time felt like it was standing still. You wouldn’t have exactly minded if it was. Were you still moving? Was the music still playing? Could Bucky feel how your heart was pounding? You couldn’t answer any of it. The only thing on your mind was just how close his lips were to yours. How you could feel his breath on your lips. It would have barely taken a movement to close the gap. God, you wanted to kiss him. You could feel yourself starting to move before a switch flipped in your mind and you stopped.

“There’s two…” You mumbled, eyes defocusing slightly at your realization as you started to pull away.

“What?” Bucky asked, a tinge of disappointment and confusion in his voice.

“The cipher.” You said, stepping from his grasp, and quickly turning to your desk. “It’s not just one, it’s two.” You said excitedly pawing through the folders in search of the document. “I’ve been treating it like it’s just one. But there’s two, layered on top of each other, like a team, Bucky you’re a genius.”

Bucky sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Doll, what the hell happened to taking a break?” He said, grabbing your arm gently to grab your attention. “We were doing something.”

You looked up at him, heart skipping at the thought of the dance, or rather, at the thought of the near kiss. A tidal wave of emotions crashed over you. You had been trying to prevent something like this, trying so desperately to run from how you felt, to avoid acknowledging the growing seeds of something you were too scared to let yourself have. “It… it was just a dance Bucky, that’s it.”

Bucky took a sharp breath and carded his hand through his hair, “Really?” He asked, frustration clear in his voice, “That’s all it was to you? Just a dance?”

You frowned unsure of what even to say to make things better. “Why does it have to be anything else?”

“Why can’t it be?!” He questioned, throwing his hands into the air. Eyes went wide from his outburst, you opened your mouth to speak only to close it again with a small shake of your head. “Why can’t it be y/n?” Bucky repeated again, softer this time, more pained.

“You know why.” You answered weakly, recalling the lie you had told him months ago. You still felt sick about it.

Hurt painted his features and you felt even sicker. You wanted to avoid this, to avoid hurting him like this, it was the last thing you wanted. “Right.” He said tensely, nodding and taking a step back. “I should… I should go check on the guys. Make sure they’re okay.” He finished, turning to leave.

You sat in your chair, defeated, as you watched him ascend the staircase and enter the elevator, fighting everything in your mind telling you to stop him. Maybe it would be better this way, like ripping off a bandage instead of waiting until you were gone. At least, that’s what you tried to tell yourself as you wiped tears from your eyes and turned your focus back onto your work.

[danydarkly]

Hello! I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but are you planning on making a comic/book of the storyline behind "Wolf Song"?

Indeed I am! Well, I’m past planning phase and now I’m writing. Gosh, it’s really hard to keep everyone up to speed with what I’m doing on all platforms, haha ovo;So to reiterate, yes a comic version of Wolf Song is in the works. I’ve been plotting it while working on the prequel animation. Pretty much whenever I have a moment between or during classes I’m writing, and Monday and Tuesday evenings I animate (unless I’m really swamped with work).I really don’t mean to shill, but the best way to be in the know of my progress on these projects (and any future projects) is through my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/danydarkly).Especially since seeing things “a week before everyone else” sometimes turns into a month or months before anyone else. >v>; I really meant to post this info sooner but, as some of you have come to know about me, I’m very scatterbrained. So I’ll post the info here for the sake of everyone’s convenience and before I forget ^^;The following information on the comic was originally posted Nov 28th, 2018 on Patreon:[The comic] will be a one-shot self-contained story. I plan for the story to be divided into 4 parts (or chapters), each chapter will span about 30 to 40 pages. So the whole comic will likely be about 160 to 200 pages in length with full colour.The chapters will be told by season, but the story will span over the course of 7 years.Example:CHAPTER I - SPRINGCHAPTER II - SUMMERCHAPTER III - FALLCHPAPTER IV - WINTERThe first chapter will set the story and feature the events of the prequel animation when Scarlett is 10 years old and first meets Leikos. It will also be told through Leikos’ perspective. The second chapter will have Scarlett aged 13 or 14 and be told from her perspective. The third chapter will have Scarlett at 17, and be told through Leikos’ perspective. Finally, the fourth chapter will feature the events of the original animatic and be told through Scarlett’s perspective.Will this follow the story of the original Little Red Riding Hood tale? Sort of. I’m of course giving my own spin on it. But I’m using the fairytale as a kind of skeleton for the story. It’s tough to give a new take on a story that’s been done to death, but I’m doing my best.Will this have romance? Absolutely. I’m a sucker for tragic, romantic stories and I’m very much aware that like 99% of people who like Wolf Song ship Leikos and Scarlett.You said tragic… will Scarlett die (as can be interpreted in the original animatic)?? Maybe, maybe not, you will have to read it to find out. I know people hate open-ended endings, so the ending in THIS version of the story will be finite. But you will have to wait and see what becomes of Leikos and Scarlett.Will Leikos be the antagonist? There will be potentially more than one antagonist, and while he is antagonistic, he won’t be one of them.How long will it be before the comic is complete? I estimate this will take me at least half a year to a year to complete. If everything goes as planned… so maybe I’ll add another year to that, haha >v>; I am working on several projects at once so please bare with me and stay patient ovo;—I’ve made some slight changes since the initial posting of this info. Like the potential addition of a prologue and epilogue, as well as not having each chapter limited to one of their perspectives. Things are subject to change, I’m basically gonna experiment and see what flows better narratively, as well as visually. Sorry for the long-ass reply but hopefully this not only answered your question but gave you something to look forward to~ 

[caitepowers]

S.C.O.U.T.S.: The Prologue

S.C.O.U.T.S.: Special Citizens Obliged and United To Save began with a group of girls raised in seclusion away from outsiders and the modern world. Only those few people who were trusted to raise them to be the warriors and defenders that they were destined to become were allowed to know about the existence of the 8 girls were masters or either combat or academics and were willing to live a life of seclusion in the mountains and forests of Japan. Not a lifestyle many or racing to take up, but the Priestess raising children found 3 teachers willing to live on the hidden compound with them, and together the 5 preistesses and the 3 teachers raised the 8 children to become lethal in Combat and have genius intelligence. Each girl had their own power and personality and was trained to be able to expertly hone their own skill.

Between their uniform levels of combat and academic intelligence partnered with their own unique abilities, it is no surprise that competition between them began to grow, for years the girls would get in trouble for using their powers against each other, they were raised to be sisters yet treated very differently which caused a lot of tension. The preistesses and the teachers gave up one night and kicked the girls out of the compound, none of the girls stuck together until someone screamed. The scream was deafening and in these parts of of the forest belonged to no stragglers. Every girl thought that itwould have been one of the other girls. Scared and alone going further from the compound seemed like a mistake but going back at the moment also seemed dangerous. Each using their own abilities to protect themselves and find others the girls slowly began to pair and group up. All 8 girls eventually found each other and tried to account for the scream, they all claimed that they didn’t scream. After about a minute of looking around for potential threats and possible plans of action all the girls began running back to the compound. The closer they got, the louder crying noise they heard. When they get to the opening before the compound they see the Gate is opened, which means that it was never closed behind them, beyond the opening was a preistess on the ground and a pool of blood and other preistesses fretting around her. She was dead, murdered and the compound was no longer secure, was no longer home. Someone knew they were there, what they were, how to kill them, and how to leave without being seen. So girls began to lean into their training and began their real world excersises it wasn’t long before they were global news assisting in global issues outside of Japan. Some say they came from the pits of hell, some say they came from the heavens, those who say otherwise frankly don’t have much of an imagination.

The real truth is that 8 girls raised in solitude, descended from long forgotten Galactical folklore of Gods, Godesses and Warriors becomes heroes for the planet they called home using the powers given to them from beyond. They saved the world. This is the thing about war it’s never really over and with a crew of only 8 against an entire universe or bad and evil, victory is a fairytale. Peace does not exist.

They are dead, all of them are dead. I was there, I witnessed it and I still cannot believe it. I am not sure if I ever will be able to bring myself to begin to understand what happened.

“We are ready for you now miss,” the guard says bringing me back to reality and out of the past.

He guides me into the room where all the leaders of the United Nations are sitting staring at me as I approach the podium in the center of the floor. The room is big, but not as big as you would think. Every time is was here before, there were about 50 cameras and 100 microphones around the podium and room recording everything that is said. But this is not a normal situation. Nothing about today is protocol. Instead of formal requests and events planned, and UN represntatives in place taking notes and translating the meeting while it is also being recorded, this meeting was not preplanned in fact as far as I know it was planned about 10 minutes ago when I was yanked off of the sidewalk here in New York. That is when I met this guard who walked me in after asking me to wait in the lobby. I didn’t wait long, I wouldn’t have waited at all but when he eberered the room two more guards flanked me and blocked the door. I was meant to stay. And as stated earlier, actual world leaders are here and not their chosen cabinet members. Before approaching the podium I stop about halfway taking in the room and fully noticing the differences. Once I get there I make eye contact with the current leader of the United Nations and the President of the United States of America. They make eye contact with me. The Leader of the UN speaks to me first.

“Identify yourself” he says. His tone was calm the only normal part about whatever was happening.

“My name is Harper” I say say nervously.

“Full name please” same tone.

“My name is Harper Leilani Stone” I say plainly, shaking the nervous tone.

“Please read what is on the podium out loud for the room to hear Ms. Stone” the President of the United States says.

Having a huge insecurity about reading outloyd in public I try and skim the pages before I begin to read aloud, but my eyes can’t leave the top of the page, and the words cannot come out.

“Is there a problem Ms. Stone?” The President asks me.

“No” I say but that isn’t meant to be the answer to his question but a response to the document before me.

“So start from the top for us Ms. Stone.” He says his patience is beginning to dwindle.

“No, no,no, no,no,no,no,no,no” I said shaking my head as I step from behind the podium nauseous at the idea that these crazy politicians are planning something like this.

“Excuse me?” He says, his patience has left the building at this point. That is why I didn’t vote for him. Ya know I always had that vibe that he was not as mild mannered as he ran out. Wasn’t the only reason but just a reason.

“Are you insane?” I say as I look at him. I look away from him and face the other leaders in the room, “Are you all insane?Do you not remember what happened the last time?”

They all look away from me like I am the crazy one.

“You are the only one who could do this, we need you to be on board” the leader of the UN says.

“Then I guess it isn’t happening” I say curtly.

“S.C.O.U.T.S.” He says, “Do you remember what that means?”

“You cannot be serious? How can all of you well educated democratic leaders think let alone fully support this idea this trash?” I go back to the podium and grab the paper and hold it up in the air. “Have you all forgotten?”

“Have you, Ms. Stone?” Says the President. “You were asked a question please answer it.”

“S.C.O.U.T.S., never heard of her” I say throwing the document in the table in front of the the In leader and the President as well as a few other leaders sitting with them.

“Mia Young, Shadow Park, Carmen Santiago, Tiffany Ellis, Heather Dudnst, Prim Hashimoto, and Jazmine Chatterjee” someone yells from down the table. It’s the Queen of England Next to her Prime Minister, I guess they both got invited. “7 of the 8 original scouts who stood with the message and principals to defend the world against evil. No one has forgotten the tragedy that happened, no has forgotten the tragedies that happened before or after it either. But evil has not rested with them being gone. We need help.” She said he tone less harsh toward the end then it was in the beginning. I make eye contact with her and walk down toward her seat and stand in front of her.

This was always the plan, not a plan I made or had any part in making, but a plan none the less. And not following through with it would be a disservice to the ones lost. I look down at the table and see the words on the paper upside down. A part of me was hoping that I would never have to do this, like something would change so I couldn’t or didn’t need to do participate or keep up my end of a bargain. But that isn’t the case and my word must be kept especially in this thing called private politics.

“Secret Citizens Obliged and Unite To Save” I say back to the men who has asked me my questions earlier. “I have never and will never forget the meaning nor will I ever retract from duty.” I say centering myself back at the podium. I am looking at the room one last time before focusing back on the President and UN Leader.

“It is with Great Honor Ms. Stone, that we have this ability to reactivate the Scout project. And we have decided that now is the best time to do that. As you are the sole survivor of the original scouts you will recruit and train the next group of scouts and prepare them for what is ahead of them. You will have two years.”

“Sir with all due respect the first group was given 18 years of trialing and they still lost.” I say offended by the time limit, no way was that a realistic expectation.

“As the sole survivor frontbe original 8 you know first hand what will work for trainings and what won’t, use that to your advantage to speed up the process.” He says, clearly he no idea what it really takes to do what he is asking.

“With all do respect it can’t be done” I say, “I am on my own and I won’t have any resources available to me how do you expect me to do this?”

“That is where we come in” he says confidently. “You and the scouts you recruit will have access to all resources and locations needed to train, survive, develop, learn, play whatever. If we have it” He says featuring towards everyone in the room, “you have it.”

“Will you try?” Asks the Queen.

“Yes” I say hesitantly. By the time I am leaving the building with a fancy top secret passport and some secret stash weapons and money, I am already developing plans A-K on how I could possible do this all in two years... hopefully o succeed and if I don’t, hopefully no one else dies in the process.

[kay-jay8]

Kurotsuki au?

Logline:

In a story based loosely on several grim fairytales: the adventures of one troubled grey wolf, a foolishly gullible prince and a beautiful bold princess unfold in a series of misfortunate events. It is a journey that will bring them together and pull them apart in unruly circumstances. After all, life and death come hand-to-hand.

Characters:

Princess Camellia Gabrielle Travers: Trapped in a tower for most of her life, Camellia views the world in innocence and purity. She longs for an adventure of heroics and love, enduring endless hours of loneliness for her chance at greatness. (Tsukishima Kei)

Huntsman Elric Nathan Harrods: Honest and softhearted by default, Elric isolates himself in the forest in solitude. Away from heartless people in the village, away from his family who never cared. He revels in the forests ethereal woods, in his freedom. (Kuroo Tetsurou)

Prince Bennett Abel Coleman: Spoiled and childish by nature, Bennett has lived a secured and privileged life of a prince. His parents and kingdom adored him and marveled at his feet. That is, until he invokes on a journey to find his missing fiancée. (Currently undecided)

Zahra Adila: Known as the Good Witch of the Enchanted Forest, Zahra’s secret compels her to intwine the story of three others together and connects them in ways she could never have predicted. (Currently undecided)

Prologue:

Servants and attendants scurried back and forth throughout the palace as the piercing wails echoed within the castle wall. A maid bearing a bucket of water and white towels making haste along a vast hallway in the direction of the royal chambers where Good Witch Zahra and laboring Queen Ava awaited her arrival. Turning a corner at the end of the hall, she happened upon a cluster of chambermaids gathered in excited hush whispers. She heaved a heavy sigh, trying little to school her expression of distain.

“What a joyous day it is!” One with starry eyes exclaimed, swaying on the heels of her flat black slippers. Slippers that should be at work. “An heir is being born right at this second! Can you not believe it?”

“A joyous one indeed.” Another replied, still not at work by-the-by; her supple lips curving into a lighthearted grin. “I reckon the King and Queen will throw a feast for such a grand occasion.”

A chambermaid whose hair flared atrociously in wild fiery curls, quietly twirl a strand around a finger in a reserved manner. “I wonder if her royal highness is birthing a prince or princess?” She mused, skillfully drawing the group’s attention towards her. “Either one will undoubtedly end up beautiful, no?”

The maid sneered at the chambermaid’s mulling; leave it to the gingered harlot to reflect on beauty before well-being. Unimpressed and slightly crossed, she stood tall with her chin held high and marched her way towards the inattentive gathering of servants. As she strode by, deliberately cutting through the cluster of procrastinating parrots with a pointed countenance plastered in her expression, she carried an air of superiority. Her body and aura screamed, “Stop lazing around, get back to your duties!”

“What are your thoughts on the newest arrival, Lady Anya?” She hears one of the chambermaids ask her in an attempt at cunningness; traces of her former accent present in the girl’s speech.

Lady Anya graced her a glance over her shoulder, indifferent to her challenge. “Well Maid Adara,” She started, offering a soft smile laced in venom. “Proper servants of this kingdom never ponder our time on needless worries such as discussing unnecessary telltales. We live to serve and bend to the will of our masters because we are their humble domestics.” With this, Lady Anya carried on with the task at hand, satisfied with her answer. By any luck, her small speech should motivate those snorting piglets in fulfilling their assigned roles.

As Lady Anya politely knocked onto the queens’ door thrice, she noticed that her highness’s wails have ceased since before her entrance.

The Good Witch answered Lady Anya’s knocks, young in appearance while old in age. Zahra’s lips pressed into a thin line as her vibrant earthy orbs studied the maid in eerie stillness, Anya besting the impulse to fidget under the witch’s sharp stare. She truly was a talented enchanter to behold the youthful face of twenty.

Good Zahra leaned forward and stretched a hand out towards her, swiping strings of Lady Anya’s locks that had come unfastened from her bun behind her ear. “Be wary of the girl with a mane of blazing fire; her envious flames will scorch all who near.” She cautioned lightly, soft snow colored hair caressed the maid’s cheek in a tickling manner. Soundlessly, Zahra retreated two steps and held the chamber doors wider for Lady Anya to enter.

“I…Pardon me?” Anya stuttered in confusion, feeling as though she had misheard the white witch.

“Come afore both Her Highnesses patience run thin.” The witch directed, long pale fingers wrapping around the maid’s toweled wrist and thrusts her way through the doors. “One shan’t keep Royals awaiting.” She led her into the chamber, old and plain dress swayed as she walked.

“My dearest Queen Ava, your handmaiden has graced us fresh water and pristine towels.” Good Zahra announced, dipping into a low curtsy as she entered. The maid followed suit.

Lady Anya had never seen her fair Lady so disheveled in all her life serving by her side; the queen’s normally flowing locks were wild and unkempt, twisted and knotted and frizzed. Her fair complexion seeming dull under the candle light, the bedding gown she wore drawn high above her thighs and blood stained the queen like crimson paint. A look certainly not fit for a woman of her status. The queen sat in her cot, lovingly cradling a cooing babe.

“Isn’t she lovely?” The queen marvels in awe. “My little Camellia.

—————

Okay, so I did this short story thing in my English class as a project and I really liked this idea. So, I was thinking of rewriting this as a kurotsuki au with a fairytale twist kind of thing. Of course I’ll be changing a some of the plot and scenarios but main idea is gonna stay the same; just need to switch the names as well. Let’s see how many people want to me to post a fanfic on it! Comment or like if you do!

P.s. if anyone is wondering, I’m gonna be switching the princess as prince for Tsuki’s manly sake.

[adam-disaster-blog]

ADAM DISASTER, THE WONDERFUL TEAM AND THE MAGIC OF GOLF

“Can a round of golf decide the world’s destiny?” - Adam Disaster and the Ice Queen, prologue.

The answer to this question is yes, it can.

"At 16, a long and straight 4 par, they were still tie, then something unbelievable happened: after performing two roughly equal drives, they pulled towards the green. Adam, for one, made a good shot and set his ball at 5 meters from the flag, then it was Foglino’s turn who used a an iron seven; the shot was wonderful, the ball flew outstretched, jumped up, then slowed, fell on the green and...ended up in the hole!" - Adam Disaster and the Ice Queen, p.27.

Everything is possible in Adam’s world, the incredible but a bit of a scatterbrain character created by the golf master Lucio Merlino. With his astonishing adventures, almost like a fairytale, Adam aims directly to the heart of the younger people helping them growing up, knowing and understanding what are the most important values, through fantasy. His world is fantastic, it’s the place where reality and imagination meet and give life to a story which is actuallty an allegory of current times, making the reading suitable also for those who don’t believe in fairytales anymore.

“[...] then one day a fishy individual named Hiller came to court. He was also known as “Dark Lord”, he was ruthless and grim. Little by little, however, he gained more and more Foglione III’s confidence, who appointed him as head of security and justice. The Duchess didn’t like the situation, she would have surely done something but unfortunately she died in an accident during a demonstration. From that moment Hiller’s madness, supported in every way by the royal family, knew no bounds. It is true that his tactics enrich enormously the kingdom, but he respects no one and he’s increasingly restricting our freedom, we don’t know what he wants to get.”” - Adam Disaster and the Ice Queen, p.124-125.

Adam and his friends will drag the reader in a vortex of magic and imaginary elements, among elves and incredible characters, all surrounded by the game of golf, a healthy and educational sport to practice in touch with nature.

“If you walk towards north, along the green hills, you will soon have the impression of hearing the sound of bagpipes. At night, in those wonderful lands, it’s possible to see the stars and look at yourself in the mirror of the big lakes’ water. If you keep walking, you’ll arrive to the region of Acran, where long time ago there were four shires inhabited by people of elven origin. The elves are cute little people with pointy ears who came long time ago from the woods of the small Britain and they settled down in these places. One of these shires was called Sberloff. It was a village of shepherds and farmers but a few events had completely changed it over time. Once, they used to watch the shepherds playing Golf, a game they invented to kill time during the long wait for grazing.” - Adam Disaster and the wonderful team, pag.8.

Adam Disaster is this: friendship, courage, loyalty, love for nature and for the teaching of sport.

But what makes Adam’s saga so unique and special?

The peculiarity of our work is that the living characters aren’t based off the imaginary ones, but the contrary: the characters of the books, Adam, his friends and all the others have been conceived and created with features and personalities of real people, the true protagonists of the story!

By presenting this project we want to spread the love for reading among young people, we want them to be passionate about one of the most beautiful things in the world: books! What better way than make the protagonists live and be close to us? With the funds we hope to raise we want to print more paparback copies of the first two books, make them known worldwide and support the next two chapters of the saga.

Adam and his wonderful team are ready to take you in their fantastic world.

And you, are you ready to become a disaster, just like Adam?

THE SAGA

Adam Disaster and the Wonderful Team

Adam, a proper disaster, and his friend Lety, decide to come back home by taking a shortcut through the woods. The little road leads them in a strange meadow where they find a tool that arouses their curiosity. It’s a golf ball. Everything starts from there…

Adam Disaster and the Ice Queen

After winning the Open Absolutum, Adam McGregor and the wonderful team have become the strongest golf team in the world. But an ancient dispute will force them to challenge a mysterious kingdom from the far North, a cold and gloomy place on the dark side. What’ll happen? Who is the Ice Queen? Who will prevail in the eternal battle between good and evil?

The books are, of course, both in Italian and in English.

Original Italian titles:

Adam Disastro e la Magnifica Squadra

Adam Disastro e la Regina dei Ghiacci

To finance our project on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/434983117/adam-disaster-saga-you-as-a-protagonist