#but having the story be ‘go find these memories out of order again lmao’ is so.

[lesbianbishounen]

god i hate that i was right about this. the “its $70 dlc” people were right

god i need cool/interesting new areas in totk i hope theyre just avoiding visuals of most stuff in order to not spoil it bcus the sky islands rn just seem kinda. idk more of the same. yes the new fuse mechanics and stuff are cool but thats not what im interested in really

[thatdeadaquarius]

imagine if reader is given an ancient scripture from around the time humanity founded out how to write and do the alphabet (somehow it was preserved so well that you can still see the words with no issue)

and it's the most heart wrenching, soul crushing, tear inducing, hyperventilating, sanity disappearing angst, misunderstandings, hurt/no comfort, it gets worse but never better, major character death, unrequited love story to have ever existed in teyvat.

and after reader goes through the whole thing, they can barely talk or breathe properly with how much they're crying.

(even better, it was smut not angst and reader is staring ar the scripture, jaw dropped to the floor with shaking hands.)

STOP- I avoid fanfics like that at all costs 😭 id stop reading it after the first angsty event LMAO

Im like... too emotionally affected by fanfics, esp angst ones 💀

Its just, ppl who write closer to my generation or just very psychologically honestly, are like fucking deadly writers. Got my day ruined and shit w/just fanfics 😭

LMAO THE GIF IS JUST YOU ON THE SPOT NOT EVEN HALFWAY THRU-

☆

Sun: Gender Neutral Reader (you/they/them)

Orbit: Short! Headcanons-ish

Stars: my first of the Fontians!! Fontainianes? Fontainains?? u get it

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: sobbing, discussion of vague smut/NSFW book at the end, okay for Teen/Mature audiences, & Trigger Warnings: none known.

no but it’d be hilarious if u got this crazy like hand-width deep tablet for each “page” of the book, like how every novel or info in genshin is like one page at a time 😭

Sumeru and other international academics are literally constantly harassing politely requesting your translation of these and sending them to you in whichever country you’re visiting at the moment

Fontaine was even more complex and pretty in real life than it could ever be in game and i can def see you at like Neuvillette’s office or a nice french fontaine cafe and just WHAM

huge ass tablet bc as much as the fic tortures you, you have to know what the fuck happens to these miserable idiots

Neuvillette, Clorinde, and Lynette are all the type to immediately try and dissuade you from reading it again, bc from their point of view you just pull out this huge old rock and start sobbing quietly about 10 mins into the read every time 😭😭

(unsurprisingly, Neuvillette would even go so far as to get the Marechaussee Phantom to sneakily steal ur most recent tablets of the story to hide them, which sucks for you LMAO)

Freminet, Wriothesley, Navia, Lyney, and Furina,all frantically try to distract you, and also theyre in order of who would be the most dramatic w/it lmao

NO BC I JUST HAD THE THOUGHT-

Ur tears absolutely are top priority to Neuvillette and Furina so when they inevitably find the memories in them (and the traveler too maybe)

of what the story is about, except its like all the feelings and stuff, so like its the best “translation” they get of the book so far, u best believe it rains for a week straight

it started out as a light drizzle, but as Neuvillette “read on” in ur tear’s memories if got worse HAHA

mans is out here trying to convince himself like, “this is a classic tragedy from eons ago, its about a human romance, im definitely unaffected, though im glad i could figure out what ails My Majesty so”

meanwhile the story gets worse and its just like that meme “ohHHhhhHH its got a little kiicckkk”

Neuvillette nearly floods the streets by chapter 5 when the miscommunication happens and then they cant get in contact with each other to fix it lmao

LMAO I JUST HAD A VISIONNN

ur in fontaine and while yes drinks were popular (like obv fonta)

business is rlly booming bc now everyone you know (like the Vision-users or archons Neuvill, etc) all have develop this habit of having a water bottle or drink on them to offer you when u start reading to rehydrate you 😭😭😭

Navia, Clorinde, Neuvillette, Wriothesley, Lyney, Lynette all have a handkerchief on them at all times too 😭😭

Good God-

the moment you translate the now instant Shakespearean-level tragedy classic, it is a known tear-jerker thruout all of Teyvat,

like theres trigger warnings and age limits and shit 💀

◇

on another note,

if its smut,

ur desperately combing thru all the tablets and wall carvings and cave paintings to try and lowkey cover it up LMAO

and its not like a story with a smut scene either, its like what anon said,

just fully like the ao3 tag “Porn What Plot/Porn With Plot”

STOP

not u yanking the tablets out of Neuvillette’s hands when he curiously picks them up one time lmao

(he is now invested in getting these translated too bc of ur reaction lol)

☆

consider supporting me with an iced coffee? :0

Spooky Season! Spooky Season!! Spooky Season!!!

still not dead btw

just got hired at my new job so ive been training and busy!! :)

im a host at Olive Garden lol its weird and kinda hard, my feet hurt a lot and i havent had a full shift yet ;-; its a brand new one so it opens the 23rd

dw that eldritch one shot is still coming btw, just talking with betas and editing it now lol

hope if you read this you have a great upcoming weekend!!

Safe Travels Anon,

💀♒

☆

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

☆

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657

[hxlxnaaa]

𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞

★ synopsis: haunted by your own loneliness, it seems the only cure is to create an imaginary friend

★ character: xavier

★ cw: first-person POV, angst if you squint, real world au, maybe ooc xavier? not really

★ word count: 1.6k

★ a/n: inspired by maladaptive daydreaming! strays so far from canon storyline obviously so this is hella HELLA au, but MC still has her heart problems lmao

When it comes to children, it isn’t surprising when you find out they have an imaginary friend. They’ll giggle, and their eyes will light up as they tell you about their talking dog, who has tea parties with them and rides on the back of their bike. Or the teddy bear that comes to life at night to tell them bedtime stories and help them count sheep.

Yet, eventually, the time comes where they grow up. No longer do talking dogs and dancing dolls follow them around, and the child won’t talk about their little friend anymore, leaving them behind. They fade from one’s memory, a ghost long forgotten…

But what if they don't?

What if they never grow out of their ‘imaginary friend’? What if it follows them all throughout their life? A schizo diagnosis would be in order, and years of therapy.

Sadly, that’s how it is for me; well, not the “seeing things and copious amounts of therapy” part.

He’s just… a coping mechanism.

A world to go to in my head when everything feels as if it’s crashing down. I don’t know where I’d be without him.

When I was small, no one seemed to enjoy my presence. I was always considered a nuisance with all of my heart problems. Making real friends was hard; people would up and leave after a few months, and I’d be alone again. I was a bother, in and out of doctors offices and never able to hang out. Texts would go ignored because I was too busy having tests run in cold hospital beds, hooked up to machines.

The nurses would joke with me, braid my hair and tell me gossip since I was in there so much – but it wasn’t the same as having friends my age that I can go to the movies with. So, when I finally came to the conclusion I’d be alone forever, I made a friend.

Yes, I made a friend.

I put all the qualities of my ideal friend in him; He was straight out of a cool, teen indie movie — the perfect boy next door. He would be the best friend you could go on long road trips with, get donuts with at ungodly hours in the morning. Quiet enough that I could talk for hours and he would just listen, but could still make me laugh with little remarks.

Since nobody else would talk to me, and I had far too much time on my hands, I would travel into my own little world in my head where he existed. I’d talk to him everyday, hang out with him for hours. Whether I was in class, the car, or laying in my bed staring at my ceiling, I’d dissociate into a world where someone truly, really cared about me.

This went on for years. No matter my problem, he’d always have a solution, no matter my opinion, he’d always listen. He was my knight in shining armor from bad dreams and boring moments.

Eventually, I put so much detail into him, it felt as if he was real.

I could practically reach out and touch his hair, know what it would feel like to run my fingers through his messy platinum hair. Pointing out every emotion in his blue eyes, from the joy that sparkled in them when I would tell him jokes that only he would understand, or when they clouded over with worry when I would come to him crying after a stressful day. The moments his angelic smile would let out his signature laugh that would ring in my ears for hours, and I could practically hear it in reality. Or the way I could cringe at him when he would act like an awkward dork, but his giggles made me grin, and I always put up with him. It’s almost as if I could smell the soft fresh laundry scent of him, feel his warm skin from sleep.

Sometimes, I could go months without thinking about the truth;

but sometimes, there were days it would hit me like a truck.

“You’re not real!” I’d cry. He’d be sitting on my bed with me. Reaching out his hand, I’d flinch away. “None of this is real Xavier! You’re not real, this world isn’t real. I’m stuck in this reality where everything is hell, and I have nothing.”

“Hey, I need you to breathe-” This would be one of those moments where I could read his eyes. They’re always so alive, you wouldn’t be able to tell it was all a dream I created in my mind. His electric eyes that would go dark with a whirl-wind of emotions. Sadness, worry, disappointment. It would always be like I could actually see him in front of me, and not like I would be staring at my ceiling sobbing in my bed;

Alone.

No matter what, I’d always forget reality again, and he always came crawling back. We’d pretend like none of it ever happened. Of course it worked, why wouldn’t it? I controlled everything. All of his moves, all of his words, every laugh that came out of his beautiful mouth. He was my puppet and this was my play, just an actor in this devastating work of theatre.

I’d find myself mentioning him without realizing.

“My brother nearly burned down the kitchen yesterday!” One of the girls in my classes had said, groaning and throwing her face in her hands.

I smiled, “I have a friend like that. His cooking skills are… well let's just say calling it ‘cooking’ might be a bit generous.”

They all wiggled their eyebrows, ‘Ooo,’ they’d say, ‘he? Come on, are you holding out on us!’ Laughter erupted around the table, and my cheeks flushed. My whole body lit up with embarrassment, turning red from head to toe.

That night I went home and threw myself into my room, locking my door and screaming at the top of my lungs. Choking out sobs, throwing whatever my frail, shaking hands could grab.

“He’s not real! He’s! Not! Real!” I chanted like a prayer, a prayer that he would just disappear from my mind and I could just be normal. I felt defeated; while my heart struggled, my mind was strained too. My whole world, my entire life revolved around a boy that didn’t exist.

After my breakdown and a shattering ego death, I came to the heart wrenching conclusion that it was time I got over all of this. I needed to grow up, focus on the life ahead of me. I was going to graduate highschool, I was going to go to school to achieve my dreams, I was chasing the life I always wanted.

All by myself.

I couldn’t live the rest of my life tucking myself away everytime life got hard, talking to someone that I made in my head.

I grieved him, mourning as if I had suffered the death of someone so close to me I couldn't bear to go on without him. Yet, with time, the wounds began to heal and the chronic, plaguing thoughts of him fleeted my head. I tucked him deep into a pocket of my mind I couldn’t access if I tried, just to keep myself safe from my own thoughts.

Thanks to all the attention I poured into my studies to distract myself from the emptiness of him being gone, I graduated with excellent grades and got into my first choice, the university of my dreams.

Walking down the campus sidewalk, I took a deep breath of the brand newness of everything. The cold fall air was putting hustle in everyone's strides on the first day of classes, and I mumbled a prayer that things would be different. Life would be different. Things wouldn’t be so lonely or empty anymore.

Trying to navigate my way around, someone bumped into me, almost knocking the both of us down.

They stumbled back, revealing a boy's shy smile, and a quiet chuckle that sounded like an angel's song you’d want to replay on repeat for the rest of your life; one I was all too familiar with.

“Oh, I should have looked where I was going, sorry-”

The boy trailed off and I couldn’t help but stare at him in awe.

The sparkling blue eyes, and his fluffy hair tousled around from the fall wind. The smile that could light a room, and a face that could melt thousands of hearts. He shone bright like a star. I thought if I breathed, or even blinked, he would disappear.

“Anyways, It’s my first day. Well, it’s everyone's first day, but it’s my first…first day. Does that make sense?” He frowned and his ears turned red, as met my eyes for the first time during the whole interaction.

I blinked, and let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, as he didn’t disappear, “Uh, yeah. It’s my first-first day too.”

The boy laughed, his shyness fading. He could laugh a million times, and I’d keep saying things to keep it going. I never wanted it to stop, I wanted to hear it until the moment I took my last breath.

“Well since it’s both of our first-first day, I guess I’ll be seeing you around campus a lot…” he paused, waiting for my name.

I whispered it so quietly, like it was a curse to speak it out loud. I wasn’t even sure he’d heard me, yet he nodded and softly smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you then. I’m Xavier.”

(divider by cafekitsune)

[as-is-above-so-below]

Cardigan - John Price x F!Teacher!Reader

Part 1: It Starts In A Bar

summary: your friends take you out to a local pub when you would much rather be grading assignments. a/n: hello! big surprise, me writing for john price! I don't know how long this will be, but I definitely have a general idea of where I want this to go. I hope y'all like it!

thank you @lethalchiralium for dragging me into the clubhouse kicking and screaming LMAO << Previous | Next >>

Why did they pick this place again?

Ah, right. “It’s a hometown pub, a staple to the community,” they said. That was clear from the couple dozen men and women, ranging from middle-aged to elderly, scattered about, and a few younger folks peppered into the crowd. It wasn’t run down by any means, just…a dive. You mindlessly picked at the peanuts and pretzels in little bowls, elbows perched on the edge of the sticky table, for hours. You chatted and occasionally laughed at the stories they shared about their homeroom students and the shenanigans the other grades got up to. You’d been teaching year thirteen for a while, students taking their A-levels in history. 

It was supposed to be a quiet evening, spent with a stack of papers to grade, surrounded by glowing candles scattered around your apartment accompanied by soft white string lights stretched across the ceiling. Instead, your friends somehow managed to drag you out of your cozy home to a dark dive in town. You loved them dearly (really, you did), but you had a routine. Your ideal Friday night wasn’t in a damp bar.

Your kids could be challenging at times in their late teens. They occasionally cause trouble, known for getting into fights, interrupting class, or bringing drama into the classroom. Nevertheless, you’d never had a set of students that was more than you could handle. They turned their work in on time and were always nosy about your personal life, which – much to their chagrin – was uneventful. Your love life was stale, to put it nicely. And your friends tried everything in their power to set you up on dates, every single one striking out miserably. It didn’t feel natural to meet some guy at a restaurant for a blind date.

One of them talked about themselves the entire time, barely letting you get a word in. The next ordered about three more drinks than you and a meal that cost twice as much as yours but demanded you split the cost of the date. You were all for splitting the bill but on the first date? Not a good impression.

The rest were uninteresting and immemorable.

“Seriously? You haven’t been on a date since – Oh, what was his name again?”

“Zachary,” you pointed out, taking a long sip of your drink. “You should know; you set up the date.”

“I know, I know. I didn’t realize he was such a bore one-on-one.”

“Thanks for that, by the way. Loved talking to myself for two hours.”

You all laughed at the memory, starting to finish drinks and gather belongings. “Let’s get to the next spot to find you a man!”

Bar hopping was the absolute last thing you wanted to do, but you knew better than to resist. It would all be over much faster if you just went along. Your companions were much quicker on their exit, considering the nearly-full drink that you felt like you just bought, and they were already moving on to the next dig. You threw the rest of your drink back, flinching as the big gulp of alcohol burned down your throat, and hurried to catch up with them. You took one of their outstretched hands, giggling as they just about pulled you into the circle exiting the pub–

“Excuse me, miss!” a deep voice called out. You’re not sure why, but you turned, feeling like the man was calling out to you. Your assumption turned out to be correct, and a tall, dark-haired man with a beard and a soft smile approached you. “Sorry, you left this.”

He held your cardigan to you. You must have abandoned it in your haste.

“Oh! Thank you so much. That’s kind of you,” you said, taking the garment back and draping it over your forearm. “I’d forget my head if it weren’t attached,” you added, tapping your temple with a soft chuckle.

“Quite alright.” Behind you, an elbow nudged your spine; you barely caught yourself from making a face and snapping at whichever acquaintance decided to egg you on. “I’d offer to buy you a drink, but it seems you’re heading out.”

He certainly was handsome. His beard was well-groomed, just like his hair. It looked like he went to a barber fairly recently. He even dressed well, in a cream, ribbed polo tucked loosely into his jeans. Dark chest hair peeked out where the top two buttons were undone. It was an enticing offer…

“Um, yeah, but….” You looked over your shoulder and met expectant glances. Some looked like they were about to bust apart at the seams with glee, which made you roll your eyes. Clearly, you wouldn’t be missed. “I could hang for a little while longer.”

The man's smile grew, and his stance shifted to open a path toward the bar. “Are you sure? Y’don’t have to,” he amended, his hands in his pockets. His energy was warm and soft but still masculine. He held a confidence that not many people carried, at least not the men you’d been on dates with recently. And the Liverpool accent? Maybe things were starting to look up.

“No, no, I honestly need another drink.” You flashed your teeth back to him, folding your arms over your chest with your sweater in hand.

“In that case, after you.”

Before taking his arm, you realized you’d yet to even ask for his name. “Thank you…?”

“John.” John’s right hand hovered before you and he flashed his bright teeth. His hands were clean, nails neatly trimmed. Although, one nail bed was bruised.

Man, he’s pretty for a grown man.

“Y/N,” you replied with an easy grin. He kept a steady hold on your gaze, carefully examining the bright twinkle they held. You didn’t know it, but John had just returned from a long mission. One that had left him yearning for a shower, a haircut, and somebody to come home to. He’d never had anything to look forward to and stay alive for; no affection or comfort after a rough assignment, no one to care for and spoil.

And he wanted that.

“A surname to that, John?” you asked, sliding your hand through the loop he created with his elbow. Holy shit, he was strong. Your hand rested on the soft but well-built muscle of his bicep. You figured he must have a labor-intensive job, or he goes to the gym frequently. John didn’t seem like the type to spend hours at the gym in his spare time, so you went with the first option. You’d keep that in mind when making small talk later.

“John Price.”

“Very regal name.”

John scoffed but laughed nonetheless. “That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

John couldn’t take his eyes off of you. You were unbelievably bubbly, especially for interacting with a stranger who only gave back your forgotten cardigan. He’d been watching you from his spot at the bar, laughing with your friends but zoning out every once in a while. He was no stranger to giving himself a mental break, particularly in a hectic environment like a packed bar on a cool, Friday evening.

“I’ll call you when I need a ride!”

You and John watched the giggly group exit the pub, happily waving as they piled into a cab. You waved back with your free hand, your other palm still pressed against his warm skin. They didn’t embarrass you too badly, thank god. You met John’s eyes, a dark color twinkling with mischief.

“Your friends seem chipper.”

“I’m so sorry. They’re just happy to see me talking to a man.” 

“Oh? Is that right?” he chuckled, nodding to your previously held table. John broke away briefly to retrieve his unfinished drink and denim jacket from the bar.

You followed his lead back to the booth, attempting to keep control of the flush you felt beginning to heat your cheeks. “They’ve set me up on many an unfortunate date. Not saying I don’t get along fine on my own, but–”

“It’s rough out there?” he finished, sliding into the cushioned seat across from you. When you nodded in return, John smirked. “Believe me. I get it. My career makes it difficult to find time for much of anything.”

“Yeah, well, I have sixteen kids.”

The man sputtered, choking on what looked to be an old-fashioned. Possibly a bad joke, but it was such a great opportunity; you were feeling frisky, and you couldn’t help the giggles that erupted following his reaction. “I teach history for year thirteen.”

“Oh, thank Christ.” John wiped the cocktail off his lip with the back of his hand, shaking his head at your laughter. “You had me going there. Five minutes into our date, and I’ve made a mess of myself.”

You quirked a brow. “So this is a date?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Well, I would consider it light conversation. Getting to know each other.”

“That’s a date.”

“Mmm, I’d say it’s more casual than that.”

“I’m not looking for casual, love.”

You paused, examining his calm demeanor. He didn’t seem cocky, but honest, a welcome change to the pattern you’d observed over the last few months. None of your dates had been so bold as to know what they want and make their intentions clear. Especially not so quickly. It was refreshing.

“Me neither.”

“Good.”

You both sat in peace, pausing your conversation for the waitress. You ordered another drink, as promised, and folded your hands on the tabletop, fingers laced. “So, what do you do, John?” you asked, tapping your thumbs together.

“I’m in the military.”

You paused, expectantly waiting for him to continue, only to be met with silence.

“Care to elaborate?”

He tutted once with his tongue pressed against the back of his teeth. “I would love to, but I can’t.”

Interesting. Normally, resistance like that would be a red flag. On the other hand, his job could be “classified” or whatever is said in the movies. No alarms went off in your mind; your intuition told you that John was trustworthy, so you let it go. The pretty brunette dropped your new drink off and another for John.

“I can tell you that I’m a Captain.”

“So you have pretend kids too?”

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he hummed, swirling the whiskey in his glass. A slight tinge of the citrus notes from the expressed orange peel wafted across the table. John’s laugh was distinctive, chesty and rumbly, inviting. “Of course. Mine are bigger, though, I’m sure.”

“Oh? They’re not scrawny little soldiers?”

“No. One’s almost two meters tall.”

“Jesus. How many?”

“Five. Gaz, Ghost, Soap, Alex, and Farah.”

“Well, I for one can’t wait to meet them.”

“Likewise.”

You fussed with your hair for about the thousandth time in your bathroom mirror and huffed when it wouldn’t settle right. John was to meet you in about fifteen minutes. Knowing him, that meant he would be buzzing up to your apartment any second. You’d been on a few dates and knew his date habits pretty well. If you’re not fifteen minutes early, you’re late. You had been out to dinner, grabbed coffee once or twice; you even grabbed an ice cream. So, it was a surprise when John suggested a trip to the museum. It didn’t seem like his thing, but you weren’t about to turn down a trip to the history exhibit.

As you expected, a familiar BZZT BZZT reverberated through your flat, signaling his arrival. The first time he picked you up, you let him into the building without using the intercom. You tried explaining that the speaker broke and your landlord had yet to fix it (shocker), but John wouldn’t hear it. You could have been letting in a random creep pressing buttons until some tenant unlocked the door. He insisted on creating a little system, so you would know it was him downstairs and not a kidnapper. From then on, he always rang the bell twice.

You gave up on your hair, switched the light off, and paged him in. Your unit was on the first floor (which wasn’t ideal), so it only took John a few seconds to reach your door. When you heard a knock at your door, you peered through the peephole (as promised) before unlocking the deadbolt, revealing a very well-dressed captain. John’s hair was a bit shaggy, but it suited him well. Your heart fluttered helplessly at the bright smile that appeared when he laid eyes on you, his gaze obviously taking in the sight before him.

It was a weeknight, and you didn’t have time to change between school and your usual errands. You threw a plaid skirt, thigh-high socks, and loose sweater together; just a sliver of skin showed between the top of your socks and hem of your skirt. You felt underdressed compared to John, but there wasn’t much you could do about it. 

“Hi,” he said, leaning to kiss your cheek. “You look lovely.”

“Same to you. You always clean up well.”

“If you saw the state I’m usually in at work – you’d understand why.”

John kept a watchful eye to make sure you turned both locks for your door before guiding you outside to a waiting taxi with a hand on the small of your back. He held the door to your building and the car open for you. The drive was short, but the weather was starting to catch a bit of a chill, and you didn’t want to walk too far.

Ever the gentleman, the captain followed closely behind you up the steps to the gallery. Even if he weren’t perceptive, with years of experience reading people, he could tell you were excited to be there; however, he wasn’t so experienced in the ‘romance’ department. John honestly couldn’t even remember the last time he visited any museum, let alone a dedicated history exhibition. But when he suggested it and assured you that he would have a good time, he was only being partially truthful. Secretly, the man just wanted an excuse to listen to you talk. What better place to bring you than an exhibit where he knew you would talk his ear off for hours?

You slowly worked your way through each exhibit, explaining some pieces you recognized and their significance to the period; at displays you weren’t familiar with, you both quietly hovered closer to the title cards, reading through the description. While that kind of date wasn’t John’s usual cup of tea, he was glad he planned it; it helped him figure out how to slow the fuck down and try to be normal outside of a military setting or a pub.

His breath nearly stuttered every time you laid a gentle hand on his arm and drew his attention to the next section, beaming as you animately but quietly pointed out the tiny details in a Renaissance painting hung on the wall. The man couldn’t help but stare at how your lips curved at every syllable, wide eyes glued on the intricate scene portrayed. John hadn’t spoken much so far aside from the occasional affirmation that he was listening; he was very much in his head, unsure if you were excited to be there with him or just excited to be there. But, standing in front of the big painting, you went quiet. You met his gaze, and his lips pulled into a lopsided grin, which you returned before you both shifted back to the artwork. It was peaceful, absorbing the atmosphere and just existing together. Suddenly, John was jolted out of his reverie by the feeling of something brushing the side of his palm. 

You were itching to hold his hand all night but were too nervous to take that leap. What if he rejected you? That wasn’t likely after so many dates, but still. Your nerves got the better of you for the better half of the self-guided tour. Regardless, you had managed to work up the courage, cautiously grazing your pinky against his wrist and hand before wrapping it around his. You didn’t look away from the illustration, but he did, moving to you, then down to your hands.

He simply stared for a moment, surprised but positively giddy at the same time. Surely enough, John took your hand in his, interlocking your fingers and leaning just a bit closer to you. He could stand there forever, basking in your warmth and energy, the sound of your voice sinking into his every thought–

“Oh no,” you said, breaking the silence. You looked up at him worried, wrinkles forming between your brows. “I-I’m sorry. I was teaching again.”

He immediately gave you a reassuring squeeze, thumb brushing over your knuckles. “Don’t be. I like hearing you talk.” Jesus, did he have a way with words. He liked hearing you talk? With that accent, he could spew nonsense, and it would still draw you in. But hearing John Price give you compliments and praise? Flattery? You were a goner. “Tell me more about the next one?”

As if he could get any more fucking perfect.

“Okay.”

Copyright © 2023 as-is-above-so-below. All rights reserved.

[sarascamander]

Reading the cursed child (scorbus, norvelize version in a03). I read the script years ago when I was 11 (funfact it was the first harry potter book I've ever bought). So I'm rereading it again because I have a scorbus brainrot suddenly (11 y/o me shipped Scorpius and Rose so hard but now I grew up let just say my taste had change lmao).

List of thought gonna go longer as I read:

- yo Albus surly personality is basically me when I was 15 it was like looking into a mirror. Hold on there baby I understand you 😭

- I want to write a whole essay on Albus and Harry's relationship. They both are so precious but they just have a hard time with each other.

- Scorpius is the sunshine most sunshine cinnamon role ever. I would kill for him. I would die for him.

- ALL THOSE BULLY BETTER STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY OUTCASTS BABIES.

- “And be my good friend.” what if I die.

- why do people love to torture the cinnamon roll??? I want to hug Scorpio so bad like baby you deserve the moon and the sky and the world. And the fact that he's still trying to be so cheerful and optimistic. THE WORLD DOESN'T DESERVE HIM.

- Albus and Harry's father and son angst is killing me but it is also so delicious I relish in it (it's just so complicated I love it).

- "you’re kind, Scorpius. From the depths of your belly, to the tips of your fingers." Is the sweetest thing I've ever heard anyone said. I love this quote so much I want it tattooed on my forehead.

- Again, Scorpius deserve the fucking world.

- Scorpius and Draco's relationship is SO GOOD, SO PURE, SO SOFT. They love each other so much 😭

- brb I'm going to cry at the fact that Dark AU Ron and Hermione die in such a terrible way a few minutes after they finally confess their feelings (they were scared). 😭😭😭😭😭😭

- Snape is so dramatic. Girl "you're giving up your kingdom for Albus... All it takes is one person." he made it sound like they're in a romance fantasy novel (they are).

- Head empty. Scorpius happiest memory with Albus is strong enough for him to produce a patronus.

- Scorpius is once, again, a cutie pie that deserves everything.

- Delphi is more manipulative than I realized when I first read this lmao.

- GIRL the way Albus said that he and Scorpius ran away to start a new life in the muggle world as an excuse — what do you mean you're eloping at 14??? (Out of chronological order but I just remembered this)

- Delphi when I catch you —

- Never thought I'd be rooting for Draco and Harry duo yet here we are (did I say I love Draco as a dad?? I don't think he's appreciated enough. He's a brilliant dad! THIS is his best redemption arc).

- "What did you say to our son, Harry?" GO OFF QUEEN (Albus is a confirmed mommy boy)

- RON WANT TO MARRY HERMIONE AGAIN. I don't quite ship them in the book/movie but they're just the sweetest in here 😩😩

- I just had the sudden realisation that Scorbus might be the only couple that I ship in hp that is so close to canon (and was canonised by some play if I heard correctly).

- that time where they were in godric hollow and Scorpius was surprised that Albus never knew the full story of his grandparents or visited the place just bc he was being a petty, moody uninterested teenager hit so hard (he is me and I am him). And the shame he felt was real too. I always regret those years in my life where I acted like that and I don't even have a daddy issue like Al did, what's my bloody excuse lmao (I blame fucking hormones) 😩😭

- okay so finished it!! When I was a kid I don't quite like the time travel thingy and find it very confusing but I think it's because it's a screenplay yk, and it was meant to be watched not read. But the novel version did help a lot (and I give the author my hundreds of gratitude, her writing is absolutely beautiful! And she captured the characters perfectly! If you're scared to read The Cursed Child, read her novel version in ao3!!!).

I'm surprised that I actually love the plot more than I thought I would. Yeah it can get a bit unrealistic at times but all in all it's very entertaining and Albus and Scorpius are very well written, very rounded and nuanced characters that carry the book. I'm glad their parents didn't overshadow their personality etc (like them being mini-copies of Harry and Draco). They're their own person and I love that about them!!

They're not Drarry or even Jegulus as I've seen people say, they're in their own league. There are no enemies or hatred or tension between them; Scorpius and Albus genuinely like each other so much from the first they laid their eyes on each other and I adore them for it.

I read a theory that Albus was sent in Slytherin because he subconsciously wanted to be in a house with this kind boy met on the train and it made me want to cry (they were made for each other). (Although I do think Albus have many Slytherin traits, Scorpius I was less sure he screamed Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw to me but admittedly he can be cunning to).

So yeah, I don't think it's that bad as everyone said (and my 11 y/o self). It's fun and I actually cried a lot at the end of it (I have to watch Jily die, do you have any idea what that did to me???) (I don't even ship them but i swear this book set me to default back to canon).

I really want to watch the play, would die for it but it's impossible and I can only dream.xoxo

[elliewithcellie]

Long Cool Woman - Chapter 2

chapter summary: The boys ask you on your first hunt, but nothing is as cut and dry as they made it out to be.

wc: 3.9k

cw: fem!reader, a lot of dressing room action, brief body insecurity, pining Sam, oblivious reader. Tame chapter:)

a/n: Time for a shopping montage and some flustered!Sam action lmao. Find the rest of the story here

A year had passed since moving in with the Winchesters. You weren’t provided as kind a welcome as Bobby had given you. You missed him. In the years you stayed with him, he gave you a semblance of the family you longed for. The brothers were less accommodating in the beginning.

Dean treated you like you were a nuisance at first. It was as if you were an obligation, an unwanted child. You weren’t a child and didn’t have to stay under his supervision. Those first two weeks dragged on, and he refused to look at you. When you finally confronted him, the screaming match began. It wasn’t until you threatened to leave that he reined himself back in, a rare apology taking place. Dean softened up to you shortly after.

Sam was kinder but distant. Unlike his brother, he did what he could to make your transition comfortable, but everyone was grieving Bobby in their own way. His grieving seemed to result in his studies. Bobby’s collection of books paled in comparison to what this library contained, which intrigued you to no end. You found yourself reading alongside Sam for hours, content in the silent companionship beginning to form.

Your reality crashed down on you when the brothers left for their hunts. Nothing was your own anymore. Just when you had a place to call home again, someone to call family again, it was all swept away. Your loneliness was amplified in the bunker. Every sound scraped against your skin, even as simple as opening your bedroom door. Your clothes were hand-me-downs either from Sherriff Mills or the boys. Your bedroom was a military bunk. Nothing was your own. It was devastating to not only lose everyone you’ve ever had but also lose yourself in the process.

It wasn’t until Sam called mid-hunt for your help that you began to gain some confidence back. To be valued as useful and intelligent helped build your worth up bit by bit. And before long, your rapport with the brothers grew as well.

******

As the three of you drove to your first hunt, you couldn’t help but contemplate your dream from the night before. The flashing black eyes, the devastation of your family laying to waste. The memories clung to you like a moth to a lantern, almost sadistic in its repetition. You had pressured the boys into letting you join this time, insistent that you were ready. But your body felt the opposite this morning. You felt sick, physically incapable.

Music from the radio disrupted your thoughts. You sat up from the backseat and nestled in between the boys. Sam had since dozed off in the passenger seat, and Dean switched through radio stations.

The Impala rolled to a stop. A diner about as greasy as any other flickered in the growing sunlight. The three of you headed in and ordered breakfast.

Trepidation settled in your stomach as the three of you waited for your food. You didn’t know anything about the hunt. The boys were quiet, eyes shifting between each other in their nonverbal communication you were still learning to decipher.

“Spill,” you said.

“Huh?”

“Spill what?” Dean said, his mouth full.

“You’re both hiding something from me. What is it we’re going after? What made you agree that you could use me on this hunt? Just last month you refused because you were ‘worried for my safety.’”

“Well,” Sam paused. “Ok. What we want from you may seem unconventional.”

“Oh please. There’s no way it could be that weird, considering…” You gestured vaguely around the table.

“She’s not gonna do it,” Dean said, seemingly more interested in his meal than the conversation.

“Do what?” you asked.

“It’s the only way to lure the ghost, Dean.”

“Can you guys just tell me already?” Your raised voice pulled them from their bickering.

Sam sighed. “We are going to use you as bait.”

“Okay, what do I need to do?”

“There’s a ghost going around killing potential Miss America contestants,” Sam began.

“We need you to be in the Miss America pageant.” Dean grinned ear to ear. “Can you picture it, Sammy? Surrounded by some of the hottest women in America. Oh, I can’t wait.”

Your jaw dropped. Of all the fears you had walking into this trip, nothing could have prepared you for this particular plan of operation.

“You’re telling me,”—you took a deep breath to keep your cool— “that I need to pull a Miss Congeniality and flaunt in front of thousands of people, so you two can find a could-actually-be-no-ghost ghost?”

Sam and Dean looked at each other.

“Yeah.”

“Basically.”

“I’ll be honest,” you began, “there’s no way this will work. How are you gonna get me in? How am I gonna compete with these girls? I don’t know anything about this!”

“We’re not asking you to win,” Dean sighed, seemingly sincere this time.

Sam reached across the table, his hand grazing yours before pulling away slightly. “Listen. We already have you signed up. You are officially Miss Vermont. I’m sure all you have to do is follow the other girls, okay?”

“You have to know this is literally insane.”

“So, you’ll do it then?” Sam asked.

“Like I have a choice,” you muttered.

“Then it’s settled,” Dean said. “Finish up so we can get back on the road.”

The three of you quickly ate and headed back on the road toward the pageant.

******

A few hours later, you all arrived in Memphis, Tennessee. You couldn’t help the frustration growing in the pit of your stomach. This is what they needed you for this entire time? You thought you were going to help in the search. You had grown anxious over your first hunt, and they wanted you to perform like a little boy toy? And not to mention the obvious, but did they not realize you weren’t Miss America material? All you had known for the last several years were men—no makeup routine, curly updo practices, not a blow-dryer in sight. You were reminded of your mom teaching you how to apply mascara at 13. Your heart longed for her, now. You needed your mom.

Dean pulled up to a fancy hotel called The Grandeur, a huge improvement from the sketchy motels the boys usually opted for. The parking lot was filled with cars hitched to RVs and trailers, and Dean circled three times to find a spot before reluctantly parking on the side of the road. The three of you grabbed your things and walked to the front entrance. Dean opened the door to the lobby revealing girls everywhere. Models from every corner of the United States with teams of people following their every move littered the lobby.

“Alright, well, you guys check in, I’ll be back…” and before he finished, Dean walked over to a tall Brunette. You and Sam shared a look of disdain and continued to the front desk.

“Hi,” Sam began. “We are here for the pageant. We—”

 “Under what name, please, sir?” the lady at the front desk interrupted.

“Hicks.”

“Well, Mr. Hicks, you are in room 219. Here is your key card and the itinerary for the following week. Please let us know if you have any requests. Don’t forget, we serve a continental breakfast from seven to eleven!”

“Thank you,” Sam said. You grabbed the key and turned around to find Dean receiving a strip of paper and a flirtatious wave goodbye.

You scoffed at the sight. He returned to you both with the look of a boy in a candy shop. It was funny how his best day ever could coincide with one of your worst. All you could do was sigh as you three found your room.

“Sam, I think this is the best idea we've had yet,” Dean said as he fell back onto a bed.

“Can we talk about a plan?” you asked, settling into the desk chair. “I’m getting really worried that you guys just showed up to meet pretty women. I’d at least like a game plan.”

Sam sat on the edge of the bed across from you. “If it’s a ghost like we think it is, it should be pretty cut and dry.”

“Because we’re us, we can’t just walk around like we own the place,” Dean said. “So, if something happens somewhere we can’t get to, you’re there to handle it discreetly. It’s just like we practiced. You’ve got this.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t explain this before,” Sam said, his eyes sympathetic. “It’s the only way we knew to help, but it puts you in the toughest position.”

You sighed. “No, it makes sense.” You looked down, twisting at your hands in your lap. “You—you will be there if I need, like, backup, right?”

“Of course!” Dean said. “We’re not hanging you out to dry, here.”

“We’ve got you, ok?” Sam said.

You looked up at them both. Sam seemed as sincere as ever, and Dean looked serious for the first time today. You nodded. Then a devastating realization crossed your mind.

“Ok, this is great and all, but have we considered that Miss America is like a full-on pageant? Like full ball gowns and makeup and all that?”

“Do you have any of that with you?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, let me just pull out my full-length gown.” You rolled your eyes. “We are so brutally unprepared. You all realize that?”

“Wow, I guess we didn’t think that far,” said Sam.

“Not to mention,” you continued, “these girls have, like trained professionals for hair and makeup. They have been training their whole life to be beautiful. How do you expect me to just show up to this thing blending in with these legitimate models?”

The boys looked at each other, some unspoken words exchanged, and shrugging shoulders the only response they could muster up.

You sighed. “It’s fine. We’ll figure it out. Just, what are we gonna do about everything we need?”

 “I guess we got some shopping to do,” Dean grumbled.

******

Half an hour later, the three of you headed inside the nearest mall. The mall was swarming, infested with teen boys and girls, moms pushing crabby baby-filled strollers, and elderly folks moving at the speed of molasses. You hadn’t seen this many people in the last eight years combined. It took everything in you to stop from walking directly back to the parking lot. But the brothers were determined.

“Ok,” Sam began, “so based on the itinerary, there are three segments: two dresses and one swimsuit section.”

Your jaw dropped. “Swimsuits. I forgot about the swimsuits.”

“Sorry,” he said softly.

“How about you give us a list of what you need, we split up, and we all meet here when we’re done?” Dean said.

“It’s not that easy,” you shook your head, nearing defeat before you began. “I haven’t been to a store since high school. I’m positive I’m not the size I was as a kid. And even if I did know my size, it’s not like men’s jeans going by, like, inches. Every store is going to be different. And if we want to make this convincing, we can’t just pick something that works. It has to be competitive. It has to look the part. So, I have to try these things on piece by piece until we find something convincing enough to make it through.”

The boys suddenly looked like they hadn’t slept in days.

“Listen,” you sighed, “I’ll handle this. You guys can, I guess do research or something. I don’t know.”

“No, no, it’s ok. We signed you up for this. We can help,” Sam said with a guilty smile on his face.

“Besides,” Dean continued, “someone’s gotta give an unbiased opinion.”

He raised a decent point. You exhaled a breath as a small wave of relief washed over you. “Ok. Let’s get this over with.”

The three of you walked around until you stumbled across a store with floor-length dresses in the window.

“In here,” Sam said.

“Welcome to Lovely Ladies Boutique. Let me know if you need anything,” the lady at the register muttered, completely unenthused. You stopped in your tracks. Thousands of dresses lined the store. The array of colors and sizes invaded your senses, the realization hitting you for the first time today. You were going to be in the most prestigious pageant in America. You took a deep breath.

“You ok?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. It’s just a lot to take in.”

Dean wasted no time as he approached a small black dress so low cut, you were sure it would leave nothing to the imagination.

“Sam? Can you come with me and help me pick something out? I’m afraid of what Dean is grabbing over there.”

Sam chuckled. “Of course. I’m following you.” You walked to the back of the store and picked a few items. After half an hour of scouring your options, Dean returned with a pile of dresses.

“Alright. I think it’s time you try some on,” Dean said.

You took each pile from the boys and headed to the dressing room.

“Remember, you need a long dress and a short dress,” Sam called out.

“Got it.” As you tried on your first dress, the thought of them on the other side of the curtain loomed over you. You fought your rising embarrassment. You silently scolded yourself. You were all adults here, and lives were at stake. You willed yourself to move forward, trying on over thirty dresses.

You had forgotten the dread of trying on clothes. Seeing your body in something unflattering deflated your self-image no matter how secure you were to begin with. What was worse was showing each one to the boys. They remained polite throughout the process, but you were sure they could sense your discomfort. Everyone’s patience waned. Finally, a navy dress that landed above your knee fit you like it was made for you. You left the dressing room with a fresh wave of energy.

“Woah,” the boys said simultaneously.

Their words took you aback. Pink grazed your cheeks. “This one’s good, right?”

“More than good,” Sam said, his eyes widening as they darted from you to his lap.

Dean watched the color drain from Sam’s face with a smirk on his face. “Yeah, it’s perfect. Toss that one over, so we don’t lose it. One down!”

You returned to your search, a small smile forming on your face. A few dresses later, you tried on a light pink floor-length gown. You walked out one last time.

“Well?” you asked.

The boys nodded emphatically. “Do a spin,” Dean said, a teasing smile on his face.

“I’m not doing a spin,” you said, hands on your hips. “So, this one is good, too?”

“I think so,” Dean said. “Sam?”

He let out a breath and nodded. “Yep, should be good.”

“Finally,” you said. “Let’s get out of here.”

The three of you walked out of the store breathing in the fresh air of one thing checked off the list.

“Alright next is shoes. This should be easy,” Dean said.

His words jinxed you all. The problem wasn’t finding the shoes; it was walking in them.

“There is no way this is happening,” you grumbled as you wobbled through your test walk.

“You could just practice, I guess,” Sam sighed.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is the best we are gonna do, so let’s just get them,” Dean decided. You bought the shoes, each of you beginning to wither away from the process. You eventually found a store that sold swimsuits. After you all picked out different styles and sizes, you headed to the dressing room, the boys following close behind. You stopped them from joining you.

“Yeah, no,” was all you could come up with.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Dean asked.

“I’m not modeling these for you guys. Show’s over, respectfully.”

Dean huffed. “Whatever happened to our unbiased opinion? Sam, you agree, right?” Dean looked to Sam for help, but Sam didn’t deliver. His eyes were anywhere but the conversation.

“I’m pretty sure I can handle this one on my own.”

“Ok, ok,” Dean said. “At least show us what you pick. I’m kind of invested now.”

You laughed and headed into the dressing room.

This segment weighed much more heavily on you. At least a dress could cover some insecurities. A swimsuit left everything out in the open. Your stomach scars would no longer be a secret. Chills ran down your spine, but you willed yourself to continue. After trying on a few different styles, your patience wore off entirely. You decided on a classic black two-piece.

“I picked one,” you called out.

“Toss it over,” Dean said.

You did as you were told. You held your swimsuit over the door and waited for Dean to take it.

“Woah!” Dean said as he took it. “Don’t you think this is, you’re sure this one isn’t too, pardon my French, sexy?”

A dry laugh escaped you as you got dressed. “Not on me, it’s not.”

“Shut up. It’s just like, no material. It’s not too revealing for you?”

You exited the dressing room and found Dean fumbling with the strings of the two-piece. “Since when are you ‘Mr. Modesty’?” You paused. “Where’d Sam go?”

“I don’t know. Said he needed air or something. Are you sure you’re comfortable in this?”

His sincerity shocked you. The long answer was no, you weren’t comfortable. You filled with dread at the thought of people seeing you in only this swimsuit to intentionally be judged. It killed you the more you thought about it. You opted for the short answer.

“It was comfortable,” you said, hoping he wouldn’t notice the distinction of your word choice.

Dean sighed. “Let’s get out of here, then.”

You both met Sam at the entrance.

“Get a little hot in there, Sammy?” Dean teased.

“I—I wanted to save some time, so I went and found a makeup place.” Sam glared at his brother.

“Sweet,” you said. “Lead the way.”

You walked into Sephora, completely dumbfounded. You didn’t know the first thing about professional makeup. You didn’t know a step-by-step routine, or what goes where. The boys looked as clueless as you felt.

“Do you all need help with anything?” a lady with the wildest makeup you had ever seen asked.

Dean spoke up first. “Uh, yes, actually. Y/N, here, has a big dance coming up, and she just begged us to bring her here.”

You did your best to play into his antics. “Yeah, I’ve never had my makeup done before, and this guy owes me big time, so money is no object. Right, Dean?”

Dean returned your look with a matching bitch face as he handed you his credit card.

“Oh, sweet pea, how sweet of your…” the lady searched for the right word to characterize him before deciding to move on. “Well, I’d be glad to help you! Just come with me. You boys can leave us be, so we can get going!”

The lady ushered you into a chair and walked to an aisle to find some products. Through the mirror you watched Sam and Dean leave the store.

After what felt like hours of trying to figure out colors and undertones, she finished your face. You had never seen yourself so, polished. It was quite frankly amazing the work this lady had done.

“This is really good,” you found yourself saying.

“Aw, well, thank you! But you’re the true beauty here. Now, don’t forget your steps, ok? Here’s a wipe, if you’d like it, and I’ll meet you at the counter.”

As you walked to the counter, you found a curling iron for sale and decided to splurge. You bought your items for an exorbitant fee and returned to the boys.

“We did it!” Dean said with his hand in the air for a high five.

“Almost, but not quite,” you said, realization rouging your features.

“What else could there possibly be?” Dean complained.

All you could do was nod toward the store across from you. The boys followed your gaze.

“Victoria’s Secret? Really?” Dean asked.

“I don’t have anything, Dean. Sherriff Mills was helpful, but she didn’t give me everything. Just let me handle this real quick. I’m gonna take the dresses in to make sure they work together, and I’ll be out before you know it.”

You didn’t wait for an answer before trekking into the store you hadn’t visited since high school.

You gathered different styles and sizes and ventured to the dressing room. You could deduce your size, but you weren’t sure if the one that fit worked with either of the dresses. You checked yourself in the mirror. Everything in the front was well hidden. But as you turned, you couldn’t see past your shoulder to tell whether or not it was visible. You couldn’t help but think of your mom. She was always there to help you with this sort of thing.

You sighed. You pulled out your flip phone. You hated to admit it, but you needed a second opinion.

“Help please” you texted Dean.

Only moments later, you heard Sam’s voice from across the door. “Y/N? Are you ok?”

Your cheeks flushed red at the sound of his voice. You peeked your head out of your room. “Sorry, yeah, I’m fine. Could—could you come in here, real quick?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, of course,” Sam said, stumbling slightly over his words before following you into the dressing room.

You kept your back toward him and swiped your hair over your shoulders. “Sorry,” you said again impulsively, a bad habit you couldn’t break. “I just can’t see the back in the mirror to tell if everything is, you know, covered.”

You painstakingly waited for Sam to evaluate your clothing. You were suddenly hyperaware that Sam could probably see the embarrassment written across your face in the mirror.

“Umm, actually yeah. Some parts are peeking out on the top.”

“Dammit,” you cursed. “I’m hopeless. This is hopeless.”

“Well, hold on,” Sam said. “I think I could—well, are you alright if I—”

“Go for it,” you said hastily.

You couldn’t help but hold your breath as Sam carefully adjusted your top. His fingers brushed against your bare skin leaving goosebumps in their wake. You watched his reflection discreetly, transfixed by his concentration, his grace, his ever-gentle nature with you. Like Bobby, you felt safe with him. But Bobby’s kindness was familiar like a father’s. This feeling was new, something you’d never experienced before. And you couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was.

“There,” Sam said, stirring you from your reverie. “Should be all covered, now.”

You turned around to face him. “Thank you.”

He released a heavy exhale. “No problem at all. I—I’ll meet you outside.” He said leaving you alone again.

You changed and made your final purchase of the day. You practically skipped to the boys, so thankful that this process was finally over. The air was brisk and fresh as you stepped out of the mall and into the twilight-lit parking lot, unlike the stuffy heat of each confining, oppressive dressing room you acquainted yourself with. The three of you discussed food as you set back onto the road.

chapter 3

[sasukimimochi]

a little bedtime story I wrote for @mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess to help them get to sleep (I wrote it ...live? LMAO idk what word to use. essentially I wrote it a few sentences at a time while they read) & so while its not explicitly stated as wangxian, you can definitely tell where its origins lie. I hope you enjoy!

*Little detail i wanna add: the "fox" is a fox spirit like my oc rahul is a wolf spirit- so he can change back and forth between human and fox as he pleases so long as he has his pelt.

*the mc here is at the bare minimum a mortal of some kind like a human.

Word Count: 513

.✦ In The Mountains ✦.

Once upon a time, deep within the sharp mountains of a lonely winter glade, there was a man who stood before a great towering peak of snow.

The man was searching, searching for something. 

He'd been walking for days, so he decided to have a moment of respite and rest with a small fire.

he rubbed his hands together and held them near the flame, watching the colors dance around the edges of his palms as his mind ran circles, laughter echoing in his memories.

He ran along side a little fox, eyes like rubied crescents on his own of winter sky. He smiled, never having felt such elation that his companion brought.

But then the fox disappeared into the dangerous glade in the mountain.

It'd been 13 years since then.

He sighed deeply, bringing his hands back to himself in order to look at the calluses and flushed tones of his fingertips. He couldn't stay in the mountains forever, he had to go back home. He had family waiting…but…

He missed him.

The village didn't.

He decided he was too anxious to rest longer, and snuffed out the fire with a bucket of snow, pulling out strips of bland dried meat that he could eat on the way. He'd be scolded for this, if he was at home. But he didn't have the resources to cook up here, it was too cold.

It didn't matter though. As long as he treated them with respect. Like the little fox did.

He could remember that bright smile hiding behind his caramel fingers. Like he was the most playful mischievous fox in the world, but he thanked the earth for every meal he had.

He remembered how the villagers blamed him for animals going missing, for food stolen from their stores.

But he trusted him.

He bundled his cloak closer and breathed out clouds of ice, eyelashes lowering to shield from the cold.

soon, soon he would find him.

His head whipped upright as he heard laughter, eyes widening as he saw a wisp of black fur trail behind trees and disappear between them.

He ran after it.

He ran and ran and ran, until his legs burned from the rush.

Until he went tumbling, a mess of black and whites and reds and blues. He groaned and lifted his head, shaking the snow off his head as he listened to the quiet laughing beneath him.

He felt the ice and snow melt away in an instant.

Quietly, he brushed away the snow on that pinkened nose, familiar eyes of stormy nights gazing back into his own. And he cried.

He cried and hugged him tight, the frost banishing from his heart as those arms came to rest around him as well.

The feeling of being able to hold the one he loved once more, it felt as if he couldn't breathe- ah, perhaps not, it was simply a kiss so breathtaking he forgot how.

He never wanted to leave again.

The snow wasn't so bad, when you had the sun to melt it away.

The End✦.

[andreal831]

I know you have pretty much the entire story outlined for TGW so I’m not sure if you even gave much thought to this, but even if you didn’t, it’s still fun to think about ‘what ifs.’

I’m gonna split the questions up into multiple lines so it’s easier to read. It’s also been a couple months since I read this part of the story, but I was thinking about it earlier and with the new chapter posted I feel like picking your brain a little. So fair warning, some details might be off.

When Hayley offered to erase her memories of Elijah, was there any moment where you thought about actually having Hayley go through with it/Jackson not stop Klaus?

What would you have had Elijah’s reaction been like of finding out her memories of him were gone?

Would Hayley still interact with the other Mikaelsons as much?

Do you think Hayley would have fallen for him all over again had he’d actually gone back to New Orleans for good?

Would Hayley’s actions of been any different to the point Jackson knows she’s significantly different? Would he have felt guilt?

Would Klaus of been able to sit around and watch Elijah hurt, knowing he has the power to give Hayley her memories back? Or would he give her memories back even with Elijah telling him not to?

Would there be any situation that Hayley gained her memories back even without Klaus telling her to remember?

Would Hayley have kept on the bracelet that Elijah gave her?

Some other things that have absolutely no correlation with anything above.

I assumed you wouldn’t kill off cami just because of things you’ve said in other posts, but I wasn’t really sure of how just because of familial ties being required for the bind. The way you did it was absolutely perfect, but why doesn’t Cami also have to be at least part wolf for the unification to work? Given the information from Hayley and Jackson’s wedding, I thought both people had to be apart of the same pack. Im definitely just forgetting something.

Given you’re already planning a sequel(s), I’m assuming Elijah and Cami will both be fine eventually. If you don’t put it in the main story, can you please write an outtake of everyone throwing a huge party for cami and Klaus?

Are you planning the sequel to follow the basis of season 4 (moreso the hollow)? Or are you going a different route entirely?

Last question, wow this was a lot. Since you unified Klaus and cami, if Hayley and Elijah ever get married, will they also do the unification ceremony? It’ll make them stronger, so I don’t see why not.

I probably should’ve split this into two different asks, but honestly, I’m too lazy to do that now lmao.

This will have many spoilers for The Great War. If you are not fully caught up until today's new chapter, go catch up first!

Hi! Firsts, thank you for reading! I'm glad you are enjoying it.

I do tend to think about 'what ifs' a lot with this story. I've had most of it worked out in my head for so long and for the most part when I write, it goes in that direction, however sometimes side stories do sneak up on me and I have to figure out how to write them in or if I even need to include them. That's kind of what happened with the chapter where Hayley offers to compel away her feelings for Elijah.

This was always going to be a haylijah endgame and I didn't want to kill Jackson so I needed them to end someway and I wanted it to be on Jackson's terms. I always felt like Jackson's character was used as a place holder in the show rather than a character (which is why I never really liked the character), so I wanted to give him his own autonomy outside of just being an obstacle. I also hated how in the show Hayley doesn't have a backbone when it comes to Jackson. She never sets boundaries or stands up for how she is feeling. She essentially gives up her power over the pack and becomes his figurehead queen rather than the Hayley we know and love.

So in order to improve all of that, Hayley had to learn to stand up for herself and Jackson had to learn how to communicate. Meaning we needed an event that would push both of them out of the passive comfort they had fallen into after the unification ceremony. Jackson is angry about how Hayley feels about Elijah and Hayley had repeatedly told Jackson that she couldn't help how she felt in the show and then it dawned on me that, in this world, she can. We saw Elena do it with Damon. This led me down a completely different path than I had originally thought because I asked myself all of the questions you asked. I ended up not going down that path cause we were already 28 chapters in and it would have taken up so much time to get us there and back.

I also just don't think Jackson would ever actually let Hayley go through it. Say what you will about Jackson, I know I do, but he did love Hayley. He didn't always understand her but he wouldn't want her to love him simply because she forgot about Elijah. He wanted her to love him and move on from Elijah herself. And when he realized she never was going to, he decided he needed to move on.

All of that to say, I did debate going down that road but I thought it would be out of character for Jackson and any of the Mikaelsons. I never liked how quickly Rebekah and Klaus got onboard with the unification ceremony and throwing a whole wedding in their home and Klaus inviting Elijah to it like he didn't realize just how painful that would be. But none of the Mikaelsons would ever help Hayley erase Elijah.

Now if she somehow convinced someone to do it, no one would want to tell Elijah. Klaus would likely tell Astra who would then have to tell Elijah. And part of Elijah would be relieved. At this point, Elijah is holding onto his part of the white oak stake in case he needs to take dramatic measures to save his family. Part of him would be relieved that there would be one less person to mourn him. But the other part of him would be devastated. He never anticipated being with Hayley any time soon, but, as Jackson stated, he did hope that they would have their chance eventually.

Elijah wouldn't have gone back to New Orleans because Hayley wasn't what was keeping him away. And he would need even more time away because seeing Hayley look at him without the affection he was used to would break him in ways he hadn't felt since Celeste's death. He would try to get back with Astra to help ease the pain which would only make her angry because she knows exactly what he was doing. It would be a mess.

In New Orleans, Hayley would still interact with the Mikaelsons. Her relationships with each family member existed outside of her feelings for Elijah. However, she likely would feel more pulled to the pack. I think Jackson would end up even more annoyed because Hayley wouldn't just be completely in love with him. I do think Hayley loved him but was no in love with him. Simply erasing her feelings for Elijah wouldn't make her be in love with him. I never felt like Jackson did much to "woo" Hayley. Like at least flirt with your wife if you want her to fall in love with you. He went from accepting that they were just marrying for political reasons to being upset that she wasn't treating it like a marriage. So they still had their own things they would have to work through even if we removed her feelings for Elijah. But I definitely think he would have felt guilty. He would have made her remove such a large part of herself after she already had sacrificed so much for her daughter and their pack.

If Elijah did come back in town, he wouldn't try to win her back. He would check in to make sure she was happy. But they would definitely have to interact at some point. They are still family. Hayley would remember Elijah, just not her feelings. But unlike with Damon and Elena, Elijah hadn't done anything to hurt her so she wouldn't hate him. He would just be a distant family member that she doesn't have any feelings for, one way or another. But like Season 5 showed us, the feelings wouldn't stay gone for long. Haylijah developed feelings for each other very quickly and when they met up in France, it just showed that it would happen no matter what situation they were in.

Elijah would of course tell Klaus not to give her her emotions back because that's what she wanted, but Klaus would argue it's not what she wanted, it's what Jackson wanted and he doesn't care about what Jackson wants. Klaus would 1000% force them back on her once Elijah was back. Or even before that if he felt like Hayley was making decisions based on her feelings for Jackson. I could see him using it to try and manipulate them.

I would love to say Hayley would gain her memories back just for seeing Elijah or some other romantic thing. But that's not how compulsion works. Klaus would have to undo it.

Hayley would keep the bracelet on and she wouldn't be sure exactly why, but it would feel important that she did. She would still remember it was from Elijah and the letter he wrote, she just wouldn't have the emotions connected to it. But she knew that Elijah would keep her safe and that would feel important to her.

I'm so terrible at trying to scare you all because I make it so obvious what parts of the show I can't stand and must change, like Cami's death.

I had to think long and hard about how they would save her. I wanted her to be in the Chambre, but like you said it required a familial tie and unfortunately, Cami is a bit short on family. But the Mikaelsons are her family. So I just needed to make it a reality. I debated a regular marriage but felt like that wouldn't be enough for familial magic, she needed to share blood, or in this case a heart. This is where I'm deviating slightly from the lore. The lore requires it to be alphas from different packs. And Klaus isn't in any pack so logically he can just be the alpha of his own pack. Now it working on a non-vampire is completely in my head and since it's a fictional magical world I can bend things to my will. I try to stay within the rules of the world (more than the writers do sometimes), but this one I can see working. We don't know much about the wolves spreading out, but we know the ceremony was used because packs developed different powers. To me, it would make sense that in the early days, the packs would unite with different supernatural creatures and that's how the packs developed different powers. How else did they become so different when they all derived from the same original pack?

Spoilers for the next story: We will get some marital party(ies). We have not seen the last of Klamille. I just couldn't do that.

TGW is ending in August 2014 and I will not be doing a long time jump like the show did. I hated that so much. They made a whole show about a magical baby and just skipped over the majority of her life. We will have a little bit of a time jump so we will be somewhere in 2015. More spoilers, we will see some crossover from TVD if that gives you any hints of what the story will be about. Also the name of the next story is "I Know Places." All of my story titles are based on Taylor Swift songs (I did that so long ago and have committed to it).

I haven't thought about a unification ceremony between Hayley and Elijah because I need to think through what that would mean to the pack and Jackson. It would give Hayley a boost, but would it sever any ties between Hayley and Jackson as co-alphas? To me, them no longer being married didn't do anything since the magic was already in place, but if Hayley then ties herself to another as an alpha in her own right, it feels like it would get messy with her ties to her pack since she is not an alpha by herself. If that makes sense?

I know this is long but let me know if I didn't answer anything or if you have more questions!

Thank you so much for reading my story! I truly appreciate it and love talking about it.

[dwreader]

Anne rice based lestat on her husband. I'm sorry but she always had louis stuck on that man even in the first book already its not like she changed her mind later on. Lestat was the looming husband figure. It's just so sad to see yall turn on the writers when the thing is yall have been chronically online + nursing resentment toward lestat&his fanbase and are now mad he doesn't get his comeuppance by louis having a much more passionate relationship w/ armand.

anon pls tell me when i have ever said loumand would ever take precedence over loustat on this show alsjsjajkas lmao like the ppl behind the show have announced multiple times that it’s about loustat and like primarily lestat i would argue based on rolin’s comments. literally the ONLY part of the book that i had any expectation wouldn’t be completely turned into a lestat extravaganza is the loumand courtship in paris where there is no indication that his ghost/memory stands in the way of louis accepting armand’s advances. he may feel guilt and worry over the consequences of what they did but if anything the fact that lestat was such an awful husband/mentor is what drives louis to be MORE receptive of armand and hopeful for their relationship. it makes him easier prey for armand because he wasn’t given any proper mentorship from lestat so unless you wanna enter into “louis just lied about everything” territory TO ME that’s an aspect of their relationship that should be preserved in order to have any impact (and i don’t see why louis would be lying when he’s very honest about lestat haunting him in the prior segment).

and not only is this louis’s only other substantial romantic relationship outside of lestat but this is also the last part of the entire series in which there’s any substantial writing of louis AT ALL… to dramatically increase the presence of lestat when the rest of the book series is already 99% his story just rubs me the wrong way. like we’re always talking about how this show is possibly going to work around the fact that anne never wrote about louis again after this but not even allowing what little independent story he does have in the books to be told w/o shoehorning lestat is again why this question keeps coming up.

yes lestat was always based on her husband but she wrote iwtv when she had a much more pessimistic view of their marriage and it wasnt necessarily a given that loustat were meant to be together in the long term (she literally tried to get rid of louis a million times in the subsequent books anyways) so this idea that they were always meant to be OTP4ever is just silly. the ending of iwtv works bc neither armand nor lestat could bring any passion back to him. it’s not a romance novel and even in the end, while he feels sad seeing lestat in such a rotten state and when armand leaves, he is too hollowed out to do anything about it and doesn’t stay with either of them. of course the entire series isn’t going to take that view but this season is not the entire series it’s just one part of the book that IMO is incredibly effective as it’s written without the overarching loustat otp narrative in its way.

also that woman tried to find a louis replacement in every single book she wrote and only gave up when her fans hated it and complained enough i guess. but even disregarding all her bad writing, everyone involved in the show has talked about how it was a challenge to account for the massive retcon she did after tvl. these are all choices that were made on what to prioritize and to deal with the fact that the books aren’t consistent about the characterizations or relationships. and they’re going to have to make even more decisions going forward when louis completely ghosts off the page in anne’s writing and all im saying is what im seeing so far makes me wary of those future decisions they’ll have to make s3 and beyond. (not even getting into the fact they’re shoving dm/lesmand/nickistat/etc into this season too like that’s just compounding the same issue)

[alovelyburn]

The last Twitter Stuff Post (probably)

I’m gonna be honest, I find reading about Miura kind of depressing and reading about his plans for the series quite depressing as well, so I decided to go through the whole twitter (well as much as the site will permit), grab the rest of everything of note to me and put it all in this post.

So yes, More Stuff Miura Said

1. The Lost Chapter - did you know it’s usually posted with the pages out of order? True story. [ link ]

1a. Clarification on the canonicity of the lost chapter - he just revealed too much too soon. He thought something that big should wait until the end. [ link ]

2. People like to say Miura said the ending of Berserk would be happy, but I’ve never found a source for that. The closest I’ve seen is this (I’ve seen it before now but you know the link is here so), which is basically just “I’m trying not to make it a tragedy, idk if it’ll be happy but I want to leave at least some sense of hope.” [ link ]

2a. He also had another quote that was basically the same, where he said he didn’t think such a long story should have a grim ending like Guts suddenly dying. Which like,. lmao, there’s that Go Nagai jumping out again except he pushed it back in the box.

3. If the kojion (the twitter user) ever posted this in the original japanese I missed it, which is a shame because i can’t quite parse the final part, but it seems to be saying that the time when everyone is traveling together is about to end. ...I really really miss Miura. [ link ]

4. The faces that line the world during the Eclipse represent the common will of humanity? [ link ]

5. Oh yeah, here’s the famous (to me anyway lmao) line where he talks about the androgynous characters and says usually (but not always) a beautiful androgynous protagonist’s femininity comes out and they fall in love with men. And that he felt he should provide a character like that with both male and female love interests. He’s talking about the protagonist to Duranki btw, but it’s interesting considering the way he drew Sheephead. [ link ]

6. Here’s some information on extent of Mori’s involvement in Berserk - I’ve seen a lot of people fear that Mori was working on 20 year old memories from the first time Miura sat down and plotted the rest of the series out, but their conversations were ongoing. [ link ]

7. Someone asked Miura if Guts and Griffith will fight in the end and he just kind of launched into a discussion of Berserk’s cosmology and what it would take to hurt an astral body. [ link ]

8. About Casca, it’s well known that he said he designed her physically to match his taste at the time, but less discussed that her personality was designed as a compilation of his own complexes and weaknesses. That’s pretty interesting to me because I always thought she was meant to be a strong badass but he was just bad at writing women back then. But it appears she was perhaps just not intended to be as strong and badass as I’d assumed.. [ link ]

9. This is just kind of funny to me - Miura complaining about all the Huge Swords that came after the Dragonslayer but without the kind of consideration as to what kind of body or stance it would take to actually wield something like that. [ link ]

10. Explanation of the nature of behelits - they are souls that fall from the astral plane, and their messed up face represents their fragmentation. ...but he made that up to explain it after he’d already designed them, which he did on a whim. [ link ]

11. kojion kept talking about a second golden age-esque arc that covered the Skull Knight’s history, and when asked where that came from, they explained that it was mentioned in the video interview that showed at the Berserk exhibition. [ link ]

12. This is pretty fascinating - he said that looking at the Eclipse made him want to hit his younger self in the face and ask what was wrong with him, and that he couldn’t do it now because he isn’t depressed anymore. You know, that’s interesting because there’s been a lot of discussion (mostly elsewhere) about the question of whether Miura ended up regretting some of the extremes in the Eclipse, and most particularly Casca’s rape. Because it.... gets played down a LOT and had absolutely no effect on Griffith’s presentation. And I do think part of that is Cultural Differences, because the West is a lot more angry about rape in fiction than Japan tends to be. But it does kind of sound like maybe he wouldn’t have done it again, if he had it to do over. [ link ]

13. I wish I could find it, but there’s a tweet in there somewhere about how he wouldn’t have women in the manga at all if he just did whatever he wanted, but that would be bad for the story. This is kind of tied into something he talked about a lot that I didn’t link to because I’m not trying to catalogue Miura’s life - he just didn’t know any women aside from relatives and his best friend’s wife, because he didn’t date at all or have many friends due to his being a shut-in who worked on manga 24/7. Anyway, I’ll look for the link again later and add it if I can find it.

14. According to Miura, all the relationships and such in the Golden Age really happened to him and his friends (in a not-fantastical way, of course). Which I think explains some of the tonal difference between the GA and the rest of the series. [ link ]

15. I believe this is his speech from when he won the Tezuka Osamu Award. [ link ]

[wren-beowulf]

So, um, My name is Wren, Wren Beowulf.

Name: Wren Beowulf (Used to be called "Bad Luck Birdy" by the other kids when he was young. His brother calls him Wrenegade.)

Alter Ego: The Lurcher its stupid I know

Occupation: Villain

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: Gay

Age: 22 (October 13th)

Gotham knows me as The Lurcher, for some reason. I didn't choose that name, it's super dumb, I know, but eh ya know. Beggars can't be choosers 'n all that.

So... elephant in the room... I'm a Villain. Not entirely by choice, but it's a long story, kinda don't wanna talk about it, not all of it at least. What's done is done. Thief, mostly, of tech. Re-sell that shit to the Gangs, Rouges, whatever of Gotham, again, long story, but business 's business. But most people in Gotham kinda already know that.

I like Tech, anythin' mechanical. 'M not a big robot buildin' guy, but anythin' else and I'm on it. I can re-make anythin' I've made before, photographic memory and all that (So if ya made an order from me before, don't worry, just send it again and the date and I've got the specs memorized). My brother calls--called me a genius once, I'm not sure about that, but I'm pretty smart if I can toot my own horn for a second.

Oh, right! Uh--I almost forgot. I'm a guy, male, I use He/Him. I'm Gay, only been uh, out, for about a year now so I'm still kinda sorta new to it. My birthday is on October 13th, I was born on a Friday. Yeah I don't believe in curses or anythin' like that, but I have some pretty shit life luck, so 'm totally cursed ha ha...

Been livin' in a couple of places 'round Gotham, mostly the line between The Bowery and Crime Ally. Abandoned buildin's are a plenty, and I have my own ways of keepin' them under the radar. It's fine. You won't find me, so don't bother.

Hmm... was that all? Oh wait--yeah. I'm a Meta. Yep, that's all now. See ya.

OOC Info:

Older Brother (Sirius Beowulf) - @brother-of-a-villain

I'm open to shipping stuff/romance, Wren x Canon or Wren x OC, either one is fine. Not necessary haha but it's an option.

APPEARANCE INFO: (because info dumping is fun yay)

Pale blue husky eyes, long-ish black hair (usually pulled back), short stature at 5'7", but actually pretty strong with muscles (He works with a lot of heavy machinery), very fair skin with lots of little moles, beauty mark under his lip.

Lots of scars from working with Gangs, most prominently, a long cut going from his left thigh, inner hip, up his back and ending over his right shoulder. Also has many playing card slices, hammer smashes, bullet scars, knife slashes, pretty much all the works you'd get in his line of work. Some of it can be played off as a work injury... others get covered up. Fortunately, most of it ain't on his arms. Though some are from his parents, like the cigarette burns on his palms.

You'll probably commonly see him in his tan jumpsuit and black tank top combo, though usually has the top half around his waist. Other times you'll see him in his brother's old hand me downs from highschool, very alternative looking.

He has a lot of piercing, he will likely get more. Three on each ear (R Ear Lobe/Upper Lobe/Indistrial) (L Ear Lobe/Upper Lobe/Helix) And snake bites in his lips. Used to have a nose and eyebrow piercing, but they closed up some time ago.

He has more than once been described as being Hot lmao.

Rando Info

- Wren has a scary good photographic memory, can remember everything. But usually pretends to struggle to not freak anyone out with it.

- Wren semi-lives with a Raccoon named Pudge who lives in his workshop.

- He has a complicated relationship with his brother. Sirius lived with their uncle in Gotham Proper his entire life, except weekends due to split custody. He used to love weekends...

- He has a large Dragon Plush named Danny. It was a Christmas present from his brother and is special to him.

- Wren's Meta ability let's him make perfect duplications of anything, and control such duplications to a degree. He can even make duplications of himself or others, though when they die or disappear he or they gains their memories.

- Wren's Backstory has themes of CSA, abuse, addiction, and depression, so you have been warned. Posts will be tagged accordingly so ya don't have to see those.

- I am very much an adult ha ha. I'm fine with NSFW 🔞 stuff, but if I'm not comfortable with something I'll let you know.

[tickledpink31]

Mari/Xiaodie Headcanons Part 3

Age

This is a category of its own.

Mari was 19 when she first landed in the Tang Dynasty and lost her memories. During the events of LMK, she was 21–22 as it took time for her to finish college while carefully planning to leave for China.

Because of the 14-year journey she went through, she's mentally in her early thirties. Time loops mixed with eating life-extending fruit are weird

My heart says that MK is 19, but my head says he's at least 20 (well, I guess he's 19 at heart even when he's well into adulthood). A storyboard artist sees Mei as 23, and I am apt to believe that Red Son is at the physical age of 24. I'm making this comparison because, it's truly a mystery on whether Mari is the second oldest or second youngest of the four because the journey is still something she experienced, albeit while in a coma.

It's like Narnia all over again when the adult Pevensie siblings get out of the closet and go back into their childhood bodies.

It gets even funnier when you consider that Red Son was physically and mentally younger than Mari/Xiaodie the last time she saw him (although Red was probably already biologically older than her regardless). Now, he's physically older than his aunt in the modern day.

Onstage

Mari has the voice of an angel. As Xiaodie, she has attracted demons and humans alike many a time with how enchanting she sounded much to Wukong's chagrin.

I think it'd be funny that Macaque and Mari both do well performing in front of crowds, but Sun Wukong does not.

Mari is used to performing in front of her large nuclear and extended family during events as well as singing in a choir at her school.

Past Wukong believed that there was a meaning to the songs she sang. There were no such meanings. Xiaodie was just regaining memories from singing. She sang "My Jolly Sailor Bold" often causing Wukong to get all huffy and jealous about his supposed "rival" whose name was William lmao.

Leaving Home

It was a difficult feat.

Mari left home without her phone, and therefore no GPS. She couldn't take it with her in order to prevent being tracked down. The layout of modern China differs greatly, so finding Flower Fruit Mountain was difficult.

On top of that, she gets caught in heavy rain hours after she took off from her balcony, rendering her wings too wet to fly. At the very least, she landed herself in a coastal area of China before she fell into the sea and relived her trauma of drowning.

8:00 AM, Mari is dead tired and wet, she finds shelter in a payphone and calls home to tell everyone that she's alright.

On a funnier side to this story, this is Mari's running away from home note.

Despair

There was a slight misunderstanding when Mari first heard about MK being a successor, and it caused Mari to lose courage in hoping to rekindle her relationship with Wukong for a bit.

She came to the conclusion that Wukong might have moved on from her and found someone else and then had MK. There's no way he would wait so long for her. She shouldn't have expected him to.

(Wrong! He did. He waited. Since she was born, Wukong would buy gifts for her on her birthday, thinking that "maybe this would be the year she comes back to me." Those gifts are still collecting dust on his mountain and in the Shame Temple.)

Mari cries in her hotel room that night. She considers going back to Singapore and apologizing to her family for leaving, making this trip a lost cause.

It takes a few days for her to get better, but then she hears something about a shame temple in the Monkey Village, which isn't too far away.

She decides that maybe she should go there, shed some light on the situation, and find out if Wukong found someone else. If he has moved on, Mari will accept forfeit and go back home.

And then the Lady Bone Demon sneaked up on her in the dead of night.

(Tbh, if it turns out Wukong and MK are related, I'm hoping that they're brothers. I don't mind Wukong acting like a dad, I just prefer MK and Wukong being bros. It's cuter imo.)

Marriage

I saw this tiktok of Wukong singing 'Get this Right,' a deleted song from Frozen 2, and I'm like this is how he would propose for the second time when they finally reunite after season 3:

Ahem, go on and guess what the picture below means for them:

Other Random Headcanons

Mari owns a 10-foot caterpillar plushie that she had since she was 7. It's a comfort item to her. During her time as a pilgrim, Xiaodie made herself a small stuffed caterpillar to prevent any more sleepless nights.

Along with not aging because she was in a two-week coma for the journey, Xiaodie's hair only grew an inch after chopping it off and her pink hair dye barely faded away.

In a situation where Xiaodie is angry, it's arguably scarier than Wukong's temper because there is hardly any solution for the problem other than waiting for time to pass until she has cooled off. Xiaodie generally knows how to tame Wukong's rampages, but she stubbornly sticks to whatever mood she's in.

[satsuha]

same anon again! thank you for looking into it 🤍 i havent been following you very closely (im not a fan of social media at all (hence the use of anon) so i mostly just check in and lurk every now and again to see your adorable art) - i fully thought you were japanese; sorry for that misunderstanding!! so cool of you to cross-reference nonetheless :)

yeah, i only ever read gil’s compliments as being purely impressed and appreciative, never attracted. but then when hikari copies him, suddenly it’s read as romantic attraction?! i will never understand these things. but again, i’m biased lmao

i loved their shared path, i found it super cute and i love the idea of this incredibly sweet dancing girl helping guide hikari through the losses his kingdom suffered. the memorial in ku was delightful to watch. this is why i’m of the opinion that forcing romance between them actively takes away from both of their characters, because it stops those individual traits from shining.

i don’t really ship anyone else in octo2, i love temehika because i adore the dynamic of ‘guy who has unwavering loyalty and trust in those around him’ with ‘guy who doubts everything and is constantly scrutinising their partner’s friends behind their back’. you’re the one who introduced me to agnea/throné, i hadn’t considered it before but i do love a good ‘Ray Of Sunshine meets Dark Shadowed Past and they go shopping together’ vibe, so i’ve decided i support that ship too now. thanks for that one!!

p.s, so glad there’s someone who understands my frustrations about the hikari/agnea ship lol we are Connecting

no worries! i wish there was someone more qualified to talk about the differences between the english and japanese versions because there are quite a few (some i'm ok with, others.... not so much) but some of them feel like a genuine detriment to play without knowing the original so i want to share them if i can!!

yeah it's...... a little iffy that people would read hikari's compliment as purely romantic because that would imply that gil is giving the same vibe and i read agnea's response as more like shock that someone as serious as hikari would say something like that to her...

i have a very mixed opinion about their crossed paths story unfortunately 😭 i really like the story itself, but i wish agnea had a more significant part in it... compared to the other stories that feel like they brought out the characteristics of each character more, i feel like agnea was mostly reduced to a bystander in hikari and yomi's story... i wish they got to touch on her grief over her mother or something at least o<-<

AHH temehika's dynamic really is so underrated, they have such strong themes of trust and doubt and i'm a bit sad their banters didn't touch on this more... we got a smidgen in hikari's ch.4 where temenos warns him about rai mei's possible loyalties but it's not enough...! not to mention the fact that they're connected to oboro and arcanette, the most major figures in the moonshade order... i don't really like the idea of octopath making certain protagonists more "important" than the others but i find it really hard to deny for these two lmao

agnene is also extremely underrated!! i think agnea's admiration of throne helps show her that she isn't who she thinks she is:

while in throne's stories, she slowly grows to lean on agnea's attempts to make her feel better... it's really sweet and i don't think either of them have this kind of connection with anyone else...!

it's also very cute how agnea invites throne to meet her father as well as to her hometown's raspberry festival... i think their paths post-canon also align very nicely because throne said she wanted to travel somewhere far away, while agnea wants to bring smiles to as many people as possible... it also makes for a very nice "celebrity and bodyguard" dynamic that mirrors dolcinaea and veronica's and it really suits these two imo!!

i also don't like teme/thro as a romantic relationship so i think their interactions as well as hika/agne's fit much better under the assumption of temehika and agnene... we see hikari's admiration of temenos' intelligence in his ch.5 banter where he compares temenos to kazan so i think both he and agnea have a sense of admiration for their older partners while also doing whatever they can to support them... (hikari with his blade, and agnea with her performances) meanwhile temenos and throne also feel undeserving of their partners because they view them as a light they're too afraid to reach out to... it's subtler, but i like temenos' banters with her where he tries to reassure her that she's a good person as well

phew this got REALLY long i'm sorry but yeah while i always tend to go against popular ships, i've been really frustrated at the extent of it in octopath 2... octopath is pretty unique in that all of the protagonists get more or less the same amount of (small) interactions throughout the game but that was changed in 2 with the addition of crossed paths and i'm not sure why hika/agne is the one that stuck because their story does not read to me as romantic at all lmao but i'm glad to find people who share those gripes as well!!

i think it says a lot how temehika and agnene's post-canon lives align together very nicely because hikari and agnea's goals respectively are much more defined while temenos and throne are more equipped to take a more supportive role... (crying) i just really like them

[samijey]

How do you think this is going to play out? Jeybis dk good at looking absolutely terrified 😭

What are your thoughts on Sami being brought in 👀 again at this chapter

Friend I have honestly no idea of what they'll do next - I know what I want to see but I highly doubt any of it will happen so we have no choice but to wait and find out.

Regarding Sami, I have many thoughts on the subject, too many to be honest lmao - both in kayfabe and out of it but as far as the story goes, it makes complete sense to me that Roman wouldn't simply leave him and Kevin alone while they're holding the titles - in the world of pro-wrestling, titles should mean power, money and prestige and that's exactly what the story is imparting on them here. I don't see this as "dragging" the story past its natural conclusion but as trying to keep a minimal amount of logic to the narrative until it reaches an actual conclusion (which we haven't had yet).

As wrestling fans, we have been conditioned to look at characters like they're robots who get their memories and motivations partially erased whenever they switch brands, feuds etc - we don't question it too much because "it's wrestling," so I deeply appreciate the effort to tie loose ends here. Sami never got his comeuppance against Roman, so arguing that he's somehow being underutilized by remaining in contact with the Bloodline is something I greatly disagree with - his part in the story did not get a satisfying conclusion yet and if they're keeping him around in order to eventually give us that, I see it as a massive positive.

[brandwhorestarscream]

An idea of a plot for Cult of the Primes AU. But again, it's just an idea, so feel free to veto any of this. (And it is an AU so...)

I feel like Hot Rod turned Rodimus Prime would be most likely to rebel.

He wasn't originally chosen to represent Liege Maximo's province/city, he's not even directly from the city just an offshoot called Nyon, but in the city's highest priests' eyes Hot Rod was the next best choice due to multiple factors. The first major factor being their original candidate got extremely sick a few days before the candidates were to be sent off. The other factor being that Hot Rod was still innocent so to speak and known to be quite a prodigy in regards to religious learnings and teaching. So, they send Hot Rod instead. As it ended up turning out, that was the correct choice because Hot Rod managed to "win" the title of Prime.

At first Hot Rod was a bit excited to become Prime. No one from Liege Maximo's domain had gotten the Primacy in a long while and he even saw that the saint, Saint Megatronus, was impressed even from the sidelines. He knew that darker parts existed sure, arguably Liege Maximo was the "darkest" of the Original 13 Primes, but Hot Rod now Rodimus Prime didn't expect how deep the rabbit hole went.

Like you said just with a different character, Rodimus would be horrified by what the Matrix showed him. He holds onto the idea that maybe this was expected, the priests closest to the Primacy help make sure Unicron's influence never finds Cybertron through sacrifices and he's seen executions of heretics.

What breaks him is the Matrix showing him a small vision/flashback of Liege Maximo's perspective of the Well of AllSparks being created. Rodimus was always told that Solus Prime sacrificed herself to stop her siblings from fighting and the Well was created where she died. What Liege Maximo experienced was watching Prima, Alpha Trion, Micronus Prime, Nexus Prime, and Amalgamous Prime going behind their family's back to sacrifice an unconscious Solus Prime to their father, Primus, and Liege Maximo just so happened to spot it on accident, but never told a spark besides letting the Matrix take the memory. What the Matrix intended was to teach Rodimus that some myths are watered down for most of the population due to the true version posing a threat to the order it wanted. What Rodimus saw was that the Primes were willing to kill each other and lie to everyone to make sure their hold on this corrupt Cybertron never went away.

Rodimus, in his mind, decides this can't stand, but he also can't tell anyone lest he's accused of being a heretic.

That's just an idea to get the plot going, but I'm not familiar enough with Cult of the Lamb to saw how it goes from there.

*dusts this ask off*

Hey Ambush lmao I somehow completely lost this one and just found it at the very bottom of my pile loool

ANYWAY! That's so twisted, and such a deviation from the usual story! The brothers killing Solus, I never would've expected that. Especially since, ya know... in canon, it's actually LM's fault. The first plsce my thoughts went to was, Liege Maximo is lying and manipulating Rodimus for some reason. He does have a track record of underhanded tactics and scheming, sooo 👀 maybe he's trying to turn the new Prime against his siblings. Get the newcomer to worship him and only him. Idk what his plans are but it could definitely be smthn fun and sinister

Bonus points of Acolyte Rue as we've invented him still exists. The Liege Maximo communicating with Rodimus from the ether is a sliver of his spark--his darkest pieces and tendencies that were stripped from him when he died in the Cataclysm and returned to the Well. So this manifestation of Liege Maximo is a part of him, an amalgamation of all his worst traits, but Rodimus doesn't know that. The rest of him is embedded in his suicidal self-loathing incredibly depressed Acolyte, who is entirely unaware of the situation 🤭

[sassyshin]

I did finish chapter 8

Reunion man…. Feels bad

I like the start of the story makes you think they’re evil then completely subverts it later

You’re even told at some point that Rhodes Island could become the next Reunion and I feel like it is very similar to Reunion at the start already

Maybe the main protag did turn out to be similar to Talulah and then made a decision to erase their memory in order to do things right again. With the right circumstances maybe things could have been different sort of deal. Not sure why Kaltsit wouldn’t know about that but we will see

Talulah is great too. You could tell even without the hindsight that she wouldn’t turn out well from the start of chapter 8 tho. We all know what happens to characters that are extremely idealist in fiction

Sometimes I do get confused about where she ends and Kashchey starts tho. It feels like they make it very distinct in some points then backtrack it and it makes things a bit confusing for me

But fuck man thinking that that ended up having Frostnova and Patriot that were people she was comrades with die is just… fucked

Also I’ve been looking for the ost that plays while she’s giving that speech to Amiya and Chen but I can’t find it to save my life. If anyone knows the name I would like to know

She was very cool even as a villain tho. “You don’t care? You don’t have to right to care”

OKAY ENOUGH REUNION NOW. GOD THINKING ABOUT THEM DEPRESSES ME

The Sarkaz… they don’t make me feel any better than Reunion tho lmao. I really have to read that W interlude. They seem like a bunch that acts the way they do just because they’re so jaded since life fucked them over so much. I wanna know more

Rosmontis is pretty cute tho. I really liked her with the Patriot guard at the end

Anyway I would like to read some events before going to part 2. I’m assuming I should read most of the interludes but if anyone has an event that’s just really fun and think I should read you can just tell me