#cris ft river

[ruinedsoulsrp]

Cris had learned a long time ago not to judge people by their exterior. That's how you picked the wrong marks. No, he'd always been good at reading people further than that in a short amount of time. Which is how he knew River was far too kind and trusting a person, someone Cris would usually take advantage of...and a part of him was still tempted to. One of his brows lifted slightly as a small chuckle left him. "I didn't graduate high school so I dunno what that is," he admitted with a slight shrug. "But okay." A brighter laugh left the man as he rolled his eyes playfully, pulling another cigarette from his pocket. "You're so needy." he teased as he handed it to the other man. "What're you up to this weekend anyway?"

sometimes, strangers could look at river and mistake him for being tough: his body was practically covered in tattoos, his hair was kept short, always, he smoked cigarettes although they'd gone out of style decades ago, and he rarely cracked a smile unless it was overly warranted. however, anyone who knew river well understood that he was almost unaware of his rougher exterior. under it, he had a red, soft, heart and verged on naive at times when it came to other people. "never say never is an oxymoron, so i don't really care." river shrugged and eyed the cigarettes in cris' possession. "you're not even gonna share? least you could do if you're gonna wound me."

[anonymousbardd]

Over The Sunset - FT. Hermes x FemReader

⸝⸝ ౨ৎ :: "Your slow loving makes me feel so obsessed with you."

𑄽𑄺 Content Contains: xFemreader, fluff, swearing. This story is based off of the series, Blood Of Zeus - ¡Please do not repost without crediting!

⸝⸝ ౨ৎ :: "All my life I and the world had been moving at a fast pace, but everyone always seems to slow down whenever I'm near you."

[F/n] is a young maiden who lives in a small poli, she used to live in a much larger economy, but her previous home was destroyed by a big group of bandits and hoarders. Now, she lives in a small village that the survivors built.

During the hard times, [F/n}'s family were the ones who helped everyone, they were the ones who gathered resources, and food, and they helped with the injured.

The village had a voting session to decide who would lead their newly rebuilt home, and it was no brainer why all of them chose your family. At the time, [F/n] was still an unborn fetus, and by the time she was born, the whole village had dedicated that day to celebrating their new life and home.

The young girl grew up to be polite, humble and kind, just like her parents. The villagers adored her, calling [F/n] the village's white rose. The young girl had a heart of gold, was sensitive, and felt empathetic towards the poor souls who had passed away. [F/n] would pray to Hermes, she would pray for the safety of the undead.

[F/n] would visit Hermes' nearby temple and would make offerings to him.

One morning, the village's white rose now grew into a beautiful maiden, it was a lovely morning, [F/n] was making her way to the nearby river to collect some water, when all of a sudden, she heard screams of terror from her beloved villagers.

[F/n] ran towards the sounds of agony, her heart raced inside of her chest as her mind showed different horrific scenarios. Once she finally arrived, she noticed that the cries and screams were coming from inside.

She rushed in only to find a dimly lit cave, on the ground where some of the villagers bleeding out, a little girl was crying, [F/n] ran towards the young girl and held her in her arms. Then, in the dark, a figure rose and began to swiftly attack the young girl and [F/n].

The young maiden then took a rock from the ground and began throwing it at the Kere, all whilst she hid the young child behind her, she managed to land a decent hit on its head, causing it to fall back into the shadows.

[F/n] then turned to the young child and made sure that she was okay, [F/n]'s legs were already bruised and wounded, so she wasn't able to run away, "Leave this cave... Hurry and run back to the village!" [F/n] said, "B-but.., I can't leave you here!"

[F/n] smiled and placed a hand on the girl's cheek, "Worry not about me, save yourself," she said, and with that, the young girl ran out of the cave and back to the village. [F/n] knew that if she stayed any longer she would end up being feasted upon.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and the young maiden then decided to pray for the two dead bodies on the ground, as she did, she felt a gush of wind brush against her face.

Then right before her, a tall man with fair skin appeared, his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue and his hair was in a braid, he took off his helmet and looked down on the ground to see the dead and [F/n].

The young maiden knew that the man was too big to be an ordinary mortal, "Wh-who.., who are you..?" [F/n] asked quite frightened, the tall man chuckled and kneeled down.

"Well that's quite disappointing... As my devoted follower I would thought that you would have at least a bit of a clue who I am."

He than hovered his hand on top of the dead villagers and began to harvest their souls, he looked at [F/n] and smiled, only then did the young maiden realise who it was.

The man in front of her was no other than Hermes, the god she's been praying to all her life.

Just as the tall man stood up, [F/n] lifted her body and warned him, "Wait! Careful, there's a Keres lurking in the dar—..,"

*shing!*

In a blink of an eye, the Keres from before was cut in half, Hermes' reaction was quick and beyond mortal abilities.

[F/n] sat there in shock, the god then reached out his hand for the young maiden to hold, "Come, let me help you out of here," he said with a smile.

The young woman then held his hand, and without struggle, he carries her in a bridal way.

[F/n] felt her heart pounding inside of her chest, her facd felt hot as she looked at the god who's carrying her. Not a second later they were outside Hermes' temple, the god gently placed her down and looked at her wounds.

"Wait here, I'll be back," he said looking up at the young woman, not even 10 minutes later, Hermes returned with clean cloth and a bucket of water.

[F/n] watched as the god dipped the cloth in water and began to gently dab it on her wounds, causing her to wince in pain. "Bare with me for a bit.., I know it hurts..." Hermes muttered.

The young maiden moaned, her legs were aching, she then looked at Hermes who was currently focused on her injury, "Do you usually do this for those who worship you?" [F/n] asked.

Hermes smiled warmly and looked up at the young maiden, "I do not, consider yourself special," he said, [F/n] felt her face heat up, she then looked away, the sun was already setting.

[F/n] looked back at Hermes and hummed, he was already wrapping up the wound with more clean cloth, "Why..?" [F/n] mumbled, Hermes looked up and hummed, "Why did you save me..?" She asked, "What do you mean?"

[F/n] looked down and sighed, "Compared to you, I am but a young woman... I haven't done anything to be blessed enough to get saved by a god..."

Hermes looked at her for a second and laughed, he sat down on the ground and rested his arms on his knees, "You, my dear, are truly one funny girl," he chucked.

Hermes then stood up, offering his hand to [F/n], to which she accepted.

He then brought her to the top of a mountain that perfectly viewed [F/n]'s village. Hermes held her close to him, making the young maiden feel secure, "You see this village? It's a small poli that your parents helped to grow... And you, a daughter of those with noble hearts, did the same."

[F/n] looked at him, slightly curious. She knew what Hermes meant, but she wanted to know what he'd say. Hermes turned to face [F/n], "You cared for the weak, praid for those who had fallen, and you helped with the village's troubles.., you, darling, are a lovely person."

Hermes smiled and looked out to the horizon, watching the sun slowly fall, "Ever since you started to visit my temple... I can't help but admire you for your kindness, you're very thoughtful... Everday you give me generous offerings, I can't help but feel flattered."

The god then turned to look at [F/n], "Sweetie, you're such a humble person, and on top of that, you're kindness makes me admire you more and more, I find myself looking forward to your presence for whenever you visit my temple again."

Hermes kisses the back of [F/n]'s hand, "I can't help myself but fall for such a charming woman..," he then looked up to see [F/n]'s red face, the way she looked told him everything.

Hermes then slowly pulled himself away, "Though I may know more about you... You don't know much about me... Worry not about that.., I'll gladly take my time and take things slow with you," he smiled, tucking a hair behind [F/n]'s ear.

𑄽𑄺 Blood of Zeus needs more appreciation honestly... Sorry for being inactive, I've been busy hanging out with my family hehe.

༝༚༝༚𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚍

[https-furina]

— in another lifetime ! ★ | edition: archons, version 1.0

ft. venti, zhongli & ei x fem!reader

content. heavy angst, mentions of alcohol, death, blood, details of injuries, illness. refers to their story lore. spoilers for inazuma’s archon quest.

✉️ mail received! sender: venti

you had every ounce of reason to believe that the boisterous bard was in fact not a mortal. he knew mondstadt like the back of his hand - i mean seriously, do all bards recite the crevices of a cliff face the way that he does? - and even drunk he could blabber for hours on mondstadt’s history, occasionally mentioning things that were not public knowledge.

therefore you knew you’d be swallowing yourself into a mess when you fell head over heels for that playful giggle, the lingering taste of wine on his lips between kisses and how he always seemed to reassure you so perfectly - regardless of whether you worshipped the archon of anemo or not (he doesn’t mind anyways!)

you remember the day that he finally gave up his secret well. it was carved into your memory the same way venti had every inch of his country burned into his mind, the rocks, the lakes, the trees he rustled with familiar, warm breezes as you walk under them. you’d been ill for months, seeking help from a multitude of doctors to try pinpoint exactly what was wrong - it turns out you didn’t have long left to live. in a bout of emotion, venti exposed his true identity to you underneath windrise, not far from a statue of his own person.

one attachment added!

a gasp falls from your lips, another coughing fit shaking your body as venti perches himself down beside you on the picnic blanket, his hand rubbing your back warmly. you flash him an appreciative smile, to which your boyfriend returns as he presses a kiss to your head. weakly, you raise a tissue to your mouth as you continue to cough, as if something is stuck in your throat.

it’s becoming harder to breathe and when that lump in your throat finally hacks up, the white tissue in your hand stains a bright red. venti’s eyes notice it before you do, the hairs on the back of his neck standing in a panic as his breath hitches - no, you couldn’t possibly be leaving him this soon?

it was as if celestia was mocking him for falling in love with a human in the first place. a mortal with an archon? a concept so amusing in the eyes of those who live forever. it was bad enough falling for you knowing you too would leave him one day but it was even more of a stab to his chest when you were ill with mere months left.

“windblume?” venti whispers, concerned when you don’t respond straight away. your breaths are staggered, weak and wheezing somewhat. it feels like your lungs are filling with liquid, drowning out your vital organs as you become dizzy. your vision is darkening, static around the edges as you look over at your boyfriend.

he’s crying; rivers of precious, glittering tears are dancing down pale cheeks as he stares at you in fear. there’s no reassuring him now. you know that venti has seen his fair share of death, you couldn’t lie to him in such a scenario.

“in… another lifetime, okay?” your voice cracks, you’re running out of oxygen when your chest tightens and constricts like there’s a heavy weight pressing on you, “i-i love you.”

“wait- no!” venti cries out, catching you as your body slumps forward, your eyes unblinking. he squeezes you close, burying his face into your shoulder when he can’t hear your struggled gasps for breath anymore, “i love you too…”

✉️ mail received! sender: zhongli

he figured he’d done a good job of hiding his status as an archon, especially when he tries to emphasise that he is retired - xiao will always send him a straight, deadpanned look in response to this that makes you giggle. you’d seen through it all, namely because you’d been familiar with xiao prior to meeting zhongli. you knew the last remaining yaksha well, on friendly terms.

you knew xiao wouldn’t just respond to anyone the way that he does zhongli. you’d seen first hand how the adeptus responds at the voice of the taller man - obedient and loyal. not to mention, you’d heard plenty of times when xiao stumbles on his words, referring to zhongli by his archon name before his cheeks flush and he stutters out his human name instead.

zhongli thought the idea of love mediocre. it never seemed to impress him - you suspected that there had been a past lover involved but neither xiao nor zhongli confirmed or denied your suspicions. you also knew however that zhongli had every right not to return your feelings. what would an archon ever want with a human anyways?

but the benevolent turned archon cracked under your smile and contagious energy, admitting that he was an archon the same night he had said his true feelings out loud into the night of guyun stone forest - where he had taken you to delve into liyue’s history. it was a personal favourite activity to do with you, your eyes glittering whenever he’d speak of events long ago.

sadly, zhongli knows that he had delved too deep into too many scenarios for his own good, trusting the fatui within liyue at what cost?

one attachment added!

guyun stone forest was as peaceful as ever, the waves rolling up the sand beaches in melodies you wished you could paint on a canvas. zhongli knew you particularly loved this spot - he’d offered to take you to jueyun karst this evening but you was hellbent on coming back to guyun stone forest, a harsh reminder of the archon war to the tall male.

yet as peaceful as it was, a solace that the two of you would cherish any other day, there was the struggled gasps of your breath that broke the silence, meshing with the crash of waves and the whip of the wind on liyue’s coastline.

golden eyes stare at you, panicked and dilated as he takes in the way your blood is staining your attire, painting it red in the shade of jueyun chilis - would he ever look at the specialities of his own country the same again? let alone the location that he held the most memories at, especially with you, the only one he’d truly let close again?

“zhongli?” you whisper, watching the way he’s clutching his polearm with such vigor, brandishing it in anger after having fought off your attackers. if he wasn’t wearing his gloves, you’d see the way his knuckles are turning white.

“how are you feeling? does it hurt?” his polearm clatters to the stony pebbles of the beach you stood on, the very pebbles that are splattered in blood - not just yours but of numerous fatui lackeys zhongli had put to rest in your defence. he rushes to your side, gloved hands cupping your face as he makes you look up at him.

“it burns, li,” you wince, breathing is starting to hurt. it’s starting to take its toll paired with the blood loss zhongli knows he can’t stop, “i’ll be waiting for you in our next lifetime.”

zhongli grimaces at your words, not willing to grasp the concept of you dying yet - no, he possibly couldn’t. he was prepared for much longer time with you, he couldn’t have it cut so short. but he watches the way the sparkle is dying from your eyes, chapped lips parted as shallow breaths leave them.

“perhaps, then we will get this whole thing right, my love,” he reassures, a hand falling down to your waist when your knees buckle weakly under you, protecting your fragile body from the stones below, “i love you, y/n, always.”

✉️ mail received! sender: ei

following the traveler’s escapades in inazuma, ei wandered inazuma city many days to bask in the sunlight she hadn’t seen in decades. she’d hang around a particular café, one where you worked as a waitress delivering cups of hot matcha to tables of smiling elderly couples, dying old together until their last days. ei would sink deeper into thought whenever she saw you, some days even managing to run into you when you wasn’t working - it truly was accidental!

you would be a fool to not recognise her as inazuma’s archon, to which you do. she knows this when you respond to her in polite, formal gestures and yet you never fear her. you never cower in her presence or shake and shiver. it’s a peace she had yet to experience in her time out of the plane of euthymia.

when she announces her feelings to you, under the dazzling, colourful displays of naganohara fireworks in a quiet spot of tenshukaku’s gardens, she makes it clear that you will leave this realm of existence before her - without her. you do not fear this idea either, the same way you do not fear her. ei finds it courageous that you do not fear death as others around her do.

you do fear her capabilities as an archon, the destruction she can cause in mere seconds and the enemies she makes in the blink of an eye but ei never meant for it to turn out this way, they were her enemies to deal with, not yours.

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“ei…?” her name falls from your lips within seconds of your attack, a red river trickling from the corner of your mouth as ei lowers you to the grass below, kneeling at your side as she holds you close in her arms.

“shh, my dear, it is okay.” ei coos, raising a shaking hand to brush her thumb against your cheek, collecting tears yet to fall from your eyes although she can see them sparkling in rhe moonlight. thunder roars over head, lightning flashing around you in the midst of ei’s anger and worry.

it is the first time she has seen you so fearful with eyes wide as you choke on your own blood, coughing it up. it splashes onto her pale skin but she does not react, watching you helplessly as her grip on you tightens.

“this is it, isn’t it?” you ask with a raspy voice, a single tear rolling down your cheek that ei wasn’t quick enough to wipe away in time. ei flashes a sad smile down at you, not wanting to say the words you crave to hear.

“you belong with me - you know that, yes?” she suddenly states, her voice firm but there’s a slight waver in her tone, “maybe in another world or lifetime but i know you belong with me.”

you choke on a sob at her words, succumbing to your injuries as they burn and sting, red drops of blood dripping to the ground below and staining blades of grass. ei presses her lips to your head in a silent reassurance, knowing that nothing she could say would bring you calm now. nothing would bring you the divinity you feel when the two of you would sit under a shared parasol in tenshukaku’s gardens or wandered in the shallow waters of inazuma’s coastlines barefooted.

ei keeps her lips pressed to your clammy skin until your sobs and cries of how painful it is subdue, leaving her with your lifeless body in her arms. only then does the woman cry, screaming out into the night sky in a battle with the thunder - who truly felt more anger in that moment? she wails, wondering if she’ll ever live without the ones she loves getting taken from her so brutally.

© https-furina 2023.

[niteshade925]

April 11-14, Xi'an, China:

Some pictures of the cultural landmarks of Xi'an and some miscellaneous pics to wrap up the posts about my Xi'an trip:

First is the Bell Tower/钟楼 and Drum Tower/鼓楼 of Xi'an. The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower of Xi'an were built in 1384 and 1380 respectively, during the reign of Emperor Taizu of Ming (personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, aka that one emperor who was a beggar). Both towers were rebuilt during Qing dynasty, then repaired extensively in the latter half of 20th century.

This square-ish tower is the Bell Tower:

The hotel we stayed at was fairly close to the Bell Tower so I was able to get a couple more pictures of it, but we didn't go inside either towers though. I kind of regret that, but I regret not being able to go to the Shaanxi History Museum more.

Side note: the Tang-era Jingyun Bell/景云钟 used to be inside this tower (hence the name), where it would sound in the mornings to signal the beginning of the day. However, the Jingyun Bell was moved to Beilin Museum in 1953 for conservation purposes, which was also where I saw the real thing (see my earlier post about Beilin Museum), but a tour guide told me it would be moved again soon to another (indoor) museum, where it would stay for the foreseeable future. The bell that is inside the Bell Tower right now is a modern working replica of the Jingyun Bell.

And now the rectangular Drum Tower. The drums in the tower used to sound in the evenings, signaling the end of the day. This is summed up in the term 晨钟暮鼓, or "morning bell tolls and evening drum beats".

The bian'e/匾额 sign on the south side of the Drum Tower reads 文武盛地 (traditionally Chinese reads from right to left when written horizontally), which translates to "the place where literary and martial arts flourish". The bian'e itself is 8m (~26.2 ft) long and weighs 2-3 metric tons (about as heavy as a SUV). The bian'e on the north side of the Drum Tower reads 声闻于天, which translates to "a sound heard even in the heavens", referring to the sound of the drums. The phrase itself came from the poem "A Crane Cries" (鹤鸣; translation may vary depending on the translator) from the Classic of Poetry/《诗经》.

On to notable souvenirs from random shops:

Tang-era style Thicc Beefcake Horses 👌

Left: figurines of (mostly) Tang-era girls. Right: a type of candy from Sichuan called "dogshit candy"/狗屎糖 (yes that's really the name lol) made from soy beans, peanuts, and barley malt syrup (called maiyatang/麦芽糖). The smaller text on the bottom of the bag reads "eat dogshit candy and you will have dogshit luck", which actually means good luck btw, because the chances of stepping on dog doo-doo is actually kinda low if you think about it

And last but not least, the ancient city walls of Xi'an. The city walls that we see here were built at the beginning of Ming dynasty (latter half of 14th century), but analysis of the cross section revealed that it also contained sections of the Tang-era (618 - 907), Song-era (960 - 1279), and Yuan-era (1206 - 1368) city walls within it in layers. These walls are 12m (39.4ft) tall and the top of the wall is 12-14m (39.4-46ft) wide, enough to pass multiple horse-drawn carts at once, which was important for the defense of the city. Below is the Anyuan Gate/安远门 (the north gate), and this used to be where the Tang-era Taiji Palace/太极宫 (not to be confused with Taiji Hall of the Forbidden City) wall connected with the Eastern Palace/东宫, where the crown prince resided:

Coming around the side gate of Anyuan Gate. There's also a moat (护城河 in Chinese, lit. "protect city river"), but I didn't take pictures of it.

Outside the Shangwu Gate/尚武门. 尚武 roughly translates to "respect of the martial". There used to be draw bridges outside these gates as well, but for ease of modern transportation, most of them have been rebuilt as fixed bridges with roads on top for vehicles and pedestrians. The only draw bridge that has been rebuilt (that I know of) was the one outside the Yongning Gate/永宁门 aka the southern gate.

Leaving Xi'an city. These are the corner towers of the city wall:

Two cute sculptures inside the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport/西安咸阳国际机场, the left one represents Shaanxi's Qinqiang/秦腔 folk opera, and the right one is, of course, the famous terra cotta soldier:

Goodbye Xi'an! Hopefully I can come back in the future and go to Shaanxi History Museum..........

[hrts4hanniehae]

Take a Chance with Me || twelve

*mostly written parts

WARNING: implied aftermath of 18+ content

remember to comment and reblog

yn stirred, feeling an unfamiliar warmth and the slow, steady breaths of another.

fuck... what happened last night... her whole body was sore and she could feel the person stir.

"morning, yn." oh. last night wasn't a dream. she couldn't help but hold back her tears. he was here. he was in her arms.

"morning, cheollie."

she felt him stiffen. perhaps it was too soon to call him like that. but after what they did last night, why would it be?

he planted a kiss to the top of her head.

"my yn, does this mean we're together again?"

"i..." she breathed in.

"yes, my cheollie."

after that, seungcheol had to go. his comeback album, 'Face the Sun" was released.

"so are you both going to do a slow reveal soft launch thing or hard launching it?"

"i'm letting yn make that decision. if i had to choose, i'd hard launch right now but i don't think yn is comfortable with that yet."

"isn't she coming over today? for like a tiktok dance collab thing?"

"no hoshi, it's a special darl+ing recording ft. yn"

"oh."

it had been so long. Seventeen hadn't actually spoken to yn for so long. so when she stepped into the recording studio, they finally realised how much they had actually missed her presence.

jeonghan missed her crafty personality. joshua missed how she laughed at all his antics. BSS missed how she was like their older sister. wonwoo missed gaming with her. woozi missed discussing music with her. jun and minghao missed eating chinese food with her. vernon missed their silent movie nights. dino missed his "noona".

they didn't know it, but they all had already bonded with her over those few years. she was there since their start. they'd known her since the start, when she had been a trainee -- their friend.

yn was home. she was home and there for their leader.

"i want our relationship to hard launch now, cheollie. I'm ready."

they had been dropping hints for months, starting with his voice in her special title track release. their most recent one was of their beach date (with the 12 wheels of svt)

"are you sure?"

"yea."

"but the hate comments you've been receiving..."

some... lesser fans of svt had been leaving hate comments on yn's posts, claiming she'd ruin SVT's image. popular ones were

"stop stealing our idols." "bitch." "lame. your songs don't even make sense." "cry me a river..." "stop ruining svt's image." "leave svt alone..." "whore."

she didn't care. she had THE alpha leader, Choi Seungcheol wrapped around her finger. why would she care? this leader let her buy whatever she wanted with his money to "make up for every birthday he missed". this leader went soft in her arms and held her like she was the most precious thing on earth. this leader loved her. not them. so why would she care? she had him and they didn't.

"whatever you want, jagiya."

"i love you cheollie."

note to my taglist: please reblog and comment abt the chpt so i know that you're actually reading my stuff.

summary: 3 years after your breakup with seungcheol, you release an album to cope with your still-broken heart. you didn't expose his name but quickly, your fans and fans of svt begin to connect the dots to the past you wish you could relive. little did you know, the man you loved so desperately would begin to chase you back with the same desperation you so very much desired

inspired by: take a chance with me

pairing: idol!choi seungcheol × fem!idol!reader

genre: past relationship, fluff, angst, best friend!booseoksoon, smau, miscommunication, pining, 2nd chance

warnings: implied self harm/depression, hate comments, updates irregular but will finish because i cried when i thought abt this idea

started: 13.12.23

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tags! @fairyofhour @megseungmin @sun-daddy-yoriichi @woozixo @euphoric-univers @christinewithluv @haowonbins @ocyeanicc @asyre @cynthiaaax13 @superhoshisvt @bangantokchy @chimmy-bts @angelarin @daisawa @writingbarnes@jeonghansshitester

@belladaises @wonwootakemyheart @wonwooz1 @luchiet @atinybitlonely @kookssecret @caratsland @peachescreamandcrumble @thepoopdokyeomtouched @isabellah29 @leah-rose03

[scaranation]

Loved your angst works sm... Can i request Diluc/Ayato/Ningguang x gn reader where reader is d worded already

thank youu angst is always so fun (but painful) to write 😭 this prompt was so good i loved doing it sm, hope you enjoy

༊*·˚ 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐁𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄

Content: angst, reader death, established relationship

ft. Diluc, Ayato, Ningguang

DILUC

For a moment, he could only kneel by your body in denial. Despite his pyro vision, a freezing sensation gripped his chest - seizing it in an icy grasp, although not as cold as the morbid embrace he held you in.

Your patchy, frayed messenger bag was still slung loosely over your limp shoulders, its contents spilling out. Carefully packaged food sitting in the pools of your blood. The lunchbox still bore your crimson-stained fingerprints, as though the last thing you thought of was delivering a meal to your lover.

“I told you not to go after me…” Diluc’s eyes squeezed shut as that terrifying, overwhelming cold thawed into searing anger.

“I told you, it was dangerous.” A trembling hand brushed your hair out of your face, delicately tracing your features - still fixed so prettily, even without the life that coloured them.

He only kept his hand gently braced against your cool skin, desperately trying to ignore the redness blooming in your chest, the sticky feeling webbed between his fingers. The scarlet hue seemed to engulf him, flame transforming into the most twisted form of anger - a guttural scream bordering on a sob left his lips, red and chapped with how hard he’d bitten them to stifle his previous cries.

Red was a complicated colour. It was the love you’d given him, a love you’d never have run out of. The pleasant warmth, the heavy infatuation, the fiery passion Diluc had felt for you. It was the colour of blood, which cutely tinted your cheeks red whenever he leaned into you. Red was also the colour of blinding anger, dark crimson and bitter in nature.

Red was all Diluc saw as he threw himself into slaughtering and infiltrating the Fatui following your passing. As if the rivers of blood he spilt could make up for the blood that no longer ran through your veins, as if the pain he inflicted could measure up to the pain he felt. Perhaps, this too was a form of coping. Busying himself in such matters rarely left him alone with his thoughts - thoughts that inevitably wandered to you.

He’d visit your grave whenever possible, sitting there for hours on end. He’d declined to have you buried behind the Mondstadt cathedral, instead opting for you to lay near the shaded grapevines of the winery. You’d always adored that place, remarking on its fairytale-like scenery. Diluc could only hope you were happy with resting there forever, eternally engulfed in the warmth of benevolent sunshine. Maybe, if things had gone differently, he’d be running with you through those vines and lawns - laughing beneath the cloudless sky. Although, he was simply grateful that he could still lay with you in the shade. Sometimes, if he closed his eyes, he could almost feel your caress.

AYATO

The Commissioner lived in a political web. Sinewy tendrils of sticky silk stretching from person to person, forming an intricate lattice of relations and lies. Like a spider, he'd learned how to navigate those thin iridescent paths - knowing where to step, and how to weave it to his will. Countless others had become entangled in his traps, hopelessly ensnared.

But you'd gotten caught in his web, too. How cruel it was, that he could only remain neutral, that he could only school his expression into one of controlled stoicism. He couldn't even hold you in his arms as he wished, forced to stand back and watch as the crowd of people in the courtyard hushed.

You lay on the tiled ground, eyes glazed over.

"How did this happen?" Ayato was shocked at the coolness of his tone. His hands dug into fists, concealed by his long sleeves. The early morning sun peeked tepidly over the gated estate, as though even it was scared to show its face.

"We are unsure, my lord. They were found here in the morning, it appears to be an assassin sent by a political rival."

"Find them at once. Everyone is dismissed from the courtyard."

"Yes, my lord."

In the quiet of dawn, your lover was finally alone. As he sank to his knees by your side, he was no longer the Commissioner, nor was he the head of the Kamisato clan. At that moment, he was simply Ayato. And he felt rather like a small child - pressing his hands to your cold face in an almost juvenile hope that you'd smile for him again.

"I'm sorry... for ever meeting you." Ayato held your hand, eyes brimming with unshed tears. If only you didn't know him, then you wouldn't have gotten caught in the crossfire. If you hadn't been stuck in his web, you'd still be alive.

Ayato hated himself, for being so selfish. Selfish for daring to bring you into his life, selfish for basking in your love - only to be the cause of your premature demise.

In those minutes, he was weak and vulnerable. Out of public view, Ayato could let his tears fall freely. He hadn't been there for you, even in your last moments. When you'd given him unimaginable happiness, what had he given you...? For a Commissioner who seemed to have everything, he realised it was never enough, or at least not for you.

Following your death, Ayato would drown himself in work again. For a while, he sought revenge in the futile hope that it would honour you - but in his heart, he knew he only wanted it in the name of selfish repentance. He'd never truly move on, finding time in his busy schedule to visit you whenever possible.

How lovely it would be, to be unchained from his own web? Ayato wanted nothing more than to be freed from the burden of responsibility - perhaps then, he could lay down beside you and finally rest for a while.

NINGGUANG

Surprisingly, there was a very big difference between a lovers' oath and a lover's oath. The position of one apostrophe could change the meaning entirely. The former was made and upheld by two or more partners, whereas the latter was kept by only one.

The oath Ningguang had made with you to stay by each other’s side forever had turned from a lovers’ oath into a lover’s oath, with her being the lone lover seated by your side, holding your limp hand. Although you wouldn’t be able to stay with her, she’d still treasure you - even if it was in her memories.

Your death wasn’t sudden, or unexpected. You’d been severely ill for some time, and Ningguang had known you were slipping away. The Tianquan had devoted all the time she could into caring for you, sparing no expense when it came to finding a cure. But even Baizhu couldn’t prevent the inevitable.

You lay in the bed, eyes closed peacefully - making you look as though you were merely slumbering. A faint smile was etched into your face, as if you’d had a pleasant dream. Ningguang smiled bitterly, barely registering the wetness of tears falling down her cheeks. If you were dreaming, then she could only hope that she was part of it.

Like a tangent, you and Ningguang had crossed paths, only for those lines to stretch away from each other once more. Although you had continuously insisted that the mere fact that you’d met her was a miracle, Ningguang couldn’t help the emptiness that came with your absence. Your warmth was gone, your voice no longer echoed around the Jade Chamber. Ningguang would never smile at your victorious expression after she let you win a game of Go, and there would be no more peaceful afternoons sharing stories over tea.

Ningguang was very busy, but she’d set aside her schedule to mourn. Her grief was not sharp and intense, only numb and gradual. It came in the unremarkable hours of the evening, when she’d turn her head to show you something and realise you weren’t there. It’d be in the emptiness of her desk, lacking the little trinkets you’d put there. It’d come, uninvited and unanticipated, when Ningguang’s fingers subconsciously reached out for a hand that wasn’t there.

She’d often sit by your graveside in quiet contemplation, simply feeling the time pass and watching the skies darken. Lotuses were beautiful flowers, born from mud. In a way, their existence was quite poetic - symbolising hope for a better existence despite humble beginnings. Ningguang herself had begun in a hopeless place, although she believed the metaphor described you better. Amidst the folly of Liyue Harbour, you were the lotus bloom. Perhaps, you were simply too good for this world.

[tmblrcolouredpaper]

Eyes on you. Open your eyes.

Hyunjin / Fem!Reader ft. Felix tw: alcohol consumptions; (emotional) breakup; lies; cursing; emotional isolation; mutual pining wc: 2329

He knows your secrets. He is one of them. He knows your lies and your tricks. He is one of them. 

‘I wanted to see you like this for so long’, he whispers, then reaches behind him to lock the door. 

‘Do you understand how exhausting it is to be your friend when deep down I know I will never be enough for you? It’s like you pity me, yet I rationally know that you genuinely like me’, he takes a step towards you, his fragrance fanning towards you, embracing you into his close proximity. 

‘You like me, don’t you? Otherwise you wouldn’t keep up with me the way you do, right?’

With a final step he arrives. You have to raise your chin to not have him bump into you when he leans over your figure. 

‘Or are you lying?’, he hushes. 

The first time he met you, it was a late autumn night, and the darkness swallowed your details, street lights only revealing your silhouette. To him, it was like you were nothing more than an additional shadow in the streets, but you immediately were the most beautiful figure of obscurity. 

‘That’s her’, his friend Felix told him with a big grin on his face. 

He was light on his feet when he ran over to you to greet you with a warm hug. Hyunjin followed in a significantly slower pace, cautiously. The glass of whiskey in his hand was the perfect accessory to his elegant look. The long coat floated over his long body with grace, letting the white button-down shirt peek through. The subtle shimmer of his shoes and matching belt reminded him of the river that binds the streets together, both nature and clothes mutually reflecting the light. 

You in contrast were dressed casually. There was no obvious shimmer. To Hyunjin you didn’t need any additional details. Your eyes were already enough for him, little droplets that must have jumped right out of the river and into your face. 

When he sat together at the table with Felix and you chatting in front of him, he was sure that he was supposed to feel like a third wheel, silent throughout the whole night and only sipping on his drink. However, the experience was rich. It included you. Therefore, he didn't feel like he missed anything.

The second time he met you, Felix was crying. Hyunjin stumbled into his friend’s apartment to spontaneously hang out with him at the wrong moment. He only caught onto you rushing outside with a stoic expression, jaw clenched and eyes cold like the ice that covered the river by now. 

‘She broke up’, Felix sobbed and clung onto Hyunjin when he offered him a hug. 

The absurd mixture of hatred for the fact that you broke his friend’s heart and guilt for immediately bening excited that you are now available caused him to cry in union with Felix. The younger one thought the tears emanated from empathy. Hyunjin never clarified their motivation. 

‘She had no reason’, Felix cried out in a high pitched croak of his voice, before he fell silent for days. 

Hyunjin never asked Felix about you. Felix never mentioned you again. He moved on. His smile returned, and so did his voice. He seemed happier than Hyunjin had seen him in years, so he secretly thanked you for being one of Felix’s experiences in this phase of life. 

The third time he met you, was the first time you actually got to have a conversation. You were seated on a park bench in the middle of spring. There was a big block draped over your legs, just like Hyunjin knows himself to have when he is outside painting. 

You greet him as if he were a long friend. The casualness of your tone caused him to sit down next to you. He immediately used the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the paper in front of you. It was empty. 

‘Are you drawing?’, he asked puzzled and realized that there were no pencils, no brushes, besides the block, no utensils around you. 

‘I am’, you laughed and closed the block to put it aside. 

‘Pretty picture’, he complimented sarcastically, but your thanks sounded more than genuine. 

‘How’s Felix doing?’, you asked joyfully and stared in front of you, fixating something Hyunjin couldn’t even imagine being there. 

‘He’s doing great’, he answered honestly.

‘That’s good’, you replied with a certain hollowness, as if you didn’t actually care or even hoped for a different answer.

A butterfly jumped through the air in front of you. Hyunjin followed it with the excitement he always encounters when he sees his first butterfly of the year. He almost squealed in joy, but your eyes stopped him. They were still cold, as cold as the last time he had seen you. 

‘Has he talked about me?’, you asked in a whisper, so quietly that Hyunjin wondered if you were directing the question towards him or if it was an intimate conversation you started with the universe. 

‘He hasn’t’, he brought himself to tell you after a few seconds of an immense internal fight of whether he should remain silent, lie or tell you the truth. 

He doesn’t know why he considered straight up lying. It was not in his nature to restrain from the truth so easily, but for you he was suddenly ready to turn towards the biggest lies if it meant benefiting you. 

‘Maybe it’s better that way’, you said, got up and left. 

Hyunjin knew you were disappointed. The anger of becoming so irrelevant that not even bad words were lost about you, that you had so little impact that not even anger had a chance to stay as a manifestation of you in Felix’s life must have caused you great isolation. 

The first time he woke up to a morning message from you was when he slept for only two hours. Insomnia is a bitch. 

You: I got your number from Felix after the night at the river bar. If you want to have nothing to do with me, that’s fine. But if you’d like to meet up at the restaurant next to the bar tonight at 8 o’clock, I’d be more fine with that. 

Hyunin: Is that an invitation for a date?

You: It is.

Hyunjin: You’d prefer me showing up than not wanting to have anything to do with you?

You: Exactly. 

Hyunjin: And you think I’d do that after what you did to my friend? 

You: I don’t know. That’s why I am offering. 

Hyunjin: Offering???

You: To never talk to me again or talk to me this evening. It’s your choice. 

Hyunjin: …

Hyunjin: May I surprise you with my choice? 

You: Do you want me to sit at the restaurant waiting for you not coming? 

Hyunijn: Maybe…

You: Play your games. I play mine. 

You: Schrödinger’s date, here we go. 

The first date Hyunjin went on with you, was not truly a date to him. He didn’t want to come. He was tired. He had all the reasons to stay at home, be a loyal friend, be a healthy person, who catches onto some sleep by going to bed early. He had no reason to come to you. Yet he put on his suit and strutted down the street next to the river. 

He saw you through the window. A red dress with matching lipstick and yet again, no jewelry. The only thing shimmering in the light were your eyes. There were two wine glasses placed on the table, both empty.

‘Were you already drinking?’, he asked, knowing that you weren’t.

The lack of lipstick stain on the glass was telling him. 

‘Yes. The wine is delicious’, you smiled and swirled the empty glass around the air. 

He sat down across from you, way less reluctantly than he hoped he would. 

‘Do you have questions?’, you asked him under your suddenly intense gaze.

‘I- Questions? What about?’, he stammered, quickly clearing his throat to restore his composure. 

‘About me’, you responded, your gaze loosening up into a puddle of sadness. 

That was when Hyunjin understood that he was not only being cruel to Felix, his own values, but also you. He showed up on a date with full dishonesty. After all he was interested in you, wondered about you and why you broke up with Felix, his scream of despair, yet he showed up with no sense of initiative, no personal motivation, but letting that deep down unknown take control of his whole being. 

‘What are your thoughts regarding me?’, Hyunjin let out with a smirk, leaning back with a raise of his hand to signify the waiter to come over and bring him a glass of whiskey. 

You wanted him to play his games. He just had to find out what game he wanted to play. 

He is met with the sweet little smile of yours. It was almost shy, but heavily concealed with a well constructed facade of confidence, arrogance as some people will, as he understood. He knew it from himself. 

‘You’re tall’, you stated dryly, yet your eyes glimmered in a playful manner, challenging him, awaiting his reaction. 

‘What else? Shower me with thoughts’, he chuckled, feeling patient, anticipating the evening to last for a long time. 

‘Almost every time I've seen ee you, you are drinking whiskey while wearing pretty clothes’, you added, and Hyunjin wondered why your head was so full of shallow observations. 

‘Am I pretty?’, he asked, usually not genuinely interested in an answer to that question. 

He knew he was beyond the concept of beauty. To him life cannot be put into such categories without the major detriment of limitation. No answer would have satisfied him, no accent on such characteristics, yet he asked you. And then you didn’t answer, remained silent with a face filled with guilt. 

‘You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to’, he appeased, already forgetting his insufficient question, only focused on your discomfort as you kept looking into his eyes.

‘You are’, you whispered, tears brimming in the corner of your eyes. 

‘Don’t hide’, he hushed, silently getting up from his chair to appear next to you when you lowered your head, the unconscious urge to hold you through your stressed state was overtaking his system just like the urge to show up at the restaurant earlier. 

‘I’m not hiding’, you breathed out through your red lips, that suddenly looked so incredibly misplaced to him. 

No accessories, not accentuated features, just your bland natural being was what made sense to him, just like the first night your visual manifestation was introduced to him. 

‘Don’t lie’, he begged and he finally met your eyes. 

The first time he looked into your eyes for longer than two seconds was when you also couldn't disconnect that contact. He believes he saw everything. He believes that there was a reason why you showed up as a shadow, simple and hushed by your surroundings. 

‘Don’t lie’, became the silent reminder whenever your eyes met, and from that first moment on, he knew he’d see you again, talk to you again, reach out to you again. He wanted to hear everything, every of your lies, every of your truths, every of your words in between, everything of you. 

He knows your secrets. He is one of them, has been since the first time you met him. Your focus shifted way too fast from Felix to Hyunijn. It was not fair. You loved Felix, and he loved you, and then your heart did this absurd turn and left you hanging. Not telling Felix the truth of why you broke up with him should have stayed the biggest lie.

It is an indirect one. Remaining silent, denying information is a cruel form of a lie. Then you went out your way and pursued Hyunjin. It is unfair to Felix. It is unfair to Hyunjin. How could he possibly trust you with the knowledge of your history?

He knows your lies and your tricks. He is one of them. 

‘I wanted to see you like this for so long’, he whispers, then reaches behind him to lock the bathroom door. 

No makeup, no accessories, just your old plain clothes. You wear them on a daily basis when you roam around at home, away from any perceiving eyes. The only time you are able to let down your guard - when you exist in self indulged isolation.  

‘Do you understand how exhausting it is to be your friend’s friend when deep down I know I will never be enough for you? It’s like you pity me, yet I rationally know that you genuinely like me’, he takes a step towards you, his fragrance fanning towards you, embracing you into his close proximity. 

You knew he liked you from the first encounter on. It was so obvious, the way he stared. You knew he would be easy for you. Long before you broke up with Felix, you pitied him for being so oblivious to all of it, oblivious to you not loving him anymore, Hyunjin being into you, you being into Hyunjin.

Simultaneously, you never pitied Hyunjin. You admired him for his dedication, his patience, and even throughout the time you got to have with him, he stayed loyal to those characteristics. He took in all of your lies that you trained yourself to tell with the illusion to protect yourself. He tore them apart so gently that you started to see your truths as prettily wrapped presents. He kept all the paper and bows, but whenever you resort to hiding your veracity, he knows which wrapping paper belongs to which part of you. 

‘You like me, don’t you? Otherwise you wouldn’t keep up with me the way you do, right?’

With a final step he arrives. You have to raise your chin to not have him bump into you when he leans over your figure. 

‘Or are you lying and actually hate me?’, he hushes. 

You close your eyes.

°˖✧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚✧˖°˖✧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚✧˖°˖✧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚✧˖°˖✧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚✧˖°˖✧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚✧˖°

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[luchicm04]

|Tonowari x Jake| ft. Aonung

Masterlist

Summary: You are mine, Ma’Jake. Forget them. Forget everybody and focus on me.

Pairing: Jake Sully/Tonowari

Word count: 3.7k

Overall warnings: yandere, rape/non-con elements, sexual content, dirty talk, angst, character death, extreme violence, mature language, death of minors⚠️🔞

All characters belong to Avatar, and all rights are reserved to the original work whose author allowed me to translate it.

A/N: Before reading this story, everyone needs to throw the gentle fish man out of their heads first. Hope you like it <3

posted on ao3

Beautiful. 

The only thing that could describe the rider of the last shadow is beautiful. 

Jake Sully, the ex Olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya clan and the former great warrior Toruk Makto, stood before him. Those two beautiful, thin arms held his ‘despicable’ little daughter and did not let go. 

Oh- 

Great Mother- 

Have you sent me a gorgeous gift? 

“We welcome you as our brothers and sisters.” 

His mouth spoke in words. His voice was calm and not displeased, but his mind was more ‘excited’ than anyone else’s. 

“Thank you so much, Olo’eyktan.” 

That smile... so lovely. 

“My pleasure.” 

I don’t like your family at all. 

What should I do? 

What do I have to do to make you mine? 

──

When the light disappeared after a solar eclipse, it was time to go to bed. Jake put his arms around his young wife’s waist, and she hugged him again. Not far away were the bodies of growing children lying in each other’s arms. 

It looked like a warm family that is too difficult to separate. 

Sea-colored eyes looked at the image through the darkness. The heat of anger flickered everywhere. His elegant strakes and palms were now stained with bright red drops of blood from something the ‘past him’ loved. 

However, to possess that man... even if the entire tribe was to be exterminated, he would accept it. 

──

The dawn returned to the wide sky. A loud noise woke the Sully family from their slumber. 

Neteyam was the first to be alarmed. He pushed Lo’ak’s legs that were resting on his chest and ran to look outside of the marui. 

The Metkayina people were running around. Whether the warriors were on land or in the water, they all had angry expressions. 

A thin arm grabbed a marine one. “What happened?” he asked in a puzzled voice. 

“The Tsahìk was killed last night. We are looking for the perpetrators.” 

The bad news that greeted the new household made the newly awakened Jake frown. He was so afraid that his family would be labeled as cursed. 

“What did the Olo’eyktan say?” the former clan leader asked severely. That made the ears of the young reef boy the same age as Lo’ak automatically droop. 

“He is very angry because our Tsahìk had just become pregnant.” 

“Take me there.” 

Neytiri approached and grabbed his shoulder. Her fierce face was full of worry. Jake turned to look at his young mate and gave her a smile that softened her a little. 

──

The Olo’eyktan’s marui stood from a distance. She immediatelly realized that a tragedy had occurred, because the water beneath the marui was filled with blood and the cries of the tribe’s children. 

“Please, let us through.” 

Ma’Jake pushed his way through the crowd and entered the big space before covering his nose with his hand. The smell of blood was so strong that he almost vomited. 

“Oh mother... How did this happen?” 

The youngest cried a river of tears, hugging her mother’s body with her chest open to reveal her ribs and her heart. One side of her face had a stab wound that went all the way to the back of her head. 

“Oh, Eywa... Children, go out.” 

“But mom.” 

“Neteyam, take you younger siblings.” 

Because the scene in front of her was too horrible. Neytiri wanted to protect her children from it. She couldn’t let them see these things. The eldest knew this well and he took his younger brothers and sisters from the circle of warriors. 

──

Jake’s amber eyes occasionally glanced at the Olo’eyktan of the Metkayina. His fierce and gentle face was filled with tears. 

His eyes were red and glowing with anger and looked terrifying. But those fierce eyes turned to look at him as if they knew they were being watched. 

Jake felt his strength slip away in fear. 

That face... no longer matched the gentleness he had seen before. 

Probably devastated because his partner and future child were murdered. If it were him, he would hunt down the culprits until he had gone all over the planet, from top to bottom. 

Tonowari looked unbearably pitiful. Losing your wife and baby this way must be so difficult to accept. 

Jake looked away from him and looked closely at Ronal’s soulless body. He should be useful at times like this. Use his knowledge to find out the truth. 

...But why was the Olo’eyktan’s oldest acting like that? 

His gaze was empty. 

But from the bloodshot edges of his eyes, Jake knew that he had been crying recently. 

Aonung did not have a distressed expression like his younger sister, Tsireya. Instead, he had a blank expression above all, like a lifeless doll. 

Maybe that boy knew something that he couldn’t tell anyone. 

The eyes of that kid looked at Tonowari with a futy that was difficult to explain. 

What had happened last night? 

──

Several weeks had passed and the search for the culprit had still not been resolved. Jake tried his best to find a way to help, but all he had achieved was failure. 

They could not find the criminal’s weapons. There were no traces of an escape. All Ilu and Tsurak were present. 

It was just a small tribe, but why hadn’t anyone noticed anything? 

“Or perhaps she committed suicide?” 

“If she had done that, the examination of the body would have said so.” 

The options were expressed seriously. Hopes for revenge had been reduced to almost zero. Jake held his head in frustration. During that period, he almost never returned to lie down and rest. 

“Toruk Makto, you should go rest.” 

“Don’t call me by my previous title.” 

“I should not... but should know how valuable this position is.” 

It was a fact that Jake couldn’t deny, but he could not go back and rest while he let these warriors hunt down the Tsahìk’s assassins. 

“There will be a solar eclipse. Today, we will have to sleep outside the tribe,” someone said, and Jake agreed. The darker the sky, the better his eyes will work. If anyone were to try anything at that time, he would be the first to see it. 

“Then-” 

“Toruk Makto!!” 

“Is there something wrong? You’re running out of breath.” 

It was Rotxo, a reef boy and close friend of the chief’s son. He came running towards him, looking so worried he seemed out of place. 

“Your mate-” 

He didn’t wait for the other Na’vi to finish his sentence. Jake ran away. His heart contracted... he was so afraid that his beloved wife was in a condition no different from Ronal’s. 

──

Great Mother, please... don’t let that happen to my family. 

The sound of sobs and prayers in his head never stopped. His slender legs moved forward as fast as they could. 

Jake felt so bad that he burst into tears. Neytiri was the woman he loved most in his life. 

The marui!! 

“Neytiri!!!” 

“Ah! Dad is back!! I really missed you!” 

His little daughter’s body rushed forward, and he hugged her longingly. 

Jake panted heavily... His heart trembled and he nearly fell to his feet. 

“Is there something wrong, Ma’Jake? Your face is pale and you’re shaking.” 

She approached with a worried expression on her face. A small four-fingered hand caressed him with the greatest delicacy. 

“Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine... just a little dizzy from the search.” 

Relief flooded in until the tall, thin figure fell to his knees on the ground. With a deep voice, he thanked Eywa for continuing to protect his family. 

“Come.” 

“I... Neytiri, I love you.” 

“I know, my love. Did you run to tell me this?” her caring voice spoke softly before thin lips placed a soft kiss on his temple. 

“Dad, are you crying? Neteyam!! Dad is crying! Quickly, come and see!!” 

The mischievous middle child of the house leaned in to look as he heard the commotion before shouting and calling for his older brother, who was swimming with Kiri, to hurry up and come see the strange picture. 

──

“Neytiri... don’t leave me.” 

“Why would I leave you, Jake? Are we not partners?” 

She hugged him in the midst of the children's laughter. With those surroundings... at that moment, he was the happiest man in the world. 

──

“Is your lover still beautiful?” 

The question was asked... when someone’s ‘head’ rested in front of him. 

A familiar face with thin lips he once held. 

... 

Neytiri... 

“What have you done?! Tonowari!!!” the man screamed between tears. In the middle of the darkness in the Olo’eyktan’s marui, two lives collided with each other as if no one would give in. 

Nevertheless, Jake was so furious that his eyes were bloodshot. Unlike the sea Na’vi, who smiled without a care as he dealt with the force that was pressing him against the surface of the marui. 

“Bastard!!” 

His thin lips let out all sorts of curses. Five fingers squeezed the Olo’eyktan’s throat, wanting to take his life. 

“Ma’Jake... when you get angry, you become so beautiful. Are you not happy that the shameless demon disappeared like this?” 

“Neytiri, she was my wife!! Why did you do that...” 

At that moment, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Jake had lost his mind. Many tears filled his eyes. 

He repeatedly questioned the Na’vi below him for answers. But only a disgusting laugh was heard. His palm rubbed and gripped his tight, while the more fragile body rested on the lower part of his abdomen. 

“Ma’Jake, ah Ma’Jake, from now on you will be mine.” 

Tonowari shouted his name sweetly while two hands caressed his waist and lowered towards the end of the rope that held his loincloth. 

“You pervert! I’ll kill-!!” 

As if he had suddenly lost consciousness, Jake looked at the pair of hands with such panic that he accidentally freed his palm from the thick words, giving the stronger Tonowari the opportunity to take control of the situation. 

“Tonowa-!” 

“Ma paskalin... Look at you. Who dares to make you cry?” the senior man said with a sneer. His face lit up with a terrifying smile. He was filled with a passion that was more than Jake could imagine. 

“I killed both Ronal and your mate... so that the two of us would be a perfect bonded couple.” 

“Let go!!!” Jake barked through his teeth, fighting back tears. At that moment, he was angry and scared. 

“Ma yawntu, ma Eywa ... ah-” a faint whisper murmured in his ear. The forest man turned away from those hot breaths in disgust. 

But when he opened his eyes again... 

Instead, he came to face with the lifeless eyes of the woman holding his heart. 

Both he and Neytiri looked at each other. Even if he is the one crying. 

She died leaving only her head. As for him, he was being sexually abused before her lifeless eyes. 

“Please, I beg you.” 

The sobs did not stop Tonowari. The force of the bite on his throat and the wetness of the tip of his tongue made Jake feel like he wanted to die right now. 

“Neytiri...” 

Suddenly... 

Just by saying her name with his mouth. 

All action stopped. 

“Do not mention her name in front of me. Otherwise, I will cut out your tongue.” 

How did those terrible threats come from the mouth of the generous Olo’eyktan of the Metkayina? 

Jake bared his teeth, his growl as hoarse as anything. 

He did not have enough strength left to resist any longer. 

──

The forest man groaned in unbearable agony. Shame was imprinted on his body again and again. 

The tips of his long nails scratched furiously all over Tonowari’s body. But it always returned immediately. 

His dry eyes were empty. Thick lips kissed his entire body. 

... 

The reflection of two Na’vis making love appeared in the lovely amber eyes of a woman who had only her head left. 

A drop of water from the side of the woven ceiling fell to the edge of her eyes and flowed down, as if she were crying for what had happened. 

Tonowari smiled. 

Did you see, Neytiri? He is mine. 

Not yours. 

──

When he woke up, Jake prayed that it was all just a dream. However, his wounded body always reminded him. 

Defenseless in this marui, only the figures of Aonung and Tonowari entered and left. 

That boy always brought him a tray of food at every meal, and he was the only one who healed the wounds on his body with a face of constant sadness. 

“My kids... Where are they?” 

Jake didn’t know how many times he had asked that question. But no answer ever came from the Olo’eyktan’s mouth. 

“...” 

“Aonung, please... are they safe?” Jake pleaded to the young man through tears. If he had not been chained, he would have run looking for his children, going over the entire island. 

“...They are safe. They’re staying with Tsireya.” 

The blue eyes strayed, not daring to respond to a foreign Na’vi who was no different from a prisoner at that time. 

“Really? Tonowari didn’t do anything to them, right?” Hearing this, the father felt somewhat satisfied, but he couldn’t help but be worried. 

“...” 

“Aonung?” 

“Yes.” 

When he finished, that figure immediately stood up and disappeared. Jake didn’t dare stop him, as a terrible feeling began to consume him. 

Was what Aonung said true or false? Were his children really safe, or was it just word of mouth? 

Those fragrant meals at that moment were absolutely disgusting to him. 

He could no longer swallow them comfortably like before. 

Neytiri’s face haunted him every time he moved. 

Jake hugged himself tightly. Saying that everything would be alright... although what he feared most in his life had already happened. 

He had lost Neytiri... 

The children themselves did not know of their fate. Nor did he know theirs. 

“Why don’t you eat? Tsireya would be very sad if she found out about this.” 

Jake let out a violent growl. The closer that large silhouette got, the more whistles he emitted non-stop. 

The tip of his big tail moved gently; his beauty again showing a cute behavior. 

“Get out!!” 

“Ma paysyul... this is my marui and yours too. No matter how much you wish to chase me out, I won’t go.” 

Tonowari knelt in front of him. He brought the wrist of his slender arm closer to him. Jake was surprised and trembled, trying to escape the embrace of this demon from hell. 

“Let go of me! You bastard!!!” 

The sea Na’vi smiled gently, leaving passionate kisses along the beautiful temple. One hand left his narrow waist to move and hold a long braid that reached past his hips. 

“We both are now a couple. It’s really like destiny.” 

‘A destiny I made,’ the voice in the Olo’eyktan’s head resonated. 

He clung to Jake tightly, possessive. The first time they made love wasn’t very good. The next, he hoped the gorgeous Na’vi would be more cooperative. 

“Tsaheylu with me-” 

“No!!!” his pleasant voice said in a harsh tone of denial. The fight became heavier little by little. But that was not enough to free himself from this strong bondage. 

“Being stubborn is useless, Ma’Jake... because you have been mine from the moment you set foot in Awa’atlu.” 

The light-colored eyes flashed with fear. That Jake himself hadn’t been able to realize it... 

His slim body was pressed so that he was lying on the ground of the marui. His two arms were pinned by a single hand of the Olo’eyktan . The terrifying smile of the Na’vi above made Jake’s whole body shiver. 

His fierce face leaned down and left a mark on the crook of his neck. Jake wrinkled his neck to escape but didn’t succeed. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. 

Repressed feelings. 

Passion turning into madness. 

Too much love to understand. 

The biggest hatred you can imagine. 

Jealousy towards Neytiri. 

And the satisfaction of having managed to kill her. 

They slowly flowed into his body. Jake had tears streaming down his face. He looked into those happy eyes. 

We are together now. 

He had been forced... It was done. 

“Is your grief that great, Jake?” 

Tonowari’s black pupils were wide, almost completely covering his ocean blue eyes. Deep down, Jake hoped that the other would take pity and let him go after knowing all his feelings. 

But not at all... Tonowari laughed again. 

He laughed... 

And smiled. 

So euphoric that he was shaking... ecstatic with the karma he had just committed. 

“I hate you...” 

“Yes, I know... I know you hate me.” 

For an instant, those eyes flickered... but it only lasted a moment before disappearing. Nobody noticed, not even himself. 

──

Day after day, everything passed slowly. 

Jake was drowning in sadness... he couldn’t know what was happening on the outside at all. 

There were some Metkayina children passing by the marui, but they didn’t care at all about the chained figure of the former Toruk Makto. 

... 

He looked across the water balcony... into the distance. 

He saw a reef Na’vi feeding the Ilu in the area. 

Jake was desperate to escape. Because no matter how much he made the sounds, they acted like they didn’t care. 

He didn’t know what had happened... but it was too abnormal. 

The remains of minced meat were thrown into the water. The Ilu swam and ate it... 

Jake continued to look like that, not moving. 

Until finally, what brought him out of his trance was the familiar sound of the placing of a tray. 

Aonung gave him medicine and food. 

Suddenly... 

“...” 

His fin was gripped tightly, and even when the young boy moved away from him, he could not free himself from the five-fingered palm. 

“My kids... I want to see them.” 

Every time they met, that plea was made. 

Aonung’s breathing hitched when he saw those amber eyes... sad, as if he were about to break. 

Why had his father done so much? 

He killed his mother... he killed the beloved mate of the former Toruk Makto and... 

“Aonung! Please, I beg you.” 

In the end, he couldn’t bear this horrid feeling. The young man’s mouth opened as if he was about to say something. 

However, the figure of the Olo’eyktan appeared before them both. 

Those fierce and dangerous eyes made Jake immediately let go of Aonung’s arm. 

“What were you talking about, Aonung?” he questioned with a kind smile but with some hidden meaning. The future Olo’eyktan was feeling as if he were being pressed to the brink of oblivion. 

“Nothing, father... J- Sa'nok was asking about his children.” 

Tonowari was very satisfied with the way Aonung referred to him. So, this time, he wouldn’t mind if his eldest child got involved with his Jake. 

“You may go now.” 

The boy nodded and after the tall and slender figure exited the marui, his eyes looked at Jake with mixed feelings. 

“Children? Your children?” 

The sea Na’vi stopped in front of Jake’s helpless body. He dropped down and hugged his body without resistance. 

“Tonowari... where are my kids?” his weak voice asked through tears. At that moment, he didn't have enough strength to resist any longer. 

“They are fine... they are happy with Neytiri.” 

Jake’s mind was pounding, struggling to form those words. 

Tonowari squeezed his body with his full hands and sat him on his lap. He spread his lips and kissed all over his neck. 

“What did you say?” 

“I sent them to live with their mother. You won’t have to worry about them anymore,” he responded casually in a low voice. Like he was talking about general matters. 

“Tonowari... do you know what you’ve done?” 

Tears that he thought would never flow again were now streaming all over his face. The smaller palms struck the robust body fiercely. 

Jake’s brain stopped, and he couldn’t think of anything... Don’t tell me Aonung has always avoided talking about his kids because of that. 

“I know. I know it very well.” 

“My sons. My daughters. How could you do this? They were just... kids.” 

Jake’s words began to blend together until he could barely make out his voice. While those sobs sounded, Tonowari simply comforted the man in his arms with a perverted smile. 

“Ma yawne, don’t cry. We can make your kids again at any time.” 

“No... no, no, stop talking.” 

“Come, Jake... From now on, you’re mine. Forget everything related to your old family.” 

“Tonowari... I’m begging you, please stop,” Jake pleaded through tears, using the last of his strength to try to escape from the man’s grip. 

He had lost everything... 

Everything... 

Nothing remained... 

Oh... Great Mother, Eywa- 

Wasn’t that the family you gave me? Why did happiness last so little? 

──

Hoping to get his family away from danger... he ended up sending them to their deaths. 

He can’t go back and fix anything... 

A loss that Jake cannot know about. His suffering would go beyond words. 

Every memory was in Tonowari’s head from the beginning. 

Cruel and immoral is an understatement. 

Perverse as a beast is not the right expression. 

Of what malevolent praise is this Olo’eyktan worthy? 

──

She was ambushed with great force to prevent the hunter from being able to defend herself in time. 

When that body lost its rhythm, the edge of a spear killed her with a single cut. 

- That’s how Neytiri died. 

──

Kidnapped at dusk, they tied his arms, blindfolded him and released his body outside the reef. 

The screams of the silhouette fighting to survive while being torn apart by a Pxazang echoed in immensity. 

The sea turned bright red one night that no one knew about. 

- That’s how Lo’ak died. 

──

They beat her with a stone and crushed her body while she was still alive, repeatedly until the flesh turned pulpy. Not even the bones were visible. 

It was mixed with fish scraps and distributed among the Ilu of the tribe so they could eat it. 

- That’s how Kiri died. 

──

Both his arms were amputated before tying his leg with a rope to a large rock. 

A bloody body that was still breathing and abandoned in the water not far from the village. 

Numerous air bubbles appeared and filled the surface of the blood-red water, before everything went silent. 

- That’s how Neteyam died. 

──

They gagged her, skinned her alive and rubbed salt all over her body. 

Some pieces of meat were cut to draw blood and attract animals to graze on her. 

The screams of unbearable agony only lasted a few minutes before disappearing. 

- That’s how Tuktirey died. 

──

If this is a dream... 

Jake Sully will probably never wake up from his nightmare ever again. 

THE END 

Vocabulary list: Pxazang ('Akula', ferocious Pandoran ocean animal that roams the reefs of the Eastern Sea), Ilu (large plesiosaurlike sea creature), Tsurak ('Skimwing', creature inhabiting the tropical oceans), Tulkun (large, intelligent marine species), Paskalin (sweet berry, 'term of endearment'), Yawne (beloved), Yawntu (loved one), Paysyul (water lily), Muntxatan (husband, male spouse), Sa’nok (mother), Tsaheylu ('bond', neural connection), Tsahìk (head shaman, high priest, interpreter), Olo’eyktan (clan leader)

Part 2

[sweetcarrotsandroses97]

4 Seasons | JJK - Teaser

Pairing: Royal Guard!Jungkook x Fem!Princess!Reader, Prince!Jimin x Fem!Princess!Reader. (ft. Yoongi & Hoseok)

Warnings: fluff, angst, arranged marriage, historical period, old traditions, angst (again), love, forbidden love, royal au, historical au, love triangle (?) (more warnings will be displayed on the masterlist post for this series as well as individual warnings for each chapter)

In which you, princess of the Gyeongdong Dynasty, were in the middle of wedding plans. An arranged marriage that would guarantee your father's bloodline to stay in the royal family. Or in which you were assigned a new royal guard that swore to protect you with his life. Jeon Jungkook. That's his name. A name you could never forget. A name that, slowly but surely got engraved not only in your memories but also in your heart.

Love, politics, betrayal and desire. All in ancient history. A love that never should have happened, two souls that wouldn't be allowed to be together.

|-|

"I know I can never be compared to him, I could never give you what he can or protect you the way he can. But even in this twisted game, I need you to know that I love you with all my being, soul and heart."

His heart clenched when those words left his lips yet he knew he had to say them, say them and let you go.

"Then why are you hurting me like this? Why can't we leave this place together and be happy for once in our lives?"

Your tears rolled down your cheeks like endless rivers of pain. It was too much, too much to take in, too much to accept. He sighed, hating the way he was making you feel, hating the circumstances you both were in.

"Because I love you too much to cage you with me. You have to live as the princess of Gyeongdong, our future queen and I am forced to live like your royal guard. Nothing less, nothing more."

He turned around, feeling how each of your cries were like arrows being fired to his heart, not physical wound could ever be compared to this emotional pain he was feeling. However, he knew it was necessary.

"But I love you, Jungkook! I could never love him the way I love you."

He turned around, a sad smile over his lips as his own big eyes were moisturised with the salty water of sadness.

"I'm glad I can hold that part of your heart, princess. Perhaps... in another lifetime we'll be able to be together."

You sniffled, hating the title he used to refered to you. If you weren't a princess, if you weren't the future queen of Gyeongdong, then you would have been his for a long time now. But fate was cruel and now, you both were left with a wounded heart as it bled with the remains of your love.

"Yes, and I will always be waiting for you. In each life until we meet again."

|-|

May 21/2023

Want to be tagged? You can do it HERE or you can tell me and I'll gladly tag you 😊 

[itsmeevie01]

tonight, I finally cried.

under the cut, i am going to go into more detail.

i live in Greene County, TN.

Thursday night I drove home in torrential rains, fighting to stay on the roads and trying not to lose my spot on the roads to a semi.

Friday, I started work like normal, lost power an hour in, and clocked out an hour and a half in. watched the clouds follow the mountains and tried to stay positive.

at this point all I knew was that the national parks had been evacuated sometime the night before. my grandpa was in the city getting a blood transfusion to help combat his Leukemia. late afternoon we go down to the river to check the levels. they are higher than I had ever seen them. dangerously so. we went home, checked on my diabetic grandmother, and charged our phones in the car. I started to contact family and tell them we are ok, just no power.

That evening we go back down to the river to check the levels. people in the neighborhood who live on the river roads are evacuating. the river has climbed again. as we watch the river rise, I see it take out trees. I wandered closer, and watched the power lines to the water intake station for the county go under. as we watch, one of the water commission guys says that without that station, we will run out of water, and soon. the water station is mostly under water already. hay bales are rolling down the river, and I choose to laugh to stave off crying. I don’t have time for that sort of breakdown.

My great aunt has been in contact once. They live 20 min away, and have power. No internet.

Throughout this time, I stay in contact with my mom. if everything goes to shit, she will be the contact point for the rest of the family. my grandpa and I rush home to start preparing to run out of water. he rushes to the store. Walmart is having a sale on flats of water. I fill up pots, pans, all the water bottles and vases I can find. the tub gets filled up. this is what will make sure we can flush toilets here soon. after I get my grandma started on the same thing upstairs, I run to the store and puck up more flats of water, and some gallons. just in case. my Florida training is coming back. I treat this like I am prepping for a hurricane. Grandpa comes back with water - I come back with water and nonperishable food. he hadn’t even thought about what we were going to do for food - remember there is no power.

That night we go back to the river. it has flooded the intersection and has reached the higher of the two river roads. we were told the river would peak at 3 am. later, as we listen to the radio in the car, our phones charging and the AC blasting, the county commission says we have two days’ worth of water for the county - our water intake facility is underwater and has no power. all the bridges in the county have been closed - they are either gone or need to be assessed to see if they will hold anyone’s weight. my grandparents go to bed at 10. the new peak is 1 am. I stay up until 2:30, reading on my kindle and sitting by a candle. the windows are open to combat the heat. every 30 min I take a lap around the house. I’m making sure the water isn’t going to reach us. at 3 am, I finally pass out in bed. I don’t sleep well, because I can’t get cool enough to sleep.

Saturday morning my grandpa gets it in his head we should go out for breakfast. he wakes me up at 11, ready to face the day. I fall asleep in the air-conditioned car, as he and grandma drive around and realize that all the restaurants are closed. I knew this was coming - we are on a conserve water order, and half the county has no power. we go to the Publix deli, and while the sandwiches are made, I pick up energy drinks. if I’m out of power, I can’t make coffee. I need the caffeine to maintain the level of energy needed when I have two diabetic grandparents who have never weathered a hurricane to take care of. we meander back home and watch the water recede. one of the houses, we later find out, had 8 ft of water. many others have lost everything in their basements. many sat outside their homes to defend against looters, even as they watched the water take everything.

I go to besties apartment. she is frantic with panic, worried that grandpa, grandma, and I have drowned being so close to the river. I assure her that we are safe. there is a flood plain that would have to fill before we got flooded. if that happens, we have bigger problems. she has power, water, and internet. I charge everything and submit all my assignments for school early. Washington county still has everything running like normal - I take her out to eat as a thank you. our leftovers will be my dinner.

My great aunt stops by while I am out – the barn, the owner, and all the horses are fine. No one can get out to them. my great uncle will try again tomorrow. They no longer have cell service at their house. They have food and are preparing to go without water.

when I get home, there is almost no light left. I put a candle in every room and open all the windows - it is still too hot for me. I pace through the house and call my mom again to check in. dad and I talk for two hours. it is a relief to not have to hold anything together. by this point I am scrolling through my least favorite apps - Facebook and Twitter (or x or whatever). there are calls for help. calls to look for the missing. questions about our neighbors in NC. worries about everyone who hasn’t been heard from since Thursday night. the Appalachian region is in chaos.

Sunday I sleep in then go back to doom scrolling on my phone. mid afternoon, I pack all my chargeables and head to another friends. her boyfriend is laid up on the couch. he just started chemo, and his hospital has been evacuated. he will have to go north for treatment on Monday. they still don’t know which hospital he will be at. his parents are stuck on the other side of the river. we don’t know if the bridges out there are stable yet or not.

I get a call from grandma- we have power again! this means power is restored to the water intake station at the end of our street. they can start working on replacing the pumps and work to get water back! as I talk to her I scroll through Facebook, again. there in back and red, I see the post - GREENE COUNTY IS OUT OF WATER ALL THATS LEFT IS IN THE PIPES. fuck.

I go home to see that we do, in fact have power again. after making sure I am prepared for when the water in the pipes runs out, I crash. I am running on fumes already.

I spend half the night throwing up into the sink. there is no water to wash my mouth out with or to wash down the sink. they are predicting we could be out of water for up to two weeks. I cant waste water on my chest being congested.

Monday, I wake up early. I water my plants and make coffee. now that power is back, I can do that. I check in on the upstairs crew. they are fine. grandma is sewing again, and grandpa has made a run to replace the food lost so grandma can cook for tonight. I put on makeup for the first time in almost a week. I put on nice jeans and a decent shirt. I pack all the empty water bottles into a spare reusable bag. I pack myself into the car and go to school Hella early.

I go and wash my hands with soap and water. I get coffee. I set up in the student lounge. I film my midterm for my grad program. I cannot allow my grades to slip during all of this. I have 100s in all my classes, and this will not stop me. we walk to grab food after we finish filming. we get back in time to set up shop for our six hours of class tonight. during our break I fill every single water bottle up. I wont have a chance again until Thursday. I see evacuated Tusculum students arrive on campus and look around. after class, I make sure I have everything I need and use the bathroom one more time and scrub my hands vigorously. I will be back on the hand sanitizer once I get home.

the drive home isn’t too bad. this morning 81 was a shit show. besties 1:15 drive took over 2 hours to get to school today. mine was full of people who were going 15 under in the left lane, and people who were trying to race. when I finally get home, I take the pizza I got near school and put it in the oven to reheat. I put my water supplies away and take out the trash. miraculously, the trash pick-up is still on for tomorrow.

I continue to scroll. there are reports and videos of TEMA telling people to go away. they are trying to confiscate donations and are trying to chase off volunteers. in the volunteer state. people from Canada have come to help, but our own government won’t even bother to let the people who want to help in. there are rumors that they are trying to ARREST the people who are using their own helicopters to survey damage, rescue others, and bring in supplies. one video I saw was a T1 diabetic receiving insulin via drone that a friend was able to fly to them. the only way things will be accessible is if we make them so. emergency response has decided not to help, the people of Appalachia have taken it on themselves.

I continue to scroll, and I see the video that finally makes me cry. Governor Ron DeSantis of FL has requested that all aid be sent to the WNC and ETN areas that have been affected. he states that FL has requested the aid they need. he said that the Appalachian region needs the help more. in his words "at least here we can get around on boats. they don’t even have that". I watch the video three times. I end up crying so hard that I almost make myself sick. I can finally feel the dread, despair, devastation, and fear that I have been pushing down for days. I start shaking so hard I have to go sit on the floor. I text my parents, and they start trying to rationalize TEMAs actions. I get so angry that I cry again. what can we even do, anymore.

I decide that I need to get this typed out, so that even as the world moves on, I can look back and point to this and say “look! Here we are! We are people too!”

My family is safe. I have power, and internet. I will be able to go to work tomorrow, and only lost 2 days of work. I can pick a few Sunday shifts this month to recoup the loss of pay. However, there are so many who are not as fortunate as my family is. Please keep our area in your prayers. We will not know the full devastation until moths down the road. This will affect us for years.

For all of you fuckers who keep saying that we deserved this. For all of yu assholes who decided that this was God, purging the world of hatred. For all of you who are demanding refunds from trips, or are insisting on coming to visit in the next few weeks.

STOP

This area is pulling together to take care of each other, because our governments can’t be bothered to give a flying fuck. I don’t give a dam how you voted in this past election. I don’t care how you will vote in this next election. Every life is one that deserves to be saved. Every person who suffers deserves compassion and understanding if you don’t understand this, then I have one thing to say to you.

I will meet you in hell. Even if I drag you there kicking and screaming.

Do not mascaraed as if this is somehow a way to “purge” the south. This is an area of poor mountain people. We did nothing to deserve your scorn.

there is already a high death toll. We don’t know how many actually died. If you cannot treat the people who live in these mountains with compassion, I hope that the things that live in these woods eat you alive.

below are pictures from the past few days:

Friday:

Saturday:

i know that we are so lucky that we are as safe as we are. there is more we will have to face, and the people in the rest of the area have it worse. but know this - we will not give up.

[averseunhinged]

tagged by @stars-and-darkness!

do i have about a thousand more 1/2-3/4 finished pieces of fan fiction, but ran out of room? glad you asked! let's not discuss it.

propaganda!

24/7 sylvia plath series (i would v much like to finish the next one in the series and then not think about this at all for at least a month) the original | several | other | snippets

s3 arranged marriage (which i'm rly pushing to finish the first half of this week, but am losing weds and probs thurs to travel, so you know. life.) snippet

dismantling a terrorist organization for fun and profit (also: an ode to pop music in four parts) snippet

batshit cosmic horror soulmates (there is genuinely something wrong in my brain) snippet

liz/carol closeted lesbians (was supposed to be for femslash february, but it's canon, and i cried writing the ending and didn't want to bring sad dead lesbian energy)

klaroline originals canon-divergence soulmates (so self-indulgent! a total comfort write for me. super long for a one shot and weirdly Hayley's pov)

post-tvdu canon caroline/rebekah (rebekah does the most normal thing she's ever done and gets a slightly salty divorce from marcel. then she does a less normal thing and falls for the woman her dead brother loved.)

blood sharing smutty literature ft. klaus classique (caroline makes a devil's bargain b/c i wanted to write something in the spirit of old school klaus)

dragon age obligatory post-trespasser (hawke survives being left in the fade b/c of the truth of the deal she made with mythal at the beginning of DA2, participates in the revolution. a tiny bit of hawke/solas, but mostly bittersweet hawke/varric.)

doctor/river/rose immortal marrieds (started with rose: oh hello. nice to meet y-- river: I'VE BEEN WAITING TO DO THIS FOR CENTURIES riverrose: suddenly making out, because i wanted river to have a NICE time loop for once in her life, and it's turned into a whole thing about the difficulties of three immortals being very married across two tardises and all of time and space.)

doctor/bad wolfy rose + time lady mia meditation on parenthood (i headcanon the time lord doctor and the metacrisis having the same telepathic signature. which i think would be super hard for mia. like can you imagine constantly thinking a beloved parent is with you before remembering they've been dead for centuries? and for the doctor to constantly feel like he has a daughter again, except he got the grief and torture package instead of the pleasant retirement universe? a delicious angsty but hopeful snacky.)

riverrose sekrit favrit crackship otp forever (i think it's probs likely that an all powerful cosmic entity trying to coexist with mortals without melting everyone's brains would have some struggles being present and making herself understood.)

[spinderella-umbrella]

A collection of re-imagined fairytale shorts with our favourite marauders. 

I love fairytales. I love the marauders. This was an absolutely delightful challenge. Thank you to The Adult Fandom Project for hosting this event, I had so much fun with it. 

Below is the masterlist of my submissions, a clarification on the fairytale if the title strays, and the ships if it includes one.

A little something for everyone.

Fairytales, but Make them Marauders

Snow White and the Four Marauders -Regulus

Lily Evans as Cinderella

Gid and Fab Vs. Evil (Hansel and Gretel)

The Rat who Cried Sirius (The boy who Cried Wolf) -Jegulus, Peter

Sirius Black and the Three [other]/[unacceptable] Houses of Hogwarts (Goldilocks)

The Tale of the Black and the Lupin (Scorpion and the Frog) -Wolfstar

The Frog Prince -Jily

Sleeping Black-ty -Lilycissa

Regulus Black and the Beanstalk

The Wolf and the... Candelabra? Cupboard? [Sirius] (Beauty and the Beast) -Wolfstar

The Snake Vs. The Lion (Bast and Apophis)-Jegulus ft. Harry

Wolfy Mc. Wolf (Little Red Riding Hood) -marauders, gen

The Wrath and Subsequent "Taming" of Sirius Black (The Myth of Hathor) -Wolfstar

The Koi Becomes a Dragon (Koi Becoming a Dragon) -Narcissa

The Sword and the Stone (Legend of King Arthur) Wolfstar, marauders

The Barty and the James (The Lion and the Mouse)

The Sleepwalkers and the Pranksters (The Elves and the Shoemaker) -marauders

The Little Mermaid -Lily

Bartemius (Rumplestiltskin) -Bartylus, Regulus/Voldemort

Mundungas (Aladdin) -Jily

The Milky Way and its River (The Star Lovers) -Wolfstar

[philologique]

✨ fic rec: some fics that require zero knowledge of the source material ✨

welcome back to fandom, @loupinoe!! here are some short-story to novella-length fics i read during the pandemic that don't require you to have read/watched the media they're for (and that you can revisit with new eyes once you have!)

this harbored deluge for you and I // 像我和你需要下一场雨 by gardencitymovements (word of honor, 30k)

chaperoning a new orphan across the Pacific runs into complications. this fic!!!! has this beautiful cinematic quality to it and an exquisite sense of place. about two tired men in san francisco tasked with raising teenagers, and also about food service and disapora and the sea and love found in the smell of salt air and doing school enrollment forms in a diner with an almost-stranger at 3am

through a window softly by @impossibletruths (the untamed/mdzs, 14k)

Wei Wuxian plays the flute. Someone in Wei Wuxian's apartment complex plays violin. Sometimes, they play the flute and the violin together, and it's… nice. It's really nice. It's sort of the nicest thing going on in his life right now, honestly. this fic is art to be shared; i wish i could buy it in hardcover and gift it to all my friends. i read this in spring 2020 before watching the untamed and absolutely loved it, and then i made my best friend read it and she loved it. there’s something about people sitting in different rooms playing music together, the quiet company of it all, that was so comforting to read at that time, and so, so nice to revisit now

in the blossom season (in the pouring rain) by varnes (untamed/mdzs, 13k)

A mysterious garden blooms on Lan Zhan's rooftop. His internet forum pen pal gives great gardening advice but never seems to sleep. The man who works at the florist, who keeps reviving the plants that Lan Zhan can't seem to keep alive, has a beautiful smile. These things are related. a modern with magic au (ft plant magic!!) that feels so alive and joyful! i don't have magic or a rooftop garden but somehow this made me feel incredibly seen?? i laughed, i cried tears of sheer overwhelm, and my face hurt from smiling. if you've ever remotely liked any coffeeshop au, or if you look back on anastasia (1997) as a formative experience of any kind, this fic is for you

If You Love Someone by CoatWrites (untamed/mdzs, 53k)

When Lan Wangji was thirteen, Wei Ying was sent to Cloud Recesses. When Lan Wangji was sixteen, she admitted she was in love. When Lan Wangji was seventeen, Wei Ying was thrown into the Burial Grounds. And the Yiling Patriarch came out. WLW PRINCESS BRIDE AU!! vaguely canon-adjacent but in a way that will only enhance your understanding of the show if you ever decide to watch it. beautiful flashbacks, clear writing, and pure fantasy. my face hurt from smiling (rated t but do heed the warnings)

this river runs to you by @sundiscus (untamed/mdzs, 50k)

In which Wei Wuxian is a curse worker secretly searching for a lost dragon, Lan Wangji is his new assistant, and the two things may not be entirely unrelated. modern with magic casefic, this time with DRAGONS. a thoughtfully-crafted adventure-romance that embraces the tenderest parts of mdzs—the resignation to being unwanted and eventual delight in being known and loved—and allows them to fully unfold and guide the story. a perfect comfort reread; for a six-month period the two podfics of trrty were the soundtrack to my every walk to the grocery store. (includes much of the broader ensemble, so if learning everyone's names at once feels daunting, you may want to dive in after you've read another untamed fic or two)

Chef's kiss by 74243 (untamed/mdzs, 6.5k)

Maybe even feed her a hot meal or two, Jin Zixuan wrote. It sounds like she might need it. Lan Zhan had not wanted to do it. She hated showing out-of-towners around New York, and the only thing worse than that was letting them eat at her restaurant, where they inevitably ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, and expected Lan Zhan to come and listen to their idiotic feedback after every course. So Wei Ying was a surprise. butch chef lan zhan! the tiring, frenetic pace of working in a kitchen! the world of this fic is so gentle and richly imagined—for a fic that’s at least 30% smut this gave me butterflies, and i could read at least ten thousand more words about the vegan suzhounese restaurant lan zhan dreams of opening

do not stand at my grave by haysel (scum villain's self-saving system, 11k)

Mobei Jun is a ghost. Shang Qinghua loves him anyway. THE short story for when you’re in the mood for a light spooky story. I read this on a train and had to hold myself back from emoting too loudly in public. the sheer ROMANCE of the dialogue! the aching and loneliness and regency-style Not Touching and thrills of discovery and companionship and recognition in one another! this is a ghost au about a side-pairing from a novel I have yet to finish, so you definitely do not need to be familiar to enjoy it!!

[thegoldenappleofdiscord]

caught in the river of tears that i cried

chapter two summary: will suffers more ft. family bonding.

chapter two on ao3!!

beta read by the lovely @nellhargreeves! they were extremely patient throughout the entire month i spent writing (and rewriting) this chapter and did a wonderful job <3

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ii. lying loud (through it all)

Summers were Will’s favorite.   

He sat on the kitchen table, legs dangling off the edge. Heat baked his freckled arms, despite the tank top and shorts he wore. His feet were bare, swinging to the crooked drone of cicadas outside. The window was cranked open, and occasionally, a sweet breeze would ripple through the dry apartment. Will wasn’t sure if the air conditioning was working, or if the day was too hot to be subdued. Either way, he reveled in it, stark eyes gazing up at the sun through the folded shutters. 

Don’t you look at the sun too long, William, his third grade teacher would have chastised. You’ll go blind.  

He couldn’t help it. He was drawn to its light, the way its rays stretched out like the beginnings of an embrace. No matter how long he stared, his eyes never burnt up. They grew larger, brighter, drinking up the sun’s endless generosity. In summertime, his school friends shriveled up like raisins and smelt about the same; they ached after just moments of kicking a ball back and forth on the torrid wayside. Will could sit, soaking in that same ache, for hours. It felt as natural as anything else.   

“I come bearing gifts,” his mother sang. No heat could sap her of her voice, and it carried like the wind. She emerged from the kitchen, balancing a tray of one of their favorites - sliced oranges; though the citrus flesh was already beginning to dry in the day's feverish warmth. In her other hand, she held an ice-cold mug, one of her infamous homemade popsicles already frozen within.

Will pulled the popsicle out of the mug and bit straight into it. “I can eat mine faster,” he challenged.  

“And get a brain freeze before me?” She licked her own – frozen orange Fanta. “You’re on.” 

They took large, numbing mouthfuls of their popsicles. Will stopped halfway, cradling his teeth, which felt like they were being bashed in with a hammer. “Ow.” 

“Give up?” Naomi teased.  

“Never.” But he couldn’t bring himself to take another bite. “Okay, nevermind. You win.”  

“Ha!” She cheered. “You’ll never beat me.”   

“One day,” he grumbled. “It’s not fair. How do you do it?”  

She winked. “Magic.”    

“Mama.” 

Naomi laughed, joining him on the table. It creaked in protest, and Will was sure one of these days it would break in two. They’d probably laugh about that, too, when it came to be.  

For now, they sat in the eye of the sun, peeling oranges and waiting for the day to end.    

Will knew it was all a dream, because he was home for the first time in weeks, and it wasn’t summer anymore.   

When he awoke, he would be in one of the Hermes bunks, sheets dragged over his head. He would search for the coin he’d left under his pillow, pocket it, and stare at the bed above him until one of his cabinmates told him it was his turn to use the restroom. He would look in the mirror, at his new orange shirt and the leather necklace around his neck, void of the colorful beads the rest of the campers shared, and feel as lost as he’d always felt – except this time, he didn’t have his mother around to make him forget.  

Until then, he would sit on the kitchen table, basking in the memory as long as he could.  

read full chapter on ao3!

[anghraine]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Aww, thanks! It's hard to pick a favorite when I've written so much, but here are five that I currently have good feelings about.

1- tolerably well acquainted (an elaboration of Elizabeth's feelings during the book canon scenes at Pemberley and after; WIP but all Pemberley scenes are posted)

For, maybe, once in her life, she had yet to reach judgment. He was at all times Mr Darcy of Pemberley, but Mr Darcy at Pemberley seemed so entirely distinct from Mr Darcy everywhere else that she scarcely knew what to think. Instead, the same thoughts coursed through her mind without resolution, returning over and over again with no answers.

She dwelt on them nevertheless, her habits of courtesy carrying her through the Bromleys’ conversation as it shifted to other subjects. All the while, she wondered how a single person could contain so many contradictions, and seem so wholly unaware of it himself. His manners had been so altered, though; the man who spoke to her mother’s brother and the one who had (rarely) spoken to her mother herself might have been different creatures altogether. Perhaps he had realized—perhaps he had listened—

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

2- the voices of the sea (in which f!Faramir dreams of water; part of the Aranorverse, but a completed one-shot)

Míriel dreamed again of Armenelos and the Meneltarma and the shadow of death rising inexorably above all. But there was no waking. The wave slowly began to collapse over them, foam and droplets spattering her face before it reached her. Míriel stood tall and straight, refusing to cower, allowing herself no further weakness than blinking the water out of her face. She opened her eyes to more water, feeling it slosh about her bare ankles.

But it was now deep into night beneath a pale moon, just bright enough for her to see that the water in which she stood flowed smoothly past the familiar shores of the Anduin. The terror of the Downfall had shifted to an overwhelming sense of peace.

As she watched, she saw a small boat come floating up the river.

3- per ardua ad astra (in which Jyn, Cassian, and Bodhi escape Scarif only to be caught in the Death Star's tractor beam; WIP, if mostly resolved)

He tightened his grasp on the crystal; through his gloves, it warmed his cool hands. Maybe the lingering warmth of Jyn’s body—even on this march to possible death, he shepherded his thoughts away from that—or maybe something else. He didn’t know. At that, Cassian didn’t know what he believed about the Force at all, beyond the reality of its existence. He reserved his faith for the cause. The dream of liberation, given shape by the Rebellion. And by Jyn. A Jedi could appear before him, and it would matter less than this chunk of rock.

He believed in Jyn. In a way, that mattered more than loving her.

4- One More Tomorrow (in which Noatak becomes Amon, ft. f!Tarrlok)

He didn’t mean waiting for the council to see reason. They never would, any of them. Even Taraka.

Particularly Taraka. He’d have liked to imagine that she had simply fallen under the malign sway of her peers, as she had lived under his sway in their childhood. But it was Taraka who spoke out most aggressively against the Equalists, Taraka who advocated for harsher penalties for attacks on benders, Taraka whose reputation rose until the council elected her chairwoman, Taraka who seemed the worst of them all. A monster.

And yet, his sister still.

5- [untitled and unposted. ANYWAY] (GW2 OFC/ OFC fic)

Gwen hadn’t cried, and some part of her desperately wished she could. But there was enough of the bandit Gwen left in her to keep her eyes dry. Don’t show weakness. Not here, not ever. Don’t stop until Zhaitan and his kind are gone, and the world is safe for everyone I love. Even—especially people like Tybalt.

Preceptor Doern had summoned her with a new assignment. And worse, with a new partner. But after one glance at the haughty, silk-clad human at his side, Gwen nearly recoiled.

"Lightbringer Althea," she said.

[thecryptidcottage]

↳ ft. kelly + river ! ( @hauntcdtales ) at kelly's flat, sometime in the morning

oh, kelly absolutely adores the weekend. sunlight streams in through the sheer curtains strung up along the kitchenette windows, flooding the cozy space in a pale glow that the musician uses to illuminate his culinary endeavor ; kelly has spent the better part of the last hour dancing his way around the flat to the crackling melodies from the radio in bare feet and wrinkled plaid boxers, simultaneously straightening up the space and gathering ingredients from the pantry and the fridge to put together a half-decent breakfast. and he's pretty proud of himself, actually — even if the meal doesn't turn out, the entire apartment smells delicious from the aromatics simmering in the skillet on the stove top, and if the photos from the ( diabetic-friendly ) recipe blog he's been following along with are anything to go by, he's pretty close. reaching into the cabinet for a pair of plates, kelly spares a glance across the room toward his bed and can't help the smile that tugs at his lips at the sight ; he can just barely make out his lover's lithe silhouette tangled in dark sheets, curls wild and splayed across the pillows, glittering where the sun catches them just right. it's no surprise to kelly they're still dozing. he's gotten used to rising well before river ― the school's got a fairly normal sleep schedule burned deep into his pysche at this point, and it's rare his body will let him sleep in past nine, even on the weekend ― and while it takes every ounce of willpower he has to slip out of their warm embrace and roll out of bed, kelly would be a liar to say he didn't enjoy doting on his partner when the opportunity arose, spoiling them whenever he could. so getting out of bed first is worth it. but does he savor a few minutes first ? oh, absolutely. every time. a familiar guitar lick cries out from the speakers and kelly grins as he finishes dishing up two plates of gallo pinto, balancing the dishes on one arm so he can crank up the radio a bit louder before sauntering over to the bed. ❝ wild thing ! you make my heart sing ! you make everything groovy ! ❞ it isn't uncommon for kelly to wake up his lover with a song, but they're typically softer, gentler. dropping the plates on the nightstand for the moment, kelly pounces onto the bed, flopping into the duvet on palms and knees so he's straddling river atop the sheets. he leans in, pressing kisses to any scrap of skin he can find. ❝ wild thing, i think i love you...❞ fingers curl into the sheets as he tosses his head back and sings louder. ❝ but i wanna know for sure ! ❞ and then he drops, pressing his weight into river and burying his face in their neck. lips graze warm skin and kelly smiles, nipping at their ear. ❝ come on, hold me tight... ❞