#dont feel self conscious!!!
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Danielle and Danyal's meeting... very, very quickly goes very sour from, basically, the moment Danny steps into his room and finds Ellie sitting on his bed (strike one) and reading the comic books Tucker introduced him to (strike two). By the time she's looked up to address him, Danny has the door locked, and a hand hovering near the knife hidden under his shirt.
She gets her third strike when Danny, in a voice that could make the mountains tremble, demands to know how she got into his room, and she lies (with uncertainty of her decision growing in her chest) that Jazz let her in. Danny's hand shifts closer to his weapon, and he turns towards her fully, and says that Jazz would never let someone he didn’t know into his room, and who was she.
(Vlad Masters had underprepared Danielle for her meeting with Danny -- not out of any completely direct malicious intent, but he failed to mention just how... 'touchy' Daniel could be -- he failed to mention the scars littering up his arms, unhidden by the hoodie tee he meets Ellie in. He failed to mention that along with those scars, that Danny was visibly lean, capable of doing very real damage without the use of his powers.)
(He tells Ellie that he’s adopted, and that he is observant and clever, but ungrateful and has a bad attitude.)
Her final strike occurs when Ellie, trying to keep her facade of cheeriness, tells him that she’s his third cousin once removed. Immediately, Danny has his dagger pulled out, and Ellie finds herself with the cold metal of a blade pressing against her throat.
Danyal 'A.G' Fenton hasn’t killed since he arrived in Amity Park. At first it was because mother told him to keep a low profile, and killing would do the opposite of that. But, he's been slowly learning from his sister and friends over the years the value of human life. So it's become a combination of keeping his head down, and also that life has value to it.
But. That doesn’t mean he can’t kill, nor is he opposed to doing it if the situation calls for it. It just means that he doesn't do it. And ‘Danielle’ is an unknown in his room, claiming to be family to him, and appearing uncannily similar to him and his family. Either someone hired her and she was trying to pass herself off as a relative to him because that someone realized Danny was the biggest threat, or, his false death has been compromised, his mother was unable to tell him, and the league was aware he was alive.
No matter how he looks at it, this Danielle was a threat to him, his sister, his friends, to Damian, and to the Drs. Fenton. Danyal Fenton doesn't kill, but he has no problems doing so.
(Ellie, pinned under Danny’s knee and the blade to her neck, is too terrified to think of phasing out of his hold. Not that it would help, he would just chase after her.)
“You have broken into my home, dared to lie to my face, and when I demanded to know the truth, you dared lie to me again." Danny's scowl could cower even Skulker, his glacier blue eyes burning. "Your continual breath has been a favor from me, that I have graciously allowed, from the moment you entered my room, dahkil."
"So I will ask one more time," he hisses, "who. are. you."
Danielle, only a few months old, unprepared for the ice storm that is "Daniel" Fenton, and his clone in only flesh and blood, and not memories, immediately breaks. And tells him that she was his clone, that Vlad sent her to come capture him, and to please not kill her.
Danny's face twists with anger, Ellie thinks he's going to kill her anyways. Instead, he withdraws his knife and gets off her, stringing out curses in Arabic as he sheathes his weapon back into its hiding place faster than Ellie can blink.
He switches to English as she is collecting her bearings (and contemplating fleeing), and Danny paces the room like a tiger in a cage. "--of course that wretched, arrogant, peacocking little ingrate would do something so infuriating. I should have driven my sword into the shrivel of his heart when I had the chance--"
Ellie, for a moment, thinks of leaving while he is distracted. And starts to slowly creep away. But Danny notices instantly, and whirls on her. His too-bright eyes bore into her head: "Where do you think you're going."
"...I'm leaving."
And Danny scoffs at her, "Why? So you can fly back to Masters and tell him that you failed to capture me, and that I know that he cloned me?" He says, and Ellie remains silent -- that's exactly what she was going to do. "He will destroy you within seconds."
Of course, Ellie rears back in offense, and she finds the footing to glare at him. "He would not! He's my dad, he loves me!"
Danny gets in her face, glowering back with an equal intensity. "He does not." He snaps, "Vlad Masters has not a soul in his body nor a heart in his chest. He would sooner cut off the hand that helps him stand, than to take it along with him."
"If you're really made of my blood, then I will teach you only this: we bow not our heads nor our hearts to anyone." Danny's too-blue eyes narrow, and his voice dips into a hiss, "Especially not to a conniving snake like Masters. Your heart: cut it off, or cut it out. He will sooner leave you to bleed."
Then, he unlocks the door and drags her out before she has much time to act. And as he drags her down the hall he shoots Sam and Tucker a text, and they meet up at Nasty Burger. Ellie is a spitfire, but Danny has her too intimidated to leave.
"This is Danielle," he tells them bluntly as he corners her into the booth, "she's my clone. Masters created her."
Ellie is with them for a week, and somehow throughout that time, Danny manages to actually get her to like him throughout that time. He's callous, blunt, and full of sharp edges that you can cut yourself on. But when he's not spitting venom, he's fretting.
When he drags her back to the house after being with Sam and Tucker, he pulls her to Jazz's room and opens the door to tell her the same thing. "This is Danielle." He says upon abruptly opening the door, interrupting Jazz's studying as he pulls Ellie inside. "She is my clone, Masters created her. She needs clothes."
Then he turns and leaves, shutting the door behind him. Ellie, in that moment, thinks that now's her chance to flee. But Jazz then squeals, and she is trapped in new arms, shaken around by Jazz Fenton, excited for a sister.
(Ellie finds herself complaining to Jazz that night, shoved into old pajamas. She's in utter disbelief that Jazz could care about a jerk like Danny.)
("He's rough around the edges, but Danny does care." Jazz tells her, combing through her hair with her fingers. "We've been working on it ever since he joined the family, but Danny warms up slowly. He's usually less stoney; I think your arrival spooked him.")
("Spooked him?" Ellie repeats, she doesn't believe it at all. "He has a funny way of showing it, he threatened to kill me!" And she turns around just in time to see Jazz's press her lips into a line.)
("He's... very protective. He'll deny if you ask him, but he worries a lot." Jazz's fingers find her hair again. "What I do know for certain though, is that he wouldn't have kept you here if he wasn't worried about you at least a little bit.")
(Ellie doubts it.)
But Ellie is indeed there for a week, and the day after her initially rocky introduction with Danny, he is a little bit kinder to her. Still kinda a bitch, but he's less harsh to her, if... almost uncomfortable around her. Flighty, kinda.
Whenever she gets mouthy at him though, he looks oddly smug about it and, infuriatingly enough, praises her attitude. He is very, very annoying. And still kinda terrifying. But hearing him shout insults via puns at someone during a ghost fight that happens that week lessens the intimidating factor,,, a little bit.
Things go about,,,, relatively,,,, similar to canon. In the sense that it ends with Ellie defecting from Vlad because she finds out that Danny was right and that Vlad didn't actually care about her. (And that Jazz had been right too; Danny, in his weird, mean way, had been worried about her as well)
Danny looks out of his depth as she talks about how he was right, and he cuts her off with a vaguely uncomfortable clearing of his throat. And gives her the most awkward, but genuine apology he can muster.
"I should've used more tact when telling you about Masters, and I... apologize for threatening you when we met. I was..." he makes a face like he's sucked on a particularly sour lemon, "worried. First about my family, and then later about you."
(Ellie will be damned: Jazz was right)
Before Ellie leaves, Danny puts a hand on her shoulder and tells her: "I wasn't kidding about what I said to you when we first met: you are of my blood, and as such, you do not bow your head nor your heart to anyone."
Ellie looks at him, thinks about the last week, and smiles like she's caught him in a trap. "What about Sam and Tucker then? And Jazz?"
Danny smiles, it's awkward and tilted, like his face isn't used to the gesture. "We bow not our hearts, but that doesn't mean we can't share."
#danny speaks in formal english when he's pissed. he goes full on 'i shall eat his heart in the marketplace' levels of formal#not quite a ficlet not quite a post talking about the idea but a secret third option: its both of these at the same time#dp x dc#dpxdc#danny fenton is not the ghost king#dp x dc crossover#dpxdc crossover#dpdc#danyal al ghul au#dc x dp crossover#dc x dp au#dpxdc au#dcdp#dpdc au#dp dc crossover#older brother danny#danny is an asshole with a heart of gold#the writing feels all over the place but since its not a fic i dont feel that self conscious about it lol. very much spitballing here#morally gray danny fenton#poc danny fenton#look ellie MIGHt - and thats a big if - have gotten away with the cousin lie if it weren't for the fact that she's danny's clone#danny who is not white nor remotely white-passing in this au. she might have gotten away if he had been and she claimed she was#from jack's side of the family. but alas. danny is adopted. the fentons are whiter than sunscreen. and danny is not.#dani and danny's meeting in danyal al ghul aus have the potenial of being IMMEDIATE dumpster fires which is very funny to me#on the basis of if danny knows he's adopted or not and if dani claims to be related directly to him or to jack.#dani: im your third cousin once removed :)#danny. is adopted: i kNOW YOU LYING. CUZ YO LIPS ARE MOVING#i got fanart for this au on haunting heroes discord and it kickstarted my thoughts about danyal again. they gave him the BATWING EYEBROWS#ellie has the batwing eyebrows too that was the mind killer thats what fucked her over /j. those are UNIQUELY BRUCE WAYNE BROWS FOLKS#fuck i wish tumblr told us on laptop when we run out of tags because i just lost like 4 of them. good thing i got screenies those were FUNN
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@plumadot ’s dnd au is very cool and i very much enjoy the designs,,,, couldn’t stop my hand from drawing this little guy <3
#my art#grian fanart#grian#i dont know zzhdndgsjanak#i feel very self conscious posting this#dont look at me#what. what do i tag thiis#its fanart of fanart. does it count#posting this now before i lose my confidence fhdgdjd
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blue and green 💙💚
#critical role#critical role fanart#dashrym#orym of the air ashari#dorian storm#ashton greymoore#critical doodles#suggestive#i suppose#ashton honey you need to freshen up ur nail polish#also is it weird to feel self-conscious about posting too much art???#during the week i'll tinker with various drawings inbetween work#and then come the weekend i'll just have a bunch of em that just need a couple finishing touches#and then i'll have a ton of shit to post#but also be like 'odd stop youre gonna spam ppl'#and it makes me feel self-conscious#I DONT KNOW MAN#anyway........ hey how you doing#seen any cool birds lately?
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people practice w Them <3
#posting this and then shoving my head into a hole Bye#i am! Not Confident!!! in my people scribbling abilities!!#but im trying!!! im fucking trying!!!#i already see improvement#not enough to make me go 'wee the masses are gonna love this'#but enough that i can fathom posting. i can handle it. i can do this#if i dont do it now then i never will!!!!#im still gonna scream into a pillow rip it apart and then eat the stuffing!!!!#ah... the mortification of Existing... of Being Perceived...#it is ever present and inescapable! youd thing id be used to it by now!!!#ill be on my death bed asking people to leave the room so that i can die w/o feeling horribly self conscious and Seen#no seriously every time i think about my potential death and or coma should that happen#i prematurely cringe at the Attention. people potentially crying at my bedside Eugh No Thank You Please Do That Elsewhere#either call me a loser and drop off a single flower or leave me be <3#THIS IS A WELCOME HOME SCRIBBLE POST. IM SORRY I FORGOT#scribble garnish#uh um uh so uh wally and barnaby am i rite fellas-#in my mind they're picking up takeout for dinner <3#yeah no im not tagging it with a fandom tag. i dont want to be perceived As We've Established#im somewhat satisfied with that first wally.... swag <3#& do i have major gender envy for barnaby? yeah#im not used to drawing people but i should be... i need to be...#THERE ARE GUYS I WANNA DRAW! mine and others!!! ngl mostly mine!!!
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I wish I was attractive enough to be obsessed over
#dont mind me yall#just rambling#it feels like my mutuals are pity telling me im hot while too ashamed to reblog or even like my pics while reblogging a ton of others :((#like i know im ugly but damn..#the bpd is bpding#feralbeeast ramble#vent?#dismorphia#self conscious#self h@te#bpd split#obsession
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what meds are you on? and if youre not, you need to be lmao
its ok to engage with weird art without assuring everyone that you know its weird i promise
#i dont want to come off as snarky or mean i get what ur saying#this is just a very common reaction to weird art (not just mine)#and i always get the feeling theres something self conscious about it
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i feel like im going insane
#fantasy high#d20#dimension 20#d20 fantasy high#gorgug thistlespring#ragh barkrock#thistlerock#goragh#yeah sure i will feed this ship#i have more fantasy high art i just have been drawing gorgug a lot and particularly liked this one a lot#i watched ep 16 (not normal about ep 16)#did you know gorgug has two hands#PS I DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WHILST DRAWING GORGUG HE LOOKS SO DIFFERENT FROM HIS OFFICIAL ART#IDK MAN. I LIKE DRAWING HIM THAT WAY#he gets more hair added on the more i draw him#the most bi disaster ever#i feel a little self conscious but im allowed to be happy sometimes. ehatever.my joy#oh god. what else was i gonna say. oh right guess who got hyperfixated on another d&d show#and i latched onto the character who gets called a freak all the time i wonder what that says about m#sorry. sorry. sorr#WHAT ALSO GETS ME IS THAT THEY WWRE BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF EACHOTHER MOMENTS BEFORE THIS#im so ready for season two (<- is not ready)#potatart
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Every single time I draw for an anime I think to myself "never again will I draw for an anime" and then I am proven wrong. So here, take my daughter Lulu.
#brave bang bravern#bbb lulu#how the heck do you tag for this show#i never feel like i do anime characters justice tbh so i get really self conscious about art i do for shows#but honestly whatever shes adorable please enjoy my daughter#i gotta finish watching it - im on ep10#and i am giving updates to two people on discord as i watch and i like hearing#i have no idea whats going on but its a wild trip at least#and im like yeah trust me as the one watching it i also have no idea whats going on and its a fever dream without the fever#an acid trip without the acid#i really have NO idea what the intended audience is for this show but lewis the love of my life#i will never be over the time you said Nani - oh shit#because one of my favorite things to say to someone i know who has a major in japanese is#nani the fuck - BECAUSE IT INFURIATED HIM the first time i said it and he was so upset#now he expects it and is fine with it but the nani oh shit will live rent free ... thank you sir mr american i love you#also not to spoil anything even though i probably dont have the brain capacity to do so correctly#i really liked when someone was saying some weird stuff to him and he just says im sorry? in english#me in japan just saying im sorry feels like it would track thats me thats the american im sorry
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#hi im j here 2 talk . saw this cow yday so i drew her and now u get 2 say hi#but omffgg my gd i dont know if any of u relate but i feel like my ability to socialize w others#specifically online and speciifically in interest-circles has gotten so much harder for no reason whatsoever#like im just becoming more self conscious ab how i portray myself and its so weird bc like . LIKEE I DONT KNOW like . ok#people r super njce . always super nice and reach out to me and talk w me or i reach out first and they respond and r soo sweet#and something happens in my brain where like . i feel like im suddenly like . inserting myself where i dont belong (not true) but why am i#the bus driver all of a sudden . in all of these situations . me when i just show up like hey#i think i j feel annoying >__< . and i dont want to bother other people but said people r literally never bothered ykwim like Will Reach Out#and im the one that pulls back but 4 no reason . i cant even think ab why i do that .why am i doing this 🧨#so many ppl i want to genuinely befriend in all of these spaces but im self sabotaging soo frwaking bad#literally rn thinking of some dms i left on read bc i panicked or mutuals ive talked w before who im nervous 2 be familiar w . hrmm#anyways . i kind of wish i had the ability 2 just talk to new people and not actually gaf ab the outcome#HELPP .. early tmblr or wcf or devart where u have thirty million friends 2 now where u r too scared 2 say hi to an almost friend .#me problem though . if not alr clear HEJAHHAAHA i think part of my reluctance also stems from the fact that i know i get this way#and so i dont want 2 rope someone else into that insecurity so i try to keep it at an arms length until i fix it#but i think i also know its a longer & more introspective thing to work on so i do need to just try anyways
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MESSY SEX WITH MINHEE PLS ELABORATE?@?&?&,
(𖦹﹏𖦹;) anon im .. short circuiting . help .
cw spit , biting , marking , unprotected sex , overstimulation , kinda possessive!minhee . literally whats new thats what i always write im so repetitive . not proof read no word count fuck it we ball
messy sex with minhee is , well ,, messy . clearly . but fr hes such a possessive mf he likes marking you in any way possible , n that ofc includes cumming in and on u !! even - and especially - when that entails overstimulating himself just so he can cum at least twice , one inside n one on ur tummy , or ur thighs , or ur chest , or ur face , theres so many options !!! it might take him more than just two loads to really satisfy him („• ᴗ •„) sometimes he gets a little too carried away with biting too , n instead of just sinking his teeth on ur shoulder like he usually does he ends up drooling all over it n over ur neck , licking along the bite marks he left earlier just so he can see the glossy reflection of his spit on u , another rush of possessiveness getting to him as he cant help but spit in ur mouth too :(( he loves messy kisses so much too , pulling u into one whenever he can - he loves seeing u covered in sweat , his cum n his spit once ur done , he might just take a pic of it for when hes busy n u cant see each other for a while , even tho he knows nothing compares to the real deal 😵💫
im so sorry it took me so long to get to this ask .. hope u can forgive me anon ⸜( • ᵕ •)⸝
#🍰 seongminiz !#🧇 crvt !#ps . i kinda feel self conscious abt writing now bc one of my friends found my acc n while i dont think shes actively snooping in it the -#fact she acknowledged its existence n wasn't exactly nice abt what i write made me feel kinda bad 🫠#anyways !#cravity hard hours#cravity smut#minhee smut#minhee hard hours
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i knew it would happen but oh my god. oh my. fucking god. i couldn't imagine it would be so bad when requesting. i was thinking about the lola propaganda and emo boy lovers and the gross freak haters. i couldn't possibly imagine that he would get such a GIANT pass percentage. yes there's six more hours to go but i know it's going to get worse over the night. As the blog curator is he really now the most passed on character I'm curious
Currently Masterson is still at a higher percentage than Beast Machines Rattrap, who I believe is our current Least Fuckable character. Masterson clears the bar by a whole percent.
And with your help we can set the bar even lower. It's not too late to Get His Ass
I don't know beachcomber too well but any humanfucker bots are welcome here.
Admittedly I was thinking at least a little bit about the rescue bots when I wrote the post because I swear to Primus every one of the main cast of bots is trying to fuck humans. Not even necessarily their human partners specifically (boulder and heatwave absolutely are tho), but at some point, every one of the bots has Said or Done Some Shit in the show that reads like they're interested in getting with humans. Prowl "I've fantasized about being human before" TFA walked so the rescue bots could sprint.
(I've also just kinda had Boulder/Graham Brainrot lately, so that might be contributing lmao)
#not polls#i dont so much fantasize about being a robot myself but i do frequently think about bots seeing human things for the first time#and just being absolutely enamored#not to drop Personal Lore once again but ive had my share of self image and body issues#and a little way ive had to stave them off is taking all these parts of myself that may be stigmatized or considered substandard#and just envisioning how someone with none of the cultural biases and ingrained stigmas may see them#it just so happens that robotic aliens who only just got to earth and dont really know much about humans fit that bill pretty well#the reverse is nice too. every time we get info about cybertronian beauty standards i latch onto that shit so hard#because it gives insight into how some characters may feel about themselves appearance-wise#and having a self conscious bot with a human that isnt really concerned with if theyre the sleekest model so much as Big Hot Robot (v sexy)#is just kind of a staple in human x cybertronian works that makes me go absolutely off the rails#like yes girl!!! unlearn shame and unrealistic expectations!!! your truck bf doesnt give a fuck if you have hip dips!!!!#in hindsight this may be why i got a little on the desensive side in that particular post
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ok gang here they are
wincest essay
spn fandom essay
#you are allowed to tell me to kms for writing about wincest but please dont criticize the actual essay structure/style/writing#because i already feel self-conscious i really really hate reading my own writing i think it's ass and theres eight billion ways it could b#better but#I WROTE THEM WITH VERY LITTLE TIME SO IT'S FINEEEE#have fun be free#**
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Yall just a reminder that, before anything, this is a personal blog. I'm not an authoritative figure nor anything of the sort, AND I am responsible for the content I consume – which is why I mute tags or block stuff.
But this blog WILL have my personal opinions and tastes in it. It's only normal. I'm here to post silly stuff and engage with my friends and share the things I love – and complain too.
All in all, don't let my *personal opinions* on something keep you from doing the stuff that you like. I'm literally just a random person on tumblr.
I just ask that everyone stay mindful of others and careful not to overstep boundaries – that is all.
#dont get self conscious just because I said I dont like something#i am quite literally just a girl#and sometimes I will be a hater#it HAPPENS#yall dont have to stop doing ANYTHING just because I said something#nor do you have to feel anxious about it#I'm not that important and I'm not saying this in a self-deprecating manner: I'm literally JUST A RANDOM PERSON
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I do think one of the big confidence boosters is to stop worrying about looking pretty or attractive. If you get ready and just aim to look "cool", you'll feel good about yourself aesthetically a lot more than aiming for arbitrary standards of beauty
#i wanna divulge in how much this goes especially for black women because we only really have 1 standard portrayed in the media#which is the baddie buss down aesthetic#we need more rico nasties and doja cats (4chan shit aside)#and the inbetween aesthetics that aren't necessarily alt but just looking a little “off”#like a Mia Goth#just reminders that we have more options besides being a saweetie#anyway i started feeling hotter when i stopped aiming for the conventional beauty standards and just accepted i can just look cool#not sexy not pretty not hot not cute just#cool style cool hair#i dont have to feel self conscious that i'm not reaching the beauty standards if i don't actually aim for it#like what is the point anyway#mine#beauty standards#dykeposting
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mutual orbit
#ffxiv#final fantasy xiv#ff14#final fantasy 14#the azim steppe#azim steppe#au ra#xaela#magnai oronir#midlander#hyur#magnai oronir x warrior of light#gpose#wolship#warrior of light#ieeha de verral#ieeha#magnieeha#dont think ive posted them here#im generally a bit self conscious given the numerous amounts of AUs and ships with some overlap here and there#borderline confusing even for me#but feels weird NOT having posted these two given how long ive shipped them in general#love me my bisexual fail king magnai#for context here btw: basically they started butting heads like crazy first meeting. ieeha lacks any respect to speak of irt authority#which obviously magnai bristled at. but as ieeha and the gang stays at the dawn throne for a while he and magnai are forced to interact#where they bicker and argue AND also get to know each other better. ieeha learns a lot about the oronir from him and helps out everywhere#and he gets to know the tribesmen personally as he helps with healing cooking childcare etc. which magnai starts spying on#magnai feels super weird about the whole thing. its good and annoying and confusing and thrilling at the same time and hes getting agitated#and so magnai cant stand looking at him in the end and sends him and gosetsu away. he can barely look at ieeha and its making him lash out#which weirds ieeha out a lot. he thought they were making some progress to at least being civil with each other and hes a little hurt tbh
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FFXIVWrite2024 Prompt 4 - Reticent
characters: Hien Rijin, Y'shtola Rhul rating: G | word count: 1216 words notes: Hien clears up some misconceptions about his relationship with Corisande. Slight spoilers for the Stormblood patches.
When Y’shtola arrived in Doma, Hien greeted her personally. On the advice of Corisande—a small aside in a letter sent ahead of Y’shtola’s arrival—he kept the meeting short and to the point, inquiring about her work and offering his assistance, as needed. He’d provided her with an apartment, if she chose to accept it, and access to his limited staff as she desired.
She’d accepted his hospitality with appreciation, and Hien had left the encounter with a slight swell of pride at having done well by the Scion so highly spoken of by the Warrior of Light. Over the course of her stay in Doma, while their relationship did not grow so warm as the one she seemed to share with Yugiri, he was happy to say they were rather amicable.
Or so he thought. But now, walking beside her on the Azim Steppe, he could feel a chill wafting in his direction.
Corisande had run slightly ahead to speak with Cirina, leaving Hien and Y’shtola alone together as they followed. Unsure of how long the moment of privacy would last, he cast about for some way of broaching the topic—and confirming his suspicions—and settled on, “Corisande has been a great help to the people of Doma. Our restoration efforts would not be half so far along without them.”
“I am sure they would be happy to know their efforts are making a difference,” Y’shtola said evenly, without looking in his direction.
“They spoke very highly of you, on our journey together,” Hien continued, trying his best to be nonchalant. “Quite effusively, if I might add.”
“So you have said.” The response was just short of terse, and he was certain she had started walking faster, though her lack of height gave him the advantage.
“You spoke as effusively of them when first we met.” Hien paused, and glanced at her before he spoke again. “I admit I didn’t quite grasp the depth of your friendship until the three of us began to work together.”
Her expression remained as smooth as a river-worn stone. It hardly surprised him. In the short time of their acquaintance, she had shown herself as a self-possessed woman, difficult to ruffle.
Y’shtola’s reply was short, in length and tone. “We are close.”
Her reticence amused him. Had he not spent the last few days with the both of them—had she not grown cool toward him with Corisande’s presence—he might have left her to her secrets. Instead, he said, “I didn’t think you were one for obscuring the truth. We both know that is quite an understatement.”
Even that was putting it lightly. He had borne witness for days now to the ways Corisande and Y’shtola gravitated toward each other. Always half-turned toward the other, as if a private world existed between the two of them. They seemed able to communicate full thoughts with only a look, despite the limits of Y’shtola’s vision, and they worked in perfect tandem together, often anticipating what the other would ask or say before they even spoke.
Perhaps that could be explained with a deep friendship, were it not for how often they seemed to forget he was there, providing him with an unobstructed view of the warmth in their gazes when they looked at each other—when they lingered long after the other had turned away.
Ahead of them, Corisande was deep in conversation with Cirina, oblivious to the exchange happening behind her. Hien leaned slightly into Y’shtola’s space, whispering conspiratorially, “Though I am not sure Corisande quite realizes it yet.”
“I am not obscuring anything,” Y’shtola stopped just short of snapping at him. “There is nothing to hide. Though you may be unable to engage in a conversation with Corisande without flirtation, she and I have no need to partake in such behavior.”
Hien fought a smile at having his suspicions proven correct—the occasional flirtation peppered in the easy back and forth of his conversations with Corisande was the cause of her distance. He did not think she would take kindly to even minimal gloating, so he kept the victory to himself, and said, “No need, perhaps, but the desire is there. You need not deny it—neither of you are as subtle as you believe.”
“Your conclusions are ill-informed,” Y’shtola said, a sharp edge in her voice. He was not quite sure, between the two of them, who it was meant to cut. She turned to him with narrow eyes. “If our familiarity has been as overt as you suggest, it is simply a result of the gratification of our reunion.”
“Besides,” she added as she turned away, seemingly as an afterthought, though Hien guessed it was more of a calculated risk than any carelessness on her part. “Corisande’s attention is held elsewhere.”
It did not take an academic of any caliber to puzzle that one out. He laughed, and she shot an irritated look in his direction. “If their attention is elsewhere, it is certainly not on me.”
Hien only flirted with Corisande because it made her laugh—she never responded in kind, and he never wished for her to do so. Any hope of romance between them had long diminished, almost before it had even begun. “Did she tell you of the kiss we shared on a hill not far from here?”
Y’shtola looked away again, her jaw set. “I know of it.”
An interestingly vague answer. She’d learned of it, but perhaps not from Corisande. “Then you should also know that it ended in disaster. And enough tears to drown any budding romance.”
“If their grief was enough to deter you,” Y’shtola said, and this time there was no mistaking the recipient of her ire, “perhaps the romance should not have been pursued so casually.”
“I will not argue that,” Hien said, with a twinge of shame in his chest. It had not been his proudest moment, though he was sure that the conversation that followed the short-lived attempt at romance had made way for the friendship they had now. “I knew very little of their past at the time. The feelings were new and not so deep rooted as—” yours “--those of others.”
Y’shtola studied him, her eyes narrowed. “You are becoming quite the diplomat.”
“I’m certainly learning,” Hien said, with a smile. “You should tell them, and spare the rest of us all the longing looks at each others’ backs.”
Y’shtola laughed quietly, and he was grateful that the conversation was ending on a pleasant note. The chill he had felt from her had evaporated.
He stepped forward, walking backwards so he could look at her as he spoke. “Or perhaps you need a challenge to motivate you? I can resume my efforts, if it will inspire you to speak up.”
Hien had barely enough time to dodge the stream of air she aimed at his head. She wore an impish smirk when he looked at her, and pushed her way past him with a bump of her shoulder. He watched her catch up with Cirina and Corisande, the latter of whom immediately looped her arm through Y’shtola’s as they walked.
Corisande looked over her shoulder at him, smiling brightly and gesturing for him to catch up. He jogged after them, falling into step next to Cirina with a smile.
#ffxivwrite2024#ffxivwrite#this was fun. no i dont know how hien talks sorry but i had fun!!!!#i had two other moments i was going to include but it was getting unwieldy and a little melodramatic#my roots are in the cw and grey's anatomy im sorry#kels writes#maybe i will write them another time. bc i kind of like the idea of hien as the one who shtola can admit things to#bc he doesn't really know her well. but also i think its embarrassing for shtola to have him like#everyone on the star knows you two are in love EXCEPT cori#i did not reread this btw im just scheduling it to post#xiv fic#corishtola#kinda#i scheduled this on a high last night and now i’m feeling self conscious ahdjks anyway. here u go
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