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hellohimawarihana · 2 years

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My Review of Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS Henshin

Hello and welcome into another transformation analysis! This time I’ll be talking about one of Yu-Gi-Oh series that involves transformation.

If you’re not familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh then I’m gonna explain it to you. Basically it was the series who popularize the trading card game today and it always involves duel between one another by summoning creatures like dragons and fairies combined with fusion and various effects that will decide the outcome of the battle.

Now I’m not a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh myself but I do had a few interactions between the series. I was born in late 90s so I grew up with the original series and I do hear the first opening and ending songs and they felt good. Then I do watch my brother’s gameplay about some GX games (maybe?) on PS2 and one episode in 5DS (maybe in Season 2? 'cause I remember the duel back then was in chibi). ZEXAL’s first opening song was true to its name, a masterpiece to me. The rest of them like ARC-V, SEVENS and currently airing Go Rush!! isn’t my cup of tea, but the thing that does made me interested recently is the 6th anime series, VRAINS.

This series has recently got its 5th anniversary and with VRAINS World in Duel Links, few events, and goods ongoing, so I think it won’t be bad to review this third series with transformation. Well, Yu-Gi-Oh is no stranger to transformation sequence as OG and ZEXAL had done this before, but VRAINS is the first where the protagonist doesn’t need their respective partner to transform into their alter ego, whether it be possessed or by fusion.

Before that though, no transformation where the log in / sign in happened with blue flash of light as it was instantaneous / offscreen and no character without complete appearance change too, although there's one exception that will be shown later.

With no further ado, let’s dive into character sections, put the decks into Duel Disks, and “Into the VRAINS!!”

Playmaker / Soulburner

We’ll start with the protagonist and his eventual partner in Season 2 when they sign into LINK VRAINS. And their animations are... pretty much similar, so I’m dumping both here in one session.

Let’s talk about Yusaku a.k.a. Playmaker first. First off, I like the visuals when he transforms, it’s the thing that made me impressed the first time I watched it and get hooked by the series. The blue in the background matches his personality really well too. I especially like the gold glow on his bodysuit and how he let his hair down (actually it’s his front bangs) before changing it into Playmaker, ah good stuff indeed.

As for Takeru alias Soulburner... eh, fine? Nothing much to say about this one but I do like the scarf that moves when he lowers his head and how his glasses was removed the same time as his transforming hair. It’s pretty unique, since we rarely see glasses got removed onscreen during transformation (think Barnaby in Tiger & Bunny 2 and Mew Lettuce in Tokyo Mew Mew New). And the background really represents his hot-blooded personality too.

Speaking of the visual, it’s one of the successful among anime media. Usually the pseudo-space background has to represent the individual’s strengths / elements or the series theme as a whole. VRAINS is well known by its aesthetic, and oh boy it’s really shown here. Surrounding them is the screens that represent charts and the platform where they're standing are based of hardware components with the electric fan in the center, not to mention the pillars spinning around too. What differs them is the theme color. As I stated before, Playmaker uses blue though it’s more towards Yusaku than his online alias (unless you count the glows during his Ritual and Xyz Summoning) and there's emerald green as secondary color which is the closest towards his green bodysuit and his Synchro Summoning glow. Meanwhile, Soulburner uses red and orange, which is the common element of fire that was part of his deck.

And considering the fact that this series involves virtual world, Yusaku and Takeru has to sign in by surrounding themselves with the sphere in their respective color (Yusaku’s light blue and Takeru’s red) with various screens before going into transforming part. However, considering that Yusaku’s transformation was shown few times in Season 1 as opposed to Takeru’s once in Season 2, there is some twist in sign-in variations to keep it interesting. As shown in stock footage-heavy Pretty Cure series, it could be tiring if it was shown once per episode, especially DeliPa where they often transform in group and each does two lines at once (usual naming and anything gourmet-related) during their roll call. However, Yusaku was smart, and with various sign-in sequence and other alterations enough to make his transformation felt same yet less repetitive (and honestly I’m glad it happened in order to make this GIF).

The process, however, is pretty short, as the beginning took 15 seconds uncut but the actual transforming part is 6-7 seconds long. Probably because they took the usual anime transformations with 30 seconds duration, and it’s probably why the scene focuses on leg when forming the bodysuit with the belt coming second before their hair. (I had Corrector Yui vibes from there...) But I like how they break the transformation space into a new background and change the lighting in the process, talk about powerful duelist. And I’m not keen to fanservice like in Binan Koukou and Fairy Ranmaru and instead keeping their clothes before being replaced by their suit through electricity glaze is a very good idea. (I don’t think the staff would implement fanservice in kid’s show...)

Here’s the link if you want to watch and compare both.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, there’s no combo transformation sequence for these two. After the usual set-in sequence, there’s eye sequence and then a flash of blue light on them... done. A bit shame, actually. (the same happened for Yusaku in work outfit too...)

Blue Maiden

In case of Yusaku-Takeru’s offscreen transformation, there’s one episode where it occurs the same time as when Blue Girl transforms into Blue Maiden in front of the two and Ema/Ghost Girl. She glows light blue and has some magical girl transformation vibes on it, with some twist. The ‘ping’ occurs with pink heart and concentrating on the transforming part one by one before scanning the glow out upon completion, which I think it’s pretty good for her.

Speaking of magical girl transformation, Playmaker and Soulburner has these vibes in their sequence too. And I like how their hair color traded with each other between their civilian and avatar form.

Though Blue Angel is more magical girl than any of Aoi’s avatars, at least she had transformation in one of her forms so it’s alright. Soulburner would definitely proud of this.

There’s also some transformations that’s too brief for me to review but I’m gonna show them anyway.

Ghost Girl

Blue Girl

Knights of Hanoi

And there's the acrylic board version for Revolver and Playmaker too.

(the render version in the link)

And that covers up my henshin review of Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS. See you in my next post!

#henshin #yugioh vrains #my henshin review

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onenicebugperday · 3 years

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@ashedink submitted: I have a number of nice bugs that I've wanted to submit, but I kept holding off so here is a whole bunch of fine friends from east Tennessee:

A very fine wooly worm I found just a few days ago! I'm not used to them being solid black, mostly we see black and orange banded ones. This well dressed child was so big! Nearly three inches in length!

A small centipede and a big old ant mound with my hands for scale, I see maybe 6-7 of these giant mounds on my daily walk, like 90% certain they're fire ant colonies. I love to marvel at their architecture and their security response time when I give their nest a little brush. Also my hand is not touching the mound in this picture, ant swarms are no joke when they're that big!

This is one of my favorites, she lives in my art room and actively hunts, running across the floor! Including legspan she is about the size of a gold dollar, and I have always assumed she is a wolf spider, until I realized just how many wolf spider look alikes there are! This is the one I want ID'd the most if the picture is clear enough.

A delightfully chubby oak worm. For about a month I was finding them in the road constantly (and gently tossing them off to the side of the road), I assume migrating from their initial host plant to wherever they planned on pupating.

And these were the first pictures I knew I wanted to submit. I have ALWAYS loved bugs, but like the charismatic ones like mantises, spiders, caterpillars, moths, wasps, pill bugs, hercules/rhinocerous beetles, katydids, and millipedes. I never thought much about grasshoppers until I saw some stunning pictures shared on your blog, and I realized just how COLOURFUL some of them are! Especially getting into their adult colors! So after marveling at the pictures I saw here I made it a point to take a photo of some of the meaty adult grasshoppers in the field next door. Some of them were big enough that when I would spook them and they'd take off flying I would momentarily mistake them for a tiny meadow bird. Shortly after I took this photo I accidentally spooked one into flying straight into my face and they were weighty enough that it made an audible THWAP sound. It was a charming day.

Thank you for running this blog!

Hi there :) The first caterpillar is a giant leopard moth - you're likely used to seeing Isabella tiger moths. Love the precious tiny centipede. And wow that IS a big ant mound. I accidentally stepped on one as a kid and boy let me tell you it was terrible. Would not recommend.

The spider is indeed a wolf! The eyes are the easiest way to distinguish them from lookalikes. Looks like possibly Tigrosa annexa. Very cute oakworm! Glad you helped them off the road, they are so small and don't know what cars are :(

Grasshoppers are wonderful! They were actually one of the first bugs I was into as a kid because we had so many in the field behind our hours. They will absolutely thwap you in the face but we'll just say that's a grasshopper kiss.

Thank you for sharing all your friends!

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melo-yello · 4 years

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✨Self-Care Day✨w/ 💥🪨KiriBaku HeadCanons💥🪨

Off Day

💥🪨 You’re hanging upside down on the couch in your shared apartment with a boyfriend on either side of you. Kiri’s hand in yours while Baku’s had one hand on your thigh and the other scrolling on his phone as some cartoon drones on the tv

💥🪨 This is not how you envisioned your first free weekend into the last two weeks going

💥🪨 You sigh loudly before poking out your bottom lip “Suki? Eiji? I’m bored.” you pout dramatically as you throw a hand onto your forehead before you continue “Can we do a self-care day?”

💥🪨 Baku just grunts in affirmation as he stretches before standing. Kiri just smiles “Of course, Pebble. Whatever you want.”

💥🪨 You pop up pecking both guys on the cheek as you bounce off to the kitchen with Kiri’s hand still in yours “Thanks you two are the best!I’ll make tea!!!”

💥🪨 “And don’t you forget it!” Bakugou smiles popping your soft ass as he follows behind most likely to micromanage

💥🪨 You three chat about your week not having much time outside of courses to really talk. Between studying, training, and hero work you guys just didn’t have a lot going of free time.

💥🪨Per usual you and Kiri really carry the conversation Baku only chiming in ever so often to offer up things that he hates

💥🪨 You pop up remembering one of for favorite parts of a good ole fashioned treat yo self day. The cute headbands for you and Kiri to push your hair out of your faces. You return with a pink bunny one, a brown Teddy Bear one, and a plain black headband. Baku takes the black and Kiri takes the bunny.

💥🪨 “How do I look, Peb?” Kiri smirks flexing to show his broad ass built ass frame after putting on his bunny headband. “Ridiculous.” “-ly Hawt!” You laugh correcting Baku

💥🪨 You film in absolute awe as your Manly bf’s pierce Suki’s ear with ease after the off handed joke you made sipping tea. Cue Baku voguing it up with pride and a freshly pierced ear. Bakugou is slightly leaner and a couple inches shorter but just as toned

💥🪨 “Suki, Eiji, you are too manly!” You hype your man up as you post the video to your IG story

💥🪨 It’s your turn now!! Kiri easily pierces your ears with a red stud in your right and an orange in your left. Adding a second set of holes right above your first ones

💥🪨 Next comes high quality and novelty animal face masks Bakugou buys online to compliment his vigorous skin care routine. It rivals half of the YouTube Beauty community’s

💥🪨 Niether of you have any idea of where he buys them or where he hides them for that matter. He stores them away so you guys can’t steal them when he’s not around. Bakugou allows you and Kiri to use his masks on special occasions tho

💥🪨 “Mr. and Mrs. Dumbass.” He smirks handing you a frog and Kiri a tiger. Earning him a playful jab from you and “A Thanks, Babe.” from the red head

💥🪨 You suggest nail 💅🏾 polish next and Kiri is automatically on board. “Oooooo can you make them Red, Babygirl? Because they’d be so manly!” Kiri beams bouncing up and down. Baku will only allow his middle fingers painted. “I want white with bombs or just F U. Whichever is easier for you, Teddy Bear.” Bakugou nods scrunching up his nose from behind his own red panda face mask.

💥🪨 Kirishima’s nails are a simple sparkly red that say 🤍BITE MANLY in white while Bakugou’s middle fingers are white with black bombs with an orange F U on each one respectively

💥🪨 After you peel off your masks, you and Kirishima squeal in nearly perfect sync “Oooooooooooo! Sooooo Soft! Aren’t we hawt, Bakubro! Seeeeeeeeeee!” Both of you placing his hand on your faces

💥🪨Bakugou will just roll his red eyes into the back of his head as you two wrap him in a tight embrace “I’ve told you idiots a thousand times the importance of regular skin care with quality products.” He shrugs nonchalantly even thought he loves when you two are touchie with him. He hates to admit it

💥🪨 As you begin to search you nail kit for your preferred color, Kiri grabs your hand and presses it to his cheek “Can we do yours, Pebble?” He pouts. Bakugou follows suit grabbing your other hand “Pretty please, Teddy?” He whines firmly pressing your hand to his heart.

💥🪨 You buckle so fast it’s not even funny. “Bbbbbbbut...😤😖😞fine.” You concede

💥🪨These two really know how to put on the charm. Especially if Bakugou Kasuki is calling you Teddy instead of Dumbass.

💥🪨 “Great! Y/n, pick out a show to watch before we start.” Baku barks handing you the remote. “Why?” You question snatching it and putting on Criminal Minds. Simply thrilled you were getting to pick (Typically there were mini competitions for such a privilege)

💥🪨 “You’re judging, Bighead. You can’t look til we’re done.” Kiri hums thoughtfully trying to pick a good color combination. Baku already had his colors hidden in his lap before scouting so his hip was against yours sure to obscure your view of your own hand from you.

💥🪨 “Yea, no bias. When I win it’ll because I’m the best! Isn’t that right, Shitty Hair!” The ash blonde smiles cockily at the red head across from him. “In your fucking dreams, Spark plug!” Kiri spits backs just taking all the colors and copying Bakugou’s positioning

💥🪨 “If either of you fuckers, get those polishes on my favorite jeans there’ll be hell to pay.” You warn with a sinister tone to rival even Katsuki’s and the widest smile. The boys shiver at the seriousness behind your smile. Your threat is far from empty

💥🪨 You pretty much figured your nails would probably look terrible with each of your vividly different boyfriends competing with each other. “What do you, dorks, even get for winning?” You muse leaning into Kiri’s broad ass shoulder

💥🪨 “The next date plans and solo cuddles with Teddy Bear for the rest of the night seems fair to me. Huh, Eijirou?” Baku looks up from his work with a self assured grin blowing one of your nails. Vermilion irises float from you to Kiri.

💥🪨 Knowing damn well niether of them could keep you their hands off you. “Deal.” Kiri nods without giving Baku the satisfaction of meeting his gaze.

💥🪨 “Oh and I get shitly painted nails.” You sigh rolling your eyes. You’d be lying if you didn’t find it kinda hawt when they got like this

💥🪨 “There.” Halfway through the 2nd episode Kiri says and finally caps his last polish. Blowing gently across the surface of your nails.

💥🪨 By this time Baku has placed your arm on his lower back and his head in your lap. A firm grip on your wrist so you couldn’t checkout his work until Kiri finished. Your fingers make light circles there despite being held hostage. “Bout time, slow poke.” Baku huffs releasing your arm as you brought both hands side by side.

💥🪨 They had somehow managed to pick colors that didn’t totally clash. Kiri’s hand were mix match rose gold and pink with the teeniest (not to mention even) little white hearts in the middle of each nail.

💥🪨 Baku’s hand was very simple and clean. Black French tips with one red to orange nail with a black X on top as an accent.

💥🪨 You weren’t expecting anything this good. You could barely speak. You hadn’t been this lost for words since they had asked you out. You sniffle a lil bit. Your eyes glass up a little too.

💥🪨 God your partners are so great sometimes. The fact that they genuinely gave a fuck still manages to catch you off guard at times. After so many terrible relationships, effort, in and of itself, is kinda baffling

💥🪨 “Damn Pebs, it’s not that bad if you squint.” Kiri laughs nervously squeezing your shoulders. “Woah there, Teddy Bear, I’ll get the remover.” Baku stands ruffling your curls before you grab his wrist stopping him in his tracks.

💥🪨 “Suki. Eiji. Don’t be mad but I can’t pick! You guys both did really good! Fuck! I couldn’t ask for better lovers. You assholes are so much better than I deserve!” You gush before hiding your face in your hands. A little ashamed you let your boyfriends doing something as simple as your nails make you emotional.

💥🪨 “But Baby you deserve the world.” Kirishima immediately scoops you into a bear hug as he stands spinning you with ease and peppering you in kisses. Kiri places you back down even more gently than picked you up

💥🪨 “Princess, you’re a bad bitch! Don’t you dare forget it!” The shorter ash blonde says unwaveringly lifting your chin so you’d meet his eyes. He softly bops your forehead before kissing it and both cheeks. He pulls you close right as he yanks you up to straddle his waist

💥🪨 “Eijirou, I think our Babygirl needs a reminder of who she is and who she’s with.” His already deep ruby eyes darken lustfully. With no hesitation Kiri is right behind you in seconds

💥🪨 “I know just thing to jog our Pebble’s memory, Katsuki.” He whispers licking the side of your neck just as moves to capture Katsuki’s lips with his own

💥🪨 “Promise?” You moan softly lacing fingers into Kiri’s loose kitchens and trailing a cool hand across Baku’s abdomen stopping only at his joggers waist band

💥🪨 With that the three head to the bed room for some much needed group physical therapy

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in-arlathan · 2 years

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15 OC Association

Time for another OC tag game! 🙌 I was tagged by both @starsandskies and @johaeryslavellan for this one. Thank you both, it was great fun!

Tagging forth to @noire-pandora, @dreadfutures, @emerald-amidst-gold, @serial-chillr, @mogwaei, @faerieavalon, @musetta3, @midnightprelude, and anyone else who'd like to play. Please feel free to tag me back so I can see and reblog your post! :3

Let's start with my ancient elvhen girl ...

Fel'anas'hani (Felani)

Animal: Tiger

Color(s): Gold, orange and red

Month: July, or Solis / Solace in the Thedas calendar (which makes me laugh for obvious reasons, lol)

Song: "Natural's Not In It" by Gang of Four

Number: She doesn't really care for numbers. Metals are more her thing.

Day or Night: Day

Plant(s): Strelitzia (bird of paradise)

Smells: Fire and burning wood, spices and honey

Gemstone: Ruby

Season: The last days of autumn

Place(s): A cozy hut with a hearth and bar that serves a decent ale (or wine). A comfy chair to put her feet up in. And a workshop with a forge that never gets cold.

Food: She would indulge in anything hearty, especially roasted meat

Astrological sign: Taurus

Element: Fire. It fits her temper.

Drink(s): Red wine. The drier the better. It's the only civilized way to get properly drunk.

______

Elenara Lavellan

Animal: Hare

Color(s): Pastell pink, green and yellow

Month: September, or Parvulis / Kingsway in the Thedas calendar

Song: "Far Away" by José Gonzalez

Number: 9

Day or Night: Day, especially easy mornings

Plant(s): Dandelions. She's not fancy or colorful, but she's fluffy and soft and unrelenting.

Smells: Freshly cut grass

Gemstone: Topaz

Season: Late summer, when the light is golden and the leaves being to change their color.

Place(s): She loves some wide-open plains. They are ideal for sunbathing.

Food: Roasted chestnuts

Astrological sign: Sagittarius

Element: Air. She's like a gentle breeze most days, but her rage can be like a storm.

Drinks: Still water. Her taste in drinks is just as basic as her taste in food. Besides, she gets drunk way too easily (and she secretly hates it)

#oc tag game #15 oc associations #my ocs #my work #elenara lavellan #felani

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lyssaloveesmagick · 3 years

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LET'S TALK CRYSTALS!

~ Everything has energy, and if you believe in Tarot cards I believe you should also believe in the energy crystals radiate, as they are more natural than any form of divination. ☺️

~ Each Crystal is different, different colors and shapes each have specific uses but many have multiple uses. Lots of crystals are used in Chakra work, Dream work and other forms of energy/ascension/alignment work. The closer to natural the stone is, the more potent it will be. Polished stones still work well, just often at a slower pace. Bigger crystals will be stronger too.

~ When working with crystals in Chakra work most of the time the color of the stone will align with the corresponding chakra.

For example:

♥️ ROOT - Garnet, Carnelian, Red Jasper, Bloodstone. (I love using obsidian here too but I want to discuss this stone lower in the post)

🧡 SACRAL PLEXUS - Sunstone, Orange Calcite, Tigers Eye & Citrine

💛 SOLAR PLEXUS - Pyrite, Aragonite, Amber & Yellow Tourmaline

💚 HEART - Emerald, Malachite, Amazonite & Green Aventurine (& Rose Quartz)

💙 THROAT - Apatite, Soladite, Turquoise & Blue Kyanite ... Think light blue/teal here.

🧿 3rd EYE - Laborodite (my favorite crystal), Azurite, Lapis Lazuli & Sapphire

💜 CROWN - Amethyst, Moonstone, Lepidolite & Howlite

Now, the colors dont HAVE to match. There are plenty of chakra healers/balancers that dont coordinate colors BUT I love to match so there's my list!

🤍 Obsidian (mentioned above) is great for protection!

🤍 Selanite is great for clearing energy & charging other crystals. You can get it as a plate or bowl to rest your daily crystals on so they're ready to go in the morning.

🤍 Clear Quartz is an everything stone! You can literally charge it with any intention. Its a good stand in for anything you dont have. With Quartz being a high vibrational stone it will work to align you with its vibration, often sending you ideas to help you take inspired action to illuminate and clear your path. My favorite of the Quartz family is Lumerian, but stones such as Citrine, Amethyst, Smoky Quartz & Rose Quartz are all in the same family. Be knowledgeable when buying Citrine & Amethyst as some are man made by heat treatment.

🤍 MOLDAVITE is a popular one lately so let's talk about it. Moldavite is a tektite, which is technically not a crystal but still acts like one. It was created in a single meteorite impact in Bohemia that occurred about 15 million years ago. It is ONLY found in the Czech Republic which causes it to be extremely rare & now often faked due to it's increasing demand. So beware of its very high price & be alert when buying. Because of its birth story it's energy is at times chaotic, which you can also see within the stone when examining it, as the inner lines have no pattern & it also holds tiny air bubbles. Like Clear Quartz, its a high vibrational "stone" that works to align you with its vibration. So if you are interacting with low vibrational people or activities it will work to remove these from your life usually by aligning your thought patterns with the correct actions. It may bring you some magic but more often than not you will be asked to take inspired action to have it work properly. This is one piece I cannot sleep with in my room at all!!

~ Check that your crystal dealer is selling ethically sourced stones & be sure to do your research on which crystal/tektite will work best for your desired intentions before purchasing & activating them! I find it best to only work with 1-4 crystals at a time when outside of my home. 2 is my sweet spot, but we are all different & our sensitivity changes as we develop empathy towards universal energy.

~ Ok! Now that we've got the basics on picking your crystal out of the way, here's how to use them!!

~ You should cleanse your crystal after purchasing it to remove the energy of anyone who has handled them or any negative experiences they've endured before reaching you. Not all practicioners believe this & not all stones hold negativity but I believe it's good practice & can't hurt so here's what I know: You can do this in many ways. Sound cleansing (via bells or soundbowls or even YouTube sound baths), kosher or Himalayan salt bath, brown rice, smoke cleanse (via ethically sourced Sage, Palo Santo or Incense) or for certain stones you can soak them in running water or salt/sun/moonwater to cleanse & charge - BUT use caution as some, such as moldavite, laborodite & selenite (most crystals ending in ite) will dissolve in water, especially hot water so again, do your research on the specifics - you can burry them in dirt outside or in your house plants for a few hours just watch out for rain/damp soil, a Selanite or Quartz dish will cleanse & charge any stone, & my personal favorite method - setting them out under the moonlight! I think the Sun works too but the Moon is preferred by most practitioners. It usually only takes a couple hours with most of these methods. Smaller crystals can be cleansed with breath & feather wind.

~ To charge them, moonlight is ideal. Setting them in a windowsill or outside for 3-5 hours will work perfectly! You can soak them in saltwater under the sun too. This amplifies their natural energy before adding your own.

~ To program & active each crystal you'll essentially be forming a bond with each one individually. You can do this simply by holding it in your dominant hand (usually the right hand as the left body is for recieving intuitive nudges), meditate with the crystal wrapped in both hands, envisioning what you'd like to accomplish together & commanding it to activate. I personally find that the universe works best when we say please & thank you. I also like to kiss my energy into each stone after we've spent a few moments bonding.

~ Now your crystals are ready to move energy & help you develop your growth! All you have to do is place them accordingly in your home or carry them on you. Again, I find it best to only carry about 2 on me at a time. I have also found that sleeping with too many in my room gives me restless sleep, even just 1 high vibrational stone on my dresser is usually too much for me, but the lower chakra stones or blue stones are usually okay. Some people keep them on an altar or in a grid (YouTube is very helpful for learning gridwork) some keep them in windowsills - just use caution as some stones get sunbleached - & some people like me have a few crystals in each room! You can look into the best placements for each stone you own for best uses & placements depending on your intentions.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

I get the most potent dreams with Red Garnet under my pillow & Blue Kyanite on my side table. I keep a large Rose Quartz, medium Amethys & Selanite, & some smaller Obsidian, Moonstone, Laborodite, Rainbow Hematite & Quartz pieces & Gold flakes on my dresser... Although as I'm typing this im wondering if that Laborodite is why I haven't been sleeping as well or if it's just all the Eclipse & Retrograde Energy going around in this 2021 air 😆

Either way, I hope you've found this post to be of some use & if you have any questions or anything I can add please don't hesitate to reach out!!! (Use of Evil Eye as 3rd Eye symbol in this post is soley meant for aesthetic but I do wish protection, peace & prosperity on all it lay sight on)

HAPPY HEALING!! 🤍

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recurring-polynya · 3 years

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I know it's been like 2 weeks but you know what shooting my shot for the Rukia Bday Bonanza (Bunnynanza? Bunanza? ...No.) More Squad 11 Rukia mohawk mini-menace of my heart and also Renji's heart.

I got so excited about revisiting this exceptionally dumb AU that I sort of forgot that I had no idea where I was going with this. I mentioned at some point that I think about this a lot, and I do, but I mostly think about it in the past, about the events that led up to this, but if I wrote that, I couldn’t keep torturing Byakuya and that’s honestly the only thing that’s important here. Please focus your attention on hot grumpy, gender-fluid goth Rukia, and not on how horribly rambly this is.

| ao3 | ff.net |

🐅 💀 🍵

“Hisana,” said Byakuya, “I feel like you are not listening to the words I am saying to you.”

“I am listening very carefully,” Hisana replied as she traced the edges of her eyelids with liner. Hisana had a maid, a very good one, in fact, but she sometimes preferred applying her own make-up. Byakuya had noticed that she was especially wont to do so when she felt nervous. “‘Do not get your expectations up, Hisana.’ ‘I am not entirely sure it is her, Hisana, the resemblance is passing at best.’ ‘She is likely not what you are expecting, Hisana.’ Did I get it all?”

“I stand corrected. I feel like you are ignoring the words I am saying to you.”

Hisana pressed the cap back onto her tube of make-up with a pop. “I know she’s not the baby I left behind. I understand that she is a full grown adult with her own life that she may not want me in. I have had a long time to think about this, you know.”

Byakuya squeezed his eyes closed. “You misunderstand me. I know you have mentally prepared for meeting your sister. “I am trying to tell you that it is not really possible for anyone to be prepared for…this person.”

Hisana held out her hand and Byakuya helped her to her feet, pressing her cane into one of her hands, and offering his elbow for the other. “Thank you, dear,” she said softly. And then, “You worry too much.”

Byakuya had known from the beginning that there would be no dissuading her.

Seike was standing in the hallway, waiting for them. “Your…guests have arrived, my lord. I had them escorted to the room that overlooks the peony garden, and arranged for a tea setting.”

Hisana’s hand tightened on Byakuya’s arm. He didn’t know what to say. There was nothing else he could say. They headed out to the room that overlooked the peony garden.

On the bright side, Inuzuri Rukia and her dreadful beau had dressed up. Unfortunately, what they had dressed up as appeared to be a pair of comedy relief villains from a kabuki play.

Abarai had covered up his awful forehead tattoos, which was nice, except that he had covered them up with what appeared to be an equally awful tiger-striped bandana. The tiger stripes were presumably meant to coordinate with the painted tigers that danced and roared about the hem of his eye-searing red and gold haori. To be honest, the thing was rather exquisite, it just wasn’t something that a person should put on their body and then wear to another person’s house for tea. The tiger theme didn’t stop there, no, why should it? Abarai had swapped out his work-day skull facepaint for a razor-sharp cat's-eye, his lids smudged with bright splashes of orange and white up to the brow-bone. It might have been a rather sultry look, if not for the fact that the young man’s eyes were as wide as a child’s, taking in everything as though he had never been in a house before.

Inuzuri, on the other hand, wore a very subtle and handsome ensemble. It was also utterly masculine. She was in gradations of black-- black haori over black kimono paired with silver-on-black striped hakama. As Byakuya looked more carefully, (mostly trying not to burn his retinas by looking directly at Abarai), he noticed that there were ghostly red and white spider lilies haunting the hem of her jacket, and there were tiny skulls near the shoulders, instead of the usual family mon. So much for taste. She, too, had swapped out her workday death’s-head makeup for sharp, simple slashes of eyeliner, red on the lower lid, black on the top. It made her look like she hadn’t slept in a year. The ghastly spiked hairstyle of earlier had been brushed out into a big, soft waves, like the mane of a horse. It looked rather pretty like that, Byakuya thought absently, before realizing that these people had somehow destroyed his entire aesthetic sense in a matter of seconds.

“Thank you for inviting us to your home!” Abarai bellowed, Inuzuri joining in a beat late. Both of them dropped into a deep bow.

Hisana swallowed, her fingers digging into Byakuya’s arm.

“Thank you for coming,” Byakuya replied.

“We brought you a present!” Abarai continued at the same atrocious volume, thrusting an object at Byakuya.

Byakuya took it instinctually, and then belatedly looked down at the thing he held in his hands. It was… a plant cutting, freshly potted into a cheap little teacup, a commercially made thing with a little dancing rabbit stamped on the side. Byakuya stared at it, wracking his brain for potential symbolism.

“It’s from our spider plant. At home,” Inuzuri mumbled.

Byakuya glanced up at the girl. If this had been their first meeting, he would have just thought her surly and ill-mannered, but he had seen her earlier, at ease with herself and overflowing with cool bravado. Byakuya knew he was not, generally, very good at reading people in informal settings, but, for some reason, he found Inuzuri very obvious. She was nervous, and it was not his presence that was to blame for it.

“Ayasegawa says they’re real good at cleaning up the air,” Abarai announced. He paused. “You probably don’t need that much in a nice place like this. Y’can never have too much oxygen, though, right?”

“Stop. Talking,” Inuzuri hissed at him through her teeth.

Okay!” he agreed.

“It was very thoughtful, thank you,” Hisana replied, her voice thick with emotion. “Shall we have some tea?”

“Yes, please,” Abarai replied instantly, and Inuzuri gave a small nod of agreement.

Byakuya breathed out a small sigh of relief as a servant scurried in with the tea tray. Seike appeared at his elbow. “May I take your plant, Lord Byakuya?”

“Er, yes,” Byakuya said, handing it over with great care, as though it were in danger of exploding.

“Put it in the library, please, if you will, Seike,” Hisana said sweetly. “Find a sunny spot near my art table.”

Byakuya noticed Inuzuri watching him like a hawk as he helped Hisana sit, but the girl said nothing. Once she was settled, Hisana began pouring tea. Byakuya could have done it, but it was a thing Hisana liked to do. “Pardon my poor manners,” she said slowly. “Rukia-- may I call you Rukia?”

“Everyone does,” Inuzuri shrugged.

“You’ve grown up to be so strong and handsome,” Hisana said, brushing at one eye absently. “I never imagined.”

Byakuya’s eyes slid over to take in his snuffling wife. She didn’t even seem surprised that her sister was barely half a step removed from a yakuza tough.

“And Byakuya tells me that you and Mr. Abarai have been companions since Inuzuri? Oh, that’s so wonderful!”

“You can call me Renji,” Abarai replied, eying the tray of wagashi. “Can I have one of those? Ow, Rukia!”

“Oh, yes, of course!” Hisana flapped a hand. “Help yourself, that’s what they’re there for.”

Abarai abruptly scooped a massive handful onto his plate, and then deposited two more onto Inuzuri’s. Despite himself, Byakuya found this gesture strangely charming.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Inuzuri said slowly, peeling the wrapper away from her wagasi approximately one molecule at a time, “what makes you think I might be your sister?”

“That is a very fair question,” Hisana granted. “All the evidence is circumstantial so far.”

Byakuya looked at Inuzuri, with her purple eyes and her heart-shaped face and her tiny hands and her improbably cute nose, and then he looked at his wife with her purple eyes and heart-shaped face and tiny hands and even more adorable nose. Then, he looked at Abarai, who appeared to be in the same state of deep disbelief as himself, and against his better judgement, they shared a moment of horrible solidarity.

“There are kidou used by the nobility to establish paternity,” Hisana went on. “It’s not exactly the same, since our relationship originated in the Living World, but Byakuya thinks it should give an indication. That is, if you would be willing to undergo such a thing. The clan elders would probably require such a thing, and perhaps it would give you peace of mind. I remember you, though. I know in my heart that you are my sister.”

Inuzuri set the wagashi back down on her plate again, untasted. “Captain Kuchiki wouldn’t answer me when I asked earlier. What does it mean, for us to be sisters?” Her eyes slid over to Byakuya, and he cursed the fact that someone with those eyes had been sent through the Squad Eleven School of Violent and Malicious Eye Contact. “What do your clan elders care about me?”

“There are a number of reasons why I… left you in Inuzuri,” Hisana said, twisting her hands together. “But the primary one was so I could find some means of income. So I could take care of you. I always intended to come back for you, if I could. I… I checked in on you a few times, but at some point I guess…”

“I ran away?” Inuzuri broke in. “I ran away from so many places in Inuzuri that I can’t even tell you which one you might have let me with.”

“In any case,” Hisana pushed on, “You seem to be doing very well for yourself, but if… if you wanted to, you could come live with us, here. The family is much smaller than it used to be, and there’s lots of space…”

“By ‘you’, you mean plural ‘you’, right? Meaning ‘us’?” Inuzuri gestured between herself and Abarai.

Hisana blinked. “Oh. Er…” She glanced at Byakuya, as if she simply had no idea how his various aunts would react, were her unwed sister to move into their ancestral seat with her emotional support meathead in tow.

“Captain Kuchiki probably forgot to mention it,” Inuzuri announced, regaining some of her former brassiness, “but we’re engaged. To be married.”

Hisana’s face immediately brightened. “Oh! Really? Oh, oh! Congratulations! That’s so wonderful! Byakuya, how could you forget something like that?”

She said ‘forget’, but Byakuya knew quite well what she meant.

“It seemed like the matter was still in debate,” he said vaguely. “I did not wish to be overhasty in reporting news of such gravity.”

Abarai chewed slowly, his eyes darting between Inuzuri and Byakuya.

“Just because we talk about it casually doesn’t mean we aren’t serious about it,” Inuzuri said, leaning forward slightly. “We might even go down to the Registration Office this week, if we can get an afternoon off. Just get it taken care of, you know?”

Abarai picked up his teacup and down the entire thing in one swallow.

“Oh, Rukia, no!” Hisana protested. “Don’t you want a real wedding? If money is an object--”

“There are many other benefits to being a Kuchiki,” Byakuya interrupted before his well-meaning wife made an offer that he would come to regret. “I would have to carefully review your service records, of course, but a transfer to the Sixth Division could likely be arranged. I am sure the Eleventh has its charms, but it does not offer much in the way of career advancement.”

This was a bold ploy on Byakuya’s part, one he had carefully considered beforehand. He certainly did not want these horrifying delinquents under his command, but if their presence in his extended family was to be inevitable, he certainly didn’t need Zaraki’s, as well. Byakuya had to admit that he was slightly intrigued by Aizen’s poorly masked desperation to get Abarai back. They might be unpolished, the pair of them, but you didn’t make a top seat in the Eleventh by being a poor soldier. It was possible that by keeping them close, he might be able to assert some influence, assuming they didn’t just turn him down flat, and possibly curse him out for even suggesting it. At least he could say he had offered.

Instead, they momentarily froze, both of them.

Hisana frowned, her pretty forehead creasing. Byakuya had to admit, he was a bit confused as well.

Abarai recovered first. No, ‘recovered’ wasn’t the right word. Reacted, perhaps. “Aah, ahh, that’s very generous of you, Captain Kuchiki, but we’re real happy at the Eleventh! Career advancement is nice ‘n all, but it’s not for everyone! I mean, we both got nothing but admiration for the Sixth, a real model for the whole Gotei, as they say, but a coupla goons like us--”

“What are you doing?!” Inuzuri hissed at him frantically. “Did you hear what he just said, you moron? For years, since the Academy--”

“You know what, Rukia?” Abarai cut her off. He wasn’t exactly yelling, but his volume controls appeared to have been set too high. “I think you’re really getting ahead of yourself, as always! Trying to cut yourself the best deal, worryin’ about me! I think all this Inuzuri talk has you actin’ like a street rat again.”

Two bright spots appeared on Inuzuri’s cheeks.

“Your long-lost sister went to all this trouble t’find you, maybe you should just take a little time to get to know her before worryin’ about all this what’s gonna happen stuff!” Abarai plunked his cup down on the table and jerked his chin at Byakuya. “Pardon my impertinence, Captain Kuchiki, but maybe you and me oughtta get out of here and give our girls some space to say the things they gotta say to each other.”

Inuzuri’s mouth opened and then closed again.

“Hisana…” Byakuya said slowly, placing his hand on her arm.

“I think that might be a good idea,” Hisana said slowly.

“As you wish,” he replied.

Abarai was glaring sternly at Inuzuri, who was attempting, unsuccessfully, to evade eye contact with him. Finally, she gave off a huffy little sigh. “Fine,” she conceded. “But you better behave yourself. If this is an excuse to try to get Captain Kuchiki to fight you, I will never speak to you again, you hear me?”

“That’s a big, fat lie. You couldn’t go an hour without talking to me.” He tapped one big finger on the edge of her plate. “Eat your wagashi, dummy. They’re too good to waste.”

The only problem with this plan, Byakuya decided as they left the ladies to their conversation, was that now he had to find something to do with Abarai. They should stay nearby, he felt, in case Hisana changed her mind and wished for his return. It was a shame though, because his brain had rather latched onto the idea that Abarai thought himself worthy of crossing blades with the head of the Kuchiki. The young man was large, but he had probably never faced--

“Captain Kuchiki,” Abarai said breathlessly the moment he had shut the door behind them, “with all due respect, you cannot offer us spots at the Sixth.”

Byakuya blinked. “And why not?”

“Because Rukia will make us go.”

“Is there something you find objectionable about my division, Mr. Abarai?” Byakuya asked, frost curling around the edges of his words.

Abarai pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes for a moment and drew in a deep breath. “I am actually a huge fan of your division, sir, and that’s the problem. If you actually did pull our service records, you’d probably notice that I applied there out of the Academy.”

“My division takes very few new graduates,” Byakuya explained. “And those that are accepted are nearly always from families with long histories of Gotei service. I have high standards for my officers, and I am not fond of taking risks. There is no shame in having received a rejection. You have--”

“You misunderstand, sir. I got an offer. I turned it down.”

All the words flew out of Byakuya’s head. “You what?”

“It was my dream to join the Sixth, sir, and I know about your hiring practices. I didn’t really expect to get in. I just applied because… you know, nothing ventured an’ all.”

Byakuya was going to have a conversation with Shirogane the next time he managed to make it to the office. “So why did you reject our offer?”

Abarai appeared to be making a study of the rafters. “School, you see, wasn’t really Rukia’s strong point. She’s an amazing shinigami, even Captain Zaraki thinks so, but that stuff doesn’t always reflect in test scores, y’know? We weren’t real confident she was gonna get into the Gotei at all, to be honest. She was good at kidou, though, and she took the full healing track senior year, so we were pretty optimistic that she’d get an offer from the Fourth, which, as it turned out, she did.”

Byakuya raised one eyebrow, unable to see where this was going.

“We had some friends at school, really smart kids, Kira and Hinamori, who were gung-ho for the Fifth, so we applied there, too, and, well, we got in, all four of us.” Abarai sighed. “Nothing against the Fourth, sir, but it’s nobody’s first choice, y’know? The Fifth seemed like such a good opportunity, but it made Rukia nervous, see? She felt like it must’ve been a mistake or something. She wouldn’t have gone without me, she would have gone to the Fourth. So I… lied… and told her I didn’t get into the Sixth, but it was fine, we would all go to the Fifth together.”

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. “I fail to see what this has to do with present circumstances.”

“Well, suffice it to say, sir, the Fifth didn’t work out so good for us.”

“I spoke with Captain Aizen, actually. He seemed pleased enough with your job performance. I got the distinct impression that he would rehire you on the spot, if you asked him.”

Abarai’s face went stiff. “I would go back to Inuzuri before I would work for that guy for another minute.”

Byakuya found this a rather curious attitude and wanted to ask him more about it, but Abarai was already talking again. The fellow talked more than possibly anyone Byakuya had ever met, including the Eleventh’s oddly beautiful Fifth Seat.

“I’m sure you think the Eleventh is barely controlled chaos, sir, and to be honest, you’d be mostly correct, but some people thrive on chaos, and Rukia is one of ‘em. She’s become the person I always knew she could be. She’s fierce and brilliant and happy. She belongs there.”

“Then why would she wish to transfer?”

“Because she thinks I don’t. She still feels like she made me leave the FIfth, even though I hated it there, too. She always hints that maybe I ought to be training for the Vice-Captain’s exam like Iba, so I can be ready to apply for Lieutenant Shirogane’s spot when he retires, which I give roughly 7 to 10 years from now.”

“Excuse me, what?” Byakuya echoed.

“And obviously, it would be rad as Hell to be your second, you’re definitely the coolest captain and your swordsmanship is legendary, but I’m really just happy to be wherever Rukia is. I don’t want her to feel like she needs to go changing things on my account.”

Abarai appeared to finally be finished and Byakuya took a moment to process all of this. He was not sure anyone had ever unburdened themselves to him in such a fashion before, let alone someone he had met only a few hours ago. Nevertheless, there was something oddly endearing about Abarai. Perhaps it was his general air of utter earnesty, or perhaps it was the fact that Abarai’s entire dilemma revolved around the happiness of a young woman who appeared to have even more in common with Byakuya’s own wife than he had initially suspected.

“You do realize,” Byakuya said, attempting to sound not entirely unsympathetic, “that Miss Inuzuri’s life is about to change quite dramatically, regardless.”

Abarai rubbed the back of his neck glumly. “I guess you’re right.”

What a strange pile of contradictions this young man was! But despite his ostentatious presentation and his utterly bewildering priorities, Byakuya recognized in Abarai a potential ally. “I promised Hisana that we would offer Miss Inuzuri a place with our family, but she is under no obligation to take it,” Byakuya pointed out “We would never wish to disrupt your current felicitous situation.”

Abarai looked torn. “I think she should take the opportunity to try and get to know her sister, though. She’s never had a family before-- well, neither have I-- and I just think… well, it’s important.”

“Of course,” Byakuya agreed. “But I myself have wondered if perhaps the pressure of a public acknowledgement might do more harm than good. That perhaps keeping things… low-profile… at least until things are settled…might be more sensible.”

“Hmm,” said Abarai.

“It is very rare, I think,” Byakuya mused, “to find one’s proper place in Soul Society and to properly appreciate it. So many are fixated on advancement, when contentment is already within their grasp.”

Abarai’s face screwed up and Byakuya realized he must be having a thought. “I’m not sure ‘contentment’ is the thing we got at the Eleventh. Rukia’s challenging Kadokawa for Sixth Seat next week, which means I gotta fight the Hammerhead for Seventh, and that guy is a lot tougher than he looks, which is hard, because he already looks pretty tough.”

Byakuya just stared at him.

“But you’re right, we got a pretty good thing going. I really appreciate you saying that, actually. Ayasegawa said you might be-- well, what I mean is, he was concerned that you might not think much of us, coming from where we do and I’m glad he was wrong.”

Byakuya was beginning to get the feeling that he had made a horrible mistake.

Before he had much time to contemplate this, however, the shoji slid open, and Inuzuri stepped forth, supporting Hisana on her arm.

“Well, you gentlemen didn’t get far!” Hisana laughed.

“We had a good discussion,” Byakuya said, as if this explained anything.

“So did we,” Hisana replied, sounding very pleased. Despite himself, Byakuya couldn’t help feel his heart warm a bit at her happiness. “I’ve promised Rukia a tour of the armory. I don’t suppose you also like old swords, eh, Mr-- er, Renji?”

Abarai’s face positively lit up. “I sure do!”

“Excellent! I hope you’ll come, too, Byakuya, too. I’ll surely embarrass myself if I pretend like I know anything about swords.”

“Of course,” Byakuya agreed, as though he was going to let these two go anywhere near his ancestral weaponry unsupervised. “Have you reached any accords?”

“We also had a good discussion,” Hisana declared. “We have decided to proceed carefully.”

“Ah,” Byakuya replied as he and Abarai fell in step behind the women. “That seems very prudent.”

“Oi, Renji,” Inuzuri barked. “I might’ve invited Hisana and Byakuya over to ours this weekend. I also might’ve talked up your oden. You aren’t gonna make me a liar outta me?”

“Please don’t call me by my-- you’ve what?” Byakuya sputtered.

“I can make oden, no problem!” Abarai declared.

“Thanks, babe. I want to invite Yumichika and Ikkaku over, too. Hisana wants to throw us one of those formal engagement party things, and I thought maybe they could represent your side of the family, but I thought it would be good for everyone to meet first.”

“No,” said Byakuya.

“Aw, yikes, that’s a lot of oden. I might have to ask Hisagi if he can borrow one of his captains’ big cookpots for us. Are all those people gonna fit in our place?”

“It’ll be cozy, but we can make it work!” Inuzuri tipped her head backwards, presumably to look at Abarai, but Byakuya got the distinct impression she was actually looking at him. “After all, we’re family!”

#my writing #happy birthday rukia!#if some of byakuya's tactics seem inconsistent in this it's because my man is FLAILING #part 1 was for renji's bday and it ended up being mostly about rukia so i do not regret that this ended up focusing a bit too much on renji #renji is such a beautiful and precious himbo in this i couldn't help it #renji voice: damn byakuya the oxygen in this place is mad crisp

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jakob-alexander · 3 years

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Preparing crystals for a trip

While prepping for a trip away from home, I think about the different crystals I want to pack and may need to have a smooth trip. I always think about protection, but being able to carry conversations without snapping from being around people for over 24 hours is pretty important too. This list is just a general reference I can use to decide what to pack right before a trip. I trust my intuition and bring what feels right for what I hopefully could need.

After compiling a general list of any crystal I think I might need on a trip, I go through the categories and look for any stones that show up more than once. Usually while making these lists, and checking my references, I only refer to crystals I know I own, or that I know I have seen in shops in my area, so they aren’t too difficult for me to get ahold of.

General crystals for a trip:

Boredom; work with quartz, citrine, or spessartine

Luck; gypsum, moonstone, onyx, tier’s eye, and turquoise can tip the scales of luck to your favor

Restlessness; copper and manganoan calcite calm restlessness; ametrine and angel aura quartz promote peacefulness

Shopaholicsism; smoky quartz can ground you to recognize your basic needs and the changes to make to fulfil them

Snoring; place pyrite under your pillow

Travel worries; moonstone and turquoise calm anxieties and concerns related to journeys

Crystals for protection:

Awareness; idocrase brings danger in your surroundings to your awareness

Home protection while you’re away; heliodor will look after your belongings while you’re away; such as your family, car, pets, and home

Protection from physical violence; amber and jet to protect from physical violence

Protection from energy depletion; angel aura quartz, black obsidian, dalmatian stone, diamond, jade, kunzite, pyrite, spirit quartz, and tourmaline can protect your energies from others

Protection from negative energy/entities; jet and red jasper can help protect you from negative witchcraft; stibnite guards you from “evil spirits”; smoky quartz returns negative energy to the source

Travel protection; aquamarine protects travelers (especially on the water); moonstone, turquoise, and yellow jasper can help keep you safe on trips

Crystals for emotions:

Anger/ aggression; amethyst/ chalcedony for anger; amethyst, howlite, melanite, smoky quartz, or peridot to alleviate feelings of slight annoyance to total rage

Anxiety; aquamarine, amethyst, aventurine, citrine, and labradorite calm anxiety

Calming; hold orange calcite

Depression; garnet, gold, lapis lazuli, lepidolite, malachite, peridot, smoky quartz, or tiger’s eye

Inadequacy; rose quartz can help promote self-love, and sodalite soothes feelings of failure

Indecision; citrine, aventurine, topaz, mookaite, and amethyst can help stifle indecision

Insecurity; agate, angelite, aventurine, labradorite, and larvakite can promote feelings of security and protect your emotions

Nervous exhaustion; tourmalinated quartz releases nervous energy

Mental breakdowns; tourmaline can help ease a troubled mind, and ground you when it feels like all is falling apart

Panic attacks; when it feels like a panic attack is coming, hold a green calcite in your hands

PTSD symptoms; bowenite, garnet, yellow fluorite, gold, green fluorite, rhodochrosite, or coral can help alleviate symptoms of PTSD

PMS; chrysocolla, jade, kunzite, moonstone, and ruby can help soothe PMS symptoms

Crystals for controlling your energies:

Compulsive Behavior; chalcedony, lepidolite, or kunzite

Excess energy; hold fluorite, or orange calcite (wear for long term relief)

Lack of emotional stamina; okenite can keep one going when reaching exhaustion

Physical endurance; carry or wear halite, magnetite, malachite, meteorite, or sodalite

Sex drive; selenite to decrease, smokey quartz or black calcite to increase

Social skills; danburite and sardonyx can help while interacting with others

Crystals for sickness while away:

Air sickness; play with hematite + turquoise in your hands to increase touch contact

Bladder issues; wear amber, jade, or jasper to help with infections or incontinence

Appetite; carnelian to increase, apatite to decrease

Common cold; carry or wear carnelian, fluorite, jet, or topaz; green moss agate can help symptoms

Cramps; carry or wear aventurine, hematite, dalmatian jasper, lepidolite, or lodestone

Headache/migraines; hold amethyst to the painful areas; the darker the purple, the better

Insomnia; hold malachite, larvakite, or muscovite starting an hour before you want to sleep, then continue holding in bed; carry or wear amethyst, lapis lazuli, or sodalite in the evening to aid

Knee injury; hold apache tear or smoky quartz to the knee

Toothache; carry or wear amethyst, aquamarine, fluorite, howlite, or malachite to the skin near painful teeth

Smoky quartz is listed to help with over shopping, returning negative energy to its source, alleviating anger, and soothing depression. It is also a stone I know I have wire wrapped, ready to be thrown on a chain, so it’s likely I’m going to bring smoky quartz on this trip. Smoky quartz also helps alleviate knee pain, and it’s most likely I’ll be out in the cold doing physical activity, so I’d like to prepare for that.

Citrine is another stone listed more than a few times. It helps reign in boredom, calm your anxiety, and assist with indecision. So far, none of the properties have overlapped too much, and I have a pretty solid start for what I want to bring with me.

Amethyst gets mentioned a lot, being a stone that can help soothe anger and aggression, calm anxieties, aid indecision, as well as relieve migraines/headaches, insomnia, and toothaches. Should my other methods of getting me to sleep not work while I’m gone, I’m hoping some amethyst will.

Tourmaline seems like an important one for me, specifically to help ground me during any meltdowns, and protect my energies from those around me that may have much more drive and energy than I do.

Sodalite is probably the last crystal I would recall rewriting while compiling this list. It is said to help with soothing feelings of failure or inadequacy, nighttime insomnia, and physical endurance. Something else I can use to help soothe me when insecure, or unable to sleep, as well as push me to keep moving with the rest of the group.

It’s also important to have a crystal like selenite to charge and cleanse your crystals while away from home. Keeping their energies as clear as possible will help them work most efficiently for you. It is also important to tell your crystals what to do. I like to whisper to them before putting them in my pocket/bag/pouch.

#traveling with crystals #jakob's crystal LISTS #travel

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mae-gi-writes · 4 years

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Feux De Joies | Kevin (The Boyz Christmas Series)

La Joie de Noël Series : Feux De Joies [Kevin]

[ Feux De Joies: Bonfire. ]

Stories revolving around the small miracles of Christmas.

-----

Read more of La Joie De Noël Series here:

-❤-

Y/N and Kevin's relationship had never really been all love and warmth after he'd played a prank on her heart. Losing a bet required him to fake a confession of his love to her and while Y/N's heart had skipped a beat, the said young man had proceeded to giggle in her face before telling her that it was just a prank and, how could he even see her that way anyway? He was totally smitten with another classmate of theirs.

The mixture of embarrassment and shame and taken over Y/N's countenance and since that day, she had regarded Kevin as no more than an insect she wished to squish with her toe. Much to his displeasure, the pair had drifted apart mainly due to the girl pushing him away. Numerous times, he'd wished to ask her what was wrong, why she seemed so cold and distant but he'd never really had the chance.

The irony of the pair being invited to the same end-of-year Christmas bonfire made Y/N want to drop out at the very last minute. But her friends' incessant whining couldn't go unnoticed and she had finally relented with the condition that she wasn't to be left alone that night.

"I promise," her friend had pinky-sworn at Y/N's glare.

"You better mean that."

Despite Y/N's protests, the pair ended up getting a lift from Jacob and much to her surprise, she found the latter much easier to talk to. Maybe it was the lack of school setting that made it easier to detach stereotypes or maybe she was just in a great mood. In any case, by the time they had reached the beach and spotted the group of people crowded around what seemed to be a pile of branches, Y/N's mood had lifted considerably.

They had hung up a string of Christmas lights in the trees that circled the fire, giving the small area an ethereal, magical glow that made it seem like she had just stepped into a Christmas movie. It was just so beautiful, too beautiful to even keep being mad at someone. Plus, everyone was decked in their ugly Christmas sweaters and that alone was enough to turn this into a comedy.

"Hot choco?" One of their classmates held up two paper cups which they all accepted graciously. Y/N felt warmth spread through her palms and an unintentional smile lifted the corners of her lips.

After all, it couldn't be that bad. Right?

Wrong. A scowl dropped over her features the moment she laid eyes on a familiar face sitting across the bonfire. She looked away.

No, she told herself off adamantly. She was not going to let Kevin, of all people , ruin her mood.

That was what she kept at the back of her mind in a continuous wave of reminders as the sun set over the horizon and bathed the entire scenery in glimmering gold despite the cold spreading through their limbs. The group huddled in as the bonfire was lit, flaring orange and casting a warm glow over their bodies as marshmallows were passed around on sticks.

Y/N wasn't really sure, throughout the countless conversations and the lighthearted socializing, how she still ended up with Kevin sitting at her side. He was chatting idly with Jacob and when the latter spotted her face, sent her a casual wave.

Y/N waved back quite unsurely, hating how her stomach squirmed uncomfortably when Kevin's almond orbs flitted over her face.

"Hey," Kevin said as he plopped a marshmallow onto his stick and passed her the bag. Y/N had no choice but to take it almost reluctantly, "the bonfire's quite something huh?"

"If you say so," she mumbled and focused her attention on fiddling with her marshmallow stick.

"Y/N, I thought you hated sweet things," Jacob's voice chimed in.

"Today's an exception," the said girl stuck her tongue out at him, causing Jacob to chuckle.

Kevin's eyes swept back and forth between the two, "since when do you two know each other?"

"Oh just now. We spoke on the way here," Jacob then nudged the skinny raven-haired man, "why? Jealous?"

"Me?" Kevin spluttered and if Y/N had looked away a second too early, she wouldn't have gotten the satisfaction of noticing the heat lighting up his entire face. And she was pretty certain that was not a result of the bonfire heat.

A nudge on her shoulder brought her attention back to her friend who asked "do you know where the toilets are?"

"Uhm, I don't think there are any toilets...You'll have to go pee in nature or something."

Her friend's horror was written all over her face and though Y/N had insisted on accompanying her, Jacob jumped up at the chance, sending Y/N a wink which suggested that there was much more to friendship in his gentlemanly intentions.

She watched the pair go, a frown shadowing her face as she questioned whether that was a good idea.

Kevin seemed to read her mind, "don't worry. Jacob's a good guy. He won't do anything."

"Makes me wonder why he's friends with you," she shot back without missing a beat. Her eyes quickly flitted to his own Christmas sweater -- a vivid white that had olaf’s face printed on the front, his orange nose jolting out and dangling.

Why the fuck did he still look that good?

Kevin wasn't hurt though, throwing her a grin instead, "always the charmer, aren't you? It's been a while since we spoke. Why's that?"

"I wasn’t the one busy trying to woo the pants off Seulgi."

"Woah there tiger," he blinked, "where did that come from?"

She twirled her stick through the flames, now glad that the darkness enveloped most of her features, "I thought you liked her. That's the only thing I remember from our past conversations."

"Oh gosh," He chuckled softly while taking a bite of his marshmallow, "well, there's a lot of catching up to do."

Despite her initial desire to stay away from the said young man with the piercing almond eyes and the beautiful raven-coloured hair that made her fingers itch with the desire of running them through his locks, conversation flowed as easily as water and as the night gave way to the moon and stars glittering across the night sky, she found herself falling into that familiar memory of sharing secrets and stories with Kevin, remembered how it felt to have him make her giggle with his lame jokes and with his never ending list of puns. It was as if nothing had changed and she hadn't realized the way her heart summersaulted in her chest with every smile, every chance his eyes met hers, until a hand landed atop her shoulder.

She jolted, gaze fluttering up at her friend who had a knowing look in her eyes, with Jacob was close behind.

"I thought we were supposed to stay together," her friend chided, though there was a mischievous smile on her face.

"I--I was waiting for you!" Y/N stuttered out, "where did you go anyway?"

And that was when she noticed their entwined hands. Everything clicked, fell into place. The girls' eyes met with silent understanding before Kevin cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess we'll leave you two to it," he grinned and before Y/N knew it, his arm was had shot out and was dragging her away from the pair, away from the bonfire into the darkness.

The cold was instantaneous, taking hold of her limbs and freezing them over as soon as it engulfed her figure in its icy grip. She shivered and pulled her jacket close, trying to gather as much heat by tucking her hands into her armpits.

Kevin probably noticed, for his arm gingerly went around her shoulder to pull her close.

She swallowed thickly upon feeling his warmth envelope her side. This was not in the plan! Her subconscious mind screamed, you were supposed to stay away from him because he played your heart like an old guitar that he then tossed away!

It wasn't his fault per se. Y/N knew that much. In fact, she blamed herself the most. For she wouldn't have been so hurt, so offended, if she hadn't had any inkling of romantic feeling towards the said man.

But here she was, falling over for him once again.

That was the thing with Kevin. One could fall for him as easily as breathing.

"Kev? Where are we going?" Y/N blurted out in attempt to hide how uncomfortable she felt. Her hands fisted into her ugly sweater sleeves, hiding her sweat-coated palms.

"Uh, I don't know actually. My only intention was to get away from them," he chuckled, which reverberated through her own body, "seems like Jacob got what he wanted."

"I knew he was after her. It was so obvious," As the pair kept on walking through the dark, Y/N's head lifted to gaze up at the night sky glittering with stars.

Kevin's soon followed, "I remember him telling me to specifically back off when the deed was done."

"Asking a girl out right after she peed in the words doesn't seem that romantic to me though."

"Oh," his nose crinkled, "you're right. It's not. Oh my god, they held hands right after--"

"She didn't even wash her hands."

They looked at each other for a few beats of silence before bursting out laughing, the sound rippling through the dark depths of night as they tried not to topple over each other as they bent to hold their stomachs.

"That--" Kevin heaved to catch his breath, "that is gross."

"Hope Jacob's not germophobic."

They proceeded to grin at each other like naughty schoolchildren sharing sneaky secrets and Y/N swore her heart skipped a beat whenever her dark brown met his obsidian depths. She'd be lying to say that there wasn't the faintest lingering affection in her heart for the said young man, especially when her entire body seemed to follow along to his every move as though he had her trapped in a trance.

It was only when Kevin's grin faltered into an unsure smile as they gazed at each other for a little too long, that Y/N quickly turned her head away, clearing her throat.

"Wanna hear a scary story?” Kevin piped up as they kept on walking, not realizing that they were drifting further and further away from the glowing Christmas lights.

Y/N looked up at him from her small nestled space he’d created with his shoulder, “we’re celebrating Christmas. Not Halloween.”

“I promise you that has nothing to do with either of them.”

“Alright then,” she paused, “shoot.”

“Well,” his voice dropped to a murmur, which caused a shiver to tingle up her spine, “apparently there was a pregnant woman who was running away from her husband. She came into these woods and gave birth to her baby. But then, something weird happened during the night. Nobody knows what happened to her. But the baby was found a few days later,” he paused for dramatic effect, “weird you know? Considering that it’s a newborn baby that wouldn’t have lived in such circumstances. So he --it was a boy -- he got adopted, grew up to be a fine young man. But that’s not the point.”

She knew, deep down, that this was only a story to scare her off. But she couldn’t help but ask what happened to the mother.

“Nobody knows where the mother went. But then one night, on that same night she apparently disappeared, a group of friends came camping. Just to have fun. One of them had to go pee at night,” his voice lowered dangerously, captivating Y/N’s ultimate attention, “when she went in the bushes, she felt someone standing behind her. So...she turned, and then--”

Crack!

“Holy shit!”

That was Kevin, who had literally jumped into her arms without thinking at the weird noise that bustled behind them.

“Kevin!” Y/N cried, before bursting out laughing at how he’d scared himself, “oh my god, you’re such a coward!”

“Wha--That was not in the plan!” He whined, voice muffled against her shoulder. He pulled back with an annoyed face when noticing that there was barely any hint of fear on hers, “why aren’t you scared?” he pokes your sides.

“Because I have more sense than that.”

“You’re so annoying.”

“At least I’m not a coward.”

He leaned closer, “I’m not a coward.”

“You’re the one who got scared,” her chin tilted up adamantly.

“That’s not the point.”

"Then what is?"

"This."

And in a split second, his mouth was on hers.

Hands clasped her jaw as Kevin moved in closer, lips moving softly against hers as if he knew exactly what he was doing. Surprised, Y/N's own lips parted and he took this chance to kiss her a little deeper, teeth sinking down onto her lower lip and making a small gasp fall from her voicebox. Her shaky hands clasped onto his shirt while his twined around her waist, tugging her close so that his warmth enveloped her completely like a wave of dizzy euphoria, sensual waters that Y/N didn't mind getting drowned in.

She had no idea what she was doing, no idea why the heck she wasn't pushing him away like she was supposed to.

It was almost on instinct that her body pressed even closer if that was possible, causing a soft grunt to echo out of Kevin's chest. His hands skimmed over her backside, left a series of sensual heat that left her dizzy with want. And just when Y/N thought she couldn't take anymore, his tongue joined in, turning her into a gasping mess.

She whimpered, that mere sound enough to prompt Kevin's hands to tangle through her hair and tilt her hwad back, lips locking with better access and her legs turning to jelly with each searing touch he imrpinted on her, with each caress of his tongue that rendered her mad with temptation.

Lights suddenly blared through the dark.

The two jumped apart, chests heaving, as they looked up at the christmas lights dangling from the row of trees surrounding them.

"Eric!" Kevin yelled with slight exasperation as a head popped out from behind a tree.

The said young man named Eric smiled at them sheepishly, "sorry, why are you even here?"

"I was trying to confess!" The heat of Kevin's cheeks seemed even brighter red in the glow of the christmas lights and Y/N couldn't help but laugh at how embarrassed he looked. Without a second to waste, Kevin's fingers laced with her own before he tugged her away from the now illuminated tier of blinding lights, ensuring that they were well away from prying eyes before he swivelled around so abruptly she almost bumped into his chest.

"Okay so, that-- that clearly did not go as expected," he started pacing around like an unappeased tiger while his hands fisted through his locks, and if Y/N's own mind wasn't as scrambled with the memory of Kevin's lips tingling across her own, she would've laughed at how comical he looked.

"Look, Y/N," he halted, facing her and grabbing on to her shoulders as his words spilled in a rush, "If you don't like me, just tell me because otherwise I'm gonna kiss you."

He was so close, only holding on to her shoulders and yet her body yearned to melt into him as though his mere existence was made out of desire. When his dark orbs found hers, glimmering with a tenderness, with a genuine warmth that caused air to constrict through her throat, she did nothing but swallow as she decided to play out her fate.

He searched her face for any clues, with an intensity that made her heart practically jump out of her chest. But still, she stayed quiet as she held his gaze with a burst of naked courage.

Then, gentle warm hands came up to cup her face, and just as his mouth brushed hers, he breathed, "I guess you do."

And he kissed her once more, fully claiming her lips as his own just like he claimed her heart. A kiss that the girl gave into as though she had never planned to fight, arms circling his neck to pull him down, closer, chest to chest, mouth parting with a small gasp that he stole just like he did with her heart.

The moon glimmered, bathing their figures in a silvery light as they slowly lost themselves into each other, leaving the bonfires and the Christmas lights behind.

-❤-

Mae’s note: SURPRISE SURPRISE!

For this Christmas, I’ve decided to write small drabbles involving TBZ because this year has been their year really (Kevin moon stole my heart). I hope you like it! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist xxx

More coming soon! Hope you enjoyed this one!

As usual I just go all out when it comes to Kebin i mean HOW CAN I NOT AFTER THEIR MAMA STAGE RIGHT?????

Anyway, stay safe and stay healthy everyone ❤

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isitbussinjanelle · 3 years

Text

Raya and the princesses (This is a modern AU)

“Alright, follow me you two.”

A storm trooper leads Namaari, and Raya threw the business of ‘Oh My Disney!’. With Raya and Namaari being the newest Disney princesses, they now had to accompany the other prior princesses in their dressing room for online Disney events. For Raya, this experience was out of this world. With the song ‘Let it Go’ playing in the background while Star Wars ships zoom across the sky along with dumbo, she was overwhelmingly excited. She felt like a kid in a Candy store.

For Namaari however, this was something she struggled to find enjoying. Namaari loves peace and quiet when she has it and will often spend her time reading a book or reading a Fang legend to a bunch of Fang children when she doesn’t have sparring sessions or piles and piles of Fang documents and contracts to sign. Namaari followed alongside the storm trooper while keeping her hands very close to her sides to avoid touching one of the happy square-headed people roaming around. Namaari also happened to be claustrophobic, so this wasn’t helping whatsoever. But when Namaari took one glance at Raya beaming with enjoyment and her eyes glowing, she decided that maybe enjoying her time there wouldn’t be terrible.

“OMG NAMI!!” Raya yelped. Nami was one of Raya’s many nicknames for the fang princess.

“What? What is it?” Namaari said frantically.

“It’s THE buzz light year! THE BUZZ LIGHT YEAR NAMI! Can we please go say hi? I wanna give him my best impression of himself,” Raya said with pleading eyes.

With Namaari being Namaari, she obviously couldn’t say no, because its Raya for Christ sake.

“Ofco-,”

“No. You both are already late for preparation for the ‘Which Disney princess are you’ quizlet. Let’s go.” Barked the storm trooper. Damn, who spit in your congee? Raya wondered.

Raya looked back at Namaari with a, can you believe this asshat, Kind of look. Pursed her lips and rose her shoulders in a, it is what it is, kind of look. Namaari and Raya were great at reading each other like this. They did it all the time when they had fights.

After a few more stops with Raya’s stalling, and more of the storm troopers eyerolling (which you couldn’t tell because of his helmet but it was obvious), they eventually made it too the ‘cast members only’ section. There they found Nick wild, Grumpy the dwarf, tinker bell, and hei hei.

“Ahh ha ha, so these must be the new princesses,” Nick walks towards the trio of the storm trooper and the Kumandran princesses. His words trail off as he looks at them both up and down.

“I gotta ask- no poofy dresses? Whats that all about?” Nick asks, direction his attention towards raya, then Namaari.

“Nah, dresses make it way harder to beat Nami at sparring,” Raya responds as she shifts her wight to her right leg and crosses her arms in a cool way.

“Please- like you’ve ever beaten be binturi,” Namaari blushes and mimics rayas arm cross. Nick gags at the mini flirting session.

“well, gotta hand it to ya princess- I think I like you more without the dress. I guess I owe Flash 10 bucks.” Nick says as he sticks a lollipop in his mouth and puts his shades on and walks away.

“Did a fox just try and flirt with me?” Raya laughed. Namaari was a little mad that anyone except her would talk to Raya flirtatiously, but brushed it off.

“You two are running short on time. You, go through that door, and you through that one.” The storm trooper points at two doors that are directly across the hall from each other. Namaari and Raya find this odd, especially because they’re both princesses- shouldn’t they be in the same room?

Namaari goes off through her door while Raya is ushered by the Storm trooper to go through hers.

“What an ass.” Raya mumbled to herself.

The Moment Raya looks up, she is bombarded with the smell of perfume, and sweet sounds of angelic singing. Raya looks around at the beautifully designed room. She stares over at the other women in the room, primping each other’s hair or mingling amongst themselves. She straightens her hat. She saw one princess playing jump rope with two others. But the jump rope was…hair? Raya was confused. Raya begins to “walk” over too where the other princesses are but struggles to actually move her legs because she’s not great with people. Especially because she hasn’t had much interaction with them for 6 years. She starts rehearsing in her head good things to say to someone, like compliments, and asking, “How’s the weather today?”. Small talk. Raya hated the concept.

She eventually builds up the courage to stop standing in her own embarrassment and walk over to the princess area but fails as she lands back first on the floor. She slipped in something.

The princesses immediately notice this because Raya was quite dramatic about her fall when she did. She groaned in agony as a beautiful princess rushed towards her.

“Oh! Are you okay? I am truly sorry. Raja must have peed on the floor again. Bad kitty!” The princess scolds her giant cat- tiger that lays on the long blue couch. He cocks his head in confusion when he heard his name. He ignores her and licks his left paw.

“OMG. Are you the new princess? Guys! She’s the new princess!” Another princess rushes over. This girl has wet curly hair with a black and white pig by her side. All of the other princesses file in over Raya. They all begin to clap whilst a princess begins to sing angelically in celebration.

“FINALLY! I’ve been waiting for another badass warrior chick to show up. Sick sword girl! Where’d you get it” A girl with short straight black hair grabs raya by the arm and walks with her around the room.

“oh- thanks! It belongs to my Ba.” Raya says as the puts one arm behind her head in nervousness.

“Whats a Ba-“ A princess with long read hair and rosy cheeks asks with a head cock. She’s cut off by the next princess.

“Holy crap! How are you’re arms so muscly??” One of the princesses asks as she squishes raya’s biceps, which makes her highly uncomfortable. Raya begins to back away from the large crowd of girls- which was a mistake.

“Um- yeah I guess so…you should see My girlfr-“ Raya is cut off when she trips over something on the ground and lands on something warm and fury- Raja.

Raja growls and purrs at raya, but then begins to lick her because he senses her fear. Raya leaps up.

“Gah! Don’t hurt me orange serlot!” Raya exclaims as the goes into the sideways feat position on the ground.

“Raja, play nice!” Jasmine says. Raya couldn’t tell it was here as she was rolled up for the sake of her life.

“What’s a serlo-“The same princess from earlier who asked what a Ba was asked. Shes interrupted once more once an unexpected guest makes an appearance.

“Ride Like the wind ya big fur-bug!” A girl with curly red hair flys’ around the room on- Tuk Tuk? He was here! Meredith nocks over a bunch of chairs and startles Raja.

“Fur-bug? TUK TUK!” Raya gets up in relief to finally see a familiar face- a face with a big wet nose. Tuk Tuk stops rolling and galops over to Raya, much to Meredith’s disappointment. All of the other princesses share an “aww” as Raya nuzzles Tuk Tuk with her nose.

“Boo! I was having fun ey? He sure is quite a ride tho. Ought to give the lad that.” Meredith said as she shoulders bumped Aurora. Aurora clears her throat and steps away from Meredith slightly.

“Glad to see you bud!” Raya said. All of the other princesses gather around Raya and tuktuk, who are still near the door. She never got to get fully settled in after being bombarded with questions and perfume.

“Now lady’s, I think it’s about time we all gave the new gal a proper introduction.” Tiana says with her hands on her hips, gesturing her statement towards Mulan and Cinderella, who were the main ones who asked Raya questions. They both giggle in agreement.

All of the princesses introduce themselves and show raya their power if they have one, or just tell her about their past and how they became royalty. Raya listens to each of them in awe but gets distracted during a few of the short speeches only to be wondering how Namaari was doing in the other room. She hoped Namaari was okay. They last few minutes mostly consisted of years and uh-huhs from Raya’s side as she listened to all of the princesses’ backstories. After a while, the very last princess told Raya about her backstory.

“And that’s how I saved the world with my good friend Maui, shape shifter, demigod of the wind and- “Moana goes on but gets cut off.

“Okay but for real, for once just say Maui and drop the formalities.” Anna groaned with impatience as she twirled her red strands of hair.

“Hey, I gotta give my man his credit. Put some respect on his name, you know?” Moana says all hyped up. Mulan screams “PERIOD” from across the room as she sharpens her sword. Pocahontas rolls her eyes at the childish ness.

“Period is so old now Mulan- no one says it anymore,” Pocahontas says.

“You right you right… SHEEEEEEESH” Mulan says as she connects two fingers to the crease of her forearm. She bits her lips and widens her leg stance. Moana dies of laughter at this.

“Maui does that all the time and its so fricking annoying,” Moana says. Raya laughs at all of this; she felt like she almost found her place. Raya loved making others laugh and enjoyed doing it in the form of 10-year-old boy humor. She was glad that these girls matched her energy.

“Guy’s, were kinda getting off track- New girl. How did you become a Disney princess? Who’s your prince? Or were you already born into nobility?” Tiana asks as she brushed Rapunzel’s long gold strands.

Raya pursed her lips. She hated speaking in front of large crowds. She was never the best at presenting school projects in her child days and doesn’t enjoy it now either. One of the many reasons why she is in no hurry to become Chief of Heart. Raya suddenly notices all eyes on her. Oh shit, they actually want me to speak? Fuck no-

“Um…” Raya starts. “Well, I guess I was born into nobility. My father is chief of my homeland Heart, a land in Kumandra,” she said nervously as she looked down and played with dead skin on her finger.

“And as for a prince- I don’t have one? I have a girlfriend named Namaari whos’ a princess of Fang, another land in Kumandra…” Raya noticed all of the princesses staring at her in awe and interest. Even belle put down her book once the Heart land princess mention a female love interest.

“Yeah…We kind of went from enemies to lovers. She sorts of stabbed me in the back when we were kids and caused our world to face 6 years of apocalypse,” Raya Gained some confidence s=once she realized her audience was enjoying her story. “But eventually I had to realize that maybe putting my faith in Namaari was the only thing that could save us. Kumandra. When the druun, which was the cause of the apocalypse, was closing in on me, Namaari, a baby named Noi, A buff winter soldier named Tong, and one hell of a cook named Boun, I decided that the only way to get us out of there was to use the one thing sisu wanted us to do; trust each other. I put my faith in Namaari, and she came through. And she has ever since.”

Raya finished. She looked around to see the other princesses gathers around her on their stomachs with their chins on their hands like little preschoolers.

“Woah.” They all said.

“Damn girl! That’s some powerful shit!” Mulan said as the rapped an arm around Raya’s shoulder in approval. Mulan was slightly taller that Raya, about Namaari’s height. Raya smiled sweetly as the other princesses Hollard in agreement.

“So how did you find all of these people? Noi, Tong, all of them?” Jasmine asked. She was sitting on her magic carpet with Raja purring by her side.

“Oh! I kinda scooped them up with me along the way. You see, I had to travel to each of the four kingdoms, Fang, Talon, Spine, and Tail to get these gem pieces that would save the world. I found Boun in Tail- He was my getaway driver-“

“From whom? Were the druun chasing you?” Elsa asked eagerly.

“Namaari. Namaari was chasing after me because…Actually, I had no idea why. Before she was chasing me, I had just gotten a Gem piece from Tail. Namaari showed up out of no where all of a sudden and mention something about the dragon scroll that I stole from Fang, which was useless to her which makes me wonder why she needed it; She was also holding my hair pin which is also kinda odd- “

“I KNOW WHY! SHE LOVED YOU RAYA WERE YOU BLIND? WHY ELSE WOULD SHE KEEP YOUR HAIR PIN THINGY?” Belle jumped up in excitement. She felt like this was some kind of good book.’

“Nah, it wasn’t love. I think Namaari wanted to get RIPPED TONIGHT-“Mulan shouted as the fake flexed her arms.

“RIP THAT PUSSY AYYEE!” Moana moved her arms and hips to copy the Tiktok trend. Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned at the immaturity. Raya was Hot red and covered her face to hide it- did Namaari actually like her at the time? I guess it would make sense, seeing as how Namaari always called her Dep la, which meant strangely beautiful.

“Ladies! Let her finish!” Tiana snapped. Raya could tell that Tiana was the mom of the group.

“Anywas, after I found Boun in Tail, I picked up baby noi in Talon, where she conned me- she faked cried so she could steal my gem piece,” Raya shook her head in laughter at the memory.

“That baby new what was up.” Pocahontas chimed in.

“I eventually caught her and her gang of Ongis and helped her earn some honest loot by helping me get the gem piece from the chief of Talon.” Raya concluded.

“We took Noi with us and went to spine, where tong captured me and sisu, and the gem pieces. Tuk tuk, Boun, Noi and the Ongis thankfully came to our rescue, but that was exactly when Namaari showed up in spine.” Raya said.

“Yes! More Namaari moments! Did you guys kiss?” Moana asked eagerly.

“Oh, they totally did more than that moana.” Mulan said with her eyebrows quirked and her arms crossed.

“Shut up! We didn’t do anything! She actually beat my ass.” Raya should choose better wording.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” All of the princesses squealed, except for Meredith, who was busy trying to stop tuk tuk from eating cold beignets Tiana had made so they could go on another joyride.

“NO WAY. NO WAY. YALL DID? SHE DID? PERIOD NAMAARI AHHHH YESSSS!!” Mulan was jumping on the couch in happiness. Raya was blushing so hard that she had steam coming out of her ears.

“Uh, g-guys? If “Beat my ass” means what I think it means, then I think Eric might have beaten mine last night…” Ariel said with a blush. Mulan, moana and Pocahontas had their jaws wide open. Cinderella had her hand over her mouth to try and hold back her laugh.

“ARIEL! YOU NAUGHTY GIRL! I DIDN’T KNOW ERIC HAD IT LIKE THAT! WAS IT GOOD THOUGH?” Moana asked loudly, hoping eric would hear from across the hall. Ariel nodded. Ariel was known at the innocent one of the groups, so this was a huge shock to everyone.

“Same Ariel! Naveen gave it to me good last night if you know what I’m saying…” Tiana said as she poked her lips out. Moana and Mulan couldn’t help but squeal. Raya was on the ground dying laughing with Pocahontas at what Tiana said.

For the next few minutes, the girls all went on rants about their sex life, except for the ones with know love interest. They laughed a whole lot that day. Raya felt lightheaded the entire time she was there due to laughing.

Eventually, the girls decided to settle down and all watch the Lion king. Mulan made the popcorn, while Belle gathered the drinks. Raya had never seen the lion king before because this was her first time actually watching a movie with friends. The movie was great, but the loud commentary about the movie made by mostly moana and Mulan was even better, and the other princess agreed to this with laughter. During the Hakuna Matata scene, Mulan played Timone, and Moana was Pumba, while Raya tried her best to copy Simba’s lines for the mini skit.

“WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG WART HOG,” Mulan sang badly.

“WHEN I WAS A YOUNG WART HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGGGG!” Moana sang worse, which made the other princesses laugh.

The other princess enjoyed this. Raya didn’t that much, because she had to eat jello and pretend it was the bug Simba ate in the movie.

“WHAT IS THIS TEXTURE?” Raya shouted with a mouth full of goo. Jasmine died laughing from Raya’s response, along with Aurora.

“EAT IT YOU PUSSY!” Mulan shouted, breaking character.

All of the girls got emotional during the, can you Feel the Love tonight song. The all sang in harmony, except for raya because she didn’t know the song. Raya did however cry during the scene where Simba and Scar fought on pride rock and Simba almost died multiple times.

“NO NOT SIMBA!” Raya shouted at the screen.

“Don’t worry, he lives.” Meredith shouted from across the room, still trying to get tuk tuk up.

Raya Couldn’t help but enjoy the time she had they’re with the princesses. She felt at home. Obviously not like Kumandra, for that will always be her home, but she felt like she found her people. Namaari usually tool Raya’s jokes to seriously, or just pinched her the bridge of her nose and chuckle when Raya mad 10-yearold boy humor. Raya was just finally glad to find some girls who were wild like her.

After the movie ended, the girls clapped and cheered.

“Hey, didn’t when have a Disney princess quizlet to attend?” Elsa asked. Everyone else shrugged and ignored it. They actually didn’t have anything to attend, because as we know, ralph broke the internet, so nobody was able to go online and take the quiz.

“Quick question for you Raya- Is Boun Single, I mean, a man that can cook; that’s what I need” Moana said as she pointed to nothing.

“Preach.” Mulan commented.

“MOANA BOUN IS 10- DID I KNOW MENTION THAT?!” Raya said. All of the other girls busted out laughing.

“…I mean…A six year age difference is that-“

“MOANA OF MOTONUI!” Tiana shouted as she threw a pillow at moana. The other girls couldn’t help but laugh. Raya was going to have a fun time with these girls.

Credit: @gioistrying

#incorrect ratld #namaari #moana #mulan #Raya and the last dragon #raya x namaari #raya incorrect quotes #rayamaari #ratld raya #raya fanfic #wreck it ralph

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coepiteamare · 3 years

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catch up tag games

i love tag games, but i haven’t been around, so things have piled up. in a frantic attempt to do everything AND not spam the dash, i’ve (once again) compiled.

tagging (if you haven’t done it and if you want to): everyone tagged below + @monvante @cutechim @augustbutwinter @propinqxity @hansolmates @zibermuda

10 questions

Tagged by @triviafics

rules: answer 10 questions and tag 10 people you want to get to know better!

relationship status: single. painfully single

favorite color: pink and blue!

three favorite foods: tacos, creme brulee, honey lavender ice cream

song stuck in my head: levitating by dua lipa (yes i’m late to the party)

last song I listened to: it’s okay if you forget me by astrid s

last thing I googled: ...barbie movie with the weasel

time: 8:46pm

dream trip: visiting all my friends (irl and online), south korea at one point

anything I really want: for my loved ones to be okay. to be happy.

WIP FOLDER TAG

tagged by: @bratkook @joonscore @triviafics @dinamitae @underthejoon @jinpanman

rules: post the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. then let people send asks with the title that most intrigues/interests them and you’ll post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it!

1) favourite crime - jk x oc

2) dreamwalkers - jk x dreamwalker!oc

3) maybe the sea calls you (the way you call me) - jk x mermaid!oc

4) the day the world stood still - taehyung x oc

5) the dictionary of lovers - jk x oc

6) untitled, (things you didn’t say at all) - namjoon x acrobat!oc

7) welcome to wonderland (we’re all mad here) - yoongi & jungkook x alice!oc

8) turn back (look how far we’ve come) - jk x oc

the “butter” song challenge!

tagged by @triviafics @opaljm

choose five songs that spell out the word BUTTER and link them, then tag 5 mutuals or the last 5 people in your notifications.

B - brutal by olivia rodrigo

U - urs by niki

T - true crime by epik high

T - the same by ashe

E - ex by kiana lede

R - rain by bts

Zodiac This or That ✨

clean ones here!

tagged by: @triviafics

Sagittarius (sun): Teal or Purple. Topaz or Turquoise. Dandelion or Daffodil. Ginseng or Cilantro. Horse or Stag/Buck. Plane ride or Road trip. Learn Hindi or Learn Japanese. Ginger or Wasabi. Climbing or Snowboarding. Teleportation or Super Speed. Carnival or Circus. Sake or Tequila. Duffel Bags or Suitcases. Time Manipulation or Basic Precognition. Tambourine or Triangle. Backpacking or Whitewater rafting. Aquarius or Libra.

Virgo (moon): Navy Blue or Olive Green. Peridot or Sardonyx. Peony or Sweet Pea. Hops or Rosemary. Chess or Checkers. Carrot Cake or Fig Bar/Cakes/Cookies. Knitting or Crocheting. Grammar Checking/Quality Assurance or Critiquing a piece of work. Golf or Tennis. Buttercups or Morning Glory. Herbs magic or Earth and plant bending. Mice or Bees. Cabernet Frank or Micro-brews. Enchanted Garden or Magic that can perfect skills. Bunnies or Deer. Cancer or Scorpio.

Leo (rising): Gold or Orange. Cat’s Eye or Ruby. Sunflower or Marigold. Aniseed or Elderflower. Oranges or Peaches. Dance or Theater. Cosplay or Creating Fan Fiction. Sunbathing or Hot Stone Massage. Light Magic or Magical Statues/Monuments. Saxophone or Trumpet. Chardonnay or Gin. Super Strength or a Power like Occlumency. Lions or Tigers. Being a Queen/King or Having Immortality. Being the hero or Being the headliner. Tickle or Pillowfight. Libra or Gemini.

This or That

tagged by: @triviafics (lol i love you isi)

love at first sight or slowly growing fond of someone? love letters or mixtapes? hand kisses or kisses on the cheeks? understanding each other without words or finishing each others sentences? gazing into each other’s eyes or looking away blushing? longing to be with someone again or spending every second together? laughing together or crying together? someone run their fingers through your hair or gently playing with your hand? surprise kisses or long tight hugs?

check-in tag!

tagged by: @yeojaa

1. why did you choose your url?

coepi te amare means i have begun to love you in latin. i first heard it from a rixythewraith ff with double b and i’ve used it in a lot of things ever since.

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them

estbellumsacrum - my personal. there’s just a lot of art and things that are too sad to be here.

3. how long have you’ve been on tumblr?

uhm i had my first tumblr in 2014? in 10th grade. but this one, i made in January 2020.

4. do you have a queue tag?

yup! exqueue you

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

i started writing fanfics in highschool, but stopped. i wanted a way to keep myself writing and accountable and motivated, so i started this!

6. why did you choose your icon?

because i love jungkook. hehe

7. why did you choose your header?

because i love him. but also, it looks kind of whimsical and magical.

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

uhm probably “you have (1) new voicemail”

9. how many mutuals do you have?

i have no idea tbh

10. how many followers do you have?

300 something!

11. how many people do you follow?

233

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

uhm not on here, but yes. yes i have

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

uhhh i used to be on it consistently. now a days, maybe once or twice a day?

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

not to my knowledge!

15. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

i feel a lot. i’m not just going to reblog things for the sake of reblogging, especially when i’m not educated on the topic and could be spreading false information. when i think it’s important, i’m going to do my research and educate myself. i do understand the importance of signal boosting, so i can understand where the “you NEED to reblog” part comes from, but at the end of the day, social media is also (especially tumblr) a form of escape. let people have whatever blogs they want, as long as they’re not hurting or harming anyone.

16. do you like tag games?

yuh

17. do you like ask games?

yes yes yes

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

uhhhh tbh, everyone? all of my mutuals are really talented, and i think all of them deserve the world. but uhm...i asked my friend who doesn’t have a writing blog on tumblr and she knows @underthejoon and @bratkook

19. do i have a crush on a mutual?

don’t we all? (but in all honesty, she inspired “love letters i cannot send”)

#tag games with violet #violet thoughts on the horizon

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wu-sisyphus-gang · 3 years

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Motion Sickness Chapter 32

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I chased Ruby's bottom lip with hunger and she rolled her fingers through my hair. She giggled against my lips as I sighed in pleasure at the touch of her small hands.

I pinned her down against my unkempt bed with a vigor that made her roll her pelvis up at me and I growled.

"You rascal ." I broke off the kiss to look her in the eye but her grey gaze just seemed to say 'who, me?'

Yes you. If it wasn't you, then who?

I ran one frustrated hand under her body and along her back, pulling her close to me. I slid under her shirt and I bodily picked her up off the bed and held her against me as I devoured her lush, full lips with some savagery.

I touched the whole of her curved back with my arm and she heaved up into me with heavy breaths. Her skin just felt so fantastic against my own as I cradled the whole of her small form against my larger one. She let out another noise, one that made me feel like a demigod and she breathed out my name with a tiny mewl.

"Oh, Jaune..."

It left her pink lips like a prayer and I dove back upon them with my own.

It had been weeks since I'd held her so close. It had been weeks since we'd been able to share more than parting looks and careless touches. I could feel her want against my own in a steady rhythmic pulse which only sped up over time. She flushed as red like the tips of her hair as I chased her tongue around her mouth. Then she suddenly closed her lips and sucked on my tongue gently in a way that made my chest heave. It made me throb for her.

Our teeth met briefly and savory, softly clicking together when I deepened our kiss. She moaned, a low sound in her throat I wouldn't have thought the young woman capable of making. It only made me want to devour her flesh more. I kissed down her neck and over her jaw line until I arrived at the dimple in her collar and sucked against her supple skin.

So great was my hunger as I knelt between her legs that I nearly left behind hickies and marked her smooth flesh with my possessiveness. I had to remember not to mark her as she grabbed my face in her arms and moaned again. Gods I would do so fucking much just to hear her moan like that. That was why I did what I did. This is what I fought for. It nearly made the weeks of passing touches worth the wait just to hear her cry out quietly and writhe against the sheets.

Our aura's merged and flared like touching candle flames and she hissed beneath me, clawing against my shirt, just searching for purchase. She rubbed against the massive scars the Scorpion had left along my chest and I moaned loudly, almost a deep grunt. Red mixed with gold and flickers of blue flame. Crimson petals drifted from the air around us as the heat of our moment intensified.

Her legs tried in vain to wrap around my waist but my frame was too wide to allow that. She gave a little noise of protest which was absolutely delicious as she failed to pull me even closer to her.

The door to the room burst open.

"Hey Jaune have you seen my- what the fuck!?"

I was hauled off of Ruby by pure main strength and was turned to face Yang. I saw her eyes flash red from violet. I met the heated glare with pure stupid apathy as I was brutishly shoved against a wall hard enough that my head cracked against it.

"Have you seen," she hissed, "My. Sister."

"Yeah." I muttered duly. "She's around." My head cracked against the wall again painlessly. I felt slow, big, and dumb.

"Yang what the hell?!" Ruby shouted from where she sat up on the bed. Her fingers still deep in the sheets as she propped herself up.

"You were having sex!"

"I was super well aware!" Ruby huffed and blew her messy hair out from in front of her eyes. "Will you let him go, please?" Yang released me and I stepped back from the tan wall and away from one of the green plants which lined our Mistrali rental.

"Well. Explain, asshole." Yang demanded her hair burning in orange and yellow. Her enormous mane was inflamed from the heat of her anger.

"Yang I like him," Ruby spouted from behind her sister. "I should have told you, Jaune was helping me keep it a secret."

I nodded dumbly, still half cocked. Blood was flowing from other places back to my brain. I wasn't reacting swiftly to the situation and I wasn't sure there was much I could have said.

"Really? This dumb motherfucker?" Yang turned her gaze around at Ruby.

"Yang!" Ruby sat up straighter on the bed and dropped the sheets she'd still held clutched in those tiny hands. "I. Like. Him. And why not? He makes me feel safe. He makes me feel good. I like him. He always has my back and I love how much I trust him."

Yang staggered, looking at Ruby in disbelief. "How long?"

"A little before we picked up Qrow. Maybe a month." Ruby 'pffted' upwards blowing her hair out of her face again.

"This whole time," Yang whipped back towards me. "This whole time you've been taking advantage of my sister."

"I keep telling you it isn't like that!" Ruby protested.

"Then why sneak around about it?!"

Ruby geastured emphatically. "This! This is why, Yang." She turned her head sideways slightly. "I was trying to find the right time to tell you."

"And what? He was all too happy to go along with it?"

"Yes! He does whatever I ask him to do, he's like a big puppy. He's harmless."

"I just saw him murder a bunch of people. Calmly."

"We haven't had the chance to talk recently…" Ruby confessed, sounding meek for the first time. "But that's the job, Yang. Sometimes bad guys die. Roman Torchwhick died. You killed people too. That's the job sometimes. I knew that. You knew that."

"Yeah but I was busted up about it was the difference."

"Jaune was super messed up the first time he killed someone. You weren't there for it. You were back at Dad's. And Jaune had my back. When Tyrion came for me, to kidnap me and take me to Salem, Jaune was willing to die for me! He almost did die for me! How much more ideal and sweet a guy could I have found and you're still not happy with it? What was I supposed to do? No one was going to be good enough for me in your mind."

Yang's hair deflated. Her eyes flicked back to violet as something like shame took her over. If I was a betting man it wasn't over her outburst of anger, but rather over the fact she'd flinched.

"Jaune," I looked up at Ruby still feeling dazed. "Would you give us the room? Please?"

I nodded along. "Sure. Of course." I walked past the crouching tiger I felt Yang represented within the room and shut the door behind me. I leaned back against it and wiped my hands across my eyes and sighed out loud.

"You got caught." It was Weiss. I couldn't muster up the heat of a glare. I felt too tired, bone deep tired. I met her icy blue eyes, her hair was down around her shoulders and not in its usual ponytail.

"Yeah. We 'got caught.'" I let out. I was leaning deeply against the door such that our eyes were level.

She flushed a little scarlet. "Just kissing or something more?"

"A little of column A and a little of column B."

"Well you're still…" she trailed off pointing downwards. She was only looking out of the corner of her eye with her head turned away, as if to give me a sense of modesty.

I was still half cocked, thank you Weiss. Super appreciative.

It wasn't her fault, though.

I exhaled, hard, and took a few deep breaths. I tried to slow my heart rate back down and get my anatomy under control.

"Yeah well you know." I managed. "It'll go away."

"Is that how it works?"

"Yeah. That's how it works." I spouted stiffly.

"You could have locked the door."

"The doors don't have locks." I said dry as ice. "We figured somebody would knock first."

"And that would have helped?"

"Maybe? Probably? I don't have a plan for everything!"

She snorted at me in a quiet 'ugly' laugh. Yuck it up, Weiss.

I leaned against the door and tried to forget Ruby's pulse between her legs. It was pretty difficult. I was intentionally avoiding the word 'hard' but 'twas also that.

"Seems to me this whole situation could have been avoided if you'd just talked to Yang."

"Wasn't my decision. I'm just the dumb boyfriend. Dumb boyfriends follow their smart girlfriends' orders. Especially where family is concerned."

"What about your family?"

"They'd be amazed I got this far."

"With a girl?"

"Just in general." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Weiss gave me a pleasant smile at that, the sort I would have killed for freshman year. It was warm around the edges, yet firm in the center. Blue eyes glowing softly in the morning light of Mistral. The deep dusk reds couldn't seem to touch Weiss's eyes.

"Coffee?" She asked. "Or were you going to avail yourself of a cold shower?"

"Ha. Ha." I pronounced my 'ha's. "I think I'm good on that shower." I felt confident enough to stand up straight and I followed her down stairs for some of the brown beverage.

Weiss evidently took her's dark. I watched her quietly make it, arms folded in the kitchen over my blue cotton shirt. She handed a cup to me and I guess she knew I was a pussy because she offered me cream and sugar. I availed myself of some mixing the white with the brown. Just a little though. I wasn't Ruby. I heaved yet another sigh.

"So now the only one who doesn't know if Qrow." She blew over her drink.

"And Oscar, I guess." I cheered her when she offered her mug in my direction."Or Ozpin or whatever they are."

I took a sip and winced at the temperature.

"Careful, it is hot."

"I just about got that memo, thanks. One more just to make it sink in." I took another sip and winced. "Yep, still hot."

"Well don't do it again! You'll just hurt yourself."

I shrugged. "Pretty sure Yang would be on board with the concept of me suffering."

"Well let's not give her what she wants. I'll take it from you, you know. You have to be patient."

I blew over the top of the liquid distinctly impatiently.

"You're worse than Ruby sometimes." She was smiling, though.

"Yeah." I agreed. "How are you holding up after yesterday? Couldn't have been easy on the inside."

"Not sure if you heard or not but the Don picked me to be his escort for the night. He had some lines of hyper laid out on his bedside table, even. For the evening, I suppose. A man of indulgence."

"I hadn't." I prompted.

"I held him down with my semblance and made him talk. On the whole, I'd say I had the easiest job. Not like you boys outside."

"It got messy, I'm just glad none of you got hurt."

"How are you holding up with it?"

"Killing people, you mean?"

She nodded, leaning her head on one hand as she looked up at me from the table she'd taken a seat at.

"I'm alright at it. I think I might even be good at it. Killing people. It does get easier."

"How many?"

"I used to know, used to have a number. Went from one, to two, then five but... But now I've lost count. A bunch. A whole bunch of people."

"I'm sorry, Jaune."

"Sometimes it be like that,” I snapped my fingers and pointed off in the distance. She didn’t look distracted by my antics so I sighed. “It's what we signed up for."

"I haven't killed anyone, not yet. I probably will at some point, though. Seems inevitable, doesn't it?"

"Some poor sap without aura and then, bam." I nodded. "Even with aura you can't exactly tell how full they are sometimes so you just go right through."

"Gods."

"That's how my first one went. This bandit. I had my semblance and I just spent it and I cut him."

"You're unbelievably strong with your semblance active." Weiss nodded along like she could see it. "The point of Myrtenaster will probably be like that, especially if I have some speed behind me."

"Exactly." I took a sip, the coffee had finally cooled down enough that I could drink some. I almost found myself pounding the drink.

"Well, aren't we chipper?" She sighed.

"Just pragmatic. You didn’t actually tell me how you’re holding up.”

“Didn’t I?”

“No. You dodged it.”

“Did I now?” She teased with an upwards tilt of her chin.

“You just said you figured you had the easiest job then you changed the subject. You should answer the question I asked you. Just so long as we’re both being completely honest with one another.”

“And are we?” She wondered.

“If we’re not, I want to take back everything I told you since you arrived in Mistral,” I blew on my coffee. She gave me a dainty laugh. “So, how are you holding up?” I pressed.

“Not so great,” she confessed. “I’m not doing so great. But it wasn’t the absolute worst day of my life. So there’s that. I didn’t have to kill anyone which I’m thankful for. Just torture which I’m not sure is any better.”

“It’s not. Plus you had to wear those outfits.”

“Which you should admit you liked,” she fired right back. “It’s okay. I saw you stare at Ruby.” And you . It went unsaid but she saw me stare at her too. I couldn’t… I couldn’t really help myself. Her platinum hair went good with the black. And you know me. I’ve always thought that she was beautiful and talented and smart and a little queerly funny. So yeah. There was that.

“So what if I did? A bit of a nightmare if I ever asked Ruby to wear one. Besides she’s sexy enough in one of my shirts or her pajamas.” I sipped my coffee.

“Is she really?”

“You ever see Ruby blush?” I asked. “It gets me out of bed in the morning.”

“Well, I suppose…”

“You see how Ren's holding up?"

"Nora got him out of the place early. She called it a 'not-date' and left. I think she killed somebody too. Just crushed their rib cage."

"Lords above." I sighed. "Just you, Ruby, and Oscar, now. I suppose, depending on how you wanna cut that Ozpin thing."

She took a long drink of coffee at that, deep in thought and staring out a window onto the little courtyard we trained in.

"So the only thing left to do is get Qrow back up and walking. Job's done."

"Aren't we taking some ganglords word on that."

"Qrow thinks she'll honor it."

"She? Well isn't that progressive?"

"I figure Malachite isn't so bad. She seemed to run things clean, or as clean as such things can be run, and Qrow has had past dealings with them."

"You've met some of them?"

"This pair of twins. Evidently they're Malachite's daughters. One in white and one in red. Huntresses, the both of them."

"One on white and one in red huh?" Yang was standing by the banister. "Well I think I know where I heard that name before now."

"We cool?" I asked.

"Yeah. We're cool. Sorry for blowing up on you."

"S'no biggie."

"Kinda. You were there for my sister when she needed you. Needed somebody and I… I wasn't."

"No one blames you for that." I said. "You were hurt."

"So were you, what with Pyrrha and all."

"S'no biggie. It affects us all differently. My motivations to keep going weren't all so pure."

"Join us, Yang." Weiss encouraged. "Coffee?"

"Thanks." She strode into the room. Weiss stood up to pour Yang a mug. "Nora and Ren?"

"Out." Weiss and I said together.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked.

Yang snorted and I heard some plumbing going. "Said she was going to take a cold shower. Thanks," She said, accepting the coffee from Weiss.

"We were discussing yesterday," I said. "What horrific thing happened to you?"

Yang snorted again. "I uh I killed two people."

"How'd that go?" I asked.

"Awful. After Weiss got chosen we started hearing screaming from the 'presidential suite.'" Yang quoted. "Not even the kind you could maybe think was ‘the dirty.’ That sorta kicked things off. I just reached out and killed a guy. Just crushed his head. I thought he'd have aura."

"And even if he did…" Weiss trailed.

"Right." Yang nodded. "I shot another guy with my gauntlet and Ruby and Nora took care of the other two guys. Then I ripped my way through the locked presidential suite door. Weiss already had things under control by then but…" She trailed off. "Well then we came down the stairs and saw the mess you and Ren had to deal with. Saw you kick that guy."

I nodded. I still remembered the way his head had felt under my boot.

"And the rest…" She gave a shuddering breath and lifted the coffee to her lips. "The rest is history."

"Miserable," Weiss said, shaking her head.

"Some guns went off. You saw the girls who got shot." Yang said. "Just waitresses or whatever."

I nodded.

"And that was my day. How was yours?" Yang asked, sipping coffee.

"Wasn't quite the worst day of my life." I said. "But it's up there. It does get easier."

"Jaune, and I mean this with all politeness, I really really don't want to hear that," Yang said. "It should be hard. It deserves to be hard. It's well… you know."

I nodded like I got it, which I did.

I heard the plumbing shut off and Ruby exiting one of the bathrooms. I just listened.

"So you and my lil' sis." Yang broached. "How'd that happen?"

"She kept saving my life."

Yang let out a low whistle. "Way she told it, it was the opposite."

"You know how modest Ruby is."

She nodded. "You knew about this kerfuffle, Weiss?"

Weiss nodded. "Ruby told me. She- well - she was happy to share it with somebody."

I could have flushed at that.

"And that somebody couldn't have been me." Yang agreed sullenly, Weiss and I shared a look but Yang seemed mostly disappointed in herself. "That day you were also covered in blood. You'd just killed somebody then, too."

Three. Killed three. I even knew two of their names. I just nodded. "Some dumbasses without aura. Needed some information and he and his friend tried to fight me. Over nothing was the worst part. He died for nothing. I mean I went and unlocked his aura but he was already nearly cut in half so I'm not sure if he lived or died. I'm counting it as a death, though."

"You keeping count?" Yang asked.

"Was. Stopped yesterday." I finished off my coffee.

"He says he lost count." Weiss stepped in and refilled my mug. Bless her. She said it like it was the worst thing that could happen to a person and to be fair it really sucked.

"Good gods." Yang sighed. "That'll happen to me too. One day I'll just be like 'was it ten or twelve. I can't remember.'"

"The fight was fast and had a lot of bodies yesterday. You might get luck. Or unlucky. Whichever."

"Which is worse not knowing or knowing?" Yang laughed.

"Not knowing," I answered.

"You weren't supposed to answer that fast, Jaune." Weiss handed me my mug back.

"Ask me no questions…"

Ruby popped her head down. "Oh, you're…?"

"We 'aight." Yang answered.

"It's fine," I said.

"I have coffee here just for you Ruby." Weiss brushed some spilled coffee grounds into her hand and into the sink. Ruby came jostling down to us and accepted the cup.

Ruby came over and gave me a peck on the cheek. Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Just get it out and done with now."

"Is that how you think it works?" Ruby asked.

"Oh just because you have a boyfriend now doesn't make you all knowledgeable."

"It might." Ruby responded but there was a quiver of laughter to her voice.

"Please share what it's like with us humble mortals," Weiss said. Ruby fell back and I caught her. I put an arm around her waist and held her close to me.

She leaned her head back against my chest and sighed. "It's nice. It's nice not having to hide it, either."

"Ugh." Yang rolled her eyes but she was smiling. I wasn't sure what they had talked about up there but something must have gotten through to Yang.

"Are Ren and Nora dating yet?" Weiss asked.

"Kinda. More than before but less than you'd think," I answered.

"Figures," Yang said.

"Hey kid," Qrow wheeled up. "What's uh what's going on here?" He was looking at Ruby in my arms, looking relaxed.

"Jaune and Ruby are a thing." Yang answered. "Sorry you're the last to know."

"I could have guessed," he grunted. "Come on kid. Meeting with the Malachites."

"So just me then. Okay." Yang muttered.

"Will you be okay alone?" Ruby asked me.

I slammed back my coffee and nodded. I would be just fine, I think.

"I'm coming too." Ruby decided. No one argued with her.

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-WG

#motion sickness #rwby #lancaster #yang xiao long #jaune arc #ruby rose #weiss schnee #ruby rose x jaune arc x weiss schnee #war of the roses #white rose #whiterose #renora #lie ren #nora valkyrie #nora valkyrie x lie ren #fanfic #whiteknight #white knight

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misiwrites · 3 years

Text

Beyblade Week Day 3

for the third @beybladeweek2021 oneshot set in the 4kingdoms-verse, i have a silly little story from the west. takes place at some random point before the beginning of the main fic.

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Fashion / Flowers / Autumn

“Underplates… napkins… saucers… and the cup handles to the right.”

Mathilda places each piece of the set with meticulous care. After the cups and cutlery are in place, she arranges the jam and cream dish on the tray, and then, of course, the centrepiece of the table, the golden cake stand for the treats.

“Handmade by Sir Olivier!”

She giddily sets the macarons and finger sandwiches on the stand. Then a freshly brewed pot of black tea from the kitchen, and everything is ready to go. Her butterfly heart flutters with nervous excitement as she carefully lifts the heavy tray and slowly makes her way out of the servants’ quarters. She has to focus on each and every step to avoid making any silly mistakes that could end up in a tea-stained catastrophe.

It’s a lovely day in early Harvestmoon. Pleasant and still, perfect for having tea outside – not something that could be said about most days in the Country of West, usually so drizzly and grey.

Whatever the weather, Mathilda never grows tired of the beauty of the Tiger Maple Palace, and although acting as a maid isn’t exactly part of the royal page’s routine and the tray is so heavy that it leaves her arms sore, it’s an honour to be asked to serve afternoon tea to her favourite guests at the palace, Lady Chen Mao and her handmaid Julia from the mansion on Kuí.

She finds them under a canopy of branches of blazing orange and yellow, hunched over some papers and magazines on the patio floor. Mao’s holy beast companion, Galux, is having a nap on its designated cushion a few feet away.

“But there are so many different types of zan zi… Oh, look, the tea has arrived!”

Mao is stunning as always. The wide sleeves of her blue-and-orange ruqun dress billow along as she jumps to her feet; she wears her rose colour hair on two long braids today, their shape resembles chains of traditional Western paper lanterns, and Mathilda has no doubt that the style is in accordance with the latest trends of high fashion in this kingdom. The handmaid, Julia, is more composed than Mao and rises to her feet with more dignity, politely nodding at Mathilda who approaches them with the tray.

“Good afternoon, Lady Mao, Miss Fernández,” Mathilda greets them, her cheeks slightly flushed. Relief washes over her as she successfully lands the tray on the garden table. No casualties this time, and the tea is still hot.

“Hi, Matty! Is it okay if I call you Matty? It was Julia’s idea.” Like a robin, Mao soars over to the table, then quickly turns to face her handmaid. “Jules, bring the papers here so we can keep planning while eating.”

When Mao is distracted instructing Julia, Mathilda hurries over to pull a chair out for her. “Um, um, feel free to call me as you wish, milady.”

“Aren’t you one considerate sweetheart, Matty! And how lovely the tea looks! Are these macarons by Olivier again? He’s such a weirdo – I’ve never heard of a knight who’s also a cook before, not to mention a damn pastry chef! Sword in one hand, a rolling pin in the other, how reassuring.”

Mathilda says nothing; hearing Mao talk about her master in such a manner always makes her ears burn, but she can’t not admire her audacious nature all the same. That boyish edge in Mao’s behaviour must have rubbed off on her from her older brother, the Duke of Kuí, whom Mathilda has always found nothing short of intimidating.

As Julia joins Mao, Mathilda can see that the papers she has brought along include several volumes of fashion-related magazines and what look like blueprints for a fashion design project of some sort. She tries not to snoop too much, not wanting to cross her boundaries as an outsider, but she hasn’t even finished pouring the two cups full when Mao is already deliberately pulling her into the conversation.

“So about the zan zi – I was thinking I’d want it to follow the flower theme, but I don’t really want there to be too much gold… you know… and a chai would be a bit meh… Matty, what kind of hair ornaments do you like?”

“Me? Oh…” Mathilda, who always wears her hair short and simple, racks her brain for an answer of any substance. “Well, um… um... Oh, I went to the Tianguan market square earlier this week, and there was a stall with wonderful flower zan zi from the East… made of fabric… The vendor said that they were created to commemorate the Seiryuu-ou’s late mother… They looked very lovely.”

“From the East? That’s an amazing idea!” Mao darts a triumphant look at Julia across the table. “That’s really unique! You should go check them out with Matty.”

“Of course, milady.”

“But tea comes first, obviously.”

Mathilda ends up spending a long while with the other girls in the garden, leafing through the magazines and following along in curious silence as they (mainly Mao, although she clearly holds Julia’s opinions about fashion in high regard) build their design piece by piece, element by element, carefully considering each detail to complement the big picture. Mao is sketching the design on paper herself as they go, and it’s obvious to Mathilda that she’s quite used to doing this kind of thing.

“Lady Mao,” she asks after a while, “are you perhaps planning to launch your own fashion line? A whole catalogue? You are very good at design.”

“Wow, thank you! You know, that’s actually an amazing idea!” Mao claps her hands together in excitement, her golden eyes positively sparkling at Mathilda. “Let’s make a whole line! This lotus daxiushan can be the first one. Oh, oh, Jules, we need to do the hair next!”

“Glad you brought that up, milady, I actually have several styles bookmarked that I thought you might like.” Julia whips out a HoloPad, and soon the mid-air above the tea set is filled with an array of images of the most intricate braidwork that Mathilda has ever seen, so fantastical that it’s hard to believe that these are photos of real people’s hair. (Perhaps they are not.)

“Oh my cats. Jules, you are the best.”

Mathilda chuckles in content and delight, her hands nested in her lap. These two girls are so entertaining and so eccentric, she never knew the nobles could be this fun. She enjoys their company so much – perhaps a bit too much, even, for someone in her position...

But, for now, she decides to simply go with the flow and worry about it later.

* * * * * *

“Mao, what is this?”

“Shhh! Stop talking, you’re ruining the image! Stay totally still. Be like... what was the word again? Esoteric! You need to look esoteric, Rei-nii.”

Rei has no idea how a person is supposed to look esoteric, especially when he’s forced to stand still while posing in whatever unnatural stances Mao keeps coming up with, currently holding what he thinks is some sort of traditional brass instrument but the name of which he has no idea about.

The only reason he even agreed to a fashion photoshoot was that it’s Mao’s birthday and he wanted to please his childhood friend – but he wasn’t aware that in doing so, he agreed to a day-long session of acting as a doll designed by Mao and her handmaid, in a studio that they have somehow managed to build inside one of the pavilions of Tiger Maple, complete with several landscape backdrops.

It’s not that the clothes Mao is making him wear are bad; in fact, this outfit of a burgundy yichang dress and a dark blue daxiushang robe with a serpent-like lotus pattern adorning the broad yet lightweight sleeves feel rather comfortable in comparison to his usual formal robes that have an unnecessary abundance of coating, thanks to whoever in the past decided that the number of layers was a status symbol and therefore imposing a life sentence of drowning in a sea of layered silk upon the Byakko-ou... but the uncomfortably tight lace braids winding around his skull to form an enormous rosette of hair in the back of his head are a bit too much, as are the flower hairpins that nest above his temples and create a drooping curtain of red and white petals to frame his face; and, after several hours have already gone by, his arms and feet are beginning to hurt from standing still while holding whatever prop items the girls are sticking in his hands, from parasols to flutes and swords and whatever this newest addition is. He’s not used to standing around this much in his monotonous everyday life.

And even worse, Rei has already seen that Mao has an entire catalogue of self-made fashion concepts waiting that she wants to take pictures of him in.

The smallest of sighs escapes Rei’s lips. This doesn’t feel appropriate for his status. Incredible but true, he wishes he was instead having tea with Olivier right now.

“Stay still!” Mao immediately condemns him, “And stop looking so bored! You need to look more dramatic. You’re the king, Rei-nii, act more like it.”

What a long, long day this would end up being.

#my writing #4kingdoms stuff #LetItRip2021

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alkhale · 4 years

Note

so... that new his dark materials on HBO got me feeling some things and thinking... Memos HDM AU?

Memos His Dark Materials AU Ko-Fi Request

(for context for the excerpt down below this, when someone’s daemon makes contact with another person’s daemon, it’s considered very personal and intimate. This is normal between family members and very close friends or loved ones, say, Luffy’s daemon would probably touch all his nakama’s left and right just fine, but for certain others, this may come as a bit of an alarming little sensation for them since people feel what their daemons feel and the same vice versa as extension of their souls)

- Hoku’s daemon is a white panther named Hau.

The two of them don’t get along very well and tend to get on each other’s nerves due to personal reasons. They’re capable of being a fairly good distance apart even though this isn’t normal and considered painful for most people. They sort of trained themselves to be able to be apart because they felt following their independent values was most important. It’s a bit of a messy situation but they’re the first ones either of them would turn to no matter what. He has the same marking she has painted around the curve of his left eye because it’s tradition for Pokians to paint it onto their daemons when they come of age. All daemons from Artopoki are also always colored white just like their hair.

His name means “happiness” in Hawaiian.

- Mahina’s daemon is a white horse while Manu’s is a small white wild cat. Mihawk’s is a massive, massive ink black raven named Sable. She and Mahina’s daemon got along really well.

- Shank’s daemon is a reddish tinted lionness who goes by Reina. Hoku and Hau are a bit smitten by her but Hau kind of hates Shanks, maybe not hate but he tends to be on the more skeptical end of him versus Hoku being a little doe-eyed for the man. Hau loved Mihawk though. Mihawk was the first person to ever touch him outside of Hoku’s parents (human to daemon contact is a super big deal when it’s not family or intimate loved ones, daemon to daemon is a little more tolerable but raises some brows)

- Luffy’s daemon settles as a springy lionness name Soleil who he calls Sol. She’s very energetic and can’t really read a room but she makes up for it with energy. She and Luffy are two peas in a pod.

- Nami’s daemon is an orange fox named Riki, the greatest thieving duo across the East Blue.

- Zoro’s is a massive bengal tiger named Masumi and she’s got a much more approachable personality than her counterpart but tends to be just as lazy and ferocious.

- Usopp’s is a chameleon by the name of Emmo. She’s a bit of a coward too but she’s funny.

- Sanji’s is a beautiful, rather stunning lady jackrabbit by the name of Celine who loves beautiful people and kicking. She seems a little wiser than Sanji.

- Brook’s is the skeleton of a songbird named Aretha. They’re the strangest case on the Grand Line because of his devil fruit. She sings beautifully for a pile of bones though.

- Franky’s is a female beaver named Aspen, they’re pretty much carbon copies of each other.

- Robin’s is a black owl named Yuval. He’s on the quieter side and tends to creep people out on first glance but he’s a very gentlemanly owl.

- Ace’s ends up settling as a red and black lynx by the name of Iskra. Sabo’s is a peregrine falcon named Brisa.

- Vivi’s is a fennec fox named Seti.

- I couldn’t decide of Kid’s should be one hell of a murderous honey badger with attitude named Naga or a crocodile or a bear. Any of those three felt pretty right but I lean more toward the honey badger HAHAHA.

- Law’s daemon is a snow leopard named Estrella. These two are an especially dangerous duo and Estrella tends to be a bit more on the mysterious side at first.

- - - - - - -

“Your blood,” Shank said, cupping her cheek. “Is worth treasures more than his.”

Hau bit at Shanks’ cloak, snarling as a white husky in protest, trying to pull him away. Reina watched him in utter amusement.

Steam exploded from Hoku’s ears, her entire face flushing red.

“Oops, hey, someone get Makino! I’m worried dove’s got a fever!”

- - - - - - -

“It’s nothing but a childish crush,” Hau said pointedly to her, perfectly aware of the fluttery, gross feelings inside Hoku spilling over to him. He walked after her, lashing his tail angrily while Hoku stared up at the sky in a daze. Shanks had just given them a living, ripe kiionohi tree. “He just thinks we’re cute kids. He likes teasing us. This is how he took Luffy!”

Hau worked over-time to remain as indifferent toward Shanks as Hoku originally wanted to be. Hoku had just given up and rolled over to the fact that Shanks was just… so hard to dislike. Was there even a reason to dislike him? Sure, she still got jealous that Luffy was so damn fond of him, but when Luffy was always pulling her around despite that, promising she was his first before anyone else—

“Are you listening to me?” Hau hissed at her, biting her ankle in protest. Hoku looked down at him. “I don’t like him! He’s just another schmuck! Nothing’s gonna happen anyway! Dream on! We’re just kids to him, got it?”

“I know that,” Hoku snapped, cheeks flushing. “I-It’s just adoration. Childish adoration. What do you think I’m gonna do, ask him to marry me?”

“No,” Hau muttered, “but don’t get any ideas.”

“I’m not,” Hoku snapped back at him, lightly nudging his paws. Hau swiped at her. “He’s just… he’s just charming, is all. And you’re one to talk, you know. You look at anyone that’s willing to scratch your ears like they’re god!”

“I don’t let people scratch me behind the ears!” Hau protested. “No one’s allowed to touch me!”

“Yeah,” Hoku snorted. “Except Luffy, right? I feel what you feel too, dumbass. Think about how it feels for me to get scratched behind the ears too, okay?”

Hau grumpily settled down onto his haunches, stubbornly looking over to the side, “But it’s Luffy.”

Hoku could understand that, but it didn’t make the sensation any more normal. Actually, I might be starting to get used to that. Luffy’s so damn touchy it’ll kill me. She didn’t even flinch anymore when Hau and Soleil were pressed tight together, rolling around or tumbling about each other or cuddled up in a pile. Luffy’s warm fingers patting Hau’s head, hefting him up into his arms—that was still something she was getting used to.

Or Hoku, cupping Soleil’s head in her hands, pressing a kiss to the top of the daemon’s head, committing utter taboo. Hoku, letting Soleil cozy up to the crook of her neck, shove her face into Hoku’s hand, weave between her fingers while Luffy laughed beside them—

The four of them, touching each other’s daemons, each other’s partners, each other’s souls—

But I am getting used to it. Hoku shivered. Never touching anyone’s daemon, huh?

Hau lashed his tail, “I won’t let Shanks touch me, you can count on that.”

“You’re just jealous,” Hoku said. “Luffy and Soleil already said we’re first. And it’s not like Shanks is going to be here forever, he’s a pirate, remember?”

Hoku rubbed the side of her arm, looking down at her shoes, “He’s just… he’s just become Luffy’s idol. You see how he looks at him—Luffy knows what he wants to do now ‘cause of him.”

Hau huffed, whiskers twitching. Hoku gave him a little shove and Hau shifted into a bull, ramming at the back of her knees as Hoku laughed, shoving back at him.

Shanks was just a bit of fun, that was it.

- - - - - - - -

But Reina didn’t play by the rules.

“You’re getting faster, little dove.”

Hoku almost screamed. Her heart lodged into her throat, forcing her to choke as Mau nearly clattered onto the dirt from her hands had she not hooked it last minute. She apologized to the amused blade, checking for scratches and trying to work out a game plan in her head.

Hau frowned. As deep of a frown as an unhappy skunk could make, sitting by a log and looking pointedly Reina’s way.

She didn’t know when Shanks’ daemon had made her way over to them or where Shanks was, probably with Luffy to be honest, but there Reina was, living up to her name.

The lioness daemon was stretched out onto a fat slab of rock jutting upwards from the ground. Luffy used it as a launching platform a lot when they were playing. Her red-gold body rippled, leisurely soaking up the sunlight.

Hoku’s fingers itched.

Reina watched them with golden irises.

“Thanks,” Hoku said, trying not to be awkward but feeling very much so. “I’m not there yet though.”

Reina’s chest rumbled, a deep sound that made Hau wrinkle his nose in protest. She laid her head down onto her paws, rolling over onto her side. Hoku noticed the scars lining her softer underbelly, the notch missing from a piece of her flicking tail.

“You’ll get there,” Reina said soothingly. “Why don’t you take a break?”

I feel like I’m talking to the devil. Hoku shivered. Temptation incarnate. “I haven’t hit my number of swings yet.”

“Shanks and Luffy are playing by the harbor,” Reina almost purred. “Don’t you want to join?”

Hoku frowned at her boots. Yes. “No. I’m glad Shanks is taking up all his time.”

Reina’s ear twitched. Her eyes glimmered playfully. Hoku felt as though if her feet weren’t planted firmly to begin with, she’d already be making her way over to the lioness for no reason other than the fact that Reina seemed to be beckoning her over.

“How come you two can be so far apart?” Hau blurted. Hoku shot him a look of disbelief.

Reina’s whiskers twitched in amusement.

Hau hunkered down, waving his big bushy tail. “I-Isn’t it painful? It’s weird, daemons aren’t supposed to be able to do that.”

“You two seem to be able to go fairly far,” Reina murmured. “Is that not strange?”

Hoku and Hau flinched.

Reina laid her head down onto the rock, letting the sun color her pelt. She looked crimson gold in the sunlight. “He and I simply found it in ourselves to promise to live our lives to the fullest and the freest.”

Reina seemed to smile, lips pulling back to show her fangs. “Besides, like this, I can be with Luffy and he can be with little dove at the same time, hmm?”

Hoku and Hau blinked in confusion. They looked at each other and back to Reina who’d rolled over to show them her back, settling down for a nice, long nap.

“Finish up those swings, dove,” Reina purred. “Then let’s play.”

I miss Luffy. Hoku miserably flattened herself down against the grass, Mau propped up onto a trunk beside her. Hau was chirping haughtily in the tree branch above her, flapping his white wings even though he was supposed to be a toucan. I always run off even when he’s playing with Shanks. Maybe I should just suck it up and have fun with them too. Or, not fun. Just… spend time. Yeah.

Hoku groaned, rubbing her sweaty face with her hands.

“About time,” Hau chirped at her. “Let’s go! I don’t care if Shanks and everyone else is there, I want to see Luffy and Sol.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hoku snapped. “I heard ya. You just want to get touched again.”

Hau flattened, ruffling his feathers, “That’s not true!”

It absolutely is. Hoku sighed, preparing her aching muscles to lift her sluggish body up. Hau was practically touched starved and Luffy’s generous pats were like a drug. He did a good job making sure Shanks never got near him though. Hoku didn’t even flinch. Touching other people’s daemons is still such a weird feeling though, I can’t get used to anyone else but them.

She’d only ever touched Sable twice. Ki and Kekoa didn’t count because they were family. Soleil was the only one she ever really touch-touched, and even then, it was still a sensation Hoku felt all the way to the tip of her toes and down to her bones. Intimate.

Bet no one else has a daemon willing to get himself pet. Hoku peeked through her fingers at Hau who jumped from the branch and shifted into a little white butterfly. He’d turn into a dog later because it was easier to play with Luffy like that. What daemon goes up to someone to get themselves touched?

Some taboos just weren’t meant to be crossed.

A shadow fell over Hoku’s face and she blinked, moving her hands away to look up.

Reina looked down at her.

Hoku froze, stiff against the ground like a corpse. Her heart hammered stupidly loud in her chest, loud enough to burst through her ears. From this spot, she could make out every fine, red-gold hair smoothed over Reina’s slender face. She could see the dark lines that traced her feline gold eyes, followed the slope of her muzzle, to the long, elegant whiskers—a few cut short, and the few scars that lined her soft nose.

This was the closest she had ever been to the daemon.

She could sense heat from the lioness, hulking power and muscle. Reina’s killing paws sat on either side of her head. She could crush Hoku’s skull without much effort. Rip her throat out. In another world, Hoku would be fearing for her life—even in this world, Hoku was still fearing for her life, but, but, maybe death at the hands of such a beautiful, powerful daemon couldn’t be that awful.

Hoku waited, staring at Reina with wide eyes.

Reina blinked once, slowly. Something like amusement seemed to shift over the fine hairs on her face and she lowered her head over Hoku’s. Her body seized up, unable to breathe.

And then languidly, a warm, wet and scratchy pink tongue rolled once across her face, down her forehead to her lips and over her chin. Reina pulled away, satisfied, looking down at Hoku’s disheveled, slightly wet face and bulging eyes before calmly sauntering off, hips swaying.

It took her a moment. A good, solid moment. Her heart did something funny, her body frozen stiff and ascended to some other plain of existence, her mind whirring and still buzzing from the electricity of the slightest contact with—

Someone else’s daemon—

Reina—

Shanks’ daemon—

Touched—

Hoku’s face blushed a bright, scarlet red. She grabbed her face with her hands and rolled around in the dirt like the little bug she was.

Hau jealously nudged her face with his little ferret nose, huffing and puffing in displeasure.

She’d never been touched by someone else’s daemon before.

- - - - - - - -

The final nail into her own coffin was done by Hoku’s own hands.

At the crack of dawn, when the light was just beginning to crawl its way out of the horizon to peek over into the sky. Just hours before, Hoku had finally shown Shanks the book, speaking with him in the low light of that bar and making a total fool of herself—enough for Hau to tease and taunt her about it for hours until they fell asleep.

She woke up earlier than Luffy today, leaving him snoring in her hammock with Soleil sprawled as a baby badger over him. Hau woke up, slithering into her shirt and keeping himself warm by her stomach as they walked out into the forest.

Reina was already waiting for them.

“Dove,” Reina greeted, velvet voice carrying over as Hoku trudged through the dewy grass. Sunlight was warming her pelt, heating it up like a forge and turning the red-gold of her pelt darker and brighter.

Hau muttered a low, half-reluctant protest. Yesterday, Luffy had picked him up, holding him close and willingly thrusted Hau toward Shanks like some kind of sacrificial offering.

Shanks didn’t take the daemon, simply grinning in understanding at Hau’s horrified expression. Her daemon had never felt more betrayed.

“Hau, you gotta get along with everyone!” Luffy laughed. “Don’t be dumb like Hoku!”

Hoku couldn’t stop the greedy, uncontrollable itch in her fingers.

“...good morning,” Hoku mumbled, tucking hair behind her ear out of habit. Reina was stretched out, regal and picture perfect on that same slab of stone. Dawn was rising over the fine curve of her spine and the lioness kept her gaze on them evenly, waiting as Hoku slowly came to stand beside the slab of rock.

Reina’s ears swiveled forward. She watched Hoku, eyes glittering. A soft sound left her parted jaws.

Hoku hesitantly took a seat on the rock, a few inches away from Reina. She could feel heat rising from the daemon, her head turning to follow Hoku as they stared at each other.

She weakly raised one hand. Hau’s heartbeat matched her own.

“Could I… Could I draw you?”

Reina’s jaws parted to let out a soft rumble. Her body curved more, keeping Hoku in the middle. Her paws stretched out and Reina kept her eyes evenly on Hoku’s.

Hoku softly set her hand down on Reina’s side. Warmth flooded into her fingertips, spreading up her arm and making half her body feel almost numb with the sensation. Hoku’s head spun, buzzing with that vibrant thrum of energy as Reina’s pelt shifted under her fingertips. Hoku daringly let her hand come down Reina’s spine, feeling the muscles and scars in one gentle stroke.

Reina’s scratchy tongue dragged over Hoku’s hand in approval.

“I hope that man is deep, deep asleep,” Hau muttered. Hoku agreed.

She thought her heart was going to burst.

- - - - - -- -- - -

“This place is crawling with marines now,” Smoker said. “What are you going to do? Let them arrest you like some kind of washed up drunk?”

Hoku lightly pushed the glass in front of her. The bartender nervously refilled the glass, jumping in fear when Smoker glared daggers at him.

“Hoku,” Smoker said.

The woman kept swallowing mouthfuls of the whiskey in her cup, ignoring him. Blanca’s fur had settled over her back, smoothing out. His daemon watched the woman before them in silence, looking at Hau and then back to Hoku.

A soft sound left Blanca’s lips. Smoker shot her a warning look. The smoky colored husky daemon lowered her tail.

“What happened to all that spunk?” Smoker continued. “You don’t give two shits if I cuff you and take you in from here?”

Hoku didn’t even turn to look at them. She kept her shoulders hunched, curling in on herself over the bar’s countertop and refusing to meet the gazes burning into her back. The empty glasses spread out across the wood counter beside her, the heavy smell of alcohol settling amidst the cigarette smoke.

Hau kept silent at her feet, curled up and head low. Smoker observed the daemon carefully, noticing the matted fur, the dirt stains in the crisp white that used to be his go-to for hunting them down in the crowd. His unsheathed claws, caked with dried dirt and blood. The cleanest spot was the blood red ink curled over his half-hidden face under the countertop’s shadow.

A new spot was inked into his fur. A small, blood red flame right where the muscle of his shoulder blade bunched under his right foreleg. Smoker’s eyes traveled upwards to the matching red flame inked into Hoku’s skin over her right shoulder blade.

“This is it?” Smoker said gruffly.

Hoku snorted. Blanca shot him a look, gray eyes hard to read but Smoker never needed to read her eyes, he could hear her thoughts loud and clear in his own head, in the space they shared.

“Who cares,” Hoku muttered bitterly. “You got what you wanted.”

Blanca fell silent. Smoker shot his daemon a sharp look, but she refused to meet his gaze, tail limp behind her and ears pricked far forward, focused on the woman before them.

Hoku bowed her head. Her hands went up, carding through her hair, holding them there as though she were cradling her head in her hands.

“You won,” Hoku whispered.

His daemon took a step forward.

“Blanca,” he warned.

The husky kept her muzzle shut, looking at him.

“Smoker.”

Smoker tossed his cigar to the side. His gloved hand clenched into a fist before it loosened. Smoker let out an aggravated sigh, shaking his head. He took a step forward, raising his hand up.

Hau’s growl ripped through the air like a knife. A single, resounding warning. Smoker glanced down to the daemon, glaring at them with icy venom, fangs and claws bared. Blanca lowered her head only an inch, her only way of showing they meant no harm. Hau pulled his lips back into a louder snarl, tail lashing in aggravation.

Hoku glanced down to her companion, frowning for a moment before she raised her head and looked back at Smoker.

Tears continued to trickle from the corners of her eyes. They slid down the curve of her cheeks, dripping down her chin. Hoku watched him in silence, expression unreadable.

The admiral hesitated for only a second. Blanca let out the softest, softest whine.

For a moment, Hau’s body untensed, staring. The foggy look started to clear. Hoku’s brows creased and Smoker reached out with his gloved hand one more time.

The doors to the bar slammed open.

The light winked out from Hoku’s eyes. Hau stood onto his paws, head lowered, eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

His men flooded the dimly lit room, raising their guns and shouting out orders as Smoker cursed in his head and Blanca’s ferocious barks of protest flooded the room over his, ordering the marine daemons to stand down.

Smoker lurched, eyes snapping in surprise to where Hau suddenly had Blanca pinned to the wooden floorboards of the bar. His daemon was silent, rigidly looking up at Hau with her teeth barely bared, body still while Hau’s jaws were wrapped around her neck. Smoker felt his teeth on his own, Hoku’s dead eyes looking at all of them.

“Go ahead,” Hoku said coldly. She turned to the marines by the door, half-smiling. “Just don’t forget, Hau’s got one more life over her.”

Blanca kept silent, staring imploringly at Hau. The panther ignored her gaze, keeping his jaws buried in the scruff of her throat, waiting. Smoker stared hard at Hoku and she kept her gaze on his men, expression devoid of emotion.

-- - ----- ----

“Estrella,” Law drawled, ice dripping with the roll of his tongue.

His daemon pounced.

They poor no-body marine dog never stood a chance.

--- --- ---- ---- ---

“No,” Law said. “This is rehab.”

He kicked Hoku’s lower back, sending her flying down the stairs with an ungoldy screech and down into the boiler room. Penguin and Sachi peeked their heads around the corner, staring down into the darkest depths of their sub while Law shoved a hand into his pocket.

“Is she still alive?” Penguin asked.

“She’s got a couple, right?” Law asked Hau. “Which one was that?”

Hau flicked his tail tip, the only sign of his annoyance. Estrella watched him with peering eyes, following the sway of Hau’s haunches as he slunk down the steps into the boiler room after Hoku.

“Fuck you, Law!” came the ghostly holler. “I’m going to blow up your submarine! You forgot I’m suicidal, asshole!”

Law looked satisfied, turning his back on them and closing the boiler room door. To Sachi and Penguin he added, “Make sure she doesn’t come out until she’s done.”

---- --- --- --- ---

Law froze, his entire body stiff as ice.

He took a moment, reassessing the sensation he felt unfolding in his chest. He considered it carefully, made sure this… this feeling was not a mistake, that he had not wrongly interpreted the shared sensation between himself and his daemon. He picked it apart in seconds, slowly, rigidly turning his head to the corner of the deck.

It was dark, only a single headbeam lit from the corner pathway of the submarine. The deck on top of the rounded hull was bathed in darkness, but even in the thin light, he knew down to his bones he was not seeing wrongly.

Law gave the woman beside him one discreet, searching glance.

Hoku looked completely and utterly unaffected. He watched her a second longer to make sure it wasn’t an act, but her careless, bored demeanor showed truthfully she had no inclination whatsoever to sharing his barely, barely startled turmoil. Hoku looked completely at ease, still squinting in the distance to see if she could make out the constellation they’d just discussed, mouth moving around the dried fruit she’d just popped into her mouth.

Law carefully, with great composure, withheld the light, creeping shiver that traveled down his spine. He narrowed his eyes, looking back, but Estrella coyly kept her mind blank, hiding all of her thoughts from him the way they’d taught each other to.

There, against the side of the entry doorway, the two of them laid.

Hoku’s daemon had stretched out, directly in the middle of the deck to keep the perfect distance away from either side of the railings. His long, furred body turned a pale, ghostly shade of white under the moonlight, large paws hiding pearl white claws. Hau’s side rose and fell in lazy slumber, his tail stretched out behind him like a white whip, ears twitching only occasionally.

But the issue was who was beside him.

Estrella had silently made her way from Law’s side across the deck to his. Her lithe, powerful feline body almost nearly matched his in size. Law watched her with rapt, rigid focus, brows furrowed in dark disbelief as his daemon purposefully ignored his silent prodding.

She stopped inches from Hau’s form, sitting on her haunches, tail curled neatly over her paws. Hau’s ear flicked once in her direction to signal he’d noticed, but kept his eyes closed. Estrella stared down at him, icy gray gaze that had stared back as she ripped throats out of marines and pirates and their enemies alike, becoming almost clear.

Estrella rearranged herself, laying down on her stomach barely a centimeter—a heavy, tense centimeter Law could feel—from him. She folded her paws neatly over each other, staring out seemingly in boredom. Her striped black tail flicked from side to side, occasionally brushing against Hau’s limp one. A ghost of a touch.

Touch.

His daemon. Estrella.

Hau didn’t move, tail limp, body relaxed. Estrella turned her head to look down at the other daemon, expression carefully blank. Her tail curled and then the tip of it brushed against Hau’s flank. His fur seemed to shift, bright, scarred pink nose twitching but he remained relaxed. Estrella seemed pleased by this and her tail promptly laid out beside his own, curling idly over his.

Touching.

Law looked back at Hoku and she reached for another dried fruit, popping it into her mouth. She shuffled through her bag, debating whether or not to shove a handful more. Oblivious.

Is your connection to your daemon that terrible? Law almost bit out. Almost. It would have come out calm and cold and collected. Are you that dull? Is it that messed up? Are you an idiot—

He went rigid, gripping Kikoku with white knuckles.

Law exhaled, slowly. He carefully turned over his shoulder, inch by inch, glaring daggers behind him.

Estrella didn’t even blink at him, eyes trained sideways and away. She looked silver against Hau’s snow white. Her long, raspy pink tongue slid out languidly from her mouth in soothing, relaxed motions. It showed off the dangerous curve of bone-crushing fangs. But Estrella’s tongue was now running over the top of Hau’s face, over his ears, around his neck as she turned her face and—

“Are you grooming him?” Law spat out in disbelief at her.

The snow leopard lazily flicked her tail behind her in response. Hau yawned, stretching his paws out, unbothered, and resumed his slumber as Estrella continued her grooming, content.

Law ripped apart the shudder that almost raced down his spine. He shoved the sensations traveling from Estrella and Hau’s shared connection, the low buzz of energy, of electricity that came when two daemons touched each. A feeling he’d only ever felt when Corazon’s Rosa would curl her soft, furry body up around Estrella—

He grit his teeth, squaring his shoulders and forcibly maintaining his composure as he promptly knocked Kikoku against the metal railing once.

Hoku looked up, brows creasing. A fruit stuck out from between her lips. She gave him a look, as though he’d done something wrong for disturbing her.

Your daemon is touching my daemon.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Hoku asked.

Do you not feel what I feel?

Law gave her a flat look. Hoku continued to chew.

Go get your daemon—

“Hoku,” she and Law both looked down. Hau’s voice was smooth and not too low, like a melted rumble. He came up to her leg, pressing his big head against her hip and curling his tail over her leg. The white panther daemon blinked blue eyes up at them. Law could see gold.

Hau seemed to examine Law for a moment before his long whiskers twitched. The white panther blinked once. Law stared back at him, curious about the eye contact someone else’s daemon was making with him.

Without even pausing, Hoku’s hand ran over his face, pushing past his soft ears and turning against his cheek to scratch under his chin. Hau lifted his head for better access, a loud rumble filling the air.

Several feet away, Estrella slowly made her way toward them, nonchalant and shifting mass of silver and black fur. She didn’t even acknowledge the icy daggers her other half was fixing her with, haunches swaying as she came up and sat down loyally by Law’s feet. Estrella looked up at Hoku, whiskers twitching.

“What game are you playing?” Law thought at her.

“Nothing,” Estrella thought back at him, innocent. “Nothing at all.”

---- ----- -----

P.S - If you guys like this au, highly recommend checking out 500shadesofblue’s story “Echoes” on ao3, super good.

#memos #memos au #hdm au #daemons #straw hat crew #shanks #trafalgar law #mihawk #mahina #manu #hoku #ko fi requests #smoker

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imissjoongsmullet · 4 years

Text

My Prince (1)

Pairing: Minghao x reader

Genre: fluff/(angst)

Summary: Life is not exactly easy being the royal gardeners’ daughter but at least it’s simple. When you’re suddenly called upon to serve as the prince’s personal servant, things get a little more than complicated, especially considering the secret history you and the prince share.

Part 2

Part 3

Warnings: general angstiness, a bit of a slow burn, very romantic, very soft, the fact that this will most likely become a long series cause I have no chill

Word Count: 3k

Author’s Note: this is a present for my sweet sweet baby @silverstonemanor you deserve the world, I hope you like it! She gave me the idea for this story a while ago. I would have posted stuff earlier but my extra self couldn’t stop and ran way too far with this whole idea. This was supposed to be a drabble and well, now it’ll probably become the longest thing I’ve ever written that isn’t a novel so yeah ^^” oopsie~

►

The sun was just peeking over the distant treetops when you entered the wide castle grounds with your parents, tool bag slung over your back. You didn’t mind waking up this early; you enjoyed watching the various shades of orange and pink roll over the sky like waves, until nothing was left but clear blue. Besides, in a few hours, the air would turn far too hot and humid for you to focus.

The royal gardens were massive. They’d seemed infinite as a child and even now, despite your position as gardener, you found yourself lost in them from time to time. You followed your parents to the place you’d left off the evening before: a long, narrow stretch of grass, flanked by vibrant tiger lilies on both sides. At the far end was a small, ornate pagoda, around which a thin body of water lay. It was a lily pond of your father’s own making.

“Start at the front,” your mother’s stern voice called from behind, “we need it perfect by noon.”

You did as you were told, getting on your knees in the damp grass, facing the flowers. They needed pruning, as well as weeding. There would be some sort of royal meeting held right here today and; naturally, the place should be spotless. You dug your fingers into the moist soil and pulled at the weeds haphazardly, eyes drifting to the sky more often than necessary. It was tedious work, being part of the royal gardeners but you’d never had much of a choice in the matter. Your parents had done it and the same was expected of you. It’s not like you minded it all that much; you just wondered sometimes whether there was something more exciting you could be doing with your life than fussing over the tiniest details of a garden so vast, the emperor would probably never even see half of it.

The distant neighing of a horse called your attention. Unthinking, you got up and jumped onto the raised platform of the pagoda, so you could see over the bushes of the garden. From the castle’s main entrance came about a dozen men on horses. They trod down the path that lead into an enormous forest. At the front of the procession was the emperor of Namin himself, his most trusted servant by his side. Your eyes went immediately to the horse behind them though; for that’s where the prince sat. The gold detailing on his robe glinted in the warm morning light as he silently followed his father.

“Hey!” your mother barked at you, “these weeds won’t disappear by themselves you know.”

You pulled your eyes away from the procession and hopped off the pagoda with a dull thump and a sigh. You wished you could join the people on their horses. You didn’t even care where they were headed; you just wanted to get out. You imagined adventures you’d have with the prince sometimes; it was a bit of a guilty pleasure and if anyone ever found out, you’d probably be banished from the grounds.

But the prince and you had been close once. You’d been only children but even then it had been scandalous. Servants weren’t allowed to interact with royals but, as the daughter of the palace gardeners you’d spent a fair amount of time on grounds, learning your parents’ craft. That’s how you’d first met him.

He’d been reading by himself under an orange tree when you’d found him, a young boy of seven. He’d seemed weary of you at first but in a matter of hours, the two of you would’ve seemed like best friends to strangers. You still remembered the way he’d smiled at you that first day when you said goodbye; as if he himself was shocked by how much fun he’d just had.

From then on, you’d been secret playmates. He’d find you in the rose garden, watching your parents treat the plants and steal you away for hours, playing hide and seek in the endless maze of greenery, until the sun went down and when you’d return, your parents were worried about where you’d been.

He hadn’t seemed much like a prince back then. You’d just known him as Minghao, your best friend. He’d been loud and wild and full of life, chasing you between trees and under bushes, not afraid to get completely covered in dirt. One time, you’d been teasing each other until finally, he’d pushed you into one of your father’s most prided fountains. You’d yanked him down with you, ruining the apparently-brand-new robes he was supposed to wear to a formal dinner with the ruler of a neighboring land called Yientan that evening. You hadn’t seen him in the following days and you’d felt extremely guilty but a week or so later, he’d jumped out from behind a tree and pulled you into another afternoon of carefree playing.

You were eight years old when you finally got caught. To make matters worse, it had been the empress herself who’d found you, hidden behind a banquet table at one of the royal summer festivals, laughing a bit too loud. You’d never forget the look in her eyes — hard as stone at her own son — as well as Minghao’s — positively terrified. She’d had the guards escort him back to his chambers assuring him there’d be punishment later. She would have banished you right then and there in front of everyone if it hadn’t been for your parents’ begging. They promised to have you start training twelve hours a day with them, to force all your focus on gardening so you wouldn’t have the energy to think about anything else.

You supposed you should be grateful. You would never have survived on your own outside the grounds should you have been banished.

After that, you barely ever saw Minghao and even when he was out in the gardens, you kept your distance. There were times when your eyes crossed and you’d share a look and a smile that reminded you of the way things once were. But even that didn’t last. Soon enough, Minghao grew up and you stopped seeing him as Minghao, the name replaced with ‘prince’, as others called him. It seemed to fit him more. By his fourteenth birthday, there wasn’t much left of the loud, wild, full-of-life boy you’d known. His back was straighter, his shoulders squared and his kind smile vanished. On the rare occasion your eyes did meet, his were cold like his mother’s and you just had to learn to live with that.

Because you knew your place now.

Yet, as you worked your way around the stretch of tiger lilies, your mind kept flitting to the prince. You couldn’t help it. You knew it was silly but, somehow, you still hoped you could return to how things were before.

You were a sweaty mess once the sun arrived high in the sky. Your hands hurt and your stomach was growling but your mother had told you not to take a break before the flowerbeds were in perfect condition. After that you’d still have to clean the pond, all before the clock struck three, when the meeting would take place. You were getting impatient and grouchy and when someone called your name you replied with a bit more attitude than you were allowed to.

“What now?” you groaned, turning around to see, not your parents, but a tall, thin woman in pristine, white and gold clothing. You nearly fell over into the flowers.

The woman didn’t seem fazed. “Come with me,” she ordered in a monotone voice.

You looked around for your parents and found them just as perplexed as you were. Hesitantly, you stood and followed the stranger through the garden. You knew by her clothes she must work at the castle but, as you had no idea of what went on on the inside, you couldn’t tell exactly who she was or what she wanted from you. You worried suddenly they’d somehow found out about your secret prince fantasies, which was a completely irrational thought but horrifying nonetheless.

You were taken through the main entrance, with its massive wooden doors and colorful flags — a gold dragon against a vivid blue backdrop. You'd been fantasizing about what lay behind them since before you could remember. More blue and gold flags? Statues of the royal family? Elaborate paintings or murals?

It was more than you could have dreamed of. The room was entirely bare, drawing the focus on the only the two things that mattered. The floor was a wood, so shiny you could see your face reflected in them, the gentle creak in them like a birdsong. The walls were painted a sky blue, decorated with gold, spindly tree branches. Their shine reflected onto the wood, lighting up the place beautifully.

You had no time to admire any of it. The tall woman’s stride was hasty and you could barely keep up. Tailing her through a small sliding door, you came upon a narrow hallway. You passed others in servant’s clothing: light colored, clean, silk robes. They billowed behind them gracefully as they shuffled past. It made you realize how much you stood out in your mud-stained tunic and trousers.

You ventured deeper into the castle, taking turns through sliding door after sliding door and you started wondering whether you’d ever find your way back outside, when suddenly, the stern woman turned around to face you. You were in a small room with a low table as its center piece. The woman motioned for you to sit and so you did, feeling your heartbeat quicken. What kind of punishment was in store for you here?

The woman took the seat opposite you at the little table, expression unwavering. “I’ve called you here because your services are required in the castle,” she said, sounding put off by the idea.

You could only stare at her in confusion. Why on earth would you be needed at the castle? Your parents did the odd job inside every now and again, mostly flower pieces for special events, but you’d never even been allowed in. Was this some kind of joke?

“Our royal prince’s personal servant has fallen ill,” she went on as if she couldn’t care less, “we need a temporary replacement.”

It took you a few moments to put two and two together.

“You mean me?” you let out a little louder than you’d meant to.

The woman raised her brows. “Believe me I would have chosen otherwise but as it is, you’re the only adequate servant on castle grounds available at the moment.”

Adequate, you thought perplexedly. That wasn’t really a term you’d ever use to describe yourself, let alone a term some crabby older woman would use to describe you.

“The position of any royal member’s personal servant has a set of very specific requirements. Age, gender, birth time,… I don’t expect you to know about it,” she sighed, quite literally looking down on you. “Skills can be taught,” she went on, rising and beckoning you to follow, “but unfortunately the alignment of the planets are beyond our control.”

She opened up a panel behind her, revealing a deep closet space filled to the brim with colorful fabrics. She pulled out a soft lilac robe, not unlike the ones you’d seen the other castle servants wear, and held it up to you, looking you up and down.

“This will do,” she said with a concerning lack of enthusiasm. She pulled out a bunch more similar robes and made a neat pile. “Come,” she ordered and left with the clothes.

All you could do was follow and try to process the ridiculous things you’d just been told. Perhaps you were just dreaming, you thought. Yeah, that had to be it.

You arrived in another bare room, this one large and rectangular. There were a couple of other servant girls, folding robes on the floor. They all rose upon seeing the older woman and bowed in silence. Then they noticed you and their eyes narrowed. You felt their stares stab at your already racing heart.

“Before we can begin your training you need to wash, child,” the woman said, laying down your new clothes, “I’ll be back in half an hour. Be ready," and with that, she left you standing there, completely in shock.

After awkwardly looking around the room for far too long to be socially acceptable, you plucked up the courage to ask for help. The young girls exchanged looks before reluctantly bringing you to the baths.

If you hadn't been so anxious it would've been the best bath you'd ever had but for all the luxurious oils and soaps to scrub yourself clean with, your brain was too preoccupied with everything that had just happened.

“I don’t understand,” you muttered when you were met with the older woman again, “I’m just a gardener.” You were shuffling after her in the narrow hallways, trying to wrap your head around things.

“Don’t be dramatic,” she answered simply, “it’s not befitting a royal servant. Besides, this is merely a temporary position. You’ll be back out with your tools in no time.”

Her name, you’d learned, was Tou Ma, or at least that what you were to call her. She was head keeper to the royal family, in charge of all female servants in the castle. Her face was long, with eyes like slits and cheekbones sharp as glass. You couldn’t tell how old she was from the heavy layers of powder she wore but supposed she must be older than your mother.

She spent the rest of the day attempting to cram an overload of information into your head. She taught you to bow ‘the proper way’, whatever that meant; apparently you’d been doing it wrong your entire life. She explained all the intricacies of etiquette, washing, folding, serving, dusting, pruning and a bunch of other things you’d probably forget by the next day. It was all so overwhelming that when it was finally over, the sun was setting and you were about ready to pass out.

“Now,” Tou Ma said, somehow still as fierce as she was at the beginning of the day, “the emperor and his son returned from their hunting trip approximately one hour ago. I suggest you don’t keep him waiting much longer.”

The words took the earth right out from under your feet.

“I have to see him?” you stammered, “now?”

Tou Ma looked unimpressed. “I’ve told you how he likes his tea,” she said, “don’t mess it up.”

You were one and all nerves as you approached the prince’s chambers. You nearly got lost on the way, the hundreds of hallways all blurring together after such a long day, but the entrance to his chamber was not easily missed. It was a heavy, wooden sliding door, it’s surface craved out, depicting a scene from a past war. It was imposing to say the least, with soldiers on horseback and a massive dragon in the sky, spewing fire. It did not manage to still your racing heart.

Taking a deep breath, you slid open the door.

There he was, the prince, sat in a blood red, upholstered chair at his desk, writing. He looked regal, you admitted, in his clean, silk robes and perfect hair; too beautiful to touch. He looked up at the sound of the door. His brown eyes fell on you and his lips parted in silence.

“Um,” you started awkwardly, which was already not the ‘proper’ way of serving tea, “I’ve brought you some tea.”

That’s when you noticed his brows furrow ever so slightly. Having forgotten everything Tou Ma had taught you just before, you walked over to the nearest surface — a narrow table against a wall — and set down the tray you’d been holding. You felt his eyes on you the entire time as you tried to remember how to prepare the beverage properly but when you were finally done after what seemed like forever, you found him hunched over his writing again.

“Okay,” you said softly, “it’s ready.”

He set down his pen and turned to you with a look that was impossible to read. The silence between you seemed to last forever and you felt your face go red hot. You noticed for the first time how tired he looked. He was seventeen, one year older than you, but the darkness under his eyes would suggest otherwise.

Part of you wanted to go nearer to him. You took a hesitant step forward but at once, you saw his eyes turn colder than you’d never seen them.

“You can leave,” he said suddenly, casting his eyes back down to his writing.

“Yes,” you stuttered, taking the emptied tray and hugging it to yourself, “of course.”

You stumbled backwards until you met the door, made an awkward bow and left the prince with a sinking feeling in your gut. You’d watched him change over the years from a distance, sure; but having him dismiss you so coolly when there was no one even around to see? Well, it hurt. Maybe part of you had hoped he’d act differently when it was just the two of you. Maybe you’d hoped he’d tell you all these years of iciness had been pretend for his parents. But clearly not.

In one day, your entire life had turned upside down and at its end, you were positive things hadn’t changed for the better.

Part 2

#minghao #xu minghao #the8 #seventeen #minghao fluff #the8 fluff #minghao scenarios #the8 scenarios #minghao imagines #the8 imagines #prince minghao #kpop fluff #fluff #series #minghao series

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