#he was pointing at trees and asking me to identify them and i got the first few ones but then was struggling

[solis-angelus]

foreplay but you just ask me science questions that i struggle to answer and i look at you like i'm gonna eat you alive in my frustration

[kerink]

okay, i finished the book of bill and i wasn't going to make this post because i was sure someone already had, but i was asked to make it anyway so here we go. my compilation of the billford content:

SONGS

three songs have been identified in relation to bill and ford:

the first is "we'll meet again" by vera lynn, which is about the singer wishing well to the listener before they travel, and promising to return home to them soon. this song comes up twice, first when bill sang it to ford in the fearamid and then again at the start of the book of bill, where ford says he still gets it stuck in his head upon waking up, giving the impression they both are singing it to each other at different points.

the second is a 1960s song by james and bobby; when you search this, the first song that comes up is "i'm your puppet." the meaning of this song is really straightforward, especially within the context of these two, but you can read this if you'd like. i believe this is the song ford is whistling in his dream before he's confronted by bill's previous victims. during this scene, he's sitting in a birch tree clearing (the tree commonly associated with bill) and sketching a yellow meadowlark.

as an aside, something interesting about the meadowlark is that its chest marking has a very peculiar resemblance...

the third is "sweet dreams (are made of this)" by the eurythmics. after bill tries for days if not weeks to talk to ford about the portal, bill resorts to violence and spends the night abusing ford's body and reputation. when ford wakes up, this is the song bill left playing for him.

as an aside, i think it's interesting that the first draft of the song was played on a black and yellow synthesizer.

HOW TO TRICK EVERYONE INTO LOVING YOU

there is an entire section in the book dedicated to bill outlining his dating tips. of the 8 tips bill gives, he uses 3 of them on ford. EDIT: he uses 5 of them

the first is "the love cage," which pretty much ver batum outlines what happened in the fearamid during weirdmageddon.

the second is "vulnerability," where bill advises you tell your date 1) how no one can relate to you and 2) that you have a tragic back story, both of which he does in one fell swoop.

as an aside, this is a fun chance to peek at bill being an unreliable narrator in some kind of mobius double bluff. when you read these two sections back to back, it appears bill is lying to ford to gain his trust, especially if you also just watched the previous video. however, earlier in the book, it's implied that the genocide of his dimension was traumatic and something he wishes he could undo, and later in the book, after ford leaves him, bill gets drunk and attempts to call his mother, sobbing. this gives the impression that bill was indeed being vulnerable with ford here but doesn't want us, the reader, to know it.

the third is "good ol'-fashioned valentines," where bill provides some cheap and easy gift-giving advice. he then follows this advice for ford's birthday.

as an aside, i think it's funny bill brings up cats here. who belongs to whom, william?

BREAKUP

them both accusing each other of cheating:

a callback to stan's season 1 joke: "my ex-wife still misses me, but her aim is getting better:"

this amazing lower back tattoo bill made him get:

bill totally being fine and normal and great after ford leaves him for good. in fact, he's doing so well that he got drunk and took himself to dinner to celebrate. he's not upset. he's not upset.

and let's not forget mabel calling it like it is, as always:

MISC

and finally, here are some various tidbits i just enjoyed:

ford's a cipherholic attracted to things that hurt him lmfao

can you just give him a normal compliment jesus

the tattoo reads "if lost return to bill"

also the "the rats were his idea? i get it now." get what baby hm? hm? hm? implying we WERE supposed to "get" something from it

fated i guess

not tonight dear i have a headache

in conclusion, i definitely think bill is more in love with obsessed with ford than ford is with bill at this point. probably because ford's had a third of his life to come to terms with their partnership, while 30 years to an immortal being is imperceptible. given what we saw with "the love cage" and with how bill tells ford it's not too late to join the henchmaniacs during weirdmageddon, he's probably still trying to get ford back. in his own insane, demonic way.

as an aside, i do think it's interesting that the end of the book implies bill blames stan for turning ford away from him. especially since what he cites is what happens at the end of the show, implying bill thought he still had a chance during weirdmageddon

anyway, thanks for reading! if i missed anything, please let me know!

[mochinomnoms]

How would Jade react to a prefect who already knows all about foraging? If he had already caught feelings, and if he was still just meeting the..

Example: He's out and about because Mountain Lovers Club and the prefect is out there with a friend. He finds them playing 'death or dinner' with mushrooms, berries, and other plants.

Love your work! Your stories always make me laugh.

I finished the last episode of The Apothecary Diaries a few weeks ago and this made me think of a semi-mad scientist Prefect who is super knowledgeable about herbs and plants. They're scarily good at potions, and are able to identify poisons with just a sniff and a silver cup.

“They are also prone to straight up eat those poisonous plants because they just want to know what it feels like”.

Jade is rather fond of you, infatuated even! Mostly due to your straight-up feral antics in potions, as you and Grim are constantly causing all sorts of mayhem with your potions. He loves watching you as there's never a boring moment with you around, and you're so diligent with trying again and again to get your potion just right, Jade might just say he's charmed!

Come a random, warm Saturday, when Jade is out hiking and taking photos of the landscape, that that charm turns into a full-blown crush. It's quite peaceful, until he hears some rustling nearby. He softens his footsteps, cautious in case it's a wild animal, until he hears voices.

Peeking through the foliage of the bushes and trees, Jade saw you and Ruggie picking at a wild blackberry bush. You two were quietly sharing ideas on what you could do with your share, evidently splitting your findings in half.

“Think I can mix this with the dandelions for a salad?”

“No, blackberries are too tart. You should make them into a sauce, you got those discounted pork chops from Sam's, right? I asked him to save some for you.”

“Yeah, I almost forgot about those I was so busy, thanks. I can do that...hey, what about those mushrooms down there?”

Jade watched as you looked towards where Ruggie was pointing, at a cluster of orange-yellow funnel shaped mushrooms. To the novice, they looked like the chanterelle mushroom. Edible and delightful in a saute, the ones that Ruggie were pointing at were not chanterelles, but false chanterelles.

You gasped in delight, your eyes practically glittering as you squealed, “Oh! Neat!”

They looked similar, but the gills were different and the colors more white. Jade's eyes widen as you reached for them; they weren't fatal, but they would cause some stomach issues. Jade could use those blackberries anyways, so he decided to step in and 'save' you in exchange for a third of the berries.

“I recommend that you don't eat those, those are false chanterelles. They are rather harsh on the stomach.”

You both jumped as Jade emerged from the thicket, Ruggie giving him a wave as your face soured. Ruggie opened his mouth, the beginning of a 'thanks' leaving his lips before you bluntly replied.

“I know what I'm doing, thanks.” Jade blinked as you took out a small knife, cutting the cluster up and throwing them in your pouch. “And you're wrong, they're not false chanterelles.”

Jade slowly blinked again as you turned to him, displaying a small orange mushroom in your fingertips. Looking at it closer, Jade noted that the gills were well-developed and unforked.

“These are jack-o-lanterns, they're poisonous, so you were right that they are 'harsh' on the stomach.”

Jade's open fell slightly open, and Ruggie let out a harsh yelp, as you popped it your mouth and started chewing.

“Prefect!” Jade stepped back as Ruggie rushed over to you and attempted to pry your chewing mouth open. “I thought I said no more eating poisons! Weeds or herbs! The nurse is going to murder me! This is why I don't take you foraging with me!”

Jade watched as you swallowed, just as Ruggie managed to open your mouth, sticking your tongue out and saying 'aaaah' mockingly to him. Like you weren't even worried that you'd just swallowed poison.

“I told you, I'm super resistant to poisons! I used to eat them all the time!” You closed your eyes and smile, hands on your cheeks as you gushed.

“This one is gastrointestinal only, it leads to nausea, vomiting, and sometimes diarrhea.” You continued squealing like a schoolgirl about her crush.

“But my favorite are the ones that make your tongue go numb and body tingly until you're convulsing on the ground and twitching! They feel so electrifying! Aaa! How am I supposed to resist?”

Ruggie continued to fuss over you, dragging you back to the main path and muttering about having the nurse keep you on a leash. So concerned with you and your health, neither he nor you noticed Jade's wide eyes and red flush as you left.

Once you two were out of earshot, Jade clutched at his chest, right where his heart was, and fell to his knees like he'd been shot. Perhaps cupid finally decided to let loose the arrow he'd been pointing at Jade's heart for some time.

The glazed look in your eyes, the blissful smile, the near drunken looking flush on your cheeks. You'd looked absolutely breathtaking, you looked like you truly appreciated the mushroom for all its beauty and danger.

Would you eat anything? If jade were to gift you with a bouquet of hemlock and foxglove, would you sniff it and smile at him like he presented you with something priceless? Would you eat a white capped mushroom if he presented to you, taking the gamble between it being a death cap or a paddy straw mushroom?

Would you let him watch you writhe on the ground from eating fugu, the blowfish's poison entering your system? You wanted a tingling sensation? You wanted the pins and needles, the sweating, the tremors as you slowly became paralyzed?

Yes, you would, wouldn't you? Up until he presented you with some activated charcoal (you'd probably have some anyway), holding your hair back so you could puke your stomach out. Then he'd be able to nurse you to health again, up until you excitedly asked him to test out a new concoction with that same glitter in your eyes.

Jade covered his face, letting out a small whining noise as he felt the heat fill his face. Oh, how pathetic he must look, curled into himself and red-faced, squealing into his hands like a child. Can you fault him, though? He's hopelessly in love!

[blue-jisungs]

bodyguard

[ song inspo ! ] bodyguard by beyonce

[ req ! ] yes! here<3 i hope u like it hehe

[ summary ! ] fall trip w bf intak

[ word count ! ] 1218

[ author's note ! ] listen i would never think id EVER write a fanfic abt going mushroom picking w an idol but here we are. and if this concept is very strange and weird to u... well, its a normal thing in slavic countries id say ESP here, in poland!! however, please DO research or consult a professional if u wanna consume the shrooms u picked!! they can be misleading sometimes, lil devils >:)

also, it’s the last post for the november jam session:( let me know if you enjoyed it!

the crisp fall air filled your lungs, the breeze swaying your hair. intak just grinned, taking a quick look at you. one hand on the steering wheel, the other in yours. fingers intertwined, he squeezed your hand gently. 

“man, i love fall so much” you sighed dreamily, eyes scanning the trees that you were passing by. intak wasn’t going too fast so you could admire the view. leaves in a variety of colors adorning the brown boughs. oranges, reds, yellows danced in a swirl moved by a gust of wind. the road was uneven; however, the muddy road made no resistance to your jeep. 

“do you want some tea?” you asked and reached for the flash bottle, in which you earlier prepared earl grey with honey and lemon. 

intak hummed and let go of your hand to grab it. 

you watched him take a sip, the temperature of the tea perfect. it didn’t burn his tongue nor was too cold. he let out a dramatic sigh of satisfaction and handed you back the flask.

“delicious” intak grinned and soon enough his warm hand was back in yours “the gps says we’re gonna be there in a second but we can stop wherever, sweetheart”

“let’s just leave our car nearby this path, i don’t wanna get lost” you hummed and pointed at the spot in front of you. 

this forest had a visible path, probably a lot of other people going here as well. there was some space to leave the car so it wouldn’t be on the way. 

intak followed your instructions and turned off the car, leaving. you did too, stretching widely with a satisfied groan. 

you took a deep sigh, the smell of forest filled your lungs. you glanced around, adoring the sway of colors nearer you now. even being able to touch the leaves, you crouched and gathered a couple of them. the texture a bit dry and flaky beneath your fingers, you creeped to intak and threw them at him with a giggle. 

your boyfriend let out a surprised yelp when they touched his face and fell on him. a big, red and yellowish leaf stayed on his shoulder. 

still chuckling, you swept it off him with a grin. intak was just looking at you, smitten – his smile was just screaming that he’s whipped. but he always looked at you that way. 

“let’s go, hm? i’m really excited” he asked and his hand found yours but you pulled away. 

“and did you bring the basket?” you asked and turned around to go take it. 

picking mushrooms seemed like a weird date idea. but intak didn’t protest, no. quite the opposite, he got really invested. two or three weeks prior he started researching the types of mushrooms and how to identify them. for example, most mushrooms with sponges underneath their caps are edible. those with gills – not really. there are exceptions though, like chanterelles… they are a quite interesting species: they have so called “false gills” and due to that they are considered edible– 

“takie, here! come on!” you yelped with excitement and dragged intak into the forest. 

you had your coat and rain boots on, ready to hunt for some mushrooms. intak thought you looked absolutely adorable.

“i hope they left some for us, we’re kinda late” you sighed dramatically, stepping over a big branch in the ground. the fallen leaves were crunching underneath your feet. technically speaking, the mushroom picking season wasn’t over yet but passionate pickers more often than not go hunting the day mushrooms start to grow.

“i see a bolete!” he yelped suddenly and kneeled down, causing you to stop in your tracks. 

kneeling down next to him, you observed him precisely twist the mushroom gently. a little bit to the left, then a little bit to the right… slowly but surely… and soon enough it was out from the ground. after putting it gently into your basket, he covered the spot with dirt and leaves. 

“i heard it’s better to cover back the ground to allow the mycelium to continue growing” he looked at you with a huge smile, noticing your shocked expression “what?”

“nothing” you laughed, poking his side “you’re just so professional!” 

he scoffed and stood up, offering you his hand. you took it.

“look, i know we’re going to let my grandpa check the mushrooms but i still wanted to make sure we don’t pick any poisonous ones” he grinned and leaned to dust off your knees from dirt. “now let’s keep looking here. they often grow nearby”

after two hours or so you and intak had almost two full baskets of various mushrooms. their caps created a colorful spread of different shades of brown. they were big, small… some had long and thin stalls, whereas others were thick. 

intak opened the trunk of the car and hid the treasure safely on the passenger seat. then, he grabbed a red and white checkered blanket and called you to the back. 

helping you sit in the trunk, he later joined you. sun started slowly setting down and you had a perfect view over the forest. 

your boyfriend draped the warm blanket over you, love beaming in his ebony eyes. you grinned and leaned quickly to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, which was cold. he should’ve worn a warmer scarf, you thought. 

you scooted closer, thigh next to his. your legs were swinging in the air happily and you started searching for his hand underneath the blanket. you felt him move it away with a boyish giggle and you just whined.

“don’t be a meanie” with a huff, you leaned again and grabbed his hand. with dramatic force you intertwined your fingers together, a spark of warmth spreading through your body. 

“you know…” he started, voice low. he took his sweet time to wrap his arm around you and pull you even closer, head naturally resting on his shoulder. you both stared in silence at the sunset, pinks and oranges blending into one on the sky. the shadows of the trees danced on the ground, getting longer and longer. you kept looking at the sky, colors gradually shifting. “sometimes i hold you closer just to know you’re real” 

you slowly turned around, just to meet his eyes. it was so cliche but intak was already staring at you; your beauty outshining the sunset. 

with a gentle smile you moved your head to kiss him. your lips crashing on his softly. soon enough his free hand went to cup your cheek. it was warm, a bit calloused but oh, so perfect against your skin. with a swipe of his tongue, intak dominated the kiss - but not in an aggressive way. it was his way of expressing his love. 

you didn’t even realize when you became breathless, only when he pulled away with pink dusted face and a lopsided smile. 

“i’ll take the wheel, i know the route to your grandma’s house. you should rest, my bodyguard” you teased and gave him a final peck, returning to rest your head against his shoulder. 

the sky was darker now, sun hanging lower above the forest. but the golden sunlight still framed your face in such a way, that intak couldn’t help but grin foolishly… and consider kneeling soon. 

piwon mlist | event mlist

taglist. @primoppang ,, @laylasbunbunny ,, @slytherinshua ,, @planetkiimchi ,, @weird-bookworm ,,

@mon2sunjinsuver ,, @litepowee ,, @l3visbby ,, @rubywonu

[luimagines]

Hello lovely Pinky!

I saw requests were open for only 24 hours and was hoping to request a Confident Hyrule scenario of your choosing☺️ it doesn't even have to be an x reader scenario if you want someyhing different. I don't care either way, I just enjoy your writing haha.

A lot of people write him being very meek and insecure, which is still good, but I do love reading about him when he's confident and in control of a situation

Sorry if this is too vague, but I hope it catches your fancy😉

Thank you!❤️

THANK YOU!!!! I FULLY AGREE WITH THIS!

I also think this was my only Hyrule One-Shot request. DX

This boy gets so little love here. Let me give him the spotlight!!

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

This was fairly common ground for him at this point.

The monsters attack, he says a few spells, swings his sword around a few times, end of story. It hasn't exactly changed much since he's found himself with this group of people.

They're a lot like him. They have the same name as him. They've defeated Ganon like him. (Well Sky had a different guy apparently. That was an interesting conversation that day.) They all use a sword like him and they all care about Hyrule like him.

They're so much cooler than him. Or so he thinks.

He ruffles his hair and sighs, letting some of the others take the lead once again. Hyrule follows them without question... most of the time.

They seem to know what they're doing. Which works for him since he's been paying attention to many other things other than what they're actually doing.

He sees a few of them argue about the direction they're taking and sees some others jest and banter and takes it in stride. Hyrule likes this group. They're easy to get along with. They pull their own weight and it's nice to know that they've got his back if it comes down to it.

They were walking down a beaten down forest path on their way to wherever. He actually wasn't sure. He was too busy looking at the telltale signs of monsters nearby to bother asking about any specifics. Hyrule sees the scratches on the trees and the broken branches and keeps his hand by the hilt of his sword. He keeps his head on a swivel.

The others don't seem as bothered. So Hyrule assumes that they're not bothered by what's just beyond the tree line next to them. They're all experienced fighters. Surely they're aware of their own capabilities. That's why they're not worried.

Hyrule wishes he could have the same kind of confidence.

They're attacked.

It was sudden and quick. Many of the boys next to him are taken off guard and are instantly on the forest floor for one reason or another.

Hyrule unsheathes his sword in a flash, jumping into the fray without missing a beat. It's the same song and dance.

Duck, block, stab, swing, block again-

"THUNDER!" He cries out, eliminating these monster with a spell he's been dying to use since the others have showed up. Hyrule was worried about the implications since many of them wear armor- but he doesn't have the forefront thought to think about that.

This is just muscle memory.

Many of the monsters that survived his spell target him next- identifying him as the most powerful person on the field right now.

Hyrule doesn't care.

He runs ahead, slicing into the beasts with calculated yet reckless swipes. Some stay standing. Many don't.

Hyrule is light on his feet and quick to fire off another spell from his fingertips. The handful of monster remaining run away, having miscalculated their attack with Hyrule at the frontlines. Hyrule left a bit breathless but grinning and proud of himself for acting as fast as he did.

He turns around and looks at the others. Many are still on the ground, staring at him with slack jaws and wide eyes. He goes down the ranks of the boys. Wild gives him a thumbs up. Legend (still on the ground) has his mouth wide open. Wind and Sky look delighted and in awe. Four, Time and Twilight, had their weapons out and from the looks of it, were handling the ones that Hyrule had missed with his magic the first go around. Warrior was in the process of helping Legend to his feet but seems to be also frozen in place.

Hyrule snorts and puts his hand on his hip. The fact that not only has he left them speechless but quite literally frozen as well is admittedly, quite the ego boost. Maybe they were oblivious to the monster signs after all. "Thanks for the help everyone."

He aims a particularly cocky look at the Captain and winks. "I told you, like that."

[mc-lukanette]

Marinette didn't particularly get the idea of music translating into words. To her, music was music and words were words; you could mix the two in a song to evoke more emotion, but that wasn’t the same as one becoming the other.

That was the reason she was there, she supposed. Luka had intrigued her with his offer, and if anyone could make her believe it or learn something new about music, it was him. Sure, he was also kind of handsome, had soft blue eyes, and a dazzling smile, but she was there for a potential new understanding of the creative process, nothing more.

Not that there would've been anything wrong with going for both, of course.

She looked at the note once more to make sure she was at the right park. Luka's handwriting was unique and identifiable as his: not wild, but not "standard" either, while still being totally readable. It made sense for someone who had to write a lot.

After triple-checking to be certain, she stepped out onto the smooth walkway leading in, looking around for the fluffy black-and-blue hair she'd met only a week ago. There were some couples with little picnics set out that she couldn't help feeling jealous of, but she tried to ignore them.

She heard Luka before she actually saw him, which was a weird thought. A quick set of notes from a guitar had made her turn, spotting him sitting on a bench in the pleasant shade of some trees and waving at her.

She smiled, waving back and walking over to him. "Hey, Luka! How—" She stopped in place, catching herself before she could properly ask him. She raised the cellophane bag in her hands to her mouth, biting into the side to both free her hands and keep herself quiet, then made a flurry of hand movements to ask how he was doing.

He blinked rapidly in surprise, then gently rested the neck of his guitar on the bench so he could sign in return. His gestures were more natural than hers - had she been signing to herself, it might as well have been the language of aliens - so she could easily tell what he was asking.

"Yff—" She brought her hand back up to pull the bag out from her mouth, then answered proudly, "Yes, I learned a little bit over the weekend!" She waved her free hand from side-to-side like she was casting a spell, despite the sheepish look on her face. "I might've forgotten how to sign 'yes', but I knew what you were signing! That's something, right?"

The dazzling smile that she remembered, showing just a little bit of teeth but not too much, had returned. Luka nodded at her, pulling out a notepad and pencil from his pocket to write while she got herself settled in. He'd already left enough room on the bench for her to sit, so she took up the empty space and got comfortable.

He went to hand her his notepad, but she lifted up the cellophane bag first, giving it a shake to show off the assortment of macarons, cookies, and candies inside. "Here! Trade me."

He visibly perked at the offer, their fingers brushing as he took it from her.

She only realized what she'd done when his notepad was already in her hand, hurrying to say, "Oh! I put that in my mouth without thinking, didn't I? You don't have to—"

He'd already loosened the string so he could open it, grabbing one of the candies and unwrapping it before popping it into his mouth. He'd clearly heard her, but it was quickest to eat one to prove his point rather than tell her it was fine.

Plus, she had one of his forms of communications in her hands, so that had been out. She looked down to read what he'd written.

You didn't have to dress up for this, but you look nice. I hope this is enough shade for you.

She blushed at the first line. It was one thing to be complimented verbally, but in writing, she could read it over and over again. She checked Luka's reaction to see if he had any regrets about it, but he was cool as a cucumber, chewing on the candy she'd given him whilst getting the guitar back in his hands.

The second line was more confusing to where she had to actively dig through her memories to think of what it could be referring to. She did recall sitting down with him after the chaos had settled down, having some juice together, and her rambling unnecessarily long about everything from her job to—

"Wait—" she began in realization, "was this all because I complained about how hot it was that day?! That was one thing in all the nonsense I was talking about!"

He shrugged, smiling innocently and holding his hand out for his notepad. She pouted, feeling like he was being unfair with how sweet he was to someone he'd barely just met, but relented and gave it up to him. She just couldn't quite believe it, having felt so bad for how chatty she'd been with him, but he'd apparently paid attention to every word of it.

She wasn't sure if that was more or less embarrassing than being ignored the whole time.

"O-okay, so..." She looked down sheepishly at his guitar, trying to change the topic as casually as possible. "How are we going to do this? You showing me how you talk with music?"

One hand still holding the guitar's neck, he flipped through the pages of his notepad with the other. He showed her a pre-prepared page with his answer, which stated:

I'll play something for you. You don't have to do anything but listen and imagine a story in your mind.

A story? What kind of story? She wanted to ask, but knew that she wouldn't get a response.

Squinting at him, still skeptical, she gave into the request and closed her eyes. "Alright. Ready when you are."

There were a few small, short notes at first - either Luka warming up or being genuinely nervous to start - but then an actual melody began to develop. She shut her eyes tighter, like it might ruin everything if she looked, and her nose scrunched up as she tried to focus on what he was playing and the instructions he'd given.

It sounded... regal? No, adventurous? Maybe both? It reminded her of movies that she would watch as a child, where a knight would go off somewhere for the sake of a princess. The music would get more dramatic as the knight was surrounded by dangers, then victorious as he triumphed. She caught herself smiling over this imaginary character she'd literally made up in her head, returning to the princess and receiving a favor from her for his efforts. It really was like a film, but shortened to a few minutes long and somehow familiar to her.

Her eyelids popped back open when the music ended, then blinked to readjust to her surroundings. Luka was staring at her curiously, the hand that'd been strumming resting more casually on his guitar as he waited.

"Erm..." She trapped her chin, slightly anxious and feeling like she was being quizzed. There weren't any real stakes involved, but what if she failed? "I... thought about a knight? He met and saved a princess, and she gave him her thanks? Maybe she even offered him something for it?"

The actual image in her head was more vivid than she let on, but it was difficult describing it when she figured that it could've been her overactive imagination.

Not missing a beat, Luka shot her a smile and flipped a page in his notepad to present to her. No way.

That's us, on the day we met.

Her mouth dropped open. She got it right? But then... "Uh—! So I'm the knight?! You're joking!"

Not that Luka wouldn't have made a pretty princess though. If he had just the right dress that accentuated—

She shook her head, trying to focus on the matter at hand. He, meanwhile, was unphased by the mental struggle she was having and flipped another page.

You were so cool. I've been trying to figure out how to say it all week.

"It wasn't a big deal!" she insisted, flushing pink. "They were judging you because of your looks and how 'quiet' you were, so I—you know—"

She made a few wild gestures that in no way resembled sign language but she hoped would convey the full dismissal of whatever he'd apparently been imagining their first meeting to be like. Worse still was that what he'd written implied that he'd been working on that melody all week in order to have it ready for her, and she knew what it was like to pour one's creativity into something.

He meant it and she'd heard as much.

Dropping her hands into her lap shyly, she had to relent, "But... I guess I get what you mean now, about saying things with music instead of words, even if I feel like your notepad should be confiscated."

Amused, he smirked, purposefully holding the notepad to the side furthest from her, out of her reach as she teasingly swiped at it. Using only the tilt of his head and look in his eyes, he asked her a playful 'why?'

"Why? I—" she began, then stopped when she needed to actually think about it. One disadvantage to not being mute like him was that she wasn't required to think before saying anything, such as how Luka needed to take the time to write out a full thought and read it before showing her.

Clearing her throat, she started over, "I can't believe you had fun last week? I mean, I guess it made sense if you invited me here, but I thought it was just from me helping you a little! Since we were there for a whole hour and I felt so bad because—" She realized what she was about to say, but it was too late to stop it. "—I was doing all the talking!"

Luka laughed outright at that, and the only thing keeping her from crawling under the bench and wishing for death was that it was actually pretty cute. He had a breathy sort of laugh, making it more quiet than a typical one but somehow incredibly charming.

Marinette leaned forward and rested her elbows on her lap, clasping her hands together in front of her mouth as her lips tried to both smile at him and grimace at herself at the same time. The fact that he hadn't fled at her flubs was a relief but also utterly perplexing.

She dared a peek over at Luka, who'd finished laughing and was trying to write something. It was taking him longer than usual and she noticed a little twitch in his brow, a contrast to what had otherwise been him being totally calm the whole time. Eventually, he tore the page out, scrunched it up, and stuffed it in his pocket, opting to put his hands on his guitar instead.

Marinette grew curious when his fingers twitched without playing any actual melody. He did start, but stopped, then started and stopped again, biting his lower lip in contemplation. Hand motions were also useless without a full understanding of sign language on her part.

He ended up settling on the notepad again, this time being unexpectedly quick in writing something. She hadn't realized how much suspense she was in until he presented it to her, her hands practically snatching it from him to read it.

You make me feel speechless, Marinette.

She blushed all the way up to her ears, speechless herself. She could excuse being told that she looked nice as some casual remark or pleasantry, the music as his only way of teaching her what she'd asked about, and not being put off by her constant talking as him being extremely polite, but this—

Was he flirting with her? There was a mild possibility of it being a joke at his own muteness, but when she checked his expression, he was watching her with a half-lidded gaze without any sense of playfulness. If anything, she could've sworn she saw a hint of shyness. Had he never put himself out there for someone before?

"You—" She looked at the notepad again, forcing herself to relax her grip before she wrinkled the pages. "You make me feel... um, speechful? I've never talked so much to someone I just met." She ducked her head. "You look nice too, by the way."

That was all she could really manage without feeling silly. Her experience with relationships was laughably limited and she didn't know how to flirt back or assure him that his flirting wasn't unwelcome. She just knew that he was thoughtful, adorable, and sweet, and that every time she glanced at his mouth a little too long, she'd catch herself thinking about other things it must have time for if he couldn't use it to talk.

She became alert as she felt a tug on the notepad - Luka having reached over to take it back - but she impulsively resisted, blurting out, "C-can I have this? The note I mean, not the notepad!"

He grinned, any of the previous nerves she thought she'd seen before gone as he nodded. The notepad slipped easily out of her hands this time, him far more careful tearing the note off than the other paper he'd scrunched up, and he wrote something extra before handing it off to her.

You can have more than that.

Underneath the line he'd written was his phone number, a rush of heat and relief going through Marinette at the confirmation that she wasn't the only one who wanted to meet up more. Whether Luka's directness was from the inability to speak or simply part of his character, she wanted someone like that; no misunderstandings, just his honest feelings.

She wasn't quite sure what she'd gotten herself into in the long term but, going off the matching pink on Luka's cheeks, she was sure that it was a good thing.

[heartach3d]

"I'll see you around?"

charlie dalton x shy!reader

not requested I just thought this would be cute!

1.5k words

you were so excited when your brother first got accepted into welton! you had gotten him a little gift and everything but it was also be different at home not to have him there again.

but you have gotten used to it one year you can get used to it another I guess.

and you definitely didn't want to disappoint anyone or even dissapoint neil if you brought it up so you closed it off in your mind.

the ceremony for getting into the school again was borringgg. you had brought a little book to read at least since you were hidden from people in front and your parents wouldn't see since your at the end next to Neil.

I tried to focus the best I could at first but it got badly boring like especially boring with all the talking and like initiatives I guess.

but you wouldn't miss it for the world so as long as you were next to neil I wouldn't think he'd mind.

after the ceremony was over first off I was glad and second I could finally get to see neils new little room.

so after my parents talked to teachers and stuff I made sure he brought me. I know it doesn't seem as exciting but it was for me at least. maybe I could leave him a note or something on his desk.

-

"come on neil!" I say walking through the halls with him slightly behind me. "I'm coming I said!" he says running a little to catch up.

"well your being sloww" "how about a race then?" I contemplated it for a millisecond before he counted to three and left me.

"neil thats no fair!" I say running after him in the halls.

"and I still caught up haha!" I say as he's panting by the doorway. "no you did track so that's technically cheating" he says shrugging his shoulders before walking in.

"it's my boring room that I always have why you wanna see it now?" he asked messing with his stuff in his suitcase.

"I don't know! I just realized I've never seen it before yknow?" I say looking out the window out at the fall leaves on the ground and the dead trees ready to grow for next year.

a boy walked in behind me and supposedly he was neils roommate? I don't know but he was setting up there on the bed so I got out of the way for him and stood by the doorway.

he started talking to todd? I think that was his name and neil introduced me.

"hello its nice to meet you" I said quietly and smiled lightly to be nice and he returned it back before turning around to set up.

I could tell he was nervous I just couldn't put my finger on why. maybe he was new. or scared or something I don't know.

I was lost in my train of thoughts when I heard commotion come from around the hallway corner.

it was a big group of boys and they all squeezed into here? like out of all rooms this one? probably yeah since they're probably neils friends. duh.

and by the way they all laughed and made themselves comfortable it proved my point right. they were his friends.

I wonder why I've never met or noticed them before..

"y/n?" neils voice interrupted my thoughts and I suddenly had all eyes on me? I could tell I turned a faint pink color because my cheeks were slightly hot.

"hm? hi" I say with an embarrassingly small wave and bit my lip to distract myself, or rather try to distract myself from all the eyes.

some of them had cigarettes but quickly put them out when someone came in.

"neil could I speak to you? " father said in his tone. neil left and all that was left was me and these random boys I don't even know.

"so what do you like to do?" one of them asks and I looked over to identify which one but I didn't really know since again I wasn't paying attention.

"over here sweet cheeks " I hear the same voice come from the bed and I see him just laying there.

"oh um I like to read I guess.. not much after that" I say fiddling with my fingers while looking anywhere else. I wasn't really good with eye contact.

"so your like meeks here, geeky?" he asked and meeks or whatever his name is punched his shoulder.

"maybe don't scare her off?" he said and then introduced himself.

"I'm Steven meeks." he said handing out a hand for me to shake.

"this is charlie dalton" he pointed to the boy talking to me earlier on the bed.

"this is Knox overstreet" he kept going and going and I couldn't even remember the last name he said! for some reason charlies just stuck though.

"oh well it's nice to meet you all. I'm neils sister" I say quietly but making sure they can hear me.

"really? I never knew he had a sister?" I hear from someone in the room. "idiot he told us he had a sister!" I hear someone else from the room and laugh a little quietly.

neil came back in and told me father has to go so obviously I have to go with him.

"bye neil I hope you have as good time as you can have here in this.. hell" I say giving him a smile and light hug.

"thanks that's really heartwarming" he says sarcastically and I walk away trying to find my way out of here.

it seems like endless hallways and doors! wait I probably shouldn't be going through random doors. well father and mother left me so if I take long they'll get mad. or father will at least.

I walk and walk for like an hour it feels like! Definite exaggeration, probably been like two minutes.

I see one of neils friends and I recognized it as charlie. he's walking my way so I consider asking him where the lot is when he walks by.

"hey um charlie? is it? where the parking lot?" I ask and he smiles. "I can lead you there?" he asks and I just agree seeming it would be better than directions.

as we met the door I said thank you before going to leave "hey I know your neils sister and stuff but would you wanna go out sometime? like on the weekends or something?" he asked sheepishly.

"oh. I would love to." I say with a shy smile. "do you have neils house number? because if you do you could just call me from there and say its neil or something and my parents wouldn't say anything about it?"

"I'm pretty sure I do. if not I'll just ask him." he said fumbling with his collar trying to fix it.

I step forward and adjust it for him quickly before smiling awkwardly and stepping back.

"so I'll see you around?" I ask reaching for the door. "yeah yeah I'll see you." he says and I smile before turning around and walking out.

hii just something I got inspo from and I feel like this shows my real writing style and I just wanted to do something cute like this!

[echoingvoids]

I had SO MUCH FUN with this prompt @zelinktines (shout out to my sister @dragonspirefanart for helping me to refine the idea)

You can find the rest of my oneshots on Tumblr, Wattpad, or AO3!

They all know the rumors. A witch lives in the woods. The King wants this witch killed, but Link doesn't believe in superstitions.

Some sort of fantasy AU

\^_^/

They were camped at the edge of the forbidden woods. A place of darkness, mystery, and magic. If you believed the tales, at least.

Many weeks ago, Link had been asked by the King of Hyrule to venture into these woods and kill the supposed witch that lived there. Link doesn't believe the witch even exists and only consented to go to prove there was no witch. 

He had been accompanied by some friends, and they sat around their campfire. Only Revali and Urbosa were brave enough to have their backs to the woods, Link, Mipha, and Daruk opting to face the ominous trees. 

The next morning he would venture into their tangled shadows. Going to kill the supposed witch. But all the stories about these woods were just that--stories.

Revali eyed the group and scoffed, lowering his food bowl. "You don't seriously believe there's a witch in the woods, do you?"

Mipha and Daruk nodded while Link shook his head. Urbosa chuckled, leaning closer to Link. "You don't believe in the witch? The one who puts unsuspecting men under her spell and turns them into frogs? The one you're supposed to kill?"

Link shook his head. "There's no such thing as witches."

The older woman chuckled, leaning back. "Whatever you say..."

"Don't be ridiculous, Urbosa," Revali snapped. "There's no witch in the woods. Its some stupid story to keep children out. Adults just seem to be stupid enough to believe it. There's probably treasure or something hidden in there they don't want people finding."

"Alright, then would you go into the woods, Revali?" Mipha challenged.

"No. That place isn't mapped. I'd prefer not to get lost and starve to death."

Yet Link had to go in there come dawn. Unmapped territory that Revali, the best navigator of them all, wouldn't dare venture into. Fun.

It was too quiet.

\^_^/

"Link."

The voice echoed around him, making stand and grasp his sword handle. The voice was unfamiliar to him, and he couldn't locate the source. He stayed on guard.

"Link. ɭเภк!"

The voice clearly belonged to a woman, who had an accent a bit like Mipha's. But the rest of his companions were asleep while he was on watch, so it couldn't be any of them. 

"I'm waiting for you, Link. į ҟղօա ահҽɾҽ վօմ ąɾҽ."

He turned slowly towards the forest. It couldn't be coming from there...could it?

"I know why you're here. เ ςคภ รєภรє ץ๏ยг ๒ɭค��є."

Every second line this voice said seemed to echo over the end of the first, confusing him.

"Wake up, Link. Շђเร เรภ'Շ ฬђ๏ ץ๏ย คгє. Follow the lights. ՇђคՇ ฬเɭɭ รђ๏ฬ ץ๏ย Շђє ฬคץ."

He looked around, catching sight of a mass of fireflies and--fairies? No, it couldn't be, fairies were like witches: not real. With a cautious glance around, he took a step closer, trying to identify the small winged creatures mixed in with the bugs. As soon as he got too close, however, the drifted away from him. Not thinking, he pursued them with a frustrated grunt. Every time he got just close to enough catch one, they zipped away from him. Frustrated, he gave it up and looked around him.

Oh. Oh no. He had followed them into the woods. Great. Now he was lost.

He kept his breathing calm, looking around slowly, trying to orient himself. There was no witch in the woods to kill him, but there might be bears, wolves, and other nasty animals with an interest in making him dinner. A twig snapped behind him and he spun around, his sword out immediately and pointed at what could be attacking him.

A woman stood there, hands on the truck of a tree. She wore a sleeveless white dress and had golden hair that flowed behind her, seemingly moving despite the wind being too quiet to stir anything at all. She stared at him with green eyes.

The witch.

Link never believed in the witch. But this...this was her. He could feel it.

After a long moment of staring at each other, he asked, "Are you going to kill me?"

She shook her head. He took a deep inhale. "Are you going to turn me into a frog?"

"I've never turned anyone into frogs."

Her voice perfectly matched the one echoing around him before. Perfect. He fell for a witch's spell and now he was lost in the woods, talking to the witch he was supposed to kill. "ut you are the witch, right? The one who turns unsuspecting men into frogs?"

Her eyebrows knit together and then something akin to realization dawned on her face. "Oh, no. Many travelers get lost in the woods and well...die, and there's a special kind of frog here that speeds up the decomposing process. Some animals come and drag away the bones, leaving the clothes, and the frogs often hide in these clothes for a while. Someone probably found one of those frogs hiding in a dead man's clothes."

Link nodded slowly, not expecting someone so...factual. "You are the witch, aren't you?"

"I...suppose so, yes."

He nodded again, slowly lowering his sword. They stared at each other for a long moment. "Are you here to kill me, Link."

"Those are my orders."

She closed her eyes a moment. "You know I cannot allow you to do that, correct? I am the protector of this forest," her eyes opened again and she looked up into the branches of the tree. "I must keep this place safe. Your society wants to come here and cut all the trees down, hunt all the animals. I cannot let that happen."

She turned her gaze on him, green eyes piercing him. "Do you understand that?"

He nodded. "I do. I came here to prove there is no witch, but...I found the witch. What am I supposed to do?"

The woman sighed, dropping her gaze and thinking. "Honesty is important to you, isn't it?"

He nodded and she stepped away from the tree, towards him. "We have two options here, Link. Since I will not allow you to kill me and deep down, I know you don't want to kill me, either you can lie and say you never found or I can use a spell to make you forget this meeting. You'll wake up on your log, search for me tomorrow, and find nothing. Which would you prefer?"

He opened his mouth to ask for the second option and then hesitated. Something in him wanted to remember this mysterious woman. "The first one."

"Alright then," she nodded. "Keep your word, Link. I'll know if you tell anyone about meeting me. You can follow the light back to your camp. They don't even know you're gone."

She turned to leave but he suddenly blurted, "What is your name?"

She paused, looking back at him over her shoulder. "Zelda."

With that, she disappeared into the trees.

\^_^/

Weeks passed. Link returned to the castle and much to the king's disappointment, shared that he was unable to find and kill the witch. Some people thought the witch was too clever to be found while others thought there was simply no witch at all. For many years after, it was still debated.

Not long after sharing this news, Link disappeared. Some said the witch hunted him down and killed him or turned him into a frog. Some said he went back to the forest to hunt her again and never returned. Others said he was put under a sleeping spell and locked away to fight a grand battle when the witch rose up to take over their kingdom.

There was some truth to the second rumor. Link had returned to the forest, searching for her. But unlike what people believed, he wasn't there to kill her. No, instead he wanted to see her again.

He found her eventually. A story is passed among the forest spirits that the enchantress Zelda had fallen in love with a Hylian, and had taken him to aid in the protection of the forest. They said he was worthy of the holy blade she had spent many years safeguarding, thus earning his place among the guardians of the woods.

Link was the only man alive who knew the truth.

There was a witch in the woods.

[knives-and-narcissi]

I genuinely think William’s real name is actually still William, just with a different surname.

Hear me out.

#1 — irony.

Remember the omake where Bonde asks him and he’s got his ☺️ face ‘that’s a secret, heh heh heh.’

Lol William is the biggest mischievous jokester going. This would be his exact reaction if people were asking like 👀 omg what is it?? And all along he’s like, lol will.i.am guys, chill. No-one cares about your first name, it’s your surname which means anything around here. You’ve all been barking up the wrong tree. Which brings me on to my second point ~

#2 — symbolism.

I cannot scream enough about how bloody genius it would be for William’s name to be, in fact, just William, but with a more common surname like ‘Smith.’ For the purposes of this discussion, let’s call him William Smith. As an orphan, he gets adopted into the family Moriarty, where there is in fact another William: Master William James Moriarty. Immediately, you have two boys of similar ages with the exact same first names, highlighting how, in fact, they should be equal if we’re looking at their basic information and identifiers. But what is it which sets them apart, and is the very message and theme running through the heart of Yuumori? Class inequality. And what dictated your social class at the time, so very unfairly? Your family lineage.

The name of Moriarty is what gives Albert’s little brother his superior, privileged position in life, over William ‘Smith.’ And yet, they are both young boys, both Williams, both should have the same sort of start in life in the equal world our William wishes to create. But they do not; the moment they are given their surnames — the moment those are penned on the paper of their birth records following ‘William’, the chasm that divides these boys is immense and unfair.

#3 — interesting coincidences, hints and clues in the text.

• William loves Shakespeare — that’s part of his identity in the same way being a mathematician is. He quotes Shakespeare all the time, he grew up in a library and has all of the plays memorised. Shakespeare’s first name was also William. Additionally, Shakespeare’s birthday is believed to be April 23rd. William’s birthday is listed as April 1st — April Fool’s Day, and it has been confirmed that this is a fake birthday, so we don’t know his real one currently. (But my guess is it’s still in April).

• The Moriarty’s never call William by his name, pre-fire, but the children at his orphanage do, and they call him Will.

At the Moriarty house, he is on the receiving end of more hate than Louis; they seem to despise him to the nth degree. I wonder if this might be because he shares a name with their precious William, and this irks them. They refuse to call him by his name because that doesn’t belong to him, filth from the streets, it belongs to their beloved son who can do no wrong.

I can see a mother like Lady Moriarty refusing to call another boy by the name she gifted her son, especially when William reminds her that there is something she had in common with his own mother — someone who she would view as completely beneath her: they chose the same name. What a disgrace, to be associated or viewed as having a similar mind to a woman of such low standing!?

We also see William only ever call William Moriarty with the title ‘master’ in front, as though he also feels the need to make the distinction. This could just be because he’s trying to be polite, though. I could honestly dissect the entire first chapter panel by panel and highlight how William being William is such a simple but perfect concept which highlights this noble family’s insecurities, discrimination and narrow mindedness. William Moriarty feels the need to constantly reaffirm his own identity in the presence of our William.

Because … if they share full names now, with the adoption … the lines are blurring. What makes one William Moriarty superior to the other? A worrying thought indeed for this boy. (Answer: there is no difference, they’re both equally deserving of opportunities in life.)

It all makes such perfect sense and explains away the awkwardness of the writer having to avoid use of William’s name simply because ‘it needs to stay hidden to create the mystery.’ This gives the characters themselves reason within the text to avoid using it, which makes everything so much more authentic and real. It makes sense because it does, not because it has to for the plot.

• William promised not to steal anything. Twice, we see him reassuring and then reaffirming that he wouldn’t steal anything, and both times are in the presence of William Moriarty.

If we want to take this statement in light of names, and toy with that lovely device foreshadowing, William having always shared the same first name would in fact mean that statement holds true — he did not steal William’s name; it was always his own to begin with, and Moriarty was a name given to him as part of his adoption, the same as it was given to Louis. He really didn’t steal anything, despite the fact that he was probably made to feel guilty or worthless every day because of the name he shared with William Moriarty.

This also means that William probably never actively deceived any of the townspeople, either; it really was just a case of mistaken identity which he manipulated for his own cause.

The townspeople made the mistake, rather than William outright lying. William is, by trade, more of a master manipulator who turns situations to his advantage with his quick thinking, rather than straight up lying or deceiving people (see: The Merchant of London.)

• Sherlock saw his birth name but never mentions it. And still chooses to call him Liam. Yes, we might’ve had a conversation happen off screen. Yes, Sherlock might choose to do that because that name is sentimental and William has asked not to be called his true name for reasons unknown. But it would fit so beautifully if William really is his name, and Sherlock’s realisation that day when he read the birth records was that oh, so this — William ‘Smith’ — is Liam’s real name. Naturally, he would continue to call him Liam with no discussion needed, because it’s a shortened version of William.

• We have lots of characters who share the name William, but with different variations on the shortened version; another symbol of how people can be equal in some senses but also their identity can be individual to them also. William H Bonney is Billy the Kid, the mathematics genius William and Sherlock stumble upon in Durham is called Bill Hunt.

#4 — practicality and marketing.

People become attached to characters and their names, and there comes a certain point in a work where it’s very difficult to alter a character’s first name and still retain a fan base’s sense of identity for that character. Calling William say, Robert, from now on, or revealing that as his true name while we continue to see him referred to as William is all sorts of confusing, emotionally. Perhaps it’s just me. But the idea that I’ve been calling William the wrong name all along feels off and sad, whereas the knowledge that he’s at least been able to keep that part of himself consistent, when everything else has had to be an act, is actually really comforting and empowering.

I’d love to write another thought dump on why William being William all along is also, so very emotionally delicious when you explore the implications in the story; it’s heartbreaking and makes him an even more sympathetic character who I just wanna hug, so perhaps I’ll come back to this! Because re-reading those earlier chapters with this in mind really hurts so good.

He stole nothing; he was always the true William, that at least is one thing that always belonged to him — it was only society and us that dictated there was one William worth knowing more — was more interesting and held more narrative power — than the other.

This is still William’s story.

[jazztag]

An Encounter in the Snow XII

There are almost fifty soldiers surrounding them, all pointing their rifles at Vicci. Some seem really scared, especially the cadets and young soldiers, while others just look angry. But everyone follows Hero’s orders, so when the Captain says “Hold,” everyone steps into formation and follows their Captain up to the first floor and out of the building.

Vicci keeps grinning at the scene, having a lot of fun seeing everyone afraid of him. Hero has to order him to look forward a couple of times, as the Weapon won’t stop sticking out his tongue every time a soldier calls him “monster,” “trench beast,” or simply “war pig.” Everyone gathers around the two of them, eager to see the prisoner who has been terrorizing the Republic for ages. Hero starts giving orders to everyone to step back and move to their assigned positions. Meanwhile, Vicci just stands there, chained and smug, trying to hide under his cap but at the same time excited by the reaction his presence is creating. He starts scratching at his arm frantically while following his Captain closely, keeping his head down.

They finally get into the vehicle, entering from the back. It’s a truck that will be used to travel to the location. Hero sits immediately behind the driver’s seat, back against the wall. He tugs the chain so that Vicci sits right in front of him, and the Weapon obliges. Nobody else dares to sit next to the prisoner, so the other soldiers, about five of them making up the squad, sit at the far end of the vehicle. Hero looks at them out of the corner of his eye. He identifies one of them as his second in command and orders the soldier to come forward. The truck starts to move, and everyone grabs hold of their seats.

The soldier sits next to the Captain, clearly trying to hide the fact that he is terrified. “Here,” says the soldier, handing Hero a rifle. As soon as the Captain grabs the firearm, the Weapon shuffles in his seat.

“I’m going to keep this for the remainder of the trip,” Hero tells him, and for the first time ever, the Weapon finally stops smiling and pouts. That’s his rifle—that is definitely Vicci’s rifle. Hero is convinced a soldier is practically married to their firearm on the battlefield, so he understands Vicci’s restlessness, seeing the enemy holding his weapon.

“I’ll need you to translate some instructions to our dog over there,” Hero tells the soldier. The younger man looks a bit afraid, avoiding Vicci’s eye contact at all costs, but nods. Vicci doesn’t stop staring at his own rifle in someone else’s hands, practically turned toward him menacingly, but he looks up when the young man starts speaking in his foreign language.

“Okay, just translate exactly what I say,” Hero says to the soldier, then looks straight at Vicci, who has started to fidget with his own hair. “This is going to be a test to see if you’re useful or not.”

The soldier translates in his poor pronunciation, making Vicci frown a bit.

“If you’re not useful, you’re better off dead,” Hero continues.

“Çi non util, ei te matare,” the soldier translates, and Vicci looks up at Hero with a smug smile, as if daring Hero to try.

“I will,” the Captain says seriously. Vicci shrugs and looks away, uninterested. The Weapon gazes through the truck’s small window, where the gray sky peeks through, above an immense field full of dead trees and dry, brown soil.

“We’re headed towards a small village where we believe there are still some civilians. We get there, we give them some packages, and we leave. Got it?” The young soldier hurries to translate everything into his broken Polareçe as best he can. Vicci is still looking away, but when the soldier finishes, he turns toward Hero, seemingly having understood everything.

“Got it?” Hero asks again. He stops the other soldier from translating that. “I want you to tell me you got it.”

Vicci looks at his rifle in Hero’s hands. He then looks up at Hero and mumbles a raspy “si.”

Hero finally hands him the rifle, and Vicci smiles a bit. However, Hero does not let go of the weapon. He’s still looking Vicci dead in the eye as his prisoner tries to pull the rifle away from him.

“Yes?” Hero asks, and Vicci rolls his eyes.

“Y…Yee…eh?” responds the Weapon. His broken voice sounds even scarier when trying to pronounce English. Hero finally lets go of the rifle, and Vicci grabs it with intent, caressing it as if it were a cat on his lap. Hero crosses his arms.

“You are not allowed to leave this vehicle,” the Captain continues, and the young soldier by his side starts translating rapidly to Vicci. “You’re going to stay here and cover us if something happens.”

“Ye,” mumbles Vicci when the soldier finishes translating.

“You are not allowed to shoot until I give the order, okay? Only when I actually say ‘shoot,’ you shoot. Got it?”

“Ye.”

“Only when I say ‘Vicci, shoot,’ do you fire. Got it?” Hero insists, emphasizing those exact words.

“Yeye.”

Hero steps back a bit, observing his little project seated there. He then steps forward again, and the two lock eyes.

“If you exit this vehicle, I’ll kill you on the spot. And we both know I’ve got an excellent aim.” says Hero, pointing at Vicci’s left ear, or what remains of it.

Taglist: @whump-blog @bitchaknso @pumpkinsncoffee @scrumpledumple @vallianttreedreamland

@amiafly2 @slavicdisaster22 @jumpywhumpywriter @user-583 (comment to get added/removed from the list!)

[finnydraws]

don't eat that (r.a/reader)

Pairing; Rhett Abbott/Reader

Word count:905

Description: While hiking with Rhett you get to show off your knowledge about the native plants your boyfriend tries to eat

genre(s) slice of life, fluff

warnings: while not explicitly stated, I did write this reader as autistic. While not ALL autistic people are like I've written her, I’ve loosely based her off my own flavor of autism so…. Mention of poisonous plants and their side effects.

Hiking with Rhett was always a trip. Half of the time he packed enough snacks to feed a small village, and the other half you would only get about a quarter way through the hike before he began to complain about being hungry. If it were anyone else asking to go on such a trip Rhett would say no with very little hesitation, but with you looking at him with those eyes he can't help but hide that he's more of a horse rides and working kind of outdoorsy than the willingly walking 5 miles to relook at the cool plants growing around the Abbott ranch kind. Today was an “I'm hungry” day. 

Normally at this point you and Rhett would turn around, make lunch and try again another day, but today had been particularly hard for you and he would hate to see your disappointed look at the thought of turning around. So he came up with a different solution. “Hey baby, you wanna go look for some berries with me?” Wyoming forests were good for berries, many growing rampant and wild and just perfect for the taking. The thought of the tangy taste of the native red currants growing all through the forest already making Rhett's mouth water.

And so began the hunt for Rhett's favorite fruit, which mostly consisted of Rhett bringing you fruits that looked VERY different from the hard red berry he should probably recognize. At this point it was comical just how far off he was at identifying a fruit that his mom had cooked with for the majority of his life. For about forty minutes this back and forth of Rhett asking “are these them?” and you responding with a soft “no baby, it's not” only for him to lose a little hope of ever finding something to eat (which he would have 20 minutes ago if he had just listened to you when he held up some very much edible red chokeberries. But when he heard you say they weren't HIS fruit he stopped listening) went on. Until just when Rhett had fully given up hope, and was about to ask you to head back and get a snack, he spotted them. Hiding in the trees, small, round, some orange, and others red, currants.

He grabs the fruit without thinking. Picking as many ripe red berries as he can carry without crushing them in his calloused hands, and excitedly bringing his haul to you. “Baby look! I found ‘em!” He's so excited he barely even waits to confirm the fruit with you before holding one up to his mouth to take a bite.

“DON’T EAT THAT!” You yell before he can. “Don't forget, bittersweet grows out here too, and they look very similar. But bittersweet berries will kill you so quick, and also painfully” you continue. Rhett drops his horde of berries like they were burning him (which now that you pointed them out he did notice the subtle itching, burning feeling in his hands) “bring me to the plant you got this from please.” and so he did, leading you to a large oak tree, with a thick wood vine creeping its way up the tree. Attached are yellowish green,smooth leaves, and orange capsules split into three sections, opening up into the red berry. “These are bittersweet berries baby… they’re part of the nightshade, or Solanaceae, family. If you eat them it can cause headaches, dizziness, abdominal pain, internal bleeding, slowed blood circulation, paralysis and even death” you try to continue your speech about the deadly plant but the sad look on Rhett's face stops you in your tracks.

He looks so defeated, and hungry. “Can we go back baby, ‘m hungry and i don’ wanna get us killed jus’ cause i wan’ food.” you know you can’t argue with his logic, there are more poisonous plants out here than edible ones, and he’s been so sweet continuing the hike despite him wanting to go home that you give in almost immediately. You follow him home, trailing just behind him and still eying the plants you pass, just in case. And then YOU spot them. A low to the ground shrub, with green palmate leaves, with three bluntly toothed lobes.

And red fruits.

“Baby” you call. Yet nothing in response. You try again, a little louder. “Baby. come here.” he does turn around at that, approaching you and eying the small shrub you’re wildly gesturing to. “RED CURRANTS!” Rhett lights up.

“Really? They ain’ those nightshade plants?” he questions, looking at you hopefully.

“Nope!” you say, popping the p. You stick one of the juicy red berries into your mouth for good effect, before making your shirt into a makeshift basket and picking as many ripe ones as you can. “Let's bring them back and make some jam” but Rhett is more preoccupied with stuffing his face with the berries than gathering any for later. He looks cute like this, hunched over the shrub he looks like when a child is given candy on halloween, worried someone will take the sweet treat from him before he can thoroughly enjoy it. You give him a moment to pick the shrub clean, happy to see him feeling better.  “Come on now love, let's get you some real food.” Rhett stands up, brushes the dirt from his pants and gives you a small smile.

“Let's go home baby.”

[jedineedlove]

Ginseng Fruit and A Sworn Brothers'

Another Random thought for the LMK collection

So back to season two the episode Ping-Pong Panic. During Wukongs "vacation" which in whole I will make a post later about. But for this episode, we got the fruit babies later identified as Ginseng Fruit the ones from the JTTWs, In an earlier post I already pointed out how they were different from the books and how that affected the overall LMK JTTW version. The JTTW Bajie and Wujing (Piggsy and Sandys's past lives) ate the immortal granting fruit but considering the fruit is alive in this universe and the pilgrims are reincarnated that didn't; happen but what accord to me is maybe I had that half right. What if the fruit being alive was not a constant thing but this batch we saw was just a one-time thing. Something that happened during the "vacation". Then that brought my train of thought to the actual chapter these guys are from it being the chapter right before LBD.

This chapter introduces us to Zhenyuan Daxian: a Taoist deity who is the patriarch of Earth immortals. He resides in Wuzhang Temple on Longevity Mountain. There in the temple is the special Ginsenfruit tree. The tree itself is described as

"Formed when the primeval chaos was first being divided before the separation of Heaven and Earth. The fruit of the tree is known as the "Grass-returning Cinnabar" or "man fruit" The tree produces only 30 fruit every 9,000 years and is shaped like an infant less than three days old, by just smelling the fruit a person can extend his life span 360 years, a person who eat the fruit livs and addition 47,000s"

The Taoist deity was a friend of the Golden Cicada, So during the journey when the pilgrims were coming his way he was visiting someone and left his servants Qingfeng (Clear Wind) and Mingyue (Bright Moon) to give 2 fruits to the monk.

Tritpak refuses to eat them disturbed by their appearance, the two eat the fruits themselves. Wukong steals some for himself and the pilgrims, gets caught, and in anger destroys the tree. Zhenyan gets mad and will only forgive if Wukong can resort the tree. And makes a promise to become sworn brothers with Wukong if he completes the task. So Wukong asks around and finds no one then finally asks Guanyin. She's mad but assists in the restoration. When the tree is restored here's what I think a lot forget. It went by so fast. Zhenyan was so happy with the results he gave some fruit to Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing and then fulfilled his promise and BECAMES SWORN BROTHERS WITH WUKONG. No fanfic ever mentions this.

That's right WUKONG DOES HAVE A SWORN BROTHER!! So then that made this part of the episode all the more concerning.

I have two theories for this:

Theory ONE: Wukong visited Zhenyuan during his "vacation"

When Wukong sends the box he sends it through a portal of his power. We know this because MK recognizes it as something from Monkey King. And with Wukong traveling he is the only constant person with powers like this.

The first thing about the box is the locks and stickers all over it.

A monkey lock with MK-style cautionary stickers so made by Wukong. But the contents are from Zhenyuan. So along the "vacation," he stopped by the tree again but why? To get advice from this high-up Toaist? While there I think something happened remember the description of the tree growth patterns it only grows every 9,000 years that much time has no way passed. So why have they grown early? Maybe have something to do with Wukong when he was there. Maybe the fruits were normal during the journey and they aly got worped when Wukong visited now, it also explains why HE handled it and not the one in charge of them. To fix what he did he offers to keep the rotten fruits imprisoned or find them a home somewhere else.

-or

It could be they were already corrupted by something else and the immortal asks Wukong for a favor maybe even in exchange for information about LBD. Take care of the problem and he can have the information Zhenyuan possesses.

Theory Two: Zhenyuan sent a package to Wukong and the fruit was already corrupt.

Perhaps Wukong was intercepted during the "vacation" by Zhenyuan and was asked and accepted responsibilities for the fruit babies, or like in the note wukong sent MK. . . . . . .

In the note he sent to MK;

"Dear MK as you know I'm super busy on vacation, I've got a special delivery, but I won't be able to get to it for a while, you must not open it no matter what, it's bad news, but I know there no way you're gonna listen to that, so I also sent you a training blindfold, you must wear the blindfold all day, only when you truly learn to listen can you take it off."

So in theory 1, you could dismiss the note when it says he received the package because he was keeping things from MK. But if there is some truth to it then the fruit might have been corrupted all along or something else happened recently but for some reason, Zhenyuan sends the fruit Wukongs way, maybe because Wukong broke the tree so the fluke might be because of him, or there is trust. It's hard to tell.

But anyway all that aside the main thing about all this is how come no one is talking about the sworn brotherhood between these two? Clearly, something is going on between the two with the fruit babies' appearance in the show.

Please tell me what are your thoughts? ANd if i said anything wrong please tell me in the comments.

Thank you :)

Wrote most of this PRE SEASON 5 JUST NEVER POSTED : )

[gilded-garnet]

Beastly Behaviour

Sebastian Sallow x F!MC

WC: ~1.5K / Themes: (Fluff 💚 Light Violence 👊)

Summary: If there's one thing MC can't stand, it's a bully. During a Beasts Class, she takes defending Sebastian's honour into her own hands - literally.

(Yep, someone is getting punched and Sebastian is smitten.)

---

"Why did you decide to take Beasts Class again? I never got the sense you were that interested," MC asked on the way to their first class of the year.

Sebastian shrugged non-committally. "I got a good enough grade and I'm keeping my options open.  The extra studying's not an issue."

"Riiiight. And it wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that I happen to be taking it, would it?" She asked, shooting him a sly smirk.

She expected him to deny it; she was only teasing, after all, but he returned her gaze seriously, wearing a fond expression.

"It may have had a small influence on my decision," he admitted, and she scoffed to hide her blush.

They arrived at the class and MC gave Poppy a quick hug in greeting before Professor Howin rounded them up.

"Everyone, follow me! I have a special lesson planned to welcome you all back." She led the trail of students out beyond the paddocks and through the tree line of the forest, finally coming to a stop at a grassy clearing. MC smiled when she saw what awaited them there.

"Here we are!" Their professor declared, holding her arms out in rather dramatic fashion.

There was a heavy pause before someone spoke. It was that haughty Slytherin boy who had harassed that Kneazle and Poppy back in fifth year. MC had never bothered to learn his name. "Um, professor, not to be rude, but there doesn't actually appear to be anything here," he sneered, and a Ravenclaw girl by his side snickered loudly. What in Merlin's name were those two doing in this class, anyway? Seeking to torture harmless creatures for sport, no doubt.

"Perhaps not to you, Mr. Parkinson, but I'll wager there's at least one person here who can identify the magnificent creatures before us," Professor Howin replied, looking at the rest of the class expectantly.

"Thestrals," MC answered, instantly.

Professor Howin smiled at her, nodding her approval, though there was was a tinge of sympathy in her eyes to accompany it.

"Indeed! As many of you will be aware, Thestrals can only be seen by those who have witnessed death. Of course, that has earnt them a rather negative reputation..." Professor Howin went on to speak of how Thestrals had unfairly cemented their place in wizard folklore as harbringers of misfortune. Sebastian listened with his arms folded, a small frown on his face.

"You really don't like Thestrals, do you?" MC stated more than asked, leaning her head towards his ear.

"I don't dislike them. They just...remind me of what I've lost, that's all. The very concept of them is macabre," he replied.

"But they're such gentle creatures," she insisted, though she soon realised that her timing was rather questionable when Professor Howin began tossing raw steaks into the clearing. The Thestrals descended upon them with gusto, and the 'unsighted' in their class let out gasps of fear and amazement as the the meat seemingly began to levitate and then vanish before their eyes.

Sebastian's lip twitched, and he looked at her with dry amusement. "Ah, yes. Look at them ever so gently ripping apart those steaks."

She rolled her eyes and swatted him on the shoulder, causing him to chuckle.

"What is even the point of this? Most of us can't even see the damn things anyway," Parkinson muttered irritably under his breath. He looked around the clearing before his eyes alighted on another, much more visible form of entertainment.

He sauntered over to MC and Sebastian, a gleam in his eyes that she very much did not like the look of.

"Sallow, you can see them, right?" Parkinson asked in an exagerated whisper, practically pushing her aside in the process.

Sebastian frowned. He had no patience for his housemate at the best of times. "Just what exactly are you getting at, Parksinson?"

"Is it true that your parents got themselves killed playing around with a muggle contraption?" Parkinson probed, lowering his voice even further. She saw Sebastian tense and felt a wave of apprehension overcome her.

"Did your uncle go in an equally tragic way? Perhaps he tripped and fell on his garden shears outside that quaint cottage of yours?" Parkinson continued with a cruel smile, his words sickly. MC was equal parts shocked and outraged by his brazenness.

Sebastian hadn't reacted yet, but she could sense the warning signs: the darkening in his expression and the twitch of his fingers towards his wand. She, however, acted first. Without a word, she marched over to Parkinson, wand forgotten, and punched him square in the face.

She heard (and felt) a rather satisfying crack before he stumbled backwards onto the floor, clutching his nose. The Thestrals bellowed, spooked, and fled from the clearing in a rush of hoofbeats and leathery wings.

"Wh - what the hell?!" He spluttered with outrage, but the heat of his accusation was largely undone by his nasally voice, now thick with blood.

"Muggle enough for you?" She spat, glaring down at him. She was acutely aware of Sebastian's eyes on her back and looked over her shoulder to see him staring at her with eyes wide and mouth agape.

Professor Howin pushed her way through the circle of students that had formed around them. "And what, exactly, is going on here?" She demanded, glaring daggers at them both.

Parkinson jabbed an accusatory finger up at MC, his other hand still clutching his streaming nose. "This lunatic attacked me!"

"Only because he was saying some truly vile things," she retorted, her temper rising again. She obviously hadnt hit him hard enough.

"Enough!" Professor Howin shouted, her voice firm. "Both of you will serve detention with me for a week. I will not tolerate such beastly behaviour in my class."

"What? Why me?!" Parkinson spluttered.

Professor Howin looked down at him with a withering look. "Because I have no doubt, Mr Parkinson, that you did in fact say some rather vile things to earn that broken nose."

Sebastian snorted with laughter, and a few other students couldn't stifle their giggles. Behind his hand, Parksinson's face turned even redder. The Ravenclaw girl dutifuly arrived at his side, attempting to hook her hand under his elbow, but he shook her off impatiently. He staggered to his feet and glared at MC and Sebastian before he marched away, muttering a stream of curses.

With the subject of their lesson now notably absent, Professor Howin promptly called an end to the class and they began to trapse back to the castle. Sebastian and MC walked together, shoulders brushing.

"It was very good of you to defend my honour like that," Sebastian remarked. "That punch was much better than anything I could have come up with."

"Yes, well, I've never been able to stand that prat. Been itching to do that since last year," she replied, flexing her now aching hand. She'd apparently managed to injure herself in the process.

She sucked in a surprised breath when Sebastian gently cradled her injured hand in his own, running his thumb soothingly over her stinging knuckles. She looked up, her eyes meeting his.

"I'll be sure to find a way to express my gratitude,"  he commented, eyes twinkling with mischief in a way that made her heart flip. An abundance of scenarios came immediately to mind as to just how he could thank her, but she buried those thoughts deep.

"You really are amazing, you know that?" He continued, looking at her with such sincerity that her mind struggled to form words. He was so close, and his lips looked incredibly soft.

But then Sebastian's eyes became unfocussed as he clocked something over her shoulder and he smirked, releasing her hand and taking a step back.  "Watch out, I think your number one fan is on their way."

"Wha - ?" She didn't get to finish before something small and solid collided full speed with her waist, forcing the air from her lungs.

"Oh, MC, that was simply marvelous! I wish I had your courage; I would have done that a thousand times over by now," Poppy enthused, hugging her tightly.

"It was my pleasure, Poppy," MC replied, still catching her breath, for more reasons than one.

---

Sebastian wasted no time filling his best friend in on the day's events whilst in their dorm room.

"...and then, Ominis, she punched him, square in the face!" Sebastian enthused, unable to contain his euphoria.

"She what?!" Ominis spluttered, pausing as he rummaged through his bag.

"I know!" Sebastian answered, laughing. He threw himself back onto his bed with a blissful sigh. "Honestly, I couldn't believe it, but I think it might just be the best thing I have ever seen. She's incredible."

Ominis scoffed, but smiled all the same. "You're both utterly mad. You deserve each other, honestly."

[momochizoey]

Not sure if I'm supposed to send in separate asks, but here we go!

Burning Cherry Blossom

The Godhood Gambit

Historiography of the Elemental Nations: Sakura the Historian

Michizula Sugarmommy fic

Would love to read whatever you've got for each of these please!

No worries, one ask works! I'll put the snippets for all of them below a read more:

Burning Cherry Blossom:

Sakura had always walked a fine line between two irreconcilable ideals, two oaths. 

She was a medic. She took an oath to heal the injured, to treat the sick, to save those who could be saved and ease the suffering of those who could not. Enemy or ally alike were to be healed to the best of her ability (even if enemies just ended up in the Torture & Interrogation Department afterwards; a living enemy was worth much more than a dead one, particularly to the village with a clan of mindwalkers).

She was also a shinobi. When she graduated at 12, she swore an oath to her Hokage and to her village to be a tool, a weapon in its hands, to kill and to lie and to steal and indeed to die for the Great Tree that was the Village Hidden in the Leaves, to fuel its Will of Fire with her own. It sounded very heroic at the time, but the following years had taught her that there was no honour in being a shinobi. Your closest friend from yesterday could try to stick a fist of lightning through your chest the next day. The ninja invading your village and killing your people one day could be your most sincere allies tomorrow. Honour was for samurai and for the dead, Tsunade always told her. 

The Fire Nation was honourable to its very core. It wasn’t just a virtue here, it was a way of life. 

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses of course. There was war, a longer war than Konoha had even existed (and wasn’t that a mindfuck to think about). But even there, honour was a priority. Civilian casualties were avoided where possible, targeting only those capable of bending or combat. When possible, even enemy combatants were held captive instead of killed. Soldiers kept themselves to standards almost as strict as Konoha medics.

For the first time since Lady Tsunade took her under her wing, she didn’t feel the tension between those two roles pulling at her seams.

She had wondered if everyone in this world was just like that. The possibility was both inspiring and terrifying. Inspiring, because it showed Naruto’s dream might be possible after all. Terrifying, because what if all it would take was the rise of one group that thought differently to bring it all down, the way the shinobi had for the samurai. 

She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved when her time in Ba Sing Se proved even this gentle world had its dark Roots hiding underground.

“What is this about? Your agents show up in the middle of the night and drag me down here?” She made sure to struggle against her Root-wannabe captors. Seriously, she might have to get them some blank masks at some point. “You will not treat a Kyoshi Warrior this way!” 

“But you’re not a Kyoshi Warrior, are you, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation?”

The Danzo act would have probably put her on guard more if she didn’t know for a fact Long Feng wasn’t even one tenth as strong as that warhawk ever was. 

Still, Azula knew the real danger a man like this posed was never his own prowess. No, the danger lay in his command over his private army, and his ability to make the shadows his home.

She narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”

What he didn’t realize was that a new monster, a shinobi, was now skulking these shadows, far more dangerous and experienced than he could ever be. 

“I want to make a deal.”

He wasn’t going to last a week.

The Godhood Gambit:

"Your Highness, the enemy troops are sallying forth from their positions!"

Stifling a gasp, Mio turned towards her father, anxiously watching his reaction through her veil. The frown that had hung off his face since the start of the siege was briefly replaced by a sad look she couldn't quite identify, before his expression hardened into the proud warrior he had been before her birth.

"It is time. Men, you have your orders. Protect the city with your lives. Today we show these Pirates why water doesn't last in the desert".

A resounding roar answered his proclamation, and then the court was filled by clanking weapons, chafing leather, and barking orders.

Her father's voice rang out over the noise. "Takeo. Stay behind."

Cursing under her breath, she hurried towards her father's side, hoping she could reach him before -

"Your majesty," she heard the glib voice of her betrothed say and groaned. "What task do you have for me? Shall I take out the enemy admiral? Burn down their flagship? Flank their forces?"

Her father shook his head. "No, I need you for a much more important task." Takeo puffed out his chest, ready to receive the honour of a lifetime - "I need you to guard Mio in the Sun Shrine."

"But Lord Haruya-"

"But father! -"

"I have made up my mind on this, both of you," her father cut them both off. "My daughter is the chosen of the Sun God, and my only heir. Without her, there is no future for the Land of Fire." Then he turned to her. "Mio, your safety is of the utmost importance, and Takeo is to be your husband, your future king. You need to learn to trust him, and let him cover your weak spots if you are to be Queen. You are a team. Please, act like it."

Mio bit her tongue, forcing herself to nod. 'Maybe if he wasn't such a dick, we'd be a decent team by now, but it's not like I got a say in who my husband would be now did I?'

She glanced at Takeo and flinched. She had never seen such a venomous look on his face before as he bowed low. "Of course, my lord. I will ensure your daughter's safety."

Silence reigned as her father stared him down. "See that you do," he concluded.

Her father held her back for a moment longer.

There was something in his eyes in that moment that made her freeze. He looked terrified, like he was afraid she would disappear any moment.

He held her shoulder, his dark hand moving a strand of her blond hair out of her face. "Please, my Ray of Sunshine. Promise me you will stay in the shrine with Takeo until I tell you it's safe today. No matter what happens, I need to know you will stay out of danger."

She hugged him, not wanting to see that strange sad look anymore. "I promise. I love you, father."

He held her tight for a moment. "And I love you, Mio."

He let go. "Now, go, you two. May the Sun God protect you."

Historiography of the Elemental Nations: Sakura the Historian:

Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. A trite saying, but not without merit. The Uchiha and Senju, Kamizuri and Fushō, Karatachi and Yuki. All clans that joined together under the banner of villages to prevent the bloodshed of their people. A mere 20 years later would see each of their villages perpetrate and suffer more catastrophic losses than ever before

“-and that’s why the clans lived together peacefully within Konoha ever since. Alright, now everybody grab your lunches, and I’ll see you all at the target range for shuriken practice in an hour!”

Sakura dutifully finished her notes as Mizuki-sensei finished up the class, then hesitated. She wanted to hurry outside to have lunch and chat with Ino, but something was bugging her. 

Ino shot her a questioning look when she noticed Sakura lagging behind. 

“You go ahead,” Sakura said. “I still have some questions about the lesson.”

Ino shrugged and skipped ahead, effortlessly inserting herself in the center of the conversation with some other girls from their class. For a moment Sakura felt a stab of envy, wishing she could navigate social situations as seamlessly as her more popular friend, but she buries it, focusing instead on her current goal. 

“Ah, Mizuki-sensei? I had a question about today’s material.”

Mizuki looked up with a raised eyebrow. “You didn’t understand something from the lesson? That’s unlike you, Sakura-chan.” 

Sakura blushed, the compliment catching her unaware. 

“Ah, I - Thank you Mizuki-sensei, it’s just - I was curious about what it was like during the Warring Clans period? I mean, you said it took a lot of convincing for the Senju and Uchiha to work together, and for other clans to join. But if it was so bad during that time, there had to have been more people looking for alternatives, right? Or they had to have good reasons not to change? I don’t know what period came before, but maybe it was even worse then? I thought…”

She trailed off, heart sinking. Mizuki was looking at her like she had turned into a toad, completely baffled, though that look was slowly replaced by something she couldn’t identify.

He remained silent for a moment. “Sakura-chan, I’m sorry to say but there wasn’t anything before the Warring Clans period, nothing we know of at least. There’s myths about the Sage who supposedly lived between one and two thousand years ago, but that’s more the domain of Temple Monks, I wouldn’t know anything about that.” 

“Nothing??” Inner shouted, and she couldn’t help but agree. “What does he mean, nothing!? It can’t have just been 800 years of Warring Clans if it was so horrible. There’s got to be more on this!”

Seeing her look of confusion, he seemed to decide something. “Tell you what, I’ll write you a pass for the library giving you access to some history scrolls of genin level, if you can do some research about the history before the founding and write me an essay about it, I’ll grade it for extra credit, does that sound good? You have to promise you’ll keep up with your normal schoolwork however, although I doubt you’ll have any problems with that.” He winked as he said that, and she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks again.

“Th-Thank you Mizuki-Sensei! I won’t let you down!”

She grabbed the permission slip, stuffing it in her pocket, and ran outside to find Ino again.

Michizula Sugarmommy AU:

Standing in front of the door ready to knock, Azula hesitated. She’d often stood in front of this very door years ago, impatiently waiting for Mai to show up. Being here now for a very different reason, she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

She still didn’t know if she could trust Matsuri. Could this be a plot Mai cooked up, a trap she was about to walk into? 

Azula knew Mai still didn’t trust her around Zuko. Despite her complete lack of involvement in politics since the end of the war, she’d heard her image, as it was portrayed in the old propaganda posters, was still considered a rallying point for opponents to Zuko’s rule. If Mai had discovered where Azula’s desires truly lay, there was no doubt in her mind she would publicly expose her to tarnish her image among the Sozinists and to protect Zuko’s position. But why she’d use her old home when Azula would recognize it instantly, she didn’t know.

She steeled herself then. If it was a trap, so be it. If it gained her new enemies, at least it would give her a target for her anger that wasn’t herself. Agni, if it lost her the dubious ‘support’ of those who’d preferred her as the monster she’d been, perhaps she’d be viewed with less suspicion. 

Decision made, she gave a firm knock on the door and waited. And waited. Finally, the door opened to reveal Mai’s mother Michi. 

The last time she had seen Michi had been back in Omashu, but there she had been wearing an outfit that was appropriate for the colder Earth Kingdom climate. This time Azula couldn’t help but notice the way the thinner fabric clung to her form, revealing more of her figure than before without diminishing her elegance a bit. She forced herself to meet Michi’s gaze, holding back a blush. Clearly, being caught reading a scroll like that had rattled her more than she thought.

Michi raised an eyebrow at her, having noticed her appraising look, and she flushed a bit. Great going, Azula. Ambush or not, she was already making a fool of herself. 

Michi smiled warmly at her, and stepped forward to give her a hug. “Azula, darling, what a lovely surprise! What brings you here tonight? Did Mai want to meet you here for some reason? She should have told me, I’d have had the cook prepare you two a meal!” She pulled back from the hug a bit, her hands still on Azula’s arms.

Azula shook her head and cleared her throat. “No, no, Mai didn’t ask me to come here. I’d heard there was a type of… soirée, of sorts, here tonight? A woman named Matsuri mentioned it. She told me to tell you she’d invited me.”

Michi gave her an intrigued look at that, a calculating gleam in her eyes. “Did she now? How interesting. She did tell me she invited someone, but it seems she failed to inform me it was such a close family friend.” She stepped aside, gesturing for Azula to enter while laying a gentle hand on the small of her back. “Please, darling, come in! You’re always more than welcome here, let me show you around.”

They walked down the opulent halls, paintings of flowers and mountains decorating the walls. Finally, they arrived at a dark wooden door. Azula remembered Mai telling her and Ty Lee that it was a room her mother occasionally entertained guests in, and that they weren’t allowed in. She’d been curious about the room for a little while after that, like any kid told not to do something, but it was always kept locked, and as they started spending more time at the palace she ended up forgetting all about it. 

Now, hearing multiple voices talking and laughing behind it, her old curiosity rose up once more. 

Michi put a hand on the door and sent her a smile before pushing it open. “Welcome, Azula, to the Golden Orchid Society.”

The room beyond showed itself to be a tastefully decorated lounge. As she followed Michi in she could see a table where four women were playing mahjong in the corner to the left of the door. In the middle of the room, stretching from the northern to southern end, was a long, low table, surrounded by red-cushioned zaisu. Behind that in the other corner stood an impressively filled wine rack. 

The southern half of the room had two seating areas next to a set of wide open sliding doors taking up the entire southern wall. To the right of the entrance, three women were seated around a small round table, two of them sitting very close together on the red couch decorated with a stitched golden floral pattern. The second conversation area was across the room, featuring an L-shaped couch around a small coffee table with Matsuri and another woman gesturing wildly as they discussed something.  

The sliding doors opened up to show an entirely walled-in garden. There was a tree, two flower bushes, and a path going around a small half-moon shaped pond. On the other side in the arch of the pond stood a pavilion.

Azula gaped as she took in her surroundings. Never in her wildest imagination did she think this could be hidden in the home of her childhood friend. She turned back to Michi when she heard her laugh.

“Should I take your silence as a good sign? I’m glad I can still impress you even when you no doubt grew up with much more luxurious surroundings.” She then gestured for Azula to follow her again.”‘Come, let me introduce you to everyone.”

[ottpopfic]

It's not the first time Nico has had to turn their ass back around the way they came because they fucked some underworld something in what di Angelo has dubbed their ‘Gay Chicken On Steroids Quest’. He's equally pissed at both Leo and Jason every time, so Leo tries to take some solace in that

Like, hooray Leo we‘re glad you're back, go back from whence you came we gotta go close the hole you crawled out of or whatever

---

The last death

-

Leo is alive, again, for like the sixth time 

Something something Jason went off to gather parts of all the plants people have been turned into to make a sacrifice? Dr. Frankenbonsi a Leo? He's not sure, all he knows is he got spat out of Thalia’s tree and it was both gross and hella painful. Not the worst resurrection so far, but definitely the one with the most tree sap

Also, Nico’s pissed again that they fucked around too much. Whatever Jason did with his spooky tree thing has apparently made a weak spot for underworld magic and now they have to go close it 

It's not the first time Nico has had to turn their ass back around the way they came because they fucked some underworld something in what di Angelo has dubbed their ‘Gay Chicken On Steroids Quest’. He's equally pissed at both Leo and Jason every time, so Leo tries to take some solace in that

Like, hooray Leo we‘re glad you're back, go back from whence you came we gotta go close the hole you crawled out of or whatever

The issue this time isn't how Leo came back, but the fucking cultist that have taken over the spot Jason did his Zuse wood magic thing

They end up in Newport State Park near the tippy-top point of Wisconsin’s peninsula, in a clearing in a grove of Oak and Linden trees. The place has to be hidden by the mist, Leo has checked the satellite imaging on Google Maps multiple times as they trek through the trees and underbrush to see nothing out of the ordinary, or even a landmark. There's some kind of temple off up a hill with way too many Canadian Geese guarding it, but that's not what they're after 

What they are after is the lowlands under the temple where the earth was carved away by an ancient flood. The trees never grew back there, leaving room for the milkweed, cardinal flowers, and forget-me-nots to flourish under the sun. It would be a lovely sight, if the flowers hadn't been trampled by the cultists

Fucking cultists, they're digging a hole

“What's with the hole?” Piper asks. The three of them are up in the brush at the top of the hill across from the temple, watching the robed dudes down below and desperately avoiding the geese. 

“Fuck if I know” Nico monotones

“Dude, you're the whole reason we're here,” Leo gapes “How do you not know what's up with the hole?”

“Just because I know that cultists are fucking around doesn't mean I know the method to their madness” Nico grouches 

“Oh no wait I think they're planting that guy,” Piper identifies “Or burying him alive? Whatever there's a dude going in the hole”

“Yeah, looks like it's time to step in,” Nico tosses the binoculars back at Leo to stash in his tool belt and draws his spooky-ass sword “Whatever you do don't bother the geese, I think they are only here for the temple”

“There is no way in hell I'm fucking with a goose,” Leo relents, tucking everything away “Have you ever been one on one with a goose, because I have”

“Oh yeah same,” Nico shudders “I got chased by like four of them when I was homeless in Central Park”

“Fucking vicious right!?” 

“Yeah, if I didn't know better I'd say they were hell spawn”

“Is there a plan?” Piper cuts in before they start down what she calls ‘sad homeless orphan lamentations’

“Keep the cult from burying anyone, don't die,” Nico tells them “I can close the weak point once we clear them out”

“Fantastic,” Piper says 

They end up splitting up slightly, being outnumbered puts a damper on charging in even if it looks mostly like mortals below. Nico poofs off one way whereas Leo and Piper sneak off the other, it works for about eight seconds before they are spotted in the wildflowers 

“You there!” cries one of the cultists pointing “Show yourself!“

“What is he a fucking Monty Python character” Piper grumps

“Hello!” Leo improvises, standing abruptly “Hello fellow cult members, I have come to uh, help you with the cult stuff” Leo can see Nico facepalm in a patch of swamp lupine on the other side of the hill

“Yep sure do love digging holes and putting people in them, uh” Leo is apparently now the distraction because Piper is lining up her blow dart as his hip and Nico is creeping in from the back “Sure am excited using a whole ass man as a seed, that's definitely gonna appease our god!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” cuts in one of the cult guys in the back, Piper blow darts him two seconds later

Things go fast from there. There are six above-ground cult members and one fancy one in the hole, Nico quickly takes out the one next to Mr. Blow Dart In The Neck. Leo pulls a handsaw and a ball peen hammer out of his belt, whipping the hammer at the closest robed figure and following a knife-wielding Piper into the fray 

It's the classic chaos of a close combat fight; dodge, duck, swipe at a weak spot, and don't hit your friends. They're holding their own pretty well for being outnumbered in a goose poop-filled muddy clearing. But it's when Leo turns to throw another hammer at the man starting to overpower Piper that he hears a new voice enter the equation

“Leo!”

And there he is, it's Jason. 

He's alive, walking talking breathing moving of his own accord. Or he would be, if the knife that was meant for Leo wasn't sticking out of his back

Leo hasn't seen him in three years . 

“Jason?”

They lock eyes for a second, blue to brown, and then Jason gives one hard bloody cough. Leo can see the tip of the knife just piercing through his shirt, the smallest hit of silver surrounded by spreading red

“ Jason !”

The Hole Cultist pulls his blade up first, making a sick crunching and ripping noise accompanied by Jason’s cut-off scream, before wrenching it back out and kicking the blond away. Jason falls hard, and he stays down, the robed man turning back to his original target of Leo with a sneer. There is a lot of blood, like the knife went through a major artery or organs or something, pooling around where Jason lays barely moving, it makes Leo see red

He tends not to be the one fighting in the front lines, especially not with his fire. Like Leo can defend himself and others if he needs to, but he much prefers to launch wrenches at people like Ratchet from Transformers or act as a support. Fire is too hard to control in close or crowded combat, and there is too high a risk of hurting someone friendly or catching the landscape ablaze

Leo doesn't really care about that right now, his body moves on its own

Charbroiled he thinks the term is, or at least extra crispy, because for once Leo is not holding back. That tight panicked control he's had to keep on his fire his whole life whips away from him in a flash of light and heat at the cultist, a Saturn's rings of flame surrounding him and then projected at the man. Either way, there's not much left of them when he's done, half the flesh seared off the bone and all

“Jason!” Leo screams as he turns back, scrambling away from the horror show he's made of the robed figure and sliding on his hands and knees next to the blond. He gathers Jason into his arms and onto his lap, not caring for the blood and viscera that are coating them both, Jason grabs him back with shaking hands the best he can “ Jason !”

“O-oh hey,” Jason says like he's not actively bleeding out “It's good to see you”

“Jason, what the fuck” Leo cries, vision blurring with the water in his eyes “Don't do this to me!”

“It’s okay,” Jason tries to soothe him through the blood in his mouth, gore-slick hands losing their grip on Leo’s jacket and looking straight into Leo’s eyes like a promise “I'll get you on-on the n-next round, just-just wait, for me” and then he's gone, the light leaving him In one last desperate rasping breath

“No no no nonono no! ” Leo begs through his tears, shaking him in his arms like it will make Jason’s spirit come back to his body “Jason come on please! ”

It's not fair, he's right here and it's not fair . They were so close, Leo can feel how close they were to making it

He's on fire, he knows he is but he doesn't have it in him to care. It's whipping around like a storm, like a tornado, pouring off of him harder and hotter than it's ever been, the heat making Jason's body slowly cremate in his arms. All Leo can do is burn and sob, hunched over what's left of the man he's so desperate for even as other things around them catch with him

It's not fair, they were so close and it's not fair

Leo is done. He's played by the rules and bent over backwards to appease the gods and this is what they get? They were never going to let Leo have him, it's always been just a show, just another stupid myth to add to the collection. Here's a parable on what wanting what you can't have will do to you, it is storm or fire after all

Leo is over it, he's going to write his own story

He can hear Piper’s panicked voice somewhere off somewhere, but he can't find it in him to care for once. If he's going to die this time for this at least she won't be there like all the other deaths. Maybe she can be spared for once

It's hot, his fire, so hot for once it's blue. Jason’s body might be dust slipping through his hands but Leo knows without needing to look it's the same color as his eyes

So he hulls himself up. He's still burning, the ash that is Jason combining with the ash and stone that is the landscape and changing. Magma, lava, stone and glass. 

Obsidian 

Leo walks 

And the ground melts away

He walks the whole way down like that, all the way to the underworld. Nothing stops him, not the earth or spirits or monsters, nothing even tries. He creates his own tunnel like that, burning his entrance to the upside down, an Obsidian Field

He may not be falling into the planet, but it sure is close

Leo doesn't waste time when he gets to the upside down, beelining it to the queue of souls waiting to be judged, honed in on the blond like he's being reeled in by the heartstrings. He's terrified, he's breaking so many rules, but he can't care about that right now. He won't care about it. If they want to strike him down for this Leo can just step in behind Jason, he's not above cutting in line.

It doesn't take Leo long to find him, in the long procession of semi-transparent dead people Jason is surprisingly opaque. He has a hand in his grody ripped jeans pockets and staring at an outcropping of stalagmites like a crappy waiting room TV. The microsecond Leo is close enough he grabs him out of line by the hand, Jason looks surprised to see him so soon

“We are leaving ” Leo demands through his teeth

“Okay,” Jason says, and then Leo drags him back the way he came

He doesn't let go of Jason's hand the whole way up, but he doesn't look at him either, just in case.

When they get upstairs the land around them is one big sheet of black glass with the hole to the new underworld entrance smack dab in the middle. there's a spot in front of them, where the new stone is discolored and rippled like water. Where Jason died, where Leo caught fire. It’s kinda pretty in a way, glittering and reflective, but nothing looks better than turning around and Jason still being there

“Hi,” Jason says, a huge grin on his face

“Hey,” Leo breathes back, still terrified their both about to be whisked away back under

“I missed you,” Jason tells him, squeezing his hand

“ Dude ” Leo is trembling, is this really happening?

“Just, come here ”

Jason pulls him into an embrace by their joined hands, and Leo melts into it holding him back like a lifeline. 

It's probably the best hug in existence Leo thinks, even though it's one-armed and they are both hella gross. But it's Jason , and he's here. He's here and he's sticking his stupid handsome face in Leo’s hair and pulling him in so tight it makes his ribs hurt. Leo thought he had run out of tears somewhere between the Metamorphic Rocks and the Mantle, but apparently not. He's sobbing into Jason’s nasty ass shirt, and Jason lets go of his hand just to hold him tighter

“Holy shit!” Leo hears Piper shreek in the distance “Holy shit he did it! ”

There's more screaming, the sound of friends and family inbound across the still-steaming ground, but right now it's just Leo and Jason standing in the cooling obsidian 

Leo looks up at him, just to make sure it's true and Jason is here for realzies this time. He's met with blue eyes, blue like the sky above them clear of clouds, blue like the heart of the hottest flames, blue like home

“Let's go home,” Leo tells him

“Okay,” Jason replies, seconds before Piper body slams them both to the ground “Let's go home”

---

@queenjunothegreat

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #129

I'm home. We got in at about 10:15pm. It took some time to get everything unpacked and squared away. I also got ready for bed; it's 11:30pm now.

Suppose I can show you pictures of the plane now. I was just asked to keep the identifying number out of it. So here you go:

...Just beyond those trees is a small dropoff and a river.

...It's actually kind of miraculous that the trees held, I guess. Or so the FAA agent said. He also said that it was kind of miraculous that the plane didn't flip over; apparently, for this type, that can happen if you hit the brakes too hard.

To have walked away from something like this without so much as a scratch... it's an astounding stroke of luck, according to the FAA guy and the airport owner. I also like to think that it is testament to J's skill; pilots are given training not just to avoid mistakes, but also to know what to do when mistakes inevitably occur. Humans are human, and humans make mistakes. There's really no avoiding it; there's only handling it when it happens.

The owner of the airport, who is also an experienced pilot, says likely what happened was a ground loop of some kind. That's when the tail wheel does a weird spinning thing when you try to land the aircraft. It doesn't help that the left wing had a bit more fuel in it than the other (which is likely part of the reason it pulled to the left upon landing). I'm not sure how it can be that the left wing had more fuel in it than the right, since the aircraft was set to consume fuel from both wings.

The person from the FAA is not our enemy. It's his job figure out what went wrong, and then use that knowledge to help keep pilots safe. So we gave him all the details we could. Hopefully something good will come of it.

On the bright side of all this, I got to meet a bunch of really awesome people with amazing life stories, and I had the good privilege of listening to them talk for a while about the things they've seen, done, and experienced. I do wish I could have met these folks under better circumstances. They were kind to us even though they all could have justifiably been super duper cranky at J about the whole thing. I guess they were all super stoked that we walked away alive and with all our limbs and organs intact.

...At one point, before it was clear that we would be okay, I thought something kinda like, "ohp, guess this is it; wonder if I'm gonna end up maybe meeting the guy I keep writing all these weird letters to... suppose it was a pretty good run though; 34 years with lots of weird and amazing stories ain't half bad." This thought probably didn't scare me as much as it should have. I'm not really sure what to make of that. Maybe I don't have to make anything of it at all. Maybe I'm still just a bit addled from all the adrenaline.

When we arrived at the airport this morning, the airport owner and his lovely friend made us coffee. In the room where the coffee was prepared, there was a painting that changes as you walk past it. It was gorgeous, and thought you might like it, so I snapped a few pictures:

...I was a little sad that it didn't seem to have an autumn version. But it was still very, very good.

You know. If things had proceeded as expected, we never would have had a chance to meet these people, or see this painting. We never would have had one of the emergency response folks tell us about an amazing local Italian restaurant, and we wouldn't have gone to it to get amazing food. It's important to fully feel the scary feelings and mourn appropriately in order to get the feelings out of our bodies. But it's also important to find the small sparks of joy and opportunity, even when the going gets rough, I think. Otherwise, in a world like mine that has back-to-back crises on a regular basis (seriously, we are globally connected, so it never stops), you'll end up losing your damn mind.

...Ahah... my mother would tell me that first, I have to have a mind to lose. But I don't have to heed such nasty talk. I have a good mind, I think, even if it is, by all accounts, a little quirky and hard to understand.

Anyway. There was a conference room in which we were interviewed by the guy from the FAA. And in it, appropriately, there was this picture:

...Kinda interesting, no? And appropriate for the situation, I suppose. J is going to go back out first thing tomorrow morning with a flight instructor. I have mixed feelings about this; on the one hand, I'm glad to see that he's undeterred and eager to try again, but on the other hand, I wish he'd give it at least a few days for the adrenaline to fully clear from his body and to recover from what happened. But I am not in control of him; he must be free to make his own choices. All I can do is make suggestions, and then support him in whatever choice he makes.

In any case, today the plane was pulled out of the trees and put in the hangar. Like I said, it's pretty banged up:

It has insurance, but given the damage, it's not unlikely that the insurance company will decide to have it scrapped. I guess we'll see how it goes.

M drove all the way from our house to the airport to pick us up. Thank goodness he was home, holding the fort. Thank goodness for that, and for his willingness to come grab us, and for the fact that he was happy to see us instead of angry about the inconvenience. He's not the kind of person who would get angry about the inconvenience, but I've met plenty of others who are very much not like him in that regard, good grief.

The three of us, M, J, and I, went to the Italian place that was spoken about. I dunno if it's because I was primarily running on hotel breakfast food and junk food, but I thought the food there was AMAZING. We got these garlic bread bites, and a pizza, and some lasagna. I wonder if you'd like any of these:

...Can't help but wonder... Sephiroth, what do you like on a pizza, anyway? I tend to like mushrooms and garlic best, but I like a bunch of other stuff, too, as long as it's not olives or pineapples or anything with capsaicin.

We listened to music on the way home; it was a 2 and a half hour drive, or thereabouts. M put on some Protomen; I wonder if you'd like their stuff:

...I wonder how much of this music you'd find relatable...

Hey, Sephiroth? I think I might be a bit too tired today to have anything profound or anything of significant insight to write about. Mostly I'm just glad I get to clunk around in my meat-mech for a little while longer; I like to think that maybe something good can come of me being here, even if I don't know what it is yet. I might be strange and unusual, and being myself is a pretty lonely experience almost all the time. But I think maybe there are folks I can help, and maybe that's reason enough to keep moving forward.

Hey, Sephiroth? I know you've made a lot of mistakes, but I hope that you understand that something very good has come about from you being here. I'm here because you're here, you know. Your existence gives me the strength to carry on even when really weird things happen. Your kindness and gentleness are what inspired me to become someone who is both soft and resilient. And I'm sure you've inspired millions of other people in my world in a similar way. So... please don't ever think your existence is a bad thing, okay? Because you are a good thing. You are a good thing. You are a good thing. And with that knowledge, please keep moving forward, as best as you can. I'll be cheering for you to do kind, gentle, and loving things.

I love you so much; you really have no idea. So please stay safe out there, okay? I'll write again soon.

Your friend, Lumine