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buckets-and-trees · 1 year ago

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Out of These Waters

Characters/Pairings: Mer!Bucky x Princess!Reader Word Count: 7.6k Summary: Fathoms below the surface, the tales of merfolk aren't mere tales, but a reality - a society sworn to secrecy, protecting themselves from the dangers of humans. But one of them with a yearning for what's out there keeps being drawn further and further into the places he should not go. A gender-bent adaptation of The Little Mermaid to be told in two parts.

Content/Warnings: liberties taken with Hans Christian Andersen and Disney source materials, pining, magic

Additional Notes: Written for the @buckybarnesevents Connect4 Alternate June-iverse to fulfill my C3 "Gender Bend" square, looping in a number of dialogue prompts for Navy and Roo's May Challenge over at @the-slumberparty (designated in bold), my second square of @buckybarnesbingo B2 "Hidden," and MERMAY (shush, I know it's coming in at the absolute last seconds before the whistle blows). Thank you @navybrat817 and @rookthorne for letting me shout at you and go on at length riddling out this plot! A/N 2: This is part one of what needed to be split into two halves of a thorough adaptation/retelling. I had NO INTENTION of doing anything mermay. But a few weeks ago mermay art started surfacing on my dash... and I was enamored. And then some of Mindy Lee's art was shared in this post, and I thought... but what if Bucky were a merman with ridiculously long, dark, flowy hair like that... And then there was this merBucky art by @haflacky, and @navybrat817 sent me this one, and, and, and... and I realized the square I had been most perplexed about how I would find something to inspire a muse for could work if I made Bucky the protagonist of The Little Mermaid. So if you've noticed that I leaned heavy into the reblogging of mermay art, NOW YOU KNOW WHY.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Steve shook his head. “I can’t keep saying the same thing again and again, Buck.”

“Then don’t.”

“You know you’re supposed to guard from below, not above. The whole point of our guarding is to maintain secrecy, ensure humans never get too close.”

“Is it not better to know exactly what’s going on than to wait and react?”

Steve’s tail lashed quickly forward and back again, a further show of the frustration already written on his face. “But we both know that’s not why you sit at the surface.”

“There’s a wide balcony built into the side of the cliff the castle rests upon that’s only just above where high tide hits with a stairway that leads straight into the waters,” the words rushed quickly out of Bucky’s mouth. “It’s old. Why would they have direct access into the sea at the royal palace if not to interact with us?”

“How do you – no, I don’t want to know how you know that.” Steve planted his hands on his hips, just above where his dark blue scales spread down below his abdomen. “If I don’t know, I don’t have to lie for you. Your shoulders are darker than they should be, and your face is too sun-kissed.”

With that, he turned and began to swim away. Bucky looked at the tiny octopus resting on his left shoulder, tentacles wrapped around his bicep and stretching over his chest and back. He stroked the top of one of the tentacles and the beast slipped one of its arms underneath its body and slid out the three small trinkets Bucky had hidden there. “If humans are so bad, why do they make and collect such interesting trinkets?”

Instead of following straight after Steve, Bucky headed further west instead of south to the kingdom, and it wasn’t long before he reached a cave near the reef on the edge of the kingdom he’d discovered long ago during his patrols of the outer regions. It was in an undisturbed area on the outskirts of the underwater kingdom of Asgard, a place of complete solitude for Bucky. He shared the existence of this place with no one, using it as an escape, then a retreat, and now a regular spot to not only be away from duty and his ties to others, but also a place to keep his growing collection of human artifacts.

A cautious visit to the surface to observe humans as a point of reference was part of ritual tradition for all Asgardian merfolk as they reached the age of adulthood. Many used it for what it was – the point of reference for the life they were not a part of, knowledge of the dangers of the surface world, and were happy to have it over and done with.

Not Bucky.

He wasn’t the only one who the visit struck a chord with. Many of the merfolk found a call to join the royal guard after their visits – some out of fear to keep the sea safe, some out of a reverent respect for what lay beyond the safe border of the underwater. Others were struck by their habits – so similar to the merfolk, and yet different – and became collectors of the oddities that sometimes found their way into the sea either by shipwreck or simply being tossed overboard.

Bucky had yearned for his visit to the surface for years before it was his time, spurred on by a fascination that had sprouted from hearing about humans and the surface from his father who had served in the royal guard for many years before Bucky was old enough to join. His visit split the curiosity from a small crack to a chasm of questions and desires. He wanted to know so much more about the people he saw, how they lived, and yearned to even experience it himself.

Joining the guard and taking regular rotations of duty for protection monitoring allowed him the opportunity to breach the surface and observe as long as he was careful, and he was. As Steve had rightly surmised, today had been another of those days. He kept to every other part of the code and did not speak or interact with the humans on any level, the directive put into place by Bor Burison early in his reign, maintained throughout the entirety of Odin’s reign, and continued by his son Thor, their current king.

But it wasn’t the only reason he had joined the royal guard. Bucky was an explorer by nature, so he also took satisfaction in the standard undersea outskirt patrols, mapping and surveying different parts of the kingdom, and – most importantly – felt a deep sense of duty to the kingdom and serving the king, whom he felt a great amount of loyalty and friendship toward after growing up on the same training grounds together and fighting alongside on a few occasions.

So Bucky’s cave was more than just a place to keep the trinkets and artifacts he found during his excursions, it was a place where he could be himself, think, rest, or just be without any distraction. The alcoves held his treasures, which included some maps of his own creation on the sheaves of seaweed, and some things made for him or given to him by his younger sisters.

This place was some three or four leagues from the coast, and Bucky often saw the shadows of boats sailing above it. It was growing dark, so tonight he wouldn’t lay and look up at the passing shades. It was only his intention to stow away his new findings – a silver ring with jade stones and another instrument, either a tool or an ornament, with a thin silver shaft a little longer than the palm of his hand holding a row of teeth with more jade embedded into the smooth back of the shaft. As he studied it, running his fingers over the smooth back and the bumps of the dull teeth, wondering what purpose it could serve or if it was purely decorative, it began to collect hues of muted but colorful light. He smiled and looked up through the hole of the roof of his cave.

“The booming fire lights,” he murmured to his shoulder octopus, placing the object on a shelf, and shooting quickly up and out of his cave for the surface. Within just a few moments he was near the surface, and so he slowed abruptly, knowing it was always safest to emerge slowly into the air rather than burst forth from below, even if he did benefit from the darkness of the night sky. With the booming fire lights flying above, Bucky knew there was an even smaller chance for any humans to notice him, but his adherence over the years to very basic strategies made his venturing beyond the established boundaries sustainable.

The wind danced across his face as he emerged from the water, cool and swift, but not unpleasant. Wind was such an anomaly to him, he wouldn’t have thought it unpleasant anyway. He watched the colorful lights dancing against the intensely dark sky, seemingly darker than others he’d seen before, but his attention was drawn by something else as well. Not far off from where he was treading at the surface a large sailing ship was gliding along with loads of music and laughter spilling over the sides. Ships in this area making their way to and from the docks of the surface kingdom were frequent, but not usually at the leisurely pace and with such clearly joyful revelry. His heart swelled just a little, and he couldn’t deny the pull toward the celebration. He slunk back down just below the surface, low enough he knew the rapid movements of his tailfins wouldn’t emerge or even disturb the water and swam toward the vessel.

Bucky had seen the ship on approach earlier during his surface patrol. It’s one that usually sat in the harbor, had been gone for a few weeks, and only returning now.

A few moments after he resurfaced, just at the base where the ship met the water, the booming fire lights in the sky ceased, and a shortly thereafter the music died down. The ship was not far off from land, so Bucky assumed the crew had stopped to celebrate with the fire lights and was now starting to make final preparations to conclude their voyage, but his curiosity was not disappointed in venturing closer. Two humans were at the side of the boat conversing directly above him, one leaning a little over the railing, looking out over the waters, and their voices rang out clearly for his ears.

“The people will be proud,” a male voice said.

“I hope so,” your voice drifted down to him.

“They will,” your companion insisted. “Your first royal tour, and you were able to make tremendous diplomatic overtures in many of the kingdoms we visited. In particular, the resurgence of a more active alliance with Wakanda and opening a trade route with them – we hoped for the former, but no one expected the latter. Wakanda hasn’t traded with other countries for generations!”

“With Shuri as the new queen, she was ready to make new inroads, I just happened to be the first delegation they received.”

“I’m sure that was by design.”

“Do you think they’re using us?”

“No, your majesty, as I told you before we set out, I think they were receptive to our diplomatic overtures because as a new queen, she saw you on equal footing as a princess who will soon inherit this kingdom.”

You didn’t respond immediately, and Bucky heard you heave a heavy sigh before speaking again. “Less than a year.”

“You will be ready. You are ready. Shuri initiated the trade negotiations only after she had judged your character, your intelligence, and your tenacity – characteristics noticed by her brother T’Challa, as well.”

“Are you my Prime Minister or my match maker?” you chided.

Your companion laughed, and replied, “As your Prime Minister I do know that the people would certainly rejoice at the prospect of a royal wedding, but I don’t think there will need to be any interference on my part, Princess.”

“The people would certainly rejoice?”

“They would, and of course a happy people makes doing my job easier, but I would also rejoice. I would not have you face the prospect of the crown alone, your highness.”

“I don’t need a husband to rule.”

“No, I know that – only a moment ago I just affirmed how strong your diplomatic skills are. I only say that because I believe you deserve to have a partner to share it with – the weight of the burdens as well as joy in the successes. I’ve always been grateful for my companion in those ways, and your kingdom has benefited from their wisdom as well, for they set me straight when I need to see something differently and everyone else will tell me what I want to hear and not what I need to hear.”

You didn’t respond immediately. Bucky imagined you may have been sharing a look of some sort with your Prime Minister. “T’Challa was someone who gained my respect very quickly and,” you hesitated for a moment, “he was also perhaps someone I began to grow fond of.”

Something burned in the back of Bucky’s throat. He didn’t like hearing you speak of this Wakandan prince. He didn’t like it because your voice was not that of a stranger to him. He had heard you – only a few times but heard you all the same – when he had ventured near the palace on the cliffside, discovering that sunken balcony with steps right into the sea, and other places along that part of the shore. He assumed you were part of the royal household, but this was the first conversation he’d heard indicating you were the crown princess and due to take the throne. He wanted to know more about everything on land, but he was particularly intrigued by what he was learning about you.

“I left with many indications that the Wakandans were interested in reciprocating a royal diplomatic visit presently, and that although Queen Shuri would be unable to leave in the near future, this was a priority moving forward to put stock in the alliance, and there is no one the Queen trusts more than her brother for matters of importance.”

“How conveniently fortuitous for your romantic hopes,” you responded, bracketing it with a soft, warm laugh.

The wind suddenly picked up, there was a deep rumble in the air, and then the sky began to release water down on them. A storm. Bucky had encountered a storm at the surface before, but never with such a heavy pelting of water. The folk on the boat began shouting, and he could hear a bit of their hustling about above the sounds of the storm, but only just. His ears began to buzz, and there was a sharp metallic taste hitting his tongue. Bucky put his hand on the side of the ship to steady himself, starting to feel a little dizzy. The next second there was a blinding light that engulfed everything, with a sharp crack, and an even larger almost deafening crash at the end of it, and then a roaring sound unlike anything Bucky had ever heard before, followed by screaming and shouts from the ship’s crew. Bucky’s heart beat erratically for a few moments, and though the brilliant white light had disappeared, there was now a red and orange glow radiating from the front of the ship.

The splintering of wood, more shouts, and then a boom as the mast of the ship tumbled over, and then fell over the side, and into the water, Bucky just swimming out of the way in time. The whipping of the wind increased even more, bringing big waves that began to beat against the side of the ship, causing it to rock and creak.

Bucky retreated below the surface, and looked up seeing other things beginning to fall into the water, boxes, row boats, a body swathed with swirling skirts. Bucky’s body was full of adrenaline already from that wicked flash of destructive light, body feeling out of sorts, but he was horrifically transfixed on that body, waiting for the limbs to react, to move, but they didn’t.

Someone from the ship’s crew would see, they would leap in after to retrieve the displaced human.

Any second.

But what continued to appear at the surface, after another flash of light, were more object, planks of wood, and the body remained motionless, continuing to sink.

He couldn’t leave the human helpless.

Surging upwards, Bucky snaked his arm around the torso of the human, tucking it against his side, and then rushed to the surface. He looked around, scoping out the situation, but found nothing but more chaos. The human crew on the deck of the ship were distracted entirely in what was happening immediately around them, no one seeming to look over the side at all in search of a missing body because now the small boats were being cast into the water and all the crew were calling out, “Abandon ship!”

Bucly looked down at the head that had lolled back to rest on his shoulder and his heart stuttered because though it was dark and stormy and he’d never been anywhere near this close, he was certain it was you, the crown princess in his arms. Bucky groaned in distress. He was already in a compromising position, he couldn’t leave you here with little assurance that you would be rescued – certainly not without him helping you in your unconscious state – and each passing second mounted his concern over if you were even still alive. He brought a trembling hand to the side of your neck to see if he could feel a heartbeat. Do humans have heartbeats? he wondered, but assumed they must since merfolk like himself did, and humans and merfolk seemed to share near identical bodies from the waist up. Detecting a heartbeat seemed futile at this moment, tossing about in the sea, with his own hand unsteady.

Without another thought, he tightened his hold beneath your arms, swirled to face land, and franticly beat his fins to take you away from the wreckage, realizing there was nothing left to do but swim you to the shore himself.

Bucky knew the shore too well for a merman, far better than he knew ever to admit to anyone in Asgard, but his extensive familiarity meant in this instant he had no question of where he needed to go, and time was precious. Grateful for the hightide of nighttime, Bucky had to make very little effort to get the two of you up onto the balcony that lay at the bottom of the cliffs just below the palace – the very one he had spoken to Steve about only an hour before. Bucky gently shifted you onto your back on the smooth granite, cradling your head in one of his large hands. His other hand furiously brushed his long hair out of his face, then came up to your neck, seeking signs of your heartbeat again. It was faint, but he could feel it consistently pulsing under his fingertips.

Tension he didn’t realize he’d been carrying released in his chest.

You were still alive.

He’d felt dizzy with that streak of violent light, so perhaps you had been affected as well and may have also hit something in the water when you fell off the ship. He brushed his thumb softly over your cheek. “Come on, Princess, you need to wake up.”

Still unresponsive, he rubbed your cheek a little more firmly, then moved his hand down to squeeze your shoulder. He continued murmuring softly, trying to coax you back to consciousness. After a few more minutes, he finally felt you beginning to come around, noting the moment when instead of your head lying dormant in his hand, your muscles started to move and adjust. “That’s it, Princess,” he cooed.

You groaned and pressed your cheek into Bucky’s palm. His heart ached and raced, realizing the reality of his situation.

He hesitated for a split second, loathe to leave you, but he carefully eased your head onto the ground, removed his hands from you, and slipped away and back into the sea before you could see him.

As he swam as fast as he could, his heartbeat roaring in his ears, and he did not stop until he was home, only slowing to a speed that would not draw attention when he neared the outskirts of the underwater kingdom, knowing he could never even hint at his involvement in saving the life of a human. His mind raced with the enormity of what he’d done, and the only reason he slept at all that night was due to the exhaustion from maintaining such a high-speed swim over the long distance to return home.

His body was refreshed in the morning, but his mind was not. Bucky knew he had a day ahead of him filled with his duties as a royal guard, but every fiber of his being yearned to rise to the surface and seek you out – only to ensure you were safely recovering from the shipwreck ordeal.

“You’re not tricking anyone always taking the assignments to investigate new shipwrecks, patrol the outskirts, and monitor security near the surface,” Sam said as they left the command post for the guard in the golden palace of Asgard after the morning briefing and assignments.

Bucky shot him a sidelong glance. “What did Steve say to you.”

“Steve didn’t say anything to me,” Sam chuckled. “I know you, and this is becoming more frequent.”

“If someone has to take care of these responsibilities anyway, why not me?” Bucky tried to keep his tone casual, adding a shrug.

Sam didn’t respond. Bucky looked over at him.

Sam put up his hands nonchalantly. “If you say so.”

Bucky stopped and turned to face him. “Say what you feel so compelled to say.”

“I don’t think Thor will be as angry as Odin would have been about your human obsession, but he won’t be happy about it. The laws are there for a reason. You know that.”

Bucky shook his head in irritation. “I’m not in any danger.”

“I’m not scolding you, Buck, but Odin would have had your fins nailed to the floor.”

The little octopus on Bucky’s shoulder squirmed. Bucky stroked it soothingly. “Thor’s not Odin, but no one is going to tell Thor anything because there’s nothing to tell.”

“Just be careful.”

“You also volunteered to mapping part of the uncharted reef with me today,” Bucky reminded him.

“Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t get lost or lose track of time,” he said with a grin.

Bucky laughed. “Come on then, morning light is best for scoping out the reef.”

The day was spent adding to the empty edges of the map of the reef. Thor had commissioned further exploration and completion of the maps of their land and the surrounding seas, placing great importance on better knowing the kingdom and her neighbors. Scratching the new lines and shadings into the sheaves of seaweed brought its own sense of satisfaction, and it did fill his mind for the day and distract him for the most part. He returned to Asgard with Sam at the end of the day, no detours. He ate with other members of the guard before returning home. He slept, but then he woke before dawn, leaving in the darkness, and began swimming to the shore. Would you be at the seaside balcony at the crack of dawn? He didn’t expect so, but he would scope it out all the same, and he was sure if he did not see you he could safely sneak to the port docks and hear news of you – now that he knew you were the crown princess, any word regarding the return of a royal after a shipwreck and her wellbeing would be the gossip of the morning.

Merfolk and humans were no different in that way, Bucky thought with a smirk.

The sun was only just sending its rays over the edge of the horizon when he reached the shore. You were not at the seaside balcony of the palace, and he only lingered for a few minutes, eyes fixed on the spot where he’d held your face in his hands.

Two mornings after the shipwreck, the docks at the port were still busier than Bucky normally saw them. He had to stay further below and only came up to the surface twice, but that was all he needed to hear that the people’s princess was recovering without anything more than a nasty bump to the head and exhaustion.

He swam past and surfaced near the balcony again before heading back for another day of Asgardian life and duties. You weren’t there, of course.

But that night, you were.

He watched you watch the stars until you retired for the night.

Three mornings later Bucky was off for the day, so he ventured back to the shoreline mid-morning, hoping he would catch you at some point during the day. He had encountered you there a few times after all.

And you did not disappoint.

You sat on the top step that led from the balcony down into the water, pulled up your skirts, and began loosening the laces of your shoes. Soon you had them off along with whatever fabric was covering your feet beneath the shoes – he wondered what those were called. They looked delicate. Then you scooted down to sit a few steps lower, letting your feet dangle in the sea. Bucky dipped far below the surface and swam closer to the wall of the cliff. When he came up again, he slipped up onto an outcropping of rocks out of your view, leaning his bare back against the cliff face. He was only meters away from where you were still sitting. He could hear you idly raising and lowering your feet out of the waters as it was a very calm day for the tide.

After a long while, he heard you sigh. “Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I know I didn’t make it up. You aren’t a miracle or a myth, you’re proof the merfolk aren’t extinct and that they’re not dangerous.”

Bucky’s heart leapt into his throat. He thought he’d been silent or quiet enough with the other sounds of the sea.

“You’re out there somewhere. I’ll find you.”

He did not move until he heard you leave, then he slipped into the deep blue, a rushing in his ears, heart pounding, resolved to keep his distance.

Only that resolve didn’t last long. He was drawn to you as much as he was to everything above water, and within a week he was back, but he came at the end of the day. You weren’t there, but he hoisted himself back up on the same outcropping of rock at the base of the cliff near but still out of view of the steps. The view of the sunset was stunning, steeped with deep reds and oranges, and sitting there taking in the sight you might have been able to see was enough.

And better.

This was safe.

Then he heard the faint sound of voices far off, steadily growing, then footsteps descending on the stairs. Two sets of footsteps, and then finally he could make out the voices, recognizing both – yours and that of your Prime Minister.

“Everything is ready to receive the royal envoy. Prince T’Challa sent this letter ahead for you.”

“Oh.”

Bucky registered a hint of something in your voice even in just that simple sound alone that pricked at him.

“Oh,” your tone was even warmer.

“A good letter?”

“That is not really your business, Prime Minister,” you laughed, and he chuckled.

“A royal alliance in absolutely my business,” he said, though the Prime Minister’s tone was clearly in jest, ultimately content in deferring to your rank and privacy.

“I will say it is certainly a letter anyone could be fond of,” you offered in a gentle voice.

That consumed Bucky immediately. He didn’t want this prince to lay claim to your heart and draw this kind of affection from you. He wanted that chance. His tail twitched with his impatience, splashing up some water. Bucky instantly stilled, pressing back against the cliff face.

But neither of you seemed not to notice.

The conversation turned to more business about the visit, and Bucky continued to listen, wanting to hear your voice, but none of the words registered in his head.

After a while, Bucky realized the voices had stopped, but he had no idea when that had happened. The sun had disappeared completely, the celestial bodies of the night sky had come out and were shining brightly against the darkness. The position of the moon indicated it must be near midnight. Bucky groaned, his shoulders and back a little stiff after sitting so long in one attitude against the rocks. You must have gone away and to sleep ages ago, and he ought to follow suit. He pushed up and off the perch, making a small dive into the sea to return home.

What he did not know was that you had stayed long after dismissing the Prime Minister, watching the sky until the very last rays of the sunset, but as you were about to retire had heard the twitching of fins against the water close at hand and out of curiosity climbed down the steps to the water’s edge to investigate. You had seen only the end of a set of large, shimmering black and gold fins and the lower part of a black-scaled tail. Your breath had stopped, and you’d had to stifle your sound of shock. You hadn’t dared to get to the bottom of the steps and look around the edge, certain that if it was one of the merfolk you’d heard the myths of your whole life that they would retreat immediately if they knew you’d seen them, but you had moved as far to the other end of the balcony as you could to see more of that glorious tail – but still not revealing much more to your view – and waited.

And all your patience had been rewarded when you saw the arms, head, shoulders, and torso of a man dive into the water, magnificent black and gold tail with intricate and powerful fins following him in all his glory.

Now you knew they still existed.

No, Bucky knew none of that.

Bucky’s mind is singularly fixed on all the things he can’t have – things he’s wondered about since hearing about the human surface world as a merchild, things he saw during his observatory rite of passage visit when he turned sixteen, things he’s seen over the years since then through his own exploration above and below the surface, and the everything just out of his reach now with you. He goes first to his grotto, and here the number of things he’s collected from the human world far surpass the number of things he knows about you, but he can’t deny the draw he feels. His chest aches, and yet he’s forbidden from doing anything – if there even were anything he could do.

Being among the relics of the human world only serves to agitate him more, and so he leaves and makes his way to his home cavern in the city of Asgard. Sleep is impossible. He swims short, agitated lengths back and forth within his humble dwelling.

He has a few relics here, too, but these are things passed down from his parents, including his grandfather’s combat spear. The royal armory holds weapons and all manner of protective outfitting for his majesty’s armies, but long past are the days when the kingdom issued gear to every soldier and officer. Many under the early days of Odin’s reign were issued personal pieces as a standard, but that ebbed away as the need and dangers faded or were conquered. The height of need had been in the early days of Bor Burison’s reign – Bor who had enacted the stringent regulations against fraternizing with the humans or spending any significant amount of time at the surface.

Bucky had naturally collected many pieces of the history of their people in relation to the humans, but he had never visited the royal archives. He’d always made at least a modicum of effort to keep his interest in everything looking exactly like that – an interest and not an obsession – and a visit to the archives to read and study the records of their interactions with the humans would not be seen as an idle interest.

Now he didn’t care. He needed to know everything; perception be damned.

He swam off some of his anxious energy making laps around the borders of the city surrounding the palace until dawn when the elders would open the archives. It was a collection that spanned art, statues, treasures, and artifacts, in addition to the records of the merfolk of Asgard. Some of their history had been created in murals along the walls of this hall, but there were also panes of etched glass and titanium for important long-term records, as well as various scrolls and sheaves of tough seaweed for maps and other documents. One of the elders pointed him to the area most applicable to their past dealings with the humans, and he started from the most recent records and started to make his way back through Asgard’s history. Bucky collection of events even more complex than he’d known began to coalesce as he combed through the accounts of things that played out over a few years, ending in a bloody battle between Buri – Thor’s great-grandfather – and the human king and his navy with many lives lost on both sides, including Buri, leading to Bor’s untimely ascension to the crown at an age earlier than anyone expected, and Bor instituting all the laws, principles, and practices to eliminate any contact with the surface world, deeming too much had been lost and that humans had become too dangerous to continue any dealings whatsoever if they wanted to keep the people of Asgard safe.

But Buri’s had inherited peaceful ties – positive ties even – with the folk on land, ties that had been forged by his father and grandfather before him. To say this was intriguing to Bucky would be an understatement. These ties were entwined with the selkies of Jotunheim.

Odin had beat back the selkies from their waters.

All except one.

Bucky knew of a selkie still in existence.

Exiled, but Bucky was fairly sure he knew where he could find the long-forgotten adopted brother of Thor, rumored now to be the warlock of the seven seas.

Bucky was questing for information, for answers, but tales of the things the former prince who had embraced his magic had done since leaving the gleaming halls of Asgard were whispered, and Bucky began to wonder if perhaps he could get more than he set out for by paying him a visit.

He need not have worried about finding him. As one of the pre-eminent cartographers on the royal guard, Bucky knew where to begin his search, but once he got to that point on the fringes, there seemed to be a myriad of elements to point him straight to Loki’s dark cavern.

There must have been enchantments to alert the sea warlock of his approach because Loki was waiting for him at the entrance to his lair. Bucky took in the sight of him as he drew near. Odin had invoked powers to conceal Loki’s true nature as a selkie and disguised him as a merman when he brought the infant into the royal family, and though Loki’s rebellion came during the early years of Bucky’s service in the king’s guard, Bucky had never seen him in his true form.

He was not that different from what Bucky had known him as before. The marked difference was that instead of scales and fins, his lower half was covered in the pelt of a seal, still beautiful and shiny in its own way, but with flippers instead of fins, and it was a skin that he could shed – for legs above ground. That and his flesh skin seemed sallow, but his eyes were still sharp.

“James, after all this time, and now you come to visit me,” he crooned. “You must be truly desperate to come to me for help.”

Bucky furrowed his brow, not anticipating this direct nature, and he was wary of what it meant.

In Bucky’s half-second of hesitation to answer, Loki’s face took on a dark grin and he continued his overture. “For that’s why you are here, is it not? No social calls on your part since I left the palace – not that we were particularly close. I didn’t expect overtures of our continued acquaintance since leaving Asgard, but seeing you swim into my waters at any point was certainly not something I ever predicted would happen.”

Bucky hovered near, but not within reach of the warlock. “It’s true I come to you with particular needs, but I harbor no bad blood for the past.”

Loki nodded, then turned and swam inside, calling, “Come in,” over his shoulder.

Bucky followed.

The circumstances surrounding the final confrontation that took place between Thor, Odin, and Loki during the latter’s rebellion were not public knowledge, and though Odin died that same day, Loki’s departure from the kingdom was a self-exile, and Thor and the then Queen Frigga maintained that Odin did not die at Loki’s hand and forbade anyone pursue the fallen prince. Thor had assumed the throne, Loki had wandered in mystery, as yet not returning to his once-home, and had settled now in this place.

They swam through a tunnel toward a faint glow ahead. Something continually reached out, whisping across Bucky’s skin as they passed, and he was unsure if it was plant or creature, but he had the distinct impression these were sentient and intentional touches. Bucky was forced to endure at the pace at which Loki progressed ahead of him.

They emerged into a massive cavern aglow with filtered light streaming in through gaps in the ceiling and glowing plants that cropped up in patches along the walls. One of the cavern’s faces was riddled with nooks and alcoves that were packed with bottles, pots, artifacts, tools, supplies – it was all an eerie collection Bucky imagined had been clearly amassed with meticulous obsession, knowing the habits of being a collector himself. Each spot his eyes darted to held both familiar and unfamiliar items.

Loki stopped, floating near the middle of the lair, and Bucky followed suit. The selkie swirled languidly around to look at him, and though his posture appeared relaxed, Bucky could see the true scrutiny in his eyes.

He kept the silence, eagerly sowing the anticipation, before he spoke again. “Know that I entertain you only for the sake of my own curiosity.”

Ah, he understood, at least I know the approach. He opened his mouth, ready to unfold his explanation, but Loki abruptly raised his hand, and Bucky thought it was only to stop him, but then something entwined both of his arms out of nowhere, gripping him and drawing him nearly chest to chest with the warlock.

“No, no. this will be more satisfying for me than your words,” Loki said, then put his nimble fingers to Bucky’s temples, and closed his eyes.

Bucky winced as almost immediately he wasn’t in physical pain, but he swore he could practically feel Loki sifting through his head, extracting what he wanted from the memories that flashed rapidly across his mind – Steve, maps, the records, conversations with his father, pieces of his artefact collection, his trips to the surface, the shipwreck, and you. So many thoughts of you. Bucky tried not to move, not wanting to show any weakness.

“Mmm, I see,” he said, finally releasing him both from his own touch and from the grip of the enchanted seaweed.

Bucky was only too glad that Loki retreated. It was only a meter, but any inch of distance was relished after feeling so exposed. There was no taking back the flashes, but at least most of the concentration had been on the human things, a few moments of you, but not every memory he had of you.

He let the quiet permeate the space between them again. Then he turned around, a smile on his face, and it was nothing but unsettling, too relaxed for Bucky’s liking.

He knew he was being toyed with, but he had to play whatever game Loki was setting up.

Finally, he spoke again. “Clearly the way to get what you want is to become a human yourself.”

“And you can do that?”

“I fortunately knew a little magic, and my talent and knowledge have only grown in my exile, so I could, but what in the vast ocean is in this for me?”

“The challenge,” Bucky responded, employing a slight incline of his chin – a tactic he had used with others to inspire or sway them over the years.

“Oh, but I want more than that, and so do you, you want this with everything in your soul.”

Bucky could feel how much Loki was enjoying this. Loki literally had the power, but that put him in a position that Bucky still knew he could use in this game.

“Here’s my offer: you’ll get your legs, you’ll be able to breathe on land – so not under the sea – and by the time the sun sets on the third day, if you haven’t procured true love’s kiss –“

“True love’s kiss?” Bucky interjected.

“But, of course! That’s what you want anyway, is it not?”

The smirk on his face riled Bucky even more, but he was determined to appear as unaffected as he could, even though he knew they both knew Bucky was keyed up to great heights.

“Yes, you are intrigued by the life on land, but you’re here because you want the heart of that princess.” Loki pauses and tilts his head, demanding the admission.

Bucky nodded.

That kindled a spark of something more in Loki’s eye.

“You said I have until sunset on the third day. What happens if I don’t succeed by then?”

Loki shrugged. “You turn back into a merman and you serve me for thirteen years.”

Bucky blinked before responding. He thought he would say for life, but only thirteen years?

Loki chuckled. “I know exactly what you’re thinking, but I may not want you longer than that. Now, if you succeed, you remain a human and live a human life up there with your beloved princess for the rest of your days,” he concludes, almost bored by the end.

“No interference from you in the future?”

Loki waved his hand as he replies, “No interference from me. But,” and his tone switched, fully engaged again, “we haven’t discussed the matter of payment.”

“You can have any of my gold or treasures.”

“I have enough of my own. I want something more unique. I’m not asking for much, just a token really, a trifle.

He paused.

“What I want from you is your voice.”

“My voice?” Bucky’s mind worked quickly, trying to work out what he was missing if he agred to give up his voice. Aside from the logistical inconvenience and disadvantage it would present on his part, he can’t imagine what Loki would gain by having it – it seemed to be an eccentric choice.

“Your voice.”

Why ask for that? Bucky’s eyes narrowed a fraction. Clearly it was something to further taunt Bucky and entertain Loki.

Then Loki unexpectedly seemed to soften, relaxing his posture. “I understand perhaps more than you anticipated. I empathize with your unrest, the way you yearn to know a part of you that’s been denied.”

They didn’t have the same circumstances, but Bucky sees where they could draw parallels with each other.

“What you’re asking would enormously alter your destiny. Your voice is almost nothing if what you truly want is to become human and live out your days with that princess your soul longs for.”

Those words were spoken without flair. Bucky only needed to agree to get what he wanted – he couldn’t have crafted a better scenario considering what any of the alternatives could have been. It was a bizarre barter – his voice for a chance at life out of these waters – but it did seem to fit the weight of what he was being offered.

“Now, do you agree to the terms?”

“I agree.”

Loki’s wide smile reappeared, and he turned away to fetch and summon different items from his wall of endless supplies, and soon there was a round glass jar between them, just larger than the size of a head with a small spout meant for pouring things in and out. Vials, jars, and some loose elements hovered near Loki’s shoulders, and he waved his hand twice in a circular motion beneath the glass jar. The water there continued to stir, and Bucky could feel the warmth it generated. Loki began to add ingredients into the spout, and they swirled in the orb. Loki murmured a few short incantations, and there were cracks and rumblings from the concoction.

“Put your palms against the glass and hum until you can’t hum anymore,” Loki instructed.

It was yet another peculiarity, but Bucky didn’t question. He placed both hands as indicated and started to hum. He could feel the heat immediately, and as he continued to hum, he could sense the exchange as his voice was drawn continuously from the depths of his chest and magic slithered through his veins. Once he felt it seep into every inch of him, the energy surged suddenly. His throat seized, there was a searing pain through his lower half, and he wanted to withdraw his hands to clutch at his neck, to kick away, but whatever magic was brewing prevented him from pulling back at all. His chest tightened painfully. There was a flash of light that rivaled the violent flash in the sky that struck the ship the night of the shipwreck, the searing pain burst in his tail, and then all at once he was released.

The discombobulation was overwhelming. His powerful tail and fins were gone, and he realized how unsuited for this setting he was, the new limbs altogether inadequate, and his lungs were desperate for air. He kicked and surged upward, but he’d even lost the slight webbing between his fingers that had helped him glide more quickly through the water.

Loki’s laughter followed him as he made his escape from the depths of the sea.

The octopus companion that had peculiarly clung to his shoulder on one chance expedition and rarely let go unfurled itself and diligently aided Bucky in swimming to reach the surface where he burst into the air, gulping in lungful’s of air. It was crisp and immediately quenched all of the dread and desperation that had filled his being.

Then the next breaths soothed and then invigorated him. He laughed with relief.

Only there was no sound.

For he had no voice.

to be continued...

A/N 3: SHUT UP, YOU GET A THIRD AND FINAL NOTE FROM ME TO YOU! This - clearly - is part one of two. I dove DEEP into this (shush, puns) and to tell the story I know I will feel satisfied with in the end, I got to this point and joked that maybe I should just stop here - who needs to resolve any plots, he got his legs, right? - but then the joke became the option I genuinely liked because I was getting overwhelmed by how this story had grown. And so, dear readers, keep a weather eye on the horizon for merBucky to reappear with the tide.

↠ Main Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

I do not do tag lists, but FOLLOW @buckets-and-stories and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS to be updated any time I publish a new work!

#Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #merbucky #bucky barnes x reader #mermay #bucky barnes x female reader #navy and roo's sleepover #buckybarnesbingo2023 #bbb2023 #connect4au #female reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x yn #bucky barnes x y/n #mer!bucky #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky x reader

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official-js · 27 days ago

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chat i have a connundrum

so basically i fuckin hate dnd beyond bc it sucks ass esp for homebrewing shit so i decided "what if i made it myself but better for me and my usecase"

i had that idea back in like june and ive tried making it a good few times since then but restarting quickly due to either:

having a massive change in the design/functionality of the thing

getting sidetracked and coming back later

wanting to choose a diff framework/stack

ive written these all in js btw

ive found one js full stack framework which after messing about in feels really nice to use HOWEVER ive been watching some other web shit on yt and im kinda tempted to try using a different language so these are the options

(ill be away for a few days and i forgor which day i get back but ill check this when i do get back)

i have a decent idea of how chars/homebrew/etc would be stored in the json and thats independent of the framework

i have pretty good experience in js/ts/react and tanstack start isnt that complex + its only in alpha rn

ive spent like. 2 hours or smthn messin around w rust i havent got past chapter 2 in the book

ive never used go but ive heard good things about it and it seems a little simpler than rust

never used php and idk how it works really (its much better than it was in 2012 (source: youtubers with decent programing takes imo + the snippets in the examples of improvements look good))

ive messed w tailwind a little and i have (imo) decent skills in css and html so that wont be a barrier

note that im designing this in such a way that security and performance arent really concerns as it would be (ideally) deployed to something like a raspberry pi running on LAN and maybe using smthn like git or syncthing or ssh or something to gain access outwith the LAN if you need that

it would also be designed with trust of users in mind so stuff like proper auth and permissions wouldnt be in place it would be very simplistic (they may come later but not in v1 at least)

again its primarally for personal use but yeah

if u got questions abt how it works etc lmk also if u have any tips for go/rust/php development w this typa stack lmk!!!

note i havent done any research other than passive knowledge via yt and also breif google searches so ill prolly do a lil more research later :3

pre-emptive if ur gonna tell me to use pathfinder or some other ttrpg system: shut up please i know dnd kinda sucks but it works for our campaign, we r mid campaign, and this is what everyone knows so please. shush

edit: i just realised php doesnt let u edit the page contents without refreshing/redirecting and there would be enough interactivity (which to my knowledge could be done w htmx) that it wouldnt work well so php is out of the picture

#:0 i spoke #codeblr #coding #programming #open source #web dev #rust #go #typescript #javascript #reactjs #tailwind #htmx #idk what actually gets ppl to see ur shit and what tags r just filled with slosh so yk #also reblogs for more advice would be appreciated 🙏🙏#not using ruby on rails bc ive seen the ao3 codebase and that looks like shit #also not writin for native bc i dont give a fuck rn #if that changes then yk

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cloud-navi · 1 year ago

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So I finished DuckTales (2017), my thoughts:

⚠️ Spoilers ahead ⚠️

- Bradford Buzzard:

His feelings for hating adventure and chaos is valid but he should have told his grandma to fuck off and got therapy instead of trying to destroy it. Also its not his fault that Della took the Spear of Selene even if he told her about it.

You can’t have one thing without the other, there must be chaos if there is stability and vice versa.

- Webbigail Vanderquack and Bentina Beakly (Agent 22):

It was a good twist, but it makes me question where FOWL got Scrooge’s DNA to make Webby and why her exact clones (sisters) aren’t perceived as Scrooges kid like Webby is.

My theory: “The Papyrus of Binding only appears to a direct heir of Scrooge McDuck” I think it mean’s physically and emotionally. If June and May are Webby’s clones that means they are just as much Scrooge’s physical child as Webby is, except they don’t have a relationship with Scrooge. Scrooge even before knowing Webby was his kid thought of her like his Grandniece, like family, making her an heir like the boys.

For how much Beakly talked about how important and strong a family is together when getting the boys to talk to Scrooge again in Season 1, it doesn’t make much sense to have her go in alone without informing the family of what she knows of FOWL from SHUSH.

Goldie O’Gilt:

I love her so much, except in the ImpossiBin episode, there she was okay. At the end of the ImpossiBin episode Goldie calls Scooge assuming he took the fountain of youth when they agreed to keep it for both of them, (she went back to steal it for herself so she says). They made progress in the Youth Fountain episode and having Goldie call him about it being gone kinda defeats the whole purpose of their bonding in that episode. Except I understand they needed a character to tell him it was gone like the other missing mysteries but I find it defeated the whole point.

Lena and Violet Saberwing:

To me it looked like Violet’s parents adopted Lena and I’m all for that. Also love the hinted gay rep with their dads.

Magica De spell:

While it was Scrooge that blocked her spell, it was still her spell that she shot that turned her brother into a raven. Theres no reason or obligation for Scrooge to have caught him and give him to her when they were both terrible people. If anything her brother got a new chance at life as a raven instead.

I wish there was kinda a redemption arc when she was training Lena, if not for Lena a little redemption for Gladstone because I like those two.

Fenton Crackshell (GizmoDuck) and DarkWing Duck:

I like Drake with Fenton regardless if he’s Drake or playing DarkWing but I feel like he needs to accept that GizmoDuck is also a hero. Bro needs to know the difference between hero and vigilante.

Fenton is pretty bbg too <3

Launchpad McQuack:

Giant himbo and I love him so much.

Daisy Duck:

Love her, not much else to say. She had standards, that was clear when we heard what she said while driving away from their second date except she still fell in love and was willing to put up with Donald enough to go rescue him and keep going out. Overall a girl boss <3

Huey, Dewey and Louie:

While Dewey should have come forward earlier about looking for Della I understand his intentions more then Huey did when he found out. Louie was right, its not okay, but in the beginning Dewey was just trying to find if she was alive or not, not where she was. He was sorry because he ‘got caught’, he was genuinely sorry. It’s difficult to want to tell someone you’re finding all this stuff about someone you all seek when none of you know if they’re even alive or not. Dewey didn’t want them to lose hope that Della may be alive even if he found out she might not have. Yes he should have told them but I understand he didn’t want to them to be more hurt that she’s unalive instead of just missing. Also they aren’t even teenagers and communication skills are ass with teenagers what makes you think they’ll be any better as 10 year olds?

Again, their anger is misplaced when they’re mad at Scrooge for building a Spear of Selene.

Scrooge McDuck (sugar daddy?):

I like his character and I feel theres a bit of development through out the show with him and the kids, to be a teacher you need to be able to learn from your students.

While yes, he shouldn’t have built the rocket right there he also didn’t tell Della about it. Not his fault she left. Also the audacity to find out it wasn’t really his fault or the fact he nearly went bankrupt looking for her and they didn’t apologize at all.

Donald Duck (DILF):

Literally the best man in the whole show. He put his family first the whole time even when he should have taken breaks except he stepped up. We know that he had some form of falling out with Scrooge because of Della but even so he stepped up to take the kids and stayed in DuckBurg instead of moving anytime in the 10+ years they lived there. I have a feeling they stayed because he knew deep down that he could somewhat still count on Scrooge if not Beakly. Why else would he have stayed and gone to Beakly to watch the kids, granted he didn’t want to talk to Scrooge, Scrooge still took them in and watched them while Donald was off getting a job.

Donald may not be their bio-dad, but he is no way a fucking Uncle. He raised those boys by himself for 10+ years, through their formative years and until they were old enough to know he wasn’t their bio-dad. He stepped in to be a parent because Della chickened out and chose to go to space even when he told her she shouldn’t so she can be with her kids.

Donald Duck, not an uncle, a father.

Della Duck (cool-ish weird Aunt):

My opinion has not changed, she still isn’t a mother to me. Della is an estranged aunt that comes by and is the ‘cool aunt’. She willingly, without obligation, without threat, consciously CHOSE to leave her kids. Regardless of if she knew she would get killed or stuck in space, “there were too many variables” -Huey. She had a fight with Donald that specifically told her that it was a giant, dumb fucking idea with kids on the way. The idea that anyone would accept her back as a parent so blindly is so dumb. Yes she’s their egg-layer, but there is no way in hell she is their mother. A MOTHER would never choose to leave their children unless they positively fucking had too (obligation for safety). Whether or not she regrets it holds no power because she still chose to leave for a stupid reason.

Season 1 finale: “Get away from my kids” by Donald Duck will forever hold more power and significance then anytime she ever says it because she gave up parent rights before they were born. No parent would willingly, without valid cause like their safety (not fucking exploring space for funzys) would leave their child.

Over all:

Scrooge and Donald are DILFS and Della can get bent.

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descendantofthesparrow · 9 months ago

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What’s your timeline for the movies?

I’m trying to write something of my own but I can’t figure the timeline out

hooooooooooooooo boy yeah i had a whole mental breakdown over this lol, i made my own for my rewrite fic because canon makes no sense. so the only CONFIRMED timeline is the time between d1 and d2, six months 'six months ago i was stealing candy from babies-Mal during the 'talk scene' between the c4. D3 is implied to be about two weeks? so vk day-aka the start-one week later-vk pick up day, hades attacks, Audrey steals the scepter-the next day, Jnaes birthday, the meeting, the whole adventure, and then a week later is the engagement party/the end of the movie.

but blah blah blah-so my timeline was, starts in January, though it should at the very least start in October considering a side book that mentions the coronation/the maleficent incident happening on October 18th, BUT-with d2 being six months later, and another side book says cotillion happened June 24/5th, so the end of the school year, and six months before that is January.(i know some people don't like using the side books as a timeline calculator but it helps to make my brain hurt less so shush(love you dani))

okay anyway, starts in January, takes about-two three weeks to go through the movie, ends on a Friday-the coronation, which in January 2015-when the movie 'takes place', makes sense for me so-

this is my d1 timeline, aligned with January 2015. and Ben's birthday for me is January 16th, his coronation day, since its implied his birthday is coronation day in the movie.

D2-Six months later, in June, in the movie-its kind unclear just how the timeline spans, but it is 3 days, so start-which is on a Thursday since their picnic date is on a Thursday, Mal runs away that Thursday afternoon, vks and Ben come after her late Thursday/early Friday, Mal makes deal with Uma Friday and either the wand trade happens Friday at noon or Saturday at noon-but either way in the movie, the wand trade is the same day as cotillion-but i exnayed that and made cotillion the next day, Saturday, so Evie had time to actually change Mal's dress.

D3---whooo boy, this is where it gets confusing-so D3~! there is no clear thoughts of how long its been since 3, it's either been less than a year, OR its been NEARLY 3 YEARS, no in-between-but! the vks, minus Carlos, according to Escape from the isle, have graduated from Auradon prep-Ben, Mal, Evie, and Jay are all 18-19 at the very least, with Carlos at 17 and now a senior-and they were all 16 in the first movie, minus Carlos at 14, Jane is his age as well, so they're both 14-17 in d1 to D3, so that implies it's been at LEAST 2 years if not 2 and a half. so, from d1 to d3-its been 3 years, at least my version was, because it was the only way to make sense of their age jumps, how the vks graduated, and to give Mal and Ben just a bit more time to make their engagement make more sense because WOW she just had a mental breakdown over becoming lady of the court?! she does not need to be queen yet dear god no, she needs therapy not a crown.

that also allows for the visual changes of everything, like the new bridge plaza in both Auradon and the isle, along with giving Evie her starter castle-to which Doug says in d2to evie 'maybe in the next 3 years, you'll get that castle you always wanted(paraphrased)

but yeah the timeline is a whole mess, you'll be better off just making your own like i did, there is no timeline, only zuul.

but yeah, short version, D1-six months later-D2-2 and a half years alter-D3.

#disney descendants #rewrite

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ryanwrites05 · 1 year ago

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June 20 - discover

@hinnymicrofic

A/N: So uhhh, this was new for me. Another scene I’ve always pictured for them in the summer after the war. I think it would be extremely difficult for both Harry and Ginny to actually talk for a while, which would lead to other issues. I think the vision of Harry dead, on top of everything else, would haunt her quite a bit. She was mentally prepared for the possibility/likelihood of it happening following their DH kiss, but facing the reality (and then him coming back) would make it hard for her to reconcile him being alive.

Content warnings: mature/nsfw themes; referencing (consensual) sexual activity; underage

Under the cut because of the tags:

_____________________________________________

He slept in the Burrow’s attic a lot that first summer after the war, usually when staying at Hogwarts was too much for him. Plus, Ron insisted they be together as much as possible - he supposed months on the run together and everything that happened during the Battle made him want to keep an eye on everyone. He didn’t blame him.

He found out rather quickly that “together” certainly had its limits. For example, he definitely didn’t want to stay together in Ron’s room, what with the sound of Ron and Hermione doing that. No amount of privacy charms could make him forget those noises.

So, the thankfully now ghoul-free attic it was. Which was how he found himself one early July evening, staring out the small half-moon window watching the thunderstorm. The loud bangs of thunder and lightning were less scary than what awaited him once he closed his eyes.

A small noise alerted him and Ginny poked her head inside the room, then upon seeing him, she entered and closed the door softly behind her. They hadn’t talked much, not really. Not about the important stuff he said he would, like horcruxes and pensieve memories. It was still too hard, too guilt-ridden.

She was wearing a soft, oversized Harpies shirt and short cotton shorts, her hair tied up in some loose bun. In a word: beautiful. Captivating would have also been appropriate.

Her face was set, determined, eyes blazing. Whatever she intended, he knew he didn’t stand a chance. She slowly walked over and sat on the bed.

Vaguely realizing he hadn’t said anything yet, he attempted to say something, but she quickly shushed him with a finger to his lips. His skin tingled underneath.

Another flash of lightning lit up her face and he caught the hint of fear and grief behind her eyes. It hurt every time he saw the grief there, knowing his part in it. He reached a hand to hers and she caught it and clung onto it.

“You’re alive,” she breathed softly. A fresh wave of guilt for the things he’d done and still couldn’t talk about washed over him. He rubbed a small circle across her hand with his thumb and nodded.

She gave a brief jerk of her head more in affirmation to herself, and he wasn’t sure she believed him. Her face set again and the determined look was back. “I need you to show me.”

“What?” He asked, utterly confused for a moment. He studied her face, the flicker of nervous uncertainty masked by resolve and a flash of something that looked like desire made her meaning clear. His stomach dropped. What she was suggesting was preposterous, potentially disastrous.

“Show me,” she insisted, bringing his hand to her chest, settling it over her heart. He could feel the beating of it and his stomach calmed, then he felt the swell of her breasts and his mind short-circuited. Her eyes were almost pleading, and he knew there was no miscommunication about what she was implying.

She didn’t wait for him to respond as she snaked her hand around the back of his head and pulled him to her, their lips crashing together. It was the tonic he somehow forgot he lived on.

He’d never quite appreciated just how soft her lips were before, and how wonderful it felt to kiss her. His other hand snaked up to her hair and it took everything he had to not succumb willingly and completely to her.

He begrudgingly broke off to make sure, but her look silenced him.

“Every…,” she sniffed and took a deep breath to try and compose herself, “every time I close my eyes you’re dead. And I…I need to know that this you …the one I can touch…isn’t. I need you to show me, Harry.”

He looked in her eyes, studying the golden flecks in her chocolate brown for any sign of doubt, but found none. He understood it deeply, the need to discern nightmares from reality.

“I’m not…I haven’t,” he took a deep breath, steadying himself. “I’ve never done this before…”

She gave a small smile. “Me either.” She then rested her forehead against his, like she always used to do after a particularly enjoyable snog, and he surrendered.

Their lips were on each other again quickly. Strikes of lightning and thunder continued, masking their first time together. Time full of reverence and proof. Time spent together wholly - to drive away ghosts, to discover who they were now and who they could possibly be again.

#hinny #hinny microfic #it’s not not canon compliant #harry and ginny #fanfic

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ranty-ramblestein · 1 year ago

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(captions~)

I am now forced to use the new form of posts, so I'm forced to put my photo captions in the alt text, which will block you from seeing the lower left corner of images, ugh. Tumblr why.... At least fix the images fixing in place and refusing to move first before you force the new post layout on everyone!

Anyway, starting with a letter I recieved on June 12th: Cyd sent me something silly. Considering he doesn't live near anyone, I wonder who he's seeing outside his window...?

Then I got bored on June 24th and sent Raymond a creepy letter for the heck of it, heh.

On June 26th I had sent out a bunch of letters with numbers and fruit pretending it was some lottery, since one villager (I believe Tucker?) recieved 10k Bells instead of fruit. So Del responded the next day in confusion, heh.

On July 2nd the new flowers I set out for Axel's front yard finally grew, and I think they look better. It seemed weird with red lilies right in front of the yellow bouquets behind them.

July 13th: I decided to gift Raymond some apples, then somehow managed to trap a snowball when I was in the middle of trying to destroy it, heh.

July 14th: I kind of blanked when Raymond asked for a new saying... augh.

July 15th: Then Croissant's Birthday came back around! I let Cyd host without a bunch of resetting like last year. I gave out some cupcakes, but didn't really do much playing, of course.

pic 1: jun 12th: Why are people hanging out in front of his place anyway? I rarely see people other than Cyd over there. pic 2: jun 24th: decided to send Raymond a stalker-type letter, heh. pic 3: june 27th: Del was confused by the lottery he got, heh. pic 4: july 2nd: The red lillies in front of Axel's house seemed kind of weird, since the bouquet had yellow flowers that looked better with the blue house. pic 5: jul 13th: I accidentally knocked down some apples and decided to give him all 3. pic 6: "You can eat them now if you're that hungry, ya know?" Croissant said. "I want to get the perfect photo first, though!" "...Ah, I feel that," Croissant nodded. pic 7: Unless I moved something around the snowball, I couldn't touch it anymore. Croissant wasn't allowed to kick a snowball to its doom today… pic 8: july 14th: I swear I had a better saying idea for Raym, but I blanked… pic 9: July 15th: "Oh, it's… almost everyone from the Secret Elephant Club!" Croissant exclaimed before Axel loudly shushed him. pic 10: "Tucker canceled late, so they got me to come instead," Del chuckled at the Elephant's failed plans.

#Animal Crossing #Animal Crossing: New Horizones #Island Man Croissant #Solaceon Island #Couple Interactions #Solaceon Island's Secret Elephant Club (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)

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jimieyuki · 1 year ago

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Summertime epic

I hate summer. The scorching heat, the relentless sweat dripping down my face, it's unbearable. Whoever claims that summer is the best season clearly hasn't experienced the agony of suffocating in this heat. If given the chance, I'd wish for them to stub their pinky toe on every corner they encounter.

Lying on my bed, I'm engulfed in a pool of sticky sweat. Desperate for relief, I've strategically positioned a black rotating desk fan on a chair beside me. Its cool breeze, though feeble, is my only solace in this infernal temperature.

"You're going to lay like this all day?" a voice interrupts my misery.

I groan inwardly, not wanting to dignify the voice with a response. I know exactly who it belongs to—Chara, my not-so-friendly ghost companion. He always manages to find a way to annoy me, even in the sweltering heat.

The transparent hand emerges from the bedsheet, waving mockingly in front of my face. Seeing my lack of reaction, Chara materializes his body and settles opposite me, propping his large head on his elbow.

"Hey, how's it hanging?" he grins mischievously.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Could be better if you show up at the worst possible times," I mutter, my voice heavy with lethargy caused by the relentless heat.

Chara ignores my complaint, as always. "I want to go out," he declares.

What are you a dog?

"Then go and leave me be" I retort, my irritation seeping through my words.

He smirks, undeterred. "Well, I can't go without my BFF, duh!"

I scoff, exasperated. "Am I your BFF only when you witness me at my worst?"

"Hehe, who knows?" Chara replies, his playful tone grating on my nerves.

I remind myself that I should be grateful for the bond we share as conjoined twins. But sometimes, having a ghostly twin haunting your every move, poking their nose into every decision you make, feels like an extra burden.

Moments like these make me wonder what it's like for normal girls my age. How do they live without such abnormalities in their normal lives?

No, frisk come on! This is what you wanted, the good ending where everybody is happy.

With a determined sigh, I drag myself off the bed, feeling the sticky sheets cling to my skin. Slowly, I make my way down to the dining room, yearning for a respite from the stifling heat.

Chara floats alongside me, his incorporeal form a constant reminder of the abnormality that shadows my every step. As we approach the dining room, I'm met with the sight of my mom, sitting at the table, engrossed in her knitting.

The room feels suffused with warmth as my mom, the epitome of love and comfort, creates a sanctuary amidst the oppressive summer heat. She looks up, her kind eyes meeting mine.

"Ah, Frisk, you finally decided to grace us with your presence today. I think we should celebrate," she says, a gentle smile decorating her face.

The love I have for her fills my heart, and for a moment, the heat becomes more bearable. Mom, a towering figure of 1.80 meters, radiates warmth like a summer sun. Her white fur is as soft as her soul, and her hugs, as sweet as her snail pies, envelop me in a cocoon of love.

In her loungewear—a yellow undershirt emblazoned with the words "Cool Mom" and blue shorts—she continues her knitting, preparing for winter in her own unique way.

"Mom, it's June," I remind her gently.

She dismisses my remark with a wave of her hand. "Shush, Frisk. When it comes to nature, you never know what's going to happen."

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips. Her unwavering belief in the unpredictable nature of the world never fails to amuse me.

"By the way, Frisk, tomorrow is Papyrus' birthday in case you forgot," she adds, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

I indeed forgot

"Oh yes, yes, I didn't forget, Mom. Of course, I didn't forget," I stammer, attempting to hide my lapse. "I have his present ready."

A small, knowing smile graces her face, as if she can see through my feeble attempt to cover up the truth. I can't help but feel guilt wash over me. I should have remembered Papyrus' birthday. He's been there for me countless times, his infectious enthusiasm brightening even the darkest of days.

But what am I going to do now? My savings from my allowance are barely enough, and I hesitate to touch the money from my scholarship. I have other plans for them.

As my mind races, Chara floats in front of my face, his upside-down form a taunting presence.

"tsk tsk tsk Did you forget Papyrus' gift? How cruel," he says, shaking his head with mock disappointment.

If he weren't a ghost, I swear I would strangle him. But I take a deep breath and try to keep my composure.

"Frisk, Frisk, Frisk," he continues, his voice filled with playful mockery. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. How could you forget? Remember the time when you were sick, and Papyrus came from the next city to see you in the middle of the night? He was crying, holding a bowl of soup that froze on the way."

I grit my teeth, frustrated at Chara's selective memory. Papyrus' kindness knows no bounds, and I should have reciprocated it by remembering his special day.

God, give me strength.

My mom interrupts my internal plea, standing up and placing her hands on my shoulders. Her touch grounds me, bringing me back to reality.

"I trust you, Frisk," she says, her voice filled with unwavering faith. "I told Papyrus it would be our gift together."

I feel a surge of gratitude for her support, but the weight of my forgetfulness still hangs heavily on my shoulders.

"Yeah, don't worry, Mom," I muster a weak smile. "I found the perfect gift."

Her words bring me a momentary sense of relief, but the task ahead looms large. What will be the perfect gift for Papyrus? I ponder this question as Chara hovers, his smirk all too visible.

"Does Flowey count as a gift?" I suggest, a hint of mischief lacing my voice.

In an instant, a golden flower in a pot starts moving and launched itself —using green prickled roots as it's tentacles — on the table

"Hey! I heard that!" a familiar voice exclaims.

#Undertale #Undertale Au #writing #UnderStand

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tropicalrpg · 1 year ago

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24 read below

the reason why i stopped writing things down in my notebook is because i kept forgetting. i kept thinking, this would be good to write down, then i didn't, because it meant going out of my way to do something. it meant stopping whatever useless thing i was doing and putting effort into something productive and active.

so i stopped writing. i stopped writing in general: every day, or most days, i think of fic ideas that i'd love to write or keep writing. but i never, or almost never, do. i don't write anymore. even here, i forget, i spend too long without posting (this was supposed to be daily, six months ago! we're twenty-four posts in! it's june!), and i only ever post things i write straight into the blogging feature, with no edits, with no marination. i'm bored or i feel like writing, like ranting, and here i come. i don't post because there's something i want to post about: i post because i want to post. when there's something i want to post about, i just. don't.

here are two things i've thought of posting about.

on thursday, i went to my brother's flat briefly. i didn't know if i wanted to write about this here because it's very personal, very private, and because i'd like to have access to it many years down the line, when the person this is about can hear me talk about it. my brother just had a kid, that's why. jade, is her name. and i'd never seen a baby so young before, and it's fascinating. i wanted to write down the experience so i can remember it when she's big. she's so small. she's so small, her head is smaller than her father's hand, and so he can hold her right on his chest with no effort. he shushes her into stillness not with humming or a song, but actual, soft, melodic shushing. her crying was funny to me, because she'd cry, then start settling down, then start crying again like she was doing it because she felt she was supposed to. and she was so cute. she tugged on my dad's mask when he held her. her eyes were dark, dark, dark, and neither of her parents' are that dark, so i guess that must be a baby thing. it's the first time i've seen her since the day after she was born. she's so small. when my dad held her, i could see the back of her head, and i almost wanted to touch it and feel its softness, its smooth warmth. i only touched her briefly, the tips of her fingers, because i'm scared to touch a baby so small, so fragile. here's something i deliberately thought of writing about, something i want to tell her years down the line: she's so small now, her toes are the size of rice grains. rice! she's so small. i hope she grows big and healthy. i hope i end up being a cool uncle to her. i hope i'm not distant, and i hope she likes me. i know it's still a long time before she even knows what i'm saying, and i also know these years will at least kind of fly by, and she'll be huge before i notice it. so i wanted to write it down. i should've written it down two days ago when the memories were fresher, but better late than never, huh, jade?

yesterday, friday, and i also hesitated on writing about this because i thought of doing it in the same post i'd mention my two week old niece and it just feels wrong, but life is made of many aspects, and now fuck it, this post isn't about either of these things and instead about the act of writing (i forgot to mention in the introduction, despite meaning to: the only thing i kept writing for the past few years, although in the past month or two i've not written any of it, is poetry. because the poems i write are short and efficient and somewhat inspiration based. love based. i yearn and the words come together, somehow. and i write poems by opening my notes app, trying to look for metaphors that fit what i want to say, deciding on a verse scheme on the fly, then finishing the poem whenever it feels like i've written enough. i rarely do touch ups, although sometimes i do. and that's it. a poem. i got one of those published once. fifty dollars for a few minutes of my time. it never happened again, but, still.). yesterday, friday, i took the bus home and got a seat (almost didn't, but did). and all was fine. until, like, ten minutes away from home, when this guy got on the bus and, well, how can i put this? i worry i can't explain this properly even to brazilians, imagine to gringos. but anyway. i was on the aisle? seat? i guess. i was next to the hallway, passage, corridor, thing. and people stand there when there's nowhere to sit! normal! i don't know what buses are like abroad, okay, i'm trying to be as thorough as i can be. the gist of it is a guy (around my age, reasonably attractive, certainly straight) kind of caged me into my seat. not on purpose or like in a threatening way. he just decided to use my seat and the seat ahead of me as the supports he held on to. and he probably chose me because i'm a guy; if i were a girl, this would be threatening even in the best of intentions. you just don't do that. but he did it to me, and it was, well, um. i feel stupid and like a fucking virgin for saying this. but it was an experience! because i made it be one in my brain! it wasn't a huge deal, and thank god no one is reading this, and it wasn't even ten minutes away from my stop, but it was something. i'd love to actually, intentionally, consensually, be caged in by a man. and he knew as well as i did that he didn't have to do that; at some point, he held onto the bars affixed to the roof. he was a little short, so of course the seats were more comfortable, but i think if he hadn't been hot i would've been a little bothered, too. but, too? i don't know. i'm tired, idgaf about grammar. i think i'm getting good at hiding my gayness. i'm certain i scared a straight guy away at some point last year. a hot guy that took the bus to school with me in the morning. there's another hot straight guy that on occasion takes the same bus as me, but i don't even allow myself to look at him now. i always think my attraction will scare guys away. because i'm ugly, and because they're always straight. because ew. because of a million reasons. i've talked about this in therapy. it hasn't really gotten better. i also didn't really want to write about this because i feel like thinking of sex on public transport is a pervy thing, even though i didn't do anything, didn't ogle him (didn't even look at him!), didn't move, didn't even think much. i don't know. i'm sorry, if someone ended up reading this. i'm so tired, good night.

23 06 03

#anonymous #writing exercise #nonfiction #confession #creative writing #diary

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munson-blurbs · 2 years ago

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Hello again! So, I'm not sure if you're ok with this type of request but I didn't find anything that says otherwise. As a "sober" SH myself, I'd like to see Eddie x Femreader that has a lot of self-harm scars. Like, her entire arms are covered with it and other people stare, points at her, and so on.

I just want you to know that I'm so glad you're no longer hurting yourself. You should be proud of yourself for overcoming so much, and I'm so glad you're here.

I hope this fic is cathartic for you. I know I wish I had an Eddie Munson by my side when I was struggling <3

Warnings: mentions of self-harm (please do not read if this is triggering for you), scars, bullying, language

WC: 882

It's sweltering today in Hawkins, 95 degrees and humid. Unreasonably warm for June, in your opinion. You crank the air conditioning in your car on your drive to school, but Hawkins High is stuffy and stifling.

It also doesn't help that you're wearing a denim jacket, not as some kind of fashion rebellion, but to hide the scars that line your arms. You'd started back in middle school after enduring day after day of bullying, desperate for an escape. Now, years later with countless therapy sessions under your belt, you've acquire safer coping mechanisms. Unfortunately, journaling or curling up with a book and a cup of tea didn't make the scars disappear.

They'd faded slightly, but were still too pink and prominent for your comfort, so you chose to keep them covered when you were in public. But now, as sweat dripped down your neck and crept down your back, you're seriously reconsidering your position.

Taking a deep breath, you carefully remove the jacket and tie it around your waist. Okay, this isn't too bad, you think, making your way through the cafeteria to the lunch line. You reach for a slice of pizza when you hear it:

"What the fuck is on your arms?"

Your head snaps up at Jason Carver's sneering voice. How ironic, considering he was one of the bullies who made you feel like you'd had to cut in the first place. He's said it loud enough that some students are turning around to stare. And even though it's only a few people, it feels like the world has its eyes on you as you as you run right back out of the room, tears brimming.

One of those people is Eddie Munson, standing shell-shocked at the vending machine nearby.

You'd developed something between an acquaintanceship and a friendship over this past year after you'd joined Hellfire in an attempt to be more social. He was funny, and sweet, and was a really good Dungeon Master. The reason you weren't closer was because you were worried about letting people get close to you. The more knowledge they had about you, the more they could hurt you with.

You duck into the library and hide behind a bookshelf in the non-fiction section, curling up into yourself and crying as softly as you can. The last thing you need is the librarian marching over and shushing you in the middle of a panic attack.

Deep breaths, you remind yourself. Inhale for three, exhale for three. Your therapist would be so proud, you wryly think.

You wipe the tears from your cheeks as you practice your breathing exercises, so focused that you don't even notice the lanky metalhead sit down beside you.

"Hi," he whispers, and you gasp, bringing a hand to your chest. "Sorry," he apologizes with a small smile, "just wanted to check on you."

"I-I'm fine, Eddie," you've never told such a blatant lie; unsurprisingly, he doesn't buy it.

"You're crying in the cookbook section of the library. You are not fine." He scoots over so his shoulder grazes yours. "C'mon, talk to your favorite Dungeon Master."

You give him a tiny giggle. "Who says you're my favorite?" you quip, and he sticks out his tongue in response. "Okay, okay. I'm just...humiliated," you admit. "It's bad enough I have to walk around with these..." you hold out your arm shyly, "but then Jason fucking Carver teasing me about them, like he isn't part of the reason they exist."

Eddie takes your arm and frowns. "You hurt yourself because of Jason Carver?"

You shake your head. "No. Well, not just him. Any of the popular kids who made fun of me, who ostracized me when I was younger. I had, like, no friends. Not an exaggeration."

Eddie's quiet for a moment, and you think you've freaked him out until he says quietly, "If I knew you then, I would've been your friend." He reaches over and squeezes your hand. "I keep trying to be your friend now, inviting you to the arcade with the Hellfire guys, but you always turn me down. The rejection kills me, sweetheart." He throws his head back and lets his tongue flop out of his mouth, miming his death.

You shove him playfully. "I'm sorry. It's just scary to let people in, y'know?"

"I know. Trust me, I know," he mutters, then clears his throat. "But we're good guys, I promise. I only look mean and scary." He looks back down at your arms, not in disgust, just observing them. "Do you still...?"

"No, not anymore. Sometimes I want to, but I just do my breathing exercises or write in my journal."

Eddie breathes a sigh of relief. "Good. I hate to think about one of my little sheep doing that to herself." This time when he squeezes your hand, he doesn't let go. "You have my number on the Hellfire contact sheet, right?" You nod, and he continues. "So call me whenever you're feeling sad. You can tell me about it, or I can just distract you with my exciting rockstar escapades."

"Thanks, Eddie," you say, feeling a warmth in your heart that you haven't felt in awhile. "Um, when's the next Hellfire arcade night?"

Eddie beams at you. "Whenever you want, sweetheart."

#eddie munson #eddie stranger things #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x f!reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie x reader #eddie x you #eddie munson stranger things #stranger things fanfic #stranger things #eddie munson fanfic #fanfic #requests

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timextoxhajima · 3 years ago

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Boundary [Dana’s 700 Special]

Track: Fever - Enhypen / TiO - Zayn / Close - Nick Jonas, Tove Lo

➣ Member: my og bias owo

➣ Genre: idol! ju x stylist! [fem] reader

➣ Warnings: swear words and if you squint, some smut

➣ Word Count: i’m like 100% sure it’ll be as long as accelerate [i was wrong it’s nowhere near but whatever]

➣ A/N: Thank you for 700 followers. You are all nothing but amazing ♡

➣ Taglist: @taesty-wander-lust @tbzzhoe @suzy-rainbow

He’s going to be the absolute death of me.

The thought is loud in your head, and you were almost sure you would’ve blurted it out had the filming studio been empty. Breaking Dawn was blasting from the speakers behind the MV director, experimenting with some strange angles that you’ve never seen any other MV director try with the group before.

If you thought Reveal was dangerous, this might be worse.

“Okay! Let’s do that hook into the chorus first and we’ll see how that angle goes!”

“Breaking Dawn, I see-”

“Cut! Juyeon-” The director snorts while staring at the monitor from the camera. “That was great but um, we’ll need to rate the video if we release this one.”

Never mind. It is worse.

“Yah, Juyeon!”

“Ahh... seriously?”

“You already have enough screen time, why are you so greedy?!”

The members crowd around Juyeon and shove him playfully as the director films that part from the monitor, and brings his cellphone over to the group to see. You can barely hear the music from the phone, given how far you were standing from the filming area.

The group of 11 burst into loud yells and frustrated groans, with Younghoon and Chanhee giving their iconic ‘OoO’ faces to Juyeon. The main man chuckles, embarrassed, and shakes his head while waving it off.

“I didn’t intend to make it so suggestive, sorry!”

“It’s alright, that was great, really!” The director assures him. “It’s just that we can’t release that without rating the MV, and you guys don’t really have that kind of reputation yet so, we won’t do that for you guys now. But anyways, can we get a 10 minute break and we’ll pick up where we left off?”

The boys celebrate in unison, Eric immediately rushing off for the washroom, some members going to the staff to ask for their phones, others going for the monitor to check their progress and the remaining approaching their stylists for appearance maintenance.

So, when Juyeon approaches you with that sly-mixed-with-shame smile, you can’t help but to shake your head at him.

“Really? He asks you to go all out and you look like you want to eat the camera,” Pulling open your little kit, you set it on the table next to you. You pull out the comb and hairspray and start adjusting his hair again - all that dancing’s pushed some strands out of its rightful position.

“Aw, so you agree that I looked good enough?”

“What?” The pitch is higher than expected, but you hope your feigned annoyance camouflages the pinch of jealousy. “Please! The director said it’ll be rated!”

Juyeon laughs, standing with his feet a little more apart than natural for you to have easier access to his hair.

“Well, you’re the one who did my hair and makeup. If it’s anybody to blame, wouldn’t it be you?”

His words halt the sharp end of your comb in his hair, and you poke it into his scalp for good measure while puffing out your cheeks. He chuckles it off.

“Excuse you, sir, Cre.Ker gave me a color palette and a set of reference pics. Ever since they cracked the code with you with Reveal, they just won’t stop with this genre of style on you.”

“I mean... I definitely prefer my current style over what they did to me in Boy.”

The memory cooks up a bunch of images in your head, and you fail to stop the giggle that runs off your tongue when you return the comb to the kit.

“Aw, come on, that was cute,” Picking up a brow pencil, you fill in the tiny fade-out. “You were, what? 19? No reason for you to look as raunchy as you do now.”

“It’s a pity you only met me just before I become ‘raunchy’.”

“Why? I mean, ‘Juyeon’s not a good boy’ though. Raunchy’s closer to that than what you did pre-Reveal.”

“I meant it!” Juyeon widens his eyes and his brows shift up his forehead just as the tip of the brow pencil lifts off his skin. “I’m happy Cre.Ker’s letting us show what we want to.”

“And I’m happy for you too,” You finish up on his foundation where it’s starting to wear off. “But one day, you’re gonna cross a line and break some hearts.”

Juyeon smiles as you cap on all your equipment and close your kit. Resting one hand on your hip, you quickly give his hair one last poke before he resumes his normal standing position.

“What if I only want to break specific hearts though?”

A frown befalls your face and you forge an ugly look by crooking your lips. “What? Was that an attempt to flirt? Please stop,” Waving him off, you turn and pick up your kit, walking away on your heels as Juyeon tails you.

He’s just practising flirting on me at this point. Best friends and best friends for what? Get MY heart broken? PLEASE.

“Flirt with Kevin if you want, he’ll give you better advice,” You turn to the film area and sure enough, Kevin was busy twerking into the camera and Changmin’s just face palming himself.

“Oi Kevin! Stahb it!” You yell across the space and Changmin points to you, turning to yell at Kevin.

“Yah, even y/n’s telling you to stop!”

Chuckling, you turn into the dressing room as another hair stylist finishes with Sangyeon in the mirror.

“Hello sir, you look kinda tired today, are you resting well?”

“Don’t get me started. Schedule’s packed into June,” Sangyeon subtly shakes his head, but his stylist holds his cheeks and shifts his face back to face the mirror.

“Sangyeon, please face the mirror. It’s not my fault if your hair gets messed up again,” The hair stylist grins as he picks up the hairspray.

“Sorry,” Sangyeon blinks at him and purses his lips. Juyeon crashes into the two seater-sofa in the corner of the dressing room and groans tiresomely, resting his head on the top surface of the headrest.

“Well, you should get some rest before Kingdom kicks in,” You place the kit on the dressing table and sit down in the two-seater next to Juyeon. “It’s not going to be an easy fight, y’know.”

“Right! You used to be ATEEZ’s hairstylist!” Sangyeon’s eyes widen and you can see him struggling not to turn to you directly instead of trying to find you in the strangest angle of the reflection in the mirror.

“Yeah. Those guys are intense, and I mean intense! Six out of eight are known for performance skills and the other two... one produces 99% of their tracks and the other belts out notes even I can’t reach.”

“You sound like you were sent from KQ to intimidate us-” Sunwoo struts in and waves an annoying finger in your face.

“I’m not-” Swatting his finger away, Juyeon leans forward and pulls Sunwoo’s hand. “I’m just saying for good measure- it’s not going to be easy. Stray Kids is also going to be great competition, not to mention iKON and-”

“AhHH, we get it!” Sunwoo shushes you, swinging his hand with Juyeon’s.

“No matter the outcome, you all need to know that you guys were stellar last year. I was new then, but it was absolutely stunning to watch you guys work and put so much effort into your performances.”

“Oh my God, yeah, you could not shut up about the Danger performance,” Sangyeon cooes, letting his stylist finally finishes and shifts to pack the hair equipment.

“I’ll bet it’s cause your best friend over here got the most screen time,” Sunwoo perks up a mischievous brow and smirks at you.

Juyeon’s eyes widen and stares at the youngest, “I didn’t get the most screen time.”

“If not you then who?” Sangyeon butts in as he stands.

“Uh... Changmin?”

Sunwoo and Sangyeon go quiet.

“Yah, you had a good amount of screen time too!” Sangyeon turns and blurts out at Sunwoo, playfully shoving him.

“Y’all are being loud in here,” Kevin’s head pops out from beyond the door frame, one of his stylists tagging behind him and struggling to pat down his clothes.

“No, tell me if Sunwoo had more screentime than Changmin in Danger from last year,” Sangyeon wraps an arm around Sunwoo and slowly walks him out.

“What? I don’t know, Changmin had the opening and the dance break...”

Sangyeon’s hairstylist follows closely, and by instinct, he shuts the door behind him, leaving you with Juyeon in the dressing room. It’s humid, from all the lights turned on in the room, and the leather seat wasn’t the most comfortable thing to sit on.

Turning to Juyeon, his eyes are gently shut, and frankly, he looked like he was about to fall asleep. The backrest of the sofa sinks when you lean back, mimicking his position.

“You have like four minutes left so don’t even think of falling asleep.”

“I’m not sleeping,” He offers a tiny smile on his lips, eyes still shut.

“Sure, you’re not.”

“Wake me up when the director needs me.”

“You wish,” The leather under your legs squeak when you push yourself off, but he sticks out an arm at your stomach and pushes you back down. Judging by the miniscule smirk on his face, he’s just messing with you. “What do you think you’re doing? I have a job to do and you have a music video to film.”

He remains quiet. Someone shouts at Eric outside.

“You’re being fucking weird today, sir,” You lift a hand and grab his arm to move it away, but he swiftly wraps his fingers around your wrist and yanks you forward instead.

Using your palms to keep the distance between your faces, you’re hovering above him now, breath on his upper lip. The sweat’s begun to collect in the lines of your palms, stuck to the arm rest by his side and the cushion he’s leaning on.

Your vision immediately darts to his face upon the bold move, and he’s got that slight smile prancing on his lips when he’s thinking of a joke or something funny and doesn’t want to say it. It’s been a good year of being Juyeon’s best friend (apart from the members), so you’ve definitely grown to know how to read him by his actions.

You sigh, rolling your eyes and removing your legs from next to his thighs.

“Juyeon-”

And then he cuts you off by holding you in position with his arm around his waist, challenging your knees to hold you up - because if they buckled, you’ll land right on top of him.

“What the Hell do you think you’re doing?”

Knock knock

“y/n, are you done with Juyeon’s hair? Filming’s resuming!”

There’s an awkward tension between you and Juyeon now, with his eyes wide open and staring into yours, arm still around your waist. But having his nose just inches away from yours and his breath breathing down on your philtrum feels so surreal. It feels like it’s a dream that you’ve failed to pull yourself out from.

He parts his lips, then purses them, and sighs through his nose.

“Yeah, she’s done! I’ll be out in like, two seconds!”

Your gaze finds his and you’re panicking when he’s moving again. Within two seconds, you’re flat on your back on the length of the couch - and this time, he’s holding himself above you.

“What the- I-”

“We’ll continue this later back at the company, I promise,” Then he rounds your cheek and presses a kiss into your cheekbone instead.

He pulls back, offering you his kind smile and a ruffle into your hair for good measure. Nothing in your body is working when you hear him shuffle for the door, and it clicks shut behind him, with Breaking Dawn already blasting in the filming space.

Sucking in a deep breath, you don’t realise how hard your heart is thumping in your head until you hear your own shaky exhale. You don’t know where to look, you can still feel his grip on your waist and his breath on your upper lip, and everything’s just a mess right now.

What the Hell just happened?

“Eric - Dior Shirt Size M...” You mumble under your breath, fingers gripping the pen to the clipboard so hard, your writing would probably leave a mark in the sheet under.

“I think this is the last luggage!” Younghoon’s stylist drags the black case in, lining it up with the last unopened one. “Need help?”

“Yeah, just open the luggage for me and separate Sangyeon’s clothes from Jacob’s, but otherwise I can handle it on my own.”

She nods, laying it down and unzipping it for the clothes to spew out. “How’s working here? It’s been over a year, right?”

“Mhm,” You glance at her, obviously tired. “It’s alright, but thanks to your advice since last year, I don’t think it could’ve been better.”

With a kind smile, she looks up at you, placing Sangyeon’s pants over his stack. “You’re experienced from ATEEZ, so it wouldn’t have been that hard anyway.”

She stands, resting her hands on her hips as you walk over, squatting to check Sangyeon and Jacob’s clothes.

“So... what’s going on with you and Juyeon?”

I’d like to know too.

“Huh?” You look up at her, head tilted to the side with a sneaky cocked brow. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, please- All the stylists here know you and Juyeon are like- hanky panky nowadays. Pretty sure the boys know too, or at least have some idea.”

A cackle runs your throat dry as you graduate your attention to Jacob’s clothes. “Is that what they’re calling it? ‘Hanky-panky’? Cute.”

“Do you know why they’re still in a meeting this late?”

“No, why would I bother? As long as I don’t lose my job, it’s none of my concern.”

“They’re in meeting to be informed that their dating ban has been lifted.”

Your grip around the pen tightens, but halts abruptly.

“Ah...” She sighs, contemplated with herself. “Cat got your tongue? Or should I say... Juyeon got your-”

Interrupted by the practise room door being pushed open, both of your attentions immediately flit to the new commotion.

“Oh, Juyeon! Meeting’s over?”

“Yeah,” He turns and closes the door behind him. His hair was still waxed up from the day’s schedule, makeup still on but fading. Clothes snug around his shoulders with his belt tight around his hips. Those stupid jeans never did you any good since day 1. “Sangyeon said he left a ring in one of the luggages so he sent me to come get it while he counsels Kevin for twerking.”

“y/n’s just going through Sangyeon’s wardrobe, so she might find something,” Your colleague’s begun to take small, insignificant steps towards the door, and your anxiety begins to increase with every inch she places between the two of you.

“Which is why I’m here,” He stuffs his hands into his back pockets.

“Right, right,” Now, she’s already got her hand on the door knob, glancing past him and at you with wide, glistening eyes. “I gotta go check your wardrobe for tomorrow so... I’mma go now, and uh... security comes by around 12am. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“What-” You blurt out, receiving a sharp, surprised look from Juyeon.

“Bye! Bye Juyeon!”

“Bye,” He waves.

“No, wait-”

And so, the door clicks shut behind her, and her shadow behind the translucent material disappears down the corridor.

The whir of the air-conditioner in the practice room fills all the awkward openings in the room, but all you can hear is the rapid thunk of your heart in your brain - as if that was even possible.

Thunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunk

“About earlier today-”

“Give me a moment while I look for Sangyeon’s ring. What does it look like?” Standing up too fast, your vision goes white and a second of dizziness throws you off your balance.

So, of course, Juyeon rushes over and holds you by your waist before your ankles or knees give way. The incessant blinking makes you wish you could actually pass out right now, because your weight’s in his arms and you can’t bring yourself to look him in the eye.

“Iron deficiency much?” The corner of his lips curl up into his cheek before releasing you. “Do you need to sit down?”

Clearing your throat, you turn away first. “No, I-”

“Good, because I have some points to make and you’re gonna stop running away from them like you’re doing now.”

The change in tone runs chills down your spine and goosebumps erupt all over your skin - thank god you were wearing a blazer, safe from his observation.

“How have you tolerated it so much?” He folds his arms across his chest, tilting his head innocently but his eyes say otherwise. It’s always his eyes that tell a whole different story from the person he’s known to be.

“Y’know, being around me but you’re so calm and collected and I just...” He shakes his head, and to your dismay, takes a step forward - which drives you backwards. “How?”

His voice is too sing-songy. It’s too calm and collected for you because you’re about to barf up your dinner, which was a good 4 hours ago now. There’s nothing left in your stomach to barf up.

He takes another intimidating step and you wince at your inability to look him in the eye.

Another step back.

“Like, I know we’re friends but my God-” Shaking his head, he sinks his teeth into his bottom lip.

Another step forward. Another backward.

“It’s upsetting that I can look ‘raunchy’ and it doesn’t seem to do anything to you... But seeing you the way you are every other day makes me want to- just-”

Another step forward.

One more one back.

And your breath halts.

Your back hits the wall, the rear of your skull lined with the pillar.

Oh, no.

Gritting your teeth so tight, your jaw starts to ache and your temples are throbbing.

“I’m not seeing things, right?” A flicker of curiosity sparkles in his eyes when you muster up the courage to look at him - only to regret it instantly. “It’s not in my head that you feel the same way I do, right?”

“I... Don’t know what you’re talking about- You’re an idol... and I’m- I’m just your stylist and I-”

“‘Just my stylist’?” The comment forces his brows into a slight frown, before he lifts his hand and covers the bottom half of his face with his palm. “Rethink what you just said.”

Sucking in a deep breath, your chest wells with a horrid mix of desire and self-discipline. Those two don’t go well together.

“We can talk about this some other day,” You choose to say, dragging your body along the pillar in a bid to shift out from the wall-Juyeon sandwich like a fool. He lifts his arm and presses his palm into the pillar behind you, caging your poor, poor soul in this fateful corner of his stupid practice room.

“Juyeon, we need... boundaries in this industry. One scandal and it’ll destroy your career.”

“Boundaries?” He buckles his elbows, shrinking the gap between your noses. “Boundaries are for idols who still have a dating ban.”

Breathing down your nose, he’s too close for comfort. You can smell his cologne, the scent of his hair wax and see the bumps on his cheek under the faint layer of makeup. You don’t realise you’re trembling until he tilts his head ever so slightly, free hand reaching up to your chin to steady your face.

“Stop running from me,” Shaking his head painstakingly subtly, he whispers into your lips. “You were mine from the start and you know that.”

The adrenaline rush through your nerves sets off fireworks all over you when he slots his body against yours, lips fitted with yours like puzzle pieces; against the wall, with his palms on your cheeks. There was no care or consideration with how much strength he was channeling into this kiss - it feels so pent-up, so frustrated. Without warning, your body resigns as you circle your arms around his shoulders.

Gripping the rim of his collar in your hands, his hands drop to your waist and holds you closer, if it were even possible. A million thoughts race through your head - and at the same time, none. This moment was something you didn’t even know you needed.

Juyeon’s hands roam the small of your back as he keeps you against the wall, relaxing into the kiss and sighing into it instead.

This bliss comes in the form of him. Him who provides you all the sinful wants deep down inside you.

But this bliss doesn’t last, for the practice room door swings open violently and tears Juyeon off you.

“I told you to find my ring, not hook up with your crush!”

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nyxoholicwrites · 3 years ago

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for the requests thing !! could i request a full xyx fic?? anything but angst pls LOL. i feel like there’s so little for him but he deserves the world :((

Heyo Anon! Ofc you can :)

DEFINITELY AGREE, THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH XYX CONTENT AND HE DEF DESERVES THE WORLD

We all love the funny 6'1 cat loving adrenaline junkie king <3

Wrote this while having a massive headache and I thought in honour of the upcoming au wedding ask hour why not a wedding fic?

Will you say I do anon hehe

" Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Xyx x GN! Reader

Prompt: After many years spent together, the couple is finally tying the knot and no one is more excited to see this ship sail than June.

TW: I know some people aren't fond of marriage so be warned that this is very much a wedding fic, we are pulling all the stops luv

Anxiety gnawed at their stomach, sure people said that wedding day nerves are normal, but god it felt as if they were preparing a presentation. They were pacing around the room, aimlessly trying to calm down, but alas that only made them even more nervous. Their outfit was pristine, every hair strand was in its place, secured into a hairstyle fit for royalty. A bouquet lay on the bed, soft pink and pearl white flowers decorated its every crevice. The bouquet was filled with freshly cut peonies, dahlias and garden roses, there was a certain elegance exuded by the flowers, they couldn’t help but sneak glances at it every other second. Though the thought of walking down the aisle was sounding so sweet, they were happy the wedding was only with close friends and family, for they were sure that their nerves would be amplified had it been a bigger wedding.

The couple felt it was best to keep the guest list to a minimum, not because of the expense, oh no, they had that covered from the beginning, it was more so the intimacy of the event that mattered. Wedding ceremonies weren’t light-hearted events, they were the time to let your feelings on display, tears weren’t a stranger either to such occasions, pouring your heart out in front of your beloved can be overwhelming after all. But, no matter the amount of tears shed, both were ready to wipe them from each other's eyes as they had done all these years and still will continue to do so.

“ Y/n it’s going to be okay, it's normal to be nervous on your wedding day, try to focus on the positive! Think of all the cake you will be enjoying and how beautiful the venue is!” June and Lady were a part of their wedding party, both wore a rosy pink dress to match the pink peonies of the bouquet, and they looked even lovelier than the latter. As their maid of honour, June was tasked with assuring that Y/n didn’t pass out from all the butterflies in their stomach, she was ready to get out any butterfly nets she could get her hands on, and nothing was gonna get in the way of this wedding. “ Yea! Don’t worry Y/n, not only can I attest to the fact that you will be the most beautiful one there, but! Everything will go according to plan, plus isn’t that why a wedding planner was hired in the first place?”

“Yes, but what if-” Their many what-ifs were halted when June shushed them with their finger, determination in their eyes, this wedding was more important to them than any bloomic fic in the world, ok maybe save for this one from the other day-

“ Shhhhh, everything will be fine! Plus should anyone even dare to ruin it or object, you have us to protect you both, I swear in the name of any potential future bloomic chapter that everything will be perfect.” Smiles and laughter filled the air, all of them couldn’t help but chuckle at the outrageous promise, but they couldn’t be more thankful to have such an amazing wedding party.

A small ping interrupted their laughter, the driver was ready to go and so were they, mostly. “Oh shit! The driver is here, well I guess it's go time, can’t keep xyx waiting now can I?” With a rush in their steps, the three of them made their way to the limo and off they went to the venue. As they drove towards their location they sang their hearts out to ease their nerves, ironically, most of the songs were about love, hell even “Marry You” by Bruno Mars was on the list.

“ I can’t express how thankful I am for the two of you, you are the greatest friends a person can ask for.” They held June’s and Lady’s hands, fondly looking at their bridesmaids as the two almost broke out into tears. They dove into hug them, careful to not crinkle their outfit, the three of them enjoyed a quiet and sweet moment, although today was for romantic love, even the platonic kind is always welcome.

“ Y/n! You can’t say stuff like that out of the blue! What if I didn’t wear waterproof mascara??” Sappy smiles decorated each of their faces as they giggled at Lady’s response, squeezing them tightly for one last time, they soon arrived at the wedding venue. To say it was simply beautiful wouldn’t do it justice, it was perfect. They thought, to honour their proposal at a beach, the wedding would be set on a beach as well, the very same spot they stood on one knee and pulled out the engagement band as their proposal was heard by the man before them. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone naturally makes good choices, however, asking him to marry them will forever remain the best choice they made in their life. Even a lifetime wasn’t enough for them, if they could, they would give all of their possessions to spend many lifetimes with him, so that their love would truly last forever.

They took a moment to steady their breath, for within the next few moments their life would change, they would take their beloved's hand in marriage, to love and to hold for the rest of their lives. As they glanced through the window they saw friends and family as they sat on the many white chairs placed upon the grainy floor and most important of all, they saw him. There he stood in his suit looking handsome as ever as he fidgeted with his cufflinks, a habit they took notice of ever since they moved in with him.

Lady finally opened the limousine door and, along with June, helped them out of their seat as they set foot onto the sand. Before it was their turn to walk down the aisle, Cat made their way first with rings placed upon their collar, everyone in the crowd loudly awed at the adorable feline. Xyx held a proud fatherly smile, he was grateful they hired a photographer because this moment needed to be cherished for centuries.

As Cat had strutted to their owner and the rings were given to Toasty, the only person Xyx thought acceptable to be his best man. With the bouquet in hand and their trusted bridesmaids in tow, an orchestra began to play a rendition of the famous ‘Wedding March’. Their feet synced with the soft melody as they glanced at the dashing man at the aisle. Their faces held dorky smiles as their eyes were trained on one another, his emerald orbs soon began to water, purely knowing that they were willing to wed him, this mess, it was enough to bring him to tears. Within this small moment, it felt as if it was just the two of them. Every guest, friend or family member vanished in their eyes and the nerves from before had disappeared while pure joy coursed through their veins.

As their walk to the altar had come to a stop, all of them took their places as practised, and finally, the ceremony could truly begin.

As the marriage officiant spoke his lines, they paid it no heed till the part for their vows came, the moment where all of their feelings would be let out before their witnesses, and they were as ready as they will ever be.

“ Now, it is time for the couple to say their vows, let’s have our groom go first.” Clearing his throat, he took their hands in his as he began to speak his vows.

“ My lovely doll, I know I am not the best at expressing my feelings through words but for you, I am willing to write a book the size of the Bible, describing all of the things I love about you. You changed me and my life for the better, you always take care of me even when I feel as if no one should. You have brought me up whenever I was down and for that, I will be grateful to you for all my days. Words cannot describe how lovely you are, from your kindness to your very smile, all of it inspires me to be a better man, if not for myself then for you, because you deserve all that is good in this world. I will never forget the many moments we shared up until this point, from every laugh to every tear spilt, you were always there and as you have always been there for me I, too, will continue to be there for you. Trust me when I say that I have no plans on leaving, not me nor Cat, I hope you are ready for a lifetime of our shenanigans because this is only just the start. I promise to love and cherish you till my last breath, if life is an adventure, doll, I am willing to explore it with you till eternity.”

As he finished the last of his vows, soft sniffles could be heard from them as they tried to contain their tears, his words touched their very soul and they too were thankful that this was all being recorded so that they could play his vows over and over again. As they gave his hands a light squeeze, they readied themselves for their vows and soon the whole crowd joined them in soft smiles as tears poured from their eyes.

“ Now then, do you, Xyx, take them to be your lawfully wedded love, to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, through the bad times and the good, for richer or poorer, till death do you part?” With a soft smile he spoke the words that have been spoken once before, but still rang just as sweetly in their ears, “I do.”

“ And do you, Y/n, take him to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, through the bad times and the good, for richer or poorer, till death do you part?” And finally, it was their turn to speak the very same words, “ I do.”

“It is now time for you to exchange rings. Your rings symbolise the eternal commitment that you make to each other and the never-ending circle of your love. May these rings always remind you of the commitment you are making here today.

Xyx and Y/n, please repeat after me…” And so, Toasty handed them their rings, as they shined in the glowing sun, they placed their rings on each other as they repeated the words spoken by the officiant, and with each letter, word, and sentence, they grew closer to the grand finale of the ceremony.

“ By the power vested in me, I pronounce you a married couple. You may now kiss.” Before the officiant could finish his last sentence, Xyx dipped them in a kiss as the crowd shouted in joy and clapped at the newly wedded couple. Their lips locked with the same passion they had done before so many times, yet it felt as if the love had amplified with every move. Slowly they broke apart and cradled each other's faces as they muttered, “ I love you so much Xyx, now and forever.”

He placed one last peck on their lips as he softly spoke, “ I love you as well my love, now and forever.” As the crowd stood up, with a mischievous grin he took them in his arms and carried them to the car as everyone prepared for the reception to come.

……

After the many meals, drinks, and moments shared, they made their way to the dance floor where they softly swayed along to the music as they were surrounded by all of the guests, holding each other as tightly as they could, never wanting to let go. “ Well then my dear husband, what’s our plan for tomorrow?”

“ I think it's time we started that world tour, how does that sound doll?”

AN: WAS THAT GOOD?? IDK MAN I AM NOT A WEDDING EXPERT

I hope yall liked this fic have a lovely day! And congrats on your marriage!

#bp xyx #xyx #blooming panic #bloomic #x reader #anon request

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