#i should be studying!! but instead im drawing this guy!!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

phantom-0-writer · 1 year ago

Text

*standing menacingly at the door* i made u something

anyways lol. i had a lot of school work and was really busy freaking out and stress studying for a singular test that was 4 questions and would be over in like an hour and then i proceeded to cry about it in my car for various reasons.

but yk what that means!

time for our irregular and unscheduled update of

Gotham Academy's Mentorship Program

this episode featuring a fan favorite: Duke Thomas (aka The Signal - but thats kind of irrelevant for this)

you were supposed to read that like it was from a '90s sitcom and the off screen crowd cheers rly loudly.

some house keeping updates: this scene happens in the beginning of the school year (going by the american system should be september) danny meets damian (and upsurges tim on the same day) around midterm which is around october and then the stuff with jason and damian's drawing happens around december. i kinda accidentally burned the irl timeline for anything dc first scene so now im just gonna do whatever i want.

anyways with out further ado:

table of contents

scene 04: after school activities for normal kids

Duke stood around the corner of the classroom awkwardly, wondering if he had made the right call. Sure the bats and the birds had a plethora of hands on deck any time, but most of them specialized as night time heros. Not to say that they were incompetent or anything, they were some of the most skilled and innovative people Duke had ever had the pleasure of meeting. Sure if anything happened, they could handle it, at least until Duke could slip away and show up as the Signal- Alfred and Bruce had assured him so much. But Duke couldn’t slip the guilt of busying away more of his time to after school activities when he could be patrolling or studying instead,

But Duke had wanted to do something outside of those things, which was specifically why he had made the difficult decision to join a few clubs and after school activities. He could use a break from being surrounded by people who worked the vigilante life-style just to remember how to be a normal civilian. Let himself take a break from constantly be consumed by one case or another, one disaster or another, not being able to do enough no matter how much he tried or how much time he spent patrolling.

Duke needed to feel grounded, like his feet were on the ground and he could press the brakes and smell the fragrance of life. Even if the fragrance was a forgotten pile of dog s-

“Alright,” The instructor for their culinary club started with a weird German accent that sounded really fake. “I am Herman. You can call me Chef or Chef Herman or just Chef. I will not bore you all with the boring introductions, and let's head right into the cooking, yes. On this paper here I made the partners for all of you to cook with for the rest of the year. If you have problem with it then quit.”

This Herman guy seemed like quite the character, and was definitely not helping any of Duke’s previous anxieties. Many of Duke’s clubmates seem to think so too, sending their friends various looks. But no one spoke out, and instead shuffled to the front to look at the singular sheet of paper that would assign them their partners. Duke finally made it to the front and saw that he was paired with a Daniel Fenton at Station 7.

Crossing his fingers that Daniel had at least only a half-rotten personality, Duke made his way over to station 7. The station was already prepped with an assortment of ingredients and cooking equipment. Duke had already set his stuff down claiming the seat closer to the exit (in case) when a lanky kid comes over, “Uh, your Duke Thomas?” He asks hesitantly looking back at the front counter the partner assignment sheet was.

It took Duke an awkward second longer to realize that this kid was probably his partner. “Oh yeah I am.” He laughed apologetically, “You must be Daniel.”

“Danny’s fine.” The boy smiled, absentmindedly brushing his messy black hair out of his face, his glacier blue looking at the equipment. Duke couldn’t help but feel like there was something off about Danny. Not in Gotham’s usual psycho-maniac-out-to-terrorizer-the-city-and-kill-innocent-people kind of off, more in a he’s not in sync with the rest of the world off. While Chef Herman explained the general structure of various types of kitchen and kitchen hierarchy that Duke was already familiar with, Duke tried to get a read on him.

Weird did not mean threat, after all many of the Justice League- heck even the local Wayne/Batclan were pretty weird- and they (usually) didn’t mean any harm. It wouldn’t be fair of Duke to jump the horse like that.

Deciding he should try to be friendly with him, Duke leaned over, “Is it just me or is Chef Herman’s accent totally fake?” he whispered.

“Oh, Ancients,” Anciets? “I thought I was just going insane.” Danny sighed in relief with a small chuckle. There was a moment of silence between the two of them where no one said anything for longer than socially acceptable and Duke debated using his powers to see if he could find a clue or something. That seemed kinda invasive, though.

When the Chef had started instructions on making today's recipe, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Danny helped Duke measure out the ingredients. “So,” Danny tried again, “What are you in for?”

“What am I…” Duke repeated confused,

Danny chuckled awkwardly, “Like why you joined the club.”

Duke seriously needed to get his head in the present; this was getting embarrassing. “Oh.” He nodded in understanding, “I’ve always liked cooking,” Duke shrugged, “When I was little my parents and I would always cook together, and it was always one of my favorite things to do. And I’ve kinda always liked it, but I fell off of it for a while with school and stuff,” emphasis on the stuff “I thought joining a club could help me get back into it and get away from… everything.” That was a little more candid than Duke had planned on being with someone he had met quite literally a few minutes ago, but it felt good to have that out of his chest. The pleasant memories of his parents swimming in his mind. Mixing the dry ingredients, “Sorry that was kind of a lot.” Duke laughed genuinely this time.

“Dude, no it’s actually so cool that you like to cook.” Danny said admiration was easy on his face, and Duke couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

“What about you, then?”

“Ugh,” He groaned jokingly, “You can’t seriously be asking for my lame ass reason after you pulled out the flashbacks.” Danny whined, letting the oven preheat like Chef told them to.

“C’mon, it’s only fair.” Duke played along, already ahead of the other groups.

Danny sighed, “Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Okay, it can’t be that bad.” Duke could already feel the smile cracking on his face.

“It is.” Danny drawlled, “So I live in the dorms right, and I got to pull some strings and room with one of my friends from back home this year. And well, let’s just say my family has a bit of a reputation for causing problems, and the kitchen definitely wasn’t an exception. One time my dad tried to make some soup for my mom because she got sick.” Duke nodded approvingly, that was a sweet gesture, “It was all fun and games until the bomb squad had to show up and long story short we had to move.”

“You’re joking.” Duke gaped at the bizarre story, but at Danny’s solemn expression, Duke couldn’t help but be appalled, “A bomb squad over soup.”

“My parents were never really heavy on lab safety,” Danny added, as if that explained everything, “But I burn one pot of water and maybe make a few extra-crispy eggs, and suddenly its all ‘Danny you’re not allowed in the kitchen unless you start taking actual classes’ and ‘Danny that's a biohazard’.”

“You burned a pot of water.” Duke echoed, Danny nodded innocently, “Water doesn’t burn.”

“Well, maybe you’re just not trying hard enough.” Danny sneered, trying to crack an egg on the corner of the bowl only for all the shell to fall in the bowl and the yolk on the counter.

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s true.” Duke said, taking the bowl from him and expertly cracking an egg single handedly. Danny looked on in awe. “You said you live in the dorms?” Duke asked easily.

“Oh yeah, all of the non-local scholarship kids have to.”

Before Duke could respond, a girl from the station in front of them whips her head around, “You said you’re here on a scholarship?” She asked almost oppressively.

Danny just as taken aback as Duke felt, “Uh, yeah.”

“Me, too. Have you heard anything about the Mentorship Program here? Apparently we all have to join.” The girl’s partner was looking between Duke and Danny confused, but returned to their cooking uninterested.

“Oh, yeah. They make us all join.” Danny nodded.

“I heard from some of the older kids, that no one actually gets picked for that. It’s just like a weird formality thing.” The girl spoke animatedly, “What department are you in?”

“Applied physics and engineering design.” The oven beeps that it was ready but no one moved.

The girl seemed to deflate that answer, “Oh, I’m doing culinary science.” And with that solid conclusionary statement, she turned around and got back to her work station.

Danny blinked, processing what just happened and slowly turning to look at Duke for proof that just happened. But the second the both of them met each other’s eyes, they burst into a fit of silent laughter.

Bent vunuralably over the table, trying to catch their breath, they were accosted by Chef Hermon. “The two of you are having a comedy club, not a cooking club.” Chef crossed his arms at the edge of the table. Duke was pretty sure he was trying to sold them, but the fake accent was making it hard to tell.

Danny cleared his throat and striated up, “Sorry, Sir.” He apologized quickly.

“Chef.” Hermon peered at them, his hat looking comically large and lopsided on his head now that Duke was getting a closer look.

“Sorry, Chef.” Duke amended, trying to keep his cool.

“Yes, finish cooking your cookies.” He nodded satisfied, leaving their station.

“Okay so,” Duke tried to recount what the last thing they did was, but one look at Danny trying desperately to hold in his laugh had ruined all of Duke’s efforts as well. Barely managing to get their cookies in the oven, over Chef’s fake german accent and floppy oversized chef’s hat.

“So scholarship for applied physics and engineering design, huh.” Duke recounted from earlier, impressed.

“Yeah…” Danny trailed off embarrassed, “It sounds kinda snotty.”

“Dude. That’s literally one of the hardest departments to get into, and the scholarship is no sneeze either. There’s no doubt you worked your butt off to get that.” Duke assured Danny as they sat in their stools waiting for the cookies to finish.

“Thanks,” Danny smiled sheepishly. They sat in a much more comfortable silence now before Danny spoke again, “What grade are you in by the way?”

“I’m in 10th. General studies for now, but I was thinking of doing medicine. You?”

“I could totally see you as a hot-shot doctor.” Danny nodded approvingly, “11th. Technically, I’m your upperclassman then.”

“Technically?” Duke asked.

“I mean, how old are you?”

“15.” Duke supplied confused.

“Me too. I skipped a grade in elementary school, so we’re actually the same age.” Danny explained, sheepishly.

“Dude, you're actually way smart.” Duke gaped in awe.

“Hey medicine isn’t a day walk either.” Danny nudged his arm playfully, “I’m glad the mentorship thing is just for show, though. Now that we’re upperclassmen, y’know. I would not want my hands full with some random rich kid.”

Duke laughed, “Yeah, that definitely sounds like a lot of work.”

Easily unfolding the conversation into various topics and interests Duke found that he didn’t mind that the cookies were burnt. Or that Danny was definitely weird. But in a good way. Duke was glad they met and would get to hang out and cook with their weird not-German Chef every week. And if Danny and Duke exchanged numbers and planned to hangout outside of club activities, then well who was going to stop them.

#a little fluff to make our day better #duke and danny #the world definitely needs more of them #they start off a little shaky but their bffs at the end #danny heard the chef's weird accent and thought it was bc of time travel shenanigans and decided it was just best not to comment on that #duke will def be rubbing his friendship with danny in the other bat's faces once he gets indoctrinated #jack blew up his house over chicken noodle soup and no one lets him live it down #Gotham Academy's Mentorship Program #dpxdc #dp x dc au #batpham #danny phantom #duke thomas #signal #phantom

444 notes · View notes

rapidhighway · 6 months ago

Note

rapid when your art comes across i want to yell and scream it’s so so amazing. i love love the way you color, what did you do to study color/ how did you get so good at it?

Thank you so much! I'm definitely not an expert but I do have my methods of picking colors, I'm very happy it doesn't go unnoticed <3 Alright SORRY this got kind long but I have a lot of thoughts regarding picking colors xd so im gonna put this under a cut.

I got more interested in my choice of color when I got into supernatural tbh, I just really loved the vibe of the early seasons. I know I did a bunch of studies of some screenshots. But really in my opinion, you just have to know what vibe you're going for, like, maybe choose a color of the lighting, like blue or purple, and the next step for me is to establish what the white color looks like in this lighting. It will never be white. Even without a light source, this is my own way of coming up with whatever color palette for a drawing - I pick a color that isn't white to be my white, all the other colors will be tinted by this color I picked.

I think this isn't going to be very obvious in the beginning? You should pay attention to the color wheel and such, and there's color theory involved. I often end up wanting to have a green object in the scene, but the color i'm going to have to pick is gonna be like, gray or something, but in the context of all the colors it WILL look green. It's still hard to figure out sometimes (dear god don't even get me started on drawing Knuckles next to the light of the Master Emerald???? Red and Green cancel each other out, my man is gonna be like what? Gray or black. It pisses me off so much I usually just ignore it or work around it sdffsfedfgrggfdg)

and what I think is a really good exercise is that whenever you're using things like blend modes, like an overlay or multiply layer, it's good to later use the color picker and pay attention where your actual desired colors are on the color palette in your program. With time you just learn how to pick your colors directly instead of using filters and I just think that allows for more freedom and experimentation with your colors.

At the same time blend modes are fun af so of course you should go ham with them, I do whenever I feel like experimenting a bit or if a drawing needs some tweaking

I also recommend the youtube channel Light Mentor, this guy has a ton ton tonn of videos about colors and color theory.

#asfdsesggr sorry giving advice is scary even thought i have so much stuff to say vfbgrggnrtg #if i didn't explain something well enough and you're interested in what I actually mean pls feel free to ask me to clarify X|#i HOPE i didnt leave any typos i can almost write words backwards sometimes lmaooo

16 notes · View notes

pocketramblr · 1 year ago

Note

Ask Game : How about an au in where Manual is a Todoroki (Any type of relative)

oh, you mean like when i said Fuyumi should adopt Manual as her brother? Or when we just made Manual the oldest todoroki sibling here, here, (and then...) here? or the separate fic where he's the oldest sibling and also the personification of water and the water cycle itself? Or the series where Tensei and Masaki are Vampire Fuyumi's scions and they're members of the Todoroki clan?

Just kidding, im sure everyone who saw the family tree reblog knows which one i'll talk about here.

1- Masaki, eldest Todoroki Himura child, does not have the quirk his father wanted. He also did not have an ice quirk useful to the Himura family. But he is the eldest, and an eldest son at that, so he's still trained and included by the family. Growing up though, Masaki knows that he's not quite right, not quite what people wanted of him, and tries hard to overcome it. He trains, a lot. He studies the family tree the Himuara clan is so proud of, and then branches out more, as if that'll earn their approval. (he knows most of the whole chart ehehe)He trains to the point that he doesn't just have the ability to manipulate water, but create it too, as his parents create fire and ice. Unfortunately, he can only do this by drawing on his body's stores, so he ends up out of breath and dehydrated too easily when he tries, and wielding large amounts of water is terrible for finesse. Touya, a bright firecracker of a second son, is trained instead. He hurts himself in training too, but can keep going, unlike Masaki. Masaki eases off, still training, still going to be a hero, but giving his little brother more of a spotlight. He's satisfied with what he has. But his brother and father aren't.

2- Masaki stops caring about training with overwhelming power, and focuses on learning how to move small amounts of water with better grace. He dives into the detective part of the job, even as Enji largely neglects passing this on to Touya. He uses his weird knowledge of his family tree for connections- why does he keep getting invited to such high level meetings, missions, and parties?? oh well, you see, Captain Celebrity's sibling married one of Masaki's mom's siblings, so they're in-laws-in-laws, and Ryukyuu's uncle married another one of CC's siblings, so of course Masaki got an invite. He isn't even bragging about his connections, or using them for ill, he just shows up and if people ask why, he says it so matter of fact that they're like 'oh yeah of course, i mean if Manual were my cousin's cousin's aunt's neighbor i'd invite him too, cmon in man." It's amazing how most heroes are more likely to know how they and Masaki are connected than to be aware of the fact that Masaki is straight up Endeavor's son. He doesn't need to be networking this hard. he's doing it anyway. He likes, after all, to be treated normally. He just has a skewed view of normal- but i mean, so does Fuyumi! they're just different skewed views.

3- Sadly this is not a Tensaki au for the simple reason that on one of Endeavor's parent's side, Masaki is distantly related to the Iidas. Now that would not be a problem for literally anyone else, but Masaki took the advice of "if you know how closely you're related, you're too closely related and applied it to his life, not thinking that most people do not in fact have a full knowledge of all of their relatives up to tenth cousins four times removed, and a partial knowledge up to fifteenth six times removed. Tensei is bemused when Masaki asks him how the crawler vigilante is doing, since they never officially partnered, and even more so when Masaki explains "Oh, no, it's just that he's been mentored by my uncle Oguru, has my grandparent's speed quirk and he's like, sixth cousins with your mother, only three or four times removed, so i thought maybe he might have mentioned it to you. But i hope he's doing alright, seems like a good guy and i know that bee bombing thing last month was rough."

4- Masaki dyes his hair brown to look more normal, and because he feels like his natural pink hair clashes with his costume too much. (Hey wonder if all that sexism in the family maybe impacted his view of it too. He very much disapproves of Touya's actions and words but maybe he doesn't want a girly pink hair color either.) Anyway, he also didn't stay at his father's agency for clear reasons. Once his own agency is set up, Fuyumi asks him if he'd consider taking in Natsuo- because he's completely neglected by their father, mom's in the hospital still, touya's dead, and Fuyumi's busy with school, Enji, and Shoto. Masaki agrees, and Natsuo ends up going into school for logistics with a science minor, still considering med school later.

5- "hey uh pocket is dabi not touya here" well that chart was made before the reveal. by not a whole lot of time lol. So, MASAKI doesn't think Dabi is Touya. After all, Touya is Dead. and Dead People do not attack school camps and set trees on fire. Dabi is, therefore, infinitely more likely to actually be Masaki's half uncle- he's pretty sure there are other kids on the fire side of the family, and it gives him a reason for hating Endeavor and his kids so much. Masaki stands by this even as his other siblings start cottoning on to the true identity of the arsonist. He's too normal to believe Dabi could possibly be Touya. After Jakku, he gets a call from Tensei like "hey man, i just heard about the news and i'm so sorry, you know you helped me a lot with my brother and family mess so i'll help you with your brother and-" and Masaki goes "OH THANK YOU i know other things like Eraserhead cutting off his own leg are more important, but i cannot believe my uncle would steal my dead brother's identity like that, with that awful dance-" and Tensei is like 'ah, right.' and just... lets him rant a bit to feel better, before he sniffs and goes 'its actually touya, isn't it.'

#anon #pocket talks to people #ask game #wow. i dont know if this man is very ill or very well. maybe both.

18 notes · View notes

zipmode · 1 year ago

Note

your wizards are seriously so awesome tell. me. everything

WOW this ask looks so broken on mobile for some reason but YAYYY YIPPEEEEE WUNCLE WORLD ^_^ surprisingly fleshed out for a world where literally the only two characters I've been able to think up names for are the titular Wuncle and Earnest.

Wait im gonna put this infodump under a read more. Just in case. Yeah it's a long one.

ANYWAYS it's from a concept I came up with some time last year I think? (GOING BACK AFTER LOOKING UP WHEN I FIRST TALKED ABOUT THEM. IT WAS THIS YEAR. LOL.) Earnest is this miserable kid in the 'real' world whose parents died in a ~MYSTERIOUS INCIDENT~. One day out of nowhere their deadbeat uncle Joe (who they barely remember, hasn't seen him since the death of their parents) yanks them into the MAGIC world where he reveals that he and Earnest's mom come from a super long line of extremely powerful wizards, that Earnest's mom only moved to Boring World to be with the cringe fail love of her life or whatever 🙄, and that Earnest should basically come live with him in his AWESOME WIZARD TOWER instead of the STUPID REAL WORLD so they can study under him to become the next great wizard in the family or whatever.

Instead of being super hyped for this opportunity like Joe THINKS is gonna happen, Earnest is like. 'Dude what the fuck? I barely know you. I don't care about this. Take me back. I miss my Nintendo DS.'

To this Wuncle Joe responds 'ohhhh ummmm actually creating a portal to boringland is incredibly difficult and can only occur like once every ten years when the planets align jussst right so basically you're stuck here anyways 😁👍but don't worry it's cool I'm cool we're cool.' And thus begins Earnest's involuntary apprenticeship 👍

Other characters Wuncle World include:

Wuncles' Familar: Wuncle Joe made a deal with this demon essentially stating that in exchange for his soul (after he dies ((a powerful wizards soul is a rare and tasty treat for a demon))) she works for him and basically does whatever. Basically his assistant. Very silly very goofy VERY VERY EVIL. but cant really do any SUPER evil stuff unless joe says so. At least until he dies :). She's capable of shape-shifting and typical demon stuff but her default form looks like this (old drawings <3) vvv

DRYAD KID: a little ways away from Wuncle's Tower, which is surrounded by a dense and super magical forest, is a secret town of various naturey creatures. Dryads, Nymphs, Satyrs, Pixies etc etc etc. Earnest learns about it through the Dryad Kid, who at first is like 'OH FUCK yes new kid in the forest', then Earnest is like 'yeah I moved into the wizard tower. With my uncle. The wizard.' And the Dryad kid is like. '.........ohhhhh 😬 that guy.'

Dryad Kid acts as Earnest's primary guide to the magical realms as well as their first glimpse into the fact that Wuncle Joe isn't just some deadbeat fool, but a public nuisance at best and a malicious force in the realm at worst. If Earnest isn't busy doing stupid wizard shit with their uncle, chances are they're hanging out with Dryad Kid.

HONORABLE CHARACTER MENTIONS (even less flushed out guys but still important):

KING AND PRINCE: king of the big main kingdom. Wuncle Joe's old boss. Also not a great guy but it's less obvious at first. His son is the prince who acts as like. A rival to Earnest before they both realize they're kind of in similar boats and become friends.

WIZARD COUNCIL: grand council of wizards that controls. Well you know. Wizard stuff. Fate of the world shit. They fucking hate Wuncle Joe. Hardasses but not necessarily evil.

EARNEST 'S MOM: very very very powerful wizard. Clearly had some crazy beef with Joe before she died but most of the specifics are unknown to Earnest until later in the plot.

Overall plot is like. Earnest gradually discovering that Wuncle Joe is actually the primary antagonist of this world. They have to Outwizard and Outscheme him before he can destroy everything basically.

Thank you for asking about my wizard world Austin in lives in my head rent free <3 this essentially only scratches the surface of its Whole Deal. But this was already super long LOL

#zipmode answers #giggles and frolicks until i accidentally run headfirst into a wall #wuncle joe #earnest madision #my ocs

5 notes · View notes

lowkeyclueless5137 · 2 years ago

Text

The Old Cathedral III

I honestly can't wait to have this one done! :3

Mostly cuz after it, probably my favorite palace (so far) come >:3c

But then again... I have 0 idea what the 5th palace should be... :v

Anyway! Enough of that. Let's see what we have in store for today! :D

What we will cover:

-a small break from the palace

-Some more childhood friends interactions

-Shenanigans in Shibuya

-And a visit from Mr Rosehearts

Mmmm... Interesting points... :'3

Now onto the chaos:

With the palace being put on hold, the next best thing the group could do in the metaverse was to investigate mementos and mind of their student lives.

Ace and Deuce seemed to go out more often along Ortho. Azul was just making a few notes on subjects, preparing for future exams and also tutoring Epel, but this time Malleus is the Japanese tutor. Kalim was tending to his business as a heir while Jamil helped him. It was clear their relationship was a bit colder, but Kalim said that they will work it out.

Floyd was hanging out more with Mikan and his other Kosei friends. Morgana still was with him as Jade also said that he happened to meet up with someone. Vil also focused on his carrier, accepting a few modeling/acting offers that came this period. Rook also concentrated on a new hobby: photography.

Meanwhile, Riddle was taking his studies very seriously, despite being yet too early for the exams. When he wasn't tutoring the first years, Riddle would help Futaba by tending to the counter. He always had a book next to him tho, reading from it when there were no costumers to tend to. Yusuke also teaches him drawing when he was free. Besides all that, Riddle hung out with Trey and Che'nya.

And. Trey discloses that he has a 1st year, Jack, who's been struggling a bit with chemestry. He was in the science club and tried to help Jack a bit, but Trey wasn't really that good at teaching... Che'nya just raises a brow at that, but doesn't question, instead he asks Riddle if he could help him with his math assignment. Ofc the redhead accepts. :'3

Trey tho butts in, saying that he also needs sum help with math. Riddle lights up at that, considering it to be a really fun friend study hangout plan.

He failed to notice the awkwardness in between the 2.

Only a few days passed of this palace pause, until Ace broke down from the stress. They couldn't possibly let that guy marry Kalim's mom and destroy yet another family. He had a point, one which Kalim supported as well, like the rest. They had to return there, even if that creature was still roaming the place.

So the metaverse group met up at the hideout on Sunday, early morning, to return to the palace, speedrun through that goddamn dungeon and assure their entry in the tower.

Except that the tower entry to the top was blocked by a locked trapdoor. They do have a Lockpick, but it would be be needed more lockpicks or the actual key if they wanted to get into on the day of the heist. For now, they used one lockpick to enter.

And the top of the tower was lavish on the inside. There were gigantic bells in there along with other various instruments in there. From flutes to a grand piano, all arranged like an orchestra. In front of them, a thick marble piedestal was placed, above which the treasure was floating.

Mona again went full cat mode, but Knight holded him down. :'3

So they had the treasure route secured. Kraken voiced his concern that they need now a way to escape this place with the treasure as fast as they could. They can't just get back on the same route they entered. Axe said that they could drive their asses out. Flame said that it was too risky since the whole palace will start to crumble apart of the treasure is stolen.

Sailor tho analised the instruments. While sure it was a far fetch, he looked at the whole room. He noted that this must be a very loud room during ceremonies.

And as if his theory was proven, the bell started to ring and the instruments came to life, singing loudly. Being too loud, Flame immediately grabbed one of the nearby flutes, which, in response, stopped singing. The instruments would stop singing once they were touched.

The problem? These instruments made a whole labyrinth in between them and the treasure.

Flame timed the whole thing, realising that they had only 5 minutes until the whole melody would be over. Gold noted that he saw through the glass wall that down in the main body of the Chapel, some sort of Ceremony was commencing.

All of them hid tho, when they heard that the palace ruler came inside, checking on all the instruments. Thankfully he didn't realise that one of the flutes stopped prematurely.

The group had to leave after that. They knew what exactly was their last obstacle.

Back in the real world, it was no surprise that now they needed to go to their Sunday plans. Ortho and Riddle had to babysit again Cheeka.

But this time, when Leona comes to drop Cheeka, the child was crying non-stop and kept gluing himself to Leona's leg, begging his uncle to not leave. Leona is visibly annoyed by this and when Futaba asks about it, Leona replies that some family matters came up, some that made Cheeka to cry since morning. He wasn't supposed to overhear them, but here they were.

Futaba admits that she isn't that good at convincing children to stop throwing temper tantrums. Ortho was and still is a fine example. :'3

Ortho does go to Cheeka and reassures that Leona will only go to the market down the street. It will take a bit since today it's a big sale and people are hogging the place. Leona doesn't want to have Cheeka stay amongst those boring old adults and wait in an endless line. Cheeka seems to have resorted to small sniffles when Ortho drops the big bomb: he 'wasn't supposed to tell cheeka the big secret', but Leona talked under the table with a pastry baker and so if he runs late, he would miss the super secret sweet surprise that was meant for Cheeka today. So he needs Cheeka to wait like a good kid in here until Leona gets the secret surprise.

Yeah... This buys Cheeka's attention enough to let Leona go. The other is happy that the furball finally let go of him, although now Ortho added another road on his list: get to a pastry to get Cheeka something and make the lie believable.

But in the end, Cheeka stayed at LeBlanc. A tad bit later, Riddle couldn't help but bring out what in the world must've upset Cheeka so much. It couldn't have been them... No? Cheeka seemed very happy when he came to stay. So why? For now, they couldn't question it further since the kid was worn out from all that temper tantrum and currently he was sleeping in Riddle's room while the 2 in question stood at the counter with Futaba.

Ortho also had with him a bass. Futaba said that it was Yusuke's as he knew how to play the bass. Ortho found it last night and he wants to adjust a bit the instrument's cords before he could ask if Yusuke can give it to him. Futaba did say that they wanted to give it to him on his birthday, which now the gift was spoiled because Ortho was a lil curios one. (yes, this is a reference to smth... If you know, you know... :3)

~~~~~~~~

"Maybe you should ask your brother to help you out..." Futaba suggested. "Big brother said that he is working onto something important... Apparently he has a deadline or something..." Ortho mused. "Maybe after he is done he can help you..." Riddle suggested.

Clink!

The 3's attention shifted slightly towards the door. On there, a very tired man came in. His coat was messily thrown over him, hair in all directions and clothes looked like they were flown over in a tornado. If the proeminent eye bags didn't give the idea of a burnout man, his posture sure gave it away.

"Hello... Futaba... Please one cup of the usual..." He tiredly mused before his gaze fell onto the 2 boys in question. Ortho only minded to the instrument in question. But the man eyed Riddle specifically, his features lighting up a bit.

"Heyyy... Kiddo! How is it? We didn't talk in a lot!" The man smiled weakly as he came to the 2, pointing to the seat. "may I?" Riddle only nodded, clearly bewildered, but noticed that the man was dozing off a bit.

"Yes... You can, Dad..."

~~~~~~~~

Mr Rosehearts sure took a seat and with it a very tired breath. While Futaba did go to tend to the order, Riddle voiced his confusion on how his father came here today. He replied by saying that his co-worker agreed to take his shift for the day since he covered lately for a few others who had family problems. He also worked the extra hours so he could pile them up so that he can catch, like every summer, a nice holiday time. Well during that holiday he usually took Riddle around to Japan, as it was in July, but since now he attended Shujin, Mr Rosehearts admits that he will have to get used to it.

Ortho points out that he just came from the hospital, which the latter confirms it. He took the underground train and almost slept through the station, but he wanted to visit since it was Sunday. :'3

Futaba does come with the order in question, which was a coffee with a lot of milk. She points out that Mr Rosehearts did drop by from time to time, but at those moments, Riddle was either at school or out with his buddies. He also came for a cup of coffee since God forbid that cafe close to the hospital. Mr Rosehearts sure couldn't stand how bitter it was.

It was somewhat touching to hear that... Ya know? :v

So Mr Rosehearts asks how's going. Riddle does say that not much was on his plate. Only school and studying for the exams. Mr Rosehearts is a bit taken aback on how early it was, but brushes it off and tells Riddle to take it easy. There's plenty of time left and he doesn't need to stress himself so early.

If only he knew what his son was ACTUALLY doing... :'3

But since Riddle was in school during July, it was clear that Mr Rosehearts had no secure plans for his holiday. So he did ask what would Riddle want to do then? On past years, they would visit Riddle's grandparents in Kyoto, but now school prevented that. :'3

Once the topic of school was touched upon, Ortho does ask where did Mr Rosehearts study. The man responds that he did study in his hometown, but later went to college in Tokyo, with a few exchange years in America and Europe. He was lucky he had the calling for medicine, because otherwise he would have been known as the disaster magnet since he was no good at anything else, if not downright mediocre.

Which, again, is a bit of surprise for Riddle, since his mother always told him she studied and studied to reach where she was. Meanwhile his father reached a similar height just because he was naturally gifted and liked to pursue it.

But it made sense now why Mr Rosehearts didn't really stress onto his academical situation too much.

But in the end, Cheeka was the one who cut the meeting by coming down. Ortho explained that he and Riddle are on babysitting duty and so Mr Rosehearts payed for his coffee, plus a tip, before leaving to go and take some rest. He had a night shift tomorrow, which was very not fun to say the least. :/

Back with Cheeka, the little one seemed down still, Ortho and Riddle didn't have any idea what to do or say to cheer up Cheeka. At least they could only conclude thar the incident in the boy's family had to be serious, which affected him if he wasn't supposed to know.

So in the attic, on the couch, Riddle asks Cheeka if he could tell them what happened. Ortho promises that they won't tell anyone.

~~~~~~~~

"You really promise you won't tell?" Cheeka's glossy eyes meet the other 2's. "Yeah... When did we ever lie to you?" Ortho puffed proudly. "We can't help you if we don't know what happened... You must tell us if you want help..." Riddle mused. The little child only looked at his feet, before at the 2.

"I want you to change uncle's heart!" Cheeka declared.

"eh?! W-with all due respect..." Riddle's voice cracked. "It is impossible!" He added. "Yeah... We aren't like those Phanthom Thieves who caused the incident in April..." Ortho defended. Cheeka tho, had his eyes even glossier, with small tears forming at their corners, growing in size as the bottom lip of the boy trembled.

"B-But Uncle will have to leave! He will go to America and then we will go back home and uncle will never come back! And you can change his heart! I know it!" Cheeka cried.

Riddle and Ortho exchanged worried looks before looking back at the child before them. "Again... We are not the Phanthom thieves... And why do you think your uncle needs a change of heart?" Riddle inquired.

Cheeka only flapped his hands and feet. "Dad wants uncle to go and see a mean lady and maybe marry her for 'very important blah blah politics'! And Uncle can't say no! And I want uncle to say no! Because if he goes, the mean lady won't let him see me again and then he'll forget about me! And dad and mama don't care about me! Uncle always takes me places and picks me up from school and he is the one who reads me a bedtime story!" He cried harder, hugging the nearest person, which was Riddle.

The redhead only gave a panicked look to Ortho, who motioned for him to just roll with it. The kid needs a hug right now.

So awkwardly hugging back, the redhead exhaled. "We'll see if maybe we can contact the real Phanthom thieves to get your Uncle's heart changed." The redhead reassured. "Really?" "Yeah... But don't tell anyone... Not even your uncle..." Riddle mused.

Cheeka seemed cheered up. And of course, later that day, Leona came to pick the kid up, with a short conversation in between him and Futaba, then the paycheck for the 2 babysitters, Cheeka left with his uncle, this time holding him by the hand.

Futaba tho, noticed the troubled 2's faces as she closed the shop. "Something wrong, kiddos?" She piped in. "Nothing..." Ortho swatted it off... "You sound just like your brother..." Futaba exhaled, making a small pause. "You 2 wanna stay together overnight?" a small gaze exchange in between the 2 was made before both nodded. "Alright... But don't stay up too late. You have school tomorrow..." The ginger woman mused as she left LeBlanc.

Immediately once she left, Ortho pulled out his phone, pressing on the metanav. "What are yo-" "Leona Kingscholar..." The younger boy spoke.

"Candidate found" the robotic voice replied. "Cheeka was right... This guy has a distorted heart!" Ortho gasped. "But it isn't our business now... Koizumi is... We can't add this one too!" Riddle cut through.

"Really? But aren't you at least curious to see what this one is? Like isn't it wierd the kid praised to no end his uncle yet this guy has a palace?" Ortho pointed out. Riddle only bit his inside cheek, hugging himself. "One look... Nothing more..." The redhead declared.

"Now for the place... We don't know anything about the guy... Mementos clearly doesn't cut it..." Ortho mused. "Kingscholar residence?" Riddle suggested.

"No candidates found"

"well... Tokyo? Shibuya? Japan? The country run by the Kingscholars?"

"Well it's not like this guy's distortion is covering the whole world..." Ortho mumbled.

"Candidate found"

"EH?!" both Riddle and Ortho exchanged surprised looks. "The whole goddamn world?! What kind of distortion is it even?!" Ortho breathed out awkwardly. "it must be something figurative... It is clear that he cannot have the whole world under his influence, but he considers it as such..." The redhead mused. "now for the distortion..." Riddle exhaled.

"A Castle?" "no candidates found" "A stage?" "no candidates found" "A tomb?" "no candidates found" "No candidate my ass..." "language..."

"Well... Let's attack this logically..." Riddle trailed. "Cheeka mentioned that his uncle is possibly put in an arranged marriage. Cheeka's father is in some sort of position of actual power dictated by marriage." "Sounds to me like some medieval dynasty shit..." Ortho pointed out. "Well... It is the rule: first come takes the crown... Only the firstborns are at the top of 'the mountain'..." The redhead mused. "Mountain? Really?" "it's figurat-"

"Candidate found. Beginning navigation."

~~~~~~~~

And the 2 found themselves in a jungle. A bit further it was a rocky road, following it and hiding from any possible shadows, Ortho and Riddle came face to face with the bottom of a gigantic mountain, currently in their normal attire as they weren't considered threats.

And this mountain lived to the name. Only half of it was visible, the top being covered by thick gray clouds. As it proceeded upwards, the road became visibly cleaner as well as the houses that adored the mountain in small villages. There was also the road splitting into 2, the other part going downwards, towards a darker place. There was a sign also there which said 'Elephant cemetery'.

And now Ortho was all like 'ok, let's go to bed...'. Riddle gets smug and asks 'why, you scared?', basically the 2 egging each other to see who's the scaredy cat. In the end, the 2 bicker as they go towards the cemetery, since that had to be the safest place, the top of the mountain clearly harbouring the treasure.

Unbeknownst to them, they were watched.

The elephant cemetery was in all means one. Gigantic skeletons of the said animals were layered around. It was an eerie feeling around a slight fog, giving more of the horror vibe.

Ortho found a very old torch and together with some sharper pebbles and some tires while the 2 were arguing who did it better, the torch was lit up and they had a somewhat light.

~~~~~~~~

"This place is so empty..." Ortho mused, his voice echoing slightly. "Oh... Look... ECHO!" the boy shouted, his voice again echoing like a response from the empty canyon. "It is useful to tell is someone is in here as well..." Riddle quietly exhaled. "But we can make it say things!" Ortho beamed.

"SCHOOL SUCKS!" and the canyon replied.

"I WANT CAKE!" again, the canyon replied.

"Ortho! Stop it! We might get caught..." Riddle said. "But it's fuuuun~ besides... We aren't yet considered as threats~" the younger replied. The redhead only rolled his eyes.

But ortho was right. They weren't yet considered as threats. And they were in a deserted canyon while the palace was a mountain.

"Oh I have a good one..." Ortho puffed as he took a deep breath. Really Riddle was curious to see what the other was going to yell in there...

Fsh!

Both boys halted, the redhead holding the torch like a weapon while Ortho grabbed a nearby bone as a somewhat bat. A small breeze was in there, the fog not showing any signs of shifting.

The cry of a bird was hird from above. Looking up, something shining was flying, easily visible from the darkness, although it was small due to the distance. The bird let another loud cry, stil circling above the 2, although this time lower.

"We've been spot-" "no... If that was the case, we would have been in our attire." Riddle cut off, breath holded as his gaze immediately shifted to a direction, than another.

Crack...

It sounded like a twig breaking, although it was most likely a bone. This made the 2 to perk their heads towards their left, Riddle moving the torch accordingly as Ortho pointed the long bone towards the left.

Thug.

Both boys immediately were ready to scream when something grabbed them by the clothes collars, yanking them into an elephant skull, yet their mouths were covered by a hand each. They dropped their only weapons and guiding light in all that frenzy.

"Shhh..." A low voice whispered to the 2, being immediately drowned by the silence as the 3 listened in. There were steps of some animals as well as growls of something akin to a hyena.

Once the sounds of the animals seemed to dissappear, Ortho and Riddle were both let free by the one who dragged them inside. Immediately the 2 jolted further from the person, Ortho having his fists ready as Riddle took a defensive stance, eyes trying to focus in the darkness and maybe find something to use or to escape. Currently, the 2 were faced with a wall from the skull inside.

The person tho, only hummed as their hands reached towards something. The 2 couldn't see, but could distinguish movement.

As something fell down, light came into the small space. A soft blue light covered the insides of the small impromptu room.

"What is wrong with you 2?!" It was the first reply from the guy with blue fire hair, which now showed small tints of orange. It sounded lower, almost like a beast's rumble if it wasn't for the slightly louder tone. Their eyes were covered with a black mask that looked like sleek metal, no holes in it, reflecting the light from the flame hair.

~~~~~~~~

The guy in question warned the 2 that it wasn't safe for them here. That, ironically, this was where strong shadows reside, although he addressed to them as 'beasts'.

Ortho and Riddle again exchange looks, but the guy tells them that they can't try a hit and run. They'll end up caught by those hyenas.

And of course, the bird comes here again. It was a bird made out of the same blue fire, with beady black eyes and very beautiful feathers that once the fire cover dissappeared, it revealed a bird in colorful hues of silver and baby blue.

The guy says that the coast is clear and that for now, they should get back to the jungle, as it was the safest place.

But of course things didn't have to be this simple.

Ortho and Riddle insisted to know their saviour's name, but he gave the silent treatment all the way back, despite the fact that both Ortho and Riddle were annoying to no ends.

It was at one point that the group halted and the misterious guy seemed alert. That's when the 2 saw his hand more clearly. It had a fingerless white glove and midnight black fingers, which was a difference from his pale white face.

And of course rustling was heard, which made the guy's nails to become long claws in a split second. Much to Riddle and Ortho's horror, the 2 realised with who exactly they were in here.

They were with the black creature. Or more like the black masked guy now.

And boy did Ortho and Riddle make noise. If they were to gather attention and return to the Phanthom thief attire, they could face off properly the said guy.

Except that their noise did attract something. Guards to be specific. Very angry guards.

Now as Rose and Flame, the black mask immediately let his bird fly away before trying to get these 2 out of there, yet once Flame tried to burn his face down with an attack from his persona, the masked person resulted to the smoke trick, dissappearing and also unintentionally buying time for the 2 to run off in the jungle and return to the normal world.

Except that now it was a small delay. For a split second, Riddle and Ortho saw each other in the thief attire in LeBlanc before everything went to normal. Ortho theorised that most likely the jungle was like a safe room and they got in when the glitch was activated. So at least they knew the jungle was a safe room.

For the night, both of them found it hard to fall asleep. Upon mutual agreement, they decided to tell the team and go in this one only after they finish the cathedral Palace. The others would surely want to investigate this palace, so they couldn't go head in head with that guy.

The next day, the rest of the group went as good as you would think they would once the news were dropped.

Malleus voiced his concern that perhaps their persistent presence in the cathedral was what drove that guy with finding another palace. Vil did say that it would be absolutely foolish of them to manage 2 palaces simultaneously. Therefore, Riddle came with the next plan:

The metaverse Group will send the calling card and finish off the Taka Koizumi palace, while the real world team would gather up intel on Leona Kingscholar. It would only make his palace more quick to finish if they gathered info in advance.

And so, tomorrow, the calling card will be sent, as decided.

Wooooooop

Guess I got ya nicely in here... :3

2 palaces! Don't worry, we will still have a smol intermission. Very smol tho. :'3

Anyway... What do you think of our 4th palace ruler?

Damn will I have so much fun with this... >:3

So let's hear sum theories and maybe do some brainstorming...

Because sure af after the 4th palace, IDK what should be next. So suggestions are very much appreciated. :'3

Until next time! Buh bye!

#twisted wonderland #p5 x twst #This one is chaotic #And full of cutscenes :'3

4 notes · View notes

hana-the-ghostieee · 1 year ago

Text

hi so remember when i reblogged that gay webcomic??? yeah i've thought of an oc but i have far too many projects that i'm procrastinating on that i really shouldn't think of drawing something else (actually though i've got this very excessive Kyary Pamyu Pamyu fanart with references to past MVs, a cat based on PONPONPON, some Elmy fanart, my enby oc's character sketch, and this cat cafe concept where i drew cats based on foods people typically serve at cafes and a drawing of me and a friend that has left the country and is currently in Canada) so here imma give you some details instead

there may or may not be gore-ish kind of under the cut but also i kind of don't feel like forcing you to read a literal essay

also while i was studying today i was playing the ost of my favorite movie (which is a whisker away if you didn't know) and that may or may not influence what i thought of while creating this character in my head

so they have no name cuz i can't think of one

(she/they)

very talented at art cuz yes i am talented too (i think) but they're so freaking goooooooooooooood

the Protector™ of the queer peeps at said school

pretty much posted the entire thing (as in the romance and the notes and whatever) on this hellsite

has learnt the art of MURDER for this thing.

okay don't cross them.

they WILL LIVE TO SEE THIS QUEER COUPLE LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. so please don't be queerphobic. unless you'd like to be sent to the ER.

anyways they practically guarded Damian and Ollie's lockers before Damian got a phone somehow don't ask

and if anyone other than Damien or Ollie touched those notes on the lockers. the ppor person would probably get dropkicked and end up being severely traumatized and get the living daylights knocked out of their being.

and because that scene in nakineko was a thing where Miyo jumps off ths school building

i thought one day she/they just randomly walks around during lunch, hanging out with friends at like the upper corridors and then suddenly??? some random dudes start being a-holes (i don't use swear words don't judge me) and then they start trash talking about them and she/they is. the most PISSED PERSON ON THE PLANET RIGHT NOW and yells at them to take it back but they ignore she/they and then she/they yells at them again and then they piss her off a bit more cuz they're queerphobic little rats or something and then she jumps off the building into a tree so SHE/THEY doesn't/don't die but ends up getting a butt ton of scratches and bleeding wounds anyways so. she/they walks up to a-hole peeps.

and in the back Damian is RUNNING and carrying Ollie (you read that correctly) and then Damian drops Ollie, half expecting him to pick himself up. um they just arrived to see the tea and im not sure if they know that she/they put their notes under high security cuz i haven't figured that out yet but sometime soon i shall

all the while she/they is suffering from blood loss and after some "WHAT DID YOU SAY???"s and "DON'T YOU DARE"s and stuff the rude peeps are just like "...let's get out of here" and of course because Damian and Ollie were part of the crowd that gathered and they were mentioned or something, um, eyes are also on them or something idk i can't describe a school fight i've never been part of one and haven't seen one yet unless my memory sucks

anyways she/they walks up to the couple and is like im sorry you had to see this :((( but i can't just let them slander you guys like this and then literally just collapses on the floor, head hitting the ground and then passes out

and while she/they is literally just lying there, bleeding out someone finally gets the sense to call an ambulance

and then flash forward to the ER where she/they is rn i guess, not sure what injuries to give them

and that is everything i can think of so far because i'm tired and probably should go to sleep but i can't otherwise i'd forget and then i'd never forgive myself for forgetting something that's related one of the most important posts here

also we need more of that wlw couple as in NEED

#does anyone have any name suggestions for she/they or do i just find something random and name them on that #anywayssssssssssssssssssssssssss #wow the amount of s there is annoying #that's 11pm me speaking and still speaking #idk #damian and ollie #if i spelled their names wrong. i will correct freaking everything okay don't yell at me #is it spelled with an a or an e though??? like Damian or Damien #someday i will recheck the post (and pray i didn't spell it wrong even though i didn't even mention his nams that much i don't think #okay imma go sleep now #hai i'm back um rechecked the post. SHOOT.#i spelled his name wrong TwT #alrighty time to go redo. freakin everything

0 notes

slightly-gay-pogohammer · 2 years ago

Text

okay i started writing and i ended up rambling so im so sorry for the wall of text. but i need to set the scene

okay so as you may have guessed i'm far from being a religious gal. like i have no problems with religious people as long as theyre not dickheads but that stuff isnt for me point is. religion class, while nonmandatory, gave you extra points in other classes in my high school, so i figured that spending one hour a week hearing about this loser trying to tell us that gays arent real (true story) was worth it.

plus esp back then i was very shy, terribly anxious of stepping out of bounds, so. i wouldn't say i was a teacher's pet but most of them kind of saw me as the Easy Girl yknow. the one who dont talk during class, who dont make a mess, who draws and gets distracted but overall has good grades. and for some reason, this religioun prof in particular i think mistook my shyness and anxiety for me being a good traditional christian girl with very traditional feminine values. i was blatantly his favorite and i hated every single part of it. mind you that back then i was finally understanding my sexuality and with very strong values, so you can that mr instead of aborting give away your child and then find them to explain why (again, true story) wasn't my favorite person, but, again. easy class, easy extra points, might as well play the part of the good christian girl to not have to worry too much about math

point is. christianity test day arrives. literally nobody in class studied. we literally all had the list of answers right under our desk, gently given to us from another class who had the very same test the week before, none of us even tried to hide the fact that we were copying, and i figured that, i mean. if you need to copy a test for extra points might as well get a 10, yknow? the guy even fell asleep (AGAIN, true, he fell asleep on several occasions during his class), so in like 20 minutes we all were done and also chitchatting and taking the hour to relax

comes next week, he says he has our grades and says that he will spend the entire hour telling us the answers and tell who god which grade starting from the lower, up to a 10. i'm just sitting here a little smug, you know, i don't see why we should hear them, surely we all have 10s, or at least 9s.

he starts with 6s. it's half the class. nothing too bad, of course someone wants to do the bare minimum, which. again it's dumb, we all had all the right answers, just answer them correctly, but of course i'm not in there. i copied the entire test. of course i know i'm in the 10s. he then lists the 7s. the 8s. the 9s.

i realize with pure dread in my heart. that i'm the only one who wasn't named yet. that everyone else either couldn't give a crap about the grade or actually tried to answer something by themselves and blatantly got things wrong.

"AND DULCIS IN FUNDO", he fucking DECLARES, with a booming voice filled with nothing but pure, powerful Christian Pride "THE ONE AND ONLY, GIO, IS THE ONLY 10 IN OUR CLASS! TRULY MAGNIFICENT!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!" he them proceeds to hand me the test and shake my fucking hand. loudly congratulating me again. in front of all of the class.

again, i'm not religious. i haven't been religious for around 5 years, back then. but that day i prayed with all my heart for some god to open wide the earth below my feet and drag me down.

oh god im sorry im on a nostalgic spree i just remembered about the most embarassing 10 i ever got in high school help

#gio replies

30 notes · View notes

soobasaur · 4 years ago

Text

are you mine?

— a lee minho au

genre: enemies to lovers minho x gender neutral!reader

a/n: this is for my bestie who has been in a minho obsession lately and needs more content, you know who you are :]

« masterlist

you and minho didnt exactly,,,get along very well for a while

the only reason you both even knew each other was two of your best friends were dating and merged ur friend groups

(thanks a lot binsung 〴⋋_⋌〵)

you wouldnt go as far as to say you hated him

but you liked to pretend you did

you just barely saw him around so why not just mke him your mortal enemy??

it was easier to hate him then admit he was decent company!!

you had a reputation to uphold!!!!

and apparently he did too because he never really disagreed,,,,

you guys just ever had a chance to get off on the right foot and really talk

mutual disagreement <33

the thing is, the both of you were never left alone together

like ever

until that one time yall were abandoned (-д-；)

you and ur friend groups planned a hang out but everyone ended up cancelling last minute with no excuse

it was just you two who didnt get the memo and ended up alone

now that you think about it,,,that sounds like smth ur friends would do on purpose

(again, fuck u binsung!! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ )

so just picture this,,,you and minho both showing up to an arcade and sitting in silence for an hour before getting a text that everyone cancelled

your immediate thought was to go home bc why would minho want to hang out with you???

but after the both of you read the text in the groupchat he got up and made his way inside, holding the door open and quirking his eyebrow up at you

“well, are you coming or not? I wanna try the new vr game.”

and you were just like \\(⊙︿⊙)// ???

he? wants?? to hang out??? with just you????

but u ended up following him in and he paid for your guy’s tickets ≧◡≦

“just buy me lunch after and we’re even”

lunch??? now this mf wants to get lunch together?!$%

you learned one thing about minho that day

he was,,,competitive,,VERY competitive

like what demon possessed him kind of competitive

whenever he won he would flash you a smirk and skip to the next game as he dragged his row of tickets along

it INFURIATED U!!!

ur pride was in shambles

so you unleashed everything after that and won a good amount of games ;)

u had been eyeing a cute cat plush the entire time but u didnt have enough tickets at the end :((

o(╥﹏╥)o damn it capitalism u just wanted a plushie

you didnt rlly want anything else so you gave your tickets to minho and waited to the side for him to get his prize

he came out with tHE SAME PLUSHIE YOU HAD BEEN EYEING \\( ಠ_ಠ)//

but before you could sulk about it he handed it to you and started to make his way to the exit Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

and during lunch this bitch ended up paying even after saying you should (｀ε´)

\(▰˘◡˘▰)//\\ (▰˘◡˘▰)//\\ (▰˘◡˘▰)// \\(▰˘◡˘▰)//

After that...hang out if you will,,u started to notice minho everywhere

LIKE E V E R Y W H E R E

why was this bitch all over your college campus?

you never noticed minho was in ur class for the longest time jsskkfk

like all of a sudden u just spotted him out of the corner of ur eye and were like o h

once he noticed you too there was no going back

say good bye to paying attention in class

(as if you ever did anyways)

he started to inch closer to you during class

he even started sending you notes

ಠ▃ಠ and u were so paranoid the professor would catch you

but this bitch was slick so u were fine

ヽ(๏∀๏ )ﾉ

he was the type of guy to throw little crumpled sticky notes at you whenever he wanted to say something during class

they’d be covered with doodles of cats and his scribbly messy handwriting + little hearts

it was usually just some dumb thought he had or a crude drawing of the professor (. ﾟーﾟ)

other than those few notes you guys never really talked outside ur friend group

there was one incident late at night tho

you had a big project coming up and it was 2am and you were...2 sentences in T_T

you deserved a coffee break <3

so that was how you found under the awning of an all night coffee shop

except it wasn't all night and closed right after you got ur coffee!!

and now u were stuck under the awning!!

all you had was your measly hoodie that you stole from changbin and your now soggy cup of coffee as you waited for the rain to pass

you might as well of just stayed home since ur wasting all this time you could’ve been working on your project standing outside

were you gonna work on the project once you got home? no

but did the thought of wasted time still make you mad? yes

you slumped against the shop as you bitterly drank your coffee, crushing the cup between your hands

after a couple minutes you felt the rain above you stop

you look to your side to see,,,minho?!

this mf was holding an umbrella above your head

“here, take my umbrella.”

thats when you noticed the cafe uniform he had on

“you work here?” you asked, before taking the umbrella from his hand

“yeah, your observant ass didnt see me literally make your coffee,”

“oh whoops,,,i thought you hated me, why are you giving me our umbrella?”

“i do, but id rather you uh...not die in the cold looking like a dead rat.”

was it just you or were his cheeks dusted pink?

probably the cold

(y/n you dumb bitch-)

you both walk back to your dorms after that

and he insists you carry the umbrella

cus his poor arms are tired from making coffee all day :((

and maybe it's an excuse to be closer to you

since hes a bit taller he has to crouch and scoot closer to you in order to not get wet >_<

⊙﹏⊙ ⊙﹏⊙ ⊙﹏⊙

over the next few weeks your find urself at the cafe he works at more often

one time you got the hours wrong and he wasnt on shift :(

but when you got up to leave he walked in and spent the day helping you study instead of working

you went for the coffee!! not for him!! definitely not,,,

(¬‿¬)

“look, im only hanging out with you cus you get the employee discount.”

“sure, and not cus you enjoy my company-”

“i 100% despise your company.”

ok but u didnt

u actually /REALLY/ liked his company

like WTF

where has he been all ur life

ew that sounded too romantic

but like fr where was he hiding

(・ε・｀)

soon you both were joining binsung on their dates

but it wasn't a double date!!

it was just four friends hanging out and two happened to be a couple

and they liked to hang out at fancy restaurants and do couple like activities

totally normal!!

there was one incident where you were about to pay for your meal but minho placed his hand on top of yours and slid his card instead

“you can pay on the next date.”

NEXT? DATE??

excuse me sir what do u mean-

you ignored changbin and jisung’s snickers behind you the entire night

when minho walked you home you couldnt help but let urself blurt out

“was this a date?”

minho gave you an incredulous look

“...was it not??”

oh my god this is embarrassing

“OH MY GOD WAS IT NOT?!!”

you ignored how minho was now turning crimson red and panicking and tugged on his collar, pulling him down for a kiss

“it was...a date” you mumble, now shy at the close proximity between the two of you

“...im gonna kill jisung.” he muttered, pulling you in for a hug, “he told me this was a double date”

“that can be our next date, the murder of our best friends.”

“wow i am in love with you.”

＼（＾○＾）人（＾○＾）／

minho and y/n murder besties!!

for legal reasons that is a joke

( ˶˘ ³˘(˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)♡

thank you for reading !!

#Spotify #stray kids #stray kids headcanons #lee know #lee know fic #lee know headcanons #lee know x reader #minho x reader #stray kids x reader #minho au #lee know au #stray kids au #minho boyfriend #enemies to lovers #stray kids enemies to lovers #minho enemies to lovers #skz minho #skz au #skz aus

480 notes · View notes

divinemanicstate · 2 years ago

Text

ok so i really wanna talk about this here bcs i need to hear your guy's opinions on it

ive been having some trouble with commissions and workflow

i generally love getting paid to draw, but i can't bring myself to focus on finishing owed stuff which often leads to unpleasant situations with clients

and i also can't really afford to stop taking them because i don't have a job and i'm completely reliant on my parents (bonus that im also studying)

and i need to add that i have a bad habit of taking on more than i can handle (its somewhat related to my condition and i cant control it sometimes)

what should i do? do i just raise my prices until they're high enough that i feel motivated enough to finish commissions? or maybe i could just TRY and open slots instead of taking commissions as they come and avoid getting overwhelmed?

if you do commissions on the regular and have a steady business or just know how to manage your time, i would appreciate some advice

7 notes · View notes

diadraws · 3 years ago

Note

What's your inspiration for ur art?? :0

oopsie this got really long cuz i have a lot to say.. sorry!!! thanks for the opportunity to talk for a bit though haha.

honestly, i wanna say "everything" ... i'm very single track minded, so whenever im doing something my brain is always going "okay, but how can i USE this for art" , i see something cool and i take a pic so i can draw it later, i overhear something funny and i write it down to use as a joke in a comic. it's not always a 1:1 lifting , sometimes i just use that stuff as a jumping off point, and the end product is totally different. i know this approach doesnt really work for everyone, though. i just have a really "go, go, GO!" brain that is always wanting to make pictures and stories so its very natural for me to absorb things and then immediately go into thinking about how i could use it.

but if you mean like, media inspiration? guardians of ga'hoole, invader zim, homestuck, and steven universe are probably the biggest "foundational reading" for my stuff, i think theyve had the most influence on me in terms of the types of stories i like to tell, and how i tell them. amphibia is getting up there though, it really scratches a lot of funny critter and found family itches in my brain. i also like stuff that doesnt take itself TOO seriously, and has kind of dry or morbid humor. stupid stuff thats also frustratingly emotionally mature. i like tone whiplash, i think its funny

i also really like animals a lot. i'm by no means a scientist or any kind of professional, but speculative biology / xenobiology is my favorite aspect of worldbuilding, and i like to do a lot of research on human and animal biology to make stuff as accurate or believable as i can. i watch a lot of animal videos and documentaries, and pre-pandemic times i would go to the zoo and aquarium whenever i could, to take pictures and videos of the animals. art wise i do a lot of animal studies too, i think it shows in my drawings ha ha

i also really like.... sci fi dystopian short stories? none in particular, i just kinda.. enjoy reading a 12 page story written by some guy 50 years ago where the gist of it is just "wow. wouldnt it be messed up if that happened?"

another thing that helped me so much is just not caring what other people think. im making whatever i want. its my art, if people dont like it , they can make their own art where everything is how THEY want it to be. this is a mindset you have to practice , i still get insecure sometimes about how others think of me, or how "well" my stuff does, but in the end i have to convince myself to just let go, and have fun instead of worrying too much.

over all i would say ... my inspiration is to make stuff that i wanna see. i just like take everything i like and throw it in the pot and distill it till i get something that works. this tweet from alex hirsch is my modus operandi

i guess if theres any wisdom i wanna impart here, a midset i think you should adopt... the target audience is me. everyone else is a bonus.

#not art #answers #long post

77 notes · View notes

the-lonelybarricade · 3 years ago

Note

Loved your latest chapter and Im so excited to see what happens under the mountain!

I was wondering if I could request a one-shot?(up to you how long and you can do it in your own time)something along the lines of:

Feyre( from either ACOWAR, ACOFAS or ACOSF) time travels back to ACOTAR, but instead of finding herself back in her human body i the spring court, she's still in her fae body and ends up trapped in velaris, having to explain to the rest of IC who she is and why she cant go free their highlord(add some mistrust from the IC)

🙈🙈Id its very similar to what youre doing rn with your other fic but, if you find the inspiration sometime could you please do this? Ive wanted to read a fic for ages were feyre rime travels and meets pre-acomaf inner circle who dont know/trust her, but Ive never found a fic like that

Thank youuu

Hi lovely anon! It makes me so happy you enjoyed my latest chapter! I’m supposed to be working on a project for uni, but I couldn’t resist gratifying my lovely friends (because you're anon and won't be notified I was getting sad at the idea of you checking my blog and not seeing me respond) <3 I’ll admit I’m a bit scatterbrained at the moment, so I hope it’s okay!

I was having trouble brainstorming a reason for Feyre getting sent back in time because I didn't want to borrow the reasoning from ACoFD. So I was vague and twisted the pre-existing rules around the Ouroboros, and ended up getting quite carried away with the story since I don’t like not giving things a happy ending (even though it’s a little cheesy, sorry)

Anyway, I hope this is what you were looking for! I know you wanted the angst of not being able to save Rhys but... I couldn't just leave my poor bat-boy behind, you know? ;)

Also if this didn't quite scratch that itch, I'm always happy to take more requests

Word count: 4,446

The Ouroboros.

It was a massive, round disc—as tall as Feyre was. Taller. And the metal around it had been fashioned after a massive serpent, the mirror held within its coils as it devoured its own tail.

Ending and beginning.

From across the room, Feyre could not see it. What lay within.

She forced herself to take a step forward. Another.

The mirror itself was black as night—yet… wholly clear.

She watched herself approach. Watched the arm she had upraised against the wind and snow, the pinched expression on her face. The exhaustion.

She stopped three feet away. She did not dare touch it.

It only showed Feyre herself. Nothing.

Feyre scanned the mirror for any signs of… something to push or touch with her magic. But there was only the devouring head of the serpent, its maw open wide, frost sparkling on its fangs.

Feyre stared and stared, but all she saw was herself. There was nothing else. Then—

Feyre woke with a gasp, sitting up in bed to shake away the cobwebs of sleep and the strange, foreboding feeling that felt draped around her shoulders like a weighted cape, pulling her down. It hadn’t been a particularly horrifying nightmare. In fact, it was perhaps of the tamer dreams she’d had in the last year.

Yet something about it clung to her, perhaps a lingering agitation that she’d yet to retrieve the mirror the Bone Carver had requested. That must be it.

The bed space beside her was cold. The sun peaking through the window was not high, it couldn’t be long past dawn. However worrisome her own dream, her mate’s must have been worse to draw him from sleep so early. Worse still for him to sneak away.

Feyre rose from the bed, reaching absently for Rhysand’s dressing robe to wrap around herself. She always loved to steal her mate’s clothes, to be wrapped in his scent.

With gentle steps, she made her way to the study, where she could only assume Rhys had sequestered himself in the lone hours of the night. She’d noticed the weary draw to his shoulders, the dark circles under his eyes. This war was weighing on him heavily, and he was nervous. Feyre wished he didn’t insist on shouldering the burden alone.

“Rhys?” Feyre called softly as she got to the study, knocking on the door before she cracked it open.

Peeking her head around the door, she was met with the sight of Rhysand’s abandoned study. The scattered papers and war maps that had become characteristic of his desk space were surprisingly missing. In fact, the whole space had been cleared away and there was a thick layer of dust on every surface as if no one had been in here in years.

Feyre frowned at the sight, and how different it had been just the day before. Where had all the dust come from? And more importantly, where was Rhys? Perhaps he’d taken a morning flight to clear his head.

Where are you, love? She called to him through the mating bond, but was met with silence.

“Who are you?”

The voice was cold and venomous. Feyre turned, coming face to face with Mor, whose face was twisted into a threatening scowl.

“Mor?” Feyre asked, confused by her friend’s cold demeanor. “What do you mean? Have you seen Rhys?”

Mor’s face turned deadly, a look Feyre had only ever seen from Mor in the Court of Nightmares. “Is that some kind of joke?” she snarled.

Then, before Feyre could process what was happening, Mor had gripped onto Feyre’s wrist and they were enveloped in darkness. They stepped into the House of Wind, into the dining room where Cassian and Azriel abruptly stood up.

“Mor?” Feyre questioned when the blonde didn’t release her steel grip. She looked to Cassian and Azriel quizzically. “Guys? What’s going on?”

Cassian crossed his arms, assessing Feyre with a hostility that put her on edge. “Who’s this, Mor?” he asked gruffly.

Feyre frowned as she watched Azriel reach for Truth-Teller.

“Is this a joke?” she asked, flitting her eyes to each of her friends. Where she sought that friendly warmth in each of their gazes she was met with hard stares, filled with distrust, ready for a brawl. She couldn’t make sense of it. Was this an act Rhys had put them up to?

“I found her in the townhouse,” Mor said. “I don’t know how she got in there. She was in Rhysand’s study.”

“And she’s wearing his dressing gown,” Azriel noted dryly. Cassian did a double glance, his eyes going wide, then narrowing with a rage Feyre had never seen from the male. Certainly never directed at her.

There was a whisper of shadow, then suddenly Azriel was behind her, Truth-Teller poised at her throat.

Feyre startled. “Azriel!” she said sharply. Even if it was a joke, Feyre couldn’t imagine Rhysand would sanction this kind of threat. And the energy in the room was off, the tension too thick. “Stand down.”

“And who are you,” he breathed in her ear, his voice coated in shadow and nightmare, “to command the Shadowsinger of the Night Court?”

“I’m your High Lady,” Feyre answered steadily, not letting Azriel’s shadows, nor cunning voice, shake her resolve. “Now, I don’t know what is going on with the three of you, or what strange joke you’re trying to pull, but you will listen to what I say. Put. Your. Knife. Down.”

“High Lady?” Cassian repeated with a snort of disbelief. “You’ve got balls, little girl.”

Truth-Teller danced across the skin of her neck, pressing lightly enough to intimidate without breaking skin. “Do you even know to whom you speak? You should be bowing before the acting Queen of the Night Court.”

Too stunned to properly resist, Azriel kicked his feet out to knock Feyre to her knees in front of Mor. His fingers slid into her hair, gripping it tightly to pull her head back as Truth-Teller resumed its threatening position at her throat.

“Breaking into the High Lord’s personal residence, impersonating a high position within the Night Court, lying to the Morrigan’s face,” Azriel listed, increasing the pressure of the blade with each transgression. “You throw our High Lord’s generosity and protection in his face, something we as his acting Court do not take lightly.”

“Acting court? Acting Queen?” Feyre repeated, feeling as if she’d woken to a different reality. “What are you talking about? Where’s Rhysand!?”

“We’re the ones asking the questions here,” Cassian growled.

Feyre looked to each of her friends, studying their faces. Beyond their militant expression, she could see their grief. Could smell it. She repeated, “where is Rhysand?”

She felt the snarl that rumbled through Azriel’s chest behind her, vibrating against her back. When the question was once again unanswered, Feyre abandoned all sense of patience.

Darkness exploded through the room. She heard Mor gasp as the walls of the House shook from the might of her power. Feyre folded into the shadows, winnowing out of Azriel’s grasp so she stood in the center of the three of them.

“Az, Cass, Mor, you are my friends and I do not want to hurt you. But I am also your High Lady and you will answer me this instant, where is Rhys? Where is my mate!?”

Siphons gleamed red and blue through the thick tendrils of night, illuminating the Illyrian males’ faces. Cassian’s jaw had fallen open, while Azriel was studying her through narrowed eyes, wisps of shadow surrounding him. Feyre wondered what they were whispering to him.

“Mate?” Cassian echoed, the first to break the heavy silence.

Mor took a cautious step forward, her countenance completely changed. Her pupils were blown wide, twin brown depths churning with sorrow and gentle astonishment. Azriel went rigid at Mor’s approach, but no one moved to stop her as she came face to face with Feyre.

“Where did you get this?” she whispered, taking Feyre’s left hand, eye fixed on her mating band. On the sapphire-star ring that once belonged to Rhysand’s mother.

All eyes befell the subject of Mor’s attention. Cassian swore softly in recognition.

“It’s my mating band,” Feyre answered measuredly, still puzzled that the inner circle, her family, didn’t seem to have any memory of it. Nor of her. “I won it from the Weaver, as was the task set by Rhysand’s mother. But you were all there for that. I don’t understand what’s going on. Where. Is. Rhys?”

“Under the Mountain,” Mor whispered, her voice soft and pained.

The darkness ebbed away like a receding tide. Feyre felt her heart sink as she tried to process this information. “He—What?”

“He’s been Under the Mountain for the last 50 years,” Mor said, firmer this time. “And if you were his so-called mate, you would know that.”

“No,” Feyre said, shaking her head vehemently. “No, that’s impossible. We got out. We��”

This was a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare, and she just hadn’t woken up from it.

“Amarantha’s dead,” Feyre insisted, mostly in an attempt to console the unparalleled grief and panic that were raging inside her. “She’s dead, and Rhys and I got out.”

The grim faces of her friends said otherwise. They stared at her, in unbearable mixtures of pity and horror.

“I think she’s having a mental break,” Cassian said, not unkindly. “Should we get a healer?”

“Let me show you,” Feyre said meekly, casting her magic out to tap on their mental shields.

They all tensed, clearly not aware they’d been in the presence of a daemati. Trained well by Rhys, they all cracked their shields just enough for Feyre to send her conjured memories through. She showed them going Under the Mountain as a human, winning the trials and being resurrected, falling in love with Rhys, and eventually becoming High Lady of the Night Court. In turn, the three of them pushed back their own memories, of the current state of the world. Of Rhysand sacrificing himself so that his Court and Velaris would be safe.

A sob broke out of Feyre. “How is this possible? How am I here?”

It was Azriel who immediately went for the jugular. “More importantly, if you’re here as a High Fae, how is Rhys going to get out? How do we stop Amarantha?”

Feyre fell to her knees, grief-stricken by this realization. She was no longer human. She couldn’t stride in as Tamlin’s human lover and undergo the trials. Feyre had her powers, but they were untested. Would she be able to take on the whole of Amarantha’s court?

“What do I do? How do I save him?” she whimpered, staring in mute horror at her mating band.

Mor tentatively reached forward, laying a comforting hand on Feyre’s shoulder. “Rhys sacrificed himself to keep the people he loves safe. He wouldn’t want you getting yourself killed trying to save him.”

“I have to try,” Feyre answered desperately. “Amarantha she’s…” Feyre couldn’t bring herself to say the word, rape. Not to his family, who wear his sacrifice for them like an open wound. “She’s doing unspeakable things to him. He’s suffering so much. I can’t leave him to that fate. I have to try.”

With renewed conviction, Feyre accepted Mor’s outstretched hand and picked herself to her feet. “Rhys said it himself once. Amarantha’s biggest weapon is that she keeps the High Lord’s power contained. She can’t access them herself. But I… I have access to all the High Lords’ powers. And that bitch has my mate. My wrath will be plenty to take her down.” She faced her friends, who watched her warily. “You have my word as your High Lady,” she swore to them. “The High Queen of Prythian is going to fall by the night’s end.”

⟡⟡⟡

Winter had not yet fallen in the Mortal Lands. Feyre wondered if across the world, there was a version of herself curled in a bed with her sisters, clinging to any shred of warmth and survival.

That version of Feyre was very different from the version who strode up the sloping hills of the Spring Court with Azriel by her side. Rhys would be furious that Feyre had allowed him to accompany her. Should anything go wrong, it would destroy her mate to know his family had been put in harm's way after everything he’d done to protect them. Which was why it was only Azriel who came with, the only compromise she could reach with his Inner Circle, who insisted on coming with.

Who better to sneak into the Mountain with than the very soldier who taught Feyre the art of stealth. He was the obvious choice, since Mor needed to stay to rule the Night Court and Cassian was too heavy-handed to handle such a delicate task.

Their footfall was silent. Feyre wrapped them in the shadow of Night as they winnowed through the cave network. Her heart hammered in her chest, panicked to be back in the source of so many nightmares.

But Rhysand was more important than her fear. For him, she would not falter.

With the Shadowsinger by her side, Feyre snuck through the winding tunnels until she came to a familiar passageway. They slid into a massive, dark bedroom, lit only by a few candles.

To attack Amarantha in the throne room would be too messy. Too many variables to contend with, should Amarantha have enough wit about her to use any faeries as a shield. Especially Rhysand.

After several hours of waiting, the lock on the door clicked and swung open. Darkness swirled around the room as Rhysand took in the sight of Feyre and Azriel on the bed.

Immediately, the door slammed shut.

“No,” he whispered, voice dripping with horror. “No.”

“Rhys—” Feyre started, but her mate wasn’t paying any attention to her. He was looking at Azriel as if his whole world had shattered.

“Leave,” he said, his voice cold and commanding. This was no happy reunion between brothers. This was Rhysand’s worst nightmare. “Leave this instant, you stupid fool. That is, if you’re lucky enough to have avoided detection when you passed under her wards.”

“I took down the wards,” Feyre said. They weren’t particularly strong, either. Amarantha had gotten lazy, perhaps thinking herself secure with the only spell-cleaver under her control. Or so she believed.

Rhys turned that quiet fury towards her. “And who are you?”

“Your mate,” Feyre answered steadily, tipping her chin up.

Rhysand laughed. A desperate, humorless sound. “Then you are just as foolish as my idiot brother. And you have both sealed your deaths by being here. Do you understand that?”

Feyre scratched along those familiar adamantite shields. Rhys’s eyes flickered in surprise, but otherwise he looked unruffled as he cracked a sliver open for her.

It would be unwise to underestimate me, mate.

I wouldn’t be going around boasting about such a thing, if what you claim is even true, came his icy response. And I wouldn’t count on a few party tricks to save you, either.

And what if I told you, she purred, that I possess the power of all seven High Lords?

That, at least, garnered a reaction from the stoic male. He narrowed his eyes in disbelief, studying Feyre carefully. His gaze caught on her hands, at the lace tattoos that flowed to her fingers. And the mating band she still wore.

Feyre watched those violet eyes go wide, the silver constellations dancing in astonishment at the sight of his mother’s ring.

Where did you get that?

It’s a long story, love, but you’re going to have to trust me. She lowered her mental shields completely. Have a look for yourself. I’m telling you no lies. I am your High Lady, and I am here to free my husband.

She felt those familiar talons wrap around her mind. A foolish thing to do, to give a daemati unrestricted access to her mind. And if it were anyone but Rhys, it would have been. But his touch was gentle, and he took only the information he needed.

“I don’t understand how this is possible,” he whispered, breaking the silence of the room. Azriel had been waiting patiently, but looked relieved to be included in the conversation once more. “And I hate that you’ve put yourselves in danger for this, but it could work.”

Rhys considered for a long moment, then he looked between Feyre and Azriel and said, “do it when she’s sleeping. That bitch has been playing dirty for 50 years, you might as well level the playing field to give yourselves the best chance. Let’s do it tonight. I’ll leave the door unlocked, wear her out, and signal you once she’s asleep. Her spell prevents me from harming her, but I’ll make sure she’s restrained. All you have to do is drive the ash dagger through her heart, but have your magic ready for damage control.”

⟡⟡⟡

Feyre and Azriel waited in Rhysand’s bedchambers for his signal. There was a revelry tonight, as there was every night Under the Mountain, and Rhys was expected to be in attendance. Afterwards, he’d join Amarantha in her bed and make sure she was, in his words, “thoroughly exhausted”.

It was torturous for Feyre. To know exactly what the implication in those words were, to have to use her mate’s body in such a way. She wanted to roar at the Mountain, at the Cauldron, at anything that would listen, but instead she was next to the quiet, brooding Shadowsinger, and lamented in silence.

She’d begged Rhys to reconsider, to perhaps help them stage a more physical encounter that didn’t rely on his own suffering. But he’d denied any plan but the one he’d proposed, insisting it would cause him more anguish to but Feyre and Azriel in harm's way.

So they waited the long, agonizing hours until she felt a delicate pull at her chest. She’s asleep, Rhys called. Be on your guard.

He sent her directions to Amarantha’s bedchambers. There were guards outside, but Feyre and Azriel winnowed past them, cloaked in night and shadow.

Amarantha’s bedchambers were huge. Feyre had never been inside them before, but she was unsurprised to see they provided any luxury a High Queen could wish for.

Atop a large bed of red, silken sheets, lay her mate and Amarantha, both stark naked. The smell of sex clung to the air, Rhysand and Amarantha’s scents intertwined. Feyre thought she might be sick.

Even more sickening was the sight before her, of Amarantha’s arms restrained to the headboard in cloth. A clever way for Rhys to restrain her under the guise of sex, but horrifying nonetheless, to see the proof of what they’d been up to. The female was fast asleep, so convinced of her authority that she could fall asleep tied-up and not feel vulnerable doing so. How satisfying, Feyre thought, that such arrogance would be her downfall.

Feyre warded the room, putting up a shield of darkness so that no sound would break through to alert the guards. Rhys watched their approach warily from where he perched beside Amarantha, so still Feyre was convinced he held his breath.

He wouldn’t risk moving to wake her up, which terrified Feyre. Should something go wrong, her mate would be susceptible to Amarantha’s wrath. Naked, vulnerable, and completely under her control. It was such a dangerous game they were playing.

The room was as quiet and still as the bewitching hours of the night, their footsteps silent as they picked across the room. Azriel held the ash dagger. If Rhys could not kill Amarantha, his brother wanted to do it on his behalf. Meanwhile, Feyre summoned tendrils of night that carefully wrapped around Amarantha’s legs, slithering up her body like a snake, ready to constrict and restrain.

The female stirred in her sleep, perhaps feeling the ghostlike touch of Feyre’s magic. But she did not wake. Not as Azriel raised the dagger over her chest, and not as he plunged it down.

Amarantha’s eyes shot open as the dagger pierced her chest. She let out a shriek of agony and ire, moving to claw at her attacker. She raged against the restraints, spewing obscenities until they died at her lips as the blade sunk into her heart.

Rhysand’s chest was heaving as he watched the female still, then slump. He looked from her dead body, to Azriel and Feyre.

Feyre’s heart sank as she watched her mate process that it was truly over. There wasn’t a trace of elation in his eyes at being liberated, but she understood why. Rhys would finally be returning home, but as a much different man than the one he had been. He’d survived, but not unscathed, and he’d need time to process this.

Feyre came to him, reached towards her mate with the hand that bore his mother’s ring. Rhys looked to it, then up to her. His eyes were clouded with sorrow, with a melancholy she could only hope to chip away at in time. But she could see stirring beneath it was a breath of hope, perhaps the first he’d allowed himself in a long time.

“Let’s go home, Rhys,” she said gently.

Slowly, Rhysand nodded, moving to grasp her hand. She felt him jolt at the touch and, as she glanced at him questioningly, she saw his lips part in wonder.

I suppose you weren’t lying about being my mate, he whispered, the words a sensual brush in her mind. Thank you for coming to rescue me, High Lady.

Feyre grasped onto Azriel, and together the three of them stepped into darkness.

Then, they were above the House of Wind, tumbling through the night sky. Feyre unfurled her wings before Rhys could move to catch them, worried that her mate would struggle after 50 years without flight.

Both males stared in astonishment at the sight. Rhysand’s eyes danced in awe as Feyre, albeit clumsily, carried them to the training ring on the roof.

Rhys snapped his own wings open as they landed. Feyre watched him tilt his head back in rapture as he felt the wind against his wings for the first time in decades. Then he opened his eyes, his expression shifting to reverence as he beheld the night sky.

“I was beginning to think I’d never see it again,” he whispered, his voice a heartbreaking blend of exaltation and disbelief. “And for this gift… for my salvation to be courtesy of my mate and of my brother… I’m a bit overwhelmed,” he admitted sheepishly.

Feyre hesitated. If this was the Rhysand from before, the one to which she was mated and married, she would come to comfort him. But this version of Rhys had only just been freed from enslavement, and she didn’t know what he needed.

As though sensing her hesitation, Rhys cast his eyes back to the sky. “I know they’re all waiting for me downstairs, but I’d like a little bit of time with the stars. Will you let them know, Az?”

Azriel nodded, though he seemed conflicted. His reunion with his brother was perhaps not as merry as the male had expected. But right now, she knew the Inner Circle would hardly deny Rhys anything. Perhaps for a long while yet. So Azriel headed downstairs to inform their friends, who were sure to be anxiously awaiting their arrival.

Rhysand regarded Feyre carefully once the two of them were alone. “Mate and High Lady,” he mused. “You seem to wear many hats.”

“You forgot ‘wife’,” Feyre said lightly.

“Yes, and ‘Salvation’, ‘Queen Killer’, ‘Most Beautiful Female in Prythian’, it seems there’s many things I could call you. Could we start with your name, perchance?”

Feyre was shocked. She’d assumed he’d taken such information out of her mind earlier, but it seems he’d been even more respectful than she’d expected.

“Feyre,” she answered. “My name is Feyre.”

He looked wonderstruck. “Feyre,” he repeated, testing the name on his lips. A gentle smile curled at the corners of his mouth, the first she’d seen from him yet. He extended his hand towards her. “Would you like to watch the stars with me, Feyre?”

It was an offer she couldn’t refuse. Her hand found his with all the casual grace of a dancer, as if it were a routine they’d been perfecting their whole lives. Their fingers interlocked and as one, they stared up at the dazzling night sky.

This reality wasn’t perfect, Feyre thought. This Rhys was different from her own, and he still had a lot of healing to do. But if she could be there for him, to help him in a ways she hadn’t before, then she would be grateful to the strange eddies of the Cauldron for bringing her here. For allowing her to end his torment early. For giving them this extra time.

She watched a shooting star dart across the sky and smiled as it passed. There was nothing she could wish for except that her mate find peace in all that he’d endured the last half century.

His deep, velvety voice cut through the silence. “Do you often wish on stars, Feyre?”

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was watching her with a heart-wrenching wistfulness.

“Only when I have a wish worthy of the stars.”

“And do you?”

Feyre looked to the northernmost star, which shined brightest in the sky. “I wished for a light in the darkness,” she told him. “I don’t think the stars would ever begrudge such a wish.”

Rhysand nodded solemnly. “It’s true that they would be begrudging themselves in doing so. But I see no need for you to wish for such a thing.”

Feyre looked to him. He was still watching her, but something in him had shifted. He was smiling at her gently, that lingering sadness already receding. “Why’s that?” she asked cautiously.

That gentle smile widened, showing off his brilliant teeth. “Why, Feyre, to find such a thing, all you’d need to do is look in a mirror.”

#prompt fill #anon request #Feysand #Feysand fic #Inner Circle #Feysand fluff because I can't help myself #mentions of rape #Mentions of SA #acotar #acotar fic #time travel

61 notes · View notes