#like. i like her. but how do i progress???? do i just let things be and wait?

[lowkeyerror]

Congrats on Your Divorce

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Word Count: 4.1k

Notes: Requested, fluff & smut, librarian!reader, divorced!Wanda, smut, fingering, thigh-riding, cunnilingus

Summary: You befriend Wanda, a regular at the library you work at, after learning about her divorce. The friendship becomes something more one day when you come over to help her with her sick kids. As your relationship progresses you even talk about buying a home together, which leads to a physical manifestation of how much you love each other.

An: It took me awhile because I got a little carried away. I hope I did your request justice 🙇‍♀️.

Masterlist

You enjoyed the mundane lifestyle that came with working at the library. There was a comfort that came with knowing that you worked in something of a community center. Being able to provide a service that for some was the highlight of their day. In this day and age having regulars at the library was a rarity, especially the adults. Kids would come after school for homework or for research purposes, but the adults were few and far between.

Technically it may have been weird that you had a favorite but you couldn’t help yourself. There was a woman named Wanda, she’d come once a week ask for a recommendation and sit there the whole day and read it.

She’d always make a comment or two on the book on her way out and it made you smile. It was good to know she appreciated your picks. Though there were other staff members she only really asked you.

When she missed one week, you found yourself discouraged. One week turned to two and so forth until it had been a month since you saw the woman.

“Y/n, it looks like your regular is back. She might need a little assistance,” one of your coworkers approaches you.

“What are you talking about?”

They give you a look that says ‘seriously’, “Ms. Recommendations, she’s in the non-fiction section looking a little worse for wear.”

You nod and make your way over to the section. There you find Wanda. Your coworker was not exaggerating. She looked so fragile as if she was just waiting for the tears to fall. She was staring at the books, but it was easy to tell that she wasn’t really reading anything.

“Looking for anything in particular,” you say softly, trying not to startle her.

She seems to snap out of her trance enough to try and answer you, “No, not today.”

It felt like she was speaking on autopilot. If it were another guest, you would’ve let her be, but this was Wanda. Perhaps it was a bit para-social but it felt like you knew her better than the average customer.

“I- I don’t mean to overstep, but are you alright?”

She lets out a tired sigh, “That obvious?”

You attempt to back track, “No… uh it’s just I haven’t seen you around in a while."

She looks away for a moment, “ Yeah, I um got a divorce. So I’ve been a hermit as of late.”

“Oh, congratulations.”

Wanda can’t help but laugh at your words, “Most people have been saying they’re sorry to hear, but congratulations? It’s kind of refreshing.”

You shrug, “Well I don’t think divorce is always a bad thing. It’s hard for sure, but it’s better than staying in a situation you don't deserve.”

“What if I was in the wrong?’ Her eyes are glued to the floor as she speaks.

“I may be overstepping again, but I doubt that's the case. You don't seem like the kind of person,” your tone doesn't make her argue, instead a look of relief crosses her face.

“I'm not,” she says taking a deep breath.

You smile at her, “Then it’s their loss.”

She smiles back at you, “I guess you’re right.”

Glad to have made her feel even a little bit better, you begin to leave the aisle she's in. You dint get far before there’s a gentle tug on your wrist. You turn back to stare into Wanda’s warm green eyes.

She’s nervous as she speaks, “I don’t know if I’m too old to be doing this, but fuck it. I could really use a friend right now and I was wondering if you’d be open to getting coffee or something, whenever you’re free.”

You stare at her for a few seconds before nodding, “I’m off in about 15 minutes, there’s a café a few blocks over that I think everyone should try at least once.”

Her excitement builds up in her features. She clears her throat to hide it, “I’ll wait for you by the YA novels?”

“Sounds perfect.”

From that day on Wanda wasn’t just a regular customer anymore, she was your genuine friend. She was also one of the sweetest people you had ever met in your life. She was unbelievably strong too.

The details of her divorce were quite messy. A touch of infidelity here and there, mixed with a custody agreement was a recipe for disaster.

You always offered to be there in any way you can’t for. She usually turns down your more serious offers for help, and sticks to fun small outings. You can tell that she’s somewhat embarrassed by her situation, but you don’t think there’s anything she should be embarrassed about.

“Y/n, I know I said I was free to go out today, but Tommy is sick and Billy isn’t doing that great either, can I give you a rain check?”

She called you and you could hear the tiredness and distress in her voice, “Let me come over and help you, Wands. Two sick kids is rough work, I know you could use a hand.”

She’s silent on the line, but the coughs and sinus filled conversation doesn’t stop.

Wanda sighs, “Okay, do you think you can bring me some medicine? I’ll text you some ingredients I need for soup too if that’s alright?”

“Whatever you need, I’ll see you in a bit,” you say simply.

You follow through on your word picking up various cough, cold, and fever medicines along with some cough drops. You nearly forget about the stuff for the soup, until Wanda texts you something she left off the ingredient list. After picking up everything you head to her house.

You’d been to her house before, but never when her kids were there. You had seen them with her a few times at the library, but back then you didn’t quite deduce that they were her children. It feels so obvious now, but Wanda was definitely a young mom in your opinion, or at least she looked like one.

You rang the doorbell and waited with the groceries in your hand. It took a moment but eventually the door swung open revealing Wanda. Though your hands were full, she’s the one who had bags under her eyes. She looked as though she would fall over any second.

“You’re a godsend Y/n,” she tries to take the bags from your hands but you don’t let her.

“And you’re sick too, here I figured this would happen,” you rummage through the bags and pull out a medicine that’s for adults.

“It’s drowsy.”

You nod, “I know, I figured you need the rest anyway, let me handle its.”

Wanda shakes her head, “Are you crazy? You think you can handle my two kids and me on your own?”

You smile at her, “You underestimate me, Maximoff. Let me show you what I can do.”

“We’ll see, but first come meet them properly.”

You sit the bags down in the kitchen, opting to take the medicine upstairs with you. She takes you to their room.

Tommy is propped up in his bed watching as Billy plays videogames from his spot on the floor.

“Tommy, Billy, this is my friend Y/n. She’s going to help us out today,” Wanda introduces you.

“The library lady,” Billy sounds congested as he speaks.

You nod your head enthusiastically, “ Yep, that’s me. I heard you boys were sick, so I brought some stuff to make you feel better.”

Tommy gags, “Ew medicine.”

You sympathize with him, “Ew is right, but it’s worth it I promise. In fact, I’ll sweeten the deal, you guys take your medicine, and I’ll make you the best soup of your life in return.”

“Better than mom’s?” Billy questions.

“ 1 million times better,” you egg him on.

Tommy is more hesitant, “I don’t know.”

You get closer to him, crouching so you can meet his level, “How about when you’re feeling better, we go out to the arcade and get some ice cream too.”

That seems to be enough for the boy, “That sounds awesome.”

While you’re chatting with them Wanda starts to prepare the medicine cups for the boys. They take the medicine with all the dramatics that children do.

“Ok, we’ll be back to check on you guys, shortly. Billy, get some socks baby. Tommy stay under the covers sweetheart."

The both of you exit the room and head back down the stairs. Wanda moves to start unloading the groceries, but you stop her.

“If you’re not going to fully rest, at least sit. I can make the soup,” you point to the barstools she has in her kitchen.

“Are you sure? I can help-"

You block her from opening the next bag. She looks into your gaze, which holds no feeling of malice or resentment. Instead she finds a warn and tender look behind your eyes.

“I’ve got it.”

She listens to your directions and takes a seat

She watches as you prep the ingredients, ever so often asking where she keeps certain things. Otherwise there is a fluid motion to your movements in the kitchen.

“You know you don't have to take them to the arcade just because they took the medicine, right?”

You pause slightly from chopping vegetables to look up at her, “I probably should’ve asked if it was okay with you first, but I don’t mind taking them. They seem like good kids, which isn’t a surprise at all considering they’re your kids.”

She beams at your words, “They’re a little more docile in this state, but they can be a handful at times. We haven’t really had a big outing like that since the divorce, I’m sure they’d appreciate it.”

“Then consider it done, as soon as they’re better let me know. We can all go out and have some fun.”

Wanda can’t help the feeling she gets hearing you talk so nonchalantly about going out with her kids. It’s something like a spark, that she hasn’t felt in a long time. She takes this time to really look at you, you’re stunning. Truth be told Wanda had always found you a little attractive, but she wrote it off as you just being conventionally good looking. However now, with you standing in her kitchen cooking for her and her kids. She’s starting to think it’s more than that.

“Do you like children, Y/n?”

“I have a soft spot for kids, it’s partially why I chose to work at the library. I had kind of a rough upbringing as a kid. It was just me and my mom, and money wasn’t all that great, but I remember her taking me to almost all the community events they hosted at the library. We spent a lot of time there. When I was old enough to go on my own, it was rare that I didn’t go. The library is such a haven for kids it’s one of my favorite things about it.”

Wanda felt herself melting under the sincerity of your words, “That’s really sweet.”

You start cooking down the vegetables before you answer, “Yeah, if I wasn’t so crazy about the library, I would’ve been a chef. I actually applied to a few culinary schools in high school, pretty ambitious but I had won a few competitions. I had offers and full ride scholarships to some of the best schools out there, but I chose to become a librarian instead.”

Wanda tilts her head to the side playfully, “So you weren’t just talking shit when you said you’re going to make a soup 1 million times better than mine.”

You laugh, “Technically I’m using the ingredients that you told me to get, so it’s more like our soup. I’m just tweaking a few measurements and cooking it a little different. It’s like a group project, if you will.”

Wanda laughs even harder, “You’re so full of shit.”

“Language, there are children present.”

Wanda rolls her eyes, “They’re upstairs."

“Children have super good hearing Wanda, trust me, I’m a librarian.”

She shakes her head with a small chuckle. She watches as the soup comes together a lovely aroma fills the kitchen, her mouth waters at just the smell.

“It smells delicious.”

You motion her over to the stove next to you. She scurries over, which makes you smile. She looks utterly adorable and ethereal at the same time. You began to notice it over the last few times you had hung out. Wanda was simultaneously the cutest and the most beautiful woman, you think you’d ever met in your life

“Taste,” you hold a spoon full of soup up for her.

She hesitates a little, but decides to just eat from the spoon while you hold it. Her eyes close as the flavors dance on her tongue. She lets out an involuntary moan, that has her blushing as soon as it leaves her mouth.

“Oh my god, that’s the best soup I’ve ever had in my life,” Wanda stares at you in awe.

“I hope the boys think so too.”

Wanda helps you fill the bowls for them, “They’re going to love it.”

True to her words the boys devour the soup going as far as to ask for seconds. Neither of you can deny them another bowl. Once they eat, you can see the food working in tandem with the medicine to tucker them out. Before they’re completely out of it you and Wanda get them ready for bed.

It feels more normal than either of you expected. By the time you’re done, both twins are now in bed. The tv plays something at a low volume, but you and Wanda are both aware that the kids will likely be asleep as soon as you leave the room.

When you leave you head back to the kitchen fixing 2 more bowls of soup for Wanda and yourself. You eat amongst each other with small chatter, but it’s comfortable. When you’re done, you almost have to fight Wanda to allow you to do the dishes.

She pouts, once again sitting at the barstool watching you clean.

“You haven’t let me help this whole time,” she whines.

“I’m here to help you, not the other way around,” you remind her.

Wanda places her hands on her hips, “But if you’re doing everything, what am I supposed to do?”

“Just sit there and look pretty,” you say without thinking.

Wanda feels her face heating up, losing track of how many times it has happened today alone, “Look pretty, huh?”

You can feel your ears heating with embarrassment, “oh I- well.”

“Oh my god are your ears turning red, that’s literally adorable. Are you flustered, Y/n?” Wanda teases.

You glare at her with faux-anger, “My ears? Your cheeks are just as red.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about?”

You wash your hands, quickly drying them before approaching her. You keep walking until there is virtually no space between the two of you. You look down at her, you don’t stop your eyes from dropping to her lips.

“Oh really?”

She looks up at you, her cheeks indeed, red like you had mentioned.

“And if they were?”

“Maybe I’d say that it’s adorable,” you use her words against her. “Or maybe…”

“Maybe what?” Her eyes dart to your lips.

You look back into her eyes, “Maybe, I’d kiss you.”

“I’d like that.”

That was all you needed to hear. She met you halfway and, in an instant, you were kissing. Your hand rested on the small of her back, while her hands locked around your neck. It was cliché but it was cute. The kiss itself was respectable, but still filled with a feeling of longing.

Wanda’s hands drop from your neck to lightly push you back, “I’m divorced with two kids Y/n-"

You stop her before she can even rant, “I know, Wanda. I’ve been here, maybe not the whole time, but most of it. I don’t care that you’re divorced and I’d love to get to know your kids. I’d love to get to know you better.”

“I feel like you already know me, Y/n. We’ve been friends for over a year now. We’ve spent so much time together, I’m just surprised you’re not tired of me yet.”

You take her hands in yours, “I could never get tired of you. I’m quite literally asking for more. Let me take you out some time.”

“Are you sure?”

It’s bold, but you place a quick kiss on her lips, “Positive."

From there things just seem to fall into place. You kept your promise to the boys, taking them out when they recovered from their sickness. Wanda was impressed by how well you mingled with them considering her ex always seemed to struggle to relate. However you, had no problem tapping into that childlike like amazement that the kids felt.

Soon after that outing, you and Wanda went on your first real date. You took her out to a nice restaurant. It was an upscale establishment, the prices weren’t even on the menu. Wanda tried to fret about how she didn’t know if she deserved this kind of treatment, but you always reassured her.

You believe she deserved the best and as long as you could give it to her you would.

It only took 4 dates before you asked her to be you girlfriends, not being the best at waiting. Luckily for you she agreed and truth be told if you would’ve asked her on the first date she probably would’ve said yes then.

At this point you’ve been dating for a little over a year. The twins are with their father for the weekend, and Wanda is staying over at your apartment.

The two of you are on the couch. She’s resting in your arms as you watch tv, “Wanda.”

She looks up, “Yes, detka.”

“How attached are you to your house?”

Her eyebrows furrow, “Why?”

You hold her gaze, “Is it crazy if I say that I want us to live together?”

Wanda plays with your fingers, “No, I don't think so.”

You kiss her forehead, “It’s just a thought.”

“You want to buy a house?”

You nod curtly, “We don't have to leave the area, I know the boys have school and I wouldn't want to pull them away or make them start fresh or anything, but I’ve been looking at some homes in the area. Something a little bigger, Billy and Tommy could both have their own room and a huge backyard. Maybe a dog, in the future.”

Wanda cups your face gently, pulling you down to kiss her, “I would love to buy a home with you Y/n.”

“Really?”

Wanda kisses you again, “Really.”

“I love you,” your eyes softening as the words fall from your lips.

“I love you too.”

Your lips are connected again, this time neither of you break the kiss. Instead Wanda shifts in your lap to straddle your waist. Her hands playing with the tiny hairs on the back of your neck. Your hands start at her thigh but end up sliding up to her hips, and soon your fingers are in contact with the cool skin of her stomach.

You aren’t able to stop yourself from kissing down her jaw. She moves her hair and cranes her neck to give you more access. Your teeth sink into her neck only for your tongue to soothe the skin. You suck the spot tenderly, causing little whines to emanate from Wanda.

“Y/n,” your name is breathless on her lips.

She doesn't have to say anything else for you to stand up with her still in your arms. You carry her to the bedroom. Once you’re in there and her feet are on the floor, you pull her shirt off. Yours follows after.

Wanda feels herself getting wet under your gaze. The way you take in her bare chest, eyes blown with want. While you stare she gets rid of the rest of her clothes. You eagerly do the same.

You pull her flush against your body. Skin heating upon contact.

“You’re perfect,” your thumb toys with one of her nipples.

Your head dips to take it into your mouth. You suck lightly, ever so often slowly fanning your tongue over the nipple. You do the same to the other nipple, while your hand cups her warmth. You moan at her wetness.

“ I need you,” she whispers.

You kiss her tenderly, backing her onto the bed. You’re gentle as you ease two fingers into her. She arches her back slightly, and her kiss becomes sloppier.

You’re in no rush as you slowly build pace. Her finger nails dig into your back.

“More please,” she buries her head in your neck.

You begin pumping at a faster pace, using your thumb to stimulate her clit. Her ragged breaths in your ear only turn you on even more.

You jolt as you feel her hand in-between your legs. Her fingers play through your folds and you hear her gasp in your ear.

“All for me baby?”

You nod, “All for you, Wands. Can I taste you, baby?”

“Fuck,” Wanda murmurs.

She pulls her fingers from you, signaling for you to suck them. You take them in your mouth, swirling you tongue around the digits, high off of your own taste.

Once her fingers exit your mouth, you maneuver down her body. You momentarily take your fingers out of her. She doesn’t have time to complain before you’re sucking on her clit.

“Holy shit,” she entangles her hands through your hair.

You keep eye contact with her as you lick, suck, and slurp her pussy. She throws her head back, taking her lip between her teeth. You can see sweat illuminating her body.

Soon you add your fingers back and you can feel her approaching her edge.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she keeps repeating the mantra as she reach her peak.

You don’t stop when she cums on your tongue, only slowing your motions, to help her come back down.

“You did so good for me baby,” you say kissing up to her lips.

She shifts so her thigh is against your dripping cunt, “Your turn, my love. Use me.”

You see her flex her thigh, which causes you to moan, “Fuck, Wanda.”

Your hands rest on her shoulder as you begin to grind down on her. Her hands are on you, but the movements are all yours. Wanda watches with blown eyes as you fuck yourself on her thigh. Her hands climb up your sides to massage your breasts. You bite your lip as her fingers play with your nipples.

Wanda sits up slightly, just enough to get her mouth on your body. She sucks on near the top of your breasts, trailing hickeys across.

“I love it when you make a mess on my thigh, cum for me, moya lyubov.”

You cum all over her thigh. Her arms wrap around your midsection holding you steady as you shake. Her head rests against your chest, listening to your wild heart beat return to normal. She places a delicate kiss on your shoulder.

“I love you.”

You kiss the top of her head, “I love you too.”

Once you’re both cleaned up, you settle in bed for the night. You’re start out as the big spoon but soon Wanda turns to face you.

“I was so scared before you came into my life,« she admits.

“Wanda-"

She shakes her head, “Let me finish. I was so lost, I didn't know what to do, if there was anything I could do to feel like myself again. There were so many days I went through thinking I was unlovable. Then you show up, and all of those feelings and thoughts just leave. I’ve never felt so cared for. You make me remember all of the things I love about myself. You make love seem so easy, it feels obvious when you’re with me. I’ve never experienced a love like you’ve given me and I need you to know I love you too. I’ve never felt what I feel for you with anyone else.”

Wanda starts out loud and sure, but by the end her voice is quiet. She doesn’t break eye contact, fighting against her insecurities.

There are no more words shared between the two of you. Wanda kisses you with everything she is feeling and you return her fervor. She pecks you again before burying her head in your chest. You hold her tightly in your arms wondering how you ended up being so lucky.

Her words make emotion swell inside of you. Your voice cracks when you speak, “You are the love of my life. I was doing alright before, but you and the boys are truly everything I’ve been missing in my life. Getting to be with you, a part of your family, it means everything to me Wanda. Thank you, for letting me love you.”

[a-lurking-fae]

It's 7 in the morning but I HAD TO WRITE THIS DOWNNN

What if Fontainian!Reader + A/B/O dynamics + ill reader?? But the reader isn't an omega, no. They'd be a beta, and as we know, betas aren't that suseptive to pheromones at all, some not even noticing it.

In a family filled with strong Alphas, a simple beta is just... there? A weak beta that's quite out of place, are you really sure you belong there?

You don't notice how people run from you. They're scared of you for some reason? You don't notice the furious pheromones of your family when someone tells you you're a stain.

Whenever Bruce lectures you, that's the only time you actually talk to him. You don't know that he as been emmiting pheromones that literally scream "It's ok." or "Don't be scared."

No. He's straight up intimidating, he doesn't know you can't smell pheromones, he never really took the time to know you. You could've been an omega and he would even know. So you think he's super angry!

But, apparently Bruce can't help the bitch face and rough tone (っ ͡ ͡º - ͡ ͡º ς). Now if Fontainian reader was sick, I don't mean like terminal diseases from earth— I'm thinking about the abyssal corrosion. If the reader was an adventurer, it wouldn't be a surprise if they ran into the abyss.

But let's add the fact your the Hydro Archon's granddaughter, and the fact that your also the Hydro Dragon's granddaughter! You'd make such a good target, if your cursed, you don't have much to lose anymore.

So you pack your bags and leave for Fontaine, leaving the family for good. So you left a note for Alfred, telling him all about your situation. He'd be distressed! Alfred would tell Bruce, convincing him to get you. You were his daughter, why would he leave you to die!

Bruce promised himself that he wouldn't let another of his kids die, but here you were, that thing in your system killing you painfully and slowly.

Bruce knows about Teyvat, that's where your mother was from. He never met your grandparents, he'd like to know them now. The family faces another problem though, how do they get there?

Dick would skimm through your journals and diary, trying to find any clues on how to to you. But you've written it in another language, something that never existed in earth. And if you were well-versed in most languages in Teyvat, you guys know that when your super angry, sometimes you speak in all of them.

So instead of Tim and Barbara finding a pattern in your stuff, it's filled with multiple mixes of mysterious languages. Any progress would end up with another dead end.

Duke is absolutely happy, the both of you were the same age! Basically twins, both your birthdays a few days apart. You were the only sense of normalcy that he always craved, something most of the fucked-up-and-traumatized family members couldn't do. But when you left, that sense of stability started to fade. He worries about you day-and-night, he hopes that you'll be home soon.

Cass would learn normalcy from you, she was a trained weapon, she didn't have any clue what to do with you. After all, you always did your best to understand and teach her about emotions. She appreciates you a lot. You took care of her when she was sick, bandaged her up when she was injured, and baked her snacks. She wants to experience it with you again.

Damian's family is very much traditional. So he most likely would be angry, how could you leave them? Not only are they capable Alphas, but they're powerful as well. It was your adventuring in that world that got you sick. You should have simply stayed at home. When you get back to the mansion, you'll sit tight until they find a cure.

If it was Nicer!Damian, then he would be angry at himself. He wasn't enough for you to stay in Gotham, he promises that he'll be a better brother. He knows you could die any time there with the abyss and all! He nags Bruce and Tim to find you faster. Motivating them with the fact Teyvat is dangerous, wars there are going on! It was finished, also, Inazuma was far as fuck!

All-in-all, they'd do everything in their power to reach you, so they'd recruit the Justice league, especially Diana. She's well versed in these stuff after all. The Al Ghul's would help too. Checking family records if there were any thing pertaining to Teyvat.

Meanwhile, in Teyvat. You're swimming with the sea lions with Neuvilette and Furina, who took time off to spend time with their grandchild.

[hemi-demi]

Sorry, having sad Martin thoughts again.

So there's this particular scene from episode 144. I for some reason forgot this happened in my first two listens (how, idk. S4 makes me feel a lot), then caught it on my third.

This is the second time we hear Daisy coming to talk to Martin in his office while he's working for Peter.

Cold AF. Hurts like hell to hear. You can understand his distrust of her, she tried to kill Jon, threatened to pin him with the murder of Jurgen, and Jon almost died again saving her from the coffin. All that tracks.

But that's not what's happening here. Because this follows immediately after:

Daisy kept coming around the office, getting friendly. Martin knew Peter was around and, if he saw anyone constantly hindering his progress of becoming a part of the Lonely, would have sent her right to it.

But he couldn't just be nice, or didn't feel like he could. Can't give a proper warning when Peter could be anywhere, and if he's too light a touch, she might see it as a call for help and keep hanging around.

So he does the only thing he can, tells her to piss off. It works. He's more lonely than ever, severing yet another connection he was even starting to form again, but she's safe from Peter now.

Which, I have to reiterate, he could have just let Peter deal with her. He is probably harboring a lot of jealousy for Daisy right now. He can't be anywhere near Jon, but now suddenly Jon and Daisy are spending time licking their wounds and listening to the Archers. And Martin is a pretty petty person. He could have kept her talking until Peter got bored and sent her away. Job done.

But he didn't. He readily admits to not really liking anyone here, and not believing anyone likes him either, but he's still trying to keep people safe. Not just Daisy – the entire institute

He's been single handedly keeping half the Institute from being vanished into the Lonely. And he does it because of Jon.

He doesn't like Daisy, but Jon does. Jon nearly died saving her. Jon did die attempting to save everyone. So when Jon didn't wake up from his coma, even though Martin was falling into his own despair, he decided to make the best of whatever life was left in him to honor Jon's memory and keep the others safe.

And there's just something about Daisy in particular being the one to reach out to Martin, as well. She knows what it looks like when you start to give yourself to the Fears. She tried to throw out a life preserver, but if Martin took it, it could have dragged her down too. Or at least, it's how he felt (depression will do that to you. You're not worth saving, and if anyone attempts to do so, then they'll only get hurt, so why even bother asking for help?)

Yet another "I don't know how to end this ramble", but just – ugh. This man hurts me. I will never be okay about this goddamn show.

[ohmystaxk]

For there is beauty | Chapter Two: Progress takes time

[MASTERLIST] | [CHAPTER 1] | [NEXT] (01/10/25)

Tags/Warnings: No Viktor in this chapter, Academy burnout, Jayce taking care of Reader, Jayce is so touchy, Cait and Reader being girls (I love my babies, your honor!!), Accidental fake dating, Accidental flashing, Not Beta Read.

Summary: After meeting Viktor at the library, it was time to head back to Jayce and Cait. Another day in your routine, just like any other, except you started feeling the effects of burnout after months of working hard.

Suddenly, Cait asks a question that makes you answer in a very shocking way. Why did the girl have to be so curious?

I have created playlists that I encourage you to listen to while reading (spotify, yt music and apple music) this fic!

spotify yt music apple music

Tracklist:

1. Vienna by Billy Joel 2. Matilda by Harry Styles 3. Birds of a feather by Billie Eilish

You knocked on the door three times. The books were still in your hands as you heard footsteps approaching from the other side. The door slowly opened, and in front of you stood Jayce as he looked behind him. His cologne was the first thing you noticed, perhaps it had been the sudden start to your day, but you did not remembered him wearing that cologne. He finally turned his head your way.

“There should be a pencil there somewhere.” He spoke to who you could only assumed to be Cait. His eyes met yours, and his teeth flashed as he smiled. You always liked the tooth gap on his front teeth, and you especially liked how sharp his canines looked. “Hey, you’re back!”

“Told you I wouldn’t take long.” You shrugged, tilting your head to the side waiting for him to let you in.

Jayce nodded, he leaned over and took your books from your hands. “Come in, eat your food before it gets cold.”

He smelled like bergamot, with a hint of rosemary and cedarwood.

“Are you wearing the cologne I gifted you?” you asked with a grin. To that, the man nodded with a frown.

“Yeah. I ran out of mine.” Jayce opened the door wider, giving you space to walk in. “You have good taste.” He kicked the door closed behind him.

“When do I not?”Jayce laughed as he trailed right behind you.

You reached your workbench and sat down on the stool. He put down the stack of books on the table.

When you placed down your bag, you started fishing for your notebook. The man turned around and headed towards Cait, the girl had sat down on a stool next to Jayce’s workbench, taking a bite from her food as she seemed to write things down on a piece of paper.

“So, Cait.” You started, placing down your notebook and a pile of your research notes on the table; your pencil had been the last thing. “No strange women today?” You could not help the grin that appeared on your lips.

“Nothing to report.” She said once she finished her bite.

“Good.” You nodded with a smile when Jayce narrowed his eyes at you.

“Well, except that he didn’t get a discount this time.” Cait leaned over the bench, writing some more.

“Oh, really?” You opened your notebook, flipping through the pages.

“The lady at the counter was not there today.” Cait then took another bite.

“She was sick,” Jayce explained and grabbed his food, as well as yours, and walked to you. “So, the older lady was in today.”

“What a shame, could’ve tried charming her pants off to save yourself a pretty coin.” You reached for the book on top of the stack, but Jayce placed the food in front of you and pushed the stack away from your reach.

“A bit more decorum, please.” Jayce tilted his head towards Cait. You raised your hands and smiled at him with tight lips, guilt on your features.

“My bad.” You said, crossing your leg on top of your thigh, and putting your hands down to fix the wrinkles on your skirt.

Jayce’s eyes followed your movements and then quickly shifted back to your food.

“Please eat before it gets colder.”

With full stomaches, the three of you began working. You and Jayce talked, and he would write on the chalkboard as you looked at the notes you wrote the day before. During that time, Cait would work on her homework, sometimes speaking up to ask for some help here and there. It was a routine, one that worked so well between the three of you. Jayce would sit down once in a while, his back to the bench as he leaned back, his elbows on the surface. You would stand up and pace around the room with your notebook in hand and your pencil tapping your forehead. Then the words began to look foreign as you tried to read them again, and again. You sighed heavily, turning around too quickly and tossing your notebook and pencil harshly on your workbench.

You walked to the glass door of the balcony, opening the doors, and going to lean over the railing. At this point, sunset was beginning to set. Time always went by faster when working on Jayce’s project. The complexity caused your brain to shut off the outside world. You decided it was best to simply take a break out there, the fresh air hugging your lungs so well.

Then you glanced to the horizon, from where you stood you could see parts of Zaun. A chill went up your spine, you could hear your father’s voice in the back of your mind. ‘ We have to work five times harder than they do. We have to show them who we are.’

A hand came to your lower back, you felt another shiver as you felt fingers trailing up to rest between your shoulder blades.

“You doing okay?” Jayce leaned his arm against the railing, leaning close to you.

You let out a sigh.  Closing your eyes tightly.

“It still feels surreal.” You let your head hang low.

“What does?” Jayce’s hand went down to your lower back, staying there as he leaned over even more.

“Making it out.” You said, the words tasted wrong in your mouth. “I know how much my parents have worked to give me a good life, one better than the one they had in Zaun.”

Your mind brought you back to when you were only eight, hiding behind the door of your bedroom as you heard your father talk with someone.

“Do you think this is easy? Do you think I am not scared ?” Your father spoke, hand slamming against the old dining table . “I have a wife and daughter to take care of, my priority is them. I care about this place! But I will not put them at stake here, I was given an opportunity, so I will take it.”

There was silence, a deafening one as you heard your father’s heavy breathing. Followed by a heavy sigh.

“I know.” The voice came from another man, you don’t remember his name anymore.

“I am tired of working in the mines, V. I am tired of coming home and barely being able to make ends meet with the poor fucking excuse of a payment I receive. Zoila is growing sick, I need to get them out of here.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

“I don’t want to disappoint them.” You whisper, holding the rail tightly with your hands.

“You don’t,” Jayce says back softly, his hand traveling to your right shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “They know how hard you work, just how much you put into your studies.”

“I have worked on this for months, Jayce.” You turn to meet his eyes, and you want to look away. He looks deep into yours, he shows a softness and worry in them. “The words are all meshing together, they don’t even make sense.”

“You have to remember why you are doing this. Progress takes time.” He smiles gently at you, giving you a small shove.

You notice the sun starting to set, the golden glow making his skin vibrant. His eyes are even lighter, they shine like honey as they stare back at you. You can’t help when your eyes fall on his lips, a nice plumpness to them. You force yourself to glance back at him, but his eyes seem a bit darker now.

“I’m heading home!” Cait’s voice breaks you out of Jayce’s hold. You turn to look at the girl as she looks up from her spot, her eyes widening a bit. “It’s getting late.” She points out.

“I’ll walk you home.” You say, turning around and heading back inside. “I will work on this tomorrow.”

“I will take her home. Is closer to my place.” Jayce spoke from behind you.

“I want her to take me.” Cait put her bag across her chest, and her bright blue eyes stared at you. “If that is okay?”

Jayce stopped next to you. He looked at the girl before looking at you, he placed both hands on his hips.

“Sure can, Cait.” You said with a smile. You started grabbing your bag and putting everything you needed back inside. “I will probably stop by my parents’ on the way back.”

When you finally had everything ready, you turned around, bumping into Jayce.

“Don’t get home too late, alright?” You said, and took a step to the side, but he was just looking at you, his head tilted to the side. You frowned, narrowing your eyes as his eyes softened a bit. Oh, of course . “You are impossible, Talis.” 

You rolled your eyes before you stepped on your toes and leaned forward, placing a hand on his chest for support. You could see a smile forming on his lips as you placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

“That’s better, doll.” He placed a kiss on your cheek. “Say hi to your mom for me.”

You slapped his chest and stepped back. It had become a habit of his since he was fourteen, to kiss your cheek goodbye. ‘ My mom told me it’s polite .’ He had told you that it was something older people did when greeting or when leaving where his mother was from. And it is something he always did from then on.

“Tomorrow around the same time?” You walked past him.

“Yeah, I will pick you up. Will you stay over at your parents?”

“Yeah.”

Cait and you were not far from her home, the two of you talked the whole way there. You asked her about school and how that was going. She asked you about your research and noticed how stressed you looked back in the workshop. You joked with her, and you even stopped on the way to grab pastries for the two of you. Caitlyn liked being around Jayce, and so did you, but even you were aware of how nice it was to just be around her. Just two girls talking about everything and nothing at all. She was smart, witty, and always so curious. And for her, it was nice to just be able to ask you about things only you understood.

“Oh! And you should have seen her face when I shot right in the center.” She smiled big, her eyes widening as she spoke. “The target was so far, and I still hit it .”

“That’s great!” You shoved her playfully, smiling wide as you could not help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “I told you, no one will be able to mess with you.”

“Thanks,” She took a bite from her pastry.

“So, when do you have your next lesson?” You took the last bite from yours.

“Next week.” She cleaned her lips with a napkin.

“Well, you have to tell me how that goes.” When you said that, she nodded, but not before she went quiet.

Cait looked at you, then looked away. She held her pastry closer to herself.

“Is something wrong?” Your voice softened, frowning as you leaned down a bit to catch her face. “You can tell me, you know?”

“How come-.” She paused, looking your way this time. “How come you and Jayce are not together?” Her question made your brain go blank.

You stopped in your tracks.

“What?” You laughed in confusion.

“I mean, you two are always together. As friends . But, you like him, don’t you?” The question finally settled, and your heart started beating fast as you felt heat rush to your face.

“A-are you pulling my leg?” Another laugh escaped you. “Real funny, Cait.”

“No, I mean…Jayce always talks about you, all the time . And when it’s just you and me, you also talk a lot about him.” She explained.

“That’s because we care about each other. Friends talk about one another.” You walked to the trash can near you, and dumped your napkin.

“Do you talk about me?” You suddenly choked on your spit.

“W-we do…” She narrowed her eyes at you. “Okay, you got me there. But Jayce and I are just friends , we have known each other for years now. And yes, we are always around the other, but it’s because we are lab partners, we work together.”

“He is always a little too close to you.” She grimaced at the words.

“That’s how Jayce is, he is just a big…physical-touch type of person. Me, on the other hand, not so much. But he is always so…touchy?”

“Three ‘buts’ so far,” She took another bite and placed a hand on her hip. “I saw you two at the balcony, that seemed pretty close.”

“He was trying to comfort me. Listen, Cait. You have not seen Jayce when he actually likes someone. He is all smiles and compliments, he uses every charm in the book. He gives them this…stupid smile that shows his teeth, and he laughs as he tilts his head while he gives them the eyes -.”

“The eyes?” She frowned with confusion.

“Don’t worry about that.” You quickly realized where you were heading. “I don’t like Jayce. And he doesn’t like me, we are friends.”

“Well, it sounds to me like you do.” She shrugged with a sly smile.

You rolled your eyes, more heat on your face this time.

“Let’s get you home before your mom gets someone to come looking for you.” You looked away as you started walking again. Then you heard a gasp, you turned to look at Cait.

“You do like him!” She said a little too loud for your liking, pointing a finger at you. You quickly signaled her to keep quiet.

“No, I do not.” You shook your head.

“Yes, you do! For how long?” She ran to the trash can and threw her pastry away.

“Okay, I am going to keep walking.” You heard Cait quickly sprint your way.

“Why are you trying to avoid my question?” She frowned. “He likes you, I can tell.”

You sighed heavily and brought a hand to your face.

“I don’t like Jayce.” You felt your heart throb painfully as you said that.

“Why not?” She walked in front of you, turning to face you as she walked backward. “It’s not like you are not always jeal-.”

“Because I already have a partner!” You blurted out, both of you stopping in your tracks. The two of you stared at each other in shock.

“What!?” She frowned as she stared at you in utter confusion.

“Huh?”

“D-does Jayce know?” Her voice lowered, leaning forward as if the conversation was now a secret.

“N-no, he doesn’t and you can’t tell him, alright?” You pointed at her.

Why does she have to be so curious?

“Why not?” She crossed her arms at you.

“B-because…” Fuck, why would Jayce not know? You wanted to hit your head against a wall. “Because you know how he is.” Great work, genius.

“Which is?” She narrowed her eyes, arms still crossed.

“He is protective, he will want to know them, maybe even test them or something.” You wanted to keep walking, to get back to your parents’ house and fall face-first on the couch.

“Who is it?” Cait asked, and you should have known she would. “I won’t tell him. I promise.”

You knew people, you had a couple of friends from the Academy. But you were sure Cait knew most of them from when she would tag along with you and Jayce at the Academy, it had to be someone she didn’t know. You tried to think, of someone, just anyone. Then there it was, your mind flashed you those amber eyes you would see during lectures, of that pretty shade of brown hair, and of the two moles adorning his face.

“Viktor.” You said, feeling proud of yourself for quickly coming up with a name.

“Counselor Heimendinger’s assistant?” As soon as she said that, you felt your heart drop to your stomach.

“You know him?” You felt the heat from your face completely leave. “H-how?”

“I have seen him whenever I go with my mother to some meetings.” She scratched the back of her head, head tilted to the side as she raised an eyebrow. “Is he not…a bit too quiet?”

“Just a little, but he is nice.” You shrugged, a guilty smile on your face. Please forgive me, Viktor. “But, you can’t tell Jayce! O-or mention me to Viktor.”

“Well, I don’t talk to Viktor. But, why should I not mention you?” This time you started walking, and Cait followed you immediately.

“I will tell you later, let’s just get you home.”

When you woke up the next morning, you almost forgot you were not in your apartment. The old bed creaked as you stretched out your limbs, the springs digging into your ribs. You sat down on the bed, your old room was still how you left it when you moved out. Old posters of science fairs, drawings, and paintings you and your mother made together. On your nightstand sat two picture frames, one of you and your parents when you were about fifteen. The other was of Jayce with an arm wrapped around your shoulders, both of you with big smiles as you held a science fair award; you were sixteen, and was Jayce seventeen. You kept forgetting to take them with you.

You stood from your bed, your mother’s night dress falling down your thighs. You walked out of your room, the smell of food overtaking your lungs, making your stomach growl. You turned the corner to the kitchen and immediately paused. Seated at your kitchen table was Jayce, a cup of what you knew to be coffee in his hand. Your mother was at the stove, she laughed as Jayce said something to her. You normally did not care about what you looked like in the morning, Jayce was used to seeing you in your nightwear, but your mother was a different story. The nightgown was long, but not too much, it was loose, but the color was off-white, and it was too thin for your liking. It was the first thing your mom had pulled out of the drawer, you were just supposed to sleep with it. You took a step back; you still had time to go and change.

Then the wood floor creaked under the weight. And Jayce turned to look your way, a smile on his face.

“Hey, you are finally awake.” He looked back towards your mom, but not for long. His eyes flicked a little too quickly towards you.

Don’t say anything. You mouthed at him, widening your eyes while you pointed at him.

Jayce cleared his throat, his eyes falling on the nightgown. You knew he would not shut up about it, and would probably tease you later. It was your mom’s fault for not simply giving you a shirt and pants, or at least something of your dad. Well, no, you should have just dressed up before coming out here.

“Good morning, baby. You woke up right on time.” Your mom was still facing the stove. “Jayce here was telling me about the progress on the Jet Tech.” She waved the wooden spoon around, and some liquid flew in the air.

“Hextech, mom.” You sighed. “Good morning.” You looked back at Jayce and to your surprise, he was still looking at you, but when he realized you saw him. He cleared his throat again, focusing his attention on his coffee.

“How about you take a seat and I can-.” Your mom cut herself off, you looked at her and watched as her eyes were wide, quickly making her way to you. “Actually! Help me with something.”

You frowned as your mom grabbed you by your shoulders, turning you around and making the two of you walk back toward your room.

“What do you need-.”

“Baby, the dress is a bit too see-through.” She whispered to you, and you immediately felt your face grow hot.

“What!?” You choked out, trying to look behind you, but Jayce was downing his coffee.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice which one I gave you.” You hurried to your room, swinging the door open and going straight to the mirror.

“Is this even meant for sleeping?” You spoke with horror as you noticed how sheer the dress was.

“Well…” Your mom leaned over the door frame, also looking at your reflection.

“I don’t want to know.” You hid your face in the palms of your hands.

“I will go and serve you both some breakfast.” She closed the door behind her.

It was no wonder Jayce was staring, even with the loose fabric, you were able to see underneath it. With dark lighting, it looked normal and modest. Just, not with the sunlight coming from the kitchen. You had practically flashed Jayce on a random morning, at your parents' house. You groaned into your hands.

What a way to start the day.

Taglist: @mommymilkers0526 @crvcified-kinx @night-fall-moon

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[riinniies]

RIN ITOSHI X FEM! READER

Plot : Soulmate AU, Red string of fate.

Fluff! This is PART TWOOO!! I've done my assignment hours ago (like 4 hours ago), btw, idk why i'd like to skip things.. hehe, Tsundere! Rin, Calm reader, Strangers to friends and then to loverrr <333!!

Words count : 2717

PART ONEE ! !

BONUS CHAPP ! !

My writings

Hope you like itt!!

After the awkward but honest conversation, Rin finally gave in. Bachira, who had kept teasing and almost forcing him, made Rin feel like there was no other option but to surrender. "I’ll send the message, right?" Rin said in a flat tone, trying not to show the awkwardness taking over him.

You just nodded, letting out a small laugh. "Yeah, sure."

Bachira, now standing next to Rin, flashed a wide smile. "What are you waiting for, Rin? You don’t even need to wait. Just send the message now!"

Rin shot Bachira a sharp look before reluctantly pulling out his phone. "This is just a formality," he said, though his fingers were already typing your number.

You received the message, and instantly, that strange feeling filled your chest again. There was an unexplainable tension—an emotion that blended hope and fear.

"I’ve sent a message," Rin said, his voice softer than before, though still uncertain. "Don’t contact me too often."

You gave a small smile. "Of course,"

After that, you and Rin exchanged goodbyes. You walked back toward your father and family, while Rin and Bachira continued their carefree conversation by the beach.

You felt a bit relieved, though your heart was still adrift with emotions you couldn’t quite explain. That thread, which once felt so heavy, now seemed like a thread leading toward an uncertain direction.

••••

Your family was sitting at the dining table, seemingly ready to head to the beach. Your father greeted you with a wide smile. "Did you rest well? Don’t forget to enjoy your time, okay?"

You nodded, offering a faint smile, trying to hide your mixed emotions. "Of course, Dad. I feel better."

However, inside, something still troubled you. What should you do now? Fully accept fate? Or should you pull back and forget everything?

Your phone vibrated in your pocket, and you immediately checked the sender—Rin.

Rin: "Maybe we can talk more later. But I really don’t know how this will turn out. Just… don’t expect too much."

You stared at the message, feeling a mix of emotions that were hard to describe. Even though Rin said that, there were things that couldn’t be denied. There was a pull, a connection, and it would remain between you two, even if there were no guarantees.

With slightly trembling hands, you replied:

You: "I’ll be patient, Rin. I don’t expect much, but I want to get to know you better."

You looked at the phone screen for a moment before slipping it back into your pocket. It felt strange, but also relieving. Perhaps this was a slow start, but it was the first step in this unexpected journey.

••••

Rin sat on the sand, still thinking about the message he had just sent. Bachira sat beside him, seemingly enjoying the relaxed beach atmosphere.

"So, how’s it going?"

Bachira asked with a big smile.

Rin stared at the sea, slightly annoyed by Bachira’s question.

"I don’t know. I just don’t want things to get more complicated."

Bachira chuckled. "Hah, you’re hard to read. But don’t worry, Rin. If she’s your soulmate, you can’t run from her. Try to be more open."

Rin shot Bachira a half-pessimistic glance. "I’m not the type to open up to strangers."

Bachira shrugged. "We’ll see. I’m sure, even if you’re not ready, you’ll find a way to accept this."

Rin fell silent, staring far out at the sea, his mind swirling. What was he supposed to do with this sudden fate?

• A Week Later

Over the past week, your communication with Rin still felt awkward. The messages exchanged were often short and to the point, more like formalities than casual chats. Still, you felt a little progress. At least Rin wasn’t completely closing himself off.

One morning, while enjoying some time alone at a café near your house, your phone vibrated. A message from Rin appeared.

Rin: "Do you often draw in the park?"

You smiled a little, surprised that he was actually showing some interest. Quickly, you typed a response.

You: "Yeah, the park is my favorite place. Sometimes I draw, sometimes I just sit and enjoy the atmosphere. Why?"

A few minutes later, his reply came.

Rin: "It’s nothing. I was just trying to imagine it."

That short message left you momentarily speechless. Rin may not have said it clearly, but you knew he was trying to get to know you better, even if his approach was still a bit stiff.

• 3 Months Later

Your relationship with Rin had slowly progressed. You started talking more often, though most of your conversations were still through messages. Rin, who was usually cold and distant, had begun to show another side of himself—a softer side, even though he still tried to hide it behind his short words and formal demeanor.

One night, after an important match, Rin sent an unexpected message.

Rin: "I’ll be in your town for a match next week. If you're not busy, come watch."

That message made you pause for a moment. It was the first time he invited you to meet again after the encounter at the beach. Cautiously, you typed your reply.

You: "Of course. I’ll be there. Thanks for inviting me."

You then went to bed with mixed feelings—nervous yet excited. As you were about to go to sleep, you felt your phone vibrate again, you raised your eyebrows and then smiled a little when you read the incoming message.

Rin : "i'm not inviting you."

Somehow, you felt funny to read his chat.

••••

The stadium was packed with fans. The electric atmosphere made you even more nervous, but you tried to enjoy the moment. After getting settled in your seat, you looked toward the field. When Rin appeared with his team, your heart raced.

He seemed focused, every move reflecting dedication and incredible skill. Throughout the match, you couldn’t take your eyes off him. He truly dominated the game, and you felt proud for reasons you couldn’t explain.

When the match ended, and Rin’s team won, you received a message from him.

Rin: "I have some time. Wait outside the stadium."

You waited where he mentioned, feeling nervous but also excited. When Rin finally appeared, still in his uniform, you found it hard to stop yourself from smiling.

Rin: "You came," he said, his voice sounding more relaxed than usual.

You: "Of course. I wanted to see you play."

He nodded, looking at you for a moment before glancing away. "What did you think?"

You: "You were amazing. I can see how hard you work."

Rin seemed a little surprised by your compliment, but he just nodded quietly. "Thanks," he muttered.

Your conversation was simple, but there was something different this time. It felt like the distance between you was slowly shrinking, little by little.

• Months Later

Your relationship had continued to grow. Even though Rin was still stiff, he had started opening up in his own way. He often messaged first, though the messages were usually short or consisted of pictures of places he visited during his matches.

One day, he sent a photo of a green field with a beautiful blue sky.

Rin: "This is where I trained today. It reminds me of the park where you draw."

You smiled and quickly typed a response.

You: "Thanks for thinking of me. I’m drawing right now, in the park."

Not long after, Rin sent another message.

Rin: "I'm not thinking of you, i'm thinking of the park. And.. If you have time, show me your drawing. I want to see it."

You were surprised, but also happy. Rin had never shown interest in your hobby before. Carefully, you took a picture of your drawing and sent it to him.

Rin: "..It’s good. I didn’t know you were this good."

You chuckled a little reading his message, feeling your bond with him grow warmer.

• A Year Later

Your relationship had become much stronger. You talked more frequently, both through messages and phone calls. Rin had even started sharing more about his dreams and the challenges he faced as an athlete.

One night, while you were talking on the phone, Rin suddenly said:

Rin: "I know I’m not an easy person. And I don’t know if I’m a good soulmate. But… I want to try."

You paused, feeling warmth fill your chest.

You: "Me too, Rin. We have plenty of time to learn together, right?"

That night, you felt like your relationship had finally reached a new stage. The thread that had connected you no longer felt like a burden, but a promise that you would keep moving forward together, no matter what happened.

• A Month After the Phone Conversation

Rin had slowly started to show his true personality, well, he shows it before. But now, he shows it more often. Even though he still often appeared cold, there were moments when his tsundere nature would surface, especially when he felt embarrassed or didn’t know how to express himself.

One day, after sending a message about your latest drawing, you decided to tease Rin a little.

You: "I drew something today. Guess who inspired it?"

His response came quickly.

Rin: "It’s not me, right? Don’t do anything weird."

You chuckled as you read his message and quickly sent a photo of your drawing—a simple sketch of him on the field.

You: "Actually, it’s you. Sorry if it doesn’t look like you."

A few minutes passed without a reply. You almost thought he didn’t like it, but eventually, your phone vibrated.

Rin: "...It’s okay. But don’t draw me too often. You have other things to do, right?"

You knew this was his way of hiding his embarrassment, so you just smiled and typed a reply.

You: "I just wanted to draw something that inspired me. If you don’t like it, I won’t do it again."

Rin: "I didn’t say I didn’t like it. Just... don’t show it to others."

You just smiled a little when you read the message, he's so cute—wait what?

••••

A few weeks later, Rin came to your town again for another match. This time, he made a request that surprised you.

Rin : "I have a few hours before practice. If you’re not busy, meet me at the café near the stadium,"

Without hesitation, you agreed. When you arrived at the café, Rin was already sitting in a corner with a cup of coffee in front of him. He looked a little nervous, though he tried to hide it.

"You’re fast," he said without looking directly at you.

"You invited me, so I didn’t want to keep you waiting," you replied with a smile.

He huffed softly, sipping his coffee before speaking again. "I just don’t want Bachira to know about this. He’d tease me relentlessly."

You chuckled softly, imagining Bachira’s reaction if he found out about this meeting. "Why are you scared of Bachira? Don’t you always put on a cold face in front of him?"

Rin shrugged, his eyes finally meeting yours. "He’s too loud. And I don’t like complicated things."

You chatted for a while, light conversation, but there was a moment when he suddenly said awkwardly:

"You don’t have to think too much about this. I just... I think we need to meet more often. But not because I want to. It’s just that—" he pointed at his pinky finger, which was connected to the red thread—"this makes me curious."

You smiled slightly, feeling he was trying to hide his true intentions. "Of course. I understand. After all, it’s not because you care, right?" you teased.

Rin immediately looked away, his face slightly flushed. "Don’t get too confident."

• 6 Months Later

Rin’s tsundere side became more evident as your relationship grew closer. Although he often denied his feelings, his actions often spoke louder.

One day, when you were having a bad day, Rin suddenly called you.

"You sounded strange in your last message. What’s wrong?" he asked bluntly.

You tried to reassure him that you were fine, but he didn’t easily believe you.

"Don’t lie. If you don’t want to tell me, I won’t force you. But if you keep acting like this, I’ll come over right now," he said firmly.

You knew he was serious, so you finally opened up about what was bothering you. After listening patiently, he said :

"You don’t have to bear everything alone. If you need help, just say it. Doesn’t mean I care or anything, but... that’s what soulmates are supposed to do, right?"

Although his words sounded cold, you knew he cared in his own way. And that was enough to make you feel better. When you were about to answer his question, you heard the sound of the call being disconnected. You smiled, he was really cute.

••••

Rin wasn’t as stiff anymore, though his tsundere nature remained. He had started getting used to your relationship, though occasionally, he still felt awkward.

When you met again to celebrate your birthday, he brought a small gift—something you never expected.

"This is just... a small thing. Don’t think I spent too much time on it," he said as he handed you a small box containing high-quality colored pencils.

You smiled widely, feeling touched. "Thank you, Rin. I really like it."

He looked away, his face a little flushed. "Yeah, yeah. Don’t talk too much about it. I just thought you might need them to draw better."

You both laughed together, and for the first time, Rin didn’t try to deny the small smile on his face. Even though he still struggled to express his feelings, you knew that he cared for you in his own way—and that was more than enough.

••••

Time had passed, and your relationship with Rin had gone through many phases. From awkwardness and confusion to moments where you both understood each other without needing many words. Rin, although still not adept at showing his emotions directly, had grown into someone who was never hesitant to be by your side when you needed him.

Rin's career in football had been shining brighter than ever. He often moved from country to country for matches and training, but you both maintained your communication. Despite the physical distance, there was always a sense of calm whenever you looked at the red thread on your pinky finger.

One day, Rin sent a message that felt different from the usual.

Rin: "I have some free time next week. There’s something I want to talk about. Meet me at the place where we first met."

Your heart fluttered as you read his message. Although he didn’t explain more, you knew this wasn’t just a regular meeting.

When the day arrived, you went to the beach where you first met. The late afternoon sun cast a golden hue over the sand, making the scene look almost like a painting. In the distance, you saw Rin standing with his hands in his pockets.

"You’re right on time," he said, turning to face you.

"Of course. I knew this was important," you replied with a smile.

He nodded slowly, gazing at the sea for a moment before finally speaking. "I often think... about how my life changed since I met you."

His words made you pause. He rarely spoke like this, and you knew that every word he said carried weight.

"At first, I hated it. I thought this thread would only be an obstacle. But... I was wrong. Because every time I look at this thread, I feel at peace. I feel like there’s someone in this world who always understands me, even when I don’t understand myself."

He paused, taking a deep breath before looking at you again.

"You’ve changed so much in my life. And I want to keep walking forward with you. I don’t know if I can be the perfect person for you, but I’ll try... if you want."

You smiled softly, feeling tears well up in your eyes. "Rin... I never needed perfection. I just need you."

He smiled faintly—a smile that only appeared in certain moments. "Good. Because I’m not letting you go."

••••

• Bonus

A few years later, your lives were filled with simple happiness. Rin remained focused on his career, while you continued your journey as an artist. Every time he returned from a match, you always made time to be together, whether it was strolling in the park or simply chatting at home over a warm cup of tea.

The red thread on your fingers remained, a reminder that this relationship was something fate had chosen for you both. Although it had been difficult and full of challenges in the beginning, you had proven that love wasn’t about perfection—it was about the effort to understand and support each other.

And with every step you took together, you knew that fate had never been wrong in bringing together two hearts that were meant to be.

THE END ! !

|| ugh, why is it so cheesy.. dammit😭😭 I'm actually making a bonus chapter, where Rin and (name) are married<333

THANKS FOR READING!! <333

[orionchildofhades]

i wonder about viktor's childhood. about him growing up in the fissures. about him breathing in poisonous gases and starting coughing, falling because his leg wouldn't let him stay upright while he caught his breath. i think about the first time he built something. not even meaningful, or close to useful, finding loose screws and cogs on the ground and tightening them together in the shadows. i think about viktor after he met singed, when he came back and took care of a dying salamander, petting her, feeding her, listening to singed explain the basic of science to him, things he could not do with his hands but his mind, math, hard calculation. do you think singed taught him to read? and then he came back with the flowers to find the salamander dead. gone. keening in pain, attached to so many tubes, so many liquid, and wondering just for a second about his own fate. his lungs, his leg, his back. if he, too, was dying and would end like this. i think about viktor and wonder how he ended up in piltover, how he ended up as heimerdinger's assistant. no title, no name, no patron. i think about his own research before jayce and his arcane dream. do you think he was like sky? working on his research in a corner, trying to figure out how to bring it to heimerdinger? do you think about how he grew more confident, more sure of himself. he was alone, he could rely only on this fact, he brought himself in the academy, to where he stood then. how many people he had to fight for it, how many hours spent proving himself.

i also think about him riding on the dream that was hextech. seeing how his ideas could change the world, how his actions could have a positive impact. but it was not really his own but jayce's. they managed together, worked together, lost hours of sleep, dreamless nights of torturous hope for a breakthrough, days spent in pain hunched over a desk or running around to experiment with his leg and back killing him, but in the end, the hexgate was named as a project under jayce talis, jayce was the golden boy, the man of progress, he was heimerdinger's pupil, and the kirammans' protégé.

i think about viktor coughing the first drops of blood, realising his fate, seeing the salamander and knowing how she ended. he knows it's catching up with him now, he knows the clock ticking above his head started speeding up. and he rushes. he no longer cares if things could be dangerous. a decade of careful research and testing? he's lucky if he sees another full year, he cannot wait, cannot break. he goes to singed, he carves his skin, he wants to save the world but gods does he want to save himself too.

and he dies, but comes back, hating what he is but knowing it's his last chance. the rune, the hexcore, it tells through him, to him, but it's still a little bit of him inside. the way he feels, sees, knows, it's all changed but he's more himself than he will be later. he refuses to let singed use warwick, somewhere in him he likes what he managed to built, the people he could save. somewhere inside of him, he allows in a way he never could in piltover. he reaches inside vander and there is a new softness he never knew before, a wonder for feelings and memories that are not his, a care for what the world could be. there is also something of hunger in him, something between his and the arcane's, the control he likes to have, the knowledge nad security he has in his position, in knowing what he can or could do now. it's in the way he knows he cannot go back to what was before but cannot give it up either, its rolling a small cog in his hands when he can, rebuilding elements of his past life around his new one, bargaining with his visitors (no weapons, conditions) it's refusing to take the next step, leaving in the liminal space between viktor and the arcane, wandering the palace of vander's mind and resting with it while refusing to acknowledge jayce's pain in the lab. but the hexcore could not survive in his weakened body and therefore he needed to evolve.

and i think about the end of arcane and viktor's name being forgotten after all he did to make it stay, all he sacrificed, all he gave up. being told that he had to work for another decade for his project to see the light of day but feeling the clock ticking, the breath leaving his lungs, knowing that the next time blood rushed out of his airways could be the last he would break at all. i think about viktor who did not save a single soul, of his dream of helping the undercity, of him saving jayce on that first night after the council meeting, of sky, joyful and hopeful sky, vanishing in a heap of violent ash, of all the shimmer user dropping like flies once viktor fell, of jayce's face full of fear when he closed his fist around viktor's own. everything he was, could have been, would have been. the brightest flame burns the fastest indeed.

[sassenach77yle]

7x14 “Ye Dinna Get Used To It”

If you want to return to Philadelphia—” “No!” Her terror at the thought was clear now. She pulled desperately at her hand, but he wouldn’t let go. “Is it because of Captain Harkness? Because—” She gave a cry that might have come from the throat of a wild bird caught in a trap, and he tightened his grip on her wrist. It was fine-boned and slender, but she was surprisingly strong. “I know you stole the gorget back” he said. “It’s all right. No one’s going to find out. And Harkness won’t touch you again; I promise you that.” She made a small bubbling noise that might have been a laugh or a sob.

“Colonel Tarleton—you know, the green dragoon that made advances to you?—he told me that Harkness was absent without leave, hasn’t come back to his regiment. Do you know anything about that?”

“No,” she said. “Let me go. Please!” Before he could answer this, a small, clear voice piped up from the trees a few yards away.

“You’d best tew him, Janie.”

“Fanny!” Jane swung round toward her sister, momentarily forgetting that she was pinioned. “Don’t!”

Fanny stepped out of the shadows, wary but curiously composed.

“If you don’t, I wiw,” she said, her big brown eyes fixed on William’s face. “He won’t thtop.” She came a little closer, cautious but not afraid. “If I tew you,” she said, “do you pwomise not to take us back?”

“Back where?” “To Phiwadelphia,” she said. “Or the army.”

He sighed, exasperated, but short of torturing the answer out of one of the girls, clearly no progress would be made unless he agreed. And he was beginning to have a cold feeling under the ribs about just what the answer might be. “I promise,” he said, but Fanny hung back, distrustful. “Sweaw,” she said, folding her arms. “Sw—oh. Bloody hell. All right, then—I swear on my honor.” Jane made a small, dreary noise that was still a laugh. That stung. “Do you think I haven’t got any?” he demanded, turning on her. “How would I know?” she countered, sticking out her chin. It wobbled, but she stuck it out. “What does honor look like?”For your sake, you’d better hope it looks a lot like me,” he told her, but then turned to Fanny. “What do you want me to swear on?” “Your mudder’s head,” she said promptly. “My mother’s dead.” “Your favver, den.” He drew a long, deep breath. Which one? “I swear on my father’s head,” he said evenly. And so they told him.

“I KNEW HE’D come back,” Jane said. She was sitting on the log, hands clasped between her thighs and eyes on her feet. “They always do. The bad ones.”

She spoke with a sort of dull resignation, but her lips tightened at the memory. “They can’t stand to think you’ve got away without . . . without. I thought it would be me, though.”

Fanny was sitting beside her sister, as close as she could get, and now she put her arms around Jane and hugged her, her face in Jane’s calico shoulder. I’m sowwy,” she whispered.

“I know, lovie,” Jane said, and patted Fanny’s leg. A fierce look came into her face, though. “It’s not your fault, and don’t ever—ever—think so.” William’s throat felt thick with disgust at the thought.

That beautiful, flower-faced little girl, taken by—“Her maidenhead’s worth ten pound,” Jane reminded him. “Mrs. Abbott was saving her, waiting for a rich man with a taste for new-hatched chicks. Captain Harkness offered her twenty.” She looked directly at William for the first time. “I wasn’t having that,” she said simply. “So I asked Mrs. Abbott to send us up together; I said I could help keep Fanny from making a fuss. I knew what he was like, see,” she said, and pressed her lips involuntarily together for an instant. “He wasn’t the sort to plow you like a bull and have it done. He’d play with you, making you undress a bit at a time and—and do things—while he told you all about what he meant to do.”

And so it had been easy to come behind him while he was watching Fanny, with the knife she’d taken from the kitchen hidden in the folds of her petticoats.“I meant to stab him in the back,” she said, looking down again. “I saw a man stabbed that way once. But he saw on Fanny’s face what I—it wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t help it showing,” she added quickly.

“But he turned round quick and there wasn’t any choice.”

She’d plunged the knife into Harkness’s throat and wrenched it free, intending to stab again. But that hadn’t been necessary. “There was blood everywhere.” She’d gone pale in the telling, her hands wrapped in her apron.

“I frew up,” Fanny added matter-of-factly. “It was a mess.”I expect it was,” William said dryly. He was trying not to envision the scene—the candlelight, the spraying blood, the panicked girls—with remarkably little success. “How did you get away?” Jane shrugged. “It was my room, and he’d bolted the door. And nobody was surprised when Fanny started screaming,” she added, with a trace of bitterness. There was a basin and pitcher of water, the usual rags for mess; they’d washed themselves hastily, changed clothes, and climbed out the window. “We found a ride on a farmer’s wagon, and . . . you know the rest.” She closed her eyes for a moment, as though reliving “the rest,” and then opened them and looked up at him, her gaze dark as shadowed water. “Now what?” she asked. WILLIAM HAD BEEN asking himself that question for the last several moments of Jane’s story. Having met Harkness himself, he had considerable sympathy for Jane’s action, but— “You planned it,” he said, giving her a sharp look. Her head was bent, her unbound hair hiding her face. “You took the knife, you had clothes to change into, you knew how to get down from the window and get away.” “Tho?” said Fanny, in a remarkably cold voice for a girl of her age. “So why kill him?” he asked, transferring his attention to Fanny, but keeping a wary eye on Jane. “You were going to leave anyway. Why not just escape before he came?” Jane raised her head and turned it, looking him directly in the eye.

“I wanted to k*ll him,” she said, in a perfectly reasonable voice that chilled him despite the warmth of the day.

“I . . . see.”

He saw more than the vision of Jane, with her delicate white wrists, plunging a knife into Captain Harkness’s thick red throat while her little sister screamed...

89 ONE DAY, COCK OF THE WALK—NEXT DAY, A FEATHER DUSTER~WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD

[backseatsoldier]

"Broken", Not Stupid - Nesting Suppplies (Bonus)

Pairing: alpha!Simon "Ghost" Riley x unusual omega!OC (13)

CW: Omegaverse; cult-like situation; dehumanization; selling children to a cult

Author's Note: Um... hello, my 100+ followers... holy shit >.> Let's celebrate with a bonus part! Thank you all for being here <3 and happy new year, everyone!

<Johnny.

>L.T.

<Smartass. I need your help. <What the hell do omegas need for their nests? Pillows and blankets but what else?

>L.T. >Did you find an omega?

<In a way, yes.

>Did you go to Salvation?!

<Yes. There's a lot to it but for now I just need you to help me gather things for a nest. <We're going shopping.

>HELL YEAH!!!!! >I'll be at yours in about 15!

<Johnny, just meet me at the shops. <Johnny.

"Dammit," Simon grumbles.

The idiot already got in his truck, Simon's sure of it. Johnny may struggle with over excitement and ADHD, but he's anal about no phones while driving. He'll even make someone pull over so he can drive if he catches the driver with their phone. Even did it to Simon. Only once. Simon hasn't touched his phone while driving since.

As soon as Johnny arrives, Simon drops an extra bit of kibble and a few treats in Selene's dish before joining Johnny in his truck. The door is barely closed before Johnny's spouting off questions.

"Johnny! One question at a time," Simon snaps then takes a deep breath with his eyes closed. He hadn't meant to snap at the man; he's just overwhelmed as is. "I'm sorry," he mumbles. Apologies are still a work in progress for him.

"Nah, I'm sorry, Si. I can see how stressed you are," Johnny says with a concerned frown. "What's going on?"

As Johnny begins driving into town, Simon explains what he knows and the alarms that go off in his head while he's on the facility's property. For the first time in a long time, Johnny is quiet. Even when Simon stops talking, Johnny is deadly quiet.

"What's her name?" Johnny asks finally, eyes on the road and shoulders tense.

"I don't think she knows. Introduced herself as 'UK-009-0013' or '13' and said nothing about an actual name. She doesn't even seem bothered by being called a number."

"I see," Johnny says softly. "Well, let's make sure she'll be comfortable in her new home."

The two men fall into a thoughtful silence for the rest of the drive. Once they reach the shops in town, Simon seems on edge again.

"What am I even supposed to get her? I can't get her clothes, I don't know her size-"

"Just give her some of your clothes. At least to come home in," Johnny shrugs. "Maybe it'll make her more comfortable. Having your scent prior to arriving could make a difference. If you're worried about nesting supplies, that would be easier. For now, since you don't know her favorite colors or textures, just get colors that will remind her of you and stick to textures that are maybe even softer than you are comfortable with."

"How do you know these things?" Simon asks with a sigh as they enter a shop.

"Research," Johnny shrugs. "And both of my sisters are omegas. So I learned from seeing them grow up. Mum also taught me by dragging me along with the three of them to shop. Hated it at the time, but I couldn't be more grateful now," he says with a smile.

"And you don't have an omega... why?"

Johnny shrugs at his best friend's question.

"Just haven't found a good match yet, I suppose. What about you? You were almost against having an omega and now you've taken one in in far less than twenty-four hours." Johnny raises an eyebrow at Simon in curiosity just before smiling and waving at the shop employee that greeted them at the door.

"I guess..." Simon trails off, thinking. "I guess my instincts finally decided it was time to look. As for 13, specifically? I don't know. Maybe it's because there's something clearly wrong with Salvation and I can't stand for that treatment of omegas?"

"Maybe because deep down you know she's a good match, for some reason or another?" Johnny offers and leads Simon to a display with various blankets.

"Maybe..."

Masterlist | CoD Masterlist | Part One

Tag List: @lucienofthelakes @lostintransist @demothers-empty-blog @scaredyspooks @tessakate @one-really-annoying-tree-rat @nerdyphantomtheorist @gazsluckyhat @peanutismynickname

[uncny]

“ I am, ” Sebni confirmed, a little disheartened, though the quick realization that it was nothing more than the truth, something he could not change at the moment, made it more bearable. “ It is, ” he admitted, a little more used to the disappointment in this truth. He had been working on that. Or at least trying to. But his progress, though existent, was far too slow for his own contentment. How he wished he could take a million naps like the dragoness said she would, if she needed to, but his mind would never let him, not even ten naps in a row. “ I should, ” was the last thing that crawled out of Sebni's lips before Sangah's pressed against his own.

The first thing that came to his mind was how soft they were, how warm, contrary to what he had been overthink. She was right. Maybe he should stop overthinking and just do things, the things he wanted to do but always feared to. With that in mind, he tightened his embrace, holding her ever so close, as if he was afraid she'd just disappear into thin air, and savored the taste of her, her warmth. He dared not let go. He didn't want to. In his head, there was only this moment and nothing else. Not then, not after.

her eyes blinked owlishly, puzzled by sebni's sudden jerk of movements. sangah further confused by his fright when she had already reassured the professor of her intent. she quickly theorized it was his docile nature to cower in the presence of those stronger. so in the end, sangah decided not to hold it against him; instead silencing his fear as her hand returned to its human and very harmless guise. ❛oops, I forgot. you're a lot more squishy than the average dragon.❜ chuckled the brunette, rubbing the nape of her neck in a display of bashfulness, still adjusting her level of rough housing with other species; especially those less durable. as sebni so elegantly quipped. ❛isn't that exhausting? I'd have to a million naps just to deal!❜ offered sangah with colorful commentary, resting her forehead against his own; longing to quiet the static inside his head. ❛for instance, if you want to kiss someone. you simply should.❜ began sangah as she closed the distance between their lips with ease and great confidence.

[femboychuuya]

Soooo, here we are, a New Year

Now, this post will be different than my usual art Posts i do. A few days before the New Year hit i got kind of reminded that Art Summaries exist.

Usually people only put one Art in, i think its the "best" one which they like the most, i think.

Though i wasn't able to decide for only 1 piece for each Month, so let me take you through my whole 2024 Art Journey!

- - - ☆

Starting off, i was 19 when i started Art. Back in May was when i came up to my beloved now girlfriend Kiera and asked for Advice on Drawing and told her that i wanted to start Art.

I chose to start with Hands. (albeit i did not include those visually in my Summary)

Hands were.... well.... hands. Kiera sended me a few Videos on how to draw, recommending me a German Youtuber called DrawingLikeASir. This is where i got my basic understanding on how hands (and also Human Anatomy as a whole) work and how to draw them.

I'm very grateful that people who do Art for a long time already, share and make Tutorials to follow. It's alot easier for me when i have real time visual explanation, so DLAS's Video's really helped me alot.

Besides those Videos, Kiera gave me alot of help too. She would give me tips if my Anatomy was off, help me fixing it via voice chat or messaging and overall just helped me understand Art to the extent that i then started to do it more regularly and frequently.

- - - ☆

Now, after this Yapfest, how about we take a deep dive into my Art?

This will be the longest part, but i do have alot to share actually....

Let's start with May !

I don't have any visuals here, so i will keep this brief.

In May was the first time i actually tried learning how to draw. I did start with Hands first. Why you may ask? Because i wanted to tackle one of the presumably worst things to draw. I did a basic fanned out Hand for a few times before i started drawing Hands around things. I felt comfortable very fast with how i drew Hands back then. And that was my May more or less.

June !

Let's get a nice Picture of June out, because June is the Month i started to learn Human Anatomy. It sucked.

I tried learning Human Anatomy after i felt confident enough with hands. I experimented around a bit, tried drawing either masculine or feminine body Types, but i did struggle with both. In the end, i tried settling for more androgenous Body Types. Those were alot easier for me, and Kiera did tell me that they can be easy to work with, since i can basically "shape them like i want". So i went with it.

Pretty much my June was occupied with learning to draw a whole Human Body.

July !

In July i made alot of Progress i think, this was my Prime time for learning how Bodies work. I took Ideas from other people i've interacted with, tried a DTIYS (Do this in your Style), created a small sketch page, participated in Rimlaine Week and also started to do Digital Art!

Now, starting Digital Art was hard, it still is for me after roughly 6 months. My missfortune was, i had no pen for my Tablet. I needed to learn how to Finger Draw. It was really taxing and unforgiving on my Hand, but i still pushed through it and gave my best. I didn't wanted to stop with Digital Art just because i had no pen.

Eventually, at some point (actually 2 points, one later though) I had a pen that worked, though it broke, both of them did. So i just stayed with Finger Art.

It honestly feels more natural for me to use my Finger by now and i think i actually want to stay drawing with my Finger for now. Unless i actually get a pen that doesn't break imidiatly.

August !

Short things for August: I had an Artblock. I managed to find 1 whole picture for August.

I can't really say anything more here i fear.

September !

September.... I tried alot of new things in September! Brushes, bigger Canvases, even rendering (not visually included)

September was a nice month. I made alot of progress, pushed my comfort zones and met ALOT of great Artist's!

I tried alot of new things. Posing, shitpost doodles, multiple people, character sheets, the Nasty Dog trend (i had fun doing that) and also tried to participate in dazai hurt/comfort week, i couldn't finish it due to personal reasons.

In September, i joined a Soukoku Discord Server which is run by Kaez. I joined there with intent of talking about SKK and it developed into active talking and Art Streams nearly daily! I got ALOT and i mean ALOT of good advice and tips on how to draw from more experienced Artist's!

It truly helped me find my Artstyles and Tools i can use on my drawings.

I am very thankful that my girlfriend sended me the link to Kaez's post about this server, it has been alot of fun there and was very educational aswell!

October !

In October i still was drawing nearly every day and started to draw Characters from Kiera's and mine own Story! I also experimented with Artstyles and Chuuya's hair. His Hair was a mess, it still is, but drastically changed the way i draw his hair in that month.

I specifically also tried to stylize eyes, it failed mostly but i still tried regardless (Eyes and facial expression are hard to draw, i learned the hard way)

November !

November was the Month where i started drawing (and writing) my first AU! My 14 Year old's BunnySkk AU!

I am very proud of those beans and all i had in my brain were those 2. I did inflict pain and suffering and great Trauma on Skk, but fear not, they are well now... or are they?

Lastly, December !

Going strong with the last Month of the year, I struggled, greatly. I had alot of personal Issues coming up, but went through those with trying to do art. Art really helped me get my mind off things, due to me not having a single thought while drawing (My head is a blank slate while i draw)

But besides those struggles, i got cheered on to keep going and so i did. I delivered Art from a Ship i was first very reluctant to draw things in fear of people being well.... online people. But i eventually overcame myself and started drawing my second favourite ship... Kunichuuzai!! I absolutely love their dynamic and can't wait to get back into drawing them. I need them. Carnally.

- - - ☆

Now now, this is probably as long as it can get now, so i will try to keep myself short here. (Try is the keyword, i am a yapper at Heart)

First and foremost, i will be thanking Kiera @misterloong , for even getting and pushing me into Art. I don't think that i would have been able to accomplish what i am doing currently without your great help and Feedback!! And thank you for putting up with my sometimes breakdowns over Art, its hard and we both know that.

Secondly, i am thanking Kaez @xkaez for creating the Skk Server. I don't think i would have had such a fun time over the last months while doing art if it wasn't for sitting together in vc with everyone and equally loosing our heads over Art together. The Art struggle is real but worth it.

Third..ly? Third?.... Leaving it at that. I am thanking the VC Dwellers Soup @iwantmochisoup , Goat @thatghostinyourbog , Jema @msshinylemon , Salt @saltedbiscuiit and Killeia @nolongerforthetainted . I am thanking you all for sitting in vc together, planning things, working together on thing and just having a fun time together! I learned a shitton, and i mean a shitton from being together in VC, drawing, talking or just hanging out together. I really hope this never dies out, its really fun with you all!!

Fourthly.... Fourth....? I am thanking Rosie @anticidic , Cinny @ohhcinnybuns , Ari @nevertheblood, Brin @ediblepandas and Cryptid @cryptid-juzou for giving me alot of Ideas and talking about all the ideas you guys had. It's always fun to lurk at night in the chats and see good ideas spring in. It might be one of my favourite pastimes aswell to just lurk in :)

And Lastly, i thank everyone else who i forgot to mention, whether its Skk server people, random online people, my mom or literally anyone who sees my stuff. I thank you for being here and supporting my Art Journey in any way you can. It has been a fun half Year of doing Art and i am so hyped for creating a full year of Art this year!!

I hope everyone who wants to do Art, starts doing Art, same with Writing or whatever other creative hobbies there are. It will bring you fun and can potentially even help you express yourself more.

On to a new Year

- West

- - - ☆

Adding on:

2 more Chibi doodles for making it to the end :>

[aroaceleovaldez]

Your blog is the only blog where I feel safe enough asking this question. What do you think of Percy Jackson fans who feel as though they and the series have a moral superiority to Harty Potter ? Obviously, Harry Potter and its author are laden with questionable and sometimes straight-up hateful takes and views. But the way PJO fans constantly compare the two, its authors (even though RR is far from flawless), and the two MCs (ignoring how the two both share similarities in the fact that they are both traumatised, abused, angry teenage boys). I'm sorry that this ask got so long, but this has been annoying me for a while now.

This is an interesting question - for one, fandom fights over superiority is a concept that has been around for ages and has never been constructive. PJO and HP fandoms have been fighting in that exact way (and it has gone both ways!) for literal decades (remember, PJO turns 20 this year) so this isn't new, it's just taken on a moral flavor. Let's go over some things though (but please keep in mind i never got into HP and never read the books or fully watched the movies so my knowledge of HP is primarily pop culture absorption/secondhand from my family and friends):

Are either series perfect? No. HP absolutely is full of hateful sentiments and JKR is a hateful person and I do not respect her for that. Disney's marketing recently has absolutely fully leaned into trying to put Rick above her as a moral paragon and emphasizing how progressive he is and his support of diversity in middle grade series, despite some failings to reflect that in the actual text. Are Rick and JKR equally bad? Definitely not. Rick has had tangible good influence on adhd/dyslexia awareness that very directly impacted people like me as a neurodivergent kid going through school in the 2000s. JKR meanwhile has directly negatively impacted trans laws internationally very recently.

Rick absolutely isn't perfect, but he's vocally supportive, has made a lot of effort in the past to be inclusive, and still attempts to do so. Most of his issues simply stem from his own unaddressed internalized bigotry/biases and his research on varying topics not being great (plus poor management decisions such as not hiring a sensitivity reader actually fit for the story he's trying to tell). But he's not hateful. JKR is. JKR is very vocally hateful and bigoted and this is absolutely reflected in her work as well even in earlier HP. They are comparable in that they are both middle grade authors of easily two of the most popular middle grade fantasy (or specifically hidden world fantasy) series out right now. They are not equivalent in the slightest in their bigotry or tangible damage.

In terms of Percy versus Harry, I personally don't think they're very comparable. They share some similarities, but mostly just in that they're both the protagonists of their stories and thus serve protagonist purposes. Beyond that their use within the narrative is pretty different functionally. Their worlds' magic systems are not comparable. The hidden world aspect in both their universes isn't even comparable, since in PJO the "hidden world" aspect is very different from most hidden world fantasy formats because the entire point is that it's functionally not a hidden world. The characters themselves are very different as well - Percy's personality and the way he behaves and reacts to his environment is absolutely nothing like Harry's.

Most of the anti-HP-in-general sentiments stem from wanting to cut off JKR's notoriety, which I think is valid to want to do. And I do think there are a lot of issues with continuing to support JKR's work especially in ways that functionally promote her work or support her financially. Obviously, we will never be able to scrub HP from the cultural zeitgeist. It's just not feasible and I'm very anti-book burning so I do think it's important to acknowledge the role HP has had in pop-culture alongside acknowledging its harmful materials. HP is a text you absolutely can't death-of-the-author your way out of because a lot of the vitriol is baked into the text and worldbuilding in very overt ways - and there are plenty of other pop-culture staple novels like this. But fandom in general, at least true fandom and not mainstream fandom, is so obscure most of the time that I don't think, so long as people are not ignoring negative themes of the source material and are being thoughtful as they navigate engaging with it, that it is an inherently bad thing for HP fandom to just exist at all. It's never going to just stop existing no matter what people do. And HP fandom are not the only ones who should be thoughtful about how they engage with their source material - PJO fandom is not exempt from examining some of the problematic aspects in our own text and figuring out how to be respectful with those topics. It's just a lot easier for PJO fandom to tune it out without it being noticed because there's less of it and it's (at least sometimes) less overt. Honestly if HP fandom decided to go more down the path of a fandom like Warriors or Miraculous Ladybug, where the average sentiment is more along the lines of "Oh god no don't read/watch the source material it sucks/we stopped paying attention to it year ago and it's not relevant at all to what we're up to. We're over here functionally rewriting everything from the ground up/doing our own thing" I would very much support them in that endeavor. I do think there is merit in limiting promotion of the HP source material as much as possible, though.

Hopefully that all makes at least some amount of sense.

[navree]

Incorrect, the fact that Biden has dropped out and a candidate with history of supporting medicare for all and being more receptive to a ceasefire in the I/P conflict has made me go from "I cannot morally support the Democratic nominee" to "I am voting for the Democratic nominee despite the fact she isn't perfect in every respect." I'm really happy this played out. The Dems for the most part abandoned the old Obama platform and it feels like its possible an actual progressive agenda could come to pass in my lifetime.

Kamala 2024!

If you weren't going to vote Democratic in this election before Biden dropped out you're a dorkass loser who does not care about any of the issues you're yammering about here and also a fundamentally bad person, and I hope you get run over by a bus.

But you got one thing right in all of this gibberish, Kamala 2024.

[vaggieslefteye]

CHARLIE MAGNE from HAZBIN HOTEL (2019): Pilot - "That's Entertainment" ↳ "So, I've been thinking: Isn't there a more humane way to hinder overpopulation here in Hell? Perhaps we can create an alternative way to change souls through... redemption?"

[lollytea]

Huntlow situationship gives me such intense brain termites you don't get it

[gothteddiesdotcom]

oh my god re: your recent post... the 'girl dinner' shit. omfg. idc if it's 'not that deep' you're still reinforcing terrible shit!!! and also the like 'boys when they see a stick/cool rock' and 'girls when they time travel vs boys when they time travel' wojaks. the gender-fication of barbie vs. oppenheimer. why the fuck is the recent internet zeitgeist hyper stereotypical cisnormativity. like. i thought we had collectively outgrown this.

exactly. And that’s all just some parts of it too. People pretend they’re so on top of things but it’s just because they don’t want to seem out of touch and offensive. It’s wild watching people barf out gender binaries with new terms and new ways to categorize trans people as not their gender and new ways to reinforce the same gender roles on ourselves but in “good” ways now. It’s just….really frustrating and pretty terrifying at the same time

[weezerlvr228]

flippin boobahs!