#rainbow streak ooc

[m1ckeyb3rry]

── THE GLASS PRINCESS // ONE

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: You meet Mai, Ty Lee, and Prince Zuko.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.6k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: this is my first ever attempt at writing for atla despite how long ago i watched it and how much i’ve written since then HAHAH. tbh i don’t expect much to come of it but oh well we’ll see how it goes!! also this is an alternate universe — the extent of which things have been changed will become more apparent as we go along. also apologies in advance if anyone is ooc, i haven’t watched atla in forever so idk if i’ll get it right!

There was a pile of glass on the nightstand when you woke up. It glimmered in the light, the fire refracting on the shards and forming tiny little rainbows on the wooden floor. Rusty streaks stained the faceted tips, though, and you winced as you tried to imagine how that quantity of blood could’ve made its way there.

“It’s yours,” a girl said. You startled, for you hadn’t noticed her presence, but it seemed like that had been her plan. She stood in the corner, her clothes a dull maroon, her hair glossy black and eyes a sharp, dark shade. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she regarded you, but her face was otherwise smooth, betraying nothing.

“Mine?” you said, voice cracking from disuse. “What do you mean? The — the blood?”

“And the glass,” she affirmed. “In some sense, anyways. Some of the pieces, we had to pull out of you, and others were apparently just lying around where you were found. At least, that’s what Zuko said. I’m still not quite sure why he went and collected it all to bring back, though…”

You squinted at the glass, trying to find some familiarity in it, but there was none. You had no idea why you would be surrounded by it, nor why it would be embedded in you. The girl waited for a second, but when you did not speak, she scoffed.

“Sorry,” you said automatically.

“We’ve been waiting for you to wake up for so long,” she said, an accusatory note entering her voice. “Zuko refuses to say anything, and it’s not like we can bully the crown prince himself into telling us what happened, so you’ve been our only chance at figuring everything out.”

“Oh,” you said, a migraine building behind your forehead as you tried to go through the events that had led to your presence here, in this austere room, on this plush mattress. “I — I don’t know.”

“You don’t know,” she repeated drearily. “Wow.”

“I’m sorry,” you said again. “I really don’t. I’m telling the truth.”

In fact, you were rapidly coming to the conclusion that you didn’t know anything. Your childhood, your family, your home…there was nothing. Where your memories ought to be was a bleak stretch like night, barely interrupted by flashes of blue. You reached for that blue, for that lovely shade like sapphire, but it was always just out of your grasp, something you could never quite touch no matter how much you wanted to.

“How about I tell you what I know, and we go from there?” she said. You nodded, though you were only half paying attention to her. The rest of you was fighting back a panic that threatened to twist your insides, a dread that was rotting through you, both sensations borne from the fear that you would never remember anything again.

“Prince Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation and told only to return once he found the Avatar,” she said. “He found him eventually, found him many times in fact, but he wasn’t able to capture him. It’s irrelevant, though — he did do something just as impossible. That is to say, he infiltrated Ba Sing Se.”

You thought that you were probably supposed to be awed by this, but considering you had zero idea what any of it meant, you just felt further confused. Still, you smiled at her, hoping she would keep talking until something or another made sense.

“Fire Lord Ozai couldn’t ignore the opportunity. He sent an army to the prince’s aid, and under his command, they managed to destroy the Earth Palace and depose the royal family. The Earth Kingdom’s in shambles, and all but the most secretive resistance efforts have vanished,” the girl, who had still not introduced herself, continued.

“I don’t see what this has to do with me,” you said, ducking your head.

“Neither do the rest of us,” she said. “That’s what you were supposed to know. For some reason, the fact is that upon returning from Ba Sing Se, the prince had your body in tow. You were wrapped in so many bandages we couldn’t tell what you were at first, and then we thought you must be closer to a corpse than anything, but he insisted you were alive, and that we had to heal you.”

“The prince himself did such a thing?” you said. Even you understood what the magnitude of that title meant, what kind of person a prince was bound to be. And if that was the case, if this mysterious Zuko really was the prince of an entire nation, then why would he have sullied his victory with care for the brutalized body of a random girl?

“He did,” the girl said. “It was the first thing he saw to. Not the reclamation of his crown, but that you were being treated with the best technologies the Fire Nation has to offer. Don’t you think it’s strange? Worthy of investigation? Don’t you agree that we should be curious about what significance you have?”

“Yes, um, naturally,” you said, taken aback by the rapid-fire line of questioning. Despite her initially bland facade, she was surprisingly intense, relentless, even, the stark contrast between the two personalities enough to make you curl inwards.

“Maybe he loves you,” she said, narrowing her eyes at you, inspecting you critically. “I suppose it’d certainly be an explanation, though it wouldn’t give us any clues about who you are or why he might love you in the first place.”

“I wouldn’t know,” you said, shifting in your seat uncomfortably. “I don’t even know my own name, let alone whether I was in love with someone.”

“Don’t even know your own name?” the girl said, raising her eyebrows. “You really are pathetic. I’m impressed.”

“I can’t remember anything specific about my life. I know general things, of course. The color of the sky. The way the moon looks. But the history of the world, my own existence…these are things I cannot recall,” you said.

She appraised you with the beginnings of something like sympathy flickering in her irises. Clenching her jaw and deciding upon something, she straightened her back and turned to the door.

“I should tell Zuko you’re awake,” she said. “That’s what he told us to do, the instant you regained consciousness. I’ve put it off long enough.”

“Wait!” you said. “What’s your name?”

She glanced at you over her shoulder. You blinked at her, willing her to understand — that before you could meet this prince, you had to know something. Even if it was only as small as this girl’s name, you wanted to have at least one thing in your head, a word or other such piece of knowledge that you could cling to, that you could form a barrier around your mind with.

“Mai,” she said. She did not elaborate before slamming the door shut behind her, but it was enough for you. There was this one constant now — you knew a girl, and her name was Mai.

As you waited for Mai to return with the prince, you busied yourself with inspecting the room you were quartered in. You had mistakenly called it austere due to the lack of decorations hung up, but now that you had the chance to look closely, you noticed that the wall itself was covered with intricate, swirling designs engraved by a firm, steady hand. The blanket that had been drawn up around your shoulders and was now puddled around your hips was made of silk and stuffed with feathers, and its quality was such that it all but shimmered. This was not the kind of room that just anybody stayed in; it was a room fit for someone of high rank. A lady. And a lady you were not, yet here you sat, in this room that made you feel entirely out of place.

Only a few minutes had passed before the door slammed open, but it was not Mai nor any sort of prince who entered. It was another girl, as bubbly and cheery as Mai had been cool and collected. She beamed when she saw you sitting up and looking around, bounding over to place her hands on your shoulders.

“Hi! Hi, hi, I’m so glad you’re awake!” she said. You tried to smile back at her, but the exuberance was so jarring that you could not do anything but brace yourself against it.

“Thank you,” you managed to say as she shook you. “Who are you?”

“Ty Lee!” she said. You noticed that she had a habit of ending every sentence with her voice ticking up in delight, like she was perpetually thrilled with the world. It was even more of a contrast to Mai than you had anticipated, and you felt your head spinning as you tried to keep up with the differences.

“Did I know you before?” you said. She cocked her head.

“Huh? No, I have no idea who you are, just like you have no idea who I am. You sure are pretty, though! Even prettier when you’re not all passed out,” she said, miming fainting before beaming at you expectantly. You tried to laugh, but it was an awkward sound, clearly unconvincing.

“The same to you,” you said. “Er. Obviously, aside from the part about passing out.”

“Obviously!” she said. “Now, just stay very still, okay?”

You froze in place immediately, wondering what she was going to do but trusting that it would not be anything harmful. Or, perhaps trusting wasn’t quite the right word for it — you just had no choice but to obey, because you had no other metric for what was correct. Whether Ty Lee wanted to help or harm you, you couldn’t know for sure, but either way she would do something, and since she was only the second person whose face you had seen, you had to let her do it.

She jabbed her pointer fingers into your neck, side, and wrists, all in a quick, precise succession. You waited for something to happen, but there was nothing, and when she raised her eyebrows at you, you could only furrow your own in a non-answer.

“Felt nothing?” she said. You nodded in the affirmative. “Interesting.”

“Was I supposed to?” you said.

“I dunno!” she said. “I guess we’ll see once the others get here.”

“What do the others have to do with it?” you said. At this, she winked and raised her fingers to her lips, as if you two were sharing some silly secret.

“If I tell you, then that’ll ruin things! We can discuss it later, but for now, you have to keep it to yourself, okay?” she said.

“Why?” you said. It wasn’t accusatory; you were genuinely curious.

“Let’s just say that certain parties would not be pleased if they found out what I was doing,” she said, giggling nervously and glancing at the door. “And those parties aren’t the kind you really want to offend, so please just keep your mouth shut!”

“Don’t want to offend? Who, like Prince Zuko?” you said.

Before Ty Lee could respond, there was a knock at the door. She scrambled away from you, so that she was standing in the same corner Mai had been in, looking demure and respectful. It was like she had never spoken to you in the first place, and when she had arranged herself suitably, she motioned towards the door.

“Me?” you said.

“Yes, you!” she said. “It’s your room, isn’t it?”

“I would hardly know,” you reminded her. She considered this before making a face in agreement.

“Right, there is that fact. Anyways, yes. This isn’t a hospital wing or anything, it’s your room, which means that when someone knocks, it’s up to you to tell them if they can come in or not,” she said.

“You didn’t knock,” you said. Ty Lee cleared her throat.

“Ah, well, I’m from a Fire Nation family! People of higher rank are allowed to do things like barging in on others,” she said. “I can’t tell you the amount of times Princess Azula has stormed into my room without warning.”

“I see,” you said, mostly because you didn’t know who Princess Azula was or why she merited mention. “This must be a servant or something, then, considering they’re knocking on even my door.”

“Probably,” Ty Lee said. There was another knock, louder this time, and you swore under your breath as you realized you had forgotten to answer them.

“Come in!” you said, folding your hands in your lap and looking over at the doorway, wondering who it could possibly be.

To your surprise, it was a boy. He was dressed in fine armor, his dark hair tied back in a regal topknot, his features angular and his eyes a sharp gold. His face was set in a frown, but when he saw you, you thought you picked up on the faintest trace of happiness. Almost immediately, though, it was quashed by a scowl, so that you could not be quite sure if you had actually seen it or if you had just been imagining things.

Behind him was Mai, looking as bored as she had earlier, though she seemed marginally more excited to see Ty Lee than she had been when you had woken up. You supposed they must’ve been friends or something.

“You should bow,” Mai said, directing the statement at you.

“No way!” the boy said immediately, waving his hands in dissent before you could even move. “I mean, ah, she doesn’t have to do that. It’s fine.”

“Woah! That’s crazy, Zuko, normally you’re all about honor and tradition and whatnot!” Ty Lee said. “It’s strange to hear something like that coming from you.”

So this was Prince Zuko, the boy who had, for some reason, saved your life. He was the only one who knew anything about your past. Your name, your identity, your origin…if you wanted to know any of these things, then your best chance at finding them stood before you, gazing at you with an inscrutable expression.

“Your royal highness,” you said, not bothering to get out of bed but dipping your head in what you hoped was a sign of respect anyways. He coughed awkwardly.

“Um. Yes,” he said.

“So,” Mai observed from the spot she had taken beside Ty Lee, “she’s awake now.”

“I see that,” Prince Zuko said. Mai rolled her eyes.

“Will you tell us who she is? Or why you insisted on saving her, maybe?” she said.

“Why don’t you ask her?” he said. “She’d know as well as I would. Maybe better.”

“I already tried,” Mai said. The prince’s scowl deepened, the corners of his mouth tugging further downwards at the offhand statement, his eyes flicking to you before returning to Mai.

“Of course you did,” he said. “And what did she say?”

“Nothing,” Mai said.

“She doesn’t remember anything,” Ty Lee said. “Not even her own name. You’re the only one left who can tell us anything about her.”

Something in Prince Zuko’s demeanor shifted at that moment. A despairing anger warred with resignation and defeat, but below the surface, some other emotion was hidden, kept locked tightly away, something that he was suppressing, so that no one could dare to even attempt to comprehend it.

“I see,” he said. “Is that the case?”

He was asking you. You did not look at him when you responded, focusing on the pile of glass still stacked on the nightstand.

“Yes,” you said. “Your royal highness. It’s the case.”

Prince Zuko considered this, and for a moment, there was an eerie silence in the room, as you all waited to hear what he would say. Who were you? Would he finally disclose it, or would you be further stranded in the darkness?

“Ursa,” he said finally.

“Your mother?” Mai said. He shook his head.

“No, not her. It’s — um, it’s her. Her name,” he said, jutting his chin in your direction.

“She has the same name as your mother,” Mai said flatly.

“Yes,” he said.

Ursa. That was your name. You didn’t feel some great reclamation of your identity upon hearing it; in fact, it meant nothing to you, except that at some point, people must have called you that.

“Is that why you saved her?” Ty Lee said. “Because she has the same name as your mother?”

“Yeah,” he muttered under his breath. “That’s exactly why.”

“Really? We thought you might’ve been in love with her or something,” Mai said. “I guess this is in character enough, though.”

“How’d you find someone with a Fire Nation name in Ba Sing Se, though?” Ty Lee said. Prince Zuko gave her an irritated look; she only gazed at him innocently until he sighed and looked away.

“She had been taken prisoner on the front lines and brought to Ba Sing Se to be, er…tortured. For — for Fire Nation secrets,” he said.

“Why would they think an ordinary girl would have Fire Nation secrets?” Mai said.

“It’s not like Fire Nation citizens are easy to kidnap!” he snapped. “She might not know any vital information about the nation, but it was probably better than nothing!”

“Well, sorry for asking,” Mai said, rolling her eyes at him once again. It seemed her fuse was particularly shorter when it came to him, not that it had ever appeared to be particularly long to begin with.

“Do you think they got anything out of her?” Ty Lee said, in a not-so-subtle attempt to change the subject and break the tension. Prince Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It doesn’t matter, does it?” he said.

“I guess not. Not now that Ba Sing Se is ours and the rest of the Earth Kingdom has all but fallen,” Ty Lee said.

“Right. Even if they found out anything from her, it didn’t help them in the end,” he said.

“What should we do with her?” Ty Lee said. “Poor girl, she doesn’t even know her lefts from her rights!”

“Uh, I do know that much…” you interjected. Ty Lee paid you no mind, continuing to speak to Prince Zuko like you weren’t there.

“She can’t live in the palace like this forever!” she said. “But she’s like a blind little child, alone in the world. Where can she even go?”

Prince Zuko looked at you, and then he exhaled heavily. You swallowed, waiting for his judgment, knowing that he now held your life in his hands, wondering what he would decide, wondering what fate was in store for you. For Ursa. Since you both were one and the same, after all.

“Send her to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. They’ll teach her what she needs to know to be a proper Fire Nation girl,” he said.

“She’s not a noblewoman, though,” Mai said.

“Do you think the headmistress will argue with me if I say I want her admitted?” Prince Zuko shot back, though there was a tinge of insecurity, a questioning undercurrent, like he really wasn’t sure if he would get away with it or not.

“Nope,” Ty Lee said. “But do you think she — Ursa — can handle it? I mean, we were there, right, Mai? You remember how it was.”

“It’s a tough environment,” Mai agreed. You could tell what she was thinking: what place did a girl who came to the palace covered in bandages and glass, in the arms of a once-banished prince, have in a royal academy? “She’ll be eaten alive there.”

“And what if someone challenges her to an Agni Kai?” Ty Lee said. “Do you think she could win that? Is she that good at bending?”

“She’s not a Firebender,” Prince Zuko said.

“Why was she on the front lines if she’s not even a Firebender?” Mai said before pausing. “Never mind. I don’t feel like listening to your dramatics when you explain. But, you know, she’ll struggle that much more without bending to protect her.”

Prince Zuko’s face settled into a pensive mask of thought before he lit up, brandishing his pointer finger as if he’d come up with the idea of the century. Mai did not look amused, though Ty Lee seemed fascinated by what he might say.

“Ty Lee! You ran away from school to join the circus, right?” he said. Ty Lee went from looking fascinated to nervous, but she nodded.

“Yes, but I’m back now, so I don’t know why you’re bringing that up,” she said.

“My sister doesn’t have any immediate need for you,” he said, eyes gleaming. “Maybe it’s time you finally finish your education for good.”

“You want me to go back to the Royal Fire Academy?” Ty Lee repeated. Prince Zuko nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. You can watch out for her,” he said, jabbing his pointer finger at you.

“What will Azula say?” Ty Lee said.

“It’ll be fine,” Mai said. “If she needs you, you can just take a vacation from school or something. It’s better that you do this than laze around the palace.”

“I don’t want to be a burden,” you said quietly, speaking up of your own volition for the first time. “To anyone. I’m just grateful that you saved me, Prince Zuko. The rest of it is unnecessary. You don’t need to force the royal academy to accept me, and you don’t need to make Ty Lee come just to watch out for me. It’s enough that I’m alive. I can make my own life from here.”

“You don’t know anything. How can you expect to make a new life when you don’t even remember the one you’ve had until this point?” he said.

“I suppose there might be some benefit to Ursa going to school,” Mai added. “As long as she can survive the academy, it’ll be good for her. She can get caught up on everything she doesn’t remember, and it’ll be in an environment where her classmates are the children of the Fire Nation elite, so she can make further connections with people in high places.”

“Maybe she can find someone who has a brother she can date!” Ty Lee said, swooning.

“No!” Prince Zuko said. You all gave him strange looks; when he noticed, he turned a red as bright as his garb. “It wouldn’t be proper. You know, since you’ll be attending in my name and all; if you date anyone, it’ll reflect on me. So you can only date the people I approve of.”

“Alright. If that’s what you think is best,” you said. The last thing you wanted was to make things difficult for the boy who had, by all accounts, saved your life.

“I do,” he said.

“Uh-huh,” Mai said from the corner. “You know, Ty Lee, this reminds me of when Azula took us to the zoo that one time.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess it does!” Ty Lee said, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Prince Zuko said.

“Is there a zoo nearby?” you said. “I don’t remember ever going to one. I’d like to visit, if it’s possible.”

“I’ll take you!” Ty Lee said. “When we have a break from school and classes and all.”

“So you’ll go with her?” Prince Zuko said. Ty Lee huffed.

“I don’t really have much of a choice, do I? Besides, I’m sure Azula will be happy to hear I’m pursuing my education in my downtime instead of just doing nothing. And you know I’d do anything to make her happy!” she said before cartwheeling over to where you were still situated in your bed, throwing her arms around you affectionately. “We’re going to be classmates, Ursa!”

“I look forward to it,” you said genuinely. Ty Lee tapped you on the forehead.

“Me too!” she said.

“You are?” Mai said. “I don’t remember you ever liking the school, Ty Lee.”

“I don’t,” she said, abruptly wilting. “Everyone was so mean there. But my parents will probably be happy, and at least I’ll get to spend more time with Ursa! Maybe I’ll be the only one around when she regains her memories, and I’ll get to hear her story in her own words first.”

“For the sake of the prince’s mental wellbeing, let’s hope that’s not the case,” Mai said. Prince Zuko did not even respond, too busy inspecting the glass on your bedside to rise to the barb.

“Fine, then,” he said. “Make sure she’ll have everything she needs to attend the academy.”

“Which one of us was that pleasantly worded command directed towards?” Mai said.

“Whichever one of you has the time to do it, I guess,” he said. “This is the glass that came with her?”

“Yes. On the subject, why’d you go and collect so much of it? What a waste of time that must’ve been,” Mai said.

“I don’t know,” Prince Zuko said, sweeping the glass into the small bag lying on the ground by the nightstand. “I thought it might be important in healing her or something. I mean, you know, how could the healers understand what they were pulling out of her unless they saw it?”

Mai did not seem to believe him, but to your surprise, she did not question him further on the topic, only nodding. Maybe she respected him just a bit more than you had thought, though considering your original hypothesis had not exactly been favorable for the prince, this didn’t mean much.

“Where are you taking that?” she said instead, motioning towards the bag. ���To dispose of it?”

“Yeah,” Prince Zuko said. “I’ll have it taken to the incinerator.”

You felt a twinge in your stomach. “Do you have to?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said.

“That glass is my only link to who I was before. Even if it was a bad memory, at least that memory was mine,” you explained. “I — I know it’s strange, but I feel like if you destroy it, you’ll destroy me, in some sense.”

“Ursa…” Ty Lee said, helplessly sympathetic, grasping your hands in her own. “It’s just glass. It can’t tell you anything about yourself, besides the fact that you were hurt during the fall of Ba Sing Se.”

“Your royal highness,” you beseeched Prince Zuko, who shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably at the title. “I know you have already done so much for me, so it is in bad taste for me to ask you for another favor, but please do not send that glass to be burnt away. Please save it. At least until I remember why it was there in the first place.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “It’s waste material. Nothing good will come of you keeping it. Nothing at all will.”

“I just—” you began before breaking off. “Never mind. I’m sorry for asking.”

“Zuko, maybe you should just do it,” Mai said.

“Leave it, Mai,” Ty Lee said. “He’s made up his mind. Even we can’t change it once he’s like this.”

Both of them looked at him, but he only picked up the bag and tucked it under his arm.

“I’m leaving now,” he said. “Don’t come after me.”

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving you alone in the room with Mai and Ty Lee. Both of them seemed sorry, and actually, unlike what you had expected, Mai was the first to speak up.

“I’m sorry, Ursa,” she said. “He’s always been the temperamental sort.”

“It’s okay,” you said, still unused to being referred to as Ursa, even if it was the name you had supposedly bore for your entire life. “He and Ty Lee are right, after all. It’s just glass. Trash. What use could I really derive from something like that? If that’s all that’s left of my old life, then maybe I’m better off not remembering at all.”

“You don’t really believe that,” Mai said. “But if it makes you feel better, we won’t argue, right, Ty Lee?”

“Hm? No, we won’t,” Ty Lee said.

“What’s gotten you all distracted?” Mai said. Ty Lee shook her head.

“It’s nothing. By the way, can you help me pack for the academy? I’m worried I’ll forget something,” she said.

“That, or you want me to do it all for you,” Mai said.

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that!” Ty Lee said.

“I’m just joking,” Mai said, but since her voice remained that same steady deadpan, it was hard to tell. “Yes, I’ll help you, and I’ll get things ready for Ursa, too. That way she can leave as soon as Zuko gets her admitted into the academy. Let’s be honest — the sooner she can get out of here, the better.”

“That’s true,” Ty Lee said, though when she noticed your downcast expression, she rushed to reassure you. “Don’t feel bad!”

“It’s not a problem. I understand; you’ve already wasted so much time and so many resources on taking care of me. It’s only logical that you’d want me gone,” you said.

“It’s not like that,” Mai said. “There’s just people in this palace that you’d be better off never meeting. It’ll be good if you can get out before you have that displeasure. That’s all.”

“I see,” you said. “Then thank you once again for doing your best to look out for me.”

“We’ll leave you alone for a bit,” she said. “I’m sure this has all been a lot to process, so it’ll be good for you to come to terms with it on your own time.”

“Bye, Ursa! See you soon!” Ty Lee said.

“Bye,” you said, though your farewell was lacking much of her cheer. Even if Mai was right, you didn’t really want to sit alone. You had nothing to think about or do in the solitude, so what good would you gain from it? But you could hardly beg them to stay, not when you did not know them and they did not know you, so you only watched as they left you sitting by yourself in silence.

It was only when the moon was high in the sky that your door creaked open once more. You were still awake — you had been having trouble getting to sleep, so you had tentatively begun to walk around your room, testing your legs, familiarizing yourself with the motions of walking once more. When you heard footsteps, though, you immediately grew still, hoping that the visitor would be someone you recognized and not someone with more nefarious intentions.

You had been expecting, or perhaps hoping, that it would be Mai or Ty Lee, but to your surprise, it was Prince Zuko. He was not wearing armor, and his hair was loose and messy around his face, but there was no doubt that it was him.

“How much do you really remember?” he said without formality or even a greeting. “Hey. Tell me the truth, at least.”

“What do you mean?” you said. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I mean, have you really forgotten everything?” he said.

“Yes,” you said. “There’s nothing but a vast darkness whenever I try to look back at the time before I woke up here. I don’t remember a single thing about myself. I didn’t even know my name until you said it.”

He cocked his head at you, trying to discern if you were being truthful, and eventually he must’ve come to some conclusion, because he just buried his face in his hands.

“Okay,” he said.

“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” you said.

“It depends on who you’re asking,” he said. “And if you’re telling the truth.”

“I am!” you said.

“I believe you,” he said.

“Well…” you said. “There is one thing. Sometimes, in between the darkness, I’ll see something blue. I don’t know what it might represent, but I know that it’s there. It’s the only other thing I can recall — that precise shade like jewel-paint.”

“That could be anything,” he said.

“Yes, I know that,” you said. “That’s why I wouldn’t have even mentioned it ordinarily. Maybe something important to me was that color, or maybe there was just a blue tapestry on the wall where I was injured. There’s no concrete explanation, but I wanted you to know the full truth.”

“So that’s it, then,” he said.

“I suppose it is. On another subject, do you really mean to have me attend the Royal Fire Academy for Girls?” you said.

“You’ve already been accepted,” he said. “You’ll go. It’ll be alright.”

“Mai and Ty Lee didn’t seem to think so,” you said.

“You’re stronger than both of them, by far,” he said. “If they survived, you will, too.”

“Yet I’m the one that was captured,” you reminded him. “I don’t see how that makes me the stronger between us.”

A ghost of a smile flashed over his face. “You may not believe it, but at least to me, you are.”

“Did you know me very well, then, to be saying that with such confidence?” you said. “Before you found me that day? Were — were we friends?”

You didn’t want to say anything else, for it seemed presumptuous, but friends was close enough to what you were really asking that you figured the prince would understand.

It seemed that he did, but he did not appreciate the implication, for his face closed off and his posture grew withdrawn. Turning away from you, he pursed his lips.

“No,” he said. “We weren’t anything. You didn’t know me, and I didn’t know you. I only saved you because — because you and my mother share a name. That’s all.”

“It’s strange,” you said. “That name doesn’t even feel like it’s my own. Is it the amnesia that causes such a phenomenon?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But you shouldn’t overthink it. Have fun at the Royal Fire Academy, Ursa. I’ll give you a messenger hawk; write to me frequently. And — and if you remember anything…”

“If I remember anything?” you prodded.

“Tell me first,” he said. “Not Ty Lee. Not anyone else. Me.”

[clippedwingsmuses]

🇭‌🇪‌🇦‌🇩‌🇨‌🇦‌🇳‌🇴‌🇳‌ - 🇹‌🇼‌🇮‌🇱‌🇮‌🇬‌🇭‌🇹‌ 🇸‌🇵‌🇦‌🇷‌🇰‌🇱‌🇪‌

ooc: if you think i left behind the headcanon of twilight having a blonde streak in her hair, you're wrong!! i am very attached to this headcanon and i will die on this hill.

i made twilight have a blonde streak in her hair long before the rainbow power happened that canonized it, and honestly i freaked the fuck out when i saw that was her extra colour. i hadn't seen a lot of people use that headcanon other than me, so it was really cool to see that it was technically an official thing now.

to go along with that, i imagine that excess rainbow power is what gives twilight her blonde streak now. as she grew up and became more in tune with her magic (being able to raise and lower the moon just as celestia and luna did) this power gradually manifested as a permanent part of her physical being, alongside her flowing hair.

i don't follow the design that she uses in the last problem, naturally, but i do take on the fact that her hair did eventually start to flow. how it flows in my headcanon is similar to how it did in 'twilight's kingdom', when she first took on the magic of all the princesses.

[triglycercule]

firm cross is part of the star sanses believer

IT LITERALLY MAKES NO SENSE TO PUT HIM IN THE GANG???? HE'S NOT A BAD GUY BRO IS LITERALLY FIGHTING TO SAVE HIS UNIVERSE. PLUS HE HATES NIGHTMARE AND (PROBABLY KILLER)

if you put him in the gang then it's a damn 5v3 not considering error bc he's simply too good for nightmares gang. anyways BUT if you put him in the stars it's a 4v4 which makes for more interesting and just even fights. what's the point in beating up the stars with an extra member when literally 70% of the time in fics they're ALWAYS on a losing streak???

character wise cross fits a lot better in the stars too. first off he literally left nm. cross has fought alongside both dream AND ink in underverse. cross is like a swap sans varient. cross is trying to become a better guy and help his world. also he literally doesn't even know about horror and dust. also he could get a (not ooc) well deserved therapy arc if he joined the stars

moral of the story: cross is NOT a bad guy and he would NOT be part of the bad sanses. he is so much closer to becoming part of the stars than anything

also i think i'm just a stickler for no repetition and symmetry but both cross and dust have purple blush. cross's secondary color is purple. that's weird there should only be one purple blusher. so give cross to the stars and then it'll be even (cyan muted dark blue grayish purple and muted red) (rainbow (i aint like the rest of yall ass blush) yellow pastel blue and pastel purple)

[the-blank-crossing-os]

OOC icons for art fight!

[icyrose-cat]

Object Obstacle Course team lineup!

[crashingheavens]

Tag Dump 

[captainkurosolaire]

22. Does your character have a mean streak?

Captain Kuro Solaire : No I am the stable epitome ov' rainbows. I'm always composed, calculated, and sweet. I don't see why you wouldn't want yer parents t' meet me despite they said otherwise, or your older sister... especially mother. I'm a good-role model, a paragon ov' light, hell's b' bells! I might as well friggin' b' Ser. Aymeric th' second. (OOC: Sarcasm obviously, he's a loose demented cannon. Takes just the right scenario and opposition for him to unleash his mean-streak, it varies, he's pretty tamed and suppressed often with snark or projecting. Cause his compassion is what brings death often in his line, better not to show thing's that give you 'value' just mean's it'll get taken or targeted first for exploitation, also a stigma that it's a weak flaw of his that's been brandished his bane. With a lot of vices, though you can suppress and be quite tame though. But eventually with the right harrowing trials, he'll continue showcasing just how sadistic and mean he can get again, probably cause it'll be required again for survival, he's a trained chameleon in all fields. Also, though compassion is the furthermost thing from something that isn't strong. Just stigma's and sterotype's are vile when comparing successes, and he's still learning. Appreciate all your wonders, @lukawarrioroflight

[lady-charinette]

Chapter 1 - Strings & Papers Lukanette AU (Teacher!Marinette & SingleDad!Luka)

A/N: Hello everyone! As requested, I made this into a full fic. It was originally something small on Tumblr, an AU idea for Lukanette (SingleDad!Luka and Teacher!Marinette) but after many requests, I finally decided to post the first chapter.

INFO:

All characters are aged up! Everyone is at least in their late twenties/early thirties.

Modern AU without superpowers/kwamis. Tikki is a cat here ^_^

A few OC’s will make appearances, mostly the children of some of the original ML characters (Luka’s child Leon…etc.)

This is purely Lukanette.

Oh and I apologize for any OOCness in advance!

Enjoy reading! :)

Chapter 1

Children rushed about, the room bustling with life as her students went about their tasks; trying to create something using their hands and imagination.

It could be drawings, clay creations, any piece of art that the children were able to craft.

The important thing was, it was something that made them happy and that they liked.

“Miss Marinette! Miss Marinette! Look what I did!“ the boy waved his clay creation in the air wildly, cupped securely in his hands.

His teacher flashed him a bright smile, bending down to look at him and his clay figure properly, “Oh! What a cute dog!” the brown clay figure with blotches of white was slightly disfigured, but Marinette could tell from it’s general shape it was supposed to be a dog, a dog with missing ears, but a dog nonetheless.

Marinette grinned cheerfully and nodded towards the others. “Is this what makes you happy?”

He didn’t hesitate to reply. “Mhm! I love my dog very much!” he raised his arms and spread them as wide apart as they could go, indicating how much he loved his pet.

Marinette’s alert gaze swept over her class, catching some students drawing quietly on some tables, others chatting energetically on the arts and crafts table with glue and colourful carton papers strewn about.

Some children were on the floor, building castles, vehicles or even people with lego blocks.

She walked around, asking every child how they were doing and if they needed any help. Marinette offered holding the tall lego tower for a girl while she got the little decorative bow on top of it, her mother’s workplace she said, a place she could play at where her mother was also nearby, because she didn’t want to be alone at home.

The next child was a boy with dark messy hair and kind brown eyes, Leon. He was drawing something.

Two people, surrounded with what looked like music notes. And what appeared to be an instrument on top of the taller figure, a guitar.

Marinette crouched down next to the table and peeked over his shoulder, giggling when he turned his head and wore a full blown grin on his face. “Miss Marinette!” her heart warmed and lips pulled into an automatic smile at his glee.

Leon was such a cheerful child. He was a walking contradiction at times, cheerful and kind but also quiet and polite, he was never mean to his classmates or teachers.

He sometimes hummed a melody during class, but quiet enough not to disturb her or anyone else, she sometimes heard it when the whole class was silent, except for Leon, who hummed a tune to himself, swinging his legs with a small smile on his face.

Marinette remembered the first time she asked him about it, the reason why he hummed and if it was a special melody.

His answer had surprised her. ‘Mhm! My dad always sings me to sleep that way! He’s really good with his voice.”

She couldn’t remember ever meeting the man, Leon’s father, she vaguely remembered jotting down a phone number as the parental contact information, but she couldn’t remember it.

The only parental figure that frequently picked Leon up from school was his aunt Juleka, whom Marinette always had pleasant conversations with. The woman was kind if a bit shy, her voluminous hair, dark save for the purple streak at the front and at the ends, half hiding her left eye. It would’ve hidden the entirety of her face if not for the hairclip holding it at bay.

Marinette couldn’t blame her, she herself normally styled her hair into pigtails, loose hair would get everywhere in her face and it was impractical for teaching.

She also experienced some of the more daring kids try to pull on it, so pigtails were always a safe bet.

Marinette focused back on the picture Leon was drawing, particularly the two figures on it. “Is that you and your dad?” she saw him nod his head, using black to colour the top of his father’s head and blue for the ends. She stifled a giggle, always amazed at how creative children could get. She saw a girl once draw her father with flowing rainbow hair and when she’d seen the man in person, he almost looked nothing alike from the childishly drawn picture his daughter portrayed him to be.

“Your dad’s hair looks cool.” She smiled, giggling at the light blue.

“Thank you.” His polite phrase made her smile and the pedagogical figure in her rejoice, she was proud whenever parents raised their children right.

Then, she pointed to the guitar over his head, his best attempt at the instrument, which Marinette had to admit was good for someone his age. “Is that your guitar?”

This time, Leon shook his head. “No, that’s my dad’s. He plays it whenever he’s home, he also plays for me.” He smiled shyly, sheepishly, rubbing his messy black hair. “Um, I tried to play once, but it fell on the ground. Dad didn’t get mad, but I felt really guilty.” His cheeks tinged pink and Marinette felt sympathy well within her heart as she placed a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“I’m sure your dad forgave you as soon as it happened, it was an accident, right? Accidents happen all the time, Leon! I dropped my mug in the kitchen today!” she giggled, cringing internally because she was known for her clumsiness.

The boy stuck his bottom lip out and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess, I still felt really bad, but dad said it was okay…” a bright smile curled his lips in the next second, eyes alight with excitement. “Miss Marinette, can I tell you a secret?” 

Marinette steeled herself, adjusting her grip on the table to support her weight. Children were honest by nature, they frequently revealed things about their home life, in extent their parents’, to the teachers. Most things weren’t bad, but very amusing, a secret source of entertainment for teachers to talk over coffee in the teacher’s lounge.

Leon whispered before she could say anything, grinning from ear to ear. “My dad is the best dad in the world!”

She blinked, surprised, but laughed at the ‘secret’, shaking her head and affectionately pinching Leon’s cheek, which made him laugh. “Really? Then I guess I should meet the best dad in the world sometime, hm? I would love to meet him.” She was being honest too.

It was important for teachers to know the parents of the children they taught and took care of through the day and their early education, knowing from what sort of familial backgrounds children came from was important to adjust their teachings or offer the appropriate help if children were surrounded by less than desirable circumstances.

Marinette doubted that was the case with Leon, but she was curious about his father, since she never met either him nor the mother.

She did hear from the aunt that his mother was working and living overseas and that the father was her older brother, but that was that.

She hadn’t thought to ask the aunt, since she thought his father would come to pick his son up himself sometime. So far, that hadn’t been the case, but Marinette could be patient.

If he was as great as Leon described, surely he would have time to drop by sometime?

Standing up, Marinette complimented the drawing one last time before she clapped her hands and announced for the children to hang up they art works somewhere in the classroom, on the walls or the strings over their heads to decorate the room with.

Weeks had already passed since the school year started and Marinette longed for something new and fresh to liven up the classroom, the children found the idea good too. It would help keep their creativity flowing and to brighten the overall atmosphere.

Her gaze strayed to the clock on the wall and a sigh left her lips.

It was almost time for the big break.

A few minutes later…

The two women laughed, Marinette stirring her coffee to dissolve the sugar as her best friend and fellow teacher Alya talked about her day. “Wait, you didn’t take the glue from him?”

The busty woman snorted, taking a big sip from her black coffee before she smirked like a fox. “Nope! I let him squeeze out every last drop, he learned his lesson when the ball rang. He had to clean up all the mess himself and he got a good scolding from his mom too. Good woman, I salute her!” she lifted her mug in a mock salute and Marinette laughed, shaking her head.

“I’m sure the boy had reasons to be so destructive.” Truthfully, children with such tendencies weren’t rare, they were aware of the phases of each child and that sometimes by destroying things, they released pent up frustration or helped themselves focus better afterwards. But this child seemed to be a bit different. “What’s his background like? The parents?”

Alya sighed, taking another long gulp. “Father’s a mechanic, has a bit of a sailor’s mouth. The mother is an iron hard business woman, she even makes me freeze on the spot whenever she comes to pick him up.” She grimaced, extending her hand to throw a sugar cube into her coffee. “I think the dynamics in the family are a bit unbalanced. The father is a bit too lenient but the mother is too strict, causing the two to clash. They’re unsure of their parenting methods, they even had a small verbal fight during parent teacher conference.”

Ugh, Marinette secretly dreaded those days, as did every other teacher.

Parents came in all shapes and sizes, just like anyone else.

There were parents who were the spitting images of their offspring, other were their polar opposites.

There were parents with impeccable backgrounds, academically successful people, but lacking in human warmth. Parents that continued the archaic parenting methods of their own parents, never intending to change the way they were raising their own children from their own childhood treatment.

Marinette disliked those the most, ones that weren’t progressive in their thinking but cocooned in their own ‘deal’ version of how a child had to behave or to what limits a parent’s authority could reach.

It was her secret pleasure whenever she had an opportunity to shoot them down  and lecture them otherwise, she lived for those moments to see the colour drain from the adult’s faces while she explained all the potential negative ways their toxicity could affect their child after, that children weren’t ‘small adults’ and that every child had different needs and required a different form of parenting finesse.

Some parents were defensive and angry like lions, others more kind and understanding and willing to better themselves and correct the errors.

In the kitchen of the teacher’s lounge, somewhere in the back of her mind, Marinette kept Leon’s picture stored in her memory and during her conversation with Alya, she wondered just what sort of parent Leon’s father was.

——–

It was two in the afternoon and classes were over for today, for the children the day of duties and learning was over.

But for Marinette, she still had tons of work to do.

She watched the children leave the classroom, watched them put on their outdoor shoes and how some parents were already waiting for them out of the classroom.

Those moments, when the parents came to pick up their children, those moments Marinette loved most.

To see the pure joy of child and parent at seeing each-other, after being separated only for a few hours. To see them kiss and embrace each-other and laugh. The parents asking about their day and the kids retelling everything they did, from the tiniest details, the most insignificant things to the big events.

The parents listened with a smile, some shutting off their phones so colleagues from work didn’t disturb them.

There were also other parents, some greeted their children with a quick hug and kiss, ushering them along so they didn’t stay away from work for too long. Others gave a robotic kiss to their cheeks and took their school bags, marching out of the school like a soldier in the military, their child trailing behind them like a doll pulled by its strings.

Marinette always stayed with the ones whose parents were running late, being met with endless exclamations of gratitude for watching over them on her break and the like, with numerous apologies spilling from their mouths about traffic and work or too many duties overlapping.

She understood, she was an adult herself, and while not a mother, Marinette knew how difficult children could be. Her past work experiences in a local kindergarten taught her the very definition of patience.

And what it means to be assertive.

Kindergarten kids could be surprisingly stubborn and with their temper tantrums, nothing was safe from them.

She remembered starting her private meditating sessions for that very reason, always after work, with or without relaxing music and her bed.

She tried a scented candle once, but nearly burned her foot after not paying attention.

Sometimes, relaxing music didn’t help, the zen-esque tunes not appealing to her at all. She sometimes wondered if the people composing the music ever really tried mediating to it.

But the most relaxing thing to her was still her other passion, besides teaching.

Fashion.

She loved to create.

She encouraged creative minds in whatever way she could.

Her own parents’ encouragement and support in her youth drove her to pursue a career in fashion, then switch over to teaching, to be in a role where she could offer the same kind of warm encouragement and fierce support children didn’t have from home.

Her wardrobe consisted of more than half of her own creations, clothes by her own design. She’d tried opening a small fashion store once, but had to close it due to time constrictions. She couldn’t do two very time consuming jobs at the same time.

It might have been ‘just’ elementary school, but correcting hundreds of students’ tests, writing new ones, overseeing several classes while attending her own educational courses took up a lot of time.

Marinette relished coming home, stretching and taking a quick shower before she set to work.

Before she opened any of her thick folders or worksheets for school, she first opened her journal.

She always liked to document things, for safety but also private reasons. As insurance and the fond – and not so fond – memories to find a home.

For that purpose, she kept two diaries.

A journal for work.

A diary for home.

Marinette took the thick leather bound tome first, a modest brown leather design, a feather imprinted onto the leathery material on the cover, the thick book held closed by a magnet.

She opened it, skimming through filled pages to get to a blank one.

And she began writing, Tikki mewling at her feet, her soft fur brushing against her legs, whiskers tickling her skin while Marinette scribbled furiously, toes gently running along Tikki’s arching back.

“Hello journal,

Today had been a good day, 24th of October.

I started class at 8 sharp, there were only two children who called in sick, with parents excusing their absences immediately.

Class began with arts and crafts, the children received instructions on the tasks for today: decorating the classroom.

The old decorations were discarded, some saved in the storage room for further use, but the broken and tattered ones disposed of. The children had to create something that made them happy, in whichever form they could. Drawing, painting, using clay or building blocks to their heart’s content.

I tried helping as little as I could, to not impede their creativity, but offered helpful advice when asked. Most used clay to form figurines of their parents, siblings or pets. Some even formed food. A few creations caught my eyes, but all of them were unique and beautiful in their own way. Some of the children took their creations home, drawings they made a second or third time mostly. But many others stayed to decorate the classroom, it gave a refreshed image and helped levitate the atmosphere.

Break was spent outside in the school garden, I led some of the children to the vegetable garden to check on the growing plants and explained some of the still budding vegetables, unrecognizable in their ‘baby form’ as the students called it.

Tasks for tomorrow were quickly finished, I worked through my fifteen minute break, the short assignments about ‘happy memories’ had been read through but refrained from correcting. It had been one of their first written tasks, so I refrained from putting a stamp on them with red markings. I’ve returned them today, for the two sick children, I kept them in my desk in the teacher’s lounge to be dealt out once the children returned.

Parents had picked their children after school was over, some running late. Ms. Wilson had a suspicious countenance in particular, I detected a faint scent of something alcoholic, but didn’t address the matter. I did send a message to social worker Chloe Bourgeois, who agreed to look into the matter after some measures. Apparently, the family had already been a case not yet laid to rest and they’d waited for a cue to finally take action.

More to come tomorrow, goodbye for now.

-          Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Marinette yawned, spying the clock on her desk reading just passed seven in the evening. Had she been sitting for that long already? She shook her head, leaning down to scratch Tikki’s head, resting languidly on Marinette’s foot.

She would need to feed her later and check her water bowl. Tikki was sometimes surprisingly gluttonous, despite her slender frame.

Stifling another yawn, Marinette safely stored the notebook in her first drawer, locking it with a key and slipping the metal into a hidden sleeve underneath her desk, well concealed from inattentive eyes.

She smiled when she grabbed her private diary, the pink leather book feeling heavy with memory in her hands.

She pulled off the leather string tying it together and flipped it open to a fresh page.

And began to write.

“Dear diary,

Today had been a stressful day.

The children were fine and well-behaved, but I had so much work to do! Not to mention, I missed one of my breaks because a colleague had called in sick unexpectedly and I had to fill their shift. Can you believe it? She couldn’t have called hours ago before school started, she HAD to call five minutes before her class started and I had to FLY across the hallway to make sure the children were inside and busy with tasks.

Sometimes, I wish I could throw a banana at some of my colleagues.

Some people just shouldn’t have become teachers.

The world would be a better place, the children growing in it too.

Speaking of children, something caught my eye today that I just couldn’t get out of my head.”

Marinette paused, tongue sticking out of her mouth as the image of Leon’s drawing burned brightly in her mind, as if she imprinted it so perfectly into memory.

“Leon drew a picture today, under the theme ‘what makes me happy’. He drew a picture of his family, his dad and him. He didn’t draw his mother and I didn’t ask, it wasn’t my place to and I doubt he’d know anything aside from ‘mommy doesn’t live with us’ or the like. At least, that’s the impression I got. But from everything I saw so far, it looked like the father didn’t live with him either. He never set foot in school before! Or at least I never saw him, Alya apparently did, but couldn’t really remember, saying it was for a short time and there were so many people.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, thinking back to the conversation she had with Alya in the kitchen.

That woman could memorize six pages of their random chats about a boy they gossiped in high school, but couldn’t, for the life of her, remember seeing the parent of one of the children at parent teacher conference two years ago. She smiled, shaking her head fondly and the pen was scratching against paper again.

“Anyway, what Miss Reporter said, Leon’s father was apparently pretty busy. She didn’t know what his occupation was, but it was the only logical conclusion, right? A man that rarely picks his son up from school? Sends his sister to do it for him? He must be some businessman. Then again, Leon mentioned how ‘he was the best dad in the world’ and he would sing and play songs for him before he went to sleep. Maybe he wasn’t so bad, but what was the deal with not coming to school? Was he a former dropout? Did he just have a phobia? Maybe he really was just too busy, but still, something’s fishy. Juleka, the aunt, mentioned how apologetic the man felt for not always being there….I guess he might not be a bad parent, but still, Leon talked so fondly of him, I really hope he isn’t the jerky parent I think he could be. I also, wondered about where the mother was. Leon rarely ever talks about her, I don’t really dare to ask neither him nor Juleka. It was a family matter after all, but still, I was biting my nails the whole time! Juleka just mentioned the mom lived and worked overseas and the dad was busy, but that was it. Were they divorced? Forced to live apart because of work? I don’t think Leon seemed to mind much, at least he hadn’t showed any signs to. He rarely talks about his mom, but he regularly gushes about his dad. Maybe I shouldn’t judge too quickly, the man could have his reasons for not picking up his child.

Still, I’ll see where that goes. Maybe I’ll try to flip through the parent contact book and try to give him a call, just to see how he would react.

Anyway, that’s all for today, I still need to feed Tikki and myself.

See you tomorrow, dear diary!

-          Marinette

Thanks for reading! What did you think so far? :)

Tag List: @seraphkitty @canadianburd @macaknight @fher43 @vivilakitty @quickspinner @im-here-for-the-content @decaffeinated-happyshit @jessigurl-design @2sunchild2 @zebrabaker @redscarlet95 @didntwant2come @graduatedmelon @eve-is-the-dawn @bresso23 @anjuschiffer @alissawhited-blog @rudy-ruby @mystery-5-5 @winter-gardenflower @kayla-the-rambling-writer @teresarosiadeviluke2112 @captainmac6 @violatiger8 @crazywhitemofo @varksvader

@veroocasanova (I’m sorry for not asking before, but I remembered you wanting to read more Lukanette fics without Adrien salt 😅)

[kingswoodhq]

“What was that?” A student cried, as a blast of yellow smoke exploded behind her. As she stood from her seat, another explosion of orange smoke filled the room. Followed by pink, green and blue. Before you know it, the whole room was doused in coloured smoke and not a soul could see passed five feet in front of them. It was a dash to get out as THIS song could be heard blasting from the speakers and then silence. All that could be heard was the laugh that is played at the end of Thriller --- that was until another student yelled...

                                            “Let me the hell out of here!”

Once the unlucky student’s finally made it out to the carnival, streaks of every colour of the rainbow could be seen flying across the sky. It was an ambush. An ambush of colour, colour that stained your skin and your clothes. A girl’s cry could be hear from somewhere in the crowd as she was hit by orange paint, another student cried out as they were hit with green and before anyone knew it -- it looked like they were in a festival. Each student that attended the event has been covered and stained in powder paint. Each speaker in area had been taken over by the heavy metal song that was heard inside the big top, it was deafening -- so loud that people were covering there ears and then ... silence and a sinister voice was heard. 

“This is only the beginning, since you like to humiliate those who you think you’re better than. You’re going to find out how scary they can actually be. A reckoning is coming.”

OOC: So, wow. Everyone looks like THIS right now. But probably a little less happy ( or maybe your character loved it. ) Because of these events, the carnival has been forced to close for cleaning and all of the students sent away. But the night doesn’t end here --- your characters can no head on over to the Elizabeth building were THE AFTER PARTY is now in full swing. Because the after party started earlier than scheduled, the event will now end on the 23th NOVEMBER.  Your threads from the main event can still be carried on, any new threads though will take place in the after party or wherever your character went next. REMEMBER it is still the same evening. Tag your starters with KINGS:EVENT

[caelaenne]

Laenne’s menagerie boutique performance

Music found here.

Laenne walks out onto the stage carrying a small music player and she is wearing a leotard and short skirt both in a pastel teal color with a multitude of different colored ribbons that are wrapped around her waist.  The pointe shoes she has on would mirror the ribbons she had around her waist and the satin almost seems to glow with every different color of the rainbow in pastel tones to match her leotard. Setting the music player down next to the wall she presses play and slowly walks back to the middle of the stage and has a seat on the ground, angling up her leg so her knee is pointing up towards the ceiling while pointing her toe of her shoe on the ground. Laying her head down onto her leg as her hand rests over her waist she grasps onto one of the ribbons around her waist and awaits for the music to start.

Upon hearing the first chord from the guitar Laenne pushes herself up and lifting her leg off the ground and rising onto her toe shoe  and pulls out the first of the ribbons from around her waist. Walking along on the tips of her shoes she flutters the red ribbon around her body and spinning around to wrap the ribbon around herself before the ribbon turns to a black color while she shrinking down  to the ground as the song spoke of being small.

Stepping out on pointed toes they landed softly on the floor and with each step she would pull out another ribbon from her makeshift belt and twirl them around herself slowly before spinning around and wrapping them around her body. Then from under the ribbons her own voice comes out in harmony with male singing, “I last saw you laughing.” and the ribbons start to slide from off of her body, leaving a trail of glitter in each of the colors of the rainbow over her outfit.

A look of fear comes over as she took the next few steps before quickly changing to a smile. Grasping  onto the very ends of the ribbons she takes a few running steps from the back side of the stage and leaps  into the air with her legs spread out into the splits in mid air.  She holds her arms to the sides with the ribbons fluttering out behind them and glides through the air and lands just before where the crowd is gathered and continues with  the soft harmony backing up the male’s singing on the recording, “call me up and I will always be there”

Swirling the ribbons around and shifting the majority of them to one hand leaving as she rises to her toe but leaves the red one out and flicking her wrist to form it into a heart. Extending her leg slowly as she rises up onto the point of her shoe Leanne whips her leg around sending her spinning in a tight circle and swirling the ribbons around, and her voice rings out  “So don’t be afraid to let them show your true colors your true colors are beautiful.”

Obviously getting more and more confident in her singing she walks out into the audience and smiles to those gathered. Heading over to Romena and sliding the ribbons across her shoulders, it leaves a trail of glitter over the girl’s skin and smiling to her softly.

Then she pirouettes  around while taking large steps and continuing to sing out, “True colors” she harmonized with the recording  and smiling at andi  as she slides the ribbons  over her then spins around several times over to Raiya and smiles at her, flicking her wrist the red ribbon forms a heart shape and she hands it to her smiling to Raiya she sings to her “and that’s why I love you.” Giving her a wink she walks on past she pulls out another red ribbon from her waist to replace the other, “So don’t be afraid to let them show”

“True colors are beautiful”  She sung out again as she danced around the crowd, the ribbons flying out behind her , leaving holographic streaks behind them  for a few moments and disappearing as she returns to the stage she spins herself in a tight circle during the descending notes she sings and slows to a stop, facing the audience and forming the ribbons into a rainbow as she sings,  “Ooooh Oooh Ooh like a rainbow.”

Remaining up on her toes, Laenne pulls out the yellow ribbon and whips it into a circle as a laughing face shines in the middle of it, “I last saw you laughing”  she sings. Bounding out to one of the crowd members she lays her hand on their temple,  “This world makes you crazy, and when you’ve taken all you can bear.  Just call me up cause I will always be there.”

Continuing with the sweeping motions as she returned to the stage the flowing ribbons fanned out in front of her while she makes a figure eight in front of her body, then magically they braided themselves together before she has a seat on the lowest stair, singing the last few words of the song, “Show your true colors, true colors are beautiful (like a rainbow) Oooh Oooh ooh Like a rainbow.”  then as the music comes to a close she  hands the rainbow woven ribbons to who is sitting just in front of her.

OOC-  A big thanks to @maraiya-wra, @andijelly @brokenholyshieldofwyrmrest and @xyveth-heartbane for help in doing this and letting me use you guys as props!  So glad this turned out as well as it did.  <3

[the-blank-crossing-os]

The OOC team lineups! They have quite different dynamics (though if it goes as planned that changes halfway through)

[icyrose-cat]

hi here's a poster thing for my show idea

[somanypetals]

ok ok ok. are you a spuffy fan? i feel like i've seen spuffy on yr blog and if that's not true then please ignore but i've been thinkin recently and i'm very interested in what you think/how you reconcile spike's attempted rape?? bc as a spuffy fan i love them together but i also can't ignore this part of their history in good conscience. was it ooc? was their relationship building to a horrible climax? i'm just very interested in what people think abt that writing decision

omg I’m sorry for taking so long to answer this, I wrote like half an essayand then firefox crashed and I got grumpy about it for a few days lol ;___;

anyway in short: do I ship it? yes. is my relationship with the shipcomplicated? fuck yes. can I reconcile the attempted rape? on a base level, no.on a character level, I am able to move past it but not look past it. on awriting level, I don’t reconcile it at all. was it ooc? yes and no,which is the interesting part

this got really long and I’m hoping that I can remember everything I wassaying before I had to start all over again (rip) but I’m sorry it got so longunder the cut

so I do still ship spuffy, but I have a really complicatedrelationship with it. I’ve shipped it since I was a tween, before I reallyunderstood the unhealthy parts of it (rape scene aside, which I was very clearon), and I’ve come to see those in a new light the past five or so years, butI’m still also someone who is very adamant about people being allowed to shipwhatever the fuck they want in fiction whether it’s unhealthy or not becauseit’s fiction, and at the end of the day I’m shipping something because I findit entertaining or interesting, not because it’s the paradigm of relationshipexamples. in fact most of the time it’s not, because I find most of thoserelationships boring on screen. so like, I do still ship it, but not the way Iused to?

 anyway, was it ooc? in terms of mythology canon I don’tthink it was ooc at all. spike had no soul, he was at a base level evil. I don’t think this excuses theattempted rape at all, nothing excuses it or forgives it, but it does explain abit how the spike who dressed buffy’s hand wounds at the start of the seasonwas the same spike who flipped a switch and attempted to rape her near the endof the season. spike never became “good” when he had no soul, he was like aferal animal on a leash. he learnt to play relatively nice with others andbecame fond of some of his owners, but he still wasn’t cured and if you tookthe leash off at the end of the day he would have bitten them. yes, spike lovedbuffy in his own soulless way, but he still had a literal, animalistic demoninside him (we even see in angel in over the rainbow etc. what the actual demoninside vampires is like at its base level) and no soul to control it—only theintellectual knowledge that some actions would get him in buffy’s good booksand some would get him in buffy’s bad books and so he kept it under controlbecause he wanted her and he also wanted to not be killed by the scooby gang.again: this does not excuse the attempted rape at all. nothing forgives it. butlike, it does explain why buffy and many viewers are able to move past it. Idon’t think that on a mythology canon level it was ooc at all, I think thatpeople just forget that spike was stillevil when he was being nice to buffy or dawn or joyce. I think that’s partof the reason it’s so hard to piece together whether spuffy really could workor be good as a ship, because the show never separates spike with a soul fromspike without a soul the way they did with angel. with angel it’s so clearlytwo different people, but with spike it’s a muddy mess of the same thing and ifyou don’t write spike with a soul differently to how you wrote him withoutone—how are viewers supposed to forgive him for what he did?

 was it ooc on a character level though? that’s a wholedifferent thing because that opens the can of worms of spike being ooc ingeneral. the spike we see in season four onwards is drastically different fromthe spike we see in season two, and I do think part of that is just plain oldcharacter development but I also think that part of that is due to them wantinga slightly different character when he became a regular? spike was almost woobified by his own writing team? I don’t thinkit’s anything like the character assassination of britta for example, and Iwouldn’t even call it character assassination, but I do think that at somepoint late during season three or early season four they decided they wanted aspike who was funnier, a bit more sympathetic, and a bit more worthy of being afan fave. it's less like character assassination and more like characteradaptation? I feel like they saw that james had this excellent comedicpotential and wanted to use that, and I’ve seen that with other characters onshows too. I think they had to bend spike a bit along the way to get the spikethey wanted and who they could have fun with. he went from spike the genuinelychilling villain, to spike the comedic relief, to spike the stalker, to spikethe coping mechanism, to spike the love interest…and it definitely wasn’t astraight line of development. they definitelyhad to bend the character along the way and lose some of what was thereoriginally and add some of what wasn’t there. and like, it’s not necessarily abad thing, like I fuckin love comic relief spike and I can totally understandwhy they might’ve been like “fuck this james guy is good we want more of that”,but I do think that on a character level they ended up with something that wasquite frequently messy. if you’ve taken this villain and woobified himyourself, then even if he is still evilit’s not surprising that people are surprised or find it ooc for him to attemptto rape buffy because they made him a puppy with a temper instead of a wolfwith a playful streak, and then suddenly his fangs come out again. andobviously to a degree that was the point of it, to remind viewers that he wasevil and he wasn’t good and buffy forgot that, the scoobies forgot that, everyoneforgot that, but at the same time if you woobify a character that much doesthat point land? or does it just become ooc? I think a spike in love with buffyand protecting dawn and getting flowers after joyce died could be consideredjust as ooc as a spike who attempted to rape buffy. he became a bit of a messycharacter if you really think about it for too long, and they never separatedhis soulless state from his soul-having state enough to keep track of it

 so anyway, on a character level I’m able to move past itbecause I think at the end of the day…spike didn’t have a soul when it happenedand he was written kind of weirdly over the course of the show but I still likehim. I move past it as a viewer because I wantto move past it, and because I find the spuffy relationship interesting (yet Istill want more/better for buffy always? man, I said it was complicated hahah)

 NOW, FROM A WRITING STANDPOINT

 bullshit bullshit utter fucking bullshit.

 why though? well apart from the reasons I’ve already mentionedabout kind of messy character writing and it being impossible to tell whichparts of spike are ooc or not…………the attempted rape scene was not about buffy,before during or after it happened

 they wrote it as a gateway to spike’s redemption arc. theytraumatised their main character, this beautiful female character and one of mytop favourite characters of all time, to boost a man’s redemption arc, andthat’s just fucking awful and we’ve seen it too many times and buffy doesn’t deserver that bullshit.

 now I don’t know whether there’s a solid answer on whetheror not spike went to that demon at the end of season six to get his soul or toget his chip removed, but it also like…doesn’t matter, lol? I personally alwaysread that scene as he went to get his chip removed so he could kill her, andthen the demon was like lol psych herehave a soul! which I think also makes it easier for me to move past theattempted rape, because then it didn’t literally lead to him choosing to go have a redemption arc andbecome a better man for her, but like a lot of people do read it the secondway. and either way!! it’s a crock of shit!!

 not only did they put in this scene so they could kickstartspike’s redemption, instead of picking some other non-rape or non-violence againstbuffy related plot point to lead to him getting a soul, but then they sort ofmade it all about spike in season seven too?

 they do address bits and pieces of buffy’s trauma afterwardsand how it impacted her, but way way too much of the focus was placed onspike’s guilt and spike’s wanting to fix it and how it impacted spike etc., sonot only did they have buffy almost raped to kickstart a man’s storyline, butthey barely focused on her trauma over the “trauma” of spike and that’sjust…fucking awful. like it makes me so mad and it makes me feel so gross.

 as a writing decision I think it’s sexist, disgusting, lazyand unforgivable and the biggest fault with what is literally my favourite tvshow of all time lol (you wouldn’t think it is from this rant?? but it is?? andI like spike and ship spuffy??? god this is a mess) and I think it was probablythe worst fucking writing decision on all of buffy (and this is the show thatkilled tara, a literal lesbian angel)

 and honestly……the fact that I am aware of and think it’s theworst writing decision possible almost makes it easier to move past from acharacter standpoint? because it was a bad writing decision, it takes some ofthe weight off of spike’s actions for me and I’m aware that it was stupid and grossand it would’ve been better if spike tripped and accidentally fell into a gravethat had a stray soul in it that he inhaled.

 I don’t know if that makes sense, in fact I don’t know ifany of this makes sense…but it’s like: spuffy is interesting. to me they havechemistry, they have narrative and trope appeal (even though it wasn’tfulfilled, or wasn’t fulfilled right), they are two characters I likeindividually, and so…I continue to ship it and enjoy it despite the horriblefucking bad writing decisions that went down in season six. I know that evenwithout the attempted rape season or even without season six it’s still anunhealthy ship and it’s problematic (and I want better for buffy at the end ofthe day), but it is at a base level to me entertaining, and that’s what I likefrom my ships

 god this is almost two thousand words I’m so sorry I have alot of thoughts and I had to rewrite half of this so it’s really, really scattered and confusing butlike…yes I ship it, no I don’t think the attempted rape was a good writingdecision, no I don’t excuse or forgive it but I do move past it

 and in answer to what other people feel about the scene andship….it’s really divided lol, a lot of people feel like I do, a lot of peopleprefer bangel, a lot of people prefer spuffy, a lot of people can’t look pastthe rape at all, a lot of people look past the rape too easily, and a lot of people probably don’t know what to thinkor have no strong opinions lol

 god

this is two thousand words I’m sorry

[happyhappyhappyplace]

All the hate in the Ereri and riren fandom is really getting me down :( Could u help remind me how awesome the ship is, because a lot of people think that riren makes the characters ooc. My whole life has been a lie... Not really lol, just need some reasurrence that riren can be shipped for good reason. riren/ereri it doesn’t matter! Whenever people want to reduce a ship down to where the peen goes, I’m a little concerned because 1) there is more to sex than penetration and 2) there is more to a relationship than sex! So whenever people fight over ririviviviivivireererereri nonsense, I make up my own positive headcanons: Eren loves ice cream, but Levi is lactose intolerant so he gets sherbet. Eren likes the ostrich on the carousel, Levi likes the tiger, but both are fond of the wonky eyed horse. Levi doesn’t like it when Eren buys oversized sweaters because Levi likes to borrow Eren’s sweaters so that just means it’s three times too big for him. Ah, who are we kidding, he likes those too. Levi is remarkably good at winning goldfish at the ring toss. Eren’s aquarium is overcrowded. Both claim to like creepy horror flicks, but somehow have never made it an entire movie without turning it off. But only to makeout, not because they were scared or anything. Eren is banned from most putt-putt golf courses, especially the one with the windmill. In protest, Levi stole three boxes of golf pencils. At the beach, Levi sunburns easily. Eren writes, “I love you!” on his back in sunscreen. Eren tells the waitress it is Levi’s birthday so they get free dessert. Levi hides in Eren’s armpit when they sing him happy birthday. Levi is really good at “crack the whip” in roller and ice rinks. Eren crashes into the snowbank. Levi’s Valentine’s Day cards to Eren have stenciled letters on the front. Eren’s explode in glitter. Eren spends Valentine’s Day cleaning up the glitter. Because of his insomnia, Levi takes catnaps during the day. Eren rigs up a hammock in the backyard and often finds Levi there, the watering can on the ground and his large gardening hat still on. Now which one of those mini headcanons is ereri and which one is riren? I can’t really tell. Oh, I have a good one: Eren thinks Levi’s nose is adorable, and sometimes when Levi is talking to him, Eren will space out and then slowly raise his finger up and press the tip of Levi’s nose and say “Boop!” (He does the same thing to his mother’s cat.) Sunday morning is banana pancakes morning. Whenever they’re in the car, the rule “driver chooses the music, shotgun keeps their mouth shut” is the first thing that goes out the window. They settle it with rock paper scissors instead. Levi always winds up eating the pickles out of Eren’s cheeseburgers and the olives out of his pizza slices. Levi likes the regular goldfish and Eren likes the flavor blasted, but they fight over the pretzel all the time. They end up sharing it on the couch with a movie on. Eren eats all the food in the house and won’t buy more until Levi throws money at his head and makes him leave. He laughs all the way down the street, but Levi waits until he’s around the corner before laughing. Eren is pretty good at video games, so when he’s gotten a good streak, the only way to break him out of it is for Levi to join the game and kick his ass. This is only used in dire situations as Levi doesn’t like to mess with Eren’s ego too much. Levi always buys silly string and sprays it on Eren on their birthdays. Even though it’s a pain in the ass to clean up, it’s worth his reaction. When they go on an airplane, Eren likes the window seat and Levi secretly prefers the middle because he can lean on Eren and he’s small enough not to get squashed. Eren always gives Levi the little snacks claiming that he doesn’t want them, but when Levi puts one in his mouth Eren kisses him to get it back. Levi pretends to be annoyed, but he always goes along with it. Levi normally doesn’t like PDA but has been known to make out with Eren shamelessly if someone makes a homophobic comment. Eren and Levi have a little unspoken competition to see who can carry the other more places. Eren talks in his sleep and Levi pretends to be annoyed about it, but he actually finds it very cute. Levi really likes it when Eren wears bright pastel colors. Flower crowns are a plus too. Both Eren and Levi (though Eren more so) get jealous pretty easily and if someone flirts with Eren, Levi tends to be very blunt and specifically points out they are together. Whereas Eren gets really touch-feely, such as throwing an arm around Levi’s shoulders, waist or grabbing his hand. Even, going as far as kissing him- on the cheek or mouth. Eren has a habit of chewing on his pens when he’s thinking. Levi tries to get him to stop, but after a few weeks Eren catches him doing it. He teases him about it for a month. Levi never starts a tickle fight, but he’ll finish one. When they watch a movie together, Eren throws whatever snack they have into the air and Levi has to catch it in his mouth so it doesn’t make a mess. Eren always sits on Levi’s lap, which is a good idea at first, but as Eren gets taller, Levi gets squashed. Eren picks up Levi’s habit of holding cups funny and Levi thinks it’s adorable. Levi got glasses before Eren did, and Eren would steal them off his face and wear them around the house until his vision got worse and he realized he could see better wearing them. They went to the eye doctor the next weekend. Eren still does it every once in a while. Eren loves playing with Levi’s hair. Levi is bisexual, so Eren made him a bracelet that alternated black links and the colors of the rainbow because “it’s as gay as you are!” He learned that there are bisexual colors the next day. Levi only takes it off to shower. Eren likes drawing butterflies on Levi’s binders. On laundry day, Eren and Levi have a sock fight to sort the socks. Levi almost always wins. They switch iPods for a day every week. When one of them has a bad day, they blast Taylor Swift and jam out until they can barely move. If it’s a really bad day they get ice cream first. Whenever they go to a restaurant, no matter how fancy, they always get into a game of footsie that escalates into a full on foot war. Eren tends to win these, but most games remain unfinished. Sometimes when Levi is reading a book Eren likes, Eren will read over his shoulder and poke him in the side if he closes it. Eren mouths words of songs to Levi that he thinks represents their relationship. Eren and Levi wear matching shoes every once in a while. Hanji is the only one who’s ever noticed. When Levi stays up late working, he uses Eren’s stomach as a pillow. Eren loves apple juice and leaves empty bottles everywhere around the house. Levi doesn’t mind that much because he thinks watching Eren drink it is so cute. Levi is left handed and always wears his watch on his right. Eren wears it on his right hand as well, but he is right handed. Eren has ADHD and has to take medication for it. Levi gives him extra hugs when he’s on the come down. Eren tends to get out of control angry but Levi’s always the one to calm him down. Levi has a tendency to fall asleep in his desk chair working, but Eren’s learned to see when Levi’s about to fall asleep and lifts Levi into bed. Levi always complains about the mess Eren makes when he’s doing art, but secretly Levi enjoys the gentle curves of concentration between Eren’s eyebrows and the way he sticks his tongue out when he’s focusing on little details. Eren and Levi have a neighbour who complains constantly about their noise levels, so just to annoy them, Eren buys a dog whistle and blows it every once in a while during the night and complains to the neighbour upstairs that their dog keeps them awake. Levi says Eren shouldn’t do it, but he really finds it funny when the neighbour was completely baffled about their dog. Eren has a tendency to leave paint streaks on his cheeks, and Levi never says anything about it. Levi isn’t a really big fan of dogs due to hair, but when he comes back to Eren cuddling a puppy, he decides he can live with it. Eren snores, and Levi finds it cute until he realises he really can’t sleep with Eren’s snoring. Levi ends up kicking Eren during the night to make him shut up.

Many many many different posts

[realrhythmskrp]

DISPATCH, 03/30/17: Kaleidoscope Records has officially released information about soloist, Heo Nayeon, also known as Yena, on Yena’s official website! Yena is a ‘91 liner and has been beloved by fans since her debut (with silverBEAT) in 2010 and her solo debut in 2014. Find out more about Yena below!

I, HEO NAYEON, have read and understand the terms and conditions as my position of SOLOIST and agree to honor the standards that are to be expected of me as an employee of KALEIDOSCOPE RECORDS.

OOC INFORMATION

Preferred name: Charlie

Pronouns: They/them

Timezone: GMT+2

Other muses: -

Password (for reservations only): -

Other information (notes to admins that are not for publishing): Triggers include sexual content, needles, syringes, excessive violence.

IC INFORMATION

Faceclaim: Bae Joohyun (Irene)

Name: Heo Nayeon

Stage name (if applicable): Yena

Idol concept: Nayeon has struggled with being comfortable with her concept since her debut with silverBEAT. A naturally shy and gentle person, the increasingly fierce and sexy concepts of their promoted songs made her uncomfortable. While she put on her best game face whenever in public, she always ran off set to grab her coat during filming. Debuting as a soloist with a gentle, warm concept was freeing for her, and she shone even brighter when comfortable in her own skin. She varies herself a bit, as to not bore her fans, but always falls back on those soothing power ballads.

Birth date and age: 1991.03.16, 26

Company name: Kaleidoscope Records

Group Name (if applicable): -

Group Position (if applicable): Soloist

Strengths: Nayeon is an amazing vocalist. Her strong, yet soft voice has been praised even in her pre-debut days, and her unique sound is what has set her apart from other singers. While she can’t claim to be as much of a powerhouse as some rookies, her years of experience let’s her express emotions like no other. Media has described her voice as ‘the rainbow after a storm’.

She’s also been praised for her acting, which is rather good for an idol actress, and her visuals. She’s been the face and spokesperson of many brands over the years, and her brand value is picking up once again after her departure from silberBEAT.

She’s also a quite bad dancer. While she has gotten much better since her debut, she still prioritizes her singing, meaning her movements can become a bit slow and half-assed during more difficult passages. It is something she was frequently criticized for while still a member of silverBEAT. As a soloist, she can get away with standing still a lot, or just walking around, but she has made it a personal goal to release one dance single per year, to prove that she can.

Weaknesses: Nayeon is the definition of a crybaby. She’s highly emotional and easily scared, which doesn’t really go too well with being in the public eye. There’s tons of clips of her jumping in fright because of confetti, glitter, balloons, and even bubbles. Add to that her tendency to break down crying when getting an award and you have the mess that often is Nayeon. Fortunately, she doesn’t have stage fright anymore, or it would be even worse.

Positive traits: Gentle, supportive, clever

Negative traits: Shy, emotional, indecisive

PERSONAL HISTORY

Nayeon hails from Busan, born and raised in South Korea. She’s only been outside the country’s borders for work and one or two vacations, and that’s the way she likes it. Travel makes her anxious and uncomfortable. Her parents are ordinary folks, working in the family restaurant. They’re not terribly close with their daughter, but not estranged either. She has two younger siblings, both boys, both studying in university. The older is planning to continue with the restaurant, and the younger wants to be a doctor. Nayeon is very proud of them both, but doesn’t speak a lot of them in public, as per their request. No one in her family wants to be in the limelight, and Nayeon respects that. She has struggled with the urge to hide for years. It has only been her stubborn streak and her love for music that has driven her forward.

The move to Seoul was one that almost broke her. She missed her parents, her siblings, her friends, her everything. Yet, she pushed on. She was scouted by BKB in her second year of high school, which was what lead to the move. Things got better, thankfully. She made friends with trainees and employees, and in 2010 she debuted with eight other girls in what would become one of the most famous KPOP groups of all time. They won awards left and right, performing overseas, everything she had ever dreamed of. However, that dream would come to an end.

Nayeon is a gentle, preferring to avoid any and all confrontations. This lead to her easily bending to the wills of other members, and not saying a word even if their words tore at her very being. That, coupled with a harsh schedule, little to no compensation, and feeling uncomfortable with the concepts they were steering towards, she finally made the call and bought out her contract in 2014. It was a dramatic, difficult period in her life. She would have bouts of anxiety attacks and break down in tears, whole body trembling, regretting what she had done. She never turned back though, no, she signed with Kaleidoscope Records and made her debut as an actress.

It was a decision she made to avoid hurting herself, but staying away from music had never been something she was capable of. Just a year later, she debuted as a soloist with a song that was all she never knew she wanted. Then, she was nominated for best female soloist that same year and could barely hold it together while performing on stage, even though she didn’t win. The next year she worked with not one, but two artists from BKB, one being a member of her former group. It was a step towards freedom for her, to stop hiding from her fears. Of course, this lead to her realizing the situation she’d left her former group in, triggering a downwards spiral of guilt. The melancholic song ‘Rain’ is to some her tears. Thankfully, she got better, and ‘11:11’ got her best female soloist of the year. A staff member had to help her onto the stage, that’s how much she was crying.

2017 is a new year for her. She has started to reach out to her former group members, offering her support and testimony if they wish to sue BKB. Also, she has picked up acting once again, and is very excited about it. The materials she has seen so far has looked promising, and the co-stars are top-notch. There’s still a lot to worry about for her, such as her status as perhaps the most famous employee of her label, and being nominated two years in a row. Thankfully, ‘Fine’ has already done very well. With her life solidifying, she has tentatively started stopping by the practice rooms to coach trainees and rookies with what insight she has after seven years in the industry.

[baenxietydad]

Songs From My Country Playlist on Spotify that Fit My Characters

Marlin Edition

ooc: I’m too lazy to do an aesthetic so I’m doing this list instead

Mandolin Orange - Waltz About Whiskey

I remember the night she sat down beside me She cried love was a ring that won't end, well I was handed a lie Now the only thing I know of a ring is the circle my glass leaves behind

So won't someone dance with me to a waltz about whiskey And turn these sad songs to lullabies I don't need much of nothin', except for all your lovin' And a waltz about whiskey on ice

Keith Whitley - I’m No Stranger To The Rain (this is the Josh Turner cover tho )

I'm no stranger to the rain I can spot bad weather And I'm good at finding shelter in a downpour I've been sacrificed by brothers Crucified by lovers But through it all, I withstood the pain I'm no stranger to the rain

Flatland Cavalry - On The Other Side of Lonesome

Even a lovely rainbow Is with a streak of blue And a beat-up old guitar Can still sing a happy song when it’s out of tune Across the valley of the shadows Over the mountain of the blues Just past that ocean full of noise There’s still a silent voice Calling out for you

Willie Nelson - Hello Walls

Hello ceiling, (hello) (hello) I'm gonna stare at you awhile You know I can't sleep So won't you bear with me awhile?

Kenny Chesney - I Go Back

I go back to the smell of an old gym floor And the taste of salt on the Carolina shore After graduation and drinkin' goodbye to friends And I go back to watchin summer fade to fall Growin' up too fast and I do recall Wishin' time would stop right in its tracks Every time I hear that song, I go back, I go back

We all have a song that somehow stamped our lives Takes us to another place and time

Johnny Cash - Hurt

I wear this crown of thorns Upon my liar's chair Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair

Beneath the stains of time The feelings disappear You are someone else I'm still right here

Gary Alan - I Just Got Back From Hell

Well, I just got back from Hell And I need to make some plans It's the last thing that I wanna do But I'll do the best I can I'm gonna learn to live again But I think I'll sit a spell Tell the world that I'm alive And I just got back from Hell

I can't say that I'm doin' great But I think I'm gettin' well