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[nova-anya]

The Romance Tropes Legacy Challenge

 Hello! Welcome to the Romance Tropes Legacy Challenge! (based on the Book Tropes Legacy Challenge by @callmerunaa)

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This is a ten generation legacy challenge featuring many elements from popular fiction tropes involved to make your sims’ love stories as unique (or stereotypical) as you wish!

Notes: –This challenge was inspired by @callmerunaa on Instagram and pinterest.  However, many of the generations are altered/changed completely to fit some of my personal preferences for gameplay style and I just thought I’d create a google document of my own way of playing. Link to Original: https://in.pinterest.com/callmerunaa/

–If you do play through these generations, please note that because of the nature of the sims,  some of the generations will require some ~imagination!~  Due to this, the story is definitely more… “storyline” based. 

–Not every generation has required aspiration/traits/skills to learn/ or jobs. For many of them, I have “No Requirement” if it is not important for the character’s story. You are free to choose your own based on the character and how you perceive their life continuing on. Even if I have provided certain aspirations, you are not stuck with this if it is not what you feel is right for the character. You are therefore free to change any aspect of the challenge to suit you and your gameplay style.

–The last two generations DO include occult gameplay. However, I may be including alternate versions if playing with occults is not your thing/ you would like to keep your gameplay more realistic.

–If you use this version, please tag me! IG: @novanyax Twitter: @xnovanya Youtube: novaanya

Episode One: https://youtu.be/14IoZ4XzLQU?si=BEW2B_ZjHKLJ5r8Z

Generation I: (High School Drama || Love Triangle || Opposites Attract)

World: Copperdale

Aspirations: Goal Orientated/Best Selling Author

Traits: Geek

Job: No Requirement

You hear your mother shout up the stairs that the bus is almost here and it’s time for school. You throw your hair in a messy bun and quickly finish getting ready before rushing down the stairs. Despite the full breakfast of eggs, pancakes, fruit, and bacon laid out on the table, you stuff a piece of toast in your mouth and fly out the door wishing your mom goodbye. Now it’s off to high school where you don’t exactly have many friends. You are captain of the chess team though, so at least you have that going for you. Unfortunately it does not do much in the romance department. You also have a huge crush on the football quarterback and honestly who wouldn’t? They’re so dreamy. But they’d never notice you. And then there’s the cheerleading captain who hasn’t always been the nicest to you. However, when you get paired with one of them for a school project, drama ensues…

Objectives: –Start as a teenager

–Have a negative friendship with the cheerleading captain and a crush on the football team captain.

– Become Chess Team Captain

– Get paired with one of them for a group project and from there… let drama ensue. 

– Go to prom with one of them.

Spouse Reqs.: – Must be either Cheerleading Captain or Football Team Captain

–Must have the “Active” trait

Child Reqs.: –No Requirement

Generation II: (Holiday Romance || Workaholic || Second Chance)

World: San Myshuno

Aspiration: Drama Llama/Fabulously Wealthy

Traits: Ambitious

Job: Lawyer (Private Attorney Branch)

In the city, your life is busy all the time. You don’t have time for friends or relationships and are instead looking forward to advancing in your career. You are adamant about keeping focused and not letting anything sway you from your goal. With the holiday season quickly approaching, you can’t help but roll your eyes at the festivities. Who cares about this corporate, capitalistic holiday anyway? Bah humbug! However, after your parents convince you to take a break from work and come back to your hometown for a few days, you meet an old flame, and they show you the true meaning of the holidays. Will whatever it is between you two survive past the holidays?

Objectives: –During your teenage years while completing the ‘drama llama’ aspiration, have the sim you break up with be the sim that shows up later in the challenge. 

– Gain the ‘wokaholic’ lifestyle in the city.

–Don’t have a romantic relationship with anyone while in San Myshuno. You can have hookups and friends, but nothing serious. Remember, your job is your life!

–Have a ‘second-chance’ romance with the sim from your teen years that you broke up with.

–After your holiday romance is over, decide if it will continue or it was just not meant to be. From here, you can decide to either become a single parent, either through a mistake or through adoption, or continue to be with the person and have a happy life together.

Spouse Reqs.: –No Requirement

Child Reqs.: –Have at least two children

Generation III: (Single Parent || Friends to Lovers || Learning to Love Again)

World: No Requirement

Aspiration: Live Fast/Super Parent

Traits: Family Orientated

Job: Freelance Career 

Now that you’re raising your child all by yourself, you’re trying to do everything you can to be a good and supportive parent. How quickly they grow up! Some part of you can’t help but miss your little baby. Learning all of these shapes and numbers, letters and animals from the perspective of a child really makes you fall in love with the world again after major heartbreak. Old memories of you and your happy days with your partner and child haunt your dreams. Even though you told yourself you would never love again, you can’t help but long for that sense of companionship and love. However, by some chance, you happen to find someone you just click with instantly. The two of you become fast friends and you find you don’t want to be around anyone but them (except your child). Low and behold, the butterflies you thought you would never meet again have found themselves nestled deep in your stomach.

Objectives: –Lose your partner somehow after having one child together (if it's multiples that's fine).

  –Go all out for all holidays and always make sure your child always feels included.

–Have a great relationship with your child.

– Don’t have a romantic relationship until your child is at least a toddler. You can wait however long afterward to start a relationship with your partner, but your child must have a good relationship with them first.

– You are more than welcome to have more children with your new partner but it is not an obligation.

Spouse Reqs.: –Your first partner must leave your life after your child(ren). Either death or a divorce. Either way, they are not in your life. 

–Your second partner must become a friend before a lover and have a good relationship with your child. 

Child Reqs.: –Have one child with your first partner.

Generation IV: (Workplace Rivals to Lovers || PR Relationship || One Night Stand)

World: Del Sol Valley

Aspiration: Admired Icon/Master Actor-Master Actress

Traits: Self Absorbed

Job: Actor/Actress

On the bustling set of Del Sol Valley’s latest blockbuster film, tensions run high between you and your leading co-star. As actors, your chemistry on screen is undeniable, but behind the scenes, you're locked in a constant battle of egos and competitiveness. When a scandal threatens to derail the movie's publicity, the studio executives devise a plan to salvage their image: a fake romance between you and your co-star. Forced to put aside your differences and play the part of smitten lovers for the public eye, you reluctantly agree, knowing that your careers hang in the balance. But as you navigate red carpet events and staged paparazzi shots, something unexpected happens. A sizzling one-night stand blurs the lines between your fake relationship and real feelings. With the world watching your every move, you and your co-star must decide whether to keep up the charade for the sake of your careers or risk it all for a chance at true love.

Objectives: –As a child, join the drama club and remain until your graduation.

–After graduation, immediately move to Del Sol Valley and begin your life as a poor, struggling actor/actress.

–As you work your way up the acting career and have at least 4 stars of fame, begin a “secret romance” with a co-worker whom you do not have good compatibility with, encouraged by the PR Team. Of course this will take some creativity with the sims but you should play this however you have the means to!

– Have a one night stand with said co-worker and let feelings ensue.

–Whatever happens after this one night stand is really up to you. If you decide to continue with the relationship and make it official, kudos! If you decide it doesn’t mean anything and you’re better off apart and with another celebrity that’s fine too!

–Put a celebrity tile down on the Walk of Fame

Spouse Reqs.: – Must be a co-worker/ have at least four stars of fame.

Child Reqs.: –Have at least two children (at least one boy who is not the heir)

Generation V: (Brother’s Best Friend || Unexpected Feelings || Slow Burn)

World: No Requirement

Aspiration: Goal Oriented/Computer Whiz

Traits: Bookworm

Job: No Requirement

As the child of world famous celebrities, you’ve never had many friends of your own. So instead, you find yourself eager to stick to your books and computers. Your brother, however,  is the talk of the town– always getting into scandals and dating someone new. He is constantly surrounded by friends who may have less than wholesome intentions. After all, you are who you know.  Speaking of, you’d always seen your brother's best friend as just that—your brother’s best friend. Growing up together, he was a constant presence in your life, a comforting one, whom you never thought of in a romantic light. But as the years passed and you both matured, something shifted. It starts with small moments—lingering glances that last a beat too long, casual touches that send shivers down your spine. You brush them off as nothing, attributing them to your overactive imagination. After all, he is off-limits, forbidden territory. He's your brother's best friend, and crossing that line would risk everything. But as you spend more time with him, you can't deny the growing tension between you. The easy banter turns into charged silences, and every smile feels like a secret shared between just the two of you. With each passing day, the walls you've built around your heart begin to crumble, revealing feelings you never expected. As you grapple with the unexpected rush of emotions, you wonder if he feels the same way. Can you risk everything for a chance at love with your brother's best friend, or will you let fear keep you from following your heart?

Objectives: –As a child, constantly spend time with your brother, either pestering him or hanging out with him and his best friend.

– Don’t have a best friend growing up, or many friends at all.

–You may have relationships growing up, but your BBF is never far away. Remember, he is your endgame.

–Do not get into a relationship with your BBF until you are a young adult.

Spouse Reqs.: Must be your brother’s best friend

Child Reqs.: No Requirement

Generation VI: (And They Were Roommates || Sworn off Love || Forced Proximity)

World: No Requirement

Aspiration: Drama Llama/Master Chef

Traits: Foodie

Job: Culinary (Chef Branch)/Restaurant Owner

You’ve spent countless nights in the kitchen, crafting exquisite dishes that you know would impress even the finest critics– each plate is born from your passion and dedication. It is your passion and life’s work to own your own restaurant so you barely have time for anything else– let alone romantic feelings. Let alone romantic feelings for your annoying roommate who always seems to get on your last nerve. They’re a whirlwind of annoyances– leaving messes everywhere, blasting music, and interrupting your perfectly maintained peace. But you do need the rent, and you’re barely home anyway. After a while though, their quirks become endearing and their laugh infectious. You eventually find yourself drawn to the very person who once drove you up the wall. Despite your resolve, love – or something like it –eventually finds its way into your heart until it's undeniable. This unexpected romance has swept you off your feet and navigating this difficult situation along with the unexpected feelings has you all turned around. Can you find room in your heart for more than just the smell of deliciously tasty dishes of your own design?

Objectives: –Join the culinary career in the chef branch.

–Do not get into any sort of relationship with anybody. Hooking up is fine as long as there is no actual romance between you

–Get a roommate to help with the bills.

–The relationship between you two can either be playful annoyance or actual animosity. However, one day something happens to change your feelings for each other.

–Becoming a restaurant owner is up to you, depending upon the quality of your dine-out pack. If you have the skill and willpower, go for it!

–Become a five-star restaurant owner if you do choose this career. If not, reach the top of the culinary career (chef branch).

–Once you and your roommate act upon these romantic feelings, it is up to you to decide how to proceed.

Spouse Reqs.: Must have been your roommate at some point.

Child Reqs.: Have at least one daughter who will become the heir.

Generation VII: (Mafia Boss || Accidental Pregnancy || Arranged Marriage)

World: No Requirement at first/ Eventually Tartosa or San Myshuno

Aspiration: Successful Lineage

Traits: Family Orientated

Job: No Requirement

You have always been so careful to plan your life out and make deliberate, thoughtful choices. You’d always been taught to keep your head down and your dreams modest. But a chance encounter with a captivating stranger has turned your world upside down. One night of uncharacteristic passion leaves you with more than just your memories. You’re pregnant. And not just with anyone’s child, but with the heir of a powerful mafia boss. As the reality of your situation sinks in, you are left to grapple with your fear, confusion, and the looming presence of the mafia world that has now laid its claim on you. You know your life will never be the same and looming threats surrounding you have you more anxious than ever. Navigating this new and treacherous terrain has you seeing the world in a new light and your new husband is as ruthless as he is protective. You must now find a way to safeguard you and your unborn child all while your heart begins to betray you. Among this world of shadows and danger at every turn, you discover that sometimes fate can lead you to a destiny you never thought possible– where love and danger walk hand in hand.

Objectives:  –Get all As in school.

– Be well into your career, on your way to the top of whatever career you choose.

– After an unexpected night of passion, engage in unprotected woo-hoo with a sim who happens to be the son of a mafia boss or a mafia boss.

–Get pregnant with his baby.

–From here, your life is uprooted. You are no longer surrounded by your own family and friends but are instead  whisked into the life of a mafia wife where danger awaits at every turn.

– You are now in a forced/arranged marriage to the mafia boss/’ son. This relationship is up to [the player]. Whether he is cold on the outside/warm on the inside, actually kind of a himbo, or actually kind of an a-hole, however you take the story will certainly be interesting.

– If you decide to stay in the mafia after the birth of your child is up to you. They could be protected by their mafia family and raised in the mafia life, or you could whisk them away from the dangers of growing up in this family. Many different factors can affect this.

–However, your child must still have an essence of their father. How deep this goes is up to the player.

– No matter how you play this out, your first child (the heir) must grow up SPOILED.

Spouse Reqs.: –Must be the son of a mafia boss/must become the mafia boss.

Child Reqs.: –Must have at least one child with the above spouse who will become the heir for the next gen. They do NOT have a good relationship with their father. 

–They are spoiled rotten.

–However you decide to have children after that is up to you.

Generation VIII: (Bodyguard x Client || Annoyance to Lovers || Protective Streak)

World: No Requirement 

Aspiration: Admired Icon/Party Animal

Trait: Party Animal

Job: None

You never even wanted a bodyguard. Let alone this stoic imposing figure whose presence felt suffocating at best and a constant reminder of your father’s overbearing control at worst. You resent their watchful eyes which feels like an intrusion into your every move. They, as a figure, represent the golden cage you grew up in and how your life will never truly be your own. You’ve grown accustomed to pushing boundaries and testing limits to see how far you can go before they intervene. And they always do. A stern glare or sharp word only fuels your defiance. Every exchange is snarky and exchanged like daggers. They see you as a reckless child who needs constant supervision while they are an obstacle to your freedom. However, danger from your fathers’ enemies lurks just behind every corner and you find yourself leaning more on your bodyguard than you care to admit. One night where emotions run high and adrenaline is surging, you are faced with the reality of whatever situation you have gotten the two of you in now. Walls come crashing down and in the heat of the moment, the attraction between the two of you is undeniable. What started as animosity has transformed into a passionate and fiery love. In this unpredictable world, you have found a love that has defied logic and reason and ignited itself with the intensity of a wildfire.

Objectives:  –As the spoiled rich child of a mob boss, they are going to make sure you are protected all the time. Have a bodyguard who lives with you and follows you everywhere. 

–Go out to every party you are invited to.

–Have mostly mean interactions with your bodyguard or simply ignore them whenever they are in your presence.

–Have something occur that lands you into trouble, where your bodyguard must come save you from the danger.

–From here, have some sort of relationship blossom between the two of you.

Spouse Reqs.: —Must have been a previous bodyguard.

Child Reqs.:  –Have an ok relationship with the next heir. You are not particularly the most LOVING mother, but you do want the best for them.

Occult Generations:

Generation IXa: (Human x Vampire || Rich Bachelor || Masquerade Ball)

World: Forgotten Hollow

Aspiration: Drama Llama/No Requirement/Any of the Vampire Aspirations

Traits: Music Lover

Job: Any sort of artsy job: writer, painter, photographer, mixologist, comedian

You’d never had many job prospects or really even any life prospects as you settled into becoming a young adult. You have a job but it isn’t anything permanent, or really anything you could make a living off. Thankfully your family is comfortable enough to support you. You find that you just don’t have the passion for anything. Everything is too corporate. Too boring. The one place you could escape to, however, is your music. The sweet melody of playing an instrument gives you the ability to lose yourself and forget all of your problems for a while. You decide, with much encouragement from your parents, to pursue a degree in fine arts. Then, in the darkened corners of the library, you meet them: a captivating stranger whose gaze holds ancient wisdom and a hunger you can’t quite place. As your bond deepens, you are whisked away to a small town– the bloodsucker’s home. Here you navigate the complexities of their world including politics and the unfortunate circumstance of you being human. However, after being invited to a masquerade ball to welcome you to the town, you find yourself surrounded by those who are much more interesting than the humans you grew up with and a world where vampiric intrigue and desire runs rampant. You decide to take the plunge into uncharted waters and grow a deep bond with one of the guests and now your whole world has changed. Your maker, your lover, your one has changed your life entirely. Now it is up to the two of you to navigate this new world together.

Objectives: –After graduating high school, you may get a job but it must be low paying and something your parents would not approve of.

–You soon are heavily encouraged to go to university by your parents and apply to either Foxbury Institute or The University of Britechester.

–It is here where you meet a vampire who you are immediately enamored with. 

–Quit university very quickly after this encounter and go with them to Forgotten Hollow.

–Have a masquerade ball/some sort of party to welcome you to the town where every vampire in town is invited. It is here where you meet the one. 

–Be turned into a vampire by your lover

–Turn others into vampires and live like vampire royalty.

Spouse Reqs.: –Must be a Vampire

Child Reqs: –Do not have children of your own but instead, you will adopt one of your “turned” as your child and raise them as your own. 

Generation Xa: (Vampire x Werewolf ||Forbidden Love || Love Will Find a Way)

World: Forgotten Hollow or Moonwood Mill

Aspiration: Soulmate 

Traits: Romantic

Skills to Master: No Requirement

Job: No Requirement

The ancient feud between vampires and werewolves has existed for millenia. Hatred runs like a river through the land and split the two worlds in a way that no one would ever dare to cross. And at first, you don’t. You are a loyal and determined child of the night who would never even think of going near one of those grungy dogs. But then you meet… them. Under the glow of a silver moon, your eyes meet and their presence ignites a fire in your cold, immortal heart. It is forbidden from the start, a love that defies the rules set by generations of hatred. Yet, you can’t stay away. Every secret meeting in the shadowy forest, every whispered promise under the stars, only binds you closer. Your romance is one for the ages. A true and pure love that you never even thought was possible. However, neither of your families would see it this way. In fact, they would see your love as the ultimate betrayal– a crime punishable by death.  Yet, the thought of a life without them was more terrifying than any punishment. Will you find a way to bridge the gap between the chasm of hatred between your people, or will your love story end in tragedy, as many before have warned? 

Objectives: –Have a good relationship with your parents and siblings.

–Don’t go to high school or drop out of high school before you can go. After all, you must protect your identity and everything to do with vampires must be hidden from the mortal realm.

–Meet a werewolf on the full moon and it is here where you happen to fall in love.

–Keep your relationship a secret from your family.

–Eventually the truth of your relationship will come out and it is up to [the player] on how the families will react.

Spouse Reqs.: –Must be a Werewolf 

Child Reqs: No Requirement

Non-Occult Alternatives: 

Generation IXb: (Betrayal || Hurt/Comfort || Love Triangle)

World: No Requirement

Aspiration: Drama Llama/No Requirement

Traits: Jealous

Job: No Requirement

Your whole world is shattered the moment you come home one night to discover your fiance’s betrayal. The life you have planned meticulously has crumbled before your very eyes and now you are left to question everything. It is here in your darkest hour when an old friend comes back into your life and offers a shoulder to cry on and a warm heart–something you thought you’d lost forever. Slowly you find comfort through the pain and eventually find the hurt beginning to ease thanks to your old friend. Just as you are seeing this glimmer of hope and maybe something more than friendship, a new charismatic and alluring figure enters your life. They awaken something deep inside of you and stir up emotions you thought you were too deep down to be experienced again. Torn between the safety and comfort of your friend and the exciting possibilities of someone new, you find yourself in the middle of a love triangle. As you navigate this intense web of emotions and feelings, you begin to discover love again and heal from the heartbreak and trauma of your past.

Objectives: –Get into a relationship in high school and get engaged immediately after graduation.

– At some point, stumble onto your fiance cheating on you with someone else.

–Find comfort in an old friend and lean on them in your time of need and healing. There are definitely some underlying feelings for them fluttering beneath the surface.

–Have an encounter with a new person that immediately catches your attention. From there, feelings develop between the two of you.

–Choose between the two love interests (or have both!).

Spouse Reqs.: –Be one (or both) of the two love interests you find comfort in after the betrayal of your partner.

Child Reqs.: No Requirement

Generation Xb: (Enemies to Lovers || Sports Romance || Forced Proximity)

World: Britechester

Aspiration: Sports Enthusiast

Traits: Active

Job: Soccer Team Player (University)

From the moment you set foot on the university’s soccer field, you knew it was not going to be easy. Every soccer match between Britechester and Foxbury is hard fought and hard won. But you never expected your biggest challenge would be feelings for your fiercest rival– another member of the soccer team. They’re everything you’re not– confident, brash, charming, and undeniably talented. You can’t stand the way they smirk when they outplay you or how cocky they act when they are praised by the coach. Yet, there's an undeniable spark every time you clash. It’s not just competition; it’s chemistry. Your teammates see it, the coaches see it, and deep down, you feel it too. Everything changes when your coach announces a major change to how the team will work. You and your rival are to be co-captains for the rest of the season. The team’s success depends on you two working together, setting aside your differences to lead and inspire. Resistance is futile—your coach makes it clear that if you don’t cooperate, the team will suffer, and so will your chances of making it to the championship. With team drama, injuries, and sidelined players, you find yourselves having to rely on each other to keep grades up as well as the team spirit. Extra practice sessions and mandatory study hours late at night in the commons lead to the crumbling of walls and you see a side of them you never expected to see. Will you let this connection between the two of you blossom into something more or will your fierce pride keep you from finding true happiness with the one meant for you?

Objectives: –Join a soccer team as a child and continue sports activities into high school.

–Get accepted to either Foxbury or Britechester on a sports scholarship in which you play on the soccer team.

–Have a good relationship with most of your team– except for ONE member who just keeps getting underneath your skin.

–Reach “Playmaker” level of the Soccer career.

–Gain the “Energetic” lifestyle.

–Gain romance with the one member who keeps getting underneath your skin and see where the romance takes you.

Spouse Reqs.: –Must be your old soccer team player teammate

Child Reqs.: No Requirement

Thanks for Playing! <3

[jinnie-ret]

hellevator

stray kids x ninth member male!reader

genre: angst, fluff

content warnings: implied anxiety, implied disassociating

word count: 2.1k

summary: he's going through voice changes in their debut era and fans are already sending in hate

Requested: anon!

This is my first male!reader fic so please be kind, I hope you enjoy! <3

1K FOLLOWERS PLAYLIST 💚🖤

MAIN MASTERLIST

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He was so excited to finally be a part of something, not that he had been training for long. But when Bang Chan told him he saw potential in him, despite their 6 year age gap, and recognised how well he got on with the other members, he was quickly added onto the line up for Stray Kids.

During the survival show, Y/N was babied, of course he was, the maknae in the upcoming JYP boy group. Fans of the show fauned over his fluffy black hair and the oversized hoodies he'd wear, making him look smaller. It was similar to how Jeongin was babied too, the two of them being the youngest and seen to have that sweet, innocent air around them. Plus, for Y/N's case, his voice hadn't broken yet at the age of 14, so that fed more into how he was perceived by fans.

However, it was not long after the group had finally debuted that a more mature, deeper voice had overcome him. Of course, not without the struggles of getting used to it. Originally singing the chorus of District 9 wasn't difficult, in fact it was easy. His gorgeous, husky tone was unique yet when he hit those high notes his voice was instantly recognisable. Now, he had to deal with voice cracks, and the rapidly depleting self-esteem that came along with it. This is what he trained to do after all.

"You're getting stressed out. We need to practice getting your voice in a position where it can hit those high notes again. It's not going to help if you're standing there thinking you can't do it," the vocal teacher sighed, putting down her sheets of the lyrics Y/N had been singing.

She was firm, yes, but she was being kind about the situation too. She has coached many that had gone through the same thing as Y/N, and all she wanted to do was to see him succeed, but he couldn't see things through her eyes, that was far too big of a mountain to climb for him. A treacherous journey to realising not everything is one dimensional.

Y/N could only focus on those last four words. 'You can't do it'. And he hated the way that everything suddenly felt hot, and how his throat itched. How his neck itched. He started subconsciously scratching lightly at his neck, feeling the stress flood through his body. He scratched away at the thing he wanted to change most, knowing he couldn't turn back time and have things stay the way they were.

All the comments he had read, all the whispers he had heard, circulating in his brain, like an endless loop of vicious words to bring him down. He would be the reason Stray Kids would fail, they had said. He wasn't good enough, they had said. It all came from jealous trainees that were bitter they didn't get to debut instead of him. The only failure apparent in this situation was Y/N realising that.

"I need some air," Y/N barely managed to speak as he rushed out of the small practice room, tugging at the strings of his hoodie and making his way outside.

Fresh air.

Just breathe, Y/N.

And he managed to do so, not without his mind taking him to another place as he stared up at the JYP sign on the building. Was he meant to be here? Did he deserve to be here when his talents were no longer there? Y/N just couldn't see it the same way anymore, he couldn't see himself the same way anymore when the thing he had been praised for so deeply had changed. Even the people who had supported him before had changed their opinions, because his growth had shattered the image they had of him.

Y/N was unaware of the familiar presence beside him, one that had playfully called out his name before realising something was wrong. He was gently guided back into the building, and swiftly surrounded by the warmth of the 3RACHA studio.

"Hyungs! I found Y/N but he's not talking to me," Jisung's voice quivered as he himself was now feeling worried about his dongsaeng.

Changbin took Jisung aside, hushing him and reassuring him that he did the right thing, whilst Chan took it upon himself to understand what was happening to his youngest brother.

"Hey, hey, you're ok, come on, look at me," Chan spoke quietly, yet he managed to break through Y/N's mind as the younger looked around the studio.

"I shouldn't even be here," Y/N shook his head, voice monotonous. Just being there upset him further, yet he still fought against everything within him to show that side.

"What do you mean? This is our studio of course you're allowed in here, I mean, I know Channie likes his own space sometimes but this is different," Changbin moved to stand in front of Y/N too, having successfully calming Han, "hey, no no no don't float away again, I need you to listen," Changbin forced Y/N to sit down in the sofa. Han automatically wrapped his arms around the younger, wanting to do his best to show he was there for his fellow member.

"What's going on Y/N? Your vocal teacher said you just ran out of the building. She was waiting another 45 minutes until Seungmin turned up for his lesson because she couldn't find you," Chan sighed as he sat down in his chair, opposite the distressed boy.

"I bet Seungmin was much better than me," Y/N mumbled, but even with that, throat thick in emotion, his voice cracked yet again. Flustered that it had happened yet again, Y/N's fist came down against his own leg, huffing in frustration.

"Yah yah, don't do that!" Han frowned, pulling Y/N's arms away from him.

"I'm just so frustrated!" Y/N spoke through gritted teeth, looking up at the ceiling to keep his tears at bay.

"About what?" Changbin prompted Y/N further but he just stayed quiet.

"You need to tell us ok, we're your hyungs, we want to know what's going on, we need to know," Chan moved closer, resting his hand on Y/N's knee.

"My stupid voice," Y/N whispered, embarrassed to admit it.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What about it?"

"Ever since it's broken, you know, gotten deeper, I just sound stupid when I try singing, it's embarrassing, I mean, it makes sense when they say I shouldn't even be in the group anymore, I-" Y/N opened the gates to his mind as his mini ramble began and was quickly cut off.

"Who said that..." Changbin frowned deeply.

"Stays, other trainees," Y/N threw his hands up in the air, just done with the whole situation.

"Trainees are saying it too?!" Han gasped, looking at Chan and Changbin worriedly, a hint of malice in his eyes as he thought about all of those around them that still acted like their friends.

"Y/N they're just jealous, you can't listen to what they say," Chan began, sighing once more as he ran his fingers through his hair, somewhat at a loss of how to reassure Y/N anymore.

"Easier said than done. Why did you even have me join this group when, when... when I was just going to make us fail!" Y/N exploded, pushing himself up from the sofa and out of Han's arms, away from Changbin's concerned glances and especially away from Chan's words which went in one ear and out the other straight away.

It wasn't long until he found what he thought was an empty practice room, not noticing the bags of his other hyungs that were for once tucked away neatly in the corner of the room. He found solace in the emptiness and allowed himself to collapse to his knees, breaking down into tears of frustration, sadness and all the other emotions he kept pent up.

The rest of Stray Kids returned from a small snack break at the vending machine, all going together of course, you wouldn't find one Stray Kid without another, even this early on in their time of being together.

"Hey hey hey, aegi, what's going on? Omo..." Lee Know gasped as he saw the baby of the group shaking and sobbing. He ran up to Y/N and wrapped his arms around him, the other members astonished until 3RACHA ran in and finally found Y/N after hearing the commotion.

They began to explain what happened to Hyunjin, Seungmin and Jeongin whilst Felix sat down in front of Y/N to help calm him down, brushing his hair out of his face and rubbing his leg soothingly. He tried his best to listen to Y/N at first but due to his growing knowledge of Korean not being up to par with Y/N's incoherent sobs, it was easier to stick to physical affection. You could say Y/N was in a Lee sandwich, the best place he could be right now.

"Can't... Shouldn't..." Y/N sobs soon calmed down and the rest of his members gathered around him in a semicircle, Minho still hugging him from behind. Yes, he could come across as cold and brash sometimes, but no one could tell you just how soft Minho really was apart from his members. They knew him the best.

"Y/Nnie... please you have to listen to us, you're in this group for a reason," Hyunjin patted his knee from beside him.

"T-they didn't say anything about Jeongin's voice when his broke!" Y/N exclaimed, pain clearly still there, tired of all the judgement he had been receiving. He wasn't able to listen to his hyungs right now.

And the boys go quiet not knowing what to say back to Y/N, they were sure he didn't mean to offend Jeongin but it didn't stop Seungmin from patting his shoulder in support.

"Not, not, oh gosh not that I wanted Jeonginnie hyung to get hate I'd never want that for my hyungs I just..." Y/N put his face into his hands, feeling bad as if he has indirectly insulted his hyung, just because he was feeling hurt. From behind him, Minho hugged him tighter, whispering in his ear to try and gain his attention.

"It's ok, I know you didn't mean it like that," Jeongin smiles from across him, and Y/N could tell it was a genuine one.

"Look, our vocal teacher said something to me earlier about what was going on, she was worried about you, she thought she said something wrong," Seungmin trailed off, trying to get to the bottom of the matter.

"No she was actually really nice about it, it was just too much of a reality check and then my mind just took control and... Ugh I don't even know," Y/N came to a realisation that his vocal teacher wasn't being rude to him and it was all these overwhelming feelings that had built up and caught him out.

"Just take a moment, yeah, and think, would I have added you to this group if I didn't think you had the talent, had the potential," Chan rose an eyebrow, firmly talking to Y/N to make sure he understood what he was saying.

"Or his personality, personality is important too," Felix piped up, not wanting Y/N to feel like his worth was only reduced down to one thing.

"Of course it is, but that isn't what this is about right now, answer me, Y/N," Chan nodded to Felix before looking back at his upset member.

"N-no..." Y/N stuttered, realising the depth of what his leader was saying.

"Good. We can see how good you are. The only reason fans are getting annoyed is because it's a change they haven't adjusted to yet. Just like you're adjusting to this change too. Now, they shouldn't be sending in hate, so please, I will do everything it takes for you to not listen to it anymore, ok?" Chan promised Y/N, sitting in front of him and making sure he got that one answer he needed.

"O-ok, I-i understand now, thanks hyung, I-i love you all," Y/N felt the stress leave him, finally able to understand things from a different perspective.

"Aww he said he loves us!" Minho suddenly picks up Y/N and spins him around, causing the younger boy to squeal.

"I wish I had a camera!" Seungmin laughed along.

"I need to remember this forever," Jeongin and Han fooled around, widening their eyes and pretending to screenshot this happy cute moment into their brains.

It was definitely a moment that Y/N would be teased about in the future, being exposed for his true feelings for his hyungs when normally he'd be quiet about what he thought about in the normal way. It was just a good thing they got in his head this time, because now they had a happy memory to think about instead.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

tagged: @skz-streamer @kiraisastay @hannahhbahng @kpopmenace143 @sakufilms @arloo00 @dunno-wut-to-do @splat00z @cheesemonky @his-angell @turtledove824 @2minstan @royal-shinigami @yangbbokari @skzoologist @crabrangoongirl25 @atinyniki @writingforstraykids @minholing @lilmisssona @astraysimp @lixie-phoria

[toxicanonymity]

The Barbecue. Silence can never be bought, only rented (pt. 5 of 6)

5k / dbf!Joel x f!Reader, 18+ / pt 1 / master list

The long-awaited HOG (hot old guy) barbecue. Joel watches in the reflection of the window as you get out of the pool and grab a towel.  You follow him inside. "Don't tell me that made you jealous," you say. "Turned me on," he responds, and you can tell.

NEXT: part 6 / Story Master List

WARNINGS/NOTES: NSFW 18+ dry humping, vaginal fingering, jacking off, brief oral (M receiving), semi-public-ish, swallowing, alcohol, irresponsible cook-out behavior, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE, some angst, reader wears Joel's shirt, lack of PIV, blue balls. Do not read the dad as your actual dad!

Tags - This story: @jbcalway @daddy-din @angelmenace @silkiers @axshadows @legs0pen4dilfs @fan-fiction-floozy @grnherbs @icuminurbutt @lokanda @not-a-unique-snowflakewflake89 @likeanimagepassingby2 @witchy-jadda @mxtokko @missannwinchester @cannolighost @anxiousankylosaurus @montenegroisr @97cityy @lillyrob @billyloomiswhore4 @cloudroomblog @boysddontcry @blackvelveteen1339 @twsssmlmaa @call-me-doll-facee @str84pedro

All Joel: @ethanhoewke @silkiers @eiviea. @evyiione. ty @dark-scape for the support as usual.

Lmk if i missed you. Idk why some are buggy.

-

You don’t hear from Joel for days.  The first day, you’re a mess of feelings, pinballing between numb and smitten.  

You feel like you don't really know anyone in your life.  The people you thought were closest are perfect strangers.  You don't trust anyone.  Your roommate is spending all her time with that friend of Chad’s.  Your friend from home is on a trip overseas and won’t be back until the day after Independence Day.  You feel like you don’t have anyone to hang out with, talk to, or even sit in silence with.  You’re lonely and pensive.  

On the other end of the spectrum, your mind (and body) frequently drift to that long-awaited kiss, and everything that happened in that hotel suite.  You almost feel like if you can sleep with Joel, everything will be right in the world, even when it’s all wrong.  Even when he’s part of what’s wrong.  You know it’s illogical.  

-

One afternoon, for a change of scenery, you go to the bookstore with the cafe where you work.  Maybe you’re clinging to the last bit of familiarity that’s left.  On the bulletin board at the entrance, there’s a flyer for Chad's band playing at your favorite spot.  That must be why he originally came by the cafe the other day.  

While you’re in the middle of the bookstore, you get a text from Joel and your face burns when you open it. It’s a disappearing dick pic.  Not just his dick. It’s a blow job POV including his dick.  “Your souvenir,” he says, like that’s all that happened.    Your blood boils but also rushes to your loins.  

That’s all he has to say to you?  You respond, “really?” He’s trying to act like that whole car ride never happened.  

“Wanna talk about it?” he responds.  It’s nice that he offers, and your heart probably swells a little too much at the basic decency, but you’re actually not sure you want to talk about it.  You’re almost afraid to find out more.  You already wish you could rewind and live in blissful ignorance. 

-

After an exhausting day of stewing and sulking, you decide to go to Chad’s show.  It feels pathetic, but who cares? The way you see it, you don’t have anything to lose.  Chad can’t hurt you anymore.  It’s hard to imagine anyone who could.  You text Chad to let him know you’re coming.  He doesn’t text you back.  

When you get to the venue, you don’t see anyone you know, at first.  There’s still another band to play before them, so they should be hanging out near the merch table and you make your way over there.   Finally, you see their drummer behind the cash box, then you see Chad’s hair from the back.  The drummer says something to Chad, then Chad looks over at you.   Your stomach turns when you see his face.  You can only see half of it, but there’s a gauze bandage across his eyebrow and upper cheekbone.  His mouth is scabbed over.  Joel.  Chad makes himself scarce as soon as he sees you. 

You finally respond to Joel, “not really.” And that’s that.  But you don’t know how you’re going to face him or your dad when you go home for the holiday.  

-

On Independence Day, you’re so anxious that you drive right past the turn onto Joel’s street.  You don’t forget, you just decide not to turn.  You go to your friend’s house, even though you know she isn’t there.  It’s a familiar place to park your car and try to calm yourself down.  You sit there for almost an hour doing nothing but scrolling tumblr and listening to music.   

When you don’t arrive at the barbecue, your dad and Joel separately call you and you don’t answer either of them.  Based on your degree of dread with each respective call, you realize your dad is the one you least want to see.  You’re not really harboring much negativity toward Joel at this point.  

Frank texts you and you finally take a deep breath and decide to show up.  Your plan is to detach as much as possible and let yourself leave as soon as you’re uncomfortable. 

-

You pull up to Joel’s house wearing a bikini and the flannel with a change of clothes in your Billy Loomis tote.  Pretty much everyone is already at Joel’s house.  Tommy and Maria, Bill and Frank, your dad and stepmother, a couple of Joel’s neighbors, and two of your dad’s work friends, rounding out the requisite hot old guys (HOGs), according to your friend, at least. One of the HOGs, Steve, always looks at you like a piece of meat.  You used to think he was just an old  creep, but now he strikes you as a bit of a DILF. 

A light breeze carries the smell of propane and pork butt as you approach the pool gate.  Only Frank is in the pool.  You’ll probably hang out with him the whole time.  Joel is at the grill in swim trunks and t-shirt, talking to one of your father’s work friends.  He doesn't even look up when you open the gate.  His swim trunks sure do show a lot of thigh. 

Your stepmother is all over your dad.  You pry him off with a hug out of spite and to face your fears.  Then, you go to the grill and hug Joel from the side. It’s way too hot to stand there long.

“There she is,” Tommy announces on the other side of the grill.  He’s talking to a guy you don’t recognize who turns around and does a double-take.  

“This is Jesse, he works with your dad.” 

He extends his hand and says “I’ve heard a lot about you.”  

“Hmm, that sounds ominous." You can imagine being very attracted to Jesse even a week ago, but suddenly you don't have interest in anyone under 40.  

"Well I heard you like to swim, at least. I didn't wanna swim alone," Jesse says.

-

Frank has a tray at the side of the pool with a glass of wine and his phone on it.  He puts his glass of wine down when you walk up. 

"Thank God, I've been drinking by myself," he says. 

"And what kind of pairing is this for your pork butt?" you tease him as you sit down on the edge and put your feet in.   Bill just barely raises his glass to wave at you.  He's sitting alone under the shade of an umbrella, wearing khakis and a button-down shirt. 

"Hey I think I have this shirt," Frank says, and takes the flannel between his thumb and finger.  He studies it contemplatively for a moment.  You catch up with Frank for a while.  

-

You call over to the grill, "Joel are you gonna swim?" 

"I'm on butt duty," he says. 

Frank gives you an inquisitive look then asks if you're gonna get in.  

You put your stuff down on a chair, take the shirt off, and start applying sunscreen.  Joel watches as you rub it into your bikini top. Then you turn around to give him a side view as you rub it into the part of your butt cheeks hanging out of the bottoms. 

Jesse moseys over within seconds and takes off his shirt. And well, damn.  When Jesse raises his eyebrows at you, you realize you've been staring while lazily reaching over your shoulder and applying sunscreen.  You were really just looking at his tattoos.  Mostly. 

“Nice ink,” you say.  

"Need a hand?" He asks. Why not? You hand Jesse the sunscreen and watch his face as he squirts some into his palm. He bites his lip. 

You turn around facing the pool – facing Joel – and stretch out one leg in front of you, keeping the other bent, while Jesse rubs lotion into your back.  He doesn’t do  it in an erotic way, but you curl your toes and subtly bite your lip as though it is. You let your legs fall open a bit. 

You lower yourself into the pool and have small talk with Jesse for a minute, then Joel says your real name for once and it makes your eyes go wide. He doesn't say it that loud but you still hear him from across the pool.  "Gimme a hand?" He asks. 

Jesse stays in the pool and awkwardly makes small talk with Frank. 

-

Joel watches in the reflection of his big living room windows as you lift yourself out of the pool and get a towel.  You follow him inside to the small, secondary kitchen and he closes the door behind you..

He pins you up against the counter, already aroused, and further hardens against your wet swimsuit, flooding you with desire from your core to your chest.  

"Havin' fun?" He growls in your ear. 

"Don't tell me that made you jealous."

"Turned me on," he says, low and horny. 

He kisses your chin, then your neck.  Your hands wrap around him and grab his ass, pulling him into you harder with your own soft grunt.  

He slips his hand under the damp cup of your bikini top, his fingers curving around the side of your breast, thumb resting at your cleavage.  His warm palm pushes your cold, hard nipple as he firmly cradles your breast, his hand applying slow pressure in rhythm with his hips.  Your knees are weak.  You're dripping, not just from the pool.  

He wraps his arms around you and slides his warm hands into the sides of your swimsuit bottom, grabbing hold of your cold ass cheeks. He groans, "God almighty.”  

He kneads your ass, pulling you into him and his rock-hard length.  He kisses your neck and grinds himself into you.  The feeling of his warm, thick rod slowly rutting against your clit drives you mad.  You couldn’t get any wetter.  If you don't have this man inside you soon, you might actually die. You reach into his shorts and use your other hand to try to take them down.  He doesn't stop you. 

But there’s a knock at the door.  Good Lord.  You know who it's going to be.

Joel puts his dick away and removes a big pan of coleslaw from the fridge.  He hands you the coleslaw while you open the door.  

"Am I interrupting anything?" She asks. 

"No," You say, then cock your head and add  "Am I?"  You hold eye contact for several seconds, then hand her the cole slaw and ask, "don't you and Dad have some catching up to do?" 

Your stepmother takes the coleslaw outside.  

You close the door behind her.  “Basement?,” you ask, and start toward the pantry at the back of the space.  There’s a hidden staircase that opens into the movie theater downstairs. 

Joel groans and rubs his beard.  “Later,” Joel says with a sigh.  “We better go back out.”

You scoff.  “Really?” 

“Go on back outside.” He opens the door to the main kitchen.  

-

When you get back to the pool, Jesse's already gone, talking to your dad.  When you get back in, Frank says, "You little minx."  He's got Instagram pulled up on his phone and shows you a picture from several years ago of Joel and him together,  both wearing the shirt you arrived in.  "Tell me everything."

Your face gets hot.  “Seems to be a popular shirt,” you say. 

"No," Frank says. "Shirt's just the kicker. There's something about the way you say each other's names. They sound like a secret."  Frank is good at reading people.

"What, you think I fucked him? I didn't." At least you don't have to lie about that. 

"Maybe not yet," he scoffs.  Frank looks behind you and covers his mouth, then says “Look at his shirt."  Yeah, Joel’s shirt has just the right wet spots.  In theory, they could've been from a hug. It basically was a hug.  

"Ever heard of a hug?" you say. 

Frank raises his eyebrows then holds up his glass of wine and "accidentally" clinks his wedding ring on it before downing the rest.  Bill hears it and comes over with the bottle.  Frank gives him a look with the slightest nod across the pool, like he can't even wait a couple hours to share his new gossip.  Bill's eyes dart over to Joel, then meet Frank's eyes again. As usual, no reaction is visible on Bill's face, aside from a twinkle in his eye.  "Everything to your liking, sir?" he asks Frank.  

Frank smiles, "Come on, at least dip your feet," but Bill leaves. Just as well, Frank's not done prodding you. 

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," Frank shrugs.  "But I know you want to. . . and my lips are sealed. . ."  

Frank is one of the most trustworthy people you know, so you don't worry about him spilling it.  You just don’t feel like saying it out loud and putting words to it.  Once it exists in the air, it’s something that can be broken. Something that can fall apart.  

You panic and tell Frank about Joel and your stepmother instead.  You claim you're just keeping Joel close for now while you decide what to do.  You leave out any details about what close means.  

The initial look on his face is horror, then Frank looks like he's going to cry.  "Are you okay?" 

"Chill," you say, looking around nervously. "Jesus, how much wine have you had?" 

"Sorry, I just.  I'm sorry.  I know it's hard.  That's all."  He hugs you, and over Frank’s shoulder, you see Joel looking across the pool with his brow furrowed even more than usual.

"Well, don't forget my dad cheated on my mom with her, so, whatever," you say.

"Well, exactly. That's why I worry-" 

Your face tells him to stop, so he changes the subject.  "So what about that guy from the band, is that still a thing?"

You sigh.  "Chad? No. Nothing juicy, just no."

"Got it," he says and you know you can trust him not to bring it up again.  He follows your eyes back to Joel.   You’re not off the hook, but at least you don’t have to talk about it.  

-

The actual meal is relatively uneventful. It’s hard to be around your father right now.  Deep down, you knew there were secrets.  You knew he wasn’t the most upstanding man.  You never fully trusted him after what he did to your mom.  But at this point, he feels like a stranger.  You’re almost glad his wife is cheating on him.  

Steve, the hotter of your dad’s non-Joel friends, tries hitting on you.  Asks if you like to party.  Says he bets you get pretty wild after a few drinks.  Pressures you to do shots with him.  Why not, you think.  You do one shot, but make Joel join in.  

“Bad fuckin’ influence over here,” Joel says and gives Steve a slap on the back.  Steve tries to egg you on to do more, but you don’t and neither does Joel.  

"That's why we call him Mr. One Shot," Jesse says. laughing at his own joke. 

Joel bristles at the nickname and crosses his arms, jamming his hands under his ungodly biceps.

Steve lowers his voice and asks Joel,  "How many shots in Uvalde?" Joel doesn’t answer. 

"One," Jesse says. "Miller’s too modest, you're embarrassing him," he laughs. 

Joel tenses. "Give it a rest, Jesse. Have some discretion." 

Jesse looks at your end of the table and swallows. “Right”

Your stepmother abruptly changes the subject.   She asks Jesse how old he is and why she hasn’t seen him before. She’s drunk, and every time she looks at Jesse, she looks like she could eat him alive. 

Your dad elbows Jesse.  “I think my wife likes you,” he says with a wink.  It’s awkward. 

-

Joel’s face is a little pink from the sun, and it looks good on him.  He’s looking at your face, but not making eye contact. He seems to be in a trance.  You kind of feel like you should still be mad at him, but for some reason, you’re not.  And you’re not going to deprive yourself out of spite.  You can feel Frank noticing every detail of this.  

Bill pours the last of a bottle of wine, and you volunteer to go to the wine cellar.  Bill says they’ve had enough.  Frank protests that he wants one more glass.  He asks you for a German Riesling, with a wink.  You subtly shake your head at him, falsely denying what he knows you’re up to.  

-

You stand in the wine cellar, enjoying the cool air, then sit on a cabinet that spans the whole back wall.  It’s only a few minutes before you hear Joel’s flip flops echoing down the stairs, presumably with the pretext of helping you find the wine.  He crosses the cellar without even glancing at the wine.  “Leavin’ for the fireworks in 15,” he says.  

He has that horny look in his eyes and there’s already a bulge in his swim trunks. The way his t-shirt stretches over his pecs and arms — God damn. 

When Joel reaches you, his massive hands part your knees, then lightly stroke your bare thighs.  His lips brush your temple as he says, “You’re gonna get me in trouble one of these days.” 

“That’s the idea,” you say as his hands wrap around your back and he slides you closer to the edge of the cabinet.  When your crotch comes to rest against his, an acute desire floods your breasts.  You squeeze his sides with your thighs, then roll your hips into his arousal and hook your hands under his arms, bringing him closer.  

You slide your hands down his back and into his swim trunks, feeling his ass and bringing the trunks down.  At the same time, you pull his hips into you and the swell of his hard-on against your clit makes you throb with need.  You start to untie your bikini bottoms while he gropes a breast.

His mouth latches onto your neck. You let the front of the bottoms fall between your thighs, and tilt your hips in just the right way. He brings a hand between your legs and drags his flattened fingers up and down your slippery seam, then thrusts two of them inside and you moan. 

“Fuuck,” he breathes.  

You grab his cock.  “Come on,” you beg as you tug him.  He takes his hard length from you, holds it in his hand, and furrows his brow as he pumps his fingers slowly in and out of you.  You try to read his face.  He breathes heavily as he fingers you.   

“Fuck me already,” you beg.  

He looks down at himself and shakes his head no, but looks pained by his own answer.  

“We both know it’s gonna happen,” you say.

He takes a deep breath as though to restrain himself.  “Maybe so, but not tonight.” 

He removes his fingers and brings the tip of his cock to your dripping entrance.  A bolt of need shoots through you.  He dwells there for a moment, takes another deep breath, then lays his stiff manhood vertically against your seam and pulls you tight against him.  Then he grinds wetly against your aching clit, and your hips roll into him.  Your head falls back and you moan.  Your eyes are watery.  

“God, Joel. . .this is . . .so dumb. . . just fu-” 

You cut yourself off with a moan as he quickens his pace and grunts.

“Pleeease.” 

“Shhhhhhh,” he says.  You’re on the verge of coming and on the verge of tears. He holds you tight for leverage then goes jackhammer pace. 

“Joel. . .”

“Come for me, sugar,” he pants.  And not long after, you do.  You clench around nothing, pulse against him, and you hear the echo of a breathy “Joel” you didn’t know you said.  

He takes his cock in his hand again and looks at you with his pupils blown wide. His breath is ragged as he strokes himself.  You find yourself slipping down off the cabinet.  He doesn’t deserve what you’re about to do, you just want it for yourself, for whatever reason.  He steps back and you squat down to face level with his cock.  You hover your mouth over it, then wrap your lips around the head, and he comes with an echoing groan before you take any of the shaft into your mouth.  His cum even tastes unattainable.  Your eyes sting. 

You fix your swimsuit and compose yourself.  

“C’mere,” he says and hugs you.  You don't really hug him back.  You wipe a tear off your cheek.  He tries to kiss you, but you’re too upset, and it would make you need him even worse than you already do.  

-

Joel’s phone rings and he picks it up.  “We’re comin’,” he says.  “C’mon, let’s go.”  He puts his arm around you but your demeanor doesn’t soften.  You’ve had it with him depriving you.

“Ya know, maybe it’s a good night to talk to my dad,” you threaten as you near the top of the stairs.  

“Damn, Trouble.” You can't tell if he’s impressed or judging you.  “I said not tonight. I didn’t say never.”  

That makes you think twice, at which point you realize what you just did. . .You tried to blackmail Joel for sex. 

He adjusts his shorts.  God, what’s become of this situation in just a few days - you try to put it out of your mind.  You can beat yourself up over it later. 

Joel stops you with his hand on yours before you open the door. “Look,” he continues.  “Before you do anything stupid, there’s somethin’ I should tell you later.”  

You lean against the wall and cross your arms.  “Lemme guess, you and Dad are up to some shady, dangerous shit.” 

“Nothin’ to do with that,” Joel says, lowering his voice. 

“So you are.” 

“Dangerous, yes, shady, no. We’re the good guys. Less you know ‘bout that, the better.” 

“Why?”

“For your safety.” 

You open the door to the living room and people are milling around deciding who’s riding with whom to the fireworks.  Frank says, “hey, she didn’t get bricked in,” and hands you your bag from outside so you can change.  

-

You and Joel ride with Bill and Frank to the fireworks. Frank keeps looking back and making small talk, but you and Joel mostly look out your opposite windows. You get to thinking about what Joel said.   Not tonight. . . I didn’t say never. . . If he means that, maybe it’s worth the wait.  Maybe you should hear him out, whatever he has to tell you.

During the fireworks, you come around a little.  Joel playfully covers your ears, knowing you’ve always hated loud noises.   When Bill and Frank drop you off at Joel’s afterwards, everyone is going their separate ways.  You're relieved to see your dad and stepmother drive off before you have to say goodbye.   

You start to go to your car, wanting to quit while you're ahead and not end up begging for it again. Joel stops you with gentle hands on your shoulders.

"Come in for a minute. Let's talk." A pit opens in your stomach. 

The two of you go in through the pool gate.  “Lemme make you a drink,” he says.  That sounds even worse.

. . .

Joel hands you your favorite cocktail, then comes around the bar with his own drink to sit on the stool next to you.  He takes a deep breath and puts his hand on your knee.  He seems almost as nervous as you are. You can't remember seeing him nervous before.  

“Yeah?” you prompt him.  

He nods and takes a sip of his drink, then looks you in the eye.  He puts his glass down, then takes yours out of your hand and puts it down on the counter too.  

He swivels you toward each other.  He looks like he's about to say something, then something changes in his eyes.  He cradles your head with both hands, lays his lips into yours, and kisses you slow and hard, his tongue dipping into your mouth. 

After a few seconds, you don’t even notice the taste of his whiskey, and his hands trace your body on their way down to your thighs.  It’s intense but tender.  You can’t help but feel like it’s some kind of a kiss goodbye.  It scares you.  He slides off the stool and gets in between your knees, tries to put your legs around him again, and that’s certainly where your legs want to go.  But you want to hear what he has to say first. 

You pull away and your hand drifts up to your lips.  They buzz from his fervor.  Your chest rises and falls.

“Spit it out,” you tell him.   

“Right," he says.  "I dunno if you’re still gonna wanna. . .”  He downs his drink.  It’s hard for you to imagine anything that would make you not want to fuck him anymore.  

Finally, he begins.  "Alright. . . ‘member what I said at lunch the other day, 'bout how monogamy isn’t for everyone?"

"Yeah." If this is all to say it’s not for him, it’s not hitting like much of a bombshell.  Now, if he's going to tell you about other people he's fucking–when he's not even fucking you—that's a different story. 

"Well," he clears his throat and looks away.  "Your dad-"  

You interrupt him with a loud sigh.  "Just because he cheats doesn't mean you can sleep with his wife."  You’re annoyed he’s even going there.  

Joel holds up his hands as though to tell you to slow down.  "Lemme finish.  'member what I said, how even in a marriage, some couples. . . ."  He tries to make you fill in the blanks for yourself, but you won't. "Okay,”  he shifts in his seat and begins to gesticulate vaguely.  “Your dad and stepmother, they have an arrangement."  

You feel the blood drain from your face.  You think about the way she was eyeing Jesse. "Gross," you say.

He swallows and nods regretfully as you process this.  He waits patiently as your heart races along with your thoughts, then you spill them out all at once.  "I dunno why I would believe you. OR why you would believe her.  Is that what she told you?”  You laugh.  “Whatever. Even if it's true, you aren't just any guy-"

"He knows," Joel says almost somberly. “About me.”

"Oh, he knows?" you laugh. He couldn't possibly. This is a terrible attempt at defusing the whole situation for himself.  And yet, he looks like he feels bad for you. 

"The first time, he talked me into it." 

Deep breaths.  "That's insane.  That's. . .this is your new plan? Try to convince me my dad is some perverted cuckold?"

"No, not like that." He shivers in disgust. "Damn, Trouble. That's where your head went? No. . . when he. . .it was like. . . a swap.” 

Your stomach turns.  

“Okay, remember my date to Bill and Frank's wedding?  The stripper?”  Your heart sinks.  “Your dad, um, really liked her, and-"

"I get the picture," you say, closing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose, recalling that your dad did in fact really like Joel's date.  It was embarrassing.  

"It was casual with me and. Shit, what was her name. Anyway, we were all stayin' in that hotel gettin' sloshed at the pool, an-"

You open your eyes and say, "Yeah, I got it, okay?" Then, you walk over to the sofa to sit down.  He follows you.  You feel sick to your stomach and don't want to hear another word about it.  You cross your arms and slouch, sitting in silence for a moment.  

He hesitantly puts his hand on your knee, sending a rush of blood to your loins. You don’t know what to feel.

"Did you really end it with her?" You ask. 

He sighs.  "More or less." 

Now rage starts simmering in your chest. 

"Told her I wanted a break.”

Unbelievable.

“That just — it lessens the blow.  But trust me, I'm not doin' it again. Especially after how she’s been actin’." 

You wish you could believe him. 

You ask, "Why'd you let me think it was some huge secret?"

He's quiet for a moment.

"I don’t think your dad would appreciate you knowin’ about it," he says.  "But I was gonna tell you anyway."

“Yeah, right.” 

“‘Yeah. . . ‘member all those calls you ignored?”  

“But then I got to thinkin’ about it, and I guess. . . .” 

"What?”

"I," he pauses and sighs.  "Shit, I dunno, it was hot.  Really hot.  The way you acted, thinkin' you had somethin' over me. . .never saw that side of you before."

Now this you can believe.

"Next day, still thought about tellin’ ya.  But after the pool, there was no goin’ back.  I mean, damn."  

There’s a sparkle in his eye as he reflects on that.  He adjusts himself, which always makes you tingle, even now.  Especially now?  God, you have no idea.  

"Guess it kinda did somethin' to me,” he says.  He raises his eyebrows and gives your thigh a rub, but you flinch.  It isn’t personal, you’re just on edge, but his eyes get sad and he takes his hand away, resting it in his lap as he sits back lazily on the couch. 

You ask, "So why tell me now?"

"I dunno, maybe I'm growin' a conscience."  

You try to make sense of that, but you can’t.  Why would he feel guilty about you doing something as depraved as blackmailing him into sex?  

"Woulda been hot as hell though.  Maybe I shoulda let ya go through with it.  Damn.” 

It sounds like everything is up to him, and apparently, it is.  

He hesitantly rests his hand on your back and slowly rubs it.  You take a deep breath and sigh audibly.  You’re melting under his fingertips.  

He lowers his voice, “So, now that you know everything . . .”

His phone buzzes.  When he looks at it, he tenses and sharply inhales.

“Your dad’s here,” he says.

And your car is still parked outside in the turnaround.

-

Planning for the next chapter to be the last in this story. . .

[sims3fiend]

Sims3SettingsSetter thing

OLD POST REALLY SORRY IF YOU BOOKMARKED THIS I'M DUMB LMAO

NEW: https://www.tumblr.com/sims3fiend/764382296987025408/sims-3-settings-setter?source=share

---

Was bored ripping my hair out trying to do optimizations so I made this instead of anything actually worthwhile. For now it's mostly just a novelty. Rushing it out as I'm at work 4x12hrs starting tomorrow :)

This is a ALPHA IT SHOULD BE SAFE BUT IT MIGHT ALSO NOT BE. Speedwriting this post as I've gotta go sleepy.

Ignore the strange names for things i-it's an alpha.

Simsfileshare

To use, have an ASI loader like this or maybe this and shove it into the folder where the sims 3 exe is. Press insert to toggle

What it does:

Renderer Flags:

This was the original idea and what this was solely going to be. I found a function that set things like wireframe and other renderer things, so I made a script for it.

Some useful things it can do are turning drop shadows off, which is nice for reshade as it lets you do a better looking AO. Some people might find the pips, scene boxes, etc. useful but idk. Some of it is neat to look at I guess.

Game Values:

Just the one for now, max lots, it's still effected by the weird range/frustum cull thing that effects shadows, so outside of that range extra lots wont load. These are going to be static values that can be edited ingame. There's a few other ones I've found like ObjectSizeCullFactor but I need to properly test them. I'll also add some informational ones that can't be changed like loaded object count, etc.

Game Config:

This is where things went off the rails…

I'm hooking two functions here to grab and set boolean and string config values directly as they're called in memory, which is important as some are overridden or altered, or aren't listed in the files at all (ForceHighLODObjects my beloved). Currently it lists mostly everything in the SGR file and some ini settings. The boolean stuff is a pretty sure bet, the strings might be overwritten elsewhere idk. Please keep in mind that some of these settings can be very damaging to your game and sanity, do not use ones you don't recognize on a save you love.

To enable the config overwrite, tick the box next to it and hit save. They won't do anything unless the box is checked.

I'll be adding tunables (like LightingCommon) into the list… eventually. Currently they're a little… weirdly/interestingly/uniquely written in the decomp'd functions I've been looking at, so I haven't been able to get their values. There's probably a really simple way of doing all of this in one of the dlls or packages or something but idk. If you know lmk.

I'll also probably try and find the in memory location of some of them, so they can be changed ingame without the need to restart.

Issues:

If you have any problems/info please message me either on discord(fleshtexture) or tumblr ! Keep in mind it's still an ALPHA (or whatever) and I haven't really tested it that extensively.

Known problems:

Config sorting is yucky

Code looks yucky, weird names for things, don't look until I rewrite!

There was a freezing issue due to how I was hooking d3d9 but I think I fixed it? Idk I've never used imgui before.

[sagethegaywitch]

Dimensions: Scarabia

Male reader

TW: yandere behavior, memory erasing, hypnosis

Genre: yandere

Here's the link for my other Dimensions: Twisted Wonderland Overblots works.

The story will take place in Agrabah, the one from the original “Aladdin” that the Scarabia dorm is based on.  As the overblot eats away at the characters, they start to resemble and act more like the Disney characters they are based on.  The reader will be called Y/N and Jasmine, and they will be one of Kalim’s brothers.  Kalim will not be under Jamil’s control, but he will be influenced to make certain decisions via Jamil's unique magic.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You feel the heat first, it's hot and uncomfortable on your skin.  You groan and roll over on your side, trying to expose less skin to the horrible sun beaming down on you.  You attempt to open your eyes, but the sun and sand cause you to close them in pain.  You only sigh in relief when you hear a voice calling out to you and a cool towel is placed on your head.  You briefly open your eyes to see a dark haired male frantically tapping your cheek to get your attention and calling out the name “Jasmine” before you pass out.

~

When you awaken again, you feel much cooler and comfortable.  You can open your eyes without any pain, and you open them to see a lavishly decorated bedroom and you're laying on a satin bed.  The cool materials of the covers keep your body temperature down even though the large arches windows in your room are barely covered with silk drapes.  You sit up and continue to look around the room, noticing a decorated vanity and dresser in one corner and a pile of soft pillows in the other corner.  You hesitantly push the covers aside and stand up, your finger brushing over your outfit.  You look down to see only red.  Rushing over to the vanity mirror, you get a good look at your clothing.  From red harem pants to just a silk scarf that barely hides your chest, you're also covered in golden jewelry that feels much too heavy in your limbs.  You can only stare at your own shocked expression before pinching yourself to ensure that this was all real.  But, how did you even get here?  You try to think back to your last memory, but you can only remember hot sand and someone rescuing you.  As you try to look deeper, a searing pain shoots through your head, preventing you from figuring out your past.

A sudden knock at your door as you snapping out our self-discovery as the doors open.

“Jasmine?  Are you awake?” a voice asks as you see a white-hairrd male walk in.

He's dressed as elegantly as you are, covered in white silk, golden jewelry, and shiny gems.  When he sees you standing near the vanity, he squeals and runs up to you, embracing you in a tight hug.

“You're awake!  You're awake!” he chants in glee as he jumps up and down with you still in his arms.  “Just wait until Jamil hears about this?”

“Who's Jamil?” you ask as he finally stops bouncing around.

“That would be me,” another voice says as yet another figure walks into the room.

Unlike the other, this boy is dressed in darker clothing, mostly black and dark red, that flows like a dress.  Along with his glowing red left eye, he has black snakes that appear to be his hair that wrap around his shoulders and arms (Jamil is wearing his overblot outfit).  He holds a golden scepter that has a cobra head on top with glowing red gems for eyes.

“I’m glad you're feeling better, Jasmine.  But, do tell me why you were outside the palace gates in a sandstorm?” Jamil asks you, sounding like a predator that finally managed to corner its prey.

“Jasmine?” you ask.  “I don't think my name’s Jasmine.”

The white-haired boy lets out a loud gasp, startling you a bit as he brings you back into a hug, “Jamil, you must do something!  Poor Jasmine lost all of his memories!”

Jamil’s straight face soon morphs into one of relief and almost delight as he registers you've lost your memories.

“Well, it could be an after effect of the heat stroke you just endured, but it should pass in a few days.  I hope you've learned a valuable lesson from this,” Jamil tells you, giving you a pointed look.

You don't really like the vibes coming off this man as he looks at you expectantly.  You just nod and tell him you won't go wandering around by yourself anymore.

“Wonderful,” Jamil says as he turns around and starts to leave.  “I have some business to attend to, but Kalim you can show your brother around if you’d like.”

Kalim’s smile grows impossibly bigger as his eyes shine and he grabs your hand and starts dragging you out of the room, “There's so much I need to show you again.  Until you get your memory back, I'm going to show you all of our favorite spots and all the games we used to play.”

He leads you all around the place, up and down dozens of golden stairs and past a million rooms that it makes your head dizzy.  From rooms filled with treasures to a room filled with swords that Kalim reassured you won't be needed, he gives you a tour of his entire very large house.  In one room filled with golden jewelry, Kalim plucks a golden tiara that has an engraving of Taj Mahal-shaped buildings in the background and a viper in the front.

“You need a crown,” was all Kalim said even though you tried to refuse the gift.

You reluctantly let him place it on your head, the weight being uncomfortable for a bit, but it was super light and you soon forgot that it was even on your head.

Dragging you out of the room as quickly as he dragged you into it, Kalim took no more pauses as he continued the very thorough tour.  Finally, when you're panting and sweaty from all that unnecessary exercise, Kalim flopped you both down in a room filled with carpets.

“Wasn't that so much fun!” Kalim exclaims, still somehow full of energy and not tired at all.

“Yeah, your mansion is so cool,” you wheeze out as you catch your breath, laying down and looking up at the ceiling decorated with tiny tiles.

Kalim pauses and looks at you sadly, “You mean our mansion, Jasmine.  As my younger brother, this is your home as much as it is mine.”

“Younger brother?” you question as you sit up and turn towards Kalim.

“It must be the memory loss, I hope Jamil is working on something to fix that,” Kalim tells you as he gives you a head pat.  “I’m so sad you don’t remember anything.”

“I’m sure I will someday,” you try to reassure the saddened male who is apparently your brother even though you two don’t look very alike.

As you pat his back, you feel something tickle your wrist.  You swat at it without looking down, thinking it’s just a fly.  But when it persists, you glance down annoyed, only to see the decorative fringe on the carpet you both are sitting on moving by itself.  You let out a startled yelp that has Kalim bolting up and picking you up bridal style.

“What is it!  Did you see a spider!” he yells, sounding just as scared as you felt.

“No!  The carpet moved!” you exclaim while pointing at the carpet that stands up and dusts itself off, looking quite offended at your words.

Instead of running away, Kalim just breaks down laughing.  He has to put you down to hold his knees from the force that his laughter tumbles out of his mouth.  You give him a questioning look as he wipes tears from the corners of his eyes.

“Jasmine, you’re so silly!  That’s just my magic carpet,” Kalim chuckles as the carpet “walks” over and holds its "hand" out for you to shake.

You hesitantly grip the golden tassel and give it a gentle shake, which causes the carpet to get excited as it “claps” and flats itself before swooping down and knocking you both off of you feet and onto its back.  You let out a gasp as it starts to hover above the floor, but Kalim seems very comfortable as he helps you sit up and grabs the front tassels, starting to steer the carpet toward the curtained windows.

“Just loop your arms around my waist, so you don’t fall off,” Kalim instructs you as you quickly comply.

“Are you sure this is safe?” you question as the carpet breezes past the curtains and into the open sky.

“Of course!  I do this all the time!” Kalim responds, vibrating with excitement, happy that he gets to show you something he loves.

Kalim presses the tassels down, causing the carpet to enter a sharp dive.  You let out a scream of surprise, your grip tightening on Kalim’s waist as he laughs and evens out the carpet’s path.  For the rest of the ride, Kalim tried to keep the carpet pretty even and steady, only going into a few short dives when he got bored.  He showed you all of the sights of Agrabah from a bird's eye view.  You were amazed by the view and all the twisty streets that lay outside the neat corridors of the palace.  Kalim wouldn’t allow the carpet to land so you could check out the vendors, telling you that you’d have to ask Jamil if you ever wanted to leave the palace walls.

“It’s not safe for us out there, considering we’re the royals and all,” Kalim tells you, not missing the way you deflated a bit at the news.  “Oh, don’t be sad though!  If you want anything we probably already have inside the palace.”

“It’s okay, I just wanted to get a closer look at the stalls,” you reassure him, trying to distract him from the disagreement.

Kalim tried to cheer you up by flying over a huge lake, getting close enough to splash water on you.  You let out a giggle as you return the favor and splash water all over his face.  The water fight would have continued if the carpet didn’t pull away from the lake, preferring not to get wet and have to dry itself later.  As the sun began to set, Kalim pulled you to sit next to him to watch the beautiful colors start a fire in the sky.  The carpet hovered near the window that you two left through, just allowing you guys to appreciate the view.  Kalim lets one of his arms wrap around your shoulder in a half-hug and lets you lean your head on his shoulder.  You both get startled when a sudden voice shatters the quiet atmosphere.

“Just what do you two think you’re doing?”  Jamil’s voice speaks.

You look over the window to see the curtains now pushed back to reveal an unhappy looking Jamil with crossed arms over his chest.

“Jamil!  We were just about to return,” Kalim explains, but you can hear the nervousness in his voice.

“Do you know how worried I was!  You left without telling anyone.  I had to organize all the carpets just to find yours missing,” Jamil states, pointing to the neatly stacked carpets behind him.  “It’s getting late, you both should come inside now.”

Jamil moved back to give the carpet some move to land at his feet.  Kalim sheepishly rubs the back of his neck as Jamil glares down at him.

“We’re sorry, Jamil,” you meekly apologize.

Jamil just sighs, “It’s okay.  Next time just let someone know.”

“Of course!  Sorry for causing you trouble, Jamil,” Kalim adds as Jamil gives him a disappointed look.

“It’s dinner time, so we should be heading to the dining hall now,” Jamil reminds as he starts to walk toward the door.

You quickly thank the carpet for the ride before following Jamil, Kalim walking besides you.  You try to remember where the dining hall is based on the tour Kalim gave you earlier, but you still have a hard time remembering all of the turns you took to get there.  Once in the dining room, which is a long room with an equally long table in the middle, you are forced to take a seat on a soft pillow next to Jamil, who sits at the head of the table.  Kamil sits across from you, on Jamil’s right side, and gives you a bright smile as servants start to bring in towers of food.  The walls are covered in open windows, which allows a pleasant breeze to flow through the room and lets you watch the sun finish setting.  While you’re distracted with the windows, Jamil has started to pile your plate up with food.  You turn back to see your plate filled with delicious curries and spiced vegetables.

“Dig in, Jasmine!  Jamil makes the best food,” Kalim tells you, already taking big bites of his food.

“You made this?” you ask as you scoop up some of the curry, placing the spoon in your mouth.

“Yes, do you like it?” Jamil asks, looking at you nervously, like he’s afraid to disappoint you.

Complex flavors invade your mouth, with just enough spice to feel it but not too much where it is overwhelming.  You smile and take another bite before giving Jamil a double thumbs-up, which causes him to smile and relax a bit.  As dinner continues, Kalim and Jamil discuss some royal stuff, like guard positioning and recent sandstorms in the area.  You block out their conversation as you enter your thoughts.  It’s so amazing that this is your life.  From home-cooked meals to carpet rides, it’s such a shame you’ve forgotten it all.

“Jasmine?” Kalim’s voice startles you as you blink and redirect your attention to the two males.

“Sorry, just zoned out,” you apologize as you quickly finish the food on your plate.

“You must be so tired after a full day of activities,” Jamil concludes as he stands.  “You should probably head to bed.”

You nod, suddenly feeling a bit sleepy, as you follow Jamil and stand up as well.  The three of you walk back into the hallway and you don’t bother to remember the route you take, just thinking about the soft bed you’re about to sleep in.  You soon realize that Kalim’s room is right next to your room as he starts to open the door next to your room and disappears inside after giving you a tight hug and whispering a “good night”.

You turn around to see Jamil holding your door open and you thank him as you enter.

“Just holler if you need anything, my room is just down the hall.  Sweet dreams,” Jamil tells you before he turns to leave.

He’s startled when you suddenly hug him from behind, “Thank you, Jamil.  I hope I regain my memories soon.”

Jamil stiffens at the words, but he just gives you a head pat before leaving you alone in your big room.  You walk over to the huge bed, flopping onto the soft mattress.  You curl up with a cozy blankets and slowly fall asleep.

~

In the morning, you awaken to the sounds of arguing.  You try to ignore it and fall back asleep, but the voices get progressively louder to the point where you groan in annoyance and stand up.  You quietly open your door to see who’s making such a fuss this earlier in the morning, but you find no one in the hallway.  You note that the voices are coming from Kalim’s room, and his door cracked open a bit.  You’re not usually an eavesdropper, but they seemed to be talking about you.  You crouch behind the door, peeking inside the crack.

“But I want to take him on another carpet ride,” Kalim whines.

“You had him all of yesterday though,” Jamil complains.  “It’s only fair if I get to take him out today.”

“Why don’t we do it together?” Kalim tries to compromise, but Jamil is having none of it.

Jamil sighs before looking down at Kalim, “You will leave Jasmine and me alone for the whole day.  You will stay in your room and work on some paperwork until it is dinner time.”

Because his back is turned toward you, you can’t tell what Jamil is doing to Kalim, but Kalim’s eyes start to glow a dull red before he slowly nods along to Jamil’s words.  Jamil gives another deep sigh before starting to turn around.  You quickly stand up and hurry back into your room, jumping under the safety of the covers.  You can hear Jamil close Kalim’s door and open yours.  You quickly fall limp and pretend to be asleep as Jamil’s footsteps get closer to your bed.

“Jasmine, it’s time to wake up,” Jamil murmurs in a soothing voice as he gently shakes your shoulder.

You fake a groan and act like you just woke up, groggily rubbing your eyes and yawning.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Jamil smiles at you as you fake another yawn for good measure.

“Good morning.  What do we have planned today?” you ask as you climb out of bed and begin to fold the blankets.

“Kalim told me you were interested in exploring the town yesterday, so I thought it would be fun to take you out today,” Jamil speaks as he stands up and heads to the door.  “I don’t have breakfast prepared yet so we can get something to eat out there.”

“Sounds like a great idea!  I can’t wait!” you cheer as you follow Jamil out of your room and into the hallway.

“You’ll need a disguise though because you’re a member of the royal family.  We can’t have people recognizing you,” Jamil ponders before walking back into your room and rummages around in the dresser.

He returns with a brown cloak that he drapes over you and wraps the scarf-like hood over your head and lower face.

“Perfect,” he nods to himself before offering you his arm.

You loop your arm through his and you both walk towards the palace doors that will lead to the outside world.  You lean a little closer towards Jamil as he opens the gates that lead to the busy market.  You’re assaulted with loud noises and intense scents as you walk further into the crowd.  Although the streets are busy, the people part and give you two a clear path when they see Jamil.  You still hang pretty close to Jamil, but you get distracted by a few stalls that have very enticing food selections.  Seeing your interest, Jamil quickly purchases the food items before you get the chance to protest.  Not wanting to waste anymore money, you try not to gaze too long at the other stalls that sell silks and jewelry, even though the salesman and saleswoman tried to persuade you into buying their products.

Jamil stayed by your side the entire time, only straying to this shady looking stall near the end of your journey.  He speaks with the man at the booth while you linger nearby, but you become alarmed when you hear a small voice.

“Let me go!” a voice exclaims followed by a rattling sound.

You look over at Jamil and see him still talking to the salesman, not seeming to hear the commotion.  You turn around to see a covered birdcage rustling around in the corner.  You hesitantly crouch down and grab the edge of the cloth and slowly lift it up.  You see a gray cat-like thing with fiery blue flames in his ears that looks up at you with a glare which quickly melts into a smile.

“Human!  It’s you!” the creature exclaims as he rushes over to grip the bars of his cage.  “You have to free me, we need to leave.”

“Leave? But it’s so nice here,” you reply before shaking your head.  “Who even are you?  How do you know me?”

“Don’t tell me Jamil used Snake Charmer on you,” the cat looks upset.

“Snake Charmer?  Is that what he used on Kalim earlier?” you think to yourself before addressing the cat again.  “No, Jamil and Kalim have been taking good care of me.  Sorry, but I don’t know you.”

You’re about to drop the cloth again and retreat to Jamil, but the cat calls out for you, “Y/N, wait!”

You pause your motions.  You remain kneeling as you feel a rush of memories flood back into your head.  You remember Night Raven College, the overblots, jumping through the Scarabia mirror, and Grim.  This is not some fairytale life, it's all an illusion.

“Grim…I remember now,” you start slowly, just trying to process the information.

“Great!  Now let me out!” Grim prompts as you reach down to unclasp the lock on the birdcage.

Grim steps out and you close the door and place the sheet back on top of it.  Shaking himself of the dirt that had layered on his fur, Grim gives you a big smile that shows off his sharp teeth.

“Thanks, human.  Now let’s get out of here!” Grim suggests.

You’re about to follow him but Jamil stops you.

“Jasmine?  Where do you think you’re going?” Jamil asks as he places a hand on your shoulder to prevent you from running off.

Thinking quickly you come up with a believable excuse, “Oh, I just saw a stray dog and wanted to pet it.”

“That’s cute, but you shouldn’t go running off without my supervision,” Jamil lightly scolds before hooking his arm in yours.  “We should be heading back soon anyways.”

You just nod and spare a quick glance behind you to see Grim watching from a dark corner before disappearing.  Hopefully he’ll come back for you.

Once you arrive at the palace again, you’re surprised to not see Kalim anywhere, then you remember that Jamil used Snake Charmer on him in the morning.  Instead of leading you back toward your room. Jamil starts to take you down an unfamiliar hallway, but he is quickly stopped by a guard who says that his presence was requested.  Jamil curses silently before giving you an apologetic glance.

“I’m sorry our time got cut short, but duty calls,” Jalim tells you before following the guard.

You’re left alone in the hallway and you promptly walk back to your room when Jalim disappears down another hallway.  The door to Kalim’s door is open, but the white-haired boy is not inside his room.  Maybe he was needed in the meeting too, he is royalty after all.  This is perfect actually, now you can plan your great escape.  You enter your room and close the door, but you’re shocked to see that it doesn’t have a lock on it.  Instead, you have to shove your blanket under the door in the little slot so that the door would get jammed if someone tried to open it.  You quickly rummage around in the room, looking for a bag to place some necessities in.  You find a small sachet in the dresser and place a few extra cloaks inside for emergencies and a few sharp objects that you found on the vanity that you could potentially use as weapons.  You glance at yourself in the mirror very quickly, and you can see that your disguise looks too clean.  You need to roughen it a bit to actually blend in with the crowd so that you’ll be harder to find.  You rip the fabric in some places and add some makeup to create stains along with taking off all of your golden jewelry and the tiara.  Feeling very pleased with your work you attempt to sneak back out into the hallway.  Luckily for you, no one seems too interested in your presence.  Of course you get a few weird glances from guards and servants when they see what you’re wearing, but none of them give you a hard time about it or try to stop you.  You make it safely to the main doors, and you quickly slip through and back into the busy streets.  It’s around lunch time, so the vendors are busy with the lunch rush and the area is especially crowded as lines start to form.

This time you don’t have Jamil to magically part the crowd, but you make do as you shove and elbow your way through, just trying to put some distance between you and the palace.  You eventually make it back to the area where you freed Grim and you find the creature waiting for you there.

“You waited for me,” you smile, grateful to have a friend through all this.

“Of course I did.  I couldn’t leave my hench-human here,” Grim offers you another toothy grin.  “Now let's get out of here.”

It has only been around 30 minutes since you’ve escaped and now you’ve noticed a bunch of guards running around and asking villagers if they’ve seen you.  You pull up the hood of the cloak to conceal your identity and tuck Grim into your cloak as well just in case anyone questioned the cat’s odd appearance.  At this point, you’re just desperately trying to get further away from the palace and avoid the guards who travel in groups of four.  You made some good progress and Grim even gave you some directions toward the exit, but one wrong turn down a dark alleyway has you bumping into a taller figure.

You lose your balance for a second and don’t bother glancing up before just trying to make a run in the other direction.  You only get a few steps in when you realize you’re surrounded by guards, all of their swords raised threateningly at you.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a voice growls.

You know it’s Jamil so you turn to face him.  Should you try to play innocent or should you just tell the truth?

“Don’t bother lying to me.  It’s almost evening and most of the stores have closed.  You have no reason to be out,” Jamil seethes, his eyes glaring down at you.

No purpose to lie now, so now you have to convince Jamil to just let you go, “Jamil, please.  We need to stop the mass overblots.  I can help you and everything will go back to normal.”

“But what if I don’t want that, I like it here.  I have control over Kalim and I have endless power,” Jamil tells you, a smile now crawling onto his lips.

“But this isn’t right!  We need to save the school!” you exclaim, trying to reason with his more logical side.

Instead of responding, Jamil just leans down to your eye level and looks directly into your eyes, “You will forget that this incident ever happened.  You will forget everything about your past: your old name, your old life, your old friends, and our old school.”

You know you shouldn’t be listening to his words and that he’s using his unique magic on you, but they just seem so comforting and alluring.

“Snap out of it Y/N!  He’s trying to trick you!” Grim voice seems very distant as you vaguely register soft paws trying to slap you awake.

“I was wondering when you would reappear, you pest,” Jamil’s voice says before Grim is plucked off your shoulder.

You can feel distress at the loss of your companion, but you don’t feel like going to save him.  It would just be better if you forgot everything.  You could live a wonderful life here with Kalim and Jamil.  A vague part of yourself protests and fights against the magic, but eventually you just mentally tire yourself out and slump to the floor.

~

When you awake, you’re met with a splitting headache.  You wince as you slowly sit up, rubbing at your temples.

“Don’t move too quickly, you’ll hurt yourself,” Kalim’s voice says in your ear.

You whip around to face him, causing your pain to spike a bit.  He looks very concerned and has a cool towel in his hand that he was probably using it to keep you cool.

“”What happened?” you ask as Kalim hands you a cup of water.

“You collapsed after our journey into the village from heat stroke, you should really be more careful,” Jamil’s voice responds.

“Oh,” you murmur as you finish the water.

“Don’t worry, you’re probably just very prone to overheating,” Kalim reassures as he pats your back.  “Maybe we should limit your time outside.  It’s not very healthy if you keep fainting.”

You just nod, understanding the situation and that this is just the best for you and your health.  Kalim just continues to reassure you while Jamil rummages inside one of the pockets, looking for something.

“You dropped this when you fainted.  What is a prince without his crown?” Jamil places your tiara back onto your head.

The weight now feels comfortable and you smile up at the two males, “Thanks.”

“Anything for you, our diamond in the rough.”

[moralesmilesanhour]

mad props! 02

summary: Miles catches onto your antics. wc: ~800 a/n: some advanced haterism going on here. this has gotten increasingly fun to write as the plot ramps up! pls don't be scared 2 leave any reactions or thoughts in the comments + tags :) 01 02 03

From then on, you made it a point to ignore Miles during partner work and punctuate it with an eye roll. He tucked his head back in surprise the first time you did it, and you felt like you’d just won a prize.

…That is, until he ignored you back. 

Eventually, Miles just turned to the person in the next column to ask for a pen instead, seeming perfectly content with working on his own.

It should've been a relief.

Today, Mr. Sanchez handed out worksheets to write a short composition on, and you struggled to recall the correct word for ‘kitchen’. All of your attempts to remember the pictures at the back of your flashcards came to nothing, finally forcing you to turn around and ask with a heavy sigh.

"Um, hey," you began, wincing at the softness of your voice. "What’s ‘kitchen’ in Spanish? You remember?"

Miles looked at you with only his eyes. " ‘Cocina’."

No puns, no off-hand comment. Not even an offer to help further. He just quietly returned to his work. 

Your plan was already falling apart now that he no longer initiated conversations for you to brush off, so you went with the next best thing: competing with him.

“Who was able to solve for the trajectory of–oh!”

The AP Physics instructor pushed back a strand of red hair as she glanced between you and Miles, whose hands had shot up at the same time.

“Let’s go with someone who hasn’t spoken yet. Ms. L/N?”

You smiled as you answered, “24.7 meters per second.”

“Excellent job, Y/N, and thank you for participating today. Now, would anyone else…”

As the woman called on other students, a strategy began to take shape. 

It wasn’t hard to tell when Miles was about to raise his hand. His eyes would go wide, with a tiny smile that said he was certain that no one else could get this question right but him. His hand went up so fast that you had to answer before the teacher could even finish their question, but it worked. And it got you a few extra points for participation.

“Now, who can tell me what makes the film ‘Romeo + Juliet’ so unique?” asked the English professor.

Miles raised his hand. “It takes the original play and reinterprets aspects of the original plot for modern audiences.”

As soon as he answered, his eyes flickered towards you almost as if on cue. Sure enough, your hand flew up.

“Y/N, what a surprise! Care to add on?”

“Of course. The director, Baz Luhrmann,” you met Miles’ gaze as you specified the name, “used his over-the-top cinematic style of directing to bring the drama of the original play to life in a contemporary context. He replaced the swords with guns and balls for parties, but kept the dialogue the same so that audiences could better understand Shakespeare without needing to grapple with the work of translating Shakespearean English into modern English. He found a way to make the play accessible without compromising on the text.”

Miles narrowed his eyes at you while the stocky teacher made a noise of approval.

“Very succinct explanations, you two. I’m very impressed with you especially, Miss L/N. I hope to hear your voice more often in class.”

You noticed Miles still glaring, and rested your chin in the palm of your hand.

In a sickly-sweet tone, you whispered, “What?” 

He shook his head and turned away.

-

“Alright, make sure you go home and memorize those formulas! See you Wednesday!”

You neatly stacked your papers and slid them carefully into one of your labeled folders as the bell rang, marking the end of your last class.

The hallway bustled with students rushing like bees to their lockers. On the way to your own, a pop of color catches your eye. 

It’s a bulletin board filled with sign-ups for a number of clubs, from cheerleading to student government to debate. Remembering your college counselor’s comment about your extracurriculars “looking a bit empty”, you drew closer. Might as well, right?

You didn’t have the stamina for cheerleading, but speech and debate looked promising. Just as you took out a pen to sign your name, though, you stopped short and frowned.

At the very bottom of the list read the name ‘Miles Morales’ written with a neon highlighter. 

Then again on the art club’s flier. And anime club. And music engineering. 

‘Miles Morales’.

‘Miles Morales’.

‘Miles Morales’.

Guess you weren’t the only one who needed to beef up their transcript.

“Show-off,” you muttered to yourself. 

Just as you were about to lose hope, there was one other club that Miles hadn’t signed up for, hanging precariously off of the edge of the board from a single thumbtack:

Theater. 

And auditions were the very next day.

[sockslikeautumn]

Please write more of yandere golden boy (Julian Peyton) and his transformation into a golden boy.

Julian Peyton

Yandere golden boy aftermath

Male original character x gender-neutral reader

SFW, 0.7k+ words, kinda angsty, addiction, trauma, reader, and OC are 18+!

Read the first chapter for more context!

Trigger warnings: Suicide, suicidal thoughts, mentions of self-harm, depression, implied turning yandere/obsessed, cigarettes addiction.

The reader has suicidal thoughts mentioned here!

You are entirely responsible for what you consume.

Thank you so much for requesting this! I literally cried when I read it because I had been struggling with writer's block for months. This isn't all that much of a chapter, but it is important so Julian's character doesn't feel rushed or out of place when becoming our yandere golden boy.

Reading the first chapter again, it does feel like I was creating one of those unique-esc OC's, like "Oh, he's also a lost child from the royal family and oh, he's also a half-dragon, half-demon mermaid!" But I rolled with it either way this time even though a part of his and YN's lore felt a bit too inspired by my own life than it should have.

If my one, and in fact, first ever fan and anon that I don't know personally wants another chapter added, I'll make it special just for you :)

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

Walking into his house didn't feel dreadful for the first time. Sure, the familiar scent of nicotine didn't fail to hit his nose, but he didn't feel like running away instantly. 

He took off his shoes, old and worn-out. His footsteps creaked on the floorboards and he missed the feel of not being barefoot. Vulnerable. Usually, his head would snap to the living room to see if Mason was still breathing, but now that was the least of his worries. The bedroom door shut behind him. 

Trash, musty clothes, and cigarette packs brushed under his feet. It hadn't come to him that he could possibly cut himself on any glass from the empty bottles, without his will this time.

His safe haven didn't feel the best anymore. Something else felt much more inviting and more… pleasant than the feel of his dirty sheets and the darkness around him. 

You. Little ol’ sweet you from class.

What was your name again? He knew the professors often praised your name but he couldn't remember it.

It was average, you were average. Always trying to act like a know-it-all kid, blending into the group of people he never cared to look in the eyes. Though, now you couldn't seem to leave his brain.

Why... Why did you stop him?

You didn't have to, who would've even forced you to help him out? You weren't lying to him, were you?

No. It was too sincere. Too real to be fabricated.

You described yourself as worthless. You had perfect grades, friends, and a family that cared. What would you be struggling with? You weren't poor, you weren't bullied all your life and you didn't have to worry about someday living on the streets. Yet, you were so similar. 

You were suicidal, you were cutting yourself, seen on your wrist, and you were clearly going through a lot of pain. Was that why you felt inclined to help him? 

He glanced at his bed stand where his phone was, sunlight was trying to creep through his window curtains uninvited. With a groan, he went to grab it, the thing feeling like a brick in his hands. His eyes burned under his glasses at the light.

A solid 46% percent was in the corner and after a couple of minutes, he found the Facebook of his school. It didn't take long to find your face posted on the account, his starting to burn.

You weren't average-looking like he previously thought. Dorky smile, pretty eyes, and a diploma stating second place in your hands. It had your name written. 

Y/n L/n...

Blood rushed to his cheeks like never before. An unfamiliar part of him stiffened, a type of stiffness that was itching only for you. Yearning for the first time.

You were so beautiful... You had these sparkling eyes, silky hair, pearly teeth that he wished were like his, and soft lips he'd one day run his tongue over.

“Fuck..” He groaned from the bottom of his throat. He imagined his thumb was running over your cheek and not the many cracks on his phone screen.

What were you doing to him? He's never felt the need to feel someone's embrace, touch them, maybe even kiss them…

Whatever it was, he didn't want it to ever end.

Will he ever see you again? He did have school tomorrow, would you feel excited to know he hadn't killed himself when you left? Would you feel excited to see him?

He knows he shouldn't feel this way, you were just like the rest of them. Making him feel wanted, loved. But maybe now, he'd find a way to keep that love for himself. Keep you for himself.

Maybe tonight he'd finally clean his room, brush his teeth, and clean his messy hair. You'd like that for him, right? You'd want for him to not fetch his favorite razor and watch the skin roll between the blades, right?

His dry lip rolled between his teeth, your voice playing in his head like a broken record.

"Please, Julian, let me help you."

So shaky, like how the touch of your hand felt.

"Please, Julian."

Just his name alone on your tongue would have prevented his death.

"Julian..."

Just his name would do wonders for him.

Masterlist for Julian

I'm open to all constructive criticism, not bullying!

[zapreportsblog]

I love your answer to the question I asked. My answer would have been Whitney Houston. She is either a siren or banshee. I would have paired her with Garrett or Charlie cannot decide who.

Twilight Request

Jasper/ Major x Female Reader

The reader has powers like Naruto Uzumaki but her nine tailed beast is a wolf that is white as snow. She has long black hair down to her hips when not put up. She knows many forms of martial arts and several languages and owns several katanas. She stands at 5 ft 11 inches. She likes reading mystery novels like Nancy Drew. Her favorite tv shows are Walker Texas Ranger, Murdoch Mysteries and Murder She Wrote. She goes to the Cullens when she gets word that Victoria has created an army of newborns and that a human is with them. She goes and offer her help to them.

At the training ground, she meets the pack. One of the wolves Paul says something rude to the reader. He goes to attack her but because of her power she has the strength to lift him and pin to the ground. She tells him his bad attitude is not welcome. Jasper/ The Major is her mate.

Feel free to add or change anything.

❝snowbound savior❞

✭ pairing : jasper hale x reader

✭ fandom : twilight

✭ summary : (Y/N), a striking young woman standing tall at 5 feet 11 inches, boasts not only flowing black hair that drapes down to her hips but also a unique gift – a nine-tailed wolf beast as white as freshly fallen snow. Her exceptional skills extend far beyond her mystical companion. Proficient in numerous martial arts and fluent in several languages, (Y/N) is a formidable force to be reckoned with. The narrative takes a thrilling turn when (Y/N) receives an urgent message: Victoria, a formidable adversary, has assembled an army of newborns and allied herself with an unsuspecting human. Driven by her sense of duty and a desire to protect, (Y/N) rushes to the Cullens, offering her formidable powers and unwavering support.

✭ twilight masterlist 2

The moon hung low in the midnight sky, casting a silvery glow over the quiet forest. (Y/N), a striking young woman with long, flowing black hair that cascaded down to her hips, stood alone among the trees. At 5 feet 11 inches, she possessed an aura of strength and mystery that drew the eye. But it was her unique gift that truly set her apart—the nine-tailed wolf, as white as freshly fallen snow, that loyally accompanied her.

She had been living a solitary life for as long as she could remember, ever since her powers had manifested. Her childhood had been a blur of confusion and fear, as she tried to comprehend the extraordinary abilities coursing through her veins. The snowy wolf, her constant companion, was her only solace in those early days of isolation.

Throughout history, she had been known as the "snowbound savior." Legends and tales had spoken of a white wolf with nine tails that appeared when one was in dire need of help. Villagers would tell stories around campfires, passing down the folklore of this mystical guardian who emerged from the depths of the forest to aid those in their darkest hours.

But (Y/N) knew the truth. She wasn't just a legend; she was real, and she carried the weight of her unique destiny on her shoulders. Her existence was a secret known only to a select few, those who had witnessed her powers firsthand or had heard whispers of the mysterious white wolf.

Tonight, beneath the silver canopy of stars, (Y/N) felt a strange restlessness in her spirit. It was as though the air itself carried an unspoken message—a call for help that only she could answer. The bond between her and the nine-tailed wolf seemed to hum with anticipation.

With a determined look in her eyes, (Y/N) turned and headed deeper into the forest, her faithful companion padding silently at her side. She didn't know where the call for help originated, but she trusted her instincts. The "snowbound savior" was on the move once again, ready to face whatever darkness lurked in the shadows and to offer her unique gifts to those in need.

The dense forest welcomed (Y/N) as she ventured deeper into its heart. Here, she felt at one with the world around her, a connection that ran deeper than blood. She wasn't just a woman with extraordinary abilities; she was a guardian of nature itself.

As she moved through the ancient trees, (Y/N) could hear the soft murmurs of leaves, the whispers of the wind, and the gentle rustling of creatures hidden in the underbrush. Nature spoke to her in a language few could comprehend, and in return, she listened and responded with reverence.

Today, however, the whispers were tinged with urgency. The very earth beneath her feet seemed to vibrate with concern. (Y/N) paused, her senses on high alert, and closed her eyes to better attune herself to the natural world.

"What troubles you, dear friend?" she murmured softly, her voice a melodious harmony with the forest's song.

In response, the wind carried a somber message, leaves rustled in distress, and the faint echo of a distant waterfall sounded mournful. Nature was trying to communicate something of great significance.

The revelation came like a thunderclap in her mind—a coven of vampires was in danger, and their fate was intricately entwined with the lives of the humans in the town they resided in, as well as a nearby clan of wolf-shifters. The balance of their existence hung in the balance, and the very fabric of the supernatural world trembled with uncertainty.

(Y/N) felt a surge of conflicting emotions. She had distanced herself from the supernatural world, seeking solitude and anonymity after years of bearing the mantle of the "snowbound savior." Her past involvements had left scars both physical and emotional, and she yearned for a simpler existence.

Yet, as she stood among the ancient trees, a profound sense of responsibility washed over her. She had a duty to protect not just the coven of vampires but also the humans and wolf-shifters who unknowingly depended on their presence.

With a heavy heart, (Y/N) raised her eyes to the heavens, her voice resonating with unwavering determination. "Nature, you have my word. I will do all that I can to help. For the sake of balance, for the sake of those in need, I will step once more into the world of the supernatural."

The forest around her seemed to sigh in relief, a symphony of gratitude and understanding. The bond between (Y/N) and nature deepened, and she knew that her path was now clear. The snowbound savior had been called to action once more, and she would honor her commitment to protect and preserve the fragile balance of the supernatural world.

The clearing deep within the forest was a training ground for the local wolf-pack, and tensions were running high as the group practiced their coordinated maneuvers. Alice, the perceptive and clairvoyant member of the Cullen family, watched their movements closely, her golden eyes scanning the scene with an intensity that never wavered.

Amidst the flurry of leaping and lunging wolves, Alice suddenly froze, her gaze distant as if seeing something beyond the immediate present. Her eyes glazed over, and her hand moved with precision as she sketched something onto a piece of paper with a swift hand.

Jasper, who had been sparring with some of the wolves, noticed Alice's sudden stillness and approached her with a concerned expression. "Alice, what is it? What did you see?"

Alice didn't respond immediately, her focus locked onto the sketch she was creating. It was an image of a white wolf with nine tails, each one flowing gracefully behind it. The creature's ethereal beauty was captured in intricate detail.

Edward, always attuned to Alice's visions, joined them, his brows furrowing in curiosity. "Alice, what's going on? What did you see?"

Alice looked up from her sketch, her eyes wide with a mixture of wonder and uncertainty. "I saw something, someone, I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "But they're coming to aid us."

Edward's expression shifted from concern to relief. "Good. We can use all the help we can get."

Paul, who had been listening in, couldn't hide his skepticism. "More vampires?" he grumbled.

Alice shook her head, her eyes fixed on her drawing. "Actually, it looks to be a shifter like you all."

Confusion rippled through the group until Alice displayed her sketch for them to see. The wolves gathered around, their eyes widening in disbelief.

Sam, the pack's alpha, gasped as he recognized the image. "The snowbound savior," he breathed, his voice filled with astonishment. "But she's just a legend."

Before anyone could respond, a powerful howl pierced the air, resonating through the forest. It was a howl that carried an undeniable presence, one that demanded attention and respect.

Jasper turned his head toward the sound, his eyes narrowing as he listened. "Guess not," he murmured, his voice tinged with intrigue and a touch of apprehension.

As the echoes of the howl faded into the distance, the wolves and the Cullens exchanged uncertain glances. The arrival of the snowbound savior, a figure of myth and legend, had suddenly become a tangible reality. The balance of power in the supernatural world was about to shift, and none of them knew exactly what to expect.

The ground beneath their feet trembled violently, and at first, the Cullens, along with Sam's pack, believed it to be a catastrophic earthquake. Trees swayed, and the very earth seemed to roar with anger. But what followed was beyond anything they could have imagined.

From out of nowhere, a colossal figure emerged, towering over the treetops, and causing everyone to gasp in astonishment. An 836-foot white wolf, with nine magnificent tails that swirled like a majestic blizzard, stood before them. The sheer size and beauty of the creature left them breathless, their hearts pounding with a mixture of awe and trepidation.

For a moment, the forest fell into a hushed stillness, as if nature itself held its breath in the presence of this enigmatic being. Then, as if guided by an unseen force, the colossal wolf began to shift, its form flowing like liquid moonlight.

In mere seconds, the towering wolf transformed into a striking woman, fully clothed and with long black hair that cascaded down to her hips. Her piercing eyes, as ancient as the earth itself, regarded the assembly with a mixture of wisdom and curiosity.

"I suppose you must all be the ones of whom nature speaks," she remarked, her voice carrying a melodious quality that resonated with power.

Carlisle, always the composed and gracious host, stepped forward. "I beg your pardon, but who are you?"

The woman offered a warm smile, one that seemed to hold the secrets of the universe. "I am (Y/N)," she introduced herself. "Nature has warned me of impending danger to this town and the nearby clan of wolf-shifters. It seems our paths were destined to intersect."

Edward, ever the communicator of the family, stepped forward to explain their situation. "A vampire named Victoria is planning an attack with a newborn army. They seek revenge because we killed her mate some time ago."

(Y/N) nodded with understanding, her gaze distant for a moment. "I sympathize with her loss, but I will not allow her to bring death into this town."

As the conversation unfolded, Jasper, who had been watching (Y/N) intently, felt a sensation he hadn't experienced in centuries. It was the undeniable pull of the mate bond, a force that tied him to this extraordinary woman. His gaze remained locked on her, and his heart raced with a newfound intensity. In that moment, he knew that (Y/N) was not only the snowbound savior but also the missing piece of his own existence.

[shroudcryptid]

10 million Prompt Fills

@tanoraqui asked:

Write about your WoL bonding with the flying pig they got from the boba tea thing!

-

They were gathering stares, but the Warrior let the gazes simply flow past and away. Enough of them had tinges of envy that they felt decently sure to not be violating some unspoken taboo in the unique city.

Beside them, the porxie of mysterious origins oinks again, leaning into their hand scritching its ears. It was polite enough in its use of the large straw; its thirsty drinking would barely require a single disposable napkin to clean the table afterwards. 

tanoraqui asked:

Write a few sentences about your favorite ffxiv anime man with long white hair! Write about him doing swordy stuff, or eating breakfast!

-

“Call it a guilty conscience.” The Warrior says, mercilessly sliding another tall, cloud-like pancake onto Themis’s plate. His eyebrows raise, but he doesn’t pull the plate away, only look like someone has dropped a new toy into his hands to tease apart. 

“And you are aware I do not need to consume to survive, yes?”

“Yeah.” 

"Mm. The cream fits these well."

tanoraqui asked:

Final prompt, a gift for a friend: write about @ostentenacity’s blorbo, Thancerd(?)! Fuck him up, she likes him fucked up.

(@ostentenacity)

-

“If you’re referring to the business with the Ultima Weapon, then you must understand - I-I wasn’t myself-�� Thancred’s mouth serves him as best it can under the circumstances, the words speaking themselves distantly, without his direction. 

There’s a rising crackle in his ears. The distant sound of the Praetorium burning around him, metal screeching as it’s torn, drowning out dying screams. 

And then there’s a voice, cutting through the smog. Indistinct, indignant. Minfilia’s voice. 

Thancred blinks, suddenly very aware of the two Brass Blades leaning towards him. And promptly decks the closer one in the face. 

@scriberat

o/ azim steppe shepherd insert, whistling her doggos to surround magnai with sheep

-

The massive man crosses his arms heavily. The intent was undoubtedly to look imposing, but to the shepherd, it looked sulky. 

And, unfortunately, cute. She wanted to pinch his cheeks, watch him flush and turn away. 

“I will not ask you again, outlander. Name your affiliation. You cannot have wandered this far into the realm of Azim without aid. And the sun stands for no insult.”

She opens her mouth, but not to reply. Instead, a shepherd’s whistle pierces the air. 

Whatever the man intended to say next, it’s lost in a yelp as the herd of previously peacefully grazing sheep behind him are spooked into action as one by an overlooked, four legged creature. In the face of such a stampede, his legs, and the back of his knees specifically, are yet another obstacle to bounce off of in their rush. 

Magnai of the Oronir hits the ground hard, and by the time he staggers to his feet, the herd, the creatures, and the woman, are disappearing off into the horizon. 

@bunkahi:

Yaana with min height female Au Ra. Though she tries to act happy and strong on the outside for Neyuni, Yaana is crumbling after the return of her sister. WoL gives her a comforting hug, resulting in a surprised and vulnerable Yaana purring against them.

-

Yaana’s ears flick back and down, her tail giving a sharp lash as her new friend circles arms around her, pulling her close with that effortless, monstrous strength. She’s… she’s warm, her brain usefully supplies. Putting off heat like the electric blankets they used to be able to afford. Soft as one too. And… comforting. Safe, somehow. 

She sags forward, cheek rubbing against the other woman’s horn. Nuzzles her cheek along its satisfying roughness, as a long missed rumble starts up in her chest. 

@shadowentei

gently places erenway in ur pocket...

-

“They’re our children!” Dumplingway says, eyes wide. “I need to bring them back and show my family...! Here, hold one, his name is Erenway now-!” Before Erenville can protest, he’s leaning into his personal space, close enough for Erenville to feel his warmth in the cooling evening. Dumplingway messes with his pocket, and retreats without seeing Erenville’s massive blush. 

It’s a good half minute before Erenville cools enough to realize there’s now a small, fuzzy black rabbit poking its head out of his pocket. When he reaches down to hold it, it snuffles lightly against his finger. 

[sunandflame]

Shards of Glass, Chapter 6

Summary: Kyojuro Rengoku, History Teacher on the Kimetsu Academy, is constantly having strange dreams about a Slayer who looks exactly like him. He thinks nothing of it until he recognizes a very specific person from these dreams and feels a very unique connection to her.

Pairing: History Teacher Kyojuro x Teacher Fem!Reader

Trope: Reincarnation / Sequel to Flame and Water (can be stand-alone)

Word Count: 1962

Warning: slightly suggestive

Pinterest Board of Shards of Glass

Crossposted on AO3

Masterlist of Shards of Glass

It was Friday. Kyojuro was dressed up nicely in clean jeans and freshly washed shirt, having a single pink rose on his desk and the two tickets for the Kyogen Theater show in his pocket. He was ready for his date, or at least he thought so.

‘Hey, I’m sorry, can’t make it today but have fun at the theater!’

He looked at the message on his phone with a sullen expression and frowned. Luckily he was the only one in the staff room so no one could see the disappointment in his face. He had decided to stay a little bit longer in school and then go to his date straight from there. He sighed. He had been really looking forward to the date, not necessarily because of the girl - but for the event because he loved the Kyogen Theater and hoped to have other thoughts than thinking about Y/N, who he had avoided as much as possible all week.

He let out another sigh as he sat down in his chair and hung his head. He felt miserable. The rejection was his punishment for ignoring her. He had seen how she had tried to approach him for conversation, but he always fled. Like a coward. He ran his hands through his hair and immediately felt his heart beat faster when he saw her in front of him, realizing he was not the last one here.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Her voice was so gentle and sweet, nearly angelic - he realized how much he missed it. He had ignored her and she was still worried about him. He should commit seppuku, he thought sullenly. "Yes, everything is alright."

“Did you know that you are a bad liar?” She tilted her head and raised a single eyebrow.

“I guess you are right.” He chuckled. Who would have thought that his bad mood could change so quickly with her.

“I am always right,” she giggled with a teasing smile. “You really look sad and depressed. It’s very unusual for you. You can confide in me. I promise I won’t tell anyone.” She came closer and sat on his desk.

Kyojuro tried not to stare at her thighs that were suddenly so close to his face. It also didn’t help that she was wearing one of her flowy sundresses that looked so pretty on her. He leaned back in his chair to create a bigger gap between them, closed his eyes and sighed. “I just got dumped.”

It was silent for a moment and he dared to open his eyes again. She just stared at him again with her head tilted and mustered him. “So this is why you are dressed up so nicely?”

“Hey, I always dress nicely!”

“Well that one tie with the flames you wore one day was not that nice, but I think the fashion gods can forgive you since you are so handsome.” She giggled with a blush on her cheeks.

“You think I am handsome?” His ears perked up and he got slightly up from his chair. Her soft and innocent flirting made his blood rush.

Her blush turned a tint deeper and she tried to change the topic by bringing back the original one. “I am really sorry that you got dumped. This must hurt.”

“Yeah, it’s a really bummer since I already bought these tickets.” He brought the tickets out of his pocket and threw them on the table. 

Interested, she took one of them and read it out loud. “Kyogen Theater… Is that not a traditional comic theater? This sounds fun! Though I never saw one.”

"Well, I have two tickets, you know…” Before Kyojuro could realize what he said he saw how her eyes lit up. 

“Really? I would love to! Just let me message Kenji quickly before getting ready! I would not want to make him worry.” She slid excited from his desk to get her phone and quickly typed a message. 

Kenji, so that was the name of that man that holds Y/N’s heart. His thoughts would have turned bitter, but her excitement was so refreshing that he did not have the time for it, watching her as it brought a smile to his face. “There is also a free flower with the tickets.” He gave her the pink rose he had bought for his date, but who was he lying to. When he bought the rose in his break time he had thought about her, and her pretty white dress with the pink flowers.

She took the flower from him and took a pair of scissors to shorten the stem and blunt the thorns. He watched her with interest before seeing her put the flower in her hair. She smiled and turned around the circle. “And does that suit me? Am I even properly dressed for that? What do you wear to an event like this?”

He watched how the fabric of the dress flowed around her hips, swaying perfectly. His heart was beating fast again and before he could stop himself he said, “You look perfect.”

~ ~ ~

Never had he had so much fun in his life. It was not the first time he was at this play, which was hilarious, but having this experience with Y/N. Seeing how she enjoyed the evening, how she got tears in her eyes from laughing, seeing her happy. It was all more than he wanted. That she was sitting so close to him, the thighs next to each other, her perfume waving over to him and haunting his senses. Or how she put her hand on his forearm to keep from doubling over with laughter. It was a bonus and something that pushed away the thought that she actually belonged to someone else and that he would probably never get over her.

Even when the play ended she didn't let go of his arm until they arrived at his car. Still laughing and talking, getting out of her shell in a way he did not see in the school or at the drinking party. The blonde man was on cloud nine, since she trusted him so much to be herself and feel comfortable. They talked for a long time about the performance and then about everything and the world, neither of them realizing that they had already arrived at her house. But they were so deep in their conversation that she simply stayed sitting in his car the whole time. 

She looked at her watch. “Oh no, it’s already so late!”

He also looked at the time and was surprised at how quickly the evening had passed. “Yeah, you shouldn’t keep your boyfriend waiting so long. He’s definitely worried about you.”

But not a single word about Kenji left her lips. She just took the flower out of her hair and put it onto his, leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much, it was a wonderful evening. The most beautiful one I’ve ever had.” With those words, she got out of his car and walked into the apartment complex, leaving Kyojuro sitting there in the car with his mouth hanging open.

He touched his cheek almost blissfully, not believing what had just happened. She had kissed him! His face beamed beyond measure and no one could spoil the smile on his face. Not even Kenji, who had watched the whole thing from the window, but Kyojuro didn't know that as he happily started the car's engine and drove home with the pink rose in his hair.

Y/N felt all giddy and excited like a young schoolgirl. The butterflies in her stomach were dancing. All the feelings of happiness she was experiencing suddenly disappeared when she saw Kenji in front of her as she entered their shared apartment. She was startled. It wasn't that he scared her, Kenji was a nice guy who would not hurt a fly. She had known him since middle school. He was the type of guy who persisted when pursuing his dream, or even the girl he loves. Since back then he had adored and followed her around, asking her several times on a date until she said yes. One date turned into two and later into a relationship. She liked Kenji a lot but everything always felt -

“Y/N, do you actually know what time it is?” His gaze was expressionless. She didn't like it when she didn't know where she stood with him. She didn't like it when people suppressed their feelings.

“I'm sorry, we totally lost track of time.” She put down her bag and took off her coat.

"Who is we?"

“I texted you that I was with my colleagues. You know that I'm trying to make new friends at my new workplace." She didn't look him in the eyes, taking off her shoes.

“You have the audacity to lie to me. You didn’t write anything about a male colleague!”

“Yes, because I knew how jealous you would become!”

“How do you expect me to react if I see you kissing him in the car!”

“That was a harmless good night kiss on the cheek!” She knew that was not true. She knew that no matter what she said, Kenji would not calm down, because no matter how kind hearted and friendly he was. No matter how much he loved her and would put the world at her feet, he was also terribly jealous. And she knew that this heated argument was just the beginning and would not end quickly.

 ~ ~ ~

The kiss on his cheek lingered for a long time as the smell of her perfume haunted him. He had slept great and woke up with something hard between his legs as his dreams took a lewd direction for the first time. Embarrassed, he took a cold shower to calm himself down and decided to visit his parent's place again. After yesterday he was more determined to find what he was searching for.

And he actually found what he was looking for. Behind the crib he saw a piece of clothing hanging. Put in a special plastic to preserve garments and protect them from moths and aging processes. He pushed everything aside to take a closer look. It was a haori in white-yellow gradient pattern and red flame-like ridges at the end. He stared at it for a few moments until he understood that this must be his ancestor’s haori whose memories he kept seeing. 

Kyojuro had to sit down on the floor at this realization. This was remarkable! The haori was still in such good condition after all these years. The history teacher's passion had been awakened. He wasn't supposed to do it, but he unzipped the plastic cover to the side and wanted to feel the texture of the material. It felt like someone was pulling him through a void the moment he touched the fabric of the haori.

Everything was black for a fraction of a second and then so bright that it blinded him. It took him a few seconds to get used to the dazzling light just to find himself in bright daylight in a field filled with red spider lilies. He saw someone in the distance and slowly walked towards them. With each further step he recognized first the haori and then the blonde-red hair. "Who are you?" As soon as the question left his lips, the person turned to him with a smile as his white haori blew in the wind.

The history teacher, who felt so out of place, widened his eyes and recognized him immediately. It was the same presence he had felt over 5 years ago, watching him constantly over his shoulder.

“It’s you.”

[sillyromance]

Good day everyone!

Recently I have come across a beautiful character Time from Tim Burton's "Alice through the Looking glass" and decided to write a small fanfic about him and my OC for this universe. Hope you'll like it!

A deeper meaning

Time was listening. Chronometers were ticking gently above him, counting seconds of each life in Wonderland. Every day it was a day of someone's death and birth, new grief and new happiness. Tears and laughter, dancing and agonizing, love and loath - so many things, so many emotions contained in a simple monotonous sound: "Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..." But Time could read it through like an open book. He knew everything - and didn't judge, but watched. Time cherished all living beings lying at will of his hand.

Suddenly his attentive ears caught something different.

Fast little steps. Shallow breath. Harsh heartbeat.

Time turned around. He saw Hannah a few meters away, her cheeks rosy due to running; she was panting, her plump lips opened just slightly. Grey wings were wrapped around her tiny figure not being higher than a quarter of his leg. The girl studied him nervously, as if asking if he was mad at her coming here. Though, it still was a glimpse of hope in her eyes. Time couldn't get angry even if he wanted to; she was small and weak, just a fly comparing to him. Now, when she was that tiny, it was brutally clear that even an originally six feet tall girl was yet nothing but a girl: young, awkward and fragile. A girl who was hard not to fall in love with.

- What is it, Hun? - He lowered down and made a welcoming gesture. - Why did you leave your apartments?

She rushed closer, but stopped right beside his hand, throwing shy glances at it.

- I just came to ask if you need anything. You overworked. - She murmured, opening her wing "shield" a little bit, but didn't come any closer.

Witnessing her hesitation, Time smirked kind-heartedly and leisurely picked the girl up from the ground. Fluffy, tiklish feathers touched his cheek and the man’s smile grew wider.

- I guess you are right, dear. - Time sat her on his shoulder and took his hat off revealing his beautiful brown hair - the same color Hannah had. – And… don't be afraid of me so much. It has been much of me already!

- M... Hm... - She nodded, moving closer to his face and settling in her favorite spot beside his neck. Young valkyrie dared to look in his shiny, sky-hue eyes and saw nothing but kindness and warmth.

- I guess it's a right time for dinner, since the Time is rather hungry!

The man turned on his heels and headed straight to the exit. His passenger giggled at the joke and hid in her thick feathers from the wind. She wasn't always that shy, actually. It was just... Him. They had been living together for two months, however, that uneasy feeling was too stubborn to set her free. Sometimes, he would scare her: with his loud voice, soldier pace, piercing gaze, hot temper – his breathtaking largeness, at the end. Besides, he was a lover of a mad woman who once wanted to force Hanna kill innocent people only because she was a valkyrie. A monster, as they say... She was kind of glad she drank that mixture and became small - at least, she wouldn't be that easy to find...

And, despite all that, Time accepted her. He knew who she was, what plans Red Queen was making about her, but he didn't tell a soul she was here. Why? It was hard to say for sure. Hanna wanted to believe he liked her, though it would be too good to be true...

The pair went through the Time-shaped corridor and took their course to the private quarters of the castle. The huge building was a unique piece of art: high ceilings painted by the best masters of Underland, the walls decorated with gold and black wood, specular floors so clean that, if you looked beneath your feet, you would think you were floating in the air like a balloon... It would be difficult to describe the whole glory of that wonderful place. Hanna never got tired of gracious, harmonious lines, of endless columns and pilasters, complicated patterns and pictures fascinating viewers with their colors and stories. There was a tale of the whole Wonderland written by hundreds of generations and carefully kept by Time itself, remembering each day, each life, each destiny.

At such moments, Hannah always thought about connection between a person who gave her shelter and a huge dial in the main hall. Behind a facade it was an immortal, the most powerful creature in the world, not just a cute man with funny German accent.

Maybe, that was the reason why every time she talked to him her knees shook, despite everything she had gone through.

Finally, they found the right door and Time laid a hand on a door knob, but suddenly a low metallic grumble thundered in the halls. The echo roared:

- Where is this clock head!? Find him immediately you fools! I know she is here, and he won't get away with this now! Oh, how angry I am! And he was telling me he loved me! Liar! Liar! Pathetic, disgusting liar!

Hannah would recognise that crispy, deafing scream from the thousands. She tensed and her eyes got poured with horror.

If they had come for her - and they definitely had - she was dead. She turned to Time – his face darkened. Gears on his neck were moving with abnormal activity.

- Don't worry, she won't hurt you. – He whispered gently, concern and anxiety in his artificially blue eyes. – I'll make sure of that.

Something about his tone wasn’t right, though Hannah didn’t pay much attention to that - and instantly regretted it. She couldn’t possibly imagine what was about to happen. Hanna let him reach her, hold her in his hands, bring her close to his lips and...

To say that she was terrified was to say nothing. She tried to struggle in his grasp, but his grip on her torso and wings was firm - it was impossible to make a move, and if she did, she would hurt herself, cutting her skin with various rings on his fingers. Her legs were squeezed by his throat, and no matter how hard she tried to kick them out of there, they only slid further downwards with each gulp. Very soon she saw a row of white teeth over her chest. The girl shut her eyes and waited for him to cut her head off, but... It didn't happen. Instead, very gently, she was guided to the pharynx and swallowed whole.

It was slick, and humid, and dark, and tight; strong contractions of the flesh – or whatever material it was – quickly overwhelmed her. The girl felt dizzy and nauseous – something between terror and disgust occupied her quivering soul. Time promised to protect her, and instead he did... This...

Why? How it supposed to help?

Was it a trap all along?

What… What if she was going to die?

Everything around her was ticking, scratching, whining, rotating - it was like being thrown in a huge old mechanism which the man actually was. Though she couldn't see, the girl could sense every cog doing its job. There were no organic sounds at all, and that startled the valkyrie even more. Still wiggling in poor attempts to at least slow down her glide, she was travelling along a slimy - or rather oily - tube to the core of Time and trembled, predicting what awaited her when she would reach her destination.

Suddenly, the walls squished the girl more intensively than usual - with a pitiful moan, she was expelled in a bigger room. It was soft and a little stiffy like an old laundry; as she crawled forward, her hands dove in a pool of viscous liquid. Like a mouse from a cat, Hanna jerked from it to the side and pressed her little palms against slippery inner surface of the pouch.

- Time! Time, don't leave me here! Please, let me out! What did I do wrong? Please, I'm scared... Time...

The valkyrie hit that elastic flesh and cried. She didn't get an answer, no matter how much she yelled into the pitch black nowhere. It was pointless - it was all pointless. At least... At least it would save her from the fate of becoming a murderer. There he was right - Red Queen wouldn't get to her here. No one would be able to get to her ever again.

Soon she stopped protesting and pleading, and just laid limp on the soft floor, burring herself in her wet feathers. The stomach was warm, and plushie - not the worst way to pass out. But he abandoned her. He... She thought, he was her friend.

Well, she forgot - time is a friend to no man.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Meanwhile, Time was at a very critical situation himself. Iracebeth came across him at the very second he felt his stomach swell, and that was good - she didn't know where Hanna was. However, the woman was so furious, Time could start worrying about his own well-being. She unceremoniously dragged him to the side and pushed into a living room where two guards stood beside an armchair. He was thrown there, and his "lover" sank him in an ocean of questions which were constantly interrupted by her complaints, threats, lamentations and drizzling of broken items she ran into while restlessly wondering around like a tiger in a cage. Although, it wasn't like Time really listened - his hand was on his middle, and he carefully examined his sensations coming from within.

He had to warn her...

Time heard Hanna's desperate screams, they broke his mechanical heart, but he couldn't reply to them, thought he really wanted to. She must have been very scared in there. She must have thought she was going to die... Poor girl. She suffered so much already, and now, when it seemed he managed to help her, he destroyed everything again. The only good thing was that she would be fine. He really hoped she would - if not mentally, then physically. Though, he couldn't really say he was fine - all that happened left him in pure shock.

Rubbing at the spot where he could feel the valkyrie's little body, Time mutely stared at the pissed off Queen and waited for her hysteria to burn itself out. His long experience with that woman taught him that at such occasions patience was the best tactic.

As he expected, thirty minutes passed and she gave up. After breaking one more vase, Red Queen, breathing heavily, sat on a sofa before him and gave her partner a venomous look. She was exhausted.

- ... And after all of that you don't even try to defend yourself? Fool.

- Why would I need to? - The man replied calmly, his gaze confident and clear. - I'm not in any trouble. You were definitely tricked, your majesty.

- What!? How dare you say such nonsense!

- I do dare because the girl you are talking about is not here and I have never seen her in my life.

- I hardly believe it. - The queen took out a big handkerchief and wiped her teary eyes. – And don’t call her that! She is nothing more than a beast. Ah! Even you deceived me!

Time accumulated all his will not to show sarcasm. He could understand everything - Iracebeth's aggression, her hatred towards sister, her sadness and tears, but sometimes her manipulative habits and cruelty were just too obvious. He would still feel bad about her no matter what since, unlike many others, he could see the whole picture of her bitter fate. But that time he stood on the other side of the barricade.

He had to make her leave. And, which was not less important, to keep their relationships in a safe bay.

- Well, I challenge you to test my devotion, love. Order your guards to look around my castle - I can assure you, you won't find any evidences against me.

- Your assurance doesn't worth anything. - She scoffed, turning away. - But you gave me a good idea. Guards!

The red soldiers immediately straightened up, waiting for her words.

- Search through this palace - look under every stone and on every shelf, shake it from the roof to foundation, but find me that winged freak. Alive! And don't stand like useless statues, go for it, now!

The guards obediently left.

While Red Queen wasn't looking, Time exhaled, relieved – Hannah’s quarters were hid well, only he knew the path. So, the game was already over.

At the meantime, in his stomach, the girl who seemed to settle down, suddenly came to life. Oh, it was pure luck only he could catch her voice out here. She sobbed. Gosh, that pretty tiny bird would give him a heart attack! Time didn't stop secretly stroking his taunt middle through the clothes, feeling how the clock in his chest ached as if someone stabbed it with a knife. He tried to convince himself she would be all right. Just some more minutes. He could afford it.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Hannah heard him speaking to someone, possibly Red Queen. Nothing bad happened yet, and still she felt very helpless, and hopeless. It was unnerving to be stuck in complete darkness, figuratively and literally. The only "entertainment" she had was something touching her back lightly as if in attempt to soothe her, however, the valkyrie couldn’t know for sure – perhaps, it was just her lively imagination. She felt indescribably lonely. And that unchanging, never-ending ticking - cold, indifferent - it drove her crazy! She wanted, no - she demanded to get a sign, to hear a single word meant for her, anything showing that he remembered...

Hannah got up again and dug her fingers into the silk flesh once more, struggling to reach the source of slight sensation. Her lungs burned of crying. Choking and sniffing, she called:

- Time, please!.. Please, say something. I can't bare this anymore... Answer me!..

No respond. The girl pushed harder, but the wall softly sprang under her hands and Hannah slammed over the bouncy floor. Her wings felt numb and sore – lack of space didn’t allow them to stretch even on a half of their capacity. Moreover, they were soaked in that oily liquid and visibly weighted: the valkyrie couldn’t stay straight for long or it would make her back dangerously creak.

Time didn't hear her, or pretended that he didn't. The girl didn't know what was worse. Her love for him had a violent battle with disappointment and sorrow. It wasn't like she hated him, no. She just couldn't understand why. Now, when she thought it was the end, "why?" was the only question lingering in her tired mind.

It was inevitably the last question, every fucking time...

Old memories waltzed before her gaze, rapidly turning darker and uglier as they did.

It was definitely all her fault... They were right - it was her fault!...

Powerless, she gave up on the attempts to squirm. But, hiding her dirty face in her palms, she continued occasionally calling out for him.

She didn’t believe he would answer anymore.

But it was the only thing she could cling on just to stay conscious. To stay alive.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Time closed his eyes. It was almost over - they didn't find anything and soon the queen would be out. Regardless, any moment prolonging her stay gifted him with a new wave of agony.

- I'm scared... Don't do this to me... I... I beg you - don't be so cruel... – He heard a new faint shout from within and clenched his teeth.

Why didn't he come up with anything else? What was the reason he thought that swallowing Hannah was the best - and the only - option? Analysing it now, he saw countless possibilities aside that one. But... Back then it was something Time couldn't control. He had to keep her safe, yet close, because only then he could be certain the girl wouldn't get harmed. He rarely felt such strong emotions, and that made it difficult for him to find any proper explanation of what it was. But undoubtedly, it was something primal, subconscious. Something like... Hunger.

Time wasn't a human, though he looked like one; he didn't need to eat like normal people did. When he made a joke about dinner, in his case the man ment consumption of things that would simply keep him going, like oil, for instance. So, average hunger or starvation were unfamiliar to him.

However, that pang which struck him at the moment of danger tore a hole in him - at least, that what he felt. The man couldn't help himself, he knew - that was the right choice: to take her in, to become her alive armour, a tower no one could conquer where his tiny princess wouldn't fear anything. To satisfy that empty feeling. And his opened his mouth, and swallowed her whole despite protests and cries.

The only goal he achieved was that now, she feared him.

- I guess, I was wrong about you after all, my darling… - It was incredibly difficult to focus on Iracebeth, but Time forced himself to stand up as she jumped off her seat.

No one would expect so many controversial emotions to fight beneath the mask of courtesy on his face.

- See? I wouldn’t go against you, love...

- But I’m still mad at you! - She interrupted him. Her foot in a high-heel shoe gave the floor a capricious tap.

- What did I do to cause your displeasure, your majesty?

- You knew I was looking for that creature all along and didn’t do anything! If you really loved me, you would have already brought her to me!

- My seconds are working days and nights on that… It seems she is quite smart. Although, not smarter than my dearest, isn’t she? She will be yours, my sweet queen...

His smarmy grin made Iracebeth visibly soften – she smiled back and let her partner guide herself and her servants to the exit.

" Ok, act casual - a smile, a kiss, a bow. Don't let her know. They almost departed."

- Time... Please...

Wilkins opened the gates and the guests finally crossed the last border of his territory. He watched impatiently as Red Queen crawled into her carriage and two bright red horses with long black plumes on their heads swept her away.

-Time…

Wilkins vanished too. Good.

-Say anything...

- Hannah!

He put all the pain he felt into that word. The man leaned to the locked gates and hugged himself - hugged her inside of him.

- I am here. Please, don't cry - I meant no harm. I... You are safe. Trust me, Hannah - you are safe!

He fought the wish to cough her up right then and there - it would spook the girl even more; she could get hurt. He prayed she would listen. Time have never thought that his own seconds could be that intimidating; the valkyrie in his belly went silent. Deadly silent.

- I'm sorry I didn't say it to you earlier. It would be too dangerous! I... I understand how you feel right now - I will understand if you don't want to speak to me ever again, but I'm not kidding, Hun. I meant no harm.

The last phrase turned into a whisper on his pale lips. He was counting.

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

- T-Time?

Her voice was cracked and high-pitched.

- You didn't leave m-me? Is it really you?

Thank goodness!

- Hannah...

- I thought... I thought you would... - She trembled. - That you would kill me...

- No, no, of course not! I'm very sorry... Forgive me, Hun. If you can...

He slowly sat down on the floor. Strange, but oddly pleasant sensation of another life wiggling around inside him restarted. He could say she still was kinda edgy, though the movement appeared to be rather curious than panicking. Time pressed a hand a bit harder against his waist, tracing the girl’s way. In return the man received a hesitant pat.

-What is that, Time?

- Don’t worry. It’s just my hand.

- Oh… - Hannah flinched. She put two and two together, and late realization came to her. – So… You… You were with me… I… oh, Gosh... I was an idiot... I should have thought!..

Her emotions was so strong that she couldn’t finish – the valkyrie simply buried herself in soft wrinkles of the stomach and rubbed at the spot where she could feel his presence. All her worries disappeared instantly.

- I’m sorry for rumbling – you don’t like that…

Time laughed drily.

-Do whatever you want and don’t even TRY to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong! It was me who scared you. By the way, I want to tell you: you don’t have to watch your step every moment around me just because I’m “the Time itself”! Sounds ridiculous, I know. However…

He paused, trying to find the words.

– I require honesty, Hannah. You should be honest with me and yourself. I’m honest with you – I care about you! I’m on your side! I won’t hurt you just because I can – there are people like that and you met them often – but I’m not them. I call my seconds stupid. But they are my beloved children I would kill for. It’s as true as the fact that you are my… friend.

Hannah noticed the place heated up. Wait… Was he blushing?

-T-thank you… Time. No one ever said that to me after my parents passed away. – She said quietly. – And, frankly… I couldn’t be happier now. I’m shocked – and glad – that you see me in this way. Because you are my friend too. I like you.

He didn't say anything about that. The space suddenly got even more crumped and the clock above started ticking a little bit off the rhythm – but it was just silence. Not frightening, but rather… fluttering that time.

Mechanical noises coming from here and there lost their flat and unbothered tone – they talked. They sang. A trap turned into a temple; Hannah suddenly thought that she was actually inside of his body. Well, it was obvious. But earlier it sent chills of horror down her spine while now they were the chills of extreme adoration. Before he appeared in her head as an invincible god. In fact, he wasn’t invincible – he could feel pain, he could be broken. She could break him like, right at that moment – or any other moment in the past. Time’s abrupt – almost instinctual – decision to put her under his skin, to give her access to the most vulnerable part of him only to defend her instantly obtained a much deeper meaning she was only about to understand - and deeply appreciate…

She snuggled deeper into the warm flesh, listening to the melodic rhythm of his body. He sat there, curled around her possessively.

They stayed like this for long – it could be an eternity.

Although, everything, good or bad, comes to an end.

-I guess, you want out now. – Time’s voice was slightly tremulous.

-I… I do. No offence. - She admitted shyly. - My wings need some space.

-Sure. – She could feel him straighten up. His palm didn’t let go of her even for a second. – And by the way... After you get ready, we still could have that dinner together. If you still want it, of course…

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Phantom Grin

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Bruce Wayne visits his son's grave on the night of his resurrection. Will it change Jason's fate, or is it all simply inevitable?

Chapters: 13/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd is Disabled, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Resurrected Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along

Chapter Thirteen: First Date

Jason woke up early while everyone was sleeping, and despite the aches and pains he felt, he showered and dressed up. He let his hair down and stared in the mirror. Jason had a hard time recognizing himself in the mirror. It was hard to tell if he even liked what he saw. He didn't talk to his therapist about it because he feared it'd open up another can of worms in his already damaged mind. Barbara knocked on the bathroom door. "Going out?" asked Barbara.

Jason opened the bathroom door, and she grinned. "What? Do I look stupid?" Jason asked. Barbara shook her head.

"Jason, you look... Nice. I have to ask. Are you going somewhere special?" Barbara questioned.

Jason looked away from her. "I'm going to church," Jason answered honestly. He expected her to tease him for being so nervous, but she didn't.

"Buy her a single flower... Something special, unique to her," Barbara advised.

Jason nodded and thanked her quietly before leaving the clock tower. Jason went to the florist's and looked around before noticing a white flower with dark blue budding. He asked to buy one, and the florist wrapped it nicely in wax paper and a ribbon.

By the time he got to the church, Sister Irene was already sitting in the courtyard waiting for him. Jason met with her and gave her the single flower. "The uh—. I don't know what kind of flower it is, but—."

Sister Irene looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I can't be a nun if I don't believe, can I?" she asked.

Jason shook his head. "You can still help people, though... Besides, being a nun is a serious commitment," Jason whispered as he sat next to her.

"Can you give me two hours and come back?" she asked. Jason nodded. Sister Irene stood up and kissed his cheek. He looked up at her and smiled, but he could tell she was nervous.

Jason held her hand to his face, and she smiled. "One hour," Jason whispered.

"One hour," Sister Irene repeated, "Could I have my hand back, please?"

Jason laughed nervously and let go. "One hour," Jason whispered once more before watching Sister Irene walk away.

Jason's cheeks went rosy, and he rushed back to the car, driving around the city to clear his head. His phone vibrated, and he pulled over. "Dad?" Jason asked.

"Hi, I'm back in town, and Barbara said you were out. Are you busy?" Bruce questioned.

"A little bit," Jason replied, "I have plans with someone in an hour, but I'll be home later on today."

"Do you have a date? Is that a question I can ask?" Bruce questioned. Jason chuckled.

"I think it's a date. I'll let you know when I find out," Jason grinned. Bruce chuckled and hung up.

"Is it a date?" Jason asked himself.

He took the long road to the church, and a girl with bright yellow hair ran to the car with a suitcase. Jason almost didn't recognize her. She had baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt on. He stepped out of the car and came around to the passenger's side door. "Sister Irene?" Jason asked.

"Not really... No," she replied, "Indigo's my real name... My hair looks—."

"You look pretty," Jason whispered. She grinned and kissed his cheek. "You okay? You got somewhere to stay?"

"Jason, aren't you gonna take me out?" Indigo asked. Jason blushed and nodded. "What do you have planned?"

"I don't know... I—. My head gets so empty when I'm around you... Do you-. Do you want to go eat?" Jason questioned. "Dumb question... Of course, you wanna go eat... What do you wanna eat?"

"Doesn't matter," Indigo replied. Jason nodded and let her in the car. He walked around to the driver's side and took a deep breath.

Jason drove her to a hole-in-the-wall burger spot. She grinned. "It's good... I know it doesn't look like much, but they've got the best burgers in Gotham and the nachos—."

"Say no more. I'm starved," Indigo whispered.

Jason held the door for her and grabbed her seat. "Nachos?" Jason whispered. She nodded. He ordered for her and himself before grabbing their sodas and joining her at the table. "I got our food to go."

Indigo took a sip of her drink and looked at him. He glanced at her and then back down at the table. His cheeks went rosy, and he covered his smile. They didn't speak until after they received their food and left the restaurant. Jason handed Indigo her food before unwrapping his burger. He offered her the first bite without thinking, and she laughed as she took a bite. Jason held a hand under her chin and chuckled. "Don't take the whole thing with you," Jason teased. Their eyes met, and he snagged a few of her nachos to avoid the awkwardness of the silence.

Indigo took her thumb and wiped the corner of his lip. "I'm not running from anything," Indigo announced. Jason blinked at her. "I'm not... You were wondering why I haven't told you much about myself. Weren't you?"

"Well, yeah... But I didn't think it was my place—."

"It is. You can ask me whatever you want," Indigo reassured him.

Jason dug through the bag and ate his fries. "You're not from here. Why'd you move to Gotham?" Jason questioned.

"My ex-boyfriend moved me here after high school... Then we broke up two weeks later, and I tried to become a nun, and then a month later, there was you. I never stood a chance, though," Indigo whispered.

Jason didn't speak. He was far too nervous. When they finished eating, Jason took their garbage and threw it out. "Jason, walk with me? For a little while," Indigo requested. Jason nodded and hugged himself before she took his hand.

Jason's face grew hot, and he looked out toward the street. They did a few laps around the park. "I'm sorry-. I'm nervous. You make me nervous," Jason confessed.

"You don't have to be... Jason, what do you want with me, huh?" Indigo asked softly. Her voice was sweet, and Jason finally managed to look at her. She was just as beautiful as the day he met her.

He leaned down and lifted her chin with his knuckle. But he hesitated. "Jason, it's okay..."

He'd never kissed a girl before. He died young and spent every day since his resurrection recovering, so dating was uncharted territory for him. "I don't wanna mess this up," Jason whispered.

"We can always have a do-over... C'mere, okay?" Indigo replied as she pulled him in by his collar. Jason closed his eyes and clutched his chest with one hand. Their lips met, and he pulled back out of fear before parting his lips. Indigo kissed him, and she held the back of his head, her fingers entangled in his curls and brushing his scalp. He tensed up, hoping her hands wouldn't find his scars, but she did. And she was so gentle. Her lips were soft as they collided with his. It seemed to last forever, that is until his phone rang.

"I'm sorry—."

"Don't be," Indigo smiled as she raised her fingers to her lips.

Jason stood up straight and swallowed hard. "Hey," Jason answered. He was half out of breath, half-exasperated.

"You busy?" Bruce asked.

Jason glanced over at Indigo and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, a little bit. What do you need?" Jason questioned.

"Busy, huh? She must be cute—."

"Dad, please," Jason whispered, "I'll be home in a little bit... And yeah... She is." Jason turned around, and she was gone. "Where—? Dad, I'll call you right back..."

[archiveikemen]

Ikemen Genjiden Act 2: Prologue

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting┊aikm’s Genjiden Glossary

(The sun is rising higher. I should head back as soon as possible.)

I was hurrying back to the castle with a slight feeling of urgency on the inside, after attending to a house call early in the morning.

(There’s a special meeting later today that involves me, so I mustn't be late.)

(... Huh?)

Suddenly, something caught my attention in the corner of my eye.

Someone was sitting in the shadows of an alley.

(I don’t have time to stop. But what if they’re feeling unwell?)

By the time that thought crossed my mind, my legs had already started instinctively moving in that direction.

Yuno: ! What’s wrong?

I found a man slouched over in a shaded area with his head lowered, looking completely drained of energy.

Worried that he might be seriously unwell, I rushed to his side and called out to him, but he didn't respond.

Yuno: Uh…

I peered into his face, and my breath caught in my throat when our eyes met.

(Huh? — His eyes look like deep and bottomless pits.)

For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

The man noticed me kneeling there at a loss for words and blinked slowly…

Black-Haired Man: … Noisy.

(What.)

Black-Haired Man: … ot…

Yuno: … ot…?

(... Oh, is he trying to say “hot”?)

(He must be hiding in the alley to seek shelter from the sun. It’s not very sunny today, though.)

The man wasn’t sweating — his skin was pale, making him look cold instead.

(His complexion looks alright… and the mole near his mouth is rather striking.)

The way he languidly leaned against the wall in the shade had a unique kind of sexiness to it.

Black-Haired Man: …

I did a visual physical assessment of him as an apothecary, and finally noticed his well-sculpted face when I took a closer look at him.

Because we were both seated on the ground, our faces were quite close to each other's.

(I- I should move a little further away. Even if I’m just concerned about him, this might come off as disrespectful.)

Just as I was about to distance myself,

Black-Haired Man: … want to….?

Yuno: Huh?

(... Want to… what…?)

Before I could clarify, he gently lifted my chin with chilly fingers.

My eyes met his through the gaps between his fringe, and I found myself strangely captivated by them.

(Nn…)

He traced his fingers down my neck.

(Why are his fingers so cold?)

A shiver ran down my spine, it was as though my skin was being touched by ice.

The man before me gave a small smile.

Black-Haired Man: You’re sensitive. Does the cold make you feel good?

His low, honeyed voice ticked my eardrums as he whispered into my ear.

Yuno: W-What are you doing all of a sudden…

Snapping out of my enchantment, my cheeks immediately turned bright red.

The man cocked his head while keeping his fingers on my chin.

Black-Haired Man: Am I wrong?

Black-Haired Man: I thought you approached me because you “wanted” something, but I guess I was mistaken… then, why did you approach me?

Yuno: “Why”? I just thought you might be feeling unwell…

Black-Haired Man: Me?

The man looked a little surprised by my response.

Black-Haired Man: I was just going outside for a walk, but the sun was bothering me, so I came into the shade to rest… hm.

(Whoa… h-he came closer.)

I got startled when he drew his face closer, and instinctively leaned back…

Black-Haired Man: You’re warm.

The man muttered with a frown and abruptly withdrew his hand.

(What was that for!?)

Yuno: … I don’t really understand what that was all about, but you don’t seem to be unwell.

Yuno: I’m sorry for bothering you, I’ll get going now.

I hurriedly stood up and left without waiting for his response.

I glanced back from a short distance away and saw that the man was still sitting in the alley.

Perhaps he noticed that I was looking at him, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

That gesture was oddly charming, making me shudder.

(I feel like there’s something strange about him.)

The touch of his cold fingers on my skin lingered.

I shook off that thought and took a deep breath before hurrying back to the castle.

— After Yuno left, the man in the alley, Rikka, sighed.

Rikka: She thought I was unwell? She’s too kind-hearted.

Rikka: She could've been dragged into the shadows and had something horrible done to her if I were a bad person.

Rikka casually muttered some disturbing things and suddenly, he noticed something about Yuno when looking in her direction as she left.

Rikka: This atmosphere surrounding her… ahh, I see.

Rikka: So she’s the one.

…

Yuno: *huff*... This is nerve wrecking.

I could hardly calm my nerves in the face of events that are about to change the course of history.

Shigehira: Being nervous won’t change a thing, so just be your usual carefree self.

Yuno: Y-you have a point there.

Yoichi: You look better with a smile. Isn't that what you wanted to say to her, Young Master?

Shigehira: … Don’t put words into my mouth.

All the members of the Shogunate, Rebel Army, and Imperial Court were gathered at the Okura Gosho in Kamakura.

(It’s been three months since the war between the Shogunate and Rebel Army ended.)

(I was worried when the Imperial Court joined the war and turned it into a three-way battle, but…)

After a long fight, the three sides decided to agree on an armistice.

(Today is the day!)

Yoritomo: Alright, let’s get this over and done with.

Yoshitsune: That’s good news. I was getting so bored of waiting, I almost wanted to slice your head off.

Yoritomo: Yoshitsune, if you need someone to teach you how to be more patient, feel free to approach your “big brother”.

Yoshitsune: … Sounds like the man born before me wishes to die before I do.

Akihito: Ahh. The two of you are still as hostile as ever towards each other. Everything alright over there?

(Grudges don’t get resolved overnight… I guess.)

Kurama: Just hurry up and start already. I’m fighting Tamamo today.

Ibuki: Have you forgotten how you blew off the roof of a teahouse in Kamakura ten days ago?

Tamamo: Even though everyone knows who we are now because of the war, I still don't agree with threatening the safety of humans without reason.

Due to Tamamo, Kurama, and Ibuki’s involvement in the battle, their identities as ayakashi became known to the soldiers.

Their stories had also spread throughout town as rumours.

(Of course, there was a lot going on before that happened. The three of them must’ve had their fair share of troubles.)

All this while, the three ayakashi have been doing their best to act as “human” as possible while in public.

Benkei: If all three of them were to have their deals broken in the future, won’t they cause a lot of damage to the town?

Kagetoki: Worrying about a future that we don't know for sure will happen is what only an idle man would do.

(That’s right. Even though the war has ended, it doesn't mean that everything is over.)

(If we achieve true peace, it’s possible that Yoshitsune-sama and Akihito-sama would give up their demonic powers.)

That included Tamamo and myself, as we had accumulated enough powers from ayakashi during the war. But because we needed to balance the Shogunate’s strength with the Rebel Army and Imperial Court, we didn't terminate our contract.

Yasuchika: Instead of worrying about a “Great Yokai War” breaking out, why don’t we take much more important matters into consideration – such as whether these blood-stained hands can truly come together and become friends?

Yoichi • Shigehira: …

Morinaga: — What are your thoughts on this, Yuno? You were involved in those bloody battles as well.

(Me…?)

Yuno: … I think it’s wonderful to have hope for the future, even though it may seem uncertain at this point in time.

Yuno: I learnt during the war that everyone here is bearing the emotional weight given to them by their pasts.

(After watching the consequences of conflicting beliefs during the war, of course I want to be a strength for the Shogunate, but…)

(Along the way, I found myself interested in the way of life.)

Yuno: The battle was a tough fight filled with challenges and grievances…

Yuno: I want everyone whom I respect and admire to be happy.

Everyone’s expressions softened slightly as I conveyed my message to the best of my ability.

Sueharu: — Oh, my goodness. I shall not be insensitive and criticise your wishes.

Yuno: Perhaps I sounded too naive… my apologies.

Nevertheless, I still hoped that there would come a day when everyone could laugh happily together like they used to.

Right when I was imagining that kind of future—

(KYAA!?)

A loud noise rumbled through the air, bursting my thought bubble.

Shigehira: —! What was that!?

The soldiers standing guard outside the meeting hall came rushing in.

Shogunate Soldier: Yoritomo-sama! We will investigate the source at once!

Yoritomo: — I will go too.

Upon hearing Yoritomo-sama’s words, everyone stood up and followed after him at once without another word.

Morinaga: You wait here, Yuno.

Yuno: Ah… no, please let me come with you. I’m worried as well.

(They might need an apothecary if it was a landslide or earthquake.)

…

I hurried to the front of the palace together with everyone else—

Yuno: What is that!?

The ground below us was split open, eerie black smoke billowing out of the cracks and painting the sky in an ominous colour.

Shogunate Soldier: T-This is…

Rebel Soldier: What's happening!?

Yoshitsune: Everyone, stay calm. We’ll split up and investigate the cause of this strange phenomenon.

Yoritomo: At the same time, we’ll evacuate the panicked civilians to safety. Firstly—

Yoritomo-sama and Yoshitsune-sama quickly gave orders to their respective armies.

Akihito: Do you know anything about this, Yasuchika?

Yasuchika: I’ve sent my Shikigami to investigate, this is the first time I've ever seen such a thing.

Yasuchika: From what I see, it seems that the negative energy from the underworld has combined with an unknown element to become something much worse…

(Even Yasuchika-san doesn’t know what this is.)

Tamamo: It smells awful. We should start by looking for where the smell is strongest.

…

With a minimal number of soldiers as guards, everyone went tracing for the source of the smell.

I rode on the back of the horse I was given, following them.

(It’s getting foggy…?)

Shogunate Soldier: Ugh…

Rebel Soldier: … Strange, I feel drowsy all of a sudden…

In my hazy field of vision, I saw the soldiers ahead of me start to waver.

Yuno: Watch out!

The soldiers fell off their horses one after another.

I quickly dismounted my horse and rushed over to check on their condition.

Yoritomo: What’s wrong with them?

Yuno: I’m not sure… from my assessment, they’re just asleep.

Benkei: Oi, even the horses are falling asleep. Be careful!

Everyone immediately jumped off their horses when they heard that.

And then—

Sueharu: Looks like it’s only the fourteen of us who didn't fall asleep.

Kagetoki: This is extremely suspicious. It’s almost as though this was done by someone on purpose.

Yoichi: For the time being, we have no choice but to continue moving forward.

(I don’t know what’s happening right now, but I have a bad feeling about this.)

I anxiously walked through the fog that was so thick, I could barely see my own feet.

After walking for a while, we found ourselves at…

…

Yuno: Is this… the sea?

(The seawater is red. I’ve never seen anything like this before.)

The waves crashing onto the shore were of a rusty red colour that resembled blood, making the hairs on my neck stand on end.

Tamamo, Kurama, and Ibuki changed into their original ayakashi forms and remained vigilant of our surroundings.

Yoshitsune: …! Halt.

(S-something’s there…)

… Something breathing was hiding behind the fog.

The rustling sound of something long and heavy dragging itself on the ground reached my ears.

A dark shadow looming high above us moved noticeably closer…

???: I’ve been waiting for you, mortals.

(Ah…)

— Everyone’s breaths caught in their throats.

Standing before us was a serpent with eight heads.

(It looks like something I’d see in a terrible nightmare.)

Ibuki: … Yamata no Orochi?

Yamata no Orochi: Yes, that was what the humans called me in the ancient times.

(... I’m getting the chills.)

My skin was getting goosebumps not because I was cold, but because of fear.

(Even though I’m used to seeing ayakashi, this one has an overwhelming aura to it. I feel like I’m being crushed.)

Ibuki: This better not be some bad prank.

Ibuki: Even I have never seen the Yamata no Orochi before.

Ibuki: It’s an ancient being that died so long ago, it became a myth.

Yamata no Orochi: That is correct.

Yamata no Orochi: I now belong to neither the realm of the living, nor the realm where the ayakashi dwell.

Yamata no Orochi: I’ve become a messenger from hell.

Yuno: Hell…?

Shigehira: It's said that some of the deceased go to hell. Is that the same “hell”?

Kagetoki: Tamamo, is this serpent telling the truth?

Tamamo: Even for ayakashi, the afterlife is inaccessible.

Tamamo: Where do souls go after death? Living for hundreds of years won’t give you an answer. You’ll never know unless you die.

Kurama: — There’s a way.

(Kurama!?)

A fierce whirlwind of invisible blades sliced through the air and attacked the serpent.

Yamata no Orochi: …

The Yamata no Orochi showed no sign of resistance as its body was cut mercilessly by the blades.

(Did he succeed…?)

But the next moment…

Kurama: …!

Yamata no Orochi: Goodness. The young surely are very hot-blooded.

The severed parts of the Yamata no Orochi’s body reconnected and returned it to its original form.

(You’ve got to be kidding me…)

Yamata no Orochi: Though, doing such things on a whim is a privilege granted to all living beings.

Tamamo: — No matter how ancient of an ayakashi you are, that was some formidable regenerative abilities.

Yamata no Orochi: It’s not that easy to kill something that’s already dead.

Yamata no Orochi: Even if every single one of you here attacks me at once, you’ll still fail.

(How strong is it that all of us attacking together won’t be enough to defeat it…?)

Yoritomo: I understand that we’re unable to defeat you at the present moment.

Yoritomo: So, what’s your purpose in approaching us? I assume it’s not to exchange friendly greetings.

Yoshitsune: If you’re a messenger like you claimed to be, then you must have something to tell us.

Yamata no Orochi: Very well.

The Yamata no Orochi turned its eight heads to face Yoritomo-sama, Yoshitsune-sama, and Akihito-sama.

Yamata no Orochi: Minamoto no Yoritomo, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and Sutoku - Akihito.

Yamata no Orochi: According to your fates, the three of you should've already been deceased.

Yoritomo • Yoshitsune: …!

Akihito: …

(Their fates… what does that mean?)

Had any one of them lost their lives, the war wouldn't have ended on a peaceful note like it has now.

Yamata no Orochi: All three of you hold powerful positions in the mortal world.

Yamata no Orochi: It was predetermined for the world and its people to fall into chaos after your deaths.

Akihito: Predetermined? You speak as though you have witnessed the future yourself.

Yamata no Orochi: While it’s true that some minor things can be slightly altered by a couple of coincidences…

Yamata no Orochi: Events of such great magnitude that can change the course of the world are predetermined, they’re inevitable.

Those words heavily impacted us.

Yamata no Orochi: The Rebel Army lost their purpose as they mourn the death of Yoshitsune.

Yamata no Orochi: The Kamakura Shogunate, although expected to be the ultimate victors of its time, met its downfall a few years after Yoritomo’s death…

Yamata no Orochi: Although the Imperial Court continued to exist for a long time, their lack of an absolute ruler resulted in them being entirely different from what it is now.

It was a future I didn’t want to believe was possible, and I couldn’t help but feel frightened by the way the Yamata no Orochi said it so matter of factly.

Yamata no Orochi: However, threads of fate intertwined, and you three managed to survive.

Yamata no Orochi: As a result, the tens of thousands of people who would've died due to the ensuing power struggles have been saved.

Yamata no Orochi: And that is why, hell demands the deaths of everyone who was meant to die.

Yuno: Meant to die…?

Kagetoki: — In other words, you’re going to take the lives of Yoritomo-sama and the others, along with the lives of those tens of thousands of civilians?

(Absolutely not! It took us so much effort to avoid the fate of death.)

Yoritomo: Preposterous. Fate is in the hands of man.

Yamata no Orochi: Some aspects of fate cannot be changed no matter what — as someone who has suffered because of that, you should be more than familiar.

Yoritomo: …

Yoshitsune: In that case, who determines these unchangeable fates? If you're only a messenger, then who is your ruler?

Yamata no Orochi: I don’t know. Hell is merely a concept of death, and death has no form.

Yamata no Orochi: Rather, even if it did, humans and ayakashi wouldn't be able to understand it.

Yamata no Orochi: When I awakened from my prolonged slumber in the darkness, I already had this mission engraved into my eight heads.

Yamata no Orochi: I’m nothing more than a lifeless body being controlled like a puppet.

(If this is true, then what can we do to stop it from happening?)

(How are we supposed to challenge the concept of death…?)

I clenched my fists tightly, my heart filling with hopelessness.

Yamata no Orochi: However… I was instructed by hell to put the humans through a series of trials before taking their lives.

Yasuchika: Trials? What do you mean…?

Yamata no Orochi: The barrier separating hell from the mortal realm will be lifted, and corpses will start crawling out onto the earth.

Yamata no Orochi: Those corpses being manipulated by hell will bring disaster to mankind.

Yamata no Orochi: If you can successfully defeat them, it’ll be your victory. But if you can't… a predetermined number of lives will be taken.

Akihito: How will we fight against beings that cannot be killed, such as yourself? It sounds to me that we are at a disadvantage.

Yamata no Orochi: I’m an exception. The corpses aren’t immortal.

Yamata no Orochi: Kill them ten times and the bonds tying them to this world will be severed, sending them back to hell.

Yuno: Ten times…

(No matter how strong everyone here is, that just sounds nearly impossible.)

Yamata no Orochi: But then… like death, hell is fair. Therefore, you shall have a new power bestowed upon you.

(Power?)

I saw a long tail moving about in the corner of my eye, and the moment I realised what was about to happen—

(Wha…!?)

My body was already suspended midair.

Shigehira: Yuno-san!

I struggled desperately as the Yamata no Orochi's tail coiled around my body.

Yuno: Let go of me…!

Yamata no Orochi: Behave.

Yuno: Urgh.

The tail tightened around me…

I felt an unexpected burning sensation coming from where my body came into contact with the tail.

Tamamo: — What are you doing!?

(Something's… changed. Right, this is a similar sensation to what I experience when using my fox powers.)

Strands of silver hair danced at the edge of my vision.

(...! My hair! Why is it drawing out my powers without my consent?)

Yamata no Orochi: Don’t come any closer. You don't want this woman to be strangled to death, do you?

Everyone who was about to attack the Yamata no Orochi stopped in their tracks, their faces twisting in fury.

Yoritomo: This woman has nothing to do with any of this. Leave her out of this.

Yamata no Orochi: False — this woman has the most important role, she's at the core of it all.

Yuno: What…

Yamata no Orochi: At first glance, she appears to be an ordinary apothecary.

Yamata no Orochi: However, her presence played a surprisingly large part in creating what looks like a temporary peace.

Yuno: …! That’s not the case at all.

(I just happened to possess these fox powers.)

Yamata no Orochi: You may not be aware of it yourself, but the men here seem to know what I’m talking about.

Everyone: …

Yamata no Orochi: I will make this woman a medium of the realm of the dead.

Yamata no Orochi: By interfering with the connection she has with the nine-tailed fox, and redirecting the flow of her powers…

(This is bad, I can’t subdue them!)

A tremendous amount of my powers surged up from the depths of my body and out of my abdomen.

Yuno: Stay away from me!

Kurama • Tamamo: … ggh.

Ibuki: Tch.

My powers went out of control. Tamamo, Kurama, and Ibuki immediately had their demonic powers taken away.

(Strange… why do my fox powers also work on Tamamo?)

Yamata no Orochi: These powers will remain in my possession for now.

Yamata no Orochi: Like this.

A colourful ball of light hovered in front of the serpent.

(Is that all three of their powers combined?)

Kurama: — Give it back.

Yamata no Orochi: It will never return to its original form again.

Yamata no Orochi: Nine-Tailed Fox, Karasu Tengu, Shuten Dōji — I have created a new type of magical power by combining the powers from the three of you.

Yamata no Orochi: It has the ability to destroy the undead and save the world… let’s call it “Hero’s Power”.

Shigehira: Hero’s Power, huh.

Yoichi: That’s… a pretty extravagant name.

Sueharu: So what? You’re going to be extra generous and bestow each of us a share of that power?

Yamata no Orochi: As much as I’d like to say there can only be one hero… it’s too much for a single human body to handle. Thus, two people will be chosen to possess this power.

Yamata no Orochi: My medium, call upon the names of the two people you wish to bestow this power upon.

(Me!?)

The Yamata no Orochi loosened its tail that had been coiled tightly around me, and I was able to move freely again.

Yamata no Orochi: You brought the Hero’s Power into existence. You should know best which two people are most worthy of possessing it.

Yamata no Orochi: But you must know that great power comes with a price.

Benkei: A price?

Yamata no Orochi: There’s a possibility of the Hero’s Power going out of control and draining the life out of its vessel.

Yuno: … I don’t want anyone to possess something so dangerous.

Yamata no Orochi: Rest assured that you can prevent it from going on a rampage by absorbing it with your fox powers. That is part of your role as a medium.

Yamata no Orochi: It might feel different from what you usually feel when using your fox powers, however.

(What does that mean…?)

Yamata no Orochi: There is a strong bond between the Hero’s Power and the medium.

Yamata no Orochi: If you absorb the powers from someone you’re deeply involved with… you will get a sweet feeling of being intoxicated.

Yamata no Orochi: Now, my medium, it's time for you to make your decision.

The glowing ball of light slowly floated towards me.

I bit my lip and looked at everyone's faces.

(What should I do… countless lives will be lost if I don’t make a decision.)

Encouraged by everyone's silent gazes, I took a step forward and approached the ball of light.

I slowly shut my eyes…

(I can hear the Hero’s Power calling out to me.)

My lips trembled as I opened my mouth to speak.

Yuno: … The names of the two heroes are—

[tunabesimpin]

🐟 TWST SONA INFO 🐟

Did I rush this a lil cause i was struggling to focus? maybe- BUT HERE IS NEW TUNA REF! (no major changes but a few minor lore tweaks, I just felt a new one would be nice to do ^v^)

BASIC INFO

TAG : #twst tuna

Name : Tuna Class : 3-A (Student no. 28) Birthday : September 8th Age: 18 Height : 160 cm Dominant Hand : right Best Subject : PE Hobby : art Dislikes : Being told what to do! Favorite Food: Potato dishes and Cheesecake! Least Favorite Food : Eggplant! Talents : Fast Learner

Quick Summary: Curious and a constant day dreamer at heart. Despite their quietness, Tuna is happy to jump in to help, especially so if the it seems like something interesting. Often off doing their own thing, they aren't fond of crowds and try hard to avoid group speaking. However they'd speak up or take leadership if truly necessary.

APPEARANCE

Hair is natural gray with blue dyed tips, styled short in length. Overall body type is rectangular and flat, they have a slightly lean build with strong thighs and forearms. Kinda short, but height isn't anything they care for on themselves. Prescription glasses that only come off if Tuna is exercising or have lost them LOL. Has a few piercings; belly button piercing, dimple piercings, 0g Gauges, helix on right ear, and extra lobe piercing above gauges. Overall Fashion tends to be comfy/ baggy clothes with no design on them OR color coded outfits. Has an interest in big/ chunky shoes and mary janes.

PERSONALITY + BACKGROUND

Tuna is originally a non-magical human from the Shaftlands. Unfortunately curiosity got the best of them and while watching a big magic fight they got caught in the middle of things. This ended in them getting cursed! What's the curse? They turn into a catfish if strong magic is used near or at them. (Did they turn into one while overblots were happening? yes. Were they confused? absolutely) On the bright side for some reason they can use a magic now!

With the new discovery of magic their family sent Tuna off to NRC to hopefully let them learn how to make the most of things! They end up in Octavinelle dorm. Sexuality and identity wise, Tuna is asexual and nonbinary, they/them are preferred pronouns!

Personality wise Tuna is often seen aloof, but don't let that scare you off! They actually just are really bad at talking and opt to listen rather than talk. This also leads to them having few close friends and tending to go off and do things on their own. They can be a bit stubborn, but are easy to coax into doing things if you have the right reasoning or reward for them.

Academically, they've got good grades. However harder subjects like math tend to drop as they refuse to do work outside of class. If they can't finish the homework in class they're doing it at lunch or in between classes to avoid doing it during their free time.

In their free time Tuna likes to go adventuring, seeing animals in nature, hopping around trails, or just wandering the school grounds accompanied by their fav tunes. At night though they like to practice tumbling and flips. Outside of these they do art or listen to music.

ABILITIES

UM- Curiosity Killed the Cat! "I simply can't help myself! It's a matter of need, a matter of greed! Fulfil my Curiosity! Curiosity killed the cat!" -This unique magic allows Tuna to cast a veil over themselves and others within their touch to become undetectable! -It provides a stealth buff and hearing buff, allowing the users sounds to be muted and for other surrounding people to be easier to hone in and listen to. -This spell is hefty and excessive use (from using for too long or just too often) can cause major blot and other side effects. -side effects include: other senses become slightly weaker, ears may ring or be sensitive to loud noises, phantom noises/ lingering noises -Strong magic users with high spatial awareness may be able to see through this UM if they happen to look directly at the caster. Fishy Beginnings - Insight into just how Tuna received their curse and how they figured out the details into how to activate the curse as well as their own unique magic!

Fast Learner- They're quick to adapt and learn new things. A sort of jack of all trades, but never really excelling above and beyond in anything.

Strength + Flexiblity + Tolerance- Not super strong, but not exactly weak. They can get to a stand-off with Floyd (as long as he isn't out for blood) and lift most their classmates.

Extremely flexible and double jointed. They also have a high pain tolerance and tend not to realize when they get injured or are sick.

RELATIONSHIPS

Full Relationship & character Sprite chart -> here!

Notable relationships! :

Rook & Tuna: They sometimes share the same brain cell. They are classmates and Rook is one of Tunas fav people. Tuna loves hearing Rooks rambles and follows him around sometimes when he is stalking looking out for other students. Tuna is very curious and Rooks habits only fuels their curiosity.

Kalim & Tuna: Best friends. Their hyper happy go lucky natures bounce off of each other to create the ultra sunshine pair. This duo can be very irresponsible and can get caught up in their excitement. At the end of the day though, Tuna will make sure to protect Kalim from harm!

Floyd & Tuna: Tuna has a big fat platonic crush. They're tend to let themself be lax and free when with Floyd. They hangout a lot and will cause a commotion more often then not, whether it be from playing around or from butting heads.

Thanks for reading and taking interest in Tuna! ^V^ I greatly appreciate your support and time <3 !!!

[sio-writes]

Botanist's Guide: Chapter 14

<<Chapter 13

<<<Chapter 1

Summary: Cassandra Rowland, PhD, finally has the chance to work on an experiment that really matters: growing Earth crops on another planet. But too many overdue reports and marked failures have put her in hot water with the board, and this is her last chance at redemption. So when she finds herself railroaded by a seven foot tall, glowing alien named Kri, it won’t be as easy as sticking some seeds in the soil and running them under the tap. Tack on the looming repossession of her lab contingent on her success in Kri’s reports, and Cassie realizes she may have her work cut out for her.

Tags: past death and unhealthy grieving mentioned

Kri

I wake up feeling troubled and anxious, from the moment I open my eyes, the memories of the day before come rushing in. Cassie had lost the most important thing in her life less than thirty hours ago, and I gently nudged her towards my home only because I know how it feels to wake up alone after a major life event. I'd fully intended to stay respectful and sleep on the couch, but the temptation to guard over my beautiful human was too great. I can hardly refuse Cassie on any normal day, let alone one where her watering eyes threatened to spill over if I didn’t sleep beside her.

So this morning I wake up on my back with her draped over my side, her arm across my chest and a leg thrown possessively over my hips. Her limbs are a weight over my body that centers me, grounds me in the present and relaxes my muscles. I could stay here for hours. 

She’s a quiet sleeper, only the rise and fall of her back indicates her breathing. Her other hand is tangled in the pillows behind me, and her free leg is sticking out of the basket, which tells me that she likes to spread out like a flower when she sleeps. Hanging nests are meant to act as a cocoon, providing safety in an enclosed space; they're not meant for much else outside of sleeping, unlike human beds that seem to act as a second living room. Cassie wouldn't be comfortable here in the long term, and I briefly wonder if I could handle sleeping on a mattress for the rest of my life. 

I think I could, for her.

It's tempting to remain in the nest all day. My body certainly agrees. Even buckled under the stress of not knowing what today will bring, I find it hard to see past the fact that Cassie is sleeping on top of me. The bottom of her thigh is pressing deliciously against my groin plates, her whole body is against mine and I'm washed in the smell of her lavender-scented hair products, my favorite of Earth's smells, floral and light. As I take a deep inhale of her hair, I consider what to do next. 

I enjoy her presence here, and I want to keep her with me as long as she can stand. I’ll need to get her a change of clothes, provide food, and think of distractions she can pick from instead of trodding back to an empty greenhouse.

That's when I realize that it's early, too early for the day to start, but I know what woke me up. Sleeping on my back has cut the circulation to my wings, and an uncomfortable numbness has started to spread from the tips and stretch its fingers all the way down my spine. Usually I can ignore it, but it's begun to hinge on painful, and it’s probably that encroaching pain that woke me up. But I won't move with my Cassie laying on top of me.

To distract myself, I brush away a stray curl laying delicately over her brow, fascinated as it springs back to its original position the moment I let go. Human hair is endlessly fascinating, unique to the individual it grows on. Cassie's moves like she does, bouncy and energetic, begging my fingers to run through it even now in the dark. I know humans can put color in their hair, and I wonder if that's the case with her. It blends from a light yellow at the ends to nearly black as it reaches her head, and in the greenhouse in the afternoon, it catches the light and she turns into the sun. 

Cassie stirs but doesn’t wake, only rolls to her opposite side and blindly feels for a pillow that she holds to her chest.

Using the brief opportunity of freedom, I carefully and quietly get out of my nest and to my feet. It’s a balancing act of maintaining myself upright and keeping the rocking of the basket to a minimum, but the moment I’m up, I feel my circulation returning. I roll both my primary and secondary shoulders and shake the feeling back into my wings as I step around the nest and to the couch.

After Cassie received the news of her lab being shut down, I’d been working on instinct to keep her from collapsing so I could bring her back here. I couldn't let her fall into a depression, I needed to take care of her. But it’s the next morning now, she’s going to wake up soon, and I need a plan that extends beyond the bounds of this apartment. 

I rub my face with my primary hands as I sit on the couch, letting my head fall into my palms. Beside me, Cassie stirs again, but only to shift her weight and grab for another pillow. 

I don't know how she's going to react, and that troubles me. I'm not good at preparing for the unknown, the sudden. 

Unfortunately, I only have my own experience with tragedy to call upon. I believe the human term goes something like, “a trip down memory road," and it’s not a trip I particularly want to take, but if my own experience can help Cassie through hers, then I’ll weather through the murky waters of my memories.

The first week after Vles’ death is a haze. Between planning their funeral, moving to Outpost #3, and working around the rampant denial that they were gone, I was stretched in too many directions. Months before their death we'd planned the ceremony, but they'd only focused on where they’d be resting— at Outpost #7 or home in Lethien, as there was more paperwork to fill out for one than the other.

Afterwards, everything else was left to me - notifying family, arranging services, being physically and emotionally available for all the sympathy and heartfelt conversations. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't string together enough words to even be polite. I'd had to clear out the remnants of a life extinguished too soon, and all I’d wanted to do was break into that basement where the humans keep chilled remains so I could lay next to Vles for the next year and a half.

Cassie will likely be at a similar low. It hurts in my chest to think of the pain she's going to feel. The lab was her everything, her whole world. She based her self-worth in her work, and to be told it wasn't enough? I can’t imagine.

If it were up to me, I’d move Cassie here, keep her close so I could watch over her and be nearby in case anything happens. I’d feel much better if she did. But that’s a future conversation, so I put it on a back shelf in my mind, and dig into my brain for ways to care for her.

Ari came to my rescue. They’d tried to distract me when all I wanted to do was melt into the floor. They brought me food and kept me on a schedule and essentially made all my decisions for me when I was struggling just to stay conscious without the aid of alcohol. I can't do anything about the notifications or other people or whatever torrent of feeling she's going to experience on waking up, but there are certain things I can mitigate to make her life easier. Cassie’s situation is wholly different from mine, but I know she’s going to wake up disoriented, upset, and probably in denial. That, I can work with. 

Food, I should make her food. 

The past week following our coupling has given me more than enough time to research human habits and culture. I wanted to be knowledgeable to be a better partner, but maybe what I learned can help in this too. My research on meals brought up that certain foods are only consumed at certain times, which is incredibly strange, but I'll see what I can manage. It's approaching morning, so I believe it's break-fast time.

A quick search in my food-cooling box only tells me that I need to go out for more food. It's empty and pathetic looking. The same is said for the pantry, and the freezing-box. The humans were very nice for bringing us this technology alternative to store food, but I wish I had a replicator on-hand. It's much more convenient for quick meals instead of cooking-- ingredients are added and food comes out, whereas with this box food just goes in and stays cold. As much as I enjoy making food for Cassie, I need something quick and easy.

After another cursory glance in the cooling-box, I pull out a pink klen loaf and a container of sweet mixed berries. It's not ideal, but this will have to do. 

As quietly as possible I search through my bag and pull out my mobile device. It still has a bit of power remaining, so I message Ari to find Jillie so I can get Cassie a change of clothes. It’s likely that Ari isn’t awake yet, but they’ll see the message when they do wake up. I remember where Cassie’s apartment is, but I’m reluctant to leave her alone here. Not because I distrust her, but if she wakes up in a strange place on her own, it may send her into a panic.

Ari responds much faster than I’d thought they would. I’ll text Jillie :)

It takes me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that Ari is using the Earth slang for "message." Even typed in Universal it looks odd.

Thank you.

Keep me updated, yes?

Yes.

I need to brush up on my Earth-English dialect, if I’m to keep up with the humans, or perhaps just one in particular.

My device buzzes again, but I ignore it in favor of turning towards the kitchen. As I’m placing the berries into a bowl, Cassie stirs again, waking up with a long groan that I want to memorize for when I’m alone. Then I hear her inhale sharply and the basket jostles as she sits upright, and likely gathers her bearings, before she blows a relieved note through her lips. I can see her shock of pale yellow hair above the rim of the basket, a little off-kilter from sleep, and as she sits up I’m met with her pale brown forehead, and then her gorgeous blue eyes.

In Igrien, which feels so long ago, she had asked me my favorite color, and I’d answered honestly. The blue of a clear sky, or the ocean. It’s the color of her eyes, a lovely coincidence that only adds to my attraction to her.

And she’s happy to see me, I hope, because her eyes crinkle and she breathes out my name, “Kri!”

She easily tips herself out of the basket, a feat I’m surprised by but pleasantly so, and she shivers at the cold tile under her feet. She keeps her eyes on me, though, padding across the floor and into the kitchen to wrap her arms around my middle and bury her face into my shoulder.

“Please tell me yesterday was a horrible dream, and I’m here because we had mind-blowing sex.”

I smooth a hand over her hair. “I wouldn’t lie to you like that.”

“Yeah,” she breathes against my chest. “You only lie by omission.”

She’s coping with humor, but the statement still stings. I wouldn’t take back our time in the lab for anything, but I wish the circumstances had been better. At least, if she’s making jokes at my expense she’s not wallowing.

"I'm sorry, that was mean," she says quickly, looking up at me with her cheeks puffed out. Adorable. 

"Unforgivable," I tease, smoothing a primary hand over her poofy hair and pressing my lips to her forehead so she knows that I'm joking. 

Kissing is another import from Earth, and one I enjoy very much. Humans lack the humming vocalizations we use to express affection, they can't even hear half our speech patterns, but they make up for it with other physical touches. Hugging and kissing, casual touch or even just standing a bit too close to let the other know they’re there.

I’d asked Ari for advice on the subject when I was sorting through my feelings for Cassie, and after they'd stopped laughing at my expense, they'd directed me to the on-line Archive with human films and given me a list to watch. 

"Take these things with a grain of salt, 'Asxu," they'd said as if I understood the meaning of that phrase, sitting next to me on the couch as the first film started. They'd brought some corn-based Earth snack with them, claiming it to be a staple in watching films with someone else. It made my apartment smell of butter and salt, and it was very tasty. "Most Earth movies tend to exaggerate or misrepresent. Unless you're watching a documentary, and not even those are completely impartial."

"So why are we watching these instead of a documentary?" 

"The specific type of documentary you're looking for is considered pornography, and there's very little of that in The Archive. Also these are more entertaining. They tell stories!" 

We'd sat through several films, some good and others very confusing, and I took so many mental notes that my head began to throb. The headaches were worth it, though, when I finally got to kiss Cassie and she didn't push me away in disgust. 

I'm glad Cassie is so receptive to my touch. I enjoy being able to confirm her presence, to feel her under my fingers. 

"I don't have much," I say, stepping away from her embrace and into the kitchen. "But you should eat something." 

Her eyes spark with recognition when she spies the klen loaf, and again at the bowl of berries next to it. "You made me breakfast. We didn't even have sex last night." 

"'Make' is hardly the word I would use," I say, ignoring the other part of her comment. 

"Do you have any coffee?" 

"...Is that a food item?" 

Her smile is tired, making me feel like I've failed. "That's a no, then."

I push my failure aside and watch while she eats, although I don't know what I'm looking for. Abnormalities in behavior? Expressions of disgust? 

Mostly I think of what needs to be done soon. The lab will need to be emptied and cleaned, the greenhouse as well. I can take several of the smaller plants to my apartment without worry, but Ari may have a tough time smuggling any out of the Outpost to place in their personal greenhouse. Perhaps I should ask if they plan to take any at all. 

The difficulty of the situation begins to bog me down, that is, until Cassie reaches for my hand and gives my fingers a reassuring squeeze. 

"You're clicking again." 

I frown in confusion. "Clicking?" 

"That noise you make," she says. "You do it when you're thinking, I think."

Ah, the plate shifting, that's what she means. It's been so frequent the past few weeks I hardly even hear it anymore. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asks, squeezing my hand again. She smiles when my frown deepens. "I'm asking what you're thinking about.

There's no point in keeping it a secret. "I'm worried about you." 

"I'm fine," she says casually, shrugging. "I just woke up, so nothing's hitting yet." 

I wait as finishes eating and hands me the bowl. I step to the sink and run the water to wash it off, trying to organize my thoughts once again. Behind me, Cassie takes a deep inhale and then makes a noise of disgust. 

"I should head out. I need a shower," she says, and I nearly drop the bowl in my hands. She can't go, not yet, not when she may collapse. I can't let that happen. 

"You're welcome to use mine," I offer quickly, nodding towards the bathroom.

She shifts from foot to foot as she regards each option, and I try not to smile when she steps towards my bathroom. She stops before entering, and as she opens her mouth to speak, there's a knock at the door.

Cassie and I are equally surprised to see both Jillie and Ari at the door. They were faster than I thought, and I'm glad I asked for extra clothes. After several polite minutes of assuring both that we are alright and making plans for dinner at a later date, they finally left us in peace.

Cassie only turns her back to the closed door, rests her weight on it, and slides downwards until she is sitting on the floor. Her eyes are closed, and her expression is tight and agitated, and I can see tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

I place myself next to her, unable to mimic her legs in their crossed positions and choosing to extend them out. Offering her my primary hand, I try to give her an encouraging smile, but by the expression she returns, I may as well be lying. She looks lost, hopeless, and afraid.

When I was lost, I found that direction from others helped calm the torrent. "Would you like to keep eating, or would you like to bathe now?" 

Her returning smile is small, but I can feel her gratitude through it. "I should wash up, but I don't want to be alone."

I've heard of this-- human pack bonding in times of grief. I'd read about it during a seminar on their behavior. She wants my company so she won't fall into a state of panic while alone in a strange place. 

I'm doing very well at this "boyfriend" thing, I think. 

She starts the water and reaches up to unbutton her shirt, but then hesitates.

“You need to wait.”

“Why?”

“So I can actually shower before we, uh,” she trails off, and it hits me. 

I raise my brow. "You want to have sex. Now."

Cassie makes an odd expression, like I'm a distant object and she's trying to determine how much time she has before impact. "Boy, what--" she starts, gathers herself, and flaps her arms. "I dunno! Maybe? I thought it would…distraction," she trails off and looks down at the floor. That awful, hopeless expression flickers over her face again, and I feel my resolve crumble.

A step forward, and I take one of her hands in mine. Her palm is round, just like the rest of her, slightly cool and light brown. I keep my voice very low so it won't echo off the tile and make me listen to what I'm about to say as I squeeze her hand. "Alright."

For the second time, Cassie smiles at me, and my heart leaps in my chest.

[eternaltae7]

Hani’s Origin Story

Fox of BTS | BTS 8th Member

It was a typical Thursday afternoon, and Hani was in her dance class, her favorite part of the day. The sun streamed through the large windows, illuminating the room filled with students moving in sync to the rhythm of the music. Today was special—Big Hit Entertainment representatives were visiting to observe the students, supposedly looking for potential male trainees. Hani and her friends shrugged it off, focusing instead on perfecting their routine.

“Who cares about boys?” Hani joked, her laughter bubbling over as she and her friends practiced their moves. “Let’s show them how it’s done!” The girls giggled, spinning and leaping across the floor, their hearts light and carefree in the joy of dancing.

As the class progressed, Hani felt herself getting lost in the music. She poured her heart into each movement, her auburn hair swaying gracefully as she executed the choreography with precision and passion. She had been dancing since she could remember, and this was where she felt most alive.

Unbeknownst to Hani, two men stood at the back of the room, quietly observing the students. They exchanged impressed glances, but their focus quickly shifted to Hani. There was something captivating about her—her unique blend of Irish and Korean features, the effortless way she moved, and the way her accent colored her speech when she called out encouragement to her friends.

After class, Hani and her friends gathered in a huddle, still buzzing from their performance. Laughter filled the air, but Ms. Kim, their dance teacher, soon called for their attention.

“Everyone, I have an announcement!” she said, her voice bright with excitement. “The representatives from Big Hit are here to look for potential trainees, and they’ve taken notice of our class.” Hani’s friends leaned in closer, their interest piqued.

“Wait, what? They’re looking for trainees?” one of her friends exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Ms. Kim nodded, her expression serious but proud. “They’re especially looking for male trainees, but they were impressed with all of you. However, they want to speak with Hani.”

Hani felt a rush of surprise wash over her. Me? She hadn’t expected to be singled out. Her heart raced as the representatives approached her, their friendly demeanor both comforting and intimidating.

“Excuse me, Hani?” one of the men said, flashing a warm smile. “We’re from Big Hit Entertainment. We were wondering if we could speak with you for a moment.”

Hani exchanged a nervous glance with her friends, who looked on with a mix of excitement and envy. “Uh, sure!” she managed to say, trying to keep her voice steady despite the fluttering in her chest.

They led her a few steps away, the noise of the other students fading into the background. “We were really impressed with your dance style and your presence in class,” the other representative said, his tone encouraging. “We believe you have great potential. Would you be interested in discussing becoming a trainee with us?”

Hani blinked in disbelief, her mind racing. A trainee? The thought seemed surreal. “Um, I don’t know. I mean, I’m just a student here.”

“We see a lot of talent in you, and your unique background is something that stands out. Your Irish-Korean heritage and your accent add a special charm that could really bring something new to our company,” the first man explained, his enthusiasm evident.

Hani’s heart raced with a mix of excitement and anxiety. She had always dreamed of dancing professionally, but the idea of becoming a trainee at such a prestigious company was overwhelming. “Can I talk to my parents first?” she asked, wanting to ensure she was making the right decision.

“Of course! We’d be happy to set up a meeting with them,” one of the representatives said, pulling out his phone to jot down their contact information. “What’s your schedule like?”

As they exchanged details, Hani felt a whirlwind of emotions—nervousness, exhilaration, and a hint of disbelief. After the meeting, she returned to her friends, who were buzzing with anticipation.

“What happened? What did they say?” one of her friends asked, eyes shining with curiosity.

“They want me to meet with my parents about possibly becoming a trainee,” Hani said, trying to sound casual, but she couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice. Her heart felt like it was soaring.

“Oh my gosh! You have to do it!” another friend exclaimed, practically bouncing on her toes. “This is amazing!”

That evening, Hani approached her parents, her stomach a knot of nerves as she explained everything that had happened. At first, they looked surprised and a bit apprehensive. Her mom exchanged a worried glance with her dad, and Hani felt her heart sink. She didn’t want them to feel uncertain about her dreams.

“Hani, this is a big decision,” her dad finally said, his voice calm yet serious. “We just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into.”

“I understand, but this is something I really want,” Hani pleaded, her eyes shining with determination. “I love dancing, and this could be my chance to do what I’ve always dreamed of.”

After a long discussion filled with Hani’s passionate arguments and her parents’ cautious questions, they slowly came around to the idea. “If this is what you truly want, we’ll support you,” her mom said, a smile breaking through her initial hesitation. “But you need to promise us that you’ll keep up with your studies and make sure it’s balanced.”

Hani felt a wave of relief wash over her. “I promise! I’ll work hard!”

In the following days, preparations began for her meeting with Big Hit. Hani felt a mix of excitement and nerves as she thought about the possibilities ahead. She knew that to become a trainee, she would need to practice not just her dancing but also her singing. Though she had sung casually with her friends, she had never taken it seriously.

With renewed determination, she began to practice her singing every day. Hani would spend hours in her room, belting out her favorite songs, trying to find her voice and build her confidence. She watched videos of her favorite idols, analyzing their techniques, and even started taking online vocal lessons to improve her skills.

Finally, the day arrived when she and her parents would visit the company headquarters. As they entered the sleek, modern building, Hani’s heart raced. The atmosphere buzzed with creativity and ambition, and she could feel the energy in the air. They were led to a conference room filled with friendly faces, the representatives eager to share what being a trainee at Big Hit entailed.

“Thank you for coming, Hani,” one of the representatives said warmly. “We’re excited to discuss the possibility of you joining our trainee program. We believe you have a lot to offer.”

Hani listened intently as they explained the training process, the dedication required, and the opportunities that lay ahead. Her parents asked questions, their expressions a mix of excitement and caution. Hani felt a rush of determination. She wanted this.

After the meeting, as they walked out of the building, Hani felt a mix of exhilaration and trepidation. The world ahead of her was filled with uncertainty, but the thought of pursuing her passion for dance and possibly becoming an idol filled her with hope.

As Hani left the building that day, her mind was a whirlwind of emotions. This opportunity could change her life forever. She was ready to embrace whatever came next, eager to carve out her own path in the world of K-pop and share her unique story with the world.