#ship names are still a mystery to me but anyway | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

koyagifs · 2 months ago

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𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓸: 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓳𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓮𝔂

pairing: pirate!hongjoong x sea witch!reader au: pirate au | lovers to strangers | genre: angst word count: 2.9 k synopsis: she was the star in his eyes, the treasure he longed for. now, he still searches for her. warning(s): toxic relationships, screaming match. cursing. please let me know if i miss anything else!!

Hongjoong never thought he'll fall in love when he started to explore the sea. He knew that what he wanted to do was explore the sea, go adventures that he couldn't when he was younger.

But love, as unpredictable as the tides, found him anyway.

It wasn’t in a grand, dramatic moment like the tales of sailors meeting enchanting sirens. No, it crept in slowly—between the soft glimmer of sunlight on the waves and the quiet nights spent staring at endless horizons. At first, Hongjoong thought it was just the sea he had fallen for: its vastness, its mystery, its ever-changing beauty. But soon, he realized that within this world of endless blues, there was someone else who had become his anchor.

They were part of his crew, always just a step away—laughing with him under the stars, pointing out constellations he’d never noticed, and braving storms at his side. It was their presence that turned the sea from an adventure into a home.

Hongjoong never set out looking for love. But maybe that’s why he found it—because love, like the ocean, doesn’t wait for permission to sweep you away.

When you joined the crew, your magic left them speechless—ripples of light dancing across the water, winds bending to your whispers, and the way the sea seemed to sing back to you. You were a marvel, something out of stories Hongjoong thought were only meant for dreamers and fools.

He didn’t hesitate to show you the ropes when you became part of the crew, though his eagerness earned him more than a few knowing smirks from his mates. They saw it before he did—the way his gaze lingered on you a little too long, the way his words softened when he spoke your name.

Hongjoong fell, and he fell hard. It was in the quiet moments, when the crew slept and the ship rocked gently beneath the stars, that he realized it. Watching you stand at the bow, the moonlight weaving through your hair, he swore his heart leapt clear out of his chest.

His mates teased him relentlessly, of course. “Captain’s got it bad,” they’d whisper with wide grins. But he didn’t care. For someone like you—someone who could tame the sea with a flick of their fingers—Hongjoong would gladly be swept away, no lifeline in sight.

And truth be told, he hoped you’d let him drown in it.

and drown you both did.

You and Hongjoong were the only two awake, the gentle creak of the ship and the soft lapping of waves against its hull the only sounds accompanying the silence. The sea carried the ship wherever it pleased, and neither of you seemed to care.

The night sky stretched endlessly above, stars shimmering like scattered diamonds—bright and clear, as though they were putting on a show just for the two of you. Hongjoong leaned against the ship’s railing beside you, his gaze flitting between the vast heavens and the faint glow of your magic dancing over your fingertips.

At one point, he spoke softly, his voice almost drowned by the whispers of the ocean.

“I used to chase goals like a man starved,” he admitted, his tone faraway, like he was recalling another lifetime. “Adventure, treasure, proving something to the world…”

He turned to look at you then, his eyes reflecting the starlight, soft and steady. “But that all changed when I saw you.”

There was no greed or possession in his words—only the raw honesty of a man who had found the one thing he didn’t know he was searching for. You were his horizon now, the anchor that stilled him, and yet the wind in his sails that kept him moving forward.

The sea stretched on forever, wild and free, but tonight—beneath the brilliance of a thousand stars—it felt small and quiet, as though it, too, knew that the only thing that truly mattered was the two of you.

And as Hongjoong reached for your hand, his calloused fingers brushing yours, the night seemed to hold its breath. That's when Hongjoong noticed the blackness that took over your fingertips.

His brows furrowed deeply, the playful calm he'd carried moments before vanishing like mist on the sea.

“What the hell is that?” he hissed, grabbing ahold of your hands with a firm yet careful grip.

You flinched, pulling back instinctively, hiding your hands behind your back. A small, nervous laugh escaped your lips—forced, brittle. “Nothing, my love. Just… a trick of the light.”

Hongjoong wasn’t buying it. His sharp eyes narrowed as he straightened, his presence solid and unwavering, like the captain he was. “Don’t lie to me.” His voice wasn’t harsh, but it carried weight, sinking into the space between you like an anchor.

You looked away, your gaze dropping to the worn wood of the deck, the faint hum of the ship beneath your feet matching the low hum of dread in your chest. The blackness was spreading faster now. You could feel it—like ice crawling through your veins, like ink spilling across the edges of a map that used to be clear.

“You promised—”

“Hongjoong, I had to—”

“To do dark magic?!” he snapped, his voice cutting through the quiet night like a blade. His chest heaved, fists clenching at his sides as he tried to process your words. “To risk us? To risk you?”

The anger in his tone wasn’t cruel, but desperate. It was the sound of a man who was scared—scared of losing the only thing that truly mattered to him.

You flinched at his words, the weight of your guilt pressing down on you like an anchor. “You don’t understand,” you whispered, your voice trembling. “I did it for you. For us.”

Hongjoong froze, his sharp eyes searching your face for answers, for something—anything—that could make sense of this. “For me?” he repeated, his voice softer now, but no less strained. “What did you do?”

His words hung in the air like a storm cloud, heavy and suffocating. You stepped back instinctively, your darkened fingers trembling as you tried to hide them again. Hongjoong noticed, his breath catching as he took a cautious step forward, like you were something fragile—like you might slip away if he moved too quickly.

“I…” You gulped, the words caught in your throat. How could you explain? How could you tell him that you had done the unthinkable to save the only family you had left?

“Y/N,” Hongjoong whispered, his voice breaking as his gaze fell to your hands—the blackness creeping up your skin, unnatural and foreboding. His chest tightened. He’d seen many things in his life as a sailor, but nothing like this. Nothing that made him feel so helpless.

“Joongie… I’m so, so sorry,” you whispered, tears streaming down your face as your voice barely carried over the heavy silence.

That’s when Hongjoong noticed it—the stillness.

The sea had gone quiet, unnaturally so, as if the ocean itself was holding its breath. Not a wave lapped at the ship’s hull, not a breeze stirred the sails. The world was frozen. It was wrong. So wrong.

Hongjoong’s heart sank like a stone. “Y/N… what did you do?”

Before you could answer, the silence shattered.

A deafening boom ripped through the air, shaking the ship violently. Hongjoong stumbled, throwing his arms out to brace himself, but his gaze never left you. His mind raced to process the chaos—splintering wood, the groan of the ship’s beams, and the sound of rushing water.

An explosion.

The world erupted into chaos—splintering wood, cries of battle, the acrid smell of smoke curling into the salty air. But Hongjoong didn’t hear any of it. All he could focus on was you.

You, running toward the attackers.

His chest tightened, disbelief freezing him in place as the realization hit him like a wave. “Y/N!” he shouted, his voice raw, cutting through the cacophony. You didn’t turn back.

For the first time in his life, Hongjoong felt the kind of betrayal that cracked through his heart like lightning.

The crew fought desperately around him—clashing swords, shouting orders, scrambling to defend the ship—but Hongjoong couldn’t move. He stood frozen, staring at the spot where you had disappeared into the smoke, your darkened hands glowing faintly with the power that had caused all this.

“This can’t be happening,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

A shadow loomed behind him, but before he could react, something slammed into him.

Hongjoong hit the deck hard, the air knocked from his lungs as his vision blurred. The sounds of the battle swirled around him like a maelstrom, but his head was spinning too fast to focus. Distantly, he felt the sting of a blade grazing his shoulder, the warm trickle of blood following it.

“Captain!” someone shouted—one of his crew—but their voice felt miles away.

Hongjoong blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision, trying to move, but all he could see in his mind was you. The way your eyes had flickered with regret and desperation before you ran. The blackness crawling up your arms. The explosion that tore his ship apart.

Hongjoong blinked rapidly, his vision still swimming as Seonghwa’s voice cut through the chaos.

“Captain, where’s Y/N?”

Seonghwa’s face was streaked with soot and sweat, his brow furrowed in confusion and worry as he tugged on Hongjoong’s arm. Around them, the ship groaned under the strain of the damage—flames licking at the sails, the wood creaking dangerously as it tried to hold together.

“Y/N…” Hongjoong rasped, his voice barely audible. He staggered forward, ignoring the pain radiating through his shoulder where blood now stained his shirt.

“Captain!” Seonghwa called again, grabbing his arm to steady him. “What’s going on? Where is she? Did you—did you see her?”

Hongjoong stopped and turned to look at Seonghwa, his eyes hollow, haunted. “She’s with them,” he croaked, the words tasting like ash in his mouth.

Seonghwa froze, disbelief washing over his face. “What? What do you mean ‘with them’? She wouldn’t—she couldn’t—”

“She did.” Hongjoong’s voice trembled as he said it aloud, the reality crashing over him like the waves against the broken hull of the ship. His gaze remained fixed on the fleeing ships in the distance—the ones that now held you aboard. The sails disappeared further into the smoke-choked horizon with every passing second, taking you with them.

Seonghwa turned his head toward the wreckage and the flames still devouring their ship, then back to Hongjoong. The silence between them was broken only by the cries of the crew as they scrambled to regroup.

“What do we do now?”

The question was Seonghwa’s, but it came with weight—as though he were speaking for every member of the crew who looked to their captain for answers.

Yeosang approached quickly, bandages and a makeshift medical kit in hand, his sharp gaze darting between Hongjoong and Seonghwa. “Captain,” he said softly, kneeling by Hongjoong’s side and reaching for his injured shoulder, “we need to treat this wound. You won’t make it far bleeding like this.”

Hongjoong didn’t respond immediately. He couldn’t tear his eyes from the horizon, the faint silhouette of the enemy ships becoming a memory. His heart clenched painfully in his chest, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

“Hongjoong,” Seonghwa urged, kneeling so he was level with his captain. “We don’t have time for this. The crew is looking to you. We’re looking to you. What’s the plan?”

Hongjoong swallowed hard, " we patch her up as much as we can and head to a port."

Seonghwa and Yeosang paused, " you sure...captain?"

Hongjoong nodded, his breathing ragged as the adrenaline that had kept him upright began to fade, leaving behind a throbbing ache in his shoulder and a weight heavier than the sea pressing on his chest. “I’m sure,” he rasped.

“Make sure everyone is fine, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong said, his voice quieter now, but carrying the weight of command. He turned slightly to look at his first mate, his gaze steady despite the exhaustion in his features.

Seonghwa nodded wordlessly, his face unreadable as he stepped away to check on the crew.

Yeosang remained, carefully steadying Hongjoong as he adjusted the bandages on his injured shoulder. Silence hung between them for a beat before Yeosang spoke, his voice hesitant.

“Then… what about Y/N?”

Hongjoong’s jaw clenched at the mention of your name, his gaze dropping to the deck. For a moment, he didn’t answer. The wood beneath his feet was slick with seawater and ash, and the memory of the explosion flashed behind his eyes.

“She made her choice,” Hongjoong muttered finally, his voice hollow, as if saying it aloud could make him believe it.

Yeosang froze, his hands stilling as he processed the words. He glanced at Hongjoong’s face, searching for something—anything—beyond the cold resolve in his tone. “Captain… you don’t mean that.”

Hongjoong lifted his head, his dark eyes meeting Yeosang’s with an intensity that left no room for argument. “She made her choice,” he repeated, the words sharper this time, like a blade cutting through the silence. “And we have ours to make.”

You stood in the captain’s cabin, the heavy silence broken only by the sound of waves lapping against the hull. The room smelled of salt and wood polish, though it felt suffocating. Your first mate, a woman as sharp as the blade she wore at her hip, leaned over the map spread across the desk. A proud smirk curled on her lips as she tapped a finger against the parchment.

“He actually believed you loved him?” she chuckled, the sound low and cutting.

Your heart twisted at her words, though you kept your face neutral, your expression carefully guarded. You stared out through the cabin window, where the faint glimmer of dawn kissed the endless sea. Hongjoong. The memory of his face—his eyes wide with pain and betrayal—flashed in your mind. You squeezed your blackened hands into fists, the taint of the dark magic pulsing faintly beneath your skin.

“I did what I had to,” you murmured, your voice calm but devoid of conviction.

Your first mate scoffed, turning toward you with an arched brow. “Is that what you’re telling yourself? Because I don’t recall hesitation when you set off that explosion.”

You flinched, barely noticeable, but enough for her to see. Her smirk widened.

“Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for the good captain,” she teased, tilting her head as if testing you. “That’d be… inconvenient.”

Your jaw tightened, and you finally turned to face her. “We got what we needed, didn’t we? The ship is in ruins, and they’ll be lucky to make it to port alive.”

She raised her hands in mock surrender, though the glint in her eye was anything but apologetic. “Whatever you say, Captain. Just don’t let those soft feelings of yours get in the way of the plan.” She tapped her temple, stepping back toward the door. “You’re too valuable to waste on sentiment.”

As she left, the door creaked shut behind her, leaving you alone in the dim cabin. You sank into the worn leather chair at the desk, staring down at the map. The inked lines of the world blurred as your vision swam.

Your fingers hovered over the black marks creeping up your hands, the dark magic pulsing faintly—alive. It whispered to you, promising power, control… and yet, it felt like chains. You closed your eyes, your mind betraying you with the memory of Hongjoong’s voice.

Laughter—your laughter—filled the air, light and carefree, as you lay in Hongjoong’s arms. The golden light of the setting sun filtered through the ship’s cabin, casting everything in a warm glow. His arm was wrapped around your waist, his presence grounding you, safe and steady.

“Stop looking at me like that,” you teased, your voice soft but playful, as you turned your head to meet his gaze.

Hongjoong only smiled, his dark eyes tracing your features as though memorizing every line and curve. His fingers danced lightly over your skin, leaving trails of goosebumps in their wake. “Can’t help it,” he murmured. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Your cheeks flushed, and you rolled onto your side, pressing a hand against his chest as if to push him away. “You say that to all the women you meet, Captain.”

He laughed—a warm, hearty sound that made your heart stutter. “Never.” His voice softened then, the teasing edge replaced by something deeper, something real. “Not like this.”

Silence settled between you for a moment, save for the soft creaking of the ship and the distant call of seabirds. You traced the buttons on his shirt absentmindedly, as though your fingers couldn’t bear to stop touching him.

“Do you ever regret it?” you asked quietly, the words slipping out before you could stop them.

“Regret what?”

“Letting me join the crew.”

Hongjoong’s hand stilled against your skin before curling gently around your waist, pulling you closer. “Not for a second,” he said firmly. “You were meant to be here, with us… with me.”

You swallowed hard, blinking up at him. “You don’t even know what I’m capable of.”

His eyes softened, his thumb brushing faintly over your cheek. “I know enough.”

“You trust me that much?”

“More than you’ll ever know.”

The memory unraveled like a frayed thread, pulling you back to the present with a jolt. Your eyes snapped open, the cold darkness of the cabin swallowing the warmth of his embrace. Your fingers curled into fists as you pressed them against your chest, as if trying to hold together the pieces of yourself that felt like they were breaking.

He had trusted you. Completely.

And you’d shattered that trust.

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cioud-berries · 2 months ago

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Mutual Benefit || Chapter 6

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I struggled so hard with this one because the next one is the one i want to really write. Anyways next week is finals week so hopefully I will be writing more once its winter break!!

Summery:

Posts season 2: Spoiler warning!!

Being forced into an arranged marriage, [Name] tried her hardest with her unreceptive husband Salo. After his death, she was forced to replace his council position, trying to figure out who she was as a person. Sevika never expected to get anywhere close to the council, let alone join them. As the stigma around people from Zaun still stood, she struggled to gain the respect from her new fellow councillors. With so many differences how could the two really help one another?

Chapter Warnings:

Season 2 Spoilers, alcohol involvement.

Word count: 2,560

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<- Previous Chapter || Mutual Benefit Master List || Next Chapter ->

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Handing her passport to the enforcer, Sevika watched [Name] and Sasha make their way onto the airship. The guard gave her a nasty look as he handed her passport back. Sevika brushed by with a roll of her eyes.

Once she was on the ship, she walked up to [Name] and Sasha. Sasha was jumping up and down, extremely excited that Sevika was going to be joining them. “I can’t wait for you to meet Agalea!” Sasha happily told Sevika.

Sevika gave [Name] a questioning look, as Sasha had not explained who Agalea was. “My niece.” [Name] clarified.

Sevika nodded in response, leaning against the airship as it began to take off. “What should I know about your family?”

“My eldest brother Maxwell is the heir to the throne. I think you’d like him. But he can be a real pain sometimes.” [Name] explained with a small smile. “My father will like anyone, so never worry about him. My mother…” She paused, trying to find an explanation for her and what Sevika should expect. “My mother is very protective over her family. So just watch your eyes.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sevika cocked her eyebrow with a slight smirk.

“Don’t even pretend like you don’t know how you look at me.” [Name] jokingly glared at her. “I think she might actually banish you if she catches you.”

“Fine. I’ll only admire you in private.” Sevika jokingly scoffed.

The mood slightly changed as [Name] deeply exhaled. “But the biggest unspoken rule of my family is: Never mention my dead siblings.”

Sevika nodded, her head. A look of sadness just barely broke through. Wanting to change subjects, Sevika asked, “What’s your eldest brother like?”

“Oh Gods.” [Name] huffed, rolling her eyes. “He’s a brother.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Sevika replied, now really wanting to know about this mysterious brother of hers. “I had no siblings.”

“He’s both one of the most amazing and worst men I’ve ever met.” [Name] explained. “We’re very close after everything we went through. He’s really fun. But at other times I just want to-” [Name] looked down at her daughter that was looking out into the ocean. She could only whisper her next words, “Kill him.”

“Sounds about how most sibling relationships are.” Sevika responded.

“I genuinely don’t understand how he not only found a wife.” [Name] sighed in frustration. “Sometimes he literally wakes me up in the middle of the night to ask if I would want to go drinking with him.”

“He sounds like my kind of fun.”

“We’ll most likely go to the bar tonight. You’re welcome to join.” [Name] invited.

Sevika scoffed with a small smirk. “Do you know who you’re talking to?” [Name] only smiled in response.

The airship continued on and after many hours they arrived at the port. Sasha was jumping up and down at the terminal. She could already see her cousin Agalea waiting for her. [Name] had to hold Sasha’s hand, making sure she doesn’t trip and possibly fall off the side of the boarding dock.

“Welcome to Sembyr.” [Name] told Sevika, before turning her attention to the people waiting to welcome them.

The second they reached solid ground, [Name] let go of Sasha, letting her run to her cousin, hugging her. Next to Agalea was an [Name]’s father. He had a large smile on his face, but he waited beside the two children.

[Name] sped up her pace, hugging her father once he came at arm length. “It’s been too long.” He mumbled.

Chuckling, [Name] pulled away. “It’s only been a few months.”

“I know.” He smiled at his daughter. “But you know I worry about you. Especially after Salo’s death.”

[Name] grimaces at the mention of him. “I’m doing much better without him.”

“I know. I just meant that you’re now raising Sasha all alone. And now you’re a councilor on top of that.” He expressed his worries.

“Dad, really, I’m fine.” She tried to extinguish his worries, knowing he never would be able to. Wanting to get over the topic of her dead husband, she turned to other things. Stepping aside, she allowed Sevika to join the conversation. “This is Sevika, she is one of my fellow councilors.”

“Ah right.” He said to himself, forgetting that [Name] was bringing. “It’s nice to finally meet you! [Name] has told us quite a bit about you.”

“She has?” Sevika asked with a cocky grin.

[Name] was more than embarrassed, but she could only hide it with a confident smile. Her father continued, making it even worse. “Oh yes! I am very thankful for your help with all that council stuff. She’s also told us about-”

[Name] was quick to cut her father off. “Where’s mom and Max? I was expecting them to be meeting us.”

“Oh right.” He exclaimed, forgetting to explain that. “They’re in a meeting. So I just thought that I would bring Agalea with me.”

“Maybe we should start heading over?” [Name] asked, just wanting to get home.

[Name] and her father talked as they walked their way to the castle in the distance. Sevika stayed quiet, only talking when talked to. She could immediately tell that this was a new [Name]. The real [Name]. One that didn’t have to pretend to be anything other than herself.

While the adults were talking, Sasha and Agalea were telling each other what fun things had happened in the past few months. It then turned into who had been having the most fun and had the better story.

“Well I made a cool new friend.” Sasha crossed her arms. “And she’s been teaching me self defence.”

Agaela looked shocked. “My dad won't even allow me to touch a sword.”

“That’s her.” Sasha whispered, pointing at Sevika. “Under her cloak is a mechanical arm.”

“She looks so cool.” Agalea looked admiringly at Sevika. “I wanna see her metal arm!”

“She only shows it to me.” Sasha huffed, wanting to be special.

“No fair!” Agalea whined.

Sevika had overheard the whole conversation. Looking over her shoulder to look at the two girls. They immediately noticed that they were caught. Agalea got bashful, looking away from Sevika; While Sasha only gave her a bright smile.

Sevika chuckled, putting her attention back on [Name]’s conversation. Agalea and Sasha immediately went back to discussing Sevika, trying to be quieter, but they weren’t at all.

They arrived at the castle gates. Sevika was stunned at just how big the building was. It was bigger than the council building, and that was an office building, but this is a home. She knew [Name] was rich, but this kind of wealth was incomprehensible.

The doors to the castle opened, revealing an older woman and a man that couldn’t be much older than [Name]. [Name] left her fathers side, running up and hugging the woman first, and then went to the man. Sevika could only assume that it was [Name]’s mother and brother.

She walked up to the group that was exchanging warm words. The man, who was known as Maxwell. He gave Sevika a wide smile, walking up and reaching his left hand out to shake hers.

“You must be Sevika.” He greeted, waiting for her to shake his hand.

She only glared down at his hand. To shake it, she would have to reveal the weapon that hung off her shoulder, and she could possibly chop his hand off. “I am.” Is the only way that she responded.

[Name] walked up to them, leaving her mom to bombard Sasha with kisses to her face. “She doesn’t have a left hand idiot.” She told her brother while rolling her eyes.

Maxwell made a shocked face as he switched what hand he used to shake. Sevika then grasped his hand, shaking it briefly. “[Name] has told me that you’re new to the council. How are you liking it?”

“It’s been frustrating working with such idiots.” Sevika didn’t like how chummy he was being, after just meeting, thinking that he had other motivations. Sevika clarified what she meant. “All except [Name].”

[Name] gave a small smile at the exclusion. “The situation in Piltover reminded me of what we had gone through.” [Name] explained to Maxwell. “Since you too quickly rose to power, I thought you could bond over it.”

Sevika huffed, rolling her eyes. She didn’t see how they could have anything in common with her.

“These are all discussions that should be held over a mug of beer.” Maxwell whined, preferring to be drunk. He had a slight issue, whether he knew it or not.

“That’s what tonight is for.” [Name] smiled, knowing that they would like one another once they shared a beer together.

The mention of them getting drunk together piqued Sevika’s interest. [Name] told her that she had to be on her best behavior around her family, but she knew that with a little alcohol in her system, her eyes would most definitely wonder.

Maxwell was called away by a guard, as next in line he was always busy. It left [Name] and Sevika alone, as [Name] showed Sevika to her room. “I know you just met all of them, but how do you like them?” [Name] asked, her family meant a lot to her and Sevika was becoming an important person in her life, so she wanted to make sure that they were getting along.

“I haven’t talked to them enough.” Sevika flatly responded. “I didn’t get to talk to your mom.”

“Yeah.” [Name] huffed. “She does that the second she gets her hands on Sasha.”

“Her liking of me seemed to double.” Sevika told, talking about Agalea’s newfound admiration.

“They’re very close.” [Name] explained. “They tend to start liking the same things.”

“I can tell.” Sevika let the smallest smirk get through.

“Don’t worry though, Sasha spends most of her time here with my sister in law or mother.” [Name] told. She stopped in front of a door. The one that would be Sevika's room. She chewed at the corner of her lip. “So that means that we can finally have some alone time.”

[Name] batted her eyelashes at Sevika, giving a cunning smirk. Sevika took it as a sign to go in for a kiss, leaning into her. But she was met with nothing as [Name] backed up. “But you need to settle in first.”

Sevika’s face contorted in frustration. [Name] was edging her, making her wait for it. She couldn’t understand why [Name] wouldn’t allow her to just drag her into the room and show her how she really feels.

[Name] was slowly backing up more. “My room is right next door.” She informed, but ‘right next door’ was almost halfway down the hallway. “So just knock if you need anything.”

Sevika watched ask [Name] turned away, there was a bit of sway in her hips as she made her way to her room. Sevika opened the door to the room she would be staying in. She was met with a room that was bigger than her whole apartment.

She spent hours, lounging around the room, trying to find something to do other than nothing. As the sun began to descend, there was a knock on the door. When she opened the door, [Name] stood there in completely different clothes, ones that closer matched the style of Sembyr. Sevika didn’t mind at all as it revealed more of her body than any of her old clothes ever could.

“We’re about to leave for the bar.” [Name] told Sevika. “If you still want to join, of course.”

“This is all I’ve been waiting for.” Sevika added, walking past [Name] into the hall.

They quietly made their way down to the foyer, where Max stood with another man. They were conversing but when they saw [Name] and Sevika out of the corner of their eye, they stopped, turning their attention to them.

“This is my friend Orionn.” [Name] introduced. “He is also currently one of the king's guards.”

Orionn awkwardly waved as Sekiva nodded to acknowledge him. They walked out of the castle, heading towards the gate. Orionn and Maxwell walked in the front, going back to their conversation. [Name] and Sevika walked behind them by a few steps, not talking.

“How are you liking Sembyr?” [Name] asked.

“I haven’t seen much.” Sevika said, as she was in the room for the past few hours.

[Name] nodded her head. “Well you’ll see the heart of Sembyr soon!”

“A bar is the heart of Sembyr?” Sevika asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yep!” [Name] smiled. “It didn’t use to be. It was the headquarters for the revolution. When we won, it became one of the biggest hotspots in the city.”

“So your family were revolutionaries?” Sevika asked, still not getting the whole story still.

[Name] nodded “My mother became the head of the revolution. When we won she ascended to the throne.”

“And the revolutionaries were okay with another monarchy after the last one oppressed them?” Sevika asked.

“Yeah.” [Name] awkwardly answered, seeming a bit unsure of the reasoning. “My mother was royalty. She was supposed to be heir but knew she would just be controlled by everyone around her so she ran away. The revolutionaries convinced her to join the cause. And the rest is history.”

Sevika’s brows furrowed, still confused at why people would act in such a way, yet it was exactly what happened with her. They wanted independence but instead Sevika joined them. The closer they got to the bar, the more crowded it got. Many people watched the group, as it wasn’t every day you got to see the royals out and about.

The bar was not what Sevika thought it would be. She was expecting some fancy uptight bar, but it looked like any normal one. When they entered, it was packed, having to squeeze past people to get through.

To make sure they didn’t get separated as they walked to the back, [Name] grabbed Sevika’s hand. Sevika was shocked at the sudden physical contact as [Name] pulled her along. Maxwell and Orionn got lost in the crowd, so it was just now [Name] and Sevika.

Once they made it up to the bar [Name] let go of Sevika’s hand. They were at the very edge of the bar, as [Name] waved down one of the bartenders. They both ordered drinks, staying in their spot as they waited.

“I didn’t think it would be this packed.” [Name] admitted.

“The last drop has never been like this.” Sevika added.

Once they got their drinks [Name] they silently stood while drinking. Feeling looser, [Name] began to sway to the music. Sevika smirked at her as she quickly finished her drink. Before she could order another, [Name] placed hers down, grabbing Sevika’s hand again.

Leading Sevika to the dance floor, she began to dance. Due to the amount of people around, they were basically pressed up against one another. “Come on? Don’t you want to dance?”

“I don’t.” Sevika deadpanned, standing still as [Name] continued to sway to the music.

“Awe come on now.” [Name] pouted, grabbing her arm, and used it to spin herself.

Sevika’s cold stare softened as [Name] enjoyed herself, staring into Sevika’s eyes, drawing her in. She huffed, slowly swaying back and forth. [Name] could only smile, happy to have someone join her.

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Overall Masterlist

Discord link

#sevika arcane #salo arcane #arcane #arcane season 2 spoilers #arcane s2 #sevika x y/n #sevika x female reader #sevika x reader #sevika

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loriannbowman · 10 months ago

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Honkai: Star Rail X Arknights | Yandere!Sunday X Sankta!Reader

You had no idea how you got to this city of bright lights and sounds. Music seems to pour in from every corner and building. The last thing you remember, is Doctor Loriann sent you to the rec-room and you decided to take a little nap. And now you're 'awake' in this bizarre and unknown city. What seems like thousands of people swarm the streets. Just where the hell are you?

"Excuse me? Are you lost?~" a sweet voice asks you.

You whip your head around to see a man with a halo... and wings sprouting from his head? Sankta have wings, yes, but never from their head... At least not the ones you've met, and you've met quite a few.

"U-Um... Y-Yeah..." you stutter out, unsure if talking to a stranger in a strange place is the best idea.

He looks at you, focusing his gaze on you. You can almost feel the deep set eyes burning into your soul.

"U-Uh... S-Sir...? Why are you-"

His stare grows harder before he looks away, letting out a sigh.

"Are you not a Halovian?"

"Ha-what? Is that some different title for a Sankta?"

"Sankta...?" he whispers under his breath. "You have a halo."

"Y-Yeah... I do..."

"So are you not a Halovian?"

"No."

His eyes seem to sharpen and a small scowl crosses his body.

He steps closer to you. You have no idea what he plans to do until-

He reaches out and touches your halo. You can't help but yelp at the cool touch from his gloved hands.

"So you can feel my touch."

You swat his hand.

"Of course I can!"

"Interesting..."

You push his away, trying to make space.

"A-Anyway, sir, do you know where I am?"

The man tilts his head confused.

"You're in Penacony."

"Pena-wha-? What's with all these names?! Never mind... D-Do you know how I got here?"

"... Did you not enter a dream pool?"

"Dream pool?! Are you-" you shake your head, now is not the time to be rude to someone, "No, no I didn't. The last thing I remember was being on the Rhodes Island Land Ship and going to take a nap."

"Rhodes Island...? I've never heard of that."

"What? Even very secluded people know of Rhodes Island..."

The man hums slightly.

"Interesting... it seems as though... we have a stowaway..."

"Stowaway?! I didn't even mean to come here!"

"Yes, I can clearly see that, however I still need to take you into custody for the protection of the Family and the citizens of Penacony. Though, as a head of the Family myself, I will be taking you with me. It's best if no one else knows of this, it might cause anxiety amongst the people."

"So I'm getting arrested... cool. Doctor, when I get back, you're getting kicked."

❥ Sunday doesn't understand how or why you got here. He monitors the coming and going of every person that enters the dreamscape, and the reverie.

❥ Sunday is confused. He tried to communicate with you through telepathy to keep the conversation privet, yet... you couldn't connect to him.

❥ Sunday keeps you under custody. That custody, however, his by his side at all times. He wants to understand what is with you.

❥ Sunday, who's every thought is slowing shifting to figuring you out. How did you come here? Where are you from? Why do you also have a halo? Why do you know nothing of Aeons and Paths?

❥ Sunday who can't help but itch wanting to pick you apart.

❥ Sunday who doesn't want to let you go, because if you do, he fears he may never see you again, he may never figure out this mystery.

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guilty-cheese · 1 year ago

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Going back to my roots and writing. (Haven’t written fan fiction for 3 years 💀). Anyway the One Piece Live Action has caused me to become very active on tumblr and fall down rabbit holes.

So here is a little Drabble about Shanks x Luffy’sMom!reader

A/N: LMFAO I DIDN’T KNOW ANY OP PLOT RLY BEFORE WRITING THIS AND I KNOW KNOW LUFFY’S FATHER IS GARP’S CHILD NOT HIS MOM 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

Being the daughter of a marine admiral meant that she grew up with an instilled hatred for pirates. Garp put her through training early on in hopes he could mold her to become a great marine like himself.

She developed fighting skills and had a strong sense of justice. That was until she went out on a mission in her teens to monitor a suspicious group of pirates. The other marines she went on the mission with decided to take their anger out on said pirates beating them to a pulp. A nasty feeling resonated within her chest as she watched her fellow marines serve their definition of justice.

That night made her start to hate the marines and the sham they were. She disconnected herself from Garp and moved to Foosha Village to start her own life away from the marines and her father.

She was very wary of pirates still. Always held onto some lingering fear for them deep down, always looked behind her back.

On the island she bought a quaint cottage and began her own garden in hopes to sustain herself without having to rely on the villagers for supplies.

After a couple of years, she found her place on the island and even become well know for her fruits and vegetables. She always brought her fresh produce to the market each morning, where she had a cute booth. The villagers adored her and also took interest in her mysterious past.

She sometimes found herself going to Party’s Bar after she made good friends with the bartender, Makino. They would talk about all there was to talk about on the island. Sailors, pirates, bandits all passed through.

However one day, old memories began resurfacing. Ones she thought she repressed long ago. She ended up going to Party’s Bar to get shit faced in hopes of shutting everything out.

At the same time as she was downing drink after drink, some sailors stopped on by at the bar. One of them was clearly very interested in her. So in her drunken state she let the man take her to an inn on the island to stay the night.

She didn’t think much of that night until one day she started feeling unbearable nausea. She went to the doctor and found out that she had gotten pregnant.

That was 9 years ago. Her small cottage now occupied by her and Luffy. She absolutely adores Luffy and would do anything for him. Sure he would frustrate her here and there but she was his mother and she loved him more than anything.

She was keen on Luffy’s interest in pirates and sailing the ocean. She decided to not share her own reservations about pirates, as she wanted Luffy to establish his own opinions when she herself couldn’t at his age.

a pirate ship became very well known around Foosha Village. A grand ship with a Jolly Roger with 3 lines across the left eye. She was aware of their presence but didn’t take mind as long as they didn’t interfere with her.

Often Luffy would come back late for dinner beaming about the stories he heard from a man named “Shanks”. She learned that he was the captain of the ship that housed itself at the docks.

With a simple reminder of him to be careful she encouraged Luffy to learn more about Shanks and his crew.

One day while she was at her booth in town, a red-haired male approached her. Instantly she noticed how cute he was and how the white shirt he wore let her admire his toned muscles.

With a blush she darted her eyes back to his face and he deeply chuckled. She smiled, “How can I help you today sir?”

“I’m looking to purchase most of your stock,” he smirked at her.

She quirked her head to the side and smiled, “Either your throwing a big party or heading out to sea.”

“Maybe both,” the red-head shrugged.

She giggled and began showing him the crates of fresh produce. He handed her some berry, “got any plans tonight?”

She blushed, “no, none really. Probably just going to make some dinner for me and my son.”

His smile faltered a bit at the last part, “Ah, I presume your married then. Sorry if my advances made you uncomfortable.”

She threw up her hands in dismissal, “Oh no. You didn’t make me uncomfortable. Actually your advances are quite welcome,” she leaned on the counter, “and don’t worry there is no husband you have to worry about.”

“Aye, how lucky am I?”

She smirked, “quite lucky”

He chuckled and leaned forward towards her, “I never introduced myself. The name’s Shanks.”

Her eyes widened a bit and her body shifted away from him. He quirked his eyebrows at this, confused by her sudden change in composure.

“..pirate,” she quietly murmured to herself. Shanks in hearing this now understood her sudden shift. “I can assure you sweetheart,” he grabbed her hands gently, “I’m a very good pirate.”

Her eyes lightened and body relaxed at his touch. And with a slight apology she told him her name. “Only a beautiful name such as that can suit a beautiful woman such as you.”

She blushed. “It’s scary how much you’re flustering me. I don’t think I would let you leave this island if you keep this up.”

“I wouldn’t mind staying a while.”

“I think my son would like that. He’s very fond of you. Your name graces our dinner table every night.” She rolls her eyes.

Shanks’ eyes widen a bit connecting the dots, “I presume Luffy is your son then?”

“Aye”

“That make sense now. He did say his mother was wary of pirates because she used to be a marine. And looking at you now, I’m glad you’re not one anymore because you’re way too beautiful.” He kissed her knuckles.

Her face turned red. “Please take me out to dinner before I pass out from how flustered you’re making me.”

“As you wish, sweetheart.”

#red haired shanks #shanks x reader #shanks #one piece x reader #one piece #one piece live action #opla #opla shanks

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sgiandubh · 8 months ago

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Last minute Swifties

Contrary to what many thought and some posted, I do think the OL cast's Taylor Swift experience was a last minute promo idea, very much monitored by *** and Tall Ships. I was wrong about minder/security guy (still, eerie...) and I never have a problem publicly admitting it. But quite unlikely I am wrong about this one. And sorry for the length, but you know how I am when I am looking for something, right?

Let's unpack: cast thanked the 'organizers' (and minders, really) in very specific terms, leaving NO much doubt:

Louisa McCulloch. Remember this name, we shall meet her in one hot minute. So thank you Louisa and Maril for organizing this: ask yourselves why did Maril, who (as far as I know) is based in the US, have to come to Edinburgh just for the gig. Damage control, perhaps?

And Sophie S., with a remarkable choice of words:

'Thank you ***, TS and her team for making it happen'. In my book, this means a strong, common effort to secure the box last minute. Because 'making it happen' means exactly that: 'need to do everything you can to facilitate it'.

Clearly Skelton, who is a Swiftie in her own right, was particularly appreciative of the efforts it took to ensure everyone could attend the concert. If that were a long planned event, her enthusiasm would have been more temperate, I think. 'Adding more Swifties to the clan' - LOL, Sophie, you mean S and C had no idea of the lyrics and were unable to sing along with you, John Bell, Izzy and Co (I keep forgetting their names and I like them a lot, in the show)? People of my generation are already too damn old for Taylor S. And this different sort of music might be more of S's real preference: otherwise why post it in his stories, as if to say ' TS is a different thing altogether'?

James. A Manchester rock band, formed in 1982, popular in the Nineties. I see no lies: he was clear 'JAMMF is a Swiftie'. And we are, after all, Children of the Nineties, not TS's crowd. And yes, I knew S was into the same kind of music as I was, in the Nineties (he seems to have stayed put, right there, unlike me, LOL):

Anyways, back to the mysterious woman up and front on three pictures in a row, that got many speculating. Nope, that was not Wendy, the MUA and S's bestie:

Once...

... Twice...

... Three times a lady:

Her name is Louisa McCulloch, née Radcliffe and she is the one S thanked, along with Maril (see above). It was a bit hard finding her, because her IG account is private. But I found her alright on Facebook, and then LinkedIn (of course):

Based in Lockerbie, Scotland. 20 years experience as a media publicist:

Worked with *** and Tall Ships since Season 3, after a short stint as Head of Publicity at the Paramount Pictures London Office. Got promoted from Unit Publicist to Publicist during COVID, for Season 6. So yes, she is the one who made it happen, locally, on what I think was a quite short notice.

Attention successfully diverted. Impeccable timing and giving a younger crowd what it wants. Trying to capitalize on TS's huge Instagram fan base: 283 million followers (wow! I had no fucking idea she was so huge). A win-win situation for just about everyone and an elegant way out from sordid waters:

And it worked. Lost among the hundred of thousands of likes and comments, look who's jumping on the bandwagon:

Sharon Stone. With a Blue Check and her 3.9 million Instagram fanbase. A Nineties deity, need I remind you (this blogger spotted her during the Berlinale 2007, while I was going out for drinks, blissfully unaware we were all staying at The Adlon, LOL)?

They mutually follow each other on Insta, by the way. I wonder why *urv did not pounce on that one. I feel robbed, for once, of a wonderful fanfic.

[Later edit] Several comments take on this person without a proper justification. I am editing this post to remind you she is only responsible for the implementation (in Scotland) of decisions taken elsewhere (in the United States of America). She is NOT a decision maker and as Publicist, was probably responsible for the local implementation of a hasty decision to attend an event (secure VIP box at Murrayfield, sell content to the local press). The direct contact with TS's team was, very likely, Maril and upwards, in the hierarchy. In all fairness, she has nothing to do with a billboard spotted in Los Angeles, USA - nothing of the sort in Europe. I am all for taxing, but let's tax people who are really RESPONSIBLE: she is just a very well paid underling. Thank you all, I am sure you understand fairness can only add to our credibility as a group.

#fandom #shitshow #TS Edinburgh 2024

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weirdly-specific-but-ok · 4 months ago

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Morning News with Asmi 14 Oct '24

OOPS I FORGOT TO MAKE A POST YESTERDAY AND SO I GUESS 13TH OCTOBER WILL REMAIN A MYSTERY FOREVER. AAAAAA. ANYWAY HI IT'S TECHNICALLY MORNING OF 15TH TODAY BUT IT'S TOO EARLY TO CARE IT'S 14TH IN TEXAS MMKAY.

1. HURRICANE UPDATE: PEOPLE ARE NOW SHIPPING THE TWO HURRICANES. THERE'S FANART BASED ON THE VAGUE FACE SHAPES THEY MADE?? EVERYTHING IS FINE.

2. I MANAGED TO SURVIVE A VERY SMALL BIT OF THE SPICIEST CHIP IN THE WORLD EVEN THOUGH MY FRIEND WHO LIKES SPICY FOOD ATE THE SAME SIZE TEENY BIT.

3. THE BIRD, REDDIT, FLEW BACK HOME TO ITS HUMANS ON SUNDAY?? ITS HUMANS WERE THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS FOR THE PLOT NEXT DOOR? SO... THE BIRD JUST WANTED A GODDAMN NIGHT AWAY AS A HOLIDAY WHILE ITS HUMANS WERE SEARCHING FRANTICALLY FOR IT?? IM

4. MY FRIEND INTRODUCED ALIEN STAGE TO ME LAST NIGHT (YEAH THREE OF US JUST RANDOMLY HAD A SLEEPOVER ON A MONDAY EVENING ART SCHOOL IS FINE WE'RE FINE) AND AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH IVAN MY BELOVED AAAAAH SUA AAAAA MIZI (FOR OUR PRINTMAKING CLASS, THE FRIEND--THE SAME ONE WHO THOUGHT TUMBLR WAS DEAD--MADE FANART OF THEM) OH NAAAAAAY CLEMATISSS AAAA

5. NORTH KOREA IS ABOUT TO ATTACK SOUTH KOREA APPARENTLY?

6. SOMEONE NAMED DAVID ALABA HAD AN INJURY WHICH MIGHT AFFECT HIS CHANCES AS REAL MADRID. WHAT THE FUCK IS REAL MADRID? FOOTBALL? CAR RACING? BASKETBALL? YAHTZEE?

7. I FINALLY LEARNED HOW TO PLAY UNO AND I WON THE FIRST PROPER GAME I PLAYED AND IT WAS OF UNO FLIP IM A GENIUS

AND NOW FOR THE WEATHER AND I SWEAR I WILL NOT FORGET ANY CONTINENTS THIS TIME

1. Australia: Hot and stinky. Just like me. I didn't shower yesterday.

2. Asia: Wet. Water. Wet wet sploosh. But not the ao3 way.

3. North America: Hurricane gay porn season I guess.

4. South America: Cloudy with a chance of moqueca.

5. Antarctica: ...still green. I wonder why my brain said piss-coloured. Green isn't piss. I mean. Piss isn't green. It's too early for this.

6. Europe: COZ IT'S TOO COLD FOR YOU HERE AND NOW SO LET ME HOLD BOTH YOUR HANDS IN THE HOLES OF MY SWEATER

7. Africa: The sun peeks out uwu from clouds

AND THE ANSWERS TO SATURDAYS CROSSWORD:

1. Baby food that adults can be allergic to: Milk. Well. It's not an allergy, it's an intolerance. Which involves different biological processes and not being able to digest it rather than the body reacting to an allergen. Shhhh. I never claimed to be smart.

2. Makes shitty copper: El-Nair (thanks @arkytiorlecter for that wild ride)

3. A condition that causes strong reactions to panic and pain at certain sounds: Misophonia (ily mad thanks for educating me @falling-raine)

4. A decaying virtual room of insanity orgies from the 10's: Tumblr

5. With ____, anything is possible: BARBIE!

IM TOO LAZY TO MAKE A CROSSWORD SO INSTEAD HAVE THE LESBIANS I PAINTED FOR MY PRINT-MAKING (MY OC'S)

AND BANGALORE PALACE WHICH I VISITED ON SUNDAY:

I LOVE YOU FORGIVE ME FOR MY NEGLIGENCE HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY/NIGHT MAGGOTS OF MINE

#morning news #castle #lesbian art #hurricane milton #hurricane helene #weirdly specific but ok #asmi #maggots #what is even happening #tumblr

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freaksnvans · 7 months ago

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A 30-year-old Christian Fujoshi With a PhD's Thoughts on Team Fortress 2 Shipping.

Here I will be providing my thoughts and opinions on my personal favorite Team Fortress 2 ships. I do not know who will be interested in my speakings, but I am branching out into this beautiful fandom like a great oak tree. Haters can "suck an egg," and I do hope that saying is not an euphemism for anything of the less appropriate variety! Please be ready for a very long and verbose post.

How Did I, freaksnvans, Become Interested in Such a Thing?

An Introduction to Me.

I am indeed a Christian woman, and I self-identify as a Fujoshi. That may seem contradicting, but it is not. I ship the mercenaries from Team Fortress 2 in a good and god-honoring way, and I will not tolerate any negative speak of the Lord in my comments and/or reblogs. As for myself, you may only know me as freaksnvans. I chose that name because My favorite ship, as you may be able to discern from such a screen name, is Trucks n' Vans. The "Freak" part comes from a childhood nickname I was given in elementary school... the Freak. That is very traumatic to me, so I mustn't delve into the details. Moving on.

Where It All Started.

In 2007, I was vaguely interested in the game, having heard whispers of it from sites like YouTube as well as my male classmates. I was Thirteen years old, therefore in middle school. Team Fortress was, without a doubt, popular with middle school aged boys at the time of its release. Being curious as to what the "hype" (am I using this Gen Z slang correctly?) was, I googled Team Fortress 2. I had no, and will still never have any, interest in first-person shooter games. I do not like to kill things. I am a god-honoring woman. However, seeing the image of seven strong and mysterious men, (I am indeed disregarding the Scout, as he is not strong nor is he a man, he is a weak and pathetic boy.) I was indeed intrigued.

I, before then, had minor experiences with fandom spaces, having been interested in Harry Potter at the time. I read fan-fiction occasionally. However, I felt no interest toward fan-fiction and pairings of the homosexual variety. My favorite ship to read fan-fiction of was Dramione. I imagined myself as Hermione. My readings of fan-fiction were in fact very self-serving. I became gradually interested in Team Fortress 2 when the fandom was in its infancy. (If you are wondering as to how I never interacted with the fandom before now, or used "social media," that is because I was not allowed to at such an age, and had a fear of doing so up until adulthood. Please do not shame me.)

Back to the topic of Team Fortress! I began searching for fan art of my favorite characters - which, then, were Medic and Soldier. I longed for the Soldier to hold me in his strong arms. I secretly desired for Medic to perform cruel and unusual acts of surgery upon my body. That is a common sentiment shared upon fans of Medic now, I have found. I thought I was alone!

Anyways... At some point, I began to discover Team Fortress fan-fiction. I was extremely intrigued by my discoveries. I, being a pre-fangirl with no real interest in shipping between the mercenaries yet, read "x reader" fan-fiction. However, the extreme abundance of slash fiction made stories of the homosexual variety completely and utterly unavoidable. I naively decided to read just one story of such a kind. I do believe it was a HeavyMedic fic. It was like a fujosplosion inside my mind. I quickly became hooked on reading M/M Team Fortress fan-fiction, scouring sites such as FFN to find more.

That does seem to be how I became interested in gay pairings in Team Fortress 2.

Ok, then what are your favorites? Stop rambling, woman.

Why would you say that to me? Anyways, over the years, I have been particularly drawn to three different pairings.

the first would of course be Trucks n' Vans.

It may be obvious that is my favorite. Actually, I think I already mentioned that it is, ha ha! Anyways. Trucks n' Vans has captivated me ever since I was a young girl. First of all, Sniper is skinny and mildly pathetic, while Engineer is a beautiful fit man. He is also Southern, which I am too. I became interested in this pairing because I imagined Engineer teaching Sniper the ways of God and life in the South. He would show Sniper the beauty and joy of a good old peach cobbler. Which he clearly needs, because I do have a burning hatred for Australians. Sniper is an exception. Anyways.

I have also found great interest in HeavyMedic.

Of course I have. I was interested in this fandom from the day it was created, you silly goose, of course I love HeavyMedic. They were meant to be. Please don't tell God that I said this but I wish I was between them as they kissed. I am short enough for that, being a meager five-foot-one, and generally petite. Well, um, sorry to cut that short, but I am having an extremely bad nosebleed at the moment. Because I thought too hard about HeavyMedic with me sandwiched int he middle. I may as well complete typing this post up, because it's not that bad, but I may make typos here and there. There is blood on my keyboard. Oh Dear. LOL!

My Other Thoughts.

I do believe that Team Fortress shipping is what made me more tolerant of people leading a homosexual lifestyle. When I see gay people in the streets I no longer recoil in disgust as my parents taught me, but I remember that they are people too. Just like Team Fortress 2 in real life. I did meet lots of gay people in college, when I was learning and working toward my PhD in philosophy. Most of the men there did not interest me, because they looked too much like Scout and not enough like a handsome Soldier.

As detailed in my previous post, there are many people who hold disdain for fangirls, or generally people who ship and read fan-fiction. I did experience some of this in college and high school. In middle school, I was very secretive about my fan-fiction and fandom activities. I didn't even have any online friends. The only people I knew who had any interest in Team Fortress 2 were boys at school, who thought I was a freak of nature for being interested in gay scenarios between the mercenaries. I once had lemonade thrown on my brand-new white pants because I was caught reading a HeavyMedic fan-fiction in class. I wanted to die. Please, Lord, excuse my language...FUCK you, Jared. I have violent fantasies regarding him sometimes. As a result of that, I was called gay pee-girl for the rest of the year. I had to move schools because nobody called me by my name, and I was only known as the gay pee-girl. It was definitely worse than "freak."

That may be it from me today. There's so much blood. I think it is not just a normal nosebleed. Oh goodness

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #Do not call me gay peegirl or i will take legal action

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marlynnofmany · 1 year ago

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A Mystery Easily Solved

I’ve got to say, one of the best things about working on a courier spaceship is the downtime. Sure, some deliveries need constant monitoring, and some days we all need to multitask on other moneymaking ventures to make ends meet. But other times we’re doing fine moneywise, and there’s a nice long span of time until we reach our destination.

Today I was spending that time reading in the crew lounge, lying sideways on the couch so I didn’t fall through the tail gap, with Telly the ship’s cat purring against me.

Originally she was The Human’s Animal, restricted to my quarters, but that didn’t last long. Her adorable nature and pestcatching abilities won over everybody, even those of the crew who had exoskeletons that couldn’t properly appreciate how soft her fur was.

I was stroking that mismatched fur with one hand and holding up my reading tablet with the other when Mur walked quietly through.

(I say walk, though really there should be a different word entirely for movement that involves that many tentacles slapping against the floor.)

Anyways, I didn’t really pay attention. I was busy reading, and the lounge was open to anyone. Apparently the rest of the crew had other things to do, which was really their loss.

I didn’t notice when he walked by the first time, but when he came back, he was moving weirdly slowly. I peered around the tablet.

Is he trying to sneak up on somebody out in the hall? I wondered. He wasn’t looking at me, and the expression on his blue-black squid face was one of frowning concentration. I didn’t interrupt.

He moved into the hall, and did indeed have a conversation with someone there, but it was a hushed one that made me even more curious. I lowered the tablet as Mur came back in the company of Paint.

She also looked serious — a mottled orange lizardy person who was colored like the Painted Sunset she was named for, and who was rarely quiet or still. She seemed to be looking for something.

“What’s up?” I whispered. Telly flicked an ear, but only settled in deeper, still purring in a way that said she wasn’t going to give up her comfy spot any time soon. I kept stroking her while I set the tablet on the end table.

“There’s a mystery sound,” Paint whispered back. “Mur said it sounded like an engine problem.”

“We shouldn’t be able to hear any engines in this room, at least not that loud,” Mur said. “Did somebody leave a bit of machinery under a table?”

He seemed honestly baffled, and I hid a smile as it dawned on me what they might be hearing. “Which direction is it coming from?” I asked. “Is it over here?”

They did some careful listening and moved closer.

Mur climbed up on a chair. “Are you doing it??”

I shook my head, grinning and still petting the cat. “No, but you’re close.”

Paint moved in with her head turned sideways for listening. “Oh!”

“Oh what?” Mur demanded.

I shifted position just enough to disturb Telly, who stopped purring and raised her head with a meow of objection.

Paint laughed. “It’s the cat!”

Mur pressed tentacles against his own face. “I can’t believe I forgot they make engine noises.”

“They do,” I said with immense satisfaction, petting Telly again. “And I believe that serves you right for the tentacle-pop noise I couldn’t figure out awhile ago.”

He sighed like a deflating balloon. “Yeah okay, that’s fair.”

“How does she do that?” Paint asked, joining me in running a hand across Telly’s fur. “Oh, she’s so warm!”

Paint’s people are called Heatseekers for a reason. I told her, “She might sit on your lap if you’re still.”

Paint was of course delighted by this idea. Mur threw several tentacles in the air and declared he was off to do something productive with his time.

“Have fun!” I said. “We’ll be here petting the engine noises.”

He grumbled as he left. Telly made more sleepy meows when she was moved from one spot to another, but with two pairs of hands giving her ear scritches and attention, she settled down again.

Her purrs were loud, and Paint’s grin was full of joy.

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come! And I am currently drafting a sequel!

#my writing #The Token Human #humans are weird #haso #hfy #eiad #humans are space orcs #cats #the sequel book is going well btw #just wrote a long conversation about food #and those are always fun in a multispecies setting

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rosaharazu · 7 months ago

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Merlin Mysteries

This is the most genius title, I swear you guys, Im so proud of it.

Anyways....Magister Merlin.

First off, let's just appreciate the premise given to them.

A powerful, well-respected, legendary mage for as long as history can remember. But the twist is...they're amnesic. I think it's such a high stepping stone in making AFK Journey's MC a standout to other MC's of games alike.

Thanks to that, we aren't even Merlin's actual form, hence being able to customize our character to our liking as Merlin is using disguising spells.

But let's see their past shall we. Second:

So like, have you ever looked at the very tiny text at the bottom whenever you load into the game? There are like, two things about Merlin. I'm sure someone else has pointed these out, but I'll list it anyways. (i think there's three, but I've seen to have forgotten the third one and I ain't checking it out)

Merlin harnessed the leftovers of powers from the War and named it 'magic'.

Merlin was a part of the council in discussing terms of after the Immortal War.

So from this....Merlin may or may not be immortal themselves. Or, if we take a look at the opening sequence of the game, someone pointed out that Merlin may be reincarnated throughout time over and over again. Someone on youtube even thought Merlin could be a hypogean.

If that's the case...it's really tragic.

Merlin is a...wait, lemme check from AFK Arena. WAIT-DIMENSIONALS WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!

There's also a huge plot in Arena's Merlin, but none of this makes sense to me. Let's ignore that~ O-O

Furthermore, whatever they are...they must be immortal or something like that. And that's harsh.

You know that one storyteller in Holistone? He describes Merlin as, some feared them, some respected, but their journey is a lonely one. That's just...implies that Merlin's missing something.

I'd like it if Merlin's quote is, "I feel like I'm missing something."

I'm in Remnant Peaks, and like, I have two more areas to go. It may or may not have something to do with Merlin, so as of I'm writing this, I have no idea.

Third. Now, what I would like to write is....Merlin's relationships.

I mean, yeah, you can ship them with Valen, Mirael, and so on. But...considering Merlin's possibility of being immortal, it would be sad really.

I feel like Merlin won't engage in romantic relationships because they know so well that her partner won't be able to stay as long as they do. Maybe that's why she has Chippy and Hammie by her side, which I searched up, that familiars live as long as their masters live.

I'd like to think that Merlin chose familiars to love, and while it's only platonically, I think that love is the most special thing to have for Merlin. Because at the very least, Merlin won't have to wake up one day and find that their familiars are gone.

Maybe she's lost a loved one before, and over and over again, and they're traumatized by it. You know, at this point you can just assume I'm talking about my version of Merlin.

Even if Merlin were to engage romantically, they would probably sought for immortals like them, hence Celestials or...Hypogeans, maybe. (for me at least)

(I mean, Wilders and Maulers also probably live for hundreds of years, but they still die- WHY IS THE LIFESPAN AND TIMELINE SO CONFUSING?!)

The idea of Merlin not wanting to lose their partner is kinda engraved in my mind and you can't stop me.

What I'm saying is, Merlin has done so many things over the years. Being recognized as Esperia's greatest mage. One of the professors at Casseedee's Academy. Their stories go all over the lands....

and in return....

Merlin lost something more valuable. Possibly their mortality and memories. I dead set that Merlin may have traded those in order to become the most powerful, and before they know it....they've lost quite a lot.

And as of present day, Merlin forgets again and again, and deep inside them, an immense sense of regret, longing, lost and hopelessness. So they try to focus on the present, and the people around them.

You know, it would be nice if Merlin's amnestic side is shown sometimes, but I guess that's too much work. Oh well. Would be a little interesting, though. Like, maybe more of Chippy and Hammie comforting us. Yes, please. I'd like that.

Man...the game started a few months ago, so Merlin's lore isn't exactly much...why did I even do this...?

Thanks for your time! Have a lovely day!

#afk journey #afk journey merlin #magister merlin #have a lovely day #i love my merlin you guys have no idea #i feel like its better if this was a commentary video #but i have no knowledge in video making whatsoever #byeeeeeeeeee

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satansapostle6 · 9 months ago

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love and blood | killian jones

The course of history is changed forever when a ruggedly charming pirate’s fate is intertwined with that of a dark sorceress more powerful than any he had ever encountered.

Warnings: Violence. Mature themes/language. Sexual content.

I. The Encounter

Killian Jones, the handsome pirate captain known by the crude moniker ‘Hook’ for his missing left hand, had never passed through any territory so treacherous as that of the Land of Blood. What else he was expecting, he had no idea. But the long treks through the territory had him perpetually on edge, even with his entire crew behind him. The Land of Blood was like nowhere the captain had ever ventured before, even in his years as a seafarer.

Hook had heard many things said about the realm that had only been referred to as the ‘Land of Blood’, many a gruesome and depraved tale, but only now did he begin to heed the warnings, the hushed whispers he remembered being spoken in dimly lit taverns. Hook was an adventurer; he never backed down from a challenge of any sort, and he certainly never abandoned a rewarding quest. But even he was off-put by the dark, foggy forests and the occasional, intermittent screams that would cut through the silence every now and then.

Captain Hook truly had no idea what those strangely paced screams could have been, or even which direction they were coming from. But he knew one thing; the less time spent in this godforsaken land, the better. Soon enough, a small but grating voice cut into Hook’s contemplation.

“Captain, pardon me, but shouldn’t we take a rest?”

Hook’s first mate, William Smee, had broken the men’s long silent streak. It had been almost an entire day since they had docked their ship.

“We’ve been over this, Mr. Smee,” Killian Jones said curtly. “These are not woods to lollygag in.”

Killian had mixed feelings about his own use of the word ‘lollygag’, but he committed anyway and doubled down on his display of authority.

“But we’re all so tired, Captain,” Smee complained still, stopping to scream and squat as a giant raven swooped over his head. “I-I asked the men. They’re not too afraid of the wolves.”

It had been hours since Killian had last eaten, and his first mate had just disrespected his authority for the last time.

“Listen to me, you insubordinate fuck,” Hook spat, turning around sharply.

Mr. Smee gulped frantically as the sharp metal hook that replaced his captain’s left hand was held under his chin, the point barely piercing his throat.

“I am your captain. I am your judge, jury, and executioner, for a reason; because you’re all a bunch of idiots. None of you could survive another second in this forest without me. But you’re welcome to try, if you want that rest so badly. The fact that wolves are what you lot think we have to be afraid of in these woods shows how little imagination you have,” Hook reminded the group.

The men all seemed to look at each other in fear as they suddenly remembered the magic that existed in the world.

“Now. Anyone feeling brave?” Hook questioned rhetorically, throwing his hands up in the air. “Anyone feeling like taking a rest?”

The silence and stillness of all the men answered his question for him.

“Alright. Now shut up, and keep behind me.”

The journey deeper into the realm continued in complete silence. No one felt like provoking their ornery captain any further. It seemed Hook was the only one who truly kept their goal in mind; they had journeyed to the Land of Blood solely for the purpose of finding a mysterious individual by the name of Col, in the City of Ash, who was said to possess something essential by the vague name of the ‘Blue Scroll’.

Hook had no idea what this scroll was, or even who this ‘Col’ person was. He knew nothing other than that basic information, even in regards to who had sent him and his men on this strange quest. He knew almost nothing of his client, a bizarre and secretive sorcerer who had promised an obscene quantity of diamonds to the men. Hook knew nothing of the cloaked sorcerer he had struck a deal with; he was only mostly certain that it was even a man.

But asking questions was never something Hook concerned himself with, thinking himself an ‘opportunistic’ individual. Hook would’ve retrieved that damned scroll for a dog, had it paid him enough. Hook wasn’t stupid; he knew that the journey through the Land of Blood alone would be more treacherous than anywhere he had ever traveled before.

He knew that the journey there would be difficult and treacherous with stormy weather and magical obstacles, which it was, and he knew that the Land of Blood itself was full of magical lawlessness he did not wish to stay long enough to understand. He had made sure that his and the crew’s compensation would be more than enough to justify the harrowing task ahead.

Hook knew nothing of Col, or of the inner workings of the infamous Land of Blood. Although he had heard rumors. He’d heard many rumors, mostly pertaining to the dark magic that resided within the land. Some rumors suggested that it was ruled by dark sorcerers who lured children and criminals such as Hook and his men to their deaths.

Many rumors also seemed to reflect that some believed that the land was ruled by vicious cannibals. Some rumors even claimed that the criminals and monsters themselves had since pillaged the land, and taken control, still to this day continued on murdering and raping as they pleased. Most of the rumors about the Land of Blood believed all of these things to be true.

Hook’s greatest fear in his travels was that he’d find out. It was only hours before he and the men, on pained and tired feet, reached civilization. If it could even be called that. Hook ascertained that this realm’s idea of civilization was not like most of the places one might travel to. Everything was just everywhere. There was no sense of structure, no order.

Killian could not tell the residences apart from the establishments, and neither seemed to be well-run. Every single one of the structures the men encountered were crudely built and prioritized functionality above all else, as if built from scraps in a hurry. They saw no people; they only heard them, in the alarming forms of scuffling feet, or loud bangs, or even piercing screams.

Killian had no idea what was actually going on in this strange, disenfranchised village, but he kept to himself, fiercely ordering all of the men to keep their heads down and their mouths shut so as to avoid trouble. They had only just arrived, but Killian was quickly gathering that this was the kind of place to be avoided even in broad daylight.

*****

It took another day or so, but eventually, Captain Hook and his men found their way into parts that more so resembled civilization. There were, at the very least, actual roads, and buildings, and the people could actually be seen and seemed relatively safe to talk to. The men had asked around for directions and found suitable inns and taverns to acquaint themselves with, preparing for the rest of their journey.

It was another three days before the men of he Jolly Roger arrived in a town near the City of Ash. Even in the safer heart of the Land of Blood, their travels were still embedded with danger. It was like nothing Killian Jones had ever seen; even those who could be considered well-off in comparison with the other denizens of this cursed land seemed to have this glimmer of spiteful desperation in their eyes.

Even when they spoke to Killian and his men in a civilized manner, giving directions, or offering hospitality, it seemed as if they were still itching and would’ve slit all their throats without hesitation if given a reason. Given those odd experiences, Hook told his men never to interact with anyone unless absolutely necessary.

All of the people that they encountered were, at best, strange and off-putting, and at worst, violent and sadistic. Many of these strangers seemed to notice Hook and his men automatically, but luckily, none of them acted upon it.

Although they had all kept to themselves, the men had witnessed countless stabbings, magical duels, and other unusual acts of violence in the Land of Blood. Hook dreaded their arrival in the City of Ash, because he knew it meant they’d have to start asking questions once again. Luckily, their interactions were ideal, as far as the Land of Blood; just strange and unpleasant.

A man in a cloak had pointed them east toward the larger city, and Hook had thanked him promptly before they headed in that direction. He had been questioning the decision to take directions from all the seemingly untrustworthy locals ever since they had arrived, but nothing had happened so far. One thing that he was noticing was that almost everyone they had met was wearing a long, dark cloak, as if concealing themselves from the word.

None of his men had cloaks, himself included, and Hook was beginning to feel very uneasy as they reached the city. Once they had found themselves in the City of Ash, where it seemed to be lightly snowing for some reason, Hook took upon himself to ask a question of the nearby local he found to be the least threatening.

The longer they stayed, the more Killian became assured of the truth behind the cannibal rumors; everyone looked at them hatefully and hungrily as they passed through, from the beggars on the ground to the shop owners who Killian frankly had no idea what they actually sold, given the state of things.

There was a man in a burgundy cloak standing in the middle of what sort of resembled a town square, almost as if waiting to provide assistance, so Hook figured that this man had to be some sort of public servant or something.

“Excuse me sir,” he said. “Can I ask a question of you?”

The man looked at him with an almost scholarly curiosity. “Depends on the question.”

Hook’s crew all looked at one another, not surprised by the eccentric response.

“I’m looking for someone. A sorcerer,” Hook stated promptly.

“Do you have a name?”

The man’s voice had an odd, rather theatrical lilt to it, as if every sentence he spoke was its own soliloquy.

“Col,” Hook responded. “Just Col.”

“Mmm!” the stranger said with intrigue.

Hook tried to contain his confusing mixture of simultaneous fear and annoyance.

“No one’s come looking for Col in ages!”

The man thought for a moment.

“I believe you’ll find him skulking about the Forbidden Palace.”

“Great. And how do we get there?” Hook asked, only to be met with a loud, derisive giggle.

“Pardon me!” the man cackled humorously. “But one simply does not ignore the name of the palace! It’s called ‘forbidden’ for a reason!”

“What’s the reason?” Hook demanded impatience.

“Why, look at the people around you now!” the stranger reasoned. “Murderers, rapists, cannibals, lowlifes! Imagine the evil that towers over us!”

“We can handle it,” Killian assured him.

“No,” the man laughed still, “You can’t!”

“Just tell me how to get there!” Hook yelled, instantly regretting losing his temper.

“Fine, fine, fine!” the man complained melodramatically, “You go north up to the Haunted Forest, and you stop at the giant fucking palace that lords over everything like a giant bird in the sky! Satisfied now?!” he screeched at him.

Hook fought the urge to roll his eyes, concluding the conversation as calmly as he could. He was never this polite, but given these people and the strange magic many of them seemed to possess, he was in no mood to trifle with them.

“Thank you. We’ll be on our way now.”

The man watched with great interest as the group of men walked past him, heading off into the woods.

“You’re going to your death!” the stranger yelled at them rather cheerfully.

*****

The Forbidden Palace was just as eerie and sinister as Killian could’ve imagined. It looked like an evil place, made from stone that looked almost black. All of the men were starting to panic as they mindfully crossed the bridge together, watching fearfully as the gate began to slowly rise.

“Does someone know we’re here?!” Mr. Smee whispered.

“Shut up!” the captain hissed, drawing his sword.

The men readied themselves and waited, only for nothing to happen.

“Follow me,” Hook murmured, treading carefully. “It looks like a trap.”

They all proceeded as instructed, slowly inching their way toward the gate until they found themselves right at the front doors, alarmed by how easy it all was. Hook was startled as the heavy doors suddenly swung open on their own, revealing nothing but darkness inside. This, Hook knew, was magic, only he still had no idea as to who had conjured it.

“Captain?” Smee whispered as they stood at the open doors, sounding like a scared child. “What do we do?”

“Follow me,” Hook repeated through gritted teeth, his eyes dark as he prepared himself for danger, “And don’t make a sound.”

Hook and his men stepped over the threshold, all of them entering the palace just as he whipped around in an instant to find that all of his men were individually disappearing in puffs of thick black smoke. Killian began to panic as he realized he had no idea what was happening, nor did he have any idea what would stop it. He only searched the room frantically for the source of the enchantments.

He saw no one in the darkness, but once the doors magically shut behind him and his eyes adjusted to the absence of light, they settled on a tiny silhouette at the very top of the stairs that seemed a mile away from him. A small voice, even from that distance, managed to fill his ears like a yell. It was magic he was entirely unfamiliar with.

“Well. Who might you be?”

A woman’s voice, sultry and calculated, haunted and tormented his mind in a single moment.

II. The Witch

#killian jones #once upon a time #captain hook #ouat #ouat rumple #colin o'donoghue #captain hook ouat #captain hook x reader #hook x reader #killian jones x reader

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bogkeep · 8 months ago

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some time ago i watched This Video about ergodic literature and got inspired to get the book S. by jj abrams & doug dorst. i've finally started reading it and i have Thoughts

the video i linked shows and explains the premise of the book, but here's the tl;dr - two students(ish) are writing annotations in the margins of a novel called 'ship of theseus' by mysterious author V M Straka while passing it back and forth. they are getting to know each other as well as trying to solve the mystery of Straka. it's a non-linear epistolary story told through a footnotes, scribbled comments, and inserts such as postcards et cetera.

there's a couple reason this book caught my eye in particular:

- i love "two people getting to know each other through letters/accidental text messages/notes" trope. it may just be the internet denizen in me but i'm a sucker for characters who get to know each other through text.

- immediately intruiged by the mystery author's name, Straka - it means magpie in czech, so i feel like i'm getting a head start on the mystery because i'm the specialest little boy in the world!!!!

- it looks cool as hell

(i purchased a used copy that was apparently a library copy so it feels extra Authentic hehe)

ANYWAY i'm still very early in, but i have many impressions to chew on already. first off, i really love the whole premise/medium, and it looks Really Good. there's a lot of really cool details that make it look authentic (if we ignore the COMICALLY LARGE MARGINS) - the book absolutely looks like something i could find in my grandparents' bookshelf. the comments being written in different colours of pen to signal when in the chronology they were written is very good. everything is pointing to a Very Fun and Immersive reading experience.

howeverrrrrrrrrr

while i Am having fun so far, there's also a lot of details that keep shaking my suspension of disbelief. like i am trying my best to hold on to it - im accepting the Comically Large Margins and the silly premise that these two people absolutely had to pass the book back and forth to communicate. like i am fully on board with that. it's just... i feel like this book is trying to Appear more clever than it actually is?

i think maybe the main problem for Me Specifically is that it's pretending to be a book written by a Probably European author and translated to english, but S. was so obviously written/created by americans and not intended to be read by someone who knows any of the languages they're dragging into this.

i was correct in assuming Straka is meant to be czech, as ship of theseus was originally written in czech - but it's weird to me that the narrative is completely uninterested in like... the original? there is a foreword by the translator, who goes on and on about the mysterious circumstances under which v m straka died, but the fact that the original language is czech is mentioned in a *footnote*. i would think a foreword by a translator would, realistically, say more about their credentials or their actual process of translating. or is that weird??? i took a class in classical literature in uni where that's kind of a big deal so maybe i'm biased???

BUT ALSO the fact that straka's identity is So very mysterious and very possibly a pseudonym... if you're like, genuinely trying to untangle this mystery, wouldn't you make a note about the meaning of the name??? like wouldn't you put a picture of a magpie on your conspiracy board about it?? Straka is absolutely a valid czech surname because most czech surnames are seemingly random nouns or adjectives, but if you think it's a pseudonym then someone made a very deliberate choice!!!! HELLO!!!!!!

then they listed the names of people who are thought to possibly be v m straka (of varying nationalities), and like okay maybe i'm nitpicking but i has to take a pen and fix some of them. they used SOME special letters for some of the names but very sporadically - they wrote vaclav instead of václav, and ekstrom instead of ekström... like at least be consistent if you're going to ignore special letters!

the worst language offender by far is this:

if you want "the monkey dances" it's "opice tancuje". you could also do "opičí tanec" for "the monkey's dance". this particular abomination is causing me physical pain.

one of the first inserts i ran into was a letter written in swedish + a direct translation:

GUESS WHAT I CAN READ SWEDISH TOO... i can't tell if the "original" letter is supposed to be the swedish or the english one - while the swedish seems to be grammatically correct (I THINK), it extremely reads as Something Written In English And Getting As Directly Translated To Swedish As Possible. it reads very stilted and oddly phrased. i get the impression i'm not actually supposed to be able to understand it, it's just here for Flavour, and that's fine! this one i can easily justify as the swedish being the in universe translation.

here's another very small thing that made me sigh very deeply

"at what point does this book stop being straka's alone & become *theirs*?" THE BOOK IS CALLED SHIP OF THESEUS. AREN'T YOU GUYS DOING LITERARY ANALYSIS OVER HERE??? IT'S THE FIRST CHAPTER AND YOU'RE JUST SPELLING OUT THE PREMISE TO ME TO THE POINT OF CONDESCENSION.

like. okay. maybe not everyone knows what the ship of theseus refers to (also i want to point out it feels like a very english language phrase to me. it Does exist in czech but it doesn't sound like a good or catchy title i think) - but i really do feel like two university students doing a deep dive into this book + author would 100% analyse the meaning of the title, that's like 101 level stuff!! this comment would be so easy to save - just have Mr Black Pen add a quippy comment about this being a bit on the nose, or pointing out the aptness or irony of the title, Anything. it would add so much to the believability for me.

like i didn't study literature at a higher education level so maybe i'm completely off base, but i DID study art history, and it seems almost absurd to me that these characters are doing so much digging and mystery solving about the author's mysterious past and rereading all of his books to find out more... and not engage with the basicest basics such as, the original text(s) pre-translation, possible cultural contexts, tHE TITLE... why are they drawing connections from choices made BY THE TRANSLATOR that absolutely would not be there in the original czech!! !!???!!!????!!

anyway my biggest actual problem so far is that i'm really struggling to read the actual ship of theseus. i have fun reading the annotations, but the actual book... i am Struggling. i've never been any good at reading ~*The Classics*~ so it might just not be my vibe, but i'm not sure if TOS is even a Good Book? like in this universe it's Allegedly a classic and very iconic or whatever. and obviously it's a challenge to write A Classic that makes its mark on history. and gods know there's discourse about whether or not The Classics are actually good books and that's way above my paygrade. but idk i couldn't get through chapter 1 without skimming through it because it kept boring me so bad.

i suspect i might just, keep reading the annotations storyline and not bother too much with the 'book' part of the book. i genuinely wanna see where the story goes!! despite my complaints i Am sold on the emotional core of it.

i think the premise rules so hard but i really feel like the authors are too monolingual and american and maybe haven't read that many books????? i can't speak on the latter but the former.............. maybe im the one who's too european

#haiz reads things #S.#i might add to this post we'll see #i really want to like this book

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thegracefulknight · 8 months ago

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O!Ciel, Lizzy, and Sterling Silver Roses

One of my favorite extra chapters in Kuro is the Book of Murder side story, where each of the characters turn into characters from fairy tales. My most favorite part there is obviously Ciel and Lizzy's, which represented The Snow Queen (also my favorite fairy tale). It just fits them so much!

So I was rereading this chapter and noticed the panels below:

In the first one, we see Ciel seemingly giving someone a rose. At the present, we haven't seen any scene similar to this between O!Ciel and Lizzy, but since this is Lizzy's POV and she is talking about the protagonist, I'm assuming this is indeed a memory shared between them (or at least parallel of actual events that happened in their past).

O!Ciel's favorite flower, is coincidentally, sterling silver roses, as mentioned by Sebastian in Ch. 1.

Sterling silver roses are these lovely lavender or lilac-silver roses that represent nobility, elegance, and regality. Since I wanted to see if there would be any relation I could make between this flower and my favorite ship (the way I overthink about these two, really 😭 lol), I tried to look more into what these types of roses represent in a romantic sense.

And well— lavender-colored roses like the sterling silver rose represent love at first sight. They also "signify enchantment, adoration, wonder, and fascination. If you have a secret love, lavender roses can maintain a sense of mystery. The tone is also ideal for the first time you give your love interest flowers."

Giving lilac roses to your special someone, on the other hand, symbolizes your "subtle intentions for them in the future."

Going along with these concepts, and since we were never told of the reason yet why this type of rose was our earl's favorite, my assumption is that the silver sterling rose probably holds a special memory for him in the past. And as the only time we see him with a rose in the manga so far would be that panel from the special chapter (correct me if I'm wrong though), it could be assumed that this memory is something he shares with Lizzy from when they were little—O!Ciel giving her a sterling silver rose. It could be a hint that O!Ciel has liked our sweet Lizzy from the start, and possibly, has wished before that it was he would be betrothed to her instead of R!Ciel (who doesn't really seem that interested in her anyway, he's just happy and relieved she at least is cute and 'not scary'). He doesn't act on it however, as he knows she is never meant to be his.

One thing to note is that, while we have seen from his actions many times that he cares a lot about Lizzy, we are still yet to see O!Ciel actually talk about his true feelings for her. And I believe it's about time l we see just how he thinks of her, from his own POV. I expect that this is something we will finally get to see soon in this arc as one of the layers it touches are the conflicts between O!Ciel and Lizzy, and their relationship.

It's been shown at an earlier part of this arc that O!Ciel distances himself from people he cares about to protect them, and that he is afraid to accept the idea that he deserves love and happiness. I think bringing up this memory with her, and his sterling silver roses would be an emotional way for him to finally face these feelings, and give it a name. To acknowledge that Lizzy is someone that he loves, ever since, and someone he doesn't want to lose.

All of this for now are just my assumptions on what we may see once we finally get the focus back to O!Ciel and Lizzy, but it would be truly interesting to see it unfold, and also a beautiful way to see them acknowledge their feelings for each other when the time comes.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #ciel phantomhive #elizabeth midford #cielizzy #o!ciel #ciel x elizabeth #ciel x lizzy #lizzy x ciel #this also had me thinking of writing a fanfic about them involving sterling silver roses but when will i even have the time aaa #so yes i tried to write something lol #our!ciel #black butler lizzy #lizzy midford #black butler ciel #ciel x lizzie #cielizzie #ೀ ˚ a love written in the stardust — cielizzy

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jazzyblusnowflake · 10 months ago

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First off, just wanna say you’re one of my favorite md creators when it comes to art and commentary ❤️ ty for being cool n stuff

Secondly, got any more nuzi headcanons or aus in mind? Would love to hear about them.

oh shit people ACTUALLY read my commentaries???

shit, welp time to relocate and change my identity-

and oop i have a lot of AUs, its just that not all of them are nuzi centered XD i mean Nuzi eventually happens, its just that its not the center of the story.

here are some:

i have some personal Reverse Solver au with ocs which is basically an overglorified future au with fankids and humans and aliens and Tessa being alive and new types of drones >:)

i have a Nuzi personality Switch&Swap au which im hoping to draw later on- cuz i already have some story snippets decided on it >:3

i have a massive Human au which i still dont have a name for yet smh- which is very crime, mystery and horror related, the romance comes as a thing that happens during the story- which has a lot of ships that yall probably have seen @keebokuun draw some of uwu basically Uzi is a semi-handicapped girl in the future year of 2371- who in searching for the mystery behind her mothers death, gets stuck in a story way bigger than herself.

i have an Unsolver au in which the solver is just simply a super advanced AI with a sense of indeviduality and the horrors basically just dont happen. Cyn gets to grow as a host, Tessa becomes the head of the mechanical maintanance devision in JCJ, and the disassembler drones are transformed willingly without any gore or beheading lmao. the purpose and plot of the story is something different from the original show, but they eventually do meet Uzi and the others later. its just that the story is a bit extra sunshine and rainbows just cuz i want the characters to have a good ending 😭

Theres the Exorsists au which i posted about a while back :"3 - though this and the Unsolver au are pretty recent and im not sure where to go with them yet, or if i ever will lol but they are fun to think about uwu

anyway i think thats all i can think of for NOW- yall cant keep my brain down for too long lmao- id make a Siren/Mermaid au too but honestly i feel like thats a bit too easy for me, i like a challange- >:3

#snowballflo #snow rambles #murder drones #nuzi #biscuitbites #enzi #uzi doorman #serial designation n #tessa james elliot #absolute solver

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inkedbydave · 2 months ago

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I havnt read those books in the shadowhunter chronicles yet, what are your favorite things about them? (Im curious whether I should read them or not since I have such a big tbr already)

Oh maaan you're in for a ride

I have no idea which series in the Shadowhunter Universe you meant exactly but i'll start with my fav

Part I:

The Dark Artifices:

Do you ever feel like your soul needs a good mix of romantic pining, chaotic battles, and emotional devastation? The Dark Artifices is calling your name.

But seriously if you love stories that combine heart-pounding action, deep family bonds, and characters so real you’ll find yourself thinking about them long after you've finished the books? This is the series for you!

This series follows a family of Shadowhunters in sunny Los Angeles (yes, there are beaches AND demon fights) as they deal with forbidden love, ancient laws that make no sense, and plot twists that will leave you staring at the ceiling at 3 AM like: what just happened.

It’s got:

Two people who can’t be together because of reasons but have enough chemistry to destroy you.

A goofy warlock with more secrets than anyone is ready for.

A soft boy who paints and probably writes poetry but will absolutely murder you if you hurt his siblings and childhood friend.

A broody faerie loner who says “I work alone” but would probably die for his friends.

“I would die for my siblings, but also, they’re so annoying” energy.

Found-family dynamics that will have you texting your friends, “DO YOU SEE THIS?”

And, of course, the *painful but addictive* mix of love, loyalty, and chaos...

Enemies-to-lovers? No, wait—friends-to-lovers? Actually, it’s more like "reluctantly obsessed but too emotionally constipated to say it."

Three people staring dramatically at each other like ‘Is this polyamory or a REALLY complicated love triangle?

Characters who will make you scream, “JUST COMMUNICATE,” but you’ll love them anyway.

Enough family angst to fuel a therapy session for years.

A genius, autistic boy who solves mysteries but can’t solve the mystery of his own feelings

Main characters? Let’s just say there’s a parabatai bond that’s more complicated than your high school crush.

The plot? Fast-paced, full of betrayal, and packed with vicious fight scenes.

The family? Everything is fine...except when it’s not.

The romance? You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll probably scream and definitely ship things that should not be shipped. :)

Basically a murder mystery, faerie politics, and the most relatable struggle of all: Trying to keep your family alive and well while the world is falling apart.

Fair warning: you’ll never emotionally recover (and you’ll love every second).

part II:

The Mortal Instruments:

If you’re looking for a fast-paced urban fantasy series full of adventure, humor, and heart, you need to pick up The Mortal Instruments.

It’s got everything: shadowy secrets, epic battles, forbidden love, and enough twists and turns to keep you hooked from start to finish. Plus, the friendships and family bonds will hit you right in the feels.

If you like:

Hot people with emotional trauma

Family dynamics so messy even you would say "y’all need therapy"

Enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-allies-to-love(maybe) but make it *gay*

Bonus gay dads with actual functional communication (because someone has to balance the chaos)

A love triangle that's not technically a triangle, but don't worry, it'll still destroy your soul

If you do then babe, let me introduce you to The Mortal Instruments:

It’s like Twilight, but everyone fights better is hotter and has sarcasm set to ✨maximum damage✨.

You'll question the characters' life choices, then realize your own aren’t much better.

There’s an overachieving golden boy with a superiority complex who definitely Googles his own name but is secretly baby.

A girl who just wants to vibe and maybe not be surrounded by apocalypses, but alas.

A cinnamon roll nerd who says, “I don’t want to be here,” but somehow ends up saving the day every time.

And a guy who walks in like: "I’m too goth for this mess," but then adopts everyone and pays for dinner.

The Mortal Instruments is what happens when an ex fanfic writer starts a writing carrier and makes a book series: chaotic, emotional, weirdly self-aware, and packed with heart. Read it. Your inner emo kid will thank you.

Bonus:

The plot? Like Supernatural on speed.

The dialogue? Whedon-esque but with more sass per square inch.

The drama? Every fanfic writer wishes they wrote this level of ✨chaotic bisexual disaster energy✨.

If this sounds appealing, congratulations! This series was literally written for you.

part III:

The Infernal Devices:

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare is an absolute gem of a series, blending romance, adventure, and a touch of Victorian-era steampunk. If you love books with unforgettable characters, heart-wrenching love triangles (in the best way), and a beautifully atmospheric setting, this is the series for you.

It’s full of witty banter, emotional depth, and a story that stays with you long after you turn the last page. Trust me—there’s no ‘right’ team to root for, but you’ll love every moment of trying to decide.

The plot? Wild.

The romance? Devastating.

The side characters? Hot, chaotic, and probably more interesting than the main ones in most other books you’ve read.

Let’s not forget:

The Victorian Aesthetic™ (it’s giving Pinterest board).

A robot army that would make Skynet say, “You okay, bro?”

Poetry recitals that feel like life-or-death declarations.

And more tragic backstories than a Shakespearean play.

It's got:

a steampunk version of London where demons and shadowhunters roam the cobblestone streets, and your biggest problem isn’t the fog, but the ✨existential dread✨.

There’s a protagonist who just wanted to read books but accidentally became the center of everyone’s emotional drama (relatable queen).

A golden retriever boy who’s so perfect it physically hurts and is slowly dying.

And a sad boy™️ who looks like he stepped straight out of a My Chemical Romance album, only with a reading obsession.

A love triangle where instead of fighting, the two love interests are like, ‘Hey, what if we all just loved each other?’

Friendships so deep they’ll make you scream, “WHY CAN’T THE WORLD LET THEM BE HAPPY?”

A heroine who’s like, ‘Do I choose the guy who might secretly hate himself more than anyone else alive, or the literal angel in human form?’ (Spoiler: she chooses both. Iconic.)

Brooding boys who quote poetry in life-or-death situations (because of course they do).

*A love triangle where instead of fighting, the two love interests are like, ‘Hey, what if we all just loved each other?’

Start with Clockwork Angel and get ready to laugh, cry, and ugly sob over Will, Jem, and Tessa. But be warned: this series will RUIN you in the most beautiful way possible.

I won't write a summary of The Last Hours since i haven't finished it yet sorry babes, but hope you liked these *mwa*

#the dark artifices #the shadowhunter chronicles #tsc #tda #the mortal instruments #tmi #the wicked powers #the last hours #tlh #the infernal devices #tid

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